Author's Note: I just got Shania's CD single for I'm Gonna Getcha Good and I'm currently listening to it, getting some more inspiration to write more of this fic. And I think all my creative juices are flowing and I'm getting inspired once again! hehehe, and oh yeah, don't worry, Ginny's mission will soon commence, just bear with me a little...I need to get some little things out of the way--like for example how she got around to giving herself that mission to begin with! *lol*
Disclaimer: I must've written this numerous times as it is and you know what? NOT MINE!!!
Summary: Ginny Weasley received the shocker of a lifetime when she entered her sixth year at Hogwarts. She fell in love with the last person on earth she thought she'd fall for. Now she has to do everything in her power to grab his attention and make him hers--even if she have to face the wrath of her six brothers and her parents, not to mention the wrath of Hermione and Harry when they find out what she was planning to do.
Setting: Ginny is in her 6th year; Draco is in his 7th year
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VI. What Is This I'm Feeling?
Ginny was going through her usual routine for the day come Monday morning. She got up, showered, changed into her school uniform, donned on her robe, grabbed her book bag and headed downstairs to the Great Hall where her seat was saved by Hermione. As always she garnered the attention of the male population of the school as soon as she entered the noisy hall; all eyes turned to her--as always--but somebody else's eyes that was watching her intently caught Ginny by surprise.
Draco Malfoy was amongst the tons of boys looking at her. But unlike the other boys, Draco was looking above her chest, his eyes boring a hole on her face. She couldn't help herself from wondering why he was looking at her rather intently. She hasn't seen him since Saturday's Quidditch game and from her previous encounters with him, he has never given her that look he was giving her now. It was a mixture of sheer curiosity and pure hatred all rolled into one, but it was more leaning towards sheer curiosity.
Ginny didn't know she was holding her breath and was walking rather a bit slowly until Draco moved his gaze higher up and their eyes locked. She finally reached her seat beside Hermione, but like her walk, sitting down seemed to be a slow-motion process for her. Her eyes were still glued to Draco's and everything around her seemed to blur-out. All her attention was focused on Draco Malfoy and Draco Malfoy alone. They held each other's gaze for the longest time until Hermione's hand swooped up and down before Ginny, getting her attention which evidently broke the spell.
"What?" Ginny snapped irately, glaring at her close friend who looked so taken aback by Ginny's foul mood.
"Whoa! Ginny, it's still too early to be biting my head off." Hermione exclaimed, backing off a bit farther away from her friend, "I was just asking you something and you seem to be out of it." she explained.
Ginny expelled an exasperated sigh and smiled apologetically at her friend. It wasn't really Hermione's fault that she was bitchy lately. Well, since Friday morning anyway. And she knew damn well who was behind her sudden mood-swings: Draco Malfoy. She offered her apology to Hermione and kindly asked her friend what it was she wanted to know. Hermione gave her a funny look but went ahead and asked her something concerning their Potions assignment.
Her morning breezed by quickly after that. She still thought about that incident over breakfast with Draco, but she was too preoccupied with her class load for the day to even stop and ponder on what that small incident mean.
I mean, hello?! So what if he was looking at you that way? It's not as if he hasn't looked at you like he wanted to murder you or something since you first laid eyes on the stupid git! a small voice at the back of her head told Ginny as she made her way to her double Potions class.
She was still lost in her thoughts that by the time she turned the corner to go down to the Potions dungeon she ran smack-dab into somebody.
"Ooof!" she exclaimed as she lose her balance and her arms flailed helplessly to stop her from falling, the books she was hugging came flying from her arms as she desperately tried to grab at something for support.
"Gotcha!" a familiar male voice said and Ginny felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her waist, stopping her from falling flat on her behind.
Ginny's arms went around her saviour's neck voluntarily, locking it tightly together and breathing a sigh of relief of being spared the embarrassment of falling on her butt in front of passing students. She inhaled the sweet-tangy aroma of a male cologne that was neither too strong nor too faint that was emanating from her captor. It was a familiar scent she must have smelled from one of her brothers, but the cologne smelled expensive and she doubt any of her older brothers could afford it. And it was only recently that she inhaled that scent and she knew the instant she first inhaled it she knew the person who wore it came from a well-distinguished family of rich purebloods.
Ginny's eyes quickly peeled wide open and she pushed herself away from her saviour's arms, moistening her suddenly dry lips as she gazed at Draco Malfoy's cold gray eyes.
"T-thank you." she stammered once she found her voice and quickly knelt down on the floor and gathered her books.
Draco surprised her by kneeling down and helped her gather her books together, piling a couple of her books on top of one another and handed it to her. Ginny quickly snatched the books he was handing her and got to her feet, her head bowed and she pretended to fiddle with her books in her arms.
"Thanks again and--and see you in class." she muttered under her breath and briskly walked away from him. God, what is wrong with you?! Why did you just clam up? It was only Malfoy for goodness's sakes! she scolded herself as she speed-walked towards her Potions class. But he smelled so good. she added when she reached the doorway of her Potions class. Now Virginia, get a grip of yourself and concentrate on Potions. she reminded herself and with her chin held high she walked in to her double Potions class and quickly spotted Hermione with a seat saved for her.
~*~
"Hey Ginny!" Hermione greeted her friend when she found Ginny studying by the fire inside their common room. "Mind if I join you?"
Ginny looked up from the notes she was studying for History of Magic and smiled at Hermione. She nodded towards the empty couch in front of her then returned back to reading her notes for the next day's quiz. But her mind was far from what she was reading. For the past couple of days she couldn't think of anything but Draco Malfoy and these weird feelings she was having for him. She still hates him. That for a fact will never change, but lately she started thinking and seeing Draco Malfoy in a different light. She was starting to notice things about him that she never paid attention to before, like for instance the way he strut around school with his broad shoulders squared, making his signature robe fit him as if it was designed only for him. She never noticed how handsome Draco Malfoy was either.
He has a combination of boyish charm and rakish elegance that often bewitched the girls of Hogwarts. He has a slyness about him that everyone seem to fall for. Although he was obnoxiously rude and arrogantly conceited he was only human, his arrogance and rudeness was only a facade that he has to live up to being a Malfoy and all, but there was more to him than meets the eye.
And she was going to find that out!
But how?
Ginny frowned at the notes she was reading, but really she wasn't frowning because of what she was studying. She was frowning because she doesn't know why she wanted to find out what else was hidden beneath Draco Malfoy's cool demeanor.
God, Ginny! Don't tell me you're starting to get way too interested in that prat Malfoy! her conscience scolded her. Her frown deepen even more. So what if she was interested in Draco? Half of the female population of the school was interested so why shouldn't she? Hello, Virginia! Are you forgetting something? Next to Hermione, you and your family is the next target--and most favourite come to think of it--of the famous Malfoy insults! her annoying conscience reminded her sternly.
Well they were just insults! As far as she was concerned nothing could harm her. She learned to ignore Draco and his never-ending list of insult to hurtle her way or Hermione's way or even at Ron's way. Although her brother still reacted to Draco's insults with great, deep-seethed anger, Ginny learned a long time ago to deflect it by simply acting indifferent towards it. She had to admit, some of Draco's insults still stings, but what could she do? If she reacted to his goading then he would have won and have the last laugh because he has accomplished what he set out to do. If she remained unaffected then Draco would ignore her, which he had--until last Friday when they ran in to each other en route to the Great Hall for breakfast.
Until that instant Ginny never paid attention to what all the other girls were swooning about. During their two brief encounters when their bodies were pressed together Ginny realized that underneath the expensive clothes hid the body of a young man who works out. His shoulders were broad and square, but everybody noticed that. No, what Ginny discovered lay hidden beneath layers of clothing was the body of a young man rippling with muscles!
Ginny could feel herself blushing as she recalled the couple of times when she was in Draco's arms. The first time was when she lay sprawled on top of him Friday morning. She was trying to push herself off him and in doing so she had to grab at his arms for support. She was shocked to feel his biceps. Never in her life did she expect him to have any. Well, duh! Of course he does, but she didn't realize that it was well-toned, as if he works out on a regular basis. Then earlier this afternoon when she crashed into him again en route to Potions. He grabbed her around the waist and pulled her towards him, engulfed in the circle of his strong arms, her body pressed against his. In that brief instant she felt the pure hardness of his chest and stomach, ripples of muscles visible from the black, tight muscle shirt he wore underneath his school robes. She knew it was against school rules for students to not wear the assigned uniform, but Draco Malfoy was one of those who never followed the rules; he'd rather break them than abide them.
Sighing heavily, Ginny closed her notes and lay her book on her lap. She propped her elbow on the armrest of the couch and rested her chin atop her balled fist. She gazed longingly at the fire blazing from the fireplace and think only of the only person that has been infiltrating her mind for almost a week now.
Let's face it, girl. You got it bad. a small voice inside her head told her.
Oh yeah, she has got it bad. So bad for the resident bad boy and there was no way in heaven or hell that her feelings would be returned.
Unless...
Ginny grinned suddenly, her face alight with delight as she started to plot out her next move. She would make Draco Malfoy notice her by hook or by crook--and if it required her to use her God-given talents--and assets--then so be it!
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to be continued...
A/N: uhm...hehehe, well, I think I kinda started Ginny's "mission" in this chapter. sorry if it took me like a while to get to her doing her mission. like what I said above, I needed to get some things cleared-out before I jump in and turn Ginny into a diva--or something like that. I mean, I gotta explain first how and why she decided to capture the heart of our resident bad boy, right? it just makes more sense that way as far as I'm concerned. anyway, read & review & let me know what you think! (.")
kim: thanks for leaving your mark. and thanks for liking the way I created Ginny's character in this fic.