A/N - Hi ho! Kermit the Frog here. Not really, just joshing ya! I apologize profusely for not
having updated in over a month. I mean, technically, I was gone for a week at camp but the rest I
have no excuse for. I had a terrible case of writers block as well as school starting so it's been
hectic. However, with my friends poking me in the back all along the way, I have finally spit out
this chapter. I know it isn't much but think of this: next chapter has Draco in leather (ooer!)
So, don't get mad! Get glad! And I will seriously update soon! Cheers!
Chapter Ten: Just Friends in the Grass
December had begun and the chilling air was freezing over the castle. Snow had yet to fall and anticipation was in the air for Christmas, which was only in three weeks. The temptation to skive off classes and leave homework forgotten was spreading the school like an itch. In a burst of exasperation for something new, Ginny found herself learning to knit from Hermione.
Even with regular classes and N.E.W.T.s coming up, Hermione was still completely dedicated to S.P.E.W., spending all of her free time (when she was not attached to Ron) knitting elf clothing.
"What I don't understand," Hermione was commenting while Ginny fumbled with needles and yarn, "is why they are still here. I mean, they've all obviously had the chance to be free and have taken it. All my hats and socks have disappeared! Why hasn't there been something about it in the Daily Prophet? Or at least some comment from the administration." Ginny grinned to herself. It appeared no one had had the heart to tell Hermione over the past two years, that Dobby was taking all of her well-meant gifts.
"Oh not like that!" Hermione snatched the needles away and picked up a few dropped stitches from Ginny's attempted piece. It was only about one centimeter of progress.
"I don't know how you do this for fun," Ginny muttered, glaring at her needles and starting to poke about with them again. "It doesn't seem very relaxing."
"I'm surprised your mum never taught you. Her sweaters are lovely. Do ask her for the pattern for me, won't you?" Slightly skeptical, Ginny said nothing about this, but nodded and promised she would. "I'm sure Ron wouldn't mind a sweater that wasn't maroon for Christmas."
"Hermione," Ginny ventured, trying to find the words. "I was wondering if I could ask you something." Hermione didn't look up from her purple sock, nodding encouragingly. "It's about boys, I'm having some trouble with someone." At this Hermione looked up.
"Ignore him," she said suddenly. "He isn't trying to lead you on, I promise. Harry's just trying to look after you. Ever since Ron and I --"
Ginny cut her off. "No, no. It isn't about Harry."
Hermione looked faintly surprised. "Oh. Well, what's happening then? Someone new? Have you got a boyfriend?" she asked keenly. Ginny rolled her eyes. She had only mentioned Marc about fifty times to Hermione and yet the girl would not get the impression of him being her boyfriend unless she said it outright. Which she was not about to do, at the risk of Ron finding out.
"It's a friend," she said, hearing the words out-loud for the first time herself. "H-he really likes me. Quite a lot, actually," she said, blushing slightly at the thought of his recent kiss. "I think I might like him back and that's the problem." Having finally admitted this to herself, she felt a weight being lifted off her shoulders.
Hermione clacked away, absorbed in her knitting again. "If you both like each other, then what's the problem?" Click, clack. Click, clack. Thoughts chased each other in Ginny's brain. How could she explain without revealing Draco's identity?
"It wouldn't work out between us. He's a new friend and I think I know him well enough to say it just wouldn't work. I mean, he isn't the sort of boy I should be dating. And I'm seeing someone else already," she added carefully, praying she could keep Marc a secret as well. Hermione sat down her knitting and turned to face Ginny directly.
"Look, Ginny. There is some good in everyone. I think if you like this friend more than who you're seeing now," she counseled in equally careful tones, "that you should go for it. You're only just sixteen and you have years ahead of you. Dating around is a good thing."
"So," Ginny said, playing with a strand of yarn, "are you saying I should break up and take a chance?"
"If you think you'd be happier, then yes. I mean," she said, beginning to laugh, "it's not like you're going to be dating some slimy git like Draco Malfoy, right?" Her heart sank at those words.
"Yeah, of course," she added in lamely, trying to force a smile onto her face. "Listen, I said I'd meet someone in the library. I promise to finish this later," she said meaningfully, waving the knitting needles before she dropped them on the table with a clatter. Rushing out of the portrait hole, she wandered the hallways distractedly.
She knew it was a stupid idea. Stupid, stupid, stupid. What did she expect Hermione to say? If only Hermione had known it was Draco. If only she knew what they had gone through together over the past three months. If only it wasn't so confusing!
"... I know what I saw Davies and I have my reasons for tipping you off."
"And I'm telling you, here and now, if you're wrong about this -- " Marc was growling. Diving behind a statue, Ginny heard the voices of Marc and Josceline floating to her ears from behind a tapestry.
"I'll be able to prove it to you. Just make some excuse and I swear you'll be grateful." Ginny could feel her heart beat quickening. What were they talking about? And why were they even together? A thought floated through her head. Two years ago. She had never confronted Marc about it. Did this have something to do with it?
"Thanks," Marc muttered and she heard a smacking noise. A kiss?! She had about made her mind up to jump in on them when a hand grabbed her shoulder. Having been so wrapped up in the moment, she screamed and spun around to see a very surprised Draco.
"Hello to you too," he managed before Ginny hissed at him.
"Get out of here!" she said through gritted teeth. "Before anyone sees you!" The flapping of a tapestry was heard and Marc stepped into view. The three people stared at each other, all at a loss for words.
"Hi Marc," Ginny squeaked. Marc glared at Draco, then Ginny, in an accusatory way. Without a word, he pulled Ginny roughly to him and kissed her hard on the mouth. It was quite a long kiss, longer and more passionate than either of them had shared in a few good weeks. When Marc released her, Ginny blinked at him. Draco stood there a moment longer before nodding curtly to Marc and stalking away with shoulders hunched.
"Marc, what was that all about?"
"We need to talk," he said in dark, agitated tones.
"I would most definitely agree," Ginny retorted. Together, they turned as one and headed off for the front steps. It was windy outside, but neither of them seemed to notice the chill. The sun was blocked behind clouds, making the late Sunday morning grey. It was only after a long silence between both that Ginny spoke up.
"What were you and Josceline talking about?" Marc looked startled.
"What? I've told you, I haven't spoken to her in --" Ginny cut him off, going on rapidly in an attempt to keep up with her train of thought. Her breaths were shuddering in her emotion to let everything out.
"I've seen you. Both of you, talking together when you think no one's looking. She has told me some things," she said, shifting her eyes away from him. "A lot of people have and I want to get some answers right now. No, Marc. I mean it. I want to know. What happened when you and Josceline broke up two years ago?" Marc looked loving down at her with his large, trusting grin. He began to laugh slightly and kissed the top of her head.
"Don't you go worrying about that, it's nothing. I told you before how bad the break up was. I've been trying to finally heal things over with her." She glanced at him warily. "And apologies and make-ups do involve talking."
"I'm sorry,' she said, taking his hand in hers and swinging her arm. "It's just, when Draco came up in the hall --"
"How have you and Malfoy been getting on?" Marc mused suddenly. A bolt of realization hit Ginny. Marc had kissed her just now to show Draco that she was his possession. Anger filled her. It was all Draco's fault!
"If you are implying what I think you are implying, you can just eat your words. Did it ever occur to you that I might be friends with him?" It was Marc's turn to goggle.
"Friends? With that sorry excuse for a person? Ginny, I have more confidence in your taste in friends than that. You could never be friends with -- "
"But you had the nerve," she interrupted, " to think some sort of relationship was going on?!" Ginny squealed, her voice rising in pitch.
"I'm only saying, you've been acting oddly around him. In fact, you've been spending too much time with him. I forbid you to see him anymore."
"How dare you," Ginny said in a low whisper. "How dare --" Marc's hand shot out and he slapped her. Ginny's hand immediately went to her cheek, the sting of Marc's hand eating into her cheek. He had slapped her. Her boyfriend had slapped her!
She turned and ran, before he could see the tears in her eyes. She would not give him that satisfaction. Calls of pleading and sorrow followed her down the hall but Marc did not follow. Oh great affection he shows, she thought sarcastically to herself. When she turned the corner, she ran into Draco. He looked uncomfortable and slightly embarrassed.
"You were listening to us?!" Ginny shrieked, her temper shorter than usual. He looked at her as if she were crazy, someone he loved wildy, but crazy nonetheless.
"Are you mad? Of course not. I was just thinking about the point Davies made ..." he trailed off and was going to walk away when Ginny's hand clutched at his arm. Her turned back to her slightly.
"Don't go," she croaked hoarsely. "Don't go." Looking down at her hand, white knuckled on his sleeve, Draco took her hand off his sleeve and they walked away. Unknown to Ginny, Draco's hand itched to take hers again, to hold her in his arms. Now Draco knew he just couldn't do that to her, it would almost be like taking advantage of her, with her emotions running so high. Who knew what she and Davies had been talking about?
Ginny continued walking towards Gryffindor Tower, unaware of the uncomfortable silence. Ordering Draco to wait for her, she slipped up to her dormitory and snatched up her grey crochet bag.
"Hey Ginny!" Bonnie sang merrily, plucking her guitar strings and adjusting them accordingly. "Off to write some more poetry?"
"Yeah, I am," she said and scuttled out of the room again. And there he was, calm and cool as ever, leaning against the wall. She didn't want to be away from him. Draco made her feel comfortable now, as much as he had before made her skin crawl. Together, they made their way across the cold grounds to a secluded area beneath a tree, out of the shivering winds.
"Ginny, I --"
"Shush!" Ginny ordered, pulling out her beloved notebook of poetry and poems. At last she pulled out her most recent work, a poem in blank verse that she had been stuck on until now. Ginny was inspired to write, inspired to let the words to describe her incredible emotions flow through her quill.
"I thought you'd never finish that one," Draco noted quietly. Ginny glanced at him, then continued working. "I read that poem in, you know, the book." He was watching his words very carefully, so as not to offend her. He sat there, plucking the grass rapidly and forcefully, building a small pile. "It has a funny rhythm."
"Well, if you paid more attention in Muggle Studies you might recognize it. It's blank verse," she explained. "William Shakespeare wrote all of his plays in it."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "But it doesn't seem to have a pattern at all. It's just ... weird." Ginny rolled her eyes at him and groaned.
"Blank verse happens to be poetry without rhyme, yet it still has rhythm that helps it flow along. Not exactly an obvious form of poetry, but it's still poetry." Expecting Draco to sneer at this, Ginny was surprised when he became quiet and a thoughtful expression crossed his face. He was ripping the grass out now by the handful. "What?" Ginny asked.
In response, Draco playfully threw some of the grass at her. Ginny ignored it and went back to her poem. She was almost done with the twelfth line when Draco dumped the pile of grass on her flaming locks. Placing her parchment soundly in the grass, Ginny retrieved the uprooted grass and proceeded to throw it at Draco.
It was only a matter of seconds before a furious, grass fight broke out. Ginny shrieked and ran away from Draco's hands, full of grass, laughing hysterically. After a tremendous struggle, Draco caught up with her and clutched her from behind.
"Gotcha!" he yelled as they fell over in the grass with a thwump. Ginny blinked, taking in her breath sharply. Draco was on top of her yet again, only inches above her face. Then, with a slight twinge of disappointment, he rolled off her and scooted away. Had Draco just missed the opportunity to kiss her? Not that she wanted another kiss. At least, not very much ... Liar, she told herself. You wanted him to kiss you.
As they both lay breathing heavily in the grass. The silence was a mutual one of friendship, calm and serene. A heavy shadow fell over the two, blocking the light. Ginny swallowed the lump that came to her throat. It was Marc.
"Ginny, I need to talk to you." He glared at Draco. "In private." Giving him an apologetic glance, Ginny stood up and walked a few paces away with Marc. Brushing the grass off her robes, Ginny avoided his eye.
"So, what do you have to say?" she said cooly, slightly fierce.
"I wanted to apologize. I-I was completely out of place. I was angry with you and I went too far." He reached out to stroke the cheek that had slightly before been stinging and red. "Can we forget about it? Wipe the slate?" Her eyes flicked up, hard and bright. The sorrow on his face was so sincere it pinched her heart like ice.
"Alright."
"Really?"
"Yeah," she said, letting him embrace and hug her. Over his shoulder, she saw Draco look away from the sight. Marc planted a kiss on her forehead. "But you have to do something for me."
"Anything Ginny."
"You have to take me on a special I'm-so-sorry-for-this-Ginny-I-love-you date. The weekend before Christmas is a Hogsmeade weekend. Do you --" Marc groaned with empathy.
"Oh Gin, I can't. I have quidditch practice, before the big game on Sunday. I made the team promise to come and ..." he trailed off pathetically. He looked at her with his bright blue eyes in a puppy dog stare.
"No, no. It's fine. I'll dig you later, alright?" She glanced quickly at Draco and shrugged. Marc nodded slowly and kissed her quickly.
"Just don't give me a reason," he said and trudged off back to the castle. What did that mean? Returning to Draco, Ginny sat next to his hunched figure in the grass and sighed. She was so relieved everything between her and Marc was going to be alright. It may not have been the best for him to have seen her with Draco, right after their fight, but he had still apologized and not accused.
"Marc and I are back together," Ginny said quietly.
"So I heard." He seemed upset. Maybe she should leave him alone.
"I'll just grab my stuff and go now," she said. Stuffing rolls of parchment into her bag, Draco reached out and took her arm. Their eyes met.
"I couldn't help also overhearing that you two aren't going to Hogsmeade together. Do you want to go with me instead?" Half indignant at him overhearing and half joyous at his offer, Ginny came off as reluctant. "Not that you have to, I just wanted to offer you some company."
Ginny smiled. She could tell he would be seriously let down if she said no. Then again, if Marc heard that she was going with him by choice, he might fall out with her again. So she had to make some kind of reason besides the burning desire in her heart.
"Okay Draco, I'll go with you." As his face lit up, she added, "On one condition." Grinning like a loony, she slipped the stolen photo of Draco from her bag.
"Where did you get that?" Draco growled, snatching at the photo as Ginny dangled it away from him.
"You're not the only one who likes to steal thing around here. See these leather trousers you're dancing in? You have to wear those." She giggled at his absurd frown.
"No. You wouldn't blackmail me."
"Just like you wouldn't blackmail me?" He considered this. "Either you wear them or I won't go with you to Hogsmeade. Deal?" She held out her hand. Glaring at her, he didn't take it.
"No."
"Then you can see it blown up to eight feet high, plastered all over the halls of Hogwarts. I don't think you'll have any trouble getting some of those Ravenclaw girls after --"
"Alright!" he yelled exasperated. "But you have to promise to spend the day with me. The whole day." Ginny nodded and pecked him on the cheek before running back up to the castle, humming. She wanted to tell Mona all about what had happened, good and bad. The question was where to find her. After scanning the common room, she headed for the library and smiled at her two friends. Colin and Mona were sitting on the love seat together, heads almost touching, working on a paper. Ginny could have forced her mind to have seen it as just friendly help until Colin lifted a few strands of her hair and inhaled the scent.
"You two look cozy," Ginny smirked. The two "friends" jumped away from each other, cheeks tinged pink. "Working on that Vampires and Werewolf Skirmish of 1438 essay for Binns?"
"Yes, just about finished," Mona breathed, giving Ginny a meaningful glance. Colin shifted nervously and ruffled his hair.
"Alright, wouldn't want to disturb you, but I did want to ask you both if you wanted to meet up at the Three Broomsticks this Hogsmeade weekend?" Ginny glanced at them with a superior smile. They would be so surprised!
"Well, normally I would Ginny, but I promised I'd meet Draco and I don't know how well you would take seeing him. Aren't you both still fighting?" This took her by surprise. I guess I have done a better job about keeping our meetings secret than I thought, she mused to herself.
"Well, that's alright. See you at dinner!" Her heart was full to bursting with happy tidings. She didn't think there was a single thing that could make her day better. Just as she was nipping off to Gryffindor tower to drop off her bag before dinner, she found herself flown at by Bonnie the instant she entered the dormitory. She was in tears, sobbing rather hard.
"What's the matter Bonnie? Did something happen with Jake?" she asked, referring to her boyfriend.
She shook her head violently. She looked a wreak, as though she hadn't slept in a few days. Her clothes and hair were rumpled, she didn't have any make up on and her bed had an open letter on it. A muggle letter, Ginny recognized from the postage stamp.
"I just got a signed deal from New York for my music," she said, smiling. Ginny shrieked and hugged her again.
"That's so fab!" she trilled, jumping up and down with her. Bonnie still looked unhappy though. "So what's wrong?"
"T-they want me to start right after this school year. I --" she paused, choking on the words. "I won't be coming back for my final year at Hogwarts. Oh Ginny! I'm going to miss you all so much, I can't bear to think about it!" She flew at Ginny again, squeezing her tightly. It was a shock. Bonnie had always wanted to break a deal. In the wizarding world or the muggle world. And it had finally happened. She was going to go away.
"We'll keep in touch. We'll write to you, don't cry. Come on, you haven't any make up on and your hair looks a mess." At this, Bonnie seemed to snap out of it and rushed off to the lavatories to fix herself up.
P.C. came purring up to her ankles, rubbing himself. "Having a good day?" Ginny asked, smiling at her own happy day.
'Just happy that you're happy,' he purred. Glancing skeptically at him, Ginny thought. Recently he had told her about his plans for her and Draco. Was he happy that they were going together to Hogsmead? How would he even know?
'You forget I can read minds. You're always forgetting the important things. At least you've finally taken my advice and are going with Draco on a date.' She glared at him.
"Listen you prissy thing, this isn't a date. Draco knows Marc is still my boyfriend. We are going as friends. Besides, I am going to humiliate him in those pants." She giggled.
'Or are you really just anxious to get a view of his butt in tight pants?'
"I can't believe you just said that to me!" she gaped, as Bonnie came out of the bathroom.
"Talking to your cat again?" she asked, smiling. Ginny nodded, glaring evilly at P.C. who pranced over to her bed and flopped down for a nap. The lazy thing.
"Hey Bonnie? I was wondering if you wanted to meet up with me at the Three Broomsticks this weekend? You can bring Jake." Happily, Bonnie agreed and they headed off for dinner. Life was great and there was nothing to burst Ginny's bubble of happiness.
