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 romance story.
http://www.lorddave.com/evenbetter
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Chapter 14: All I Want Is You
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Ginny half-heartedly glanced at her watch. If she left now, she'd easily make it to dinner. But she couldn't move. She couldn't move or think.
For the life of her, Ginny couldn't get him out of her mind. He was everywhere to her. In between the words of her Potions text, mingling with the peas on her dinner plate, dancing with the flames in the Common Room fireplace. Draco.
She was sitting in the library, in a secluded corner rather than her usual table. She was, once again, flipping through her journal, which had been neglected for a while. A couple weeks into January, she began writing in it again, hoping that she could somehow sort out her emotions. It wasn't working.
At first I had hoped that he'd come to me, talk to me. But I soon realized how unrealistic that would be. At lunch this afternoon, he seemed rather distant, in a trance. I saw deep circles under his eyes, and though his expression was stony and blank, I knew there was probably great turmoil within.
She slouched a little, sagging into the chair. She stared at the wall, as though transfixed, running the kiss through her mind once more. Her heart fluttered, and again she told herself that it meant nothing. She had managed to convince herself that even if it did mean something, neither of them could act on it.
She heaved a deep sigh. She hadn't really seen him since December 26th. She was positive he had returned to school, because she still heard Ron complaining about him after his Potions class. And she caught glimpses of blond hair at the Slytherin table during meals, though he remained rather elusive.
Ginny knew he was avoiding her. She wondered if he was as pained as she was. Why did he have to go and kiss her? Now she can't get her mind off of him.
"Oh, come on, Gin. You need to snap out of it!" she said aloud.
But it was always easier said than done. She set down her quill, and closed her books, shoving them aside. She laid her head on the table, mimicking the same position she'd seen Draco in, long ago.
"You only talked to him for, what, two, three days? And you don't know a damn thing about him. And…," she paused, sighing, "you're in love with him."
She thought she heard a soft flutter off to her right. She looked, but there was no one there.
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He knew it was dinnertime. But he was too interested in what he was doing to leave. He was spying. He was spying on Virginia Weasley. She was alone in a corner of the library. And Draco knew that if Severus found out he was using the invisibility cloak for something like this, he'd be in big trouble. But it didn't matter.
He had seen her enter the library hours earlier, so he'd dashed back to his room and grabbed the cloak. And he had found her easily enough, behind the shelves and stacks of Astronomy books, flipping through a book that he recognized to be her diary. And he watched her secretly, trying to get his fill. He'd missed her incredibly.
Draco wanted to talk to her. But he didn't know how. Especially after he had gone and said that he could never see her again.
He heard her scold herself. Snap out of it, eh?
"You only talked to him for, what, two, three days? And you don't know a damn thing about him. And…," she paused, sighing, "you're in love with him."
Draco closed his eyes, pressing himself back against a bookshelf, hoping she was talking about him. He knew he shouldn't. But it felt so good. He swallowed and turned to leave. His head was spinning, his chest was aching, but for the first time in weeks, he felt like smiling.
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At dinner, she yawned lavishly. She stretched, closing her eyes. And when she opened them, she saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione all staring at her.
"What?"
They looked at each other, trying to figure out what to say. Finally, Harry sighed and looked to her.
"Ginny, we're worried about you."
"What?"
"You've been so quiet since the holidays. We were wondering if everything was alright," Harry paused, eyeing her carefully, "You don't look too good."
She frowned. Ron felt the need to elaborate.
"Well, look at yourself. Have you even used a comb in the past week? I mean, even Snape takes better care of himself!" Ron's outburst made Hermione smack his shoulder. Hard. Ginny winced for him.
"What he means is: we just want to make sure you are ok. Has there been any trouble with Malfoy?"
Ginny knew her eyes went large, as she registered what Hermione said.
"What?"
The three of them started to look exasperated.
"Ginny," Hermione muttered, pressing a hand to her forehead, "I swear, if you say 'what' one more time…"
"I'm sorry." Ginny looked down at her lap, blushing. Harry reached across the table to give her a fake punch to the chin.
"It'll be alright, kid. Don't you worry about Malfoy."
"What?!"
The three of them rolled their eyes and started smiling. Ginny didn't find it funny. What did they mean about Draco? She hasn't even talked to him in weeks. Her heart clenched, reminding herself how true that was. That kiss. She shook herself.
"Ginny, we heard what has been going on. We overheard Crabbe and Goyle in Potions." Hermione put her arm around her, an awkward sympathetic gesture.
"Those gits were talking about how Malfoy's upset with you."
Ginny's eyes shot up at Harry's words.
"They said that you turned his advances down, and now he's out for blood."
Ginny turned to look at Ron. She couldn't believe this. They believed that?
"For your information, he hasn't so much as looked at me!" Squeezing back tears, she stood up from her seat, stepping over the bench. "That's partly the problem…" Her voice trailed off, and she turned to leave. Walking to the doors, her eyes glanced toward the Slytherin table. Sure enough, as if he'd heard her, he was watching her darkly from under his lashes.
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She was blushing. And he touched her. That made him want to pound Potter into the ground. Well, more so than usual. Draco couldn't turn back to his dinner after that. He watched as Virginia stormed out of the Hall. He resisted every urge to follow her. He sighed and stood up. No, he couldn't follow her.
He left the Hall, and was almost in the Entrance Hall when he heard Severus' voice booming out.
"Detention. Tomorrow. 7 o'clock in my classroom."
"Professor, I – "
"And 10 points from Gryffindor!"
Draco peeked around the corner and was jolted when he realized it was her! Virginia got herself a detention with Snape!
"And detention for you, too, Malfoy. It's not polite to eavesdrop."
Draco's eyes went wide. He realized what was happening. Severus was purposely giving them both detentions together.
He stepped into the hall, shaking his head at Severus. He wanted to mouth the word 'no'.
Severus' eyebrows went up, watching him shaking his head. He smirked and nodded. Draco looked to Virginia, who had her head turned the other way. She looked pained. Almost embarrassed to be there.
"Back to your Common Rooms, the both of you."
Virginia immediately took the opportunity to flee. She rushed past Draco to reach the stairs, and he could see her eyes watering with tears. He turned his head away, and walked toward Severus.
"What do you think you're doing?"
"Watch the lip, Mr. Malfoy. I'll be forced to take away points next." Severus smirked knowingly and started for the dungeons. Draco was on his heels, not willing to let this go.
"I can't serve detention with her! You know that!"
"Know what?"
"Damn it, Severus, you know what I'm talking about."
"What? You too good to serve detention with the likes of her?" Severus sneered over his shoulder at Draco, teasing him.
Draco groaned. True, he had not yet voiced the name of the girl he was in love with. They walked into his office, and Draco threw himself into the chair in front of the desk. Severus took off his robes and laid them across the back of his chair. He settled himself in his seat and looked at Draco with polite amusement. Draco rolled his eyes, not enjoying his best friend's playful mood.
"I hate you sometimes."
"What is it you always say? 'Lighten up?'"
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Detention! With Snape! And with Draco! She couldn't believe it. By the time she reached her Common Room, she was still sniffling. What had she done to deserve detention? She was talking to herself, sure. She'd said a few choice words about Draco, yes. She even kicked Professor Snape, incorrectly assuming that he was the closest wall, alright…alright, she did deserve a detention, even if it was just for booting the Potions Master in the shin.
She stormed up to her room, trying to figure out what she would do. She undressed, slipping into her pajamas. She shuffled to her bed and pulled herself under the warm covers. She closed the curtains surrounding her and laid back.
Dear Merlin, what'll I do tomorrow? But wasn't this the sort of opportunity she'd been waiting for? She'd more or less be alone with Draco. She could ask him all her questions. She could see if he was doing alright. She could even talk to Professor Snape afterwards, if she wanted.
Oooh, Professor Snape. That man! She had noticed the sly look on his face when he assigned Draco detention. She'd even seen Draco's shocked expression. This was a plot. Snape was a bright one, she'd give him that. She supposed she should be thanking him for all of this.
She rolled over, pulling her journal from under her pillow. She flipped a few pages, searching for something she'd written a few days earlier:
Questions that need answering:
What was it like? Did it hurt? Are you hurt?
Was your father proud? Your mother? You? How do you feel?
Have you thought at all about me? Probably too busy. Why'd you kiss me? Why'd you get on that train?
That kiss…what did it mean? Anything to you?
Could I confess something to you? Will you hold it against me? I love you.
Ginny groaned at her childishness. None of these questions seemed very
appropriate. Of course, these were the
ones constantly running through her mind.
But she couldn't imagine herself asking Draco if he'd thought about her
at all. Or about the
kiss. She closed her eyes,
willing herself to calm down. Tomorrow would
come and go, just as the past few weeks have, with Draco avoiding her at all
costs. She'd just have to endure it.
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"Draco, sit down, you're making me dizzy."
He turned to face the potions master. He sneered. Severus was enjoying this far too much.
"Severus, you're the one who said that the timing was wrong. You said that I shouldn't be falling in love. That I shouldn't be endangering anyone right now. What happened to all of that?"
Draco continued his pacing by the fireplace. It was just after dinner, almost seven o'clock.
"And since when have you ever listened to me?" Draco continued to scowl at his Professor.
This was going to be a long and interesting night. Draco sighed, and turned to the door of Snape's office. He marched out, making his way to the potions classroom. Severus was right behind him.
"Let's get a few things straight. I will not be talking to her. I'm going to stay as far away from her as I possibly can. And I'm not touching anything disgusting for detention!"
He stormed into the room, hoping to continue his tirade at Severus, but was startled to find Virginia already sitting in one of the desks, arms folded across her chest, awaiting her punishment.
Draco felt his face flush. He turned around to leave, but Severus stood tall, blocking the doorway. Draco's wide eyes pleaded with the cruel potions master. Please let me leave!
Severus shook his head, pushing Draco into the room. Severus shoved him again, forcing Draco into the seat right beside Virginia. This was ridiculous, he thought.
"I'll have you know that my father will hear about this!" Draco nearly smiled, feeling like his old self. Severus cleared his throat, disguising a laugh. He even noticed the small girl beside him shake with silent laughter. This could be rather fun.
"Detention. Let me see…"
Severus stalked up to the front of the room, looking around. He glanced at his desk. He looked at the workbenches around the room. He frowned, looking at the floors, at the storeroom, at the cabinets.
"Honestly, I think the worst punishment I could assign would be this." He unlocked a cabinet and pulled out a small flask. He handed it to Draco.
Draco read the label aloud: "Veritaserum."
For the first time, the little Weasley spoke up.
"You can't be serious."
"Well, how else am I going to get the two of you to talk with each other?"
Virginia blushed a deep scarlet, and Draco scowled at Severus. The potions master simply shrugged and took the bottle back. He replaced it in the cabinet and turned back around.
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Veritaserum. Ginny knew better than to really believe he'd use it. It was too expensive to use for such frivolous matters. But it still scared her. She'd be forced to tell the truth. She'd be sitting there, exposing her heart to Draco, right in front of Professor Snape.
She drew a long breath of relief as the professor turned to lock it away.
When he turned back around, her breath caught in her throat anew. The look on his face was merciless.
She looked to Draco. He refused to look directly at her. He was busy, at the moment, glaring at Professor Snape. Ginny certainly understood how he felt. The man was setting them up for a long fall.
"So, what'll it be? A real detention, or a long-needed conversation?"
Ginny glanced at Draco. He crossed his arms, unwilling to respond. She rolled her eyes and crossed her arms, too. This was ridiculous!
"I didn't imagine the two of you would be such babies about all of this." Ginny looked at him, indignantly.
"Well, I suppose if I left you alone, it'd be a rather cruel punishment. I'll be back in two hours."
He stormed out of the room, leaving her alone with Draco Malfoy in the silent and still room.
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It was deafening. The silence in the room. He swore he'd never forgive Severus for this. He knew there was nothing stopping him from getting up and leaving right then. But he couldn't get his body to obey. He couldn't move. Stand up! Walk out that door! Leave! NOW!
Not a response from his body. He was sitting there, still and tall, his arms crossed over his chest. Draco chanced a look over at Virginia. She was looking as dazed and confused as he was. And she looked scared.
The moments passed. The two of them in complete silence. Draco relaxed a little, thinking that perhaps they'd be able to spend the entire two hours avoiding each other –
"What was it like?"
He closed his eyes, preparing himself for this. He looked at her, seeing her warm eyes, her worried expression, her small hands hooking hair behind her ear. He chose not to answer, but was unable to look away.
"Did it hurt? Getting the Dark Mark?"
He turned away, closing his eyes. It hurt. It hurt more than anything he'd ever experienced. But he hadn't expected any less. And his father was proud of him. He hadn't winced, or groaned, or cried out. Not a tear, not a flinch, nothing. No sign of any feeling. Because, Draco remembered, he'd felt completely numb with pain. Not from the Dark Mark itself, no. But from the sealing of his fate. A giant door shutting.
Again, he chose not to answer. He stared at the stone wall at the front of the room. She shuffled a bit in her seat. She then said something that melted his heart.
"I missed you."
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U2 – Even Better Than the Real Thing
Chapter 14 - All I Want Is You
U2
For complete listings, check previous chapters, or:
http://www.lorddave.com/evenbetter/song_lyrics.htm
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Author's Notes:
Hello! Final exams are upon me, so please forgive me for the choppy, semi-lame chapter. I thought it'd be cute if Severus attempted to get them together. He's certainly not encouraging them to share a public "I love you" relationship. He just thinks that they need each other and he's willing to mediate their encounters. Though I'm sure the idea struck him only after Ginny kicked him in the shin!
There may not be an update for a while. I'll try to update once more this week, though no promises…
Please don't forget to review. I live for your reviews!!
Till next time –
Eclipsed Planet