23 pages guys. Aren't you so proud of me? The next chapter should hopefully take less time because I already have part of it written. I told you that it's possible for the chapter titles to change. Well, they already are. I'm not changing what happens in the story though, just how long it's going to be and the order and stuff. I won't tell you the chapter titles for the rest of the story. You have to wait.
There are going to be six more chapters after this one. So that's twelve chapters in all. And there won't be an epilogue because there's going to be a sequel.
Chapter Six: Hollow Dreams and Meaningless Meanings
Ginny looked down at Draco's pale form. He slept unusually sound and looked rather peaceful; very opposite from what he was in real life. The real obnoxious, rude, sneering Draco that Ginny knew had slipped into a deep coma-like slumber and left this angelic form in his place. His chest slowly rose and fell
as he breathed and every once in a while, his eyes would flutter as if he were dreaming. She didn't doubt that he was doing just that.
He made a quick movement that startled her slightly and she heard someone give a small sigh next to her.
"He's so adorable," her friend, Samantha Green said. She had had a large crush on Draco ever since she had laid eyes on him back in third year.
"Sam, you realize that you're talking about Malfoy right? He's not adorable, he's evil," Ginny said, taking her eyes off of the object of their conversation. Her dark haired friend smirked.
"You can be both, but he's cuter than he is evil… that's for sure," she said longingly.
"When will you see that it's not always good to tell off of looks? Looks aren't everything," Ginny inquired, looking down at Draco. He'd been asleep for nearly five days and she had come to visit him every once in a while on the account that he didn't get any visitors, not even his fellow Slytherin's came to see if their 'prince' was all right. On some occasions, Ginny would take Samantha, almost fearing for Draco's life because when Sam was around Draco, you wouldn't know what she was going to do.
"But I make acceptations for people this gorgeous. And you should too," she pointed at Ginny. "He's got his eyes on you, you know?" she said, almost sadly looking at Ginny. Ginny snorted.
"He has not," she said calmly, glancing down at him. "And how would you know, eh? Did he tell you that?"
Sam shrugged and rolled her eyes. "I just know these things. I can feel it. He did break up with Pansy you know?"
"He did?"
"Yeah, a couple of days ago."
A soft silence fell over them as Samantha returned her gaze to Draco. She looked at his face and suddenly, a small smiled tugged at the corners of her lips. It wasn't a good smile, whenever she had it; it usually meant the Samantha was up to something.
"Hey Gin…?" she asked slowly, not taking her eyes away from him. Ginny looked down at Draco and then to her.
"What?"
"I dare you… to kiss him," Samantha put in evilly.
"What?" Ginny's mouth hung slightly open for a moment.
"I dare you to kiss him," she said more confidently. "50 galleons says you won't."
"I will not kiss him. Are you crazy?"
"I would if I were you…"
"Well, of course you would."
Samantha sighed. "Come on, Gin. 50 galleons… that's a lot, you know."
"I know it's a lot," Ginny replied sharply. She looked down at Draco curiously. What would it be like to kiss him when he was sleeping? When he was this beautiful shining being and not cruel and horrible. It would probably be a lot different. And unlike Samantha, Ginny would be able to compare the two Dracos. She sighed.
"Alright, I'll do it."
She closed her eyes and bent down so her face was centimeters away from his. She could smell the cologne he was wearing and her lungs filled with the wonderful aroma, like warm meadows and pine trees. Draco Malfoy smelled much like some kind of lush forest… or something close at least. Ginny sighed, whatever it was, she loved it.
"Wait!"
Ginny pulled away from him to look at her friend. "What is it?"
"You have to keep contact for… seven seconds, and you can't just like… put your lips against his, you have to actually kiss," she said, smirking. Ginny sighed and bent down again.
"What's with all the rules, now?" Ginny asked suspiciously. Samantha just raised her eyebrows, egging Ginny on.
"Oh, alright," as she finished saying this, her lips came in contact with Draco's and she shut her eyes. A jolt ran through her, Ginny had only felt it at times when she was particularly close to Harry. His warm lips were soft and silky under hers and the light smell of forests and freedom came to Ginny again. If she had the choice, she would have stayed in this position forever. And if Samantha hadn't been there, Ginny would have probably found herself with her arms wrapped around this sleeping Draco, again so unlike the real one. If only Draco were sleeping all the time.
She opened her eyes and looked at Draco's face. Draco… Draco Malfoy. Right now, she was practically on top of Draco Malfoy. Ginny gagged and pushed off of him.
"That was probably one of the most horrible, foul, disgusting things I've ever done in my life," she paused. "But I…"
Sam tried to finish the sentence for her. "Liked it?"
Ginny shot her a glance before returning her gaze to Draco. He seemed completely unmoved by the kiss and stayed sound asleep; his chest rising up and down softly. Pale moonlight glowed across his face and he had a slight smile tugging at his lips now. Not a smirk or a mocking smile that he usually had, but a soft happy smile that almost made Ginny melt.
However, she didn't answer her friend; only held out her arm firmly. "Where's my money?"
~**~**~**~**~
Draco looked around. He was in a… well, a forest. Soft sunlight was streaming in through the tops of the trees and birds chirped all around him. It must've been spring time. He felt warm sunrays beating down on his skin and he smiled slightly. Again, his eyes roamed around his current position.
"Where am I?" he asked, not getting a reply. He snapped his head around as he heard a few twigs break behind him. Something was coming out of the bushes. It looked like woman but she didn't seem to be very human. She didn't have a shirt on but covering her large chest was a white sash that read 'Property of Draco Malfoy'. His eyes widened as more elf-like girls followed her.
"Bloody hell…" he said to himself. "Are those for me?" He watched faintly as the girls surrounded him, chanting a soft song that made him feel hypnotized. The girls stretched their arms in front of themselves so that their palms were facing the sky. They smiled and chorused, "For you Draco," and suddenly, large currents of food appeared in their hands; all laid out on golden plates. Great stacks of galleons and sickles materialized in front of him and a huge emerald green throne showed up on his right along with several tethered unicorns. The girls chanted again, "For you Draco. We're here to bring you pleasure and happiness…"
"No we aren't. We're here to be maddened slaves to this beast. Why don't the rest of you open your eyes and try to see that?"
All heads, including Draco's, swiveled around to see who the voice had come from. They were staring directly at another elf-ish girl. But, Draco noted, this one was different from the others whom all were a light blue-purple color. This one was red, bright flaming orange-red with long flowing hair that looked like fire. She didn't have any food or gold circling her and she looked rather angry.
"You may get everyone else to bow at your feet, you great prat, but it'll take you a lot of changing to get me," she said, huffing. Red snapped her fingers and the 'Draco Malfoy' tag disappeared and was replaced by long flowing black robes, totally concealing everything but the girls face which was surrounded by the robe's hood. Slowly, she turned around and walked to the other edge of the clearing. Draco looked from her to the other girls who all seemed maddened by her outburst and her sheer stupidity of talking bad about their owner.
Something in Draco itched to go after Red, but something was helping to keep him back. It was probably the fact that there were about twelve half naked women standing in front of him offering him 'pleasure and happiness'.
Finally, Draco made up his mind. He sat down in the middle of the slightly broken circle and crossed his legs and hands. "Okay, girls… let's get this started," he said, rather happily. The Blues smiled and instantly were handing him piles of food. Draco grabbed one of the plates and stuck his fork into what looked like mashed potatoes. He brought it to his lips and swallowed; half expecting a rich, creamy, buttery taste. Instead, he gagged; he had gotten something foul and disgusting. He spit in out onto the ground, but what landed in front of him wasn't white, soft, potatoes. He looked down in horror as small white maggots spilled out on the dirt. He coughed and spit, making sure to get every single one out. He looked down at his plate to find that every article of food had done exactly to the same thing; turn into a small mound of horrifying bugs. Draco made a small tiny squeak and hurriedly threw the plate away from him. It smashed against a tree and the bright gold shattered and crumbled to a small pile of ashes…
"What are you guys trying to do… kill me?" he asked the girls. They all looked at each other and shot him a very sympathetic glance.
"We're so sorry Draco…" one of them said as she bent down to kiss him. But, just as her lips touched, the skin on her face started to rot away and drop to the ground. He desperately tried to pull away but he couldn't; she had wrapped her now bony rotten arms around him, squeezing away all his oxygen. He gasped for air but couldn't acquire any. He felt something land on his cheek and start to crawl up to his hair, reluctantly he opened his eyes to see what it was and he took a quick intake of shocked air as he saw large insects; worms, millipedes, cockroaches, flies; swarming out of growing pits in her cheeks.
There was a shrill laugh from the other side of the clearing they were in. The rotting corpse got off of him and looked around to see where it had come from. He quickly took advantage of being free and stood up, stumbling away from the girls whom, all of a sudden, didn't seem so pretty to him anymore. He looked where all the others were looking.
Red had hidden herself behind a large pine tree and was laughing hysterically at them all, clutching her side to help her get air. She noticed Draco's eyes on her and took off running, not able to stifle her laughter which rang through the forest light chiming bells.
This time, he didn't hesitate. He ran after her, dodging through thick trees and bushes. No matter how fast he went, she seemed to be quicker and was always just barely disappearing into the lush trees.
"Wait!" Draco called after her. It didn't seem to help much; he had only succeeded in making her move faster.
Suddenly, Draco found himself thrust into another clearing. Right at the edge of a water fall… but there hadn't been a river any where. The crystal clear water seemed to fall right from the heavens. Its cool mist was sprinkling Draco's face and he closed his eyes momentarily before looking around for Red. She was standing at the edge of the cliff with her arms spread out to her sides. Her head was still completely concealed by the cloak. Slowly, Draco walked up to her.
"Who are you?" he asked her. He walked across the small clearing and stood right behind her, waiting for her answer. He grabbed her shoulder.
"Hey, answer me…"
She turned around swiftly and smiled at him. Draco gave a small shocked gasp. It wasn't Red any more it was…
"Weasley…!?"
She smiled again and wrapped her arms around him, pressing her lips into his. Her mouth moved over to his ear.
"Catch me, catch me and I'll be yours. Don't let me fall…" she whispered to him. He desperately tried to kiss her again but she pulled away and headed back to the edge. He reached out for her almost longingly.
"No... wait, please…" he asked more softly than he had wanted. She turned around for a last time and gave him a small wink before throwing herself off the side.
"No, Virginia!!" he jumped forward and grabbed her hand just as she was about to disappear down the side of the cliff. He peered over the edge. He wasn't holding Ginny any longer, it was a small bundle of black robes. He lifter it over the edge and peered down at it. He was startled as it gave a small quiver and let out a tiny cry.
"What in the…"
Slowly he unwrapped the bundle. It started moving more, almost as if it had arms and legs. Draco peeled away the last layer of robe and his eyes widened. In his arms was a very small baby with silvery hair and soft grey-brown eyes. Some odd feeling swept through him as Draco realized that he had just saved this tiny bundle from a horrible fate. A small smile flashed in his eyes as the little boy reached up and grabbed his finger. He looked down at its tiny fingers, delicately wrapped around Draco's larger one. The kid was adorable, and Draco didn't usually think many things other than himself were very adorable. His eyes roamed across the baby and stopped on his tiny Quidditch robes. A small label was on the chest: 'Property of Draco Malfoy'. He looked down at it confused. There was a soft whistling in the air as the wind began to blow harder. Leaves flew past him and his hair began to sway. The wind was picking up, getting stronger by the second. Draco shivered as a branch broke off the tree and swept passed him, nearly hitting the little boy. He clutched him to his chest, trying desperately to protect him. But it was to late, the wind gripped at the little boy, ripping him out of Draco's arms. Draco tried to reach out and grab him but couldn't. The child was thrown to the ground and started to tumbled to the edge of the cliff.
"No… no!" Draco ran after him and urgently grabbed the edge of the robe just as it toppled over the side like Ginny had. He let out a small sigh of relief as he hung half off the cliff, clinging to the baby. Draco's arm gave a bit, the bundle seemed to be getting heavier as he sat there. It was weighing him down, almost as if beyond the shadows of the great hole, where the water was disappearing into, was a vast vacuum like structure. He tried to hold on but couldn't, the boy slipped from his fingers disappearing in to the darkness.
"No…"
The baby was going back to where ever Ginny had gone. The wind was pulling at Draco, trying to force him down into the hole. But he resisted. What was down there?
A soft beautiful voice was calling up to Draco. He recognized it as Ginny's. He tried to see where it was coming from, but it seemed as though the voice were coming from the air itself; wrapping Draco in the melodic sound.
She repeated her earlier words: "Catch me, catch me and I'll be yours. Don't let me fall…" However, here she added something that shocked him somewhat. "Don't let them take me… I don't want us to lose you…please, Draco…"
Draco shot up, his chest falling up and down rapidly. He reached out in the darkness for his blankets and wrapped them around himself. He was having trouble catching his breath. His eyes were still adjusting to the lighting of the room so he was still completely blind. An aching feeling settled in his chest as he remembered parts of the dream. "Oh, hell…" he mumbled to himself as he buried his face in his knees to tried and block out the swirling colors and shapes that he was starting to see.
"What did you say Malfoy?" Draco turned around. It was that voice, that wonderful voice. Ginny was sitting next to his small hospital wing bed and she looked at him curiously.
"What are you doing here Weasley?" he snapped, trying to make up for himself. Ginny looked slightly taken aback.
"Well, I was only checking up on you… I wanted to see if you had come around yet. I guess I'll go then if you're in such a bad mood…" she turned to leave. He wasn't going to let her go this time. There weren't any naked ladies holding him back. He grabbed her arm.
"Wait a minute…erm… how long have I been here?" he asked, trying to think of a way to get her to stay. She stopped and turned around to look at him; glancing down at his hand uncomfortably.
"Six days…" she said slowly, trying to pull her arm away from his. He didn't let her go, instead he tightened his gripped but released slightly as he realized he was hurting her.
"And that would make today…?"
She raised her eyebrows. "Friday… you need to learn how to bloody count Malfoy…"
"It's not that I don't know my days, Weasley. If you've been unconscious you'd know that the mind kinda loses track… you know, not being awake and all…"
Draco sighed and looked around the room. Suddenly, he sat up; ignoring the fact that he was feeling extremely dizzy and his vision had started blurring again. "What time is it?" he asked urgently. She frowned but looked down at her watch. Her eyes flickered back up to him before returning the floor where they had been staring for the past few minutes.
"6:43…"
"Oh, dear god…" Draco muttered, throwing his head into his hands. 6:43. And what time was the dance starting? 6:00 p.m. For all he knew, everyone in the whole castle aside from him and Ginny could already be dead. Well…it's not like he really cared but still…
Ginny was still talking and it didn't seem like she had finished her earlier sentence.
"Yep…6:43 a.m.!" she chirped. Draco's head snapped up and he flashed her an evil glare.
Draco thought for a moment before talking again. "Ginny, I have to ask you a question, and you have to answer me truthfully, and I don't care if you think its stupid okay? Just answer…"
Ginny looked apprehensive but slowly nodded. She bit her lip as if whatever he was going to ask might hurt her. Draco stared at her for a minute before shaking it off and continuing.
"Has Professor Vexsta been acting odd lately? While I was here? Anything out of the ordinary?" he asked slowly. It looked like she was going to a reply with how stupid that was but stopped; an odd expression playing on her face.
"Actually…" she seemed as though she didn't want to admit this. "She… she has a little bit…"
Draco sat up in his bed immediately, accidentally knocking his wand off the nightstand. It clattered to the floor but he could care otherwise, his eyes were locked on Ginny and she seemed a bit uncomfortable.
"W-why?" she asked in a meek voice.
"Just… how has she been acting strange?"
"Well, she seems a bit more… jumpy than usual. And she's always looking around her like someone's going to jump out and attack her or something. She seems really nervous too, like the other day she was grading papers and had this cup of coffee. I walked up behind her and tapped on her shoulder," she paused and looked around the room. It seemed that she had just noticed that she was in a room all by herself with Draco and she looked even more uncomfortable. "Well, she about jumped fifty feet before she realized that is was me. She also seems to be… anxious for something." Ginny paused and looked at him cautiously. "Malfoy… there's nothing going on, is there? Is there, Malfoy?"
He sighed and rolled his eyes. "I was trying to tell you earlier, but you were being a real bitch about everything… saying I was spying on a teacher and whatnot," he said casually. Ginny's eyes flamed and her sympathetic expression that she had earlier had completely disappeared. She clenched her teeth.
"Listen, Malfoy, I wasn't being a 'bitch' about everything. You were spying on a teacher and if you had been caught you would have gotten in trouble. I merely helped you. Just like I helped you back on the grounds. If I hadn't called for someone, you might have been dead or…or something! You had a concussion you know - and several broken bones, much less internal bleeding. You need to start respecting me more, Malfoy. Or you'll find that I won't be there the next time you need help,"
Draco scowled and narrowed his eyes. "I don't need help from you, Virginia Weasley. People would pay to help me… and you don't have enough money to do so. You don't even have enough money to help your family. So lay off with all the bloody lectures already!" Draco found himself getting angry.
Oh great. I've got to come save you again, don't I?
What do you mean 'Save'?
Just watch.
Slowly, Draco felt himself reaching over and grabbing Ginny's hand. She glared down at his as though it were an awfully disgusting slug; her lip slightly curled.
"I'm… sor - sorry," he found the words hard to form, quite possibly because they weren't his. "Hey… listen Gin, about the other night… in-- in the hall…" his voice seemed to be caught in his throat. He wasn't used to this, Draco Malfoy didn't make apologies. Maybe in letters, but never to someone's face. He took a deep breath, filling his lungs with oxygen. "I'd like to say that I'm really sorry. And you don't have to accept that apology but I just want you to know that I didn't really mean anything I said. No, Potter doesn't dislike you; no, I actually don't think that you're worth less than a Mudblood. Everything was just a game to get you angry and well, it worked didn't it?"
Am I really saying this? This isn't me…
Ginny looked as if she couldn't believe her ears. "And I'm sorry." He paused and his voice in his head seemed to have just realized something. It held a mischievous tone when it spoke.
Why don't we kill two birds with one stone, shall we? You don't have a date to the ball and I'm betting anything that she doesn't either…
No… please don't do this to me…
"Do…do you think you'd like to go to the ball with m…"
Oh, I hate you…
Ginny stood up very suddenly and laughed, the same laugh that Red had in the dream; bell-like and mocking. "Are you serious? Me… go with you? You're bloody kidding me! After everything you've done to me, you think you can apologize and everything will be all better just like that?" she said, snapping her finger. "I know you have something up your sleeve, Draco Malfoy. You wouldn't want to take me otherwise. Apparently, however highly you think of yourself, I'm not good enough for you. Just a poor filthy Weasley. I'm getting out of here. It seems that, you don't need my help either. I don't think anyone can help you… no one can save you from yourself, your horrible self. You need to get over the fact that you're not better than everyone else, that you're worse than them. All of them."
And with that, Ginny Weasley disappeared through the hospital wing doors.
"Fine… be that way, Weasel!" he shouted out as she left…
Draco stared into the darkness of the room slightly horrified. He was certain that that hadn't been him a few minutes ago. Draco Malfoy didn't talk like that. Draco Malfoy didn't ask Weasleys to the ball and he certainly never got rejected. That kind of stuff didn't happen.
Well… clearly I didn't help you much, mate. She must have been right.
What do you mean, you didn't help me much? You… you made me say all that didn't you?
Well… yes. You see, every time you've said something even particularly nice… that has been me. The good side of you. 'Good Draco' if you'd like to call me that. And that bit was I nice example back there. Yes, I know there isn't much of me left but I can still overpower the bad in you, you know? And every once and a while, you say something nice all by yourself… which usually shocks me so much I can't say anything good for a while and you usually end up ruining what ever kind thing you said with something five times worse.
Draco stared at the door and didn't answer for a minute. Suddenly, his voice seemed to just have remembered something.
You… called her Gin. The voice sounded slightly shaken, unlike it was a few seconds ago.
What? What did I call her?
Gin, you great prat… Gin. I'm not even going to make fun of you for this one… I - I think this is serious because… I didn't tell you to say that, Draco. This time the voice sounded very solemn. Draco frowned. Had he… had he really called her Gin? And not the usual 'Weasley' or even 'Virginia'? He blinked as he looked at the hospital wing door.
You -- you think what's serious? What are you talking about? If you made me say all that than I didn't call her Gin. It would have been you.
No, you have input on what I make you say and I would have said 'Ginny'. You have a thing for her don't you? The voice asked flatly and Draco could practically see 'Good Draco' crossing his arms indignantly.
No… but, when he thought this, it wasn't a quick 'no' as in 'of course not! What are you bloody thinking?!' it was more of an uncertain 'no'. Almost as if it had a question mark at the end.
One: you apologized, you usually don't apologize to anybody (yes, that was me but you still had some say in it…). Two: you called her Gin and that was all you. Three: you asked her to go to the ball with you (again… me, but I know you really wanted her to) and were disappointed when she said no and left you…
I…
Shh… hold on a minute, I'm on a roll here. Four: You kissed her… and liked it and I had nothing to do with that, which to this day still shocks me. Five: You're not acting half as mean as you used to, and that's not entirely me either. (Hey!) Six: You find yourself thinking about her, even at the oddest moments… like during potions class when you're supposed to be taking notes. Seven: …
Okay, okay… I get it. I think I actually get what you're trying to say. You can quit with the sodding check list..
Draco sat back into the pillows and closed his eyes, ready to take a nice long nap. However, 'Good Draco' seemed to want to carry on the conversation.
Now, about that dream…
What dream? Draco asked sleepily.
Oh, wake up… you've been asleep for the last six days.
I don't care… I'm surprisingly tired.
Anyways, that dream you just had. I think there's a reason that you had it.
As in, to keep my brain occupied so that it doesn't die of boredom?
Oh that would be tragic, it would. He put in sarcastically.
Shut up.
What I mean is, that I think it has some meaning to it. I think that you should go to Professor Trelawney and ask her to give you an interpretation, I remember her saying she could do it once…
No, there is no way I'm going to that old twit and telling her about the dream I just had. No way…
Yes, come on. We're going to her right now…
No, I will not.
Am I going to have to force you?
Yes you will. And I'll go kicking and screaming the whole way.
Oh, come one, do it yourself. It'll make things easier on the both of us…
No.
Yes.
No.
Yes.
No…
No.
Yes… no wait! I take that back!
Good Draco laughed. You can't take it back after you already said it. We're going.
Damn… fine, I'm going then.
~**~**~**~**~
Ginny plopped down in a chair by the fire. Several students were still occupying the common room. Ron and Harry were playing Exploding Snap and Hermione was at the table with them; a large book opened in front of her. Did Ron know about Hermione and Harry yet? Ginny had known for a while now that her brother had a thing for their bushy haired friend. How would he take it when he found out? Ron had always been the jealous type, he didn't like sharing things with people. Perhaps it was better that they hadn't told anyone about them yet. Thank God Draco hadn't told anyone either. It was somewhat of a miracle that he didn't though, Ginny was slightly relieved with whatever made him do it.
Draco.
Draco had just apologized. And it sounded as if he really meant it. As if he didn't like that he had hurt her. And aside from that, he had asked her to the ball. Which actually made her quite ticked off. He must've thought he could get any girl that he wanted. Well, she wasn't going to give in that easily. However, it would have been better if she had a date in the first place. Then she wouldn't have had the urge to go back to the hospital and tell Draco that she would go with him. She closed her eyes and rubbed her temples with her fingers slowly. She needed some alone time, and sitting in the common room was not a way to get it.
Then, there was the question of 'Why was there so many people in the common room? It was only 7:00 in the morning.' But, that might also be because of the ball, people were just to excited to sleep.
Ginny sighed and put her feet up on top of one of the tables next to her. Someone tapped her on the shoulder and she turned around quickly.
"Oh, it's only you Dean. You scared me…"
"Sorry, didn't mean to," he said, sitting down in the chair next to her.
"That's alright. Er… was there something you wanted to talk to me about?" she asked curiously. Dean bit his lip.
"Actually. I – I know this is really late and if you don't want to it's perfectly fine with me. It's just, I don't know if you already have a date and…"
"Dean, are you asking me to the ball?" Ginny asked softly, looking over at him. He looked into the fire and then back at her.
"Yes?"
Ginny smiled. "Alright, then. I'll go with you, you're much better than Malfoy…" Ginny added the last part as an afterthought, she hadn't actually meant to say it. It had just come out.
"Um… thanks?" he seemed slightly confused by what she had said, Ginny decided to bring it out further. Suddenly, Ron looked up from Harry and Hermione.
"Dean, I hope you didn't just ask my sister to the ball..." Ron said slowly. Dean looked at him apprehensively.
"No, no. Of course not, I wouldn't dream of it…"
"Good, because then you'd be in store for the worst arse kicking of your life…"
Dean smiled. "Okay, okay. I get it. Never ask your siblings out on a date, but does that include Bill too? Because last time I…"
"Oh, shut it…"
Dean turned back to Ginny and smiled weakly. "Let's not tell your brother, then…" he whispered.
~**~**~**~**~
Draco paused in front of the entrance to Professor Trelawney's room. His hand was half way in the air in a fist, inches from her door. He frowned.
Do I have to do this? He asked stubbornly.
Of course you do. Now, go. Or I'll force you; kicking and screaming the whole way.
Oh, alright.
Draco brought his hand in contact with the door and knocked loudly several times. He waited and after a few minutes the door opened a tiny crack. Professor Trelawney's large spectacles peered out at him.
"Yes, dear?"
"Um… can I ask you something?"
Trelawney smiled. "You just did."
"Oh, well… I…"
"You came here for a dream reading, did you not? Come in, I do do those, which is what you were going to ask…" she motioned him to follow her into the room. Draco quickly obeyed.
Did she just get it right?
I think so, maybe we were right in coming here in the first place.
"Now, if you please take a seat. I'd like this not to take too long as I have a meeting after this,"
Draco took a seat in a large bean bag chair. He looked up at her.
"Let's start right away. First, I'd like you to describe your dream to me in great detail. Everything that happened." Draco's mouth opened.
"Everything?" she nodded.
"Everything that happened, if you will."
Draco looked at her small fireplace. He didn't want to describe everything, he didn't want to describe anything.
Oh, here we go again. Just let me do the talking.
And, right after that, Draco found himself telling everything about the dream to the professor. Well, maybe Good Draco actually came in handy every once and a while. Trelawney listened closely, every once in a while nodding and muttering to herself. When Draco was finished she sat up
"Alright, let's start from the beginning, shall we? You're in a forest, it's peaceful and calm. That probably represents your life. After you notice 'Red' it become a bit more chaotic. That could mean something along the lines of your life having a strange twist as of the late…"
Draco nodded in agreement here. Almost falling for a Weasley was definitely a strange twist. She continued.
"Now, back to the 'Blues'. You're used to everything being handed to you; women, money, power… but it causes you great disturbances when someone rebels, hence the 'Red' girl. But, you don't take to running after those things challenging you unless there is a real reason. That's why you don't go after her at first and settle with what's easily acquired. Now, the food and all the girls starting to rot and all of a sudden lose their appeal signifies that although you get all that you could possibly want, you're not happy when you get it. It's not what you're looking for and makes you particularly disgusted. Red notices this and finds it humorous. Now, 'Red' can either stand for an object or a person. Do you know which of those it might be…? It'll help me in deciphering the rest of the dream."
"Virginia…" Draco said without any hesitation. Good Draco sighed.
You do realize that you just said that out loud, right?
Uh-oh…
'Uh-oh' is right you great prat…
A small wave of panic swept through him as a smile lit up Trelawney's bug-like eyes.
"You've got a thing for the young Weasley, eh? Well, that's quite alright," she put in, patting his hand lightly. "I don't reveal anything my visitors conceal in me… your secret never leaves this room." Draco stared at her.
What is this 'thing for Ginny' that everyone is talking about? He asked himself.
"Okay… onward. You go after Red but you can't catch her. This means that you find Virginia, whom is Red's real life counter part, particularly hard to get. She's a rebel and won't fall for what everyone else is. You have to work for her like her dream self says; you'll have to make great changes to get her. Apparently, she's not happy with who you are the moment."
Gee, I wonder why….
"Now from this point on, the dream is pertaining to the future. The waterfall stand for happiness, obviously you're happy when she lets you reach her. When she asks you to catch her and not to let her fall, that can mean two things. Either it's symbolic like, when you get her; don't let her go because it'll mean forever, or it could be in a more literal sense. She's warning you that you'll have to save her sometime in the near future. Maybe even something as simple as catching her from a large fall. Anyways, she then falls into the pit, and you're left with a baby. In dreams, a baby means several things. It could be that you're left with a large burden or that you'll get a very rewarding surprise. The boy being labeled as your 'property' and then being sucked down after Virginia means that you'll lose something very special to you. In the end, you hear Virginia's voice again and it's reminding you that you're very capable of losing her," the professor took a deep breath. "Oh yes, and the fact that you try to kiss her after she's pulling away means you have deep feelings for her. Well, that's about it. Anything else?"
Draco stared in mute horror. None of this could be right… and yet, it made perfect sense.
Trelawney seemed to read his mind. "The truth hurts, sweetheart. But, then again, sometimes it helps make us better people."
"C-can't we just pretend that the dream didn't actually mean anything and that my brain was just screwing with me?" he asked, pleadingly. She shook her head slowly.
"I'm sorry, but I don't misread dreams. Maybe palms, but never dreams."
"Oh… alright. Thank you, Professor," Draco said, standing up after the short meeting.
"Anytime dear."
As Draco neared the door he turned around one last time. "Remember, it never leaves this room…please," All Professor Trelawney did was smile.
Back outside Draco felt much better than he had in the class room. Mostly because the room had been so stuffy and the air was clear and breathable out here. He thought about her explanations of the dream. He was either going to be left with a large burden or a great surprise. He'd take the surprise over that any day.
Without looking where he was going, Draco ran into something solid. He was knocked backwards slightly. He shook his head and looked around to see what it was.
Speaking of surprises…
"Weasley…oh, um… I need to talk to you," he said slowly, deciding that this would be then best time to ask her again, when his brain was actually working. Ginny narrowed her eyes in his direction.
"I already have a date, Malfoy," she said quickly, not looking him directly in the eyes.
She already…she's…
"What?"
"I'm going to the ball with Dean," she rose her chin up defiantly and her voice was calm. Draco quickly regained himself.
"That… that's not what I wanted to see you for," he said a-matter-of-factly. "Why would I care if you're going with Thomas? It's none of my concern," his words were harsh and she backed up slightly.
"I just thought…"
"No, you didn't think." His voice was crackly and sounded tired. He grabbed her arm and dragged her in the direction of the library. "Now, I have something more important to discuss with you…"
~**~**~**~**~
The noise of the great hall was just too much for Draco. He pushed his food around his plate, annoyed. He wasn't very hungry at the moment. He glanced up and looked over to the Gryffindor table to where Ginny was sitting. She gave him a slightly knowing smirk and returned to her dinner. What if people found out it was them? Draco would probably end up with another months worth of detentions. And Ginny? Technically, she couldn't get in trouble since she didn't actually do anything. She just watched him set the Dungbombs up; "accidentally" not telling anyone. So, she hadn't been the criminal, just a witness. Draco hoped that excuse was good enough. He sighed. Nobody realized how much he had just saved them a few nights ago. And of course, he wasn't recognized as a hero. No one knew it was him. And if they did, he wouldn't be praised… just punished. No one had known exactly what was happening except that they all were desperate to get out of that packed great hall as fast as they could. Who would want their brand new dress robes to get ruined?
Not that it had mattered at all to Draco. He hadn't had a date. Ginny, on the other hand, was positively horrid about the fact that he had screwed up hers with Dean. Draco didn't know that Ginny had liked Dean in the first place.
I'm better for her… and she knows it. She's just scared of me. Not that I know why… I can't see why anyone would be scared of me…
Yeah… neither can I.
After a few minutes, the dinner started to disappear and was replaced by dessert. Draco looked up to see if there was anything good. Ice cream, brownies, fruit; apples, bananas, oranges, grapes…
"Strawberries! I love strawberries. Blaise, pass me the strawberries," he ordered sharply to the dark haired boy. All Blaise did was stare at him blankly.
"Er… what?"
Draco sighed. "I told you to pass me the strawberries you twit. Now do so kindly…"
Again, Blaise just stared at him. "I thought you hated strawberries,"
Draco rolled his eyes. "Who said that? I don't remember saying that. I think that I'd remember saying something as ridiculous as tha-"
"But you did say it. You were talking about it only the other day. You've always hated strawberries. Since when, all of a sudden, have you started liking them?"
Draco frowned. "I dunno… just recently I guess."
"Right…" Blaise shrugged and grabbed the bowl. "Here you go then."
"Thank you," Draco said courtly. He grabbed the strawberries and heaped them onto his plate; Blaise, the whole time, staring at him curiously.
Hmm… strawberries. Now where have I heard that before…
I don't know what you're talking about, Goody Tempest. Draco thought innocently.
Oh, is that my name now?
Well, if you want it so badly, then yes.
Draco continued with his strawberries. After a few minutes, he noticed that a tall shadow had darkened the table in front of him. He frowned and turned around slowly to see what it was. He came face to scary face with Professor Snape… and he didn't look happy. Draco gulped.
"Uh… sir, is there anything you want to talk to me about?" he asked timidly. Snape smirked. Blaise looked over at Draco inquiringly.
"What did you do this time?" Blaise whispered. Draco shot a side glance at him.
"Shh… I'm not sure yet."
Snape started. "Mr. Malfoy, if you'd please come with me. I'd like to talk to you about something. And I think you know what it is…"
Draco desperately looked around him. He glanced at Ginny again from across the room and noticed that she was watching them. She met his eyes and her expression told him that he was totally and utterly… busted. Draco gulped again.
"Alright sir. But I don't have a clue what you're talking about,"
"Nice try, I'm afraid I can't let you get by on this one. Was there anyone else involved in your little prank that you'd like to notify me about?"
Draco looked around slowly again. Back to Ginny. She looked at him and started shaking her head back and forth very slowly mouthing a large "No." with her lips. Harry glanced at her oddly, noticing her behavior. Draco just couldn't get her in trouble too. It would only make her angrier at him. He couldn't. If he wanted her to like him… he couldn't. And yet…
Draco grinned at her evilly. If he was going down, he was taking everyone with him. Starting with her. She had, unfortunately for her sake, turned him down… more than once. She had put herself in this position.
"Yes!" Draco said so loudly that some people's head's turned in his direction momentarily. "Weasley! Weasley was with me, too! She helped me plan it and place the bombs."
"Young Virginia, eh?" Snape smiled and Draco nodded furiously. "Alright then, let's see what she has to say…"
"You are such an evil bastard, Malfoy…" Ginny hissed through clenched teeth as they made their way down the hall. Draco smirked and continued to look at Professor Snape's back.
"I know… and the women in the fandom world adore me for it…" Ginny rolled her eyes. "Yeah, I bet they… wait a minute, what are you talking about? Fan…"
Yeah, what are you talking about?
"…dom? What is that?"
I actually have no clue what it is…
"Oh that… it's a secret. You're not allowed to know," he said mockingly. Ginny glared. "Secret my arse…"
Draco, I think you're a little more insane than we had originally thought…
In front of them, Snape gave a large sigh. "Will you two be quiet. You sound like a couple who's been married for a very long time…"
Draco glowered. Ginny pouted.
After a few minutes…
"That was the worst idea you've ever had in your life, Malfoy. And now you've gotten both of us in trouble… again. We're back where we started a month ago."
~**~**~**~**~
Four days ago while in the library…
~Draco flopped his feet up on top of the table and crossed his legs. He shot a side glance at Ginny who was looking around the library nervously.
"We don't have much time Weasel, what are we going to do? The dance starts at 6:00, you know," Draco put in hurriedly.
"I know… I just – I don't know what we should do. None to the teachers will believe us and we don't have time to go to Dumbledore."
Draco sighed dramatically. "Then what? There's got to be some way… we could stall her," he looked at Ginny to see if the idea passed with her. She shook her head, banishing the thought.
"That won't work, she'll know something's up…"
Draco sat up immediately and turned to Ginny. "I got it!"
She raised her eyebrows curiously. "What?"
"Dungbombs! Nine; one for each corner, four spread out in the middle and one by the entrance. It'll clear everyone out and I still get to wreak havoc!"
She stared at him bewildered. "Malfoy, that's so crazy it might just work…"~
~**~**~**~**~
"Yeah, I have to admit it was… but you couldn't come up with anything better."
"If you had given me a little more time I could've," she said. Draco looked at her with irritation.
"We didn't have time… that's the whole thing,"
They continued following Snape until the reached his office down in the dungeons. Somewhat reluctantly, the two of the followed him in. Snape sat down behind his desk and motioned toward two chairs in front of it. Draco sat down first and then Ginny plopped down next to him. There was a short minute of silence before…
"You two know that you're in a right bit of trouble here…" he shook his head slightly. "Setting off Dungbombs in the middle of the school dance… what were you thinking?"
Draco stammered. "I… well, you see… we...."
"…had too," Ginny finished for him. "We had no other choice,"
Professor Snape folded his hands as patiently as he could. "And why was that Miss Weasley?"
Ginny froze. She looked over at Draco. "We… didn't want to make a scene…?" Snape interrupted her.
"Didn't want to make a scene?! I think sending over 200 students running out of the great hall all caked in the lovely fumes of Dungbombs is certainly a scene, Weasley."
Ginny cringed while Draco gulped for about the tenth time that night.
"What's our punishment going to be Professor?" he asked. Snape sighed.
"Seeing as you still have one last detention to spend tonight, it seems a waste just to give you another. However, I am going to have to take points from your houses…" Snape swallowed heavily. "Both of your houses,"
"How many?" Draco asked weakly.
"A hundred."
Ginny gasped. "But Professor… I didn't… just asked Draco. He'll tell you the truth,"
Something ran through Snape's mind quickly before he answered her. He frowned. Did she just call him "Draco"…? However, he didn't comment on it.
"Miss Weasley, don't start with me… I don't want your justifications,"
"But Professor I…"
Draco glared at her,"….didn't have anything further to say. Isn't that aright, Ginny?"
And did he just call her "Ginny"??? What is the world coming to? Snape blinked. He didn't know what was going on… and he didn't want to. It would have just been safer not to ask. And yet…
"What did you call her?" he asked before he could stop himself. Virginia calling him Draco was bad enough but him calling her Ginny? How long had this been going on for… and why? Snape scratched his head. Maybe it hadn't been such a good idea to give them all those detentions. It must've done something to their brains. He'd have to talk to Minerva about further ways of punishment which wouldn't include out-house bonding. Draco seemed to have frozen.
"I…"
"…called me Weasel," Ginny finished. "It's a horrible nickname he seems taken to… for me and my brother."
"Then what did you call…"
Draco interrupted him. "Anyways, if you're finished with our punishment now, I'd like to ask you a question about our detention tonight. Exactly where is it? All the paper says was to report to you for further instructions at 6:00. Which is…" Draco looked down at his watch quickly. "Now. So, what is it, then?" Draco raised his eyebrows and looked at him.
"Oh… right. Your detentions," Professor Snape sighed. "Okay, Professor McGonagall and I were talking about doing something a little bit different with you two. For one, we've been running out of ideas. Do you know how hard it is to think of thirty different detentions? You'd think not… but… Anyways, you two are going to be somewhat like test subjects. We're trying something totally different and seeing if we can use it in the future as detention."
Ginny put her hands in her lap. "What is it Professor?"
"We're going to send you out into the Muggle world. Just for tonight. A couple of hours…."
Draco looked at him bewildered. "What? Me... in the Muggle world. Are you serious?"
Professor Snape nodded. "Very. We told the Muggles that ran the pound that it would be sort of like… community service is what they call it. You go there and they… tell you what to do and you help them. Now of course, I told them you're there to work not fool around so they'll be having you…"
"Pound?" the word was unfamiliar to him. "What in the world is a "pound"?"
"It's sort of like a place were Muggles put all their unwanted pets. And if an animal's been there for too long, or is dangerous, they'll be killed." Ginny gave a small whimper.
"Oh, no… how could they?" Draco waved it aside.
"That doesn't matter… they do it here, just more brutal. You do know what the Committee of the Disposal of Dangerous Creatures does right? Anyways, that's not the point, nobody cares about the animals…" Ginny frowned when he said this. "The main point is… you're sending me into the Muggle world. You just can't do that… you can't. It's impossible, I can't be around that many Muggles at once. You don't know what'll happen…"
"And what exactly will happen then, Mr. Malfoy?" Snape interjected. Draco sighed.
"All hell will break lose and the Muggles will be sent running and screaming; terrified of my powerful magical abilities. So basically, I'll snap, end up cursing one of them, and they'll be scared shitless," Draco explained all of this rather melodramatically. Snape raised his eyebrows.
"And besides," Draco continued. "There's the whole fact that you're leaving me alone with her… in the Muggle world," Draco couldn't emphasize "Muggle world" enough for his liking. Snape's eyebrows rose farther.
"I don't think that you have actually been regretting your time alone with…Ginny, Mr. Malfoy. If you get my meaning…"
Draco found that he didn't have anything witty to say back to Snape. He stared, careful not to look at the girl next to him who seemed to have frozen. "I don't get your meaning, Professor Snape. And I assure you, I never will." Draco stood up to leave the room. He pushed in his chair and turned around then…
"Where are you going? You've been here so long that it's time for you to go to your detention already…" Draco turned around slowly to look back at his Professor. Why couldn't Snape have just let him leave the room? Why did he have to humiliate him like this?
"How? How are we supposed to get there then?" Draco asked, throwing up his arms. "I hope that you don't suppose that we get there by Apparating. I haven't gotten my license yet and Gi…Weasley's still too young."
"Hey… I'm going to be sixteen next wed-"
"But you aren't yet…"
Wow, she was only fifteen then… was that too young? What was she doing hanging out with him… he was a bad influence on her.
He turned around to look at Snape accusingly. Snape raised his eyebrows yet again. "I've set up a port key, Malfoy. And I hope that you loose your attitude problem soon or you'll find yourself in more trouble than you are now. Disrespecting a teacher is against the rules, and you know that."
Draco crossed his arms and sighed; trying to control himself. "Alright…" he said slowly. "Shall we go now?" Snape nodded.
"If you wish," he reached into his desk and pulled out a small box. Ginny got out of her chair and leaned over his table, trying to get a glimpse of it. Draco glanced over at her before he took a look at the box. From where she was he could smell her body spray. He closed his eyes quickly. It was…
Now, dammit… she smells like strawberries too! What is with this woman?
Draco opened his eyes again and looked at Snape who had just taken the lid off the box. Inside was a…
"Pen… couldn't be a little more creative now, could we?" Snape ignored him.
"We'll all touch it. On three. One… two… three," and they all joined their fingers on the base of the pen.
The black swirling sensation stopped and Draco felt himself hit solid ground. Unfortunately, he didn't land on his feet. He was thrown sprawled out on his back on the concrete. Something heavy and soft landed on top of him.
"What the…?"
It smelt oddly like…
"Dammit Virginia, get off of me,"
The weight was suddenly removed. "Not like I asked to be put here, Tempest."
Hey, that's my name…
"Shut up Weasley, don't call me that. Because I can find worse names for you…" he said pointedly.
"Oh can you now?" she asked, putting her hands on her hips indignantly. He smirked. "Yes, I can and I will. Now help me up slave girl," he out stretched his hands towards her waiting to be helped. She looked at him.
"Excuse me?"
"I was only kidding… please…?" Draco wiggled his hands in front of her. She sighed and grabbed them, yanking him up (with some difficulty…) off the ground. Before she left him go though, Draco pulled her close to him and wrapped her arms around him. He face was inches from hers.
"Well, Virginia… I didn't know you cared," he raised his eyebrow tauntingly. "I wouldn't think that you'd be moved by my char…"
"Get off of me…" she said, pushing him off fiercely. "Remember what happened last time? Wouldn't want to hurt your precious nose again…"
"Oh, shut…"
Professor Snape's voice rang from in front of them. "Will you two quit it and get over here?"
Draco glared at Ginny. "…Right," he growled. He nodded and went over to Snape, Ginny followed.
"What is this place?" Draco asked curiously, squinting in the direction of the tattered looking building in front of them. He raised his hands over his face to get a good look at the sign.
"This is where you're going to be holding your detention tonight," Snape answered. Draco read the sign again.
Central Northtown Animal Pound and Rescue Shelter
"Northtown animal pound… but what are we…?"
Snape interrupted him quickly, glancing in the direction for the building. "Come on, follow me. We're already late,"
"What…? But…" Draco stuttered as Ginny dragged him into the shelter. She looked back at him.
"That was a real intelligent sentence, it was. What but… good one, Malfoy,"
"I…" Draco stopped. She had pulled him through the doors of the shelter and he just realized that he was inside. His voice had caught in his throat as he looked around him. It was… strange. Like something he'd never seen before. There were cages lined up along the walls and it might have smelled a bit like urine but still. It was…
Draco didn't even know what you would call something as fascinating as this place.
But of course, like you'd ever get him to admit that.
"This place smells like shit…" he said instead. Ginny glared at him.
"It does not, that's only because you…"
Ginny was suddenly cut off by a voice coming from behind one of the cages. Draco turned around to see where it had come from and Snape just stood there quietly.
"Ah, there you are! I've been waiting…"
A man in about twenty years old came out to greet them. He had a large smile plastered on his gentle face. He was fairly tall and had dark brown hair and eyes of the same color. Ginny's eyes widened as she saw him and she replied to him with an awkward smile. Draco narrowed his eyes and clenched his teeth. He already didn't like this man.
The man wiped his hands on his apron and extended one to Draco. Draco looked at it and his lip curled. There was no way he was touching that thing. Who knew where it had been.
The man seemed to fall back a bit. "Not the greeting type, are we?" he said. He turned to Ginny and grabbed her hand lightly.
"Hi there… my name's Damien," his brown eyes matched exactly with hers and he smiled. She seemed a little bit embarrassed as he set her hand back down; a pink tinge showed up in her cheeks.
Draco didn't find this amusing. His hands balled up and he scowled.
Get your hands off of her you filthy rat bastard…
Damien turned to Snape now. "I'm sorry my father isn't here. He came down with something just now and he couldn't make it. I'm here in his place,"
Damien smiled. Draco really didn't like this guy.
"Alright, I just hope you know what they're here to do…" Snape said slowly.
Damien grinned yet again. "Yep, cleaning out the cages… that's what my father said,"
"Alright," Snape turned to them. "I'll be back for you two at a quarter to ten," and without another word, Snape turned around and exited the building. The door clicked behind him and Draco watched as he carefully stepped into the shadow.
"Weird man, that guy… is he your teacher?" Damien asked curiously. Draco nodded slightly, not wanting to talk. He looked around again. There was a small front desk a few feet away and over to Draco's left there was a door that seemed to be leading into a lobby. On the desk there was as sign stating: "We're open 24 hours to give you the best service. Thank you for visiting."
Damien clapped his hands together. "Ok, so what do you guys really want to do?" he asked. Ginny's mouth opened in shock.
"But we're here to…" she was interrupted.
"Listen sweetheart, I know you two don't want to clean cages for the next couple of hours. And since my dad's not here, I'll let you off easy."
Ginny had blushed a deep shade of red when he mentioned to her as sweetheart. She looked up at him; her eyes twinkling. Draco's scowl deepened. If he wasn't careful, his face might get stuck that way.
But still… obviously there was something wrong with this guy. He was too nice. And Ginny was going to get hurt, going about getting all giddy. Draco needed to protect her. Make sure no creepy older guy laid his hands on her. Obviously, since Ginny was the trusting type, all you would have to do was get a good looking guy (who was nice… maybe that's why she didn't like him yet…) and she'd be all over him.
And of course, Draco was known to get very jealous at times.
So, he devised a plan. You can't go hitting on girls if they've got boyfriends now could you? Ginny didn't have a boyfriend, but Draco could easily make it look that way.
He moved closer to her and, as casual as anything, slipped his arm around her shoulders. He wrapped his other arm around her too. It was a bit unsettling how she suddenly had grown very frozen when he did so. Didn't she… like it?
"Yeah… what do you want to do, Gin?" he asked as softly as he could. She tensed up. Draco's stomach dropped as he realized that she really didn't like what he was doing. It almost…
…hurt his feelings.
No… Draco didn't have feelings. He wasn't supposed to, was he?
But, if that was so… then what was this odd thing that had just struck him right in his gut? As if someone had punched him. Really hard, maybe as hard as she had just a month ago.
He had never felt it before.
And here he was, with this girl he had always hated, always looked down upon. And now he was getting jealous just because some guy smiled at her? Lots of people smile at each other, what was different about this?
Maybe it was her reaction. How she blushed furiously when he grabbed her hand. Ginny had never blushed for him. The only time she turned red was when she was angry. That was different. Why couldn't he make her blush like that guy had just by giving her a warm smile?
Because Draco couldn't give people warm smiles. He wasn't used to it. He may have been acting differently through the past month (with a lot of help from Goody Tempest) but smiling?
And here he was… with a Weasley in his arms. What was he feeling right now? If Draco had feelings… what would that be right now?
Content?
Was he capable of feeling content?
Was he capable of feeling it for a Weasley?
The word rang in his head.
Weasley… Weasley.
Malfoy's hated Weasley's, didn't they?
But…
…he was standing here with Ginny Weasley wrapped in his arms; for the sole reason that he had jumped to conclusions and suddenly felt that he wasn't going to let this guy have her.
Damien probably had no intention of that in the first place. Maybe he was just being nice…
No, Draco didn't want to take that chance. Not now… not ever.
No one would get Ginny. Not before he had his say…
"M-malfoy, what…what are you doing?" she choked out her words and turned around to face him. Their noses were so close that if he moved the slightest inch he could have kissed her.
He was fighting back the urge to do just that.
Yes… he very badly wanted to kiss her right now. He didn't care if he did right in front of this guy. Nothing would get in the way. Not here… not now.
Other than the fact that she still hated him...
Draco gulped.
"Oh hell…"
That's when he finally realized the whole truth…
Goody Tempest had been trying to tell him all along. Heck, even Trelawney was hinting at it…
Now Draco could see it. And it settled on him with the weight of a particularly large elephant…
No, there had to be a way to prove it. Some sort of test. To make sure that his life wasn't completely over yet.
He frowned and ran a hand through her hair; pulling her closer to him.
If his body gave a reaction, just some sort of anything… then, well, he wouldn't know what to do. But it would be bad.
But if it didn't, if he could just stand here unaffected by her, then everything would be okay.
Everything would be fine.
Everything would…
"Malfoy… what are you doing? Get off…"
His stomach lurched and a knotting sensation pulled at his chest…
Damn.
…here he was, falling for the girl that seemed totally wrong for him…
Ok. Yay, I finally got it out. In the next chapter I'm doing something different. A lot of it's going to be from Ron's point of view. Won't that be nice? Well, let's hope. I think that it's coming along nicely.
Special thanks to my brand new beta, Angela. Now hopefully, I won't make as many mistakes as I used to. Let's all give her a round of applause. ::claps::
::claps::
::claps::
::clap…::
Ok, my hands are starting to hurt now.
Cya in the next chapter!