His gaze traveled over my body, and I wanted desperately to cover myself up
with something; it felt quite literally as though he were undressing me
with his eyes. However, having the control over my impulses that had been
drilled into me by none other than Tom Marvolo Riddle Himself, I restrained
myself, instead allowing a pleased and taunting smirk to curl my lips.
"Like what you see, Potter?" I asked, the query causing his gaze to lock with mine.
"Not particularly," he answered, though I could tell from a significant glance at his crotch that he was telling a complete and utter lie.
I laughed, and his face turned a wonderful shade of crimson as he turned away and stalked from my room.
Huh. Not as much trouble as I thought, Gin. It seems as though you can handle yourself pretty well, when it comes to infuriating people to the point where they can't stand to be around you. Or perhaps it's just Potter...
Snickering, I returned to the floor, and finished re-packing my trunk. Closing and locking the lid, I got to my feet and wandered to my closet, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything in there. The storage space was devoid of anything of importance, save for the clothes I planned on wearing on the train the following day.
Turning, I was about to grab my dressing gown and head to the bathroom to prepare myself for sleep, when I heard a soft tapping on my window. Outside the pane of glass was the most beautiful Eagle Owl I had ever seen, and I knew at once that it was from Draco.
Hurrying to the window, I opened it, allowing the bird to soar into my bedroom and alight on the bedpost. It carried an emerald envelope in its beak, and tied to its leg was a small package wrapped in silver paper. Taking the envelope and package, I placed them on the bed, and expected the bird to leave. When it didn't, I shrugged, assuming Draco would want a response to his letter.
Slitting open the letter, the faint scent of his cologne met my nostrils, and I grinned. Pulling a sheet of the same emerald parchment from the envelope, I noticed that the script was silver. Dear Draco, Slytherin through and through.
Still grinning, my gaze skimmed over the text rapidly, twice.
**
Dearest Virginia,
I do so hope this missive and gift find you well; that your brothers have not burnt you at the stake for committing such a traitorous deed as associating with me. If you do happen to be enduring some sort of cruel and unusual punishment due to our tryst today, or our evening encounter last night, please send Apollo back with a note, and I shall fetch you this evening to prevent any more suffering on your part.
I count the minutes 'til our next meeting, and wait with baited breath for your response to this letter, hoping that I shall not be required to whisk you away from your family. That you are well, as you appeared to be at our meeting this afternoon, is my heart's desire, and that the wretched and nightmarish Dream Team is not pestering you to no end.
Again, if they are doing so, send Apollo with a note, and I will fetch you, to prevent further irritation on your part.
Waiting,
Draco
**
I laughed. It was the only thing I could think to do. The note was touching, truly, but I wasn't exactly sure if it was sincere. He didn't seem the type for such things, and we'd only made the deal in order to piss off as many people as possible, and to keep the Dream Team off my back.
I took the letter as a sign that our deal was indeed going to take place, and that I hadn't made a complete prat of myself earlier. It was, however, a little odd, seeing as how he had told me to follow his lead at the train tomorrow; I hadn't expected this.
Shrugging, I slit open the silver-wrapped parcel, and another slip of emerald parchment fell into my hands. It too was scripted with silver ink, and I read it quickly, a smirk growing on my lips.
**
Virginia,
The missive you most likely read before this one was meant to be something you could leave lying somewhere quite conveniently for your brothers and their friends to read, serving to infuriate them further. What I said, however, about fetching you away should they be punishing you too severely, was entirely true.
The gift enclosed is one that I would very much like you to wear tomorrow; it should serve to make our little charade all the more entertaining for our part. I should very much like to see Potter's face, especially, when he sees you wearing it, but I'm afraid that will probably be impossible.
To warn you, this note will burn itself when you have finished reading it. The only reason being that it would serve as incriminating evidence, should our game be found out, and we wouldn't want the Dream Team to know the truth now, would we?
As I said earlier, follow my lead tomorrow at the train, and all will go according to plan.
Draco
**
As I read his name, the parchment burst into cold flames that tickled my fingers and did away entirely with the slip of paper, leaving not a single speck of ash behind. My curiosity was piqued, at the mention of a gift that made Draco want to see Harry's reaction to, and I opened the small box carefully.
Inside was a small mass of fabric, that, as I pulled it out, it grew to its normal size.
Gin, you've definitely got to learn that charm!
When at last the contents of the box were all in my hands, I unfolded the slippery soft fabric, awed. It was green in color – typical Draco fashion – and looked entirely too small to be anything but a nightgown. Smirking, I carefully refolded the dress, stowing it in my wardrobe so as to prevent prying eyes from spying it.
Following the stowing of my new gift, I turned to the owl still perched on my bedpost. Thinking, I coaxed him to the top of my wardrobe, where he wouldn't be seen by anyone until I'd had time to pen my response to Draco's letters.
Pondering where, exactly, I could leave Draco's letter, I decided on forgetting it in the bathroom when I went to change. So, picking up my dressing gown and the emerald parchment, I skipped down the hall to the bathroom.
Locking the door behind me, I snickered, laying the letter on the vanity, before going through my usual evening routine in preparation for bed. After applying moisturizer to my face and body, I left the bathroom and my letter, treading quietly down the hall to my bedroom.
After I had crawled into bed, and just as I was opening my book, a shriek of shock belonging to one Hermione Granger reached my ears. Smiling serenely, I flipped the pages in my novel to reach the chapter I was on, and began to read, awaiting the arrival of the Golden Trio in my chambers.
Exactly sixty-five seconds later, had I been counting, the Trio burst into my bedroom without so much as a knock on the door. Having prepared for this, and knowing that they would expect me to yell at them for barging into my room, I glanced up from my reading, my gaze clearly bored.
The action served to infuriate them more, and a wicked smirk threatened to curl my lips and give away the game. Silently chastising myself for not having better control over my emotions, I looked from one livid face to the other, and raised a single brow in query.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS?!" I wanted very much to cover my ears at Ron's shout, but refrained from doing so; any sign of intimidation would give them an advantage.
My letter was clenched in his fist, and he was waving his arms wildly, clearly unable to calm himself. Again the smirk threatened to spoil my fun.
"I believe, Ronald, that what you are holding in your clenched fist at the moment is a missive from Draco to myself. I also believe that you have no right to be holding it in the first place. Perhaps you should like to explain why, exactly, you are holding a quite personal letter in your hand?" My voice was plenty calm, and the effect seemed to be the opposite on my visitors; where one is usually soothed by calmness, they turned to hysterics.
Hermione was furious; clearly she was getting to the end of her rope in her dealings with me. I was quite pleased at this knowledge, and stored it away to remind myself that I only had a little ways to go before she, like Ronald and Potter, would be yelling at me constantly. Potter was, if possible, more livid than Ronald, though he seemed beyond speech; his face was a beautiful shade of scarlet, and those green eyes that every woman in the wizarding world adored so much were blazing with fury. My brother, on the other hand, was quite vocal, and had started in on another tangent, of which I only caught the end.
"...AND YOU DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO SEE THIS, LYING OUT IN THE BATHROOM? HOW CAN YOU BE SO STUPID, GINNY?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'R ACCEPTING LETTERS FROM MALFOY! HE PROBABLY HEXED THEM, OR SOMETHING, AND YOU'LL WAKE UP WITH NO RECOLLECTION OF WHO YOU ARE IN THE MORNING!" He paused for breath, and a bored sigh escaped my lips.
"Ronald, if it disturbs you so, why don't you simply butt out? I don't ask for your attention, nor do I particularly enjoy it. Now. I suggest the three of you toddle off to play Exploding Snap, or some such thing, and leave me alone, before mother shows up and starts yelling at you for irritating me when I am getting ready for bed. If you would be so kind as to leave my missive from Draco on the desk on your way out, I might be inclined to forget about this wonderful little incident, and refrain from informing mother that the three of you burst in on me while I was changing, and wouldn't give me a chance to cover up before you started screaming at me."
"Ginny, we didn't walk in on you..." Understanding dawned on Hermione's face, as I once again raised a brow, this time in a rather smug expression.
"You wouldn't dare!" she breathed, pointing a finger at me. Quite the drama queen, was Miss Granger.
"Look me in the eye and tell me I wouldn't, Granger," I replied, locking my gaze with that of my brother's girlfriend. She trembled.
The three exchanged glances, before turning without another word and leaving the room, my brother dropping my now-crumpled letter on the desk. Following their departure, once I was certain they had completely vacated the area, I hopped out of bed and dropped into the chair in front of my desk.
Pulling a sheet of black parchment towards me, the only one I had left out of my trunk to take to school, I grabbed a quill and bottle of gold ink, and prepared to write my response to Draco's letter.
**
Draco,
You are so delightfully devilish; I can't wait to see you tomorrow so I can give you a kiss. Their – meaning the Golden Trio – reaction to your missive – which I conveniently forgot in the bathroom – was priceless. I honestly think I should invest in some anger management classes for the lot of them, they were so livid. It was beautiful.
I've to give you another kiss tomorrow for the beautiful dress; it should certainly be cause for entertainment tomorrow. For us, at least.
I'm not in any serious amounts of discomfort, except for the fact that I apparently have no personal space in this house. Everyone keeps barging in on me everywhere. Perhaps the most serious of issues is that Potter keeps trying to force himself on me; it's getting quite boring. He's done it twice today.
Truly amusing is the fact that he seems to think that he deserves me. He thinks he's god's bloody gift to women, or something. Disgusting.
Laughing,
Virginia
**
I ended the letter with a kiss to the parchment, following my signature, and a golden image of my lips appeared on the surface of the page. Smirking, I called Draco's bird from its perch, attached the roll of parchment to its leg, and sent it out my window.
For a while, I watched as the owl grew smaller and smaller as it flew into the distance, eventually turning into nothing more than a speck, and then disappearing altogether. It was as the night sky swallowed up the bird that I realized how dreadfully tired I was; being an insufferable brat is really an exhausting job.
Returning to my bed, I crawled beneath the covers and soon fell into deep, dreamless sleep.
"Like what you see, Potter?" I asked, the query causing his gaze to lock with mine.
"Not particularly," he answered, though I could tell from a significant glance at his crotch that he was telling a complete and utter lie.
I laughed, and his face turned a wonderful shade of crimson as he turned away and stalked from my room.
Huh. Not as much trouble as I thought, Gin. It seems as though you can handle yourself pretty well, when it comes to infuriating people to the point where they can't stand to be around you. Or perhaps it's just Potter...
Snickering, I returned to the floor, and finished re-packing my trunk. Closing and locking the lid, I got to my feet and wandered to my closet, making sure I hadn't forgotten anything in there. The storage space was devoid of anything of importance, save for the clothes I planned on wearing on the train the following day.
Turning, I was about to grab my dressing gown and head to the bathroom to prepare myself for sleep, when I heard a soft tapping on my window. Outside the pane of glass was the most beautiful Eagle Owl I had ever seen, and I knew at once that it was from Draco.
Hurrying to the window, I opened it, allowing the bird to soar into my bedroom and alight on the bedpost. It carried an emerald envelope in its beak, and tied to its leg was a small package wrapped in silver paper. Taking the envelope and package, I placed them on the bed, and expected the bird to leave. When it didn't, I shrugged, assuming Draco would want a response to his letter.
Slitting open the letter, the faint scent of his cologne met my nostrils, and I grinned. Pulling a sheet of the same emerald parchment from the envelope, I noticed that the script was silver. Dear Draco, Slytherin through and through.
Still grinning, my gaze skimmed over the text rapidly, twice.
**
Dearest Virginia,
I do so hope this missive and gift find you well; that your brothers have not burnt you at the stake for committing such a traitorous deed as associating with me. If you do happen to be enduring some sort of cruel and unusual punishment due to our tryst today, or our evening encounter last night, please send Apollo back with a note, and I shall fetch you this evening to prevent any more suffering on your part.
I count the minutes 'til our next meeting, and wait with baited breath for your response to this letter, hoping that I shall not be required to whisk you away from your family. That you are well, as you appeared to be at our meeting this afternoon, is my heart's desire, and that the wretched and nightmarish Dream Team is not pestering you to no end.
Again, if they are doing so, send Apollo with a note, and I will fetch you, to prevent further irritation on your part.
Waiting,
Draco
**
I laughed. It was the only thing I could think to do. The note was touching, truly, but I wasn't exactly sure if it was sincere. He didn't seem the type for such things, and we'd only made the deal in order to piss off as many people as possible, and to keep the Dream Team off my back.
I took the letter as a sign that our deal was indeed going to take place, and that I hadn't made a complete prat of myself earlier. It was, however, a little odd, seeing as how he had told me to follow his lead at the train tomorrow; I hadn't expected this.
Shrugging, I slit open the silver-wrapped parcel, and another slip of emerald parchment fell into my hands. It too was scripted with silver ink, and I read it quickly, a smirk growing on my lips.
**
Virginia,
The missive you most likely read before this one was meant to be something you could leave lying somewhere quite conveniently for your brothers and their friends to read, serving to infuriate them further. What I said, however, about fetching you away should they be punishing you too severely, was entirely true.
The gift enclosed is one that I would very much like you to wear tomorrow; it should serve to make our little charade all the more entertaining for our part. I should very much like to see Potter's face, especially, when he sees you wearing it, but I'm afraid that will probably be impossible.
To warn you, this note will burn itself when you have finished reading it. The only reason being that it would serve as incriminating evidence, should our game be found out, and we wouldn't want the Dream Team to know the truth now, would we?
As I said earlier, follow my lead tomorrow at the train, and all will go according to plan.
Draco
**
As I read his name, the parchment burst into cold flames that tickled my fingers and did away entirely with the slip of paper, leaving not a single speck of ash behind. My curiosity was piqued, at the mention of a gift that made Draco want to see Harry's reaction to, and I opened the small box carefully.
Inside was a small mass of fabric, that, as I pulled it out, it grew to its normal size.
Gin, you've definitely got to learn that charm!
When at last the contents of the box were all in my hands, I unfolded the slippery soft fabric, awed. It was green in color – typical Draco fashion – and looked entirely too small to be anything but a nightgown. Smirking, I carefully refolded the dress, stowing it in my wardrobe so as to prevent prying eyes from spying it.
Following the stowing of my new gift, I turned to the owl still perched on my bedpost. Thinking, I coaxed him to the top of my wardrobe, where he wouldn't be seen by anyone until I'd had time to pen my response to Draco's letters.
Pondering where, exactly, I could leave Draco's letter, I decided on forgetting it in the bathroom when I went to change. So, picking up my dressing gown and the emerald parchment, I skipped down the hall to the bathroom.
Locking the door behind me, I snickered, laying the letter on the vanity, before going through my usual evening routine in preparation for bed. After applying moisturizer to my face and body, I left the bathroom and my letter, treading quietly down the hall to my bedroom.
After I had crawled into bed, and just as I was opening my book, a shriek of shock belonging to one Hermione Granger reached my ears. Smiling serenely, I flipped the pages in my novel to reach the chapter I was on, and began to read, awaiting the arrival of the Golden Trio in my chambers.
Exactly sixty-five seconds later, had I been counting, the Trio burst into my bedroom without so much as a knock on the door. Having prepared for this, and knowing that they would expect me to yell at them for barging into my room, I glanced up from my reading, my gaze clearly bored.
The action served to infuriate them more, and a wicked smirk threatened to curl my lips and give away the game. Silently chastising myself for not having better control over my emotions, I looked from one livid face to the other, and raised a single brow in query.
"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL IS THIS?!" I wanted very much to cover my ears at Ron's shout, but refrained from doing so; any sign of intimidation would give them an advantage.
My letter was clenched in his fist, and he was waving his arms wildly, clearly unable to calm himself. Again the smirk threatened to spoil my fun.
"I believe, Ronald, that what you are holding in your clenched fist at the moment is a missive from Draco to myself. I also believe that you have no right to be holding it in the first place. Perhaps you should like to explain why, exactly, you are holding a quite personal letter in your hand?" My voice was plenty calm, and the effect seemed to be the opposite on my visitors; where one is usually soothed by calmness, they turned to hysterics.
Hermione was furious; clearly she was getting to the end of her rope in her dealings with me. I was quite pleased at this knowledge, and stored it away to remind myself that I only had a little ways to go before she, like Ronald and Potter, would be yelling at me constantly. Potter was, if possible, more livid than Ronald, though he seemed beyond speech; his face was a beautiful shade of scarlet, and those green eyes that every woman in the wizarding world adored so much were blazing with fury. My brother, on the other hand, was quite vocal, and had started in on another tangent, of which I only caught the end.
"...AND YOU DON'T EXPECT ANYONE TO SEE THIS, LYING OUT IN THE BATHROOM? HOW CAN YOU BE SO STUPID, GINNY?! I CAN'T BELIEVE YOU'R ACCEPTING LETTERS FROM MALFOY! HE PROBABLY HEXED THEM, OR SOMETHING, AND YOU'LL WAKE UP WITH NO RECOLLECTION OF WHO YOU ARE IN THE MORNING!" He paused for breath, and a bored sigh escaped my lips.
"Ronald, if it disturbs you so, why don't you simply butt out? I don't ask for your attention, nor do I particularly enjoy it. Now. I suggest the three of you toddle off to play Exploding Snap, or some such thing, and leave me alone, before mother shows up and starts yelling at you for irritating me when I am getting ready for bed. If you would be so kind as to leave my missive from Draco on the desk on your way out, I might be inclined to forget about this wonderful little incident, and refrain from informing mother that the three of you burst in on me while I was changing, and wouldn't give me a chance to cover up before you started screaming at me."
"Ginny, we didn't walk in on you..." Understanding dawned on Hermione's face, as I once again raised a brow, this time in a rather smug expression.
"You wouldn't dare!" she breathed, pointing a finger at me. Quite the drama queen, was Miss Granger.
"Look me in the eye and tell me I wouldn't, Granger," I replied, locking my gaze with that of my brother's girlfriend. She trembled.
The three exchanged glances, before turning without another word and leaving the room, my brother dropping my now-crumpled letter on the desk. Following their departure, once I was certain they had completely vacated the area, I hopped out of bed and dropped into the chair in front of my desk.
Pulling a sheet of black parchment towards me, the only one I had left out of my trunk to take to school, I grabbed a quill and bottle of gold ink, and prepared to write my response to Draco's letter.
**
Draco,
You are so delightfully devilish; I can't wait to see you tomorrow so I can give you a kiss. Their – meaning the Golden Trio – reaction to your missive – which I conveniently forgot in the bathroom – was priceless. I honestly think I should invest in some anger management classes for the lot of them, they were so livid. It was beautiful.
I've to give you another kiss tomorrow for the beautiful dress; it should certainly be cause for entertainment tomorrow. For us, at least.
I'm not in any serious amounts of discomfort, except for the fact that I apparently have no personal space in this house. Everyone keeps barging in on me everywhere. Perhaps the most serious of issues is that Potter keeps trying to force himself on me; it's getting quite boring. He's done it twice today.
Truly amusing is the fact that he seems to think that he deserves me. He thinks he's god's bloody gift to women, or something. Disgusting.
Laughing,
Virginia
**
I ended the letter with a kiss to the parchment, following my signature, and a golden image of my lips appeared on the surface of the page. Smirking, I called Draco's bird from its perch, attached the roll of parchment to its leg, and sent it out my window.
For a while, I watched as the owl grew smaller and smaller as it flew into the distance, eventually turning into nothing more than a speck, and then disappearing altogether. It was as the night sky swallowed up the bird that I realized how dreadfully tired I was; being an insufferable brat is really an exhausting job.
Returning to my bed, I crawled beneath the covers and soon fell into deep, dreamless sleep.