Disclaimer: Don't do that. I almost had a heart attack when you popped out…no, I don't own it.
a visit from a dragon
issalee
The girl approached the man slowly, taking care not to make her steps loud as she walked towards her boyfriend, who was lying on the floor between them. A sudden presence invaded her very thoughts, and she looked up, eyes gleaming in horror as something descended down the stairs…
"OH MY EFFING LORD!"
Ginny smacked her dark-haired friend over the head. "Tessa, shut up! You screwed up the good part!"
They were in the living room of Harry's Über-posh London apartment, watching The Grudge, which was one of the tapes Tonks had sent Ginny. Tessa was snuggled into the armchair with Luna sitting just below her, nodding absently to sleep.
Hermione was reading something in a corner while Ron and Harry played Wizard's Chess. They were waiting for Blaise to arrive. Ginny hung upside down from a chair directly in front of the TV, rewinding it so she could see the girl climb down the stairs again.
(A/N: I AM WRITING THIS AT 5:26 AM, AND I HAVE NOT SLEPT ALL NIGHT. I will never so much look at The Grudge again.)
"You have a sick sense of humor." Tessa admonished.
"Yeah, I've heard it before." Ginny reached down to take a handful of the popcorn in front of her. From out of her hair popped Sorano, hooting sadly. Ginny dropped a kernel next to the owl and Sorano attacked it voraciously.
"You coddle the owl." Hermione said, without looking up from her book.
Ginny nattily avoided the comment. "Herm, come and watch the Texas Chainsaw Massacre with us. Even Ron and Harry are going to watch with us!"
Hermione kept her head stubbornly bent. "No."
An hour later, they were all gathered in front of the television, huddled together and clinging to each other. It had started storming outside, sleeting hard. Ginny was hugging Tessa and alternately putting popcorn in her mouth as Sorano made a nest in her hair. Ron had an arm wrapped around Hermione's waist as she watched with rapt attention, her mouth in a small 'o'. Luna was sleeping in Harry's lap.
"No, you stupid girl, don't go there!" Ginny threw a handful of popcorn at the television and giggled like a maniac.
"No more butterbeer, Gin." Harry said absently. All of them were fixated on the set as the girl peeked out of a peephole, gasping in horror as she realized the room was empty. And then, suddenly, the man's eyes appeared and there was the buzz of a chainsaw. Ginny screeched and threw the popcorn bowl into the air as something plastered itself against the window and the doorbell rang.
Suddenly everything was in chaos as everyone scrambled to get out of the way. Sorano took to the air, looking like a monster in the room and then—
The power cut off.
Blaise looked over at Draco as he kept pressing the doorbell insistently. "I'm sure this is where Potter is, Draco, don't give me that look!"
"I'm freezing," the blond muttered, "and wet too."
A sudden crashing noise followed by several high-pitched screams startled them. Blaise looked at the door in alarm. "Do you think they're ok?"
Draco had an ear pressed to the door, amusement evident on his face. "Is that Weasley screeching like some girl?"
The door opened suddenly, and Draco was forced to stagger back in a very un-Malfoy-ish way. Harry stood in the doorway, wand pointed at them both until he realized who they were.
"God, Zabini, Malfoy, you scared the hell out of us." He ran a hand through his hair.
"We can see that." Draco was obviously trying very hard not to laugh at Harry's shoddy appearance. "What were you doing, shagging Granger and attempting to hide it?"
Harry ignored the last few words. "We were watching a movie—it's a Muggle thing."
"We know, Potter. Know thine enemies is a very accepted statement in Slytherin house," Draco replied. "Can we come in?"
Harry shrugged. "Whatever. But be careful, Hermione's cleaning up the mess with Ron but the girls are in the bathroom washing soda out of their hair."
Draco opened his mouth to ask a question but he was shoved unceremoniously inside by Blaise, and forced to keep walking. It was still dark inside save for three wands propped onto the windowsill and palely lighting the way. The living room was a mess when they entered. Hermione was bickering with Ron as they magicked crumbs and stains away.
"Ronald! I told you to shut the blinds, but no, you wouldn't listen!"
"It wasn't my fault, Hermione! How was I supposed to know there was a tree right there that's leaves looked like a head!"
"You didn't, but that's beside the point!"
Hermione suddenly noticed their visitors and offered a tiny, strained smile. "Hello. As you can see, we're having a crisis here."
"Thank you, Captain Obvious," Ron muttered. Hermione shot him a dirty look, but both were effectively silence when shrieks came from the direction of the bathroom.
"What now?" Harry groaned.
He needn't have asked, though, as two dark shapes stumbled out from the hall. "Someone—changed the toothpaste—for hot sauce!" A voice they recognized as Tessa gasped out. Luna was right next to her, mouth pursed shut and looking red as a cherry.
"Oh, Gods, she's already started." Ron groaned.
And at that moment, Ginny Weasley in all her Prank Queen glory (she was wearing VERY baggy gray sweatpants and one of the many insulting T-shirts Luna had sent her. This one was powder blue with Happy Bunny™ proclaiming: "Really, the old people must go") entered the living room.
"What?" she said very innocently, eyes wide. From the top of her head Sorano looked out, her eyes matching her owner's. Then Ginny caught sight of Draco, and her eyes widened even further.
"Shut your mouth," Tessa whispered (she had sated her thirst with a can of Mountain Dew). Ginny did so obediently, and then, in one swift movement, she had turned and disappeared down the hall.
Draco turned to Blaise, eyes glittering maliciously. "You have things to explain and ten seconds to do it."
Blaise gulped and hoped God was willing to forgive him for all the times he had told those door-to-door Jehovah's Witnesses to sod the eff off.
Tessa found Ginny sitting in the extra room Harry had, which was where they were sleeping. She had somehow managed to fix the wiring in that room, and was sitting cross-legged on the floor, playing with the dark green box Harry had told them was an 'X-Box'. Ginny had caught on quite quickly, and now seemed to be absorbed in a game of Burnout 3.
"Gin?" Tessa said as she walked in and sat down. "Gin, what's the matter?"
"Nothing." The redhead's jaw was clamped shut. Nothing at all. I'm just enjoying myself—look, twelve Takedowns in thirty seconds!"
"Ginny." Tessa said sternly. "You are very obviously upset, and you must tell me what exactly is wrong with you, else our friendship is fini."
"Don't say it French." Ginny exclaimed as she veered sharply on the screen. "Everything sounds so much more dramatic in French!"
The two giggled, before Tessa's face turned somber once more. "Really, though, what is it that's so bad?"
Ginny rammed against a car and toggled the controls before sighing. "He's here, and I wasn't ready for it. I mean, sure I sent the present and everything but it was only because of the bet!"
"And yet the very vulgar letter you sent me with all those curse words was a beautiful testimony to the fact that you were nervous."
"I used twenty-three variations on crap, the word arse sixteen times, damn forty-three, and several scratched-out words because I was afraid your Grandmum might see the letter, sixty-eight times. I counted."
"I can see that," Tessa said irritably. "But you have to forget that, Ginny. You've done it and now you're over with it. We've got things to do, tricks to play, and we have to make The-Boy-Who-Wouldn't-Die's last year at Hogwarts very special, remember?"
Ginny's time ran out, and as her score flashed across the screen she smiled lopsidedly. "I've got Chrimboli presents to use…"
"That's my girl!" Tessa cried, but Ginny held up a hand.
"But I've been through a lot, you know, and—"
Rolling her eyes, Tessa grabbed a pillow from a nearby sleeping bag and stuffed it on her friend's head. "Nobody cares what you've been through, and nobody cares how much you do, and nobody cares what kind of drugs you're on, I can't take anymore of this!"
Ginny started laughing uproariously at this, which was odd for someone who was being suffocated, but because it was muffled it sounded like she was gasping for breath. It was in this position that Harry, Blaise, Draco, Ron and Hermione (Luna was playing with Sorano in the hallway) saw them as they entered and froze in shock.
Ginny and Tessa looked over at them, and exploded into more apoplectic laughter. Ginny attempted to explain.
"Stomach—hurts—oh my—nobody cares—" And then she collapsed again. Tessa only had to look at her to start off again, and as Hermione looked back and forth the situation suddenly became clear to her. She smacked a hand to her forehead.
"My God, we weren't that bloody crazy when we were young, were we?"
Harry looked at her in amazement. "Hermione, was that foul language you just used?"
"Shut up and find a vacuum," she snapped at him. "I'm going down to see if I can fix the wiring." She took one last look at the laughing duo and shook her head. "Stupid, stupid, stupid."
The others trickled away gradually, with Blaise being the last to go. He lingered long enough to look at his breathless girlfriend, sigh, and walk away.
Ginny sat up, clutching her sides. "D'you think Ron cared?"
Tessa shook her head, still not bothering to get up. "I think he was a like a moth drawn to your flame; your hair, that is."
There was a moment of silence, and then Ginny spoke up again. "Do you think I did the right thing by sending him…it?"
Tessa rolled over onto her stomach and looked into her friend's eyes. "Quel dommage. Je taime, Ginny, but envy you and your stupidity? Je ne pense pas."
"And in good old Britannica that would mean?"
Tessa rolled her eyes. "I don't envy you your idiocy. I'm rather put off that although your relationship with Ferret-boy is mostly platonic, seeing as you both refuse to speak to each other, you gave him Gwendolyn before I could get rid of my other Elemental!"
Ginny's face turned somber. "But we won't bond. I did it only for the bet, and he probably threw it out anyways, or at least thought nothing of it. We won't be more than friends!"
"Quite your babbling!" Tessa held up a hand. "I get it, ok? I was just saying."
"But you were saying it in the language of love!"
"So?"
Ginny glomped her over the head with a pillow.
Draco was sitting on the couch when Ginny entered the living room early that morning, dressed in slacks and a sweatshirt. Ginny almost turned back around, but decided against it as she stumbled sleepily into the kitchen.
The blonde Slytherin was watching some of the videos they'd left out last night, and he seemed to be impressed by them; every few moments there was a snort of irritation or amusement from the living room, and as Ginny lugged a tray with a sandwich and some ginger ale (Seagram's) into the room, he was sitting back down after having put in another tape.
"Muggles aren't all idiots." He commented lightly.
Ginny shrugged, letting the fizzy drink wake her up. The credits went by quickly, and it soon became apparent that this was one of the movies she hadn't watched yet. With thinly veiled interest, she became absorbed in it.
Draco glanced at the redhead next to him. She was wearing a sweatshirt with the words "I'm menopausal and I have a gun" blazing on it. He was sure that's what she had slept it, and didn't say a word about it.
Truth be told, this Slytherin was stumped.
His hand dipped down unconsciously, and he fingered the warm stone lying in the hollow of his neck, attached by a chain.
Ginny's Christmas present—to him.
He hadn't been expecting one; especially after the fight, but when she had sent it he remembered the bet. That brought a grimace to his face, but the present was enough to wipe it off quickly. She and Tessa always wore these around their wrists, and they never parted with it. He heard them discussing the bands sometimes, and he knew they were special.
This is why Draco Malfoy had an Elemental's temporary crystalline home around his neck.
Except he didn't know it yet.
But he liked the way the stone felt so warm, giving him an eerie sense of comfort.
Plus it was something that had belonged to Ginny, so that just blew the score past the roof.
Draco glanced at the redhead again, and suppressed a smirk as he realized that she was totally engrossed in the movie, and that the little Rab Owl he'd given her was peeping at him from the tousled mess of hair she had. It hooted balefully at him, and he chuckled.
"She's called Sorano," Ginny said, never once taking her eyes off the television. "I don't think she likes many people, but she adores me, Luna and obviously you seeing as she hasn't attacked you for stepping too close to me."
"Cute." Draco replied, smiling wryly. "I take it this was a nice gift, then?"
Ginny finally tore her eyes away from the set, but they only reflected amusement. "Only if the gift I gave you was nice."
"Touché." Draco smirked, lifting an eyebrow in the process. "And it was. I'm wearing it at the moment, although I suspect it must be more than just jewelry."
"It is." She said, turning away from him again and fishing Sorano out of her hair. "But exactly how it is, well that's a secret between friends, and although I might know and Tessa too, you don't."
She looked at him, lifting an eyebrow in a perfect imitation of him while Sorano nestled in her arms. "You didn't—get anything out of it, did you?"
He hesitated, and she waved a hand quickly, catching his reaction. "Just a question. Back to the telly now." Draco opened his mouth to speak and Ginny rolled her eyes.
"I know what you're going to say already, so you don't have to say it."
"No, you don't!" Draco protested. Then he paused. "What did you think I was going to say?" Ginny sighed, picked at Sorano's downy feathers, and then grinned.
"My sexiness astounds me."
"I wasn't going to say that!" Draco said, aghast.
"I know. But my sexiness does astound me."
Draco stared a moment, obviously frustrated, before he laughed. "Ok, Weasley, I get it. I'm sorry for everything I said and did, and I'd like to know if you could please forgive me."
"So that…?"
"So that I may continue to worship your sexiness on a daily basis?"
Ginny rubbed at Sorano's head for a moment, eyes fixated on the screen before nodding shortly. "Apology accepted. For now. But you're on probation Malfoy." She turned to him and raised a threatening finger. "I forgive you too often, so if you make one more mistake, than it's bye-bye to our friendship, got that?"
Draco nodded and she, satisfied, leaned back into the couch. "This holiday, I got a moose for a pet. She's cute." Ginny took a drink of her ginger ale, peering cautiously from the corner of her eyes at Draco, who had also lifted his drink. "I think she looks just like you."
As he choked on his soda, she smiled inwardly and decided life wasn't as fun when Draco wasn't around.
Syah...told ya I'd update. Sorry for the wait, though...school, writer's block, and all that jazz. I actually don't like this chapter, but nyah... Do I sound really tired to you all? Cuz I am, I am...
Mein Loverlies: loonysango, youngwriter56, jip91(Hess yes! I thank you for the b-day wishes, although...its ages past the actual day, and this thanks is way overdue.) Yochy, entrancer (Yeah, I know it doesn't exactly mean that. But Sorano is an actual Japanese name, and loosely translated, that's what it means. I speak a little Jap. I didn't use a dictionary! (I swear...)) Ainsley, Zenni, GoldenFawkes, Nickitjuh (Eh, you gave it the day before but I didn't open the e-mail till my b-day. THANKS, though.) OHLuver, Inu-Bladesinger, america sucks move to europe, sirius and harry luvr (and ron and draco), Askura, Criss, heartdamoose (Glad you liked it. Told ya I'd have a moose, didn't I? I keep my promises. (Swells up)), My Dream's Shadow, happydays, Draco and Ginny Forever (Muchos thanks.) erin, My-Chemical-Romance-Fan (Agree with me, now, on this. Is not Mikey Way cuter than Gerard? With spiky hair, at least, like in I'm Not Ok. But Gerard kicks arse with his new highlights. BTW, I hope your sister's head won't get caught in the toilet if you try to give ehr a swirly again...like my cousin's did...) Looney-Lovegood (Dude! We're like, the samest age!) HeirofSnake (Damn right she has good taste in muzak.) Strawbs (Damn. Typing slip. Meant to say Partner in...er...it's been too long, now I can't remember! Excuse me while I shoot myself.) Aly's PenName (er...I suppose you're dead by now. Sorry!)