Ah, after a nice longish break, here's the next chappie! And I just noticed that none of my other chapters have disclaimers, I'm going to do a permanent one right now.
deep breath I DO NOT OWN ANY CHARACTERS, PLACES, ETC. FROM THE WORLD OF HARRY POTTER, BECAUSE IF I DID, I WOULD BE JK ROWLING, AND I WOULD BE VERY, VERY RICH. WHICH I AM NOT.
There. Now I feel better. well, happy reading!
Ginny trudged blearily through the doors of the Great Hall, glaring as Malfoy smirked at her from across the room. The good thing about being up this early was that Ron wouldn't be here to see her sitting with the Slytherins; whatever it was that they had been cooking up at Hermione's, they always slept in afterwards. It was a small comfort, anyway. It really was too bad she couldn't read any of the book last night; maybe she could have summoned a demon to scald Malfoy with coffee.
"Manage to drag yourself out of bed?" drawled the seventeen-year old boy as Ginny sat stiffly down next to him, ignoring the rest of the gawking Slytherin table.
The redhead only glared, grabbing a pot ofcoffee and pouring herself some.
"So Draco, what's the Weaselette doing here?" Blaise said from the blond's other side. His dark hair was the same style as Draco's; long, soft, and incredibly attractive.
"I seduced her under the moonlight with a bowl of strawberries and she's been following me ever since." Draco smirked as Ginny choked on her coffee, spitting a good deal of it across the table.
"Like hell you did―" Ginny stopped short as she felt a none-too-gentle kick.
"What did I say," Draco muttered out of the corner of his mouth, "about acting like a nice, pleasant servant?"
"No, Zabini, he did not seduce me with a, a bowl of fruit or any of that nonsense," she corrected haltingly, trying not to put too much stress on the words not and bowl of strawberries. Urgh, to even imagine… no, do not even put that idea in my head. Although, if the opportunity arose― no! No, no, no, no! "I'm just, erm, I'm just…"
"I'm tutoring her in charms," Draco cut in smoothly. Forget the fact Ginny was, in fact, brilliant in the class.
His best friend raised his eyebrows. "Mate, isn't she in Advanced Charms with us?"
"My point exactly. Never should've been moved up, in my opinion; it really is quite too difficult for her."
Ginny gave a warning stomp on Draco's toe. Smiling through clenched teeth, the redhead corrected, "With all my other classes, it helps tone down my stress level a bit." She would tolerate this fibbing up to a certain point; namely, when her intelligence began to come into question.
"Well, if Draco here won't cooperate in his tutelage properly…" Blaise's voice dropped suggestively. "I'd be more than willing."
Choosing to ignore the obvious offer, Ginny answered innocently, "Thanks a bunch, but Draco's fine for the moment. Although, I've heard Luna's been having some trouble..."
Blaise absolved himself hastily. "No, no, quite all right."
"Really Blaise, I don't think she takes very well to suggestive comments," Draco said as he buttered a piece of toast.
"You would be the one to know." Blaise glanced speculatively at Draco's wounded hand, grinning. "Yes, judging by that rather nasty-looking bite mark, I probably should have guessed."
Ginny tinged pink. "Well, he deserved it."
"So, what's with that Ravenclaw wench you were going on about?" Draco said, turning to Blaise. Ginny happily secluded herself, grabbing a muffin from the basket. "She's been giving you cow-eyes all morning."
"She thinks there was something more to last night than a quick shag," Blaise answered idley as he poured maple syrup over his waffles. "Speaking of which, how was Marietta? You know―"
Ginny felt a muscle twitch in her mouth. This conversation was steadily going down the road of things she did not want to hear.
"Do I really have to listen to this?" Ginny cut in, flushing. "I'd rather not hear about your nightly conquests, if it's all the same to you."
"What, jealous?" Draco said lazily, plucking a cherry out of the fruit bowl.
"No!" Ginny's face grew red with embarrassment. "I just don't want any nasty little images floating around in my head for the rest of the day!"
"Ah, well, you'll just have to deal with it, won't you?" Draco smirked before turning back to Blaise, who wore an amused expression on his visage. This could prove interesting. "Now, as I was saying about Marietta, she is quite as good as rumor has it. I presume Chang taught her a few things, especially with the tongue―"
"Oh dear, I do wonder what Harry, Ron, and Hermione were doing so late last night that they had to miss breakfast," Ginny said in Draco's direction. "One might wonder what on earth they were involved in, for all three of them to spend the night in Hermione's Head Girl room." Ginny knew, in fact, that nothing of which she was hinting at would never, ever, in any alternate universes happen.
But, Draco didn't know that.
Said Slytherin was looking a bit ill. "So Blaise, anyway, I heard Marietta was one to use her teeth―"
"―Oh, and speaking of Hermione's rooms, I was helping hermove in the other week, and it absolutely astounds me at how much larger her bed is than the ones we have in the dorms; goodness, that thing could sleep three people comfortably and still have room for―"
"Enough!" Draco said, clapping his hands over his ears, eyes wide. "Do not soil my mind any further!"
"Good. The feeling's mutual," Ginny said pleasantly, taking a satisfied bite out of her muffin.
Draco glared sullenly at the redhead's profile. Seeing her watch him suspiciously out of the corner of her eye, he got the vague impression that she thought he was leering when she hastily drew her robes closer to her body.
Draco saw no reason to disappoint the Weaselette. And he had just gotten a little idea for revenge. "You know Weaseley, didn't I tell you to make yourself presentable before you came down here?"
Ginny flushed indignantly. "I am presentable."
"Maybe to your standards, Weaselette." He brushed his fingers across her neck before whispering," But not to mine."
The redhead yanked back, cheeks flushed a rather becoming shade of pink. "I'm as presentable as it's going to get, Malfoy!"
"We'll see," he said pleasantly. "Expect my owl tonight before dinner; I'm sending garb that is suitable to be worn in my presence."
Ginny glared suspiciously at the seventeen-year old, not liking the idea of putting on anything Malfoy had picked out. Knowing him, it would be a snake costume or something of similar atrocity.
"Oh, and Ginevra?" Ginny's head snapped up at the use of her full name, eyes narrowed rebelliously. "Wipe that glare off your face. It's unbecoming."
Ginny trudged up the stairs, hauling her load of books alongside her. She would have much rather skipped dinner tonight and read a bit further in her summonsingbook; she was starting to feel edgy as Tom's feeling of power increased. It wasonly two weeks until the next full moon, and she had to be ready then, or risk waiting another month. But, of course, her master had demanded she be present at dinner, so there it was.
She only hoped Ron would not be there; all she needed was for him to see her sitting at the Slytherin table, on top of whatever Malfoy had planned in his nasty little mind. He was a dear, but he could be such a prick when it came to things like that.
Dropping her bag on the four-poster bed, Ginny flopped down and glared silently at the ceiling. All of this because she had been caught with that stupid book, in that stupid library, by stupid bloody Malfoy, because of stupid bloody Tom. If she had never even picked up that stupid bloody diary in the first place, the bloody lunatic wouldn't even know who she was. If she hadn't known Tom, then she could concentrate her hate solely on Malfoy. She could only imagine the kickthe bloody ferretwas getting out of this whole servant thing; her only consolation was that he hadn't yet thought to rub it in her brother's face.
That would be a very bad idea.
Tap tap tap. Ginny sat up grudgingly, knowing all too well that any owl Malfoyowned would not appreciate being kept waiting. Unlatching the window, she let it fly in and settle haughtily on her bed, a package tied to its leg.
"Lucky me," the redhead muttered as she noticed a note on top. Opening it, Ginny scanned the parchment quickly.
Ginevra,
I expect you to wear this down to dinner.
DM
p.s. A cloak will not be necessary. In fact, I forbid you from wearing one.
Ginny looked uneasily at the package. Maybe she could just say the owl never came; she didn't think she would like whatever Malfoy planned for her. Yes, the owl never came. Standing up, the redhead walked quickly towards the door.
"HOOT!"
Turning quizzically, Ginny was met with a sudden view of brown and gray before Draco's owl came barreling into her.
Trust the bloody prick's owl to be as obstinate as he was.
Muttering curses under her breath, Ginny removed the package none too gently from the animal's leg before shooing it back out the window. Now to open the damn thing, whatever it was. Tearing open the brown paper, a sudden whooshing sound met her ears before she felt another layer of clothing clap itself onto her person.
"God damn, Malfoy, I can get dressed on my own." Muttering incoherent things about bloody dressing charms and ferrets and such, Ginny stepped in front of her mirror to remove her normal uniform. Whatever it was, it was just underneath her normal clothes―
"Bloody hell, Malfoy! There is no way in all of seven hells I'm wearing this!"
Draco sat lazily at his place at the head of Slytherin table. No doubt the Weaselette had gotten the package by now… he had gotten a bit of help with this one, as he didn't exactly abound in female clothing articles. The fact that Pothead and Weasel were present tonight at dinner made it all the more pleasant. He could only imagine Weasel's face when his baby sister showed up to dinner dressed in something from Pansy's wardrobe―
The doors cracked open, and a fuming redhead stalked towards him while trying not to draw too much attention to herself. Which, in itself, was a difficult feat; Pansy had chosen the items well, and the Weaselette was drawing quite a few stares from the male population. A fitted uniformblouse with the Slytherin crest adorned her torso, the top three buttons mysteriously missing, and a lacy black push-up bra exposed quite a bit more cleavage than the Weaselette usually allowed. Her skirt was a mockery of the uniform one; it rested low on her hips, and did not even come past mid-thigh.
Blaise gaped open-mouthed beside him. "Holy shit." Indeed, despite her subtle entrance, Ginny was drawing quite a lot of lustful stares from around the room. Draco smirked languidly as she finally approached him.
"Get. This. Off. Me. Now." She seethed, fists clenched at her sides.
"Are you quite sure?" Draco asked innocently. "I was planning to do that… later, but if you really want me to―"
A sudden look of comprehension crossed Ginny's face. "No, no, never mind." Scowling, she gingerly situated herself on the bench. "How the hell am I supposed to sit in this thing?"
Draco took great amusement in watching her try to yank down the hem to cover a bit more of her leg, then hurriedly pull it back up as the lacy black knickers became visible.
"Don't ask me, I don't know," he said cheerfully. "Never worn the things. Do have something to eat, you're looking a bit peaky." Indeed, Ginny's face was turning from flushed to a chalky white.
"I don't need food, you git," she whispered vememously. "In case you hadn't noticed, my brother and his lovely friends are walking towards us and will be here in approximately three seconds."
"Ginny! What the bloody hell are you doing?"
Ron's head looked ready to explode, his face well on its way to matching the color of his hair. "Why are you dressed like some sort of, of scarlet woman?"
Draco smirked languorously. "I don't have a problem with it." Glancing at the dumbstruck Blaise, he added, "Neither does Zabini. In fact, I don't believe any male has a problem with it, except you."
"What did you do to her Malfoy?" Ron spat, glaring.
"Nothing." Draco suddenly got a very, very good idea. The Weasel might just keel over from shock. "Why would I do anything to my girlfriend?" He slipped his arm around Ginny's waist, hand resting against bare skin of her hip between shirt and skirt.
"What?" Ron's voice came out in a sort of strangled squeak, much to the amusement of the surrounding Slytherins.
"Ginny," Harry said comfortingly, stretching a hand towards her. "Gin, what are you doing? Come back and sit with us; I'll protect you if that bastard tries anything."
Ginny stared incredulously at him. "What?"
"Come on Gin. I'll take care of you."
She felt slightly faint. "Hold on a moment. You're offering to protect me? When you've done nothing but ignore me for, oh, I don't know, the past six years?"
"Ginny, it's not that," Hermione protested earnestly. The redhead looked at her apologetically, before glaring at Harry.
"No Harry." Ginny put both her arms around Draco's shoulders. "Obviously, you're just jealous that Mal― that Draco has something you don't. Now, if you would be so kind? Leave."
"Ginny, you can't actually be dating that― that thing! After all the things he's said about our family―"
"Ron, didn't you hear me? Shove off!"
Draco watched this whole display with a great deal of effort. The feeling of Ginny's warm body pressed against his, combined with the excellent view down her shirt that he was afforded, took a good amount of concentration on his part in order to suppress the inevitable biological reaction.
"Ginny…"
"Harry, get over it. You've ignored me for a good long amount of time; I'd prefer to keep it that way," Ginny stated coldly. Turning to Draco, she said, "I think it's time we left."
Nodding absently, the Slytherin got up, slipping his arm back around her waist as they exited the hall, and to his slight surprise, she shivered. A smug grin crept onto his face. The Weaselette did notice his obvious attractiveness.
As soon as they were out of the door, however, she removed his arm and stepped back. "You are going to give me your cloak, and then you are going to take this whorish ensemble off me. Now."
"I take it you already tried?"
"Yes I bloody well tried! In case you hadn't noticed, asking a Malfoy to remove my clothing is termed under Last Resorts in my book." She flushed, waiting for him to say something. When nothing happened, she repeated, "May I please have your robes?"
"I assume you don't fancy running around starkers, then?" At Ginny's scowl, he chuckled. "Fine." Draco removed his robes and tossed them to Ginny, who wrapped it protectively around herself.
"Now, get these atrocious things off me." When Draco stepped forward, she cried alarmingly, "Without using your hands!"
"Relax. I have to tap your head with the wand." Muttering something incomprehensible, Draco touched the tip of his wand to her hair before uttering, "Finite incantatem."
Ginny suddenly felt very exposed as a whoosh of chilly air brushed her bare skin, wrapped in nothing except Draco's cloak.
"Happy now?" Draco raised an amused eyebrow as Ginny blushed scarlet. Trying to avert his eyes from the two generous mounds covered only by his cloak, Draco offered her his arm.
"Seeing as I'm now your 'boyfriend'," he smirked, "I think I'll walk you to your dorm."
"Alright, but there's no need for the whole 'take-my-arm' crap. I can walk the stairs well enough starkers as I can fully clothed." Then as an afterthought, the redhead said venomously, "And just because the general public now thinks we're a couple does not mean that I in any way take back my hatred of you. You're still an evil blackmailing git."
"And you're still a filthy Weasley blood-traitor," he said easily as they ascended the stairs. While he was saying this, he snuck a look at the back of her (or should he say his?) robes. The emerald green fabric hung tantalizingly from her round little―
"And it also doesn't mean I will allow you to stare at, touch, or defile my body in any other way," Ginny said pointedly, stopping so suddenly that her elbow rammed into his stomach. Alarmingly close to his groin, he might add.
"As if you would stop me if I tried," he said smoothly, tracing her jawline with one finger.
Smack!
Draco yanked his hand back, eyeing her cautiously.
"I told you not to touch me," she said, thankful that the hallways were dimly lit. It would not have been good for him to see the flush rising to her cheeks. "I think I'll manage from here, thanks." Brushing past him, Ginny strode up the remaining stairs and out of sight.
Review monsters are hungry. Feeding is necessary for survival. ;P
Winter Fleur