Author's Note: Yay! Chapter 2! Okay, a few warnings for the delicately-minded few: I use many rotten words other than British terms, such as the 'f' word (and I'm not talking about fluffy, I mean the bad, icky, nasty 'f" word), so if you don't like that kind of language, don't read this. I have a soft spot for that word. That, and damn. Lovely words. This story may have to be upgraded to 'R', but only because of language. No sex, alcochol (much), or drugs. Just teenage drama. Gasp.

Disclaimer: See last chapter (if you have a problem with this, take it out on my frozen fingers).

Dancing Life

Chapter 2: Barbies, Sarcasm, and Contamination

Draco sighed as Blaise opened the door to the dance classroom. He heard three laughs. One was soft and low; husky, but soothing. The other was deep and booming, still feminine. And the third pulsated with life; real energy.

He walked in behind Blaise. The two girls that had been on their minds were sitting in chairs near Professor Skye, who was twirling around, her arms extended. She stopped as the two Slytherin boys entered. She was no longer wearing her robes, but was now clad in only an electric blue leotard and short skirt.

Draco sneered.

Instead of looking embarrassed or blushing, the teacher simply smiled at them and continued spinning, talking to the girls through the blur of blue.

"So, it's spin, spin, spin, stop" she stopped, put one leg forward and leaned down over it, extending her arm gracefully "and up" she nimbly pulled herself up on her toes "and leap" she jumped up, kicking her legs out, one in front, one behind, so gracefully it was breathtaking to watch "now, on one foot, and twirl!" she'd landed, only to bring one foot up to her thigh, it's knee pointing away from her body. She rose up on the toes of her one foot and began to twirl, sweeping out with her foot for movement and balance.

She stopped, cheeks glowing. "Dance is whatever you feel, Ginny. There is no right or wrong, so you don't have to worry about not knowing how to dance. There is no one way to dance." She said softly, staring down at the red-head, who was beaming gratefully.

Draco sneered at her smile, mostly because it made him catch his breath. "Unfortunately, falling on your face doesn't constitute as dancing, so it looks like you're out of luck, Weasley." He jeered.

To his surprise, she only laughed, though the blueberry-headed teacher looked fairly upset. "Knowing my clumsiness, I probably will end up on my face. But, hey, it's all in good fun." She shrugged, smiling at Malfoy.

He stared. Why was she smiling at him? He'd just insulted her.

"Uh, yeah." He said lamely, elbowing Blaise as he started laughing. "Good job, Malfoy. I'd say she's not so scared of you anymore. On the contrary, I'd say you're a little afraid of h-"another elbow to the stomach cut off Blaise's smart remark.

Heather arched an eyebrow, but said nothing.

Blaise shuffled over to where the girls were sitting, relaxed. To Draco's surprise and disgust, he scuffed his foot on the stone floor.

"Um, hey, Rambinski? Hi, err I'm-er, my name's Blaise Zabini." He said, holding out his hand awkwardly.

For a second, Draco smirked as the usually composed girl looked shocked. His smile dropped when she smiled softly and took his large hand in her small one, shaking it firmly. "Heather Rambinski." She supplied, dropping his hand.

Ginny was fighting to suppress giggles. He had it bad for her!

Draco glanced away from the couple to look at the red-headed brat. She was rocking in her chair, biting her lip. But that still couldn't keep her from grinning. Her sharp eyes were glinting evilly.

She looked up and caught his look. She immediately turned away, her cheeks flushing.

Blaise was still shifting nervously. "Well, you know there's a trip to Hogsmeade today, and…well, I know you're a Gryffindor and I'm a Slytherin, but, well, I was wondering, that is, if you don't mind…"

Heather smiled knowingly and turned to Ginny, who immediately stopped giggling. "Hey, Gin, weren't you saying you wanted to stay at the library today, instead of going to Hogsmeade?" She prompted.

Ginny nodded. She never went to Hogsmeade anymore; after giving up Harry, she rarely felt inclined to go, and Heather usually wanted to stay in the library as well. But Ginny saw where her friend was going.

"Yeah, but what about you? I don't want you to be alone…" She trailed off, stifling another wave of giggles.

Heather turned to Blaise, who was looking like a child at Christmas. "Say, Zabini…do you mind going to Hogsmeade with me? Ginny can't come, and I'd be so lonely by myself." She shrugged helplessly.

Draco's mouth was hanging open. They were pretty sneaky for Gryffindors. His eyes hadn't been glued to the Rambinski girl, so he'd caught the understanding glance the two girls had passed.

What was even more shocking was that neither had panicked, and the Rambinski girl actually wanted to go!

Blaise quickly accepted the invitation.

Heather stood up and gathered her things. "Alright, Gin? I'll see you in the library when I get back." She grinned and they left the classroom. Professor Skye had left some time before, so it was just Draco and Ginny.

Ginny smiled and leaned back in her chair, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. "Well, that was interesting. To say the least." She leaned back farther.

Draco looked around. There was no one else in the classroom, so she had to be talking to him. But why? Ginny noticed his glance around the room. "Yes, Malfoy, I'm talking to you. Surprised?" She grinned.

He turned back to her, trying not to notice how attractive she was when she grinned.

"Well, considering we're not really on a friendly basis, I don't see why I shouldn't be." He retorted.

Ginny shrugged and shook her head. "Well, your best friend is interested in my best friend, so it looks like we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other." Not that I mind. She thought, glancing appreciatively at Draco.

He was rather easy on the eyes, though the fact that he was a Malfoy never left her. She wasn't interested, just merely thinking the obvious.

He was doing his own bit of staring. They both glanced up at each other and turned away, Ginny smirking. "I didn't realize you Slyths would ever sink so low as to ask a Gryf out." She said teasingly, wondering briefly why she was smiling and not scowling.

Draco shrugged. "You Gryf girls keep getting so damned attractive; what do you expect? We are Slytherins, we are better than you, but we ARE boys." He smirked, not believing the words coming out of his mouth.

Ginny couldn't either, but she hid her surprise. Malfoy wasn't as great a prick as Ron made him out to be. He was actually quite enjoyable company; she liked his sarcasm and wit; it wasn't the all-out goofy antics of Seamus Finnegan, who was greatly revered in the Gryffindor common room as a comedian, but it was funny. To her, at least.

She smiled. "What's wrong with the Barbies in Slytherin?" She quipped, thinking of Pansy Parkinson, the perfect blonde with the perfect body and the perfect clothes.

Draco cocked his head. "Barbie?" He queried.

"Muggle doll. Perfect, plastic, and a little top-heavy. Anatomically incorrect." She explained glancing meaningfully down at her rather flat chest.

Draco's eyes opened wider in surprise. She certainly made no pretense at being modest; talking about things like that in front, no, with him. It was rather relieving. Pansy and her crowd were always pretending to be so virtuous while still trying to throw themselves at every boy that passed.

The Weasley girl was certainly not the sluttish type, but she wasn't a shy little girl anymore, either.

"Anyway, I was saying…what's wrong with the Slytherin girls? It's not like you and Zabini are horrifying monsters…though you're no Harry Potter." She grinned as Draco scowled at her.

She fluttered her eyelashes dramatically. "He's sooooooo dreamy." She sighed in an airy voice, putting her hand to her forehead as she had done earlier.

Draco's scowl lessened. Sarcasm? Over Potter? Everyone knew the littlest Weasley fancied the stupid prat, though he never noticed her.

She removed her hand, grinning. "Cynicism. A girl's best friend. Right up there with diamonds, though if I had to live without one of them, I'd ditch the diamonds. Can't live for more than a day without some sardonic remark. It would kill me." She smiled again.

Draco actually grinned at this. Ginny's smile dropped into a round 'o', staring at him. He was astonishingly good-looking when he smiled.

"Listen, Weasley, I know I'm sexy and everything, but do you have to stare so openly?" He sneered at her stare.

She snapped out of it with a glare that could kill, then smiled meanly. "Sorry, Malfoy. I just didn't think you were capable of smiling. Must've pulled a muscle or something. Don't blame you, though. With your life, I wouldn't smile much either, you egocentric, rich, prat. Especially with that Pansy creature hanging all over you." She sat back in her chair, suddenly interested in her nails, unable to stop a smile creeping onto her lips.

Draco stared. What the hell? He was supposed to be the insulting one. When had she gotten so good at sharp remarks? They were worthy of…well, a Slytherin!

She was smiling again. "You look so lost when you're not the one dishing out insults."

He scowled and stood. "I've got better things to do than sit here and take this crap. I don't want to be contaminated by you, you disgustingly poor, filthy, Muggle-loving wretch!" He smirked to himself as he moved to the door.

He was nearly out the door when he felt a hand grab his arm. He whirled around and found her standing right in front of him, inches from his face. She was smiling wickedly and he didn't like the look she was giving him.

"You forgot ugly." She remarked and quickly pushed her lips to his.

Draco nearly dropped his bag. What the bloody hell was she doing!? She nipped at his lower lip and he gasped into her mouth, the corners of which instantly turned up into a smile. He sighed. This was amazing! He felt alternately hot and cold.

He moved his hands up to pull her closer. For some reason, he needed to find out how she felt against him. But she moved her hands up to his chest and pushed him off, grinning coolly and wickedly, completely unaffected.

"Awww, too bad. You're contaminated now. I'd love to see you try and burn your mouth off. It would solve a lot of problems." She laughed throatily.

Draco was breathless. What was she talking about? He wondered briefly. Then he saw her smirk derisively. She'd been messing with his head. She'd done a very good job too.

Draco didn't even have the wits to move as she left the room, still giggling.

He touched his lips. They were tingling numbly. His whole body was. Someone would think he'd just had his first kiss with someone he liked, not his hundredth or so with someone he hated.

He shook his head, trying to get her face from his mind. And he'd thought she was just an innocent, nice little weasel! He was sorely mistaken. He shook his head again, trying to clear it. He pulled his backpack on his shoulder and left the class, thinking about an annoying little pixy with red hair.

Ginny was still giggling to herself fifteen minutes later in the library. The look on the stupid git's face! She'd nearly died laughing. She was a little surprised, though. He'd seemed so uncertain, so unsure, so unlike his usual confident self. Probably just too shocked at what she'd done.

Ginny was rather shocked at herself. But it wasn't her first kiss, so it wasn't anything special. Just a way to screw around with Malfoy's head. And gods had she! She laughed again, Madame Pince shooting her a sharp glance.

He was probably either throwing up right now, or feeling sick enough to. She grinned maniacally. He definitely hadn't expected her to do that. She was rather pleased to have flipped him out for once. Served the stupid bloody bastard right.

That had been mean, though, and Ginny's conscience tugged insistently. Had it been anyone other than Malfoy, she wouldn't have done it. Leading someone on like that only to mess around them was disgustingly vicious. But it WAS Malfoy, so there was no problem. It wasn't like he'd fall for her, so she didn't have to worry about his feelings.

Her kiss would make him sick, angry, or just make him laugh if he thought she was throwing herself at him. But it didn't matter. She didn't care if people heard; she'd given up trying to make people like her. Besides, she was sixteen, nearly seventeen. She could bloody well do what she liked. And all other things aside, she was one up on Malfoy.

Several hours later, Heather entered the library quietly. She slid over to where Ginny was sitting, dropping into the seat next to the expectant red-head.

"Well?" Ginny asked, leaning forward in her seat.

"Well what?" Heather evaded, and for once, Ginny noticed that her friend had lost her composure; she looked flustered and confused, and she was blushing softly.

"Wow." Ginny commented, sitting back and smiling "Did it go all that well? I do hope our dear Slytherin behaved himself. On the other hand, maybe I should be worried about him…? Why did you want to go?" She asked, curiosity hinting in her voice.

Heather flushed. "Is it that obvious?" She gasped.

Ginny grinned wryly at her pleased friend. "Well, not really, but I know how you are, and you're always so calm and serene. So what happened, did he kiss you?" She asked, curiosity taking over again.

The rosy color that flared across her friend's cheeks was answer enough. She shrieked softly, remembering Madame Pince. "YOU DIDN"T!" She gasped.

Heather smiled shyly and nodded.

"Why? He's a Slytherin! Why would you want to? I mean, I know he's cute and all, but, come on, Heather!" She gaped at her friend.

"He's actually really nice…for a Slytherin. He's helped me in Herbology a few times after class. He's amazing in that class, and…well, you know me…I can kill a plant just by looking at it. I'm horrible with any living plant. But he showed me how to take care of plants, and…well, he's just really nice, that's all." She stammered.

Ginny shrugged. "Sounds nice. I was just curious. He seems to really like you, and you…you're more flustered now than I've ever seen you, so he must have done something right." She grinned. "So, did you kiss, or was it just a peck?"

"Yeah, just a peck. Right before he left to go off to his common room." She touched a finger to her lips then bit it softly, and thoughtfully.

"I think I really like him."

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "That's terrific!" She breathed. "I've been thinking you really needed a guy for a long time. Can't believe no one's noticed how awesome you are. Besides said Slytherin, of course. I must say, though, he's brought my opinion of the whole Slytherin house up. You, a Gryffindor fifth year-"

"And half-Muggle." Heather reminded her.

"And half-Muggle; and him a pureblood Slytherin seventh year! And he was so nervous with you! It was sick making to watch. I thought Malfoy would be sick." Her eyes widened, thinking of her prank.

She doubled over with repressed laughter.

Heather stared at her. "What?" She asked, curiously.

"Oh, I almost wish you hadn't gone just so you could have seen his face!" She gasped.

Heather tilted her head to one side, looking thoroughly confused. "What? Whose face?"

Ginny sat up, wiping tears from her eyes. "Malfoy's; the stupid blubbering git! Oh, it was the best trick ever." She sniggered, and told Heather of what she'd done to Malfoy.

Heather laughed with her, but looked pensive and disturbed.

Ginny noticed immediately. "What's wrong?" She asked.

Heather shrugged. "Yeah, it's funny as hell and all, but what if he thinks you like him? What if he likes you?" She played the 'what if' card, but she'd seen the way Malfoy had been staring at Ginny in the dance class.

Ginny scoffed. "When hell freezes over." She muttered. "Listen, Heather; Malfoy's family and mine are deadly enemies. He hates all Weasleys." She sat back. "I did think about it, but, it's only Malfoy. The only thing that kiss made him feel was filthy, he said as much himself. Dirty bastard." They laughed, though underneath the laughs, Heather still wasn't reassured.

The next morning Ginny awoke feeling a wave of excitement and impatience as she realized she had another dance class, but it was still for another few hours. She jumped up from her bed, contemplating what to wear to class.

Skye had told them that they'd be practicing a couple of simple dances, and even allowed to make up their own. Flushed and excited, Ginny flew to her trunk. Several minutes later she walked down to the common room.

"Wow, Gin. Nice look." Heather smiled up from a chair, dressed all in black; black pleated skirt, black top, black stockings, and black boots.

Ginny, contrastingly, was wearing a short bright red skirt, an orange button-down top and knee-high red socks in black flats. Her vibrant red hair was spiked up in the back and sides, inspired by Skye's incredible hair from the day before.

Ginny smiled. "And you. Going for the dark, gothic look?" She commented as the girls moved off to the Great Hall.

Heather shrugged, and crossly tossed her hair over her shoulder. "Nope, I'm in mourning." She said simply.

Ginny looked slightly alarmed. "Relax Gin, it's an annual thing. The anniversary of that stupid git Cornelius Fudge becoming Minister." She scowled as Ginny broke into fits of laughter.

After breakfast, Ginny and Heather made their way to their Dancing Life class. They got there half an hour too early, but went in anyways.

Skye was sitting on the floor, Indian-style. Both girls gaped. Her hair was a bright canary yellow, matching her sunflower-colored robes. She opened her eyes, which they were relieved to find, were still blue.

She smiled. "Second time's just as bad as the first." She explained, noting where their eyes were resting. She stood up and the smoke disappeared.

Ginny stared. "Is that…natural? Does it happen on its own?" Skye smiled. "No, I just like to change my hair every once in a while." She explained. "It's a great spell my mum taught me; only a few witches can do it, and even fewer wizards."

She pulled her wand from her yellow robes and tapped her head. "Strabellous!" She whispered, and her hair changed to a bright, cherry red. She noticed Ginny's open mouth and smiled. "It's great fun, especially at parties." She grinned and tapped her head with her wand. "Sunnabellous." Her hair went back to a bright yellow.

Ginny's eyes were popping out of her head. "I've got to learn how to do that." She whispered to Heather, who nodded, equally impressed.

The rest of the class came in, all more or less shocked at their Professor's change in hair color. She simply smiled and glanced down at her sunny nails.

Once the entire class was seated and listening intently, Skye smiled at them. "Yesterday we went over some of the history of dance in different cultures. Today, we're doing to do a little active participation. I'm going to give you a country, and I want you to look up dances (she gestured to a pile of books lined up against the wall) and perform a dance from that country." She beamed at them.

For the most part, everyone looked a little tentative, but thoroughly interested. Then a silky, drawling voice cut through the classroom.

"Are we working on our own, or in pairs?"

Ginny turned around, recognizing Draco Malfoy's voice. Her mouth dropped open. He was practically right behind her, staring intently straight at her. She whirled around as Skye answered him.

"Why, yes, Draco. Thank you for bringing that up. You'll have to pair up; boy/girl." Her eyes scanned the room. "Ah, and there will be four girls left over, but that's perfect. The four girls who wish to be in the last group will make up their own dance based on the style from the country I give them." She smiled again.

"Which four girls would like to be in that group?"

Ginny immediately began to raise her hand, but as soon as she moved it from her lap, there was a long, pale hand over it. She gasped and turned. Draco was right next to her now, half out of his seat. "Not a chance, Weasley. After yesterday, you owe me a dance at least. You're mine." He growled deeply, still staring at her.

Ginny's mouth dropped open. Before she could answer, Skye's voice broke into her thoughts. "Perfect, you four will do fine. Now, will the rest of you please pair up?" Ginny really did gasp as Draco pulled her up from her seat and close to him.

She turned to him; he was staring at her, his eyes unreadable. "What the hell, Malfoy?" She hissed under her breath as other people began to pair up. She barely noticed Blaise Zabini and Heather pairing up across the room, both giving Draco and Ginny odd looks.

He dragged his eyes to hers, looking darkly at her. "What the bloody hell was that kiss about yesterday?"

Ginny swallowed nervously; he looked really pissed off. Then she looked deeper into his eyes. He looked…scared, and uncertain. She smirked to herself. He didn't understand her; she had the upper hand.

"Because I'm deeply in love with you, and I want to spend the rest of my life with you." She said in a downright phony voice, grabbing the front of his robes and staring deeply into his eyes, a small smile tugging at the corner of her lips.

He scowled and pushed her (giggling madly) off him. He supposed it would have been rather funny, if he hadn't hoped for a second, that she was serious. He tried to shrug off his disappointment.

"Really, though, you were being a prat." She said, matter-of-factly.

He rolled his eyes. Where did she get off insulting him? He actually found he didn't mind her sharp comments so much. "If I was being a prat, you were being a bitch. And a damned rotten one, too." He shot back. She simply smiled, and pretended to blush.

"Why, Draco Malfoy, I do believe that was the nicest thing anyone has ever said to me." She batted her eyelashes at him.

He couldn't help but grin.

Skye came over to where they were standing, saying nothing as she handed Draco a piece of parchment, but arching an eyebrow just the same.

Draco unfolded the parchment. "Ugh. England. Great." He moaned, handing her the paper. Her eyes lit up. "Oh, let's do the waltz!" She cried, clapping her hands together like a small child.

Draco sighed, throwing his head back, and looking up at the ceiling resignedly. He looked back down at her. "If we must."

Draco would have done anything, including hopping around the class in a leotard, to replicate the smile that lit up her face at his consent.

"Oh, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!" She jumped up and hugged him, for some strange, unknown reason. "I've always loved the waltz. It's so elegant and graceful." She sighed, sitting back down, looking rather happy.

"In that case, maybe we should choose another dance." He joked. She glared at him, but even then, she couldn't help but grin. "Hey, I took dance classes when I was a little girl; I can be damn well graceful when I please, but not everyone has to make sitting down look so lithe and smooth." She gazed pointedly at where he had sunk self-consciously into his chair.

He shook his head. Blaise had been right; she was something. "Well, not everyone has to be so violently lively." He said, staring at where her foot was tapping bouncily on the ground. She shrugged, a dramatic, energetic shrug.

"I can see you dancing to a Latin dance; rapid, flowing, vigorous, and fast-paced. Somehow, the waltz doesn't really suit you." He said, staring at her.

She flushed. "I'll take that as a compliment as I'm not likely to get many of those; you expressing compliments is like Snape handing out candy: done grudgingly and rarely."

He grinned back at her, then stopping, as if seeing something new. "You aren't afraid of me, are you?" He asked.

Ginny laughed. "Not a chance, Malfoy. You've made me laugh more times than you've made me cringe." She laughed harder.

Suddenly, Draco was in her face. He pressed his hand to her cheek. She stopped laughing, but remained calm; he was just trying to scare her as she had him.

He was fighting hard not to lose control. She was staring back at him as if he weren't there. How could she be so cool when he was nearly going insane trying not to push his lips to hers, just to taste her mouth.

"Are you scared of me now?" He asked, surprised at his own voice; it was unnaturally high. Ginny giggled at this. "No." She laughed in his face.

He moved his head closer to hers. There was no change in her expression; if anything, it seemed to grow even less disconcerted, as if he were merely a blank page in an already boring book.

"And now?" He asked, his voice strained, but low again.

Ginny rolled her eyes to prevent him from seeing the fear (or was it anticipation?) in them. "Please, Malfoy. You could go the rest of the way and kiss me for all I care; it doesn't really matter to me." She said, in a slightly annoyed voice, tapping her foot.

Draco stared. She was impossible; there was no way someone with that much life could be so cold in the face of passion. It was inconceivable. It wasn't like he was bad-looking. In fact, several girls though he was rather handsome; at least sexy. And then it dawned on him: Potter.

He snarled and looked at her amber eyes, bare inches from his own. "Are you sure? Don't think your boyfriend would like that too much. St. Potter might get jealous and come after me. I'd just be doing you a favor, though: as his girlfriend, you've probably never had a real kiss." He sneered. Not for long.

He got the emotion and life he'd wanted, but it was the wrong emotion.

Ginny glared at him angrily and shoved him back against the wall. Her fists at his collar, she pushed her body against him, taking all her self-control not to pound his face in.

"First of all, Malfoy: what goes on between me and Harry remains between me and Harry. But just so you don't go around deluding yourself, here's a little hint: I'm not with Harry Potter, nor, might I add, do I want to be. Not" she snarled "that it's any of your business, but I gave up on him a long time ago. So you can just sod off, and don't you dare think about feeling sorry for me." She scowled and dropped the fistfuls of robe she'd been holding.

Draco was stunned. Her eyes were blazing dangerously, sending him the message (along with her furious scowl) that this was a topic best left un-discussed.

"Sorry Weasley; you've been following him around for the past six years, I just though…well, never mind what I thought. I didn't mean to get you so riled up."

Ginny stared up at him. He sounded so sincere, which was a big deal for a Malfoy.

She frowned and looked sheepishly at where she'd grabbed his robes. She reached up and smoothed out the wrinkles she'd made. "Sorry, Malfoy. Touchy subject." She shrugged apologetically.

He brushed it aside. "Hey, no problem, weasel. Glad you're over Potter, though. He never deserved you." He walked over to where Skye was handing out books.

Ginny cocked her head, puzzled. A compliment? From Malfoy? This day was getting stranger and stranger by the moment. She sighed and starting moving her feet, trying to recall what she'd learned in her few dance classes.