A/N: 2020 - Man, I really harped on about those reviewers… O_O
2006 - Well, chapter eight already. Soon I'll be having more chapters than reviewers! In fact..I think I already do! I'm sad to say that I haven't gotten any new reviewers, and I know I did say that there wouldn't be another chapter unless I got some new reviews, but I just couldn't resist.
Disclaimer: Still doesn't say J.K. Rowling on my bloody passport. sigh
The next two weeks passed by at a maddeningly slow rate. Draco nearly jumped for joy when Friday arrived, for the next day was to be the first Hogsmeade trip of the term. More importantly, after a particular purchase he intended to make on this trip, he would be one step closer to exacting his revenge. He had been biding his time, luring the youngest Weasley into a false sense of security. He let her believe she was safe by restricting himself to a few heated words when they found themselves in the same corridor. If all went to plan, today wouldn't be any different.
At some point during the two weeks, the girl in question had given up eyeballing him over mealtimes. Today, she was seated with her back to him. Draco had been keeping Blaise informed regularly on the plan. Blaise seemed to find it all quite funny, especially when he had to practically knock Draco off the bench to get him to peel his eyes off the redhead.
"Er, I uh-" Draco stammered, trying to regain his composure.
"I know what you were doing, mate," his lifelong friend grinned at him.
"Shut up. You're going nutters." Draco reached across the table and punched him hard, which only caused Blaise to laugh harder. What's he on about? Draco thought irritably. Shaking his head, he finished his pumpkin juice.
Draco didn't see the girl in question again until just before Potions, while they all waited in the hallway for Professor Snape to arrive. He found that this made for some prime taunting time. There she was, talking to Scarhead. What does she see in that oaf, anyway? 'Oh, I'm so famous- oh, I've got a cool scar on my head!' Bullocks! He's tedious, and an idiot to boot. Not to mention, too famous for his own good.
Draco strode over, intent on tormenting the pair.
"Haven't you heard? Potter's old news - then again, I suppose if you're accustomed to hand-me-downs, that shouldn't bother you." Draco smirked as he saw both their faces flush.
"Oh look Harry, he still thinks those old jokes about being poor are funny," Weasley returned, turning to face him. "Sod off, Malfoy. I don't need any of your rubbish today."
"I'm not sure what's more pathetic, you sniffing around anyone with a few Galleons to rub together, or the fact that doing so has made you the school tart!" Draco knew this was a bit of a stretch, but she had at least dated a few boys in her time at Hogwarts. Wait, why do you know that?
"I beg your pardon? How about you just keep your gob shut about things that aren't your business," she said cooly, hands on her hips. Despite her stiff demeanor, her cheeks were still red.
"Aww, is the wittle Weasel too embawassed to talk about ickle smooches wif Hawwy Potty?" Draco taunted her with the babyish voice. Meanwhile, Potter had backed away. Though Draco knew Potter and his friends had taken to distancing themselves whenever they sensed a hallway throwdown coming on, he preferred to imagine that it was cowardice rather than smart thinking on their part.
Weasley gaped, flushing even redder, if that was possible. Draco smirked. Enough for today, I think, he thought to himself. His timing couldn't have been better, for no sooner had he turned back to rejoin his friends than Professor Snape arrived to let them in the classroom.
The two were usually evenly matched when it came to these spats. If one relented one day, they certainly won the next. It was simply how it went with the pair of them. Thankfully, Draco observed with some relief, we haven't gone so far as to hex one another.
Saturday morning arrived with little fanfare. Draco and Blaise had risen, readied themselves and been among the first to arrive in the Great Hall for breakfast.
"Right, now run it by me again. What is it that you're planning on doing?" Blaise asked over his plate of eggs and bacon.
"Do stop asking that as if I've told you anything of import, Blaise. For a Slytherin, you're awful at this sort of thing. You'll find out what I'm doing soon enough." His friend had been attempting to wheedle the details out of him the past two weeks, and Draco was getting rather fed up with the whole thing.
"Oh, there she is." Blaise nodded toward the table, and Draco turned around just in time to see the Weaselette take her regular spot between Granger and Longbottom. He watched as she tossed her mass of red waves over one shoulder, then parted her lips in laughter before taking a sip from her goblet.
"Draco- hello? You're smiling." Draco immediately turned to Blaise, who was waving a hand in front of his face.
"I- what?" Draco was confused.
"You were smiling," Blaise replied simply.
Draco put the back of his hand to his friend's brow, as if to check for a fever. "You sure about that? You must be seeing things." Blaise just shook his head and laughed.
After breakfast, the two made their way to the carriages destined for Hogsmeade. To Draco's dismay, they were joined by Pansy, Crabbe and Goyle. Pansy pressed herself up against Draco (Merlin, help me) thereby squishing him uncomfortably against Blaise. He'd thought to get up and sit with Crabbe and Goyle instead, but thought better after seeing how they more than filled the seat opposite. It's fine, you just have to shake her somehow once we get there.
The ride seemed to take longer than usual, but then Draco had never had so much reason to crave the freedom their arrival promised. Not only would he be free of the stuffy carriage (and with any luck, Pansy), but he also could finally shop around for something to put Weasley in her place. Blaise seemed to sense his friend's reluctance to include Pansy in this venture, for he dragged her and the other two dunderheads off, leaving Draco to browse in peace.
First stop: Honeydukes. Inside the candy store, he began perusing the shelves. A sweet would do the job nicely. Hmm… Jelly slugs? Ugh. Ice mice?! I don't think so. Fudge flies...
"Haven't they got something more… desirable?!" Draco hadn't realized he'd said this last bit out loud, but a girl behind him turned from the shelves she was restocking.
"Shopping for your girlfriend?" She smiled brightly, her accent plainly Scottish.
"Hell n- Er, sort of." He only just managed to keep his revulsion in check. You want something that will look sweet… until it bites your tongue out, or some such nonsense.
The girl gave him a knowing look. "I understand." She hopped off the ladder and began poking about a nearby shelf. "How about some singing lollys? You just tell it what to sing, deliver it, and Bob's your uncle! Much sweeter than a love letter."
Draco practically gaped at her. "But I thought girls all liked that stuff!"
"Nah," she waved the idea aside. "Only the ones with feathers for brains, and by the looks of it, you aren't one for that sort of girl!"
On the contrary, Draco knew he was. He knew that all he had to do was find a good looking girl, send her a schmaltzy love poem, and she'd be kissing his feet by breakfast the next morning.
"No, I don't think the er, lollys will do. She's not exactly one for that kind of thing."
Again, the shopgirl smiled. "Aye, I got you. The truly romantic type, eh?"
"Er, yes. I suppose you don't have anything more- well, traditional?" Draco raised his eyebrows.
She laughed. "We may sell the odds and ends when it comes to sweets, but we also know the basics!" Leading him over to another shelf, she threw her arms out with a pronounced exclamation of "Chocolate!"
Perfect, Draco thought to himself. Large enough for it, and it's something one could expect from a 'secret admirer'.
"Thank you," he said to the girl, giving her one of his rare true smiles.
"Any time!" She grinned back at him, before returning her restocking.
After selecting and paying for a box of chocolates, Draco stepped out into the street to search for Blaise. Presently, he spied his friend in Zonko's. Hmm, Draco thought as an idea came to him. Perhaps there's something more I can do...
Entering the shop, he worked his way towards where Blaise stood, thankfully devoid of unwanted company. Draco scanned the shelves as he went. He wasn't really much of one for practical jokes, but supposed he could find some use in a package of Dungbombs and a box of Wet-Start Fireworks. By the time he reached Blaise, he felt satisfied in his choices.
"Hey, get what you needed?"
"Yeah. You find anything you like?" Draco glanced at the shelves around them.
"I sure hope you're not talking about Pansy," Blaise grinned, nodding his head toward where the painfully inept girl was flirting with a Ravenclaw several aisles away. "You really owe me one. It took forever for her to shut up about not being with you."
"Merlin, what did I do to deserve her?"
"Ha. She's mental, she is. Though you almost can't help feeling sorry for her… Come on, I'm on a mission to get some Nose-Biting Teacups." Draco raised an eyebrow before following him up to the checkout counter. Spotting a small stand of perfumes by the door, he walked over. He picked one up and smirked, before adding it to his small pile of purchases on the counter.
Back in the boy's dormitory later that day, Draco was sprawled on his bed. His Hogsmeade purchases lay out on his desk. He was halfway through his assigned reading for Charms when Blaise entered the room.
"Where've you been?" Draco questioned, only half caring.
"Ah, the usual." Blaise's reply was uncharacteristically not forthcoming. Draco raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.
Blaise walked over to his friend's desk, settling his hip casually against the edge. "Chocolates? And I thought you didn't like this girl!"
Draco didn't bother to look up. "Don't be obtuse, it doesn't suit you. They've got Babbling Beverage inside, mixed in the cream."
"Oh, so you're going to have her babble her love for Potter?"
"No, you git," Setting aside his reading, Draco half heartedly threw a pillow at Blaise, who caught it easily. "I'm hoping to get some sort of information from it."
"Ahh." Blaise noticed the bottle of perfume and picked it up, sniffing it. "Bloody hell! What girl are you giving this to? If you're aiming for Weasley, good luck getting her to wear it, mate. It smells horrid!"
Draco sighed. Really, for being one of my only friends, he can be quite the idiot! "Read the tag, genius."
Moments later, Blaise looked up. A wide grin split his face. "Oh, now this I like. You're telling me that if she wears this," he held up the bottle, "she's going to think she smells like lilacs, when in reality she'll smell like dragon dung?"
Draco smirked. "Perfect, eh? It doesn't come off when you wash it, either. Won't wear off for a month, and that's assuming you only use it the one time. Ingenious. Even better than the chocolates."
"Draco, you're an evil one, mate." Blaise threw the pillow back at Draco, who promptly stuffed it behind him and resumed his studying.
A/N: 2006 - Well, my lurvelies, how was that? In Word it's five pages...beats the two and a half I've been putting out! PLEASE review..I promise that I'll work hard to make the chapters longer! And don't worry, the fun is brewing-and not long after that, the romance!