See the prologue for the disclaimer.
Afraid of the Dark
Written by LJP
Chapter 6
The four Hogwarts students arrived in Diagon Alley via the Floo Network about twenty minutes later. Hermione immediately ran off toward the bookstore, dragging Ron with her. hey left Harry and Ginny standing by themselves at the end of the long, narrow street.
"Where to first Gin?" Harry grinned.
She shrugged. "It doesn’t matter Harry. Wherever."
A wide smile broke out on Harry’s face. "Quidditch Supplies. I heard they just got in the newest make of Firebolts. Wicked! Let’s go!" He reached between them, taking Ginny’s hand in his and racing off toward the sports store, pulling her with him.
Seconds later they were inside the Quidditch store, and Harry disappeared into the midst of racks of Quidditch robes. Ginny walked along the perimeter of the room, gazing over the stacks of collector Quidditch Weekly magazines.
"Well, well, well, if it isn’t the youngest Weasley." She turned toward the voice, almost glad when she discovered Draco Malfoy leaning against one of the shelves, his arms crossed over his chest. "And how are you this fine morning Virginia?"
"Sod off Malfoy."
He dramatized an offended look. "My, my, what a temper. Is that anyway to talk to a fellow Death Eater?"
She raised an eyebrow at him, biting back a retort sure to sting and leave a mark more painful than the one he received the night before. "Of course Draco." She emphasized his name, practically purring. "I was being rude. How could you ever forgive me?" She batted her eyelashes at him sweetly.
"You still didn’t answer my question: how are you?"
"Refreshed." She answered, running her hand along the shaft of the broom leaning in the window next to Draco. He shifted his position uncomfortably at the innocent caress. She probably didn’t even realize what she was doing. Ginny licked her lips quickly, snatched her hand back, and then turned her gaze back to him. Or maybe she did. "Rejuvenated. What about you? And how is your father doing? Still twitching involuntarily?"
His face clouded over for only a moment. "I’m fine, as always. Lucius has stopped twitching, but has taken to cowering in the corners rocking back and forth for hours. Normal after effects of the Cruciatus curse." It was difficult to tell if he was joking or not.
There was silence.
"I never knew you had it in you Weasley." Draco muttered, gazing at her peculiarly.
"What?" She whispered, not even realizing she was thinking aloud.
To her surprise, Draco seemed to know exactly what she was asking. "The evil. The drive. The ambition. Why aren’t you in Slytherin?"
She let out a soft sigh that affected Draco in ways he didn’t think it ever would. "Gryffindors aren’t all too unlike Slytherins." She explained. After the words were out of her mouth, she gasped inaudibly, wishing them back again.
"What? What is it?" Draco straightened and took a step forward.
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips in thought. Draco fought back the urge to kiss her. "Tom said that to me." Ginny looked up at him, her violet eyes wide. "He told me that many people who are Gryffindor could easily be Slytherin with the right motivation — with the right temptation. He tried to get me to find that within myself, but I was too scared, too naïve probably, to find it."
"You’re telling me if I wasn’t inherently evil, I could have been Gryffindor."
"‘Inherently evil,’ you say?" She laughed at him. "I don’t see why not."
"I hate the color red." He said, defending himself. "I could never be Gryffindor."
Ginny laughed again. "You think red looks good on me? Washes me out and clashes terribly with this Merlin-forsaken hair of mine."
"I like your hair." Draco admitted quietly, closing the space between them with a few short strides. Ginny sucked in a breath as he reached out toward her. He lifted a strand of her hair into his hand, curling it around his fingers. "It’s so soft..."
She shuddered.
"Virginia Annabel..." He breathed. She felt it warm her cheek.
Before she knew what was happening, Draco had leaned forward, his lips descending down upon hers. Unfortunately, they were never given the chance to touch.
"Get your hands off her Malfoy!" Ginny and Draco jumped apart, putting more than five feet between them. "What do you think you’re doing?"
It took Draco a second to return to his normal sneering expression. "I see Potter has, as always, come to play the role of ‘knight in shining armor.’"
"Shut up Malfoy. Leave her alone."
"Or what, Potter? I think the littlest Weasley is perfectly capable of taking care of herself." He turned to her and ran a finger down her cheek. She shivered. "Isn’t that right Virginia?" He added, so quietly that even Ginny had to strain to hear it.
Harry whipped his wand out of his pocket. "I warned you Malfoy!"
Draco pulled away from Ginny suddenly, almost as if he had been stung. He looked at Harry, who was preparing to strike at any minute. Then, he gave one, last, final glance to Ginny, bowed at his waist, spun on his heel and left the store, his dark cloak billowing out behind him.
Both Harry and Ginny just watched him leave. Suddenly, Harry was in front of her, his hands on her shoulders. "Are you okay Gin? That bastard didn’t hurt you, did he?"
She looked at Harry as if seeing him for the first time. "No Harry, of course not. Thank you." She kissed him on the cheek. "I’m fine."
He didn’t look convinced.
She smiled at him. "Let’s go get some ice cream." Ginny looped her arm through his and started toward the door, taking him with him.
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Draco and Ginny belong to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, Scholastic, Warner Bros and various other corporations. They are being used here without permission and/or affiliation with the above. None of the authors listed here make any profit from these stories.