Disclaimer : I do not own HP. Jerks. heh heh heh. If you think I did...you are dumber than I thought!
It is getting closer and closer to being done. I fear however that in the deepest recesses of my mind that out of sheer sadness for the end of my story I may begin to dally in updating...for that I must make an early apology. Also as of late I have been feeling very drained of energy..zapped of it so to speak. I was very upset when I finished the original composition that was this story. Now I feel myself not wanting to type it up as much for I know the end of the tunnel is in sight and I would rather just stay in darkness for the time being. I have not finished a story for a number of years. This was the first in 4 years to truly reach its finality. I also find that school is closer to starting than I would have liked and that will be taking up a great deal of my time. But I promise to make an effort to update at least once a week when school starts. Not that any of you will actually read this and understand my concerns, I shall still make an effort to let you know what is going on. Well I suppose you feel that my time and energy, or lack there of, would be better spent typing the next chapter so I shall go and get to work on that. Well that is all I have to say at the moment.
A really long chappie for you all! Enjoy!{waves and smiles}[The least you can do is wave back along with your review!] Longest yet!
There might not be an update for a will be down the next two days for upgrades and I start school so I will be figuring all that mess out...maybe saturday you will get an update.
Ginny sat down in Defense Against the Dark Arts next to Blaise.
"Do you have my stone?" Pansy asked as Blaise took her hand and kissed it.
Pansy smiled at her boyfriend before turning to Ginny.
Ginny reached into her pocket and removed the stone and gave it to Pansy.
"Perfect," Pansy said stuffing it into her pocket as Professor Lupin entered the classroom.{He'd been allowed to return and teach at Hogwarts because of his actions during the war.}
Today the lesson was about Vampires.
Draco was much more interested in watching Ginny and doodling as opposed to learning about Vampires. It was an increasing problem, his little distraction. He also tried to think of a way to making Ginny his.
What to do? What to do? He could think of nothing good enough for Ginny.
Draco just continued to doodle mindlessly on his parchment paying even less attention to the lecture. He poked his quill into his bottle of red ink and began to sketch in the red bits.
The bell rang a few minutes later and Draco began to shovel his things into his bag.
Draco grabbed the parchment and looked at the doodle. He growled. A sketch of Ginny was in his hand and the worst part was that it was not half bad looking. Draco rolled it up and put it into his bag with everything else but was careful to be sure it would not crease or wrinkle.
Ginny didn't pay much attention during class. She found it was hard to pay attention and concentrate when a good looking guy was watching her. She felt his eyes the whole time and when she would turn and see if it was him, most of the time he would not even bother to look away. Ginny was pleased she had her prince's attention but it made her nervous. She worried she would make a fool out of herself.
Pansy caught Ginny after lunch on the way to their last class before break. Double Potions.
"I need you to collect a jar of Swedish Shortsnout fire," Pansy said holding out a jar with smoky white glass.
Ginny took the jar stowing it in her bag with a grin.
"I should have this really quickly. It will not be difficult to get for me," Ginny said sitting down at her lab station in the potions classroom.
Professor Snape strode into the class in his usual sweeping and intimidating manor.
"Today we will begin the brewing of the Polyjuice potion," Snape announced waving a hand at the blackboard and the instructions appeared as he sat down at his desk, steepling his fingers staring at his seventh year class. "You'll be with the partner I assign."
Groans would have been heard with any other teacher but all the students in Snape's advanced class knew the more they complained the worse their assigned partner tended to be.
"Miss Bones and Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy and Mr. Potter, Miss Patil and Miss Patil, Miss Granger and Miss Parkinson, Mr. MacDougal and Mr. Nott, Mr. Weasley and Mr. Zabini, and Miss Abbott and Miss Perks."
Everyone just kept their mouths shut and moved to sit with their partner.
"Well Ginny, how are things going with your mystery man, whose name you won't reveal?" Susan whispered as Ginny began weighing ingredients and she put the cauldron on the fire.
"Pretty well I think. He spoke nice to me the other day and he keeps staring at me during classes and in the great hall," Ginny answered as she weighed out lacewings.
"Awesome!" Susan replied helping her begin to copy the potion ingredients which were written on the board.
They spoke of nothing else the entire hour but working on the potion.
Blaise quietly sat next to Ron copying the ingredients and the instructions for them.
Ron refused to do any work. He glared at Snape with a narrow pissed off expression on his face. Snape had to think this a fine joke. Ron, of course knew better, the potions master lacked a sense of humor.
"Want to start?" Blaise asked not even looking at Ron as he finished writing the last step of the potion.
Ron rolled his eyes, "NO," he answered sardonically. "Let's just fail this class."
Blaise glared at him.
Ron shrugged, "Let's start Zabini."
Blaise sighed. Working with his best friends older brother promised to keep getting more and more fun.
Draco and Harry were having a staring contest across the table.
Snape had to break the contest; "You two better get to work."
Harry looked at the board and began to copy the instructions and Draco lit the fire beneath the cauldron.
Draco scowled. He was upset his contest had been interrupted.
"Well Malfoy I suppose we might want to get started," Harry said weighing boomslang skin.
Draco shrugged, "Whatever Scarhead."
Draco readjusted the position of the cauldron on the fire.
"What's up with you and Ginny?" Harry asked softly and he added a bit more boomslang skin.
"None of your business Potty," Draco sneered stowing ingredients away as Harry or he finished weighing out what they needed.
"It becomes my business when she is crying her eyes out for you and you, Mal-ferret, will not come," Harry said tossing the excess of the lacewings to Draco.
"Ginny and I are not seeing each other if that's what you are insinuating," Draco said lip curling after he returned the lacewings to the student stores.
"Do you want to?" Harry asked taking the lid off the powdered horn of Bicorn.
"Why do you even care Potter?" Draco asked clear exasperation evident in his voice.
"Because Ginny's my friend and she listens to a locket that has your initials on the back of it for hours at night," Harry said watching Draco out the corner of his green eyes.
"Mind your own business," Draco snarled and his eyes crossed for a second.
"Malfoy just tell me if you care about her?" Harry said plucking at knotgrass.
"Fine Potter! Yes," Draco hissed pulling Harry face to face with him.
"I hope you are not fighting Mr. Malfoy," the cold voice of Snape called over the noise of all the students.
Draco shoved Harry into a chair before dumping the lacewings into the cauldron.
"Then why not talk to her?" Harry asked the Slytherin.
Draco looked ready to murder Harry, the-bloody-boy-who-had-to-bloody-live, for all his irritating and meddlesome questions. Why had Professor Snape put him with the most irritating Gryffindor of them all? Snape liked him.
"Students will be expected to be here over the holidays to continue the brewing and everything else required for your potion. You will observe how it changes as it brews and eventually test it with your partner. You will not work on your potion if another head of house or I am not in this classroom with you. If I find out you have, I will personally make sure that you are expelled," Snape informed the class not even bothering to look up from the first year essays that he was grading. "Start cleaning up and preparing to leave."
Draco growled low under his breath. He would have to be Scarhead for an hour now. He would have to talk to his head of house and godfather about this. Surely there was a way out of being Potty.
The bell rang seconds after they had their potions set perfectly to brewing and a simultaneous cheer rang down the dungeon hallway followed quickly by the sound of feet pounding up the stairs for the big oak front doors and the outside to run around in the freshly fallen snow.
Draco walked ahead of his flunkies and walked calmly through the snow with his gloved hands in his pockets.
"Watch out Draco," a voice called from ahead of him but he was too late.
A snowball hit Draco right in the face.
Draco felt the cold frozen snow slide down his face and he took one hand from his pocket and wiped the snow that did not fall off. His eyes narrowed as he looked for whoever had caused this. A loss of house points might indeed be in order.
Draco stared in the direction the snowball had come from and saw two redheads watching him.
Ginny was dashing toward him.
"Are you alright Draco?" Ginny asked stopping before him. "Ron threw that and I ducked so it ended up hitting you. Sorry."
"It's okay Ginny," Draco said flashing her a quick smirk. He was happy to have taken a snowball for her though she never needed to know that.
Draco slipped his wand out of his pocket and flicked it at the snow behind him. Two snowballs came up and Draco pointed his wand at Ron and they zoomed off and started bouncing off his head. Draco smirked wider. Serves Weasley right for picking on his Ginny.
BAD DRACO! he started to scold himself but stopped. There was nothing bad about it. The only thing wrong with his assertion was the fact that Ginny was not his girl. Draco let his shoulders slump in defeat and he started slinking away.
"Draco wait," Ginny called her face falling.
Draco spun. Ginny had her hand reached out toward him. She had no gloves on. Draco stared at her red chilled fingers.
"Yes Ginny," he asked hopefully.
Ginny shivered. Then she ran up to him and wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him close for just a moment and whispered, "Thanks."
Draco took advantage of the opportunity to wrap his arms around her and realized she was even colder than she looked.
Ginny pulled away a few seconds later shivering again at the loss of the contact.
Draco sighed trying to sound dramatic. He tugged his gloves and custom made thick green wool cloak off and gave them to Ginny.
"Here. Put these on," he said wrapping the cloak over Ginny's shoulders and fastening it. He took her hands and slipped his gloves on over them. "Do not come out in the cold unprepared. You'll get sick."
Draco muttered a shrinking spell under his breath and the gloves shrunk to fit Ginny's hands perfectly.
Ginny stared at her hands stunned, unable to utter a single syllable not even able to say thank you.
"Draco what about you?" she asked looking up but she saw him walking along the castle wall and disappearing.
Ginny took the cloak and pulled it tighter around her. It smelled like him. Sandalwood and something else that she could not put a label on. Ginny stared at the very obviously expensive cloak. She then looked at the beautiful green velvet gloves. D.M. was embroidered very fancily in silver thread. The inside was some kind of animal fur.
Ginny caught sight of the three snowballs just in time.
"Protego!" her wand was pointed in front of her.
As if glass shielded her the snowballs smashed into an invisible shield and fell to the ground.
Ginny looked up to see Ron, Harry, and Hermione grinning at her.
Ginny glowered.
"We were just trying to have a bit of fun. Come on Gin," Ron called. "Liven up. Where did you get the cloak?"
Ginny looked at it before blushing.
"I have to go to the owlry and mail a letter," Ginny called and started walking up towards the castle.
Ginny took a piece of parchment out of her bag and a quill and she sat down outside the owlry to start her letter.
Hey Charlie!
What is going on in Romania? What type of dragon is Sarah? I could see if there is some information about her in any books we have here in the library.
Also, big brother, there was something I was hoping you could do for me. I was wondering if you could collect a jar of Swedish Shortsnout fire for me? It would be the best if you could.
Someone I know needs it for something. I will send a jar you can put it in.
I could ask Hagrid about Sarah. He might think of something.
Love from your baby sister,
Ginny
Ginny finished her letter and sealed it and went into the owlry.
She tried to coax a big barn owl to come down and take it. The barn owl just gave her an affronted look and turned his back to her.
A huge eagle owl watched the whole ordeal and fluttered down and landed on her shoulder. He held out his leg for her to tie the jar to and took the note in his mouth.
"Thank you," Ginny said stoking the soft feathers on the owl's back. "You are a pretty owl."
The owl hooted in appreciation and agreement. Ginny waved until the owl disappeared from sight.
Ginny left the owlry as quietly as she could so she would not disturb any of the other owls from their rest.
Ginny slipped up to the seventh year girl's dorm.
She slipped the forest green cloak off and hung it up on a peg by her bed and put the gloves on her desk.
Ginny dropped her bag on the floor and fell back onto her bed hugging herself and giggling.
"He still likes me," she giggled over and over again to herself.
"Hey Gin," Lavender said as she walked into the room.
"Hey Lavender," Ginny said sitting up unable to wipe the smile from her face.
"What's...oh where did you get that gorgeous green cloak?"
"I doubt you would believe me if I told you," Ginny said slipping into a fit of giggles.
"I still want to know," Lavender said reaching out and running a finger down the soft dark green material.
Ginny stood up and picked up the gloves. Before she handed them over she looked at Lavender.
"Not a word of whose they are to anyone. Promise?" Ginny said holding the velvet gloves tight to her chest.
"Promise," Lavender said reaching out a hand.
Ginny passed her the gloves.
"D.M." she read aloud. Lavender gaped at Ginny, "DRACO MALFOY!"
Ginny clamped her hand tight over the other girl's mouth, "Quiet."
"Draco gave you his gloves and cloak?" Lavender whispered excitedly.
Ginny grinned and her head bobbed up and down.
"That's as good as it gets," Lavender cried jumping into the air. "The hottest guy in school. Hottest I've ever seen too."
Ginny and Lavender grabbed each others hands and they squealed together for several minutes.
"Well I actually came up to tell you it is time to go to supper," Lavender said as they managed to settle down.
"Let's eat!" Ginny said as she finally got in control of herself once again.
Draco sat in the restricted section of the library. Crabbe and Goyle stood just outside the entrance watching all that went on and being sure no one annoyed Draco.
'Why did he give his favorite custom-made cloak to Ginny? Why the gloves his nan had sown for him?'
She deserves better than the hand-me-down robes she wore. She deserved robes and cloaks and everything that was as nice as what he owned. Draco jotted that down on a piece of parchment and read over it.
Flowers from Germany, Chocolates from Belgium, Jewelry from France, New robes from Italy, and two books :
Fowl or Foul - the book about the snidget and Universal Animagism
That was all he could think of for her. None of it was good enough to earn her forgiveness but he hoped it would work.
Draco grabbed his bag and three rolls of parchment fell out and rolled open.
His drawings. Maybe he should give one to her. Would she like it or would it scare her? The idiot Creevey boy might have a nice picture of her. He smirked. Yes threatening Creevey might be fun plus he could get a picture of his Ginny for a nice card for her.
"Draco," the two troll-like bodyguards said as he locked the restricted section.
"Yes," he said a bit sharply.
"Supper time sir," they said.
Draco nodded and they left for the great hall.
Draco looked up and down the Gryffindor table. Ginny was not there. But he did spot Creevey.
"Crabbe," Draco said turning to the trollish looking boy on his right. "Go fetch that little pipsqueak Creevey."
Crabbe nodded, grunting and walked over and came back with Colin in tow.
"Mr. Malfoy you wanted to talk to me?" the mousy haired boy said looking at the ground.
"This goes no farther than the two of us," Draco said. Crabbe and Goyle stood on either side of the Gryffindor and watched to be sure that no other person came within hearing distance.
Colin nodded still not meeting the gaze of the intimidating head-boy.
"Do you have any good recent pictures of Ginny Weasley?" Draco asked tearing a roll apart and buttering it.
"Yes, but I need to get them developed sir. I am out of the potion used in the development though," Colin said finally daring to look up at the taller Slytherin.
Draco reached into his robe. He pulled out a dark green potion that sparkled a little in the candle light. He pushed it across the table to Colin.
"Here is some. I want to see them tomorrow after supper in the library. You can meet me outside the restricted section," Draco said picking up a goblet of water and taking a drink.
Colin nodded taking the potion and putting it in his pocket. He stood up and started to walk back to the Gryffindor table.
Crabbe and Goyle both grabbed him by his arms and spun him around forcing his head down so he was bowing to Draco.
"Is there something else sir?" Colin asked as his head was allowed to go up.
"If any word of this gets back to Ginny, I promise you will regret it, a few little curses will be the least of your worries," Draco said and nodded to Goyle.
Goyle released him and picked up a full goblet of cranberry juice and holding it in one hand squeezed it. He cracked the glass and the juice flowed over his fingers. Juice dripped to the ground with a sickening sound.
Drip. Drip.
Colin's eyes were wide as saucers. He nodded pale as a ghost.
"Shoo," Draco said finishing the last of his roll and picking up his goblet again.
Crabbe released him and Colin nodded again and walked away as quickly as he could.
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