Chapter 6
After getting into an elevator and going up several floors, they exited out into his apartment. 'He gets his own floor! Figures...' Ginny looked around Malfoy's apartment, or more like just the living room section that she was in, which she noticed was the size of her whole apartment put together. 'How much space does one man need?'
On the left he had a bar, and on the right were chairs and a couch. There was an opening to the kitchen over near the bar, and a little dining area right outside of it. Up ahead was a small narrow hallway with three doors, one that she supposed was the bathroom, another his bedroom, and the third could have been anything.
The carpet was black and the walls were painted a shade of green. Covering the walls were tapestries and several pictures depicting scenes from several Quidditch games. 'And don't forget the large creepy painting of, guess who? Malfoy.' Ginny thought to herself, rolling her eyes at the painting. 'He could have been more original with that one.' The picture had him dressed in black robes with his blonde hair slicked back, oddly resembling Dracula, and his signature smirk across his face.
"I'll be right back," he said. "Make yourself comfortable."
She took a seat on the black leather couch in the living room as Malfoy headed off into his kitchen to prepare the coffee. Ginny was surprised because she figured that he would have a house elf there to do that sort of thing for him. He was the type of guy who didn't even butter his own bagel. 'He probably never made a cup of coffee in his life. It's sad, actually.' So she took this time alone in his living room to do some snooping.
She looked around, shuffled through the newspapers, magazines and other things that were scattered over his coffee table, but it was to no avail. She stood up, pretending to stretch, and looked around the room to see if there was anything there. 'Hmm... He probably keeps that stuff in his bedroom or office if he has one...'
Malfoy was in the kitchen, fiddling with his coffee maker. 'How the hell do they do this?' he pondered, wishing that he hadn't given his house elf the day off. Being used to having everything done for him, he didn't know to work the things that his servants used.
While he was having difficulties in his kitchen, Ginny grew tired of inspecting his living room and needed an excuse to enter the hallway and sneak into his room. She walked a little way so she was closer to the kitchen and she called out, "Can I use your bathroom?"
Still trying to figure out how to make the damn coffee and muttering things to himself under his breath, he looked up for a moment from what he was doing and replied, "Sure. It's the first room down the hall on the right."
"Thanks." she said and turned to enter the hall. She peeked in the rooms and tiptoed down to where a door was slightly open. She pushed it and slipped inside the room. 'Big bed, green silk sheets, serpents carved onto the wood, a large mirror... Yeah, this is definitely the ferret-boy's bedroom.' She glanced about the room, thinking about how much it screamed Malfoy. 'Maybe they have personal interior designers for the whole family.'
There was a small black desk near the door from which she entered. She looked over the things on it, and attempted at opening the drawer. Spotting a letter opener, she grabbed it and used it to pry open the drawer. She shuffled through the papers in a hurry, looking for anything that seemed important. Then she luckily came across a letter from his father, which she placed in her pocket and then continued searching. That was all she found at that desk.
She went through the rest of that half of the room, unsuccessful in her search. She sat down on his bed for a second, taking a quick rest, and discovering that his bed was very comfortable. 'Damn Malfoy and his damn comfortable beds...' she thought to herself, still looking about the room. 'I wonder why he doesn't have any pictures of family or friends...'
Then over by the wall she spotted another desk, and on top of it was the briefcase from the previous day at the coffee shop. She jumped up at the hopeful site and ran over to the desk. She attempted opening the briefcase, but was unsuccessful in her efforts. 'Now why does he have to go and lock his briefcase? I swear he lives to make my life difficult...'
'I need something to open it with. Where is a crowbar when you need one?' Then she caught a glimpse of something under the bed that looked silver. She went over to the bed and kneeled down, trying to reach whatever the object was. She almost had it when...
"Lost?" a voice said from behind her.
Ginny looked up to see none other than Malfoy himself and tried to maintain her calm. Her eyes shot from Malfoy to the bed and back to Malfoy again. Still kneeling, she placed both her hands on the bed and started pushing down on the mattress. "Yup, it's sturdy," she said to no one in particular and then stood up, brushing off her jeans. I just wanted to see where I am going to be sleeping in the future." Hopefully that would save her.
Malfoy grinned at this remark. Does he ever do anything besides grin? "You are sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"Uh... yeah, that's it." she replied, letting her breath out that she had been holding. Right when she was getting to something good he had to go and spoil it for her. 'That was a close one.'
"The coffee is ready, in the other room."
"Good." she said with a short smile and then left the room first, with Malfoy closing the door behind them. The coffee was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch that she had sat on earlier. She took a seat, picking up one of the cups and taking a large gulp.
Malfoy took a seat beside her, picking up the cup that was left on the table. "I didn't know if you took cream or sugar, so I didn't put any in."
"That's ok. I like my coffee black." she replied. The coffee was mediocre, but better than she thought any Malfoy was capable of making on their own.
"Me too."
'But of course, to go with your black heart...' Maybe Ginny was feeling a little hostile at that moment, but it was only because she had to go on more dates with Malfoy in order to get that briefcase open. She had a feeling that it contained something very important to her mission. "We have a lot in common," she commented, in her mind thinking 'God must be some twisted person for making us have anything in common'.
"I am interested in finding out what else we have in common as well."
'Oh shit, now he is coming on to me. Must find an escape!' She glanced down at her watch. It was quarter past nine.
"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing her change in expression.
"Yes! I mean no..."
"Which is it?"
"It's just that I forgot that I have to get up early tomorrow for... an interview. That's it, an interview. So I can't stay out late. Sorry." she responded. It was the first excuse she could come up with, other than having to feed pets that she doesn't have.
"Oh, that's fine."
She stood up and sat the coffee down on the table. "So I better go now. The coffee was great, really, and the restaurant and everything was nice. I had a good time. Owl me and we can go out again sometime," she awkwardly said before heading off to the elevator.
"Alright then." Malfoy said to himself. He took another drink of his coffee and wondered what had gotten into her.
Ginny left the building with the guards and doormen giving her odd looks as she walked out of the building fast, trying to get away as fast as her legs would take her. When she was out on the sidewalk she began to walk slower, but was still speed walking. She wanted to get home and take a shower. A nice long shower to wash away the stench of Malfoy hitting on her.
At the pace she was walking she made it back to her apartment building in less than fifteen minutes, although normally it would have been twice the time or more. She ran up the stair, skipping steps on the way, and then made it to her door. 'It's good to be home'.
It heard noise coming from the inside. Wondering what it was, she put her key in the lock and turned the knob to open the door. She flicked the switch for the light and closed the door behind her. She set her bag down on the table along with her keys and turned to where the noise was coming from.
The television was on. 'That's weird. I could have sworn I turned it off before I left' she thought to herself, picking up the remote and turning it off. Then her head turned to look at the couch. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight. Harry was asleep on her couch. 'He must be back'. Ginny had given him a key to her place a little while back.
She smiled and stood there for a moment looking at him. He was curled up, and even though she knew he had fought off the Dark Lord many times, too many to count, he looked completely innocent. His black hair covered part of his face, and his head was resting on a blue pillow. She decided not to wake him because he looked so peaceful and content.
As she walked over to her bedroom, she heard someone yawning. He had woken up himself. She wondered how long he had been asleep on her couch. "Ginny? Hi, I was just waiting for you to get home. I missed you."
She turned to face him and replied, "I missed you too. I thought you wouldn't be back for a couple more days. How was work?"
"Same as always," he said, getting up from the couch and walking over to where she was standing. "How have you been?"
"Fine," she answered, giving him a quick kiss and entering her bedroom. "I'm tired. I just want to take a quick shower and go to bed. You don't have to sleep on the couch, you know," Ginny got into the shower and couldn't help but feeling guilty. She had been out with Malfoy while her boyfriend was at her apartment waiting for her. He hadn't even asked where she had been. She couldn't wait to get this article over with.
A/N: Thanks to my lovely reviewers! You rock! And yet again the same two words as usual: please review.
Catmint- Yes he is. Thanks, I try my best to keep him in character.
Keikoku- I never pictured Ginny as a really girly girl. Thanks for the review.
Felton118- Thanks.
Voldeon's Dragon- Thank you!
After getting into an elevator and going up several floors, they exited out into his apartment. 'He gets his own floor! Figures...' Ginny looked around Malfoy's apartment, or more like just the living room section that she was in, which she noticed was the size of her whole apartment put together. 'How much space does one man need?'
On the left he had a bar, and on the right were chairs and a couch. There was an opening to the kitchen over near the bar, and a little dining area right outside of it. Up ahead was a small narrow hallway with three doors, one that she supposed was the bathroom, another his bedroom, and the third could have been anything.
The carpet was black and the walls were painted a shade of green. Covering the walls were tapestries and several pictures depicting scenes from several Quidditch games. 'And don't forget the large creepy painting of, guess who? Malfoy.' Ginny thought to herself, rolling her eyes at the painting. 'He could have been more original with that one.' The picture had him dressed in black robes with his blonde hair slicked back, oddly resembling Dracula, and his signature smirk across his face.
"I'll be right back," he said. "Make yourself comfortable."
She took a seat on the black leather couch in the living room as Malfoy headed off into his kitchen to prepare the coffee. Ginny was surprised because she figured that he would have a house elf there to do that sort of thing for him. He was the type of guy who didn't even butter his own bagel. 'He probably never made a cup of coffee in his life. It's sad, actually.' So she took this time alone in his living room to do some snooping.
She looked around, shuffled through the newspapers, magazines and other things that were scattered over his coffee table, but it was to no avail. She stood up, pretending to stretch, and looked around the room to see if there was anything there. 'Hmm... He probably keeps that stuff in his bedroom or office if he has one...'
Malfoy was in the kitchen, fiddling with his coffee maker. 'How the hell do they do this?' he pondered, wishing that he hadn't given his house elf the day off. Being used to having everything done for him, he didn't know to work the things that his servants used.
While he was having difficulties in his kitchen, Ginny grew tired of inspecting his living room and needed an excuse to enter the hallway and sneak into his room. She walked a little way so she was closer to the kitchen and she called out, "Can I use your bathroom?"
Still trying to figure out how to make the damn coffee and muttering things to himself under his breath, he looked up for a moment from what he was doing and replied, "Sure. It's the first room down the hall on the right."
"Thanks." she said and turned to enter the hall. She peeked in the rooms and tiptoed down to where a door was slightly open. She pushed it and slipped inside the room. 'Big bed, green silk sheets, serpents carved onto the wood, a large mirror... Yeah, this is definitely the ferret-boy's bedroom.' She glanced about the room, thinking about how much it screamed Malfoy. 'Maybe they have personal interior designers for the whole family.'
There was a small black desk near the door from which she entered. She looked over the things on it, and attempted at opening the drawer. Spotting a letter opener, she grabbed it and used it to pry open the drawer. She shuffled through the papers in a hurry, looking for anything that seemed important. Then she luckily came across a letter from his father, which she placed in her pocket and then continued searching. That was all she found at that desk.
She went through the rest of that half of the room, unsuccessful in her search. She sat down on his bed for a second, taking a quick rest, and discovering that his bed was very comfortable. 'Damn Malfoy and his damn comfortable beds...' she thought to herself, still looking about the room. 'I wonder why he doesn't have any pictures of family or friends...'
Then over by the wall she spotted another desk, and on top of it was the briefcase from the previous day at the coffee shop. She jumped up at the hopeful site and ran over to the desk. She attempted opening the briefcase, but was unsuccessful in her efforts. 'Now why does he have to go and lock his briefcase? I swear he lives to make my life difficult...'
'I need something to open it with. Where is a crowbar when you need one?' Then she caught a glimpse of something under the bed that looked silver. She went over to the bed and kneeled down, trying to reach whatever the object was. She almost had it when...
"Lost?" a voice said from behind her.
Ginny looked up to see none other than Malfoy himself and tried to maintain her calm. Her eyes shot from Malfoy to the bed and back to Malfoy again. Still kneeling, she placed both her hands on the bed and started pushing down on the mattress. "Yup, it's sturdy," she said to no one in particular and then stood up, brushing off her jeans. I just wanted to see where I am going to be sleeping in the future." Hopefully that would save her.
Malfoy grinned at this remark. Does he ever do anything besides grin? "You are sure of yourself, aren't you?"
"Uh... yeah, that's it." she replied, letting her breath out that she had been holding. Right when she was getting to something good he had to go and spoil it for her. 'That was a close one.'
"The coffee is ready, in the other room."
"Good." she said with a short smile and then left the room first, with Malfoy closing the door behind them. The coffee was sitting on the coffee table in front of the couch that she had sat on earlier. She took a seat, picking up one of the cups and taking a large gulp.
Malfoy took a seat beside her, picking up the cup that was left on the table. "I didn't know if you took cream or sugar, so I didn't put any in."
"That's ok. I like my coffee black." she replied. The coffee was mediocre, but better than she thought any Malfoy was capable of making on their own.
"Me too."
'But of course, to go with your black heart...' Maybe Ginny was feeling a little hostile at that moment, but it was only because she had to go on more dates with Malfoy in order to get that briefcase open. She had a feeling that it contained something very important to her mission. "We have a lot in common," she commented, in her mind thinking 'God must be some twisted person for making us have anything in common'.
"I am interested in finding out what else we have in common as well."
'Oh shit, now he is coming on to me. Must find an escape!' She glanced down at her watch. It was quarter past nine.
"Something wrong?" he asked, noticing her change in expression.
"Yes! I mean no..."
"Which is it?"
"It's just that I forgot that I have to get up early tomorrow for... an interview. That's it, an interview. So I can't stay out late. Sorry." she responded. It was the first excuse she could come up with, other than having to feed pets that she doesn't have.
"Oh, that's fine."
She stood up and sat the coffee down on the table. "So I better go now. The coffee was great, really, and the restaurant and everything was nice. I had a good time. Owl me and we can go out again sometime," she awkwardly said before heading off to the elevator.
"Alright then." Malfoy said to himself. He took another drink of his coffee and wondered what had gotten into her.
Ginny left the building with the guards and doormen giving her odd looks as she walked out of the building fast, trying to get away as fast as her legs would take her. When she was out on the sidewalk she began to walk slower, but was still speed walking. She wanted to get home and take a shower. A nice long shower to wash away the stench of Malfoy hitting on her.
At the pace she was walking she made it back to her apartment building in less than fifteen minutes, although normally it would have been twice the time or more. She ran up the stair, skipping steps on the way, and then made it to her door. 'It's good to be home'.
It heard noise coming from the inside. Wondering what it was, she put her key in the lock and turned the knob to open the door. She flicked the switch for the light and closed the door behind her. She set her bag down on the table along with her keys and turned to where the noise was coming from.
The television was on. 'That's weird. I could have sworn I turned it off before I left' she thought to herself, picking up the remote and turning it off. Then her head turned to look at the couch. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sight. Harry was asleep on her couch. 'He must be back'. Ginny had given him a key to her place a little while back.
She smiled and stood there for a moment looking at him. He was curled up, and even though she knew he had fought off the Dark Lord many times, too many to count, he looked completely innocent. His black hair covered part of his face, and his head was resting on a blue pillow. She decided not to wake him because he looked so peaceful and content.
As she walked over to her bedroom, she heard someone yawning. He had woken up himself. She wondered how long he had been asleep on her couch. "Ginny? Hi, I was just waiting for you to get home. I missed you."
She turned to face him and replied, "I missed you too. I thought you wouldn't be back for a couple more days. How was work?"
"Same as always," he said, getting up from the couch and walking over to where she was standing. "How have you been?"
"Fine," she answered, giving him a quick kiss and entering her bedroom. "I'm tired. I just want to take a quick shower and go to bed. You don't have to sleep on the couch, you know," Ginny got into the shower and couldn't help but feeling guilty. She had been out with Malfoy while her boyfriend was at her apartment waiting for her. He hadn't even asked where she had been. She couldn't wait to get this article over with.
A/N: Thanks to my lovely reviewers! You rock! And yet again the same two words as usual: please review.
Catmint- Yes he is. Thanks, I try my best to keep him in character.
Keikoku- I never pictured Ginny as a really girly girl. Thanks for the review.
Felton118- Thanks.
Voldeon's Dragon- Thank you!