Chapter 3
She didn't know what to do. What did he want? Maybe he was coming over to ridicule her some more, as if he didn't get enough of that in school. She had to decide, would she stay and partake in some witty repartee with him or would she leave as quickly as possible in an attempt to escape him making her day even worse...
He didn't give her an option. The next thing she knew he was seated across from her, and setting down his breakfast. "The place is full," he explained, taking a sip of coffee and opening his brown bag to take out a buttered bagel.
'Why does he feel incapable of buttering his own bagel?' she asked herself, finding it crazy that he could live his whole life acting as some big bad boy, when really he was dependent on the people around him who he treated like scum.
She had grown up without the luxury of having house elves to do things for her, so she always had to do things for herself. She couldn't imagine having someone else wait on her hand and foot. It just seemed creepy. Besides, why get someone else to do it when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself? She did not understand rich wizards at all, or even like them. The ones she knew were stuck up, like Malfoy, and they got on her nerves.
Then she wondered, 'Why would Malfoy sit down with me? He didn't even call me Weaselette like he always did.' Maybe he had grown up and changed... The only problem is that people like him do not change. In one year they can't go from an evil prat to a civil human being. It was physically and mentally impossible. Not only that, but he was a Malfoy. The last part should explain all.
She glanced back at him and noticed him looking at her at the same time. "Draco Malfoy." he stated, introducing himself to her. Wait, was he actually being... civil? She never thought that she would live to see the day...
Wait a minute, why would he introduce himself to her if they already knew each other? He must not recognize her. Then she remembered that of course he wouldn't recognize her, Harry wouldn't either if he saw her. It must be because of her current blonde hair, along with the fact that he hasn't seen her since his seventh year.
Before she replied, an idea hit her. God was giving her the opportunity of a lifetime. She could pretend she was someone else and then use Malfoy to find out information for her new story. It would work out perfectly; even Cho couldn't beat this. Plus she wouldn't feel one ounce of guilt. It was like her way of getting promoted while getting back at him for all the trouble he caused her and her friends, not to mention all the other people he treated badly. But how would she the information? Hmm...
So, she put on a smile and replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Paige Weathorton." She went with the first name that she could think of, trying her best not to look like she had to think about what her own name was. Then he would think she was, uh, a bit odd.
He nodded in response, taking a bite of his bagel followed by a taste of his coffee. He glanced over and saw the newspaper lying on the table. "That's all a load of rubbish you know." he said, gesturing towards the paper and taking another bite of his bagel.
She agreed with him, although she did not want to admit that she could ever agree with Malfoy on something. "I know." she replied, shooting an angry look at the newspaper. She was still upset over the fact that she slaved over that article for weeks and somehow Cho had managed to come up with the same story. Then she took another swig of the warm java.
"Do you work nearby?" Malfoy asked after a couple minutes.
"No, actually. I am looking for a job. I had an interview earlier this morning and it didn't go too well, so I decided to come here and drown my sorrows in a cup of coffee." she responded smoothly. She was a pretty good liar.
"Really? When I am upset I drown my sorrows in a bottle of firewhiskey," he said. Either he was joking or he had a substance abuse problem. She decided to take it as a joke.
Ginny laughed softly and then thought of what to say next. "So Malfoy-"
"Call me Draco," he said, interrupting her.
"Draco," she said. It felt weird calling him by his first name. She had only ever called him Malfoy for as long as she could remember. In fact, just talking to him felt wrong. It was as if she was expecting him to start acting like the Malfoy she knew any moment now. "Do you have a job?"
"Yes, I work for my father."
"What kind of work?" She obviously did not expect him to tell her the truth, but this could be interesting...
"I am his assistant. We deal with certain matters of importance for the well-being of the wizarding community," he answered, unfazed by her question. You could take his general answer in many different ways, was that what he was intending?
Either way she felt like screaming 'Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!' but she suppressed her urge. Instead she put on a fake smile and replied, "Interesting. Is there a reason why you are all decked out in a suit and all?" Her eyes shot to the briefcase that he had set down next to him. Her curiosity took over and she wanted to know what was in it. Could it be evidence? Evidence she need for her article and her promotion? Evidence that was calling out to her.
"Yes, I came from a business meeting." he replied. He still had another half of bagel left, and the coffee. His eyes moved from his food, up to her, and then back to his food.
What was he thinking? Ginny was unable to read his mind, even though she was usually perceptive. Then she glanced down and remembered that she had a muffin, so she took a bite of it and then had more coffee. Malfoy's presence had distracted her from her previous feelings, and suddenly she was once again aware of her hangover.
"What do you do in your spare time?" Malfoy asked, most likely in an attempt to change the subject so he wouldn't be asked any more questions about his work. What a sly one, that Malfoy...
Putting her hand on her head, she looked up and answered jokingly, "Talk to cute blonde strangers." She was sure she had heard a line like that in one of the many movies Hermione had convinced her to watch with her. Just saying it made her inwardly cringe; she had just implied that Malfoy was cute. The reason was that she knew the egomaniac over there would like a girl who would inflate his ego even more.
His reaction was just as she expected. He grinned and replied, "Well, I already know that one, anything else?"
"Quidditch." she quickly replied, mentally smacking herself on the head. If she was going to pretend to be another person, then she would have to stop acting so much like herself. Oh well, it was not like he knew Ginny liked Quidditch anyway, so she was fine.
He seemed to like her answer. She knew that he enjoyed Quidditch as well; he had been the Slytherin seeker back in school. 'Haha and he still lost to Gryffindor' she thought to herself and then turned her attention back to him.
"So then you are going to the big game tomorrow?" he asked.
"I wish! Actually, I think I'm just going to end up watching from home." she truthfully answered. She didn't have the money or the means to go, and unfortunately she still had to finish reading that romance novel...
"I have reserved seats, if you want to go with me."
She wanted to go all right, but not with him. Then again, this was the chance she had been waiting for. So, she had to take it no matter how much she did not want to spend time with him. Plus she gets a free game of Quidditch along with it. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes. So, you interested?"
She was surprised at how well the conversation was going. He was actually able to act normal. That was a shocker. And what was even more a shocker was the fact that she was going to go on a date with Malfoy. "I'd love to go with you Draco." she lied with another fake smile.
"I'll pick you up at one," he said. "Where do you live?"
After a little while Ginny finally got to leave when Malfoy said that he had to go do something, and so she went back to her apartment. She set down her bag and headed towards the bathroom for the hangover potion. A couple minutes after taking it she felt much better.
Then realization set in. She was going on a date with Malfoy. That didn't count as cheating on Harry, did it? No, of course not, because it was for work and she was going as 'Paige Weathorton', not Ginny Weasley.
Ginny sat down in her living room, realizing that were was nothing to do at this time of day. She reluctantly picked up the romance novel, which she had to search her apartment for. That alone took some time. She wasn't sure if she left it in the living room, if it somehow found it's way into her bedroom, or if she had subconsciously thrown it in the trash or out a window. After she found it behind a desk, she remembered that the previous day she had thrown the book against the wall out of anger caused by the character's stupidity and her boss for making her read it.
"Damn book review columns..." she muttered to herself as she tried to get in a comfortable position in order to force herself to read more of the book. She had to have it finished in less then a week, and she was only on page fifty-one.
It seemed like she was on the same page for eternity. She sat there staring at the page and mentally made a list of all the punishments that she would prefer over reading that paperback, one of them being tying her to the roof of a flying car that is headed towards a brick wall. Yes, our Ginny does have quite the imagination...
Finally, when she realized that she was getting nowhere with her task, she set the book down again. Maybe for the review she can simply write 'this book is crap, don't waste your money on it, and whatever you do don't read it or it will be the worst time of you life ever spent', but she knew Hellman would not appreciate that. 'Seriously, who picks these books anyway?' she wondered.
Boredom kicked in, and Ginny found herself compelled to do something. Anything. Anything that was better than sitting on her couch and staring at the wall. That was when she fell asleep.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And seeing as you are here, why don't you review too? Thanks.
Catmint- Yeah, sorry about that I have a bad tendency for spelling names wrong and for having bad grammar. Thanks for pointing those out.
HollyMahogany- I know it is, I can't even picture it really, but that was the point. That way no one recognizes her at first, and it was a crazy dare. So yeah, thanks for the lovely review.
She didn't know what to do. What did he want? Maybe he was coming over to ridicule her some more, as if he didn't get enough of that in school. She had to decide, would she stay and partake in some witty repartee with him or would she leave as quickly as possible in an attempt to escape him making her day even worse...
He didn't give her an option. The next thing she knew he was seated across from her, and setting down his breakfast. "The place is full," he explained, taking a sip of coffee and opening his brown bag to take out a buttered bagel.
'Why does he feel incapable of buttering his own bagel?' she asked herself, finding it crazy that he could live his whole life acting as some big bad boy, when really he was dependent on the people around him who he treated like scum.
She had grown up without the luxury of having house elves to do things for her, so she always had to do things for herself. She couldn't imagine having someone else wait on her hand and foot. It just seemed creepy. Besides, why get someone else to do it when you are perfectly capable of doing it yourself? She did not understand rich wizards at all, or even like them. The ones she knew were stuck up, like Malfoy, and they got on her nerves.
Then she wondered, 'Why would Malfoy sit down with me? He didn't even call me Weaselette like he always did.' Maybe he had grown up and changed... The only problem is that people like him do not change. In one year they can't go from an evil prat to a civil human being. It was physically and mentally impossible. Not only that, but he was a Malfoy. The last part should explain all.
She glanced back at him and noticed him looking at her at the same time. "Draco Malfoy." he stated, introducing himself to her. Wait, was he actually being... civil? She never thought that she would live to see the day...
Wait a minute, why would he introduce himself to her if they already knew each other? He must not recognize her. Then she remembered that of course he wouldn't recognize her, Harry wouldn't either if he saw her. It must be because of her current blonde hair, along with the fact that he hasn't seen her since his seventh year.
Before she replied, an idea hit her. God was giving her the opportunity of a lifetime. She could pretend she was someone else and then use Malfoy to find out information for her new story. It would work out perfectly; even Cho couldn't beat this. Plus she wouldn't feel one ounce of guilt. It was like her way of getting promoted while getting back at him for all the trouble he caused her and her friends, not to mention all the other people he treated badly. But how would she the information? Hmm...
So, she put on a smile and replied, "Nice to meet you. I'm Paige Weathorton." She went with the first name that she could think of, trying her best not to look like she had to think about what her own name was. Then he would think she was, uh, a bit odd.
He nodded in response, taking a bite of his bagel followed by a taste of his coffee. He glanced over and saw the newspaper lying on the table. "That's all a load of rubbish you know." he said, gesturing towards the paper and taking another bite of his bagel.
She agreed with him, although she did not want to admit that she could ever agree with Malfoy on something. "I know." she replied, shooting an angry look at the newspaper. She was still upset over the fact that she slaved over that article for weeks and somehow Cho had managed to come up with the same story. Then she took another swig of the warm java.
"Do you work nearby?" Malfoy asked after a couple minutes.
"No, actually. I am looking for a job. I had an interview earlier this morning and it didn't go too well, so I decided to come here and drown my sorrows in a cup of coffee." she responded smoothly. She was a pretty good liar.
"Really? When I am upset I drown my sorrows in a bottle of firewhiskey," he said. Either he was joking or he had a substance abuse problem. She decided to take it as a joke.
Ginny laughed softly and then thought of what to say next. "So Malfoy-"
"Call me Draco," he said, interrupting her.
"Draco," she said. It felt weird calling him by his first name. She had only ever called him Malfoy for as long as she could remember. In fact, just talking to him felt wrong. It was as if she was expecting him to start acting like the Malfoy she knew any moment now. "Do you have a job?"
"Yes, I work for my father."
"What kind of work?" She obviously did not expect him to tell her the truth, but this could be interesting...
"I am his assistant. We deal with certain matters of importance for the well-being of the wizarding community," he answered, unfazed by her question. You could take his general answer in many different ways, was that what he was intending?
Either way she felt like screaming 'Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!' but she suppressed her urge. Instead she put on a fake smile and replied, "Interesting. Is there a reason why you are all decked out in a suit and all?" Her eyes shot to the briefcase that he had set down next to him. Her curiosity took over and she wanted to know what was in it. Could it be evidence? Evidence she need for her article and her promotion? Evidence that was calling out to her.
"Yes, I came from a business meeting." he replied. He still had another half of bagel left, and the coffee. His eyes moved from his food, up to her, and then back to his food.
What was he thinking? Ginny was unable to read his mind, even though she was usually perceptive. Then she glanced down and remembered that she had a muffin, so she took a bite of it and then had more coffee. Malfoy's presence had distracted her from her previous feelings, and suddenly she was once again aware of her hangover.
"What do you do in your spare time?" Malfoy asked, most likely in an attempt to change the subject so he wouldn't be asked any more questions about his work. What a sly one, that Malfoy...
Putting her hand on her head, she looked up and answered jokingly, "Talk to cute blonde strangers." She was sure she had heard a line like that in one of the many movies Hermione had convinced her to watch with her. Just saying it made her inwardly cringe; she had just implied that Malfoy was cute. The reason was that she knew the egomaniac over there would like a girl who would inflate his ego even more.
His reaction was just as she expected. He grinned and replied, "Well, I already know that one, anything else?"
"Quidditch." she quickly replied, mentally smacking herself on the head. If she was going to pretend to be another person, then she would have to stop acting so much like herself. Oh well, it was not like he knew Ginny liked Quidditch anyway, so she was fine.
He seemed to like her answer. She knew that he enjoyed Quidditch as well; he had been the Slytherin seeker back in school. 'Haha and he still lost to Gryffindor' she thought to herself and then turned her attention back to him.
"So then you are going to the big game tomorrow?" he asked.
"I wish! Actually, I think I'm just going to end up watching from home." she truthfully answered. She didn't have the money or the means to go, and unfortunately she still had to finish reading that romance novel...
"I have reserved seats, if you want to go with me."
She wanted to go all right, but not with him. Then again, this was the chance she had been waiting for. So, she had to take it no matter how much she did not want to spend time with him. Plus she gets a free game of Quidditch along with it. "Are you asking me out on a date?"
"Yes. So, you interested?"
She was surprised at how well the conversation was going. He was actually able to act normal. That was a shocker. And what was even more a shocker was the fact that she was going to go on a date with Malfoy. "I'd love to go with you Draco." she lied with another fake smile.
"I'll pick you up at one," he said. "Where do you live?"
After a little while Ginny finally got to leave when Malfoy said that he had to go do something, and so she went back to her apartment. She set down her bag and headed towards the bathroom for the hangover potion. A couple minutes after taking it she felt much better.
Then realization set in. She was going on a date with Malfoy. That didn't count as cheating on Harry, did it? No, of course not, because it was for work and she was going as 'Paige Weathorton', not Ginny Weasley.
Ginny sat down in her living room, realizing that were was nothing to do at this time of day. She reluctantly picked up the romance novel, which she had to search her apartment for. That alone took some time. She wasn't sure if she left it in the living room, if it somehow found it's way into her bedroom, or if she had subconsciously thrown it in the trash or out a window. After she found it behind a desk, she remembered that the previous day she had thrown the book against the wall out of anger caused by the character's stupidity and her boss for making her read it.
"Damn book review columns..." she muttered to herself as she tried to get in a comfortable position in order to force herself to read more of the book. She had to have it finished in less then a week, and she was only on page fifty-one.
It seemed like she was on the same page for eternity. She sat there staring at the page and mentally made a list of all the punishments that she would prefer over reading that paperback, one of them being tying her to the roof of a flying car that is headed towards a brick wall. Yes, our Ginny does have quite the imagination...
Finally, when she realized that she was getting nowhere with her task, she set the book down again. Maybe for the review she can simply write 'this book is crap, don't waste your money on it, and whatever you do don't read it or it will be the worst time of you life ever spent', but she knew Hellman would not appreciate that. 'Seriously, who picks these books anyway?' she wondered.
Boredom kicked in, and Ginny found herself compelled to do something. Anything. Anything that was better than sitting on her couch and staring at the wall. That was when she fell asleep.
A/N: Thank you to everyone who reviewed! And seeing as you are here, why don't you review too? Thanks.
Catmint- Yeah, sorry about that I have a bad tendency for spelling names wrong and for having bad grammar. Thanks for pointing those out.
HollyMahogany- I know it is, I can't even picture it really, but that was the point. That way no one recognizes her at first, and it was a crazy dare. So yeah, thanks for the lovely review.