Title: Being
Nice Doesn't Always
Pay Off…
Author: Cactuskitty
Chapter: Two
Summary: Ginny gets mad at a friend and decides that it's time for her to change. In this chapter she has a
long conversation with someone unexpected…
Disclaimer: I do not own any characters from the Harry Potter book series, they belong to J. K. Rowling, so please don't sue. All I own is the little plot there is, Hillary, Tibby, and Ryan… And that's not muck to brag about… [1] Quote from Romeo and Juliet, Act II Scene ii.
Chapter Two: Company
September first finally rolled around and Ginny was forced to come out of her room, but she was more then ready. She made sure she came out before everyone was awake, so she could load her luggage without any problem, then went back to her room so she could prepare herself for coming back into society and her soon to come inquisition.
In the last month the only person she had talked with was Ryan (by owl post), she had spent most of the month in her room refusing to come out. He always seemed to understand exactly what she was going through. Ginny hadn't lied when she told Hillary that he has been the only boy, other than Harry, that she found herself able to love. However, she had given up on Harry over a year ago, when she decided that he would never see her as anything more than her Ron's little sister. Despite that fact, she still questioned her theory at times.
It was seven o'clock when Mrs. Weasley knocked on her daughter's door, she was prepared for a fight, she even brought back up; Ron, Harry, and Hermione stood behind her. Their surprise was obvious when Ginny stepped out on at first rap, looking more assertive than she ever had in her life. That wasn't the only visible difference; she now no longer looked like poor innocent little redhead Ginny, but a total rebel of authority. Her auburn hair had been darkened to a burgundy wine color; it had been shortened, and layered. A few hairs were cut shorter then the others hanging in her face like bangs. The few freckles she still hadn't grown out of yet where nowhere to be seen, and her coffee colored brown eyes were now highlighted by black of eyeliner. To add to her new appearance, Virginia seemed to have lost a little weight over the weeks she had been locked into hiding. And her newly discovered curves were no longer hidden by her usual gray jumper and blouse, but instead accented by her red plaid pants. However it was her spiked, rhinestones, and studded silver jewelry, black low top converse, and a black tee shirt that had a rabbit on it saying, "School prepares you for life…which also sucks." that really drew their attention.
Ginny noticed them all staring at her, causing her to let a deep foreign snicker pass through her lips as she greeted them, "I thought you said if we didn't hurry we'd miss the train?" That's when they all snapped back in to reality (except for Harry who was still astounded) and the interrogation began. The questioners were Mrs. Weasley, Ron, and Hermione. Ginny was ready, and she answered each question with ease. (Which caused Harry's shock to deepen)
"What do you think you are doing young lady? Dressing like that! Well I wouldn't be surprised if people started calling you a punk!" Her mother cried out in distain while shaking a finger at her.
"Well mum, I don't care what people think and nor should you. As far as I'm concerned that's their problem, and I personally like the way I look. Isn't that all that matters? And it isn't like I look like a heathen or anything like that. You should thank Merlin that I chose this style, there were others I could have chosen that were much flashier and showed more skin…" Ginny answered back emotionlessly.
Ron quickly cut in while practically sputtering in rage, "Where the bloody hell did you get the money to buy all this crap?!? I hope you didn't use any of the money I lent you last month, because I knew it was going towards something like this…"
Ginny answered him rapidly, without blinking an eye, "Don't worry I used that money for a book and I already paid you back remember? I used my excess money from babysitting, which was quite a lot…"
"How did you get out? You stayed in you room the entire time… I can't believe you changed everything…" Hermione declared in a quiet sounding voice, wide eyed and lips quivering.
"You're right, I didn't go anywhere. I had it all shipped. And you better believe I changed everything because I did, and it was about time." Ginny said stubbornly before picking up her spiky leathery purse and shoving past her interrogators.
Harry finally snapped out of his shock as she shoved past and asked, "What do you mean, 'It was about time.' I thought you were fine before."
Ginny shot him a glare that could melt ice as she growled, "Did you really Harry Potter? If you did, you sure had a funny way of showing it, acting like I didn't exist half the time. Oh well, let's not dwell on the past, you all know how much I hate it. This is the new me, and I am not going back until I'm ready to, and that's final. And don't you think we had better get to King's Cross, because we are going to be late."
The twins were easy enough, when they saw her, and Fred summed his comments up to a simple "Whoa" and George said, "So that's what you've been doing in your room, Ginny?" All she had to do was smile and they both nodded in approval. This was the reason why she liked them so much. Even if they are always the first ones to poke fun, they were always the most excepting people in their family, except for maybe Bill.
That was the end of her interrogation and now she was free, well sort of. She would have to explain herself to her father sometime, but not today because the Ministry had called him in early that morning, for reasons unknown. Until then, she would be fine, standing up to her brothers was a lot easier then standing up to him. Hopefully his response wouldn't be anything the new Virginia Weasley couldn't handle. She contemplated the thought until they reached the train station.
When she got out of the car she noticed that the trio was still giving her a weird look. She thought it might be fun to do something that would really surprise them, but decided that she had already given them enough of a shock for the day. So she just grabbed her things said goodbye to her mother, as she boarded the train. Ginny stalked down the aisle in search of an empty compartment, and was certain that it would be for the best if she sat alone. Ginny was well aware the Hillary wouldn't purposely seek her out. Nor would any of her other so called friends because in the reality that smacked her in the face at the beginning of the month, told her how awful they truly were. She no longer wanted anything to do with those dim-witted twits; they were about as obliging and tender to her as wisdom teeth. Like wisdom teeth, they needed to be removed; and it was about time Ginny had hers pulled.
Two and a half hours later, someone opened her compartment door just as she was about to doze off. Ginny was almost surprised to see Malfoy, but then she remembered about his yearly trip to every compartment to see how many people's nerves he could get on. The eerie thing was, he had never bothered her, but Ginny knew for a fact it wasn't because he liked her or anything; it was because he never acknowledged her existence. To her, that wasn't that big of shock, because here she was beginning her fourth term and some of the kids in her own year didn't even know her name. What she was surprised about was the fact that he came in.
When Malfoy opened the door, his face turned in to the normal sneer, as he sized her up. However, because of Ginny's new self-confidence she no longer withered and longed for a hiding place. She instead, gave him an emotionless look and that dared him to say something. He was wearing his usual gray pants and sweater over a white button down shirt with a Slytherin tie. He was one of the few people at Hogwarts that looked passable in his uniform, but Ginny took no notice, she was trying to stay focused. She detected that she must have passed his approval, because instead of saying anything malicious, he casually sauntered in and took a seat across from her and started a conversation.
"Hullo." He stated more like a pick up line than a greeting.
Ginny wanted to crack up laughing, but since this was the new more confident Ginny, she gave him a lazy grin and a tiresome look as she said, "Hullo yourself."
"Are you new here? I don't think I've seen you wondering around the halls before." He brushed a few stray hairs away from his face as he spoke in his usual drawl that she supposed many girls found dead sexy.
However, she wasn't one of them, "I guess you could say that…"
"My name is…" he smirked while extending his hand to her.
"I know your name Malfoy." Ginny didn't take it, and her own smile faded.
"Ooh, someone's got an attitude." He leaned back in his seat and gave her a spiteful looking sneer.
"Yea, have you got something to say about it?" She said, with an eyebrow raised and lazy grin reappeared.
"No, I like girls with an attitude." He said, with an emotionless voice after deciding not to get offended.
"Really?" She answered, with a blank expression that matched his.
"If I didn't, why would I say I did?" Draco smirked.
"I don't know, would you?" She challenged him.
"No, I wouldn't. So now, you tell me something?"
She hastily spat out as if it were soap, "Is there a reason why I should?"
"Yes, because I want to know. That's reason enough for me." He said, deciding to try his luck.
"Fine go a head and ask, that doesn't mean I'll tell you." She replied skeptically. Ginny wondered where this was going.
"Fine, I will. What's your name?"
"Sorry, I won't answer that."
"Why not, I told you mine…" Malfoy was surprised how tough this girl was, but he still thought he would be able to beat her.
"Nice try, but I already knew yours. Plus, mine's better." She said without her expression changing. He raised an eyebrow and chose a different approach.
"Come on, tell me." Malfoy tried in what he thought was a seductive tone and leaned forward in his seat, so he could look directly into her placid chocolate brown eyes.
"What's wrong with your voice?" Ginny said with an unimpressed face. She was finding harder every moment to contain a smile, "And why do you want to know?"
Draco gently leaned back, disregarded her first question, as he lazily rested his arm on the back of the seat, "Because it's important to know with whom you are conversing."
"Why?"
"Because it is…"
"No, it's not. My name shouldn't make any difference. A name is nothing more another empty and meaningless word." She was getting bored fast, "What's in a name? That which we call a rose / By any other word would smell as sweet. [1]"
"Touché. I see I have a literature enthusiast within my grasp. And a perfect analogy, because as I've noticed, this rose, however beautiful, seems to have rather large thorns." He smirked as he spoke flippantly.
"Within your grasp?" she spat, ignoring his sort of compliment, and letting a low chuckle through her luscious painted red lips, that sounded morbid as it echoed in her ears.
There was a short period of silence, giving him time to glance at her skeptically before saying with a knowing look on his pale face, "Fine then, don't tell me. I'll find out soon enough."
"Oh really?" She asked with an eyebrow raised as she chewed her black nails with defiance..
"I will when you get sorted, won't I?" He said gradually with a knowing smirk.
"No you won't." Ginny replied flatly without looking up from her nails.
"Yes, I will, they say your name when they call you up to be sorted." He had got her trapped, finally. He was getting cocky, and it bothered her, so she wasted no time in delivering her reply,
"Yea - I know - but who said I was getting sorted?" She wanted so badly to giggle at his momentary look of surprise, but chose to only allow a small coy smile to play on her lips after realizing that would be more mysterious.
He narrowed his gray eyes in a kind of determination, that challenged her to push her luck, "The first thing you told me was that you are new here."
"I said nothing of the sort."
"Yes, I'm sorry to say, you did." Draco said with a mocking tone.
"No, you git. I never said that I was new here." She stated impassively while rolling her russet eyes.
"Yes you did." His sneer was fading slowly and she wondered idly if he practiced his expressions in front of a mirror.
"Well Malfoy, I can tell you weren't listening to the entire conversation, because I said you could say that. I, by no means, said I was."
She was very satisfied with herself. She had just done something the old Ginny would never have even thought about, she had just out witted a Malfoy. Something Ron still hadn't accomplished!
Malfoy, on the other hand, remained pokerfaced, "Alright, but I will find out somehow, then what are you going to do?"
"Nothing – why should I do something. It's not like I care if you know or not, I just don't want to tell you. I think it's more pleasurable this way." This time she was the one with a smug expression.
"You do, do you?" his eyebrow once again darted in the upward direction.
"If I didn't why would I say I did?" She watched Malfoy cringe as she threw his words back into his face.
"Here I was being polite, saying 'hello' and all. And look what I get in return, some temperamental chick who won't even tell me her name…" He groaned lightheartedly, and sneering as he rested head against his arms as he reclined against the back of the bench and propped his feet up on the spot next to Ginny.
She blinked at his flippant attitude, then grinned lazily as she leaned forward, "Look Malfoy, I'll let you in on a little secret."
He smirked down at her, "Oh really, now it wouldn't happen to be your name would it?"
Virginia overlooked his question, and steadied herself. The train had just stopped and she made up her mind as to what she would need to do if she was going to have a full effect on him. She allowed a few seconds of awkward silence pass before she finally stared at him straight in his silvery eyes and said, "Being nice doesn't always pay off…"
And with that she was off, like Ron when anyone said Quidditch. She heard Draco trying to follow her, but was quite certain that it would be more amusing if she didn't turn around. She sped walked until she reached the closest carriage and jumped in, which just happen to be occupied by none other then her brother and his two best friends.
Ron started in on her, eyes blazing in anger, "Where were you the entire trip? You didn't even tell us that you were going to go sit with friends."
"Who said I was with friends, and I don't see how it's really any of your business Ron." She scowled, and crossed her arms in front of her chest.
"When did you decided that it was okay to be so rude to people?" Hermione asked incredulously while giving her an appraising eye.
"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. It's just…" Ginny brushed her hair behind her ears nervously, but her scowl remained in place.
"It's just what?" Harry shot her a strange look, which she later discovered was anger.
"Nothing any of you would understand, and I don't want to really discuss it right now." Her tone sounded final, so they gave up questioning her and continued speaking among their selves.
A/N: Sorry to all Draco haters, but he will frequently be in my later chapters. But that doesn't mean anything…Mwahahahah!! I'm sorry that this chapter was mostly dialogue, but I really wanted to write something like this lately. Oh, and I'm thinking about not posting the next chapter until I get a few more reviews than last time.
