Ok so Here is another chapter, I know it took ages but my stupid self had deleted the word program off my computer. My bestetestest friend Simone (the life saver) fixed the problem and see here chapter 4!
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EvilDemonClownsStoleMyShoes:Thank you! I hope you like the rest off it all as well.
Enjoy and do not forget to review please.
As always Lucy
This chapter is dedicated to my beta writer and best friend Simone who's mind has inspired me to a lot off things (including writing FF) and who thought off the name for this chapter!
So thank you! XxX
Chapter 4: Friends or foes?
It was an autumn Saturday when Ginny made her way to the room, for some reason she didn't want to be in the common room. She couldn't go outside because it was raining so she decided to go to the room and read for a while.
She loved being in there, it was so peaceful just her, a book and her thoughts.
She stopped for a second and looked round the hallway to make sure no one could see her, and then she entered the room.
Draco sighed, this essay was killing him! After the war Dumbledore had decided to make muggle studies mandatory, as to improve the understanding off muggles.
He was supposed too do a 3 foot essay on the things muggles did with out magic in their houses. What did he know about doing things in the house? For as long as he remembered in his house they had house elves that did everything needed in the house.
He sighed and put his hands on his head, he could not fail this, and he needed excellent marks in each off his classes for his future job!
Ginny walked in the room and smiled at the light fire, she loved that fire place! When she walked in further she noticed Draco sitting on the floor looking through books.
"Oh I am sorry; I thought you would not be in here." She looked at him, to her own relief her stomach did not react. That had been the weirdest thing, looking at Draco Malfoy and feeling what could only be described as; "A tingle".
Draco raised his head and looked at her. "I know I have the room for tonight but I needed a quiet place to do this essay." Draco pointed at the parchment.
"Oh well I will just leave you too it then." Ginny said turning too the door again.
"What the fuck is Elektrictitee?" He exclaimed as he looked back to the book.
Ginny stifled a smile as she turned. "You mean electricity; it is what muggles use to power things." She said smiling slightly
Draco looked at her. "You know about that stuff?"
"Yes I do, Hermione is a muggle born remember, you taunt her enough about it." Ginny said walking into the room.
"Oh right, she is." Draco said still looking at her.
"Do you need some help with that?" Ginny asked actually expecting him to say no.
"I would not want to keep you from anything." Draco said not looking up.
"You helped me with my potions essay, so I would like to return the favour." Ginny said walking over and sitting down. "What is this about?" She picked up the book and read the page.
"It is about muggles and something too do with them holding their houses." Draco looked at her.
Ginny again tried not to smile, he had grown up with a silver spoon in his mouth, what would he know about cleaning and stuff.
"What they mean is a household. A household, is all the things involved to keep a house running smoothly, it actually is a lot off work." Ginny said plainly.
As the afternoon went on Ginny introduced Draco into the world off housekeeping and what muggles did different from them.
"So you are telling me they do all that without magic?" Draco looked at Ginny in amazement.
"Yes muggles have to do all off that without magic, same as the muggle schools do not have anti-cheating spells and stuff." Ginny nodded as to strengthen that fact.
"Well I am transferring to one off them then!" Draco looked at her with a smile.
"Ah, but could you miss quidditch? Because they also do not have that, there you would have to play a sport like football or join a swim team." Ginny knew she had him cornered with that remark. Much like her brother and Harry, and well any other boy in the school Draco loved Quidditch.
"Oh then I think I will go for the anti-cheating spells then." Draco smiled at her.
Ginny felt a funny sensation in the room, this was the first time she had ever talked to Draco like this in....well ever! But she was enjoying herself, this whole experience had been fun, she had never imagined herself to be sitting in a room with Draco Malfoy having fun, talking and even laughing with him.
Draco looked at her sitting there on the floor in her own thoughts, who would have ever thought that he would talk to her like that. Everything he had ever thought off her had been wrong. Ok she was still a Weasely, but not as stupid or idiotic he had always kept her for. She was witty and funny. He had to say she was doing a great job helping him with his essay.
When the essay was finished Draco eventually left the room so Ginny had her time alone.
As he walked through the hallways to go back to his common room all he could see was Ginny smiling. She had actually talked to him in a normal tone off voice and he had liked it.
Ginny sank back in the sofa, her thoughts were still on the pleasant afternoon she had with Draco. She lifted her head, for a few weeks now in her head she had referred to him as Draco. No longer was he Ferret boy or Malfoy but just Draco.
She smiled as she dipped her quill in some ink and wrote the last sentence in her diary. 'I also think I have a new friend,' was all she wrote.
Over the weeks that followed Draco found himself going to the room earlier just so he could sit and talk to Ginny for a while.
They had made a deal, he would help her out with potions if she would him with muggle studies.
He would never have thought it, but he and Ginny Weasely were becoming friends.
Ginny sat in the room looking at the clock; she was actually hoping that Draco would be early today. She had a potion she needed to do in class tomorrow and she needed to get it right the first go. She smiled at the memory of the look on Professor Snape's face when he had returned her last test. With Draco's help her marks had become so much better; she also savoured the fact that Professor Snape, though extremely reluctant, had to give her credit for her good work.
Like on queue the door opened and Draco walked in.
"Hi, I'm a bit early." He said sitting in one off the arm chairs facing her. 'You have been early for the past weeks, you big fat liar!' His mind was saying to him.
"That is ok, I am glad you are here actually." Ginny said looking at him.
Draco felt his stomach clench at those words, he was happy to hear her say those words.
"Oh why is that?" He leant forward a bit and looked at her.
"Well I could use your help on this potion professor Snape is making us do." Ginny looked at him.
"Sure, which one is it this time? It seems he keeps making them harder each time." Draco looked at the book; he had been re-assigned as a TA so he no longer knew everything professor Snape set for homework.
"I think it is because Phoebe and I keep doing so well, he gets quite agitated these days when he is handing out the essays." Ginny smiled, what ever Draco taught her she shared with Phoebe. Except for where she got the information, for some reason she was not ready to share the fact that she and Draco could spend "normal" time together with the world at large.
Draco smiled, he actually missed seeing her in potions as well, and the last stretch off him being a TA there he had spent helping her out in secret. For some reason the secret off him associating with her gave him comfort. Not that he was ready to tell everyone that he would actually be nice to her, which would ruin his reputation!
After Draco had helped her with the assignment Ginny made her way back to the tower, she was smiling when she walked in.
"Where have you been?!" Ron stood in front off her with his arms in his side.
"Frankly that is none off your business." Ginny said trying to get passed him.
"Oh yes it is! I am your brother and you will tell me where you have been, it is almost curfew and you were out walking through the corridors, what if Filch or Mrs. Norris had caught you?" Ron said grabbing her arm.
Ginny looked at him wondering where this parental mood came from.
"They would not have been able to do a thing as I did not break curfew." She said shaking his hand off. "I am a big girl Ron."
"Still I want to know where you have been." Ron looked at her, she knew him well enough that he would throw a tantrum if she did not tell him. But what was she going too tell him. She could not tell him she had just spent the past hours laughing and working with his number one enemy.
"I was in the library studying." She finally said.
"Well ok, but next time you go out you are telling me where you are going." Ron said matter of factly.
"I am NOT!" Ginny was getting angry with him now.
"You will or.....or... I will tell Mum you sneak around at night!" Ron said huffing.
"Let me take this opportunity to NOT care! Do you really think that is a threat? You can not tell Mum, if you do I will be forced to tell her about all the things you have been up to over the years. Including the nightly trips under Harry's invisibility cloak." Ginny looked at him, knowing she had fully backed him in a corner with those words.
Ron threw her one last glare and walked back to his chair by the fire place, facing the entrance.
Ginny walked up to her dormitory and put her things away, when she got back downstairs Ron was still on his post, his eyes fixed at the entrance.
She sat at the table with Harry who was playing with what looked like a snitch; he let it float out off his hand before grabbing it out off mid air.
"What are you doing?" Ginny asked looking at him doing the same thing several times.
"Practising, it is good for the reflexes." Harry smiled at her; she looked at his face and wondered why it did not get the same kind off shine as Draco's face did when he smiled.
She shook her head, knowing she would have a stupid expression if she thought about that too long.
"Where is Hermione?" She raised herself out off her chair and looked round the common room.
"Not here, she went out to help professor MacGonagal prepare for tomorrow's lesson together with Eric LaStrange. They are both TA in her class now." Harry said once again grabbing the snitch.
Ginny looked at her brother and smiled, so that is where that 'need too know where you were' mood had come from!
"Oh so that is why Ron is all......you know...." She nudged her head to the chair.
"I think so I have not been able to get a decent word out off him al night, and that is already a big problem for him ussually." Harry smiled.
When Ginny and Harry were separate from the others they discussed the possabillity off Ron and Hermione actually putting a stop their "friendship" and take it to the next level. Harry's view on it was that Ron would never, ever tell Hermione the truth about how he felt and would just pine away for her. Hermione would get tired off waiting eventually and move on.
"You have to admit in some weird, only in Ron's universe existing, way it is sweet he worries." Ginny said smiling.
"I wish he would just get over it already and admit that he likes her more then just a friend. He can really drive me up the wall with that whining he does." Harry looked at Ginny and frowned.
"Well we can not all be as straight forward as you, I needed a singing gnome last time I had to admit to liking someone." Ginny grinned at the memory off Lockhart's valentine messengers.
Harry smiled widely as well. "I have to say looking back on it that was quite funny, can I ask you something?"
Ginny was startled by the sudden change off subject. "Sure, what is it?"
"That girl you hang out with a lot these days, Phoebe I think her name is. Is she.......involved with anyone?" Harry eventually asked looking at the snitch.
"Harry Potter, are you telling me that you might just like her more then as just my friend?" Ginny grinned.
"You don't have to make a big deal out off it!" Harry flushed. "She is nice and I was just wondering!"
"Well as you think she is nice, she will not be offended if I tell you that she is not currently involved." Ginny said making air quotes with her hands as she uttered the last word.
Before Harry could react the porait hole opened and Hermione came in, she turned one more time and waved at the hole, then calmly walked in the room.
She was just about to greet Harry and Ginny when Ron's voice came from the chair.
"Had fun on your date? I do not think Vikky will be too happy about that." Sarcasm dripping from his voice.
Ginny covered her eyes with her hand; her brother could be such an insensitive idiot!
"What does me working with Eric have to do with Viktor and stop calling him Vikky!" Hermione said flinging round to the chair.
"Oh it is Eric now? Last week he was still: That Hufflepuff what's his name...... and now we are up to Eric?" Ron got out off the chair and faced her.
Ginny looked at Harry to see if he was going to break it up but he just sat there looking from one to the other like watching a game off tennis.
"Ron, you are not being very nice! Eric is a nice person and we have to work together." Hermione glared at him.
"Sure you were working." Ron said still standing in front off her.
"Yes we were working! Some off us do take our school work seriously, all I have seen you do for the past weeks is lounge around." Hermione said looking at him.
Ron turned slightly red, Ginny knew he always managed to scrape by in his classes but he never liked to be called on it, especially not by Hermione.
"I have been a TA in Binns class for the past weeks, not much extra work' in that is there! He does not even know I exist." Ron now sank back into his chair and Hermione turned from him.
Automatically Harry got up and sat across from Ron while Hermione sat at the table with Ginny.
"Really, I do not know what your brother gets in his head sometimes! I like transfiguration and doing extra work now could really help me in the future." Hermione looked at Ginny.
For what seemed like the thousandth time all Ginny would have to do now was turn to her friend and tell her too take off the everlasting blind fold and see the truth. But she did not, in stead she shrugged and looked at her hands.
"I have not seen you around a lot, these days where have you been?" Hermione said looking at her.
"I……spend a lot off time with……Phoebe……in the library." Ginny said hesitantly.
Hermione looked at her for a few seconds. "Are you seeing someone?" She asked in a hushed voice not wanting Ron or Harry to overhear.
"NO!" Ginny exclaimed and then lowering her voice. "What makes you think that?"
"Well to be honest I do not know what it is but you have this……look sometimes." Hermione said with a small smile. "A kind off look that says you get lost in thoughts about you and someone else, the same sort off look I get when I think about……" She stopped in the middle of her sentence and looked at her book. "I should just leave you alone." She said hurried getting up from the table, but it was to late Ginny had already seen the blush on her face.
The next week Phoebe was ecstatic about what Ginny had told her about Harry.
"So you think he likes me? " She asked for the thousandth time.
"Look Phoebe all he said was that you were nice, now I really do not think that is a basis off deeper thinking on future possible non existing relationships." Ginny said trying to remain calm.
"He likes me" Phoebe said with a dreamy voice clutching her book to her chest.
Ginny smiled and shook her head.
"Oh look Draco there is the little muggle lover!"
There was no mistaking the nagging voice of Pansy in the hallway.
"Where do you think I could get myself a pair off those cheap pretending to be classy robes?" Pansy said again.
She would do anything to get into Draco's favour and he knew it, a year ago he would not have noticed the look on Ginny's face but now he did. It was a mixture off anger and embarrassment. He knew that even thought her father had got a raise her family still was not able to buy her the most expensive things. Although the robes she had now were off far better quality, they still were not off the same silky fabric that Pansy wore.
"I have no idea, maybe you should try the same shop you get your impostor perfumes." Draco said in a hushed voice, he had meant to hurt Pansy with that remark and he did. He had said it load enough for her to hear but not for the others surrounding them.
Pansy looked at him and scowled as she pulled her friend by the arm and left.
Ginny was awaiting more off Pansy's remarks, as she took a few steps she did not hear anything. Just in time she turned and saw Pansy walking away from Draco who had a definite smirk on his face as he looked at the back of Pansy, when he turned he smiled slightly before lowering his eyes again.
Ginny felt warmth spread inside her; he must have said something to make her leave. She had noticed a diminishing of his taunts towards her over the past weeks but now he had stopped another from doing it as well.
Hermione looked down the hall before closing the classroom door, to see if there were anymore students coming.
Halfway down the hall she saw two girls each clutching a book to their chests, the both of them a weird expression on their faces.
It was soon to be Christmas and everyone was talking about doing the term finals and then going home.
Draco had planned to stay at school but Sirius was making him come "home" for the holidays.
He and Ginny were sitting in the room, the plan had been to study, but the room had spoiled it.
As they had walked in the room had revealed itself as usual but was now in definite festive cheer.
A thick branched Christmas tree stood in the corner filled with the glittering lights of fairies sitting on its branches, streamers hung from the walls and bowls full of candy stood in every possible place.
"I never really saw the point off Christmas, except for the presents off course." Draco said popping another chocolate in his mouth.
"What about spending the time with your family? Sitting down for breakfast on Christmas morning, unwrapping your presents at the foot of you bed and sharing them with the others?" Ginny asked picking up her mug of hot chocolate.
She loved Christmas, the smells off her mothers cooking filling the house from dawn till the afternoon. Her brothers walking round arguing over games and trying to steal bites to eat from the kitchen. Her father playing with some muggle artefact one off the boys would have found him as a gift. The Weasely jumpers her mother made……Even though they never had much her parents had always made Christmas a fun time.
"Christmas at the Malfoy house was me waking up just in time to see my parents leave for some function or other at one off their friends. They would leave, I would unpack my gifts and that would be it. The elves would do the cooking and at night my parents would invite a load of their annoying and irritating friends over for dinner. I would rather have one of those muggle dentitists pull at my teeth." Draco said looking at her; he found it weird she got so much joy from such irritating days. "Like I said; if it was not for the presents I would not bother."
"You mean to tell me that the presents are the most important thing of your Christmas?" Ginny asked amazed.
"They are, I like getting things and I always get what I want." Draco said. "You ask and you get." He leant back and looked at her.
"I asked for many things when I was younger, but somewhere along the road I learned that giving is as pleasant as getting." Ginny said looking at him again, she could not believe that anyone could dislike Christmas.
"What did you want then?" Draco asked curious.
"When I was about eight I read in one of my father's books that muggles thought that all witches had a black cat. So as I fancied myself a witch I wanted a black cat more then anything that Christmas. As you can see I never got one, sure I was sad for a while but I got over it." Ginny raised her hands as a gesture.
"Do you think I should get Sirius and Potty……Harry something?" Draco said out off the blue.
"You could, if you want too." Ginny said raising herself a bit.
"But what? I know I could give Potter a helmet for when he falls off his broom next." Draco said with a grin. If he was honest he would not know what to give either off them, he did not know them and he had asked the question in the hope that Ginny might offer to help him.
"Would you like some help with their presents?" Ginny asked. She had spent enough time with him now to recognise the face he pulled when he wanted or needed help but did not want to ask for it.
"That might be a good idea, I would not want to get them anything that might be to classy for them." Draco said trying to restrain himself from sounding relieved.
Then I will; what are friends for!" Ginny said out off the blue, the both off them pausing after her last words.