An owl was hooting somewhere outside. Ginny rubbed a hand over her eyes, blinking a few times to shake the invisible weights from her eyelashes. So hard to focus. Words were blurring in front of her gaze, speckling with flashes of red and green. The screen of her magically powered laptop was just a buzz of nonsense, yet her fingers continued to race along the keys. Tap, tap, tap, tap, tap.
"C'mon, work with me here," she muttered, giving a slap to her cheeks in an attempt to wake herself up.
It was coming up to four o'clock in the morning. She had been writing solidly since … well, she actually couldn't remember. She just knew that her muse was being very, very good to her tonight and she was reluctant to shut down for something as mundane as sleep. The Phoenix Tails had helped as well. Nothing like alcohol to get some creative juices flowing. Ginny had lost count of the number of glasses she'd consumed, but oh well. No one was there to judge.
Her eyes scanned the words on the screen, checking to make sure she was satisfied with what she was writing. All seemed fine until she got to a section about her main protagonist.
"Grey eyes?" she said aloud, blinking at what she had written. "Does Blake have grey eyes?"
Wondering if she was drunker than she'd realised, she began flicking through old documents and looking for any reference to the character. Her brow furrowed as she realised that he had indeed gone from having blue eyes to deep grey. Even his build had changed slightly. She'd started by making him quite stocky with scruffy dark hair. A few chapters later he was tall, slender and had hair that looked soft and silky to touch.
Ginny swore under her breath. "That bastard."
Drunk or not, she was coherent enough to realise that she had slowly been turning her character into Draco Malfoy. And it was all because that blond bastard wouldn't get the hell out of her head. His grey, grey eyes were just a daydream away; his little smile flittered through her thoughts like fairy clusters scattered on the wind, pretty and distracting. She'd barely spoken a few words to him that day in the cafe, but her stomach loved to do flip-flops at the mere mention of his name and it suddenly seemed like she lived her life hoping to see him again.
"Bastard!" Ginny muttered again, with much feeling.
Obviously, it was his fault she was acting like some moonstruck idiot. Such behaviour could not be tolerated.
Disgusted, she shut the laptop down with a snap and grabbed the last cup of Phoenix Tail that she had poured for herself. She took a big swig, draining the rest, and then wiped the residual liquid from her chin. Cooperative muse or not, she was not going to let Draco Malfoy ruin her story with his grey eyes and—and male gorgeousness. Nope, she was just going to go to bed and sleep her worries away.
Unfortunately, the blond even invaded her dreams. He was flying on his old Nimbus 2001 and kept trying to give her a bagel, as if it were some amazing gem that she absolutely had to have. Meanwhile, she was stuck wearing the horrible outfit her manager had made her wear for Quidditch Babes on Broomsticks—which is to say, nothing at all except an artfully placed Quaffle.
By the time Ginny awoke, she was feeling grumpy and confused. Draco Malfoy was just one man; she didn't understand why he was having such an effect on her. Something needed to be done. She just had to see him again and confirm to herself that he wasn't actually as special as her memory thought.
"Right!" Ginny said, hitting her fist against her palm. "It's time to chase down a Malfoy!"
So it was that a few hours, many owls, and some expert stalking later, Ginny found herself peering through a glass window to where the blond was seated at a big mahogany desk (not even kidding—that thing was bigger than her bathroom). There were papers scattered all around him and he was tapping a quill against his chin, either deep in thought or just plain daydreaming.
Ginny pursed her lips. She had hoped to find him and see only pointy, rat-like features and a snooty expression, just like she had back at Hogwarts. Instead, he'd rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, baring pale forearms and hinting at the toned body hidden beneath expensive fabric. His hair was styled in a loose, artless sort of way that somehow looked both tousled and sleek. A few strands fell in his eyes, drawing attention to the deep grey of his irises and emphasising his razor-sharp cheekbones. Gods, it really wasn't fair that a guy could have nicer bone structure than her. The sharp angles of his features should have been jarring, but it just worked. He was beautiful, plain and simple.
And she was not cured of her weird infatuation.
"May I help you?"
Ginny jumped and spun around to see a young woman staring at her while clutching a stack of folders to her chest. Pencil black skirt, white blouse, and a matching black suit jacket? Must be a worker of some sort. No doubt the girl was wondering why Ginny had been gazing through Draco Malfoy's office window like some peeping Tom. The things one does for the sake of sanity … or lack of.
"Uh, hi," Ginny said, clasping her hands behind her back and forcing a smile. "I was just, um—"
The door opened behind her. Suddenly, she could feel a presence looming over her, as if there were little magical charges tingling through the air to connect and form the shape of a man. A quiver went through her body and she inhaled a quick breath, catching a whisper of a cool, masculine scent that was like a contradiction of mysteries bundled in one—a little spicy, a little light, and was that a hint of citrus? Mmm, yummy.
In that moment, Ginny wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around Draco and take a great, big sniff. But that would be weird and creepy, so she resisted the urge and instead faced the blond with as much confidence as possible, given the embarrassing situation in which she had got herself. She was pretty sure the first rule of stalking was that you don't get caught.
"Hiya," she said, giving an awkward wave.
Draco's eyebrow raised a fraction. "Weasley?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "My name is Ginny. Well, Ginevra, actually, but I really can't stand that name 'cause it makes me feel like I'm in trouble, so—"
His eyebrow rose even higher, disappearing into his hairline. She closed her mouth.
"Look, I'm just saying that I have a name," she said bluntly. "You can use it."
"Sure." His gaze drifted to the pencil-skirt lady. "You got those papers I needed?"
"Ah, yes. Here you go." Pencil-Skirt handed a stack of parchment to Draco and then frowned at Ginny. "Do you have an appointment with Draco? I'm sorry, it's just I didn't have you down on the system, and—"
"Oh, I highly doubt she's here for an appointment," Draco said with a wry smile. "Weas—"
"Ginny," the redhead muttered.
"Ginny," he corrected, throwing her an exasperated glance, "does what she pleases. Always has." A crease formed on his brow. "Though I'm not sure why she's chosen to target me today."
The redhead shrugged. "Oh, I just wanted to see if you were as hot as I remembered. It's been bugging me since we last met at the café."
There was a pause. Ginny's cheeks flooded with pink as she realised she had spoken aloud. Damn it, she really needed to work on this socialising thing.
"Uh, I mean, forget that," she added hastily. "I was just curious to see where you work."
Draco rubbed the base of his neck. "Right."
Pencil-Skirt glanced between the two. "Well, I'm going to go. Call me if you need me, Draco."
He nodded absently, still staring at Ginny. She fiddled with a button on her jacket.
"So," she said, drawing out the O. "How's it going?"
Draco folded his arms across his chest. "Alright, enough pleasantries. What do you really want?"
Ginny plastered an innocent expression on her face. "Can't an old school friend come to say hello?"
"We weren't friends."
She raised her finger to the air. "Ah, but we did go to school together."
His brow furrowed. "Whatever. I have work to do, so—"
He made to enter his office, but Ginny slipped in before he could close the door on her face. She let out a low whistle as she examined the surroundings—all expensive leather and polished wood. The guy had taste.
"This is nice," she observed, taking a seat on his desk and picking up a marble paperweight.
Draco just stared at her with a glassy-eyed expression. He was still standing in the same spot by the door as motionless as if he had been stuffed. No doubt he couldn't believe how bold she was being by forcing her company on him when he had tried to dismiss her. It made her want to cackle. There was a reckless sort of excitement rushing through her blood, making her act out and push his buttons as far as she could. She'd been living in her own head for months; now that she was confronted with a handsome man who was entertaining when bothered, it seemed too much to expect her to do the polite thing and leave.
The blond gaped at her a few seconds longer as she rummaged through his stuff. Finally, he unfroze. "What are you doing?" he demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Perusing," she said, shuffling a few papers out of the way. "Apparently, you can learn a lot about a person by how they set up their desk." Her eyes danced with mischief as she looked at him. "Yours tells me you're an OCD neat freak who likes to be in control."
Draco just stared, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
She shifted her attention to his magically controlled computer. "Hrrrm, now I wonder what you keep as your desktop—"
"Wait!"
Suddenly, he was moving at lightning speed. Fingers latched around her wrist, trying to pull her hand away from the mouse. Too late. The black screen burst with colour, revealing a familiar woman sitting with her legs crossed sideways on a broomstick. She was resting her chin on one hand and smiling cheekily while the other held a Quaffle. She was also quite obviously naked. Everything about the way she sat and even the cascade of her long red hair served to cover the important parts, but still. Her body was there to see in all its naked glory.
It was that damn photo she had done for the charity calendar.
Ginny's smile froze. "Oh."
Draco had the grace to look a little shamefaced. "I can explain."
"Really?"
"I did not put that picture there. That was all Blaise." His cheeks went a little pink and his voice lowered to a mumble. "I just, uh, don't know how to change it."
Ginny's mouth twitched. She didn't know what was more humiliating: the fact that her naked body was being displayed for all to see on Draco Malfoy's computer or that he was so useless that he couldn't even figure out how to change his display settings. Well, she knew how to fix the problem.
"Don't worry," she said with a wicked little gleam in her eyes, "I can sort that out."
Without waiting for him to respond, she sat down at his desk and quickly searched the desired picture on the Wizard Web, then set it as his desktop picture.
"Done!" she exclaimed, standing up.
Draco took one look at the screen and then swore. He now had a whole team of buff, naked Quidditch guys holding Quaffles and beater sticks to cover their family jewels. Ginny cackled and raced out of the office, even as he swore bloody murder and chased after her.
Revenge was so sweet.
DGDGDGDG
Later that day, Ginny sat in front of her laptop in her writing office, all set to continue working on her self-proclaimed bestseller. Her gaze paused at the passage that had thrown her off the previous evening; the one where Blake's eyes were described as grey instead of blue. Her lips quirked upwards as she thought of the blond.
"Can't believe he had that stupid calendar picture as his screensaver," she muttered.
It was so awkward, but a part of her couldn't deny that she was flattered—even if he hadn't been the one to set the display screen.
She propped her chin on her hands and wondered what Draco was doing right now. They had parted on semi-decent terms, agreeing that both had reason to be upset and sometimes pride had to be sacrificed for the sake of avoiding a war. Truth be told, Ginny had been pleasantly surprised by the blond. Not only was he good-looking, but he was also good company. Not that she was about to go out of her way to be around him all the time … probably.
"He's just a novelty," she scolded herself. "You need to get a grip."
She had to focus on her writing and ignore all snarky blonds. Ginny chose not to dwell on why the thought was so disappointing.
"C'mon, work with me here," she muttered, giving a slap to her cheeks in an attempt to wake herself up.
It was coming up to four o'clock in the morning. She had been writing solidly since … well, she actually couldn't remember. She just knew that her muse was being very, very good to her tonight and she was reluctant to shut down for something as mundane as sleep. The Phoenix Tails had helped as well. Nothing like alcohol to get some creative juices flowing. Ginny had lost count of the number of glasses she'd consumed, but oh well. No one was there to judge.
Her eyes scanned the words on the screen, checking to make sure she was satisfied with what she was writing. All seemed fine until she got to a section about her main protagonist.
"Grey eyes?" she said aloud, blinking at what she had written. "Does Blake have grey eyes?"
Wondering if she was drunker than she'd realised, she began flicking through old documents and looking for any reference to the character. Her brow furrowed as she realised that he had indeed gone from having blue eyes to deep grey. Even his build had changed slightly. She'd started by making him quite stocky with scruffy dark hair. A few chapters later he was tall, slender and had hair that looked soft and silky to touch.
Ginny swore under her breath. "That bastard."
Drunk or not, she was coherent enough to realise that she had slowly been turning her character into Draco Malfoy. And it was all because that blond bastard wouldn't get the hell out of her head. His grey, grey eyes were just a daydream away; his little smile flittered through her thoughts like fairy clusters scattered on the wind, pretty and distracting. She'd barely spoken a few words to him that day in the cafe, but her stomach loved to do flip-flops at the mere mention of his name and it suddenly seemed like she lived her life hoping to see him again.
"Bastard!" Ginny muttered again, with much feeling.
Obviously, it was his fault she was acting like some moonstruck idiot. Such behaviour could not be tolerated.
Disgusted, she shut the laptop down with a snap and grabbed the last cup of Phoenix Tail that she had poured for herself. She took a big swig, draining the rest, and then wiped the residual liquid from her chin. Cooperative muse or not, she was not going to let Draco Malfoy ruin her story with his grey eyes and—and male gorgeousness. Nope, she was just going to go to bed and sleep her worries away.
Unfortunately, the blond even invaded her dreams. He was flying on his old Nimbus 2001 and kept trying to give her a bagel, as if it were some amazing gem that she absolutely had to have. Meanwhile, she was stuck wearing the horrible outfit her manager had made her wear for Quidditch Babes on Broomsticks—which is to say, nothing at all except an artfully placed Quaffle.
By the time Ginny awoke, she was feeling grumpy and confused. Draco Malfoy was just one man; she didn't understand why he was having such an effect on her. Something needed to be done. She just had to see him again and confirm to herself that he wasn't actually as special as her memory thought.
"Right!" Ginny said, hitting her fist against her palm. "It's time to chase down a Malfoy!"
So it was that a few hours, many owls, and some expert stalking later, Ginny found herself peering through a glass window to where the blond was seated at a big mahogany desk (not even kidding—that thing was bigger than her bathroom). There were papers scattered all around him and he was tapping a quill against his chin, either deep in thought or just plain daydreaming.
Ginny pursed her lips. She had hoped to find him and see only pointy, rat-like features and a snooty expression, just like she had back at Hogwarts. Instead, he'd rolled up the sleeves on his shirt, baring pale forearms and hinting at the toned body hidden beneath expensive fabric. His hair was styled in a loose, artless sort of way that somehow looked both tousled and sleek. A few strands fell in his eyes, drawing attention to the deep grey of his irises and emphasising his razor-sharp cheekbones. Gods, it really wasn't fair that a guy could have nicer bone structure than her. The sharp angles of his features should have been jarring, but it just worked. He was beautiful, plain and simple.
And she was not cured of her weird infatuation.
"May I help you?"
Ginny jumped and spun around to see a young woman staring at her while clutching a stack of folders to her chest. Pencil black skirt, white blouse, and a matching black suit jacket? Must be a worker of some sort. No doubt the girl was wondering why Ginny had been gazing through Draco Malfoy's office window like some peeping Tom. The things one does for the sake of sanity … or lack of.
"Uh, hi," Ginny said, clasping her hands behind her back and forcing a smile. "I was just, um—"
The door opened behind her. Suddenly, she could feel a presence looming over her, as if there were little magical charges tingling through the air to connect and form the shape of a man. A quiver went through her body and she inhaled a quick breath, catching a whisper of a cool, masculine scent that was like a contradiction of mysteries bundled in one—a little spicy, a little light, and was that a hint of citrus? Mmm, yummy.
In that moment, Ginny wanted nothing more than to throw her arms around Draco and take a great, big sniff. But that would be weird and creepy, so she resisted the urge and instead faced the blond with as much confidence as possible, given the embarrassing situation in which she had got herself. She was pretty sure the first rule of stalking was that you don't get caught.
"Hiya," she said, giving an awkward wave.
Draco's eyebrow raised a fraction. "Weasley?"
Ginny rolled her eyes. "My name is Ginny. Well, Ginevra, actually, but I really can't stand that name 'cause it makes me feel like I'm in trouble, so—"
His eyebrow rose even higher, disappearing into his hairline. She closed her mouth.
"Look, I'm just saying that I have a name," she said bluntly. "You can use it."
"Sure." His gaze drifted to the pencil-skirt lady. "You got those papers I needed?"
"Ah, yes. Here you go." Pencil-Skirt handed a stack of parchment to Draco and then frowned at Ginny. "Do you have an appointment with Draco? I'm sorry, it's just I didn't have you down on the system, and—"
"Oh, I highly doubt she's here for an appointment," Draco said with a wry smile. "Weas—"
"Ginny," the redhead muttered.
"Ginny," he corrected, throwing her an exasperated glance, "does what she pleases. Always has." A crease formed on his brow. "Though I'm not sure why she's chosen to target me today."
The redhead shrugged. "Oh, I just wanted to see if you were as hot as I remembered. It's been bugging me since we last met at the café."
There was a pause. Ginny's cheeks flooded with pink as she realised she had spoken aloud. Damn it, she really needed to work on this socialising thing.
"Uh, I mean, forget that," she added hastily. "I was just curious to see where you work."
Draco rubbed the base of his neck. "Right."
Pencil-Skirt glanced between the two. "Well, I'm going to go. Call me if you need me, Draco."
He nodded absently, still staring at Ginny. She fiddled with a button on her jacket.
"So," she said, drawing out the O. "How's it going?"
Draco folded his arms across his chest. "Alright, enough pleasantries. What do you really want?"
Ginny plastered an innocent expression on her face. "Can't an old school friend come to say hello?"
"We weren't friends."
She raised her finger to the air. "Ah, but we did go to school together."
His brow furrowed. "Whatever. I have work to do, so—"
He made to enter his office, but Ginny slipped in before he could close the door on her face. She let out a low whistle as she examined the surroundings—all expensive leather and polished wood. The guy had taste.
"This is nice," she observed, taking a seat on his desk and picking up a marble paperweight.
Draco just stared at her with a glassy-eyed expression. He was still standing in the same spot by the door as motionless as if he had been stuffed. No doubt he couldn't believe how bold she was being by forcing her company on him when he had tried to dismiss her. It made her want to cackle. There was a reckless sort of excitement rushing through her blood, making her act out and push his buttons as far as she could. She'd been living in her own head for months; now that she was confronted with a handsome man who was entertaining when bothered, it seemed too much to expect her to do the polite thing and leave.
The blond gaped at her a few seconds longer as she rummaged through his stuff. Finally, he unfroze. "What are you doing?" he demanded, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Perusing," she said, shuffling a few papers out of the way. "Apparently, you can learn a lot about a person by how they set up their desk." Her eyes danced with mischief as she looked at him. "Yours tells me you're an OCD neat freak who likes to be in control."
Draco just stared, like he couldn't believe what he was hearing.
She shifted her attention to his magically controlled computer. "Hrrrm, now I wonder what you keep as your desktop—"
"Wait!"
Suddenly, he was moving at lightning speed. Fingers latched around her wrist, trying to pull her hand away from the mouse. Too late. The black screen burst with colour, revealing a familiar woman sitting with her legs crossed sideways on a broomstick. She was resting her chin on one hand and smiling cheekily while the other held a Quaffle. She was also quite obviously naked. Everything about the way she sat and even the cascade of her long red hair served to cover the important parts, but still. Her body was there to see in all its naked glory.
It was that damn photo she had done for the charity calendar.
Ginny's smile froze. "Oh."
Draco had the grace to look a little shamefaced. "I can explain."
"Really?"
"I did not put that picture there. That was all Blaise." His cheeks went a little pink and his voice lowered to a mumble. "I just, uh, don't know how to change it."
Ginny's mouth twitched. She didn't know what was more humiliating: the fact that her naked body was being displayed for all to see on Draco Malfoy's computer or that he was so useless that he couldn't even figure out how to change his display settings. Well, she knew how to fix the problem.
"Don't worry," she said with a wicked little gleam in her eyes, "I can sort that out."
Without waiting for him to respond, she sat down at his desk and quickly searched the desired picture on the Wizard Web, then set it as his desktop picture.
"Done!" she exclaimed, standing up.
Draco took one look at the screen and then swore. He now had a whole team of buff, naked Quidditch guys holding Quaffles and beater sticks to cover their family jewels. Ginny cackled and raced out of the office, even as he swore bloody murder and chased after her.
Revenge was so sweet.
Later that day, Ginny sat in front of her laptop in her writing office, all set to continue working on her self-proclaimed bestseller. Her gaze paused at the passage that had thrown her off the previous evening; the one where Blake's eyes were described as grey instead of blue. Her lips quirked upwards as she thought of the blond.
"Can't believe he had that stupid calendar picture as his screensaver," she muttered.
It was so awkward, but a part of her couldn't deny that she was flattered—even if he hadn't been the one to set the display screen.
She propped her chin on her hands and wondered what Draco was doing right now. They had parted on semi-decent terms, agreeing that both had reason to be upset and sometimes pride had to be sacrificed for the sake of avoiding a war. Truth be told, Ginny had been pleasantly surprised by the blond. Not only was he good-looking, but he was also good company. Not that she was about to go out of her way to be around him all the time … probably.
"He's just a novelty," she scolded herself. "You need to get a grip."
She had to focus on her writing and ignore all snarky blonds. Ginny chose not to dwell on why the thought was so disappointing.
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