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.
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Chapter 16: I'm Looking Through You
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The rest of the year had simply flown by. Progressively, the professors and other students noticed a change in Draco's behavior. For the worse. He became a greater prat than he once was. Always ready to offer a snide remark, to push someone down to make himself look better.
He played Quidditch hard, and studied even harder. He was at the top of his class, in every class, beating Granger at every step. Even Professor McGonagall couldn't deny his hard work.
And for reasons completely unknown, his apparent hatred toward Potter and Weasley grew. Of course, no one was spared from his wrath. No one, except a small fifth year Gryffindor student, who he ignored entirely.
Draco did everything he could to avoid her. He would walk a half hour out of his way to avoid her in the halls, he'd sit with his back to the Gryffindor table to avoid chance glances, he would sit in the library only with his friends, who would scare away any student. He avoided her when he could.
He hoped that nobody noticed that fact that the seldom few times he did walk past her, or did glance at her in the Great Hall, she light up like a Christmas tree. She always blushed a deep red, all the way to the roots of her flaming hair.
And Draco also hoped nobody noticed him blushing either.
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The year was over. Ginny'd be a sixth year next year. She couldn't really believe how fast the rest of the year had gone by. She'd started the new year with a broken heart, and as the months passed, she'd felt the swell of pain slowly fade.
Other students noticed she had reverted to her former quiet self, more reserved. Yet she was also less clumsy and more confident. But nobody noticed how her composure shattered around a particularly nasty sixth year Slytherin. Her knees trembled, and her heart thumped loudly in her chest. She really didn't know how to act, or what to do, and though she was grateful for all the times he deftly avoided her, she resented it as well.
Ginny couldn't understand what had happened to their friendship. It was there one moment, and the next gone. But what did it matter now? He certainly wanted nothing to do with her, he made that quite clear. So why did she have to blush beet red every time his eyes so much as flickered in her direction? Why did she stumble over her own feet when she smelled his cologne as he swept past her? Why did she feel weak when she thought about never talking to him again?
She didn't know. And for some reason, she didn't want to know. But the year was finally over.
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Another year, came and left. His seventh year. It simply flew by.
He vaguely remembered the short, muddled summer, which he spent in a state of stupor, not knowing where he was going, who he was talking to, or what was happening to him. Draco realized that he was changing, but there was little he could do to prevent it. He was transforming, slowly, into his father. Cunning, manipulative, and extraordinarily charming. And the Draco Malfoy that was safely locked away within him was becoming more and more difficult to find.
The train ride to school, the first few weeks in his seventh-year classes, his first Quidditch game of the season. All of these events flew by. Time wouldn't slow for him. Not for him, not for anybody.
His attitude problem was quickly noted, and for the most part, everyone avoided him.
Christmas, his birthday, New Years – all passed, and felt like only a matter of moments. And before he could blink, it seemed that Easter was upon him. Along with the advances of a young Miss Virginia Weasley. She had tried to talk to him. Tried to talk with him. But he refused. He acted as though she were something nasty stuck to the bottom of his shoe.
Though she was clever, and managed to corner him one evening in the library. He remembered the way his heart leapt in his chest as she pressed herself close, her warm breath on his cheek. Her words still haunted him.
Draco Malfoy, so good to see you back to your normal self. You great prat.
I know you want nothing to do with me. Nothing.
But I cannot let you continue like this. You have to be true to yourself, or you'll lose.
The almighty Draco Malfoy will fall. He'll fail. Remember that. Be true.
He remembered pushing her away, and scoffing at her.
"Shove off, Weasley, I don't need your bloody advice."
And giving him a taste of his own medicine, she spun on her heel, and left without another word.
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Ginny felt as though it were a tragedy. She'd been watching him all year. And he'd changed. Definitely. And now when he was about to graduate, she worked up the nerve to try talking to him one last time.
But Draco wouldn't let her. He was blocking her out. And that only made her more determined. She had made it her mission to crack his protective sphere of lies, before he left for the real world.
The only time she'd managed to utter a word to him was a quiet Friday evening in the library, only a week before the seventh-years graduated. She pounced on him, cornering him, making sure no one else was around to see. She said everything to him that she'd been dying to say for the past year. Well, nearly everything. I love you, Draco. Now, those words would certainly not be welcomed.
And he had acted indifferent. Like she was wasting his time. So be it. At least she was able to tell him what was on her mind.
Now there was only a matter of days before graduation. She felt a chill run through her body. She felt cold and lonely. Her brother, Harry, Hermione. They were all leaving. And Draco, too. The feeling was similar to the one she felt when she went to Kings Cross Station for the first time. She'd been there to see Ron off to his first year. He had been leaving her, going to a bigger and better place. Yes, that was exactly the feeling she felt now.
Like she was being abandoned.
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U2 – Even Better Than the Real Thing
The Beatles or The Wallflowers – I'm Looking Through You
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A/N:
Alright, so sorry I haven't updated in forever! My sincerest apologies. This is the transitional chapter, where we learn that time has passed, they've grown apart. The next chapter will include Draco's graduation – some more time passing – and then they meet again. And for a very particular reason, which we will learn! Stay tuned, folks, I promise not to make you wait tooooo long.
Please review! Thanks for reading.
-Eclipsed Planet