Author's Note: Review. (Got tired of my own little rhyming jingle. Started to sound stupid.) I'm sort of leaning toward the whole Draco/Ginny thing . . . I love reading D/G stories anyway, might as well write one! Sorry for the longness. Well, sort of sorry anyway.
- - - - - - -
Ginny's eyes opened and stared at the ceiling of her canopy bed. Briefly she wondered why she still had her shoes on, and why she felt so horrible.
The memory of the previous night came crashing down on her. Malfoy - kisses - Harry - Draco - she had kissed the Ferret! He had kissed back! Showing her his soft side - but then, once he found out who she really was, he snapped back on his smooth, bullying act so fast it was like a spring on a mousetrap.
So why did she want to relive those kisses again and again? It's just physical, she told herself sternly. Malfoy has nothing compared to Harry. And even if I wasn't comparing, Malfoy's a big-headed git who doesn't deserve my time nor my energy. It was just a mistake, and it wasn't even her fault.
She let out an exasperated groan, then realized it was a bit late. Really late, in fact. She'd have to skip breakfast to make it to Herbology on time. Great! she yelled at herself in her head. Just lovely! First you kiss IT, then you oversleep! Get a grip on yourself, Weasel.
She started. She'd called herself Weasel. It was only in her head, but still . . . That was IT's name for her. Weasel . . . She made herself shudder and be mad at him. Furious.
Herbology went smoothly, Ginny arriving just before class began. Isabelle raised an eyebrow at her, but they were tending to Mandrakes today - much to the Gryffindors' chagrin - didn't they cover them in second year? Professor Sprout frowned brownly at them (she was completely covered in potting soil) and announced they were going to study them "in depth." Which meant repotting them, but staring at them very hard in-between pots so they could understand more about them. The only good thing about the lesson was that everyone wore earmuffs and Ginny didn't have to explain last night's or morning's absences to anyone, nor answer any questions about the 200 points lost in one night. She'd checked the hourglass, though, and Gryffindor was still ahead by far. So maybe no one would notice.
She noticed some people staring at her during class and her stomach slipped several notches. What if IT had told everyone about last night during breakfast? For all she knew he'd shouted out every last detail.
And what about Harry? She hadn't seen him yet this morning. She hoped he hadn't committed suicide or something; she knew he wouldn't tell anyone, so that was okay there. But Cho? . . .
All her questions were answered in the Great Hall during lunch, and an immense wave of relief washed over her. Malfoy had told no one, since his reputation was at stake as well as hers. Cho hadn't told anyone, but probably because Malfoy had threatened her with various Dark Arts hexes, being the nice young man he was. Harry was sitting in his usual seat, though looking fatigued and noticeably pensive. Ginny sat down meekly next to him.
"Harry?" she asked in a very small voice.
He looked up at her, his eyes a dull, dark shade of green. "Hey, Gin," he said wearily. "Why weren't you at breakfast this morning?"
So he wasn't going to acknowledge last night. Fine with her, she didn't want to either. "I overslept and had to skip it. I had Herbology first - repotting stupid Mandrakes."
He laughed dutifully. "Poor 'ickle fifth years." His eyes suddenly darted, without his command, to the Ravenclaw table and he hoped Ginny wouldn't notice. He turned to her and smiled.
She hadn't noticed, because her own eyes had drifted across the Great Hall to the Slytherin table and found a certain blonde individual. She turned back to Harry, hoping he hadn't noticed. He turned to her and smiled, and no one said anything for the next few moments.
"You lot are unusually quiet today," Colin noted, looking from Harry to Ginny.
Ginny gave a huge, fake yawn. "Oh, you know," she said, "I was up a bit late studying for a Muggle Studies test I'd almost forgotten about." Harry flashed her a quick smile, glad she'd thought of a fast cover.
"Oh really?" Hermione asked, breaking off from a heated conversation with Ron. "What are you studying about now?"
"Er, Muggle radios," Ginny said, casting about. "And how they differ from wizard radios. Pass the peas?"
Ron glanced at Harry, oblivious to the bowl of peas sitting right in front of him. A look of understanding and brotherly overprotectiveness passed onto his face and his eyes widened. "And Harry - were you - er - helping Gin STUDY last night?"
Harry grinned and rolled his eyes. "No, I'm just tired, too, that's all. Homework and Quidditch are really starting to get to me, you know?" His vague answer warded off any questions, much to his relief.
Ron nodded vigorously, forgetting his suspicion. "Yes, Angelina's getting quite worked up, isn't she? At least she doesn't have us practicing twice a day. Yet."
He and Harry soon got caught up in their discussion about Quidditch, and Ginny lost interest. Not because she didn't like Quidditch, but because she saw a pair of silver eyes staring in her direction. She stared back, but only for a few seconds before they tore their gazes away from each other. Probably wondering if I've told yet, she thought to herself. As if I would want everyone to know I'd snogged the Ferret. She was shaken out of her thoughts by a tap on the shoulder.
It was Colin. "Say, want to play chess again tonight?" he asked.
Ginny frowned. "Yes, but do I have to schedule an appointment with you or something?"
Colin smiled grimly. "No, not yet, I just figured you'd need all day to prepare yourself for losing." His eyebrows shot up and he left before she could punch him in the shoulder.
She gasped when she felt something warm cover her hand under the table, then realized it was merely Harry's hand. She turned to face him.
"You can't play chess tonight," he muttered. "Remember? Detention. We're meeting Filch at the front doors tonight at ten. McGonagoll just told me."
Ginny sighed. "I'd almost forgotten. What do you reckon we have to do?"
Harry shrugged. "As long as it's not look for dead unicorns. Well, Gin, gotta go to Defense Against the Dark Arts, so I'll see you later." He planted a quick kiss on the top of her head before leaving the Great Hall.
Ginny sat for a while, staring at the bowl of peas across the table, trying to sort out her feelings. She wasn't really thinking in words in her mind, although phrases such as "Harry and Cho" or "kissing last night" seemed to pop out of no where. She had never felt so many things before, not even last night. Some feelings she hardly recognized. Mostly, she felt confusion. Sighing (she seemed to sigh a lot lately, too), she heaved her heavy, secondhand bookbag on her shoulder and headed to History of Magic for an hour-long naptime.
- - - - - - - -
The next time Ginny saw Harry, Malfoy, or Cho was at ten o'clock that night. They milled about awkwardly while waiting for Filch, who suddenly appeared from behind a tapestry and grinned toothily at them. "Shall we?"
They marched wetly across the green lawn in front of the castle. Ginny suddenly felt a bit fearful of the Forbidden Forest - she'd heard Harry's stories - but then realized he'd be right alongside her. She felt secure again in his protection.
"Now, then," Filch said hoarsely, his yellow teeth glinting in the moonlight. They were at the edge of the forest and it was very dark. "Your task is to look for the gold-spotted toadstools, for Professor Sprout. They grow about four inches high on the ground; pick 'em up and stick 'em in these baskets, shouldn't be too hard. Tried to get McGonagoll to let me hang you by your thumbs but she wouldn't let me. Right, so you've got your two baskets then. I'm going to split you up and each pair'll take a different path, see those two right there?" He gestured.
"Red sparks if you're in trouble. Hagrid will see, I might see, in case you're being attacked by a vampire or a werewolf or one of the many very deadly and dangerous creatures in the forest." He chuckled cheerfully. Cho looked terrified.
"Keep an eye out for red sparks from the other team. Your detention is over when your basket is full. I think I'll stick you, the blonde one, with the Weasley, and you two dark-haired ones go off together. Have fun . . ." Filch handed them their baskets after his little speech and watched them walk uncertainly into the Forest.
Ginny's heart sank when she realized she'd have to be alone with Malfoy in the forest. Well, almost alone, anyway. Alone on their path. She grabbed the basket from Filch and set off into the forest without checking Malfoy was behind her. She knew, anyway, from the crunching of the leaves behind her.
"Lumos," they both murmured, and two spots of light appeared on the ground. Ginny set their pace and they were walking quite speedily. Every now and then she'd spot a toadstool on the ground and collect it.
Everything was going well - quietly, at least - until Malfoy growled, "Give me the basket."
Ginny stopped and turned around. "Why." She said it as a statement, trying to be tough.
He rolled his eyes. "Because I've found some stupid toadstools. Why else?" He snatched it from her and stepped away from the path a bit. Ginny peered around a large shrub to see a large, long patch of gold spots. Malfoy was kneeling, roughly plucking them out of the ground and throwing them in the basket, muttering something under his breath.
"Be careful with those," Ginny admonished before she could stop herself.
Malfoy stood up again and faced her angrily. "And why should I listen to you, Wheeze?" He'd apparently shortened the already-shortened version of her surname.
"Because I," she said huffly, taking back the basket, "can count." She regretted her insult as soon as she said it, though more concerned for her personal safety than Malfoy's feelings. They were very alone, it was very dark, and he was already very angry.
Avoiding his eyes, she knelt on the ground and carefully pulled up the toadstools, placing them gently into the basket. She heard a huge, exasperated sigh behind her.
"What." She bit it out, again as a statement. Perhaps her hard voice would steer Malfoy away from whatever insult was next on his tongue.
"Would you hurry up?" he hissed. "Just throw them into the basket. Who bloody cares what condition they're in when we get out?"
Ginny intentionally slowed her hands down as she painstakingly pried a large toadstool's roots from the ground. "I bloody care," she swore right back. She could practically feel him raising an eyebrow, even though her back was to him. She blocked out all thoughts of the previous night, and thought instead of him bouncing around as a ferret. Boing, boinggg . . . It didn't really work. She could still feel him embracing her. No, she commanded her thoughts, stop it. Just pick the stupid toadstools.
Malfoy cursed and went around her to kneel across from her, on the other side of the toadstool patch. Ripping the toadstools out of the ground and tossing them carelessly into the basket, he glared at her from a couple feet away. Hard. Evilly, he hoped. He tried to make his eyes blaze fiercely.
Ginny was unaffected. She stared coolly back, her hands working the toadstools by themselves as her mind raced. She wasn't afraid of him anymore, she discovered. Why? Because she knew he had a human side. She's seen it, felt it, kissed it last night. She smiled infuriatingly at him.
Malfoy narrowed his eyes, knowing exactly what she was thinking and cursing himself and everyone within a 30-mile radius. Stupid Weasley, he thought bitterly. Getting in my head. Butting her unusually long, freckly nose into places where it didn't belong. Like my face, for instance.
Ginny softened her gaze and let her derisive smile slide off her face. Her hands slowed down even more and she felt pity and compassion for the boy that was currently giving her the hairy eyeball. Against her will she began to feel sorry for him. Why did he always have to block out his feelings by being such a bullying git? she wondered. She was sure he could be a nice person if he would just let his guard down; she'd felt it less than 24 hours before. His silver eyes were awfully nice to look at, she thought. When they aren't burning holes in mine, anyway.
Malfoy's hands stopped picking toadstools altogether. There she was, giving him that simpering look he knew too well. He'd felt it last night in her kisses. That reassuring, compassionate sort of look that no one else had ever given him before. Against his will, his eyes stopped blazing fiercely and just gazed into her deep, dark eyes. He tried to stop any emotion he felt but it was like a dam had burst. All those years, being the bully, being the bad guy, being alternately ignored and insulted by his father - it all came crashing down in one devastating look into Ginny's eyes.
Abandoning his act and his senses, he leaned forward and kissed her.
