Chapter Three
New Friends, New Enemies
Ginny stepped off the train, and headed towards the carriages. She was kicking a rock as she walked, but lost her footing. She nearly fell on top of this thing that resembled a tiny spike ball. The only thing that stopped was a pair of strong arms pulling her back.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Weasley," a drawled warning reached her ears.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, turning around to be able to see his face.
"Well the whole school has been booby trapped, and these are the effects of this particular one," Malfoy said, dropping a Knut on top of the ball, and turning her so she could see the outcome.
Ginny watched as the Knut inflated to about ten times its normal size, and then deflated with a tiny -pop- one single spike sticking through it.
"And that that was only a small wizarding coin. Imagine it being you," Malfoy said, and then sighed. "I never thought of you as a clumsy person, Weasley, but if you are, you're going to need to be prepared," he said, reaching into his robe, and withdrawing a piece of parchment from his pocket. "I received this at the prefects' meeting. It's a map of all the set traps. I grabbed two, so you can have this one," he said, handing it to her.
"Why would they give something so informative to you?" Ginny blurted out, uncontrollably.
"Why not?!" Draco asked, looking offended.
"Well, aren't they made to keep people like your father out?" Ginny asked, needing to elaborate.
"My father, yes, but not me," Malfoy explained.
"But you're your father's son," Ginny said confused.
"Yes, yes I am. And your point is?" Malfoy asked, sounding more confused than she felt.
"Well, aren't they afraid-"
"That I'll give my father information," Malfoy finished for her, finally understanding. "Weasley, I wouldn't do that," he stated plainly.
"Yes, but last year, you threatened to get Harry back for what he did, that he really didn't do," Ginny tried to explain.
"True, but to the people I'm not friends with, which is basically the whole world, my threats and promises are empty. It's a Slytherin way of life," They had started to walk towards the carriages again. "I mean, have you ever actually heard that I snogged Millicent Bulstrode for helping me with the deathroll last Quidditch season, when I promised her I would? I mean, sure all the other Slytherin girls have paid me a visit, but Bulstrode? I've had to turn her away, for I fear for my life!" Draco threw his hands up in despair.
Ginny couldn't help but giggle. They climbed into a carriage that only housed the two of them.
"So, why wouldn't you give the map to your father?" she asked.
"Weasley, I fear that we haven't had a friendship long enough for me to tell you. It's kind of a one month revelation thing," Malfoy shrugged.
"Aww, has Draco Malfoy gone soft, and finally found friendship in a Weasley?" Ginny asked him in a teasing voice.
"Hardly! I didn't mean friendship, so don't get your hopes up! I - I meant something else! A friendship with me is something that you probably would never be able to afford! Besides, our friendship - I - I mean thing - oh whatever this is - probably won't last a month, so you'll never know!" he finally declared, sounding frustrated.
He got out of the carriage as it came to a stop, and started walking towards the castle. Ginny was about to get off, when the carriage took off at full speed! Ginny screamed, and Malfoy turned around and ran at full speed back to her.
"JUMP!" he yelled at her.
"NO!" she screamed in reply.
"Trust me!" He was running right behind the carriage, but she could still see his eyes pleading with her. So she jumped and he caught her, right before the carriage predictably caught ablaze. The impact was enough to knock him off his feet, though, which sent them flying to the ground. The deathroll had proved to be a good move off of the Quidditch pitch as well, for he grasped Ginny so tightly, as if his world depended on it.
When the world had finally stopped spinning, Malfoy realized that they were laughing uncontrollably. It just so happened that she had to end up on top, and she had to reach out to extract a piece of dead grass from his platinum hair. It was a small enough gesture to go unnoticed between friends, but as Draco had previously pointed out, they were anything but that, For between these two, it was large enough to make them stop laughing, large enough to make him roll over on top of her, and enough to only cause a momentary hesitation, in which they looked deeply into each other's eyes, silently permitting what was to come. And then, he kissed her. It wasn't very long or deep, but in that split second, Ginny knew that Draco had something that Harry didn't. It wasn't until much later that she would find out exactly what it was.
Draco got up and helped her to her feet. They walked together to the castle, arriving with the first years.
"So, how did the rest of your train ride go?" Draco asked her.
"Ugh! Hermione came in and tried to convince me to forgive Harry!" Ginny said, looking to Draco for his support.
"For breaking your heart! No apology can be accepted for a crime that high! Potter shold know better!" Draco said, sounding totally apalled.
"Well, I told her that he had nothing to be sorry for," Ginny said, for some reason hoping that Draco wouldn't be mad.
"'Course. Potter did what he thought was best and now I can claim the reward," Malfoy said, before entering the Great Hall, and taking a seat at the Slytherin table.
Ginny made her way to the Gryffindor table, and took her regular seat between Ron and Harry out of habit. The nearness of Harry had less of an effect on her as she'd expected, and from this side, she could see Malfoy. She found him quite interesting. The way he managed to look bored, yet eager when he listened to Dumbledore's speech, the way he got a glint in his eye whenever someone was sorted into Slytherin, and the way he would flinch when Dumbledore announced the name of wanted Death Eaters. He quickly recovered after the Headmaster announced Lucius Malfoy, for all eyes went directly to him. How does he show no emotion? Ginny wondered.
Pretty soon, it was time to go up to the dorms, but Ginny was trailing behind. It wasn't until a bitter second year Hufflepuff tripped her, that she figured out how far behind she really was. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, who had many Slytherin traits, had crowded together. They were pointing and laughing at her. She felt herself blush furiously.
"What's going on here?" that voice was becoming one of her favorites, but she knew he wouldn't do anything for her in front of his friends. "Weasley, are you alright? Why are you on the floor?" Malfoy asked, coming to her side, and helping her up.
"Someone tripped me," she replied quietly, after regaining her balance. For just a second, she thought she saw anger in his eyes.
"Okay!" Malfoy shouted, "Who did it? 'Fess up now before it gets complicated," he ordered. He was answered with complete silence, because everyone was so shocked at what was going on.
"Malfoy-" Ginny started, apologetically.
"It was me, Drakie," Pansy Parkinson said as seductively as her squeaky voice could handle. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Give you a week's detention for lying and just being utterly annoying. Whoever did it will be let off this time. And Pansy, never call me Drakie again," Malfoy finished, before grabbing Ginny's hand and leading her away.
"You didn't have to do that," Ginny whispered once they were outside the Fat Lady.
"I'm a prefect, and there had been foul play." Malfoy summed up.
"Yes, but since when have you ever cared about what happened to a Gryffindor? You wouldn't have done that for Harry,"she pointed out.
"Potter doesn't deserve my attention," Malfoy said, sounding bored, "I've already wasted enough of my time on him," he finished.
"Yeah, what was that whole thing about, anyway?" Ginny asked.
"No no, little Weaslette! That is at least a six month revelation," Malfoy warned. "You had better get to bed. First day in your O.W.L. year, you know!" he said, giving her hand a little squeeze, leaning over, and kissing her on the cheek. Then, he walked away.
Ginny placed her hand where his lips had been two seconds earlier. It was still hot, but she figured that it was from the blush that seemed to be embedded permanently into her skin. "Mimbulus mimbletonia," Ginny said quickly, not really knowing the password. The portrait swung open, revealing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They hadn't yet noticed that she had walked in, so she caught the last bit of their conversation.
"Just apologize, Harry, and get it over with!" Hermione shouted.
"She doesn't want me! She didn't even pay any attention to me at dinner," Harry snapped.
"That's because you don't deserve my attention," Ginny echoed Malfoy's words, making her presence known.
"Ginny! Get over here and make-up with Harry! He wants you back, and you just have a hothead!" Ron ordered.
"No! I don't want to get back together with him!" Ginny snapped, "Besides, I've found someone else who makes me much happier than Harry EVER could, and it's the person that you all would NEVER expect it to be!" Ginny shouted at the Trio.
"That's funny, because the last person that I would expect it to be would be Malfoy, and Merlin knows-" Ron had broken off at the sight of Ginny running up to her dorm. "GINNY! You CAN'T POSSIBLY tell me that it's MALFOY! Ginny! GINNY! GIN - WHOA!!!" Ron had previously been running upstairs after Ginny, when the stairs beneath his feet melted into a slide.
"I'll go talk to her," Hermione said, stepping over Ron, and walking up the reformed stairs, undisturbed. Ron immediately looked at Harry.
"MALFOY?! Why HIM?!" Harry asked, outraged.
"I'm as angry as you are, mate, but none of this would've happened if you hadn't let her go," Ron said, shaking his head.
New Friends, New Enemies
Ginny stepped off the train, and headed towards the carriages. She was kicking a rock as she walked, but lost her footing. She nearly fell on top of this thing that resembled a tiny spike ball. The only thing that stopped was a pair of strong arms pulling her back.
"I wouldn't do that if I were you, Weasley," a drawled warning reached her ears.
"Why not?" Ginny asked, turning around to be able to see his face.
"Well the whole school has been booby trapped, and these are the effects of this particular one," Malfoy said, dropping a Knut on top of the ball, and turning her so she could see the outcome.
Ginny watched as the Knut inflated to about ten times its normal size, and then deflated with a tiny -pop- one single spike sticking through it.
"And that that was only a small wizarding coin. Imagine it being you," Malfoy said, and then sighed. "I never thought of you as a clumsy person, Weasley, but if you are, you're going to need to be prepared," he said, reaching into his robe, and withdrawing a piece of parchment from his pocket. "I received this at the prefects' meeting. It's a map of all the set traps. I grabbed two, so you can have this one," he said, handing it to her.
"Why would they give something so informative to you?" Ginny blurted out, uncontrollably.
"Why not?!" Draco asked, looking offended.
"Well, aren't they made to keep people like your father out?" Ginny asked, needing to elaborate.
"My father, yes, but not me," Malfoy explained.
"But you're your father's son," Ginny said confused.
"Yes, yes I am. And your point is?" Malfoy asked, sounding more confused than she felt.
"Well, aren't they afraid-"
"That I'll give my father information," Malfoy finished for her, finally understanding. "Weasley, I wouldn't do that," he stated plainly.
"Yes, but last year, you threatened to get Harry back for what he did, that he really didn't do," Ginny tried to explain.
"True, but to the people I'm not friends with, which is basically the whole world, my threats and promises are empty. It's a Slytherin way of life," They had started to walk towards the carriages again. "I mean, have you ever actually heard that I snogged Millicent Bulstrode for helping me with the deathroll last Quidditch season, when I promised her I would? I mean, sure all the other Slytherin girls have paid me a visit, but Bulstrode? I've had to turn her away, for I fear for my life!" Draco threw his hands up in despair.
Ginny couldn't help but giggle. They climbed into a carriage that only housed the two of them.
"So, why wouldn't you give the map to your father?" she asked.
"Weasley, I fear that we haven't had a friendship long enough for me to tell you. It's kind of a one month revelation thing," Malfoy shrugged.
"Aww, has Draco Malfoy gone soft, and finally found friendship in a Weasley?" Ginny asked him in a teasing voice.
"Hardly! I didn't mean friendship, so don't get your hopes up! I - I meant something else! A friendship with me is something that you probably would never be able to afford! Besides, our friendship - I - I mean thing - oh whatever this is - probably won't last a month, so you'll never know!" he finally declared, sounding frustrated.
He got out of the carriage as it came to a stop, and started walking towards the castle. Ginny was about to get off, when the carriage took off at full speed! Ginny screamed, and Malfoy turned around and ran at full speed back to her.
"JUMP!" he yelled at her.
"NO!" she screamed in reply.
"Trust me!" He was running right behind the carriage, but she could still see his eyes pleading with her. So she jumped and he caught her, right before the carriage predictably caught ablaze. The impact was enough to knock him off his feet, though, which sent them flying to the ground. The deathroll had proved to be a good move off of the Quidditch pitch as well, for he grasped Ginny so tightly, as if his world depended on it.
When the world had finally stopped spinning, Malfoy realized that they were laughing uncontrollably. It just so happened that she had to end up on top, and she had to reach out to extract a piece of dead grass from his platinum hair. It was a small enough gesture to go unnoticed between friends, but as Draco had previously pointed out, they were anything but that, For between these two, it was large enough to make them stop laughing, large enough to make him roll over on top of her, and enough to only cause a momentary hesitation, in which they looked deeply into each other's eyes, silently permitting what was to come. And then, he kissed her. It wasn't very long or deep, but in that split second, Ginny knew that Draco had something that Harry didn't. It wasn't until much later that she would find out exactly what it was.
Draco got up and helped her to her feet. They walked together to the castle, arriving with the first years.
"So, how did the rest of your train ride go?" Draco asked her.
"Ugh! Hermione came in and tried to convince me to forgive Harry!" Ginny said, looking to Draco for his support.
"For breaking your heart! No apology can be accepted for a crime that high! Potter shold know better!" Draco said, sounding totally apalled.
"Well, I told her that he had nothing to be sorry for," Ginny said, for some reason hoping that Draco wouldn't be mad.
"'Course. Potter did what he thought was best and now I can claim the reward," Malfoy said, before entering the Great Hall, and taking a seat at the Slytherin table.
Ginny made her way to the Gryffindor table, and took her regular seat between Ron and Harry out of habit. The nearness of Harry had less of an effect on her as she'd expected, and from this side, she could see Malfoy. She found him quite interesting. The way he managed to look bored, yet eager when he listened to Dumbledore's speech, the way he got a glint in his eye whenever someone was sorted into Slytherin, and the way he would flinch when Dumbledore announced the name of wanted Death Eaters. He quickly recovered after the Headmaster announced Lucius Malfoy, for all eyes went directly to him. How does he show no emotion? Ginny wondered.
Pretty soon, it was time to go up to the dorms, but Ginny was trailing behind. It wasn't until a bitter second year Hufflepuff tripped her, that she figured out how far behind she really was. Slytherins and Hufflepuffs, who had many Slytherin traits, had crowded together. They were pointing and laughing at her. She felt herself blush furiously.
"What's going on here?" that voice was becoming one of her favorites, but she knew he wouldn't do anything for her in front of his friends. "Weasley, are you alright? Why are you on the floor?" Malfoy asked, coming to her side, and helping her up.
"Someone tripped me," she replied quietly, after regaining her balance. For just a second, she thought she saw anger in his eyes.
"Okay!" Malfoy shouted, "Who did it? 'Fess up now before it gets complicated," he ordered. He was answered with complete silence, because everyone was so shocked at what was going on.
"Malfoy-" Ginny started, apologetically.
"It was me, Drakie," Pansy Parkinson said as seductively as her squeaky voice could handle. "What are you going to do about it?"
"Give you a week's detention for lying and just being utterly annoying. Whoever did it will be let off this time. And Pansy, never call me Drakie again," Malfoy finished, before grabbing Ginny's hand and leading her away.
"You didn't have to do that," Ginny whispered once they were outside the Fat Lady.
"I'm a prefect, and there had been foul play." Malfoy summed up.
"Yes, but since when have you ever cared about what happened to a Gryffindor? You wouldn't have done that for Harry,"she pointed out.
"Potter doesn't deserve my attention," Malfoy said, sounding bored, "I've already wasted enough of my time on him," he finished.
"Yeah, what was that whole thing about, anyway?" Ginny asked.
"No no, little Weaslette! That is at least a six month revelation," Malfoy warned. "You had better get to bed. First day in your O.W.L. year, you know!" he said, giving her hand a little squeeze, leaning over, and kissing her on the cheek. Then, he walked away.
Ginny placed her hand where his lips had been two seconds earlier. It was still hot, but she figured that it was from the blush that seemed to be embedded permanently into her skin. "Mimbulus mimbletonia," Ginny said quickly, not really knowing the password. The portrait swung open, revealing Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They hadn't yet noticed that she had walked in, so she caught the last bit of their conversation.
"Just apologize, Harry, and get it over with!" Hermione shouted.
"She doesn't want me! She didn't even pay any attention to me at dinner," Harry snapped.
"That's because you don't deserve my attention," Ginny echoed Malfoy's words, making her presence known.
"Ginny! Get over here and make-up with Harry! He wants you back, and you just have a hothead!" Ron ordered.
"No! I don't want to get back together with him!" Ginny snapped, "Besides, I've found someone else who makes me much happier than Harry EVER could, and it's the person that you all would NEVER expect it to be!" Ginny shouted at the Trio.
"That's funny, because the last person that I would expect it to be would be Malfoy, and Merlin knows-" Ron had broken off at the sight of Ginny running up to her dorm. "GINNY! You CAN'T POSSIBLY tell me that it's MALFOY! Ginny! GINNY! GIN - WHOA!!!" Ron had previously been running upstairs after Ginny, when the stairs beneath his feet melted into a slide.
"I'll go talk to her," Hermione said, stepping over Ron, and walking up the reformed stairs, undisturbed. Ron immediately looked at Harry.
"MALFOY?! Why HIM?!" Harry asked, outraged.
"I'm as angry as you are, mate, but none of this would've happened if you hadn't let her go," Ron said, shaking his head.
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