Nothing I Have Ever Seen

Chapter 7

Draco spent the rest of that night mentally congratulating himself on his achievement. He deserved it, after all. From nothing, he´d created confusion, broken trusts, and above all, something that would drive Potter insane when he found out, and there would be nothing that scarhead could do about it.

But there was one thing that bothered him. It had rarely done so before, but he knew what it was. His conscience. Everyone knew that listening to your conscience was a sign of weakness. It was just something that stopped you putting yourself first. But it seemed to be telling him that somewhere inside he felt bad about using Ginny to fuel his power trips. But why? The only reason he could think of was not attractive...

Frowning, he turned his attention to the rays of brilliant winter sunshine that streamed through his dormitory window. The previous night´s snow had settled, covering Hogwarts like a thick blanket. Gazing out of the window he could see other Hogwarts students running around childishly, making a large amount of unnecessary noise, throwing bits of snow at each other. How immature. They´d never catch him doing anything as pointless as that.

He had better things to do with his time anyhow. As tedious as it was, homework had to be done sometime, and it might as well be now since everyone else found it more useful to be outside playing with the products of weather, so at least he´d have some peace.

The large floor to ceiling windows in the library lit the vast, deserted room with the perfect atmosphere for working in. Time ticked by as Draco began his Divination homework. More pretentious rubbish, he thought. Surely she doesn´t buy this stuff we make up? As he was putting the finishing touches on predicting his own future successes, the door of the library swung open. A red headed girl faltered in the doorway as she caught his eye. She stood awkwardly, as if contemplating leaving, then with a more determined expression she set her papers down opposite him and began working. If that wasn´t a downright distraction to his work, he didn´t know what was.

Now he saw her, the rush of emotion- the feelings and sensations- he´d felt last night came flooding back to him. Averting his eyes from the open book of potions in front of him, he studied Ginny. There was no denying that she was stunningly pretty, in her own unique way. Draco looked at her brown eyes, flecked with amber, framed with long dark lashes as she studied her notes. The way her hair fell carelessly across her face before she tucked it back behind her ear. As if she could feel his eyes on her, she glanced up at him. Caught his eye. She looked at him, her pretty eyes showing him no expression whatsoever. Almost as if she was annoyed with him or something. There was something... intriguing about that. He held her eye contact, feeling as if they were drawing him towards her.

God, what was happening to him? This was a Weasley for Heaven´s sake. It was almost as if he had real feelings for her. Something more than just the feeling of power over her. A confirmation of what he´d feared for a while, and of why his conscience was bothering him. He allowed her a brief nod of acknowledgement before he forced his eyes back onto his books, his heart beating rapidly at what he´d just allowed himself to think.

A small cough beside him made him raise his head. Pansy, standing at the bookshelves on his right, hastily stopped looking at him and pretended to study the books intently on the shelves in front of her, a mixed look of surprise, jealousy and, most disturbingly- knowing, on her face. Draco breathed hard. Exactly how much of his connection with Ginny had she seen?

*

Draco slammed his books shut and looked at Ginny. A slow smile spread over his face as her eyes flickered up at him. Pansy´s back to them, he motioned to Ginny to follow him, and left the library. Following closely behind him, Ginny hesitated, sighing almost exasperatedly, left her books open and forgotten on the library table.

"What?" Ginny asked.

Draco stopped walking and turned to face her. Taking her hand in his, he pulled her forwards. "Come on. This way."

A mischievous grin slowly broke out on her face as they hurried along the winding corridors. Past the Great Hall, up the stairs towards Divination, down a long narrow corridor lined with old paintings, down a tall, winding staircase.

"In here." Draco opened the wooden door ahead of him revealing an old, deserted classroom. Half lit through the frail looking windows, a dusky light fell across the room. Pulling Ginny inside, he kicked the door shut and drew her towards him. From the look on her face he knew that there was no denying her feelings towards him. And, although he couldn´t see his own expression, he knew that it read similarly. Ginny´s eyes sparkled as she smiled up at him, reflecting the glittering rays of light that cut across the empty chamber. As their lips met, Draco was aware of the tenderness in Ginny´s approach and his heart rushed at the sensation of having her close to him. It was unlike anything he´d ever felt before. It didn´t compare to anything he´d ever cherished- his rare triumphs over Potter, the equally rare praising word from his father, or even the prospect of his ability to fulfil his ambitions.

What amazed him the most was that this feeling had been entirely created by someone who differed from himself in all possible ways. It was strange. It was unlikely. But that didn´t mean it couldn´t happen.

Running his hand through Ginny´s hair, he pulled back and looked at her. Visibly intimidated by his penetrating gaze, she looked away. He allowed a small smile to cross his face. Not his trademark smirk- a real expression of happiness. Not that Ginny was looking to see it, but it was there. It wasn´t something he felt any desire to show frequently.

Suddenly, a crash behind them broke through the silence in the air. Draco spun around. Pansy was standing in the doorway, a murderous expression crossing her round face. Her eyes widened as she saw Ginny, standing slightly behind Draco, and advanced towards her.

"What the hell are you doing in here with him- with my Draco? Get your filthy Gryffindor hands off of him!" she screeched, lurching at Ginny. A resounding slap filled the room.

Rage coursed through Draco. Ginny looked as if she were about to retaliate, but this wasn´t her fight. He pushed Pansy away from Ginny and faced her with pure malice in his expression. Repressed fear shot through Pansy´s face as she backed away from him.

"Get out of here! How dare you interfere in my life. It´s none of your business what I do, or with whom I do it. There is nothing between you and me and there never will be. Get that into your thick head and learn to keep out of where you´re not wanted. If you can´t understand that, then you´re more of a fool than everyone thinks you are," he snarled.

"But you´re making a mistake Draco. Can´t you see it? You should be with someone of your own kind, someone who understands the art of darkness- someone you can call an equal..." God, she was persistent.

"If you think you´re my equal, Pansy, you´re sadly mistaken," Draco replied stiffly.

"You know we´re meant to be together Draco, everyone says so. Your family... my family... all the other Slytherins..."

"Damn what everyone else says. I refuse to listen to this!" He pulled his wand from his robes. "Get out of here Pansy."

The warmth in her expression faded, though her cheeks were flushed. Her narrowed eyes locked onto his, then down at the wand aimed at her. "Fine. Fine, I´ll go. You haven´t heard the end of this Draco." Her robes flew out behind her as she rushed out of the room.

Draco tore his eyes away from the empty doorway and onto Ginny. He strode over to her side. She turned towards him, revealing the angry red marks across her cheek.

"I´ll make her pay for this," he promised, as much to himself as to Ginny. He leaned in to kiss her again, but her eyes were frozen on the doorway. He spun his head around. The sight that met him was unnerving. Three glaring stares burned into him, wands poised.

*