"I remember quite well, yes." Ginny couldn't help interrupting. "You sent out a nice couple of hexes in my direction. Oh, and that little Crucio too." She knew she shouldn't interrupt or say anything that would annoy him, as she sensed that Malfoy was unusually in a sharing mood.
She expected him to laugh or say that he was sorry he missed - by inches - but he didn't.
"That wasn't meant for you. Not the Crucio. It was the fat, blond one... I don't even know his name."
"You... tried to Curse one of your own? He was a Death Eater. He was on your side."
"He was messing things up, the way he was shooting off spells in all directions. They could've hit anyone."
"Oh..."
"Anyway," he continued. "I know the whole Wizarding world - especially Potter's lot - think I'm good as a murderer and all, and that my family and I deserve to be eaten by mad squirrels..."
"Now, I wonder why anyone would think that?" she asked sarcastically. She could feel steam building up inside her. She still couldn't quite believe the situation she was in - what would Ron say?
Or more importantly, what would Harry say?
Instead of getting angry right back at her, he just seemed weary as always, and showed no emotion, and stayed quiet.
"Okay, maybe I don't want to know," said Ginny quietly. "Forget it... Just... never mind. In the morning I'll figure my way out of here. Good night."
She turned to lie on her other side, so that now she faced away from him. She pretended to sleep, carefully making sure to breath slowly and deeply.
"I wasn't going to kill him," he said.
Ginny's breathing paced again. So much for pretending. But he didn't say anymore.
She felt the bright light over her closed eyes before she woke up. She was hungry, not having eaten for almost a whole day. She stayed still, her eyes still closed. She realized the unmistakeable sound of a shower was coming from the other door. She turned around and saw that of course, Malfoy was gone.
Now what do I do? she thought. She got up and decided to have a better look around the room. She went straight to the small window, a circular, uncovered hole in the wall. It was Charmed with an invisible barrier, so that she could not put her hand through. She looked out - they were high from the ground, so there was no way she could've jumped out or do anything else stupid in the first place. The land in front of her was austere and bleak - even through the sun had long risen, the vast Malfoy property, was still dark. She saw sharp mountains in the distance and small dots moving around - were they humans or magical creatures? She shuddered; she could just imagine the kind of creatures the Malfoys would own.
"Enjoying the view?"
She whipped around, startled. Malfoy, with wet hair, was in just a towel. She blushed, despite herself.
"Er... yes. Certainly the most beautiful garden I've ever seen," she said, raising her eyebrow. She was well aware of how good he smelled now, even from across the room.
"Well, continue admiring it some more, will you? Need to get dressed," he said.
She turned around again, but her eyes didn't take in anything. How was she going to escape from here? "Malfoy..." she stammered. "You... You have to help me - I don't want to be here - my brother - he's getting married today, for goodness' sake..."
"It's Draco."
"What?" she faced him again. He was dressed in his usual Hogwarts uniform. But as she got a better look at him in the light - he was so gaunt, his appearance was not nearly as intimidating as it once was.
"I do have a first name," he said, in the manner of explaining something to a five-year-old. "It sets me apart from the rest of my family, you see." He began to dry his hair with the towel.
"Well, you never call me Ginny."
"Fair point," he said. "As it looks like we might be spending some time with each other, might as address each other properly from now on... Ginny," he added.
"All right, Draco," she said. "I'll play along - but before we start doing each other's hair or... or reading each other's secret diaries... help me get out of here, okay?"
"I told you, I can't."
"Of course you can, it's your room -"
"Well, I don't have any control over it. The last few weeks, the only time I'd ever been let out was when my father or Voldemort requested my presence. And speaking of... you any good with hair?"
"What?" Voldemort? Hair? Was he joking?
"Hair. The thing that grows on the top of your head," he said in his patronizing voice. "Come here."
Wordlessly, and without knowing exactly why, she did. He patted the end of the bed, telling her to sit down, and she did. He handed her a brush and sat down in front of her.
This is ridiculous, she thought, as she rose on her knees and ran the brush over his near-wihte-but-definitely-blond hair. She giggled.
"What's so funny, Weas - Ginny?"
"Well, for one thing, you hardly need a brush," she said brightly. "Your hair's so thin and soft..." Realizing quickly that she sounded too much like she was admiring it, she added, "I mean... it's so whispy... and delicate. What's the point of brushing it?"
"All right then," he said, and surprising Ginny with his haste, got up and sat behind her, so that now the two switched positions. He took the brush from her still raised hand and began brushing her hair.
"Er..." she said, caught off-guard. "You don't have to do that... it's a wild mess right now... actually it always is, and it never goes the way I want it to..." She knew that she was blushing furiously. She wished she could stop, this was Draco Malfoy... but she was so lost, alone in this room with him, and he hadn't been quite a jerk as he usually wass with her... and he iwas/i quite handsome...
It took her six years to admit that to herself.
And then, most unhelpfully and unexpectedly, Draco said, "I think your hair is beautiful."
Her cheeks burning, she said quickly, "No you don't. Everyone knows that you would rather be toothless than tolerate anything Weasley-ish."
"Wrong," he said, continuing to brush her hair. "It's a secret... but I have a thing for redheads. Gets me every single time."
"Oh...?"
Her heart was beating like mad... She was sure he could hear it. Someone a mile away could hear it.
He stopped brushing. "Especially this certain redhead... she's a year below me, and... and I've had a thing for her for quite some time now..."
She couldn't speak.
"You want me to be honest? You want me to be serious?" He lay down the brush to the side and put a hand on her shoulder, and the other on her waist. "I'll show you." He turned her around slowly, and when she faced him, kissed her on the lips.