I want to tell you all that a very sweet, wonderful, kind, intelligent
person put a threat in his story that he wouldn't update for a month unless
people reviewed my story. Thank you Forbidden! If you came here because of
that, please review and mention it!
To my reviewers: THANK YOU! I opened my inbox today and there were five reviews waiting for me, along with another three on FF.net and I just checked my e-mail again and there were three more. You boosted my confidence so much that I decided to write a chapter today instead of waiting until tomorrow like I'd planned. See what happens when you review? Nice things happen! You reviewers ROCK!
Individual responses:
Yugi's Little Sister: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Forbidden: We may yet, Mr. Frodo. We may. *ahem * sorry. I might do a sequel, not sure yet. Or I might just continue this! I never said it would only be eight chapters or whatever, did I? Thanks for the little publicity booster, see note above.
marvindamartian: Thank you for telling me about my anonymous reviews thing, I thought I had changed that but I looked and lo and behold, you were right! Thank you for the long review (hey, anything for more!).
Sailor Catastrophe: Will do, glad you like it. If you want to be e-mailed when new chapters come up, you can set up Auto Alert, which will tell you when I put up a new chapter. But that does it for all my stories, not just this one, so I will e-mail you until further notice.
Kerbi: Yes, I am very proud of you! I must read this slash fic of yours! Thanks for the confidence booster about the reviews, maybe I'll continue this until I have 77 chaps like "Betrayed"! Then maybe I'll have, god, how many is it? Have you topped a million yet? (Sorry, I'm just a little bitter *sobs *) No, I did not put margarine in "Pain and Destiny". That is quite definitely not a margarine fic. Have you checked out "Love, Hate and the Longbottoms"? I added another chapter.. And sorry, but they are not taking any baths. You're scandalized by my comment about when you wrote that bit with Harry throwing Ginny down on the floor and making out with her and I thought it might be a lemon, but you're still making sick comments about bubble bath? Ugh! That ain't right, in the words of Blair. (Sorry about that, BTW.) And sorry about this super-long response, but you did review like 5 times, and that is a good thing!
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Draco stood in front of the portrait, staring at the spot where the handle had disappeared. Was this the Gryffindor common room? It couldn't be. That boy with her had been a Ravenclaw. Was it a secret room? Maybe he was her boyfriend. Draco fought down a pang of envy and turned slowly away. There was no point in hanging around. He didn't want to seem like he was stalking her. She was angry enough at him as it was.
Why was she so mad, anyway? She knew he tortured her brother and Granger all the time. Maybe if Potter had been there, she would have acted differently. But why had she been so angry?
He tried to remember what he had said. He had said Weasley was begging to copy Granger, but that was nothing new. Ginny knew her brother did that all the time. Then he had said some thing about the inability to recognize a Galleon. That must have been it. All these Weasleys were so touchy about the fact that they were dirt poor.
Draco rubbed his nose and discovered that it was swelling where it had hit the floor. He swore aloud. That was brilliant, just brilliant. He tried to remember if anyone had been watching him torment Weasley. He thought the corridor had been empty, but he wasn't quite sure.
"Hello, Malfoy," said a voice behind him. Draco turned around. It was Fred Weasley.
"What do you want?" Draco snarled. He didn't really feel like a battle of wits, although it was preferable to a battle of wands. Weasley was in the sixth year.
"I want to know what you and Ginny have been doing in the dungeon twice a week for the last month," Fred said coolly. Draco's chin dropped.
"How- how did you- I don't-"
"George and I know a lot more than we tell people." Fred twirled his wand in his fingers. Draco had never noticed before how tall he was. Or how muscular. This was not good.
"I've been helping her with her Potions homework."
"Yeah, and Professor Moody's been helping Hagrid plant watermelons. I want the truth, Malfoy."
"That is the truth!" Draco knew he was in a bad position. It did sound like a lousy lie.
Fred snorted. "Can you honestly say that you have never kissed my little sister?"
Images of a Quidditch stand and a Firebolt raced through Draco's head. "Um, well, not exactly, but-"
"I thought so. Although I can't say I expected you to be honest about it."
Draco did not feel well. His head hurt, his nose was throbbing, and unless he was very much mistaken, he was going to be stumbling into the common room in about half an hour bleeding. He thought longingly of his old, proud, dignified, cold, smirking self.
"Actually, I only kissed her once, and that was a long time ago."
"Okay, maybe you won't be honest about it after all."
"Ask her! She'll tell you!"
"Where is she, then?" Weasley kept twirling. Draco decided not to mention Muggle cheerleaders and their batons.
"She went through a door behind a portrait of fruit, down there." He pointed down the staircase. Weasley's eyes widened, but he remained calm.
"All right then. Come on."
Two minutes later, they arrived at the portrait. Weasley reached out toward the pear, but before he could do anything, the portrait opened. Ginny and the Ravenclaw came out.
"Ginny, wait!" Draco said quickly as she whirled around and made to go back.
Fred took her arm. "Gin, hang on. What's going on here?"
Ginny kept right on whirling until she faced her brother and Draco. Draco took a step back. He knew that gleam in her eye.
"What's going on? What's going ON? What's going on is none of your business, Fred! This is my life, my problems, and I'm going to deal with it. If I want your help, I will ask for it. I've had to ask worse people for help, trust me." She glared scathingly at Draco, who winced, and continued, "I am SO sick of this crap! Every time something happens, a little tangle in my life, I have six brothers pouncing on me and trying to fight my fights and coddle me like I'm made of bloody PORCELAIN! I can take care of myself, you know! I've got fists and a wand and I can use them! Just because I'm a girl and you're all boys doesn't mean you have to watch out for me every second of my life. I can handle things without half a dozen macho bodyguards to take care of me. And you know what? I'm not putting up with that anymore! From now on, you can just leave me alone!"
Fred's eyes were the size of saucers. Draco tried not to grin. Obviously, Ginny acted the innocent little sister around her brothers. He was willing to bet Fred had never seen her blow up like this. It was rather funny.
The Ravenclaw was also staring, but not in surprise like Weasley. Draco saw awe and admiration in his eyes. Perhaps he had never seen her like this either.
Ginny turned to Draco. "I would personally be happy if I never saw you again in my life, ferret. As that obviously isn't going to happen, I'm going to pretend all this never happened. Come on, Michael. I'll walk you to your common room."
She took the Ravenclaw's hand almost defiantly and walked off. Her brother stared after her, then took off in the opposite direction.
Ginny was proud of herself. She had let out the feelings she wanted to without spilling everything else. And she was perfectly calm, not storming off in a huff. She only wished all her brothers had been there to see it.
"Ginny?"
She looked at Michael, smiling warmly. "Yeah?"
"Why haven't I seen you around Hogwarts since the Yule Ball?"
"People tend not to notice me. And you know why? Because I'm so god damn obsessed with one person I don't have time for anyone else. And that's crazy. Everybody needs more than one person in their life. So I'm going to change that. There's no point in obsessing over him, I realize that now. He doesn't like me and he never will."
"Malfoy?"
Ginny laughed. "No, definitely not. He just managed to pull the wool over my eyes. But you know what? I'm glad. Because when I managed to claw that wool away, I could see a lot clearer than I ever could before."
"Do you think I could be one of those other people in your life?"
Ginny smiled. "Of course." They reached the Ravenclaw common room entrance.
"Ginny?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I kiss you?"
Ginny smiled again and wrapped her arms around his neck.
To my reviewers: THANK YOU! I opened my inbox today and there were five reviews waiting for me, along with another three on FF.net and I just checked my e-mail again and there were three more. You boosted my confidence so much that I decided to write a chapter today instead of waiting until tomorrow like I'd planned. See what happens when you review? Nice things happen! You reviewers ROCK!
Individual responses:
Yugi's Little Sister: Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it!
Forbidden: We may yet, Mr. Frodo. We may. *ahem * sorry. I might do a sequel, not sure yet. Or I might just continue this! I never said it would only be eight chapters or whatever, did I? Thanks for the little publicity booster, see note above.
marvindamartian: Thank you for telling me about my anonymous reviews thing, I thought I had changed that but I looked and lo and behold, you were right! Thank you for the long review (hey, anything for more!).
Sailor Catastrophe: Will do, glad you like it. If you want to be e-mailed when new chapters come up, you can set up Auto Alert, which will tell you when I put up a new chapter. But that does it for all my stories, not just this one, so I will e-mail you until further notice.
Kerbi: Yes, I am very proud of you! I must read this slash fic of yours! Thanks for the confidence booster about the reviews, maybe I'll continue this until I have 77 chaps like "Betrayed"! Then maybe I'll have, god, how many is it? Have you topped a million yet? (Sorry, I'm just a little bitter *sobs *) No, I did not put margarine in "Pain and Destiny". That is quite definitely not a margarine fic. Have you checked out "Love, Hate and the Longbottoms"? I added another chapter.. And sorry, but they are not taking any baths. You're scandalized by my comment about when you wrote that bit with Harry throwing Ginny down on the floor and making out with her and I thought it might be a lemon, but you're still making sick comments about bubble bath? Ugh! That ain't right, in the words of Blair. (Sorry about that, BTW.) And sorry about this super-long response, but you did review like 5 times, and that is a good thing!
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Draco stood in front of the portrait, staring at the spot where the handle had disappeared. Was this the Gryffindor common room? It couldn't be. That boy with her had been a Ravenclaw. Was it a secret room? Maybe he was her boyfriend. Draco fought down a pang of envy and turned slowly away. There was no point in hanging around. He didn't want to seem like he was stalking her. She was angry enough at him as it was.
Why was she so mad, anyway? She knew he tortured her brother and Granger all the time. Maybe if Potter had been there, she would have acted differently. But why had she been so angry?
He tried to remember what he had said. He had said Weasley was begging to copy Granger, but that was nothing new. Ginny knew her brother did that all the time. Then he had said some thing about the inability to recognize a Galleon. That must have been it. All these Weasleys were so touchy about the fact that they were dirt poor.
Draco rubbed his nose and discovered that it was swelling where it had hit the floor. He swore aloud. That was brilliant, just brilliant. He tried to remember if anyone had been watching him torment Weasley. He thought the corridor had been empty, but he wasn't quite sure.
"Hello, Malfoy," said a voice behind him. Draco turned around. It was Fred Weasley.
"What do you want?" Draco snarled. He didn't really feel like a battle of wits, although it was preferable to a battle of wands. Weasley was in the sixth year.
"I want to know what you and Ginny have been doing in the dungeon twice a week for the last month," Fred said coolly. Draco's chin dropped.
"How- how did you- I don't-"
"George and I know a lot more than we tell people." Fred twirled his wand in his fingers. Draco had never noticed before how tall he was. Or how muscular. This was not good.
"I've been helping her with her Potions homework."
"Yeah, and Professor Moody's been helping Hagrid plant watermelons. I want the truth, Malfoy."
"That is the truth!" Draco knew he was in a bad position. It did sound like a lousy lie.
Fred snorted. "Can you honestly say that you have never kissed my little sister?"
Images of a Quidditch stand and a Firebolt raced through Draco's head. "Um, well, not exactly, but-"
"I thought so. Although I can't say I expected you to be honest about it."
Draco did not feel well. His head hurt, his nose was throbbing, and unless he was very much mistaken, he was going to be stumbling into the common room in about half an hour bleeding. He thought longingly of his old, proud, dignified, cold, smirking self.
"Actually, I only kissed her once, and that was a long time ago."
"Okay, maybe you won't be honest about it after all."
"Ask her! She'll tell you!"
"Where is she, then?" Weasley kept twirling. Draco decided not to mention Muggle cheerleaders and their batons.
"She went through a door behind a portrait of fruit, down there." He pointed down the staircase. Weasley's eyes widened, but he remained calm.
"All right then. Come on."
Two minutes later, they arrived at the portrait. Weasley reached out toward the pear, but before he could do anything, the portrait opened. Ginny and the Ravenclaw came out.
"Ginny, wait!" Draco said quickly as she whirled around and made to go back.
Fred took her arm. "Gin, hang on. What's going on here?"
Ginny kept right on whirling until she faced her brother and Draco. Draco took a step back. He knew that gleam in her eye.
"What's going on? What's going ON? What's going on is none of your business, Fred! This is my life, my problems, and I'm going to deal with it. If I want your help, I will ask for it. I've had to ask worse people for help, trust me." She glared scathingly at Draco, who winced, and continued, "I am SO sick of this crap! Every time something happens, a little tangle in my life, I have six brothers pouncing on me and trying to fight my fights and coddle me like I'm made of bloody PORCELAIN! I can take care of myself, you know! I've got fists and a wand and I can use them! Just because I'm a girl and you're all boys doesn't mean you have to watch out for me every second of my life. I can handle things without half a dozen macho bodyguards to take care of me. And you know what? I'm not putting up with that anymore! From now on, you can just leave me alone!"
Fred's eyes were the size of saucers. Draco tried not to grin. Obviously, Ginny acted the innocent little sister around her brothers. He was willing to bet Fred had never seen her blow up like this. It was rather funny.
The Ravenclaw was also staring, but not in surprise like Weasley. Draco saw awe and admiration in his eyes. Perhaps he had never seen her like this either.
Ginny turned to Draco. "I would personally be happy if I never saw you again in my life, ferret. As that obviously isn't going to happen, I'm going to pretend all this never happened. Come on, Michael. I'll walk you to your common room."
She took the Ravenclaw's hand almost defiantly and walked off. Her brother stared after her, then took off in the opposite direction.
Ginny was proud of herself. She had let out the feelings she wanted to without spilling everything else. And she was perfectly calm, not storming off in a huff. She only wished all her brothers had been there to see it.
"Ginny?"
She looked at Michael, smiling warmly. "Yeah?"
"Why haven't I seen you around Hogwarts since the Yule Ball?"
"People tend not to notice me. And you know why? Because I'm so god damn obsessed with one person I don't have time for anyone else. And that's crazy. Everybody needs more than one person in their life. So I'm going to change that. There's no point in obsessing over him, I realize that now. He doesn't like me and he never will."
"Malfoy?"
Ginny laughed. "No, definitely not. He just managed to pull the wool over my eyes. But you know what? I'm glad. Because when I managed to claw that wool away, I could see a lot clearer than I ever could before."
"Do you think I could be one of those other people in your life?"
Ginny smiled. "Of course." They reached the Ravenclaw common room entrance.
"Ginny?"
"Yeah?"
"Can I kiss you?"
Ginny smiled again and wrapped her arms around his neck.