Chapter 20
Malfoy's eyes were distinct, Ginny could have picked them out of a line up, and she was positive that those were his eyes in her dream. The look in his eyes was genuine, and not one bit cold or inconsiderate, which she found quite odd. That meant that he was the mystery man who pulled her away from the burning cabin.
But why would she be dreaming about him saving her? Was it simply some girl fantasy that she could blame on having been forced to read those romance novels? Or was it more then that; did she really feel safe with him? Why the hell couldn't she just forget about the damn bloke and move on? It's not like there was anything special about him.
These thoughts clouded her mind for a good portion of the night and she came to the conclusion that trying to analyze her recurring dream wasn't going to get her anyway, therefore she forced the topic out of her mind and forced herself to fall asleep again.
After recuperating from her dream with a night's rest, having two cups of black coffee, and convincing herself that her dreaming about Malfoy was purely coincidence, most likely due to her subconscious thoughts of him mixed with scenes from a suspense book that she had to read once for her book review column, Ginny was ready for her trip.
She dressed in comfortable clothing, prepared for the hour-long train ride ahead of her. Wheeling her suitcase behind her, Ginny walked onto the platform to wait for the next train headed to London. Traveling was always tiring, and usually quite hectic. Luckily, she had gotten a good night's sleep and was somehow wide-awake.
She stood on the platform, with her large and clunky suitcase beside her, and watched as hoards of people moved about. It was amusing to watch people, and she often found that she could find entertainment by simply observing her surroundings. Some things, of course, were funnier then others, but they passed the time nonetheless.
Muggles were especially interesting to watch, as they milled about using their little contraptions that seemed so strange to a witch like her. Many of these things she learned about from her father, who had an obsession with Muggle inventions, and her old Muggle-studies class certainly taught her some things as well. Despite that, they still boggled her.
One example of this was the lady who walked by wearing a large hat that resembled some sort of bird. Now, what was so fashionable about that? She simply looked as if a bird landed on her head and decided to rest there for a while.
Another thing that Ginny wondered about was how they lived without magic. It was certainly a handy tool to have at your disposal. One thing about Muggles though, they wouldn't be able to handle knowing about magic. It would be too much for them. It was going to be interesting to see how Hermione's family would get along with Ginny's. Her dad would probably be anxious to learn as much as he can from his new dentist in-laws.
A little boy ran by, slightly pushing Ginny forward and pulling her out of her thoughts. She turned around as the mother began to apologize to her before running after her son. She seemed to have no control over the little sandy-haired boy. He looked about seven or eight, and he would not stay in one place for more then two seconds. His mother definitely had her hands full.
Ah, children. How much it seemed that it was just yesterday that Ginny was a child herself... and yet at the same time felt so far away. She remembered her first year at Hogwarts clearly and every year after that. She used to be the little redheaded girl who followed her brother around and formed a crush on his best friend. That was an awkward time for her.
Then she remembered a previous conversation with Hermione. Somehow, Ginny didn't quite remember, they had gotten onto the topic of what Ginny and Draco's children would look like. This was the last thing that she wanted to be thinking about, but for some reason her thoughts would always lead her to think of him.
This time, however, led her on to wonder what Ron and Hermione's children, who would be her nieces and nephews, would look like. Would the girls have bushy brown hair? Would the boys be tall, skinny, and have the bright red Weasley hair? Ginny was going to find out soon enough.
She didn't know how many children they wanted to have, if they were going to follow in her parents footsteps and have loads of children or not, but Ginny knew that she wasn't going to have as many at her mum did. How they were able to raise all of them was a mystery to her, and by the time she moved out she was sick of all the hand-me-downs. A girl could only take so much.
As she was reminiscing about her childhood, the train pulled up to the platform, causing a commotion as crowds of people lined up at the doors. Ginny wedged herself into the group of people, and found her way onto the train. Eventually, when she was beginning to lose hope, she found herself an empty compartment and took a seat.
The train was still loading, but a few minutes later it began moving and she could hear people moving around outside of her compartment. She looked outside the window, as most people have the tendency to do when they are somewhere where there are windows near them. The clouds were dark and gray, and the sky looked as if it were about to rain. She hoped that it would wait until she got to her destination.
Then Ginny pulled out two things, one being the wedding invitation and the other being a random book to pass the time. This book was one of her own choosing, a murder mystery that she thought she wouldn't enjoy, but soon became addicted to.
She was only about twenty pages into it and already hooked, but this was the kind of novel that would be classified as a page-turner because it hooked the reader's interest. Ginny had already had an idea about who was the killer, but you never really knew until you finished the book.
She was at the part where the intelligent, yet strange, inspector was interviewing witnesses and potential suspects. Among them, as was typical with these types of stories; there was the cheating wife, foreign maid, a disgruntled ex-employee, and a seedy acquaintance. To the novice any of these characters could be the murderer, but the mystery lover knew that the killer was usually never the most obvious person, because then it would be all too easy.
Completely occupied by the book, Ginny was unaware of her surroundings. She did not notice as people were stamping around on the train, opening and closing doors, and having loud conversations. In fact, if someone did interrupt her she would probably be angry with them. There are certain times when you do not disturb people, and this was one of them.
Unfortunately, not everyone got the memo, and soon Ginny heard her compartment door slide open. That noise was followed by a bag being set down on the seat across from her and a familiar voice spoke. "All the compartments are full, can I share with you?"
Her mind quickly processed what she had just heard. She was going to scold the person for bothering her, but that was until she heard their voice. It couldn't possibly be him, he wasn't the type of person who would ask politely like he did, but as she slowly looked up she had the feeling in her gut that it had to be him. Women's intuition was telling her that it was so and she was almost too scared to find out the truth.
She eventually pried her eyes away from her book to look up and see that standing several feet away from her was the one person who she was hoping to forget about... Draco Malfoy. What a small world...
Draco Malfoy was at his apartment, eating breakfast that his house elf made for him every morning, and looked at the time. Soon he was going to have to leave, he wouldn't want to miss his train. He was not looking forward to being around Muggles, but his mother expected him to be in London to see her the next day and he wasn't allowed to use any magical means of getting there to see her. The Malfoy's owned a large estate just outside of London, which was his final destination, but while in London he had to pick up something for his mother that she had written to him about in her last letter. Sometimes mother's could be so damn irritating.
He had agreed to go though, hoping that a journey away from home would clear his mind and distract him while at the same time giving him some space from his father, who was not currently at the estate with Draco's mother, but instead off working with some Deatheaters and promoting evil. Something along those lines.
He finished eating and drinking his current cup of black coffee, called his house elf over to take away his empty plate and mug, and then headed off to his bedroom to get his bag that was packed with some reading material, several sets of clothing, and various other 'necessities'.
No matter how hard he tried, all attempts of wiping Ginny Weasley from his memory failed. She was like a stain that wouldn't go away. She was a black mark on his conscience, forcing him to feel guilty even though Malfoy's were not supposed to feel guilty for anything that they do. This was one thing that was constantly bugging him.
Another was that list. First of all, who had enough time to sit down and make a list of all the qualities they hate in someone? It seemed like a waste of time to him, and not only that but to think that she looked upon him in that manner. Did everyone think of him like that?
That didn't matter; he was not the type of person to care what people thought of him, although according to his father he was supposed to work to instill fear in everyone he knows. That was fun some of the time, but yet again pointless. He was not interested in becoming the next Lucius Malfoy, nor was he keen in taking over the Dark Lord's position. All he wanted to do was live life on his own terms, hence why he was now living on his own.
Picking up his bag and slinging it over his shoulder, he left his bedroom and gave his loyal house elf some last orders. He didn't think that he was the meanest 'master', especially when compared to how his father used to order their house elves to beat themselves for doing even the littlest of things and he never really punished his house elf. There was simply no real reason to.
Eventually he left his apartment building, yet again ignoring the doormen who attempted to talk to him as was part of their job to do, and made his way to the train station. He got to the platform right as the train pulled up and cursed to himself and those around him as he pushed himself through the crowd of morons, which he called them, to get onto the train.
Once he was on the train, which was half the battle, he had to walk down the narrow hall and search for an empty compartment. Finally, when he gave up his search and concluded that his quest was in vain and that he was never going to find one, he stopped and opened a door. Without looking into the compartment first, as most people would do, he set his bag down on the seat and entered, saying, "All the compartments are full, can I share with you?" It wasn't really a question, because he was going to share with them whether they liked it or not, but he asked it nonetheless.
Then Draco was shocked as he looked up into the brown eyes of Ginny Weasley. Of all the trains in the world, why did she have to be on his?
A/N: I have good news, I got a 97 on my SAT Review algebra test, highest in the class. Yayness! Anyway, thanks for the great reviews! It was thanks to them that I decided to write this chapter tonight, even though I'm tired from school... and it's only a Tuesday.
Please review!