A/N: OK, so as we all know, Ginny isn't repulsive! It's a step in the
right direction, but like I said at the end of the last chapter, it's too
soon! And while I'll be completely up front about this all being one giant
piece of fluffy mind candy, I don't plan on it being over in four chapters.
So, what to do when you don't want the two main characters to get closer?
Hum . . .
Chapter 4
Ginny hurried down the hall, late for Transfigurations, trying to stuff her books and notes in her bag. 'McGonagall is going to kill me!' she thought to herself rushing down the stairs. She turned a corner and ran into Blaise Zabini who was exiting the boy's lavatory.
Books and parchment went flying as Ginny stumbled back, managing to maintain her balance. "Great," she said falling to her knees, picking up her books.
Blaise knelt down and started picking up her books as well, "In a hurry?"
The look Ginny shot him could have melted ice, "Well, nothing gets past you Slytherins."
"Hey, you ran into me, remember?" Blaise said as he grabbed the last of the stray parchment and they stood up.
"Sorry," Ginny said blushing with embarrassment. She stood and accepted the books from Blaise's outstretched hands. "Thanks," she said, shoving the books in her bag and closing it, "It's just that I'm late for Transfigurations and McGonagall's going to blow a fuse! It's the second time this week."
"Well, I'll walk with you," Blaise offered. Ginny looked at him as if he'd spontaneously sprouted two heads. "Professor Binns is just droning on, as usual. I'm not in any hurry to get back."
"Alright," Ginny said hesitantly as they started back down the hall.
"How are lessons with Draco going?" Blaise asked conversationally.
Ginny stopped in her tracks, "How did you know about that?"
Blaise laughed and ran a hand through his black hair, "There really isn't much I don't know about Draco Malfoy. He told us about your deal."
"Us?" Ginny questioned.
"Pansy and I got it out of him as soon as he returned that night," he explained.
"Oh," she said as they continued on. "Well, I guess they are going fine." It had been a week since their lessons started. She had to admit; he had treated her better than he had that second night. He still chastised her whenever he got too annoyed, but never to the point where he tried to humble her with his authority. "Of course if there isn't much you don't know about Draco then I'm sure he's told you, in abundance, how things are going with the tutoring."
"Oh, I know how it's going for him," Blaise said laughing slightly. "I just wanted to know how they were going for you." As an afterthought he added, "Very well played by the way, coercing him like that, I must say, I didn't know you had it in you. You could have made a half decent Slytherin with that kind of shrewdness."
Ginny chuckled, "First, I'm very happy with my current house. Second, I don't think that Draco found it so amusing. I'm sure that he can't wait until my O.W.L.S. are over so that he can go back to calling me Weasley and just belittling my very existence at every opportunity."
"Who knows, this could be the beginning of a change in Draco. He could come out of this a new person with a totally different outlook on life," Blaise said lightheartedly.
"Yeah, I think we're talking about two different Draco Malfoy's. He's as likely to change as McGonagall is to not give me a detention for being late," Ginny said as they got to her classroom. She stopped and turned to Blaise, suddenly at a loss for what to say. "Well, uh, thanks for walking me I guess."
Blaise gave her a dazzling smile, "It was my pleasure. I'll see you around, Ginny." Ginny turned to the door and had her hand on the handle when she heard, "Wait." She turned around and faced Blaise again.
"Yes?"
He gave her another smile, "I don't know when we'll have a chance to talk again, but I wanted to know if you wanted to get together this weekend for the Hogsmeade trip."
Ginny's pulse started skipping, "You want to meet somewhere?"
Blaise stepped toward her and took her free hand in his. He looked down at it and began tracing the back of it with his finger, "No, I want you to go with me."
"I'm sorry, have we been properly introduced? I'm Ginny Weasley and a Gryffindor." Her mind was racing, Blaise Zabini was asking her to go with him to Hogsmeade? Next to Draco, Blaise was the most sought after guy at Hogwarts, if he wanted to go with anyone, it wouldn't be a Gryffindor and if it were a Gryffindor it certainly wouldn't be a Weasley. The only thing that could have made her more revolting to a Slytherin would be a lightning- bolt shaped scar on her forehead.
Blaise laughed and brought his cobalt eyes up to meet hers, "I'm well aware of who you are Ginny," he said. "I've been aware for a long time. I figured I might as well do something about it before it was to late." His white teeth flashed again, "So what do you say?"
"OK," Ginny said with a tentative smile, "sounds great."
"Super," Blaise said taking a step back, finally releasing her hand. "So then I guess I'll see you around." With a wink, he turned and walked down the hall while Ginny just watched. Before turning the corner he looked at her and gave her another smile. She just stood in a daze for another minute before finally entering her class. Not even McGonagall's detention for the next night could take the smile off her face.
"My God that was a long bathroom break," Draco whispered to his friend when Blaise sat down next to him again. "Thought we'd have to send out a search."
Blaise gave Draco a sly smile, "I was unavoidably detained."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And who is she this week?"
"Draco, comments like that hurt!" Blaise said in mock offense. "I just haven't met the right one yet."
"Blaise, you date insipid, vain girls. You expect to find a winner there?" Draco asked. "It's really just a lack of trying if you ask me."
Blaise gave his friend a deliberate look, "Oh come now Draco. You know as well as I do that we don't date them for their witty repartee," he said with a suggestive smile. "Besides, this one is different."
Draco shot him a doubtful look; "Enlighten me."
"Well she's not insipid or vain. I think she's exhilarating and modest," Blaise said.
Draco rolled his eyes. They were all exhilarating in the beginning. "This all still remains to be seen. Who is she?"
"I think you're going to be proud of me, here. Ginny Weasley."
"WHAT?"
Professor Binns stopped talking and looked to where Draco was sitting as the rest of the class giggled at the unprecedented outburst from Draco. "Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?" he asked.
"No, Sir," Draco answered and Professor Binns continued on. Draco turned back to Blaise. "Ginny Weasley? Have you lost your mind completely?"
Blaise sighed, "Not yet, but that's always a possibility."
"Why her?" Draco asked not understanding.
"I told you I thought she was pretty," Blaise said. "Besides, I've been aware of her for a long time and never did anything about it. Like you said all the girls I've dated are idiots. I'm tired of ornaments for girlfriends. I want to be able to at least hold a conversation with her," the suggestive smile was back, "at least between the extra curricular activities."
"You figured all this out when?" Draco asked, his voice rising again. "In the twenty minutes that you were gone?"
"Keep your voice down," Blaise said as Professor Binns looked in their direction again. "This may be new to you, but I've thought this for a long time," Blaise informed him. "I've just never done anything about it before."
"Why now?"
"I don't know, it just seemed like the right moment," he answered. "Why does this bother you so much anyway? It's not like you're the one who wants to date her or anything."
Draco opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Why did he care if Blaise dated Ginny? It's not like it directly affected Draco. But still, there was something that seemed wrong about Ginny being another trophy for Blaise. "I guess it doesn't matter."
"Good. Oh, by the by, she'll be with us this weekend at Hogsmeade," Blaise told him.
"Marvelous. That should make things tremendously interesting."
Ginny was sitting in the Room of Requirement staring off into space. She'd gotten there early with the intention of practicing the healing potion that she and Draco were now working on, but her mind wondered again, as it had all day, to her encounter with Blaise that afternoon.
She couldn't believe it when he told her that he'd been aware of her for a long time. She never thought of herself as particularly attractive and the fact that Blaise had asked her out had her mind reeling.
Telling her brother that she was going to Hogsmeade that weekend with a Slytherin was going to be fun. 'Maybe, I can get Hermione to help me," she thought. Of course, she didn't know what Hermione was going to think of the whole situation either. And of course Harry would have his opinions. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. It didn't matter; she'd deal with them alone if she had to.
When Draco walked into the room he saw Ginny sitting at the desk with her hands propping up her chin and staring off into space. It wasn't until he actually put his bag down that she snapped out of her reverie. "Oh hey," she said turning scarlet.
Draco looked at her through narrowed eyes. She wouldn't look at him, but he had seen enough. Here eyes were bright and her cheeks were now flaming. 'One guess as to what she was thinking about,' he thought to himself. "Let's get started," he said more severely than he had intended.
Her head snapped up to look at him, "Are you OK?"
He looked at her, his brow drawn together in a frown, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sorry, it's just that you sound like you're upset," she said.
"And that would matter to you why?" he asked.
She turned her chair to face him, "Well, if you want to talk about it, I'll listen."
Draco looked at her. She was too genuine and innocent to be with someone like Blaise. He and Blaise were two of a kind who took what they wanted and didn't care what they left in their wake. Ginny was the type who cared about people. He was her enemy and still she would listen to him if he had a bad day. Blaise would chew her up and spit her out.
He sighed, "Nothing is the matter."
A/N: OK, so how does everyone feel about the Blaise factor? I don't know; I'm just trying to keep from giving in and having Draco and Ginny all over each other! We all know where my mind is!!! Let me know what you think!
To my reviewers, I haven't had a chance to thank you all yet so here goes!
Hawk82 – Thanks! I plan to!
HpRoCks0204 – I'm glad you enjoy the story! Rubbing off the soot . . . a favorite part. Why can't Draco be doing that to me? Oh yeah, they are fictional characters. Sigh!
I am cheese – Thanks for the comments! I'll update as often as I can!
Fairy Queen 770 – I'm glad you like it a lot! Blackmailing Draco must be fun! Imagine what you could get him to do!
Spunkypippy – Yeah, he touched her cheek, it's all about the little moments!
HPF88 – I don't think that Draco is ready to say out loud that Ginny is pretty just yet. Not repulsive is probably about as good as he can give right now! They'll get closer don't worry! Thank you for the compliments!
Emma – I'm glad that you like it!
Water In A Puddle – I'm glad that my story isn't disappointing you! I'll try to keep it going for as long as I can!
Miah The Storm Wolf – I don't take any offense at all! In fact I completely agree with you! I hope that this slows things down for you a bit, hardly any D/G interaction at all!
Nerwen Faelvirin – I laughed out loud when I read your review! I couldn't stop! My brother was looking at me like I was crazy, but still, I just laughed on! I really would do that too! It's all about the fluff, I swear! If I do that, I'll totally credit it to you, I promise!
V – Thank you! I'll continue to try to earn such a high regard from you! First, yes the Slytherins are good at Quidditch . . . I guess we'll just have to see how that goes! Second, I couldn't agree with you more about the ridiculous plots. Sometimes I just wonder what people were thinking! I've read some stories that are just so out there and so OOC that I couldn't even make it past the first chapter! I really try not to do that myself, but if it ever happens, don't hesitate to let me know!!!
Ronluver626 – Thank you! I hope this update is quick enough for you! I would love to give them what they want and just let them get into each other's pants but then the story would be over and then where would we all be? Don't feel bad about the gutter mind; I've made no qualms about the direction of my thoughts!!!
Thank you all for reading! Review if you have time!
Chapter 4
Ginny hurried down the hall, late for Transfigurations, trying to stuff her books and notes in her bag. 'McGonagall is going to kill me!' she thought to herself rushing down the stairs. She turned a corner and ran into Blaise Zabini who was exiting the boy's lavatory.
Books and parchment went flying as Ginny stumbled back, managing to maintain her balance. "Great," she said falling to her knees, picking up her books.
Blaise knelt down and started picking up her books as well, "In a hurry?"
The look Ginny shot him could have melted ice, "Well, nothing gets past you Slytherins."
"Hey, you ran into me, remember?" Blaise said as he grabbed the last of the stray parchment and they stood up.
"Sorry," Ginny said blushing with embarrassment. She stood and accepted the books from Blaise's outstretched hands. "Thanks," she said, shoving the books in her bag and closing it, "It's just that I'm late for Transfigurations and McGonagall's going to blow a fuse! It's the second time this week."
"Well, I'll walk with you," Blaise offered. Ginny looked at him as if he'd spontaneously sprouted two heads. "Professor Binns is just droning on, as usual. I'm not in any hurry to get back."
"Alright," Ginny said hesitantly as they started back down the hall.
"How are lessons with Draco going?" Blaise asked conversationally.
Ginny stopped in her tracks, "How did you know about that?"
Blaise laughed and ran a hand through his black hair, "There really isn't much I don't know about Draco Malfoy. He told us about your deal."
"Us?" Ginny questioned.
"Pansy and I got it out of him as soon as he returned that night," he explained.
"Oh," she said as they continued on. "Well, I guess they are going fine." It had been a week since their lessons started. She had to admit; he had treated her better than he had that second night. He still chastised her whenever he got too annoyed, but never to the point where he tried to humble her with his authority. "Of course if there isn't much you don't know about Draco then I'm sure he's told you, in abundance, how things are going with the tutoring."
"Oh, I know how it's going for him," Blaise said laughing slightly. "I just wanted to know how they were going for you." As an afterthought he added, "Very well played by the way, coercing him like that, I must say, I didn't know you had it in you. You could have made a half decent Slytherin with that kind of shrewdness."
Ginny chuckled, "First, I'm very happy with my current house. Second, I don't think that Draco found it so amusing. I'm sure that he can't wait until my O.W.L.S. are over so that he can go back to calling me Weasley and just belittling my very existence at every opportunity."
"Who knows, this could be the beginning of a change in Draco. He could come out of this a new person with a totally different outlook on life," Blaise said lightheartedly.
"Yeah, I think we're talking about two different Draco Malfoy's. He's as likely to change as McGonagall is to not give me a detention for being late," Ginny said as they got to her classroom. She stopped and turned to Blaise, suddenly at a loss for what to say. "Well, uh, thanks for walking me I guess."
Blaise gave her a dazzling smile, "It was my pleasure. I'll see you around, Ginny." Ginny turned to the door and had her hand on the handle when she heard, "Wait." She turned around and faced Blaise again.
"Yes?"
He gave her another smile, "I don't know when we'll have a chance to talk again, but I wanted to know if you wanted to get together this weekend for the Hogsmeade trip."
Ginny's pulse started skipping, "You want to meet somewhere?"
Blaise stepped toward her and took her free hand in his. He looked down at it and began tracing the back of it with his finger, "No, I want you to go with me."
"I'm sorry, have we been properly introduced? I'm Ginny Weasley and a Gryffindor." Her mind was racing, Blaise Zabini was asking her to go with him to Hogsmeade? Next to Draco, Blaise was the most sought after guy at Hogwarts, if he wanted to go with anyone, it wouldn't be a Gryffindor and if it were a Gryffindor it certainly wouldn't be a Weasley. The only thing that could have made her more revolting to a Slytherin would be a lightning- bolt shaped scar on her forehead.
Blaise laughed and brought his cobalt eyes up to meet hers, "I'm well aware of who you are Ginny," he said. "I've been aware for a long time. I figured I might as well do something about it before it was to late." His white teeth flashed again, "So what do you say?"
"OK," Ginny said with a tentative smile, "sounds great."
"Super," Blaise said taking a step back, finally releasing her hand. "So then I guess I'll see you around." With a wink, he turned and walked down the hall while Ginny just watched. Before turning the corner he looked at her and gave her another smile. She just stood in a daze for another minute before finally entering her class. Not even McGonagall's detention for the next night could take the smile off her face.
"My God that was a long bathroom break," Draco whispered to his friend when Blaise sat down next to him again. "Thought we'd have to send out a search."
Blaise gave Draco a sly smile, "I was unavoidably detained."
Draco raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And who is she this week?"
"Draco, comments like that hurt!" Blaise said in mock offense. "I just haven't met the right one yet."
"Blaise, you date insipid, vain girls. You expect to find a winner there?" Draco asked. "It's really just a lack of trying if you ask me."
Blaise gave his friend a deliberate look, "Oh come now Draco. You know as well as I do that we don't date them for their witty repartee," he said with a suggestive smile. "Besides, this one is different."
Draco shot him a doubtful look; "Enlighten me."
"Well she's not insipid or vain. I think she's exhilarating and modest," Blaise said.
Draco rolled his eyes. They were all exhilarating in the beginning. "This all still remains to be seen. Who is she?"
"I think you're going to be proud of me, here. Ginny Weasley."
"WHAT?"
Professor Binns stopped talking and looked to where Draco was sitting as the rest of the class giggled at the unprecedented outburst from Draco. "Is there a problem Mr. Malfoy?" he asked.
"No, Sir," Draco answered and Professor Binns continued on. Draco turned back to Blaise. "Ginny Weasley? Have you lost your mind completely?"
Blaise sighed, "Not yet, but that's always a possibility."
"Why her?" Draco asked not understanding.
"I told you I thought she was pretty," Blaise said. "Besides, I've been aware of her for a long time and never did anything about it. Like you said all the girls I've dated are idiots. I'm tired of ornaments for girlfriends. I want to be able to at least hold a conversation with her," the suggestive smile was back, "at least between the extra curricular activities."
"You figured all this out when?" Draco asked, his voice rising again. "In the twenty minutes that you were gone?"
"Keep your voice down," Blaise said as Professor Binns looked in their direction again. "This may be new to you, but I've thought this for a long time," Blaise informed him. "I've just never done anything about it before."
"Why now?"
"I don't know, it just seemed like the right moment," he answered. "Why does this bother you so much anyway? It's not like you're the one who wants to date her or anything."
Draco opened his mouth to speak and then closed it again. Why did he care if Blaise dated Ginny? It's not like it directly affected Draco. But still, there was something that seemed wrong about Ginny being another trophy for Blaise. "I guess it doesn't matter."
"Good. Oh, by the by, she'll be with us this weekend at Hogsmeade," Blaise told him.
"Marvelous. That should make things tremendously interesting."
Ginny was sitting in the Room of Requirement staring off into space. She'd gotten there early with the intention of practicing the healing potion that she and Draco were now working on, but her mind wondered again, as it had all day, to her encounter with Blaise that afternoon.
She couldn't believe it when he told her that he'd been aware of her for a long time. She never thought of herself as particularly attractive and the fact that Blaise had asked her out had her mind reeling.
Telling her brother that she was going to Hogsmeade that weekend with a Slytherin was going to be fun. 'Maybe, I can get Hermione to help me," she thought. Of course, she didn't know what Hermione was going to think of the whole situation either. And of course Harry would have his opinions. She pushed those thoughts out of her head. It didn't matter; she'd deal with them alone if she had to.
When Draco walked into the room he saw Ginny sitting at the desk with her hands propping up her chin and staring off into space. It wasn't until he actually put his bag down that she snapped out of her reverie. "Oh hey," she said turning scarlet.
Draco looked at her through narrowed eyes. She wouldn't look at him, but he had seen enough. Here eyes were bright and her cheeks were now flaming. 'One guess as to what she was thinking about,' he thought to himself. "Let's get started," he said more severely than he had intended.
Her head snapped up to look at him, "Are you OK?"
He looked at her, his brow drawn together in a frown, "Why wouldn't I be?"
"Sorry, it's just that you sound like you're upset," she said.
"And that would matter to you why?" he asked.
She turned her chair to face him, "Well, if you want to talk about it, I'll listen."
Draco looked at her. She was too genuine and innocent to be with someone like Blaise. He and Blaise were two of a kind who took what they wanted and didn't care what they left in their wake. Ginny was the type who cared about people. He was her enemy and still she would listen to him if he had a bad day. Blaise would chew her up and spit her out.
He sighed, "Nothing is the matter."
A/N: OK, so how does everyone feel about the Blaise factor? I don't know; I'm just trying to keep from giving in and having Draco and Ginny all over each other! We all know where my mind is!!! Let me know what you think!
To my reviewers, I haven't had a chance to thank you all yet so here goes!
Hawk82 – Thanks! I plan to!
HpRoCks0204 – I'm glad you enjoy the story! Rubbing off the soot . . . a favorite part. Why can't Draco be doing that to me? Oh yeah, they are fictional characters. Sigh!
I am cheese – Thanks for the comments! I'll update as often as I can!
Fairy Queen 770 – I'm glad you like it a lot! Blackmailing Draco must be fun! Imagine what you could get him to do!
Spunkypippy – Yeah, he touched her cheek, it's all about the little moments!
HPF88 – I don't think that Draco is ready to say out loud that Ginny is pretty just yet. Not repulsive is probably about as good as he can give right now! They'll get closer don't worry! Thank you for the compliments!
Emma – I'm glad that you like it!
Water In A Puddle – I'm glad that my story isn't disappointing you! I'll try to keep it going for as long as I can!
Miah The Storm Wolf – I don't take any offense at all! In fact I completely agree with you! I hope that this slows things down for you a bit, hardly any D/G interaction at all!
Nerwen Faelvirin – I laughed out loud when I read your review! I couldn't stop! My brother was looking at me like I was crazy, but still, I just laughed on! I really would do that too! It's all about the fluff, I swear! If I do that, I'll totally credit it to you, I promise!
V – Thank you! I'll continue to try to earn such a high regard from you! First, yes the Slytherins are good at Quidditch . . . I guess we'll just have to see how that goes! Second, I couldn't agree with you more about the ridiculous plots. Sometimes I just wonder what people were thinking! I've read some stories that are just so out there and so OOC that I couldn't even make it past the first chapter! I really try not to do that myself, but if it ever happens, don't hesitate to let me know!!!
Ronluver626 – Thank you! I hope this update is quick enough for you! I would love to give them what they want and just let them get into each other's pants but then the story would be over and then where would we all be? Don't feel bad about the gutter mind; I've made no qualms about the direction of my thoughts!!!
Thank you all for reading! Review if you have time!