Do Ya Love Me? by Tamloid14
Summary: Did he love her? Did he, Draco Malfoy, love her, Ginevra Weasley? Even though their families were sworn enemies, even though she was a loud-mouthed, red-haired, Gryffindor Muggle-lover?” A songfic inspired by Jump5’s “Do Ya.”
Categories: Completed Short Stories Characters: Blaise Zabini (boy), Draco Malfoy, Ginny Weasley
Compliant with: Fully compliant
Era: Hogwarts-era
Genres: Humor, Romance
Warnings: None
Challenges:
Series: None
Chapters: 1 Completed: Yes Word count: 4002 Read: 3067 Published: Feb 02, 2008 Updated: Feb 03, 2008

1. Do Ya Love Me? by Tamloid14

Do Ya Love Me? by Tamloid14
Credit where credit is due: I don’t own anything but the plot. The rest belong to JKR, and to Jump5 for their song “Do Ya” that inspired this fic. Many thanks go to my betas elyaeru and Katzegeliebter. Thanks so much for spending time on this. Ciao.

Tam

* * *

Draco lay on his back on his four-poster bed at Hogwarts, just thinking. He was trying to figure out how his life had gotten so horribly out of control. One moment he was studying peacefully in the library, and the next he was fleeing his table for the sanctuary of his dorm. Well, there was a little more to it than that, but Draco could dream that it was that simple.

The first part was mostly true. He had been in the library revising for an upcoming exam. He had been sitting at his usual table—their usual table—when she joined him. They had been studying together for a few months, him helping her with her Transfiguration and her helping him with Herbology. That in itself was nothing out of the ordinary. Their banter was comforting in its familiarity, and soon the books were forgotten on the table—also normal—and they were chatting and joking back and forth like they had been friends for years instead of almost three months.

She was laughing at something he had said, her face flushed and eyes bright when she seemed to grow somber. At the time he hadn’t known why, but the air seemed to shift somehow. Noticing she had stopped laughing rather abruptly he had asked, “What’s wrong?” Then she bit her bottom lip—the way she always did when she was thinking hard or was nervous—and looked him dead in the eye.

“Do you love me?”

He had stared back at her in shock. The question had been asked calmly, but Draco could see the anxiousness and fear in her eyes and knew that she was being completely serious. He kept staring at her, knowing that she expected an answer, that she deserved an answer. So Draco did the only thing he could think of at the time.

He ran.

He had grabbed his bag and fairly sprinted out of the library, more aware of her eyes on his retreating form than Madam Pince’s call not to run in her library. Draco had run all the way back to the dungeons, for once not mindful of proper behavior. As soon as he made it to the dark common room he had locked himself in his dorm and hadn’t been out since.

He absently waved his wand and the Wireless started up in the background. As he started pacing the room he repeated the same question that had sounded in his head the minute he had reached the silence of his room.

Did he love her?

Did he, Draco Malfoy, love her, Ginevra Weasley? Even though their families were sworn enemies, even though her brother was the Weasel King and she spent her time in the company of Potter and Granger, even though she was a loud-mouthed, red-haired Gryffindor Muggle-lover? The song playing on the wireless drifted over to him.

“Do ya like the freckles on my face?
Do ya like my teeth they’re out of place?
I’d like to think so.”


He thought of one of the first times she had joined him in the library.

* * *

Ginny sat across from him, books and parchments surrounding her, though Draco could tell she wasn’t really paying attention. She was staring off into space, but he noticed that she didn’t have the same vacant look her oaf of a brother had when he wasn’t paying attention.

He was studying
her, trying to figure out what her angle was, what she wanted to get out of meeting him. His mind wandered off fairly quickly, though, and instead began counting the freckles on her cheeks and nose. He had counted up to thirty-seven before she caught on to his stare.

“What?” she asked him curiously.

“You have freckles,” Draco stated firmly. “No friend of a Malfoy has freckles.”

She smiled at him like she was amused at his obvious observation. “You have a pasty face. No friend of a Weasley has a pasty face,” she replied.

Not willing to take that laying down (or sitting in an uncomfortable library chair), Draco cast about for another insult before he was distracted, again, by her smile.

“Your teeth are crooked. It’s unbecoming.”

“Your nose is too pointy.”

Draco glared at her. “It’s not pointy. It’s distinguished.”


* * *

Draco thought. Her freckled face wasn’t ugly by any means, but neither was it stunning. The freckles lent her creamy skin definition, reminding Draco of flecks of soot on snow. And despite her imperfect set of teeth, every time Ginny smiled at him, or smiled at anything, Draco felt a little bit happier, a little bit warmer.

“Do ya like the funny way I speak?
I don’t clean my room for weeks and weeks,
I’d like to think so.”


Draco could call to mind her voice, not the high pitched whine of Pansy’s, nor the low tones of Daphne’s, nor the whimsical notes of her friend Lovegood. Her voice changed pitch depending on her mood. When she was happy, her voice became higher, clearer. When she talked about schoolwork or other serious subjects, the tone became lower and somewhat rough. Draco wondered what her voice would sound like when she was turned on…

No. Draco literally shook himself from those thoughts. That’s not helping.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?
I’d like to think so.
Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?
Anyway…I’d like to think so.

Do ya like the way I go all shy?
I just can’t look you in the eye?
I’d like to think so.
Will you stay here for a while
So I can watch you when you smile?
I’d like to think so.”


* * *

It was about a month into their study sessions that the books became forgotten and homework was abandoned in the search for more interesting topics. This particular topic Ginny had started, though Draco was sure she hadn’t intended it to go this way. It was a simple game where the two of them would trade off asking questions. Ginny had started off with “Do you bleach your hair that way?” and it had gotten underway.

Now they were each trying to outdo each other to find the most embarrassing or difficult questions to answer. Draco rather thought he was winning.

“Do you tilt to the right or the left?”

“The right,” she answered confidently. Damn, she didn’t even turn pink that time. “Who was your first?”

“Pansy Parkinson,” Draco replied without hesitation, not letting her see his discomfort talking about such things with
her. “On all accounts,” he added smugly. “And yours?”

This time she
did blush and turn her head away to avoid his eyes. Draco felt a sense of accomplishment when she mumbled something under her breath that Draco couldn’t quite catch. “What was that, Ginevra?” The tone Draco used, as well as his use of her given name (the result of an earlier question), made her blush even more, if that was possible.

She met his eyes again, the barest trace of her old confidence returning. “I don’t have one,” Ginny repeated, her voice still low and quiet.

And this time it was Draco’s turn to be flustered. “How is that? I know that you’ve dated loads of boys. Thomas and Potter come to mind. And aren’t you dating Finnegan?” It was a well known fact that Seamus Finnegan was the Loverboy of Gryffindor, and if Ginny was dating him, then there was no way she could still be a virgin.

Ginny looked uncomfortable at explaining this to him. “Well, Dean and I dated a while ago and I was too young. Michael and I never really connected enough for me to even think about it. Harry was too busy with, you know, saving the world. And, well…” she broke off. “Seamus and I broke up last week.”

“Really?” Well
that was a new development.

“Yeah,” she said, her nervousness evident now. And with good reason. They had never in their conversations touched on past relationships. “It wouldn’t have worked out with us. You see, there’s this other boy that I’ve liked for a bit and well…I couldn’t lead Seamus on like that.” Ginny met his eyes again for a moment and then glanced down at her forgotten parchment, her face tinged pink again. This time, Draco thought that the tips of his ears might have matched.


* * *

Alright, so he liked it when she was straightforward with him. And he would even admit that she looked rather cute with her face flushed and when she tried to pull off the innocent schoolgirl act. Though she could never keep it up for long. Soon after the awkward silence brought on by her admission she had bravely looked up at him and asked, “Parkinson? What on earth possessed you to do that with her?” And the conversation had gone on as normal. Yes, he admitted, Ginny could even hold her own in a conversation that was uncomfortable for her. Not only that, but even in those uncomfortable situations, she still managed to express herself clearly, if a bit bluntly. It made her seem human, more so than any other girl he knew. And he felt a little bit of his impassive and icy façade crumble each time she challenged him to a battle of words and retained her spirit after he soundly beat her.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?
I’d like to think so.
Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?
Anyway, I’d like to think so.”


But just because he admired her ability to argue with the best of them, or thought she looked her best when she was red with anger or embarrassment or when she looked shy and innocent, or despite the fact that she was innocent and pure she still managed to look sexy and desirable or—

Ugh! This was hopeless! How was he supposed to figure out if he loved her or not if he couldn’t properly concentrate enough to decide? Going through her virtues would not help him make up his mind.

“Well I hope I don’t drive you insane
With my big right foot and my unkempt mane.
Well I know you love me just the way I am,
So I’ll change my ways if I think I can.”


Damn this song! Why wasn’t it over with yet? Just listening to it made him think…

* * *

Just last week, they had again been studying in the library. Instead of sitting at their usual table they had secluded themselves in a back aisle of the stacks, somewhere between the Ancient Runes tomes. No one was likely to gawk at them from there, and Draco had really wanted a moment or peace away from his housemates and her housemates and those who gibed the two of them for spending so much time together.

The stacks they had isolated themselves between were just wide enough for Draco to stretch out his legs, which meant that Ginny had a few centimeters to spare. They were sitting facing each other, backs against the shelves, the outsides of their closest legs touching firmly. Ginny appeared to be enthralled in a novel, and though the cover indicated that it wasn’t approved classroom material, she was paying more attention to her trashy book than she ever did to her Transfiguration texts. Draco supposed he should be paying attention to the book in his own lap rather than to her, but he was distracted by her right foot, the one that rested precariously next to his upper thigh. She was tapping it in a steady yet maddening rhythm, and every so often would twitch it far enough to strike his leg. It was distracting him to no end.

Not taking his eyes off her face, Draco reached a hand slowly and placed it on the offending appendage. Ginny looked up at last from her novel and blushed a little.

“Sorry. I got to an exciting part.”

Draco nodded and she smiled slightly before returning to stare down at the page in her lap. He attempted to do the same, and succeeded for a while, until her foot started up again. Instead of the incessant tapping which would have made Draco sigh and remove her foot from the vicinity of his leg, this time it was a gentle nudging. He looked up from his texts again, thinking,
No wonder I never get any work done, and met her expectant eyes.

“Do you want something, Ginevra?” Surely she couldn’t have been expecting him to…

She smiled coyly at him and he fought to hide the fact that his breath caught in his throat. “Maybe. Would you?” She asked this with a flutter of her eyes and a pout that she must have stolen from Pansy.

“Don’t do that, Weasley. I get enough of it in the common room.” But despite his grumbling Draco closed his textbook, set it aside and grabbed Ginny’s right foot. Settling it in his lap, he carefully untied her scuffed Mary-Jane loafer and set it beside his book. He then maneuvered her foot so that he could slip her plain white cotton sock off, leaving her pale flesh exposed to him. Ginny giggled as he did this and at his questioning look, mumbled something about “ticklish.” Ignoring this, Draco started to gently knead the flesh at the instep of her foot, making his way along the sole, down to the heel and up to pay homage to each of her toes. He paid extra attention to the spots that made her gasp lightly or sigh slightly and made sure that all the tension was removed from her muscles. Gradually abandoning her foot altogether, Draco’s skillful hands massaged their way up to her smooth calf. Looking up for a second from his work to gauge her reaction, Draco saw that Ginny had also deserted her book, choosing instead to lean her head back against the dusty shelved, close her eyes, and surrender herself to Draco’s ministrations.

The blissful look on her face stilled his hands as he shifted his focus from her leg to her face. The cessation of movement caused her to open her eyes and gaze drowsily at him. As if recalling what was happening, she flushed full scarlet and brushed a lock of uncombed, blood-red hair behind her ear. She was about to say something, ruin the perfect atmosphere created by his gentle caresses, but he stopped her by removing her right foot from his lap and setting her left one in its place. He raised a white-blond eyebrow at her surprised look, and then showed her other foot the same care and concentration he had her first.


* * *

Damn it! Damn it all to the depths of hell and back! He was screwed, completely and utterly screwed. He couldn’t believe that he, Draco Malfoy, had fallen in love with her, Ginevra Weasley. They hadn’t even shared a proper kiss yet, and he was already screwed over. Now what the hell was he supposed to do?

“What’s got your knickers in a twist now, Malfoy?”

Damn, just what he needed. “Shove off, Blaise. I’m in no mood for this.”

The darker boy nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. Who is she?”

Draco snorted, but his nonchalance was betrayed by his widened eyes. “She? It’s not a girl, Zabini.”

“Oh? A boy then?”

“Don’t be crass.”

Blaise sighed. “Fine.” He paused. “So, who is she?”

Draco closed his eyes and let out a breath, knowing that Blaise would guess sooner or later. “Ginny Weasley.”

Blaise grinned. “Finally decided to put the moves on her?”

Draco started at what his friend was implying. “She’s not like that, Blaise. She’s innocent, and proper, and beautiful, and…” he broke off, his face falling rather comically. “Bloody hell, Blaise, I’m in trouble.”

Never having seen Draco so flustered he asked, “Merlin, Malfoy, what’d she do to you?”

Draco looked up helplessly at his best mate. “I’m in love with her.”

His statement was met with a low whistle from the other boy. “Yeah, that’ll about do it, mate. What are you going to do about it?”

Draco shrugged with a calm he didn’t feel. “Tell her, I suppose.” But then he winced, imagining facing her again after his hasty retreat.

“What did you do now?” Blaise asked exasperated. “Were you an arse about it?”

“Arse would be an understatement,” Draco replied. “She asked me if I loved her and I ran out of there like the devil was chasing me.”

“Bloody hell, mate. So, what’s your plan of attack?”

Draco thought. If he planned it right, he could manage to put his plan into action all by the following night…

“I’ve got an idea, Blaise.”

* * *

Less than twenty four hours later had Draco fidgeting with his robes in a secluded aisle in the Ancient Runes section of the library. His plan had been fairly easy to implement. His biggest challenge had been to convince the stuffy librarian to have the library to himself for the evening. She had protested hotly, telling him in no uncertain terms that the library was a public space, and not a spot for clandestine meetings for sure, but Draco could be very persuasive when he chose, and especially so when he backed up his words with some galleons and a good bottle of Firewhisky. The set up itself was almost ridiculously simple, but Draco always thought that the simplest plans were the most effective.

A noise at the front of the library put an end to Draco’s fidgeting. As he heard the massive doors slam shut, Draco imagined he could see the puzzled look on Ginny’s face as she took in the dark library, illuminated only by the trail of candles floating above her head. He fancied he could hear her gasp and envisioned her wide chocolate eyes as her book bag dropped to the floor with a thud that he could hear from his hiding place.

Draco counted the seconds in his head. He gave her ten seconds to get over her shock, come to the realization that they would not be studying after all, and figure out that she was meant to follow the candles deeper into the library. Another thirty seconds to reach the first lily, her favorite flower, laid delicately at her spot at the table they had shared the first time they had planned to study together. Twenty more seconds, owed to her increased pace because of the excitement, until she found the second lily as his place at the table they had called their own after her friends started to notice who she’d been studying with. And, knowing her impatience to be growing, gave her another ten seconds before she made her way to him.

Five. He looked his clothing over, making sure his black robes were immaculate.

Four. Running his fingers through his loose hair, he mussed it in the way he knew she liked.

Three. Draco could hear her feet striking the floor. He took a moment to steady his breathing.

Two. He checked one last time that the final lily was secure in his hand.

One. Draco raised his head and met her eyes as she rounded the final bookshelf and stared at him.

Neither spoke for a moment. “Draco, what is all this?”

Draco took a breath. She would laugh at him and his silly ideas. “One flower for each month I’ve known you, really known you. One candle for each time over those three months that I’ve thought that you are beautiful.”

She gasped. “Draco…”

“Yesterday you asked me a question,” he cut her off. “Ask me again. Ask me again and I promise that I won’t run away this time.”

Ginny shook her head. “Draco you don’t have to do this. I shouldn’t have asked—“

“Ask me again, Ginevra Molly Weasley.”

She took a breath and Draco could see the fear in her eyes reflecting off the flickering candlelight. “Do you love me, Draco Malfoy?”

He stepped forward, taking the lilies from her limp hands and placing them on top of the bookshelf. Draco seized her hands from her sides, and pulled her flush against his body. Leaning down to his face was a hairsbreadth away from hers, Draco whispered, “Yes, I do.”

Before she could respond, Draco dipped his head and captured her lips with his, kissing her firmly and with all the emotion he had buried over their three month friendship. In the back of his mind he realized that that her hands had found purchase on his shoulders and that she was kissing him back eagerly. He opened his mouth and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. As she opened her own mouth to deepen the kiss he grabbed her hips and maneuvered her so her back was pressed against the shelves she had sat against the past week. The kiss took on a life of its own for a while, each of them exploring the other, learning with lips and tongue and teeth the person they had spent so much time getting to know.

The kiss slowed until Draco was merely brushing his lips against her mouth and soon just resting his forehead against hers, their breath mingling. Draco tried to get his breathing under control, a feat made harder by the fact that with every breath he took he could smell her sweet floral scent and taste her on his lips. He could see Ginny struggling just as much as he was to control herself. Looking down at her face, her eyes wide and slightly glassy, cheeks flushed and lips swollen, Draco couldn’t help himself.

He dropped his head to kiss her lightly again and said in a stronger, more confident voice than before, “I love you, Ginny.” She was still silently getting her gasps under control, staring up at him wide-eyed. “Damn it, Ginny, say something.”

“Wow,” she gasped, the first time he had really seen her at a loss for words.

“I agree wholeheartedly, but perhaps something more?” Draco prodded, hoping for a reciprocation of some kind.

“What do you want me to say?”

He looked down incredulously at her, unwilling to believe that she was really that dense, until he caught the look in her eye. Damn, she was being coy again. Of all the times… “You know exactly what I want you to say: do you love me, too?” he shot her words back at her, his nervousness making his temper short.

She grinned at him and wove her hands around his neck. “I’d like to think so,” she answered, and swallowed his resulting grin with a hungry kiss.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love, me?
I’d like to think so.
Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?
Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?
Anyway…I’d like to think so.”

* * *
Fin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*


Yeah, I can't help the fact that I love happy endings. What can I say? I'm a helpless romantic and an unwavering optimist. Still, please review, and many thanks for reading.

Tam
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