The 'Master' Plan
Chapter Two: Game Plans and Dumb Luck
YuriYaoiHet_ILoveEmAll
Ginny lay back in the hospital bed. Madame Pomfrey had just helped her into her pajamas and was now doing something on the other side of the curtains surrounding Ginny's bed. She honestly didn't see why she had to stay in the hospital wing overnight - she still hurt, but it was bearable- but Madame Pomfrey and Proffessors McGonagall and Snape had shot down all of her arguments against it. Her only consolation was the fact that, since she and Draco were the only occupants and he was unconcious, she had a few hours to be alone.
Colin had left a few minutes before. He'd only been able to stay long enough for her to give him the edited version of what happened. Ron, Harry and Hermione had decided not to visit her for some reason, but she didn't mind. She honestly didn't feel like talking to anyone and the quiet gave her an oppurtunity to think over what she would say to Draco when the time came. Somehow, she just couldn't she herself blurting it out. Oh, hi, Malfoy. Hope you're doing alright. By the way, I messed up your potion so I could ask you out. Yeah. That'd be a pleasant conversation, she thought wryly.
"Alright, Miss Wealey. Lights out." Pomfrey chided, peeking around the curtain.
"Yes'm." Ginny nodded obediently and leaned over, blowing out the candle on her bedside table before laying down.
The only illumination in the room was dim moonlight. She heard the medi-witch move towards her office, humming tunelessly under her breath. As soon as the office door shut Ginny sat up, her joints aching slightly, and grabbed her wand off of her bedside table. Practicing charms always helped her to calm down.
There was an empty glass on the table that had held water. She cast a refilling charm on it a levitated it off the table silently. Deciding this was too easy, she tilted the glass and poured the water out. Just before it hit the floor, she cast another levitation charm on the water and floated it back to eye level in a blob. She sat the empty glass on the table and began casting spells on the water, manipulating it. Soon, she was surrounded by little schools of tiny, shimmering fish swimming lazily through the air.
A moan broke her concentration and the fish burst in tiny showers of water. She got up slowly and peeked around her curtains. Something was moving behind Draco's curtain. Worried, she moved forwards.
"Hello?" She called softly. "Malfoy?"
"W-who's there." He called, his voice weak.
"Me." She reached his curtain and pulled it back slightly. There were thick bandages around his head. She took in the damage she'd caused him gravley.
He rolled his eyes. "Oh, great, not only am I in pain, but I have to put up with a Gryffindor. And a Weasley at that!" He spat.
Ginny's jaw dropped. "Excuse me?"
"You heard me!"
"Fine! Be a prat!" She snapped. "Sorry for checking to see if you were ok!" She let the curtain fall and stomped back to her bed, seething.
She flopped back on her bed, ignoring the pain. Stupid, bloody prat! She thought angrily. I'm glad he got hurt. Bastard needs to be taken down a peg or two. She wan't going to tell him the truth. Let him go right on beleiving he'd messed up the potion. Might teach him a lesson.
After about half an hour of mentally cursing Malfoy from his mother to his dirty laundry, she was marginally calmer. She sighed pulling out her wand. She began drawing lazy designs in the air and , after a few moments, her wand began letting out tiny sparks that hung in the air for a moment, before fading. It gave her an idea and she cast a sustaining spell on the sparks and kept drawing. Soon she was surrounded by tiny, burning symbols and pictures revolving like constelations in the night sky.
"Pretty." Someone murmured, and she sat up with a gasp, spells winking out, to see Draco standing just inside her curtain. He'd taken off the bandages and there was a nasty bump on the side of his head, just above is temple.
She lifted her wand to point it at him, immediatley distrustful. "What do you want?"
Draco smirked and lifted his hands. "Hold it, Weasley." He stepped closer. "Actually, I have to ask you something." He said, pulling out his wand.
She watched him suspiciously. She was about to bat- boogey him, when he flicked his wand at the candle in her table, lighting it, before sticking it back in his pocket. Ginny almost gasped. In the candlelight, he looked even more dreadful. His skin was deathly pale and his eyes were tight with pain that he was obviously fighting not to show. Remorse flooded through her and she lowered her wand, looking away.
"Look that bad, huh?" He sat down in the chair by her bed and put his face in his hands, looking defeated.
"What's wrong?" She asked lightly when he didnt speak.
He gave her a pained look. "You got hurt when my potion exploded, didn't you?"
Ginny looked away. "I . . ." Words failed her. Then she sighed. How could this have gone so wrong? She looked back up at him. He opened his mouth, as if to speak, before shutting it. "Look, I-" She started to say.
Draco held up a hand. "This is hard enough for me, Weasley, so just let me get it out." He took a deep breath. "I'm sorry."
Ginny's jaw dropped in complete shock. "What did you say?" Had Draco Malfoy, the Slytherin King, just apologized to her.
Draco glared at her. "I'm not saying it again." He growled, standing. He started to push the curtain aside.
Ginny started to get up. "Wait."
He spun around. "What?"
She took a deep breath. "There's something I need to tell you. Please give me time to explain before you start yelling at me."
He looked torn for a moment, before nodding and sitting back down. "Ok." He propped his elbow on his knee and rested his hand in his chin. "I'm listening."
Ginny was terrified. This was not going to be plesant. She took a deep breath. "I messed up your potion!" She said in a rush. Draco stiffened with anger and she swore she saw his fingers twitch towards his wand. "Wait! You said you'd hear me out!" He gritted his teeth and she rushed on. "I didn't mean for anyone to get hurt. I just wanted to get you to have to redo it in detention. I was going to get myself in detention too. I needed to get you alone. I've been wracking my brains for weeks trying to figure out a way to. Obviously, I couldn't just walk up to you and ask you to talk."
Draco still looked very angry. "And what was so important that you needed to talk to me about?"
Ginny blushed and looked away. "Totally stupid reason. It's not important now."
"I'd say it's important!" He hissed, leaning forward menacingly. Ginny leaned back and he kept moving forwards until she was pinned against the headboard. She was panting with fear and his angry gaze peircing her made her gulp convulsivley. "We can do this the easy way or the hard way, Weasley. Now spit it out, or else!" He spat.
Ginny was unable to look away from those angry, blue-grey orbs. She quailed under the force of his words. "I was going to ask you to date me!" She blurted out. Draco froze, a shocked look on his face. "No. Wait. That didn't come out right."
"You almost killed me trying to ask me out? Are you completley bonkers" Draco asked, still shocked.
Ginny glared at him. "I told you I never meant for that to happen. And I'm only wanting to date you to get back at Ron, Harry and Hermione. Don't kid yourself into thinking I'm attracted to you." The last was a lie. With him leaning over her, breath washing over her face, their bodies so close together, she found she was very attracted. Stupid! She chided herself. Draco leaned back and sat down on the edge of her bed, still looking shell-shocked. She decided to go ahead and tell him the whole story. "I need to show them who they are dealing with, stupid prats that they are!" Her hands balled into fists and her eyes blazed with anger. "They treat me like a child. I risked my life to help them, and did I get any sort of thanks? No!" She spat. She was distantly aware that Draco was watching her with an odd look on his face, but she continued her rant. It felt good to finally vent her anger to someone other than Colin, even if it was Malfoy. "They don't even acknowledge me unless they need me. I want to show them I'm not just some kind of toy they can use and throw away whenever they facny! I figured dating you was the best way to go." She looked down, the anger leaving her in a wash of defeat. "Like i said. Totally irrelevant now."
They sat in silence for a moment, before Draco spoke. "So let me get this straight. In the very first potions class of the year you messed up my potion, totally undetected in a crowded classroom, just so you could ask me to help you get back at the Dream Team?"
Ginny blushed again. "When you say it like that it just sounds mental."
"More like brilliant! I mean, except for the getting me hurt part its a brilliant plan." He let out a loud laugh, completley surpising her. "Are you sure you're a Gryffindor? You seem like you should have been in Slytherin, you coniving witch!"
Ginny's jaw dropped. Had he just complimented her? Maybe the crash into the wall had addled his brains. But at the same time, what he'd just said reminded her of something that only the Dairy of Tom Riddle had known. She shivered at the horrible memories that flashed through her mind, before shaking herself free of them. Now was not the time to open that wound. She focused on Draco to distract herself. He really was handsome sitting there with a roughish smirk on his face. For some reason, she felt like telling him one of her most guarded secrets. Something inside her told her that showing him trust was the best thing to do.
"I'll tell you a secret, if you promise not to tell. "She said, leaning forward smiling slightly, her voice throaty. She lowered her lashes and blinked up at him. Oh, gods what am I doing? She thought wildly. Am I flirting with Malfoy?
It seemed to work though. He smirked at her and leaned forwards. "Tell me."
"The Sorting Hat wanted to put me in Slytherin."
He looked shocked. "Why didn't it?" He asked lightly.
She looked away. "I was so afraid my family would disown me, I begged it not to."
"Then this plan of yours might work. Slytherin."He said leaning back. "Lets do it."
It was Ginny's turn to look shocked. "Really? You'll actually do it?"
Draco nodded. "Of course. Like I said, it's a brilliant plan. And I don't pass up a chance to mess with Potter and his followers." Then he looked back at her. "Of course you do realize or realationship goes nowhere. Don't get any illusions about anything other than a girlfreind status."
Ginny was still shocked, but at that she snorted. "No worries there."
He nodded. "Good. Now, we'll have to be convincing about it so we won't just come out and say we're dating."
"You mean get caught by a few Hufflepuffs sneaking into an empty classroom or get caught hanging out together on the gounds alone."
He smirked at her. "Exactly." Then he gave her an appraising look. "You do realize we have to be physically involved right?"
"What do you mean 'physically'."She said guardedly. "I'm not having sex with you."
Draco laughed. "I didn't mean that. I meant snogging. You have snogged someone before haven't you?"
She blushed. "And how is that any of your buisness?"
Draco smirked and leaned forward until their noses were almost brushing, He moved so quickly, Ginny didn't have time to move away. "We're dating now, right?"
Her blush darkened. "Yes."
"Then tell me." He tilted his head and moved even closer. "Have you ever kissed anyone before?"
Ginny's breathing picked up. He was so close. She barley had to lean forward and she'd be kissing him. Wait? She thought. Am I actually thinking about kissing Malfoy? The answer was yes and for some reason, she thought she'd enjoy kissing him very much.
"No. I've never been kissed before." She breathed.
Draco leaned back slightly. "If you're a lousy kisser then I won't be able to do this."
Ginny's jaw dropped. "Who said I was a lousy kisser?"
Draco chuckled at the anger in her voice. "Well. If you've never kissed before, how do you know? We should find out." He leaned close again until their lips were almost brushing.
She blushed at his words, anger leaving her as the desire to kiss him came back. Somehow she felt she was in dangerous territory. Why do I want this so bad? This is only supposed to be about getting back at Harry, Ron and Hermione. She wasn't supposed to actually like Malfoy.
Draco seemed to see something in her eyes. He brushed his lips over her cheek. "You want me to kiss you, don't you?"
"I . . ." Words failed her.
He kept brushing his lips over her face until he got back to her mouth. "Tell me." His lips barely brushed hers as he spoke.
His touches made things low in her body tighten. This was a new sensation and she wasn't sure how to take it. She decided to go with her body's cues and tell the truth. "Yes." She breathed.
Draco moved away from her lips, placing butterfly kisses on her cheeks. "Yes, what?"
"Yes. I want you to kiss me."
Draco smirked. "Then let's she how good you are." He whispered.
Then he kissed her. His mouth was soft against hers. He brushed their lips together tenderly before running his tongue over her lips. It took her a moment to realize what he wanted and then she opened her mouth, allowing him entrance. She sat there as he explored her mouth, brushing his tongue over hers. She began kissing him back and their tongues danced together. Her arms wound around his neck, pulling him closer to deepen the kiss as his arms wound around her. Why did it feel so good? Pleasure zinged through her. She bit his tongue lightly and the kiss changed. He pushed his lips against her roughly and she responded to the changed tenor of the kiss with more enthusiasm than she liked. She was enjoying this far, far too much. As he sipped on her lips, the thought flew from her mind and she moaned into his mouth.
After a moment he pulled back, beathing heavily. "Are you sure you've never kissed anyone before?" He asked suspiciously.
Her breathing was as rough as his. " I'm sure." She looked away from him. Why did she want to kiss him again. This was far too confusing for her to deal with while still reeling from the kiss. "That was on hell of a first kiss." She murmered.
"I'll say." Then he moved away from her. Was she just imagining it or did she really see reluctance in his eyes as he pulled away. He sat back down in the chair by her bedside. "Ok, Since this was your idea, you come up with our first 'meeting'." He said, going back to buisness.
She shook herself out of her stupor. Buisness first. " Well, it depends on how fast you want rumors to spread. The Hufflepuff's don't gossip much, so if we get caught by a few of them then it'll be awhile before rumors of us seeing each other get around."
"That's for the better though. I take it you'd like to keep it a secret from your housemates for as long as possible."
She nodded. "Then we can stage a dramatic scene for the my brother and the others to walk across a few weeks later."
He laughed. "Perfect."
They began talking, throwing ideas around. She quickly realized that Draco was a brilliant planner and alot more charismatic than she'd figured. She realized belatedly that she'd mostly been going on Harry, Hermione and Ron's opinion about him and decided to try to really get to know him. It might actually turn out that he was an ok guy. The Slytherins seemed to respect and look up to him and she knew now that it wasn't just because he was their housemate. Not even the greatest amount of inter-house unity could make a complete prat likeable. Not even family ties could do that, if her relationship with Ron were taken into account.
As they talked and the plan began to take shape Ginny felt a sense of happiness well over her. This was actually going to work! Thank the gods for sheer dumb luck.
An there, my readers, is chapter two. As you've already gathered, I made it so Ginny has never dated anyone before. It was best for what I wanted. Thank you all so much for the reviews. I've been tossing this idea around or awhile and I'm glad you guys like it. Keep reviewing to tell me what you like and don't.