And here's Chapter 13. Dear Readers, it is by my friend Pants' design to get this chapter up tonight, so, if you like the story, thank her for the update. If I didn't update, I think there was a guillotine waiting for me somewhere :P
So, without further ado:
My eyes flew open the next morning. Today was The Day. The ball. The day that I would triumph or fail.
Okay, maybe I was overstating things. However, it didn't make me any less freaked out.
I got dressed, peaking at the clock in the room. Four in the morning. Needless to say, none of the other girls were up yet.
I crept down the stairs; slippered feet still cold on the stone steps. Pulling my fuzzy green bathrobe around me, I made my way out of the portrait hole.
Luckily, no one was awake, and I made it to the kitchens without being interrupted by other students wondering if the rumors about Draco and I were true.
The kitchens were abuzz with frantic house elves running about, trying to get breakfast for hundreds of students ready.
"Daisy! The butter, pass the butter!"
"Gordon, I need the eggs!"
"Careful! Oh, darn it, Kitty!"
They froze when they saw me, looking at me with wide eyes.
"I didn't mean to disturb you," I say quietly. "Carry on."
Finally, Dobby emerges. "Where is the raspberries?" he pauses, finally realizing what's going on right in front of him, "Miss Wheezy!"
To the other elves, he shocks me by saying, "you make the custard Dram. I'll take care of Miss."
To my surprise, they all listen to him.
Satisfied, Dobby turns to me. "What needs you, Miss Wheezy?"
"Do you have any hot chocolate about?"
He nods, disappearing into the sea of cooks.
A short while later, he returns, holding a charming little silver tray and cup, full of thick, steaming brown liquid. Beside it lay little marshmallows, a cup of sugar, milk, and a teaspoon. Beside the cup is a small serving of buttered crumpets.
He holds it out to me, and says, shyly, "Miss. Wheezy can take this to the Room of Requirement? 'Tis a bit hectic in here."
"Of course," I reply, "thank you very much Dobby."
Taking the tray, I make my way to the Room, sitting on a fuzzy chocolate brown couch, munching on my crumpets.
Retrieving a book from the shelves, I sip my cup of chocolate.
Flipping through it, I'm immersed in my thoughts until I remember. I get to see my dress today!
Abandoning my food and book, I rush around the castle and up to Gryffindor Tower.
Rushed, pulling on my school robes and tying a gold ribbon to the end of my hastily braided hair, I rush back down the stairs to go and find Luna.
While it's still very early, I jog hastily to the other side of the castle, to Ravenclaw Tower.
A sleepy looking first year steps out, and I halt her.
"Good morning," I say.
She squints at me, as if not quite believing that I was talking to her. "H-hello," she stutters out, eying me warily.
"Do you think that you can do me a favor? I really, really need to see my friend Luna. It's important. Can you fetch her for me?"
She nods, smiling diffidently. "Sure."
"Thank you," I say as she rushes hurriedly back up the steps that lead into the Tower.
About ten minutes later, a grumbling Luna meets me outside, the first year nowhere to be found.
I survey her pink bunny pajamas I can't help but stifle a giggle.
She yawns loudly, "this had better be good, Genevieve Molly Weasley. It's five a.m."
"I've been up since four. You got lucky."
"Yay me," she mutters sarcastically.
"Are our dresses finished? Can I see them?"
She sighs, "I suppose, since I'm already up," she pauses. "How about you grab some breakfast and your mask? I'll meet you in the Room of Requirement in a half hour, okay? With the dresses."
I nod, "I'll see you there."
Soon enough, I have a full breakfast set out for the two of us in the Room, even though I'd already had breakfast. I had also carefully set my mask down on a little end table.
Luna walked in a few minutes later, nursing a cup of coffee, looking much more awake, and our dresses.
I hurry forward to try to take mine, concealed by a garment bag, but she jerks away quickly.
"Not happening, Gin. We'll do my fitting first, and I'll take care of yours after lunch. Then I can get all of your stuff done at once. You are not to touch that bag until then."
I pouted, looking at her in dismay, and then, longingly, at the bag, where I could just see a bit of snow-white fabric peaking out.
She knocks me over the head. "Stop sulking, Gin. You need to help me into my dress.
The green dress has a green satin ribbon in the back, which I tie into a fancy bow for her.
She looks wonderful. The dress falls just past her knees, and the fabric looked lovely, floaty and shimmering. The square bodice with a satin, green-ribboned front combined with the capped, ruched sleeves, was whimsical. The sunflower brooch glimmered in the burgeoning sunlight.
She then produced a pair of emerald green dancing shoes, with matching sunflowers, and pulled them onto her feet.
I smiled at her. "You look like a fairy from the forest."
She looks down at herself, assessing. "I do." Twirling a bit, she continues, "but I messed up a stitch on the shoulder. It's a bit too loose."
I look at her, and she waves me away, picking up a blueberry muffin. "You go on, Gin. Go bother your boyfriend. It'll take awhile to fix this."
I hesitate, biting into my orange, looking my dress, concealed in plastic.
Whereupon, Luna tries to force me out the door, and I finally comply, snapping, "I'm going, I'm going!"
The only problem, again, is that I had no idea where Draco was, if he was even awake this early.
Grumbling about bossy friends, I run a very surprised Blaise flat.
"I'm sorry, I'm so very sorry!" I say, regaining my footing quickly and standing up.
He groans from the floor, "Weaselette!"
"I'm sorry!"
He stands up. "Where were you going in such a hurry anyway?"
"I wasn't hurrying, that was my normal pace," I say.
"Whatever," he replies, "again, where were you going?"
"To see Draco. Luna had to fix her dress and she told me to leave."
"He's still asleep."
I sigh, "I'm bored!"
"But," a glint comes to Blaise's eye, "we could wake him up."
"You evil Slytherin, you," I tease, "let's do it!"
Hence why I was creeping into the Slytherin common rooms, where I was most definitely not supposed to be, and down the stairs to the boys' dormitories.
I shivered; it was freezing in the dungeons. The disillusionment charm on me, luckily, was still holding.
Finally, we'd made it to their dorm. Blaise opened the door quietly, the well oiled joints not making a bit of sound.
It was a pretty dormitory, if you liked snakes. There were two large, king sized feather beds with silvery snake headboards, and a window where you could see the underwater life. The room was also very clean. I knew that it had to be because of Draco, he'd struck me as a neat freak.
Draco, himself, lay on the bed by the window. Snoring peacefully, he was sound asleep.
Winking at Blaise, I thrust my wand in front of me, "levicorpus!"
My coconspirator and I laughed to the bursting point upon hearing Draco shout in surprise and dismay, waking up, upside down.
"Ginny! Blaise! What are you two doing?" he thrashed around wildly, eyes silver with fury. "I want an explanation, and I want it now!"
"Well," I say, walking up to him and pecking his cheek, "I was bored."
"Glad I proved entertaining," he seethes, "but it's," he checks, "exactly six thirty three in the morning, on a Saturday, so let me down!"
"Oh, alright," I say, pouting. "Lebricorpus!"
He falls down onto the bed with an 'oomph.' And he doesn't look very happy.
Deciding that I needed to diffuse the situation before someone lost an arm; I sat beside Draco on the bed, wrapping my free arm around his naked (and very muscled) torso. He finally relaxes a little, though I can tell that he's still angry.
"What was that all about?"
"Blaise wouldn't just tell me how to get into the Slytherin common rooms, and I was bored, as I said, and here we are."
He shakes his head, deciding he doesn't really want to know my motives. He then proceeds to glare at Blaise, who hastily makes up a (lousy) excuse to leave the room.
I snuggle into Draco, who at last sighs and smiles at me.
"It's so hard to be mad at you," he eventually says, "I can't."
"You could," I reply softly, "if I made you mad enough."
"There's a breaking point for anyone, even those you love, I suppose."
I feel myself inhale sharply. "You love me?"
He bites his lip, as if nervous. However, Draco was never nervous; bothered, irritated, anxious, but never nervous.
"Do you, do you mind if I, if I tell you, erm, something?"
"Draco, you're stuttering, is something wrong?"
"Well, quite the opposite, unless of course…well nevermind that. I'll just tell you then: I've loved you for a long time, Gin."
He smiles at me lightly, trying to play it all off as unimportant, but I know better.
"You acted like you hated me!"
"I tried to hate you, had to, didn't i?"
"You could have alienated me forever, and if you had done that neither of us would be in this sort of..."
He looks at me sharply. "Don't you think I knew that? I was scared to death for you. If I'd somehow let it slip, if I failed at Legitimens, you, you Ginny, would have died."
I somehow manage to grasp how severe the situation had been for him, and my heart broke.
"Oh Draco," I manage, feeling the sting of tears in my eyes, "I love you. I love you so much," and I wrap my arms around him, tighter, feeling as if he was still in danger even though there was none.
"It's all right," he soothes, tightening his arm around me comfortingly, ever strong, my Draco. "I was never caught, was I?"
I shake my head no. "I bet," I say, not trusting my voice but unable to not speak, "I bet that you did admirably well."
He puffs a little, peacock like, and I stifle my tears and laugh. That was all over now. I had a loving boyfriend, the Ball was tonight, and everything was going smoothly. And I definitely planned on actually enjoying it.
"I love you," I say, savoring the words on my tongue, rolling off easily and honestly. It's all behind you Gin, it's all over now.
"I love you more."
Another detail chapter. Alas, maybe the ball will get into the next one. Thank you for spending valuable minutes of your life reading my fanfic, and have a wonderful evening.
Sincerely,
An Author That Adores Reviews
:)