A/N: 2020 - Revised
2006 - OMG! I GOT ACTUAL REVIEWS! lol Oh, and just a little warning, this chapter contains one of my lurvely poems-too bad I can't do a funny one yet, it'll just have to be incredibly sappy.
FreakyHOTGeek-Sorry about Luca… if you'd give me something to base her off of… besides, I think that you WOULD perform a silencing charm on Malfoy (SWOON) and whatnot.
Nyah1-Tut tut, you'll see what happens. asterisk evil grin asterisk (I'm not being really crazy..those stupid star things don't show up with my formatting..)
Elementalflame-Thank you, I lurve Kudos! lol
Disclaimer: I (sob) do not own Draco Mal- er, Harry Potter.
Ginny had begun to wonder when (if ever) she'd be able to get back at Malfoy. It seemed to her that he had given up. No Ginny, you should know by now that Malfoys don't just give up. There's got to be something else… but what? Unsure of what to do but unwilling to relax completely, she had settled into an uneasy routine of classes, patrolling, and always, always being alert to any possible action on his part.
Despite her wariness, she had not noticed the gray eyes trained on her all throughout lunch on Sunday. For that matter, she hadn't noticed it any of the times that he had been watching her. Her trip to Hogsmeade was rather uneventful, and consisted of her walking around Zonko's with Luca and Luna, laughing at whatever the newest prank was. She had actually bought one of the fake Snitches, already plotting out ideas in her head. It flew where the user wanted, and ONLY where the user wanted, making it quite the elusive Snitch.
One thing that caught her eye was on a stand by the door.
Monday morning, Ginny found it hard to get out of bed. That is the last time I'm staying up until four in the morning to play Exploding Snap! She thought, cursing herself for her stupidity. Staggering to the showers, the still-frigid water helped to wake her up. Brr! Merlin's balls, it's cold. Oh what I'd give for a nice, hot- oh. Oh my… With that, she was struck by yet another scheme to bring Malfoy down a peg or two.
Ginny yawned as she plopped herself down at the Gryffindor table for breakfast half an hour later. She'd arrived just in time to see the owls swooping in. Eyes trained on the birds, she searched for the familiar one that just might be carrying a letter from her mum. It didn't take her long to spot Errol, as he was being jostled and bumped by all the other owls. Finally, looking rather pitiful, he found her and fell into the nearby dish of gravy.
"Ginny!" Dean whinged, "Your owl's bunged up the gravy!"
She shot him daggers. "Oh lay off, it wasn't even that good anyway," Ginny groused, before turning her attention to the owl and, more importantly, the letter.
"Ginny! That was made by house elves! Very hard working ones, mind you. See, this is the whole point of S.P.E..." Seeing the look on Ginny's face, Hermione immediately shut her mouth.
Now, Ginny thought as she reached toward the owl's leg, the letter. She jerked her hand back as another package fell between her and Errol, who fluttered, ruffling his already rumpled wings.
"Bloody hell! Does no one want me to open my damn letter?" When the heaviness of a hall that had gone completely silent and motionless within an instant pressed itself upon her awareness, she realized she'd said that last bit aloud. Glancing around, she saw that everyone's attention was on her. She groaned, snatched up the package and tore into it somewhat savagely. When she saw what was inside, her hands stilled.
"Wow Ginny, somebody's given you chocolates! And look, it's dark chocolate and cream filled. Whoever it is must know that's your favorite!" Luca exclaimed. Glancing up at her friend, she saw Ginny was just staring at the box in bewilderment. Who could it be from? Why would someone send me chocolate? With dawning comprehension, she recalled the twenty or so boys (and one girl) who asked her out over the past two weeks.
"Wh-who's it from?" she asked blankly, turning to Luca. Ginny's eyes were wide and unblinking
"Well gee, how about you pull yourself together, stop making a fuss about it, and open that note!" Ginny glanced down and saw a rolled up length of parchment tied to the box. Smoothing it flat, she noted that the handwriting was smooth and loopy. Then, she began to read.
Moments later, Ginny was in hysterics. Luca, who had momentarily returned to her conversation with Seamus, turned back to stare at her.
"Oh Merlin… Luca… you have… to read… this!" Ginny could hardly get the words out.
"Okay- 'Your lips are as plump as peaches, Your eyes as bright as fire,'" Luca began, her eyebrows rising quickly. "'Your smile more than teaches, That you are my heart's desire'- what is this rubbish?!" she crowed delightedly.
"Oh it is awful, isn't it?" Ginny gasped as her giggles finally subsided.
"Alright, so what about that?" Luca inclined her head towards a smaller package that Ginny hadn't noticed.
"Oh, poor sod really shouldn't have. I don't care how good those chocolates are, after a poem like that…" she said, trailing off as she pulled the wrappings from the little parcel. She shook her head in disbelief.
"Bloody git," she muttered.
"What is it?" Luca's brows furrowed.
"Look at this!" Ginny thrust the bottle under her nose.
"Er, looks like perfume to me..."
"Exactly. It looks like perfume, but it's not. Bloody git," she said again, shaking her head.
"It's that stuff from Zonko's, isn't it!" her friend suddenly exclaimed, eyes growing wide with recognition.
"Yeah. Hey, can you look for Malfoy? Just don't let him catch you looking."
Luca nodded and stretched, using the motion to casually scan the tables behind her. Turning to face forward again, she leaned in towards Ginny. "He's looking at you."
"Oh Luca, I have a secret admirer!" Ginny gushed to her friend, loud enough for her voice to carry to the Slytherin table. She scooted closer to Luca, surreptitiously palming a piece of chocolate from the dessert platter infront of her. Ginny made a show of opening the box of chocolates and pretending to select one to try. Angling herself in such a way that Malfoy would be sure to see, she popped the chocolate from the dessert platter into her mouth.
"Mmmm, this is so good," she moaned. "So sweet," she added loudly.
Ducking her head to peer at the Slytherin's, Luca turned to Ginny with a triumphant grin. "He's bought it."
Outside Professor Snape's classroom, Ginny waited for her not-so-secret 'admirer' to approach her. She did not have to wait long.
"Did my eyes deceive me, or did someone actually take pity on you and send you a love letter this morning?" Draco's tone was incredulous.
For her part, Ginny let the snide skepticism in his question roll off her back completely. After all, she had a feeling today was going to be a very, very good day. Glancing around, she saw all the seventh year Gryffindors and Slytherins had arrived. Well, the whole school would've been better, but this'll have to do. They'll find out soon enough, anyway.
"Hello, darling," she greeted, voice saccharine sweet as she pulled the bottle out from her robe pocket. "I didn't know dragon dung was such a turn on to you. You should have said something," she said, her face a moue of faux-disappointment. Holding up the bottle, she relished the fear in Malfoy's eyes. In one deft move, she doused him with the scent.
Malfoy's face contorted with rage. It seemed he had lost all ability to speak.
"Whoops," she said. "My finger slipped. Perhaps you could try a shower?"
Smirking, she pushed past him and entered the classroom..
To think, he had provided her with all the revenge she needed. This was no longer going to be a fair game, politely taking turns. This was war.
A/N: 2006 - I know, not my longest, but I just liked how it ended too much to bother ruining it by trying to make it longer. I hope you liked it-R&R!