Ginny was having a good time at the ball. She and Harry had danced, had their photograph taken, and laughed at Neville’s feeble attempts to teach his date to dance.
Apollo’s Dream was even better in person than they were on the wireless. It was a band of three wizards, each one of them just a few years out of Hogwarts.
The lead singer, Rusty Canto, performed a Sonorus charm to project his voice. “Hello, Hogwarts!”
He received a loud cheer from the crowd.
“Our next number is inspired by a Muggle band.”
The crowd looked at each other expectantly, not sure if this was a good thing.
“I know what you’re thinking, but hear us out! This is Fighting For My Love.”
Many times I tried to talk to let you know someday I'd walk
In me you found a drug an addiction to my love
I could swear I let you know I tried one day to let you go
You fight me all along
Yes you're fighting for my love
The students seemed to like it and resumed their dancing.
“I’m having a really good time, Gin,” Harry said, his arms resting on her hips as they danced. His eyes twinkled.
“Me too, Harry,” she said. She couldn’t help but to blush. He looked very handsome tonight and it reminded her of the crush she used to have on him. Harry had been the source of warm feelings that had filled a void in her life.
But now she didn’t want anything more than to be his friend.
Her eyes swept across the Hall as she took in all the students, dressed in beautiful robes, and their faces bright and shining.
She spotted Draco Malfoy dancing with Astoria Greengrass not too far away. She felt a tingling sensation as she took Draco’s appearance. He looked utterly…what’s the word? Delicious?
Ginny immediately flushed in embarrassment at the thought.
“Would you like a drink?” Harry asked her.
“Yes, that would be lovely,” she said. They had danced quite a bit and her mouth was parched. They headed towards the refreshments where a group of students had assembled.
I guess everyone needs a break as well.
It wasn’t until Harry had poured the two of them drinks that she heard shouting.
“Pansy, this is ridiculous.” She recognized Draco’s voice. “I cannot believe you would insult my-”
Ginny suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her left eye and she was thrown back slightly. What in Merlin's...
Harry grabbed onto her arms to steady her. “Ginny, are you all right?”
She was too stunned to respond and instead looked up at Pansy Parkinson, who was staring at her with her mouth hung open in amusement. Draco stood a few feet away from her, his lips thin and his face red. Astoria had a hand covering her mouth, in shock or delight, Ginny didn’t know.
Pansy laughed wickedly. “If it isn’t the filthy Weasley girl.”
Ginny’s blood boiled. She began to tremble slightly and Harry released his grip on her.
“You pug-faced, pretentious, bitch.” Ginny fumed, taking her wand out and pointing it directly at Pansy. The girl flinched a little, but kept her gaze on Ginny steady.
Astoria laughed unkindly.
Harry was back, holding onto her shoulders to restrain her. “Ginny, just let it go. She’s not worth it.”
Ginny wanted to glare at him.
“Oh, Weasley, that black eye will do just wonders for your complexion.”
She jerked her wand towards Astoria. What a horrible, horrible, wench!
Draco looked alarmed and uncomfortable.
“Snape’s coming,” Harry hissed in her ear. She lowered her wand with reluctance and heard Pansy direct an insult at Astoria. She allowed Harry to lead her away.
When they’d managed to separate themselves from the crowd, Ginny let out an un-lady like cry of frustration.
“How’s your eye?” Harry asked, concerned.
“It feels all right, but how does it look?” she asked.
“A little swollen,” he said, taking his wand out. “Here, let me.” Harry murmured a spell with his wand pointing towards the corner of her eye. She couldn’t help but to flinch slightly.
He gave her a small smile. “Good as new.”
“Thanks, Harry.” She smiled back at him. Oh, why can’t I just still be madly in love with him? He’s so good to me.
He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before speaking. “Hey, Ginny, I understand if you want to leave early.”
She was about to open her mouth to say something, but he flushed and quickly added, “What I meant was that…the…incident…and perhaps you just wanted to…for your sake…”
Ginny laughed. “Harry Potter, you’re so…”
He looked at her hopefully, his green eyes boring into hers.
“Sweet,” she finished. “I’m fine, really.”
He squeezed her hand gently.
They noticed McGonagall descend the stage as the band finished up a number.
“Attention students! I will now announce our Winter Beau and Belle.”
When she called Harry’s name, Ginny couldn’t help but to laugh when he let out a groan. She waved him off as he headed towards the stage. He walked awkwardly towards McGonagall who gave him a smile.
Ginny wasn’t expecting her own name to be called at all. She thought she’d misheard the announcement, but then she began to feel arms pulling her forward and heard shouts that sounded awfully like, “Go, Ginny!”
She could feel her face turning red and she wished she’d left her hair down to curtain her face.
She stood next to Harry as he gave her an amused wink. The cheering of the students sounded like an ambiguous rush of air. Flitwick stood in front of her holding a diamond studded tiara. She bent over for him to place it on her head and forced herself to look up at the crowd.
Ginny saw many things in the crowd of Hogwarts students. She saw Parvati and Padma Patil pointing at her and Harry excitedly, Ron attempting to appear nonchalant with a smile twitching on his face while Lavender clutched his arm tightly, a gaggle of second year girls giggling at Harry, and Dean scowling at her as he tightened his hold on his date, an unfamiliar Hufflepuff girl. But what she noticed most, and tried not to stare at much either, was Draco Malfoy’s pompous sneer as he stared at her and Harry as though they were court jesters.
She wasn’t sure why, but his expression created a clenching sensation in her stomach. Her face felt warm and her throat became dry.
Ginny was about to look away when she noticed Blaise Zabini approach him. He whispered something in his ear and Draco nodded. When Blaise left, Draco made as though to follow him, but something had caught his eye. She watched him bend over to pick up something shiny. Her eyes immediately went to her wrist, which was naked.
That’s my bracelet.
She suddenly felt Harry take her hand and lead her down the stage. They were expected to lead a dance together. When she tried to look for Draco again, he’d disappeared.
But I need my bracelet! He took it!
Her dance with Harry went by in a blur and all she could think of was Draco Malfoy and her bracelet. She didn’t want to worry Harry over the issue. She had a feeling he’d want to take an entirely different approach in retrieving her bracelet, one that called for violence.
When the ball began to slow down, she and Harry left together. He headed towards the Gryffindor tower, expecting her to follow.
“Hey Ginny, you coming?” he asked.
“Er…” she paused, wondering what excuse she could make. She needed to find Draco right away. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy. I think I may stop to see Madam Pomfrey before I retire for the night.”
Harry looked worried. “Would you like me to come with you?”
“No, no, please don’t,” she said, trying not to sound panicked. “I’ll be fine.”
He knit his brows together. “Well, okay. I hope you feel better.”
Ginny walked towards him and clasped their hands together. “Thank you for a lovely time, Harry.” He blinked at her, his face slightly pink. She knew that he wanted to kiss her, but she couldn’t bring herself to allow it. She let go of his hands and headed in the opposite direction, waiting for his footsteps to recede before sprinting towards the Slytherin dungeons.
When Ginny neared the dungeons she was met with faint music echoing down the hallway. What on earth…
She hurried her pace and stood in front of the entrance, seeing no visible means of getting in. Loud music blared from the other side and she could hear laughter and cheering as well. Slytherins, she thought, rolling her eyes.
She heard what sounded like a door sliding open and quickly ducked behind a stone pillar. A boy and girl stumbled out, clutching onto each other like hungry wolves. Before the door could shut, Ginny slipped inside. Her mouth dropped open.
She had never been inside the Slytherin dungeons, nor had anyone else she knew. She could only imagine as to what it was like, and clearly her imagination was off. The room was barely lit with sparks from wand tips flitting back and forth across the room, giving the horde of students dancing in the Common Room an eerie glow. There was no way all these students were Slytherin. She did a double take as she spotted Rusty Canto dancing amid the frenzy.
Okay, you’re here on a mission. Where’s Draco?
Ginny made her way through the dancing students, getting shoved back and forth in the process. At one point she felt someone grab her arse, and she slapped whoever it was without even looking at them. It seemed like she would never make it through the endless barrage of students. When she finally made it to the other side of the room, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to find Blaise Zabini glaring at her.
“What are you doing in here?” he shouted at her, so as to be heard over the music.
“Have you seen Malfoy?” she shouted back.
His expression darkened, even though she could make out the faint trace of a smile on his chiseled face.
“And why should I tell you that?”
Ginny was tired, hot, and her feet ached from dancing. She took her wand out and pointed it at him. “Look, you’re going to tell me right now, or I’m going to hex you onto the back of a hippogriff flying towards Romania.”
He blinked at her. “Quite the temper, isn’t it, Weasley?”
She raised her wand higher so that it was pointing at his forehead.
“He’s behind you.”
She whirled around to find nobody that remotely resembled Draco Malfoy standing there. When she turned back around, Blaise had disappeared. Argh!
Ginny pocketed her wand, ready to give up and head back to the tower. Someone grabbed her elbow and turned her around.
“What’s a nasty little Gryffindor doing on our turf?” A tall, disgusting boy with long black hair leered at her.
She tried to shake him off. “Get off of me!”
He only held on tighter. “I only assume you’re trying to crash our party. In that case, you should be dancing, princess.” He grabbed both her arms and dragged her towards the dancing students. She was unable to reach for her wand.
“Stop, let go of me!” she shouted, dragging her feet across the ground.
“Bletchley, let go of the girl,” a voice said, stopping both of them in their tracks.
It was Draco. He was staring at the boy with blazing eyes, his expression hard. “I’ll dispose of her myself. We don’t need the likes of her in here.”
Bletchley sneered at Draco before releasing Ginny. She rubbed her arms as though she were suffering from a Blast-Ended Skrewt burn.
“What are you doing in here?” Draco asked, his face had softened, but it was still unreadable.
“You have my bracelet,” she said, trying to glare at him but ultimately failing.
He said nothing for a moment as his eyes bore into hers. “You shouldn’t have come in here uninvited, especially with that thing on your head.”
Her hands immediately went upward and felt the tiara. She’d forgotten she was still wearing it. She blushed in embarrassment.
“I’ll go get it.”
“I’m not staying here by myself another moment,” she said, shivering.
“Well it’s in my room.”
Ginny blushed again.
He sighed. “Okay, we’ll be really quick.”
She followed him towards his room, her heart racing each step of the way. I’m going to Draco Malfoy’s room with him! What am I doing?
The dormitory looked like those in Gryffindor, except everything was green. She was about to express this thought to Draco and then thought better of it. He had a poster of the Falmouth Falcons Quidditch team next to his bed. The rest of his side of the room was as unreadable as him.
She watched him open a drawer in his nightstand and take her bracelet out.
He handed it back to her. She was suddenly aware that he’d been cold to her since he’d rescued her from Bletchley. “I would’ve given it back to you the next time I’d seen you. I wasn’t intending to steal it.”
She nodded as she slipped it back onto her wrist. “It was my mother’s. I just wanted it back.”
They walked out of the room in silence. The sound of the music engulfed them once again. He paused before entering the Common Room. “You’re eye looks better.”
She looked up at him. “Er..yeah. Magic…healing charm.”
Ginny’s heart was beating loudly. He’s so handsome.
They stared at each other for a moment, standing by a window. The moonlight reflected off of Draco’s face and did crazy things to Ginny’s senses.
“Are Pansy…or Astoria…or whomever it was you took to the ball okay?” she asked, for the sake of saying something. They could be drowning in the Black Lake for all she could care.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a ghostly smile on his lips. “I assume they’re fine.”
“I don’t care much for your choice in dates.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “And why should you care either way?”
She shrugged.
And suddenly he was kissing her, his arms yanking her close to him. His actions caught her by surprise, but she didn’t dare resist. In fact, she threw her arms around him and returned the kiss. It was fierce, competitive, and oh so hot. She heard him fumbling with a door handle as he led them into what appeared to be a small, darkened study, his face never leaving hers for a moment.
He backed her up onto a desk against a wall as his lips trailed across her face. She felt as though she were on fire. He rested his hands on her hips, his gentle massaging contradicting the neediness of his kisses. She gasped as she felt his teeth nip at her neck and she gripped his shoulders tightly.
“You’re so…gorgeous,” she heard him murmur against her skin. His hands moved up her body painstakingly slow and each caress gave her the shivers. He finally came to her breasts and gently squeezed them through the fabric of her robes.
She moaned softly, pulling his head up to meet her lips. The kiss was searing hot and she thought she was going to explode. He was leaning into her and she could feel his hardness against her legs. Draco continued to stroke her breasts, allowing his thumbs to graze the center of each. She bit back another moan.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered. “I want to hear you.”
A voice in Ginny’s head told her she was doing something utterly wrong. But she didn’t care. She wanted him so badly…
His lips returned to her neck, trailing down to her collarbone, and then to the skin exposed by the low neckline of her robes. His breath tickled her skin and she arched into his touch, gasping. She threaded her fingers through his feathery soft hair.
“Oh, Draco,” she whispered. She took one of his hands and guided it inside her robes so that it rested just above her chest.
He stared at her for a moment. She nodded, as if him urging him to move forward.
“I can’t,” he said, removing his hand.
“But I want you to,” she said, almost pleading.
“I know, and believe me, I do as well, but I just can’t.”
Ginny was stunned. Surely Draco Malfoy had touched many women this way.
“I’m not an animal,” he said, not looking her in the eye. “And neither are you.”
She took his face in her hands and kissed him long and hard. They were both breathless when the kiss ended.
“I don’t mean to offend you,” he said, panting. His hands were resting on her thighs as he gently caressed the fabric of her robes. His eyes were pools of silver that seemed to go on forever.
“You haven’t,” she said.
They were quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. “Draco, what is this? What are we doing?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. It’s horribly wrong and foolish of us on so many levels.” He moved away from the desk and stared at the ceiling for a long moment before continuing. "You know what I am. We're too different. And you know that anything between us would be out of the question."
Ginny's heart sank. "But I don't care," she blurted out.
Draco laughed sadly. "Of course you do."
Ginny hopped down from the desk to wrap her arms around him, her forehead resting against his back. "I need this."
He stiffened. "You don't understand," he said quietly. He shook her arms off of him and moved away from her, his eyes taking on a hollow look. "I'm a Death Eater! Don't you know what that means? It means I'm going to kill people!"
Ginny bit back a sob and shook her head furiously. "You can't. I know you-"
Draco's eyes widened. "You think you know me? You don't know anything about me."
Ginny swallowed. "I know you d-don't really want this. You want people to think you do, but really...you're just a boy who's been forced to grow up the hard way."
He groaned in frustration. "It doesn't matter what I want. I don't have a choice. In fact, I don't have any choices."
"Then let me help you make at least one choice. Take a chance on...this." She motioned to the both of them.
His expression softened and Ginny felt elated. "Why do you want this anyway?" he asked.
Ginny moved towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You aggravate me. You frustrate me. You make me want to pull out my hair."
"I thought I asked why you wanted this." He scowled.
"And yet I'm drawn to you for some reason. We're really not that different, you and I."
He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "But Draco, do you want this?"
Ginny began to worry that all he'd really wanted was a good snog or two.
Draco was silent for a moment. "I..."
Ginny's face fell.
"You do things to me," he said. "I can't explain. It's your bloody persistence, that's what it is. You won't bugger off and leave me alone. You're just...ready to smile and accept me despite who I am."
She smiled.
"I can't promise you anything," he continued. "I can't give you a perfect, wholesome, fairy tale. You're going to get hurt."
"I never asked for promises or a perfect, wholesome, fairy tale."
He rubbed his face with both hands tiredly. "So what do we do now?"
She slid her hands up his chest to entangle her fingers in his hair. Their faces were inches apart. She kissed him.
Apollo’s Dream was even better in person than they were on the wireless. It was a band of three wizards, each one of them just a few years out of Hogwarts.
The lead singer, Rusty Canto, performed a Sonorus charm to project his voice. “Hello, Hogwarts!”
He received a loud cheer from the crowd.
“Our next number is inspired by a Muggle band.”
The crowd looked at each other expectantly, not sure if this was a good thing.
“I know what you’re thinking, but hear us out! This is Fighting For My Love.”
Many times I tried to talk to let you know someday I'd walk
In me you found a drug an addiction to my love
I could swear I let you know I tried one day to let you go
You fight me all along
Yes you're fighting for my love
The students seemed to like it and resumed their dancing.
“I’m having a really good time, Gin,” Harry said, his arms resting on her hips as they danced. His eyes twinkled.
“Me too, Harry,” she said. She couldn’t help but to blush. He looked very handsome tonight and it reminded her of the crush she used to have on him. Harry had been the source of warm feelings that had filled a void in her life.
But now she didn’t want anything more than to be his friend.
Her eyes swept across the Hall as she took in all the students, dressed in beautiful robes, and their faces bright and shining.
She spotted Draco Malfoy dancing with Astoria Greengrass not too far away. She felt a tingling sensation as she took Draco’s appearance. He looked utterly…what’s the word? Delicious?
Ginny immediately flushed in embarrassment at the thought.
“Would you like a drink?” Harry asked her.
“Yes, that would be lovely,” she said. They had danced quite a bit and her mouth was parched. They headed towards the refreshments where a group of students had assembled.
I guess everyone needs a break as well.
It wasn’t until Harry had poured the two of them drinks that she heard shouting.
“Pansy, this is ridiculous.” She recognized Draco’s voice. “I cannot believe you would insult my-”
Ginny suddenly felt a throbbing pain in her left eye and she was thrown back slightly. What in Merlin's...
Harry grabbed onto her arms to steady her. “Ginny, are you all right?”
She was too stunned to respond and instead looked up at Pansy Parkinson, who was staring at her with her mouth hung open in amusement. Draco stood a few feet away from her, his lips thin and his face red. Astoria had a hand covering her mouth, in shock or delight, Ginny didn’t know.
Pansy laughed wickedly. “If it isn’t the filthy Weasley girl.”
Ginny’s blood boiled. She began to tremble slightly and Harry released his grip on her.
“You pug-faced, pretentious, bitch.” Ginny fumed, taking her wand out and pointing it directly at Pansy. The girl flinched a little, but kept her gaze on Ginny steady.
Astoria laughed unkindly.
Harry was back, holding onto her shoulders to restrain her. “Ginny, just let it go. She’s not worth it.”
Ginny wanted to glare at him.
“Oh, Weasley, that black eye will do just wonders for your complexion.”
She jerked her wand towards Astoria. What a horrible, horrible, wench!
Draco looked alarmed and uncomfortable.
“Snape’s coming,” Harry hissed in her ear. She lowered her wand with reluctance and heard Pansy direct an insult at Astoria. She allowed Harry to lead her away.
When they’d managed to separate themselves from the crowd, Ginny let out an un-lady like cry of frustration.
“How’s your eye?” Harry asked, concerned.
“It feels all right, but how does it look?” she asked.
“A little swollen,” he said, taking his wand out. “Here, let me.” Harry murmured a spell with his wand pointing towards the corner of her eye. She couldn’t help but to flinch slightly.
He gave her a small smile. “Good as new.”
“Thanks, Harry.” She smiled back at him. Oh, why can’t I just still be madly in love with him? He’s so good to me.
He scratched the back of his head thoughtfully before speaking. “Hey, Ginny, I understand if you want to leave early.”
She was about to open her mouth to say something, but he flushed and quickly added, “What I meant was that…the…incident…and perhaps you just wanted to…for your sake…”
Ginny laughed. “Harry Potter, you’re so…”
He looked at her hopefully, his green eyes boring into hers.
“Sweet,” she finished. “I’m fine, really.”
He squeezed her hand gently.
They noticed McGonagall descend the stage as the band finished up a number.
“Attention students! I will now announce our Winter Beau and Belle.”
When she called Harry’s name, Ginny couldn’t help but to laugh when he let out a groan. She waved him off as he headed towards the stage. He walked awkwardly towards McGonagall who gave him a smile.
Ginny wasn’t expecting her own name to be called at all. She thought she’d misheard the announcement, but then she began to feel arms pulling her forward and heard shouts that sounded awfully like, “Go, Ginny!”
She could feel her face turning red and she wished she’d left her hair down to curtain her face.
She stood next to Harry as he gave her an amused wink. The cheering of the students sounded like an ambiguous rush of air. Flitwick stood in front of her holding a diamond studded tiara. She bent over for him to place it on her head and forced herself to look up at the crowd.
Ginny saw many things in the crowd of Hogwarts students. She saw Parvati and Padma Patil pointing at her and Harry excitedly, Ron attempting to appear nonchalant with a smile twitching on his face while Lavender clutched his arm tightly, a gaggle of second year girls giggling at Harry, and Dean scowling at her as he tightened his hold on his date, an unfamiliar Hufflepuff girl. But what she noticed most, and tried not to stare at much either, was Draco Malfoy’s pompous sneer as he stared at her and Harry as though they were court jesters.
She wasn’t sure why, but his expression created a clenching sensation in her stomach. Her face felt warm and her throat became dry.
Ginny was about to look away when she noticed Blaise Zabini approach him. He whispered something in his ear and Draco nodded. When Blaise left, Draco made as though to follow him, but something had caught his eye. She watched him bend over to pick up something shiny. Her eyes immediately went to her wrist, which was naked.
That’s my bracelet.
She suddenly felt Harry take her hand and lead her down the stage. They were expected to lead a dance together. When she tried to look for Draco again, he’d disappeared.
But I need my bracelet! He took it!
Her dance with Harry went by in a blur and all she could think of was Draco Malfoy and her bracelet. She didn’t want to worry Harry over the issue. She had a feeling he’d want to take an entirely different approach in retrieving her bracelet, one that called for violence.
When the ball began to slow down, she and Harry left together. He headed towards the Gryffindor tower, expecting her to follow.
“Hey Ginny, you coming?” he asked.
“Er…” she paused, wondering what excuse she could make. She needed to find Draco right away. “I’m feeling a bit dizzy. I think I may stop to see Madam Pomfrey before I retire for the night.”
Harry looked worried. “Would you like me to come with you?”
“No, no, please don’t,” she said, trying not to sound panicked. “I’ll be fine.”
He knit his brows together. “Well, okay. I hope you feel better.”
Ginny walked towards him and clasped their hands together. “Thank you for a lovely time, Harry.” He blinked at her, his face slightly pink. She knew that he wanted to kiss her, but she couldn’t bring herself to allow it. She let go of his hands and headed in the opposite direction, waiting for his footsteps to recede before sprinting towards the Slytherin dungeons.
When Ginny neared the dungeons she was met with faint music echoing down the hallway. What on earth…
She hurried her pace and stood in front of the entrance, seeing no visible means of getting in. Loud music blared from the other side and she could hear laughter and cheering as well. Slytherins, she thought, rolling her eyes.
She heard what sounded like a door sliding open and quickly ducked behind a stone pillar. A boy and girl stumbled out, clutching onto each other like hungry wolves. Before the door could shut, Ginny slipped inside. Her mouth dropped open.
She had never been inside the Slytherin dungeons, nor had anyone else she knew. She could only imagine as to what it was like, and clearly her imagination was off. The room was barely lit with sparks from wand tips flitting back and forth across the room, giving the horde of students dancing in the Common Room an eerie glow. There was no way all these students were Slytherin. She did a double take as she spotted Rusty Canto dancing amid the frenzy.
Okay, you’re here on a mission. Where’s Draco?
Ginny made her way through the dancing students, getting shoved back and forth in the process. At one point she felt someone grab her arse, and she slapped whoever it was without even looking at them. It seemed like she would never make it through the endless barrage of students. When she finally made it to the other side of the room, someone tapped her shoulder. She turned around to find Blaise Zabini glaring at her.
“What are you doing in here?” he shouted at her, so as to be heard over the music.
“Have you seen Malfoy?” she shouted back.
His expression darkened, even though she could make out the faint trace of a smile on his chiseled face.
“And why should I tell you that?”
Ginny was tired, hot, and her feet ached from dancing. She took her wand out and pointed it at him. “Look, you’re going to tell me right now, or I’m going to hex you onto the back of a hippogriff flying towards Romania.”
He blinked at her. “Quite the temper, isn’t it, Weasley?”
She raised her wand higher so that it was pointing at his forehead.
“He’s behind you.”
She whirled around to find nobody that remotely resembled Draco Malfoy standing there. When she turned back around, Blaise had disappeared. Argh!
Ginny pocketed her wand, ready to give up and head back to the tower. Someone grabbed her elbow and turned her around.
“What’s a nasty little Gryffindor doing on our turf?” A tall, disgusting boy with long black hair leered at her.
She tried to shake him off. “Get off of me!”
He only held on tighter. “I only assume you’re trying to crash our party. In that case, you should be dancing, princess.” He grabbed both her arms and dragged her towards the dancing students. She was unable to reach for her wand.
“Stop, let go of me!” she shouted, dragging her feet across the ground.
“Bletchley, let go of the girl,” a voice said, stopping both of them in their tracks.
It was Draco. He was staring at the boy with blazing eyes, his expression hard. “I’ll dispose of her myself. We don’t need the likes of her in here.”
Bletchley sneered at Draco before releasing Ginny. She rubbed her arms as though she were suffering from a Blast-Ended Skrewt burn.
“What are you doing in here?” Draco asked, his face had softened, but it was still unreadable.
“You have my bracelet,” she said, trying to glare at him but ultimately failing.
He said nothing for a moment as his eyes bore into hers. “You shouldn’t have come in here uninvited, especially with that thing on your head.”
Her hands immediately went upward and felt the tiara. She’d forgotten she was still wearing it. She blushed in embarrassment.
“I’ll go get it.”
“I’m not staying here by myself another moment,” she said, shivering.
“Well it’s in my room.”
Ginny blushed again.
He sighed. “Okay, we’ll be really quick.”
She followed him towards his room, her heart racing each step of the way. I’m going to Draco Malfoy’s room with him! What am I doing?
The dormitory looked like those in Gryffindor, except everything was green. She was about to express this thought to Draco and then thought better of it. He had a poster of the Falmouth Falcons Quidditch team next to his bed. The rest of his side of the room was as unreadable as him.
She watched him open a drawer in his nightstand and take her bracelet out.
He handed it back to her. She was suddenly aware that he’d been cold to her since he’d rescued her from Bletchley. “I would’ve given it back to you the next time I’d seen you. I wasn’t intending to steal it.”
She nodded as she slipped it back onto her wrist. “It was my mother’s. I just wanted it back.”
They walked out of the room in silence. The sound of the music engulfed them once again. He paused before entering the Common Room. “You’re eye looks better.”
She looked up at him. “Er..yeah. Magic…healing charm.”
Ginny’s heart was beating loudly. He’s so handsome.
They stared at each other for a moment, standing by a window. The moonlight reflected off of Draco’s face and did crazy things to Ginny’s senses.
“Are Pansy…or Astoria…or whomever it was you took to the ball okay?” she asked, for the sake of saying something. They could be drowning in the Black Lake for all she could care.
He rubbed his chin thoughtfully, a ghostly smile on his lips. “I assume they’re fine.”
“I don’t care much for your choice in dates.”
His eyes danced with amusement. “And why should you care either way?”
She shrugged.
And suddenly he was kissing her, his arms yanking her close to him. His actions caught her by surprise, but she didn’t dare resist. In fact, she threw her arms around him and returned the kiss. It was fierce, competitive, and oh so hot. She heard him fumbling with a door handle as he led them into what appeared to be a small, darkened study, his face never leaving hers for a moment.
He backed her up onto a desk against a wall as his lips trailed across her face. She felt as though she were on fire. He rested his hands on her hips, his gentle massaging contradicting the neediness of his kisses. She gasped as she felt his teeth nip at her neck and she gripped his shoulders tightly.
“You’re so…gorgeous,” she heard him murmur against her skin. His hands moved up her body painstakingly slow and each caress gave her the shivers. He finally came to her breasts and gently squeezed them through the fabric of her robes.
She moaned softly, pulling his head up to meet her lips. The kiss was searing hot and she thought she was going to explode. He was leaning into her and she could feel his hardness against her legs. Draco continued to stroke her breasts, allowing his thumbs to graze the center of each. She bit back another moan.
“Don’t do that,” he whispered. “I want to hear you.”
A voice in Ginny’s head told her she was doing something utterly wrong. But she didn’t care. She wanted him so badly…
His lips returned to her neck, trailing down to her collarbone, and then to the skin exposed by the low neckline of her robes. His breath tickled her skin and she arched into his touch, gasping. She threaded her fingers through his feathery soft hair.
“Oh, Draco,” she whispered. She took one of his hands and guided it inside her robes so that it rested just above her chest.
He stared at her for a moment. She nodded, as if him urging him to move forward.
“I can’t,” he said, removing his hand.
“But I want you to,” she said, almost pleading.
“I know, and believe me, I do as well, but I just can’t.”
Ginny was stunned. Surely Draco Malfoy had touched many women this way.
“I’m not an animal,” he said, not looking her in the eye. “And neither are you.”
She took his face in her hands and kissed him long and hard. They were both breathless when the kiss ended.
“I don’t mean to offend you,” he said, panting. His hands were resting on her thighs as he gently caressed the fabric of her robes. His eyes were pools of silver that seemed to go on forever.
“You haven’t,” she said.
They were quiet for a moment before she spoke up again. “Draco, what is this? What are we doing?”
He sighed. “I don’t know. It’s horribly wrong and foolish of us on so many levels.” He moved away from the desk and stared at the ceiling for a long moment before continuing. "You know what I am. We're too different. And you know that anything between us would be out of the question."
Ginny's heart sank. "But I don't care," she blurted out.
Draco laughed sadly. "Of course you do."
Ginny hopped down from the desk to wrap her arms around him, her forehead resting against his back. "I need this."
He stiffened. "You don't understand," he said quietly. He shook her arms off of him and moved away from her, his eyes taking on a hollow look. "I'm a Death Eater! Don't you know what that means? It means I'm going to kill people!"
Ginny bit back a sob and shook her head furiously. "You can't. I know you-"
Draco's eyes widened. "You think you know me? You don't know anything about me."
Ginny swallowed. "I know you d-don't really want this. You want people to think you do, but really...you're just a boy who's been forced to grow up the hard way."
He groaned in frustration. "It doesn't matter what I want. I don't have a choice. In fact, I don't have any choices."
"Then let me help you make at least one choice. Take a chance on...this." She motioned to the both of them.
His expression softened and Ginny felt elated. "Why do you want this anyway?" he asked.
Ginny moved towards him and placed her hands on his shoulders. "You aggravate me. You frustrate me. You make me want to pull out my hair."
"I thought I asked why you wanted this." He scowled.
"And yet I'm drawn to you for some reason. We're really not that different, you and I."
He opened his mouth to say something but she cut him off. "But Draco, do you want this?"
Ginny began to worry that all he'd really wanted was a good snog or two.
Draco was silent for a moment. "I..."
Ginny's face fell.
"You do things to me," he said. "I can't explain. It's your bloody persistence, that's what it is. You won't bugger off and leave me alone. You're just...ready to smile and accept me despite who I am."
She smiled.
"I can't promise you anything," he continued. "I can't give you a perfect, wholesome, fairy tale. You're going to get hurt."
"I never asked for promises or a perfect, wholesome, fairy tale."
He rubbed his face with both hands tiredly. "So what do we do now?"
She slid her hands up his chest to entangle her fingers in his hair. Their faces were inches apart. She kissed him.
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