A/N- Hey, I've got a few reviews! This is pretty cool! So here's another update, I know it's been awhile. I may continue to slow down in my updates, as I recently was inspired with another idea for a fic and have really been spewing that one out. But here's the next part, anyway! Cheers!
Chapter 6
Who the hell did she think she was, and how many times was he going to find himself asking that question?
It was all getting a bit ridiculous. Twice she had bested him, and she had calmly brushed off his insults. He knew, now, that Weasley was the one who would lead him to his doom, and he had to avoid her…or neutralize her. Yes, that would be better, he'd get back at her, make her suffer, publicly, like he had; he would scare her so bad she would never think about crossing him again. And he wanted to do it now.
He knew exactly where she'd be; she had Potions right now. It would be perfect—he'd humiliate her in front of her classmates and the fifth year Slytherins, and then Snape would come out and give her detention. Draco jumped up and raced out of the common room, where he had been sitting, through the dungeons and to the Potions classroom. Sure enough, there were the stinking Gryffindors, filing out of the room. She was one of the first, laughing gaily with one of her classmates. Malfoy stormed over, and the sea of Gryffindors split as he approached, which greatly pleased him. He stopped directly in front of Weasley and looked down threateningly on her.
She stood up tall and looked at him, narrowing her own eyes. So she wasn't scared yet, was she? She would be.
"Oh, look, it's the little Weasel and her friends. You lot, scram." Most of them did so, save for the two girls who had been chatting with the Weasel, and a couple of boys who hovered near the end of the hallway, watching. "See that, Weasel? You should take a lesson from your mates. They know to do just what I say, when I say it."
"Get off of it, Malfoy. Do you actually think you can order everyone around? Sorry, but the only one who orders me around is my mum." Her sycophantic little friend snickered. "And even she thinks twice before doing it."
"Shut your mouth, Weasel, I didn't come here to hear you jabber—"
"Why did you come here?"
"To do this," and with that his wand was raised and he cast a Tarantallegra curse. The Slytherins who had hung around to see the show roared with approval.
"Finite incantatem!" one of Ginny's friends stopped the hex, and her spastic flailing ceased.
"Oh, very clever, Malfoy. How long did it take you to perfect that one? A curse that complex, I bet you needed Crabbe and Goyle's help, huh?"
"What would you know, Weasley? You and your Mudblood-loving disgrace of a pureblood family?" Before he could react, giant bogeys in the form of bats had been hurled at his face, and he tried desperately to push the disgusting creatures away from him. Now the Gryffindors laughed. He was growing steadily angrier. She would pay.
"Don't talk about my family, you son of a wife-beating Death Eater!" she spat.
"What?! How dare you!" He had gotten rid of the bogeys, and now, unable to restrain himself, before he had any clue what his body was about to do, he had lunged forward and shoved her to the floor. She leapt back up and attacked him, and suddenly, all hell broke loose. The Slytherins jumped in to pull her off, the Gryffindor girls began hitting them, the Gryffindor boys at the end of the corridor raced forward to join the fray, having been watching for this very occurrence. Horrified with what he'd started, Draco tried to slip out, knowing any second Snape would arrive, but Gryffindor after stupid Gryffindor pulled him back into the fight with a punch or a pull or a kick or a shove. And then, the inevitable happened.
"What in Merlin's name is going on?" Professor Snape's smooth voice cut through the shouts and the sound of flesh being slapped. Before anyone could take a breath, another, much louder voice sounded.
"What is this?!" Draco almost groaned as he and all the students leapt apart from one another. Professor McGonagall had just turned the corner. Now everyone was in for it, Slytherins included. Both professors marched over and stood imperiously before the ragged, panting students. "Would someone care to explain," she said in a shakily furious voice, "just what you think you're doing? I have never seen…"
"Mr. Malfoy," Snape began in an oily voice, and Draco knew immediately that with McGonagall here, he would get no protection from that corner. "Seeing as you are a prefect, perhaps you would care to enlighten us?" For perhaps the first time in his life, he found he had nothing to say.
"Who started this?" McGonagall demanded. Every Slytherin in the group raised a finger and cried "She did!" while pointing to Weasley. At the exact same moment, all the Gryffindors, minus Weasley, did the same and called "He did!" while pointing at Draco. Then they fell into a pandemonium of voices as each person tried to shout over the others, offering evidence. Draco noticed that Weasley wasn't saying anything. Probably because she knew it was her fault.
"Silence!" both professors demanded, and the stupid fifth years shut up. "Every single one of you will get detention," McGonagall went on. "For three nights." No one was foolish enough to groan. "And since it is clear that you two are the instigators of this," she turned on Draco and the Weasel, "you will come with me. Severus, if you would kindly see that those students find their way to their next classes?"
"Of course. And house points, Minerva? I would suggest fifty points from each house."
"I would suggest fifty points each, but if you insist…Mr. Malfoy and Miss Weasley will receive additional punishment. Honestly! Fighting like Muggles in the middle of the corridors! Follow me, you two."
Draco trailed directly behind McGonagall, leaving the Weasel in her proper place; last in line. All this trouble he was getting into thanks to her. How could he have ever thought she could help him? Stupid Weasleys were all the same; poor, Mudblood-loving and common. Attacking him like that! Leaping from the floor like some kind of animal! It was disgusting, but completely typical. And now he was in trouble, when all he'd wanted to do was scare her into leaving him the hell alone. It wasn't fair. And she would pay. Just because her ragged robes were now torn and she looked like what she was, a street tramp, didn't mean she had paid her dues. He would get her back.
McGonagall pushed open the door to her office and let it swing back at Draco without a second thought; he caught it just before it slammed into his face. He heard a snicker from behind him and, infuriated, swung the door violently behind him. He heard a loud slap of wood on palms as Weasley caught it, too. Too bad, he thought, and walked to McGonagall's desk.
"Sit," she demanded icily, and they did so. She sat, as well. "I don't know what was the cause of this fight, and quite frankly, I could not care less. I don't know when I have ever seen such a display of brutality in a group of students at this school. I am disgusted. Absolutely disgusted. I can't think of a punishment bad enough. I should probably appeal to Mr. Filch in such a matter; he'd come up with something." Out of the corner of his eye Draco saw Ginny fight to hold back a smile. How could she laugh at a time like this? She had probably done it all on purpose. Fortunately, however, McGonagall noticed the smile, too. "Do you find something amusing, Miss Weasley?"
"No, ma'am."
"Because I would hate to think that you were not taking this seriously enough. I would hate to think that you would walk out of this office, ready to use brute force again whenever you felt you had been insulted, or whatever the case was."
"No, ma'am." But clearly she was lying. Even if McGonagall didn't, Draco knew better. The Weasel wasn't scared enough yet.
Professor McGonagall proceeded to give them a lecture that lasted at least a quarter of an hour, Draco was sure, then gave them each a week's worth of detention and took thirty points from both houses. She also hinted that if any further misbehavior occurred, she would revoke Quidditch or prefect privileges. That message got through to Draco, certainly. Whatever he did next to the Weasel, it would have to be untraceable to him, and far from teachers' eyes.
When she finally dismissed them the Weasel swept out of the room without a glance at him, but Draco hurried after her. Shutting the door behind him, he turned to hiss a threat, but she had gone. Containing his anger, he convinced himself that it was better this way, anyway. Better that she not know what was coming for her. Draco ducked into the nearest bathroom and cleaned himself up with a few well-placed spells, then headed back to his common room, deciding to skive off his Care of Magical Creatures class.
And he planned out his revenge. It took only a few minutes to prepare, a wave of the wand at a sheet of parchment, and he was done. Now all he had to do was find the Weasel and plant it on her. He could wait until the following day, after detention. Right before dinner, when her humiliation would be public. And much worse than that caused by pink hair.
Ginny had been so caught up in anger at Malfoy for having gotten her detention that she forgot to be afraid when she went to sleep that night. In the morning, when she woke up, however, the fear swamped her again. Four grey feathers this time, and farther down the bed, a few tawny hairs. Ginny was baffled. What on earth could she have done? She vanished the evidence once again, calmed her own shaking, and made her way downstairs. For once she was the first one in her dormitory down, and in the common room she saw a sleeping Harry. He stirred when she entered, and filled with fear and anxiety, Ginny rushed towards him.
"Harry! Did you sleep here all night?"
"Wha-Ginny? Uh, yeah, I guess so." At the moment, she was too preoccupied to even wonder why he was there. All that mattered was he might have seen her slip out during the night; whether that would be a good or bad thing she wasn't yet sure.
"Tell me," she said, grasping his arm and thoroughly startling him as he used his other hand to put on his glasses. "Did you see me come down last night?" He gave her a very confused and slightly suspicious look.
"Ginny, I don't understand. I saw you working here before you went to bed—"
"No," she interrupted with a dismissive gesture. "I mean late, after everyone else had gone to sleep."
"Well, no, I didn't, Gin, but I'm not sure when I fell asleep." She sighed and released him.
"Do you think you would have woken up if I had walked by?"
"What? Did you come down last night, or not? I don't get it."
"Just answer the question. Would you have?" He shrugged tiredly.
"Depends, I guess. How quiet can you be?"
"Very," she responded with a sinking heart, and began to walk away. He grabbed her back.
"Wait. What is this about?" She didn't want to tell him, but who knew what he might imagine if she didn't tell him something? He might very well imagine the truth.
"I'm afraid I've been sleepwalking again. My roommate saw me out of my bed, and I wanted to know how bad it's getting, if I left the dormitory." She gave a half-shrug and he looked mostly satisfied.
"Oh. Alright, then." And he let her go. Thankfully he wasn't suspicious yet; the events of Ginny's first year hadn't had the same effect on him as they had on her. If they had, he would be demanding that she go see Dumbledore. Ginny knew she should, she knew she should tell someone—look what had happened last time, when she had been too scared to share her troubles with anyone. But she couldn't, not yet; she wanted to put off having to deal with the possibility that she was going mad for as long as possible. She couldn't bear to think about it.
Unfortunately, it was the only thing she thought about all day during classes. The fear of what she might be doing unconsciously terrorized her mind…she had to tell somebody, she really ought to…but what would they do if it turned out she was being possessed again? Maybe they had let her get away with it once, but would they be less tolerant with a repeat offense? And besides, what could she have done to allow Tom…or whoever…to gain access to her mind? She couldn't think of a single thing…but then, the diary had seemed totally innocuous as well. Danger could come from anywhere.
Detention had rolled around before she made a decision. She reported to McGonagall's office and was surprised to see herself directed to the trophy rooms while Draco was sent to a corridor of empty classrooms; McGonagall had threatened them before with a joint punishment, so that they'd have to work together. The idea had seemed a joke at the time to Ginny, as she knew they'd be more likely to tear each other's throats out. Apparently the same thought had occurred to McGonagall, and she had changed her mind. Ginny sent her a silent thanks as she picked up and charmed the trophies clean.
Why, then, was Draco standing outside of the trophy room when she finished her work? Ginny rolled her eyes and prepared to brush by him, but he stopped her with two hands on her shoulder and back.
"And just where do you think you're going, Weasel?"
"Get off of me," she scowled, shrugging out of his grip. "Where I'm going is none of your business, ferret." He narrowed his eyes, then, but she turned around and marched away. She wasn't going to let him bother her.
Was she ever wrong.
"McGonagall wants to see you in her office. She sent me to tell you." Ginny rolled her eyes and stalked off to the office. When she got there, no one was around. She fumed. How typical of Malfoy! But why had she fallen for it? Well, in any case, she consoled herself, it was a pretty pathetic trick. Encouraged, she made her way to the Great Hall for dinner.
She had only taken a few steps in when the laughter began. Seeing that it came mainly from the Slytherin table, she did her best not to freeze and kept on walking. That's when a galleon hit her on the head.
"Wha—" she cried, holding her hand to the back of her head in shock. Then knuts, sickles, and all manner of coins were being hurled at her from the Slytherin table. She whipped out her wand and turned to retaliate, but the coins were hitting her and she couldn't see where any of them were coming from.
"Enough!" McGonagall's voice roared from the head table, clearly heard over the laughter. A couple more coins landed near Ginny's feet, but all in all, the onslaught stopped. Before Ginny could process a thing Neville was at her side, dragging her out of the Great Hall and tearing something off of her back. The last thing she saw was Draco Malfoy's smirking face.
