Chapter Four: Unwanted

"You don't know me
Don't ignore me
You don't want me there
You just shut me out
You don't know me
Don't ignore me
If you had your way
You'd just shut me up
Make me go away"

"The first thing we must do, Miss Weasley, is find out which animal we are working for you to transform into." Professor McGonagall said. Ginny was sitting in front of the desk. The hours before this lesson seemed to have gone by extremely fast. It seemed to Ginny that one minute she was leaving charms and the next she was walking to Professor McGonagall's office.

"Unlike what you may be thinking it is not your choice. What will happen is that I will use the projection spell while my wand is touching the four-pointed star at the back of your neck. Let's not do that just yet, for now we will be reading up on Animagi: how to transform, the dangers and the like."

Ginny spent the rest of the time reading. She thought it fascinating, some of the books were so rare, they weren't even in the restricted section. After the lesson she was walking down the hall when she bumped into Draco.

"Hello Ginny, I heard about the Animagi thing, it's really cool." He said. Ginny was a bit taken aback, as this was very out of character for him.

"Uh, thanks Draco! I'm just coming back from my lesson." She replied.

"So do you know which—" He started to say when a group of Slytherins came around the corner.

"Draco, what are you doing with this Weasley?" Malcolm Baddock snarled.  "Don't tell us your going out with the Mudblood-Lover!"

"Of course not!" He said, defensively.

"Then what were you doing with her?" Asked Graham Pritchard.

"This little imp ran into me on my way to the dorms." He said, feigning annoyance.

"Well you don't need to hang around her any longer, some of the Weasley filth might rub off on you." Baddock said.

"Obviously." Draco said as he walked towards them. They all walked off in the direction of the Slytherin common room but Draco turned around and winked at Ginny before she left. Ginny smiled and winked back.

'I knew he couldn't be all bad.'  She thought, and turned and walked away.

At breakfast the next morning Dumbledore stood up to address the students.

"Students, I am pleased to announce that the Quidditch trials for Gryffindor will be tomorrow, Friday, at five. Trials for Slytherin are also tomorrow, at seven." He said, and sat back down. Harry and Ron started chattering about Quidditch, and Ron kept saying he would fall off his broom five minutes into the tryouts.

After everyone finished eating the owls arrived. Ginny usually never got owls, save for howlers; but thankfully those didn't happen very often. Today, however, there were two letters dropped off for Ginny. One had the Hogwarts crest and the other had a green wax seal on the back. She decided to open the Hogwarts one first.

Miss Weasley,

Please come to my office next Monday night for a continuation of your Animagi lessons. We will be finding out what your Animagnus is.

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Ginny tucked the letter back into the envelope and opened the other one.

Meet me in the library tonight an hour before Slytherin Quidditch trials.

D. M.

'D. M.? Who is that?'  Suddenly it struck her. 'D. M. Draco Malfoy!' She quickly scrawled a note to Draco saying that she would be there. Her classes went by, Thursday passed, and before she knew it the moment of truth had come, the moment she had been practicing for all summer: the Quidditch trials. She went upstairs to get her Nimbus 2001 from her trunk. She had saved up all of her birthday money for three years to get that. She grabbed it and rushed downstairs to the Quidditch pitch. There were eight other students trying out, Ron, Neville Longbottom, Dean Thomas, a sixth year named Charles Denson, Seamus Finnegan, Parvati Patil, and a second year named Carmen Deporte. The current Quidditch team, which consisted of Harry, Alicia Spinnet, Katie Bell, Angelina Johnson, and the Twins, stepped out onto the field. The former captain, Oliver Wood, had graduated two years before and was now playing with Puddlemere United. Angelina had been chosen for captain this year; therefore she called out the names.

"Alright everyone, welcome to the Gryffindor Quidditch tryouts. Let's start with those trying for Keeper. Neville Longbottom, please come up, you are first." She said.

Neville walked slowly up to the desk where the team was sitting. He mounted his broom and flew up to the goals. Katie and Angelina also flew up with the Quaffle, and then started doing very complicated chaser ploys until finally throwing it. Neville tried to block the Quaffle, but missed. They tried nine more times, and out of the ten Neville caught two. Then Seamus came up, he was pretty good, caught eight out of the ten. The only people left at this point were Ron and Ginny. Ron's name was called. He was better than Ginny had thought, he caught eight. After Ron was done it was finally Ginny's turn. It seemed like time had slowed down. Katie and Angelina formed a pretty good Hawkshead attack, but Ginny caught the Quaffle. In fact, she caught the Quaffle every single time. The team seemed very impressed, and Ron was in total shock. After she was done, Ginny leaped off of her broom with a smug look on her face. There was silence as she went up to the stands to watch the other players try out. She noticed someone else on the stands and went over to them. The person turned their head, revealing the grey eyes of one Draco Malfoy.

"Hi, little imp." He said.

"Hello to you too, Draco." She replied.

"I saw you trying out; you're good."

"…Thanks, Draco…" She said, surprised.

"Why don't we head over to the library like we planned?" He asked.

"Okay, you can help me with my potions homework!" She said, enthusiastically.

"No! Not more homework!" He said, acting scared.

"Just kidding," She said, giggling. "I don't need any help."

"Now look who's all high and mighty all of the sudden."

Ginny snorted. She started running off towards the castle. Draco shouted, "Hey, wait up!" and ran after her.

-----

They ran into the library out of breath. Luckily Madam Pince didn't notice them so they didn't get in trouble. They looked around and found a small table in the back of the room and went over to it. They did do some studying, but not much. They mostly spent the time talking. About life, the universe, and everything. They had so much fun talking, they nearly missed dinner! Things went on like this, Ginny and Draco meeting in the library; sometimes doing homework, though really mostly talking, and sometimes they would go and play Quidditch, as it turns out Draco was a pretty good Chaser as well as Seeker. Finally the time for Professor McGonagall's lesson had come and Ginny walked up to the Professor's office. She knocked on the door.

"Come in, Miss Weasley." Said Professor McGonagall. Ginny went in and sat down.

"Now like I said last week today we will be finding out what your Animagus will be. You must find that out early, for if you are going to transform you must learn everything about the animal." She said, and Ginny nodded. McGonagall pulled her wand out and came closer to Ginny. "Now, you will feel a small tingle when I press the wand to your mark, but it will not hurt."

She placed her wand on Ginny's neck. Suddenly a gigantic Siberian Tiger leaped out from the place the wand had touched. Its black contrasted greatly with the orange-red of the rest of its fur, and its eyes were a very deep chocolate-brown, a color not usually found in a tiger's eye.

"Miss Weasley, you have the Animagus of the tiger. We will be spending the rest of your time learning about them."

"Well, I already know a lot about them, Professor." Said Ginny excitedly. "They are my favorite type of animal."

"Good! That means we don't have to spend as much time on them." Said Professor McGonagall, relieved.

They spent the rest of the time reading about tigers and having Ginny try to think like them, which all seemed rather silly to her. Throughout the next few months things went basically normal. Ginny and Draco met often, usually at the library or at the Quidditch pitch. Before they knew it Christmas was in a week, and Dumbledore announced that due to the popularity of the Yule Ball the year before, they were planning on doing it again. Ginny was ecstatic, because Professor McGonagall had told her that she was surprisingly ready to try the transformation and she would try it at the start of next term. That week Ginny finally realized how pretty she was, for about fifteen boys asked her to the ball, even a Slytherin, but not the Slytherin she was hoping would ask her. Up until the day before the ball Ginny was still waiting for her best friend to ask her, but he never did.

Back in his room Draco was very conflicted. On the one hand, he really liked Ginny, and possibly a little bit as more than a friend. But he couldn't ask her. All week he saw boys coming up to her and asking her; and as soon as he got close enough to ask her his mind started blaring all of the reasons why he shouldn't ask her. For instance, that she was the daughter of a Muggle-lover, and that stupid Weasel's baby sister. That in itself would probably be enough to stop him if it was any other girl but her, but with Ginny he still had the nerve to try. The day before the ball Draco had told himself that he would ask Ginny to go with him, but when he got close to where she was he heard her and another girl talking.

"So Gin, why are you going to the ball with? I'm going with Dean!" Said the other girl. Then Draco heard Ginny speak.

"Well, I was kind of waiting, but since the boy I wanted to ask me didn't I'm going with Neville. Again." He heard her say.

"Who were you hoping would ask you?" The other girl asked, curious.

Ginny hesitated. She wanted to go with her best friend. She knew that with him they were just friends, so it wouldn't be awkward. With another guy, say Seamus, he would be trying to put the moves on her and things like that when she just wanted to talk and play around! But she knew that if she said Draco then it would be very, very bad. So she said the next name that popped into her head.

"Harry."

Draco walked away fuming. He told himself he was stupid to expect she had been waiting for him.

'Yeah, why would my friend want me to ask her…'

'Of course she had to be waiting for Potter… '

Draco walked into the common room very angry. He wanted to hurt Potter. So he went out to look for Cho Chang.

-----

Cho was walking with her friends when she spotted a cute blond-haired boy walking towards her. She knew that she had met him before; she just couldn't recall his name.

'Wait a minute…Dra-something, Drake? No…Draco! Yes, that's it.'

He walked over to her.

"Hello, Cho." He said.

"Hi! Um, Draco, right?" She said, a little shy.

"Yes. Listen, we don't know each other very well, and I thought we might want get to know each other better by going to the ball together." He said, trying to be polite though he was still terribly angry.

"Well, I was kind of hoping that someone else would ask me," She said, looking down at her feet. "But…he's going with someone else…so sure!"

"All right then, I will meet you in the Entrance Hall."

Draco walked away, still sickened at what he said. He was acting so sweet it could make Dumbledore throw up! He walked off to the Slytherin common room, hoping no one would meet him along the way.

------

That night Draco and Ginny had planned to meet in the library as usual, so Ginny started getting ready. Ron saw her come out of the dorm. For weeks she had been going somewhere and he wanted to find out where. He had been hearing rumors about Ginny and Draco but he didn't believe them. He thought that people were stupid if they believed that his baby sister was going out with Malfoy. Malfoy.  The biggest, ugliest, meanest git in the universe! Ron walked a few steps behind her. Luckily she didn't see him. He saw her step into the library.

Maybe she's just taking after Hermione. He hoped.

She went into the far corner of the library and Ron followed her. He peeked around the bookcase and almost fainted with shock. She had just gone up and hugged Draco Malfoy. And she sat down at the table with him and started talking with him! Ron wanted to go and break that stupid ferret's nose! He watched them until Ginny had to go, but up until then she and Draco looked to be having a pretty good time. After they both had left Ron stormed out of the library, not bothering to quiet his footsteps.

Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room when Ron and Hermione burst in. She stopped reading to hear what they would say; usually their fights were pretty funny.

"Why did you wait until the last minute? Is this like last year, when I'm just the girl you can go with if no one else will take you?" She heard Hermione say.

"No, Hermione, it's not like that!" He insisted.

"Then what is it?" She asked, dejectedly.

Ron walked over to her and made a motion for her to be quiet. Then he did the unthinkable.

"Ron, what are you—" She asked, startled.

He drew her face to his and kissed her. Ginny started giggling her head off. They turned around, Ron's face as red as his hair. They obviously hadn't seen Ginny there.

"Ginny!" Ron said angrily.

"What? It's not my fault that you choose to finally confess your…" Ginny stifled a giggle. "Undying love and affection for your dear, beloved Hermione." Ginny let out a full-blown bell laugh.

"What the…" Hermione said; the one time in her life that she was clueless.

"Oh, you didn't know? All Ron's been talking about this summer was Hermione this, and Hermione that. He even said that he was going to profess his love to you." She said, still laughing.

Hermione just stood there.

"However funny this will be I really have to go, so…have fun you two!" Ginny said, not wanting to get pummeled. As she walked by she whispered to Ron, "Don't do anything I wouldn't do, bro!" and ran off to the fifth year girl's dorm.

After a few confessions and another kiss Ron told Hermione that he had to go talk to Ginny. He walked up the stairs to her dorm. He didn't even bother knocking.

"Ginevra Weasley! What were you doing meeting Draco Malfoy in the library?" He shouted.

"He's my friend." She said calmly, not taking her eyes away from her book.

"No one can be that ferret's friend, just his minion!" He said, shocked that she was defending Malfoy.

Ginny set her book down; she was starting to get angry.

"Excuse me, his name is Draco and yes, I am his friend not minion. And just for you to note, he's my best friend!" She said, full of spite.

"You can't see him anymore!" He said, after calming down about the "best friend" part.

"Why not?" She said, angrily. "You're not mum!"

"No, I'm not. But I am your big brother!"

"And this gives you some sort of authority over me?"

Before he could say anymore she had her wand out and pointed it at him while saying

"Wingardium Leviosa!" to get him out the door, then she magically locked the door. She slid down against the wall with her head in her hands. What am I going to do?

------

"How could you make friends with that, that thing!" Pansy Parkinson yelled.

"Who?" He replied innocently.

"Weasley!" She said impatiently.

"I'm not friends with him." He said. He knew very well that she was talking about Ginny, but annoying Pansy was just so fun!

"I'm not talking about him, I'm talking about his sister!"

"Oh, her. I was just enjoying playing around with her feelings." He lied.

"That better be it, or there will be trouble by the name of Lucius." She said maliciously.

------

Ginny decided to take a walk to get away from Ron hammering on her door. Since it wasn't curfew yet she wouldn't get in trouble, but she would have gone even if it were past curfew. She was walking down the hall that led to the Astronomy tower when she ran into Draco.

"Hi Draco! Man, you wouldn't believed how freaked out Ron was when he—" She started to say.

"And I care why, Weasel?" He said, a cold stare plastered on his face.

"What's gotten into you?" She said, startled.

"I thought that you would say that from the way I was acting before now."

"But Draco—" She said, not wanting to believe the way he was acting.

"I don't know why I ever made friends with you in the first place, Weasel."

He turned on his heel and walked away.