Chapter 14: Still Not Asking For It

Ginny had decided to try the basement for a break from the loud music and closely-pressed bodies. While one of those things was missing in the basement, the other… was basically everywhere. Ginny had assumed everyone who'd wanted a little privacy had made their way upstairs, but apparently there hadn't been room for them all, as nearly every secluded corner apart from the refreshments table was sheltering snogging couples. Still, it was quieter. And - ooh!

The redhead looked down both sides of the little refreshments table. Hm… No spoons, no forks, just tiny toasts. She wrinkled her nose. Nope, she was doing this old school. She glanced around quickly, just to make sure no one was looking, glad to be right at the corner of dessert table and wall, and then scooped a dollop of the hazelnut chocolate spread onto her finger and popped it in her mouth.

"Mmmm…" She closed her eyes, borne away on clouds of chocolaty goodness, but opened them as she heard someone clearing their throat pointedly to her left.

She turned. Slowly. Finger still between her lips. Her coffee-colored eyes were surprised as she looked up to find-

Her finger popped from her mouth in surprise, "Malfo-?!"

The word wasn't even out of her mouth before he'd backed her up against the wall, a hand on either side of her, pinning her there.

Her drinks had her processing speed at a fraction of what it usually was. She was still trying to figure out just what was happening – but she wasn't about to let that yumminess go to waste. She popped her finger back into her mouth, looking up at him in confusion, her eyes wide and innocent. She was quite aware that she had room to slip away if she really needed to (on one side of her, anyway) – or, she could probably hit him in a weak spot if necessary. But she wasn't really sure why he was there.

Her finger slipped from her lips and she examined it, licking off the remains as she looked up at him again and asked, with pure curiosity; "What do you want, Malfoy?"

She didn't notice the way his eyes had glared at her finger, as though he might burn it off. Still, his anger – no, not anger just… annoyance. Maybe frustration? – was hard to miss. "What's your game, Weasley?"

Ginny looked at him calmly, incredulous, still cleaning off the chocolate spread. "Well," she licked her finger again, then popped it from her mouth and examined it, satisfied that all the yumminess was gone. "I like Nutella." She had her eyes (foggy as they were from the drinking) leveled on him coolly, her voice well coated with sarcasm.

He scowled, drawing even closer to her, and Ginny stiffened, but kept her face aloof and her chin held high. He was so close now, she could smell the mix of whiskey and rum and… and that spicy maleness he seemed to carry. His frustration seemed to heat the air around him. He had a hand on either side of her arms, and now one foot had stepped between her own as she was pushed – by sheer force of intimidation – up against the wall.

"You know what I mean."

His voice was practically a growl, and his breath was skittering down her neck. She felt her skin prickling as the hair on the back of her neck rose, goosepimples suddenly crawling across her skin. "Actually, I don't think I do," she murmured, defiantly, glaring up at him. If he thought he could intimidate her into anything, he was sorely mistaken.

Malfoy looked irked, and glanced down. "This," his hand ran along the collar of her blouse, and Ginny froze. She refused to react. She stopped breathing, eyes blazing warningly, as his fingers brushed against the skin of her neck, trailing down until they hit a closed button. But he didn't stop there, his fingers starting up again from the other end, brushing against her thigh as he tugged at the hem of her skirt. "This getup."

She wasn't so drunk as to let him continue. Maybe in some situations, for some people, this could be hot. But the key element of permission was missing here. She had so much to say, she couldn't pick just one thing. So she bit her tongue until she could calm herself enough to be coherent.

When she finally spoke, she had difficulty keeping her words even. "This 'getup,'" she spat, "is a costume. Because we're at a costume party. It is by no means an invitation for anyone to just start putting their hands on me." When his hand still hadn't moved from where it rested at the hem of her skirt, she went for it. As if reflexively, he tightened his hold on her, so she grabbed the back of his hand, close to his wrist. "If you do not get your hands off of me, I will hurt you."

He sneered. "Is that a thr-"

Her grip had dug in and twisted, and she felt the pop before he was clutching his wrist, hissing between his teeth.

"Fuck Weasley, what the hell?!"

She didn't run away from him. She wouldn't flee in fear. She had no fear. She stood her ground right from where he'd backed her into a corner. "Maybe you don't understand the concept, Malfoy." She coolly drummed her fingers against where his hand had been. "Just because someone is cooking food doesn't mean you're entitled to eat it. Just because a banker is counting money doesn't mean you're being given free money." Her words were burning with acidic mockery. "And just because a person is wearing a skirt doesn't give you the right to touch them."

He looked as though he might argue, so she cut him off. "You aren't entitled to someone else's body just because it's exposed."

"I never said I-"

"You didn't have to." He always felt entitled to something. He was a Malfoy.

Holding her head high, Ginny walked right past him, purposefully nudging him with her shoulder as she passed. She halted, though, and turned to look at the table before glancing at Malfoy. Looking back to the table, she grabbed the spread she'd been so enjoying. "…This is coming with me," she muttered, blushing slightly, her drunk brain gladly taking over after all that tension, and walked away confidently, another fingerful of Nutella popped in her mouth.


A/N: Hell yeah, feminist Ginny! Truth be told, the title and the 'just because' segment are taken from an image that has been passed around the internet that features a photo from a protest and comments that were posted on that picture.

You can find the image here (removing the spaces and parentheses) s-media-cache-ak0. (pinimg.) (com/) originals/9f/ab/cc/9fabcc1381604ad3ae43e4d8dde0cdba .(jpg)

Sorry for the hassle; I'm sure you all know how hard it is to link anything on fanfictionnet.

-Turner