Disclaimer: As always, I am not JKR, and I don't own the Harry Potter universe, I'm merely borrowing her excellent characters in order to make them obey my every command... umm... Draco bring me more lemonade please.. that's a good fictional character.....
Chapter Four
Ginny's plan began the next day during the break between morning classes. It wasn't the most clever plan, and she openly admitted that to herself.
'I mean, it's not like I'm a Slytherin,' but she figured it would do and would intrigue Malfoy enough to, at the very least, listen to her proposition. Now that she had dirt on him, she wasn't afraid of ticking him off, well, not as afraid, that is.
The hallways of Hogwarts were packed as soon as the chime rang signaling the end of second class. Ginny bravely waded in and began searching for Malfoy's platinum blond locks in the sea of brown and black heads. Once she spotted it, she walked briskly toward him, appearing to be lost in thought and not paying attention to where she was going. They collided with a very undignified "Umpth", scattering their scrolls and textbooks.
"Watch it, Weasley!" Malfoy exploded.
"Honestly," he spat as he picked up his books with a simple summoning charm "do I have to add uncoordinated to the already long list of insults for you?"
"Sorry Malfoy," Ginny said, hiding her grin and ignoring his barb. "Wouldn't want you to fly off the handle ..."
She saw a brief expression of surprise flicker across Malfoy's face but it quickly turned into his usual mocking sneer.
"Just watch where you're going from now on Little Weasel" he threatened and stalked off.
Ginny's grin widened as she finished picking up her books, 'perfect' she thought, 'everything is going as planned.'
The next encounter occurred after lunch had finished in the Great Hall. On the way to her last class she searched out Malfoy once again and purposely collided into him.
"For Merlin's sake Weasley, are you deaf as well as stupid. Didn't you listen to me the last time? You must be thicker then that brother of yours...and that's saying a hell of a lot, isn't it?" He questioned, staring her down.
Ginny stared back up at him; he was towering over her, 'Stay brave' she thought to herself.
She shrugged, trying to appear defeated, "You know us Weasleys, birds of a feather.." she let a small smirk escape and then turned on her heel and hurried in the opposite direction.
'This is going to work, I know this has to work!' she chanted to herself as she darted into her History of Magic class.
Hours later, after dinner, Ginny walked into the Library, searching, once again for Malfoy. She giggled quietly as she thought of the day's events.
'Good thing Ron doesn't know I've been stalking Malfoy all day.'
Tiptoeing through the stacks of books, she kept her eyes peeled for her quarry. If he wasn't here then she'd have to repeat the whole process tomorrow. There wasn't any way the incidents today had mattered enough to be remembered by him for more than a few hours.
After searching for a good ten minutes she was about to give up when she spotted him at a table in a dark corner of the Transfiguration section. He was, surprisingly to her, by himself, no goons in sight, studiously poring over what appeared to be homework. Ginny silently slipped into the chair across from him. He looked up casually from his work.
"Must you sit here Weasley? I've seen more then enough of you today as it is."
"I can sit here if I want to, Malfoy. It's a free library."
He smirked; this one was too easy.
"It's a good thing too, otherwise you'd never be able to afford the admission."
At her lack of response, Malfoy's eyes became steely. 'No snappy comeback? This chit wants something, but what could she possibly want from me.' He wondered to himself, momentarily at a loss.
Glaring at her freckled little pixie face he tried to read her expression. She was doing a valiant job of trying to look indifferent but under that thin layer he could easily see tinges of amusement, fear and strangely, was it hope? Although intriguing, he had had enough of her games.
"As entertaining as this has been today, I no longer find it amusing, if there is something you want to say, then say it, you have my attention."
Ginny tilted her head, appraising his mood, he appeared to be relatively calm, no need to worry about being hexed for her tenacity. 'Alright, here goes nothing.'
"I know what you're trying to do Malfoy."
"Really," he replied, keeping his voice free of worry, if she knew, if she told anyone.. she's going to pay immensely, his plan would be ruined, he'd be a disgrace to the Malfoy name, bringing it down as his father had.
"Do tell Weasley, if you are so all-knowing." He quirked an eyebrow at her petite form.
"I was in the dungeons last night, after doing detention for Snape, I took the back way to the tower and I saw you practicing in a class room. From what I can tell, you are going to a lot of trouble so people don't find out what you are attempting to do."
"And?"
'Shit' he thought. 'Shit, shit, shit!' He knew where this was going and he didn't like it at all. Beholden to a ruddy Weasley!
"I promise you my silence if..." she faltered a little, her Gryffindor courage giving out under his glare.
He continued to hold her gaze, daring her to finish that sentence, daring her to ask something of him, a Malfoy. Luckily, her courage flared up again, as it so often does to any Gryffindor when they are faced with a high-pressure situation.
"Malfoy, what I'm trying to say, if you'd stop bloody glaring at me, is that I want in."
"Pardon?" He was caught completely off guard, something that rarely occurred. He had expected something.. well.. more Gryffe of her, 'be nice to my brother, stop calling people Mudbloods, adopt twenty fluffy orphan Kneazles'.
This self-serving request was unexpected.
"Teach me, too. You obviously, now don't let this go to your head, Narcissis, know what you are doing and are frankly bloody good at it. I want to be one too."
"You're serious?" Malfoy queried.
Her steady stare answered for her.
"Fine, I will do what I have to, only to keep this quiet you understand. Otherwise I would never lower myself to tutoring someone like you. However, I am warning you, tell a soul, Little One, and you'll live to regret it." She gulped a little at his threat, silently wishing that if she did earn his wrath that she would be safely on another continent when the dragon dung hit the repelling charm.
He reached up to the shelf behind him and pulled a slim volume down, throwing it across the table at her.
"Here Weasel, firstly, before we think about starting your tutorials, you have to find out what Animagus you will become. If it's not remotely similar to mine, I can't and won't help you, and the deal is off. Although you will still have to keep your end of the bargain nonetheless, got it?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"Glad to know that we understand each other. You know what mine form is, correct?"
"Yep, er.. thanks.. I'll go now. See you tomorrow."
Ginny quickly sped off with the book grasped in her hands. She was excited to start. This was it, the first real step in separating herself from the crowd, in a good way that is. She wouldn't need to be coddled and protected as she had all her life.
Malfoy watched her as she left the library.
'This wasn't part of the plan, not even close, I'm going to have to reconfigure it around the Little Weasel, unless of course her Animagus turns out to be something completely opposite to mine. Probably will be too considering her place in that muggle-loving family. Despite her recent show of brash courage in seeking me out, she's generally a timid insignificant creature. Let me see, a mouse? No, maybe a bunny, a hedgehog?' He smirked to himself as he continued to guess what shy little rodent Weasley would become.
'No worries, I won't have to deal with her beyond tomorrow.'
A/N: Thank you again to all my reviewers new and old, you encourage me to no end to keep at it. Cheers!- proserpina
Chapter Four
Ginny's plan began the next day during the break between morning classes. It wasn't the most clever plan, and she openly admitted that to herself.
'I mean, it's not like I'm a Slytherin,' but she figured it would do and would intrigue Malfoy enough to, at the very least, listen to her proposition. Now that she had dirt on him, she wasn't afraid of ticking him off, well, not as afraid, that is.
The hallways of Hogwarts were packed as soon as the chime rang signaling the end of second class. Ginny bravely waded in and began searching for Malfoy's platinum blond locks in the sea of brown and black heads. Once she spotted it, she walked briskly toward him, appearing to be lost in thought and not paying attention to where she was going. They collided with a very undignified "Umpth", scattering their scrolls and textbooks.
"Watch it, Weasley!" Malfoy exploded.
"Honestly," he spat as he picked up his books with a simple summoning charm "do I have to add uncoordinated to the already long list of insults for you?"
"Sorry Malfoy," Ginny said, hiding her grin and ignoring his barb. "Wouldn't want you to fly off the handle ..."
She saw a brief expression of surprise flicker across Malfoy's face but it quickly turned into his usual mocking sneer.
"Just watch where you're going from now on Little Weasel" he threatened and stalked off.
Ginny's grin widened as she finished picking up her books, 'perfect' she thought, 'everything is going as planned.'
The next encounter occurred after lunch had finished in the Great Hall. On the way to her last class she searched out Malfoy once again and purposely collided into him.
"For Merlin's sake Weasley, are you deaf as well as stupid. Didn't you listen to me the last time? You must be thicker then that brother of yours...and that's saying a hell of a lot, isn't it?" He questioned, staring her down.
Ginny stared back up at him; he was towering over her, 'Stay brave' she thought to herself.
She shrugged, trying to appear defeated, "You know us Weasleys, birds of a feather.." she let a small smirk escape and then turned on her heel and hurried in the opposite direction.
'This is going to work, I know this has to work!' she chanted to herself as she darted into her History of Magic class.
Hours later, after dinner, Ginny walked into the Library, searching, once again for Malfoy. She giggled quietly as she thought of the day's events.
'Good thing Ron doesn't know I've been stalking Malfoy all day.'
Tiptoeing through the stacks of books, she kept her eyes peeled for her quarry. If he wasn't here then she'd have to repeat the whole process tomorrow. There wasn't any way the incidents today had mattered enough to be remembered by him for more than a few hours.
After searching for a good ten minutes she was about to give up when she spotted him at a table in a dark corner of the Transfiguration section. He was, surprisingly to her, by himself, no goons in sight, studiously poring over what appeared to be homework. Ginny silently slipped into the chair across from him. He looked up casually from his work.
"Must you sit here Weasley? I've seen more then enough of you today as it is."
"I can sit here if I want to, Malfoy. It's a free library."
He smirked; this one was too easy.
"It's a good thing too, otherwise you'd never be able to afford the admission."
At her lack of response, Malfoy's eyes became steely. 'No snappy comeback? This chit wants something, but what could she possibly want from me.' He wondered to himself, momentarily at a loss.
Glaring at her freckled little pixie face he tried to read her expression. She was doing a valiant job of trying to look indifferent but under that thin layer he could easily see tinges of amusement, fear and strangely, was it hope? Although intriguing, he had had enough of her games.
"As entertaining as this has been today, I no longer find it amusing, if there is something you want to say, then say it, you have my attention."
Ginny tilted her head, appraising his mood, he appeared to be relatively calm, no need to worry about being hexed for her tenacity. 'Alright, here goes nothing.'
"I know what you're trying to do Malfoy."
"Really," he replied, keeping his voice free of worry, if she knew, if she told anyone.. she's going to pay immensely, his plan would be ruined, he'd be a disgrace to the Malfoy name, bringing it down as his father had.
"Do tell Weasley, if you are so all-knowing." He quirked an eyebrow at her petite form.
"I was in the dungeons last night, after doing detention for Snape, I took the back way to the tower and I saw you practicing in a class room. From what I can tell, you are going to a lot of trouble so people don't find out what you are attempting to do."
"And?"
'Shit' he thought. 'Shit, shit, shit!' He knew where this was going and he didn't like it at all. Beholden to a ruddy Weasley!
"I promise you my silence if..." she faltered a little, her Gryffindor courage giving out under his glare.
He continued to hold her gaze, daring her to finish that sentence, daring her to ask something of him, a Malfoy. Luckily, her courage flared up again, as it so often does to any Gryffindor when they are faced with a high-pressure situation.
"Malfoy, what I'm trying to say, if you'd stop bloody glaring at me, is that I want in."
"Pardon?" He was caught completely off guard, something that rarely occurred. He had expected something.. well.. more Gryffe of her, 'be nice to my brother, stop calling people Mudbloods, adopt twenty fluffy orphan Kneazles'.
This self-serving request was unexpected.
"Teach me, too. You obviously, now don't let this go to your head, Narcissis, know what you are doing and are frankly bloody good at it. I want to be one too."
"You're serious?" Malfoy queried.
Her steady stare answered for her.
"Fine, I will do what I have to, only to keep this quiet you understand. Otherwise I would never lower myself to tutoring someone like you. However, I am warning you, tell a soul, Little One, and you'll live to regret it." She gulped a little at his threat, silently wishing that if she did earn his wrath that she would be safely on another continent when the dragon dung hit the repelling charm.
He reached up to the shelf behind him and pulled a slim volume down, throwing it across the table at her.
"Here Weasel, firstly, before we think about starting your tutorials, you have to find out what Animagus you will become. If it's not remotely similar to mine, I can't and won't help you, and the deal is off. Although you will still have to keep your end of the bargain nonetheless, got it?"
He didn't wait for an answer.
"Glad to know that we understand each other. You know what mine form is, correct?"
"Yep, er.. thanks.. I'll go now. See you tomorrow."
Ginny quickly sped off with the book grasped in her hands. She was excited to start. This was it, the first real step in separating herself from the crowd, in a good way that is. She wouldn't need to be coddled and protected as she had all her life.
Malfoy watched her as she left the library.
'This wasn't part of the plan, not even close, I'm going to have to reconfigure it around the Little Weasel, unless of course her Animagus turns out to be something completely opposite to mine. Probably will be too considering her place in that muggle-loving family. Despite her recent show of brash courage in seeking me out, she's generally a timid insignificant creature. Let me see, a mouse? No, maybe a bunny, a hedgehog?' He smirked to himself as he continued to guess what shy little rodent Weasley would become.
'No worries, I won't have to deal with her beyond tomorrow.'
A/N: Thank you again to all my reviewers new and old, you encourage me to no end to keep at it. Cheers!- proserpina