Disclaimer: I don't own anything but the idea (which I think is original, but ya never know). Anywho, the whole kitten-caboodle belongs to J. K. Rowling.
Chapter 3: What the Enemy Tastes Like
Ginny sat in Draco's room, completely consumed in a book she had borrowed from one of the other nurses; a rather loud, Latino girl named Isabel. She was so engrossed by it, that Draco had to practically scream to get her attention.
"Hey, Irish! Irish!" Draco said loudly, smiling sweetly when Ginny finally glanced at him from above her poised book. "You got a letter from Potter hidden inside that book or something?"
Ginny rolled her eyes, putting down her book before she distinctly shook her head.
"'Shame," Draco said, shaking his own head in disappointment. "Those provide some quality entertainment."
"Sorry to disappoint." Ginny said, wishing he'd change the subject off of Harry.
Draco studied Ginny's face for a few moments before saying, "He hasn't written you, has he."
Ginny rolled her eyes, trying to brush off that comment. But, in all reality, the reason why she didn't have a letter from Harry with her was because there weren't any to be had. He hadn't written to her in almost a week. Ginny had hoped that Draco wouldn't notice, but her sadness seemed to be written all over her face.
"He's fighting a war, Malfoy, I don't expect him to write me everyday." Ginny said in a would-be-casual voice. That is, if she could just get her fake smile to reach her eyes.
Draco nodded his head, making a sort of 'yes, of course, I completely agree' professional face. But Ginny could see right through it.
"I don't expect you to understand," Ginny said stuffily. "what with never having a proper relationship yourself, you most likely can't recognize one."
"Oh, and what you and Potter have is 'proper,' is it?" Draco scoffed. "Honestly, I'm surprised you don't have a little dog collar around your neck with a nametag dangling off of it."
"Excuse me?" Ginny said angrily, standing up and putting her hands on her hips.
"You chase him around like a pathetic dog for six. Fucking. Years," He said, making Ginny's face flush red. "and when he finally asks you out, every horrible thing he does and has done is suddenly forgiven. You spend half of your relationship making up excuses for him!"
"Honestly, you have no idea what you're talking about." Ginny snapped.
"Just now!" Draco said, looking at Ginny as if she was a bit daft. "You said that he's not writing you because he's 'busy.' Yea, busy off screwing some army chick." He scoffed.
Ginny glared at him, her lip shaking as rage surged through her. She hated that he had just said the thing she was fearfully thinking. Draco's eyes softened as he suddenly realized the impact of his words.
"Bloody Death Eater." Ginny muttered to herself angrily.
"Ginny—" Draco said quickly.
"Mind your own fucking business!" Ginny yelled, throwing her book at Draco's head before storming out.
Ducking just in time, Draco tried to get out of him bed to go after her, but before he could even get one foot on the ground, he was clutching his stomach in pain and was forced to lie back down in defeat.
"Shit," Draco muttered to himself, closing his eyes as he rubbed his forehead, wishing for the hundredth time in his life that he had a time turner so he could go fix his mistake.
Ginny had done her best to avoid Draco as much as she could. She'd ask some of the nurses that owed her favors to go tend to him—always behind Healer Kelley's back, of course. If he found out that Ginny was avoiding her only patient—especially the patient that Kelley seemed to like the most—there'd be definite hell to pay. But it was nearly impossible to avoid two people at once, which Ginny quickly learned.
She was walking down the corridor with her head down, hoping to find someone in the nurse's lounge who would take care of Draco for that day. Becoming distracted by the constant vibrating of the beeper by her side, Ginny didn't watch where she was going and ran headlong into someone.
"Try to be a little more aware of your environment, won't you Weasley?" Came a cold, mocking voice.
"Sorry," Ginny said shortly, reluctantly looking up at Healer Kelley.
"Just where were you going in such a hurry?" He asked intimidating.
Feeling her beeper vibrate again, she said the first thing that came to her mind.
"To Malfoy's room, sir."
"Good," He said, looking at Ginny a bit suspiciously. "I'll come with you, I need to tell him something."
Great, that was just wonderful. Now she actually did have to go see him. Perfect.
Ginny walked as slow as she could, trying to delay the time when she'd have to come face to face with the argument she didn't want to revisit again.
When Ginny entered the room, Draco seemed surprised, as both his eyebrows shot up into his hairline. He pushed the food he was eating aside and stared intently at Ginny, as she readily avoided eye contact.
"Good news," Healer Kelley said loudly, seeming totally oblivious to the tension in the room. "We've figured out a counter charm for your ribs. It turns out that when two Cruciatus Curses hit someone at the same time, this is the after-effect."
"That explains a lot." Draco said, seeming more interested in Ginny then the conversation. He continued to stare her down as she watched the ground.
"Just one little thing," Kelley said quickly. "For the counter charm to work, your spine must not move for 24 hours. That's why we need you to slip into this little contraption." He said, flicking his wand as a type of corset appeared in his hand. "That way you don't accidentally burst a spleen or something."
"Perfect," Draco scoffed. "I get to look like a Victorian woman for an entire day. Lucky me."
"Weasley," Kelley said, throwing the contraption at her. "help your patient put this on." And with that, he left Ginny there, not believing her horrible luck.
"Take off your shirt." Ginny said, expecting some vulgar joke in response, as usual. But Draco didn't even open his mouth, he just did as she said. Ginny was surprised to find a kind of deep sadness in his eyes when she snuck a glace at him. It was the type of sadness that wasn't just the result of one stupid fight.
Ginny held out the contraption in front of her. It was an off white, and looked just like normal cloth except perfectly straight and completely stiff.
"Arms above your head." Ginny said shortly. Draco obeyed and she began to tie it in the back.
"You're going to have to wear this for 24 hours, like Healer Kelley said—" Ginny began in a monotone voice, pulling the strings as tight as possible.
"Listen—" Draco began softly.
"And then they'll give you the counter charm which is a sort of potion injected into your spine—" She continued, talking about absolutely nothing to avoid the problem at hand.
"Ginny, I'm sorry," Draco said quietly as she continued to talk. Ginny stopped suddenly, finished tying the back and got up quickly.
"I'll come back tomorrow to give you the counter charm." She said quickly, heading for the door.
"Ginny, we have to talk about this." Draco said quickly, pulling on his shirt.
"No, we don't." she said firmly, turning around to look at him with her hands crossed tightly across her chest.
"I'm sorry," He said with an honest look on his face. "I didn't mean what I said—"
"Yes, you did, other wise you wouldn't have said it." Ginny said in a knowing tone as she closed her eyes and pinched the bridge of her nose. There was a pause before Draco spoke again.
"Okay, I did mean it." He said, a note of defeat in his tone. Ginny sighed loudly, throwing her hands up in the air as she turned on her heel to leave.
"But only because I was jealous!" Draco yelled, making Ginny's heart stop. She turned around slowly, shock permanently chiseled into her features.
Draco took in a deep, shaky breath, and began to explain.
"Every bloody day during my seventh year, I'd see you walking down the hall with Potter, and it just killed me." he said quietly. "He doesn't deserve you. Not now, not ever."
With each word, Ginny took a step closer to Draco until, without even realizing it, she was sitting at the foot of his bed.
"He's just such a God damn prick, and I can't believe you can't see that." He said, shaking his head. Draco had always thought that everything Harry Potter had gotten, he didn't deserve. He hated that people were so mindless as to flock around the prat just because he was famous. And although he hated Harry because of this, Draco knew that deep down he was purely jealous.
"Me?" Ginny said quietly. "Harry doesn't deserve me? The poor muggle lover who can't even afford her school books?"
Draco lowered his eyes, a sign of shame on his face.
"My father's words, I assure you." He said softly.
"Really?" Ginny asked. "Cause I was damn sure they came from your mouth."
Draco looked up at her, almost glaring.
"You of all people should understand." He said angrily. Ginny looked at him, completely puzzled. "When you're trying to get someone to love you, you do crazy things."
"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked.
"You remember the poem, don't you?" Draco asked, smirking. "Or do you need me to remind you?" He cleared his throat. "'His eyes are as green as—'"
"Yes, yes, I remember," Ginny said, flushing as she smiled slightly. "Sadly enough."
"Now, you'd never do that in a sane state, right?" He said with a smirk. "It was just your way of trying to get Potter to like you."
"What does that have to do with you and your father?" Ginny asked, raising her eyebrow suspiciously. "You didn't write him a poem, did you?"
"No, no, definitely not." Draco said quickly. "But, in an attempt to get him to accept me, I acted just the way he wanted me to."
"So you acted exactly like him?" Ginny asked, finally understanding.
"Yep. I mean, how could he hate someone who was his exact clone?" Draco said. "And yet, he still found a way to."
"I'm sorry," Ginny said suddenly, her eyes downcast.
"For what?" Draco asked.
"For what I said during the fight."
"What did you say?"
"I don't remember." Ginny sighed truthfully. Draco chuckled a little, making Ginny look up at him desperately. "I'm just... I'm sorry for whatever I did that made your eyes look like that."
"Like what?"
"Like the world's about to end." Ginny said, looking into his eyes and feeling as if she was drowning in their sadness. "Like the world has already ended and you're the only one left."
"That's not your doing," Draco said quietly, staring intently at the blanket he had clutched in his fist. "That's just from years of living my life."
"What do you mean?" Ginny asked.
"Having to live in a world where I have to fight to be recognized by my own family isn't the easiest thing in the world." Draco said. Ginny looked up at him as if he'd just muttered her name. "Sometimes it just became too much for me to try and fight for my own father's attention, when it seemed like he never noticed me." he continued honestly. "And school, the one place where I could get away from my family problems, I was immediate labeled and required to live up to the expectations of that image. With my father just waiting to point out more of my faults, I was forced to act exactly how he wanted."
He took a deep breath before saying, "Life just seems like too much to handle when you realize that you're living someone else's life."
Draco, who had been looking down at his hands, finally glanced up at Ginny to find her with tears in her eyes.
"Hey, Irish, come on now," He said softly, surprised to find her openly expressing these emotions in front of him. "Why are you crying?"
"How is it possible," Ginny began, her voice just above a whisper as she looked at Draco. "That two people can be so similar, and not even notice it?"
"What d'you mean?" Draco asked quietly.
"What you just said about living someone else's life, that's me." Ginny said, her voice breaking slightly. "I'm living the life my family wants. I couldn't do anything at Hogwarts without my brothers butting in and stating their opinions about it. I just got so sick of them disapproving of the things that I do, that I just did what they wanted. They tried to picked out what I wore, who I talked to, who I dated—" Ginny stopped quickly, suddenly realizing what she was saying, before beginning to cry even harder.
"Shhh, come on, Irish. It's ok," Draco whispered soothingly, wrapping her in a quick, slightly awkward hug before hold her out at an arms length.
"Come on, now," He said, grinning slightly. "I can't stand seeing you this upset," Ginny smiled slightly, glancing up at Draco. "There we go," he said, holding her chin up.
"Hey, Potter's right," Draco smirked, looking right at Ginny as their faces became closer. "Your eyes do have a bit of green in them."
And before Draco knew what was happening, their faces were even closer, and then he was kissing her cheek, and then she turned her head, and then his lips were on hers. She tasted like watermelon—no, strawberries. And she smelled like wildflowers. And then there was a voice, much too deep to be Ginny's. A man's voice. Healer Kelley.
"Weasley, I thought I made this clear when you first began to work here," he began. Ginny jumped back, a look of pure shock on her face. "The hospital is a place were babies are delivered, not made."
I am soooo nervous posting this chapter because I know that so many people will have a problem with it. I know y'all are gonna be thinking, "But Ginny didn't date who her brother's wanted in the 5th book!" But I know. I'm trying to say that it was after that year that she got sick of it and did what they wanted.
But you can tell me about anything else that you didn't agree with. Just let me warn you, if you don't want me to go into a full out rant, then don't mention it. Cause I can sooooo prove my point, I just thought it'd be really excessive to explain every. Single. Little. Thing. 'Course that's normally where I have problems—explaining things in the story so people see it the way I do.
ANYWAYS, here's the thank yous to all of my lovely, lovely reviewers.
Sunflour: Ooo, you're good! Now, mind you, I'm not saying if Harry is actually cheating on Ginny or not, but you're thinking around the lines that Draco and Ginny are! I never even thought that the green eyes thing could mean he's thinking of another girl, lol. I actually use to think that Ginny's eyes were green (cause of all those damn misleading fics out there!), so I figured maybe Harry's just as stupid as I am.
The Good Girl: Oh my gosh, you totally made me freak. I am an unofficial dyslexic, so when I read your review, I kinda skipped over the word 'the' and thought you said my story was shit! I was like, 'noooooooooooooooo!!!'. Thank God I had the mind to read it over again...
Lily Dwarf: heehee, I did! I feel like these Fridays are sooooooo far away! I mean, I don't have school yet (Boo-ya Foags and Herbie!!!) so the only thing I have to occupy my time is Dreaded Driving School. But I know once I start school again and all of my Allah awful teachers are back, then the updating Fridays will seem too close with my plethora of homework and essays. Long live summer vaca!!!
Foags: Boo-ya!!!...sorry, I just had to say it. No hard feelings, you'll probably end school before me, so you can boo-ya me back then. Plus, I'm taking driving class, and that's worse then school. I mean, would you rather have some fun classes and your friends to hang out with, or a four hour class filled with smelly strangers and animated driving films? Though, my teacher's kinda...interesting. He keeps telling us stories about him getting drunk underage and driving while drunk. I'm like, "Um, dude? Wtf?" Oh, and, by the way, I totally agree with you on the whole Draco-is-hot-and-I-would-shag-him-if-he-wasn't-ya-know-fictional-and-crap thing.
fcuking cathy: haha, hooray! Another Harry Hater. Join the club, sister. I think the majority of us can't stand that whinny little brat. I mean, it's like, "Harry, we know Voldemort killed your parents! Give it a rest all ready." Anyways, I promise a Harry appearance soon—the bastard.
Merit Somnia: lol, I'm not sure if they have nurse regulations about that certain...activity...or not. I'll have to look into that, heehee. I hope that I'm not having them get close too fast. I do have a problem with rushing things. Like I always have Draco turn good within an instant. There are just so many good things I wanna get to I'm like, "Character development, what's that?"
Straycat: lol, I know. I just see Harry as one of those mussy-love-note-writing-guys. I suppose that's because I can't stand mushy love notes, and—lo and behold—I can't stand Harry either! What a coincidence... Though I suppose, since I'm including him in my story, I should stick up for Harry a bit. So, yea, he's not such a ::gag:: bad guy. Maybe he's just ::gag:: misunderstood. You know, ::choke:: maybe he didn't know Ginny's eyes color cause he's ::choke:: color-blind... ::dies::
Herbie: heehee, like I said to Foags, driving class is practically like school—so we're not that different, you and I....where the hell is that line from...? It's not from Harry Potter...i don't think. Not from Friends, or Will & Grace... or Gilmore Girls...or South Park..... dammit! Where the hell is that line from?!?! I swear to God, Zeus, Allah, and Dumbledore that if you find out where that line is from, I'll give you...er... 500 house points! Seriously. No joke.
Persephone 4: ::bows down to you:: Woo-hoo! I finally found someone who likes Igby Goes Down! I showed it to my sister and mom and they were all, "It's...er...different..." And my sister was like, "I don't like any of the characters. They're all stupid and I don't feel bad for any of them." And I was like, "You're not suppose to like some of them." And she like, "good, cause I don't." ::sigh:: anyways, bless you Persephone 4, bless you.
kneh13: heehee, thanks! This is what I love about posting new stories—people I know from reviewing my old stories come back! It's like I have a following, or friends—both of which are as unlikely as the next.......er..... anyways......ya.
Actrez: In your face! Ha ha! See? I'm not the only person who likes Igby Goes Down—Persephone 4 likes it too! ::sticks out tongue in childish, yet slightly intimidating way:: Ha ha, victory!!! And you know what? I bet I can find people who like Wayne's World too! So butter that and call it a biscuit...... (Side note: I wove you ::big smile::!!!)
Blatant Discontent: Hooray! Another person I've forced to watch Igby Goes Down! That's 4 people, now. I hope you like it. I had to watch it a couple times to catch all of what they were saying—plus I had a dictionary nearby cause they've got a vocabulary like no body's business.
DarkFlower2113: Oh geez, now I'm feeling the pressure, dude. I mean, there are so many G/D fics—I donno which is the usual—is this the usual—oh crap, it's the usual, isn't it—ah, no!—panic attack!!!!................. ok, I'm good now. ::breaths:: I think this is an original story. I hope it is. But, one time, I wrote this story and I'm all, "Go me, I'm so original." And then I posted it and someone reviewed and they're all, "Dude, that's so weird, I wrote a story just like this!" and I was all, "....wha....?" So, let's just hope we don't have another little episode like that.
Lauren: Gr, I hate it when computers do that! Mine does that all the time, and I'm all, "Damn technology!" and have been known to break a keyboard or two with slightly harder then necessary hits. I hope that didn't happen to you. You probably don't need anger-management classes though, unlike someone... me. And, I suppose Ginny as well. I mean, poor Draco, if he didn't have such lightening fast reflexes from Quidditch, then he would have one nasty scar on his head from that book...hey, he could be the new Harry Potter!
Orangepenguin: Hm...I don't think I've ever actually seen an orange penguin....that'd be cool, though. Maybe I could steal one from the zoo and paint it orange. I did that to a hermit crab once—paint it, not steal it. It was cool till my teacher found out and got pissed cause they were technically her crabs. But, ya know, still...
Wizzabee: :o) heehee, I love that face. It looks like a clown, or a pig, or...something....why do I keep going off topic? I really do hope you all find this rambling cute and funny instead of annoying and slightly creepy, cause I donno how to make it stop. Maybe I should just stop typing all together...nah.
WiDz: I will! And I already told you all about God and Zeus and smiting and swearing, so I won't go over that again. But I'm sorry if this chapter seemed a bit fast—I actually thought it did, so I think everyone else will as well, but I needed to put out the info and have the kiss, otherwise you all are just, like, "Booooooring!" and I don't what that.
Krispykreme1468: lol, thanks. I'm so glad your impressed, cause that's way better then being like, "Dude, that sucked," cause then I'm upset and eat a lot and it's just very messy and calorie filled. I'm just happy people don't hate this story, cause as long as you guys don't think I'm the worst writer ever and should be banished to the fiery pits of hell, then I'm good.
QuirkyWriter: heehee, right, that screenplay. He screenplay from hell. My mom's all, "Write a screenplay with your sister! It'd be like Good Will Hunting!" and I'm all, "Riiiight, cause I can write a story that doesn't have to do with Harry Potter. Sure." So someone suggested I write a screenplay on my Perks story, and I looked at it and was like, "There's no way I could make this a non-HP story." And then I was like, "And, seeing as I based the whole thing on Marian Keyes book, I'm thinking that'd be a law suit I don't wanna deal with." So, as of right now, the screenplay is nonexistent :( But I do have 2 ideas for books I could writer—there's just the little obstacle of actually writing them. But I'll get to it...sometime....
....er...Sorry to everyone who I rambled on to about hermit crabs and biscuits. It'll never happen again, I swear...maybe. Anyways, I'm off to find out where mi madre hid the matches so I can toast me some marshmallows. Mmm mmm, good.
Totally random from the movie I just watched:
"I'm from Holland. Isn't that vierd?"—Austin Powers in Goldmember
If you want me to e-mail you when I update, just give me you e-mail address in the review and I'd be happy to do it :)