Disclaimer: As much as this might come as shock to all of you, the following statement is true: I do not own Harry Potter. Never will. Unless...
Title: The Growing Pains of Draco Malfoy: Age 16
Summary: Poor Draco Malfoy. First his mother gets herself pregnant at the ungodly age of 35, then his father is carted away to St. Mungo's. Now, he's in love with a Weasley? Read all about Draco's trials and tribulations in his year long diary, filled with his deepest desires and ponderings. Well, probably not that deep...
Rating: PG-13 for Ginny's violence and Harry's drunkness
Author: Punk up the Volume
A/N: It is the pivotal fourth chapter in my life-changing series. Actually, it's not really so much pivotal as it is interesting. Sort of like a train wreck. Sorry about the long wait, I've been really swamped.
Vanyaria Darkshadow, red-ruby-slippers, ylime-fles, Healer Ariel, siryn, Chaney, laura, eresteizulim, emvee, mizuhi sakura, snapes kid, mellabee, Flamyrre, Galenahaiel, Dorothy Star, and Mellabee again!
Thursday October 31st
Then I kissed her.
I was trying to be dead romantic like in those muggle movies we've been watching in Muggle Studies for the past few days, but it didn't seem to work. I counted how long we stood there, kissing, and it was only five seconds before she broke away. Dead disappointing. Hardly a record!
Suddenly, there was an immense and horrible pain inbetween my legs.
"What the fuck was that for?" I rasped as I fell to the ground and people turnedand stared.
Ginny merely stared down at me with wide eyes and seemed to be pondering it. Sure, take all the time you want to think about why you just immobilized my...well, you know, I thought. "I dunno." She shrugged after a moment, wiping non-exsistent sweat from her brow. "It was sort of...reflex, I guess."
"Reflex," I said, jumping up. "Reflex. Sure didn't didn't seem to be using that reflex when Finnigan was sticking his hand up your shirt a few weeks ago." I waited for the immense pain to strike me in my groin again, but it didn't. I stared at Ginny, and she didn't seem mad at all. Rather she seemed sad. I could tell because of the tears flooding down her cheeks, smearing her mascara.
Usually, this would have grossed me out horribly. I could never stand it whenever Pansy cried about me being a horrible, horrible person and her layers of painted on gunk would start running down her face. She looked like a clown at the circus! But when I saw the black running down Ginny's cheeks, it wasn't gross. It was kind of cute. In a 1970's punk kind of way.
"I...I'm sorry," I muttered, clutching her hand, but she pulled away.
"No," she sniffed, plastering on a fake smile. "You're right. You're right."
Then she turned and started walking back into the crowd and...I didn't stop her. Partly I was sick of emotions, but mostly because there was still a tingling pain down in my giblets.
Either way, I was completely exhausted and wanted to go to bed. So I made my way through the crowd and out the door towards the Slytherin common room when someone hit me square on the back of the head! I fell forward and landed on my knees. Turning around, a very drunk Harry Potter was standing before me, with his hands up in a ju jitsu stance. For all I knew, he might have even known ju jitsu, but it didn't really matter. He was so smashed he could barely stand up straight! Ha! Ha!
"I'm going to bed, Potter. And you can't come with me," I said tritely with a smirk and started back towards my destination. But that bloody pompous git knocked me in the back of the head again! This time, I did not stumble in the least. I merely turned around with a frown.
"This is getting really old." I muttered. I was dead proud of myself for not pummeling him right there on the spot, but alas, my serenity was not meant to last!
"Alllllright, Maaalfoy." Potter slurred, spitting as he talked. "This is it. You," he pointed towards me, "Made Ginny," he then proceeded to point towards Ginny, who was running towards us at an amazing speed, "Cry. And you're nooot gonna...gonna get away with iiiit."
"Harry!" she cried as he stumbled forward. "What are you doing?"
"What? Are you his nanny?" I sneered in her direction unintentionally. "Let him do what he came to do."
"Gladly," Potter muttered, trying to crack his knuckles. Instead, he missed and ended up hitting himself in the arm. "Ouch." He whispered, lurching forward. Trying to look a bit cocky, I looked at my watch and sighed. Unfortunately, I left myself open to attacks andwas hit rather hard in the nose. I could feel the bone practically crack in half ! I was in agonizing...agony, but I didn't let it show in my face. Instead, as blood poured out of my nose, I blocked a punch from Harry and landed one of my own in his gut.
With a resounding "Oomph.", Potter fell to the feet of Old McGonagall, who had a look on her face as if she was about to explode.
"'Ello, Professor." Potter greeted cheerily with a slight giggle as he tipped a non-exsistent hat. "Lovely evening, eh?"
"Malfoy," she said in a voice that made my skin crawl.
"Yes, ma'am?" I questioned hopefully, not making any move to clean up the blood still dripping out of my most likely broken nose.
"Did I or did I not warn you about fighting? Did I not tell you that the next fight you were involved in would lead to your expulsion."
"Yes, ma'am."
"Wait, Professor McGonagall," Ginny piped up, letting go of Harry's arm and dropping him to the floor. "It wasn't Draco's fault. He was just defending himself. Harry attacked him; he's smashed out of his mind."
"I am not." Harry countered, swaggering to his right and then dropping down to the floor.
"I see." McGonagall, the old bat, replied, looking me up and down. "Yes, it does seem that Mr. Malfoy took the most injuries."
I wanted to be offended by the comment, but I couldn't be. I suppose I was getting of easy.
"Ms. Weasley," she went on. "Can you attest to the fact that Mr. Potter started the conflict?"
Ginny nodded, clinging onto Harry and trying to bring him to his feet.
The Old Bat sighed. "Very well. Ms. Weasley, would you please escort Mr. Malfoy to the hospital wing so that Madam Pomfrey can have a look at his nose."
Ginny nodded and dropped againHarry without skipping a beat. As McGonagall reprimanded Potter, who wouldn't remember anything the next morning, her voice seemed to drift away and we entered the dark corridor up towards the hospital wing.
"You didn't have to do that." I muttered, nonchalantly.
"Do what?" Ginny questioned uninterestedly as she methodically ripped a piece of her robe and held it out to me. "Put it on your nose." She prompted.
I took it and did what I was told. A minute of silence passed and then Ginny spoke.
"I did have to do it."
"Huh?" Obviously the blood loss was making me a bit fuzzy.
"Defend you. It wasn't right for Harry to do what he did and for you to get expelled because of it. It's not fair."
"I don't really know a lot about fair lately." I muttered.
"What do you mean."
I sighed. I hadn't told a soul about Mum's condition. Was I willing to tell Ginny, who would probably just laugh in my face?
"My Mum's pregant," I answered solemnly, waiting for her to laugh.
"Congratulations," Ginny answered with a grin.
"It's not a good thing." I replied. "It's horrible! They're going to love him more than me. I bet my father will teach him how to ride a bicycle and catch a football. Once he gets out of St. Mungo's, of course."
"Obviously, Muggle Studies is going to your heard," she giggled.
Maybe she was right.
We walked in silence until we reached the hospital wing. Ginny deposited me off to Nurse Pomfrey then gave an uncomfortable wave and started back off towards the ball. I sighed at my bad luck and sat up on a bed while Pomfrey checked my nose.
"It's not broken," she muttered. "Merely fractured."
Merely? Merely! My pain is certainly a bit more than "merely" intense! It is like I have been run over with a thousand trains and then left to die in the hot sun while vultures peck out my eyes and worms crawl in and out of my ears! Merely! Ha!
Pomfrey tisked under her breath as she poured a bit of liquid from the bottle she was holding onto a bandage and wrapped it onto my nose. I grimaced as hard as I could even though the pain was gone and my nose had gone numb.
Pomfrey tisked again. "Stop being such a drama queen."
Did she just call me a queen? Outrageous!
"There you go," she answered with a sigh. "Hop on down and head to bed. I don't want you going back down to the ball. One hit to the fracture, accidental or not, might cause it to not heal. There's a good boy."
As I hopped off the bed, muttering about the severe pain and mental humiliation I had suffered at her hands, she pulled a lollipop out of her pocket and handed it to me. "There you go. For being such a big boy and not crying."
I did not need her sarcasm or charity, but I took it anyway and sucked on it as I made my way to the Slytherin common room. As I passed by the ball, I could see Snape on stage, shouting that the culprits of the punch debacle would be found out and dealt with properly.
And so that's where I am now. Lying in my bed, cramping up my hand as I write all about tonight and how utterly confused I am.
Friday November 1st
Morning: It's All Saint's Day. The Slytherins are talking about having a bonfire at midnight after all of the teachers have gone to bed. I don't know if I'll go. I am really in no mood for a party. My nose had healed marvelously thanks to that sarcastic Madam Pomfrey. Bless her wicked soul.
Afternoon: Saw Crabbe and his little girlfriend, Raven, snogging their brains out on the couch. Whoever would want to snog with Crabbe? Disgusting!
Crabbe has decided to start talking in weird verses. He said they're haiku's, whatever the hell that means. What has happened to my best friend? When will the madness end? He is changing right before my eyes.
Early Evening: Apparently this whole bonfire notion has gotten way out of hand. Some of the Slytherins have started inviting people from the other houses, who have invited all of their friends. Everyone has already started sneaking food from the kitchens and making plans for tonight. I still don't think I'll go. Perhaps I'll have a party of my own in my room. Only two people are invited: Myself and a bottle of my father's fire whiskey that I snitched off his shelf before the end of summer.
3 am: I did not think that anything could rival the eventfulness of last night. But I was wrong. I was ever so wrong!
First off, I did decide to go to the bonfire, if only to show people that I am still the young and hip cat that I once was (Crabbe's words, not mine). The place was mess! We had all agreed to meet on the far end of the lake where we would have enough time to scatter in case of the teachers emerged.
It looked as if every student had showed up! Some of the seventh years Slytherins looked dead mad that their party had been intruded upon by lower beings, but they got over it once the actual bonfire started. There was dancing and drinking and eating everywhere. There was music coming from somewhere. Everyone was having a smashing time except for me. All I longed for was my bed and a date with Mr. Fire Whiskey.
"Hey," Ginny shouted above the roar of the crowd as she snuck up on me and poked me in the shoulder.
"Hey," I replied, smiling, then deciding not to. I scowled instead. Blaise told me I look handsome when I pout.
"Your nose looks great," She grinned, grabbing my hand and pulling me up. With a sigh, I rose and looked down at her, trying to hide my relief that I didn't have to sit alone anymore.
"Thanks. For...ratting out Potter and everything."
"No problem," she giggled, pulling me away from the crowd, down to the practically empty side of the lake where the giant octupus had swam, trying to get away from the roaring noise.
"Where is he anyway?" I questioned. Now that we were away from the crowd, I could actually talk in a normal tone.
"Who?" Honestly, sometimes Ginny could be so daft.
"Potter."
"Oh," She replief solemnly. "He said he didn't want to run the chance of getting expelled. But actually, he's got the worst hangover I've ever seen."
"So, Muggle Studies, huh?" I said after a moment.
"Is that your weak attempt at starting a meaningful conversation," Ginny chided, trying to not laugh.
"No, it's just that, well, you're smart. And I, you know, I could really use some help in that class."
"I think you need a little more than 'some help'," She laughed again. I like making her laugh. "I saw your last test. I didn't know scores went into the negatives."
"Think maybe you could help me out. Let's say...Sunday."
Ginny frowned. "But Sunday is Hogsmeade." Like I said, sometimes she is so daft.
"I know," I answered, continuing to walk. "Maybe we could review for the upcoming test at The Three Broomsticks. In the back booth. With some butterbeers."
A light shone in Ginny's face that I have never seen before. "Draco, I would love to go on a date with you on Sunday."
"But we're just studying."
"Draco," Ginny repeated. "I would love to go on a date with you."
And then she kissed me.
Thirty seconds. Definitely a record.
"What was that for?" I questioned.
She smiled. "Reflex."
