A/N: Oh dear. This one was long. Not that well written, but long. Tee hee.

Prompt #26: 8/3/17

1370 words, according to Google docs.

"Hello, Ginny!" Pansy chirped brightly as she passed. Ginny nodded absently before noticing with a start that it had been Pansy who had greeted her. Pansy who had seemed oddly cheerful this morning. She whirled around only to find Pansy's expensive black robes swishing past the corner - Snape's been teaching the Slytherins his ways, Ginny thought wryly - and she dismissed Pansy's performance as a fluke.

Whistling absently as she entered the Great Hall, she didn't notice the excited whispers between Luna and Ron that abruptly muted when she sat down, nor the fact that Luna, however friendly with the Gryffindors, was seated at the wrong table. Something that professors would normally look down upon, but something that the professors seemed to be ignoring today.

"Hello, Luna," she said as she bit into a crumpet.

"Hey, Ginny." She missed the conspiratorial gleam in her friend's normally dreamy eyes as she finished her hurried meal, voting to spend the rest of her breakfast in the library reading up on exotic potions ingredients.

During Transfiguration that morning, Professor McGonagall had to reprimand her usually bright student twice - "Honestly, Miss Weasley, how do you expect to keep up your grades in my class if you don't pay attention?" - and Ginny had to try three times before she could successfully transform her chair into a dog and back again.

The alarm bells finally began ringing when a firm shove from someone in the hallway ran her straight into Draco Malfoy - prat extraordinaire and annoying-bugger-who-wouldn't-leave-her-alone.

"Bugger off, Malfoy," Ginny spat, looking around furtively in an attempt to identify the shover.

"I do believe it was you, Weasley, who ran into me and not the other way around." She ignored the annoyingly smug look on his face, finally turning her eyes upwards - he was just so much taller than she was, godammit - and glaring at him.

"Logic," she snapped, turning away and pushing her way through the crowd. "Something I do not have the time to worry about right now!"

She most certainly did not have time to notice or worry about the slightly crestfallen expression on the Slytherin's face.

ooo

"Hey, Draco," Blaise said casually, throwing an arm over his friend's shoulders. "Don't be so sad mate. You won't have to worry about her after tomorrow's Hogsmeade visit." Draco's shoulders tensed.

"Why not?" he asked tersely.

"I heard she got a date," Blaise whispered, making a big deal of looking around to check that others weren't listening in. "Just as friends, she says, but one can never be too certain…." He sauntered off, feeling immensely satisfied with his part of the scheme. Operation get-annoying-stubborn-brats-together had begun.

ooo

"Hey, Ginny!" Colin tucked his arm around his friend's waist, grinning as she rolled her eyes and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"Hey, Colin. Why the good mood?"

"Oh, I dunno." His grin widened - he could feel the eyes of a certain annoying blond Slytherin trained on him and Ginny. He tightened his grip on her waist. "Maybe because I'm going on a date with my bestest friend?"

"Do be a dear, Colin, and shut up." His laughter mingled with the general excitement of an upcoming Hogsmeade trip.

Luna situated herself with Blaise in a secluded booth across from the one Ginny and Colin were in - the willowy girl exchanging a wink with Colin before Madame Rosmerta bustled over to take their orders. So far, everything was set up perfectly. Blaise confirmed that Draco was currently brooding in Honeydukes before slipping into the booth, giving Luna a chaste kiss on the cheek.

"Here comes the dragon himself," Blaise murmured, before leaning over the table and kissing Luna more thoroughly. Luna muttered something against his lips. "What was that?" Blaise pulled away slightly, pouting.

"I said, is Pansy in position?"

"Yes, love." He returned to kissing her.

Meanwhile, in the booth occupied by Ginny and Colin, Ginny was having the strangest sensation of something happening that she was not aware of.

"Colin?" she asked, peering closely at her friend. "Why, exactly, are we going on this date?" Colin's eyes widened in faux hurt.

"Why Ginny!" he proclaimed loudly to the entire café. "I've had a crush on you for the longest time and I wanted to go out on an official date with you - " He was abruptly cut off as a hand shot out to grab Colin by the shoulder. Ginny's eyes traced the slim hand to a very imposing, very intimidating Draco Malfoy.

"Hello, Creevey," Draco said scathingly, glaring at the younger boy. "I hope you wouldn't mind if I talked to my girlfriend for a moment."

"Of course not, Malfoy," Colin returned coolly - although this was all part of the plan, he still wasn't very happy about the way Draco had interrupted their conversation.

Ginny, meanwhile, was looking from Colin to Draco, confusion etched on her features. "Colin? Wha - "

"C'mon, Ginny." Draco practically dragged her out of the shop - Ginny was still too surprised by his declaration and his use of her first name to do anything about it. She finally came to her senses when they had exited the shop and quickly dug in her heels, shaking off the blond and glaring at him.

"What is the meaning of this?" she demanded, tugging a hand through her curls. "I do not appreciate your treatment of Colin, I am not your girlfriend, and I wasn't aware that you even knew my first name!"

Of course, Draco was too preoccupied with staring at her full, pouty lips to form any semblance of a coherent thought or response.

"What?" he asked intelligently after Ginny jabbed him in the arm, hard.

"I asked, you prat, what in the world you were thinking back there! Do you realize that everyone thinks that we're a couple?"

She took a steadying breath, which promptly caught in her throat as Draco said, "Would that assumption be so bad?"

"What?" she spluttered, her arms flailing. Finally regaining her power of speech, she said, "Yes, it would be bad!"

In the alleyway closest to the arguing pair, Pansy elbowed Ron in the ribs as he growled.

"Weasley," she warned, her eyes narrowing. "You are aware that this was all your idea?"

"Yes," Ron hissed, "but it doesn't mean I have to like it!"

"Shut up."

Ginny was continuing her long rant when Draco, fed up and close to snapping, closed his fist around the front of Ginny's cardigan and pressed his lips to hers in a wild, possessive gesture that left Ginny breathless. Her eyes were wide as saucers when Draco pulled away, still smirking smugly.

"Care to continue?"

"Uh….what?"

They both spun around, however, as a wild exclamation exploded behind them and red and silver sparks began raining down on the street, leaving the faint scent of cinnamon and flowers behind. They both began sputtering at that point.

"Surprise!" Colin shouted, throwing open the door of the café. "Finally, you two got the nerve to snog each other. Took you long enough!" He was followed by a beaming Luna and grumbling Harry, who still wasn't completely satisfied with the pairing.

Ginny realized first, her eyes widening even more.

"Conspiracy!" she shouted, trying to point her fingers at everyone at once. "You - you - you - "

"Very well said, love," Draco drawled, having recovered after Ginny's obvious statement. "Now, can we please get back to snogging?"

"You!" she shouted, pointing at him. "Was this your, plan, too?"

"Nope!" Blaise stepped in, grinning from ear to ear. "Draco was way too infatuated with you to think up anything this clever."

"You - "

Draco shut her up again by kissing her.

When they finally broke apart, Ginny leaning on Draco's chest for support, numerous catcalls rising from the watchful group around them.

"Oh dear," Ginny murmured. "This was all planned, wasn't it?" A laugh rumbled in Draco's throat.

"Yes. Not that I mind." She glared accusingly at her friends, but the effect was ruined by a smile pulling at her lips.

"Try anything like that again…" she threatened.

"We understand," they chorused, smiling angelically.

"Well then," Ginny conceded, "I suppose you can be forgiven." She gave them one last glare before pulling Draco's head down to hers. She rather liked this conspiracy.