Chapter 9- Muggle Quizzes and Christmas Prep
Ginny shoved her Muggle Studies book across the table to Natasha and unnecessarily closed her eyes. “Alright, quiz me on this section.”
“The box that many muggles spend hours in front of, one that responds to your touch and allows you to enter information.”
“Computer.”
“Inventor of the modern computer?”
“Konrad Zuse.”
“Ear- and mouth-piece that nearly all muggles have in their homes to communicate with each other.”
“Telephone.”
“Inventor?”
“Alexander Graham Bell.”
“Another box that many muggles spend hours watching everyday that shows different pictures at different times.”
“Television.”
“Inventor?”
For the first time, Ginny paused. Then, very hesitantly, she said, “…John Logie Baird?”
Natasha made a buzzer sound, and Ginny groaned. “Who was it?”
“Philo Farnsworth.”
Natasha started to go on to the next bullet, but glanced at her watch and put down the book instead. “Sorry, Gin, but I’ve got to go do wheelchair training for the show. They’re going to teach me how to hide my legs and keep them that way until you give me the shoes.”
“So… they’re basically teaching you how to sit still?”
Natasha grinned broadly as she left the library. “Basically, yeah. It’s a concept I’ve never been able to grasp.”
Ginny laughed along with her friend and went back to studying. It wasn’t that she didn’t know most of this stuff- with a father like hers, it was hard not to- but she kept getting the names confused. Stupid quiz… like any witch or wizard besides her dad actually cared about muggle electronics and their inventors. Heck, the only reason she’d taken the class in the first place was to pacify Hermione.
Ginny’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting her mental rant, and she instinctively put a hand to her sweater front, trying to quiet the sound. She frowned when she felt the excess flesh there; the show had her so stressed that she’d been eating more than usual, and it was starting to catch up to her. The holiday season was coming, too… She needed to start being more careful; she wasn’t sure how Draco would feel about a heavy girlfriend.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the Christmas holidays were soon approaching. The homework load, however, wasn’t lessening at all.
“I’m so bored,” Ginny moaned, throwing her quill down on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. “This is taking forever.”
Draco raised an eyebrow from across the table. “If you didn’t stop to whine about it every five minutes, you’d be done by now.”
Ginny shook her head unbelievingly. “Kaya’s not finished yet, and she hasn’t taken any breaks.”
“That’s because Kaya’s slow,” Blaise said, dismissing Ginny’s logic with a wave of his hand. “Each little letter has to be perfect.”
Kaya glowered at him. “So I like my work to be readable, sue me. I’ve seen your writing, and I’m surprised your professors let you get away with it.”
“Everyone liked me too much.” Blaise quirked a grin. “They couldn’t bear the thought of failing me.”
Ginny and Draco both snorted. “Riiiiight.”
“It’s true!”
“Uh huh.”
Blaise didn’t retaliate, and the group soon fell back into silence, Ginny and Kaya both working to get their essays finished. It wasn’t a big surprise, though, that Blaise broke the silence again a few minutes later.
“Soo. . . Christmas is only a couple weeks away; what are we doing this year?”
Draco rolled his neck a few times to get the kinks out. “I figured you were going to stay at Malfoy Manor like you always do and Kaya and Ginny would come for the party.”
Kaya looked up from her parchment, curiosity piqued. “What party?”
“The Malfoy’s annual by-invitation-only Christmas party, where you’ll find all the purebloods, except the blood traitors.”
“They made an exception to the blood traitor thing for me, though.” Ginny grinned, smug.
“I’m invited?”
Draco nodded, looking at Blaise in a slightly fatigued way. “Apparently.”
Kaya looked intrigued. “What does one wear to such a thing?”
“Formalwear,” Ginny said, smiling at the memory of the year before. “Beautiful dresses.”
“Sweetness.” Kaya grinned, mentally going through her closet.
Blaise looked at Ginny curiously, his forehead wrinkled. “Where did the dress you wore last year come from? You don’t. . . I mean, you couldn’t-”
“I couldn’t afford something that nice, right?”
“Right,” Blaise admitted hesitantly.
Ginny’s grin encompassed both Blaise and Draco. “You don’t know? Neither of you recognized it?”
The pair shook their heads, baffled, and Ginny’s eyes twinkled.
“It was the Think of Me dress.”
Blaise’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Hermione altered it to make it more appropriate, then turned it back after the party.”
“Whoa.”
“Yeah.”
They got kicked out of the library for laughing too loudly. Strictly speaking, it was really Blaise’s fault- he had been the one putting quills up his nose- but Madame Pince hadn’t cared. Kaya had pulled a protesting Blaise out the door, and he was now escorting her to Ravenclaw’s Common Room. This left Draco and Ginny walking slowly up the Marble staircase in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.
“Are you going to come to the Christmas party?”
Ginny pursed her lips, pretending to think about it. “I don’t know. . . I’m not sure any of my 'Elphaba' costumes could be altered to be appropriate for the occasion.”
“I think you’re right.” Draco adjusted his arm on her waist, pulling her closer as they walked. “What’s wrong with your dress robes?”
Ginny sighed and shook her head, trying to make herself comfortable despite the fact she was sucking in her stomach. “I wore them at the Yule Ball; they weren’t grand enough there, and this is Malfoy Manor we’re talking about.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Natasha or Kaya might have something I could borrow.”
Draco just nodded, and the pair walked in silence for a while. After a few minutes, Ginny bit her lip and spoke, hesitant.
“Draco. . . do you maybe want to come to the Burrow for Christmas?”
Draco didn’t look at her, but she could sense his sudden discomfort.
“Not for the entire time,” she rushed on, hoping she hadn’t already lost him. “Just for the day sometime, maybe the last day of break. Then we could go back to Hogwarts together.”
Draco took a long time to come up with his carefully worded response. “Why do you want me to come to the Burrow?”
“Well, I want you to see it, and you’re going to have to get to know my mum and dad sometime, or at least talk to them.”
Draco pulled a deep breath in through his nose. “Alright.”
Ginny stopped dead, eyes wide, disbelieving. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Kaya, Blaise, Draco, and Ginny sat in the dressing room a few days later, trying to coordinate their Christmas plans.
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Ginny was saying, her eyes closed in concentration. “I’m going to Kaya’s for the first four days of break, then I’m going on to my house. I’ll spend Christmas Eve with my family, then I’ll head back to Kaya’s house Christmas morning. The two of us will floo to Malfoy Manor around midday, attend the party, then spend the night there. Kaya and I will go home sometime the next day. Draco will spend the last day of break at my house, Kaya and Blaise will meet us there that night, then we’ll all go back to Hogwarts together. Did I get it right?”
Draco and Blaise nodded and headed off to work on something with Patrick; Kaya stayed behind.
“What are you wearing to the party, Ginny?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Ginny lied, finding sudden interest in the ceiling.
“Well. . . if you don’t mind my asking, do you actually have anything suitable to wear to the party?”
Ginny sighed and shook her head, and, surprisingly, Kaya brightened.
“Good! We can go through my closet when you come to spend break with me!”
Ginny looked self-consciously at her own filled-out figure, then at Kaya’s model-worthy curves. “If you say so.”
Ginny shoved her Muggle Studies book across the table to Natasha and unnecessarily closed her eyes. “Alright, quiz me on this section.”
“The box that many muggles spend hours in front of, one that responds to your touch and allows you to enter information.”
“Computer.”
“Inventor of the modern computer?”
“Konrad Zuse.”
“Ear- and mouth-piece that nearly all muggles have in their homes to communicate with each other.”
“Telephone.”
“Inventor?”
“Alexander Graham Bell.”
“Another box that many muggles spend hours watching everyday that shows different pictures at different times.”
“Television.”
“Inventor?”
For the first time, Ginny paused. Then, very hesitantly, she said, “…John Logie Baird?”
Natasha made a buzzer sound, and Ginny groaned. “Who was it?”
“Philo Farnsworth.”
Natasha started to go on to the next bullet, but glanced at her watch and put down the book instead. “Sorry, Gin, but I’ve got to go do wheelchair training for the show. They’re going to teach me how to hide my legs and keep them that way until you give me the shoes.”
“So… they’re basically teaching you how to sit still?”
Natasha grinned broadly as she left the library. “Basically, yeah. It’s a concept I’ve never been able to grasp.”
Ginny laughed along with her friend and went back to studying. It wasn’t that she didn’t know most of this stuff- with a father like hers, it was hard not to- but she kept getting the names confused. Stupid quiz… like any witch or wizard besides her dad actually cared about muggle electronics and their inventors. Heck, the only reason she’d taken the class in the first place was to pacify Hermione.
Ginny’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting her mental rant, and she instinctively put a hand to her sweater front, trying to quiet the sound. She frowned when she felt the excess flesh there; the show had her so stressed that she’d been eating more than usual, and it was starting to catch up to her. The holiday season was coming, too… She needed to start being more careful; she wasn’t sure how Draco would feel about a heavy girlfriend.
Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the Christmas holidays were soon approaching. The homework load, however, wasn’t lessening at all.
“I’m so bored,” Ginny moaned, throwing her quill down on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. “This is taking forever.”
Draco raised an eyebrow from across the table. “If you didn’t stop to whine about it every five minutes, you’d be done by now.”
Ginny shook her head unbelievingly. “Kaya’s not finished yet, and she hasn’t taken any breaks.”
“That’s because Kaya’s slow,” Blaise said, dismissing Ginny’s logic with a wave of his hand. “Each little letter has to be perfect.”
Kaya glowered at him. “So I like my work to be readable, sue me. I’ve seen your writing, and I’m surprised your professors let you get away with it.”
“Everyone liked me too much.” Blaise quirked a grin. “They couldn’t bear the thought of failing me.”
Ginny and Draco both snorted. “Riiiiight.”
“It’s true!”
“Uh huh.”
Blaise didn’t retaliate, and the group soon fell back into silence, Ginny and Kaya both working to get their essays finished. It wasn’t a big surprise, though, that Blaise broke the silence again a few minutes later.
“Soo. . . Christmas is only a couple weeks away; what are we doing this year?”
Draco rolled his neck a few times to get the kinks out. “I figured you were going to stay at Malfoy Manor like you always do and Kaya and Ginny would come for the party.”
Kaya looked up from her parchment, curiosity piqued. “What party?”
“The Malfoy’s annual by-invitation-only Christmas party, where you’ll find all the purebloods, except the blood traitors.”
“They made an exception to the blood traitor thing for me, though.” Ginny grinned, smug.
“I’m invited?”
Draco nodded, looking at Blaise in a slightly fatigued way. “Apparently.”
Kaya looked intrigued. “What does one wear to such a thing?”
“Formalwear,” Ginny said, smiling at the memory of the year before. “Beautiful dresses.”
“Sweetness.” Kaya grinned, mentally going through her closet.
Blaise looked at Ginny curiously, his forehead wrinkled. “Where did the dress you wore last year come from? You don’t. . . I mean, you couldn’t-”
“I couldn’t afford something that nice, right?”
“Right,” Blaise admitted hesitantly.
Ginny’s grin encompassed both Blaise and Draco. “You don’t know? Neither of you recognized it?”
The pair shook their heads, baffled, and Ginny’s eyes twinkled.
“It was the Think of Me dress.”
Blaise’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
“Nope. Hermione altered it to make it more appropriate, then turned it back after the party.”
“Whoa.”
“Yeah.”
They got kicked out of the library for laughing too loudly. Strictly speaking, it was really Blaise’s fault- he had been the one putting quills up his nose- but Madame Pince hadn’t cared. Kaya had pulled a protesting Blaise out the door, and he was now escorting her to Ravenclaw’s Common Room. This left Draco and Ginny walking slowly up the Marble staircase in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.
“Are you going to come to the Christmas party?”
Ginny pursed her lips, pretending to think about it. “I don’t know. . . I’m not sure any of my 'Elphaba' costumes could be altered to be appropriate for the occasion.”
“I think you’re right.” Draco adjusted his arm on her waist, pulling her closer as they walked. “What’s wrong with your dress robes?”
Ginny sighed and shook her head, trying to make herself comfortable despite the fact she was sucking in her stomach. “I wore them at the Yule Ball; they weren’t grand enough there, and this is Malfoy Manor we’re talking about.”
“What are you going to do?”
“I don’t know. Natasha or Kaya might have something I could borrow.”
Draco just nodded, and the pair walked in silence for a while. After a few minutes, Ginny bit her lip and spoke, hesitant.
“Draco. . . do you maybe want to come to the Burrow for Christmas?”
Draco didn’t look at her, but she could sense his sudden discomfort.
“Not for the entire time,” she rushed on, hoping she hadn’t already lost him. “Just for the day sometime, maybe the last day of break. Then we could go back to Hogwarts together.”
Draco took a long time to come up with his carefully worded response. “Why do you want me to come to the Burrow?”
“Well, I want you to see it, and you’re going to have to get to know my mum and dad sometime, or at least talk to them.”
Draco pulled a deep breath in through his nose. “Alright.”
Ginny stopped dead, eyes wide, disbelieving. “Seriously?”
“Yes.”
Kaya, Blaise, Draco, and Ginny sat in the dressing room a few days later, trying to coordinate their Christmas plans.
“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Ginny was saying, her eyes closed in concentration. “I’m going to Kaya’s for the first four days of break, then I’m going on to my house. I’ll spend Christmas Eve with my family, then I’ll head back to Kaya’s house Christmas morning. The two of us will floo to Malfoy Manor around midday, attend the party, then spend the night there. Kaya and I will go home sometime the next day. Draco will spend the last day of break at my house, Kaya and Blaise will meet us there that night, then we’ll all go back to Hogwarts together. Did I get it right?”
Draco and Blaise nodded and headed off to work on something with Patrick; Kaya stayed behind.
“What are you wearing to the party, Ginny?”
“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Ginny lied, finding sudden interest in the ceiling.
“Well. . . if you don’t mind my asking, do you actually have anything suitable to wear to the party?”
Ginny sighed and shook her head, and, surprisingly, Kaya brightened.
“Good! We can go through my closet when you come to spend break with me!”
Ginny looked self-consciously at her own filled-out figure, then at Kaya’s model-worthy curves. “If you say so.”
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