A/N-I'm sorry! I couldn't stop writing so here's #13. I only received one review but hey, I only posted it two hours ago so I'm still looking good! Let me know what you think.
Chapter 13
Later that night at dinner, Ron and Harry couldn't help but notice that both Ginny and Malfoy were missing. Ron's ears were red with fury. "As soon as I see either one, I 'm going to put a stop to this. Too think that I thanked him and shook his hand."
Hermione rolled her eyes and sighed. "Put a stop to what exactly Ronald? Your acting quite childish you know. Harry, talk some sense into him."
Harry sipped his pumpkin juice than replied in the same condescending tone Hermione had taken with Ron. "Hermione, don't you find it odd that Malfoy's been there to save the day for Ginny more than once? Doesn't it bother you that he's been so concerned for her welfare?"
"Oh Harry not you too! You and Ron aren't satisfied unless you are after someone. And what do you mean about him being concerned for Ginny? Have you forgotten what he put himself through the day he got burned? Have you forgotten what would have happened to Ginny if he hadn't saved her? Really! Is it impossible for someone to change?" Hermione said.
Ron and Harry spoke in unison. "Change?"
Ron continued. "What about today Hermione?Haven't younoticed that McLaggen hasn't returned from the hospital wing yet? You know you may be right about Malfoy changing. Instead of him relying on Crabbe or Goyle to pound on someone he does it himself. Now he's even more dangerous."
"You two have seriously lost your minds. Malfoy isn't after Ginny. At least not in the way you think he is." Hermione whispered.
Harry spit out his pumpkin juice. "What do you mean not in the way we think? You can't possibly think he cares for Ginny? This is Draco Malfoy were talking about!"
Hermione shook her head. "All I'm saying is that you needn't worry about Ginny's welfare. She can take care of herself and if something horrible comes along she's got us and she's got him." With that, Hermione stood and left the Great Hall. Ron and Harry continued their conversation and were convinced that Ginny and Hermione had both gone mental.
Ginny approached the painting that was now dark, rainy, and full of lightning. "Luminary." She whispered and entered the dark passage. She stepped out of the painting and scanned the room. Draco was lying on his bed with a hand massaging his forehead.
"Are you alright?" Ginny said startling him.
"Oh yeah. I'm fine. Come in. I was just thinking." Draco said as he pat the bed gesturing for her to sit next to him.
Ginny crossed the room and sat beside him. "Draco, what happened today? Have you been expelled?" The thought of that made Ginny's eyes fill with tears. "Because if your not here with me, I just don't know what I'll do!"
Draco sat up and embraced the now sobbing Ginny. She took a few deep breaths and calmed back down. He stroked her hair out of her face and kissed her forehead. "Don't worry, I haven't been expelled. Dumbledore was quite understanding if you ask me. I have to miss the next two matches, write an apology to McLaggen, and assist in Gryffindor practices."
Ginny gasped. "How is that going to work? Dumbledore knows our teams have a terrible rivalry! That's not very fair to us. You'll learn all of our plays."
Draco raised his hand as if taking an oath. "I promise I will only be there to help and I won't pay any attention to your plays. You can trust me Red." Draco said as he kissed her forehead again.
"Ron and Harry are going to have a terrible time with this. They already think that you're out to get me or something!" Ginny said lying back on the bed.
"Well I am you know." Draco smirked and laid his head next to hers. "If I were them, I wouldn't let you out of my sight. Who knows what an evil Slytherin would do to such a beautiful red head." He slid her close to him and wrapped his arms and legs around her breathing her in. "God you smell good!"
"Well that's your fault you know. I only wear it for you." Ginny said as Draco stroked her hair. She began to absentmindedly, twirl the necklace he gave her in her fingers. He looked down and noticed it.
"I wondered if you ever wore that. I almost forgot about it." Draco said taking it into his hand and looked closely at it.
"I haven't taken it off since the day you gave it to me. It's sort of a reminder that I always seem to have you watching over me…..Draco, we need to talk about what happened today." Ginny said seriously.
Draco moaned and turned to his side. "Do we have to? I mean right now?"
"Yes right now. What happened in the air? Why did you attack Cormac?" Ginny said sitting up.
Draco sighed and sat up as well leaning against the head board. He propped his arms on his knees. "It was about you. McLaggen said he thought you used to be innocent but now he can tell you're not by the way you stare." Ginny scoffed. Draco continued. "He said it would be easy to break down your barrier and make you do things that would make me blush."
Ginny jumped from the bed and began to pace. "That slimly little prat! How dare he say that! I wouldn't touch him if my life depended on it! The way I stare? Maybe I'm staring because I'm trying to figure out what the hell he is! The next time I see him I'm going blacken both of his eyes and kick him in his-"
"Ginny!" Malfoy hollered and chuckled. "You should see yourself right now. You remind me of….Me. That can't be good. Calm down. I think he might back off you for a little while. At least until his jaw and nose heal." Ginny joined in his laughter and sat beside him again. She leaned her head on his shoulder. "You're supposed to be the good and rational one between us. We'll be doomed if your temper gets as bad as mine. By the way, Dumbledore knows."
Ginny shot her head up. "Knows what?"
"Everything basically. He even knows about that night. Don't ask me how because he wouldn't say." Draco said grabbing her hand.
"But, but. Is he going to turn you in?" Ginny said worriedly.
"Of course not. That's not Dumbledore's way. He's knows about us too." Draco said turning her face to his.
"What about us?" Ginny smiled.
Draco pulled her to him and kissed her. Ginny's legs were tingling as she felt his strong arms hold her tightly. He began to caress her thigh and then squeezed her hip receiving the same gasp she had given previously. He smiled and continued to kiss her. He moved on top of her and she stroked his hair as he kissed her neck. Suddenly he sat up panting heavily. "I'm sorry. You should probably go."
"What? Are you kicking me out Malfoy?" Ginny said unable to hide her laugh as she was trying to pull him back on top of her.
Draco gently lay on top of her and nuzzled her neck. "It's just that…Well I don't want to get this all confused. I'm not sure what we're doing together and I don't want to hurt you."
Ginny began to kiss his neck which made him moan softly and move against her. "You're right….I should go." She gently pushed him off and sat up. He laid there face down on the bed. "Draco? Are you alright?"
She heard a muffle into the bed that sounded like "Yes." Ginny laughed again. "Draco, what's wrong?"
Another muffle that sounded like "Nothing."
Ginny grabbed his shoulders and rolled him over and saw that he was smiling but trying to avoid looking at her. He was obviously aroused and was trying to restrain himself. She looked down at him and then climbed on top of him. "Oh God, don't do that! You're pure evil Weasley!" Draco yelled.
"Do what? I'm just trying to make sure you're okay." Ginny said innocently.
"I'm not okay and I'm going to have a heart attack unless you get off me!" Draco shouted as he looked away and covered his face with his hands. Once again Ginny laughed and leaned down trying to kiss him. He wouldn't let her remove his hands from his face. "I'm warning you Weasley! You better back away why you still have a chance." He said through his hands.
"Why Mr. Malfoy, are you refusing to kiss me? Talk about not wanting to hurt me! I don't know how I will go on!" With that Draco grabbed her sides and began tickling her. Ginny jumped off of him and fell on the floor laughing. Draco leaned over the bed and grabbed her foot as she was trying to get away from him. He was laughing now too and had her cornered between the desk and the bed.
"I warned you Weasley. You should have left when you had the chance. Now you will pay for what you've done." Draco said as he scooped her up into his arms. He carried her over to the bed and resumed kissing her lips and neck. Ginny's insides felt as if they were on fire. His tongue was teasing her and she thought she may lose her mind. And then suddenly again, Draco stopped and quickly got off of her. He stood and walked towards the bathroom. "Please don't leave. I'll be out in a minute."
Ginny heard the water turn on and realized he must be taking a cold shower. She laughed thinking that she would do well with one herself right now. Draco had no intention of going any further with her. It was obvious that he respected her and was simply having a little difficulty since he had never had to restrain himself with any girl. He had never cared enough for anyone to wait for something to be special. Did he even know what something special felt like? He thought about these things as the cold water calmed him mentally and physically.
Realizing that he had only grabbed a towel, he poked his head out of the bathroom and quickly walked over to his dresser. Ginny sat up and smiled. "Well that's not fair is it? I'm not parading around here all wet in nothing but a towel. Talk about evil!" Ginny said and lay back down. Draco walked over to the bed and sat.
"Listen Ginny, I'm not about to take this any further until we really talk about what's going on." Draco said seriously.
"What's going on is you are about to lose your towel!" Ginny yelled as she tugged at it trying to remove it. Draco quickly stood catching the towel before it fell to the ground. Ginny was thankful of that. What would she have done if it had fallen to the floor? She knew she wasn't ready to go any further and was thankful that Draco was insistent to not let her. But his commitment to hold her off was making her want him even more. She was really confused.
"You amaze me sometimes." Draco said and chuckled. Ginny sighed and beat him to the bathroom. "What are you doing?"
"You're not the only one who needs to cool off! I'll take that!" Ginny yelled as she swiped the towel away from his body and slammed the door. She was laughing hysterically at the thought of him standing in his room naked and dumbfounded. She started the cold water and slowly got undressed. She stepped into the shower and immediately placed her head under the stream of cold water. All she could think about was him, his body, the way he kissed, and the way he touched her. She sat on the floor of the shower and let the water spray on top of her.
What was going on between them? Ginny had never felt so strongly about anyone before. All she wanted was to be with him and have him hold her. As terrible as it was to see Draco attacking Cormac, she couldn't help but be turned on by his consistent heroism. He was always there to defend and protect her. She knew he would never hurt her. But why? Why had he changed? How could he possibly care for a Weasley knowing that their families have had a rivalry for years? Were Ron and Harry right? Was he just trying to make her trust him? She was startled by a knock at the door and it opened.
"Ginny? Are you okay? You've been in here forever. I've left some clothes for you on the sink." Draco said as he stood in the doorway looking at the floor.
Ginny had a sudden flashback of the time she spent at Malfoy Manor. He was so caring and thoughtful then too. "I'm fine. I was just thinking. I'll be right out." She heard him close the door and she turned off the water. She dried herself with his towel and then put on the clothes he left for her. It was a pair of black sweats and black shirt. She wrapped his towel around her wet hair.
Ginny walked out of the bathroom and sat down next to him on the floor. He had started a fire. He was wearing his set of green flannel pants but no shirt. Draco looked at her and smiled. "So what were you thinking about? How you were going to tease me again?"
"Tease you? I was only trying to kiss you." Ginny said innocently.
"Right! While you were on top of me. I swear you're going to put me in St. Mungo's for sure! The things you do to me Red." Draco said as he pulled her over to him. He turned her back to him so she could lean on his chest. Ginny brought her hand to his neck and began to stroke it.
"I'm sorry Draco. I'm having trouble with this too you know. You have quite an effect on me as well. It's so strange though. We hated each other last year. What changed? I know it wasn't me. Why are you so nice to me?" Ginny said now rubbing his neck.
"I've changed and that's all I can tell you. I hope you can accept it. Remember when we first kissed at the Manor? I told you I had been waiting to do that forever and I meant it. I told you that when I found out it was you that I had saved in Knock Turn Alley I practically went crazy. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I have changed my beliefs. But what hasn't changed is how I feel about you." Draco said and Ginny turned around to face him.
"What?" Ginny said in shock. She remembered all those things but didn't pay much attention to them. He did say he had been waiting to kiss her forever. How could she have forgotten that?
Draco began to blush and backed away from her. "I think that's enough of that talk tonight. You want to get something to eat in the kitchens?"
"Ummm. Yes of course. I'm starving actually." Draco put on a sweatshirt and led her towards the painting. Suddenly Ginny grabbed him and pushed him against it. She quickly pressed her lips against his forcefully. He wrapped his arms around her waist and lifted her from the ground. Ginny was the one moaning this time and squeezed his hips towards hers. Realizing that she didn't want to tease him again (that would be just too cruel), she pulled away and let him lead her through the dark passage. Draco stopped and placed her in front of him. His chest against her back. He wrapped his arms around her shoulders and walked behind her following the same rhythm as her feet. Ginny could feel him squeezing her shoulders and softly kissing her hair as they walked.
They stepped out into the kitchens and were greeted with loads of food and drinks from the eager little house-elves. They continued to talk about what had happened on the pitch but didn't dare speak of their feelings again.