Chapter 18: Winning Someone Over

By the afternoon, Ginny received a bouquet of freesias with a note that said, "I love to piss you off. You look cute mad."

After sending a note that simply said, "Piss off," and throwing three flowers into the trunk and giving the rest to Ron to give to Hermione. Before she knew it, it was time to go on patrol… with Draco.

"Quit following me." Ginny spat behind her into the darkness.

"We're on patrol together," Draco replies out of the dark, walking casually behind her.

Ginny mumbled something to herself.

"Now that wasn't a very lady like thing to say…" Draco whispered as he held onto her elbow, pulling her towards him. He could feel her shiver beside him.

"Oh piss it! Damn it Malfoy! Leave me alone! Don't you have some piece of arse to follow around!" Ginny yelled yanking her arm away from him. Suddenly she realized how cold the corridors were after being so close to Draco's warmth.

"Language Weasley, my ears…"

"… Don't work! I've told you not to send me things and what do I find a mere hour after sending you a rather clever but mean comment? Expensive perfume. And flowers. Again!"

"Getting tired of my tokens of admiration?" Draco asked casually, know exactly how to push her buttons.

"Well you are getting quite repetitive. One has an opportunity to tire quickly in this case…"

"What if I ride into the night sky and bring down a box of stars for you?" Draco asked simply. Ginny turned around to look him in the eyes, but realized it was too dark to see anything. So she just took it as a sarcastic remark and didn't answer.

"So I take it you really can't be won over with flowers… I should have realized you weren't just trying to be cute with that…" Draco said as he walked ahead of Ginny down the empty hall.

"I wasn't trying to be cute. It just comes naturally," Ginny replied sarcastically.

"And you weren't a fan of the sentimental gifts…"

"Because you didn't mean it!" Ginny yelled as she pushed past Draco. He gave her a quizzical look. She looked back and said, "I'm tired of walking behind you. My turn to lead."

"Because it would kill you to walk WITH me…" Draco replied sarcastically.

"I don't want anything from you…"

"You weren't trying to be hard to get? So next time…"

"So next time, why don't you try something new and listen to me before you go and blow a ridiculous amount of money on flowers?" Ginny yelled over her shoulder as she stalked off towards the library.

"Or I could send a bigger amount…" Draco answered with his infamous smirk, pushing the doors open again before they smacked him in the face.

"ARRR! Why don't you just get a clue Malfoy?" Ginny shrieked as she stopped in the potions section and spun around, fiery hair whipping around her, the ends a warning golden color.

"And don't say you don't want anything from me, Ginny. Who are you fooling. You want something alright…"

"I don't want anything," Ginny mumbled while she looked down at her feet. Draco just stared at her. He didn't say anything, but then again he never had to make Ginny uncomfortable. She started to fidget and rub her arm.

"Yeah well it's nothing you can give me, it turns out…" Ginny replied coldly.

"How does jewelry sound?" Draco asked smiling, casually leaning against a bookcase.

"How does 'Kiss my…'" Ginny began, fists clenched at her sides as Draco walked up to her, towering over Ginny's small form.

"Don't mind if I do," Draco whispered before pulling Ginny towards him and planting an ardent kiss onto her mouth. With a natural reaction, after the initial shock, Ginny kissed back as her arms brushed up his black shirt and onto his shoulders. She couldn't help it. She would have settled for friendship but… Draco tangled a hand into the mass of Ginny's fire hair and leaned towards one of the book cases. Ginny's back lodged between to protruding volumes of books and she whimpered, "Ouch" into his mouth. Draco pulled off a little and asked quietly, "What? What's wrong…" before Ginny grabbed a handful of black shirt and pulled him back. But just as Draco's mouth moved away from hers and into another direction, Ginny caught a sigh before it could get out and pushed him off into the bookcase. She realized why this felt like Dejà Vu… Draco arched and eyebrow with interest at Ginny.

"Well alright, if you need to be in control," he groaned, as he looked at Ginny.

"Oh goodness, oh no…" Ginny whispered as she brushed a hand through her messy hair.

"Well then," Draco snickered as he pushed off the bookcase and towards her, but Ginny quickly twirled out of the way.

"NO. You tricked me. You tricked me into this with your flowers, and your talk jewelry, and following after me. All of it just distracted me so that I wouldn't be mad at you! So that I would forget that I didn't want this to happen," Ginny spoke shakily.

"It's a bit late for that Gin. It already happened. And you could have stopped it," Draco simply said as he leaned his head onto a shelf rubbing his forehead.

"How could I have stopped it when you…"

"Kissed you?"

"Ambushed me like this in a deserted library!"

"Hey, you led the way to the library…"

"Yes! To get away from you! I thought books and reading and all that would scare you away!"

"Well, seeing as we're on POTROL DUETY, I think I'm supposed to follow you."

Ginny just stared at him. And then she realized, he was right, deep down inside where she hid all her shameful secrets, she had hoped… wanted. But not like this. "It's not a fair way of playing MALFOY! Why is it that you can only get things through scheming and trickery? Why don't you grow a pair, be a man, and actually try normally! Is that all I am? A game for you to play? See how many times I can trick her into liking me? Trick her into stealing a kiss? Because that's all that was Draco. I didn't want it. If I had, you would have known." She looked up at him and saw that he was trying to figure out what to say to all that. He was upset. Mad. She didn't really know, but then again she didn't care. He was just using her for a little fun. "You know, maybe you only do all it this way because you know you won't be able to win someone over by just being you. Is that it? Are you scared, Malfoy? Scared of rejection? People knowing who you are?"

And with that she left him feeling ashamed.

(a/n): and that my friends is the last of the pre-written that's been sitting around waiting to be posted. I don't know why you guys think that Draco's TRYING so hard with honorable intentions. I mean, maybe he's just bored and find it fun to chase girls and then piss them off... gees. Thanks for the reivews though!