The final confrontation between Ginny and Draco in the eve of their first confrontation.
Directly after the uncomfortable non-encounter over dinner, Ginny and Draco reach an understanding.
JK Rowling owns these characters, this setting, and this universe. I created the plot.
I thank you, every one of my readers. I never imagined so many would peruse this (practically 700). As always, I appreciate any advice, critiques, compliments, or criticism I receive (they make me happy). Hope you enjoy.
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Ginny walked out of the Great Hall, seething about her confrontation with Ron, but heartened by the non-confrontation she had just had with Draco. Every girl needed to let out a little steam; she was no exception. She would have sashayed out of the hall, but she didn’t think she could pull that off without looking completely moronic, so she settled for sweeping (somewhat clumsily) to the door. She knew Draco was watching her. When she was younger, that might have caused her to blush, but nowadays it only fueled her fire.
As if her fire needed any fuel. She knew what kind of crazy temper she had, and Ron had the proper personality to provoke it. She took a deep breath and began to walk normally, without such a vigorous back-and-forth motion. She heard footsteps behind her, and she turned, smiling to herself. She had known someone would follow her, and she had a good idea who it was.
But everyone was wrong once in a while. Luna walked up to her, smiling in a dazed fashion that only she seemed to be able to manage. “Why, hello, Ginny, what are you up to?”
Ginny sighed. “Dunno, really, just couldn’t stand being in the Great Hall another moment longer.”
“Oh, I understand that. It can prove rather stifling at times.” Luna nodded sympathetically.
“No, it’s not that, it’s Ron. He’s being annoying.”
“How so?” Luna asked reasonably.
“Prying into my business when he has absolutely no right to.”
Luna spoke slowly. “He loves you, Ginny. It‘s needless for me to even say that, of course. He wants to take care of you the way he thinks a brother should. I can only assume your other brothers acted that way towards him.”
“Well, not really, ‘cause he’s not a girl.”
Luna tipped her head to the side, not seeing Ginny’s point.
“He’s trying to protect my virtue, Luna.” Luna giggled.
“That’s silly,” Luna replied.
“Of course it is, these things aren’t up to him.”
“Yes, there is that, but you missed my other meaning. He should know you well enough to realize you’re not going to run head-long into a foolish situation. He needs to trust you. That’s his brotherly duty.” Ginny gave Luna a small smile. “ And once he sees you’re not running head-long into something, maybe he’ll calm down. If not, well, someone will surely manage to get some sense planted into his head somehow.” Luna’s eyes glittered a bit with the evening light. Luna probably had Hermione in mind for the job of beating some sense into Ron; Ginny sure knew SHE was thinking it.
“Thank you, Luna. You always manage to calm me down.”
“Anything for a friend, Ginny. I’m afraid I have to go now, I urgently need to find someone. I’ll talk to you later, is that okay?” Luna waited until Ginny nodded before walking off bemused, and not in any rush that Ginny could see.
As Ginny set off again, she heard a shuffle behind her. She smiled again and turned. This time it was the person she’d suspected originally, and she raised her eyebrows coyly. She actually enjoyed having this effect on Draco, she decided deviously, trying to push the effect he had on her into another side of her head. She crossed her arms, then said, “Following me around like a sick puppy, are we? And I thought you were above that, Malfoy.”
“You’ve certainly got an ego on you, Weasley,” Draco said viciously. “I hadn’t realized you’d elevated yourself to something worthy of following.”
“I’ve always had a bit of an ego, Malfoy, this is just the first time you bothered to find out about it. Apparently the likes of you are much too good for the riff-raff I associate myself with,” she said critically, sneering at him.
‘Is-- is she SNEERING at me?’ he thought, marveling. He didn’t reply.
“Aren’t you going to say something? Or have I stolen your tongue?” she replied with a more sarcastic tone, obviously having fun.
‘Among other things,’ he thought next. “Like you could afford it,” he said aloud, before he realized how strange that sounded.
Ginny laughed, then shook her head sadly. “Is that the best you can do? That doesn’t even make sense,” she said, still giggling. His cheeks didn’t exactly turn pink, but he may have begun to look paler, if that was possible. “Am I making you uncomfortable?” was the next thing she said, almost purring.
“Only in the sense that your mere presence is an insult to this school and the world of magic in general,” he managed to spit out.
She sobered. “Ah, well, that’s slightly better, isn’t it? Like you’re one to talk about insulting the world of magic; your father is the one who was gallivanting around and killing magical people in the name of a powerless--”
“DON‘T talk about him that way!” he said loudly, cutting her off. She didn‘t know which “him” Draco was talking about. “That is NONE of your affair!”
“Once I get involved, I believe if IS my affair, Draco,” she replied in a quieter tone.
He barely registered that she’d called him by his given name. Instead he countered with, “I can’t imagine how you’re involved in this. Unless- is it that boyfriend of yours? It is, isn’t it?” He was gaining momentum, as was she.
“Don’t talk about Harry. He’s not the topic of our discussion, and he’s not my boyfriend.” She narrowed her eyes in his direction.
He spread his arms to her, palms up. “I never said he was.” He raised a pale brow wickedly. “And you can’t place restraints on a conversation, Ginny, because then it’s not a conversation, it’s a monologue.”
“Oh? Were we having a conversation? I thought we were merely throwing meaningless insults at each other. My mistake.” He shrugged, as if to say that was the same thing. “Would you really like to know how I’m involved in “this,” as you so melodically put it?” He looked at her, bored. She figured this was his way of giving consent; he obviously hadn’t walked away yet. “I got involved before I was born, if you want that piece of the truth. But I got involved in fact the moment your father--” He looked about to interrupt her, but she silenced him with a hand near his mouth, which she quickly pulled away again. Sexual tension was frustrating. “The moment your father decided to slip me Tom Riddle’s diary,” she finished up simply.
He looked as though he didn’t believe her. “I thought that was a rumor,” he said, exhaling loudly. She shrugged, mimicking his earlier motion, trying to belie her discomfort with the situation.
“Well, it’s nice to know the truth, I suppose,” she said quietly, with a whole new weariness inside her. She figured he’d walk away now, and she was disturbed to find she didn’t want him to. Oh God, what was wrong with her now?
She still had her arms crossed, and she was staring at the gray floor of the rather secluded hallway they found themselves in. Draco imagined she looked uncomfortable, and had an inexplicable urge to change the subject or reassure her somehow. Damn softies at the school were getting to his head.
She looked up and noticed she was standing a few feet closer to him than she had been before. How had that happened? she wondered. She looked at her feet, berating them for betraying her in such a manner. Unless it had been Draco who had moved closer to her; she didn’t deem that totally unlikely as she looked up at him, slightly nonplussed.
“I’m not a Death Eater,” he said abruptly, after a few moments of slightly tense silence.
She smiled slowly, but with genuine feeling. “And are you planning on becoming one?” she asked, as if that was the obvious next question.
He looked shocked that she would ask that, though in reality, it was quite logical. “Oh. I haven’t decided.” She simply looked at him, challenging him, waiting for the continuation she knew was coming. “There are people who will try to kill me if I don’t join.” She raised a brow, though didn’t reproach him with words. “More will try to kill me if I do,” he stated next. He sounded as though this was the first time he’d ever said it aloud, and she wasn’t in any position to interrupt his train of thought (no matter how apparent she thought the conclusion was). “My father’s in jail, or trying to escape from jail. My mother’s being looked at with suspicion. Most people look at me with distaste, which I can’t help but provoke,” he said, smirking. Then he peered at her through the darkening hallway. “Stop looking at me like that.”
She looked taken aback. “I wasn’t doing anything.”
“Don’t pity me, Weasley,” he said warningly.
She snorted. “Like I’d bother, Malfoy.”
He continued on once, reassured. “And the idea of following and fawning someone who is so obviously volatile with power doesn’t seem like an intelligent choice.”
She thought about this. “So… the only reason you’re not a Death Eater is because it’s not intelligent?” she asked.
“I suppose,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“Well, while I can’t question your logic there, I do have to wonder why there aren’t other reasons.” She eyed him, but he said nothing. “What the hell?” she muttered, having hit on a realization.
Draco seemed shocked that she’d sworn, though he probably shouldn’t have been, with all that had happened that day. “What?” he asked cautiously.
“Uh, I THINK we just managed to have an intelligible conversation, jackass,” she replied, widening her eyes while tipping her head to the side.
“No thanks to you,” he snarled.
“Of course. There we go, more of what I’m used to,” she said. “It must be draining on you to have such a difficult and adult conversation with a girl.” Yes, she was certainly back to taunting him.
“No, what’s difficult is having to dumb it down for you,” he replied condescendingly.
“Really? Because I have no problem doing so when it comes to you,” she stated.
“You would say that, because you don’t want to look inferior.”
“I already know I’m not inferior; why would I be scared of looking like that, anyhow? This is YOU I’m being compared with, cretin.”
“Hmm, advanced word for such a wilting flower as yourself,” he said, sneering and glad to be back in familiar territory.
Ginny inhaled deeply, looking at him angrily. “I am NOT a wilting flower, you milksop!” She looked about ready to lunge at his throat.
“I am NOT a milksop!” he said, leaning forward and looking at her with a slightly crazed look in his eyes.
Ginny exhaled, then took a calmer breath, standing down a bit. “Well then it appears we’re at an impasse, doesn’t it?”
“I’m not a milksop,” he said quieter, just to be petulant.
“Prove it,” she said. He got a mischievous look in his eye, and she almost regretted baiting him. Almost. Because what did the idiot go and do next?
Of course he leaned in (quicker than she was expecting, thus causing her to step backwards and practically fall into a wall) and kissed her. He kissed her with an excessive amount of finesse, actually. He broke away, giving them both time to breathe and contemplate (not for the first time that day) what the hell had just happened. ‘Huh,’ she thought, ‘he certainly knows what he’s doing.’
They were both breathing a bit heavily, looking at each other. Ginny pressed her lips together once, noticing again how closely she and Draco were standing.
“Wow,” she replied before she could stop herself. Draco had the grace to look almost flattered; truth was, he was thinking something along the same lines. “I’m almost insulted,” she replied, smiling.
“Really?” Draco asked wearily. “Why now?”
“Because I’ve seen the mindless snails you usually date. Does this mean I compare to them?”
“Oh, as opposed to me, and the spineless monkeys you date?” Neither one realized they’d just admitted to paying attention to whom the other one dated.
“Hey, that’s uncalled for,” Ginny said in a low growl. Draco saw this as a perfect time to kiss her again. He captured her mouth in an attempt to keep her from arguing with him. “You don’t--” but his lips cut hers off.
“Shut up, Ginny,” Draco said breathlessly. She broke away and glared at him. He stared at her, amused.
“You can’t tell me to shut up.”
“Well, obviously I CAN, but you don’t have to listen to me. Which you seem to have figured out well enough.”
“God, you are so hard to figure out,” Ginny replied, sighing. “Besides being really annoying.” She crossed her arms over her chest and looked at his suspiciously.
He smiled wholesomely. “Let me guess. You’re trying to figure out what exactly it is you see in me.” His arrogance thoroughly bothered her. He gestured towards the general air around his body with his hands. “Besides what’s apparent, that is.”
“No, that’s not quite it.” Ginny rolled her eyes.
“Well, I sure as hell can’t figure out what it is I see in you,” Draco said in frustrated tones.
“That’s encouraging. I was thinking about how I’m going to explain this to everyone.” She looked at him cryptically.
“This? What this?” He kissed her once, quickly, on the mouth. “That this? What‘s happening right now this?”
“No. Well, yes, but not just that.”
“What then?”
“The fact that I want it to happen at all.” This time she quickly kissed him before he could reply.
“Ginny,” Draco said urgently. “Ginny.” He had a hard time talking, as his lips were still being held by Ginny’s. “Ginny!” They both pulled away and opened their eyes.
“What?” He gently pulled at a lock of her hair, but he wasn’t able to feign distaste anymore. Either that or he wasn’t trying as hard to hide anything anymore.
“You know, you really don’t compare to all the other girls.” Ginny turned slightly pink, smiled bashfully, then laughed. “What?” he asked, seeing her cracking to pieces.
“You are such a milksop!” she exclaimed.
He tried to argue, but couldn’t manage competently. They were preparing to kiss again when someone loudly cleared an unseen throat behind them. Oh yes, they WERE in the middle of a hallway, weren’t they? Even if it was a relatively unused one, it was public property and free for traversing from room to room.
‘Shit,’ Ginny and Draco thought simultaneously. Of all the professors and all the students that could be standing there now, it would have to be Snape that found them.
Snape’s eyes lighted on Ginny first, and he opened his mouth to speak. Ginny’s cheeks were flushed and she had unwittingly grabbed Draco’s hand and held it with both of hers behind her back, as he stood a foot or so behind her. Snape was about to say something scathing when he noticed Draco. Snape’s brow furrowed, his mouth twitched, and then his eyes bugged. He closed his mouth with a snapping sound, turned on his heel with a swishing noise, and walked away.
Ginny and Draco stared after him in awe, relief, and confusion. “Well.” Ginny spoke first. “I don’t think I’ve ever gotten out of anything like THAT in my entire life. You may be handy to have around after all.”
“Oh? You’ve been in a situation like that more than once?” Draco asked, narrowing his eyes playfully. Good God, was he being playful? She wasn’t sure she could stomach it, at first, but she then decided she’d warmed to it.
“Oh, now that’s not polite, Draco,” Ginny admonished. “A lady never kisses and tells.”
“Good to know,” Draco said slowly, though he really had known that already, allegedly.
“Yes, you certainly would benefit from my feminine influence.” Now Ginny was playing coy.
Did she actually listen to herself when she said these things? Draco wondered. “That’s some proposal, Ginny,” Draco said seriously.
“How little you know about me, Malfoy,” she replied tauntingly. “That wasn’t a proposal. That was a challenge.” She chuckled loudly as she walked down the hallway away from him. He watched her appreciatively as she went, smiling quite jovially. She turned and winked at him when she got a good ways away, and then she said, “It’s a challenge I plan to win.”