Disclaimer: I disclaim.

This was written for Aerileigh's prompt on The DG! Forum titled A Malfoy Inspects a Weasley After a Fight.

I think I interpreted the prompt differently than everyone else. Oops. :)

It's rather hurried but I hope you enjoy it.

I've Got You Under My Skin

Heartbreak Warfare

He wiped a bit of spittle off his chin with a deliberate, furious swipe of his hand. He lay panting on his elbows, shattered china plates strewn on the immaculate floor. He could feel the rage blister the inside of his head, her jabbed words ramming their iron heels into the splinters of his skull. He wanted nothing more than for this to end; for her to leave so he could crawl sorely back into his dormitory to lick his smarting wounds.

She persisted though, and as much as he desperately wanted to flee, the irrational fury within him propelled him to stand, injured but adamant.

She would not beat him. She would not shame the house of Malfoy.

And he would not disgrace his family.

He could gradually hear the protests from the others, their tinny voices ringing in his ears.

"Ginny!" Ron roared, twisting wildly under Crabbe's grip. "Just hex him once more and get out! He's not worth it! Come on, you'll get hurt!"

She snarled at her brother, "Stay out of this, Ron. This is none of your business."

Neville pleaded, "Ginny, please! We need to get out of here, Harry and Hermione-"

A fierce blow from Goyle hastily shushed him.

She turned back to her opponent, her brown eyes alight with a blaze he had never seen before. This was between them, and them only.

For half a second, he wondered how things had turned this ugly. It had started as an indifferent, nonchalant tryst. It meant nothing to either of them, simply a convenient, distracting outlet. Slowly, ever so slowly, (and how he hated to admit it) their relationship had gradually deepened, and they retracted their claws, allowing the other to peek into their hearts.

He should have known she would be repulsed.

He also should have known that Weasleys loathed betrayal as much as Malfoys.

So here he was, locked in a violent battle with the same girl who, only a few months past, he had been kissing in private behind the Quidditch stadium.

He was forced back into the present as she raised her wand, and he barely was able to deflect the jinx. His mind was occupied with strategies, spells, and counter-curses. She was an aggressive dueler, and it took all his mental capacities to stay one step ahead of her.

The hex came out nowhere, for he had just blocked a particularly troublesome curse and was therefore unprotected.

With a triumphant cry she grinned as Draco was thrown backwards several feet by the Bat Bogey Hex, smashing into Umbridge's neatly organized desk. He shrieked as a dozen velvety bats shot towards his face with surprising speed.

Crabbe and Goyle dropped both Ron and Neville in order to rush to their friend's side. Pansy tried desperately to keep a hold of Luna, but Neville and Ron, who had now found their wands, easily disarmed her. As Goyle somehow stumbled out the counter-curse and the bats puffed into swirling balls of smoke, Draco caught one last look at Ginny.

Her friends had already disappeared down the hallway, but she threw one final glance back into Umbridge's office, meeting Draco's eyes.

They stared at each other for a moment, unflinching. With a victorious glimmer in her eye, she nodded once, as if to say, "Well fought," and stalked off.

As she walked away from him once more, he noticed the proud way her hair swung and the confident step in her gait.

He rested on the ground, pitying his fortunes and despising the fate that had ripped such a strong woman from his arms. Even as he was planning his cruel revenge, the seed was planted, deep in the very pocket of his conscience, awaiting the moment to mature.

Amidst the fear and cowardice and hatred, that small green sprout of love is why Draco Malfoy never became a murderer.