The next morning, Ginny had a slight headache. Nonchalantly she grabbed a potion out of the drawer and took a sip, feeling better instantaneously.
"Where did you go last night? I saw you climb in the window in the middle of the night." Ginny froze. She was busted by her roommate.
"I, er... I can't say," she said, remembering her promise to Draco. Raising her eyebrow at the red head, Ginny's roommate shrugged.
"I suppose it's none of my business anyway," she said.
Ginny stood up and studied herself in the mirror. Her hair was a wreck, and she had slept in her clothes.
"Accio brush," she muttered, and a small black hairbrush flew into her hands. She began brushing her hair, making sure it was perfect before she went out. She then picked out a nice outfit to wear for the day.
Throwing on a pink tee with an old pair of blue jeans, Ginny was ready for quidditch practice. There was a game on Monday, and the Gryffindor quidditch captain, Katie Bell, had the quidditch pitch booked all weekend long.
Arriving at the quidditch pitch, Ginny noticed Harry flying around on his broom. He was the only one there. She sat down, watching him fly with such grace. He didn't seem to notice her. Finally, the rest of the team entered the pitch and practice began.
Katie released the quaffle, then the bludgers, and finally, the snitch. Ginny mounted her broomstick and took off unsteadily. She evened herself out, and followed the two other chasers. Katie Bell had the quaffle, and was headed towards Ron. She threw the little red ball towards the goal post that was furthest from Ron, and it went in.
"Ron, you're horrible today!" Ginny reproached her brother. He wasn't usually good at quidditch anyway, but she wasn't going to rub it in.
"I tried to block it!" he argued.
"Hey, Red! Heads up!" Katie had passed the quaffle to Ginny, who caught it. She glanced at Ron and smiled mischievously. Heading towards the goal, she began to gain speed. Ron flew around each of the posts, but he wasn't fast enough. Ginny scored a goal on him in the middle post. Feeling confident, she stood up on her broomstick the way Draco had done last night. She flew down toward the ground and hovered over there, sticking her tongue out at Ron. He flew down to chase after her, and she took off in the opposite direction. He was faster than her, and by the time he had gotten close enough, she tried to speed up, but lost her balance and fell. She was fortunate to only be a few feet in the air.
"What are you trying to do, Gin?" Ron flew over to help her up.
"I'm sorry," she held her head in shame and walked away, rubbing her butt, which she'd fallen on. She was embarrassed and didn't need her brother to be worried about her. Taking a seat in the stands, she watched the rest of the team practice. Kirke and Sloper, the Gryffindor beaters, were hitting the bludger violently back and forth at each other. Harry was playing with the snitch. He let it fly a few feet, then caught it, and then let it go a little further. Ron resumed trying to block the quaffle, but was doing a poor job at it.
Feeling better, Ginny got on her broomstick, but did not go back to practice. Instead, she flew around by the other side of the pitch. She was surprised to see Draco there on his broom.
"Hey, Weasley," he said with a smirk, flying over by her. Oh God, thought Ginny, did he see me fall?
"Hi Draco," she said plainly.
"I saw that little performance and I must say I was quite impressed," he said.
"You were?"
"Even though you fell on your ass. Actually, that was the best part," he said with a laugh.
"Thank you," she said sarcastically. "So what are you up to?"
"Just practicing for Monday's game. Gryffindor has the pitch booked all weekend, and I figured I could practice over here by myself. Not that I need the practice, though," he said.
"Of course. Since you're so great," she said.
"You wish you could fly like me," he bragged. Then he hung onto his broom and turned upside down, flying around.
"Look, no hands!" he shouted, and took his hands off the broomstick while hanging on with his legs. Ginny had never known somebody could be this talented at flying.
"That's so cool!" she said.
"You want to be able to do this?" He asked. Ginny thought of being able to impress Ron, Harry, her friends, and the entire school. She nodded her head.
"Then don't forget to come tonight for lessons," he said.
"Yeah, um, I'll see you, then," she turned to leave.
"Wait, Weasley. I'm bored. Hang out with me," he said.
"Is that an order or a request?" Ginny queried. Draco narrowed his eyes at her.
"It's an order," he said.
"I don't want to hang out with you, Malfoy," she answered. Draco threw his head back and laughed.
"You're funny, Red. No, really, hang out with me."
"Is this because you have nothing better to do?" Ginny asked.
"No. I came out here to fly."
"And to get away from your loser friends, right?"
"Crabbe and Goyle aren't losers. They're just stupid," Draco argued.
"Whatever."
"Hey, Weasley, you haven't insulted me yet today," Draco pointed out.
"You're right. Hmm... You're a cruel person," she said.
"That's it?"
"You're cruel, but you have a soft side as well."
"Ouch, that hurts," he said.
"I thought it would," she said, and with that, she left Draco standing there, thinking over what she had just said to him. Did he have a soft side?
That night Ginny lay down in her bed, thinking about Draco. Why had she told him that he had a soft side? For one thing, he wasn't being an arrogant jerk towards her anymore. But that was something she couldn't comprehend.
Ginny noticed the Phantom lying on her nightstand and picked it up. Flipping open to the page where she had left off, she began to read:
"In one of the caskets, you will find a scorpion, in the other, a grasshopper... they will say yes or no for you. If you turn the scorpion... you have said yes. The grasshopper will mean no."
She had already read this part, but wanted to read it over and over again. Closing her eyes in the middle of reading, Ginny began to have strange visions once more. Harry. Ron. Draco. A scorpion. A mask. Music. Dancing. Singing. Screaming.
"No!" Ginny shrieked and sat up.
"Ginny! Calm down," Draco Malfoy put a hand on her shoulder.
"M-Malfoy... how'd you get in here? What time is it?" she asked.
"It's 12, and you left your window open," he answered.
"Oh."
"I'm sorry I woke you up," he apologized.
"It wasn't you. It was this strange dream I've been having. Last night it woke me up at midnight, too," she said.
"What did you see in this dream of yours?" he asked.
"People I know."
"Which people?"
"Myself, Harry and Ron, and... you. And I saw silhouettes of people I couldn't recognize. I saw a scorpion and a mask, and heard music, and a scream," Ginny explained.
"Well, what do you think this means?"
"Maybe it symbolizes something?" Ginny asked.
"Or maybe somebody's messing with your mind by sending you these dreams," Draco said coldly. Ginny shivered and Draco laughed, assuring her that he was only joking.
"Are you ready for your lesson, Weasley?" he asked.
"Yes."
"Get up and put some shoes on, then," he demanded.
"Yes, sir," Ginny saluted. She slipped on her sneakers and grabbed her broomstick.
"Let's go," said Draco. Ginny obediently followed him out of the window. They flew, side by side, to the quidditch pitch. The wind blew Ginny's hair in her face and she turned her head. Draco, feeling her eyes on him, turned to meet her gaze. For just an instant, Ginny felt that she had some sort of power over Draco. Perhaps it was the way he stared at her in that moment that made her feel superior to him. But the Fates would only allow that feeling of power to last for a moment, for Draco then glowered at her. She looked away, hating herself for even thinking about him in the first place. Yet, she wondered what he would look like if only he'd smile more often. She would certainly like it.
That night Draco had taught Ginny how to steady herself on her broomstick before taking off. This was essential to her flying, and she would become much faster. The night after that, she learned to flatten her body to her broomstick in order to gain speed. Both nights Draco would work her to her fullest, and she would come back to her room exhausted. Monday came before she knew it.
Sorry for such a short chapter!! I'll try to make up for it, but I can't promise anything since I got a D in Chemistry and my parents might take away my computer privileges soon. Seeing as I have a lot of reviewers for the first chapter, I will thank each of you:Beckysue2: Sorry to steal your idea, dear. You had that song sung at your wedding? How old are you? - Don't answer that. It's just that I didn't think I had older readers since I'm only in high school and I'm flattered that you enjoy my story. Thanks!!
Xnovemberx: thanks! It's good to know my stories don't sound like a children's book, and it's also sad that the Harry Potter series are considered children's books, but I'm hoping one day I can be as great as J.K. herself.
ObsessivePerfectionist: I love your username! It describes a lot of people I know, including myself. Thanks for the tip; I'll try to make it seem more J.K. Rowling-worthy.
SlytherinsWench: Thanks! I hope you enjoy this chapter and what's to come.
Evil twinkle: thank you, and I'll try to update as much as possible.
Dracosbaby7: Thanks. I was waiting a while for someone to write a HP/POTO fanfic, so I figured I'd write one myself.
Nahemwe: hmm... let's wait and see where my fanfic goes, and if you still like it after a couple of chapters, you can do that. It sounds like a good idea.
Missmee: thanks! Which songs have you heard and which do you like?
Bookluva629: I think you are the first reviewer to notice that, but I guess I sort of made it obvious in the summary, didn't I? Well, thanks!
Thank you so much, guys!!! Keep reviewing; I want to hear what you think!