They come from every state to find
Some dreams were meant to be declined
Tell the man what did you have in mind,
What have you come to do?

No turning water into wine,
No learning while you're in the line,
I'll take you to the broken sign
You see these lights are blue.

–Tell Me Baby, by Red Hot Chili Peppers


X


I sprawled across the bed and pulled the large book from under my pillow, running my fingers lightly over the black leather on it. My journal.

I wrote in it whenever I could. Though the way it looked still gave me the creeps, making me think unwillingly of the dratted Riddle’s diary, writing in it had helped in those crazy days when I felt a red-eyed Tom would jump out of every shadowy corner and shove large snakes up my nose.


So, I dipped my quill in ink, and began scribbling.


Dear diary,


As always, the scarlet ink smudged from the rusted point of the quill. I smudged even more absently with my thumb, and went on scribbling.
I hid it only in my pillow, because I knew that if anyone ever found it – they wouldn’t ever understand anything. All they would see would be a large, bold sort of cursive with only big loops distinguishable between the other scrawls. My handwriting was that beautiful, yeah.


So... seventh year it is. I can’t really believe the War is over... and old Voldy is dead. Or whatever a half human half weirdo hybrid is when that spell backfires and makes it shrink into some vile thing. I can’t even believe I have the guts to call him ‘Voldy’ now. Voldy! Ha.
And the nicest fact – or rather, the most irritating, concerning one particular green-eyed male called Potter, at least – is that the seventh year has double the number of students now. Because all the of previous batch missed their year while they were busy fighting for their lives, as in the case of The Trio, or hiding out in some dark corner of the world. And so, I have classes with my adorable brother, Ron. And I was being sarcastic with that adjective.


Today was the last day of the first week. Classes have been dead boring till now, but I guess all of us are more happy that way – last year’s classes were a bit too exciting for comfort.


I had another one of those dreams last night... With Tom – he was like, looking at me, and then he smiles... and blood starts gushing out of his nostrils, and he falls down. Presumably dead.

The end of the War realizations, no doubt. My subconscious trying hard to make me realize it.

I’d rather my subconscious didn’t try so hard, really, but anyway.


I hear someone coming. Not someone, more like, lots of people... They must be back from dinner. I think I can hear the voice of that wonderful witch called Drew coming, and most likely there’ll be a “Who Can Grab Ginny’s Evil Diary” contest soon, so, for the moment,

Bye.


I snapped the book shut, and shoved it under the pillow just as a horde of my schoolmates filtered in through the dormitory, chattering very merrily.

About four or five of them came in together, and I took each one in as they entered.

The loudest voice in the chatty babble was of Drew, my best friend. I spotted her spiky brown hair, with the wild purple streaks on them, as she laughed hysterically at some joke and slapped the girl next to her – who was snorting possibly at the same thing – so hard on the back that the girl choked mid-snort and winced.

I laughed at Lavender massaging her back, glowering at a still amused Drew.


In with them came Parvati, of course, with the two smaller fifth year siblings: Ruth and Reira.

“Hey guys,” I greeted them enthusiastically. “You’ve been eating long.”

“Hey, Gin!” Drew exclaimed gaily, collapsing on the corner of my bed and crossing her long legs Indian style on it. “Yep, I’m stuffed. With pecan pie.” She chuckled.

“Ginny, Ginny,” Ruth said eagerly claiming my attention. “We thought we’ll play a good game of Truth or Dare today! You will play too, won’t you?”

I hesitated.

The last time we’d played this, I’d been dared to cut off Neville’s fringe in his sleep. As I crept into the room, scissors in hand, appealing to the gods to make sure Neville never found out the culprit who had ruined his hairstyle – the boy, damnably a light sleeper, woke up and screamed loudly about a Tarantula trying to dig its pincers into his brain.

That had been just wonderful. I’d fled out of the boys’ dorm, but some git had switched on the lights and my tomato hair wasn’t hard to recognize.

I shook my head, trying to shake off the humiliating thought.


“Sure,” I said. “As long as you don’t get me embarrassed to death, I’m game.”

They grinned happily, and Drew brought a long bottle out from a small pocket with flair.
“Extension charm,” she informed me when I raised my eyebrow. “I’m very good at it, you know.”

I rolled my eyes.

The girls sat in a loose circle on their beds, and the bottle was spun on the little stool in the middle of the dorm.

The mouth pointed at Reira, with the other end on Ruth.

“Yes!” Reira enthused. “Truth or Dare, Ruth?”

“Um...” Ruth blushed a little bit. “Dare.”

Reira groaned softly. “I was hoping you wouldn’t say that,” she complained. “I had something important to ask you.”

“That’s exactly why I didn’t say that, Reira.”

“Well, whatever,” Drew said dismissively. “Reira, give her a dare.”

“Okay,” Reira said dully. “Ruth... go – climb that high shelf, and jump off it without making anything fall off.”

Ruth grinned, and immediately stood on her bed, lithely climbing on to said shelf. “Easy as pie,” she sang as she jumped off gracefully and landed on the balls of her feet.

“Gah,” Reira grumbled. “I was going easy on you, is all. And you should tell your siblings everything, Ruth.” She pouted, looking at her sister. “Are you, or are you not, da –”

Ruth snickered, interrupting her sister. “There’re many things I should do that I don’t, dear sis. So shut it for now. Anyway, I think I might tell you in a while.”

Reira smiled, satisfied.

Drew spun the bottle again – this time it was from herself to Parvati.

“Truth or Dare, Parvati?” Drew asked her, winking.

“Truth,” Parvati answered demurely. “I don’t like the silly dares you give people.”

Drew rolled her eyes. “All right...” Drew raised her eyebrows playfully. “Now. You’ve got to tell the truth, girl. Where was the last place you and Dean kissed?”

I giggled, and slapped Drew a high five. Parvati dark skin turned a deep pink. “Um... last night... in the boy’s dorm... under his bed...” she said in a small voice.

Drew snorted spectacularly. “Why under the bed? You could have been on it!”

“His... um, Drew, it was just... more fun that way. Under his bed. That’s it.” Parvati permitted herself a knowing smile. “Think about it.”

“Hmmm... there couldn’t have been much space in there,” Drew laughed. “Maybe I get what you mean. Well, at least you were honest,” Drew said decidedly.

The bottle spun again.

“Yes!” Lavender enthused. “Drew, Truth or Dare?”

“Dare,” Drew answered immediately.

Lavender rubbed her hands together. “Okay... climb on top of the bed and... sing ‘Rockstar’ as loud as you can.”

“Hah!” Drew laughed, perching on the bed. “I’m through with standin’ in line, to clubs I’d never get in...” She sang the song by Nickelback, completely off tune – and enjoying herself thoroughly, like only Drew could be expected to do. “I need a credit card that’s got no limit, and a big black gym with a bedroom in it...”

“I’d trade this life for fortune and fame, I’d even cut my hair and change my name...” Drew flung about her hands as though she was proclaiming something, making Lavender snort into her pillow.
“Hey, hey, I wanna be a rockstar...” Drew finished smugly.

“How’s that, pumpkin?”

“Just wonderful,” Lavender said sarcastically.

Next was me and Ruth.

“Truth...” I said decidedly, before she could ask.

“Which was the most embarrassing date you ever had, and with who was it?”

“Michael,” I answered immediately. “He ordered this strawberry thing, and when Rosmerta’s new assistant brought it, she dropped the pink whipped cream on his hair. That was...” I sighed. “Beautiful.”


And so, it went on...

It had been great that the seventh years didn’t have ‘bedtimes’. It gave time, obviously, for a lot more fun.


This time, the bottle spun, the mouth on Drew... and the other end on me.

“Ah!” Drew said enthusiastically. “I’ve been wanting to get you!”

I rolled my eyes, but was immediately wary. “All right. I choose...dare.”

“Yay!” Drew whooped suddenly. “Yay, yay!” She punched one fist into the other palm.

“What?” I asked, mildly irritated, and... wary. There was good reason to be wary when my friend got like this.

And her dare proved this to me even more.

“Ginny Weasley,” she said in a mock solemn voice, raising her arms in a way that reminded me of Morpheus in Matrix. “I dare you to...” She paused. “Are you sure, Ginny? This dare can change your life.” She gave me a faux concerned look.

Talk about exaggerations...

“I’m sure,” I said, miffed. “I’m not scared of a dare.” It was rather childish, but I’d taken a vow when I was seven I’d never turn down a good dare.

A Weasley – especially the youngest, most intelligent one - didn’t break vows.

“You asked for it,” Drew said, grinning. “Okay. Ginny Weasley,” she said again in a bogusly deep voice.

“I dare you to...date –”

Not another one. I groaned internally. And then I saw the gleam in Drew’s eyes, and the conspiratorial glance she gave Lavender, and got suspicious. “Who’s the lucky guy?”

“Draco Malfoy.”

Before I could realize what she’d said, there was a loud chorus of ‘Ooooooh!’s around the dorm, and Reira shouted, “Go Ginny!”, followed by a lot of loud giggles.

“What?!” I exclaimed heatedly. “Date who?”

“Draco Malfoy, Gin.” Drew said coolly, her blue eyes shining with mischief. “You know the guy...”

“The beautiful one, the hot one,” Lavender contributed to her sentence.

“The brilliant one... the rich one.” Ruth added.

“I don’t think he’s hot,” Parvati disagreed.

“Nor do I,” I seconded her quickly, but everyone ignored her.

“Ginny, have you looked at him?” Drew demanded vitally.

“No,” I said, wrinkling my nose. “And I don’t want to.” That wasn’t entirely true... anyway.

“Ginny! The boy is gorgeous!” Lavender said in a horrified voice. “He is nectar to the eye.”

“Honestly, people,” I said hotly. “He is Draco Bloody Malfoy, for Merlin’s sake.”

“Exactly,” Drew agreed with a satisfied smile. “He’s Draco Bloody Malfoy. I’m glad to see you’ve started to catch up.”

“Listen guys,” I said, now desperate. “First of all – I don’t like him. Secondly, he is a Slyth. They’re all evil, remember? Third reason – he doesn’t date.” I stated my arguments. “And I think he might be gay.”

“No, he’s not,” Lavender said, giggling. “I know that for a fact.” She looked at Drew with a knowing wink.

“Ginny,” Drew said, grinning broadly. “There are hundreds of girls after him. But I have reason to believe that if you can’t make him fall for you, no one can.”

“That’s right!” I declared. “So no one can!”

“Ginny,” Lavender said, slightly irritated. “you dumped Harry Potter.”

“So?”

Everyone looked at me like I was missing something as obvious as the pimple on Ron’s nose.

“Harry, my dear friend, is the most wanted guy in the school. The most wanted, except for one person.

“Draco Malfoy,” Lavender finished smugly.

“No,” I moaned, shaking my head. “Tell me you’re kidding. This can’t be. Tell me you’re kidding.”

“I’m kidding,” Drew said immediately.

“You are?” I gasped, relieved.

“Of course not,” Drew said coolly. “I only said that cos you asked me to, Ginny. S’what friends are for, right?”

“No!” I said, clenching my teeth and squeezing my eyes. “No, Drew. Not Malfoy!”

“Yes Malfoy,” Lavender corrected, her face smug at my reaction.

“Scared, Ginny? Scared you’ll lose?” Drew asked, grinning wickedly.

Damn the fact that I’d known Drew for five years, and that she knew every single trait and weakness of mine. Even as a seventeen year old, it was kind of pathetic that something so childish would get to me. But...

“Not scared!” I protested angrily. “Just disgusted!”

“Right,” Reira said, rolling her eyes. “You can do it, Gin. And once you have, you’ll love it – because Draco is...” She sighed, shaking her head as if there were no words. “And we’ll have fun watching you... and being jealous.”

“Oh, yeah!” I said sarcastically. “He’s gonna be a piece of cake. Get him? I could do it in my sleep.”

“Oh, no, no!” Lavender laughed, shaking her head condescendingly.


I turned to look at Parvati, who was sitting with her arms tightly crossed across her chest and a disapproving expression on her face, gave her a pleading “save my soul!” glance. She shrugged, giving me a “it’s your ass” glance, and I hopelessly looked back at Lavender, raising my eyebrows questioningly.


“Draco Malfoy is... frigid, and arrogant, and he hardly talks to anyone. He’s like... an unattainable star,” Lavender explained, her eyes misting up. “It’s gonna be tough, Ginny. And so... you’re dared to do it. Do you dare?”

I looked at them miserably. “Why are you doing this to me??”

“Because it’s going to be fun, Ginny,” Drew said, beaming. Clearly, she saw an acceptance in my expression.

Maybe she saw right. It sounded like... a good challenge, I had to admit. And I liked challenges.

I swallowed. “Okay, you morons. I’ll... try. I don’t give up on a dare.”
I cleared my throat. “But... no sabotage, no teasing, no gossip. Got it?”

I was digging my own grave... practically. But I could always forfeit, right?

Well, ‘forfeit’ was a word that made me gag, but anyway. It was possible.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah!” Drew sang. She leaned over, and pulled a braid of my long red hair. “We’re in business!”

“But do tell me something honestly, Drew,” I said more seriously. “Why are you doing this? Because I know there’s something.”

She looked a little sheepish. “Okay. Guess you know me well.” She ran a hand through her spiky hair as she spoke. “You know Zacharias Smith? Well, he’s gay, as you know. And he was trying to woo Draco – and obviously, the Slyth turned him down. That’s how I know Draco’s not a queer,” she added. “He told Smith very clearly.” She chuckled.

“Well, anyway, it came to a point where Smith told me with that awful, hoity-toity look of his, that there was no one who could make the Malfoy fall for them... and I wanted to prove the jerk wrong. So I thought of you.” She grinned.

“So this is some stupid, juvenile thing about proving Smith wrong??” I asked incredulously, shaking my head in disbelief.

Drew shrugged, and Ruth giggled at my expression. “I’m juvenile,” she said matter-of-factly. “So my intents... are juvenile. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

“Okay,” I said, my tone a bit weary. “I’m tired... And you have made me mad over your stupid intents and dares. I’m going to sleep.” I fell back on my pillow. “Goodnight.”

“Sleep tight, Ginny...” Ruth and Reira muttered together.

“Don’t let the four-poster bugs bite!” Drew added.

I ignored them. I knew it when they switched off the lights, because the reddish glow faded from behind my eyelids and all was black.
I was asleep in a while.


X


When I woke up, it was pretty early, and all the others were sleeping. I washed quickly, and pulled on my robes.

I examined myself critically in the mirror as I brushed my long, wavy hair – and pretty much liked what I saw. My pale, creamy white skin glowed a light pink on my cheeks. My eyes, a deep, golden brown color, like honey, were bright and sparkly. I never had to do anything much to my lips – they were a natural crimson, full and soft looking. I did my hair quickly – pulling the front bit back into a barrette, and leaving the rest to flow down my back in bouncy waves that gleamed a coppery red in the sunlight.

And then I realized that I was trying to look good for my dare. Pathetic.

I stomped out of the common room, thinking of some way to get this over and done with quickly without much effort.

On the way to the Great Hall, I walked straight into a tall someone – not surprising, really, because I was hardly paying attention to where I was going.

“Please watch it, Weasley,” a low, attractive voice said. “If you can.”
I looked up – whoever it was sure was tall – and saw a pale, chiseled face, surrounded by glimmering white blond hair, with wide, piercing grey eyes looking at me.

Oh, wonderful. I’d run into Draco Malfoy by accident.

My sarcasm was understandable... but the heat on my face and the pounding of my heart wasn’t.

Surprise, that was all, I decided. I hadn’t expected to see him right now. I blushed very easily, that was an accepted fact. And some sort of irony, that I had walked right into him, as if this whole thing was foreordained, or something.

And then I realized I was staring after him – he had walked away many moments ago.

I hated to admit it, but... that guy was... good-looking.

I shook my head, and walked to the Great Hall, hoping I wouldn’t be driven mad by all this... all this looking after stupid, arrogant boys.


X

He was a hard-headed man,

He was brutally handsome,

and she was terminally pretty.

She held him up, and he held her for ransom in the heart

of the cold, cold city...

– Life In The Fast Lane, by the Eagles

X

I was still really incredulous as I walked to the Great Hall. Incredulous that the blush still hadn’t faded from my cheeks; that I kept looking behind my shoulder instinctively in a...(gulp) hope that he would be there... and incredulous that his face was swimming in my mind – the pale skin...the chiseled features – the straight square of his chin, with the little hint of a cleft, the hollow cheeks with the high cheekbones cutting into his face sharply; the full, dark lips. And the eyes – wide, the irises a brilliant, piercing, stormy grey, fringed by long, pale lashes.

When I finally got to the hall without doing anything stupid, my eyes instinctively ran across the tables. Good, Harry wasn’t up yet. It was so awkward being around him. I don’t think... he’d gotten over me, even if I’d told him things couldn’t work out between us, ever.

My eyes also glanced across the Slytherin table as I sat at my regular seat. The only people there were Pansy Parkinson, Crabbe and Goyle sitting very close together and feeding bits of toast to each other (gag), some warty looking guy I didn’t remember seeing before, and Blaise Zabini – looking pretty cute, actually.

I examined Blaise appraisingly as I buttered my toast. Tall, swarthy... kind of playful looking. Why couldn’t I have been dared to do him? He was extremely annoying in his own way, of course, but there was reasoning with him.

But somehow, that idea didn’t interest me. Didn’t seem as much of a challenge... Just wasn’t as fascinating.

Oh, great, I thought Malfoy was fascinating.

“Morning!” a familiar laughing voice said from my right. “What’s up?”

I looked at Drew, unsmiling, and looked pointedly at the cloudy ceiling as she took the seat next to me.

She chuckled. “I meant beside the ceiling... Are you thinking strategy?”

“What strategy?” I questioned artlessly.

“Strategy about your ‘lil dare, idiot.”

“Strategy!?” I scowled, disgruntled. “I’m not planning anything! No effort, no nothing.” I folded my arms tightly across my chest. “I never flirt, and I’m not going to do it now, not for Malfoy.” I gritted my teeth.

“Flirting’s not going to work, Ginny!” she laughed, taking a swig at her orange juice and then dipping a bit of toast in it – at which I wrinkled my nose. “You think if pug-face Parkinson’s flirting didn’t work, your inexperienced courting is going to work?”

I looked at the noxious blonde at the Slyth table. “Hmm...Guess not.” She had a point.

“If anything works, it’ll just be...well, being you,” she mused, that wicked glint in her bright blue eyes.

“Of course I’ll be me,” I huffed. “I’m not wasting any efforts on Draco Malfoy. If that doesn’t work, then...” I gulped. “I give up. That’s it.” I tried to shrug nonchalantly.

She wasn’t fooled. “You feisty grrrl, you!” She teased, her eyes dancing as I got up from the table, rolling my eyes. “Seeya at Potions.”

“Sure.” I stomped out the Great Hall, deciding I would be feisty. And it was like she was out to annoy me these days, really. She was a nut.

When I heaved aside the large, heavy iron door leading to the underground Potions’ dungeon, the place was only about half full. Drew waved cheerfully at me, and I gratefully took the seat next to her, for now at least not disgruntled.

“Ginny,” she said urgently, as soon as I sank onto the chair. “Look there.”

I searched the heads in the direction she was pointing at. “What?”

“Draco, Ginny! Look at him! He’s there!”

Though I didn’t really want to, half-afraid that I might feel excited at seeing him again, I looked in the direction of her eager gaze.

He sat back in his seat, looking haughtily relaxed and a bit bored. His white blond hair was done in a casual ponytail, that hung just above his muscular looking shoulders, leaving little silver strands to frame his, well... bewitching face.

How come I’d never noticed him before? I found myself chastising myself that I hadn’t made better use of the last few years.

“Well? What are you going to say about that?”

“He’s nice-looking, Drew,” I admitted, struggling to make the comment a little less conspicuous and be honest at the same time, looking away from him before I did anything really stupid. Like walking to him and touching his face.

Drew snorted. “Hah. Nice-looking.” Her expression was a little annoyed, incredulous... and awed as she glanced back at Malfoy. “Really, Ginny.”

I frowned at her, and looked away, staring straight ahead.

Just then, the wonderful man named Severus Snape stormed into the dungeon with that way he had, his cloak flying behind him like a cape.

“Shut all of your books, we have a practical class today,” he said crisply, shaking his head to get the curtain of silky black hair from his eyes, his bone white skin seeming to glow faintly in the dim light of this dungeon.

I heard Hermione sigh wistfully from behind me. “Ooh...what a voice.” and Lavender’s giggle in assent.

Most of the girls thought Snape was enthralling. Most of them, except for me... well, I thought he was sort of intriguing, too, but I couldn’t crush on him, like Hermione largely did. That was probably because he always picked on me. I was kind of intrigued by him... the way you could find you couldn’t take your eyes off a large spider scuttling up a wall. Fascinated, but in a slightly repulsive way.

“Now.” Snape clapped his long, slender hands, and rubbed them together, his inky eyes gleaming. “Being a supposedly senior class,” his tone suggested that he didn’t exactly agree with the statement, “I have decided that it is time for you to attempt...”

He turned to the blackboard behind him, and flourished his long black wand at it. In his loopy, cramped, spidery sort of writing came the words – ‘Addicere Liquidus’.

“The Addicere Liquidus is the potion of addiction.” His voice got all low and ominous as he said the last word. “It can make the drinker irresistibly addicted to whatever the brewer wishes. Anything – from chocolate, to a certain person.

“The potion is incredibly complex, but if one has the aesthetic sense, one can appreciate the compelling, seductive fumes the liquid emits; the sultry, sensual aura of its preparation...” His voice enunciated every syllable of the words silkily, making Hermione sigh again, as he sauntered up the aisles. “If only one could appreciate it, the making of liquids can captivate all senses, enthrall all thoughts...”

I remembered him saying something like that before... And it was like he was in love with his ‘liquids’.

Then I guffawed loudly at the cheesy pun in the thought. He glanced icily at me, and then away, like I wasn’t worth scolding.

“So,” he finished briskly, snapping out of his glazed over reverie. “This will take two weeks to stew; three weeks in all to be complete.”

There were a few gasps there, and I felt kind of pained.

“I have decided that I will sort you in pairs of my choice, and you can work on the first stage today.” He smirked, his eyes suddenly on me. “So please do not entertain any hopes of partnering a person you may be... interested in.”

I rolled my eyes. Obviously, he still didn’t know that I no longer drooled over Harry.

“Miss Brown, you can partner Nott.” He pointed with a long, bony finger at the seat next to Theodore Nott. Lavender scurried to the seat, throwing a brief glower at the dark, brooding boy.

“Granger – Be seated next to Miss Parkinson.” I heard Pansy groan magnificently, but of course Snape ignored her. Hermione went immediately to the allotted seat, eager to please.

“Miss Moreno, please occupy the seat next to Mr. Zabini.” Drew winked at me and went off.

I noticed that there was a bit of a pattern in his pairing. It was mostly the person diagonally opposite to anyone. Guess he did not want to waste much of his creativity there. And that would mean my partner was...

“Miss Weasley,” He said in a slightly mocking voice, his sparkling black eyes on me again. “You can partner Pott – aah.” He sneered. “I don’t think so.” He shot a pointed glance at me annoyed expression and Harry’s eager, flushed face. And then he looked away, still smirking, until... his eyes fell on a certain beautiful, silver-haired person.

Oh, joy.

“Draco, would you mind suffering Miss Weasley for three weeks?” he asked politely, that mocking glint in his coal black eyes.

Malfoy shrugged noncommitally, rolling his eyes.

Well, that was encouraging.

Gritting my teeth, I went and sat in the seat, feeling much too aware of Draco lounging casually on his chair, completely ignoring me.

He was leaning forward, his hands clasped on the desk, looking straight ahead. When I turned to see him, my cheeks heated up again, and I looked at his sculpted face... The chiseled, angular features, the blond hair gleaming silver in the mild sunlight...

Oh, he was completely ignoring me. I opposed to that way more than I should.

“Hello, Draco,” I said politely, my tone a little miffed, though.

His fair head slowly turned toward me. I found myself holding my breath for when his eyes would meet mine...

His face was incredulous, slightly disdainful. The wide, piercing grey eyes looked at me shrewdly, his dark lips pressed together.

“It’s Malfoy to you, Weasley,” he slowly, as if he were talking to someone mentally retarded. “But sir is fine, as well,” he added with a little sneer.

Had his voice always been like that? Soft, muted, velvet smooth? ...Sexy?

I gathered my thoughts as quickly as I could. “Oops, sorry!” I said sarcastically. “Would 'Your Highness' do?”

“Perfect,” he smirked slightly, his eyes still sort of tight. “But I can’t be bothered to remind you, so don’t forget.”

I snorted. “I’m overjoyed to see you, too, Malfoy.”

He stared penetratingly at me for a moment more, his glowing silver eyes narrowed. And then he looked back forward, with an air like it wasn’t worth it to look at me anymore.

I heard a chuckle from behind me, a finger poking my back. I turned and glared at Drew, half-wishing she wasn’t in the seat somewhere behind me. “What?”

She just tee-heed, throwing a pointed glance at the detached-looking Draco. “Have fun, Gin,” she stage-whispered.

And then a husky, pleasant voice from next to her spoke to me. “Hey, little Weasel...”

I looked at the hugely smirking, handsome face of Blaise right behind me. “Hi, Blaise.” My voice was acerbic – the aftermath of the little conversation with Malfoy.

“Aw... don’t be like that, Ginny-gin-gin.” He chuckled while I flushed angrily at the idiotic nickname. Blaise’s eyes moved down my body, hovering very obviously at my bust. “It’s...really great to see you.”

“Likewise,” I said sarcastically, turning away. “I wish you luck, Drew.”

“So do I,” she laughed significantly.

“... Only one porcupine quill, do keep in mind. I don’t have the patience to rescue your worthless lives if you put more...” Snape was saying blackly, pointing vaguely with a bony finger at the instructions that had come on the black board.

I stared at the writing on the board.

Add one porcupine quill to the cauldron, and two drops of its blood to it, allow to soak the quill. Pour exactly three palm-fulls of Essence of Insanity, and wait for the purple bubbles to arise. Do not wait until the bubbles turn pink. Once that has been achieved, add a trickle of Unicorn blood, and simmer under a blue flame for exactly three minutes. The porcupine quill and blood are for the little bitter-sweetness, the Insanity for the proper obsession, the unconditionalness, and the silver Unicorn Blood for the beauty.

It could have been written in pig Latin – I might have understood it better then. I sucked at Potions, I really did. All the bubble and trickle thing really made me see blank.

I glanced around a bit desperately. Most people were already into the work. I could see Hermione working furiously over the cauldron, while Pansy sat staring at the ceiling, puffing her hair out with one hand.

“This is crap,” I heard Blaise mutter behind me.

“No it isn’t!” Drew snapped. “Just because you’re a brainless baboon, it doesn’t mean everyone is.” She put something in the cauldron, so I could hear a loud hissing noise.

“Look what you’ve done now!” Blaise snorted.

“Yeah, and you’re just a genius, right?”

It was rare, hearing Drew in such a bad mood. She must really dislike Blaise. I chuckled to myself.

I stopped listening to them, looking at Draco who was examining his nails in a decidedly beautiful, bored, snobby gesture.

This wasn’t fair at all.

“Malfoy!” I said hotly. “Your hands are perfect, okay? Just try and do something here, for Merlin’s sake.”

I guess it was easier to be rude to him when he wasn’t looking at me.

He turned his head to me slowly, again, fixing the force of his pewter-colored eyes on me. I thought I saw annoyance, disbelief... and a bit of confusion there.

“You want me to do this?” he asked, as though I was suggesting something utterly absurd.

“Well, you are supposed to be my partner.” I answered evenly. “You can make yourself useful.”

“As far as I am concerned, Weasley, I don’t really have a partner,” Draco pointed out.

“That’s a very nice thing to say, Draco,” I said, really mad now. “Okay. I don’t get what the hell I’m supposed to do with all this stuff here,” I gestured at the gross looking ingredients on the side table. “You can... show off how perfectly wonderful you are, and help me out.”

His full, flawless lips twisted a little into a small smirk at my short outburst. “My wonderfulness exceeds beyond the capacity of your understanding, Weasley,” he said in an amused, mocking voice. It was still like melting honey, though. But he reached for the little bowl of sticky things on the side table, anyway.

He threw a faintly exasperated glance in my way, and put one of the little pointy things in the rusted old cauldron. Then he snapped the lid on the bowl, and kept it aside.

Then, he picked up a small bottle-like thing, with a tiny spout, and held it over the cauldron. He dripped exactly two small drops of the deep red liquid into the cauldron.

There was something about the way he used his hands, I noticed, as I watched him like an idiot. His hands were pale, long and slender. He used them in a graceful, sinuous way... using the tips of his fingers when he did something subtle. Like he had a lot of practice doing... sensual things with those hands.

A giggle burst out through my lips at the thought, half hysterical that I was thinking these things about Draco Malfoy, of all wonderful people.

Draco stopped in the step dripping down some acidic looking liquid from his white-pink palms, and turned to look at me incredulously.

I noticed that the glowing silver color of his irises were flecked with a deeper grey toward the edges... like a stormy, intriguing sky.

“What are you so amused about, Weasley?” His tone was skeptical, slightly dubious... like he was doubting my sanity. But I thought I sensed something grudging there, like he was talking to me in spite of himself.

I flushed. “Nothing of much importance, Malfoy.” I looked at the gooey looking stuff in the cauldron. “Go on.”

He narrowed his silver, glittering eyes, and looked back at the simmering cauldron.

Nice. Now I could look at his face, his hands, in peace. I couldn’t even feel disgusted with myself that I harbored such a desire now, with him so close, looking so gorgeous.

It was like my entire body, concentrating on my right arm that was just a few inches from his tall, lean body was tensed for the contact that would never come. It felt electric – I noticed every shift of his weight, every fidget.

I watched him nimbly wipe his fingers on a little white towel. The bubbling liquid in the cauldron was now a pale, sky blue.

“Done?” I asked, surprised. It had hardly taken him ten minutes. Not nearly enough time...

“Yes, Weasley,” he said curtly, inclining his head to me.

“You’re good,” I noted absently, then flushing that I’d just complimented him.

He turned to me, his eyes narrowing in some sort of suspicion I couldn’t understand. “Thank you. I’m flattered.” The sarcasm was biting.

“Ouch,” I said, equally sarcastic. “Sad, Malfoy. Seems to me you’re not that used to compliments.”

He pressed his lips tightly together, and looked at me coldly, the grey of his eyes like deep ice. “You are absolutely inane, Weasley.”

“Thanks.”

He looked away from me determinedly, staring straight at the Snape who was reading at his rickety old desk. I repeated him, folding my arms tightly across my chest, fuming. What was wrong with the guy? Couldn’t even have a decent conversation with him... Stupid git. It was ironic that someone so beautiful could annoy me so much.

The clanging of the school bell just a few moments from then made a different variety of feelings go through me – relief, that I would be away from the force of his personality, his penetrating gaze; a little bit of anticipation that next was lunch, and... a little twinge of regret that I was leaving him, which was just ridiculous. I couldn’t make myself accept the fact that my opinion of the prince of Slytherin had changed so drastically in a matter of a few hours.

The phrase ‘saved by the bell’ flashed through my head as I jumped up from my seat. Draco reclined lazily on the seat, looking everywhere but at me, giving off an attitude that said ‘I don’t care what you do, I can’t even be bothered to be irritated by you’. Or maybe that was me just imagining what he might be thinking. Anyway.

As the class filtered out, I hovered a little, waiting for Drew. Drew stomped over to me, nudging me with her elbow to show that I should keep walking.

I gave her a questioning glance. Her face was intensely irritated. Also a bit... satisfied, which I couldn't understand at all. But mostly just angry.

I saw Hermione walk quickly to Snape’s desk, as he just stood up. “Professor? Um... I have a doubt, on the, er, workings of a bezoar with...”

I snorted, shaking my head.

As we just walked out the door, while Snape stood courteously by it, giving snide comments, a voice spoke up from behind us.

“Buh-bye, Drew...” The husky voice of Blaise said. My head whipped around to see him smiling wryly at Drew’s rigid back.

She grabbed my arm, and pulled me quickly through the crowd, into the Great Hall for lunch.

“You really hate Blaise, huh?” I smirked a little.

She wrinkled her nose. “He is the definition of a moron. Whatever, okay?” She sat down at the table, pulling me down beside her. “Let’s just eat. I’m starving.”

“When are you not?” I muttered rhetorically, helping myself to some shepherd's pie.

Again, my eyes automatically searched the Slytherin table for the certain seraph-faced snob I’d been spending my last lesson with. He wasn't there.

I couldn’t... I couldn’t seem to stop thinking of him, could I? Could this end in... a crush?

Save my soul!

“Thanks, Drew,” I muttered to myself crossly.

“You’re welcome, Ginny!” she laughed, answering me anyway. “But for what in particular?”

I turned to scowl childishly at her. “For your ‘juvenile intents’. You’re going to end up driving me crazy.”

Drew chuckled. “That was my plan all along, now, wasn’t it?”

X

“Yeah, yeah, so what happened today?” Lavender asked eagerly, sprawled on her stomach on the bed after dinner.

“Gah,” I grumbled sulkily, leaning back on three pillows. “Why don’t you ask Drew? She knows. She was sitting behind me.”

“Is the mood for ‘sour grapes’?” Lavender muttered to herself, rolling her eyes. I ignored her, because I knew what she said was half true, and I hated it.

Drew chuckled. “I wasn’t paying much attention to you, Gin.” She was rubbing her nails on an orange stick. “I had my own large problem next to me.”

Doubtless, she was thinking of Blaise. I made up my mind to ask her why she hated him so much, some time. I mean, he was a jerk, but he wasn’t that bad.

“And anyway,” Drew continued, “I want to hear it first-hand.” She grinned widely.

I sighed. It was inevitable, I guess.

“Okay,” I said, my voice weary. “I’m just all the more convinced that he’s intolerable. Nothing else.”

“Details!” Drew and Lavender sang together.

“Nothing!” I said, really irritated now. “I said ‘hi’ to him, and he got all rude about it because I called him Draco instead of just Malfoy. He told me I could call him ‘your highness’, too.” I rolled my eyes.

“I told him to help me make the damn potion, because he was just sitting there like a beauty queen, and he said that to him, he didn’t really have a partner. But... he went ahead and made it all by himself. I told him...” I swallowed. “I told him he was good at it, and he got all snarky over me. I told him that he probably wasn’t used to compliments, and he was nice enough to tell me I was inane. Happy?”

Lavender’s eyes were wide. Ruth and Reira both had the identical, startled expression on their faces, so they looked kind of freaky. Only Drew looked herself, a pleased smirk on her face.

“What?” I was baffled. What did they expect? For him to give me roses and cake?

Lavender was the first to speak. “He said so much to you?”

“Well... yeah,” I answered, confused. “As I said, it was intolerable sitting there.” I didn’t have to mention how beautiful he was... how his hands itself brought naughty little fantasies to my mind, how his piercing gaze could shatter my thoughts. Those were insignificant little details, weren’t they?

“I can’t believe it...” Ruth sighed.

“What?” I repeated, irritated again.

“Well, Ginny...” Drew said, a grin starting to form on her lips. “Every time any girl starts to talk to him – and believe me, they talk to him like he was some pagan god, unlike how you spoke to him,” she chuckled, “the max they can get from him is maybe, oh, something like ‘do me a favor, please, and don’t talk to me’.” She did a wacky imitation of Draco’s cool, arrogant air.

“Yeah, so I’m surprised he took enough notice of you to be rude to you,” Lavender said in a voice that was definitely insulting in its astonishment.

“Ugh! Whatever.” I plumped down my pillow. “The fact that he’s more asshole-ish to me than other people does not flatter me.”

Parvati’s sleepy voice came from under a heavy blanket on the next bed. “Can you turn it down, girls? I’m trying to sleep here.”

“Yeah, yeah,” Drew chuckled. “Turning it down now.” She turned off the lights. “We’ll see tomorrow. Right, Ginny?” she said as she settled into bed.

“Tomorrow,” Reira murmured. “’Night.”

“Alright. Goodnight.”

I gave another hard plump to my pillow, and settled in myself.

I couldn’t handle this sudden... desire to please Draco Malfoy. It wasn’t healthy. And the way he’d been in class today... I didn’t feel that much hope of dating him someday. Not when I couldn’t even talk to him normally.

I almost felt like giving up.

But... he was so interesting. Other than the fact that he was incomparably gorgeous, I felt a deep desire to know him. Like there was someone inside all of that arrogance and coldness.

So I’d wait a few more days, I decided. See what happens... If I can break through something, if I can... be nice...

If not, then I’d have to quit this stupid dare.

But quit now?

I couldn’t do that.