Nothing I Have Ever Seen

Chapter 11

The sun shone brightly through the window of Draco's dormitory a couple of days later, waking him. He didn't mind. It just added to his airily happy mood. He and Ginny had spent the past few days in each other's company, and had managed it without any argument or tears. Without even a passing comment about Potter or her brother. He was almost oblivious to the existence of anyone other than the two of them.

Not only that, but the Yule Ball was fast approaching. This was no longer a problem in Draco's mind. Everything was arranged. He was going alone, and so was Ginny. They had both agreed that a Slytherin accompanying a Gryffindor would do nothing but arouse suspicion, so they would go alone in the eyes of Hogwarts, but disappear together as soon as was humanly possible.

He and Ginny had been so careful so far not to let anyone see them together. Draco smiled to himself as he thought of their meetings in the deserted classrooms, and escaping their dormitories to spend time together after they were meant to be asleep.

He sighed happily. Everything was going to plan.

*

In a dormitory not too far away from Draco, Pansy lay awake, enjoying the sun on her face. Her mind was buzzing with satisfaction as she also recalled the last couple of days. She and Flint had been convincingly passive regarding Draco and Ginny. She gave Draco no reason to believe she had any further knowledge on the subject, and remained far away from him as often as possible, chatting, it seemed, in a trivial way to Flint. Draco had noticed this, and was pleased, if not relieved. She could tell. Let him think so.

A letter lay under her pillow. One she had anticipated receiving, but still felt a rush when she read it. From Flint, of course. In his own roundabout and fairly incoherent way she supposed it was telling her his 'feelings' toward her. A definite side line from her intended plan, but flattering nonetheless. He wasn't bad looking, close up. And the way he adhered to her every move was certainly gratifying. Their bond had grown over the last two weeks or so, and he was a good friend, if nothing else. There was some attraction there... but... well, she thought, no point in letting him know there was a 'but'.

She rolled onto one side and opened her diary, which lay on her bedside cabinet. A photograph was pasted into the inside cover, of a certain sultry looking silver blonde Slytherin. She sighed deeply as she looked into those grey eyes and ran her finger along the contour of his face. He was beautiful. He was powerful, strong minded and intelligent. Who couldn't love him? He was perfect. Perfect for her. They were meant to be together. Of course they were. And so they would be, not too far from now.

Of all this, Draco was blissfully unaware.

Yes. Everything was going to plan.

*

Settling down in his seat for breakfast that morning, Draco's glance grazed the Gryffindor table and caught her eye. She grinned happily at him, then they both hastily looked away.

Smiling to himself, he looked down at his breakfast, completely missing Pansy's watchful eyes.

Dumbledore raised to his feet, and the Great Hall quietened. He smiled around at them all jovially. "I would like to begin by wishing you all a very merry Christmas Eve, which means, as if you need reminding, that the Yule Ball will be taking place tomorrow. Please arrive promptly as we have some special guests arriving who I believe you may have heard of, and we wouldn't want to keep them waiting." His eyes twinkled merrily behind his glasses.

The Hall broke into speculative babble of who these guests could be.

Draco ignored the excited chatter and neatly printed a short note on a scrap of parchment, which he later discretely placed in Ginny's hand as they all crowded around the doors to exit the Hall.

*

He arrived in the darkened classroom a short while before he'd asked her to join him that night. It was a quiet and secluded, rarely visited little classroom up in the Astronomy Tower. It had a large window that overlooked nothing but the clear night sky. The stars twinkled brightly in their deep velvet blue darkness.

As Draco shut the door softly behind him he stopped by the window, transfixed by the vast array of brilliant tiny specks, sparkling at him from billions of miles away.

He set down an intricately carved wooden box onto the floor, from which he released three dozen fairies, about the height of Draco's index finger, who flitted out into the room, subtly beaming glows of colour into the darkness. With a flick of his wand, tiny flakes of glittering dry snow fell slowly from the ceiling. Another spell conjured a vast array of candles around the room, flickering gently. The room looked soft and romantic; inviting. Festive. Perfect. Finally, he lit a gently crackling fire in the great fireplace and settled onto the mound of fat red cushions he'd laid out around the fireplace.

He leaned back and relaxed, letting the gentle flicker of the fire warm his face. Presently, light footsteps could be heard in the passage, then the door pushed tentatively open as Ginny stepped cautiously into the room. Draco could hardly keep his eyes off her. Her hair was tousled, and lay prettily around her face. Her eyes were shining with the reflection of the flames from the candles. Her face lit up as she took in the room, and she sat down next to him on the cushions.

"This is beautiful..." she breathed, as she settled close to him. "You did this all yourself?"

"Anything for you," he replied, enjoying watching her blush.

They sat peacefully in each other's arms for a moment, enjoying their presence. The grandfather clock standing majestically in the corner chimed midnight. It was Christmas Day.

"Merry Christmas, Draco," Ginny whispered.

"Merry Christmas," he replied, kissing her gently.

"I have something for you," she said, reaching into the bag she'd brought with her. "But... it's not much... you know I can't..."

"It's ok," Draco found himself saying, then marvelled at his strange transformation over the past week or so.

She passed him a small gift, wrapped up in brown paper, tied with a crimson ribbon. He unwrapped it slowly, and revealed a length of thin flat black leather, on which a great glittering silver fang was attached.

Draco raised his eyebrows in surprise. He hadn't expected this. "How did you get this? Dragon's teeth are really hard to buy."

"My brother- Charlie- he works with them. He got it for me. It's from a Romanian Longhorn," Ginny replied. "Do you like it?"

"I love it," Draco assured her. Imagine Crabbe and Goyle's faces when they saw this. They'd be sick with jealousy. Romanian Longhorns were incredibly rare, and their teeth and horns very valuable. Contrary to popular belief, he did pay some attention in Care of Magical Creatures; he just didn't like to show it. Draco raised his head as Ginny reached round and tied it around his neck, so the fang hung just below his throat.

Ginny sat back, looking rather relieved it seemed, and Draco reached for his wand. Ginny instantly backed away, like on instinct. Probably due to the misfortune of having the Weasley twins as her brothers. Draco smirked at her, as she grinned sheepishly and moved forwards again. Muttering a few well chosen words, a stream of glittering particles spun out of the tip of his wand and spiralled in mid air. As they watched, a small green velvet covered box appeared in the centre, surrounded in a shimmering mist. Ginny watched in amazement as it lowered into her hands.

"Open it," Draco whispered.

Carefully, she did as she was told, and her eyes widened as she took in what was inside. Draco, of course, already knew. A delicate white gold ring, set with a mossy green stone, flanked either side by a diamond. He knew it looked impressive, set in its shimmering box, encased in a pad of silk.

"Draco, I can't accept this!" Ginny exclaimed. "It must have cost a fortune..." She pushed the box back toward him. He knew better than to take offence, no one could seriously be rejecting a present. Instead, he smiled, and shook his head. "It'd look ridiculous on me, wouldn't it?" he added.

He took the ring from its box and slipped it on her finger. Great choice, he congratulated himself. Expensive, unique and ultimately, incredibly impressive. He could just imagine those twittering Gryffindors tomorrow in the Great Hall asking where she'd got it from and saying how gorgeous it was.

"Looks like I owe you some more presents, don't you think?"

"What exactly did you have in mind?" Draco raised an eyebrow teasingly.

Ginny didn't reply, just leaned in and kissed him.

*