Hello! I'm soooooo sorry it's taken me this long to update. Apparently,
professors don't believe writing a fanfiction is a valid excuse for turning
in work late (?????).
So, I wanted to thank everyone for his or her support and for waiting so
patiently.
So thanks, I hope you enjoy and I will be getting out the next chapter
quicker than the last one.(I hope!).
Who's Advantage Is It, Anyway?
Draco looked across the table at Ginny drinking her butterbeer.
'Maybe she does have the advantage' thought Draco as he watched her small throat work, swallowing her drink. 'After all, how many girls could look so good just taking a drink.. Damn! Focus! Just focus! If you can't concentrate now, what's going to happen later in the game.Well, I know what I want to happen, what will is another question.'
Draco shuffled the deck, then shuffled it again, allowing himself time to think. He didn't want to admit it, but Ginny looked good. Gone was the little girl that ran after Potter. In her place stood a beautiful girl, slender and possessing an innate grace that a queen would kill to have. Although Ron would kill if he heard it, any boy at Hogwarts would have to agree that, at least for Ginny, slender and athletic didn't equal "formless". Instead, she had curves in just the right locations that not even the hand-me-down robes could conceal.
Draco mentally shook himself. There was no need to go down that road. He needed to concentrate, not get lost in a fantasy about the redheaded female that sat mere feet away from him.
Ginny noticed that Draco seemed lost in thought. Rather than interrupt him, she took the opportunity to assess her own situation. She had to admit; he was a bit unnerving to be around. She tried to tell herself that it was because he was a bastard, but, truthfully, he wasn't that bad. Since his father had been captured and his mother killed, he had mellowed quite a bit. He still harassed and tormented, but it wasn't with the same malice as before. He had already inherited millions of galleons - he had nothing left to prove. It was almost as if..
Ginny sat up a little straight. 'Oh-my-goodness! Is he flirting with me ?!?!?' Suddenly this poker game didn't seem just an attempt to annoy her. If he was actually attracted to her.
She dismissed the thought. 'He wouldn't be flirting with me, of all people.' It was, after all Dra-.uh, Malfoy, one of the better-looking guys of the school. 'Well,' thought Ginny. 'If I'm completely honest with myself, he's the sexiest man alive.wait.. am I attracted to him?!?!?'
Ginny suddenly had a bad feeling about the rest of the evening.
Looking down at the table, she realized Draco had already dealt. Hurriedly, she grabbed her cards, trying not to appear flustered. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to escape her opponent's attention.
"Warm Virginia? Feel free to take off something."
Ginny cursed the Weasley genes that gave her the telltale blush.
Ginny tilted her head up, so that she was able to look down her nose at Draco, not an easy feat at her height of 5'5". In her most superior tone, she stated, "I fully intend to walk out of here the same way I came in. Fully dressed. Now, are you ready to continue, I want three cards."
Draco's gray eyes went flinty for a second as he dealt her three cards. He got himself under control as he helped himself to two. He couldn't let her get to him. He needed to stay fully in control. Draco called on the resolve that had earned him the nickname of the ice prince of Slytherin, and then temporarily wondered if it was possible. The main reason she liked Ginny was her ability to get underneath his skin. The rest of the girls of Hogwarts fit into two categories - they ran after him because of his money, or they just ran. Ginny was in a league by herself.Ginny was.was.
Waiting for him to bet!
Cursing himself again, he quickly scanned for his smirk.it wasn't very hard to find.
"Well, Vir-gin-ia, how do you want to do this? I can't exactly bet one sock for another.you already have mine? So what do you think is fair? And don't try and be clever - this isn't the time or the place for it."
'What's fair? Not forcing me to play this game - that's what's fair.' Instead she found herself saying, "My socks and shoes for your robe."
Draco looked at Ginny for a long moment, making her think that he was going to reject her proposal, before giving a slight nod.
"Since you seem to be willing to bargain, we'll continue this way - I'll raise you a piece of your clothing and we'll haggle as to what is a fair exchange."
Ginny's eyebrows went up a notch at the word 'fair', but she kept quiet.
Looking at her cards, she noticed she had a 2,7,6,3 and jack - four of them being spades. 'Not much of anything; might as well go for the flush.'
Draco looked at his cards, and saw three sets of numbers and suits. His own in the upper right hand corner showed a pair of 9's, a queen, a ten and a three. In the lower left hand corner was the tiny shifting print that mirrored Ginny's hand - a 2,7,6,3 of spades and a jack of hearts. In the middle, the inky print that indicated the next five cards in the deck.
'Hmmmmm.. I don't want Vir-, uh, Weasley to get too comfortable with the idea that she is the best card player.well, that's easily remedied.'
This spell had taken a while to set up, but it would be worth it. The single wand tap and a few muttered words in Latin had the spell keyed to him for the rest of the night. The number of taps with his right hand, made discreetly in the middle of the card changed that card that was to be dealt. His left had controlled the suit. Paired with the thoughtful look in his eyes, Vir-, uh, Weasley would just attribute it to a nervous habit.
"One please."
'She'll never know what hit her!' he thought with a smirk as he tapped the card with his left hand, giving her the spade she needed for a flush. Offering her a card, he pretended to think about his cards for a moment, continually tapping them with a finger, allowing himself only a marginally better hand, nothing too unbelievable.
Who's Advantage Is It, Anyway?
Draco looked across the table at Ginny drinking her butterbeer.
'Maybe she does have the advantage' thought Draco as he watched her small throat work, swallowing her drink. 'After all, how many girls could look so good just taking a drink.. Damn! Focus! Just focus! If you can't concentrate now, what's going to happen later in the game.Well, I know what I want to happen, what will is another question.'
Draco shuffled the deck, then shuffled it again, allowing himself time to think. He didn't want to admit it, but Ginny looked good. Gone was the little girl that ran after Potter. In her place stood a beautiful girl, slender and possessing an innate grace that a queen would kill to have. Although Ron would kill if he heard it, any boy at Hogwarts would have to agree that, at least for Ginny, slender and athletic didn't equal "formless". Instead, she had curves in just the right locations that not even the hand-me-down robes could conceal.
Draco mentally shook himself. There was no need to go down that road. He needed to concentrate, not get lost in a fantasy about the redheaded female that sat mere feet away from him.
Ginny noticed that Draco seemed lost in thought. Rather than interrupt him, she took the opportunity to assess her own situation. She had to admit; he was a bit unnerving to be around. She tried to tell herself that it was because he was a bastard, but, truthfully, he wasn't that bad. Since his father had been captured and his mother killed, he had mellowed quite a bit. He still harassed and tormented, but it wasn't with the same malice as before. He had already inherited millions of galleons - he had nothing left to prove. It was almost as if..
Ginny sat up a little straight. 'Oh-my-goodness! Is he flirting with me ?!?!?' Suddenly this poker game didn't seem just an attempt to annoy her. If he was actually attracted to her.
She dismissed the thought. 'He wouldn't be flirting with me, of all people.' It was, after all Dra-.uh, Malfoy, one of the better-looking guys of the school. 'Well,' thought Ginny. 'If I'm completely honest with myself, he's the sexiest man alive.wait.. am I attracted to him?!?!?'
Ginny suddenly had a bad feeling about the rest of the evening.
Looking down at the table, she realized Draco had already dealt. Hurriedly, she grabbed her cards, trying not to appear flustered. Unfortunately, nothing seemed to escape her opponent's attention.
"Warm Virginia? Feel free to take off something."
Ginny cursed the Weasley genes that gave her the telltale blush.
Ginny tilted her head up, so that she was able to look down her nose at Draco, not an easy feat at her height of 5'5". In her most superior tone, she stated, "I fully intend to walk out of here the same way I came in. Fully dressed. Now, are you ready to continue, I want three cards."
Draco's gray eyes went flinty for a second as he dealt her three cards. He got himself under control as he helped himself to two. He couldn't let her get to him. He needed to stay fully in control. Draco called on the resolve that had earned him the nickname of the ice prince of Slytherin, and then temporarily wondered if it was possible. The main reason she liked Ginny was her ability to get underneath his skin. The rest of the girls of Hogwarts fit into two categories - they ran after him because of his money, or they just ran. Ginny was in a league by herself.Ginny was.was.
Waiting for him to bet!
Cursing himself again, he quickly scanned for his smirk.it wasn't very hard to find.
"Well, Vir-gin-ia, how do you want to do this? I can't exactly bet one sock for another.you already have mine? So what do you think is fair? And don't try and be clever - this isn't the time or the place for it."
'What's fair? Not forcing me to play this game - that's what's fair.' Instead she found herself saying, "My socks and shoes for your robe."
Draco looked at Ginny for a long moment, making her think that he was going to reject her proposal, before giving a slight nod.
"Since you seem to be willing to bargain, we'll continue this way - I'll raise you a piece of your clothing and we'll haggle as to what is a fair exchange."
Ginny's eyebrows went up a notch at the word 'fair', but she kept quiet.
Looking at her cards, she noticed she had a 2,7,6,3 and jack - four of them being spades. 'Not much of anything; might as well go for the flush.'
Draco looked at his cards, and saw three sets of numbers and suits. His own in the upper right hand corner showed a pair of 9's, a queen, a ten and a three. In the lower left hand corner was the tiny shifting print that mirrored Ginny's hand - a 2,7,6,3 of spades and a jack of hearts. In the middle, the inky print that indicated the next five cards in the deck.
'Hmmmmm.. I don't want Vir-, uh, Weasley to get too comfortable with the idea that she is the best card player.well, that's easily remedied.'
This spell had taken a while to set up, but it would be worth it. The single wand tap and a few muttered words in Latin had the spell keyed to him for the rest of the night. The number of taps with his right hand, made discreetly in the middle of the card changed that card that was to be dealt. His left had controlled the suit. Paired with the thoughtful look in his eyes, Vir-, uh, Weasley would just attribute it to a nervous habit.
"One please."
'She'll never know what hit her!' he thought with a smirk as he tapped the card with his left hand, giving her the spade she needed for a flush. Offering her a card, he pretended to think about his cards for a moment, continually tapping them with a finger, allowing himself only a marginally better hand, nothing too unbelievable.