The next day, Ginny was getting the Hogwarts music room ready for her band to rehearse when she felt the particular chill run up her spine that always indicated the presence of the person who most irritated her in the entire world.
"You know, Weasley, if you'd dress with the lights on sometime, you could be hot," drawled Malfoy. "Might even get some people to actually vote for your band."
Ginny turned, red hair flying around her, and gave him a brilliant, false smile. "Thank you for the advice, Malfoy. And may I return the favor by saying that if you took some time away from your mirror and spent it practicing instead, I'm sure you could actually master a fourth chord."
He leaned back against the wall in a pose that was pure sex, with maybe just a small dash of sneering defiance. "What and alienate the audiences like you do? The masses like pap, so why not give it to them?"
"Artistic integrity? Oh, no, wait, I forgot who I was talking to," Ginny said, with a fair sneer of her own. "Just bugger off, Malfoy, we're going to practice."
He looked around ostentatiously to highlight the fact that the two of them were alone in the soundproofed room, then pushed off the wall and moved much too close to her before purring, "And just what will we be practicing, Weasley? My vote is for--"
"Celibacy," she snapped. "And keeping a civil tongue in our heads."
"And just what head will your tongue be in? Or on. On would be good," he said with a smirk. She scowled at him and stomped over to a spot on the wall, tapping her wand on the stones until they slid aside and revealed her electric guitar. Still ignoring him, she put the strap around her neck and started inspecting the strings carefully. "Come on, Weasley, you're disappointing me. Where's my tongue lashing?"
"I'm not in the mood, Malfoy," she said, still looking carefully at the strings. "Maybe you can go find Parkinson, I'm sure she'd... Lash you."
"Jealous?"
Ginny rolled her eyes and shoved her hair back from her face. "Of course. Parkinson's just so hot. I dream about her every night."
"Catch me on a good day, Weasley, I'll make your dreams come true," came Pansy's amused voice from the doorway.
"Oh baby, don't tease," said Ginny, making a kissy face at the Slytherin girl.
Draco looked from one to the other and said, "You know, it'd only take a minute to prepare... Silencing charms, locking charms, a camera, maybe some exciting lingerie... I'd be happy to make the arrangements."
"Who said you were invited, darling?" said Pansy, opening her assigned storage space and pulling out her bass guitar, moving to sit on one of the large amplifiers as she tested the strings.
Ginny missed Draco's response as she finished tuning her guitar, totally focusing on making sure the sound was right. Once it was she put down the guitar and started setting out the instruments for the others, who were apparently running late... Again. She'd hoped at least Hermione would arrive on time, as Luna and Cho had proven they were incapable of it. Maybe she should start coming late herself, since it always happened that she and Malfoy had a few minutes alone before anyone else arrived.
"Sorry, Ginny, I--" Hermione skidded to a halt in the doorway and stared at the Slytherins. Trying for nonchalance, she strolled up to Ginny and whispered, "What are they doing here? I thought you said we were rehearsing now."
"We have to share the room - no one can book it exclusively, Dumbledore said. Doesn't matter," Ginny said with a shrug. "We cast a charm and they can't hear us, and they do the same so we can't hear them."
"But they can see," said Hermione frantically.
"Don't worry, Granger, no one wants to look at you anyway," said Pansy without looking up from her strings. "Especially not when my lover the Weasel is available."
Ginny blew Pansy a kiss on the tips of two fingers formed into a crude gesture. "Only in dreams, baby. I'd chew you up and spit you out."
"Promises, promises."
The banter was cut off by the arrival of Cho, who was panting slightly and very disheveled. "Sorry, Gin, I--"
"Got Roger-ed?" Ginny said with a leer. Cho blushed and threw a music book at Ginny, who ducked and laughed. "You know, given how you're glowing, I think there's something to be said for living in sin... Shut up, Malfoy."
He didn't even have the grace to look abashed, although he did close his mouth, which had been opened in preparation for making a comment. Hermione looked confused, so Cho took pity and explained. "Do you remember Roger Davies, the quidditch captain? He and I share a flat, and Ginny likes to tease, even though there's nothing happening."
"More's the pity," said Ginny in the tone that Hermione recognized as being designed to wind someone up.
"So where's Luna?" she asked hastily, determined not to spend much-needed rehearsal time on watching Ginny sharpen her wit on someone.
Cho looked grateful for the change of subject and waved a hand. "I passed her in the hall, she should be here soon. She just had to take a moment to lecture Zabini about the health effects of hand cream, or something like that."
From the door, a deep bass rumble came. "Lipgloss."
Hermione shook her head and edged closer to Ginny. In a hissed whisper as close to the other girl's ear as she could get, she said, "Who on earth is that?"
"Blaise Zabini. He's in your year, a Slytherin. Doesn't talk much." Ginny nodded to the boy, who might've tilted his head in response, or might've just been focusing on his keyboard.
Hermione looked the boy over. She'd seen him before, shared at least one class with him, but she couldn't recall ever noticing him before... Which was odd considering the boy was certifiably gorgeous. He had light olive skin and inky black hair which hung in loose curls around a face that wouldn't have been out of place stamped on an ancient Roman coin. Full lips with just a hint of redness, sooty lashes that even the very best mascaras and charms couldn't imitate, and all topped off with an intense, brooding look that made him seem a bit, well, dangerous, in an exciting and yet stalker-ish kind of way. "He was discussing lipgloss?"
Luna wandered up at that point, and started to talk, then paused to remove the reed from her mouth. "Lip balm. It's addictive, you know, and if you use it too much, your lips could develop bacteria and fall off." The reed went back into her mouth and Ginny shook her head at Hermione before casting a spell that enclosed them in a soundproof bubble.
"Let's rehearse."
"You know, Weasley, if you'd dress with the lights on sometime, you could be hot," drawled Malfoy. "Might even get some people to actually vote for your band."
Ginny turned, red hair flying around her, and gave him a brilliant, false smile. "Thank you for the advice, Malfoy. And may I return the favor by saying that if you took some time away from your mirror and spent it practicing instead, I'm sure you could actually master a fourth chord."
He leaned back against the wall in a pose that was pure sex, with maybe just a small dash of sneering defiance. "What and alienate the audiences like you do? The masses like pap, so why not give it to them?"
"Artistic integrity? Oh, no, wait, I forgot who I was talking to," Ginny said, with a fair sneer of her own. "Just bugger off, Malfoy, we're going to practice."
He looked around ostentatiously to highlight the fact that the two of them were alone in the soundproofed room, then pushed off the wall and moved much too close to her before purring, "And just what will we be practicing, Weasley? My vote is for--"
"Celibacy," she snapped. "And keeping a civil tongue in our heads."
"And just what head will your tongue be in? Or on. On would be good," he said with a smirk. She scowled at him and stomped over to a spot on the wall, tapping her wand on the stones until they slid aside and revealed her electric guitar. Still ignoring him, she put the strap around her neck and started inspecting the strings carefully. "Come on, Weasley, you're disappointing me. Where's my tongue lashing?"
"I'm not in the mood, Malfoy," she said, still looking carefully at the strings. "Maybe you can go find Parkinson, I'm sure she'd... Lash you."
"Jealous?"
Ginny rolled her eyes and shoved her hair back from her face. "Of course. Parkinson's just so hot. I dream about her every night."
"Catch me on a good day, Weasley, I'll make your dreams come true," came Pansy's amused voice from the doorway.
"Oh baby, don't tease," said Ginny, making a kissy face at the Slytherin girl.
Draco looked from one to the other and said, "You know, it'd only take a minute to prepare... Silencing charms, locking charms, a camera, maybe some exciting lingerie... I'd be happy to make the arrangements."
"Who said you were invited, darling?" said Pansy, opening her assigned storage space and pulling out her bass guitar, moving to sit on one of the large amplifiers as she tested the strings.
Ginny missed Draco's response as she finished tuning her guitar, totally focusing on making sure the sound was right. Once it was she put down the guitar and started setting out the instruments for the others, who were apparently running late... Again. She'd hoped at least Hermione would arrive on time, as Luna and Cho had proven they were incapable of it. Maybe she should start coming late herself, since it always happened that she and Malfoy had a few minutes alone before anyone else arrived.
"Sorry, Ginny, I--" Hermione skidded to a halt in the doorway and stared at the Slytherins. Trying for nonchalance, she strolled up to Ginny and whispered, "What are they doing here? I thought you said we were rehearsing now."
"We have to share the room - no one can book it exclusively, Dumbledore said. Doesn't matter," Ginny said with a shrug. "We cast a charm and they can't hear us, and they do the same so we can't hear them."
"But they can see," said Hermione frantically.
"Don't worry, Granger, no one wants to look at you anyway," said Pansy without looking up from her strings. "Especially not when my lover the Weasel is available."
Ginny blew Pansy a kiss on the tips of two fingers formed into a crude gesture. "Only in dreams, baby. I'd chew you up and spit you out."
"Promises, promises."
The banter was cut off by the arrival of Cho, who was panting slightly and very disheveled. "Sorry, Gin, I--"
"Got Roger-ed?" Ginny said with a leer. Cho blushed and threw a music book at Ginny, who ducked and laughed. "You know, given how you're glowing, I think there's something to be said for living in sin... Shut up, Malfoy."
He didn't even have the grace to look abashed, although he did close his mouth, which had been opened in preparation for making a comment. Hermione looked confused, so Cho took pity and explained. "Do you remember Roger Davies, the quidditch captain? He and I share a flat, and Ginny likes to tease, even though there's nothing happening."
"More's the pity," said Ginny in the tone that Hermione recognized as being designed to wind someone up.
"So where's Luna?" she asked hastily, determined not to spend much-needed rehearsal time on watching Ginny sharpen her wit on someone.
Cho looked grateful for the change of subject and waved a hand. "I passed her in the hall, she should be here soon. She just had to take a moment to lecture Zabini about the health effects of hand cream, or something like that."
From the door, a deep bass rumble came. "Lipgloss."
Hermione shook her head and edged closer to Ginny. In a hissed whisper as close to the other girl's ear as she could get, she said, "Who on earth is that?"
"Blaise Zabini. He's in your year, a Slytherin. Doesn't talk much." Ginny nodded to the boy, who might've tilted his head in response, or might've just been focusing on his keyboard.
Hermione looked the boy over. She'd seen him before, shared at least one class with him, but she couldn't recall ever noticing him before... Which was odd considering the boy was certifiably gorgeous. He had light olive skin and inky black hair which hung in loose curls around a face that wouldn't have been out of place stamped on an ancient Roman coin. Full lips with just a hint of redness, sooty lashes that even the very best mascaras and charms couldn't imitate, and all topped off with an intense, brooding look that made him seem a bit, well, dangerous, in an exciting and yet stalker-ish kind of way. "He was discussing lipgloss?"
Luna wandered up at that point, and started to talk, then paused to remove the reed from her mouth. "Lip balm. It's addictive, you know, and if you use it too much, your lips could develop bacteria and fall off." The reed went back into her mouth and Ginny shook her head at Hermione before casting a spell that enclosed them in a soundproof bubble.
"Let's rehearse."
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