The Laws Have Changed - Chapter 14
She practically skipped back to Gryffindor Tower later that afternoon, after she spent most of the morning lazing about in bed with Draco. Anytime she had tried to sneak out of his embrace after their, admittedly, surprising morning, he would yank her back to her previous position; claiming that he had something important to tell her.
The first time he had used that excuse, he had simply given her a kiss, a grin, and told her that he loved her when she asked what the important thing was. The second time, he gave her a kiss and told her she was beautiful. She blushed profusely at that, which only caused him to repeat it to see how deep her full body flush would get. It had finally taken her six attempts and each attempt had an accompanying excuse from Draco, who would only kiss her and give her some kind of compliment as the reason why she couldn't leave his side. When she announced that she had to use the loo during her sixth attempt, he let her go, but not without another kiss.
She had to place a hand on her mouth as soon as the bathroom door closed behind her to prevent the giggles from leaving her lips.
Her boyfriend's earnestness was equal parts endearing and fascinating. She wondered if anyone else had seen this side of him. Had anyone else seen how his face lit up when he grinned? When he laughed? Or knew that he could be just as ridiculous and silly as any other boy? Someone surely must've. There was no way that she was the only one who had bared witness to this side of Draco Malfoy.
Once she had finished, she stepped back into his room to find him pulling his standard black jacket on over his dress shirt.
"Oh, so it's okay for you to get ready for the day, but I'm only allowed to stay in bed with you?" she teased, walking up to him with her hands behind her back.
"You were no longer in bed, therefore, I saw no further reason to remain there," he coolly replied, putting on his cufflinks.
"How convenient for you," she pressed on, glaring at him in mock seriousness, getting as close to him as she could in the process.
Catching on to her little game, he glared right back and one upped her by raising an eyebrow. It was the eyebrow that got her — he was so expressive with his and she only hoped that she was somehow absorbing the skill he had with his for herself. That single raised eyebrow made her sputter before she dissolved into a true bout of the giggles. She only stopped when he took her face in between his hands, a wide, content grin spread across his features. She placed her hands on his waist, letting him pull her close enough for him to give her the loveliest kiss he had ever given her. Which was quite a feat considering how enraptured she already was by his kisses.
He was exceedingly gentle, gentler than he had been the first time they had ever kissed in the infirmary. His lips just barely grazed hers at first; his breath a fleeting bit of warmth that she yearned for. When they finally made contact, she thought her knees would buckle from wanting him to deepen the kiss. He was slowly tasting her, she realized, savoring the feeling, the texture, the soft mewls she made when he nudged her lips open with his tongue. It felt like he was trying to memorize every sensation, trying to commit it to muscle memory so he could continue to kiss her this way for all eternity.
When he pulled away, just as breathless as she was, he rested his forehead on hers, their panting breaths and hard gulps the only thing passing between them for the moment.
He recovered first, wrapping an arm around her waist, while his other lifted her chin to look at him. His smile was small, but she still reveled in seeing how much it softened his face. "I hope you don't plan on backing out of staying with me?"
She wrapped her arms around his neck, smirking when she felt the small "Oof" he let out when she quickly hugged him tight. "I'm exactly where I need to be, Draco." A tension she didn't realize he'd been holding evaporated at her words. "I promise I'll be back as soon as I grab some of my things."
He kissed the top of her head, a reminder to cast a Disillusionment Charm mumbled against her hair. She nodded, knowing that she'd need that much to leave his room without rousing too much suspicion.
When she arrived at the tower's entrance, she was surprised to see Luna walking up, as though she knew exactly when she would arrive.
"Lu? How did you know I'd be here?"
She'd always had a feeling that although her friend could be a little strange when it came to certain magical creatures, she also knew a lot more about everything than she let on.
"Draco told me that you left his room using the coins. I think he wanted me to check up on you."
Or maybe the blonde Ravenclaw was just well connected. She didn't even feel the slight warmth that occurred whenever the Protean Charm was used on the coins. Hell, she had completely forgotten about the fact that she had set up additional coins for the two Slytherins a week after Blaise and Luna began hanging about more. She fished the coin out of her robe pocket and, sure enough, there was a brief message displayed: Ginny's gone back
She sighed, trying to temper the immediate response she normally had whenever she dealt with overprotective teenage boys. After dealing with Ron for most of her life, followed by Dean last year, it was hard to not default to that mindset. She was knowledgeable and competent with her spell work and she had always hated being made to feel like she was some kind of porcelain doll. But that train of thought, that little rebellious streak she had when it came to her relationships wouldn't be fair to saddle her current boyfriend with. He had a very legitimate reason for wanting to ensure her safety after the previous night's events.
Another deep breath and she entered her common room, Luna trailing behind her.
"Ginny!"
As soon as she stepped inside, she was almost pulled off the ground as Neville wrapped her up in a bone-crushing hug. He gripped her shoulders once he let go, his eyes scanning her for injury. Satisfied that he could see no immediate damage, he pulled her over to a quiet corner where the trio could chat in peace.
"Are you alright?" He looked distraught, his still-boyish features appearing harsh in the shadows of the afternoon light. "Luna told me about what happened at breakfast." She could feel how wide her eyes got at his seemingly innocuous statement, hoping that their friend hadn't revealed things that shouldn't have been revealed. "I'm glad that she was able to bring you back from her dorm."
She forced a smile on her face. "Me too, Nev. I thought I was being careful, but I'm glad that Luna was nearby to stop anything worse from happening."
"We'll see you at the next meeting, Neville," Luna interrupted. "Ginny's going to spend tonight with me as well and she wanted to pack a bag now before it got too late."
The older Gryffindor only nodded his head in response and as soon as she began her ascent up the stairs to her dorm, she finally let out the breath she knew she had been holding.
"Thank you, Lu," was all she managed to whisper. She didn't entirely trust herself to not ramble further and inadvertently end up insulting a girl who had rather quickly and rather unexpectedly become one of her closest friends.
"Of course, Ginny," she replied, linking an arm with hers as they stood at the threshold to her room. "Whenever I'm tempted to say something about what we're doing, I just remind myself that I'm a spy and that seems to do the trick. It's also been doing wonders for any stray wrackspurts I find myself having these days." She frowned, which was a rare expression to witness on the blonde's face. "I wish I could write to my father about this. He'd want me to research further."
She squeezed her friend's arm. "Are you sure you don't know the cause?" She led them over to her bed, dropping the other girl off while she grabbed an extra bag.
She bit the inside of her cheek as she saw Luna's frown deepen. She wondered if the insightful Ravenclaw would pick up on her innuendo. She normally hated gossiping the way someone like Lavender did, but when she thought about the situation they found themselves in, she realized that maybe her brother's ex was on to something. Any little bit of frivolity they could cling to during these times was a luxury. It was strange to say, but it made her feel sixteen again.
"Now that you mention it," Luna began, slowly lowering herself onto the bed, "I have been experiencing a suspicious uptick whenever I'm near Blaise. It's quite possible for him to have them and he's been passing them on to me."
"Oh, is he now?" She had to turn to her wardrobe to prevent herself from snorting. She felt like she was reading a delightfully trashy romance novel. The kind that Hermione, she thought with a pang, would poke fun at her for, but then secretly ask to borrow the moment the older girl knew she was done reading it. The kind where the heroine was always ridiculously beautiful, but also ridiculously oblivious when it came to matters of the heart. Maybe it was the treacly nature in which the stories were written, but whenever she got to the climax, where the two leads would finally admit their feelings to each other, she would be on her bed, squealing and kicking her legs about. And now, in this moment, she was strongly compelled to do the same as she sang out about Blaise liking Luna.
"I keep on forgetting to bring my Spectrespecs whenever I meet with you all, but I'm pretty sure."
"Well, why don't you tell me about you two meeting in the Astronomy Tower last night? Did he plan that with you?"
"You know, Ginny, I think I just realized that I may be the one giving Blaise wrackspurts," Luna stated in a firm tone, her slender brows furrowed. She had taken off her pink leather work boots and brought her legs up to her chest, her corduroy pants riding up to show thick socks with puffskeins printed all over.
"What makes you say that? I know you're pretty good about keeping an eye out for them."
The blonde nodded, the sunflowers dangling from her ears swaying with each gentle tilt. "You're very right, even if I have been focusing on nargles a bit more these days. But I think it's all me because I've realized that Blaise makes my brain go all fuzzy whenever I'm around him lately."
She brought her bag and clothes to rest beside her friend, deciding to manually fold everything to prolong their conversation. "Is that a bad thing?"
"I don't think so. It actually feels kind of nice. He's polite, thoughtful, and he said he likes spending time with me." The other sixth year chewed on her bottom lip. "He was the one who asked me to meet him at the Astronomy Tower. He said people are afraid to go there when they're not in class after what happened to Professor Dumbledore last term. So it tends to be a nice quiet place to relax."
"And?" She dragged out the word, anxiously waiting for her friend to reveal something worth the wait.
"And, well, he decided to kiss me and I kissed him back and I think I would like to be more than a friend to him."
Internally, she was on her stomach, rolling around on her bed, maybe kicking her legs every so often with unbridled glee. Was she kind of secretly hoping that this would be the lovely little outcome of her best friend and Draco's best friend getting to know one another? All signs were pointing to yes.
"Were you able to talk about what him kissing you meant?"
She remembered how clear she was when she first kissed her boyfriend, and even then, she wanted that extra verbal confirmation from him.
Luna sighed, one longer than she was used to hearing from her friend. "No," she stated, shaking her head. "We started to hear you scream before we had a chance to talk about what happened." Her eyes went wide. "Not that I'm upset about having to help you. I'm glad that we were nearby."
"Oh, Lu, I'm not mad about the possibility of you thinking I interrupted you," she rushed out, pausing in her packing to sit down next to her friend. "I'm so lucky to have had you two just a snog session away." She elbowed the blonde, giggling when the other girl brought her face to her hands and flopped back onto the bed. Her face had turned as pink as her socks and she let out a small groan.
"I think because I like Blaise, I made us susceptible to wrackspurts," she murmured.
This sent her over the edge as she tipped over, hands clutching her stomach as she laughed. She didn't want the feeling to end. She didn't want to stop having this prototypical teenage moment and think about possibly taking on punishments so younger students didn't have to. She wanted to capture the essence of the joy coursing through her and bottle it so her brothers could sell it at their shop. Everything seemed so carefree in that little moment between two sixteen year old girls, swooning over their dashing, slightly older paramours.
"Well, I think we need to look at the positives, Lu." She turned onto her side, propping herself up with her arm. "According to you, he kissed you first. And if my first kiss with Draco is anything to go by, that usually means that person fancies you."
Luna splayed her fingers and glanced over at her; large, blue eyes filled with hope. "Is that so?"
"I mean, he kissed me back, so that was a good sign, and I'd say that Blaise is figuring the same, too."
She lowered her arms in relief, her shoulders drooping lower as she exhaled.
"Oh, thank goodness. I was hoping to kiss him first the next time we were alone, so it seems like the odds are in my favor."
"Luna Lovegood!" she cried out, tickled by Ravenclaw's sudden boldness. She was normally so aloof and laidback that it excited her to think about the possibility of seeing a new side of her friend.
"What?" the blonde asked, turning to mirror her position. "I don't want Blaise to think that I'm not interested in him. And besides, he's a very nice kisser."
She grabbed the pillow behind her and brought it up to cover her mouth, finally giving in to the urge to squeal. "Tell. Me. Everything." She sprung up and crossed her legs, placing her pillow in her lap lest she needed to muffle herself again.
She didn't dare move as her friend spoke of meetings in the library, cautious glances in the Great Hall or in between classes. All culminating in the publicly reserved young man pressing a note into her friend's hand as he walked past her in the library; with his request to meet him at the Astronomy Tower the previous night scribbled in a sharp, sloping script.
She sat, riveted, as the blonde described the gentle brush of fingers tentatively touching; neither involved party looking at the other in fear of seeing something they may not like. She placed her pillow under her chin then, squeezing it so hard she thought she was going to cause the downy feathers inside to explode all over her dorm room. Luna was finally getting to the part when Blaise asked if he could admit something to her. She bit her lip as her friend flushed an even brighter pink than before, a finger absent-mindedly twirling her hair as she said that the dark-skinned boy liked how she glowed in the moonlight. He said the faintest hint of goldenrod would reflect off of her hair, making it look like she had a crown made of stars flickering behind her silky waves. Pink turned to crimson when she recounted how she described his own glow — a pale blue hue, making him look like he was not of this earth. She thought it meant he might have fae in his lineage since the blue reminded her of pixies. She noted how open his face looked when he laughed at the insinuation, saying that he'd have to ask his mother if that were true.
The pillow drifted over her mouth, her lips pressed into a thin line as she tried not to let out a shrill scream as her blonde friend bit her thumbnail while she contemplated what to say next.
"I've never had a boy be so forward with me before." She pulled down the edge of her long sleeved shirt and scrubbed her face. "I don't find fault with how I look, Ginny, but it doesn't feel like he's humoring me when I talk to him about my passions. I've always felt that some of my friends tend to just listen without engaging. But, with him, it feels like he's actually interested in what I have to say."
She felt a pang of guilt. Luna was too mindful and guileless to bring it up, but she had a feeling that the girl across from her felt like she was one of the ones who simply listened. And she mentally kicked herself when she realized how true that probably was over the past few years. She hoped it wasn't from a lack of respect, but maybe a part of her was still desperate for some semblance of belonging amongst the Golden Trio. Her lips pursed as she made herself a resolute promise to no longer be a mildly interested bystander in conversation with her friend. Continuing to do so after the events of the last 24 hours would be akin to a slap to the face.
She perked up as Luna described how Blaise moved behind her, his long, lean arms wrapping around her waist to pull her against his chest. He had hunched over, resting his forehead against her shoulder with a sigh. That was when he told her that he'd been enjoying spending time with her recently and he was happy she decided to meet with him that night. She mentioned how surprised she was when he kept her close as she turned to face him. How his hand drifted up to cup her face. How his thumb brushing against her lips made her entire body feel warm and tingly.
She allowed herself a giggle at that since it was the same sensation she'd find herself feeling the instant Draco's lips met hers.
She clapped a hand over her mouth to cut off the gasp she let out when Luna explained that kissing Blaise felt like everything she had thought her first kiss would be. She felt so comfortable and safe in his arms. She said he must've known that it was her first time kissing someone because he was slow and deliberate; that last bit was an odd enough description that she couldn't help her cackle at the banality of it. But she had to acknowledge that she understood Blaise's intentions.
Michael Corner was nowhere near as considerate, even though he knew it was her first kiss. He was too grabby and she hated how he forced his tongue into her mouth at one point. He was an exceedingly moist kisser. Dean was a relief in comparison, with his questioning glances and subtle overtures. Until that relief became a burden the more paranoid he got. Which was why Draco was truly the breath of fresh air she needed. He became exactly what she had been hoping for at that exact moment in time and she couldn't be more grateful for everything he offered to her.
She focused back in on her friend when she sighed.
"If I had to estimate, I'd say we were snogging for about fifteen minutes before we first heard you scream."
"Fifteen minutes?" she exclaimed, slamming her pillow down in her lap.
Luna gave her an uncertain shrug as she bit down on her lip once more. "Blaise was very mindful. He only touched me over my clothing, but I'm curious if he'd touch my bum next time." Her friend's lips twisted in thought, causing her to let out another amused cackle. The blonde gave her a light shove, finally showing mild annoyance in the way Hermione did whenever they ribbed each other about boys fancying them. "I'm quite serious, Ginny. You let Draco touch your bum all the time, so I want to know what all the fuss is about."
She wiped away the mirthful tears that had spilled forth without her knowledge. "I know you are, Lu. I'm just," a pause for a shaky sigh that called forth tears mired in fraught emotions and a heavy heaping of nostalgia, "so happy that you were able to find someone during this clusterfuck of a year." Her word choice forced a giggle out of her to hide what her tears truly meant.
But she should've known better than to hide her feelings from Luna. Her friend grasped her hand, similarly to how she did that first night in Draco's room, using them both to gently nudge her knee.
"I don't think I realized how much I would like the idea of that kind of support until I met Blaise." A squeeze before releasing her hand. "Thank you for accidentally giving me the opportunity." Yet another moment where she decided to stay quiet lest she devolve into mournful tears for the year they should've been enjoying wholeheartedly. She slowly lifted her head when her friend began speaking again. "I just remembered: we should have you finish packing. Draco gets so cranky when you're gone for too long."
She laughed and reluctantly nodded her head. Luna, as usual, was right. Her boyfriend would get cranky if she was away from him for too long.
A/N: Thank you, as always, for reading, reviewing, favoriting, or subscribing! Special shout out to the 30 of y'all that are subscribed to this lil story.
I'm honestly honored that so many folks are keeping up with this fic. Thank you for your support and patience as I continue to alternate between my regular WIPs and fest fics lol. I seem to be diving into the deep end of the fandom pool after being away for so long.