Chapter 8 Melt

Ginny's eyes drooped as she walked into the library. For many weeks now, she had met Draco secretly at night by the lake and been swept away by the magic of it all. However, each night she spent with him seemed to be lasting longer and longer and the previous night, the sky had begun to grow light when they finally parted.

She made her way over to the table where Grace and Danielle were seated.

'Ginny old girl! Where the heck have you BEEN for the past year?' Grace inquired, teasingly.

'Oh nowhere really. I'm so sorry you guys. I've just been so busy with.........well.....'

'Never mind that. So how are things going?'

'Relatively good, actually. Found and curses for Nancy yet?'

'A fair few. But we're still researching. You know what the funny thing is though?' Danielle said excitedly. 'The group is starting to break up. All the girls are slowly starting to wander away from Nancy and they're all forming their own little circles now. There's only two people left sitting with Nancy now.'

'Yeah, and I think she's starting to get desperate,' Grace said with disgust. 'She waltzed up to me yesterday and she was being as sweet as apple pie. I've never seen anything so pathetic or twisted in my life! She's losing her authority, and I can tell you now, she doesn't like it.'

Ginny gave a large yawn and slumped down in her chair.

'What's the matter, Ginny?' asked Danielle, a note of concern in her voice.

'Nothing. I just haven't been able to get much sleep lately, that's all. And I have to write an essay on using the "Glamour", but I'm just so, so tired,' Ginny sighed.

'Sheesh, you're doing the Glamour already?' Grace asked incredulously. 'We're still like three chapters away from that in the book.'

'Be grateful,' laughed Ginny without much mirth.

And so she sat, eyes half closed, trying to bring the words on the page of her book into focus. Her head swam with the effort, but she persisted. She had to get this done. She had been neglecting her schoolwork far too much of late and it was becoming noticeable.

After approximately an hour had passed, Ginny proofed her work for the final time and then placed all the sheets neatly together in order. She rolled the parchment up neatly and gave a little flick of her wand and muttered a spell to make the sheets thick and stiff so her work wouldn't be damaged, and then she packed them away into her satchel along with her quill and small bottle of ink.

She leant back in her chair and spread her arms wide, up behind her. 'Finished?' Danielle asked, hopefully.

Ginny smiled. 'All done. Thank Merlin for weekends. This is due tomorrow, did you know that? TOMORROW!' Grace and Danielle laughed at her.

'C'mon, we'll go for a walk and then make our way down to the Great Hall for dinner.'

The girls lifted their bags and books from the table and walked out quietly.

'We get too much work,' Danielle complained. 'For Divination, I have to make a brief summary of what is going to happen to me every day for the next three months. That's a quarter of a year you know! How on Earth am I going to be able to see THAT far ahead?'

'I honestly don't know why you take that subject,' Ginny said. 'It's a load of nonsense and a waste of time.'

'Better than Potions though,' Grace grimaced.

'Oh, don't get me started on how much I despise that subject, Grace,' Ginny added darkly.

'Ahem, ahem. Least you two never flirted with that oily......... greasy........... underhanded........ ... dark .......... grimy........... EVIL ............MEDDLESOME, SNEAKY PROFESSOR SN-' Danielle froze.

At that moment, Professor Snape rounded the corner. He stopped in front of the girls and Danielle gulped loudly.

'And what are you girls doing? Danielle?' he asked. 'Do you have permission for that book from the Restricted section?'

'Yes Professor Snape,' she squeaked.

'By the way, Miss Weasley. I shall expect an improvement in your work. Your last essay was appalling. I requested 2000 words, and I only counted 1974. You're lucky you passed.'

Ginny gritted her teeth. 'Yes Professor, I'll try harder.'

'Good, good,' he said silkily and he proceeded down the corridor. Danielle shuddered and Ginny and Grace burst into convulsive laughter.'

'You should have seen your FACE!' Grace laughed at Danielle.

'That was close. Too close,' she said with relief.

'Just think, Danielle. It's the last week of school. Surely they won't give us that much homework for the holidays,' Ginny said, reassuringly.

'Hey that reminds me,' Grace began excitedly.

'What?' Ginny and Danielle asked in unison.

'Did you know that for the Christmas holidays, we're allowed to go to Hogsmeade and stay in hotels?'

'WHAT?!' Ginny asked, excitement threatening to overwhelm her.

Grace looked at Ginny. 'Sheesh, what are you so worked up about?'

'Oh, n-nothing. It's just....well that's really good, that's all.'

'Uh-huh,' Grace said, clearly unconvinced, 'oh don't worry, we know what's going on in that head of yours Ginny,' Grace laughed. Ginny blushed furiously.

Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table in the Great Hall. She piled food onto her plate and sat munching and talking with Grace, Danielle and Hermione at the same time. Every so often, she would steal a glance at Draco, as if merely by chance.

After dinner, Ginny followed the crowd out of the Great Hall and saw Draco poking his head rather subtly around the door of an empty classroom. He looked directly at Ginny, their eyes locked. It was clear he wanted to talk with her. She made her way slowly over to him, making sure she didn't push too much through the crowd to draw to much attention to herself.

When she got to the doorway, she went in quickly and quietly closed the door behind her, her back leaning against it. Draco drew out his wand and locked it. Then he leant over her, his arm supporting his weight on the door.

'Sorry,' he muttered awkwardly. 'It's just......Ginny, I really need to tell you something, but...........oh Merlin, I don't know how to say this!'

'Honey, what's wrong?' Ginny cooed soothingly. After a long pause, she put her arms around his lower back and drew him closer to her. Her fingers trailed upwards to his shoulder blades and she bent towards him and planted a kiss on his neck. Draco closed his eyes as he felt every part of h is body tingle. 'You know you can tell me anything,' she murmured.

Draco moved even closer to her, feeling the warmth of her body against his. There lips parted and then touched. They pulled each other closer. Ginny deepened the kiss with a flicker of her tongue and their breathing grew harsher. Ginny gave a pleasurable sigh and Draco drew back but kept his face close to hers, her temple resting at the side of his chin.

'Now, what was it that you had to tell me?' Ginny whispered.

Draco drew in breath and then let it out explosively. 'We'll talk about it later,' he said.

'Well, alright. Oh, and by the way, will you be going to Hogsmeade for Christmas break?' She looked at him now, eyes sparkling intently.

'I-I don't know,' he said, lost in her eyes. Then he came to his senses. 'I think that my father wanted me to go home for break, he said he had things he needed me to do. But......I'll try to get out of it.'

Ginny looked at Draco, his eyes the colour of a bright, blue summer sky in the dim light of the empty classroom. 'I'd really like to spend some time with you there,' she said, seriously.

'You sure don't make things easy for me, do you?'

Ginny mimicked Draco's trademark smirk. Draco found himself smiling back and he kissed her forehead lightly. 'I'll see what I can do,' he said hesitantly, 'But I can't make any promises.' And then they kissed, again and again and again.......

It was the last lesson of the last day of school and Ginny sat in Transfiguration, brushing her quill back and forth under her chin.

#When is this lesson going to end?! ARGH#

'The only holiday homework I'm going to give you is to practice the Glamour,' Professor McGonagal said. 'I have seen that you're all quite competent at making the little changes, and I now urge to try and achieve more difficult alterations. I would also like to remind you that the Glamour is the first step to becoming an animagous, so those of you who are interested, I suggest you take this seriously.'

Despite the fact that Ginny was bored out of her mind in class, she was extremely good at the Glamour. Indeed, Professor McGonagal had told her quietly that she was close to mastering it. Ginny had also heard in class that some girls were planning to use the Glamour at the next school dance and she thought that this was an extremely bad idea. The truth was, that you should never try to be like someone else or be anything but yourself and if girls altered their appearance in an attempt to gain a guy's attention this was being unfair to both the spell caster and the one they were trying to woo. Ginny firmly believed that a guy should like a girl for who she was, nothing more, nothing less.

'Alright everyone,' McGonagal said with a smile. 'Once you have finished copying down the following notes from the board, you may leave. Don't forget, everyone who is going to Hogsmeade this afternoon must mark their name off the list on the door of the classroom closest to the Great Hall. Enjoy you're holidays everyone.'

Ginny quickly copied down the notes from the board with relief and then packed all her school equipment away. She slung her satchel over her shoulder and walked briskly up the many flights of stairs to the Gryffindor Common Room.

She could hardly wait to get to Hogsmeade. She had packed everything she would need for the week they were allowed to stay there and she had sent an owl to make reservations for herself at a nice hotel she had noticed once or twice on her previous visits.

'Mione, you coming to Hogsmeade?' Ginny asked on entering the Common Room

'Of course,' she said with a slight smile. Then Ginny noticed that a faint blush was touching Hermione's cheeks and Ron was sitting in the corner on one of the couches, scowling darkly at the floor as if it had said something to cause great offence.

Ginny stopped in her tracks. 'What's going on guys?' she asked curiously.

'Oh, nothing,' Ron remarked acidly. 'Just that Hermione's got a letter from old Victor Krummy-boy, inviting her to stay with him in Hogsmeade.'

Hermione tried her best to hide her smile, but with little success. Ginny felt a wide grin spread across her face. This was great news for Hermione. 'Wow, Hermione! When did you get the letter?'

'I got it this morning, actually. But I only just opened it now because I haven't really had time all day.'

'So......' Ginny continued with a cheeky grin, 'Is this the first letter you've got from him this year?' At this, Ron snorted, clearly frustrated, and Ginny eyed him disapprovingly.

'Well, ah.........actually-' She began.

'Actually,' Ron cut her off, 'The two little love birds have been exchanging letters all term!'

'Oh Hermione, this is great!' Ginny ran to her friend and hugged her. Then they both broke out into convulsive giggles. Upon hearing this, Ron got up abruptly and went up the stairs to his dormitory.

'Ginny, I never used to think I liked him, because............well, I always had eyes only for Ron. But he's been writing to me all year and I've only really started replying properly this term. But, oh, he's just been so nice to me and, after all these years he still told me that he likes me. He's finished school now but, oh Merlin I don't care! Here look, I'll show you his picture,' Hermione said, excitedly. She drew out a small photograph of Victor from her pocket and gave it to Ginny to examine.

Ginny looked at the picture. In truth, Krum had grown very handsome over the years. In the photo, his hair was spiked and he was grinning slightly, showing brilliant white teeth. His eyes gazed out of the photo intently, as if he was trying to see Hermione. If Ginny wasn't in love with Draco, she would definitely have wanted to hook up with him. She wolf-whistled.

'Wow, he looks pretty dam good!' Ginny laughed, handing the picture back to her friend. Hermione looked at Krum again and sighed dreamily to herself as Krum's mouth broke out into a 'full grin' when he saw her again.

'So where are you staying, Gin?' Hermione asked, still blushing.

'I've reserved a room at "The Palace".'

'Oh, I remember seeing the outside of that place. You sure you want to stay there? It looked pretty awful on the outside to me,' Hermione frowned.

'You've never been INSIDE it have you Mione? It's beautiful! It's all magic. It looks like a "hole" on the outside and it literally is a palace on the inside.' At this, they both laughed in unison. 'Give me a second, I just have to go and quickly get my suitcase from upstairs and then I'll come back down. We'll talk more about your darling Krum on the way to Hogsmeade.' Ginny smiled at her friend as she saw her cheeks redden further, and then she raced up the steps, two at a time.

The trip to Hogsmeade seemed to drag by, although Hermione made very good conversation. After they finally arrived and Ginny had said goodbye to Hermione for the time being, Ginny checked in at 'The Palace'. She stopped just outside of the overly-large, shabby looking building and smiled at the clever conveyance of disrepair. The paint was peeling off, the roofs were dotted everywhere with bird-droppings, the enormous dome at the centre of the structure had been slightly eroded by water from its once smooth self and now showed bumpy and (in some places) jagged edges jutting out here and there. There were weeds in the garden as wide as one metre in width and the walls and stairways showed great cracks that were overgrown with bright green moss.

Ginny walked up the dull, stone steps until she got to the doorway. When you passed through the doorframe, you seemed to take two steps through thick, swirling fog. Then you walked through a length of fine, translucent and intricately patterned purple cloth and found yourself surrounded by splendour.

There was a beautiful white marble fountain in the centre of the ground-floor and the music of running water reached Ginny's ears, making her shiver with excitement. She gazed up at the large dome, adorned with ornate chandeliers that flooded the room with light. She continued to walk, her shoes making a 'tock, tock' sound on the polished, marble floor until she reached the carpeted section in front of the receptionist's desk.

'Checking in, dear?' the elegantly dressed receptionist asked with a polite smile.

'Yes. A reservation for Ginny Weasley.'

The receptionist fumbled through some papers. 'Ah yes,' she said, finding the file she was looking for. 'You're in room 688 on the fourth floor, dear. Do enjoy you're stay with us, and if you have any troubles or queries, don't hesitate to take advantage of our wonderful room service.'

'Thank you very much.'

After the receptionist rung a small bell, a bellboy walked briskly over to the front desk. He flashed Ginny a grin and then bent to pick up her bags.

'Please take Miss Weasley's bags up to room 688, Frederic, and answer any questions she may have.'

'Of course. This way m'am.' He lifted Ginny's bags as if they were no weight at all, and began to walk briskly to the nearest staircase. Ginny followed him up several flights of stairs until they came to room 688. The bellboy held the door open for Ginny to enter the suite. It was enormous! There was a large bed with wine-red coverings and bed hangings and the bed-head was a work of expert craftsmanship. The room itself was beautifully furnished with everything made of dark, polished timbre. The carpet was a rich blue and patterned with moons and stars and there were large, tall windows that allowed light to flow easily into the room. 'I hope you like your room.'

'Oh, it's beautiful!'

The bellboy smiled. 'Will you be needing anything else m'am?'

'No. Thank you very much, I'll be fine. And thanks for carrying my luggage.'

'You're welcome m'am. If you need anything, there is a notebook laid out there on your bed. Simply write what you need in it, and the staff will see to it that you are served.' With that, he gave a polite little bow and left Ginny alone in the glamorous suite.

Ginny began to unpack her bags with a few flicks of her wand and, by the time she had finished settling in, it was dark outside.

She opened up the notebook and got out her quill. She then wrote, 'May I please have a meal delivered to my room?' The words were absorbed and a reply appeared below the space where she had written her request. 'Of course, what meal would you like madam?' Awful memories of Tom Riddle's diary came flooding back to her, but then she reprimanded herself. This was a hotel service book, not a dangerous, manipulative diary.

'Would it be possible to have some roast lamb with potato, broccoli and carrots and some kind of cake for desert?'

'Please wait a few moments and your meal shall be delivered shortly.'

'Thank you very much.' And Ginny then closed the book. She could definitely get used to a life of luxury.

Later that night, Ginny ran a bubble bath. The hotel had provided scented bath crystals and candles for the bathroom and the baths itself was large and square in shape and it had jets which allowed it to function as a spa. Ginny undressed and let her clothes fall to the rug on the floor. Then she lit the candles and stepped into the warm, dreamy bath.

#Aaaaaah. Bliss#

She turned the jets on and closed her eyes and smiled as the bubbles tickled her body. She lay there for several minutes and soon, the bathroom was filled with steam. She was almost asleep when suddenly, she heard a noise. She could have sworn it sounded like the bathroom door opening and closing, but there seemed to be nobody there and the steam only made it more difficult to see. She was about to settle back into the bubbles, when Draco Malfoy appeared, dropping an invisibility cloak to the bathroom floor.

#OH MERLIN, HE'S NAKED!#

Ginny blushed furiously and Draco burst out laughing. 'Mind if I join you, Ginny?' he asked her smoothly.

'Bu-b-BUT I'M NAKED!'

Draco smirked. 'That's what I was hoping for. And as you can see, I'm dressed in much the same way.' He slipped into the bath, and soon, only his head and the top of his chest were visible above the bubbling water as he faced Ginny, sitting on the opposite side of the bath. Steam swirled around them.

'I thought you said your father wouldn't let you come,' Ginny ventured.

'I was persuasive. I said I really needed a break, so I can stay for a week.'

Ginny felt herself smiling at this. Draco gave her a quick grin and then slid underwater. 'Draco? What are you doing?!' She tried to make out his shape under the water. Then she felt his hands slide up from the side of her hips, over her stomach and curves and then back down around her waist. His head appeared above the water, covered in bubbles.

'You know you can't resist me,' he said through a mouthful of bubbles.

Ginny giggled with pure delight and wiped the bubbles from his face and wet hair. Then he pulled her closer to him and kissed her. Ginny wrapped her legs around him and pressed herself more firmly against his body as the bubbles streamed up around them. Her heart beating wildly with excitement.

'Are you ok to do this?' he asked breathlessly as he kissed her neck.

Ginny knew what she meant. 'Yes, but not for too long. I don't want to get...........well you know,' Ginny sighed and relaxed and tensed in response to his hands and body.

'Actually, I put a spell on......well..........er, let's just say it'll stop anything from being,' Draco cleared his throat, 'released for the next 24 hours.'

'You planned this whole thing didn't you?' she accused.

'Well.........ah.......yes, I did.'

'Why you little-' But before she could finish, Draco's lips were on hers and their mouths melted into one. Their tongues touched and probed and they pressed each other ever closer, the warmth of Draco's body flowing into Ginny's. They could no longer resist the urges of the body and it wasn't long before Draco went into Ginny. She felt a sharp pain, but he held her and caressed her body softly, and the bubbles around them seemed to have a soothing effect. The pain gradually started to ebb away and Ginny began to enjoy herself immensely. She could feel the muscles in Draco's back rippling beneath her hands as he moved to explore the curves and planes of her body. They planted kisses on bare flesh and pressed into one another, their body's expressing their need and longing.

Later, Draco withdrew from her, shuddering, but still holding Ginny in his arms. When their skin began to wrinkle, they got out of the bath, dried themselves and dressed in the black, satin robes the hotel had provided, smiling clumsily.

Draco lifted Ginny easily and carried her from the bathroom, placing her on the edge of the bed. He sat down beside her and stroked her black silk robe with his index finger.

'You, know, this is a very interesting robe...' he said, his finger now making circles on the thin material.

'They are nice aren't they,' Ginny said a little breathlessly. Her leg was tingling under his touch, her hands itching to twine around his neck

'Well, I don't know about you, but in your case, I like what's UNDER the robe.' He gave her a devilish smile.

Ginny gaped at him. 'Why you- YOU RECKLESS FLIRT!'

Draco laughed and both his hands went up to tickle Ginny. She squealed and laughed, and rolled around trying to get free. 'No, no please,' she laughed. 'Please, oh my stomach, it's sore from laughing so much, please.' He tickled her a little longer, until she had moved so far up the bed, her head was on one of the pillows and Draco's body leaned over hers.

'And NOW I've got you right where I want you,' Draco smiled.

'You mean you did all that just to get me further up on the bed?!' Ginny asked incredulously.

'Sure did.'

'YOU COULD HAVE JUST ASKED YOU KNOW!' Ginny laughed, still trying to catch her breath. Draco smirked suggestively as his hand slid into the front of Ginny's robe. His long fingers traced circles around her belly button and then his hand moved slowly up her side and under her back. He pulled her stomach up to greet his lips. His mouth then moved to Ginny's cheek, brushing her smooth skin and Ginny felt her heartbeat quicken. Soon the black, silk robes were on the floor and there wasn't a stitch of clothing between the two. (Lucky for them, the room had central heating.) She arched her back in response to Draco's hands as she felt his touch in every corner of her body. Their lips touched lightly at first, but after they met again, parted, the kiss deepened and their breathing came out in explosive gasps and sighs. They moved together, exploring each other, tasting each other.

'It's difficult to-to restrain myself,' Draco breathed. 'But I don't want to hurt you. I have to hold back,' he said feeling the curve of her hips as her hands went around his neck.

'I'll be fine,' Ginny gasped. 'I don't want you to hold back.' After that, passion roared between them. Draco thrust and Ginny pulled him closer. They gradually moved faster, Draco going in deeper and deeper until they reached a moment of utter fulfilment. Draco cried out and pulled Ginny to him as they trembled together. He withdrew once more. The two lay content, bodies entwined, noses a centimetre apart exchanging spontaneous kisses. It was indeed as if two halves had melted into one.

Later that night, Ginny lay in Draco's arms feeling the warmth of his body against her bare skin. Her hand and head rested on his chest and she was lulled by his heartbeat, and the rise and fall of his breathing. His arm was wrapped around her and his thumb made circles on her smooth shoulder. Ginny sighed happily, and snuggled in closer to him. All the lights had been turned off and they lay in utter darkness in complete contentment.

'Ginny?' Draco asked quietly.

'Mmmmm?' she sighed, nearly asleep.

'Do you remember there was something I need to tell you? But I couldn't say it before.....Well, I'm ready to tell you now. Whatever I do, whatever I become, I want you to know that I'm always going to be in love with you and I hope to Merlin you keep on loving me. My-my father is taking me out of school,' Draco's voice was now a soft whisper. 'After this holidays, I won't be going back to Hogwarts. I'm going to be home-schooled for the last term because- because father says it's time for me to become a Death-eater....' He waited for some kind of response, but Ginny was sound asleep, her shoulder rising and falling gently under his hand. Then he whispered, 'I love you Ginny, never forget that,' and he kissed her forehead lightly and then closed his eyes, willing sleep to take him.

-------------------- Back up against the wall, hands held up in surrender. 'I'm really sorry this chapter took so long guys. Oh dear God please don't hurt me.' Now, back to reality. Sorry, I really apologise but I had no idea how I was going to continue this story, but, as you just read, the plot thickens. I was thinking on perhaps making a sequel to this story to give it a more satisfactory ending (god I'm making a lot of work for myself here). Well, tell me what you think anyway. Until next chapter (which hopefully will be posted sooner – if not, you all have my permission to hunt me down and beat me to a pulp). Bye everyone.

Love Chloe ;

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