Chapter 9
"Ginny? What is it? Are you alright?" was the worried response that she received from the other end of the phone line.
Ginny needed advice and someone to talk to. So, logically and yet at the same time illogically, she called her best friend who happened to be the voice of reason. It was only a coincidence that her best friend also happened to be her boyfriend's best friend. What a small world.
"Can you promise not to tell anyone what I am about to confide to you?" she asked. Hermione was good at keeping promises, depending on the circumstances. What Ginny was going to talk to her about was not one of them, or at least it didn't seem like one.
"Yes, of course. Now, what is it?" her friend replied.
"Not even Harry?"
"I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Ok, well it all started about four days ago..." Ginny began to relay the situation to Hermione. She explained about her boss giving her a month to get another story, meeting Malfoy at the coffee house, getting an idea for the story, the dates, and everything that had happened in the past five days. After she was done there was a silence.
"Wow. I have to tell you I wasn't expecting that." Hermione's voice eventually broke the silence.
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know, but definitely not that."
"You aren't mad, are you?" The last thing she needed was her best friend mad at her. She had been hoping for a more helpful reaction instead of upsetting her.
"No, just a little confused," was the response she received. Ginny felt more relieved, she hadn't been sure if talking to Hermione would be a good idea. "So is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Yes, actually. Well, the problem is that I think he knows who I really am." she replied.
"Who knows?" Hermione asked.
"Malfoy."
"Right. Why do you think that?"
"Because I can just tell. He asked me if I had any brothers, in a way that implied he thought I did. I could tell by the tone of his voice." she answered. It seemed obvious to her, either that or she was just paranoid and her conscious was trying to freak her out. But, even if that was so, she still had to consider the fact that he knows or will find out.
"Oh. So he doesn't know you know he knows?"
"No." Or at least that was what she thought.
"Are you sure?"
"No."
"Hmm..."
"So, I don't get why he is going along with everything. You think he would freak out and never talk to me again or something. What do you think?"
"I think that you have gotten yourself into a mess that only you can fix," her friend answered matter-of-factly. "Maybe he is waiting to see if you will confess. Or maybe he wants you to know that he knows to see what you do about it. You can't trust him, he is bad news."
"I know. Hmm... you might be right, yet again."
"Promise me one thing Ginny."
"What?"
"That you will be careful. He is a Deatheater. Keep that in mind."
"I know, Hermione. I doubt that he would want to waste his time killing me though, so if I was you I wouldn't worry about it."
"Just remember that when you are with him."
"I will. So what do you think I should do?"
"Get your story and then get out."
That was exactly what Ginny wanted to do from the beginning. Why was she making a big deal out of the situation? All she had to do was go to his apartment tomorrow, get the evidence she needed, and then it would be over. Her plan was as easy as pie.
They talked some more, forgetting about the Malfoy fiasco, and then gradually the conversation moved from topic to topic at random. It was amazing how long two friends could talk without getting bored or running out of things to say.
"So, you saw Ron earlier today, right?" Hermione asked her.
"Yeah. Why?" Ginny replied, wondering why that would be of any importance. Hermione should have known that they met up that morning, and what did it matter anyhow?
"I was wondering if you knew why Ron was acting so strange lately."
"How so?" She knew her brother acted weird from time to time, that was just his character, but if anyone knew why it would be either her or Harry.
"Well, at lunch today he said he had to talk to me about something, and then his face turned red and he started sweating. He said 'Is it just me or is it hot in here?' and it was freezing in there too. Then he just got up and ran to the restroom muttering to himself," Hermione described. "I don't know what is wrong. Do you think he wants to break up with me?"
Ginny started laughing uncontrollably. Hermione thought that Ron wanted to break up with her when he was just acting that way out of nervousness of proposing. It all seemed too funny for Ginny to handle.
"What? What is so funny?" Hermione asked, utterly confused.
She tried to sustain her laughter and then replied, "Believe me, Ron is definitely not going to break up with you."
"What is wrong with him then?"
"You will find out soon enough, but I'm going to go so I'll call you later." Ginny answered, not wanting to spoil the surprise.
"Ok. Bye." Then the phone clicked and she set it down.
Time flew by and then soon it was the next day and time for Ginny to get ready for her "date" with Malfoy. She packed her purse, being sure to slip her wand in it. Then she threw on a random black and red skirt and a white shirt. As usual, she wore no make-up with the exceptional of a little black eyeliner, and then left her blonde hair half up and half down.
Next she set off, remembering exactly how to get to Malfoy's expensive apartment. The doorman let her in after she explained that he was expecting her, and then strolled over to the elevator and pressed the button for level six.
'What a coincidence that he lives on level six and 666 is the devil's number.' Ginny thought to herself as she felt the elevator slowly moving upwards.
Eventually it stopped and opened, revealing the darkness of his apartment. She looked around from where she was standing, wondering in which dark corner he was hiding, and then said, "Hello?"
A shadow moved from out of the kitchen and replied, "Hi. Set down your coat and take a seat at the table."
"I thought we were going out for dinner?" she asked, a bit confused.
"We are eating here. Dinner will be out in a minute. Make yourself comfortable." With that he went back into the kitchen and left her alone.
Ginny's eyes moved over to the dining area where she saw the table and floating candles all over the room. The table had a dark green tablecloth over it, and there were two place settings of fine china along with two wine glasses and a bottle in a bucket of ice.
She set her coat and purse down on his couch, and then proceeded to walk over and sit at the table. She knew that there was no way he cooked them dinner. He had most likely never cooked a day in his life. So, where was he hiding his house elf?
'This must be his surprise' she thought, looking around and taking a sip of the wine that had already been poured into her glass. 'How original...'
Meanwhile Malfoy was in the kitchen. Ten minutes ago he ordered his house elf to stay in her room and be quiet. She was the one after all who made the meal, but he didn't want Ginny to know that. Yes, he knew that Paige Weathorton was really Ginny Weasley. He had overcome the shock, still not knowing exactly why she was pretending to be someone else, and decided to play at her game.
He smirked, knowing that she was sitting out there waiting for him. He knew she knew he knew who she was, and he was going to have some fun messing with the natural redhead. Everything was going according to plan.
9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but the FanFic Admin suspended my account for one of my stories and they wouldn't let me update. So you get two chapters at once. I already responded to mostly everyone's reviews in the previous chapter, but here's the rest.
erbsenpueree- Glad you like the story.
PLEASE REVIEW!!
"Ginny? What is it? Are you alright?" was the worried response that she received from the other end of the phone line.
Ginny needed advice and someone to talk to. So, logically and yet at the same time illogically, she called her best friend who happened to be the voice of reason. It was only a coincidence that her best friend also happened to be her boyfriend's best friend. What a small world.
"Can you promise not to tell anyone what I am about to confide to you?" she asked. Hermione was good at keeping promises, depending on the circumstances. What Ginny was going to talk to her about was not one of them, or at least it didn't seem like one.
"Yes, of course. Now, what is it?" her friend replied.
"Not even Harry?"
"I promise I won't tell anyone."
"Ok, well it all started about four days ago..." Ginny began to relay the situation to Hermione. She explained about her boss giving her a month to get another story, meeting Malfoy at the coffee house, getting an idea for the story, the dates, and everything that had happened in the past five days. After she was done there was a silence.
"Wow. I have to tell you I wasn't expecting that." Hermione's voice eventually broke the silence.
"What were you expecting?"
"I don't know, but definitely not that."
"You aren't mad, are you?" The last thing she needed was her best friend mad at her. She had been hoping for a more helpful reaction instead of upsetting her.
"No, just a little confused," was the response she received. Ginny felt more relieved, she hadn't been sure if talking to Hermione would be a good idea. "So is there anything else you wanted to talk to me about?"
"Yes, actually. Well, the problem is that I think he knows who I really am." she replied.
"Who knows?" Hermione asked.
"Malfoy."
"Right. Why do you think that?"
"Because I can just tell. He asked me if I had any brothers, in a way that implied he thought I did. I could tell by the tone of his voice." she answered. It seemed obvious to her, either that or she was just paranoid and her conscious was trying to freak her out. But, even if that was so, she still had to consider the fact that he knows or will find out.
"Oh. So he doesn't know you know he knows?"
"No." Or at least that was what she thought.
"Are you sure?"
"No."
"Hmm..."
"So, I don't get why he is going along with everything. You think he would freak out and never talk to me again or something. What do you think?"
"I think that you have gotten yourself into a mess that only you can fix," her friend answered matter-of-factly. "Maybe he is waiting to see if you will confess. Or maybe he wants you to know that he knows to see what you do about it. You can't trust him, he is bad news."
"I know. Hmm... you might be right, yet again."
"Promise me one thing Ginny."
"What?"
"That you will be careful. He is a Deatheater. Keep that in mind."
"I know, Hermione. I doubt that he would want to waste his time killing me though, so if I was you I wouldn't worry about it."
"Just remember that when you are with him."
"I will. So what do you think I should do?"
"Get your story and then get out."
That was exactly what Ginny wanted to do from the beginning. Why was she making a big deal out of the situation? All she had to do was go to his apartment tomorrow, get the evidence she needed, and then it would be over. Her plan was as easy as pie.
They talked some more, forgetting about the Malfoy fiasco, and then gradually the conversation moved from topic to topic at random. It was amazing how long two friends could talk without getting bored or running out of things to say.
"So, you saw Ron earlier today, right?" Hermione asked her.
"Yeah. Why?" Ginny replied, wondering why that would be of any importance. Hermione should have known that they met up that morning, and what did it matter anyhow?
"I was wondering if you knew why Ron was acting so strange lately."
"How so?" She knew her brother acted weird from time to time, that was just his character, but if anyone knew why it would be either her or Harry.
"Well, at lunch today he said he had to talk to me about something, and then his face turned red and he started sweating. He said 'Is it just me or is it hot in here?' and it was freezing in there too. Then he just got up and ran to the restroom muttering to himself," Hermione described. "I don't know what is wrong. Do you think he wants to break up with me?"
Ginny started laughing uncontrollably. Hermione thought that Ron wanted to break up with her when he was just acting that way out of nervousness of proposing. It all seemed too funny for Ginny to handle.
"What? What is so funny?" Hermione asked, utterly confused.
She tried to sustain her laughter and then replied, "Believe me, Ron is definitely not going to break up with you."
"What is wrong with him then?"
"You will find out soon enough, but I'm going to go so I'll call you later." Ginny answered, not wanting to spoil the surprise.
"Ok. Bye." Then the phone clicked and she set it down.
Time flew by and then soon it was the next day and time for Ginny to get ready for her "date" with Malfoy. She packed her purse, being sure to slip her wand in it. Then she threw on a random black and red skirt and a white shirt. As usual, she wore no make-up with the exceptional of a little black eyeliner, and then left her blonde hair half up and half down.
Next she set off, remembering exactly how to get to Malfoy's expensive apartment. The doorman let her in after she explained that he was expecting her, and then strolled over to the elevator and pressed the button for level six.
'What a coincidence that he lives on level six and 666 is the devil's number.' Ginny thought to herself as she felt the elevator slowly moving upwards.
Eventually it stopped and opened, revealing the darkness of his apartment. She looked around from where she was standing, wondering in which dark corner he was hiding, and then said, "Hello?"
A shadow moved from out of the kitchen and replied, "Hi. Set down your coat and take a seat at the table."
"I thought we were going out for dinner?" she asked, a bit confused.
"We are eating here. Dinner will be out in a minute. Make yourself comfortable." With that he went back into the kitchen and left her alone.
Ginny's eyes moved over to the dining area where she saw the table and floating candles all over the room. The table had a dark green tablecloth over it, and there were two place settings of fine china along with two wine glasses and a bottle in a bucket of ice.
She set her coat and purse down on his couch, and then proceeded to walk over and sit at the table. She knew that there was no way he cooked them dinner. He had most likely never cooked a day in his life. So, where was he hiding his house elf?
'This must be his surprise' she thought, looking around and taking a sip of the wine that had already been poured into her glass. 'How original...'
Meanwhile Malfoy was in the kitchen. Ten minutes ago he ordered his house elf to stay in her room and be quiet. She was the one after all who made the meal, but he didn't want Ginny to know that. Yes, he knew that Paige Weathorton was really Ginny Weasley. He had overcome the shock, still not knowing exactly why she was pretending to be someone else, and decided to play at her game.
He smirked, knowing that she was sitting out there waiting for him. He knew she knew he knew who she was, and he was going to have some fun messing with the natural redhead. Everything was going according to plan.
9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9!9
A/N: Sorry for the long wait, but the FanFic Admin suspended my account for one of my stories and they wouldn't let me update. So you get two chapters at once. I already responded to mostly everyone's reviews in the previous chapter, but here's the rest.
erbsenpueree- Glad you like the story.
PLEASE REVIEW!!