Malfoy Invasion
By Cassandra Sisenta
A/N: I UPDATED!!!! Sorry if this took so long! RL and stuff happened! Sorry!! Well, I'm not sure when the next chappie is coming out but it will because I already have an idea. ^_^ I believe this chapter isn't up to par with my usual, but I just had to get this out. I'm sorry if it sucks. Flames are welcome. Also, this is already considered AU since I decided not to edit or add anything more so that Order of the Phoenix would be accommodated. Enjoy!
DISCLAIMER: I own nothing.
Chapter IX
Denial
Ginny blinked. Once. Twice. Thrice.
Blaise Zabini was still there, standing in front of her with a questioning look on his face that was only made possible by a lifted, aristocratic eyebrow.
Damn Slytherin Suaveness…
Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but the most eloquent thing she could come up at the moment was the small sound of
"Er…"
If anything, Blaise Zabini's gaze turned from questioning to weary. He sighed.
"Are all Gryffindors as gifted in speaking as you? I don't really know. Haven't really talked to one in ages."
The statement came out quite strange and Ginny didn't feel particularly insulted. She wondered why, but she couldn't find an answer.
She shifted her weight to her other foot and twirled a couple of strands of her long red hair around her finger as she looked back at the tall, violet-eyed Slytherin.
"Maybe you should talk to some of us for a while then you'd find we're not all that bad."
Blaise must have realized how strange their conversation was that he had to smirk. "Nice suggestion. Don't mind if I don't say 'thanks, I'll give it a whirl sometime'. Slytherin rep to protect."
Ginny nodded slowly.
The clock that was over Ginny's head ticked and tocked as if nothing strange was going on.
Ginny fiddled with her hair.
Blaise looked back at her blankly.
This is awkward…They both thought simultaneously.
The spell was broken when Blaise cleared his throat and Ginny jumped to attention.
"So, what is it that you're having problem with, Little Weasley? Well, aside from your wrong listing of ingredients and the fact that you can't talk beyond an 'er'?"
He slipped into a seat in front of her and waited for her to sit down and answer his questions. He gazed at her through steady violet eyes and she can't help but feel slightly uneasy.
Blaise Zabini was a puzzle. He was never one to participate gamely with the Slytherin games of mockery as far as she knew. He had always been by Malfoy's side, yes, but he barely said a word when Malfoy started his tirade. No one really knew much about him. He was pretty good at melting into the background and he barely spoke a word to anyone aside from those in his house. An air of mystery always enveloped him, which was probably why he was one of the most wanted and yet unattainable boys in the seventh year.
"Well Weasley?"
Ginny blinked and sat down in front of him.
It was as if Blaise noticed her uneasiness and he had to ask,
"What's bothering you, Weasley?" He smirked at her slightly, almost lazily. "I know for a fact that you've grown a backbone through the summer and I know you've been holding your own against Malfoy for some time now. Care to share so that I'll be able to get an answer out of you? I can't tutor you if you won't talk to me."
So he doesn't know e? Interesting…"It's you Zabini."
Blaise Zabini's eyebrow raised again. "Me?"
"Yes you." She said, not believing that she was really telling him this.
This was really an awkward conversation.
Blaise paused and looked at her. It took a few more moments before a new expression overtook his face. He was grinning slightly with an amused light in his deep violet eyes. He leaned back on his chair and looked at her.
She was hit with a sense of shock when he said,
"Disappointed that it was me who became your tutor? Expecting someone else?"
"What?" Ginny asked almost dumbly, looking at him.
The dark-haired Slytherin sighed and ran a hand through his hair in an almost exasperated manner. "Malfoy. You were expecting Malfoy weren't you?"
Ginny's eyes widened as she looked at him. Now she was struck dumb. How in the world did he find that out?
"How did you—"
"Care to enlighten me, Little Weasley?"
"It's Ginny."
Blaise waved away her protest carelessly. "Whatever. Anyway, can you tell me how you, a Weasley and Gryffindor at that, came to be with such a Slytherin git like Malfoy?"
Actually, she thought Malfoy would be the one who would tutor her since he happened to be the best in Potions and as far as she knew, Malfoy wasn't exactly tutoring anyone. That was what she was thinking.
It took a whole five seconds for Ginny to digest what Zabini had just said to her.
Her mouth dropped open as her mind tried to think of something witty to retort to that.
"What??"
"Oh don't deny it, Weasley." Blaise began, his eyes rolling in exasperation and his back resting against the chair. He looked at her almost tiredly, wearily as he slouched gracefully (Ginny NEVER thought anyone could slouch gracefully) and continued. "You're one of the few people he actually talks to anymore and that should mean something special. Malfoy doesn't do things just because it struck his fancy for a while. So tell me, what's going on between you and the Slytherin Prince?"
Ginny's head was whirling.
Here's a note for Ginny's Blaise Zabini file: Blaise Zabini can speak so many sentences if he tried while slouching GRACEFULLY against an old wooden chair and say something so outlandish all at the same time.
"….Excuse me?" Ginny began, finally. It was only then that she realized that she needed to breathe and breathe she did. Deeply even. Her head felt so light. It was like she was going to faint any moment and the expecting look on her Slytherin tutor's face was just making her head whirl even worse.
He's actually serious about all this.
"Are you implying that I have something, er, special with Malfoy?" She continued weakly.
"Oh sure, if implying means pulling out a sign and dancing with it while singing at the top of your lungs what the sign said." All this was said in Blaise's deep drawl and Ginny would have laughed at the imagery if she weren't feeling so dizzy.
"Come now, Weasley. Don't be difficult."
"I'm not being difficult." Ginny answered, looking at Blaise bleary-eyed.
"Yes, and I'm the Prime Minister of Japan."
"No really…" She insisted, slowly, slowly getting grasp of her sanity and her composure. It took all of her calm not to stand up and start screaming at the Slytherin Prefect that she was not involved with Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Git, in the way he thought. It was the most ridiculous thing!
"Malfoy and I, we're nothing."
"What about the weekly meetings then?" Blaise prompted, not giving up.
"Draco—I mean, Malfoy's just checking up on Rizza and I'm supposed to be his spy."
Blaise's eyebrow lifted. He caught the slip. "Nothing more?"
Ginny nodded almost numbly.
"Nothing more."
Blaise's eyes narrowed as he looked at her and Ginny almost flinched under his scrutiny. Why is it that he can make her so uncomfortable?
After a few more moments of scrutiny, Blaise's hand reached for Ginny's books and parchment and he turned his intense gaze to them.
"Potions then. What's the problem, Weasley?"
Ginny continued to stare at Blaise.
He's done?
Really?
"Weasley, I might melt. Look at something else."
"Oh! Sorry." Ginny scooted towards a bored-looking Blaise Zabini and began talking about her difficulties.
Yes, they're talking Potions now.
Potions.
Snape's class.
Where Draco Malfoy is at the top of the class.
Shut up about Malfoy already!
If there was one class that Draco Malfoy found utterly useless (aside from Care of Magical Creatures) it was History of Magic. For one, it was a class that was taught by a ghost who practically doesn't care that his students are all dozing off or not paying attention. For two, he kept on talking about Goblin Rebellions and never moved into another subject matter.
Yes, he understood that the Goblin rebellions contributed much to the subject of governing, but did he have to repeat it over and over again? Why can't he ever talk about something else?
And so Draco Malfoy found himself again in his dusty History of Magic classroom with his chin over his palm and looking straight through Professor Binns who did nothing but read monotonously from his dusty notes.
His lazy gray eyes surveyed his classmates and practically found the same expressions on different faces. Slytherin was sharing the class with Ravenclaw and believe it or not, most of the Ravenclaws were almost falling off their desks in their sleepiness. If you prodded Terry Boot with a finger he would certainly wind up on the floor.
The Slytherins were almost the same. Most of them were looking indifferently at nothing while others were doing all sorts of things just to keep them awake. Pansy Parkinson was reading the latest copy of Teen Witch blatantly. Crabbe and Goyle were flicking paper balls at each other when the other wasn't looking. Blaise was writing something on a page of parchment that he knew had nothing to do with History of Magic. Professor Binns never took notice anyway.
Draco was about to resort to digging into his bag for something to do when he felt something hit him on the arm. His eyes narrowed when he looked up and tried to look for the source, but the only thing he saw was the piece of sky blue paper on his desk. Looking around suspiciously, he opened the note and was faced with familiar handwriting.
A: So suspicious, Draco? It's only me.
A smile that was barely there came to being in Draco's face as he looked up just in time to see distinct ocean green eyes flicking from his direction. He drew out his quill and wrote down a message back.
D: No one writes me love letters during lessons, Adriana.
He reached forward to his left side and tossed the piece of paper across the aisle to his cousin's desk and slid back into his seat. It wasn't long before another piece of paper appeared by his arm. And when I say appeared, I meant appeared as in "poof".
A: Are you a wizard or not? Use your wand. Tap the paper three times and say my name. It was written on the paper.
Draco looked up in puzzlement at Adriana to have her nod at him, barely registering the fact that Professor Binns had just flipped a page of his notes and had caused Padma Patil who was in front to sneeze from the dust. He turned to look at his piece of paper and drew out his wand.
Blaise was looking at him curiously from the side as well and Draco ignored him.
He tapped the paper three times and whispered his cousin's name. It disappeared in a blink.
Adriana sighed up ahead and waved the paper to Draco's direction.
Draco smirked and nodded.
Adrianna rolled her eyes and lazily tapped the paper.
Draco quickly wrote down a response when the paper returned to him.
D: Interesting paper you got here. Where'd you get it?A: Lassie's.
D: Lassie's? Draco raised an eyebrow at the response. The girly shop?
A: Yes, the girly shop. They sell all sorts of interesting things. This is magical note-sharing paper. Teachers wouldn't be able to catch it if you're discreet enough. Ingenious. I don't think Binns could see this though.
D: I doubt it. He's barely aware of anything. I think he'd even notice if a herd of hippogryffs came in here and trampled us all to death.
A: Got over the hippogryff incident, have you?
D: Bugger off, you.
A: Smile, Drake.
D: Smirking works better for me, thank you very much.
A: Ah…ever the Slytherin aren't you, cousin of mine?
B: I'm bored. Talk to me.
Draco frowned at Blaise who had managed to intercept the paper from his grasp and had written on it himself.
D: What if I don't want to?A: Hello, Blaise.
B: Hello, Adriana. Don't you have pity at all, Draco Malfoy? I'm bored here. Talk to me.
D: How rude. You're interrupting a conversation.
A: It's fine with me, Blaise. Welcome to the conversation. ^_^
B: At least one Malfoy is nice to me.
D: Up yours, Zabini.
B: Is that any way to talk in the presence of a lady, Malfoy?
D: She's hardly a lady, Zabini. She's a Malfoy and my cousin.
A: Flattering perception, Drake. Really.
D: Thank you, Adriana.
B: You do know your thank you's, Malfoy. I'm impressed. What were you talking about?
A: Nothing much. I'm just introducing this "girly" magical note-sharing paper to Draco.
D: She bought it at Lassie's.
B: Oh…the horrendously pink place where giggly girls are always are? Adriana, I didn't know you liked going to places like that. You don't look like the type.
A: I assure you, gentlemen, I am not giggly and Lassie's is a good store.
D: If you like to be horrendously pink and giggly.
B: Nice, Draco.
A: Remind me to bring you two arses there one of these days.
D: See what I told you, Blaise? She isn't a lady. Such appalling language…
A: From the master himself.
B: I can see where you're getting it, Adriana. Hanging out with this git will surely teach you some things. Just don't start gelling your hair back into your head and make it look like a cow gave you a bath with its tongue.
Draco glared once more as he heard Adriana snickering and quickly snatched the parchment up when she spelled it back to him. His frown became even more ominous as he read what Blaise had written and what Adriana said in response.
A: Oh believe me, I'm doing quite fine with staying away from cows for my hair. I get my shampoo at Lassie's too.
He wracked his head for something to write when he remembered something from a barely registered Muggle Studies' class.
D: Isn't Lassie the name of a dog from a Muggle book?
B: What are you trying to insinuate, Malfoy?
A: I'll try not to draw any conclusions, Draco.
D: What? I am not saying anything….
B: And silence means loads.
A: I understand, Draco. You think I look like a dog.
D: I wasn't saying anything…
B: Draco had always had a way with words. Or even silence for that matter.
D: Shut up, Zabini.
A: Boys, boys. Let's not make such a fuss. I'm fine and I do not look like a dog, Draco Edward Malfoy.
B: Drawing out the middle name. Methinks she's mad, Malfoy.
D: Didn't your mother ever tell you that butting into other people's conversations is rude, Blaise Uriel Zabini?
A: Uriel?
B: Yes, terribly angelic isn't it?
D: It suits you. *snicker*
A: I think it's lovely. ^_^
D: Would the two of you stop flirting? It's making me nauseous.
B: You're just jealous, Draco. Admit it.
D: I am not jealous, Zabini. I only regard my cousin as such and nothing more. And why would I be jealous?
A: Very sad, Draco. You can't be open with your affections for the one you love.
Draco's eyebrow almost reached his hairline at what his cousin just wrote.
Disturbed, Draco turned to look at Blaise who answered him with a frightening toothy grin and to Adriana who was trying to look innocent as she smiled back.
D: What in bleeding hells are you two talking about? What is this? An extended version of Dig at the Ferret?
A: Ferret?
B: I'll explain later, luv.
D: WELL???
Draco tapped his wand on the parchment a bit more heatedly than what was necessary and it disappeared with an equally loud 'poof' that caused Terry Boot to yell in surprise and fall off from his chair. There was a loud crash on the floor and the class would have started laughing if only most of them had seen it. They were far into their own worlds to barely notice. All they did was crane their heads to see what happened or else look around disorientedly.
Binns droned on.
The piece of parchment reappeared.
A: Why Ginny Weasley of course!
D: Ginny Weasley? What does that girl have to do with me?
B: You bloody like her don't you?
"What?!" He gasped in a tight whisper as he looked at what Blaise wrote and read it a few more times. "What in the—"
D: What gave you the idea that I liked her? Blaise, you prat. You've been telling your nonsense to my cousin?!
A: We just meshed our ideas together and came up with this. Don't be upset, Draco. We were just wondering…
B: You've been meeting with her all the time and besides, there hasn't been a girl in your life since you told Pug Princess Pansy to stay away. I even asked Ginny Weasley herself if there was anything going on between the two of you.
D: YOU WHAT???
B: You read right, Malfoy.
A: We just wanted to know, Draco and surely you wouldn't tell us.
Thankfully, the bell had rung by then and everyone got busy trying to leave the room. Draco crumpled up the piece of parchment and made his way swiftly towards the classroom doors. He didn't stop even when he heard rushing footsteps and he didn't need to turn to know who it was. A hand caught at his sleeve and it was only then that he stopped.
"Draco, we're sorry." It was Adriana of course. Behind her stood Blaise, quiet and serious as ever.
His gray eyes settled on Adriana, no expression crossing his features. He lifted the piece of parchment to be seen by Adriana and he brought out his wand.
"Incendio." He cast the spell and the paper burst into flame.
He stared hard at her, not saying a word before a dark hiss came out of his lips.
"Don't you ever, ever do that again."
"Mr. Malfoy!"
Draco barely turned to acknowledge Professor McGonagall who just appeared so suddenly and deducted five points from Slytherin and slapped him with detention with her for the following night for using unnecessary magic in the hallways.
Draco's steel eyes narrowed before he whirled around and headed for the dungeons.
He had always known History of Magic was a class that he never needed.
Did you know that Draco Malfoy wouldn't have his hair slicked back anymore for Prisoner of Azkaban? AWWWW!!!