Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.
Chapter 10:
The Getaway
It was nearing Christmas. Color-changing tinsel, large, singing baubles, and crudely wrapped presents were sprouting up faster than garden gnomes during summer. The burrow was filled to near-bursting with the smell of home-cooked meals and the general holiday cheer – not to mention the Weasley family themselves. A happier household couldn't be found…
…and yet, Ginny was stuck in bed feeling thoroughly miserable.
Well, she wasn't completely miserable, of course. The grins of her family were infectious and she had been looking forward to this for quite some time… but that last fight with Draco had put her off, and while the presence of her elder brothers was enough to push such thoughts to the back of her mind, she had come home only to find that she ached all over and her head would not stop pounding. So, she was sent to bed with little else to do but dwell on a certain Slytherin whom she currently wished she had never met.
Blast! Her mind growled as she tapped her pencil against a blank page. If only he hadn't – if only I hadn't – Ginny glared down at the page in frustration. Merely a piece of scrap paper and not her magnificent, leather-bound journal. That served as a reminder of yet another thing that had gone wrong on that fateful train ride. She had – for the third bleeding time! – lost the book that Charlie had given her. Hopefully her elder brother wouldn't inquire of its presence.
And if Dra – Malfoy hadn't decided to barge in on me I would still have the damn book! But by now, did she even want the stupid thing back? The book seemed to be a lot more trouble than it was worth… especially after she had sketched Draco in it…That jerk… If only… if only – argh! I hate him!
She wished, at the moment, that that there was a little more truth to that last statement. She feared she was beginning to miss his presence.
Oh, if only –
"Ginny?" Molly Weasley peered into the room. "How are you doing, sweetheart?"
Ginny had to refrain from rolling her eyes. She might have come to expect it from her brothers, but couldn't her mother learn to knock?
"I'm feeling better, Mum," Ginny said, trying her hardest to sound as if that were really true. If anything she was feeling worse, but after spending the first half of her vacation confined to bed she was rather desperate for escape.
"Enough to come shopping with us this afternoon?" her mother asked, crossing the room. The bed sank beneath her weight, groaning like the living dead.
"I think so."
"Are you sure, dear?"
"Ye-es, Mom, I'm sure! Please, let me go – I haven't finished my Christmas shopping yet!" Maybe she was coming off as a little desperate, but… well, she was desperate, and her mum would probably mistake it for pent up energy anyway.
"Well… alright," her mother caved, "we'll be leaving as soon as I can round up a couple of your brothers, so you hurry and get ready."
"Okay!" Ginny chirped, with a smile that was just a little too large. Her hands itched to literally push her mother out the door, but she opted instead to wait until her mother had safely closed the door behind her before rising unsteadily from the bed. The wooden floor felt good against her bare feet; it was cool and gritty, like sand in the shade.
It was also just as old and battered as everything else in the burrow.
She glanced around her room. The patchwork quilts atop her bed were rumpled into miniature mountains. Yellowing curtains hung about her window listlessly, like ghosts, the too-bright winter sunlight reflecting off the snow and streaming in through the panes. Old books and clothes and all sorts of odds and ends were strewn about her floor as if flung by the cold hands of a hurricane.
This was her home and as much as she loved it, spending too much time alone here tended to bring her spirits down.
Ginny sighed and moved haltingly to the dresser where she stopped to lean against it. She had no fever, but her head was pounding and her bones felt as if they were slowly being ground into dust. It was the oddest illness she had ever had. But she would just have to suck it up. She was going to get out for a while, and that was that!
Quickly she dressed, took a moment to find her balance, and then hurried out the door.
If only… he'd meant it… when he kissed me…
Diagon Alley was always bustling, always packed with people possessing varying degrees of oddity, always squirming with the throngs of witches and wizards. It would be overwhelming to one who was new to the experience – which Ginny certainly was not.
It was actually something of a comfort to be back among the public, flanked by Bill and Percy, and followed by her parents. So much so, that by the time they had stepped into Flourish and Blott's for a look around, the ache that had plagued her all of winter break was practically gone.
Ginny smiled as she absently browsed the lesser-known literature section, stopping every now and then to glance at anything that caught her eye. She tipped a book off the shelf and took in the title. 'Reach for the Stars: a guide to making your dreams come true!' the cover read, in bold, colorful letters. What the…? Ginny snorted, Draco would probably say it was - She stopped that thought before it could go any further. She didn't care what he would say.
"Ginny! Hurry it up, eh? – We're leaving!" Bill poked his head around the corner, beckoning her with a movement of his hand.
"Already?" she asked, brows raised, as she slipped the book back onto the shelf. "We just got here."
Her brother heaved a sigh. "Percy's dragging us to Gringott's."
Ginny blinked. "What for?"
"It's Perce. Do you really have to ask? Probably something boring, dull, Ministry related, and…" he paused, as if deep in thought. "have I already said boring?"
"And… you mean 'us' as in Mum and Dad, right?"
"Um… no." Ginny gasped in mock horror. "I'm afraid Mum'll come after me with a pair scissors in my sleep if I skip out on this one – she's got that look in her eye… you know the one." Bill fingered his growing rope of hair nervously.
"Is there any hope for me?" Ginny asked, brow creased with worry. Whatever form of torture-by-boredom Percy had decided to inflict on them this time, she was less than up to it. She had just gotten out of the hospital ward that was her room and she was not going to spend who knew how long in yet another prison.
"I can't say for sure… but it's probably worth a try. Don't just disappear, though. Make an excuse and I'll try to back you up – you can do it while we're waiting in line," Bill rolled his eyes. "Percy needs a new planner. You'd think his head would fall of without one."
Ginny was compelled to agree with his assessment. She snickered quietly as they made there way toward their family.
What was she supposed to say? No matter how well she insisted she was feeling her parents would be reluctant to let her out of their sight alone… so it had to be something good… Her eyes darted to her parents, who were fussing over the charms on Percy's planner. Something really good…She scanned the crowds as her mind raced, trying to grasp at the loose threads of anything that could save her from a lackluster doom. Anything…
Her gaze panned the shop, swooping across the store-front window where it lurched to a graceless stop. Her eyes must have been the size of dinner plates, but she took no note of it; her thoughts all seemed to swim in one direction, screeching at her in one voice. What is he doing here?!
And then, as if he had heard her mental cries, he casually turned to glance into the shop and the slate-grey eyes of Draco Malfoy widened as dramatically as her own.
Through a sort of surprised haze she offered him a timid, apologetic smile, and was thoroughly shocked when she thought she saw his lips quirk upwards in response.
…Or anyone.
"Oy – Gin, who's that? Your new boyfriend?"
"NO!" she snapped automatically. Bill held up his hands defensively.
"Hey – it's what anyone would think with you two making eyes at each other like that…"
"I was not –" Ginny huffed, cutting off as Bill merely smiled at her. There was no convincing some people.
"Aw… my little sis is all grown up…" She slugged his arm and he subsided. "So, what's his name?"
"Oh… er…" she faltered, glancing over at her parents who stood a few feet away. She couldn't tell him the truth, and Bill had never met Draco anyway… a name popped into her head and she spit it out before she could think on it. "Colin Creevey!"
Mentally Ginny slapped herself.
"Colin Creevey?" Bill echoed.
"Y-yeah… he's a friend from school…" she continued, a little louder than necessary, shooting glances at her parents to make sure they were listening. "Wow – it's been such a long time since we've spoken… we had a bit of a row before the hols, you know, and I wish I had the time to apologize… Say, do you think I could go catch up with him for a while…?"
"Oh, Ginny dear, I don't know –" her mother started.
"Please, Mum? I'll meet up with you guys later."
Her mother frowned. "Ginny, do I know this boy?"
Ginny's eyes widened for the second time that day. "Mo-om! He's just a friend!" Sort of… "And anyway, he's – he's… not interested in girls!"
Draco would hate her for this if he ever found out.
"I believe I remember young Colin," Percy cut in, "as a fairly upstanding – if a bit… overenthusiastic – student."
"I don't know…" her mother began slowly, and Ginny could hear the walls crumbling beneath her thoughtful tone. She was caving.
"Ah, just let her go, Mum," said Bill. "It's not like she's still in her nappies."
"I'm only worried – you know she hasn't been feeling well…"
"I feel fine!" Ginny all but shouted. She was becoming impatient. But not because she could have been talking to Draco instead. It wasn't that at all.
"She'll be fine, Molly," her father stepped in, and Ginny could see the battle had been won. Had she told her dad recently how much she loved him?
"Well… alright," her mother agreed reluctantly. Ginny didn't wait to hear anymore. With a quick 'meet you at Leaky's in a couple hours' she was out the door.
Well, actually she collided with Draco before she could reach it. She looked into his face for a moment and, recalling that she might still be in view of her family, pulled him from the shop by his sleeve with all due haste.
After they were a more than reasonable distance from Flourish and Blott's Ginny stopped, leaning against the nearest wall and panting. When she regained her breath she noticed that Draco was staring at her.
She laughed nervously, trying to ease the tension in the air even as it began to seep inside of her.
What was she even doing here, with him? Was she really so starved for his presence? She could have just left, pretended not to know him. She could have just run after 'Colin.' Bill might have noticed – he was observant about such things – but no one else would have. She wondered… would he have gone after her, if she hadn't latched onto him?
Warily, Ginny looked up at her companion. He was still staring, his mouth thinned subtly and his brows drawn up just so. His expression could only be described as contemplative, rather than fierce or intimidating as she might have thought months prior. But nevertheless, he was still staring.
"What?" she asked. It came out a little harsher than she'd intended.
"Was that really necessary?"
She frowned. "Was what really necessary?"
"You know – the running down crowded, narrow streets and forgetting the person attached to your arm…"
"I'm sorry, I don't see where you're going with this…"
"And I shouldn't have expected you to – but while you were weaving in and out of people and brick walls alike, didn't you give any thought at all to the fact that you could've flung me into numerous harmful objects?"
"Eh… did I?" she asked meekly.
Draco shrugged and leaned against the wall beside her. "Nah, but that's the last time I let you drag me around."
Ginny contemplated him for a moment, tension alleviated, then grinned deviously.
"No, it's not!"
"Wha?–" was all Draco had time to get out before Ginny grabbed him again, by the hand this time, and took off down the street.
"Remind me again why we're here."
Ginny only glanced at him.
"Well… I was sort of hungry… this just seemed like the place to go." She shrugged and reclined back into her chair by the fire of the Leaky Cauldron. It wasn't long before he did the same.
They listened to the fire hiss and spit for a while.
"You want me to get you something to eat, don't you?"
Evidently, that surprised her enough to make her sit up and stare at him, incredulousness etched into her features. She narrowed those chocolate eyes at him in suspicion.
"You're offering?"
Draco could only shrug, not really sure why he had spoken in the first place. If he did buy her something… well… that would be almost.... That would be the sort of thing one did for a date – not loudmouthed, rambunctious, fire-spitting, childish, fun, brilliant, gorgeous... Just not Ginny Weasley!
Gods, barely over a week without even a glance at her and now it was as if he was on the wrong end of some seriously debilitating withdrawal symptoms. He was losing his head around her faster than a muggle might in the Ministry of Magic– had already lost it one time before.
A tiny voice in the back of his mind told him he wouldn't mind losing it again, but he quashed it like a bug before it could get any louder.
They had come to the unspoken agreement that nothing had happened. They had never met up on the train, he didn't still have that stupid journal, he had never… Well, there was nothing to talk about. Nothing had happened.
"No," he finally told her. It didn't come out as harsh as he had hoped.
"That's what I thought," Ginny sighed, and dropped back into her chair. He tried to keep from cringing when he thought he detected disappointment in her voice. When did I become so soft? If this keeps up, he thought morbidly, I'll be a walking marshmallow come spring…
He was shocked to find that it didn't seem to matter as much as it once had.
He had come to Diagon Alley on a whim – the manor was dull around the holidays and he needed to blow some of his Christmas cash; this was just as good a place as any to do it. He hadn't expected to run into Ginny, and he definitely hadn't expected to spend any time at all with her, much less to actually want to….
But here he was, sitting by her side in front of a roaring fire and contemplating offering – seriously, this time – to treat her to lunch.
"But…" Draco broke the silence suddenly. He couldn't help it. "I suppose… it would be cruel to let you starve…"
Ginny stared at him as if he had just grown another head.
"Well –" She never got the chance to say anything more.
"Hello, hello! Hope I'm not interrupting anything"
They both turned to look at the new-comer and it wasn't hard to guess who he was. Long red hair, faded freckles, grungy clothing – this was one of Ginny's brothers. Deep, deep inside of him, Draco started to worry.
"Bill! I thought you were with –"
"I was, but we were all getting kind of hungry, so I offered to go ahead and find us a table – you know, in case there was a long wait."
"Oh, you're so thoughtful," Ginny rolled her eyes, and Draco began to feel distinctly out of place as Bill turned his eyes to him.
"You're that Creevey fellow, aren't you?"
It was probably a good thing they had never ordered any food, because if Draco had been eating at that moment, he probably would have spit it out into Bill's face.
Why on earth did this moron seem to believe he was a hyperactive member of the Harry Potter fan club?
"Yup – this is him," Ginny inserted before he had the chance to get a word in. She silenced him with a threatening glare, and he decided to go along with it rather than suffer personal injury.
"Nice to meet you," Draco muttered sullenly. Ginny elbowed him in the ribs and he straightened up, shaking Bill's hand with a little more gusto.
"Hope you're treating my little sister well," Bill winked. Draco shot an alarmed glance at Ginny – what exactly had she told him about 'Colin'?
Ginny just laughed, though it sounded a little forced to Draco's ears. "I already told you – he doesn't like girls." Draco choked. "Anything wrong, Colin?"
"Something in my throat," he managed, cowed by the edge in her voice.
"You mean you're really…?" Bill trailed off, probably scared of offending him. "I thought Gin was just making that up…"
Oh-ho, what she going to get it for this!
"No." His eye twitched. "My camera is my only love."
"You have a camera?" Bill asked with interest. "Where is it?" "Um… it's… in my pocket…"
"Really? I didn't know they made cameras that small."
"Yes," he deadpanned, tossing his shriveled dignity out the window. "It's very delicate."
"I bet Dad'll want to see it."
"No, it's custom made, no one else can –"
"Where is Dad, anyway?" Ginny asked suddenly.
"Well, he and Mum should be here soon – Oh" Bill nodded towards the doorway. "There's Perce, now."
Draco could see Ginny's eyes darting for escape, and they found it in the bottle of floo powder atop the mantle.
"Tell everyone we've gone to… to Hogsmeade. We'll be back later!"
She left no room for protest as the green flames roared to life and swallowed her up. Draco shifted uncomfortably in her absence. He guessed she expected him to follow…
"Um… bye," he said to Bill, who looked faintly perplexed.
The last thing he saw before the rush of the floo network was Ginny's other brother, Percy, as he came up to speak with Bill.
"Nice chap, that Colin," Bill remarked conversationally, to Percy after the fire had resumed its normal color.
"I'm sure," Percy replied, with little interest. The younger Weasley wrinkled his nose. "But I'm sorry you had to meet with Malfoy's son, just now. That git." Bill decided to remain silent. "Say, have you seen Ginny? She said she'd meet us here."
"She's gone to Hogsmeade," said Bill, "With…Colin."
A/N: Eight entire pages! Yeesh… I had a hard time writing this chapter, for some reason… but oh well. This is supposed to be a fun chapter – I don't think I do 'fun' very well. The next chapter should be pure fluff, so I don't think this it's going to be much easier for me… Anyway, I want to say thanks for the reviews! They are much appreciated.
Socchan: No problemo – I'm actually sort of embarrassed to have you read this story because… I dunno – it's Harry Potter and… I guess I never thought I'd be writing something like this (it's too light and fluffy .! Agh!). I'm planning on a dark-ish IY fic after this – I miss writing anime!! Gah – anyway, you're so lucky! I wish I was on vacation… Is that why you haven't updated 'Hanyou in Tokyo' for so long?? I hope you update soon (But if you're not at home now, at least you have a decent excuse ^_~)!
Rach W.: Haha… I don't know what to say – compliments embarrass me .! I hope this was an okay chapter… I didn't really like it, and I had problems with the dialogue… eh – hopefully the next chapter will make up for it because that's when they finally get together!! Whoo! Of course, they break up again later, but that's further down the road… hehe…
MiMercury: Ginny is an amazing character? Hehe… I like hearing that, but I wonder if I'm being true to her character in the book… the Ginny in the new HP book seemed a little more… outspoken than mine… Oh well – Draco is still cute, right?
Emily22: Yeah, I get what you're saying – I've been trying to make things seem coincidental – you know like… when there's something that seems insignificant, but then later it turns out that it was a big deal? Or when everything kind of comes together at the end? Well, that's what I wanted to do, but… I can't tell if it's working -.-;… Did you mean something like that, or am I just making no sense (I do that sometimes -.-)?
Mandy: See, look, they're getting along fine here… sort of. Ah, well, it's my belief that you can't pair Draco with anybody without a lot of bickering! And maybe that's not completely true, but it'll hold for this story ^^… yes, that's right – the fighting will continue!! Haha!!
Yami's Girl Forever: It's okay… I'm a little partial to violence myself… *strokes lead pipe absently*… Erm… anyway – I always thought that someone, at some point, at least once, should call Voldemort Voldie! It would be funny! And J.K.R. has to get tired of typing 'Voldemort' over and over again, right? Maybe someday, she'll get tired of it… Voldemort is a pretty long name, you know… hehe… Ok, off the subject of voldemort for a moment; there was one thing about your review that really got to me… 'Your probably too sophisticated for cartoons' – hahaha… that's hilarious! Me, sophisticated… *snorts* I love cartoons! They are my favorite form of entertainment (besides manga) – talk about cartoons all you want ^^! Doesn't bother me a bit. And… don't worry… the chainsaw is always fresh in my mind…
FyreFaerieGinny: You giggled?? *squeals* Ah! Someone giggled at my story!!!! Whooo!! Haha… calming down now… *ahem*… I always giggle at my favorite stories… after I read a good part, I can't stop smiling! My face gets stuck like this ^_____^ … hehe, so what'd you think of this chapter length? I thought this was a little longer than normal… but maybe that's just me ^^;;