Getting Lucky by CCC
Ginny didn’t relent. “Let me explain this one more time. You. Scare. Me. Stop scaring me, and I won’t need my friends to keep guard over me all the time.”
He didn’t comment but he didn’t let go of her arm either.
“I have to go to class.”
He dropped her arm. “If you act appropriately, I’ll have no reason to seek you out.”
She dashed for the door wondering what his definition of appropriate might be.
After class, Seamus came walking toward her hand in hand with Lavender. “Look at you two,” she teased.
Seamus blushed. “We seem to be getting on. How’re you doing?” He reached to touch her shoulder, and she backed away from him.
A look of hurt confusion crossed Seamus’ face.
“Sorry. My evil friend is insanely jealous of any male who touches me. He warned me to behave appropriately.”
Seamus gestured that they should continue walking. “When did he do this?”
“He caught me in the girls loo.”
“What?” Lavender frowned. “He can’t do that. It’s the girls loo for Merlin’s sake.”
“I would’ve thought there was a spell on the loos to keep boys out.” Seamus added.
“Thought about going into the girls loo, have you?” Lavender teased.
Seamus’ cheeks turned pink.
Lavender laughed. “That’s the fourth time I’ve made him blush today.”
At dinner, Ginny told Ron, Harry and Hermione about her encounter with Malfoy.
“Draco can’t threaten you like that. You should go to Snape.” Hermione advised.
“But he didn’t threaten her.” Harry pointed out. “He threatened to hurt her friends.”
“Evil bastard,” Ron muttered.
Hermione played with her food. “I guess Ron and I can take turns walking you to class.”
Ginny finished off her cup of tea. She was careful not to look at Hermione as she spoke. “Draco became nice after he transformed into a dragon. What if there was some way to make him shift into his dragon form again? Do you think he’d turn back into the boy who cared about me?”
Harry sighed. “As soon as Lucius heard about it, he’d come and change him back into the Malfoy we know and loathe.”
Hermione cleared her throat. “If you need a potion to make him nice, then it isn’t real.”
Ginny set her fork down. “When he was nice, he was jealous. Now that he’s evil, he’s still jealous. How can he be jealous if he doesn’t even like me?”
“That is odd.” Hermione glanced around the Great Hall. “Gin, look over there. The Ravenclaw you had a crush on is facing this way. Look at him and tell me what you think.”
Ginny observed the dark haired young man. He still had the same square jaw, high cheekbones and dark soulful eyes, but now she didn’t find him attractive. “I think he’s nice to look at, but I’m not interested.”
“Look at Draco,” Hermione instructed.
Trying not to appear too obvious, Ginny took a long drink from her cup and gazed over the rim at the Slytherin table. Pansy was pressing herself against Draco and giving him a gaping view of her cleavage.
The teacup began to shake in Ginny’s hand. She slammed it down on the table sloshing the tea over the sides.
“Ginny, what are you feeling?”
“Rage,” she whispered. “I want to hex Pansy and smack Draco.” Ginny closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths. When she had her anger under control, she said, “I’m jealous. I hate him, but I’m jealous. I’m acting as mental as he is.”
“Maybe it’s because of the vow you took,” Hermione suggested.
“Draco once told me that dragons mate for life. He claimed if he left me, I’d never find another person to love.”
“Manipulative bastard,” Ron muttered.
“Do you have anything constructive to add to the conversation, or do you just plan on calling him names?” Hermione snapped.
Ron shrugged. “I’m good at calling him names. It’s my hobby.” He looked at his sister. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, but I’m not sorry you and Malfoy are at odds. I hate him. I don’t care what kind of spell his father put on him, if he loved you he’d be able to break through the spell.”
“You don’t know that, Ronald.” Hermione chided.
“I do. If you love someone, a spell can’t stop that. It might make you forget, but it wouldn’t make the love go away.”
Hermione started to speak and Ron put his hand over her mouth. “Love spells don’t work. If you can’t create love with magic then you can’t destroy it either.”
He dropped his hand. Hermione just stared at him. “That’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
“I have my moments,” he grinned and went back to his sandwich.
Ginny’s brain was trying to catch up with Ron’s logic. “If he really loved me, then that love is still inside him somewhere. What if I do something to remind him of how he felt? Do you think I could bring the nice Draco back?”
“No.” Ron slammed his fist on the table. “You’re missing the point. If he did love you then he wouldn’t be acting this way now. We need to focus on breaking the vow. That is what I meant.”
Hermione placed her hand on Ron’s arm to calm him. “I’m not sure-”
“I’m sure.” His tone became angry. “No matter what spell someone put on me I’d never stop loving you.”
Hermione seemed to stop breathing. Then she placed her hands on either side of Ron’s face and looked him straight in the eye. “You love me?”
Ron gave tentative smile. “Uhm. Yeah. I do.”
Leaning forward slowly, Hermione brushed her lips against his. Then she pulled back. “I love you too.”
Ron pulled Hermione onto his lap and kissed her soundly. Everyone at the Gryffindor table cheered.
***
Ginny felt restless after dinner. She didn’t want to sit in the Common Room with Ron and Hermione. While she was happy for the couple, seeing them kiss only reminded her of what she lost. She decided to tell Harry where she was going, so someone would know where to look for her if she wasn’t back by curfew.
“Harry, I’m going to the library.”
He stood. “I’ll go with you.”
Ginny shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about it. If I don’t do anything to make him jealous, he’ll leave me alone.”
“Why don’t I follow you to the library just to make sure you get there safely. Then you can ask someone else to walk you back. I don’t like the idea of you wandering around alone.”
What he said made sense. “Thanks.”
Harry stayed about ten feet behind her on the walk to the library. When she reached the library doors, he waved and headed back to the Common Room. Ginny headed toward the aisle where she thought she’d find books with information about bonding vows.
When she turned down the aisle, she found Draco leafing through a book. He glanced up as she drew nearer and then focused on his book again.
“I’ve already checked all the books on the top shelf.”
At least he wasn’t being combative. She nodded. “All right. I’ll start at the bottom.”
He opened his mouth. She cut him off. “Can we agree to be civil since we’re working toward the same end?”
“I suppose.”
Ginny sat on the floor and pulled several books off the shelf. As she scanned through them she became warm. To alleviate this problem, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and fanned the material back and forth.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m warm,” she answered without looking up at him.
“There is this marvelous invention called a wand, and you can use it to perform cooling spells.”
Rather than follow his suggestion, she continued to fan her shirt in the hope that it would irritate him. She fanned a little too vigorously and the next button in line popped off.
“Crap,” she muttered. The button rolled toward Draco. She leaned over to grab it. A simple sewing spell secured the button back in its spot and closed her blouse. During the short time it took her to fix the situation, she felt Draco glaring. She waited for some cutting remark.
He continued to radiate annoyance, but said nothing. Ginny finished scanning the last book in her pile and rubbed her eyes. She re-shelved the books and stood. “I think I’m done.”
Draco closed the book he was holding and returned it to the shelf. “The correct term is finished. Food is done. People finish.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You sound like Hermione.”
His mouth dropped open. “I do not.”
Enjoying his discomfort, she poked his shoulder. “Yes, you do.”
He scowled. “Fine. If I sound like Granger, then you act like Pansy.”
“What? I don’t act anything like her.”
“Really?” He put his finger to his chin like he was thinking. “Then why do I know that your bra is embroidered with flowers?”
“My button popped off.” She stomped her foot. “It was an accident.”
He snorted.
A spark went off in her brain. “Pansy was practically laying on top of you at dinner tonight. You weren’t exactly fighting her off.”
He reached to toy with a piece of her hair. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “As you said earlier, ‘just because I don’t want you doesn’t mean you’re not mine.’
“We both know you’re lying.” He trailed his fingers along her jawline. “You want me. You’ve wanted me since you hexed me into the lake.”
Damn him. He was right. “Fine. The Felix Felicis made me see that you’re a handsome prat rather than just a prat.” She grinned as his nostrils flared. “After you drank the rest of my potion you saw me in a different light too. So, don’t get all high and mighty with me, we’re on even ground.”
Something flashed in his eyes. His hand slid behind her neck and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “We are not on even ground.”
She had to focus on keeping her hands by her sides. His warm breath on her ear made her want to tangle her hands in his hair. This was not her Draco.
He moved his lips to her neck. Heat shimmered through her body as his hot mouth nipped at her pulse points. She did her best to appear unaffected.
Apparently her body didn’t care that this wasn’t her Draco. Bloody hell, he was doing that thing to her ear. She clenched her fists and bit back a moan.
“You want me more than I want you,” he whispered.
That hacked her off. She leaned into his body and rolled her hips against his. “Either you’re toting around a bottle of butterbeer in your pants, or you’re a liar.”
Too late, she realized she’d just thrown down a gauntlet. His mouth crashed down on hers. She stood her ground and kissed him back. Heat flared between them. Her hands wound through the hair at the base of his neck. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer.
Damn it all to hell, if she didn’t want to snog him senseless.
This was wrong.
He didn’t even like her.
She pushed at his chest. “Stop.”
He loosened his hold and ran his fingers through her hair. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything. Everything is wrong.” Her eyes grew hot. “You hate me.”
“Maybe I don’t hate you.”
Her breath caught. Hope fluttered in her chest. “Does that mean you like me?”
“I like your hair.”
It was a start. She leaned against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. He allowed her to stay for a moment before he stepped away.
“It’s late.” His voice turned hard. “Do you have one of your ‘friends’ waiting to escort you and keep you safe?”
“No. I planned to ask someone here to walk me back.” She took a leap of faith. “You could walk me back.”
He snorted. “Wouldn’t that defeat the point?”
She pretended to be fascinated with the floor. If she looked at him, she couldn’t say this. “Do you remember what it was like before your father changed you?”
“It’s foggy, like a dream.”
Meeting his gaze, she asked, “Were you happier then?”
Something flickered in his eyes. “I remember flying.”
She’d hoped he’d remember something about his feelings for her. Maybe that was enough for one night. She reached for his hand. “Walk me back?”
He tilted his head and studied her. “I’ll walk you back on one condition.”
“What do you want?” Was he setting her up for a fall?
“If we’re to be stuck together, for however short a time, I want you to represent yourself in a more appropriate manner.”
She dropped his hand. “What the hell does that mean?”
His eyes scanned up and down her body. “If we’re going to be seen together in public, you’ll need better clothes.”
His comment smacked her across the face. Barely holding it together, she pushed past him and ran back to her common room. She stormed past her housemates and made it up to her bedroom before she gave into the angry tears.
She’d been stupid to think he cared. All he liked was her hair.
He didn’t comment but he didn’t let go of her arm either.
“I have to go to class.”
He dropped her arm. “If you act appropriately, I’ll have no reason to seek you out.”
She dashed for the door wondering what his definition of appropriate might be.
After class, Seamus came walking toward her hand in hand with Lavender. “Look at you two,” she teased.
Seamus blushed. “We seem to be getting on. How’re you doing?” He reached to touch her shoulder, and she backed away from him.
A look of hurt confusion crossed Seamus’ face.
“Sorry. My evil friend is insanely jealous of any male who touches me. He warned me to behave appropriately.”
Seamus gestured that they should continue walking. “When did he do this?”
“He caught me in the girls loo.”
“What?” Lavender frowned. “He can’t do that. It’s the girls loo for Merlin’s sake.”
“I would’ve thought there was a spell on the loos to keep boys out.” Seamus added.
“Thought about going into the girls loo, have you?” Lavender teased.
Seamus’ cheeks turned pink.
Lavender laughed. “That’s the fourth time I’ve made him blush today.”
At dinner, Ginny told Ron, Harry and Hermione about her encounter with Malfoy.
“Draco can’t threaten you like that. You should go to Snape.” Hermione advised.
“But he didn’t threaten her.” Harry pointed out. “He threatened to hurt her friends.”
“Evil bastard,” Ron muttered.
Hermione played with her food. “I guess Ron and I can take turns walking you to class.”
Ginny finished off her cup of tea. She was careful not to look at Hermione as she spoke. “Draco became nice after he transformed into a dragon. What if there was some way to make him shift into his dragon form again? Do you think he’d turn back into the boy who cared about me?”
Harry sighed. “As soon as Lucius heard about it, he’d come and change him back into the Malfoy we know and loathe.”
Hermione cleared her throat. “If you need a potion to make him nice, then it isn’t real.”
Ginny set her fork down. “When he was nice, he was jealous. Now that he’s evil, he’s still jealous. How can he be jealous if he doesn’t even like me?”
“That is odd.” Hermione glanced around the Great Hall. “Gin, look over there. The Ravenclaw you had a crush on is facing this way. Look at him and tell me what you think.”
Ginny observed the dark haired young man. He still had the same square jaw, high cheekbones and dark soulful eyes, but now she didn’t find him attractive. “I think he’s nice to look at, but I’m not interested.”
“Look at Draco,” Hermione instructed.
Trying not to appear too obvious, Ginny took a long drink from her cup and gazed over the rim at the Slytherin table. Pansy was pressing herself against Draco and giving him a gaping view of her cleavage.
The teacup began to shake in Ginny’s hand. She slammed it down on the table sloshing the tea over the sides.
“Ginny, what are you feeling?”
“Rage,” she whispered. “I want to hex Pansy and smack Draco.” Ginny closed her eyes and took slow deep breaths. When she had her anger under control, she said, “I’m jealous. I hate him, but I’m jealous. I’m acting as mental as he is.”
“Maybe it’s because of the vow you took,” Hermione suggested.
“Draco once told me that dragons mate for life. He claimed if he left me, I’d never find another person to love.”
“Manipulative bastard,” Ron muttered.
“Do you have anything constructive to add to the conversation, or do you just plan on calling him names?” Hermione snapped.
Ron shrugged. “I’m good at calling him names. It’s my hobby.” He looked at his sister. “I’m sorry you’re hurt, but I’m not sorry you and Malfoy are at odds. I hate him. I don’t care what kind of spell his father put on him, if he loved you he’d be able to break through the spell.”
“You don’t know that, Ronald.” Hermione chided.
“I do. If you love someone, a spell can’t stop that. It might make you forget, but it wouldn’t make the love go away.”
Hermione started to speak and Ron put his hand over her mouth. “Love spells don’t work. If you can’t create love with magic then you can’t destroy it either.”
He dropped his hand. Hermione just stared at him. “That’s the smartest thing I’ve ever heard you say.”
“I have my moments,” he grinned and went back to his sandwich.
Ginny’s brain was trying to catch up with Ron’s logic. “If he really loved me, then that love is still inside him somewhere. What if I do something to remind him of how he felt? Do you think I could bring the nice Draco back?”
“No.” Ron slammed his fist on the table. “You’re missing the point. If he did love you then he wouldn’t be acting this way now. We need to focus on breaking the vow. That is what I meant.”
Hermione placed her hand on Ron’s arm to calm him. “I’m not sure-”
“I’m sure.” His tone became angry. “No matter what spell someone put on me I’d never stop loving you.”
Hermione seemed to stop breathing. Then she placed her hands on either side of Ron’s face and looked him straight in the eye. “You love me?”
Ron gave tentative smile. “Uhm. Yeah. I do.”
Leaning forward slowly, Hermione brushed her lips against his. Then she pulled back. “I love you too.”
Ron pulled Hermione onto his lap and kissed her soundly. Everyone at the Gryffindor table cheered.
***
Ginny felt restless after dinner. She didn’t want to sit in the Common Room with Ron and Hermione. While she was happy for the couple, seeing them kiss only reminded her of what she lost. She decided to tell Harry where she was going, so someone would know where to look for her if she wasn’t back by curfew.
“Harry, I’m going to the library.”
He stood. “I’ll go with you.”
Ginny shook her head. “I’ve been thinking about it. If I don’t do anything to make him jealous, he’ll leave me alone.”
“Why don’t I follow you to the library just to make sure you get there safely. Then you can ask someone else to walk you back. I don’t like the idea of you wandering around alone.”
What he said made sense. “Thanks.”
Harry stayed about ten feet behind her on the walk to the library. When she reached the library doors, he waved and headed back to the Common Room. Ginny headed toward the aisle where she thought she’d find books with information about bonding vows.
When she turned down the aisle, she found Draco leafing through a book. He glanced up as she drew nearer and then focused on his book again.
“I’ve already checked all the books on the top shelf.”
At least he wasn’t being combative. She nodded. “All right. I’ll start at the bottom.”
He opened his mouth. She cut him off. “Can we agree to be civil since we’re working toward the same end?”
“I suppose.”
Ginny sat on the floor and pulled several books off the shelf. As she scanned through them she became warm. To alleviate this problem, she unbuttoned the top two buttons of her blouse and fanned the material back and forth.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m warm,” she answered without looking up at him.
“There is this marvelous invention called a wand, and you can use it to perform cooling spells.”
Rather than follow his suggestion, she continued to fan her shirt in the hope that it would irritate him. She fanned a little too vigorously and the next button in line popped off.
“Crap,” she muttered. The button rolled toward Draco. She leaned over to grab it. A simple sewing spell secured the button back in its spot and closed her blouse. During the short time it took her to fix the situation, she felt Draco glaring. She waited for some cutting remark.
He continued to radiate annoyance, but said nothing. Ginny finished scanning the last book in her pile and rubbed her eyes. She re-shelved the books and stood. “I think I’m done.”
Draco closed the book he was holding and returned it to the shelf. “The correct term is finished. Food is done. People finish.”
She crossed her arms over her chest. “You sound like Hermione.”
His mouth dropped open. “I do not.”
Enjoying his discomfort, she poked his shoulder. “Yes, you do.”
He scowled. “Fine. If I sound like Granger, then you act like Pansy.”
“What? I don’t act anything like her.”
“Really?” He put his finger to his chin like he was thinking. “Then why do I know that your bra is embroidered with flowers?”
“My button popped off.” She stomped her foot. “It was an accident.”
He snorted.
A spark went off in her brain. “Pansy was practically laying on top of you at dinner tonight. You weren’t exactly fighting her off.”
He reached to toy with a piece of her hair. “Do I detect a note of jealousy?”
Her heartbeat kicked up a notch. “As you said earlier, ‘just because I don’t want you doesn’t mean you’re not mine.’
“We both know you’re lying.” He trailed his fingers along her jawline. “You want me. You’ve wanted me since you hexed me into the lake.”
Damn him. He was right. “Fine. The Felix Felicis made me see that you’re a handsome prat rather than just a prat.” She grinned as his nostrils flared. “After you drank the rest of my potion you saw me in a different light too. So, don’t get all high and mighty with me, we’re on even ground.”
Something flashed in his eyes. His hand slid behind her neck and he leaned down to whisper in her ear. “We are not on even ground.”
She had to focus on keeping her hands by her sides. His warm breath on her ear made her want to tangle her hands in his hair. This was not her Draco.
He moved his lips to her neck. Heat shimmered through her body as his hot mouth nipped at her pulse points. She did her best to appear unaffected.
Apparently her body didn’t care that this wasn’t her Draco. Bloody hell, he was doing that thing to her ear. She clenched her fists and bit back a moan.
“You want me more than I want you,” he whispered.
That hacked her off. She leaned into his body and rolled her hips against his. “Either you’re toting around a bottle of butterbeer in your pants, or you’re a liar.”
Too late, she realized she’d just thrown down a gauntlet. His mouth crashed down on hers. She stood her ground and kissed him back. Heat flared between them. Her hands wound through the hair at the base of his neck. His arm snaked around her waist and pulled her closer.
Damn it all to hell, if she didn’t want to snog him senseless.
This was wrong.
He didn’t even like her.
She pushed at his chest. “Stop.”
He loosened his hold and ran his fingers through her hair. “What’s wrong?”
“Everything. Everything is wrong.” Her eyes grew hot. “You hate me.”
“Maybe I don’t hate you.”
Her breath caught. Hope fluttered in her chest. “Does that mean you like me?”
“I like your hair.”
It was a start. She leaned against his chest, tucking her head under his chin. He allowed her to stay for a moment before he stepped away.
“It’s late.” His voice turned hard. “Do you have one of your ‘friends’ waiting to escort you and keep you safe?”
“No. I planned to ask someone here to walk me back.” She took a leap of faith. “You could walk me back.”
He snorted. “Wouldn’t that defeat the point?”
She pretended to be fascinated with the floor. If she looked at him, she couldn’t say this. “Do you remember what it was like before your father changed you?”
“It’s foggy, like a dream.”
Meeting his gaze, she asked, “Were you happier then?”
Something flickered in his eyes. “I remember flying.”
She’d hoped he’d remember something about his feelings for her. Maybe that was enough for one night. She reached for his hand. “Walk me back?”
He tilted his head and studied her. “I’ll walk you back on one condition.”
“What do you want?” Was he setting her up for a fall?
“If we’re to be stuck together, for however short a time, I want you to represent yourself in a more appropriate manner.”
She dropped his hand. “What the hell does that mean?”
His eyes scanned up and down her body. “If we’re going to be seen together in public, you’ll need better clothes.”
His comment smacked her across the face. Barely holding it together, she pushed past him and ran back to her common room. She stormed past her housemates and made it up to her bedroom before she gave into the angry tears.
She’d been stupid to think he cared. All he liked was her hair.
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