((*is dead* Geesh... it's been so long... if it's crappy tell me and I'll
take it down and see if I can write something better. ;-; I'm dead serious,
I've been out of it so long, even if you normally like what I write, and
this chapter sucks... tell me. But.... I've been happy recently, so I need
to write something ))
*~_~*~_~*~_~*~_~*
Two days later, Ginny was still pondering. Did he really like her? And if he did, why did he have to hurt Ron? She saw him later on that day, when she confessed to Hermione. She had cringed, knowing that it was her fault. She'd always know that Draco had a... well, what would you call it? Not a grudge.... A grudge implies that she- her family, rather - had done something wrong. A... disliking of sorts, for one reason or another. But if he truly did like her as he said he did, why would he go out of his way to harm her brother. Ginny supposed that somewhere in the back of her mind she could see why, but her loyalty to her brother washed away all other thoughts.
The first couple times they passed in the halls she tried to catch his eye, but he turned his head the other way, joking with his friends. She'd felt deeply hurt, but then, she'd known it would happen. Inwardly she sighed, resigned, but then, on the third day, she was woken by soft taps on the window.
"Huh?" She sat up and looked around groggily. Her eyes widened as she noticed a familiar owl at the window.
"Eurgh... what's that?" Some of the other girls were starting to wake up, so she hurriedly got out of bed and opened the window. The owl hopped in happily and stuck out its leg. Ginny untied it and it flew off, obviously not expecting a reply. Heart racing, she opened the letter.
"Meet me downstairs" was all it said. As quietly as she could, Ginny slipped into her clothes and tiptoed down the stairs. As she got to the portrait, she heard something rustle on the chair. Not waiting to see what it was, she ran out into the dark hallway and towards the stairs. By the time she got to the stairs, she was certain no one was following her, but faced with a new dilemma.
Downstairs.... There was a lot of downstairs. How did she know where to go? She walked slowly down the first flight of stairs, thinking about this. Did he mean downstairs by a classroom... or by the front doors, perhaps...? on an impulse she wandered in the direction of the Great Hall, but before she got halfway there, an arm reached out of the shadows and pulled her into an empty room. Frightened, Ginny let out a gasp before she saw the tall, slim figure draped in Slytherin robes.
A blush crept onto her face as she gazed at him, striking features emphasized by the moonlight, cold and elegant, as though carved from ice with careful precision. But the look on his face caused her heart to skip a beat. Many emotions danced under the surface of his icy eyes, from fear and sadness to fierce longing. She quickly looked away, embarrassed by what she had witnessed, but as she sneaked a glance back, his face had taken on a more normal, haughty-and-high expression.... But she could still see the warmth that burned underneath, threatening to take over his composed and cool attitude.
They stood there for a moment, before Draco sat lounginly on one of the desks, running his hand through his hair and motioning for Ginny to do the same. Her breath caught as she sat next to him, feeling the warmth radiate from his body. Up until this point she had never really noticed how fit he was, and it embarrassed her to be thinking about it now. The silence of a sleeping school wrapped around them both, hiding them in a cloak of darkness, to a place where they were the only ones.
Unsure of herself, Ginny fiddled with her robes, passing the increasingly awkward moments in frustration. Why wouldn't he say anything? He's the one who told her to come, after all. Why didn't he speak? Every so often she'd glance over at him, but Draco had been sitting in that position, with his hands clenched at his sides and his attention focused intently on the opposite wall, since he had sat down. Ginny's frustration grew into anger. Is this what he'd planned? Just sitting here, in the dark, making her feel like a fool? Was he laughing at her behind his mask? Her anger, in turn, faded to sadness. Maybe he had no real intention of doing anything... maybe he wrote the note on an impulse, half asleep, and no he was trying to find a way out of it. Or maybe he asked her to meet him to tell her that.... Ginny shook her head, as if to banish the thought from her mind, but the attempt was feeble. ... that he no longer wanted to see her. That this would be their last meeting... that everyone had been right all along.
Thinking of this, tears threatened to run down her face. She bit her tongue until the urge died down. Through all of this, she had come to a decision. If he didn't do something soon, she would leave. Give him a taste of his own medicine. In the back of her mind she knew that wasn't right, but she ignored it. She hated the way he made her feel worthless without even trying.... And she hated the way she let herself get caught up on him. Her heart sank, thinking that maybe all she'd known had been a lie, that she was just imagining it in her mind, the feelings they'd shared. Maybe... maybe Malfoy HAD only been teasing her, laughing about the way she'd acted with his friends after they'd part. Mortified, she turned to look at him.
Even with these thoughts in her mind, she couldn't bring herself to speak. She wanted to -desperately- ask him if she were right. demand that he tell her the truth, yell and scream and cry and make him say she was wrong. She wanted him to prove her wrong. She wanted him to banish all thoughts of lies...... she wanted him to love her.
Suddenly something was different..... she had been looking at Draco, the moonlight framing his features against a dark backdrop... when, suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore. The sun had peeked over the horizon and was sending long, lazy rays of light to wake up all that had been sleeping. Draco's profile was suddenly outlined in a golden blaze, the fire of the sun resting on just him for an instant in time. Then, it was gone, and Ginny found she could breathe again.
It was a discouraged breath that filled her lungs. All night they had sat, and still not a word had passed between them. She looked sadly down at her robes, wrinkled from her clutching them. With a sigh she started to get off the desk, stretching her stiff joints. With a last, hopeful look at Draco, the image of someone about to be sentenced to death, she walked towards the door.
For the second time, an arm reached out and stopped her. Surprised, so looked back at Draco. The look on his face was so intense that she took a step back, frightened by what she saw. In an instant he grabbed her other arm and leaned forward, kissing her forcibly on the lips. Ginny was too surprised to do anything at first but try to stand up, Her knees threatened to give, and her legs were tingly and numb. She groped for his hands and intertwined her fingers with his, lost in the passion of the kiss.
After a while he paused, and Ginny tried to catch her breath. She looked up at him and was immediately caught up in another flurry of wild kisses. She leaned against the wall to keep from falling, her hands still grasping his as if a fragile tie to this world and the one she was experiencing. He pressed against her, his kisses growing more urgent, wilder with every second. Finally he stopped, and they both stood there for a while, panting. Ginny was light-headed, and it was all she could do to keep from passing out right there.
Finally she shut her eyes and leaned her head forward onto Draco's chest. She didn't know why - she was half-asleep from staying awake all night, and out of breath. He hesitated a moment, then released her hands and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. And there they stood. As Ginny slowly gave in to the exhaustion that swamped her, she smiled. Then, she drifted into unconsciousness.
~~
((*sighs and leans back* So? What do you think? Little fluffier than I wanted it to be, and for a while there my mind trailed off..... the explination will come in coming chapters..... right then. So... review! Oh, and tell me if anyone's acting TOO out of character... like I said, it's been a while, and I might be kind of... off XP ))
*~_~*~_~*~_~*~_~*
Two days later, Ginny was still pondering. Did he really like her? And if he did, why did he have to hurt Ron? She saw him later on that day, when she confessed to Hermione. She had cringed, knowing that it was her fault. She'd always know that Draco had a... well, what would you call it? Not a grudge.... A grudge implies that she- her family, rather - had done something wrong. A... disliking of sorts, for one reason or another. But if he truly did like her as he said he did, why would he go out of his way to harm her brother. Ginny supposed that somewhere in the back of her mind she could see why, but her loyalty to her brother washed away all other thoughts.
The first couple times they passed in the halls she tried to catch his eye, but he turned his head the other way, joking with his friends. She'd felt deeply hurt, but then, she'd known it would happen. Inwardly she sighed, resigned, but then, on the third day, she was woken by soft taps on the window.
"Huh?" She sat up and looked around groggily. Her eyes widened as she noticed a familiar owl at the window.
"Eurgh... what's that?" Some of the other girls were starting to wake up, so she hurriedly got out of bed and opened the window. The owl hopped in happily and stuck out its leg. Ginny untied it and it flew off, obviously not expecting a reply. Heart racing, she opened the letter.
"Meet me downstairs" was all it said. As quietly as she could, Ginny slipped into her clothes and tiptoed down the stairs. As she got to the portrait, she heard something rustle on the chair. Not waiting to see what it was, she ran out into the dark hallway and towards the stairs. By the time she got to the stairs, she was certain no one was following her, but faced with a new dilemma.
Downstairs.... There was a lot of downstairs. How did she know where to go? She walked slowly down the first flight of stairs, thinking about this. Did he mean downstairs by a classroom... or by the front doors, perhaps...? on an impulse she wandered in the direction of the Great Hall, but before she got halfway there, an arm reached out of the shadows and pulled her into an empty room. Frightened, Ginny let out a gasp before she saw the tall, slim figure draped in Slytherin robes.
A blush crept onto her face as she gazed at him, striking features emphasized by the moonlight, cold and elegant, as though carved from ice with careful precision. But the look on his face caused her heart to skip a beat. Many emotions danced under the surface of his icy eyes, from fear and sadness to fierce longing. She quickly looked away, embarrassed by what she had witnessed, but as she sneaked a glance back, his face had taken on a more normal, haughty-and-high expression.... But she could still see the warmth that burned underneath, threatening to take over his composed and cool attitude.
They stood there for a moment, before Draco sat lounginly on one of the desks, running his hand through his hair and motioning for Ginny to do the same. Her breath caught as she sat next to him, feeling the warmth radiate from his body. Up until this point she had never really noticed how fit he was, and it embarrassed her to be thinking about it now. The silence of a sleeping school wrapped around them both, hiding them in a cloak of darkness, to a place where they were the only ones.
Unsure of herself, Ginny fiddled with her robes, passing the increasingly awkward moments in frustration. Why wouldn't he say anything? He's the one who told her to come, after all. Why didn't he speak? Every so often she'd glance over at him, but Draco had been sitting in that position, with his hands clenched at his sides and his attention focused intently on the opposite wall, since he had sat down. Ginny's frustration grew into anger. Is this what he'd planned? Just sitting here, in the dark, making her feel like a fool? Was he laughing at her behind his mask? Her anger, in turn, faded to sadness. Maybe he had no real intention of doing anything... maybe he wrote the note on an impulse, half asleep, and no he was trying to find a way out of it. Or maybe he asked her to meet him to tell her that.... Ginny shook her head, as if to banish the thought from her mind, but the attempt was feeble. ... that he no longer wanted to see her. That this would be their last meeting... that everyone had been right all along.
Thinking of this, tears threatened to run down her face. She bit her tongue until the urge died down. Through all of this, she had come to a decision. If he didn't do something soon, she would leave. Give him a taste of his own medicine. In the back of her mind she knew that wasn't right, but she ignored it. She hated the way he made her feel worthless without even trying.... And she hated the way she let herself get caught up on him. Her heart sank, thinking that maybe all she'd known had been a lie, that she was just imagining it in her mind, the feelings they'd shared. Maybe... maybe Malfoy HAD only been teasing her, laughing about the way she'd acted with his friends after they'd part. Mortified, she turned to look at him.
Even with these thoughts in her mind, she couldn't bring herself to speak. She wanted to -desperately- ask him if she were right. demand that he tell her the truth, yell and scream and cry and make him say she was wrong. She wanted him to prove her wrong. She wanted him to banish all thoughts of lies...... she wanted him to love her.
Suddenly something was different..... she had been looking at Draco, the moonlight framing his features against a dark backdrop... when, suddenly, it wasn't dark anymore. The sun had peeked over the horizon and was sending long, lazy rays of light to wake up all that had been sleeping. Draco's profile was suddenly outlined in a golden blaze, the fire of the sun resting on just him for an instant in time. Then, it was gone, and Ginny found she could breathe again.
It was a discouraged breath that filled her lungs. All night they had sat, and still not a word had passed between them. She looked sadly down at her robes, wrinkled from her clutching them. With a sigh she started to get off the desk, stretching her stiff joints. With a last, hopeful look at Draco, the image of someone about to be sentenced to death, she walked towards the door.
For the second time, an arm reached out and stopped her. Surprised, so looked back at Draco. The look on his face was so intense that she took a step back, frightened by what she saw. In an instant he grabbed her other arm and leaned forward, kissing her forcibly on the lips. Ginny was too surprised to do anything at first but try to stand up, Her knees threatened to give, and her legs were tingly and numb. She groped for his hands and intertwined her fingers with his, lost in the passion of the kiss.
After a while he paused, and Ginny tried to catch her breath. She looked up at him and was immediately caught up in another flurry of wild kisses. She leaned against the wall to keep from falling, her hands still grasping his as if a fragile tie to this world and the one she was experiencing. He pressed against her, his kisses growing more urgent, wilder with every second. Finally he stopped, and they both stood there for a while, panting. Ginny was light-headed, and it was all she could do to keep from passing out right there.
Finally she shut her eyes and leaned her head forward onto Draco's chest. She didn't know why - she was half-asleep from staying awake all night, and out of breath. He hesitated a moment, then released her hands and wrapped his arms around her, drawing her close. And there they stood. As Ginny slowly gave in to the exhaustion that swamped her, she smiled. Then, she drifted into unconsciousness.
~~
((*sighs and leans back* So? What do you think? Little fluffier than I wanted it to be, and for a while there my mind trailed off..... the explination will come in coming chapters..... right then. So... review! Oh, and tell me if anyone's acting TOO out of character... like I said, it's been a while, and I might be kind of... off XP ))