Through the Cracks: Part 6
Chapter 6: Wintergreen with Envy
A/N: Thought I should add that the rest of the chapters will have info and spoilers from OotP, so if you don't want to know, I suggest you wait to continue reading. Though I'm quite overjoyed because my story fits with the actual plot. And sorry this took so long to get out, I got a bit carried away, and then I had to re-read and then we moved our office and I had to go to the doctor, and then it was my birthday, school, etc. blah. But here it is. Finally:
Disclaimer: They're not mine. :sniff: though perhaps I can make a clone of Draco.. and name him .er. Draco2. how original.
*** "I always thought you were the most beautiful girl in the world."
She closed her eyes tighter, feeling his warmth for her. He smelled of cigarettes and summer rain. She could've stayed there forever, frozen in time, but then her roommate's Awakening Spell sent electric blue sparks off with a loud bang, depriving her of that extra moment of rest. ***
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not understand." - Blaise Pascal
Draco was on top of his covers, willing himself to sleep, only to find that even though he was tired, his mind kept racing. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He concentrated on the backs of his eyelids and the patterns of light that danced on them. He thought of his mother's necklace again. He was almost livid that Ginny Weasley was constantly in his thoughts. He was also furious of how she held captive the last memories of his mother. She couldn't even fathom how much the locket meant to Draco. He reopened his eyes, giving up any further attempts to rest. His vision edged slowly over the long jagged scars running up his arms.
The lightest of them was merely a scratch from that hippogriff three years back.
'That great dumb oaf and his stupid bird. thing. whatever,' he thought.
However, there were marks: deeper and still quite fresh. Draco's eyes now burned darkly as he quickly turned to his other side, trying to push the thoughts away. ---
"Damn."
After the rude awakening spell had prevented her from returning to her dream, Ginny thought it best to get up. After all, she very well wasn't about to spend the whole day brushing her hair like everyone else in her year. Ginny thought it was a bit of overkill. Languidly drifting up from her bed she pulled on some soft gray frayed pants and one of Ron's quidditch practice shirts. Owing to Ron's latest injury, sustained in Gryffindor's last win against Ravenclaw, he wouldn't need them for a while.
She swept the unruly mass of curls into a knot at the base of her neck and throwing her robes on over her clothes, she bounded down the stairs. By the time Ginny had reached the last step she spotted several lumpy figures conformed into the cushions of the large squashy armchairs. She could guess who they were. With a smirk she delightedly poked the nearest sleeping lump identifiable by his shock of red hair.
"Oy! Er.. Whozit?!" Ron had several black streaks of ink smeared on his face as well as a spare quill floating aimlessly in his hair. As he lifted his head up, Ginny read a few lines imprinted on his freckled skin that said something about her brother sustaining massive head trauma from being cornered by a couple of flobberworm gangs in Knockturn Alley next Thursday. He had temporarily lost his sight in his left eye due to elbow-to-retina contact during Quidditch, so this flobberworm trouble was no big deal.
'Head trauma? How's could you tell?' she thought. Then aloud she replied, "Just me. You do realize that in a few moments the entire house will know of this flobberworm mugging and we'll have to restrain Hermione from destroying Fuzzy."
Ron looked confused and slightly sick. " 'S jus Divi...Divi." He yawned. "Divination. Whoz Fuzzzzer?"
Ginny fought back a laugh. "Fuzzy is Hagrid's last flobberworm. From what I heard, the rest of them ended up as Grawp's last meal. But enough about Fuzzy, er, I'm going to just go get some breakfast. You might want to..." She paused, taking Ron's current state into consideration. "Well, you could take a shower. Yes. Or Something." She eyed the perched quill and stepped out of the portrait hole, not bothering to catch Ron slumping back over into the massive pillows.
--- Rolling over onto his back, Draco groaned. He could already hear Pansy shrieking in the next room. Sometimes he wondered why he even struggled trying to remain in her good graces.
'Honestly Father, it's just not worth it. Family pride and codes of conduct. I scoff in their general direction. Scoff, scoff. Scoff. Nice leather trousers, yes, but Pansy, no. I scoff once more.'
Through the wall, the sound of her voice was magnified by the acoustics of the room and Draco heard his name pop in a few times. He squeezed his eyes shut, burying his head in the pillow.
'No, No. It's too early.' He didn't care what time it was or even if Hogwarts was currently under siege of the Dark Lord, he was going back to sleep. 'Maybe if the Dark Lord did rain down fire and brimstone they would shut up and I would be able to get a moment's peace around here.'
It seemed to Draco that he had previously drifted off to sleep just when Pansy decided to commence her usual yowling and screeching. He hadn't even blinked once during the night and definitely wasn't feeling his best. He knew what would happen if he closed his eyes. He sat up, rubbing his shoulders. The dungeons were deathly cold in the winter though it usually didn't bother him. He reached across his bed to snatch one of his robes from the hook. He shrugged it on and slowly walked towards a painting of some old Headmaster.
'Phineas something or other,' thought Draco only half-reading the plaque below the frame. 'Funny old bloke. Right cracked in the head if you ask me. I wonder why he's so outstanding. I'm sure I could run around the school like an overgrown bat with hair pomade if I felt the urge to. I always wondered why Snape was so liberal with the Sleekeazy.' With a grin, he glanced back up at the canvas. It was blank. 'Off for a morning rendezvous with the Fat Lady I'm sure. Well, at least someone around here's getting laid.'
He couldn't hear the low roar of the Common Room anymore and decided that they would've all gone to breakfast by now. 'Fuck 'em. Don't they know you have to have at least 6 hours of sleep in order to look obscenely gorgeous?' Draco's vanity was only outdone by his blank expressions. He worked on both quite a bit. Contrary to his usual conceit, at that particular moment, even Draco couldn't manage to hold his own gaze in the mirror. He was feeling quite ill; his vision was blurring and all of the ivory marble was blinding him. He felt for the wall to hold him steady. He could feel the heat rising in his chest, burning his lungs. He lurched towards the floor, retching violently. Draco could taste the copper of his blood as it colored his lips. He sat up, leaning against the wall and closed his eyes.
---
As she paused in the corridor, Ginny's laughter hardened and she bit her lip. She sighed and started to make a path towards the Great Hall. If the sight of hundreds of students all eating breakfast was sickening, the smell of the delicious foods was enough to make up for it. 'I wonder if Hermione knows she'd be giving all of the food up if she set all of the house elves free.' Ginny sat down next to Dean, making polite conversation and then absorbing herself with the fascinating pattern of the napkins. No matter how hard she tried, there was always the uncomfortable silence between them. Of course, there was nothing wrong with Dean. He was a perfectly nice guy. He was also surprised to find that Ginny was one of the only people he had not explained football to. He had shown her pictures of the West Ham team everyday. Everyday. She took a sip of some hot tea and lifted her gaze as three bodies clunked down around her.
It looked as if Hermione had kindly gotten rid of Ron's facial divination though his face now appeared to be a similar shade to his hair. Hermione, herself, was well groomed as usual, although her bushy hair was crunched against her head on one side. Harry's arm brushed against her sleeve as he slumped onto the bench. He smiled his half-crooked grin as he flattened his hair. Ginny turned back to her almost empty mug.
"Morning Gin," Hermione yawned over her juice. Ron was already fast asleep with his elbow in his porridge. His eye patch was flipped up on one side and somehow had an oblong smudge of strawberry jam on it. Breakfast continued as normal without interruption. Ginny couldn't help but notice the absence of a certain Slytherin with a penetrating stare.
Even through the afternoon Ginny noted the lack of tension that she usually associated with Draco Malfoy. She was outside, deeply immersed in thought, when a ball of cold wet slush cut through her thoughts like a knife.
"C'mon Gin, a seeker's got to have better reflexes than that!" Harry yelled across the pitch, at which Ginny scooped up a handful of snow and fired it back at him. "Dodge this one Harry!"
What seemed like centuries later, the four of them trudged wearily back to Gryffindor Tower. Ginny was quite soggy as she plopped down on the rug by the fire. The heat melted the miniscule icicles that had formed on the ends of her curls. The heat washed over her face, the warmth slowly seeping through her damp clothes. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, which read a quarter till five.
The portrait hole opened and several twittering figures rushed past Ginny as she sat motionless by the fire. Hermione had already gone up to her dorm to dry her hair and look over something in Hogwarts, A History. The two boys had gone to their room as well, which left Ginny alone trying to kill time. Her hair was becoming a springy ball of frizz as she stood up to finally assume her turn in shower rotation. After standing in line for what seemed like forever and silently enduring Lavender and Parvati's monotonous conversation (which, what a surprise, happened to be everyone's date for the ball and whether to wear pink or coral nail polish) she was able to take her shower and quickly retreat back to her room leaving a trail of water droplets behind her. She didn't have long if she was to meet Harry in the Common Room at ten till six.
She kneeled by her trunk, undoing the latch. Her dress was neatly folded on top of her unruly pile of school robes. She pulled it out and laid it across her bed, smoothing the wrinkles in the soft velvet. After a moment of quiet observation, she donned the gown and stepped into a pair of black heels. She pointed her wand at her hair and muttered a drying spell; an instant later, her hair fell around her face in sumptuous waves. She toyed with it a bit but with another quick glimpse at the clock, she thought better of it.
"Ten minutes, ten minutes. Oh gods." Ginny prattled on as her stomach did nervous flip-flops. She carefully walked over to her small dresser and applied a few cosmetic charms that lightly lined her eyes and lashes, as well as coloring her lips and cheekbones. As a finishing touch, she slipped the silver locket over her head and took a deep breath as she stepped out onto the landing. ----
Draco had rested there on the floor for a few moments and then listlessly said a cleaning charm. His insides were torn up and set aflame simultaneously. He stepped into the shower, trying to get rid of the ominous feeling that seemed to cling to him. He thought it would have been best to just forget about breakfast as he turned off the water and trudged back to his room. Draco sat on the window ledge and observed the fresh blanket of snow that encompassed the grounds. He combed his fingers through his wet hair and noticed some other students initiating a high-impact snowball fight and vaguely wished he could be down there as well. He turned his back to the window and retrieved a small jar from the robes he had worn the previous day.
While the rest of his year was out holiday shopping and downing butterbeer, Draco had set out with purpose. He had to retrieve a healing salve from one of his father's "clients". The fact that he had to involve a friend of his father's purely disgusted him, but he needed the liniment.
Now he sat on his bed, the covers lay discarded on the stone floor. Draco tossed the jar in his hand. He had risked so much for this tiny little bottle that he had begun to question his sanity. He had nearly been caught returning from Knockturn Alley by Professor Snape and he was almost positive that his father would have gotten the news by now- news that his son was desperate for a healing balm to try and close the wounds all over his body, wounds that Lucius himself had inflicted.
Draco opened the lid and spread the cold gel over his arms and across a few of his ribs. He shivered as he sprawled out on his bare mattress, deciding to rest up a bit before trying to resume being obscenely gorgeous. It was tough work, or so Draco liked to think. He picked up a stray blanket and drew the curtains around his bed, blocking out the light. Draco drifted out of consciousness easily this time with no distractions to deter his effort.
He had a strange dream, though it was more of an intense feeling than an actual dream. It was so cold and held a sad air. Each breath he took was heavy in his lungs and he felt as though he had lost something dear to him. A cloaked figure was running around him and then it faded into a deep midnight blue. He suddenly felt almost uncomfortably warm and saw a brief flash of two breathtaking green eyes and then he woke up with a start.
For a moment Draco was surprised to find he was awake so soon. His dream wasn't unpleasant, far from it. He rubbed his eyes and sat still for half a moment and then he groaned. He lifted up his lone blanket and cursed.
"For fuck's sake. Not now! I'll have to take another goddamn shower, I'll be shriveled up by the ball tonight." He paused. "And that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" He grudgingly rolled off of his bed and returned to the shower. After ten minutes, Draco was sure he'd never been this clean in his life. He put on a pair of black leather trousers and caught sight of the time. 5:40 pm.
"Damn, I didn't realize how long I was asleep. I could've gotten a nice shag in or done something productive. Well, at least I won't have to sit around here and find something to do. Maybe with these trousers I can get some satisfaction tonight. Mick Jagger, eat your heart out." He searched through his trunk and retrieved a fashionably wrinkled black dress shirt. After he put his shirt and shoes on, he ran his hands through his hair and stood in front of a mirror. Draco perfected his newfound tousled grace and reluctantly set out to find Pansy.
---
Ginny relaxed as much as she could on the windowsill of the Common Room. The sun was setting, casting an amber sheen over her skin. She heard the soft clicking of a door and then the rustling of robes. The footsteps stopped behind her and she turned around. She blushed scarlet as she fully took in the look on Harry's face.
He must have not noticed that he was staring. Ginny smiled and gently reached up and closed his mouth.
"Wow, Gin, you look." He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. "You look great." It was only then that he dared look her in the eye.
"Thanks Harry." She gently swished her dress from side to side. "So, are you ready to go?" He nodded and held out his arm. She lightly intertwined her arm with his and the pair set out to the Ball.
---
Draco had sidled up towards Pansy as she waited anxiously with her heaving bosom. She had curled her raven hair in wide heavy curls and seemed not to notice how offsetting it was when combined with her shocking pink gown. It resembled an ensemble she had once seen advertised in Witch Weekly depicting Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie. What she had failed to detect was the preceding article on this season's most outrageous and semi-tacky muggle fashions.
Draco raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Pansy grabbed his arm and nearly jerked it out of its socket.
"Oh Draco, dahling," she cooed. "Must we wait any longer? I can't wait to spend the entire night. Alone, with you."
Draco didn't dare mention how it was quite impossible to be "alone" together. And even if he did want to be alone with someone, it probably wasn't about to be her.
"Alright. Let's go then." He stared straight ahead as she clung to his arm in desperation and the two of them made their way up the stairs to the Great Hall. ---
The teachers had outdone themselves with their decorations, which graced every square inch of the Great Hall. A light snowfall was drifting lazily from the ceiling, as well as tiny fairies that flitted among the crowd. There were huge pine trees laced with dew and gave off the smell of spice tea and cider. Tiny indestructible bubbles spouted from the punch bowl and mistletoe was strategically placed every few inches. Ginny couldn't have imagined a lovelier place in the world. She and Harry had arrived after spending the entire walk in silence. Her blush was quite persistent and Harry never seemed to be able to string more than two words together thus far. They approached a group of familiar faces and Harry started to lighten up a bit. What Ginny didn't quite realize was that by now the usual wave of attention that clung to Harry was now focused upon her. Many of the students were wondering who Potter's beautiful escort was, after all now only a handful of them actually knew about the whole incident with the Chamber of Secrets. She swept back a stray wisp of hair and smiled at Ron, Hermione, and the others. She shuddered as a cold chill fluttered down her back. ---
Draco and Pansy entered the Hall with less bravado than The Boy Who Lived and his date, but still not without significant recognition. Most girls in the school, even those who despised Draco as a person, swooned as he swaggered past them. Every one of them noticed how the leather trousers were slung low on his hips and the black linen shirt rode up every few seconds, revealing a pale hint of midriff. Not to mention his sultry silver eyes and perfect lips; the list goes on. Draco was a sex idol amongst his year and had never for a second even doubted his status.
He walked over to his crowd, with Pansy trotting along in tow. He wasn't really keen on being "alone together" with her at all, so he decided to bring in the distraction of others. Blaise and Malcolm were occupying the same seat and it seemed that Malcolm was enjoying the benefits that came with being employed as a chair. Crabbe and Goyle had, per usual, shown up stag. And although Crabbe kept stealing a few glances at Millicent, not much was to become of this ill matched couple for as it turned out, she had the hots for Professor Grubbly-Plank. Draco's plan worked marvelously and Pansy was enthralled in some aspect of conversation soon after their arrival.
Draco leaned absentmindedly against the wall. He arched his back, stretching his arms to reveal a great portion his flawless abdomen, sending a fair number of fourth years of all houses into hysterics. He was already quite bored and with lidded eyes began to survey the crowds of people.
'Let's see now. Aw, only 15 fainted down at the Ravenclaw end. I might have to unbutton the shirt a bit to work on that.' He hummed to himself. 'And the Hufflepuffs seem identical tonight, so I'd suppose that it's not worth my time. I've got the rest of the Slytherins covered, annnnnnnnd now let's see about those Muggle loving idiots in Gryffindor.' Draco cast his gaze over near the punch bowl where Harry Potter was loitering with his jolly crew. His eyes flickered over the form of Ginny Weasley, immediately scanning her neckline for signs of the locket. And there it was, shining amid the shadowed folds of her dress. Then, Draco was transfixed upon her smiling face, laughing with Potter and her brother. He studied the curvature of her body, how the dark fabric seemed to envelope her. He suddenly felt a warm sensation in the southern part of his body and he twitched almost inconspicuously. Almost.
"Draco! Yooo-hoooo! Darling, you must have dozed off for a moment there," Pansy was fawning over him, displaying more than needed as she pressed herself to him.
Draco shook his head and faked a cough. "Ah, yeah. Sorry. Well. Say, who wants some punch? I'm going to go get some punch. Back in a minute." He finished this sentence without room for argument; all the while keeping his eyes on Ginny. He made his way towards the punch bowl, avoiding the glowing bubbles and dance invitations from a few handsome Ravenclaw boys. He picked up a glass and dipped himself some punch. After a moment, he noticed it was spiked. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it and sipped away casually while assuming a cat-like pose against a pillar. ---
"Yeah, Gin, couldn't you have gone with the tarp? I mean, you look nice and all, but isn't it a bit," Ron paused as Hermione nudged him in the ribs. "Er.never mind the dress is lovely." Ginny smiled. She had been running out of things to say, especially since Ron and Hermione were desperate to sneak off for an illicit Yule snog but had politely decided to remain until midnight. She hated to make them waste their night. Lord knows they needed the snog. She spoke up after a few minutes. "You know, I'm getting kind of thirsty. Does anyone else want anything while I'm over there?" They all shook their heads. Seamus shot Ginny a wry grin and winked as she turned to leave. She smoothed the waistline of her gown as she approached the bubbling punch bowl. She was reaching for a cup when she heard a familiar drawl somewhere near her right shoulder.
"So your finest jewelry is some old piece of tin? What a disgrace, Weasley." Draco nonchalantly blocked her path with his trademark sneer. Internally, his stomach was in knots and he prayed that she couldn't read his thoughts. "You'd never guess your family was of pure blood by the way you lot dress."
Ginny raised her head slightly and met his gaze with a cold glare of her own. It chilled Draco. He had never seen Ginny look this way before. In all truth, he found it quite sexy, but this wasn't the best time for that. "What do you want, Malfoy." It wasn't a question and judging by the way she spat out his name she was planning on cursing him with a horrid case of boils in a mere matter of seconds. But Draco wasn't thinking of curses or boils, in fact, he was observing how when she was upset, Ginny Weasley pursed her lips much like her mother, only she had a soft full lower lip that sent an entirely different, yet pleasing sensation through Draco's entire body.
He cleared his throat. "I.uh." It wasn't like Malfoy's to stutter, let alone lose their complete control of a situation. He cleared his throat once more. "I thought it best for you to know that it seems your date has found another more favorable companion." He nodded towards Harry who was now speaking quite animatedly with Cho Chang.
Ginny shot him another look of pure venom. Draco wondered if even the slightest bit of Tom Riddle rubbed off on her three years back. "Glad to know that you're still able to see, Malfoy. I would've thought all your excessive wanking would've made you blind by now." She left him standing there, his mouth forming words without sound.
Draco was quite stunned by Ginny's use of obscenity and intellect. He seemed almost happy that at least someone had a fair amount of wit on their side, almost enough to rival his own. 'And she doesn't even know what these hands can do when properly motivated,' he thought to himself. ---
Ginny's face was flushed as she brushed past Malfoy. 'Ugh. What nerve! That insipid bastard!' She was still partially hidden behind a large Christmas tree nearing Harry, and then she heard a part of the conversation that made her stop dead in her tracks.
Cho was laughing lightly at something stupid and Harry, with his back to Ginny, didn't notice her presence, though Ginny was positive that Cho knew she was there. "So," Cho batted her eyes in a mock-innocent manner. "I hear that you're dating Ron Weasley's little sister now?" A small grin played across her lips.
Harry was mussing with his hair once more. "Oh, No, No. Not at all. Really. I'm taking her as a favor for Ron. She's more of a little sister to me as well, so there couldn't be any. well no; we're not like that.. Er... How's Rodger?"
At these words Ginny stepped out from behind the tree, eyes brimming with tears. Ron and Hermione now detected her presence and Hermione bit her lip as the situation dawned on her. Ron looked nearly furious and he gave Harry a meaningful look, nodding towards the tree. Cho had been about to answer him when Harry caught sight of his friend's face. He whipped around to face Ginny and once he noticed the look on her fragile face, he tried profusely to apologize.
"Ginny! Look. I. I..Wait!" Harry never finished the sentence. Ginny had turned, rushing past Draco once more towards the open doors that led to the enchanted garden.
A/N: the Mick Jagger reference-Draco wouldn't exactly know who Mick is, but I suppose Mick could be a wizard with the power to slow down the aging process or create Blistex. Haha. And please review J I've nearly got the next chapter halfway through, so criticism is widely appreciated as well.
A/N: Thought I should add that the rest of the chapters will have info and spoilers from OotP, so if you don't want to know, I suggest you wait to continue reading. Though I'm quite overjoyed because my story fits with the actual plot. And sorry this took so long to get out, I got a bit carried away, and then I had to re-read and then we moved our office and I had to go to the doctor, and then it was my birthday, school, etc. blah. But here it is. Finally:
Disclaimer: They're not mine. :sniff: though perhaps I can make a clone of Draco.. and name him .er. Draco2. how original.
*** "I always thought you were the most beautiful girl in the world."
She closed her eyes tighter, feeling his warmth for her. He smelled of cigarettes and summer rain. She could've stayed there forever, frozen in time, but then her roommate's Awakening Spell sent electric blue sparks off with a loud bang, depriving her of that extra moment of rest. ***
"The heart has its reasons which reason does not understand." - Blaise Pascal
Draco was on top of his covers, willing himself to sleep, only to find that even though he was tired, his mind kept racing. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath. He concentrated on the backs of his eyelids and the patterns of light that danced on them. He thought of his mother's necklace again. He was almost livid that Ginny Weasley was constantly in his thoughts. He was also furious of how she held captive the last memories of his mother. She couldn't even fathom how much the locket meant to Draco. He reopened his eyes, giving up any further attempts to rest. His vision edged slowly over the long jagged scars running up his arms.
The lightest of them was merely a scratch from that hippogriff three years back.
'That great dumb oaf and his stupid bird. thing. whatever,' he thought.
However, there were marks: deeper and still quite fresh. Draco's eyes now burned darkly as he quickly turned to his other side, trying to push the thoughts away. ---
"Damn."
After the rude awakening spell had prevented her from returning to her dream, Ginny thought it best to get up. After all, she very well wasn't about to spend the whole day brushing her hair like everyone else in her year. Ginny thought it was a bit of overkill. Languidly drifting up from her bed she pulled on some soft gray frayed pants and one of Ron's quidditch practice shirts. Owing to Ron's latest injury, sustained in Gryffindor's last win against Ravenclaw, he wouldn't need them for a while.
She swept the unruly mass of curls into a knot at the base of her neck and throwing her robes on over her clothes, she bounded down the stairs. By the time Ginny had reached the last step she spotted several lumpy figures conformed into the cushions of the large squashy armchairs. She could guess who they were. With a smirk she delightedly poked the nearest sleeping lump identifiable by his shock of red hair.
"Oy! Er.. Whozit?!" Ron had several black streaks of ink smeared on his face as well as a spare quill floating aimlessly in his hair. As he lifted his head up, Ginny read a few lines imprinted on his freckled skin that said something about her brother sustaining massive head trauma from being cornered by a couple of flobberworm gangs in Knockturn Alley next Thursday. He had temporarily lost his sight in his left eye due to elbow-to-retina contact during Quidditch, so this flobberworm trouble was no big deal.
'Head trauma? How's could you tell?' she thought. Then aloud she replied, "Just me. You do realize that in a few moments the entire house will know of this flobberworm mugging and we'll have to restrain Hermione from destroying Fuzzy."
Ron looked confused and slightly sick. " 'S jus Divi...Divi." He yawned. "Divination. Whoz Fuzzzzer?"
Ginny fought back a laugh. "Fuzzy is Hagrid's last flobberworm. From what I heard, the rest of them ended up as Grawp's last meal. But enough about Fuzzy, er, I'm going to just go get some breakfast. You might want to..." She paused, taking Ron's current state into consideration. "Well, you could take a shower. Yes. Or Something." She eyed the perched quill and stepped out of the portrait hole, not bothering to catch Ron slumping back over into the massive pillows.
--- Rolling over onto his back, Draco groaned. He could already hear Pansy shrieking in the next room. Sometimes he wondered why he even struggled trying to remain in her good graces.
'Honestly Father, it's just not worth it. Family pride and codes of conduct. I scoff in their general direction. Scoff, scoff. Scoff. Nice leather trousers, yes, but Pansy, no. I scoff once more.'
Through the wall, the sound of her voice was magnified by the acoustics of the room and Draco heard his name pop in a few times. He squeezed his eyes shut, burying his head in the pillow.
'No, No. It's too early.' He didn't care what time it was or even if Hogwarts was currently under siege of the Dark Lord, he was going back to sleep. 'Maybe if the Dark Lord did rain down fire and brimstone they would shut up and I would be able to get a moment's peace around here.'
It seemed to Draco that he had previously drifted off to sleep just when Pansy decided to commence her usual yowling and screeching. He hadn't even blinked once during the night and definitely wasn't feeling his best. He knew what would happen if he closed his eyes. He sat up, rubbing his shoulders. The dungeons were deathly cold in the winter though it usually didn't bother him. He reached across his bed to snatch one of his robes from the hook. He shrugged it on and slowly walked towards a painting of some old Headmaster.
'Phineas something or other,' thought Draco only half-reading the plaque below the frame. 'Funny old bloke. Right cracked in the head if you ask me. I wonder why he's so outstanding. I'm sure I could run around the school like an overgrown bat with hair pomade if I felt the urge to. I always wondered why Snape was so liberal with the Sleekeazy.' With a grin, he glanced back up at the canvas. It was blank. 'Off for a morning rendezvous with the Fat Lady I'm sure. Well, at least someone around here's getting laid.'
He couldn't hear the low roar of the Common Room anymore and decided that they would've all gone to breakfast by now. 'Fuck 'em. Don't they know you have to have at least 6 hours of sleep in order to look obscenely gorgeous?' Draco's vanity was only outdone by his blank expressions. He worked on both quite a bit. Contrary to his usual conceit, at that particular moment, even Draco couldn't manage to hold his own gaze in the mirror. He was feeling quite ill; his vision was blurring and all of the ivory marble was blinding him. He felt for the wall to hold him steady. He could feel the heat rising in his chest, burning his lungs. He lurched towards the floor, retching violently. Draco could taste the copper of his blood as it colored his lips. He sat up, leaning against the wall and closed his eyes.
---
As she paused in the corridor, Ginny's laughter hardened and she bit her lip. She sighed and started to make a path towards the Great Hall. If the sight of hundreds of students all eating breakfast was sickening, the smell of the delicious foods was enough to make up for it. 'I wonder if Hermione knows she'd be giving all of the food up if she set all of the house elves free.' Ginny sat down next to Dean, making polite conversation and then absorbing herself with the fascinating pattern of the napkins. No matter how hard she tried, there was always the uncomfortable silence between them. Of course, there was nothing wrong with Dean. He was a perfectly nice guy. He was also surprised to find that Ginny was one of the only people he had not explained football to. He had shown her pictures of the West Ham team everyday. Everyday. She took a sip of some hot tea and lifted her gaze as three bodies clunked down around her.
It looked as if Hermione had kindly gotten rid of Ron's facial divination though his face now appeared to be a similar shade to his hair. Hermione, herself, was well groomed as usual, although her bushy hair was crunched against her head on one side. Harry's arm brushed against her sleeve as he slumped onto the bench. He smiled his half-crooked grin as he flattened his hair. Ginny turned back to her almost empty mug.
"Morning Gin," Hermione yawned over her juice. Ron was already fast asleep with his elbow in his porridge. His eye patch was flipped up on one side and somehow had an oblong smudge of strawberry jam on it. Breakfast continued as normal without interruption. Ginny couldn't help but notice the absence of a certain Slytherin with a penetrating stare.
Even through the afternoon Ginny noted the lack of tension that she usually associated with Draco Malfoy. She was outside, deeply immersed in thought, when a ball of cold wet slush cut through her thoughts like a knife.
"C'mon Gin, a seeker's got to have better reflexes than that!" Harry yelled across the pitch, at which Ginny scooped up a handful of snow and fired it back at him. "Dodge this one Harry!"
What seemed like centuries later, the four of them trudged wearily back to Gryffindor Tower. Ginny was quite soggy as she plopped down on the rug by the fire. The heat melted the miniscule icicles that had formed on the ends of her curls. The heat washed over her face, the warmth slowly seeping through her damp clothes. She glanced at the grandfather clock in the corner of the room, which read a quarter till five.
The portrait hole opened and several twittering figures rushed past Ginny as she sat motionless by the fire. Hermione had already gone up to her dorm to dry her hair and look over something in Hogwarts, A History. The two boys had gone to their room as well, which left Ginny alone trying to kill time. Her hair was becoming a springy ball of frizz as she stood up to finally assume her turn in shower rotation. After standing in line for what seemed like forever and silently enduring Lavender and Parvati's monotonous conversation (which, what a surprise, happened to be everyone's date for the ball and whether to wear pink or coral nail polish) she was able to take her shower and quickly retreat back to her room leaving a trail of water droplets behind her. She didn't have long if she was to meet Harry in the Common Room at ten till six.
She kneeled by her trunk, undoing the latch. Her dress was neatly folded on top of her unruly pile of school robes. She pulled it out and laid it across her bed, smoothing the wrinkles in the soft velvet. After a moment of quiet observation, she donned the gown and stepped into a pair of black heels. She pointed her wand at her hair and muttered a drying spell; an instant later, her hair fell around her face in sumptuous waves. She toyed with it a bit but with another quick glimpse at the clock, she thought better of it.
"Ten minutes, ten minutes. Oh gods." Ginny prattled on as her stomach did nervous flip-flops. She carefully walked over to her small dresser and applied a few cosmetic charms that lightly lined her eyes and lashes, as well as coloring her lips and cheekbones. As a finishing touch, she slipped the silver locket over her head and took a deep breath as she stepped out onto the landing. ----
Draco had rested there on the floor for a few moments and then listlessly said a cleaning charm. His insides were torn up and set aflame simultaneously. He stepped into the shower, trying to get rid of the ominous feeling that seemed to cling to him. He thought it would have been best to just forget about breakfast as he turned off the water and trudged back to his room. Draco sat on the window ledge and observed the fresh blanket of snow that encompassed the grounds. He combed his fingers through his wet hair and noticed some other students initiating a high-impact snowball fight and vaguely wished he could be down there as well. He turned his back to the window and retrieved a small jar from the robes he had worn the previous day.
While the rest of his year was out holiday shopping and downing butterbeer, Draco had set out with purpose. He had to retrieve a healing salve from one of his father's "clients". The fact that he had to involve a friend of his father's purely disgusted him, but he needed the liniment.
Now he sat on his bed, the covers lay discarded on the stone floor. Draco tossed the jar in his hand. He had risked so much for this tiny little bottle that he had begun to question his sanity. He had nearly been caught returning from Knockturn Alley by Professor Snape and he was almost positive that his father would have gotten the news by now- news that his son was desperate for a healing balm to try and close the wounds all over his body, wounds that Lucius himself had inflicted.
Draco opened the lid and spread the cold gel over his arms and across a few of his ribs. He shivered as he sprawled out on his bare mattress, deciding to rest up a bit before trying to resume being obscenely gorgeous. It was tough work, or so Draco liked to think. He picked up a stray blanket and drew the curtains around his bed, blocking out the light. Draco drifted out of consciousness easily this time with no distractions to deter his effort.
He had a strange dream, though it was more of an intense feeling than an actual dream. It was so cold and held a sad air. Each breath he took was heavy in his lungs and he felt as though he had lost something dear to him. A cloaked figure was running around him and then it faded into a deep midnight blue. He suddenly felt almost uncomfortably warm and saw a brief flash of two breathtaking green eyes and then he woke up with a start.
For a moment Draco was surprised to find he was awake so soon. His dream wasn't unpleasant, far from it. He rubbed his eyes and sat still for half a moment and then he groaned. He lifted up his lone blanket and cursed.
"For fuck's sake. Not now! I'll have to take another goddamn shower, I'll be shriveled up by the ball tonight." He paused. "And that wouldn't be any fun, would it?" He grudgingly rolled off of his bed and returned to the shower. After ten minutes, Draco was sure he'd never been this clean in his life. He put on a pair of black leather trousers and caught sight of the time. 5:40 pm.
"Damn, I didn't realize how long I was asleep. I could've gotten a nice shag in or done something productive. Well, at least I won't have to sit around here and find something to do. Maybe with these trousers I can get some satisfaction tonight. Mick Jagger, eat your heart out." He searched through his trunk and retrieved a fashionably wrinkled black dress shirt. After he put his shirt and shoes on, he ran his hands through his hair and stood in front of a mirror. Draco perfected his newfound tousled grace and reluctantly set out to find Pansy.
---
Ginny relaxed as much as she could on the windowsill of the Common Room. The sun was setting, casting an amber sheen over her skin. She heard the soft clicking of a door and then the rustling of robes. The footsteps stopped behind her and she turned around. She blushed scarlet as she fully took in the look on Harry's face.
He must have not noticed that he was staring. Ginny smiled and gently reached up and closed his mouth.
"Wow, Gin, you look." He rubbed the back of his neck in a nervous fashion. "You look great." It was only then that he dared look her in the eye.
"Thanks Harry." She gently swished her dress from side to side. "So, are you ready to go?" He nodded and held out his arm. She lightly intertwined her arm with his and the pair set out to the Ball.
---
Draco had sidled up towards Pansy as she waited anxiously with her heaving bosom. She had curled her raven hair in wide heavy curls and seemed not to notice how offsetting it was when combined with her shocking pink gown. It resembled an ensemble she had once seen advertised in Witch Weekly depicting Barbara Eden of I Dream of Jeannie. What she had failed to detect was the preceding article on this season's most outrageous and semi-tacky muggle fashions.
Draco raised an eyebrow and was about to speak when Pansy grabbed his arm and nearly jerked it out of its socket.
"Oh Draco, dahling," she cooed. "Must we wait any longer? I can't wait to spend the entire night. Alone, with you."
Draco didn't dare mention how it was quite impossible to be "alone" together. And even if he did want to be alone with someone, it probably wasn't about to be her.
"Alright. Let's go then." He stared straight ahead as she clung to his arm in desperation and the two of them made their way up the stairs to the Great Hall. ---
The teachers had outdone themselves with their decorations, which graced every square inch of the Great Hall. A light snowfall was drifting lazily from the ceiling, as well as tiny fairies that flitted among the crowd. There were huge pine trees laced with dew and gave off the smell of spice tea and cider. Tiny indestructible bubbles spouted from the punch bowl and mistletoe was strategically placed every few inches. Ginny couldn't have imagined a lovelier place in the world. She and Harry had arrived after spending the entire walk in silence. Her blush was quite persistent and Harry never seemed to be able to string more than two words together thus far. They approached a group of familiar faces and Harry started to lighten up a bit. What Ginny didn't quite realize was that by now the usual wave of attention that clung to Harry was now focused upon her. Many of the students were wondering who Potter's beautiful escort was, after all now only a handful of them actually knew about the whole incident with the Chamber of Secrets. She swept back a stray wisp of hair and smiled at Ron, Hermione, and the others. She shuddered as a cold chill fluttered down her back. ---
Draco and Pansy entered the Hall with less bravado than The Boy Who Lived and his date, but still not without significant recognition. Most girls in the school, even those who despised Draco as a person, swooned as he swaggered past them. Every one of them noticed how the leather trousers were slung low on his hips and the black linen shirt rode up every few seconds, revealing a pale hint of midriff. Not to mention his sultry silver eyes and perfect lips; the list goes on. Draco was a sex idol amongst his year and had never for a second even doubted his status.
He walked over to his crowd, with Pansy trotting along in tow. He wasn't really keen on being "alone together" with her at all, so he decided to bring in the distraction of others. Blaise and Malcolm were occupying the same seat and it seemed that Malcolm was enjoying the benefits that came with being employed as a chair. Crabbe and Goyle had, per usual, shown up stag. And although Crabbe kept stealing a few glances at Millicent, not much was to become of this ill matched couple for as it turned out, she had the hots for Professor Grubbly-Plank. Draco's plan worked marvelously and Pansy was enthralled in some aspect of conversation soon after their arrival.
Draco leaned absentmindedly against the wall. He arched his back, stretching his arms to reveal a great portion his flawless abdomen, sending a fair number of fourth years of all houses into hysterics. He was already quite bored and with lidded eyes began to survey the crowds of people.
'Let's see now. Aw, only 15 fainted down at the Ravenclaw end. I might have to unbutton the shirt a bit to work on that.' He hummed to himself. 'And the Hufflepuffs seem identical tonight, so I'd suppose that it's not worth my time. I've got the rest of the Slytherins covered, annnnnnnnd now let's see about those Muggle loving idiots in Gryffindor.' Draco cast his gaze over near the punch bowl where Harry Potter was loitering with his jolly crew. His eyes flickered over the form of Ginny Weasley, immediately scanning her neckline for signs of the locket. And there it was, shining amid the shadowed folds of her dress. Then, Draco was transfixed upon her smiling face, laughing with Potter and her brother. He studied the curvature of her body, how the dark fabric seemed to envelope her. He suddenly felt a warm sensation in the southern part of his body and he twitched almost inconspicuously. Almost.
"Draco! Yooo-hoooo! Darling, you must have dozed off for a moment there," Pansy was fawning over him, displaying more than needed as she pressed herself to him.
Draco shook his head and faked a cough. "Ah, yeah. Sorry. Well. Say, who wants some punch? I'm going to go get some punch. Back in a minute." He finished this sentence without room for argument; all the while keeping his eyes on Ginny. He made his way towards the punch bowl, avoiding the glowing bubbles and dance invitations from a few handsome Ravenclaw boys. He picked up a glass and dipped himself some punch. After a moment, he noticed it was spiked. Nevertheless, he enjoyed it and sipped away casually while assuming a cat-like pose against a pillar. ---
"Yeah, Gin, couldn't you have gone with the tarp? I mean, you look nice and all, but isn't it a bit," Ron paused as Hermione nudged him in the ribs. "Er.never mind the dress is lovely." Ginny smiled. She had been running out of things to say, especially since Ron and Hermione were desperate to sneak off for an illicit Yule snog but had politely decided to remain until midnight. She hated to make them waste their night. Lord knows they needed the snog. She spoke up after a few minutes. "You know, I'm getting kind of thirsty. Does anyone else want anything while I'm over there?" They all shook their heads. Seamus shot Ginny a wry grin and winked as she turned to leave. She smoothed the waistline of her gown as she approached the bubbling punch bowl. She was reaching for a cup when she heard a familiar drawl somewhere near her right shoulder.
"So your finest jewelry is some old piece of tin? What a disgrace, Weasley." Draco nonchalantly blocked her path with his trademark sneer. Internally, his stomach was in knots and he prayed that she couldn't read his thoughts. "You'd never guess your family was of pure blood by the way you lot dress."
Ginny raised her head slightly and met his gaze with a cold glare of her own. It chilled Draco. He had never seen Ginny look this way before. In all truth, he found it quite sexy, but this wasn't the best time for that. "What do you want, Malfoy." It wasn't a question and judging by the way she spat out his name she was planning on cursing him with a horrid case of boils in a mere matter of seconds. But Draco wasn't thinking of curses or boils, in fact, he was observing how when she was upset, Ginny Weasley pursed her lips much like her mother, only she had a soft full lower lip that sent an entirely different, yet pleasing sensation through Draco's entire body.
He cleared his throat. "I.uh." It wasn't like Malfoy's to stutter, let alone lose their complete control of a situation. He cleared his throat once more. "I thought it best for you to know that it seems your date has found another more favorable companion." He nodded towards Harry who was now speaking quite animatedly with Cho Chang.
Ginny shot him another look of pure venom. Draco wondered if even the slightest bit of Tom Riddle rubbed off on her three years back. "Glad to know that you're still able to see, Malfoy. I would've thought all your excessive wanking would've made you blind by now." She left him standing there, his mouth forming words without sound.
Draco was quite stunned by Ginny's use of obscenity and intellect. He seemed almost happy that at least someone had a fair amount of wit on their side, almost enough to rival his own. 'And she doesn't even know what these hands can do when properly motivated,' he thought to himself. ---
Ginny's face was flushed as she brushed past Malfoy. 'Ugh. What nerve! That insipid bastard!' She was still partially hidden behind a large Christmas tree nearing Harry, and then she heard a part of the conversation that made her stop dead in her tracks.
Cho was laughing lightly at something stupid and Harry, with his back to Ginny, didn't notice her presence, though Ginny was positive that Cho knew she was there. "So," Cho batted her eyes in a mock-innocent manner. "I hear that you're dating Ron Weasley's little sister now?" A small grin played across her lips.
Harry was mussing with his hair once more. "Oh, No, No. Not at all. Really. I'm taking her as a favor for Ron. She's more of a little sister to me as well, so there couldn't be any. well no; we're not like that.. Er... How's Rodger?"
At these words Ginny stepped out from behind the tree, eyes brimming with tears. Ron and Hermione now detected her presence and Hermione bit her lip as the situation dawned on her. Ron looked nearly furious and he gave Harry a meaningful look, nodding towards the tree. Cho had been about to answer him when Harry caught sight of his friend's face. He whipped around to face Ginny and once he noticed the look on her fragile face, he tried profusely to apologize.
"Ginny! Look. I. I..Wait!" Harry never finished the sentence. Ginny had turned, rushing past Draco once more towards the open doors that led to the enchanted garden.
A/N: the Mick Jagger reference-Draco wouldn't exactly know who Mick is, but I suppose Mick could be a wizard with the power to slow down the aging process or create Blistex. Haha. And please review J I've nearly got the next chapter halfway through, so criticism is widely appreciated as well.