by Jae
Disclaimer: The characters, settings, and other sundry aspects of Harry Potter the Series do not belong to me nor am I using said objects for anything beyond personal amusement.
***
Chapter One
Ginny rushed down the corridor. She was late to Potions class. Again. Her robe billowed around her, threatening to fall off. Blasted thing. She turned the corner, fumbling the clasp with one hand.
"Hallo, Weasley," Draco said, leaning against the wall.
"Malfoy," Ginny replied, giving a curt nod as she continued to walk past him briskly.
Draco spun suddenly, blocking Ginny's way.
"And that's all you have to say, is it now?" Draco drawled casually, as if it were perfectly natural for him to be keeping Ginny. Late. From Potions.
"Yes, Malfoy," Ginny replied through clenched teeth as she attempted to push past him.
Draco, while moving closer to Ginny, blocked her yet again. "Oh, but say it with feeling, Weasley. Yess, Malfoy," Draco taunted, exploding the last s with a loud hiss.
"Malfoy, have you gone mad? What are you going on about?" Ginny spat in return, her impatience growing by the minute. She did not have time for this sort of nonsense.
Draco paused for a moment and answered stiffly, "I don't like being second best to anyone, Weasley. But especially not to Potter."
Ginny stopped at Draco's words, and much to her embarrassment and annoyance, she was blushing. She leaned against the wall for a moment, closing her eyes. Her rucksack fell to the ground. Draco loomed over her, his hands resting on either side of her head, standing even closer to her.
"You came to me, Malfoy. I was perfectly set upon having a good cry, by myself. Without nosy good for nothings interfering in matters that don't concern them!" she said, poking at Draco's chest. And she had been. Harry had said something utterly obtuse and oblivious at dinner in the Great Hall. It shouldn't have bothered her. Harry had said worse things before. And then to turn to Ron and continue talking, as if he hadn't treated her like, like nothing! Ginny could barely hold back the tears as she dashed to her favourite hiding spot. A long forgotten cupboard in a dark corner of the library. It was a secret. Or least she had thought so. Until Malfoy had walked in.
Draco snorted and shook his head. "Think of it however you like, Weasley. But if Potter leaves a bad taste in your mouth, rinse it out with some pumpkin juice. Don't use me."
Ginny winced. She had been too busy crying to notice him until he had said something along the line of princesses should hide in towers, not dusty cubbyholes, if they wanted to be saved by their heroes. And that infuriating sneer! That set Ginny into a seething rage. She was sick of being ignored by Harry. Sick of being a lovesick mooncalf. She was sick of being laughed at. Ginny hadn't realised that she had said all of this out loud until she looked at Malfoy. He wasn't sneering, nor was he quite laughing. His eyes were sparkling. With amusement. Again, at her expense. Ginny had meant to slap Draco, she really had.
She glared at him. "This is not the time, Malfoy. I'm late for bloody Potions." She leaned forward, attempting to break free. Draco did not push her back, but he did not give in. So Ginny was now pressed more tightly against to Malfoy. She frowned. Her wand was lying on the floor in her rucksack. No hexes for Malfoy. She would simply have to immobilse him the old-fashioned way.
She raised her knee to his groin, but Malfoy stopped her, trapping her knee between his legs. They were now close enough for Ginny to feel his breath against her eyelashes. She shuddered. Yes, she had kissed him. It wasn't the wisest decision she had ever made. No, be honest, Ginny. It was perhaps the stupidest decision she had ever made. But she was angry and hurt. Ginny was sick of bloody waiting for something to happen to her. She would be the one to start something, anything. And Malfoy, for all his faults, was terribly easy on the eyes. And not a bad snogger, to boot. Not that Ginny had snogged many people. Well, there was Paul Roe behind the shed when she was 5. But that didn't count. She would have to practice more before she could pass judgment anyways. Ginny tilted her head forward. Draco leaned in slightly as if to meet her. Ginny shuddered. It was dangerous to have such thoughts when he was so warm and close and present.
Draco gave a short, sharp laugh and tapped her freckled nose with a long, pale finger. "Well, you should have said so, Weasley. Don't want Snape to give you detention. Again. Can't have your precious House losing what little points it has. We can finish this discussion later." Draco managed to disentangle himself gracefully and glide off with a small flourish of his robe.
Ginny gaped at him for a moment as she fumbled with her rucksack. No time to think. She was late. She ran down the hallway without a backward glance.
-----------------------------------------------
Ginny finished dinner quickly and flew out of the Great Hall. Snape had given her two detentions and an assignment- a whole parchment on the antidotes to all the potions they had brewed in class this term. And it was due in a week! Just thinking about it made her ill. Her classmates wisely avoided her. She went straight for the library. Not to study. Hermione would help her with the extra assignment later. Probably think it was a lark. Ginny wrinkled her nose. Hermione was a dear, but sometimes, she was a bit odd. Ginny walked into the library's main reading room. She turned right towards the stacks and then veered slightly to the left to the sublevel containing the special collection of advanced arthimancy scrolls. Over on the west wall, the furtherest wall from the entrance; there was a spot two hands beneath the precise centre. Before, Ginny had to fumble for the spot. Now she could find it with her eyes closed. Perhaps Ginny should have been more sceptical of her hiding spot, given her previous encounters with secret chambers. Not that such secrets should be a surprise in Hogwarts. Hogwarts was riddled with secrets. And the library had special study cupboards for seventh years working on their final projects. Ginny simply thought she had found a long forgotten study cupboard. However, some of Hogwarts' secrets were not as innocuous as others. Ginny smiled wryly as she seemed to melt into the wall. It was hard to believe that her musty ickle cupboard was somehow connected with the Chamber of Secrets. But a little caution never hurt anyone.
Ginny's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the impact of someone's chest. Startled, she fell forward, causing the other person to also fall, and landed on top of...Draco Malfoy.
"Malfoy, what are you doing here? This is my...," Ginny said, launching off into a much needed vent.
"Your what? I found this place too, you know, and I've made no promise to leave it to you alone. It's just as much my secret as it is yours," Draco replied with his little self-satisfied smirk. The not so veiled threat of revealing their secret did not escape Ginny.
"Fine, you can use it. Just don't use it while, I'm here, " Ginny whispered fiercely, poking Draco's shoulder for added emphasis.
Draco shrugged and gave Ginny a charming smile. Or perhaps it was a smirk. It was too hard to tell so close to his face. Not that they were likely that different.
"Whatever you say, Weasley," Draco drawled, clearly satisfied with her response.
Ginny waited. There was a long silence as neither of them moved.
Ginny cleared her throat and gave Draco a look, "Why are you still here, Malfoy?"
"Weasley, it's hard to move when someone is lying directly on top of you," Draco said mildly, passing his hand along the length of Ginny's back.
Ginny grumbled as she scrambled off of Draco. She ducked her head as she removed her robe to shake off the real and imaginary dust. What was it about Malfoy that made her blush so? He meant nothing to her. Absolutely nothing.
"A pillow too, Weasley. I didn't know I was so versatile. And here I was worried I would have to add purely fabricated fluff onto my c.v. At least now it'll be real fluff," Draco commented as he stood up and straightened his robes. Not that they needed straightening. It would take a herd of hippogriffs to even dent his perfection. Ginny wrinkled her nose at him. Infuriating git.
Draco raised an eyebrow at Ginny and smiled. "It's a joke, Weasley. You're supposed to laugh. Ha, ha. Funny. Then again, you are a Weasley, so I suppose I would have to explain my jokes to you."
Ginny set her robe down and poked Draco in the chest. "Malfoy, if all you want to do is lob taunts at me, fine. But there's no bloody reason to stalk me. This morning, before potions. Now, after potions. For what? One accident. One mistake. One nothing!" Ginny's face grew redder as her speech became more vehement, her poking taking on a staccato beat.
Draco's eyes narrowed as he calmly snatched Ginny's wrist. "And a punching bag. The list grows."
Ginny struggled in vain against his grip. For a scrawny git, Malfoy was awfully strong. Draco did not seem to notice Ginny's attempts and continued talking.
"Weasley, an accident is, well, half your siblings. Snogging the enemy of your secret, or in this case, not so secret love is pure manipulation."
Ginny's jaw dropped. She blinked at Draco. Malfoy was talking utter pish.
Draco sighed. "You Gryffindors like to pretend you're so bloody pure. You break the rules just as much as we do. More, if you ask me. And you're transparent, Weasley. If you goggled anymore at Potter, Potter himself would realise how you actually feel. Besides, your little rant the other day didn't hurt either," Draco coughed at those words and had the decency to look away. And then smirk at her.
Ginny snorted. "Malfoy, first off, I was very upset that day. As you can attest to. You can't expect to hold me to my actions. Second, I would note that all of this went on in private. No one was there. How would Har...anyone ever know what passed between us? How is that manipulation?"
Draco smirked some more. "You know me, Weasley. You know that I would do anything to rile up your precious Gryffindors. Think about how much it would hurt your brother if he found out that I had touched his baby sister. And no one would ever believe that Ginny Weasley would voluntarily touch that Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, even with his dashing looks and charming personality," Draco drawled, tossing his hair so it fell just so. "And then bloody Harry Potter would of course come rushing to aid of his friend to beat up Draco Malfoy, the defiler of little Ginny Weasley. And nothing like a fight to stir up the romantic inclinations of a hero, eh, Weasley?"
Ginny blinked. She had thought Malfoy would be too embarrassed and angry to even think of mentioning the incident to anyone. Imagine, Malfoy kissing a Gryffindor, more or less a Weasley! And she couldn’t very well go about bragging that she had kissed Malfoy. She’d rather admit to kissing a snake. Although, she supposed kissing Malfoy amounted to the same thing. Private revenge had been enough. So what if she fancied Harry? She could snog whom she pleased. But Malfoy’s plan did sound like a brilliant way to catch Harry's notice. And no one would get hurt. No! That was Malfoy's way, not hers. Ginny shook her head. She was not so manipulative as that, was she?
"So what's stopping you then, Malfoy? Why don't you go and besmirch my reputation? You can have a go at the Gryffindors and I can have Harry. What's wrong with that?" Ginny taunted. She didn't approve of the scheme, but if it got Harry's attention, perhaps it wasn't such a bad idea...right?
Draco, still grasping Ginny's wrist, pulled her in. "I don't like being used, remember, Weasley? Although I must admit it, the plan is rather clever. I almost missed it myself. Didn't think you had it in you, Weasley." Ginny could hear a grudging respect in Draco's voice. "At first, I thought you were trying to forget your anger. A little fling. Perhaps you were. But you Gryffindors should stick to weaker stuff. Dragons can be dangerous."
Ginny gulped. She really should have thought out that kiss. She hadn’t planned on becoming Malfoy’s partner in crime. Not quite on par with the secret diary and Tom, but still. Ginny shuddered. Not that she was taking the dangerous dragon bit at all seriously. She could imagine Malfoy practicing that line in front of the mirror. And then doing that little flip with his hair. 20 times a day. She smiled in spite of herself.
"And of course, if I were going to play along with your little game, well, I figured I might as well have a proper go at you. Ravish you and what not," Draco leered, pulling in Ginny even closer.
Ginny groaned and shoved Draco away. "Oh, get off it, Malfoy. I was not plotting an all out war between you and Harry. I vow, boys really do think the world bloody revolves around them."
Draco shrugged. "It's not such a terrible idea. I wouldn't mind having an excuse for a duel, " Draco said as he idly pressed his finger against her cheek where her dimple had been a few moments ago, tracing the shape of it.
Ginny smiled sweetly as she stared directly into Draco's eyes. She felt his finger shift as her dimple appeared and tried not to blush. He really did know where her dimple was. Did she ever mention how simply infuriating boys were? "I'm so glad that I meet with your approval, Malfoy, but I do recall asking you to leave. I'm here to sulk, not plot ridiculous plans with you. You remember what happened the last time you interrupted my sulking. Now leave," Ginny ordered, lazily waving the wand she had retrieved from her rucksack.
Draco chuckled at her. "Weasley, you are far too much fun for your own good. You're completely wasted on Potter. And you're clearly besotted with the git. More's the pity," Draco dropped her wrist and winked at her.
"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ginny asked, keeping her face blank while repressing the urge to giggle at Draco. Harry really could be a git. But only she was allowed to call Harry that. Not Malfoy.
"You kissed me the last time I interrupted you. I'm waiting, Weasley," Draco said, smiling as sweetly as Ginny had before.
Ginny began muttering a curse, but Draco sauntered out of the cupboard before she finished. Ginny plopped down. Yes, it was definitely time to be alone with her thoughts.
| Home | Next Chapter |
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.