A/N: I hope you enjoy this chapter! Its pretty long, because I was really enjoying writing it…I haven't read Order of the Pheonix yet (I really hope my book arrives soon!) so this is pre-OotP. Enjoy!
DESIRE Chapter Two: Two Girls, One Spell, Too Much Information
Her head was spinning and she was so tempted to just give in to him…she was certain this was exactly how she would feel if someone placed her under the Imperious curse. She could feel his heart beating against her body and could feel the rapid beats of her own heart. He was so close she felt like she could almost taste his thoughts. He was so delicious but the look in his eyes was of disgusting superiority and a small voice in the back of her head kept telling her that she didn't like him, she didn't want to be possessed…
But, oh God, she did.
She unconsciously shifted her neck to one side and let out a surprised gasp when his mouth crashed down on her and began assaulting and caressing her neck. But she knew this was wrong and she didn't want to end up like the other girls, labeled sluts, ridiculed, called easy and entirely disrespected.
He had insulted her family for as long as she could remember, his father had kept her father from countless promotions, and he had been harassing her for months. She would not humiliate herself like this.
One of his hands caressed the small of her back and pushed her more firmly into him. She placed a hand feebly on his chest to push him away and he removed his mouth from her body for a moment to look down on her with a triumphant smirk.
Which was where he went entirely wrong.
Her knee connected with his groin faster than you could say 'Imperio!', he doubled over and she slipped away, running and refusing to look back, only slowing to a walk the moment she entered the Great Hall, beat red and certain she was about to die from a heart attack. The moment she entered the hall her stomach turned to lead. She had forgotten it was a Hogsmeade day; the chances were high that Draco and her were the only two students over third year left in the school.
***
He sat on the ground gritting his teeth in pain and fury. He didn't know when the tables had turned; he was certain he'd had her. He told himself it would only be a matter of time; he'd heard her gasp and she had trouble resisting him, at first, anyways. He'd been thinking about going easy on her, but she'd changed that for herself.
A grim, determined smile settled on his face as he pushed himself up. She wouldn't be able to escape him. At every turn, he'd be there. She'd see him while she ate, she'd see him on her way to bed, he'd walk next to her or past her in between every class. He wouldn't say a word, but at each meeting he'd somehow brush past her, or place something in her book bag, or take something away.
But best of all, he'd be there in her dreams.
He chuckled to himself. Poor, poor Ginny Weasley. There was no escaping him now.
***
She had her nightgown and towel draped over one arm, her toothbrush and toothpaste in one hand and her wand steadily held in front of her in the other. He seemed to be everywhere, haunting every hallway she traveled down, and she wished she could just stay in her room and hide under her covers, but it would never do—that would be clearly admitting defeat. With determination she walked down the hallway, prefects badge out, to the prefect's bathroom. She had to bathe at some point, and he wasn't going to stop her.
She began to let her guard down; she was almost there, and she'd seen no sign of him. A slightly triumphant little grin flitted across her face as she whispered the password and slipped into the bathroom.
***
It was very risky, what he was doing. But he had to be close enough, she had to be entirely relaxed for the spell to work. If he was caught, he could easily be expelled. Imagine, Draco Malfoy, notorious bad boy, found 'spying' on sweet little Ginny Weasley while she took a bath. He'd never hear the end of it.
He perched lithely on one of the toilet seats, placed a door-jamming spell on the bathroom door, and rehearsed the spell he was about to perform in his head. He'd known it for ages, but he'd never tried it on anyone before. He heard the door open and close as someone entered the bathroom, and he had no way of knowing if it was her. He heard someone's feet padding their way towards him; then they were trying to open the door to his stall, but they quickly gave up and went to the stall next to his. He still didn't know if it was her or not, but he knew it was a girl because he could see their delicate feet, their pale pink toenails.
Then she started humming something to herself, and he knew it was Ginny. He heard clothing rustling and was shocked to find himself in a state of delicious anticipation, like a kid on Christmas Eve. He wanted to peep over the bathroom stall and mentally reprimanded himself for being so sick. He was here to place a spell on her, nothing more. As much as he disliked her, he held some level of respect for her, and didn't really like the idea of being a peeping tom.
She continued to hum as she opened the stall door, and soon he heard water running. He imagined she had a pale pink towel wrapped around her, because her clothes were still pooled at the bottom of the stall next to him. Then her humming stopped and he could make out the faint noise of teeth brushing, barely audible over the running water.
Soon she'd turned the water off, and he heard her slide into the tub. He'd wait a few minutes for her to relax, and then he'd be in business. His moral side—which was a significantly smaller part of himself—hoped she was taking a bubble bath; the rest of him still felt giddy with a little kid's anticipation.
He thanked the gods for making him lithe and flexible, as he reached forward and took his invisibility cloak off from the hook on the stall door. He wrapped it around himself, then quietly whispered a spell at himself to make his voice barely audible. It would be alright if she thought something was slightly amiss; it just couldn't go beyond that. Then he undid his door-jamming spell, and slowly brought himself to a standing position on the toilet. He was covered head-to-toe with his cloak, and he stood there a moment, invisible, watching her. She was taking a bubble bath, and he watched as she ducked under the water and came up, pushing her short red hair out of her face, and wiping the bubbles away from her eyes. The she settled against the edge of the tub, leaning her head back on its edge, closed her eyes, and let out a long, low sigh.
He knew this was his chance. He muttered his spell, and closely watched her. She gasped and her eyelids fluttered. She seemed to shake away whatever thought was running through her head, and reached for her shampoo. He knew his job was done, and he should just crouch back on the toilet and wait until she was gone, but he couldn't move. He watched as she massaged the shampoo into her red locks, rinsed her hands off and blew a few soap bubbles, and then nearly jumped in fright as he heard the bathroom door open. He quickly crouched down and listened.
"Oh, hey, Ginny!" He heard Ginny twist around in the water.
"Hi, Hermione. How was Hogsmeade today?"
Draco felt his heart begin to race. Put Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley in a room together and two things were bound to happen: a) Ginny would talk to her about him, and b) he would almost certainly be caught, with two of the smartest witches in the school right under his nose. He replaced the door-jamming spell, and prayed for his life.
"Oh, Hogsmeade was great! Did you like the nightgown I picked out for you? I thought you deserved something a little more…" she broke down into giggles "feminine than Ron's old Chudley Cannons pajamas! Especially after all that weight you've lost. Have you noticed the way Seamus has been looking at you?"
"Hermione! You know Seamus better than that! We've been friends for ages. He's seen me do all sorts of gross things. It'd take a miracle for Seamus to even consider me attractive. But I do love the nightgown. I brought it down with me tonight. How much do I owe you?"
"Ginny. Consider it an early birthday present. Only three days to go, right?"
Draco made a mental note. Her birthday was on Tuesday.
"Yeah. Three days and I'll be sixteen!"
He heard the faucet water running and Hermione brushing her teeth. "Ooh…phwee daysh to shweet" he heard her spit out her toothpaste "sixteen!"
He'd never known Hermione was such a…girl.
And then his heart dropped. Ginny let out a hesitant "Yeah." He could practically hear the wheels in her head turning. "Yeah, well, I know it sounds funny, and I know I'm probably the only girl out there, but I really hope I don't get kissed on my sixteenth."
He heard Hermione's breath suck in, and she said, "Is Malfoy still bothering you?" He heard water splashing and Ginny's feet padding back over to the stall next to his.
"He's not that bad, just being a prat is all. It's just that he's everywhere. The worst of it is I don't know if he's always been there and I'm just noticing him out of my paranoia, or if it's a new thing. And…Hermione, he-he tried to…" Ginny took a breath and paused. He noticed he was holding his own breath. "He tried to kiss me or something today while everyone was at Hogsmeade and I—I've never felt so…" He heard her foot stomp and Hermione's feet shuffle.
"Was he good?"
A low laugh escaped Ginny's mouth. "He would've been amazing, my dream everything, if he wasn't so fucking full of himself."
"Well, what'd you do to him?"
"I kneed him in the groin as hard as I could, and I ran."
Hermione let out a loud, whooping laugh. "God, I would've loved to have seen that! But, Ginny, if I know Malfoy at all, I'd be surprised if you haven't had your first kiss before your sixteenth. He's going to be hopping mad, and he probably won't leave you with much say in the matter, if you know what I mean. D'you remember what happened to Lavender?"
Draco wanted to walk out and explain the Lavender situation right there, once and for all. He had not forced himself on her. He hadn't even come on to her. It had been quite the other way around.
"I…oh, I dunno. But Hermione, promise me, PROMISE you won't tell Harry or Ron about any of this, alright? The last thing I need is to be stalked by three boys. I think I can handle the one just fine."
Hermione let out a sigh. "I promise." she said numbly.
"Great! Well, g'night, 'Mione! See you in the morning." He heard Ginny leave.
He stood up, cloak around him, and watched as Hermione walked to one of the bathroom stalls around the corner to change. He removed his spell on the door, and slipped out of the girl's prefects bathroom as quietly as a mouse, with a little more information than he had bargained on getting.
***
The moment she stepped out of the bathroom paranoia set in. What if he was out here? Why was he following her? Ginny, you're just being stupid. He's probably in bed just like every other student. Quit being paranoid. She'd just finished convincing herself that she was fine, when her eyes grew as wide as saucers and she wanted to let out a scream.
He was right ahead of her, leaning casually against the wall, as if it was totally normal to wait outside the prefect's bathroom at 11 at night. She felt all the color drain from her face, but she kept walking. She would not turn around and run. As she got closer she saw his eyes running over her body and soon her whole body was blushing. Damn the new nightgown. It was dark green cotton, relatively low cut with a little bit of dark green lace at the bodice. It hit right above her knees and Ginny had thought it was sweet and had loved it; however, she was suddenly very uncomfortable in it. She kept walking, and he just kept staring. Then she was walking past him, and she was certain he would try to grab her so she tightened her grip on her wand. But he didn't. Instead, he whispered,
"Good night, Ginny, and sweet dreams." His voice was dark and enigmatic and froze her to the spot. She watched as a small, knowing smile spread across his face, before he turned and walked the opposite way, leaving her alone in the hallway, staring at the spot where he'd just been, heart beating madly. Then she snapped out of it and turned and ran as fast as she could.