A Broken Rose

"About time you started acknowledging your betters," Draco sneered vemously, as Ron scrambled at his feet, trying to pick up his fallen books. Ron's ears were turning red, whether with anger or embarrassment, it was impossible to tell. Draco kicked an already disheveled book away, just out of Ron's grasp, and laughed in the sadistic pleasure of it. Oh, how it was good to be cruel.

Finally, Ron managed to gather all of his books. Clutching them to his chest, he stood, his face set in a scowl. "Sod off, Ferret," he growled, trying to push past Draco, a futile effort as it was. Ron was tall. But not as tall as Draco. "I'm going to be late for class."

"And I care beacuse...?" Draco said, shoving Ron back, and laughing. Ron's face reddened, if that was possible, and he charged Draco, not causing much more damage that a mouse could to a cat. Draco laughed again. "Weasel getting angry?"

"Malfoy, if you don't get the fuck out of my way, now, I'll personally show you what it is to be angry," Ron snarled. Draco was about to retort, when he saw her. Standing behind her brother, some way off, watching them. Watching him. His face paled to a shade even whiter than it naturally was. 'Oh god, no,' he thought, stepping back at the sensation of her eyes on him, scanning his body, 'Not now.' He looked frantically back to where Ron had been, but the boy had seemed to have taken Draco's brief distraction as an opening to get away and into his Double Potions class. 'Crap,' Draco thought, seeing her move towards him with catlike grace. Ginny Weasley. Again.

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Ginny felt a slight smile twitch at her lips. There she had been, innocently roaming her way through the dungeons, and by sheer luck, had managed to run into Mr. Draco Malfoy tormenting her brother. Not that she minded. To her, it was revenge for all the times Ron had sat on her (yes, sat on her) and called her vile names. But now, Ron gone, she was alone, in a dark, deserted corridor that wouldn't be used within the next hour or so, with Draco Malfoy.

The side of him she had seen earlier today had grown up on her. She liked it. She wanted more of it. She giggled slightly. She also still wanted an answer to her question.

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Draco didn't have the heart to move. She looked so innocent, and he found his heart beating to the fast-pased rhythym of her giggles. They emanated from her mouth, her cherry-pink lips parted in some unseen to him amusement. He felt like a deer caught in the headlights for the second time in a day.

And yet he liked the sensation of being the deer in the headlights. He loved that, for once, he didn't have to be the agressive one, the one who put out to get what he wanted. After all, he wanted this. Yes, he wanted it bad. And somehow, he had a feeling that he was the only one who had ever seen this side of her. The side of her that was...naughty. Draco felt goosebumps rise on his skin, as she reached him, her hand lightly brushing his forearm. "W-what do you want?" Shit. He hadn't meant to stutter.

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His deep voice washed over Ginny liked a cool wave. And he had stuttered. He was nervous. Why was he nervous? Was he afraid of her? But then she was nervous, too. In the pit of her stomach she was nervous. She could just control the way it came out in her better. She smiled. "An answer to my question," was all she answered, "Are you as nasty as they say you are?"

She watched him think, unconsiously leaning in closer to him, if only to see the way his brow furrowed and how he bit his bottom lip slightly. She felt one of his hands brush against hers and shivered. Why was she doing this again? Every time his chest rose and fell, Ginny felt her rise and fall with it, every time he opened his mouth on the verge of saying something, Ginny felt her tongue click in her mouth. "I don't know," he finally breathed out, and Ginny, even though she was a good six inches shorter than him, smelt his minty pine-fresh breathe.

The two of them stood there for a while. Draco looking down at Ginny, Ginny looking up at Draco. It was an awkward moment the two of them shared, but one neither would ever forget. "Do you think I am?" Draco finally broke the silence.

"Um..." that was an out-of-the-blue question. "I-ah...Depends. What I saw you just do to my brother wasn't very nice." It was the best answer Ginny could come up with, and, even though she had determined she didn't mind Draco picking on Ron, she found a flare of anger ignite in her stomach at the thought of it.

"Well..." Draco said, stepping away from her so that he didn't have to fight the urge to just lean in and..."I'm-uh- not a very nice person, if you haven't noticed."

Ginny saw him swallow, or maybe it was more of a gulp. His adam's apple bobbed down, then back up again. She reached a tentative finger out to touch it, but quickly caught herself.

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Draco felt his hand twitch. He wanted to reach out and take her hand in his. All his senses that had watched her over the years screamed for him to, but he couldn't. It was against his nature. Against the way Lucious had brought him up. Lucious. Fuck Lucious. Draco raised his hand, and let his fingers sweep against hers. It was a brief touch, but it sent shivers of almost-pleasure reeling throughout his body. His knees went a bit weak. He couldn't believe he was doing this, he was so close to her he could smell her. Strawberries. And vanilla. It was irresistable as she was.

The nights Draco would spend thinking of her lips would never, by far, oneday outrun the nights he spent kissing her lips, and lying awake watching her lips gently parted in sleep...

And Draco watched her lips now, watched as they edged ever closer to his, felt as her hands slipped around his shoulders...

Author's Note: There, took a while to update, that's because I've been trying to keep my over 80 percent in each subject at school. Sucessful. Please review. 'Nother chappy'll be up tomorrow or next Saturday...