Author's Note: Good Lord, the pages for this category move fast, don't they? Thank you so much for the kind reviews. I have this entire fic planned out (a first for me) so hopefully it won't take too long for me to finish it. If people are expecting it to follow the Heyer storyline too closely, though, I'm afraid I'm going to disappoint them. This fic was definitely inspired by the book "Devil's Cub", but was not meant to be an exact parallel of it.
Rating: Still R
Disclaimer: Still not mine.
Part Two:
Draco sat in the stairwell, arms crossed, fingers tapping out an impatient tattoo on his knee. Where was the blasted girl? How long could it take her to drag her lovely body up two flights of stairs? Another minute and he was leaving without her- she wasn't that great in be-
"Hello, darling!" A hooded figure ran lightly up the steps toward him. Finally. "I'm so sorry I took so long! I got your note, but I had to spend a few minutes freshening up-"
"It's fine. Listen…." Standing up and shouldering his bag, Draco held out an impatient hand toward the girl. She seemed to hesitate for a moment, but then laid her hand in his. It felt a little different for some reason- smaller, more delicately boned- but Draco was not currently in a mood to ponder such things. "I've been called away for the weekend, Letty. I have to go to my Grandmother's chateau- straighten out a few things. Wouldn't you like to come with me?" His voice lowered seductively and he reached out a hand, slipping it into the shadows of her hood, stroking her invisible hair. It felt a little strange, too. Softer than usual, missing the charms that kept Letty's glossy blonde waves in place. "It would give us a chance to be alone for a few days…."
The girl in the cloak took a step back, gracefully pulling away from his hand. "Well, actually, Draco, there's something I've meaning to tell you," she said, her voice a little regretful.
"Yes?" he inquired, digging in his bag for the velvet pouch containing the Portkey, only half-listening. She would agree, he knew. Girls always did.
"I'm afraid I'm breaking it off with you, dearest."
"Hmm…" Where was the damned thing? He just had it a minute ago. He couldn't have dropped it, could he?
"I've decided to leave you for someone who's, well, better able to satisfy my needs. Don't take this personally, darling, but maybe your family could pay to have your, um, equipment looked at by a medi-wizard. I hear they're doing wonderful things these days. Enlargement charms, and so on. Well, that's all I had to say. Don't let me keep you- I'll always remember you, Draco. And, er, enjoy your holiday!"
Ah, thought Draco, there it was. Triumphantly, he pulled the pouch out from the bottom of his bag. And then Letty's words filtered through to him.
Snaking out a long arm, he grabbed hold of the fluttering robe just before it disappeared around the corner. Smiling grimly at the startled sound of a feminine gasp, he dragged the girl back against his body. Reaching up, he pulled the hood back, exposing a pale, terrified face and a telltale fall of copper-colored hair.
****
Was he listening to her? Ginny couldn't tell, but she was on a roll. Six years of casual insults about her hair, her freckles, and her family were being avenged in one fell swoop. "…I'll always remember you, Draco," she finished in a kind voice. "And, er, enjoy your holiday!"
Still not responding, the tall boy continued to fish around in his bag, but that was fine. Having plenty of experience with unattending boys, Ginny knew that her words would filter through eventually. Feeling that this could not be improved upon as an exit, Ginny took a half step backwards, turning back the way she had come. Adrenaline pumped through her. She forced herself to walk down three more stairs in a ladylike fashion- and then she was going to run like mad. Really, this standing up for herself wasn't so bad. Well, so long as she could keep doing it anonymously-
And then a hand fisted at the back of her stolen school robes and she was unceremoniously yanked backwards. In one swift, furious movement, Draco pulled back her concealing hood, exposing her face and hair.
For a moment neither spoke, and the only sound they could hear was their own harsh breathing.
And then Draco began to speak, his voice terrifyingly soft. "A word of advice, little Weasel. Lies should always hold a grain of truth- otherwise no one will believe them." Eyes glittering, he spun her around, crowding her small body against the wall. "Insulting my body isn't even remotely believable. Now, if our positions had been reversed…." He let his voice trail off, insolently eyeing her slight figure.
Ginny surprised them both by slapping him. "Choke on it, Malfoy-"
"Temper, temper." Draco caught her flailing arms, easily holding them in one hand. One of his cheeks was slightly flushed- the only visible sign that she had hit him. But the wheels in Draco's head were turning furiously. What had he told the little brat? That he was going to his Grandmother's house. Damn, damn, damn. He was going to have to hex her. But- if someone else knew about this little prank of hers, it might be a bit risky to have her stumbling back into the Gryffindor common room, blithely claiming no memory of the previous hour. He needed to get rid of her, make sure she didn't talk to anyone.
"I said, let go of me, you flaming- bloody- git!" The girl was practically hissing at him, twisting her thin wrists in his grasp. Fury didn't really suit her, Draco thought absently. Her eyes were dark and glittering, but her face went as red as her hideous hair. Idly, with the small part of his brain that wasn't focused shutting her up, he wondered just how far that painful blush extended-
His brain chose this moment to present him with an obvious, if unappealing, solution to the problem. It wasn't a perfect answer, but it was workable, and he didn't have much time. Sighing deeply, he reached into the pocket of the girl's robe, pulling out her wand, ignoring her hiss of rage. "I'd apologize for this," he told her, sounding honestly regretful, "But I'm afraid that it is completely your own fault." Looping one arm around her waist, he shook the Portkey- in this case, an actual key, charmed to magically transfer him and anything he was touching with his bare skin to the Great Hall of his grandmother's house- from the small pouch into his hand.
And then they were gone, flickering out of the stairwell of the Astronomy Tower as though they had never been there.
TBC