Draco and Ginevra

Act II
Unexpected Guests

Ginny stood uncomfortably beside her nurse, wearing a burgundy colored ball gown. She hasn't been able to contact anyone or do anything, for she didn't have her wand with her. "Juliet, dear, just wait right here. Your mother will be arriving soon," her nurse said kindly, leaving the main entrance room and scurrying up the steps.

Ginny nodded numbly, not able to register anything happening. She had no clue where she was, why the hell she was there, and how she happened to come upon a Shakespeare play. Fidgeting nervously, Ginny bit her lip and continued to play with her fiery locks. She had to admit, she looked quite beautiful and she enjoyed it. Breathing heavily, she found a woman, who looked nothing like her, except for the red hair, approaching her, a young man by her side. "Juliet!" she yelled.

Ginny squinted her eyes to get a better look at her. She had straight red hair, which was tied up in mountains of small buns and her dress was a dark yellow. Ginny couldn't help but cringe at the snobby face the woman was expressing. Could this woman be her mother? "Um .. Yes?"

The woman laughed. "Darling, did you not know of your meeting with Count Paris today?" she asked in a fake happy tone.

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "Uh .. Of course I remember .. I .. Um .. Just .. Uh .." she trailed off, now in front of the woman.

The young man beside her had dark brown hair and dark blue eyes. Ginny couldn't help but think he looked familiar. Staring at him longer, she gasped. "Zabini?" she whispered. The man looked around apprehensively, but said nothing.

The woman cleared her throat. "You remember Count Paris, don't you darling?"

"Uh .. Sure," replied Ginny. "I remember him."

The woman smiled happily and clasped her hands together. She was much taller than Ginny, but was very fragile. "I'll leave you two now!" she bellowed, skipping over to the door she entered in.

"Weasely?!" shrieked the man. "Bloody hell! What are you doing here?!"

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Merlin, Zabini! I should be asking you the same damn thing! We are stuck in a muggle play!" she hissed back.

"I woke up and found myself in some bloody castle! And then some servant made me get up and wash in a bucket! A bloody bucket!" he complained. "Then I was brought here to see my fiancée or what not! This is not something I was expecting!"

Ginny froze. "Wait .. Count Paris .. Juliet .." She clamped a hand over her mouth and mumbled something incoherent.

"Weasely?" asked Zabini, eying the way her eyes got wider.

"We .. We .. We're supposed to get married!" she stated, the hand now off her lips and on the side of her body. She was shaking a little from the shock and surprise. Taking her hand and placing it on her forehead, she whispered, "How did we get here? What are we going to do?"

Blaise shook his head and inhaled deeply. "I just don't know .." He was simply speechless. Here he was, trapped in a muggle play with a Weasely, who was now his fiancée.

Ginny bit the inside of her cheek. "Maybe .. Maybe we should find anyone else that would be here .. I mean .. we can't be the only ones .. Can we?" she asked hopefully.

Blaise ignored her question. "What muggle play is this?" he asked.

"Romeo and Juliet," replied Ginny. "Have you heard of it?"

"Yes," said Blaise. "My mother used to read it to me."

Ginny gulped. "You do know what happens, right?"

Blaise nodded. "I die .. Romeo dies .. You die .. Bloody everyone dies."

Ginny's breathing quickened. "What are we going to do?" she asked.

Blaise looked at her and held out his hand. "Play out the play."

Draco stared at the Ronald Weasely duplicate and closed his eyes. Rubbing his temples, he muttered a few curses and proceeded to mumble them. "Benvolio .. What has gotten into our friend?" asked Mercutio.

Draco asked them both to repeat their names over and over until he finally got them right. It irked him how his name was now suddenly Romeo. He's never heard that name uttered in his entire life. "I don't know, Mercutio. He is probably ill from the night we had just last," replied Benvolio.

Draco stared at them. "Night? What did we do last night?"

"We attended a ball," responded Mercutio.

"And there is where you saw Rosaline, for the fiftieth time," added Benvolio.

"Who's this Rosaline chit?" asked Draco.

Mercutio and Benvolio looked confused. "Do you not know of your first love?" asked Benvolio. "Have you hit your head, cousin?"

Draco's throat went dry. "My first love?" he asked disbelievingly.

"Well, yes," answered Mercutio. "Romeo seems to bit in a bit of a battle with his mind. He does not know of his love. This is quite amusing, wouldn't you say, Benvolio?"

Benvolio laughed. "Quite."

They were still lingering in the hallway, Draco now leaning against the wall for support. He didn't understand what was going on, but decided to continue this little charade. "Uh .. Where is this Rosaline?" he asked, hoping to maybe get some information from this girl. If anything, he wanted to know all these people and try his best to get our of here.

Mercutio snorted. "At her home of course. Do you wish to see her? We can escort you, if you wish," his friend suggested.

Draco nodded. "Sure .. Uh .. How do .. Do we get there?" he asked apprehensively.

Benvolio pointed to two large veranda doors. "It's not very far from here. We can walk if you like. The weather is rather breezy out," he stated.

"Yeah .. Right .. Okay .." said Draco, deep in thought. He walked behind the two men and continued to think about how the hell he was going to get our of this mess.

Draco watched as Benvolio knocked on a huge metal door, his blazer wrapped tightly around his torso. Draco ditched his blazer back at the castle minutes ago. He told his two friends that he couldn't bear to wear the bloody thing any longer. "Well?" Draco snapped, tapping his foot impatiently. Mercutio was swinging around a pillar, laughing gaily. Draco rolled his eyes and shook his head.

The door swung opened and revealed a lean man with dark brown hair. "Ah, Benvolio .." he bellowed. He eyed Draco and Mercutio. "Romeo! Mercutio!" he said happily.

He moved aside and let the three men through. "Sir, we were hoping to bump into Rosaline," said Mercutio in a sing-song voice.

"Well," started the man, "She is in a bit of a mood. She woke up this morning being very hesitant and unable to register who she is. The doctors think she's rather ill."

Draco perked up. "What?" he asked curiously.

Before anyone could answer, a girl with busy brown hair came stalking down the steps. "Leave me be!" she yelled, obviously to the nurse who was trailing behind her with a dress. "I do not want to wear a bloody dress! I am not Rosaline! Where the bloody hell am I?!" she shrieked, throwing her hands up.

Draco knew that voice and appearance anywhere. "Granger!?" he growled.

Hermione stared at him, her eyes wide. "Malfoy!?"

Author's Note: .. okay .. how'd you like? well .. i hope you guys review .. bit of a twist, don't you think? next chapter .. the four meet up .. and romance ensues .. oh yeah !!