Iuga Sortis (Bound By Destiny)

Seven

"Pretty soon breathing will be against the rules," Nia muttered under her breath. Draco sniggered beside her as they read the bulletin board in the common room. There was a new Educational Decree, declaring no student groups could meet without the High Inquisitor's approval.

"Guess I'll have to ask her to let the Quidditch team reform, then," he muttered while they walked to breakfast.

"But you're not the captain," Nia said.

He shrugged. "She likes me, or I should say my father."

"Oh."

"I'll bet Potty will love this new decree!"

Professor Umbridge, who was none other than the most hated professor at Hogwarts, was creating quite a stir. "I feel right empty without my title," Snape had joked to her during one of their talks. Even Draco didn't like her, and that was saying much. The only reason why he tolerated her was because she let him slide with so much--particularly with Harry Potter and his friends.

After the incident in the hallway during the first week of classes, Nia quickly realized the Houses took their rivarlies very seriously--none more so than Gryffindor and Slytherin. While the whole story behind the animosity escaped her, she realized it was the lifeblood of many students on either side. As it was, she was best friends with one of biggest instigators and targets of the rivalry, so she was privy to many pranks. "It's the Slytherin thing to do," Draco replied when she asked him about it one night but said nothing more about it afterwards. But lately she noticed one Gryffindor in particular seemed safe from his barbs--and he was looking at her right then.

"You keep staring at her like that, and you'll burn a hole clear through her," Nia teased as they sat down at their table.

Draco started at her voice, then scowled. "I don't know what you're talking about," he denied lamely, all the while taking what he thought were surreptitious glances at the girl in question.

"Riight. And I'm the Pope," she said, rolling her eyes.

"The who?"

"Never mind." She grabbed four pieces of bacon and some toast, going a little heavy on the butter.

"You see, that's why you've got your gut now!"

"I told you, it's baby fat!" Nia insisted through clenched teeth, poking him in the side.

He snickered as he watched her bite into her toast unapologetically. "Whatever helps you sleep at night, Little One," he said as he served himself some porridge.

"I'm sure I know what helps you sleep at night, or should I say who." She looked pointedly at the Gryffindor table.

"She would be in my archrival's house," he muttered in frustration.

"Need I remind you I'm half Gryffindor?"

"I'd be much obliged if you didn't."

She sighed heavily. "I know there's this rivalry business and all that, but did Umbridge pass another Educational Decree banning inter-house dating that I don't know about?"

Draco drank some of his pumpkin juice before answering. "No, I've already told you why it's never going to work. Gryffindors and Slytherins don't date each other--let alone the sisters of an archenemies."

"Humph, sounds like a p² to me."

"Pardon?"

"A personal problem."

Draco looked appalled. "Gee, that's nice! What a way to show how much you care!"

Nia rolled her eyes and stood quickly, putting on her book bag and grabbing her last piece of bacon. "As much as I'd love to stay and hear your pathetic excuses as to why you can't just ask the girl out, I have to go to the library. Anyway, you ain't in Slytherin for nothin'; you'll find a loophole to this." She pointed her chin towards the Gryffindor table. "Oh and uh, don't look now, but your girl's looking at you. If I were you, I'd catch her before she left." She patted his cheek and left a blushing Draco in her wake.

"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle--is Ferret Boy blushing?"

Ginny's fork was in mid-route to her mouth when she stopped and stared at the Slytherin in question. To Ginny, he looked downright charming; that is, until he looked up and locked eyes with her. That innocent blush was quickly replaced with a smirk as he raised an eyebrow, winking at her before returning to his meal. Ginny felt her cheeks go red.

"Oy, Gin, you plan on eating that this century?" George teased, looking pointedly at the now-cold spoonful of porridge, then Harry sitting directly across from her. Her brothers snickered as Hermione nudged Ron in the side to get him to stop. Fred and George thought she still had a crush on the Boy Who Lived, but Ron and Harry knew otherwise.

"Lucky for her, we only have a few more years left of it, eh?" Fred joined in, earning more laughs from the group.

"Bugger off, Fred," Ginny mumbled, looking apologetically at Harry who was growing increasingly annoyed at being the subject of their taunts.

"Ignore my prat brothers," Ginny said to Harry as she shot a glare at the boys which could rival Molly Weasley's.

"What do you think I've been trying to do since we got here?" He smirked good-naturedly, earning a pseudo-affronted look from Fred.

"Huh! I resent that!"

Ginny rolled her eyes, but couldn't help smiling at her brother's antics. No matter how annoying they could be, she still loved them. The conversation seemed to broke into smaller ones, and after a moment, she looked across the hall again--right into a pair of stormy gray eyes. His trademark smirk was on full-fledged, and he licked his lips suggestively and grinned. She shook her head, convinced she was imagining things.

"Does a certain Boy Who Lived have our wee Gin all hot and bothered?" George taunted. The boys around them guffawed.

She may have loved them, but they were working her last nerve. "That's IT!" she all but screeched, though not loudly enough to draw attention from the whole Hall. However, she did manage to capture the stares of the rest of the Gryffindor table. Ginny quickly gathered her things and stormed out, unaware that Hermione and Angelina had left with her.

"Sometimes I wonder, Gin, how you managed to live with those gits for fourteen years and still come out sane," Angelina said in a mixture of awe and sarcasm.

"My own room." Ginny smirked.

"So where are you going until breakfast is over? We still have a few more minutes," Hermione asked as they walked down the hall.

Ginny shrugged. "The library, I reckon; it's close to the Transfiguration classroom at any rate."

"Okay, we'll go back, and let them know you're okay and to expect a nasty hex sometime in the near future," Hermione said with a conspiratorial wink.

Ginny grinned and nodded. "Yeah, that'll put the fear of God in them."

"Or we could always say you owled your mum," Angelina offered.

"Now we wouldn't want to give them a heart attack, would we?" Hermione asked in mock seriousness. The three girls looked at each other for a moment.

"Naah!" they laughed. Ginny said goodbye as they went to their respective locations, resuming her walk to the library.

"Where are you off to, Little Weasel?"

Ginny halted her steps, caught off guard by the confident drawl that seemingly sounded from nowhere.

"What do you want, Ferret?" she asked, her stance firm.

Draco came out of the shadows and stood behind her. She shivered as she felt his heat against her back but did not turn to look at him.

"I want a lot of things: money . . . power . . . the House Cup . . . you . . ." he trailed off. "Not necessarily in that order, either, mind you."

Ginny gulped, then steeled her voice. "Well, three out of four isn't bad, don't you think?" she said saucily. She began to walk off, but his arm snaked around her waist, completely trapping her to him. Ginny felt his breath at her ear, and she shivered again.

"You're right," he murmured, his voice deep and seductive. "I can live without the House Cup." His nose nuzzled her ear, then he left.

Ginny's knees quaked, and she half-feared she'd fall to the floor in a heap of hormones.

Dear Merlin, he didn't do that, Ginny tried to reassure herself vainly.

She managed to get herself to the wall, resting her back to it as she sank to the floor. It was just all too much--Draco Malfoy practically telling her he'd wanted her; for what, she didn't know.

And she didn't much care, either.

She put her head on her raised knees and shivered again as the realization hit her, illicit thoughts running through her head.

"Are you all right?"

Ginny jumped, startled by the unexpected voice, and jerked her head up. Ginny recognized her as the girl with Draco during their earlier altercation.

"Wha...? Oh yeah, I'm bloody peachy," Ginny muttered.

The girl looked at her, unconvinced. "Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Ginny looked at her suspiciously. "What do you care? You're a Slytherin, and Malfoy's friend, no less."

"Look, I'm just trying to help. You don't have to bite my head off," she grumbled, prepared to continue walking.

Ginny groaned. "Wait a minute. I'm sorry. It's just your friend pulled a stunt a moment ago that I did not appreciate," she admitted, resting her head against the wall.

The Slytherin turned back to her with a grin. "Oh, really. Do tell." She sat down next to Ginny and made herself comfortable.

"Did you have something to do with that?"

"I don't know how I could've, seeing as I just came from the library," she said. "All I said was for him to catch you before you left."

"Did he ever."

The girl chuckled. "I'm Nia, by the way," she introduced herself, holding out her hand

Ginny looked at her hand, then at Nia, before grinning and accepting it. "Ginny," she said. "I feel special. I get the first name."

Nia laughed outright. "You remember that?"

"Your assessment was pretty accurate," Ginny said. "But I think you won't invest so much in this rivalry thing."

"Really now. How so?"

"That time when we first saw each other, and how you stood up for yourself, I knew you were someone who wouldn't be swayed unless you wanted to be. You actually have a mind of your own, not someone who easily buys into something just because it's for sale."

"You gathered all of that from one little meeting? We didn't even talk to each other," Nia said skeptically.

Ginny shrugged. "Just a hunch. It's as if you came at the right time or something. Ever since you came, seems like Malfoy's become a different person. While he's still a prat, it's as though he's been grounded, has direction or something. You're good for him."

Nia noticed Ginny's eyes get a faraway look, and she smiled a bit. "You like him, don't you?" Ginny could only blink at her forwardness. "You're afraid of liking him?"

"Maybe a little. I'm not supposed to feel that way about him. He's a Slytherin and a Malfoy--two very big no no's where I come from."

"This goes beyond a simple school rivalry, doesn't it?"

"Way beyond. I don't know what to do."

"I'm sure it'll all work out in the end," Nia said reassuringly. The bell for the end of breakfast rang, letting them know they had a few minutes to get to class. They stood and gathered their belongings.

"Well, it was nice chatting with you. Good luck with everything," Nia said, preparing to leave.

"Wait! Can we meet again?" Ginny asked impulsively.

Nia hesitated, then nodded. "Why not? How about tonight after dinner? I've got about an hour before I have to be in my House."

"Oh yeah, that's right. I forgot second years had an earlier curfew." They stood there for a moment, watching the hallway fill with students.

"I guess I'll see you after dinner then," Nia said.

"Definitely."

"Have a good day, then," Nia called as she walked to her class.

Ginny turned and walked in the other direction. This school year was about to get more interesting.