A/N: as always I only own the characters not recognised from the books
The lyrics at the beginning are from 'She Is Beautiful' by Andrew W.K.
Thanx for all the reviews, I didn't know ppl liked my writing so much lol as for more D/G action, there will be some but I intend to tease you all for a little longer first = P
This is only the first half of this part of the story; the next chapter will be the follow up half
This chapter is dedicated to my hat whore Lauren, she's the one who has her hair in the pins/buns things so deserves to be mentioned cos of her greatness. Luv ya babes! xx
Chapter Six – Giving In Part I
I ain't got nothing to lose
Going to throw it away
And talk to you
She looks good
She looks good
And it's true
And it's true
The girl is beautiful
She is beautiful
"Welcome students. Now, since we had several complaints over the groups last lesson, I've reworked them if you take a look at the wall behind there is a list of your groups. You will be in assigned groups of six and from that group your pairings are also listed."
Professor Isaac said, waving a careless hand at the wall behind her where a list was pinned, the names of each group glittering a different colour. Ginny grinned at Noah, Xander and Alyssa before wandering over to the wall with the rest of the class.
"Hey, we're all in the same group. Oh no!"
She groaned, her face falling as she saw who her partner was, this was all she needed when her emotions were haywire.
"Well well, control yourself boy."
Pike smirked down at Ginny who glared up at him in disgust before a smile slowly lit up her face.
"Oh I can't wait for this."
She mumbled to Noah who was hovering next to the list looking out for his partner who was someone he had never heard of. Out of the corner of her eyes Ginny saw Draco shoot her a curious look, she turned to listen to what Pike was saying to his best friend; a drop dead gorgeous Ravenclaw he was never seen without.
Deacon Price was taller than the average seventh year with slicked back black hair that contrasted with his tanned features, his huge wicked amber eyes sparkled permanently and his succulent mouth was always arranged into a heartbreaking grin as he continuously cracked jokes that made everyone around him laugh, yet he was seemingly unaware of his good looks, never noticing how girls' eyes followed him around practically drooling. He was only slightly less popular than Blue and Draco but no where near as gorgeous no matter how handsome he was.
"You'll never guess who I'm partnered with."
Pike bragged, lowering his tone as Deacon's fan club edged nearer to them hopefully.
"From the look on your face; Ginny Weasley?"
Pike scowled as Deacon's eyes glinted mischievously before nodding slowly. Ginny blushed as Deacon began to tease Pike lightly, her eyes meeting Draco's, he raised an eyebrow at her and she lowered her eyes as Noah dragged her away from Pike and, unfortunately for her pride, closer to Draco and Blue.
"Don't forget, you're not meant to have vampire strength. You're supposed to be a weakling!"
He hissed, holding onto Ginny as she tried to squirm away from Draco's amused stare, she stopped wriggling and looked sulkily up at Noah, clicking her tongue.
"Way to spoil the fun, killjoy."
Noah sighed and shook his head ruefully; recognising Fred and George's mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"Just don't do too much damage to him, alright Ginny?"
Ginny flashed him an innocent grin and fluttered her eyelashes before winking.
"Now, would I do anything to hurt ickle Pike?"
Noah's smooth white forehead was punctured sharply as his eyebrow flew up at this statement, almost getting lost in his hair. Ginny shot him a devilish grin before wandering over to join Pike as Professor Isaac whistled for attention.
"Now, I don't expect many of you to be able to do this move as it takes far stronger upper muscles and skills than any student should possess. But what you're going to do is; first take a sword then I want you to circle each other three times. Then you will both attack and we shall see who comes closest to being disarmed, understand? Alright then, GO!"
The command echoed around the room, punctuated by sighs as the girls heaved on the swords and circled their partners warily. Glancing around, Ginny caught sight of Noah and his partner; a pretty girl with blonde curls from Hufflepuff, he seemed extremely nervous at wielding the huge heavy object around her especially as he was supposed to be trying to hurt her.
Stifling her giggles, Ginny turned around to see Alyssa eyeing her nervously as she jabbed her sword at Xander vaguely, not even paying the slightest bit of attention. Ginny rolled her eyes and prodded the air around Pike gently making a few grunting noises from the 'effort'.
Pike smirked down at her, pressing himself even harder against her;
"Oooh, Weasley, those noises sound familiar."
He laughed, slapped her arse with his free hand as she circled him with death written in her eyes. Looking up Ginny caught sight of Draco glaring daggers at Pike; if looks could kill he would have been long gone.
"That's it."
She seethed through gritted teeth as he grabbed her once again, and abandoning all pretences of being a weak little girl Ginny grabbed hold of her sword and dashed at him with an expertise she had never had before.
"Now remember, you have to do quick short jabs rather than long thrusts as that would get you and your opponent into a long rally which is tiring and..."
Professor Isaac trailed off as Ginny gave an expert flick of her wrist that sent Pike's sword flying into the air where it spun wildly before she caught it with her spare hand, the force of her blow knocking him to the ground where he lay staring up at her, stunned.
"Or I find that always works as well."
Deacon muttered, doubled over with helpless laughter as were most of the room. Draco wandered over to Ginny and helped her to her feet where she had fallen over as Pike's arms and legs flailed about the air.
"Um... class dismissed."
Ginny shot Pike a smug look before flipping her long red plait over her shoulder and darting into the changing rooms to strip her work out clothes and pull on her robes for dinner next.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hey Ginny, will you come into Hogsmeade with me this afternoon so I can get my outfit for the dance tonight?"
Ginny looked up from her rhubarb crumble and nodded, shoving her plate away and stretching luxuriously. She jumped when Draco and Blue's voices rang in her head; she wasn't used to the three way conversations yet and things could get very confusing.
'Helping the mudblood with her style I see.'
Ginny jerked her head up and glared at Draco who was slouched lazily back in his chair.
'Don't you ever call her that again.'
He raised an eyebrow at her as her eyes flashed dangerously.
'Calm down, he was joking weren't you Draco?'
Ginny rolled her eyes when Blue leapt in, defusing the fight before they lost control and Changed in the middle of dinner.
'Whatever, don't test me, Malfoy.'
Draco lifted both eyebrows at the use of his last name before grinning seductively at her.
'Now is that any way to treat your rescuer?'
Ginny felt her blushes building but she held them back suddenly, the noise of the hall fading to nothing so it was just the three of them.
'Rescuer?'
Blue butted in, staring from one to the other curiously.
'I stopped Filch catching her out of bounds last night.'
Ginny narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
((Flashback))
"What are you doing?"
Ginny bit back her scream as she leapt so far off the floor her feet nearly lost contact with the hard stone. She spun around and glared Draco as he lounged against the doorframe, a black silhouette against the harsh yellow light of the torch in the corridor behind him.
"Ssh!"
She hissed, dragging him into the room and sliding the door closed silently behind him.
"I dropped my pendant in on my way back from Training and I can't find the bloody thing."
He watched her, disbelief widening his eyes slightly in a way in Blue and herself could read.
"So you came all the way down here, after hours to find a pendant. What were you doing in a deserted classroom anyway?"
His eyes glittered suggestively and she rolled her eyes, letting out a gasp of delight when she saw her silver pendant shimmering by the door. She darted over to it and checked it for breakages before slipping it around her neck.
"So you've found it."
It was a statement not a question and Ginny nodded unnecessarily, suddenly aware of how small the room was and how suspicious it would look to anyone walking in now.
He crossed the space between them in two long strides until he was stood inches away from her, his eyes teasing hers as they glowed mercury bright in the moonlight, his hair highlighted and shining in the shadows. He reached up and pushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes, his touch soft and caressing, his hands surprisingly warm. She felt her heartbeat quicken and she gave an involuntary shoulder when his breath stroked her cheek.
"What are you doing here?"
She whispered, barely trusting herself to move as she pressed her back against the wall.
"Waiting for Filch to go past."
Ginny heard the caretaker's footsteps as he limped past, his mangy cat right behind him as always, his harsh voice mumbling softly to himself.
"He's gone."
Draco continued, stating the obvious but not moving. Ginny nodded, running her fingertips over the plane of his cheek. His lips moved in towards hers but she pulled back grinning at him.
"Good night Draco."
She slipped out from under his arm and left the room silently, her robes billowing out behind her as she raced back to her dormitory.
((End flashback))
'What do you want, a thank you?'
He smirked over at her and she glowered back, fighting against the urge to laugh.
"Fine thank you. Satisfied?'
He shot her a suggestive look and she felt her body squirm under his hot gaze, Blue nearly killing himself laughing, banging a fist on the table, as he listened in.
'Not at all.'
Ginny made an indignant noise in the back of her throat although she was trying desperately not to laugh along with Blue.
'You're revolting.'
She rolled her eyes and watched as Blue fell off the bench at the look on Ginny and Draco's faces. Pansy looked down at Blue as though he had lost his mind as he crawled back into his seat shaking his head.
'You two are better than Jim Davidson.'
Draco looked at him, puzzled.
'Who the hell?'
Ginny rolled her eyes again.
'A muggle comedian. Only he's actually funny whereas you merely think you are.'
Draco pulled a face at her and she fluttered her eyes at him innocently.
"Ginny?"
Jumping and spinning around her seat Ginny found all her friends looking at her with curious looks on their faces, all except for Noah who was watching her suspiciously. She blushed and shrugged, remembering that Noah had probably just heard ever word they had exchanged, but as he hadn't been trained to that extent yet he didn't know how to do it himself.
"You look like you've got a migraine coming on or something, you face was all screwed up and your eyes were nearly shut."
Ginny shrugged as Ron looked at her nervously.
"I'm fine Ron, stop worrying."
He continued to watch her until she downed the rest of her pumpkin juice and got to her feet.
"Ready to shop Hermione?"
Hermione jumped and nodded, getting to her feet and kissing Ron briefly on the lips before following Ginny out of the Hall towards the front doors.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hmmmm... what about this one?"
Ginny looked up as Hermione pulled a long black dress off the sale rack and held it over her. It fell all the way down to the floor and had long full length ripped black lace sleeves.
"Hermione?"
Hermione looked up at Ginny who removed the dress from her hands and shoved it back on the rack with a disgusted look on her face.
"Do you not know what the whole point of Halloween is?"
Hermione was just about to launch into a long-winded explanation of how Halloween came about but Ginny held up a hand to halt her and headed towards the clothes at the back of the shop that were a lot less innocent than a full length dress.
"The whole point, is to be whatever you want to be and not have to worry about what others think, tonight you are going to go seductive Goth goddess and my brother is going to have a heart attack when he sees you."
As she spoke Ginny pulled a tight black mini-dress off the rack and handed it to a dubious Hermione before dragging her over to the changing rooms.
"Gin, I'm not sure about this."
Ginny clucked her tongue impatiently and pulled open the curtain to see Hermione looking darkly dazzling in the dress.
"It's perfect!"
Ginny cried, circling Hermione to see it from all sides. It fell to just about mid thigh in ragged black pleats, the bodice sporting a large purple cross down the front and the sleeves nothing more than jagged bits of black lace at the shoulders that fell to halfway to her elbow.
Once the dress had been paid for Ginny dragged Hermione into a gothic shop well hidden from the main street behind the Hogs Head. Once inside she headed straight for a display of all sorts of accessories on the back wall, pulling down two pairs of black fishnet tights with several holes all over and a packet of black silk ribbons.
Humming to herself she headed over to the till and handed over Hermione's money cheerfully. Glancing at her watch she let out a stifled shriek and raced out of the shop with Hermione on her heels.
"Ginny what are we running for?"
Ginny slowed down slightly as a stitch scratched at her side and she gasped out;
"The dance starts in three hours."
Hermione looked startled at this piece of news and hastily checked her own watch before following Ginny up to her dorm room.
"You can dress in here since I'm guessing you have no idea what accessories will go with that dress."
Hermione looked indignant but nodded and collapsed onto Ginny's bed, watching in amusement as Alyssa, Ginny, Rindy and Cass darted around the room applying make up, some muggle some magic, and fighting over mirror space.
"Just put the dress and the tights on and I'll do the rest." Ginny told Hermione bossily, already pulling on her own tight black skirt that barely covered anything.
Hermione nodded and dutifully tugged on the dress, gaping in shock when Ginny emerged from the bathroom totally transformed. To go with the skirt she had a matching black crop top with long sleeves of black lace with slits from the shoulder to the wrist so they weren't sleeves at all really, just material that hung at her sides. She had also tugged on a pair of blood-red and black striped tights, the thick horizontal coloured stripes matching her outfit and hair perfectly.
Glancing up at her hair Hermione had to admit Ginny had some wonderful ideas at gothic hairstyles. Her hair was twisted up into two dark red buns with a parting that zigzagged down instead of a plain line. The buns had pins sticking out of them all over, some dangling from them others stuck right through them. She had little red curls falling into her face which was barely made up yet still looked amazing.
"Come on."
Ginny sat Hermione down on her bed and knelt up behind her with a pair of straightners and all kinds of little clips and bobbles and magical hair styling mousses and sprays. She quickly straightened her entire hair so it fell in sleek waves before running a quick brush through it. She started at the front and braided what Hermione recognised as a mixture of a fish plait and a French plait.
Ginny stuck her tongue between her teeth as she worked, starting the braids just above level with the corner of Hermione's eyes and worked them so they went up to the crown of her head down in diagonal lines to behind her ears and then horizontally back to where they had met at first just beneath the crown of her head.
She quickly tied the ends of them securely with the small black bobbles she had borrowed from Cass before brushing some mousse and gel into the rest of her hair that was left down and using a considerable amount of hairspray.
Grinning up at her gob smacked friends who were gaping at the transformed Hermione she summoned the ribbons from her bag and wound them tightly up Hermione's arms in diagonal strips.
"Err... Ginny, what are you doing?"
Hermione asked uncertainly, flinching slightly when Ginny glared up at her before getting to her feet and grabbing her make up bag from her bedside table. She knelt down before Hermione and pulled her head towards her slightly harsher than she had meant to.
She outlined her eyes with thick black eyeliner, making points at the outside corners like Cleopatra and adding lots of layers of witch mascara that smoked slightly before curling the lashes and lengthening them. Moving on she didn't bother with blusher as Hermione's skin flushed slightly anyway, she pulled out a tube of black lipstick and clutched Hermione's cheeks faintly indicating she needed to pout her lips.
"Cass!"
She bellowed, as Cass appeared at her side from the bathroom already dressed in tight black leather pants, a matching corset and plenty of black make-up, her hair dyed ebony for the occasion.
"Can you paint Hermione's nails black for me while I do my make up?"
Cass nodded and seized Hermione's hands, fussing over how nice her nails were before summoning Ginny's black nail varnish from under her bed somewhere.
Ginny shoved Ginny out of the way playfully and matched her eyes to Hermione's, only curling her flicks underneath slightly and lengthening them. She scowled at her freckles before filling her lips in with a dark red-wine coloured lipstick before checking her hair one last time.
"Right, ten minutes to go."
She wandered back into her room, glad she had done her nails and had a shower before she had gone into Hogsmeade. She collapsed onto the bed next to Hermione and pulled on her knee-high clumpy black gothic boots glaring at the straps and hoping they might decide to do themselves up.
She yanked open her wardrobe after Hermione gave her a pointed look and unearthed a pair of matching boots but these had silver lining on them and she handed them to Hermione who fastened them with a doubtful look on her face.
"Will you lot hurry up?!"
Ginny rolled her eyes when her brother's voice echoed up the stairs sounding impatient and bored already.
"We're coming!"
She shouted back, grabbing a suddenly nervous Hermione by the elbow and hauling her down the stairs with her friends at her heels. As she had predicted Ron fell out of his chair when he saw Hermione and sat on the floor in a dazed heap staring up at her.
"Hermione..."
He started weakly, trailing off when Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet before kissing Ginny and Hermione on the cheek and wandering over to see Cass who was his date, something she had mentioned at least once a day for the past week.
Ginny rolled her eyes when Hermione and Ron promptly began a heated make out session which she was glad of as it meant her brother wouldn't notice her outfit for a while. She took the time to study her brother's and decided he must have asked Bill for advice on it because it looked both cool and attractive, something Ron really couldn't do for himself for some reason.
He was clad in mostly the same as every male in the upper school was, only his pants were black leather rather than jeans and his coloured shirt was a strange dark green that actually suited him very well, Ginny had the sneaking suspicion that the shirt was Bill's as well but she didn't bother to ask.
"Are we going now?"
Ginny whined, rolling her eyes like Ginny had when she caught sight of Ron and Hermione still glued together. They pulled apart reluctantly but kept their hands clasped as every Griffindor from fourth year upwards headed as one towards the portrait hole.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
For once Draco could think of nothing to say as Ginny stood at the top of the marble stairs, staring down at him. She looked stunning and if he'd looked at anyone else but her he would have noticed he wasn't the only one stood staring.
He pulled himself together and smirked up at her as she descended the staircase with a cheeky grin on her face, her hand held out for him to kiss mockingly. She took his arm and they grinned at each other until Blue came marching over to them with his date who was, Ginny noticed with little surprise, someone else's girlfriend.
She nodded coldly as she realised who it was and the girl glared back, lifting her head a little so she could stare down her nose at Ginny.
"Juno, Ginny, Ginny, Juno."
Blue did quick introductions, noting with some amusement the hostility between the girls before Juno stalked off to talk to some of her girl friends.
"Why are you with her?" Ginny snarled, jerking her head in Juno's direction where she was sniggering at a passing Hufflepuff girl's outfit with her group.
"She's an Ancient."
If Ginny had been holding anything she would surely have dropped it at that moment as she gawped at Blue who was waving cheerfully at an old conquest who blushed and waved back discretely behind her date's back.
"That means there's only one girl left to find. I wonder what Ancient Juno is."
Ginny glared at the blonde girl's back, furious that she would have to spend time with her now. From the moment the two of them had set eyes on each other they had been enemies, much like Harry and Draco were. They had no specific reason why, they just hated each other and detested the very sight of one another.
"Air by the look of it."
Ginny didn't even bother to ask Blue how he knew that she just sighed and dragged the two Slytherins towards the doors when they opened.
"Juno!" Blue called over the crowd, looking vaguely around but not really bothered if he found her or not.
"Leave her, she'll find us."
Disgust evident in Ginny's voice Draco smirked to himself and dragged Ginny and Blue over to a table at the back of the room.
After dinner the Weird Sisters trooped onto the raised platform where the teacher's table normally was and opened the dancing. Blue immediately disappeared onto the dance floor with Juno and Ginny glanced up as Draco got to his feet and stood over her.
"I suppose you want to dance."
It was a statement not a question and Ginny grinned slyly up at him, not moving from her seat but leaning back in her chair so she could see his face.
"Are you gonna ask me?"
He didn't answer but bent down and gripped her hands in his, pulling her gently to her feet and leading her onto the dance floor just as a slow song began. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, glad she could now control her blushes because she was pretty sure she'd be tomato red otherwise.
He leant in towards her and she breathed in his familiar scent, letting it fill her head as she laid it on his shoulder, her head nestled in the crook between his chin and shoulder. His hands drifted to her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, swaying her body to the beat and watching Harry and Cass as they passed.
Watching as Harry's head very slowly lowered towards Cass's, a smile crept over her face and she felt a flood of happiness for her friend, mixed with a strong feeling of relief that she didn't like him in that way anymore.
When the song ended she pulled away slightly so she could see his face, somewhat softened by the first genuine smile she had ever seen on his face before. They moved off the dance floor as a much faster beat had people swinging each other round.
"I'll go get us some drinks."
Ginny nodded and wandered back over to their table where Blue was guzzling down a bottle of Butterbeer as Juno got to her feet wiping her mouth and disappeared into the mass of black swaying on the dance floor.
"When are you and Draco going to get it over with?"
Blue asked, laying his arm along the back of her chair as she slouched down into Juno's recently vacated seat. She looked up at him, masking the tension in her eyes with curiosity as he grinned down at her.
"Get what over with?"
He rolled his eyes and she laughed before shrugging her shoulders and watching Harry and Cass getting closer and closer while Hermione and Ron had disappeared into a corner and were in the middle of some very heavy petting.
"You want to know what I think?"
Ginny looked up at him with one eyebrow raised.
"Not particularly, but you're going to tell me anyway."
He laughed and nodded, putting his own opinion forward.
"I think you should just screw each other and get that shit over with."
She punched him on the arm laughing, his closeness sending waves of pleasure rippling over her but not in the same way as Draco's slightest touch did.
"Blue, with you screwing solves everything."
Blue nodded and watched as a pretty sixth year girl danced close by with someone Ginny vaguely knew as his fellow Slytherin. The dance involved a lot of grinding and gyrating and Ginny rolled her own eyes as Blue's took in every inch of her expertly.
"I'm going to go look for Draco."
Blue waved a hand vaguely at her, kissing her on the cheek as she got to her feet and left the room, waving as couple after couple called her name as she passed. She made her way slowly across the room, her eyes searching everywhere for a flash of bright silver hair.
Deciding he must have gone outside for some air she wandered out through the wide open doors, her eyes sweeping over the glittering bushes that were filled with miniature fairies the same as from her third year at the Triwizard Tournament opening dance.
She had already reached the lake by the time she finally saw him, stood at the edge looking impressive and imposing. She crept up behind him and wrapped her hands over his eyes, felling his feathery lashes brushing against her palms as he blinked.
He gripped her hands gently and pulled her around in front of him, his hands on her arms at her sides, the pair of them looking out over the lake as the moonlight rippled over it.
"Do you think the water's cold?"
The random question dropped out of her mouth before she had time to think of how stupid it sounded but he didn't laugh, in fact he didn't move at all. When he spoke she could feel his ribs moving against her back;
"I have no idea, want to find out?"
She looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye and danced away from him, tugging him along behind her as she waded out into the water. He lifted her up and threw her in, his vampire strength sending her about three metres up into the air before she landed with a loud splash in the middle.
She surfaced spluttering, her hair falling out almost immediately and dropping over her shoulder as she leapt onto his back and pushed him under laughing. The two of them stayed there for about ten minutes laughing and play-wrestling before Draco heard someone shout his name.
"I'll be right back."
He waded out and back onto the grounds, his clothes soaked and his hair slicked back from his face as he searched for whoever had called his name. Feeling a hand on his back he spun around expecting to see Ginny, hardly taking in that it wasn't before the girl threw herself on him, knocking him to the ground.
Ginny glanced up in time to Draco and some girl locked in a passionate embrace. She froze for a moment, her heart stalling as she stared in horror before reality kicked in and she headed for the banks, her heart feeling as though it was breaking through her chest.
...
The lyrics at the beginning are from 'She Is Beautiful' by Andrew W.K.
Thanx for all the reviews, I didn't know ppl liked my writing so much lol as for more D/G action, there will be some but I intend to tease you all for a little longer first = P
This is only the first half of this part of the story; the next chapter will be the follow up half
This chapter is dedicated to my hat whore Lauren, she's the one who has her hair in the pins/buns things so deserves to be mentioned cos of her greatness. Luv ya babes! xx
Chapter Six – Giving In Part I
I ain't got nothing to lose
Going to throw it away
And talk to you
She looks good
She looks good
And it's true
And it's true
The girl is beautiful
She is beautiful
"Welcome students. Now, since we had several complaints over the groups last lesson, I've reworked them if you take a look at the wall behind there is a list of your groups. You will be in assigned groups of six and from that group your pairings are also listed."
Professor Isaac said, waving a careless hand at the wall behind her where a list was pinned, the names of each group glittering a different colour. Ginny grinned at Noah, Xander and Alyssa before wandering over to the wall with the rest of the class.
"Hey, we're all in the same group. Oh no!"
She groaned, her face falling as she saw who her partner was, this was all she needed when her emotions were haywire.
"Well well, control yourself boy."
Pike smirked down at Ginny who glared up at him in disgust before a smile slowly lit up her face.
"Oh I can't wait for this."
She mumbled to Noah who was hovering next to the list looking out for his partner who was someone he had never heard of. Out of the corner of her eyes Ginny saw Draco shoot her a curious look, she turned to listen to what Pike was saying to his best friend; a drop dead gorgeous Ravenclaw he was never seen without.
Deacon Price was taller than the average seventh year with slicked back black hair that contrasted with his tanned features, his huge wicked amber eyes sparkled permanently and his succulent mouth was always arranged into a heartbreaking grin as he continuously cracked jokes that made everyone around him laugh, yet he was seemingly unaware of his good looks, never noticing how girls' eyes followed him around practically drooling. He was only slightly less popular than Blue and Draco but no where near as gorgeous no matter how handsome he was.
"You'll never guess who I'm partnered with."
Pike bragged, lowering his tone as Deacon's fan club edged nearer to them hopefully.
"From the look on your face; Ginny Weasley?"
Pike scowled as Deacon's eyes glinted mischievously before nodding slowly. Ginny blushed as Deacon began to tease Pike lightly, her eyes meeting Draco's, he raised an eyebrow at her and she lowered her eyes as Noah dragged her away from Pike and, unfortunately for her pride, closer to Draco and Blue.
"Don't forget, you're not meant to have vampire strength. You're supposed to be a weakling!"
He hissed, holding onto Ginny as she tried to squirm away from Draco's amused stare, she stopped wriggling and looked sulkily up at Noah, clicking her tongue.
"Way to spoil the fun, killjoy."
Noah sighed and shook his head ruefully; recognising Fred and George's mischievous sparkle in her eyes.
"Just don't do too much damage to him, alright Ginny?"
Ginny flashed him an innocent grin and fluttered her eyelashes before winking.
"Now, would I do anything to hurt ickle Pike?"
Noah's smooth white forehead was punctured sharply as his eyebrow flew up at this statement, almost getting lost in his hair. Ginny shot him a devilish grin before wandering over to join Pike as Professor Isaac whistled for attention.
"Now, I don't expect many of you to be able to do this move as it takes far stronger upper muscles and skills than any student should possess. But what you're going to do is; first take a sword then I want you to circle each other three times. Then you will both attack and we shall see who comes closest to being disarmed, understand? Alright then, GO!"
The command echoed around the room, punctuated by sighs as the girls heaved on the swords and circled their partners warily. Glancing around, Ginny caught sight of Noah and his partner; a pretty girl with blonde curls from Hufflepuff, he seemed extremely nervous at wielding the huge heavy object around her especially as he was supposed to be trying to hurt her.
Stifling her giggles, Ginny turned around to see Alyssa eyeing her nervously as she jabbed her sword at Xander vaguely, not even paying the slightest bit of attention. Ginny rolled her eyes and prodded the air around Pike gently making a few grunting noises from the 'effort'.
Pike smirked down at her, pressing himself even harder against her;
"Oooh, Weasley, those noises sound familiar."
He laughed, slapped her arse with his free hand as she circled him with death written in her eyes. Looking up Ginny caught sight of Draco glaring daggers at Pike; if looks could kill he would have been long gone.
"That's it."
She seethed through gritted teeth as he grabbed her once again, and abandoning all pretences of being a weak little girl Ginny grabbed hold of her sword and dashed at him with an expertise she had never had before.
"Now remember, you have to do quick short jabs rather than long thrusts as that would get you and your opponent into a long rally which is tiring and..."
Professor Isaac trailed off as Ginny gave an expert flick of her wrist that sent Pike's sword flying into the air where it spun wildly before she caught it with her spare hand, the force of her blow knocking him to the ground where he lay staring up at her, stunned.
"Or I find that always works as well."
Deacon muttered, doubled over with helpless laughter as were most of the room. Draco wandered over to Ginny and helped her to her feet where she had fallen over as Pike's arms and legs flailed about the air.
"Um... class dismissed."
Ginny shot Pike a smug look before flipping her long red plait over her shoulder and darting into the changing rooms to strip her work out clothes and pull on her robes for dinner next.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hey Ginny, will you come into Hogsmeade with me this afternoon so I can get my outfit for the dance tonight?"
Ginny looked up from her rhubarb crumble and nodded, shoving her plate away and stretching luxuriously. She jumped when Draco and Blue's voices rang in her head; she wasn't used to the three way conversations yet and things could get very confusing.
'Helping the mudblood with her style I see.'
Ginny jerked her head up and glared at Draco who was slouched lazily back in his chair.
'Don't you ever call her that again.'
He raised an eyebrow at her as her eyes flashed dangerously.
'Calm down, he was joking weren't you Draco?'
Ginny rolled her eyes when Blue leapt in, defusing the fight before they lost control and Changed in the middle of dinner.
'Whatever, don't test me, Malfoy.'
Draco lifted both eyebrows at the use of his last name before grinning seductively at her.
'Now is that any way to treat your rescuer?'
Ginny felt her blushes building but she held them back suddenly, the noise of the hall fading to nothing so it was just the three of them.
'Rescuer?'
Blue butted in, staring from one to the other curiously.
'I stopped Filch catching her out of bounds last night.'
Ginny narrowed her eyes and glared at him.
((Flashback))
"What are you doing?"
Ginny bit back her scream as she leapt so far off the floor her feet nearly lost contact with the hard stone. She spun around and glared Draco as he lounged against the doorframe, a black silhouette against the harsh yellow light of the torch in the corridor behind him.
"Ssh!"
She hissed, dragging him into the room and sliding the door closed silently behind him.
"I dropped my pendant in on my way back from Training and I can't find the bloody thing."
He watched her, disbelief widening his eyes slightly in a way in Blue and herself could read.
"So you came all the way down here, after hours to find a pendant. What were you doing in a deserted classroom anyway?"
His eyes glittered suggestively and she rolled her eyes, letting out a gasp of delight when she saw her silver pendant shimmering by the door. She darted over to it and checked it for breakages before slipping it around her neck.
"So you've found it."
It was a statement not a question and Ginny nodded unnecessarily, suddenly aware of how small the room was and how suspicious it would look to anyone walking in now.
He crossed the space between them in two long strides until he was stood inches away from her, his eyes teasing hers as they glowed mercury bright in the moonlight, his hair highlighted and shining in the shadows. He reached up and pushed a strand of her hair out of her eyes, his touch soft and caressing, his hands surprisingly warm. She felt her heartbeat quicken and she gave an involuntary shoulder when his breath stroked her cheek.
"What are you doing here?"
She whispered, barely trusting herself to move as she pressed her back against the wall.
"Waiting for Filch to go past."
Ginny heard the caretaker's footsteps as he limped past, his mangy cat right behind him as always, his harsh voice mumbling softly to himself.
"He's gone."
Draco continued, stating the obvious but not moving. Ginny nodded, running her fingertips over the plane of his cheek. His lips moved in towards hers but she pulled back grinning at him.
"Good night Draco."
She slipped out from under his arm and left the room silently, her robes billowing out behind her as she raced back to her dormitory.
((End flashback))
'What do you want, a thank you?'
He smirked over at her and she glowered back, fighting against the urge to laugh.
"Fine thank you. Satisfied?'
He shot her a suggestive look and she felt her body squirm under his hot gaze, Blue nearly killing himself laughing, banging a fist on the table, as he listened in.
'Not at all.'
Ginny made an indignant noise in the back of her throat although she was trying desperately not to laugh along with Blue.
'You're revolting.'
She rolled her eyes and watched as Blue fell off the bench at the look on Ginny and Draco's faces. Pansy looked down at Blue as though he had lost his mind as he crawled back into his seat shaking his head.
'You two are better than Jim Davidson.'
Draco looked at him, puzzled.
'Who the hell?'
Ginny rolled her eyes again.
'A muggle comedian. Only he's actually funny whereas you merely think you are.'
Draco pulled a face at her and she fluttered her eyes at him innocently.
"Ginny?"
Jumping and spinning around her seat Ginny found all her friends looking at her with curious looks on their faces, all except for Noah who was watching her suspiciously. She blushed and shrugged, remembering that Noah had probably just heard ever word they had exchanged, but as he hadn't been trained to that extent yet he didn't know how to do it himself.
"You look like you've got a migraine coming on or something, you face was all screwed up and your eyes were nearly shut."
Ginny shrugged as Ron looked at her nervously.
"I'm fine Ron, stop worrying."
He continued to watch her until she downed the rest of her pumpkin juice and got to her feet.
"Ready to shop Hermione?"
Hermione jumped and nodded, getting to her feet and kissing Ron briefly on the lips before following Ginny out of the Hall towards the front doors.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
"Hmmmm... what about this one?"
Ginny looked up as Hermione pulled a long black dress off the sale rack and held it over her. It fell all the way down to the floor and had long full length ripped black lace sleeves.
"Hermione?"
Hermione looked up at Ginny who removed the dress from her hands and shoved it back on the rack with a disgusted look on her face.
"Do you not know what the whole point of Halloween is?"
Hermione was just about to launch into a long-winded explanation of how Halloween came about but Ginny held up a hand to halt her and headed towards the clothes at the back of the shop that were a lot less innocent than a full length dress.
"The whole point, is to be whatever you want to be and not have to worry about what others think, tonight you are going to go seductive Goth goddess and my brother is going to have a heart attack when he sees you."
As she spoke Ginny pulled a tight black mini-dress off the rack and handed it to a dubious Hermione before dragging her over to the changing rooms.
"Gin, I'm not sure about this."
Ginny clucked her tongue impatiently and pulled open the curtain to see Hermione looking darkly dazzling in the dress.
"It's perfect!"
Ginny cried, circling Hermione to see it from all sides. It fell to just about mid thigh in ragged black pleats, the bodice sporting a large purple cross down the front and the sleeves nothing more than jagged bits of black lace at the shoulders that fell to halfway to her elbow.
Once the dress had been paid for Ginny dragged Hermione into a gothic shop well hidden from the main street behind the Hogs Head. Once inside she headed straight for a display of all sorts of accessories on the back wall, pulling down two pairs of black fishnet tights with several holes all over and a packet of black silk ribbons.
Humming to herself she headed over to the till and handed over Hermione's money cheerfully. Glancing at her watch she let out a stifled shriek and raced out of the shop with Hermione on her heels.
"Ginny what are we running for?"
Ginny slowed down slightly as a stitch scratched at her side and she gasped out;
"The dance starts in three hours."
Hermione looked startled at this piece of news and hastily checked her own watch before following Ginny up to her dorm room.
"You can dress in here since I'm guessing you have no idea what accessories will go with that dress."
Hermione looked indignant but nodded and collapsed onto Ginny's bed, watching in amusement as Alyssa, Ginny, Rindy and Cass darted around the room applying make up, some muggle some magic, and fighting over mirror space.
"Just put the dress and the tights on and I'll do the rest." Ginny told Hermione bossily, already pulling on her own tight black skirt that barely covered anything.
Hermione nodded and dutifully tugged on the dress, gaping in shock when Ginny emerged from the bathroom totally transformed. To go with the skirt she had a matching black crop top with long sleeves of black lace with slits from the shoulder to the wrist so they weren't sleeves at all really, just material that hung at her sides. She had also tugged on a pair of blood-red and black striped tights, the thick horizontal coloured stripes matching her outfit and hair perfectly.
Glancing up at her hair Hermione had to admit Ginny had some wonderful ideas at gothic hairstyles. Her hair was twisted up into two dark red buns with a parting that zigzagged down instead of a plain line. The buns had pins sticking out of them all over, some dangling from them others stuck right through them. She had little red curls falling into her face which was barely made up yet still looked amazing.
"Come on."
Ginny sat Hermione down on her bed and knelt up behind her with a pair of straightners and all kinds of little clips and bobbles and magical hair styling mousses and sprays. She quickly straightened her entire hair so it fell in sleek waves before running a quick brush through it. She started at the front and braided what Hermione recognised as a mixture of a fish plait and a French plait.
Ginny stuck her tongue between her teeth as she worked, starting the braids just above level with the corner of Hermione's eyes and worked them so they went up to the crown of her head down in diagonal lines to behind her ears and then horizontally back to where they had met at first just beneath the crown of her head.
She quickly tied the ends of them securely with the small black bobbles she had borrowed from Cass before brushing some mousse and gel into the rest of her hair that was left down and using a considerable amount of hairspray.
Grinning up at her gob smacked friends who were gaping at the transformed Hermione she summoned the ribbons from her bag and wound them tightly up Hermione's arms in diagonal strips.
"Err... Ginny, what are you doing?"
Hermione asked uncertainly, flinching slightly when Ginny glared up at her before getting to her feet and grabbing her make up bag from her bedside table. She knelt down before Hermione and pulled her head towards her slightly harsher than she had meant to.
She outlined her eyes with thick black eyeliner, making points at the outside corners like Cleopatra and adding lots of layers of witch mascara that smoked slightly before curling the lashes and lengthening them. Moving on she didn't bother with blusher as Hermione's skin flushed slightly anyway, she pulled out a tube of black lipstick and clutched Hermione's cheeks faintly indicating she needed to pout her lips.
"Cass!"
She bellowed, as Cass appeared at her side from the bathroom already dressed in tight black leather pants, a matching corset and plenty of black make-up, her hair dyed ebony for the occasion.
"Can you paint Hermione's nails black for me while I do my make up?"
Cass nodded and seized Hermione's hands, fussing over how nice her nails were before summoning Ginny's black nail varnish from under her bed somewhere.
Ginny shoved Ginny out of the way playfully and matched her eyes to Hermione's, only curling her flicks underneath slightly and lengthening them. She scowled at her freckles before filling her lips in with a dark red-wine coloured lipstick before checking her hair one last time.
"Right, ten minutes to go."
She wandered back into her room, glad she had done her nails and had a shower before she had gone into Hogsmeade. She collapsed onto the bed next to Hermione and pulled on her knee-high clumpy black gothic boots glaring at the straps and hoping they might decide to do themselves up.
She yanked open her wardrobe after Hermione gave her a pointed look and unearthed a pair of matching boots but these had silver lining on them and she handed them to Hermione who fastened them with a doubtful look on her face.
"Will you lot hurry up?!"
Ginny rolled her eyes when her brother's voice echoed up the stairs sounding impatient and bored already.
"We're coming!"
She shouted back, grabbing a suddenly nervous Hermione by the elbow and hauling her down the stairs with her friends at her heels. As she had predicted Ron fell out of his chair when he saw Hermione and sat on the floor in a dazed heap staring up at her.
"Hermione..."
He started weakly, trailing off when Harry grabbed his arm and pulled him to his feet before kissing Ginny and Hermione on the cheek and wandering over to see Cass who was his date, something she had mentioned at least once a day for the past week.
Ginny rolled her eyes when Hermione and Ron promptly began a heated make out session which she was glad of as it meant her brother wouldn't notice her outfit for a while. She took the time to study her brother's and decided he must have asked Bill for advice on it because it looked both cool and attractive, something Ron really couldn't do for himself for some reason.
He was clad in mostly the same as every male in the upper school was, only his pants were black leather rather than jeans and his coloured shirt was a strange dark green that actually suited him very well, Ginny had the sneaking suspicion that the shirt was Bill's as well but she didn't bother to ask.
"Are we going now?"
Ginny whined, rolling her eyes like Ginny had when she caught sight of Ron and Hermione still glued together. They pulled apart reluctantly but kept their hands clasped as every Griffindor from fourth year upwards headed as one towards the portrait hole.
-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
For once Draco could think of nothing to say as Ginny stood at the top of the marble stairs, staring down at him. She looked stunning and if he'd looked at anyone else but her he would have noticed he wasn't the only one stood staring.
He pulled himself together and smirked up at her as she descended the staircase with a cheeky grin on her face, her hand held out for him to kiss mockingly. She took his arm and they grinned at each other until Blue came marching over to them with his date who was, Ginny noticed with little surprise, someone else's girlfriend.
She nodded coldly as she realised who it was and the girl glared back, lifting her head a little so she could stare down her nose at Ginny.
"Juno, Ginny, Ginny, Juno."
Blue did quick introductions, noting with some amusement the hostility between the girls before Juno stalked off to talk to some of her girl friends.
"Why are you with her?" Ginny snarled, jerking her head in Juno's direction where she was sniggering at a passing Hufflepuff girl's outfit with her group.
"She's an Ancient."
If Ginny had been holding anything she would surely have dropped it at that moment as she gawped at Blue who was waving cheerfully at an old conquest who blushed and waved back discretely behind her date's back.
"That means there's only one girl left to find. I wonder what Ancient Juno is."
Ginny glared at the blonde girl's back, furious that she would have to spend time with her now. From the moment the two of them had set eyes on each other they had been enemies, much like Harry and Draco were. They had no specific reason why, they just hated each other and detested the very sight of one another.
"Air by the look of it."
Ginny didn't even bother to ask Blue how he knew that she just sighed and dragged the two Slytherins towards the doors when they opened.
"Juno!" Blue called over the crowd, looking vaguely around but not really bothered if he found her or not.
"Leave her, she'll find us."
Disgust evident in Ginny's voice Draco smirked to himself and dragged Ginny and Blue over to a table at the back of the room.
After dinner the Weird Sisters trooped onto the raised platform where the teacher's table normally was and opened the dancing. Blue immediately disappeared onto the dance floor with Juno and Ginny glanced up as Draco got to his feet and stood over her.
"I suppose you want to dance."
It was a statement not a question and Ginny grinned slyly up at him, not moving from her seat but leaning back in her chair so she could see his face.
"Are you gonna ask me?"
He didn't answer but bent down and gripped her hands in his, pulling her gently to her feet and leading her onto the dance floor just as a slow song began. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him, glad she could now control her blushes because she was pretty sure she'd be tomato red otherwise.
He leant in towards her and she breathed in his familiar scent, letting it fill her head as she laid it on his shoulder, her head nestled in the crook between his chin and shoulder. His hands drifted to her waist and she wrapped hers around his neck, swaying her body to the beat and watching Harry and Cass as they passed.
Watching as Harry's head very slowly lowered towards Cass's, a smile crept over her face and she felt a flood of happiness for her friend, mixed with a strong feeling of relief that she didn't like him in that way anymore.
When the song ended she pulled away slightly so she could see his face, somewhat softened by the first genuine smile she had ever seen on his face before. They moved off the dance floor as a much faster beat had people swinging each other round.
"I'll go get us some drinks."
Ginny nodded and wandered back over to their table where Blue was guzzling down a bottle of Butterbeer as Juno got to her feet wiping her mouth and disappeared into the mass of black swaying on the dance floor.
"When are you and Draco going to get it over with?"
Blue asked, laying his arm along the back of her chair as she slouched down into Juno's recently vacated seat. She looked up at him, masking the tension in her eyes with curiosity as he grinned down at her.
"Get what over with?"
He rolled his eyes and she laughed before shrugging her shoulders and watching Harry and Cass getting closer and closer while Hermione and Ron had disappeared into a corner and were in the middle of some very heavy petting.
"You want to know what I think?"
Ginny looked up at him with one eyebrow raised.
"Not particularly, but you're going to tell me anyway."
He laughed and nodded, putting his own opinion forward.
"I think you should just screw each other and get that shit over with."
She punched him on the arm laughing, his closeness sending waves of pleasure rippling over her but not in the same way as Draco's slightest touch did.
"Blue, with you screwing solves everything."
Blue nodded and watched as a pretty sixth year girl danced close by with someone Ginny vaguely knew as his fellow Slytherin. The dance involved a lot of grinding and gyrating and Ginny rolled her own eyes as Blue's took in every inch of her expertly.
"I'm going to go look for Draco."
Blue waved a hand vaguely at her, kissing her on the cheek as she got to her feet and left the room, waving as couple after couple called her name as she passed. She made her way slowly across the room, her eyes searching everywhere for a flash of bright silver hair.
Deciding he must have gone outside for some air she wandered out through the wide open doors, her eyes sweeping over the glittering bushes that were filled with miniature fairies the same as from her third year at the Triwizard Tournament opening dance.
She had already reached the lake by the time she finally saw him, stood at the edge looking impressive and imposing. She crept up behind him and wrapped her hands over his eyes, felling his feathery lashes brushing against her palms as he blinked.
He gripped her hands gently and pulled her around in front of him, his hands on her arms at her sides, the pair of them looking out over the lake as the moonlight rippled over it.
"Do you think the water's cold?"
The random question dropped out of her mouth before she had time to think of how stupid it sounded but he didn't laugh, in fact he didn't move at all. When he spoke she could feel his ribs moving against her back;
"I have no idea, want to find out?"
She looked up at him with a mischievous glint in her eye and danced away from him, tugging him along behind her as she waded out into the water. He lifted her up and threw her in, his vampire strength sending her about three metres up into the air before she landed with a loud splash in the middle.
She surfaced spluttering, her hair falling out almost immediately and dropping over her shoulder as she leapt onto his back and pushed him under laughing. The two of them stayed there for about ten minutes laughing and play-wrestling before Draco heard someone shout his name.
"I'll be right back."
He waded out and back onto the grounds, his clothes soaked and his hair slicked back from his face as he searched for whoever had called his name. Feeling a hand on his back he spun around expecting to see Ginny, hardly taking in that it wasn't before the girl threw herself on him, knocking him to the ground.
Ginny glanced up in time to Draco and some girl locked in a passionate embrace. She froze for a moment, her heart stalling as she stared in horror before reality kicked in and she headed for the banks, her heart feeling as though it was breaking through her chest.
...