PLEASE NOTE: italics signifiy Draco's flashbacks to the night before
Disclaimer: Claim no right to characters – still applies
Last Chapter:
“Sure, this is the best part,” Snape said angrily, “He’s planning on using students.”
“What? Did he say which students they were going to use to snatch Harry?” McGonagall pressed.
“Yes,” Snape said, ceasing his pacing, “He mentioned one name specifically- Draco.”
* * * * * *
Ginny watched as the color drained from Draco’s face. She felt his arms tense around her, clutching her closer. Neither of them moved, and they stood huddled together long after Snape and McGonagall were gone. Finally Draco released Ginny, saying, “You have to go.”
“Draco?” Ginny said, her forehead creased with worry.
“Just go,” he said curtly.
Without thinking, Ginny threw her arms around him, Draco stiffened in her hold. “If you ever need to talk…” she left the statement hanging, an invitation, a question. She left him there, slipping through the trapdoor. He heard the light pattering of feet as she made her way back to her dorm. He sighed and stared up at Draco the Dragon, twinkling as brightly as normal, as if his life hadn’t just taken a definite turn for the worse. He knew he should be thinking about his uncertain future, yet he couldn’t get that girl out of his head.
* * * *
Ginny couldn’t believe what just happened. “I just hugged Draco,” she said softly, disbelieving. Wait, when had she started referring to him as Draco? He was Malfoy. She knew she was going to mull over the whole situation all night. For one wild moment, all she wanted to do was to go back up to Draco and…do what? She didn’t know, but she had an overwhelming desire to be with him right now. She whispered the password- “Snape is a git”. (Ron was in charge of creating passwords and this was one of his favorites. Although his first attempt had been a disaster- the entire 38 line “Ode to the Chudley Cannons” – the result being that he was the only one who could actually get into the Common Room.)The portrait swung open, and Ginny climbed into the Common Room. She crept up to her dorm, bypassing Harry who had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, no doubt waiting for her. She breathed a silent prayer of thanks for Harry being asleep, she simply couldn’t handle him right now. She slipped into her bed, but sleep did not come. She knew she should be worrying furiously about the fact that Draco knew that Snape was a double agent, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss. It had been brief but passionate- the opposite of Harry’s drawn out one. She also knew which one she preferred.
* * * *
Ginny awoke instantly, she had been dreaming that Harry had been kissing her, and it had been everything she had wished for, and then suddenly Harry had turned into Draco, and Neville was dressed up like Snape, and Trevor was a prince. It was a very weird dream, Ginny thought stretching.
She padded down to the common room, and saw Penny, Hermione and Violet holed up in a corner of the room.
“Late night Ginny?” Violet asked with a smile.
“More like a terrible night,” Ginny retorted.
“No way? What happened?” The three chorused as one.
Ginny told them everything that happened up until Malfoy arrived.
She ended with “So Malfoy sticks his head up, and I turn around to look for Harry but he’s gone.”
“Why did Malfoy show up?” Hermione asked, in a would-be casual tone.
Ginny froze at this question, her mind raced- ‘Why did he come up? Coincidence? And come to think of it, he hadn’t been the least surprised to see her, and he had even known that Harry was supposed to be there.’ Then she thought back to her conversation with Harry when he’d suggested they meet in the tower. She suddenly recalled that the person who had pushed past them had been Malfoy, so that was how he’d known. The only question left was ‘Why?’ She then remembered the story Ron had told her about the time in their first year when he Hermione and Harry had been caught after hours because of Malfoy-no doubt he was up to his old tricks.
Ginny was conscious of a sudden pang in her chest. She ignored it, knowing that she didn’t have the courage to decipher it.
* * * *
Draco woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes as a cloud of doom descended upon him. It only took him a second to remember why. He sat hunched with his arms wrapped around his knees, as he reviewed the events last night. It had all happened so fast. He’d had no time to deliberate his actions as he would have preferred. He was not usually the type to act without thinking, yet recently that was all he seemed to be doing.
He recalled with perfect clarity, the night before…
He’d been pacing his dorm last night, restless and angry. He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) explain why the idea of Harry and Ginny having a secret rendezvous angered him so. Against his will Draco’s mind had begun to devise images of Harry and Ginny talking, Harry and Ginny laughing, Harry and Ginny -
With a growl of frustration he had yanked his belligerent mind from its imaginings. His brow however was slightly creased and he was puzzled. He wasn’t the type of person who imagined stuff. With a scornful tone he said mentally, “Imagining is for the weak and foolish, true power lies solely in the realms of reality.” However, unbidden, a final image appeared, one that caused Draco to cry out in rage and desert his stalwart rational nature. He stalked out of his dorm in a fit of rage. The final image his mind had projected was Ginny and Harry kissing.
Draco had found himself on the steps leading to the astronomy tower. In an attempt to re-achieve a sense of control over the situation, he’d fished for a satisfactory explanation for intruding on Harry and Ginny. He was getting even with Harry, Draco reasoned, for causing him to lose the match, and for causing Zabini to berate him publicly. He was just going to break up their little meeting, and as a prefect, deliver the customary punishment for after hour wanderings - docking 50 points each from their house, as well as detentions-hopefully with Snape. Best of all, they’d receive temporary suspensions from Quidditch-with no back-up seeker, they’d lose for sure.
Draco, repeating the reasons over mentally, raised the trapdoor. He saw Ginny, staring at him, bewildered. Harry was nowhere in sight. Draco’s eyes narrowed, ‘What a bastard! He stood her up!’ “Where’s Harry?” He heard himself say gruffly.
Ginny looked at him as if he was crazy, she pointed behind her, Draco glanced there- no one. His eyes flickered back to her, perplexed. She hissed something about him having an invisibility cloak-something that Draco had strongly suspected due to an impossible incident that occurred in his 3rd year, when Harry’s head had appeared in Hogsmeade. His hatred for the scar-marked boy surged. He watched as the trapdoor seemingly swung open on its own. ‘What a dick!’ he said silently.
He turned on Ginny with a vengeance, he asked her how it’d been with Harry, anxious, (though he denied it vehemently) to know what had happened. He was surprised when she said that it had been disappointing. He covered the astonishment with another insult. Ginny must have sensed that the insult was merely a throw away one, and ignored it. Draco knew that they must have been kissing. He felt kind of queasy and wrote it off, hastily, as disgust at the image of Harry kissing anybody. He suddenly needed to know whether she had actually enjoyed the kiss. He felt relief when she declared that Harry was a lousy kisser, and when she explained that there had been no ‘spark’ between her and Harry, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, though he covered it with a snort of laughter at her recounting of Harry’s inexperience.
When she got to the part about how Harry had been talking about Cho when he was with Ginny, Draco could honestly have throttled the boy if he’d been within hands reach. “Damn bastard!” He exclaimed aloud. Immediately he snapped his mouth shut, God, since when did he say what he was thinking?
Then he’d shown her Draco the Dragon, he was not sure why he had- it just seemed so right. He knew she wouldn’t laugh at his stupid younger self. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, damnit, he barely knew the girl! But the fact remained that he was positive she would never laugh at anything he said that wasn’t in jest, and he was right. She had not laughed, she had cried. He knew his childhood had been wretched, but he was astounded that he had moved this girl to tears with such a story. It wasn’t even one of the worst, it was actually one of the happiest memories of his childhood- if hope could be mistaken for happiness. The tears sparkling in her beautiful eyes had drawn out from the depths of his carefully guarded heart, a sudden overwhelming desire to comfort her. He was wrought powerless in the face of this powerful emotion, and he did what he did best, he took her gently in his arms, and had kissed her.
The kiss had lasted no more than a second, but in that second, lifetimes passed, so much emotion was exchanged, as they sought to live in a single second.
Then the sound of feet had interrupted them and had changed his life.
Draco did not know what to do; he was so overwhelmed he could barely think straight. A sudden burst of clarity hit him.
“If you ever need to talk…”
* * * * * *
Disclaimer: Claim no right to characters – still applies
Last Chapter:
“Sure, this is the best part,” Snape said angrily, “He’s planning on using students.”
“What? Did he say which students they were going to use to snatch Harry?” McGonagall pressed.
“Yes,” Snape said, ceasing his pacing, “He mentioned one name specifically- Draco.”
* * * * * *
Ginny watched as the color drained from Draco’s face. She felt his arms tense around her, clutching her closer. Neither of them moved, and they stood huddled together long after Snape and McGonagall were gone. Finally Draco released Ginny, saying, “You have to go.”
“Draco?” Ginny said, her forehead creased with worry.
“Just go,” he said curtly.
Without thinking, Ginny threw her arms around him, Draco stiffened in her hold. “If you ever need to talk…” she left the statement hanging, an invitation, a question. She left him there, slipping through the trapdoor. He heard the light pattering of feet as she made her way back to her dorm. He sighed and stared up at Draco the Dragon, twinkling as brightly as normal, as if his life hadn’t just taken a definite turn for the worse. He knew he should be thinking about his uncertain future, yet he couldn’t get that girl out of his head.
* * * *
Ginny couldn’t believe what just happened. “I just hugged Draco,” she said softly, disbelieving. Wait, when had she started referring to him as Draco? He was Malfoy. She knew she was going to mull over the whole situation all night. For one wild moment, all she wanted to do was to go back up to Draco and…do what? She didn’t know, but she had an overwhelming desire to be with him right now. She whispered the password- “Snape is a git”. (Ron was in charge of creating passwords and this was one of his favorites. Although his first attempt had been a disaster- the entire 38 line “Ode to the Chudley Cannons” – the result being that he was the only one who could actually get into the Common Room.)The portrait swung open, and Ginny climbed into the Common Room. She crept up to her dorm, bypassing Harry who had fallen asleep in one of the chairs, no doubt waiting for her. She breathed a silent prayer of thanks for Harry being asleep, she simply couldn’t handle him right now. She slipped into her bed, but sleep did not come. She knew she should be worrying furiously about the fact that Draco knew that Snape was a double agent, but for some reason, she couldn’t stop thinking about their kiss. It had been brief but passionate- the opposite of Harry’s drawn out one. She also knew which one she preferred.
* * * *
Ginny awoke instantly, she had been dreaming that Harry had been kissing her, and it had been everything she had wished for, and then suddenly Harry had turned into Draco, and Neville was dressed up like Snape, and Trevor was a prince. It was a very weird dream, Ginny thought stretching.
She padded down to the common room, and saw Penny, Hermione and Violet holed up in a corner of the room.
“Late night Ginny?” Violet asked with a smile.
“More like a terrible night,” Ginny retorted.
“No way? What happened?” The three chorused as one.
Ginny told them everything that happened up until Malfoy arrived.
She ended with “So Malfoy sticks his head up, and I turn around to look for Harry but he’s gone.”
“Why did Malfoy show up?” Hermione asked, in a would-be casual tone.
Ginny froze at this question, her mind raced- ‘Why did he come up? Coincidence? And come to think of it, he hadn’t been the least surprised to see her, and he had even known that Harry was supposed to be there.’ Then she thought back to her conversation with Harry when he’d suggested they meet in the tower. She suddenly recalled that the person who had pushed past them had been Malfoy, so that was how he’d known. The only question left was ‘Why?’ She then remembered the story Ron had told her about the time in their first year when he Hermione and Harry had been caught after hours because of Malfoy-no doubt he was up to his old tricks.
Ginny was conscious of a sudden pang in her chest. She ignored it, knowing that she didn’t have the courage to decipher it.
* * * *
Draco woke with a start. He rubbed his eyes as a cloud of doom descended upon him. It only took him a second to remember why. He sat hunched with his arms wrapped around his knees, as he reviewed the events last night. It had all happened so fast. He’d had no time to deliberate his actions as he would have preferred. He was not usually the type to act without thinking, yet recently that was all he seemed to be doing.
He recalled with perfect clarity, the night before…
He’d been pacing his dorm last night, restless and angry. He couldn’t (or wouldn’t) explain why the idea of Harry and Ginny having a secret rendezvous angered him so. Against his will Draco’s mind had begun to devise images of Harry and Ginny talking, Harry and Ginny laughing, Harry and Ginny -
With a growl of frustration he had yanked his belligerent mind from its imaginings. His brow however was slightly creased and he was puzzled. He wasn’t the type of person who imagined stuff. With a scornful tone he said mentally, “Imagining is for the weak and foolish, true power lies solely in the realms of reality.” However, unbidden, a final image appeared, one that caused Draco to cry out in rage and desert his stalwart rational nature. He stalked out of his dorm in a fit of rage. The final image his mind had projected was Ginny and Harry kissing.
Draco had found himself on the steps leading to the astronomy tower. In an attempt to re-achieve a sense of control over the situation, he’d fished for a satisfactory explanation for intruding on Harry and Ginny. He was getting even with Harry, Draco reasoned, for causing him to lose the match, and for causing Zabini to berate him publicly. He was just going to break up their little meeting, and as a prefect, deliver the customary punishment for after hour wanderings - docking 50 points each from their house, as well as detentions-hopefully with Snape. Best of all, they’d receive temporary suspensions from Quidditch-with no back-up seeker, they’d lose for sure.
Draco, repeating the reasons over mentally, raised the trapdoor. He saw Ginny, staring at him, bewildered. Harry was nowhere in sight. Draco’s eyes narrowed, ‘What a bastard! He stood her up!’ “Where’s Harry?” He heard himself say gruffly.
Ginny looked at him as if he was crazy, she pointed behind her, Draco glanced there- no one. His eyes flickered back to her, perplexed. She hissed something about him having an invisibility cloak-something that Draco had strongly suspected due to an impossible incident that occurred in his 3rd year, when Harry’s head had appeared in Hogsmeade. His hatred for the scar-marked boy surged. He watched as the trapdoor seemingly swung open on its own. ‘What a dick!’ he said silently.
He turned on Ginny with a vengeance, he asked her how it’d been with Harry, anxious, (though he denied it vehemently) to know what had happened. He was surprised when she said that it had been disappointing. He covered the astonishment with another insult. Ginny must have sensed that the insult was merely a throw away one, and ignored it. Draco knew that they must have been kissing. He felt kind of queasy and wrote it off, hastily, as disgust at the image of Harry kissing anybody. He suddenly needed to know whether she had actually enjoyed the kiss. He felt relief when she declared that Harry was a lousy kisser, and when she explained that there had been no ‘spark’ between her and Harry, he felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his chest, though he covered it with a snort of laughter at her recounting of Harry’s inexperience.
When she got to the part about how Harry had been talking about Cho when he was with Ginny, Draco could honestly have throttled the boy if he’d been within hands reach. “Damn bastard!” He exclaimed aloud. Immediately he snapped his mouth shut, God, since when did he say what he was thinking?
Then he’d shown her Draco the Dragon, he was not sure why he had- it just seemed so right. He knew she wouldn’t laugh at his stupid younger self. He wasn’t sure how he knew this, damnit, he barely knew the girl! But the fact remained that he was positive she would never laugh at anything he said that wasn’t in jest, and he was right. She had not laughed, she had cried. He knew his childhood had been wretched, but he was astounded that he had moved this girl to tears with such a story. It wasn’t even one of the worst, it was actually one of the happiest memories of his childhood- if hope could be mistaken for happiness. The tears sparkling in her beautiful eyes had drawn out from the depths of his carefully guarded heart, a sudden overwhelming desire to comfort her. He was wrought powerless in the face of this powerful emotion, and he did what he did best, he took her gently in his arms, and had kissed her.
The kiss had lasted no more than a second, but in that second, lifetimes passed, so much emotion was exchanged, as they sought to live in a single second.
Then the sound of feet had interrupted them and had changed his life.
Draco did not know what to do; he was so overwhelmed he could barely think straight. A sudden burst of clarity hit him.
“If you ever need to talk…”
* * * * * *
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