Disclaimer: not mine, not mine. Btw the song in here is Jessica Simpson's "I Wanna Love You Forever" which is also, consequently, not mine.
Chapter 15. Dance With Me
Adrienne recoiled.
She and Ginny watched with bated breath as the pile of pillows and black robes wriggled, a blond head finally emerging from underneath the fabrics. "What the hell?" Draco said, popping up and surveying the mess in his room with amused eyes. "Aren't you supposed to clean my room, not the other way around?"
Ginny nearly collapsed in laughter, relieved beyond words that it wasn't Narcissa. "Merlin," she wheezed. "It's just you."
Draco feigned hurt, brushing himself off as he whipped the pillows onto his bed. "What do you mean, it's just me?"
"I thought it was your mother," Ginny gasped for breath. "I thought I was done for."
He duly waited for her to stop laughing, and smirked dangerously when she did just that. "You've been a bad girl, have you, Miss Weasley?" He said in a low voice that sent shivers all throughout her body.
Adrienne nearly doubled over and Ginny face looked properly shocked at the implications, but then melted into a impish smile. "You want to punish me for that, Mr. Malfoy?"
If it was possible, Draco seemed even more startled that she had. "Stop, stop," Adrienne interrupted before he could retort. "You guys are making me sick. If you want to shag, do it when I'm not around, please."
"It's not my fault you happen to be here," Draco pointed out devilishly, earning a horrified snort from Ginny. "Besides, you sure you don't want to watch?"
"Draco!" Ginny cried, forcing the smile from her lips.
He rolled his eyes. "You women," he said.
"We women," Adrienne cut in, "are going shopping. Isn't that right, Ginny?"
Draco's gaze darted between them. "You're kidding, right?" He said skeptically.
"Not a bit," Ginny replied. "Is there a problem?"
"It's the muggle party," he reminded.
"We'll be back before it starts," Ginny promised, and Adrienne tugged at her arm.
"And my room?" Draco gestured to the heaps of linens and pillows.
"Someone else will clean it," Adrienne assured, pulling at Ginny one last time as they disappeared out the door.
Draco stared after the girls, befuddled and reprieving himself for allowing them to leave. He sank into the neat table beside his bed and rubbed his temples gently. Why hadn't he demanded they stay home? He thought. And why had he been so publicly flirtatious with Ginny? There was a small sound, and he opened his eyes to see the very person on his mind standing a bit nervously before him. "I thought you left."
She blushed, and he couldn't help thinking how cute she seemed. "I wanted to say bye properly," she ventured, and timidly bent down to place a chaste kiss upon his lips. At least that was what she'd intended it to be, but when she drew back, he reached out and clamped slender fingers upon her neck, pulling her down into his lap and encircling her midsection with his free hand as he ravaged the warm wetness of her mouth. Kissing Draco was never a dull experience for her, and it took minutes before she finally did pull away, knowing very well she was on the brink of losing consciousness.
"Bye," he murmured, and crushed his mouth to hers once more.
"Draco," she said breathlessly. "I'm not going anymore if we keep this up."
He shrugged. "And the problem is?" He moved to seek out her lips, and after a blissful moment she reluctantly scrambled off him.
"I need to go," Ginny whispered. "I promise I'll be back in time for the party, Draco."
And for the first time, their parting was not one filled with anger.
~*~
"Morning, Mother," Draco called as he strolled down the steps into the grand parlor where she was seated, daintily sipping tea.
Narcissa raised a thin blond eyebrow. "You seem awfully. . .cheerful," she noted, setting down her newspaper gently and turning her inquisitive blue stare upon him.
Draco scowled. If anything, he despised being called cheerful. Cheerful was for children and Gryffindors, not Malfoys. "I am not cheerful," he said acidly. "I am never cheerful."
There was no response from his mother, who simply glanced at him dubiously. "If you say so," she said after a pregnant pause.
His scowl deepened. "Well then," was all he said as he turned to leave.
"Draco," Narcissa called. "Wait. I've been meaning to talk to you, but things have been so busy lately."
"Yes?" Draco bit his lower lip as she slowly took a sip of tea.
"Have you thought about marriage lately?" She asked, as if it was utterly normal to be speaking of marriage with a seventeen-year-old boy.
Like she expected, Draco blanched. "Marriage?" He repeated dumbly.
"Listen," Narcissa lowered her voice. "I think you should start dating, seriously." As his eyebrows grew higher, she suppressed a smile. "I think you should see more of that Bulstrode girl. She comes from a very privileged family, you know."
"Millicent Bulstrode?" Draco choked.
Narcissa smiled pleasantly. "Draco, I just want you to remember, that whatever you do, someone is always watching."
"What?" He demanded.
She continued as if he had never spoken. "I would hope that your father has taught you well after all these years, to make choices that are. . .appropriate and wise. Surely you understand my reasoning?"
Draco frowned. "Mother," he said politely, "If you would do to be a little less cryptic, as I haven't much time. And you know what Father says, time is money."
"Yes, yes," Narcissa replied fondly. "You may go. Except—" Draco turned around once more and stared at her expectantly. Though he resembled his father more closely, he saw the same pointed face structure reflected in his mother. In truth, he would've looked quite like her had it not been for her thin lips and pale blue eyes.
"Except?" He prompted.
"Remember, Draco," Narcissa said, her voice soft and low. "You're a Malfoy. Malfoys don't associate with just anyone." And then her smile became bright. "That is all."
More perplexed than ever, Draco strolled away and locked himself in his grand marble bathroom.
The sink faucet squeaked as he turned it on, but Draco was too confused to care. Could she have known about Ginny? He splashed his face with icy water and leaned back against the smooth emerald tiles of his magestic bathroom. His mother was right, after all, Weasleys were such. . .muggle-loving folk. Their friends didn't run in the same circles, nor did their families, and yet, to just cut things off was suddenly a bit difficult for him. What the hell had happened to him? He was Draco fucking Malfoy, sex god of Slytherin. He did not let girls, especially freckled Weasleys, get the best of him.
But as he hated to admit it, the little weasel had somehow softened that spot in his heart he didn't know existed anymore. The innocent way she kissed, and her honest smiles, they drove him mad, really. He didn't want to hurt her, but he already had. And if this continues, it'll get worse, he told himself firmly.
He would tell her tonight.
~*~
"No, no, no and no!"
"Come on," Adrienne wheedled. "You look gorgeous and you know it."
"I look naked," Ginny shrieked.
Adrienne rolled her eyes. "And your point is?" She received a dark glare, and sighed in resignation. "Look," she finally said, calmly turning the redhead in the direction of the mirror. "What do you see?"
"I see a girl in a piece of cloth who would be mutilated if any of her brothers or parents saw her," Ginny scowled.
"Wrong," Adrienne beamed. "You see a blossoming young girl in a beautiful dress that just happens to show off some of her newly acquired assets."
Ginny frowned at her chest. "My freckled assets."
"Point," Adrienne declared. "It's a beautiful dress. You know you like it. And besides, who's going to see you?"
"Draco," Ginny reminded.
"Right," Adrienne winked. "And somehow, I doubt he's going to mind. You wanted to blow him away, remember? Which is why you refused to wear that gown he gave you. Well, this will blow him away, I guarantee."
Ginny made a gurgling noise at the back of her throat and returned to eyeing the spectacle her reflection was presenting. She would admit that there was an instant attraction to the gown, with it's sweeping scarlet folds and deep, plunging neckline. Somehow, dolled up in the dress obviously not made for someone her age she felt wanted, seductive even, and much less like the innocent youngest Weasley everyone made her out to be.
"It's a change," she admitted.
"A pleasant change," Adrienne corrected.
Ginny whimpered. "I still don't know."
"Come on," Adrienne urged.
She bit her lip, imagining the feral look in Draco's glinting silver eyes everytime they snogged, almost feeling the burning touch of his fingers and the way she yearned for him, the way he could stir primitive, carnal feelings deep within her that she never knew possible. "Okay," she finally said.
Boy, he better appreciate this.
~*~
Ginny craned her neck, searching for a glimpse of Draco's silver blond head, but there existed no presence in the room even remotely close to rivlaing his. She took another small, polite sip of her bubbly champagne and adjusted the uncomfortable corset of her gown as inconspicuously as possible. The dress had been a horrid idea, as not only was it demandingly suffocating, she felt very much naked under the leering eyes of perverse muggle men.
She noticed then a dark-haired muggle guest threading his way towards her with an appreciative glint in his blue eyes that Ginny most certainly did not appreciate. To her apparition, she realized that the distinguished young man was seeking her out for a dance.
It wasn't that he repulsed her, this particular guest was actually handsome, though in a classic, conventional. But in no way could he take her mind off of Draco's breathtaking features. Too late she realized that she'd wasted the precious time to scurry away by comparing the two men, wondering how she'd ever had eyes for other males with Draco around.
"Hullo there, beautiful," the man said in what she presumed to be a suave voice, his gaze straying more southward than she would've liked. Ginny flashed him a tight smile, scanning the room for someone she knew, but failed to find anyone. "I'm Grant," he continued, either not noticing or ignoring her stiffness. "I saw you staring at me across the room, so I thought I'd give you a close up view."
He must have seen her looking for Draco, Ginny realized. "I don't think I was staring at you—" she began.
"It's okay, love," he interrupted, winking and casting another glance at her chest. "I guess I'm used to it." She started to sputter in indignition, but then his hand closed down on her arm. "All that can be cured with a healthy dose of Grant," he said, motioning towards the dance floor.
Ginny wrinkled her nose. "Um, I don't think so."
The other hand attached itself on the small of her back. "Very funny," he laughed without mirth, drawing her towards the band.
"I'm serious," she protested. Instead of answering, he swung her around, tightening his grip as she wriggled in his arms.
"You can't be," he hissed, his touch starting to hurt. Swaying to the music, he moved five lithe fingers down to her rear, and she squirmed uncomfortably, freeing an arm to readjust his. Grant pressed his elbow sharply against her abdomen, causing a searing flash of white pain to knife through her. The fleeting panic that overtook her senses lessened this movement, and Ginny briefly considered screaming. That would, however, more or less ruin the party, and she thought to other ways of ridding herself this creep.
"Mind if I cut in?" A smooth voice interjected, and Ginny nearly collapsed with relief as she saw Draco staring pointedly at where Grant's hand was resting.
He stopped dancing, pulling back and eyeing the tall blond before him, looking impeccable as always but his silver eyes serious. "Actually, I do," Grant replied darkly. Draco stepped closer, glancing quickly at Ginny's pleading expression before sneering at the muggle. Though Grant was a good inch taller, he seemed to suddenly shrink under Draco's steely scrutinizing. Ginny could feel his fear, and taking advantage of his weakened state, she fled to Draco's side, fitting her palm into his.
"Well, it doesn't seem that she minds," Draco smirked, making Ginny question how the hell he was so bloody calm all the time. Grant reddened in helpless anger, muttering obsenities as he stalked away.
Ginny watched him for a second, and then flung her arms around Draco, burying her face in his cologne-scented suit, her chest heaving with silent gratefulness. He staggered back slightly from her unexpected weight, but recovered with ease, his arms enveloping her in comfort.
They stayed like that for a while, and Draco made no motion to step away. He seemed to understand that she needed to recollect her thoughts, and that for the moment, she needed the security of his arms. Ginny finally did pull back, her fingers not yet ready to release his sleeves as she admired his elegance. He was so gorgeous, she thought, taking in the well-fitted black blazer and trousers, the perfect strands slicked back in his usual coif, shorter since he just had it trimmed.
"Enjoying the view?" He said, gray eyes lighter than they had been during the confrontation and glittering with amusement.
"Very much so," she responded softly, letting go with reluctance. Glancing around her, she watched the blissful couples move in tune with the music. "It seems everyone but us is dancing," she commented.
He quirked an eyebrow at her attempted subtleness. "Are you trying to ask me to dance?" He said in a slightly constricted, though overall amused voice.
She blushed. "I'm not too smooth with words."
From the corner of his eye, he observed her, a red flush crawling into her already rosy cheeks, making her look happy and all the more radiant. Stop, Draco told himself, hearing his mother's voice echoing in his head. But one dance wouldn't hurt, would it? One last dance. "Well then," Draco said silkily in the same voice that had made many females swoon before, "Dance with me?"
A sweet smile spread across her face. "I thought you'd never ask," she breathed, and he swept her away. The music Adrienne had chosen was muggle music, and she very well hadn't heard it before but she didn't particularly care. Wrapping her arms around him, she rested her head against his shoulder and closed her eyes, sinking in to the sensation only he could provide.
"You set my soul at ease, chased darkness out of view," the record sang, and Draco trailed his hands across her back, ridding of all space that had previously been between them.
"Left your desparate spell on me, say you feel it too I know you do."
"You look beautiful," Draco whispered in her ear, surprising even himself. IT wasn't often that he complimented women. Ginny curled her fingers around the smooth hair that rested sleek against the nape of his neck. "Everyone in this room is staring at you."
"I wanna love you forever, and this is all I'm asking of you."
"They're staring," Ginny murmured, "Because of who I'm dancing with."
"Cuz from the moment that I saw your face, and felt the fire of your sweet embrace. I swear I knew, I wanna love you forever."
"Ginny," Draco said quietly, and she sighed in his arm, thinking she would never stop cherishing the sound of her name from his lips.
"What my heart tells me to do and I'd give up all I have just to be with you."
"Mmm?"
"Now I only want to be right where you are."
"Ginny, this is never going to work," Draco's voice sounded pained.
She felt like she was floating, and his words didn't quite register in her mind. "What is?"
"Because when I'm with you there's nowhere else that I would ever wanna be, no, I'm breathing for the next second I can feel you loving me."
"You, me, us."
"I'm gonna love you forever."
The music stopped, and so did the moment. Ginny stared up at him, her brown eyes surprised and confused. The noise around them seemed to suddenly vanish, and her mouth fell open in disbelief. His words rang in her ears, but she just couldn't bring herself to accept them. "Draco?"
He sighed heavily. "Ginny, this won't, this won't work and you know it. You and I, we're two different people, we come from two different worlds and that is never going to change."
"So you're just going to give up, just like that?" She cried. "You're not even going to make a try at it, it's not even worth it? I'm not even worth it?"
His eyes hardened. "Look, Ginny," he said, trying to sound cold but failing miserably. "I'm not going to lie and tell you that these past few weeks have meant nothing to me." He took a deep breath. Gods, he was terrible at expressing emotion. "But you know that nothing could ever come of this, think about it."
"Why?" She demanded, no longer succeeding at remaining careless. "Am I not good enough for you? I'm not enough like Blaise? Is that it?"
He stroked her cheek, feeling the wetness of her tears. "I don't want Blaise," he replied quietly. "I never have."
"Then what, Draco? What do you want? Because it's obviously not me." People began to stare curiously at her, but only Draco, if blurred, was in her line of vision. It was such a helpless feeling that he aroused within her, after spending so much time around him she couldn't even imagine feeling somebody else's lips upon hers.
"I want things to be the way they used to be," he replied tonelessly. "Before you came here, before I—" He stopped, realizing abruptly that he was about to say before he fell for her, and stepped back even further. She gaze up at him with watery brown eyes, her soft lips, those lips he'd kissed so fervently before, parted in anguish and shock. Had he truly fallen for a Weasley? He, a Malfoy, who never let himself fall for anyone of the opposite sex, had not only broken his principles, he'd done so for his family's worst enemy.
"Draco," she whispered disbelievingly.
"Look, Ginny," he said in a tired voice. "Look at this, look at us now. We're always arguing, it never ceases."
"We weren't arguing a few minutes ago," she pointed out.
"We weren't talking either," he replied. "Whenever we talk, we argue. Isn't that true?"
A wistful smile graced her lips, and she stood up on her tip toes to brush them against his. "Then we don't talk," she murmured. "I'm fine with that."
He moved away. "Ginny," he said warningly. "This isn't what you want. This isn't what I want."
"Then—then why did you kiss me?" Ginny asked brokenly. "And hold me, and ask me to stay with you?"
There was a bitter taste upon his lips. He wanted to reach out and tell her he was sorry, he wanted to take back everything he'd ever said to hurt her but the words that spewed out were the complete opposite. "You were—you were convenient."
And then something in her face clicked, she realized he wasn't toying with her anymore, that their friendly banters had come to an end. "I don't mean anything to you?" Her voice cracked. "Not anything at all?"
"If I tell you yes, will you go away?" Part of him prayed she would fight him, and another hoped she would relent.
She heaved a sigh. "You know, Draco Malfoy, I thought you had changed," she finally said, opening her eyes and glaring at him accusingly. "I thought that this wonderful person I spent the last few weeks with, this person who could make me feel things I never thought possible, was no longer the shallow, vengeful Slytherin I knew back at Hogwarts. But once again, I was wrong."
A lump formed in his throat. "I just don't get it," Ginny continued, neither beseeching him nor reprimanding him. "I don't get you, how you're hot one minute, and cold the next, how you can't make up your damn mind, ever. And you're right. It's never going to work, but only because you won't let it work." Her tone was so quiet, so gentle, and so helpless Draco felt a pang of guilt, for perhaps the first time in his life.
She turned on her heel, prepared to flee, and a loud voice rang out.
"Avada Kedrava!"
~ End of Chapter 15
A/N* Yes one LAST cliffie for this story XD there is ONE chapter left! And I'm almost done with that chapter so. . .^_^ ::giggles giddily::
Btw blackbow ~ thanks for the tip lol I'll keep that in mind. Love learning new terminology =D tossers muahaha I like it!
And another thing ~ I don't know how many of you read my other story (Masquerade) but since school is starting next week and the style is a bit different from this story I'm in need of a new beta, so if any of you wouldn't mind doing that do drop me a note. But as for now…review? =D
