Take a Deeper Look

Chapter Fourteen: Beautiful Girl

"Happy Christmas!" Abby smiled as she set the brown-papered gift in front of the man.

Draco looked at it, "what's this?"

"It's your present," she said simply.

He lifted it up, "Abigail, students are not to give Professors gifts."

"No," she said her smile still not faltering. "But students are supposed to give gifts to their friends, are they not?"

He smirked at the technicality she had come up with, untying the string bounding it up.

"I thought you might like it . . . You had the other one on your – Sir?"

Draco stared at the book title, "Wandless Spells from Here and There: Volume Two."

Abby pointed towards his bookshelf, "I saw that you had Volume One – I thought you might like – I can get you something else if you don't –"

Draco held up a hand to stop her, looking up at her. "Thank you. Now get back to your Common room and have fun with your friends."

"Bye, Sir!" she waved as she exited his classroom, Flashing herself into her bedroom and flopping down onto the bed. She had only been at the school for four months, and already she never wanted to leave.

She had opted to stay for the Christmas Holidays seeing as Jack wanted to squeeze in a few extra practices (he was the Gryffindor Quidditch Captain and she had made Seeker at tryouts, a position she rubbed in Ewans' face for his lack of faith when they had first met). Jack told her when she first tried out that she was right player, someone they could use on the team. They were well on their way to getting the Quidditch Cup once more for Gryffindor.

But what Abby liked most about school was her friendship, albeit many people thought it frightening, with the usually grumpy Potions Master. She was the only student he called by their first name, the rest were called by their surnames, with the exception of some select Slytherin students. And to her knowledge, he had never attempted in furthering the conversation they had had that third day of school with either her or her mother.

Abby cringed inwardly at the thought of her mother. She had not been happy when Abby wrote her, telling her what had been said in that conversation. Abby was only lucky that she had still been in her dormitory when the Howler came, sparing her the humiliation of having the entirety of school knowing what had happened.

"Abs! Ouch! Dammit!"

Abby walked out of her bedroom, looking at the stairs that had turned into a slide. Shrugging, she obliged and slid down them, standing up to see Greg glaring darkly at the stairs. "What's up?"

"Jamila sent me to get you. She says there has been an incident at the Pitch."

She gave him a confused look. "Incident?"

Greg shrugged, "don't look at me. I'm just the messenger. I know nothing."

Abby grab hold of his arm, Flashing them down to the Pitch in a faster attempt to see what the incident was. "Jamila, what's going on?"

Jamila shook her head, rolling her eyes a bit as well, "Ewan here, the bloody brilliant boy he is, tried to do your Standing Nosedive trick."

Abby stepped around the Egyptian girl to see Ewan holding his robe sleeve to his nose. "Oh Ewan . . ."

He looked up at her, shrugging a bit, "I thought I could do it."

Abby let her hand hover over his nose, concentrating before taking it away. "You git. How about you don't try that again until I can show just how to balance yourself on the broom, alright?"

"Yeah. Deal." He looked up to see a slow, sly smile coming across Abbys' face. "What're you doing?"

Abby turned her features too innocent, "I'm not doing anything Ewan, what are you talking about?" she finished shaping the snow with her mind as she spoke.

"No! No – you are not getting me this –" the cold ball of snow hit him right on the forehead as he said, "time," and scowled at her. "I call no powers!"

Abby looked put out, "dammit! That's no fun! Now how are we going to beat you guys?"

Jamila chucked her own snowball at Ewans' head. "Run!"

"Running!" the girls laughed as they darted behind a boulder. Abby in charge of making the snowballs and she did just about as fast as Jamila with her excellent Chaser skills threw them. It wasn't long before Greg, Sam, Ewan and Stefan were out of the game. Jamilas' head was whiplashed back once before Abby stood up to hit Frank in the head the last time and ducked back down just as quickly.

Paul, all on his own, did not look happy as the girls stood with two snowballs apiece in their hands.

"I don't know why we even bothering going up against her," Ewan said as he looked at Abby.

"You mean, them, right?" Greg nudged the Slytherin, giving an innuendo with his words that cause Ewan to shove him right back.

"Sod off."

Abby chucked the last snowball that hit Paul in the back of his head and cheered, hugging Jamila who had cheered just as loudly. The girls, an arm over each other's shoulders made their way up to the defeated boys and they walked up the castle stairs. All of them were instantly warmed by the warming spell placed on the inside of the castle.

"You guys head on to the Great Hall. Jamila and I have a surprise you all of you!" Abby said cheerfully, a hint a mischief in her voice.

"Don't trust her! Surprises aren't always nice from that one," a woman said from the top of the staircase.

Abby turned around, running up the case as fast as she could and flinging her arms about the woman. "Mum! What're you doing here?"

Ginny laughed, "I'm here for an interview."

Abby pulled back, looking at her mother. "An interview? Really? What for?"

"Slow down before you have a coronary! But yes, I must be going or I'll be late. I'll see you at dinner, alright?"

Abby gave her mother a kiss on the cheek, motioning for Jamila to follow her as they ran down the corridor. "Bien Maman. Voyez-vous au dîner. Aimez-vous!"

"Aimez-vous, Abby!" Ginny replied, her voice echoing a bit in the hall. "Hey there Ewan. How's it?"

Ewan grinned, "it's good, Ginny. I'll see you at dinner." He led the group away, translating as best he could what the two girls had said to each other in French. They had only been sitting for a little less then five minutes when Jamila pushed open the heavy Great Hall doors, causing them to bang loudly against the stonewall behind them.

"Sorry!" Jamila smiled sheepishly at the patrons of the Great Halls. "Hope no one had a heart attack!" she quickly sat down at the Gryffindor table with the rest of their group.

"Well? Where is our surprise?" Frank asked a bit impatiently.

Jamila pointed to the doorway once more. "There," and she ducked as Abby said something to a snowball laden Peeves who soon made his mark by hitting each of their friends once more.

"Abigail!"

The redheaded girl bit her lower lip, making her way to the Head table. "Yes, Headmistress?" she had an innocent inflection to her voice, a skill she had mastered to get out of trouble with her mother.

"Just what was that?" McGonagall pointed to the snow-faced children sitting at the Gryffindor table, watching them like they were hawks.

Abby put her hands up in an innocent gesture. "I was trying to stop Peeves, honestly! I was just joking when I told him he should throw snowballs at my friends. I honestly didn't think he was even listening to me, Headmistress!"

McGonagall pursed her thin lips together, and then shook her head with a sigh. "I'll pretend that I believe you this time, Abigail. But next time, it will be a detention!"

"Happy Christmas to you as well, Headmistress!" Abby said cheerfully as she ran back to her table, a giggle escaping from her lips. "I do believe that I'm getting better at escaping detentions."

"I must say that I agree, Abigail," Draco said covertly as he walked past them. The group of seventh years stared at his back before Jamila and Abby got another round of laughter in their bellies.

Greg looked over to Abby, "so that was your mum?"

"Yep! She said she was here for an interview. Don't know what for though . . . I can't think of any open positions."

Sam, food in his mouth as usual, looked thoughtful for a moment. "I think Pince was saying something about needing an Assistant, I think."

Abby laughed outright. "My mum, a librarian? That would be bloody hilarious!" she stopped laughing when a thought occurred to her. "That would be bloody brilliant! I'll see you all later!"

"Wha –?" they all stared as she ran out of the Great Hall.

"She's insane, isn't she?" Sam asked, and was answered by all of them saying "yes!"

Abby paced out in front of the library, wondering if her mother was truly inside the doors. She knew she had been waiting well over thirty minutes when her mother finally came out from the book housing room.

"What are you doing here?" Ginny questioned her daughter when she saw her. "How long have you been out here?"

Abby waved off the questions. "Did you get it?"

"Get what?"

"The job!"

Ginny nodded, "why?"

Abby hugged her mother, crying out in triumph. "See you later mum!"

Ginny stopped her daughter, giving her confused, yet stern, look. "Abigail Weasley, just what are you on about?"

Abby gave her mother an eye roll. "Think about it Mum. Who else works here?"

Ginny held the look of confusion for only a few moments before turning back to the door. "I have to go tell Pince I can't take the job . . ."

Abby grabbed her mother, turning her about. "No! You are going to keep this job because we have bills that must be paid, all right? It won't be that bad, Mum!" and she had run off before Ginny could say anything otherwise, causing the elder to shake her head and head off for the Headmistress' office.

When supper came, Abby watched her mother enter through the door to the left of the Head table with McGonagall, holding her breath as the old woman placed her mother right next to Draco. She took in the look of utter surprise on his face when Ginny had taken her seat.

"Breathe, Abs, breathe," Ewan shook her shoulder, then looked to where she had fixed her eyes and sucked in breath himself. "Okay. Don't breathe."

"D'you think they'll get along?" Abby said quietly to Ewan, her eyes darting from the two adults to the boy sitting next to her.

Ewan slung an arm about her shoulders. "Don't worry, they will."

"She succeeded in becoming more like her father earlier today," Draco started the conversation, not at all liking the tension in the air between them.

Ginny choked on her food. "Par – Pardon me?"

Draco nodded, watching the girl who had made such an impact on the entire school. He never thought he'd see the day when Houses intermixed, especially Gryffindor and Slytherin so much until the girl had stepped into the school. "She was telling me that her father had a knack for getting out of detention while he was in school. She escaped a detention earlier today when she had Peeves throw snowballs at her friends by claiming that she had been trying to stop him. Quite like her father, I assume."

"Yeah, I, uh, I guess she did."

"So how is he, anyway?"

"Who?"

"Potter."

Ginny shrugged, "he's fine I suppose. Why would I know?"

Draco looked at her, "well he is her father, is he not?"

Ginny's eyes went wide, her laugh echoing throughout the Hall before she covered her mouth and blushed as red as her hair in embarrassment. "Harry isn't her father! What on earth gave you that idea?"

Draco scowled. "He's the only one in school that could ever get out of detentions. And not to mention you had that terribly horrendous crush on him all your years here."

Ginny sobered up quickly, glaring slightly at him. "Now you know that isn't true, Draco Malfoy. You know for a fact that my crush ended on him in fourth year! And you know that it was just a silly little schoolgirl crush!"

"What are you doing here anyway, Ginevra?"

Ginny turned back to her food. "If you must know, and I'm sure you do because you are you, I was just hired for the Assistant Librarian job."

This time Draco choked on his food. "That's –"

"The perfect job for a Weasley?" Ginny said before she could catch her tongue. She cringed a bit, "you'd think that I'd be able to control that after all these years."

"Yes, one would think," he stood up, wiping his mouth with the cloth napkin that had sat in his lap before placing it on his plate. "Good night, Ginevra."

Abby watched as he walked out the doors her mother had entered, and the defeated look that had taken over her mothers face.

She let the door to the potions classroom hit the wall behind it, and then slap shut once more as she entered the room.

"Can I help you, Abigail?"

"I want you to go talk with her," Abby said simply, seating herself on the nearest desktop.

"Excuse me?" Draco looked up from his work briefly to take in her angry face.

"I want you to go talk with her," she stated once more, giving him a terrible look.

Draco ignored her look. "Talk with whom, Abigail?"

Abby stood up from the desk. "You know exactly who I'm talking about: my mother. You're only depressing her more by ignoring her like you have been for the past three months. Honestly, you really are going out of your way to not see her! Avoiding her in the corridors, then not going to meals if she is there. How are you still alive with as little as you grace the Great Hall?"

He scowled up at her, "you're well on your way to getting a detention, Abigail."

"Good! At least then I'll have the time to tell you how much of a git you're being to my mum!" she bit her lower lip as soon as she said the words.

Draco gave her a stern look. "You will watch your tone."

Abby slapped her palms down on his desk in a last attempt to make him pay full attention to her. "Are you that proud that you can't even go talk to her? She is miserable because of you! Did you know that a couple years after she was in Cairo that she asked the Scholars to allow her to write you a letter so that she could know you were safe? Did you know that they refused to let her, and she spent the next week asking them to reconsider only to have them tell her that she was not to make any form of contact with you until out of the Program?"

Dracos' stern look melted into the one of disbelief.

"I didn't think you did. Just go talk to her! I'm tired of having to hear her questions on why you won't speak with her or acknowledge her presence in this school! I'm tired of the both of you!"

"Both of us?"

She threw up her arms in exasperation. "Yes, both of you! She sits around wondering why you won't come and talk to her. And you sit around wondering why she won't come and be the bigger person and come talk to you!"

"Abigail, you had better get out of this room before I decide that you really do need a week of detention to straighten your attitude out," Draco threatened, though his thoughts on other things already.

Abby walked to the door, opening it again. "Fine. But if she and I chat tonight and she is still upset, I'm letting my wrath out on you with my powers," and she had closed the door and Flashed up to her bedroom before he could question what she meant by powers.

Ginny held the small stack of books in one arm as she placed them back into their proper places with the other as she stood atop the tall ladder. "Magical Maladies and How to Cure Them . . . Magicians That Lie . . . Nameless Faces – Now how'd you get in this pile?" she looked around for the Na's, seeing them in the bookshelf behind her, and she carefully set the M books on top of the others, before looking down the ladder and deciding that she could just reach over and put it back where it belonged. She stretched out as far as her arms would let her, holding onto the top of the ladder with her fingertips, almost there. But it was then that the ladder sprang up from the bookshelf it was leaning on, standing her straight up.

The book thudding to the floor, Ginny gripped the top rung with her hands, trying to balance herself as the ladder swayed about. "Help . . ." she said quietly as the ladder turned ninety degrees, swaying once again. Ginny leaned forward, trying to get balance so she might try to turn it back to the bookshelf, but the ladder had other ideas as it swayed violently for the last time.

"OHEIUGM! AHHHHH!" her screamed echoed about the library as she fell backwards, the ladder pitching forward from lack of balance. She fully expected to meet blackness when she hit the floor from her twelve-foot drop, but never expected to hear a voice before she hit.

"Well, I knew you fell for me, Ginevra, but this is a bit literal, don't you think?" Draco tried not to smile as he spoke.

Ginny opened her eyes, looking up at him. "Draco!" she then registered what he had said and smacked him in the chest. "How dare you joke about things like that!" she scrambled out of his arms backing away from him with her arms folded across her midsection, a sign that she wasn't happy with him.

"Is that all the thanks I get for helping you?" he replied.

Ginny glared, "I didn't need any help, Draco."

"Fine! Next time I'll just let you drop twelve feet to the floor!" Draco smiled just a bit at her angry face before getting to the point. "Is what she told me true?"

"Is what who told you true?" Ginny asked, fully confused at what he was getting at.

"Abigail said that two years into your Program, you tried to write me a letter but the Scholars – I think that's what she called them – wouldn't allow you to. They refused to let you have any contact with me until you were out of the Program."

Ginny scowled, "that girl is in so much trouble!"

"So it's true then?"

She looked everywhere but him, "yes, Draco, it's true."

"Why?"

Ginny glanced up at his face, "why? I wanted to know if you were okay! I wanted to know if you were still alive and well. And –" she cut off her sentence, looking away from him once more.

Draco didn't let the sentence go unfinished however. "And what? That wasn't the only reason you wanted to write me, was it?"

Ginny shook her head, sighing heavily. "Abby wanted to meet you. She was just two, but she still wanted to meet you."

He looked thoroughly confused. "Why would Abigail want to meet me?"

Ginny gave him a look, "that's between you and Abigail, Draco. Not you and me," and she was gone before he could question her.

Draco smacked his hand against the nearest bookshelf. What was it with those two and saying things like that right before they disappear? And what was with that look she had given him just before – realization flooded into Draco's thoughts. "No . . ."

"Abby, there's an owl for you!" Greg called up the stairs this time, remembering what had happened the last time he tried to go up to the girls' dormitory.

Sighing, Abby walked out of her room and down the stairs, taking the parchment from Greg. "Who's it from?"

He shrugged before going back to the windowsill bench where he was playing a game of Wizards' Chess with Jamila (and loosing terribly).

Abby slid her thumb under the wax seal, reading the short letter quickly before crumpling it up and storming out of the Common Room muttering something her friends thought sounded like "why do I even bother?" She made her way slowly down to the dungeons once more, not bothering with a knock as she entered the Potions classroom. "Yeah?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at her tone. "As I'm sure you know, since you have a knack for knowing these things, I went to see your mother."

"Well?" she sat down on the nearest desktop once again.

He leaned back in his chair. "She said that the reason behind wanting to write me was that you wanted to meet me. She didn't tell me why, but gave me a very odd look and said that it was between the two of us."

"And let me guess, I'm going to be in trouble for telling you anything in the first place?"

Draco smiled a bit, "you guessed right. She's a bit put out."

"She'll get over it," Abby said dismissively. "Now what were you saying? Oh right, between the two of us. What is it that you wanted to know?"

Draco looked at her; "I wanted to know why you were so inclined to meet me at the tender age of two."

Abby rolled her eyes, now understanding what her mother meant when she compared her sarcasm with the mans' in front of her. "Why d'you think I wanted to meet you?"

Draco hid his shock well; glad for the many years of practice he had had in his early years.

"I know you get it. I know you know what my mum said to you that day you came to Uncle Rons' wedding. I know you know that she isn't the kind of woman to sleep with a man unless she loves him. And I know that you know she wouldn't have had the time for a man while in Cairo is she was busy taking care of me and doing her job."

Draco opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off quickly.

"And I wouldn't doubt now that you understand that Uncle Harry isn't my father, by the way, that's disgusting to think about. And that you've deduced that you were the only other person in this school that could get out of detentions the way I told you about," Abby kept a passive face as she took a piece of folded paper out of her back pocket and tossed it in front of him.

"Mum let me have this so that I could say that you were with me every special moment of my life – even though it would just be a technicality."

Draco unfolded the paper to see the picture from atop the Astronomy Tower that had started all that was happening today. The night that he had started to realize just who he was and who he wanted to be.

"She said that it was the only way I could have my father around for all my important events." Abby Flashed out of his classroom before he could even think of anything to say to her.

Delirious – Deeper

Norah Jones – Don't Know Why

Avril Lavigne – Anything But Ordinary

Jimmy Eat World – Sweetness

Switchfoot – Dare You to Move

Avril Lavigne – Falling Down

Evanescence – Taking Over Me

Vitamin C – Graduation

Hoobastank – Too Little Too Late

Boomkats – The Wreckoning

Evanescence – My Immortal

Superchick – One Girl Revolution

Leslie Mills – Good Life

Last Week – Beautiful Girl

Translations:

"Bien Maman. Voyez-vous au dîner. Aimez-vous!" – "Alright Mum. See you at dinner. Love you!"