Even Better Than the Real Thing
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Please note, that I do not own the characters Draco Malfoy or Ginny Weasley, or any other magical lingo.
This is a Draco/Ginny story.
Also to clarify, the songs at the end of each chapter are a collective "soundtrack" to the story. The title comes from one of my favorite U2 songs, and each chapter title will be a song that I was listening to while writing that particular chapter. Or a song that I thought happened to fit the tone/feelings of the chapter! I didn't quote any lyrics during the chapter, because this is not meant to be a songfic.
I'm soooooo happy that everyone is enjoying this. English is my first language (well, tied for first, I guess) but I've never really had a good command over it. I thought this would be an excellent way to practice and to get ideas I have down. Glad you likey!!!!
:-) Review some more!
On with the show:
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Chapter 3: Hem of Your Garment
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When she'd finally stopped sobbing, Ginny felt only embarrassment. Thankfully, Ron just gave her a wink and ruffled her hair. He knew she hated when he did that; he always messed up her hair. Ginny cleared her mind. She was exhausted. She stretched and yawned.
"Gin. You wanna tell me anything?"
Ginny leaned in again and gave Ron a big hug. He'd probably hear some rumors sometime tomorrow. She can explain then. For now, Ginny was tired and she wanted to be alone to think.
"Not right now, Papa Bear." Ginny saw the twinkle in Ron's eye, when she used the nickname she'd given him when she was four. She only called him that when she was particularly glad that he was her brother and best friend.
"Ok, Gin. Get your butt to bed." Ginny giggled, rubbing her eyes.
"Yes, sir!" Ginny gave him a silly little salute.
"Goodnight, Ron," she said, and looking across from the sofa, she saw Hermione, peeking over her textbook, looking concerned. So, Ginny added, "Goodnight, Hermione."
Ginny stood and slowly made her way to the stairs. The Common Room was bustling, people in groups talking and laughing, other groups working on assignments for classes, a few others playing games. Ginny slipped through the Room, mostly unnoticed. A few people gave her weak smiles, having seen her running in and crying.
She climbed the stairs slowly, a heavy weight in her stomach. She wasn't sure if she'd overreacted or what. Pansy. She clutched the troublesome book in her hand. She shuddered at the thought of anyone reading from it.
When she reached her room, Ginny's eyes were nearly closing. A deep sleep was taking over her body. She was weary after all her crying. The room was empty, thankfully. She shed her robes, kicked off her shoes, and crawled into her bed.
Closing the curtains, she laid back, hugging the book to her chest. For the past year, she'd written in the book. Mainly about…well, nothing, really. It was just an outlet for her. She pulled the book away and opened it.
Why is there such a holiday as Valentine's Day? Is it just to make everyone realize how sad and lonely they really are? Well, it's certainly working. I considered sending cards to my friends, but I realized that it really wouldn't matter…
Ginny sighed. She was so damned melancholy. She flipped a bunch of pages…
Harry's spending the summer with us at the Burrow. I'm not sure how I feel about that. I was really looking forward to it, at first. But when he was finally here, it was like he didn't even see me…
Ginny groaned, thinking they might have read any of these pages. Who knows what choice words they were laughing over in the Slytherin Common Room right now? When she moved to bury herself under the covers, she felt something poke the back of her head.
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Draco was furious. Beyond furious. Mostly at himself. His fist wrapped around a crumpled piece of parchment. The written words flashed in his head as he stormed back to the Slytherin Common Room. He felt heat radiating from his face.
Why did he care so much? What was wrong with him? He should just let this entire thing drop. If Pansy wants to make others miserable, then so be it. If the Weasley wants to be an overdramatic…wimp, then so be it. How did he get involved in all of this?
Draco shook himself as he turned a corner. He tightened his grip on the small note in his hand. Damn. He had always hated the feeling of…sympathy. It made him feel weak and awkward. He sneered. He started down a set of stairs.
"Draco. There you are!" He was almost to the Entrance to the Common Room when a lilting voice reached him. He paused, not wanting to turn around. He knew who it was.
"Not right now, Pansy," he hoped she'd get the hint. He needed to be left alone. He wanted to think. He wanted to reread the Weasley's note.
"But, Draco, I just wanted to know where you dashed off to after dinner?" He knew she was smirking. He could hear it in her voice. She sounded so proud of herself.
"Leave me alone."
"Right, Draco. But first, you're telling me. Where did you go?"
Draco turned slowly. She was standing a few steps up, her hands on her hips, her pudgy face pointed upwards. She was actually looking down her nose at him. Draco rolled his eyes.
"It's not your concern." He was about to turn and go into the common room. Before he could, and before he could stop himself he asked, "Where'd you find that book?"
Pansy looked a little startled by the change of topic, but recovered quickly. Her smirk widened.
"Wouldn't you like to know? So interested, are we?"
Draco turned and started down the last few steps. Before he reached the bottom, Pansy squealed and followed.
"Draco," she whined, "I'll tell you, just wait."
He didn't wait. He muttered the password and walked in. He pretended not to care about anything Pansy had to say, but he was listening intently as he slowly approached the stairs to his room.
"You see, Millicent and Blaise were leaving the library earlier, and they found a book on the floor. They took it to Pince, but she said it wasn't one of the school's books. So they kept it. I met them in the Common Room before dinner and we had a good time flipping through it. We only got to read a couple pages before we had to leave… You wouldn't still have the book, would you?"
Pansy stumbled to keep up with Draco. He reached the stairs. He turned his cool gaze on her and said, "Goodnight."
With that, he bounded down the stairs, heading to the room marked by the gold plaque "6th Years". When he opened the door, he found that it was empty. Probably all still in the Common Room, he didn't really look.
Unfortunately, Pansy's voice still echoed in his head. The library. They found it in the library. The library. Basically, it was entirely his fault. He ran into the little girl. He made her drop her things. He ran off without apologizing or helping her get her books.
But it doesn't matter. He's not going to feel guilty over something as trivial as this. Besides, the little Weasley should be glad that he didn't read it. That he didn't go off posting pages all over school. He could have done even worse, he was sure.
Draco gracefully shrugged off his robes. He hung them in his cabinet. He smoothed them flat and took off his tie, hanging it on its hook. Systematically he shed all of his clothes, putting them in the laundry basket. He dressed in his green pajamas, layering his black dressing gown on top. He pulled his bed slippers over his feet and shuffled toward the bed, the note still in his hand.
He sat on the edge of his bed. He covered his face with one hand, holding the note in the other. He sighed deeply. Draco, you really need to get a hold of yourself, man. He cleared his throat, and opened his fist, revealing an extremely crumpled paper. He unfolded it.
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To Draco Malfoy –
I lost my journal in the library today. It's a small red leather book, with no lettering on the outside. And I think that you may have picked it up accidentally after we collided. I wanted to ask that you please not read it. And please return it to me as soon as you can. I'll do anything you ask in return. The book really means a lot to me, and I'd never forgive myself for being as careless as I was.
Also, I think I may have something of yours. I'll get it back to you when I see you next. Rest assured, I have not intruded on your privacy.
Thank you,
Ginny
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Ginny. Not "Weasley" or "little girl". She had a name. She was a real person. Draco raked his fingers through his hair, looking down at the note in his lap. He wondered what "something" of his that she had. Probably some textbook. He stood and went to his bag, to tuck the note in his sketchbook.
It wasn't there. He searched the entire bag. Losing his temper, he dumped the contents of the bag on the intricate green and silver silk rug. A bottle of ink rolled under his bed. A few quills floated downwards. A pile of books. He shoved aside his Herbology textbook, his Potions text, his Dark Arts books, his… It just wasn't here. That's the "something".
"Shit!"
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She swallowed. She knew she shouldn't. She knew way better than to mess with Draco Malfoy's…anything! She opened the book. It wasn't even locked with any sort of magic. Nothing. She had expected to turn into a frog or something.
But it opened. The pages were soft and silky. The parchment was like none Ginny had ever seen. Of course, he was filthy rich and flaunted it with pleasure. This book was probably extremely valuable, Malfoy's or not. She looked at the first page.
In the center of the page, there were written a few words in a thin loopy scrawl:
For Draco
Love from Mother
Ginny smiled to herself. This was a present. From his mum! How sweet! She turned the page. The second page was just as blank. Centered at the bottom of the page, written with strong, confident script:
The beauty of the world can hardly be comprehended by our minds, let alone described by mere strokes on paper.
Now, who would ever have suspected modesty from a Malfoy? Unless, of course, she was completely missing his point. Ginny flipped through the first few pages of sketches. Mere strokes on paper, indeed. Each was exceptionally life-like. Each drawing was…perfect. Like, he spent hours, maybe days on each sketch. There were no sketches of people. Only animals, landscapes, mansions, and parts of Hogwarts.
Ginny turned a silky page, about halfway through the book, and paused. Resting between two pages was a parchment. The green wax seal was broken. When she lifted it closer to her curious eyes, she could see a twisting snake, a sword, and letters spelling out…Malfoy.
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U2 – Even Better Than the Real Thing
The Strokes – Hard to Explain
Weezer – Island in the Sun
Cake – Hem of your Garment