A/N: I'm sorry it took so long for me to finish this, guys. I just had so
much to do and I also had to finish my other fic, but here it is! The
second chapter and it's a nice long one too. It's also chock full of that
romantic angst tension between Draco and Ginny we love so much! ;) I
actually wasn't expecting it to be this long but what can I say? When I
begin to write I get lost. Thank you so much all those people who reviewed
my story, I LOVE reviews. I'm really proud of this chapter and I hope you
guys really like it, please R/R! Thanks!
Thanks to my beta Rachel! She edited this so quickly and well! Thank you so, so much! I dedicate this chapter to you because I know how busy you are and you took all that time just for me. You're the best!
I also had another beta reader but she's taking a while to beta read my story and I've e-mailed her a couple of times with no response. She must be busy so I'm going to post the chapter now and when she sends it back I might re-post.
Warning: Just a reminder this story is rated PG-13. Know that some sexual references are made in this story, all of course kept in the limits of PG- 13.
Btw. one * means change of view from one character to another. Three * * * means later on, that time has passed.
Disclaimer: Ahhh.how I wish I could own Draco *sighs* but I don't. Nor do I own any of these other characters you recognize from the marvelous J.K Rowling books, they belong to her. I just take them all and mess with their lives for our enjoyment.
Cheers!
Chapter 2 ~ Trapped Within Your Eyes
'You say you're cold, you say you're cruel. You say you don't care for anyone but yourself. But your eyes break when I gaze upon them, and if you'll let me, I'll seek out your you within them.'
'Blaise,' Draco breathed seductively as he stared at the beautiful, elegant woman before him. Her violet eyes shone violently at him and her long, straight, waist-length black hair swung from side to side as she took one threatening step closer.
'Don't you dare try that with me again, Malfoy,' she hissed, 'I saw you and Pansy last night heading towards your bedroom.' She stopped suddenly, a slightly pained expression on her face. 'You told me you had broken it off with her, Draco.'
Draco rolled his eyes over Blaise's perfect, slim body. Blaise was in fact, without a doubt, the most beautiful and deadly Slytherin woman of all. The only person who could compare to her snake-like attitude was in fact Draco himself.
'I told you when we started this Blaise, that I had certain obligations towards the Parkinson family. My father has strong bonds with them,' he said, quite harshly, not one ounce of guilt within him.
'But you told me that night Draco, that you were going to end it with her. You said yourself that your father would approve of me,' Blaise replied, snakelike tone suddenly gone from her voice.
Draco mustered the most innocent, heartfelt look he could come up with and looked into her eyes. 'I'll break it off with her soon,' he said, not at all intending to do this, or intending to break it off with the other girls he was shagging at the moment. That neither Blaise nor Pansy knew about, of course. 'I promise,' he added for effect.
Blaise's expression slightly softened as she took another step closer to him, now more graceful and seductive than before.
'Alright,' she said. 'I just don't like to share my men.' She ran a hand across his neck and headed towards the door, exiting Draco's dorm room, leaving him finally alone to ponder his thoughts. It seemed recently that either Pansy or Blaise were breathing down his neck and he couldn't get one moment's peace. He looked around, gratefully seeing that neither Grabbe, Goyle, Justin nor Andrew had come back from dinner.
Draco flung himself onto his four-poster and laid, belly up upon his bed. Closing his eyes and soothing his hair with his hand, he faded into a long, deep train of thought.
It was the start of November, exactly a week after Draco had gotten the very disturbing letter from his father. At first, Draco had been enraged. How his father expected him to take these orders seriously was beyond him. But Draco was no fool. He knew better than to argue with Lucius, let alone Voldemort himself. Oh no, Draco imagined that going against the Dark Lord's orders would be much more painful than to tease a Weasley into loving him. And it wasn't as if he had to fall for her. He would get a chance to hurt her once she found the truth. Draco would be able to take advantage of her without her having one clue until it was too late. But he had to work quickly; working for Voldemort and his father was risky business, and he had rather not leave it until the last moment. He was sure he would receive an owl from his father any day, now asking him of his progress with the Weasley girl. So he had made a plan. Mind you, he already knew how to seduce a woman, there would be no challenge there. Draco smoothed out his hair with his hands and smirked, eyes still closed at this thought when a loud, shrill call interrupted his thoughts.
'DRACO!' What he recognized as Pansy's shrill voice called out of the common room. Draco opened his eyes wide. The last thing he felt like dealing with now was whatever stupid thought floated through Pansy's head. He quickly got up, shoving his wand into his robe pockets and headed slowly down the stairs. He reached the common room to find a very annoyed Pansy looking for him. At the moment she seemed preoccupied talking to an intrigued looking Michael Devler. Draco took this chance to quietly slip out of the common room and into the dungeon's cold, hollow hallways. If only the woman would leave him alone for a couple of hours, he was sure he would have been able to stand her for longer than a night. But as beautiful as Pansy was, she was also quite clingy.
Draco walked swiftly along the dark, damp hallways, his steps smooth and quick. He knew that Pansy would be looking for him shortly and he thought he would take refuge in the library. He was intrigued to see, once he entered, that just a few tables down sat the only people left in the library - which consisted of Ginny Weasley, along with the dream team, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Draco sat himself a few tables down with a clear view of them as he pretended to interest himself in a book entitled, '202 Substitutes For Love Potions,'
Granger and the older Weasley seemed to be intrigued looking into each others' eyes and making, what Draco thought, disgusting googly eyes at each other, giggling constantly. Potter seemed to be waiting for something, obviously pretending to be doing his Muggle Studies essay, and Ginny sat there with her head buried in a Potions book. Once in a while her head would shoot up and she would stare almost disgustedly at her brother and Granger and even more so at Harry. Ginny finally said something, and the couple in front of her got up, giggling as they exited the library hand in hand. Draco almost vomited.
*
Ginny sat alone at the table with Harry, an awkward silence between them as she dug her nose in her books. Harry and she had dated last year for a while but had broken up pretty quickly as he and Cho hit it off again. Harry suddenly got up with a start.
'See you later Gin,' he said after he saw Cho peek through the library door and give him a lively wink.
'Where have you been Harry?' Ginny heard Cho ask as she and Harry both left the library, probably heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry didn't know that in the process, he was leaving sweet, 'innocent' Ginny alone with a sly serpent who was watching her very attentively.
'Bye,' Ginny muttered to the swinging door. Ginny at the moment wished nothing more than to go upstairs to her room and think, but she much needed to finish this potions essay.
Ginny felt tears build up behind her eyes, but anger and frustration took over instead as she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. It was that git Draco Malfoy. He had been staring at her quite a bit now, always examining her and she wished he would stop. She was sure he was planning some horrible revenge to what she had done to him at the Quidditch pitch.
Instead, Ginny pored over her books once again. 'Toad nails and it's hundred uses in Potions,' Ginny read weakly. 'Toad nails are commonly used in sleeping potions although they can be a powerful aphrodisiacs.' she couldn't concentrate and she found herself reading the same lines over and over again. Why wouldn't Draco stop staring at her? She turned to face him. He sat a few tables away from her, his usual arrogant smirk on his face. His blonde silver hair gelled back perfectly.
* Draco studied his 'prey' with interest; as a tiger would observe the rabbit it was about to eat, hunger reflected in his eyes. Ginny's long red hair was tied up in a neat ponytail. She wore muggle track pants and a black tank top. She looked quite stunning really. He had studied her face when Potter had gotten up and raced like an obedient puppy towards that Cho girl. The little Weasley's eyes had narrowed and he had seen her eyes start to water. He thought that it was pathetic how the girl goggled over Potter while he seemed not to even give her the time of day. He now watched her shift uncomfortably, and to his surprise, she turned and faced him.
'Do you have a staring problem?' Ginny finally blurted out, to her horror. It was not a good idea to insult a Malfoy.
Draco's eyebrows lifted in surprise. 'Does this bother you Wealsey?' he drawled, getting up from his seat, not taking his eyes off her. He felt her cringe slightly and smirked inwardly. The girl had spunk.
'As a matter of fact, yes, it does bother me,' Ginny sneered, trying her best to hide the slight fear building up in her chest.
Malfoy smirked with interest but said nothing, simply kept staring at her as he approached. Ginny squirmed slightly in her seat, not sure to risk getting up or not. She was suddenly very aware that the only people left in the library were Malfoy and herself. Where had the librarian gone? She put her head down and faced her book once again, very aware that Malfoy had suddenly flung himself into the seat beside her.
'What do you want, Malfoy?' she asked, poison in her words.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, since what had happened in the Quidditch pitch, he liked seeing her squirm with fear every time she saw him. It was so entertaining. He looked down at her book,
'Potions? Don't bother with that, you're going to fail,' Malfoy said, matter-of-factly. Ginny frowned. Was this guy off his rocker? Did he realize he was talking to a Weasley?
'And why, may I ask, am I going to fail Potions?' she asked, less frightened now.
He looked up at her, into her brandy eyes. 'Because.' he drawled as though she was extremely stupid, 'you're a Gryffindor.and a Weasley at that,' he added, just to spite her more, holding his cold, elegant manner.
Ginny stared daggers at him. It was the way he held himself that ticked her off the most.
'I'm leaving,' she stated as she shut her books and stood up. She knew she was much weaker than Malfoy, and she didn't want to do anything stupid. At her sudden movement, Draco frowned, remembering his father's letter. Hey, just because he had an objective didn't mean he didn't get to play around a little. He decided he would have a little more fun. He stood up abruptly, blocking her way. This scared Ginny once again, and she flinched as he reached for her books.
'Why are we leaving so soon, Weasley?' Draco waved the book in front of her face. 'Are you scared of me?' he smirked, moving slowly forward, extracting his wand from his robes in a threatening manner. Ginny gulped and began backing away until she hit a wall. He was glaring at her, examining her as well, making her feel quite uncomfortable.
She examined him too at the question. Yes, he was very intimidating, with his expensive robes, military-like pose, blonde, slicked hair and his cold expression. But she had to give him one thing - he was possibly the best looking guy in all of Hogwarts as much as she hated to admit, and the way he was staring at her.he was doing something with his eyes. She could feel his warm breath on her neck, her eyes trailing over him suddenly roamed to his lips, which were too close for comfort really, and to her horror she found herself licking her own. She mentally screamed at herself. Little alarm bells rang in her head. He was too close for her comfort, she was sure he would hit her with a hex at any moment. She suddenly heard Draco chuckle coldly and she immediately realized she was staring.
'Or maybe you just find me insanely attractive?' he smirked and smiled evilly, obviously intrigued. Ginny felt herself blush but immediately took back her composure.
'Please!' she snorted, bravely grabbing the books from his hands. She walked away from him towards the door, fully aware that Draco was smirking harder than ever at her retreating back.
'Jerk,' she mumbled under her breath as she exited the library.
*
Draco walked down the staircase towards the dungeons, a smirk plastered firmly upon his lips, still thinking of the Weasley. He was sure he would be able to seduce the little Weasley. He had seen how she stared at him, the want in her eyes, the way she licked her lips, she was practically drooling over him. It really wasn't that hard to seduce women, you just needed to know what they want.
Draco stepped into the Slytherin common room where he was met by a firm, feminine body pressing herself against him.
'Hello Draco,' the almost shrill, seductive voice of Pansy Parkinson slithered into his ear. She wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and kissed him on the neck. He violently whipped around and wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her to let go of him.
'Hello Pansy,' he said as he examined her stunning body. Pansy was definitely every guy's bedroom fantasy. With those curves and slim feminine body and more than generous bosom, she could make any man drop dead in his tracks. Her skin was slightly tanned from a long holiday somewhere very expensive, he was sure. Her lips were full and red, her eyes a stunning crystal blue, her fake blonde hair long and silky. Yet her features always held a poisonous, ladylike attitude, like a beautiful snake, ready to attack at any moment, if only she couldn't talk.
Pansy glared into Draco's eyes, and still in his grasp, she waved a small black envelope in front of his face.
'What's that?' he frowned.
'I don't know, Lucifer brought it earlier,' she cooed, trying to seduce him. 'So I took it. Here,' she handed the envelope to him, and he knew it was from his father. He stuck it in his robe pocket.
'I'll read it later,' he drawled hungrily, staring at her form, holding her closer to him, eyeing the dormitories. Pansy giggled as she followed him into his bedroom, Draco making sure she didn't see as he winked in Blaise's direction.
*
Ginny reached the common room mentally screaming at herself. What had that been? She had been so scared, yet for one moment.no, she stopped herself. It had been the fact that Ginny had been so intimidated that she had felt this way; after all, Draco was very intimidating. She sighed heavily, noticing all her roommates were still downstairs at dinner. She plopped down on her four-poster, and tucked herself under the covers. Ginny's stomach growled with hunger as she realized she hadn't had anything to eat, but her sleepiness wouldn't allow her to get up. Her eyes drooped slowly as visions of glowing necklaces and long, skeletal hands came back to her.
The long skeletal hand, the harsh pain in her chest, a flash of white light and a dead body on the ground.
Liz looked over at Ginny's four-poster as she saw her friend thrash about in her sleep. 'Probably just a nightmare', she thought.
* * *
Ginny awoke, clutching her burning chest. She had had the nightmare once again, and her heart beat wildly about inside her. She stared into the darkness before her for a few moments before sitting up and pushing back her messy, tangled hair. She had had this dream before, but never had she seen a dead body lying upon the ground. She rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers as she tried to recognize the face of the body, but she could not. She got up and slipped on a pair of muggle blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Ginny studied the clock in front of her as she tied her red hair into a messy bun, leaving strands of hair cascading down the sides of her face. It was barely 6 in the morning and the sun outside was just beginning to peek out of the horizon. Quietly, she slipped out of her bedroom and out of the common room into the hallways, her steps smooth and careful as she reached the huge oak door. Ginny stepped outside and headed for the lake, the dream still vivid and disturbing in her mind. She just needed some peace to think about it, and the lake offered that to her.
*
Draco awoke from a nightmare he couldn't remember. His 'black blood' was acting up and he felt it as rage surged through his body. He dug his head into his pillow, holding it tightly with his hands as small beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. The rage was empowering and he found himself going into a dizzy spell. It was only minutes later that the anger in him began to fade and his blood began to cool. He swore under his breath as he sat up in his bed, wearing nothing but his green silk boxers. His well- toned body shook slightly as he calmed down. He ran a hand through his hair, which was now falling across his face, his gray eyes returning to their usual cold stare.
Draco frowned as he felt someone roll around slightly in his bed, beside him. He looked over, finding Pansy cozy under his covers. He groaned inwardly as he proceeded to get up and into the shower. Once out, he slipped on his black casual robes and with an easy spell, his hair dried and was gelled back immediately. After applying a spray of his cologne he looked over at the wizard clock, which read 6:05 a.m., and then at Pansy, who was still sleeping, her long blonde hair spread out about his pillow.
'What is she still doing here?' he questioned himself. He knew Pansy would want to snuggle or even worse talk if she were to wake up, so he decided it better to go practice a while at the Quidditch pitch. Draco grabbed his broom and proceeded quietly downstairs. He made sure to slip over himself the silver, liquid like material of the invisibility cloak his mother had once given him for his birthday before proceeding down the stairs and outside into the field. The sun's rays were just beginning to kiss the field, flooding it a dark bronze under a clear sky. He stopped abruptly when he spotted a red figure sitting under a tree near the lake, and smirked. Virginia. He might as well have a little fun. He strode as silently as possible towards her, making sure nothing was showing from under his invisibility cloak.
*
Ginny watched as the small ripples in the water played upon the water's surface from the slight breeze. The sun glowed a beautiful gold upon the land, the newborn light after a long night of darkness. She carefully removed her sandals and slipped her feet into the cold water, the breeze around her being strangely but delightfully warm for this time of year. She closed her eyes as the feeling of the water between her toes spread up her body and sent cooling shivers up her spine. The little bits of hair that escaped her bun danced about her face gracefully as someone reached over and tucked a loose strand behind her ear.
She leaned into the soft touch for a second before she turned to see who it was. But as she turned there was no one there. Just the slight breeze carrying the fallen autumn leaves. She cringed suddenly as she felt a presence around her. But she must have been imagining things. She studied the land around her carefully and there was no one there. At this, she felt a bit more relieved, and turned back to looked at the water, a tranquil feeling washing over her once again.
She suddenly felt herself warming all over. As if in a tight embrace, her body tingled as she leaned into the hold. Losing herself in the moment, she closed her eyes, only to abruptly pull away when she felt lips graze her ears and say, 'Hello Virginia,' in a low, husky seductive voice she faintly recognized. She felt tingles run up and down her spine as her name was said like---like that. No one had ever murmured her name in that type of tone. She closed her eyes, letting the voice fade slowly within her head, and a goofy grin began to spread upon her lips as she felt a hand graze her side. Suddenly, disturbed and realizing someone was obviously there she grabbed towards the presence, this time managing to take the invisibility cloak off of Draco.
He stood there, his lips still considerably close to her ear, his hard cold eyes staring into hers, and a smirk firmly placed upon his lips. She stared at him, not quite taking in the situation. Her dazed eyes roamed over his face then into his eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, her body urging her to say something, anything. Draco simply stared in amusement and took a seat upon the grass beside her.
'Nice to see you too,' he said slyly, remembering the expression on her face when he had grazed his lips over her ear.
'Nice?!' Ginny suddenly seemed to snap out of her trance, bringing her feet up from the water and drying them quickly before putting them in her sandals.
'Hardly,' she stared at him, hatred in every ounce of her body. But there was a mixed emotion in between her hatred, which she refused to acknowledge as that git turned his attention from her bewildered face out towards the lake. His hair was slicked back as usual, looking a touch more blonde than usual as the sun hit it, his masculine figure draped on the grass in a somewhat lazy pose. His eyes almost seemed warm as the sunlight shone on them.
'Please Weasley, by the expression on your face, I'd say more than nice,' Draco looked smug as he said this, and the warmness that had momentarily manifested itself upon his eyes was gone.
Ginny blushed but quickly rounded on Malfoy. 'What the hell were you doing anyways?' she asked, trying to steer this 'conversation', if you could call it, that away from her reaction.
He stared at her now, truly amused. 'Do I need an excuse to piss off a Weasley? I think not,' Malfoy paused and watched her turn faintly red with anger. 'Besides,' he said as he straightened his back and turned his attention back out towards the lake. 'You know you love it.'
Now what was that supposed to mean? Ginny stared at Draco, who seemed quite pleased with himself. 'Enjoy what?' she mumbled quietly, almost as if she was questioning herself. She didn't wait for an answer as she lifted herself from the ground, adjusting the waistline of her pants.
She began to walk away quickly, almost as if running away from something, urging herself to not explore the thoughts that were raging through her head at the moment, to not really concentrate on anything. Her pace quickened suddenly and she found herself trip over a root sticking out from the ground. Her foot got caught and she plunged ungracefully into the lake. She flapped her arms about wildly, noticing that Draco had gotten up and placed himself firmly upon the ground in front of her, his mouth threatening to break into what seemed, if it was possible, a laugh. He folded his hands on his chest he stared at her.
'THAT eager to get away from me, huh?' Malfoy's lips were pressed firmly together, causing them to look like a line, containing the laughter building up within him. Why did this Weasley always bring up some type of laughter within him? 'You must want me more than I thought.' Arrogance leaked from his words as he smirked, looking over at the poor girl who seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble swimming back to shore.
It seemed that something had wrapped itself around Ginny's ankle and was dragging her down. Her lungs were filling with water as she tried to fight back the insults. But she couldn't muster the energy to answer as the water flooded her lungs, and instead, she found herself calling out at him for help. The smirk on his face seemed to change immediately to one of concern as he quickly took off his jacket and shoes and dove into the water. That was the last thing Ginny saw before her lungs gave up and her vision was flung into darkness. Her body dragged deeper into the cold depths of the lake.
* * *
She awoke, immediately seeing lips being lowered down to hers. As if this was a habit she mechanically brought her hand up and hit the man with a heavy blow to the cheek. The man directly retreated when he saw her move, and fell back as Ginny sat up and began spitting up the water in her lungs. Her vision was still fairly blurred but it was not long before she saw her savior sitting beside her, holding his slightly red cheek.
Draco Malfoy.
Her eyes were wide as she studied him. He had no shirt on reveling a chiseled six-pack, his arm muscles strong, yet not too bulky. His pants clung to him, wet. His hair was in a messy heap atop his head, something Ginny had never seen before. Wet, it sprung out in all directions across his face. His eyes were not looking at her mockingly, as she expected, but with obvious concern for her. For a moment, Ginny smiled inside at this. It seemed like he really cared for her, how his eyes traveled over her worriedly, and into her eyes. But she quickly brushed this thought aside as she spit up the last of the water and sat there, breathing deeply. She suddenly remembered his nearing lips and blushed at her actions; he had obviously thought she hadn't been breathing.
'Well, last time I ever save your life again,' he smiled weakly as he said this, holding his sore cheek.
'I guess I should thank you,' she trailed off, exasperation in her voice.
Once seeing Ginny was fine, Draco automatically flung his hand through his hair, taming it. It smoothed back, but small pieces fell from the collection of hair and sprawled over his forehead. 'It is usually customary to say thank you after someone has saved your life, yes,' he said arrogantly, now pulling his white muscle undershirt back over his chest.
Ginny blushed at this and looked away. But as her lips opened to thank him they closed again. She glared at him as he stared at her expectantly. 'I can't,' she said foolishly, not really knowing why.
'Come on,' a certain teasing manner had entered Draco's voice now as he shoved himself closer to her. 'Say it.'
Ginny glared at him for a moment. She felt woozy, and her stomach seemed to be doing flip-flops, but she was sure it was just a reaction of almost dying, not a new experience to her. Every fiber in her body was telling her not to say those words, she wanted to make him fight for them, and she wanted him to plead for her thank you.
She turned to him now, taming her own hair with her fingers. She opened her mouth slightly but then closed it - she loved seeing the disappointment one Draco's face.
'Ohh.come on!' A hint of pleading in Draco's voice emerged and Ginny smiled. He was surprised how warm her smile made him feel, as her lips parted in a grin to reveal her teeth. Her eyes glowed with a liveliness he had never seen before. Soaking wet, her hair was plastered to her head, straight and darker looking than usual. Her white t-shirt and jeans clung to her form, and her sandals, it seemed, had been lost in the lake and had not been recovered. In the now brilliantly shinning sunlight, Virginia looked like some fallen angel.
'Thank you,' she said slowly, not really wanting to say the words. Draco smiled his usual arrogant smile. He was a Malfoy after all, and he always got what he wanted. Ginny would have never thought in a million years she would be saying thank you to a Malfoy.
Draco, pleased with his thank you, began to look out at the lake, as a somewhat colder breeze began to wrap itself around the two people sitting in awkward silence. Draco could hear Ginny murmur softly as she tried to fight the cold encompassing her wet self. As if he had been doing this all his life, Draco took his cloak and wrapped it around her.
'Cold?' he asked. She inclined her head, surprised and yet thankful for the warm cloak wrapped about her body. It smelled soothing, slightly of mint and aftershave. She took comfort within it.
Ginny stared at him for a moment. He seemed so un-Malfoyish right now. His eyes were softer yet still sharp. His hair trailing the sides of his face made him look less commanding, and less intimidating. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time.
Draco noticed Ginny staring at him, and he too stared at her, locking her gaze with his, and looked into her brandy eyes. Her long lashes seemed to flutter as she blinked. Her eyes, it felt, were trying to go somewhere deeper within him, somewhere where he dared not let anyone in. It was as if her eyes were trying to pry apart the locks and traps set up in his arrogant character to the person within. With each second, Ginny was getting physically closer to him, and out of fear of actually letting her in, he closed the small space left between them, placing his lips upon hers.
A whirl of emotions tugged at her heart when she felt his lips upon hers, but quickly Ginny pulled away from his grasp. Breathing deeply she took another swing at him with her hand, not thinking at all. He was too fast though and grabbed her wrist. Giving him a glare of pure hatred and loathing, she forcefully pulled back her hand. Clawing his cloak off her back, she threw it at him.
'Do you really think I'm that easy, Malfoy?' she hissed, venom dripping from her words as she stalked away, her pace quick and rash, her eyes focusing on the nearing oak doors, trying with all her might to avoid the discomfort tugging at her heart.
Draco, too, tried to make sense at the strange tugging his heart made, a different tugging than Virginia's as he walked towards the Quidditch pitch in quite a state of shock. No one had ever tried that hard to pry him apart, and could it be that it scared him?
'No.being frightened is a weakness,' he thought. 'I am Malfoy.and Malfoys' have no weaknesses.'
`Fin of chapter 2
Thanks to my beta Rachel! She edited this so quickly and well! Thank you so, so much! I dedicate this chapter to you because I know how busy you are and you took all that time just for me. You're the best!
I also had another beta reader but she's taking a while to beta read my story and I've e-mailed her a couple of times with no response. She must be busy so I'm going to post the chapter now and when she sends it back I might re-post.
Warning: Just a reminder this story is rated PG-13. Know that some sexual references are made in this story, all of course kept in the limits of PG- 13.
Btw. one * means change of view from one character to another. Three * * * means later on, that time has passed.
Disclaimer: Ahhh.how I wish I could own Draco *sighs* but I don't. Nor do I own any of these other characters you recognize from the marvelous J.K Rowling books, they belong to her. I just take them all and mess with their lives for our enjoyment.
Cheers!
Chapter 2 ~ Trapped Within Your Eyes
'You say you're cold, you say you're cruel. You say you don't care for anyone but yourself. But your eyes break when I gaze upon them, and if you'll let me, I'll seek out your you within them.'
'Blaise,' Draco breathed seductively as he stared at the beautiful, elegant woman before him. Her violet eyes shone violently at him and her long, straight, waist-length black hair swung from side to side as she took one threatening step closer.
'Don't you dare try that with me again, Malfoy,' she hissed, 'I saw you and Pansy last night heading towards your bedroom.' She stopped suddenly, a slightly pained expression on her face. 'You told me you had broken it off with her, Draco.'
Draco rolled his eyes over Blaise's perfect, slim body. Blaise was in fact, without a doubt, the most beautiful and deadly Slytherin woman of all. The only person who could compare to her snake-like attitude was in fact Draco himself.
'I told you when we started this Blaise, that I had certain obligations towards the Parkinson family. My father has strong bonds with them,' he said, quite harshly, not one ounce of guilt within him.
'But you told me that night Draco, that you were going to end it with her. You said yourself that your father would approve of me,' Blaise replied, snakelike tone suddenly gone from her voice.
Draco mustered the most innocent, heartfelt look he could come up with and looked into her eyes. 'I'll break it off with her soon,' he said, not at all intending to do this, or intending to break it off with the other girls he was shagging at the moment. That neither Blaise nor Pansy knew about, of course. 'I promise,' he added for effect.
Blaise's expression slightly softened as she took another step closer to him, now more graceful and seductive than before.
'Alright,' she said. 'I just don't like to share my men.' She ran a hand across his neck and headed towards the door, exiting Draco's dorm room, leaving him finally alone to ponder his thoughts. It seemed recently that either Pansy or Blaise were breathing down his neck and he couldn't get one moment's peace. He looked around, gratefully seeing that neither Grabbe, Goyle, Justin nor Andrew had come back from dinner.
Draco flung himself onto his four-poster and laid, belly up upon his bed. Closing his eyes and soothing his hair with his hand, he faded into a long, deep train of thought.
It was the start of November, exactly a week after Draco had gotten the very disturbing letter from his father. At first, Draco had been enraged. How his father expected him to take these orders seriously was beyond him. But Draco was no fool. He knew better than to argue with Lucius, let alone Voldemort himself. Oh no, Draco imagined that going against the Dark Lord's orders would be much more painful than to tease a Weasley into loving him. And it wasn't as if he had to fall for her. He would get a chance to hurt her once she found the truth. Draco would be able to take advantage of her without her having one clue until it was too late. But he had to work quickly; working for Voldemort and his father was risky business, and he had rather not leave it until the last moment. He was sure he would receive an owl from his father any day, now asking him of his progress with the Weasley girl. So he had made a plan. Mind you, he already knew how to seduce a woman, there would be no challenge there. Draco smoothed out his hair with his hands and smirked, eyes still closed at this thought when a loud, shrill call interrupted his thoughts.
'DRACO!' What he recognized as Pansy's shrill voice called out of the common room. Draco opened his eyes wide. The last thing he felt like dealing with now was whatever stupid thought floated through Pansy's head. He quickly got up, shoving his wand into his robe pockets and headed slowly down the stairs. He reached the common room to find a very annoyed Pansy looking for him. At the moment she seemed preoccupied talking to an intrigued looking Michael Devler. Draco took this chance to quietly slip out of the common room and into the dungeon's cold, hollow hallways. If only the woman would leave him alone for a couple of hours, he was sure he would have been able to stand her for longer than a night. But as beautiful as Pansy was, she was also quite clingy.
Draco walked swiftly along the dark, damp hallways, his steps smooth and quick. He knew that Pansy would be looking for him shortly and he thought he would take refuge in the library. He was intrigued to see, once he entered, that just a few tables down sat the only people left in the library - which consisted of Ginny Weasley, along with the dream team, Harry, Ron and Hermione. Draco sat himself a few tables down with a clear view of them as he pretended to interest himself in a book entitled, '202 Substitutes For Love Potions,'
Granger and the older Weasley seemed to be intrigued looking into each others' eyes and making, what Draco thought, disgusting googly eyes at each other, giggling constantly. Potter seemed to be waiting for something, obviously pretending to be doing his Muggle Studies essay, and Ginny sat there with her head buried in a Potions book. Once in a while her head would shoot up and she would stare almost disgustedly at her brother and Granger and even more so at Harry. Ginny finally said something, and the couple in front of her got up, giggling as they exited the library hand in hand. Draco almost vomited.
*
Ginny sat alone at the table with Harry, an awkward silence between them as she dug her nose in her books. Harry and she had dated last year for a while but had broken up pretty quickly as he and Cho hit it off again. Harry suddenly got up with a start.
'See you later Gin,' he said after he saw Cho peek through the library door and give him a lively wink.
'Where have you been Harry?' Ginny heard Cho ask as she and Harry both left the library, probably heading down to the Great Hall for dinner. Harry didn't know that in the process, he was leaving sweet, 'innocent' Ginny alone with a sly serpent who was watching her very attentively.
'Bye,' Ginny muttered to the swinging door. Ginny at the moment wished nothing more than to go upstairs to her room and think, but she much needed to finish this potions essay.
Ginny felt tears build up behind her eyes, but anger and frustration took over instead as she felt a pair of eyes staring at her. It was that git Draco Malfoy. He had been staring at her quite a bit now, always examining her and she wished he would stop. She was sure he was planning some horrible revenge to what she had done to him at the Quidditch pitch.
Instead, Ginny pored over her books once again. 'Toad nails and it's hundred uses in Potions,' Ginny read weakly. 'Toad nails are commonly used in sleeping potions although they can be a powerful aphrodisiacs.' she couldn't concentrate and she found herself reading the same lines over and over again. Why wouldn't Draco stop staring at her? She turned to face him. He sat a few tables away from her, his usual arrogant smirk on his face. His blonde silver hair gelled back perfectly.
* Draco studied his 'prey' with interest; as a tiger would observe the rabbit it was about to eat, hunger reflected in his eyes. Ginny's long red hair was tied up in a neat ponytail. She wore muggle track pants and a black tank top. She looked quite stunning really. He had studied her face when Potter had gotten up and raced like an obedient puppy towards that Cho girl. The little Weasley's eyes had narrowed and he had seen her eyes start to water. He thought that it was pathetic how the girl goggled over Potter while he seemed not to even give her the time of day. He now watched her shift uncomfortably, and to his surprise, she turned and faced him.
'Do you have a staring problem?' Ginny finally blurted out, to her horror. It was not a good idea to insult a Malfoy.
Draco's eyebrows lifted in surprise. 'Does this bother you Wealsey?' he drawled, getting up from his seat, not taking his eyes off her. He felt her cringe slightly and smirked inwardly. The girl had spunk.
'As a matter of fact, yes, it does bother me,' Ginny sneered, trying her best to hide the slight fear building up in her chest.
Malfoy smirked with interest but said nothing, simply kept staring at her as he approached. Ginny squirmed slightly in her seat, not sure to risk getting up or not. She was suddenly very aware that the only people left in the library were Malfoy and herself. Where had the librarian gone? She put her head down and faced her book once again, very aware that Malfoy had suddenly flung himself into the seat beside her.
'What do you want, Malfoy?' she asked, poison in her words.
Malfoy raised an eyebrow, since what had happened in the Quidditch pitch, he liked seeing her squirm with fear every time she saw him. It was so entertaining. He looked down at her book,
'Potions? Don't bother with that, you're going to fail,' Malfoy said, matter-of-factly. Ginny frowned. Was this guy off his rocker? Did he realize he was talking to a Weasley?
'And why, may I ask, am I going to fail Potions?' she asked, less frightened now.
He looked up at her, into her brandy eyes. 'Because.' he drawled as though she was extremely stupid, 'you're a Gryffindor.and a Weasley at that,' he added, just to spite her more, holding his cold, elegant manner.
Ginny stared daggers at him. It was the way he held himself that ticked her off the most.
'I'm leaving,' she stated as she shut her books and stood up. She knew she was much weaker than Malfoy, and she didn't want to do anything stupid. At her sudden movement, Draco frowned, remembering his father's letter. Hey, just because he had an objective didn't mean he didn't get to play around a little. He decided he would have a little more fun. He stood up abruptly, blocking her way. This scared Ginny once again, and she flinched as he reached for her books.
'Why are we leaving so soon, Weasley?' Draco waved the book in front of her face. 'Are you scared of me?' he smirked, moving slowly forward, extracting his wand from his robes in a threatening manner. Ginny gulped and began backing away until she hit a wall. He was glaring at her, examining her as well, making her feel quite uncomfortable.
She examined him too at the question. Yes, he was very intimidating, with his expensive robes, military-like pose, blonde, slicked hair and his cold expression. But she had to give him one thing - he was possibly the best looking guy in all of Hogwarts as much as she hated to admit, and the way he was staring at her.he was doing something with his eyes. She could feel his warm breath on her neck, her eyes trailing over him suddenly roamed to his lips, which were too close for comfort really, and to her horror she found herself licking her own. She mentally screamed at herself. Little alarm bells rang in her head. He was too close for her comfort, she was sure he would hit her with a hex at any moment. She suddenly heard Draco chuckle coldly and she immediately realized she was staring.
'Or maybe you just find me insanely attractive?' he smirked and smiled evilly, obviously intrigued. Ginny felt herself blush but immediately took back her composure.
'Please!' she snorted, bravely grabbing the books from his hands. She walked away from him towards the door, fully aware that Draco was smirking harder than ever at her retreating back.
'Jerk,' she mumbled under her breath as she exited the library.
*
Draco walked down the staircase towards the dungeons, a smirk plastered firmly upon his lips, still thinking of the Weasley. He was sure he would be able to seduce the little Weasley. He had seen how she stared at him, the want in her eyes, the way she licked her lips, she was practically drooling over him. It really wasn't that hard to seduce women, you just needed to know what they want.
Draco stepped into the Slytherin common room where he was met by a firm, feminine body pressing herself against him.
'Hello Draco,' the almost shrill, seductive voice of Pansy Parkinson slithered into his ear. She wrapped her arms around his chest from behind and kissed him on the neck. He violently whipped around and wrapped his arms around her waist, forcing her to let go of him.
'Hello Pansy,' he said as he examined her stunning body. Pansy was definitely every guy's bedroom fantasy. With those curves and slim feminine body and more than generous bosom, she could make any man drop dead in his tracks. Her skin was slightly tanned from a long holiday somewhere very expensive, he was sure. Her lips were full and red, her eyes a stunning crystal blue, her fake blonde hair long and silky. Yet her features always held a poisonous, ladylike attitude, like a beautiful snake, ready to attack at any moment, if only she couldn't talk.
Pansy glared into Draco's eyes, and still in his grasp, she waved a small black envelope in front of his face.
'What's that?' he frowned.
'I don't know, Lucifer brought it earlier,' she cooed, trying to seduce him. 'So I took it. Here,' she handed the envelope to him, and he knew it was from his father. He stuck it in his robe pocket.
'I'll read it later,' he drawled hungrily, staring at her form, holding her closer to him, eyeing the dormitories. Pansy giggled as she followed him into his bedroom, Draco making sure she didn't see as he winked in Blaise's direction.
*
Ginny reached the common room mentally screaming at herself. What had that been? She had been so scared, yet for one moment.no, she stopped herself. It had been the fact that Ginny had been so intimidated that she had felt this way; after all, Draco was very intimidating. She sighed heavily, noticing all her roommates were still downstairs at dinner. She plopped down on her four-poster, and tucked herself under the covers. Ginny's stomach growled with hunger as she realized she hadn't had anything to eat, but her sleepiness wouldn't allow her to get up. Her eyes drooped slowly as visions of glowing necklaces and long, skeletal hands came back to her.
The long skeletal hand, the harsh pain in her chest, a flash of white light and a dead body on the ground.
Liz looked over at Ginny's four-poster as she saw her friend thrash about in her sleep. 'Probably just a nightmare', she thought.
* * *
Ginny awoke, clutching her burning chest. She had had the nightmare once again, and her heart beat wildly about inside her. She stared into the darkness before her for a few moments before sitting up and pushing back her messy, tangled hair. She had had this dream before, but never had she seen a dead body lying upon the ground. She rubbed her temples with the tips of her fingers as she tried to recognize the face of the body, but she could not. She got up and slipped on a pair of muggle blue jeans and a white t-shirt. Ginny studied the clock in front of her as she tied her red hair into a messy bun, leaving strands of hair cascading down the sides of her face. It was barely 6 in the morning and the sun outside was just beginning to peek out of the horizon. Quietly, she slipped out of her bedroom and out of the common room into the hallways, her steps smooth and careful as she reached the huge oak door. Ginny stepped outside and headed for the lake, the dream still vivid and disturbing in her mind. She just needed some peace to think about it, and the lake offered that to her.
*
Draco awoke from a nightmare he couldn't remember. His 'black blood' was acting up and he felt it as rage surged through his body. He dug his head into his pillow, holding it tightly with his hands as small beads of sweat trickled down his forehead. The rage was empowering and he found himself going into a dizzy spell. It was only minutes later that the anger in him began to fade and his blood began to cool. He swore under his breath as he sat up in his bed, wearing nothing but his green silk boxers. His well- toned body shook slightly as he calmed down. He ran a hand through his hair, which was now falling across his face, his gray eyes returning to their usual cold stare.
Draco frowned as he felt someone roll around slightly in his bed, beside him. He looked over, finding Pansy cozy under his covers. He groaned inwardly as he proceeded to get up and into the shower. Once out, he slipped on his black casual robes and with an easy spell, his hair dried and was gelled back immediately. After applying a spray of his cologne he looked over at the wizard clock, which read 6:05 a.m., and then at Pansy, who was still sleeping, her long blonde hair spread out about his pillow.
'What is she still doing here?' he questioned himself. He knew Pansy would want to snuggle or even worse talk if she were to wake up, so he decided it better to go practice a while at the Quidditch pitch. Draco grabbed his broom and proceeded quietly downstairs. He made sure to slip over himself the silver, liquid like material of the invisibility cloak his mother had once given him for his birthday before proceeding down the stairs and outside into the field. The sun's rays were just beginning to kiss the field, flooding it a dark bronze under a clear sky. He stopped abruptly when he spotted a red figure sitting under a tree near the lake, and smirked. Virginia. He might as well have a little fun. He strode as silently as possible towards her, making sure nothing was showing from under his invisibility cloak.
*
Ginny watched as the small ripples in the water played upon the water's surface from the slight breeze. The sun glowed a beautiful gold upon the land, the newborn light after a long night of darkness. She carefully removed her sandals and slipped her feet into the cold water, the breeze around her being strangely but delightfully warm for this time of year. She closed her eyes as the feeling of the water between her toes spread up her body and sent cooling shivers up her spine. The little bits of hair that escaped her bun danced about her face gracefully as someone reached over and tucked a loose strand behind her ear.
She leaned into the soft touch for a second before she turned to see who it was. But as she turned there was no one there. Just the slight breeze carrying the fallen autumn leaves. She cringed suddenly as she felt a presence around her. But she must have been imagining things. She studied the land around her carefully and there was no one there. At this, she felt a bit more relieved, and turned back to looked at the water, a tranquil feeling washing over her once again.
She suddenly felt herself warming all over. As if in a tight embrace, her body tingled as she leaned into the hold. Losing herself in the moment, she closed her eyes, only to abruptly pull away when she felt lips graze her ears and say, 'Hello Virginia,' in a low, husky seductive voice she faintly recognized. She felt tingles run up and down her spine as her name was said like---like that. No one had ever murmured her name in that type of tone. She closed her eyes, letting the voice fade slowly within her head, and a goofy grin began to spread upon her lips as she felt a hand graze her side. Suddenly, disturbed and realizing someone was obviously there she grabbed towards the presence, this time managing to take the invisibility cloak off of Draco.
He stood there, his lips still considerably close to her ear, his hard cold eyes staring into hers, and a smirk firmly placed upon his lips. She stared at him, not quite taking in the situation. Her dazed eyes roamed over his face then into his eyes. Her mouth opened slightly, her body urging her to say something, anything. Draco simply stared in amusement and took a seat upon the grass beside her.
'Nice to see you too,' he said slyly, remembering the expression on her face when he had grazed his lips over her ear.
'Nice?!' Ginny suddenly seemed to snap out of her trance, bringing her feet up from the water and drying them quickly before putting them in her sandals.
'Hardly,' she stared at him, hatred in every ounce of her body. But there was a mixed emotion in between her hatred, which she refused to acknowledge as that git turned his attention from her bewildered face out towards the lake. His hair was slicked back as usual, looking a touch more blonde than usual as the sun hit it, his masculine figure draped on the grass in a somewhat lazy pose. His eyes almost seemed warm as the sunlight shone on them.
'Please Weasley, by the expression on your face, I'd say more than nice,' Draco looked smug as he said this, and the warmness that had momentarily manifested itself upon his eyes was gone.
Ginny blushed but quickly rounded on Malfoy. 'What the hell were you doing anyways?' she asked, trying to steer this 'conversation', if you could call it, that away from her reaction.
He stared at her now, truly amused. 'Do I need an excuse to piss off a Weasley? I think not,' Malfoy paused and watched her turn faintly red with anger. 'Besides,' he said as he straightened his back and turned his attention back out towards the lake. 'You know you love it.'
Now what was that supposed to mean? Ginny stared at Draco, who seemed quite pleased with himself. 'Enjoy what?' she mumbled quietly, almost as if she was questioning herself. She didn't wait for an answer as she lifted herself from the ground, adjusting the waistline of her pants.
She began to walk away quickly, almost as if running away from something, urging herself to not explore the thoughts that were raging through her head at the moment, to not really concentrate on anything. Her pace quickened suddenly and she found herself trip over a root sticking out from the ground. Her foot got caught and she plunged ungracefully into the lake. She flapped her arms about wildly, noticing that Draco had gotten up and placed himself firmly upon the ground in front of her, his mouth threatening to break into what seemed, if it was possible, a laugh. He folded his hands on his chest he stared at her.
'THAT eager to get away from me, huh?' Malfoy's lips were pressed firmly together, causing them to look like a line, containing the laughter building up within him. Why did this Weasley always bring up some type of laughter within him? 'You must want me more than I thought.' Arrogance leaked from his words as he smirked, looking over at the poor girl who seemed to be having quite a bit of trouble swimming back to shore.
It seemed that something had wrapped itself around Ginny's ankle and was dragging her down. Her lungs were filling with water as she tried to fight back the insults. But she couldn't muster the energy to answer as the water flooded her lungs, and instead, she found herself calling out at him for help. The smirk on his face seemed to change immediately to one of concern as he quickly took off his jacket and shoes and dove into the water. That was the last thing Ginny saw before her lungs gave up and her vision was flung into darkness. Her body dragged deeper into the cold depths of the lake.
* * *
She awoke, immediately seeing lips being lowered down to hers. As if this was a habit she mechanically brought her hand up and hit the man with a heavy blow to the cheek. The man directly retreated when he saw her move, and fell back as Ginny sat up and began spitting up the water in her lungs. Her vision was still fairly blurred but it was not long before she saw her savior sitting beside her, holding his slightly red cheek.
Draco Malfoy.
Her eyes were wide as she studied him. He had no shirt on reveling a chiseled six-pack, his arm muscles strong, yet not too bulky. His pants clung to him, wet. His hair was in a messy heap atop his head, something Ginny had never seen before. Wet, it sprung out in all directions across his face. His eyes were not looking at her mockingly, as she expected, but with obvious concern for her. For a moment, Ginny smiled inside at this. It seemed like he really cared for her, how his eyes traveled over her worriedly, and into her eyes. But she quickly brushed this thought aside as she spit up the last of the water and sat there, breathing deeply. She suddenly remembered his nearing lips and blushed at her actions; he had obviously thought she hadn't been breathing.
'Well, last time I ever save your life again,' he smiled weakly as he said this, holding his sore cheek.
'I guess I should thank you,' she trailed off, exasperation in her voice.
Once seeing Ginny was fine, Draco automatically flung his hand through his hair, taming it. It smoothed back, but small pieces fell from the collection of hair and sprawled over his forehead. 'It is usually customary to say thank you after someone has saved your life, yes,' he said arrogantly, now pulling his white muscle undershirt back over his chest.
Ginny blushed at this and looked away. But as her lips opened to thank him they closed again. She glared at him as he stared at her expectantly. 'I can't,' she said foolishly, not really knowing why.
'Come on,' a certain teasing manner had entered Draco's voice now as he shoved himself closer to her. 'Say it.'
Ginny glared at him for a moment. She felt woozy, and her stomach seemed to be doing flip-flops, but she was sure it was just a reaction of almost dying, not a new experience to her. Every fiber in her body was telling her not to say those words, she wanted to make him fight for them, and she wanted him to plead for her thank you.
She turned to him now, taming her own hair with her fingers. She opened her mouth slightly but then closed it - she loved seeing the disappointment one Draco's face.
'Ohh.come on!' A hint of pleading in Draco's voice emerged and Ginny smiled. He was surprised how warm her smile made him feel, as her lips parted in a grin to reveal her teeth. Her eyes glowed with a liveliness he had never seen before. Soaking wet, her hair was plastered to her head, straight and darker looking than usual. Her white t-shirt and jeans clung to her form, and her sandals, it seemed, had been lost in the lake and had not been recovered. In the now brilliantly shinning sunlight, Virginia looked like some fallen angel.
'Thank you,' she said slowly, not really wanting to say the words. Draco smiled his usual arrogant smile. He was a Malfoy after all, and he always got what he wanted. Ginny would have never thought in a million years she would be saying thank you to a Malfoy.
Draco, pleased with his thank you, began to look out at the lake, as a somewhat colder breeze began to wrap itself around the two people sitting in awkward silence. Draco could hear Ginny murmur softly as she tried to fight the cold encompassing her wet self. As if he had been doing this all his life, Draco took his cloak and wrapped it around her.
'Cold?' he asked. She inclined her head, surprised and yet thankful for the warm cloak wrapped about her body. It smelled soothing, slightly of mint and aftershave. She took comfort within it.
Ginny stared at him for a moment. He seemed so un-Malfoyish right now. His eyes were softer yet still sharp. His hair trailing the sides of his face made him look less commanding, and less intimidating. It was as if she was seeing him for the first time.
Draco noticed Ginny staring at him, and he too stared at her, locking her gaze with his, and looked into her brandy eyes. Her long lashes seemed to flutter as she blinked. Her eyes, it felt, were trying to go somewhere deeper within him, somewhere where he dared not let anyone in. It was as if her eyes were trying to pry apart the locks and traps set up in his arrogant character to the person within. With each second, Ginny was getting physically closer to him, and out of fear of actually letting her in, he closed the small space left between them, placing his lips upon hers.
A whirl of emotions tugged at her heart when she felt his lips upon hers, but quickly Ginny pulled away from his grasp. Breathing deeply she took another swing at him with her hand, not thinking at all. He was too fast though and grabbed her wrist. Giving him a glare of pure hatred and loathing, she forcefully pulled back her hand. Clawing his cloak off her back, she threw it at him.
'Do you really think I'm that easy, Malfoy?' she hissed, venom dripping from her words as she stalked away, her pace quick and rash, her eyes focusing on the nearing oak doors, trying with all her might to avoid the discomfort tugging at her heart.
Draco, too, tried to make sense at the strange tugging his heart made, a different tugging than Virginia's as he walked towards the Quidditch pitch in quite a state of shock. No one had ever tried that hard to pry him apart, and could it be that it scared him?
'No.being frightened is a weakness,' he thought. 'I am Malfoy.and Malfoys' have no weaknesses.'
`Fin of chapter 2