Who Followed Who?

Daphne pouted playfully at him.

"Apparently you haven't heard the news, Draco darling," she cooed, sitting down on a plush loveseat and crossing her legs. Her skirt moved to expose a pale knee, and Draco folded his arms over his chest. Let her try and tempt him with all the flesh she had, it wouldn't work. Her betrayal, and that of his closest friend, Marcus, stung too much to forget.

"What news?" he asked, sounding bored.

"The news that Marcus and I have divorced." Draco digested this bit of information without so much as batting an eyelash at her. They'd only been married since June, and now it was November. Short marriage, he thought bitterly, for a couple who were so enamored of each other that they conspired to be together behind my back.

"Again, I'm forced to ask you what has prompted this visit to me. What is it that you want, exactly?" Daphne's lips turned into that trademark pout that Draco had once thought absolutely adorable. Now, though, he found that instead of bringing that little tingle to his stomach, all it did was make his breakfast want to resurface.

"I thought you'd be happier to see me," she said, her voice taking on the slightest annoyed note. "Besides, what makes you think I want anything?"

"You never come to see me without asking for something," he snapped, his anger finally getting the best of him. "Now get to the point of your visit, before I have you thrown out."

"I can't believe this," she said, her eyes widening. "I can't believe you're treating me this way! Draco, I've done nothing wrong, so you have no excuse for this sort of behavior towards me!" Draco snorted.

"You've done nothing wrong?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Well, I suppose you had to tell yourself something to help you sleep at night," he said scathingly. She stared at him, then narrowed her eyes thoughtfully.

"You don't have feelings for me anymore, is that it? Is it because of what happened with Marcus?"

"This is really getting old, you know," he said, pretending to stifle a yawn with the back of his hand. Daphne was flabbergasted. She knew that Draco could be a cruel, heartless bastard when he wanted to be, but she'd never thought to have him show that facet of his personality to her. He'd loved her once, she knew that; she'd come to visit him today counting on that love to still be in tact.

It was becoming very clear to her that she had been terribly mistaken in assuming that he'd cared enough for her to forget what she'd done to him.

She stood and took a step forward, and when he took a step backward, she stopped. "You should know that what happened wasn't entirely my fault," she said, aggravation threaded through her voice. "Marcus had a good deal to do with it, too."

"I know," he said simply.

"He told me you had a crush on me. We'd been dating secretly for months by that time, you know. He asked me to sleep with you as a favor- a sort of graduation gift from us to you."

"How thoughtful of you both," he snarled, his eyes hardening. She flinched.

"I wasn't sure about it at first, but he talked me into it. And that night, you were so nervous, it was endearing," she said, a wistful smile crossing her face. The smile faded as quickly as it had come when she saw that Draco's hardened expression had not softened. She pursed her lips as she spoke. "You certainly didn't put up a fight, at any rate."

"Who would?" he asked, his words clipped. "I think that you've found that any man would take a willing woman to his bed, whether he cared for her or not, haven't you?" Daphne's cheeks turned crimson, and her hands balled into fists at her sides.

"How dare you!" She moved as if to strike him, but he caught her wrist in his hand.

"Don't ever try this again," he said coldly, dropping her hand. "You will not be so well received the next time you come to my home, do you understand?"

"I haven't even gotten to the point of my visit," she hissed, taking a step backwards. "The rumor mill is always turning, Draco Malfoy, and you well know it. Aren't you interested to know what's being said about you now?"

"Not particularly, no," he said, turning his back. He took a step towards the door. "You can find your way out, I'm sure."

"It involves Ginny Weasley!" she said quickly. She knew she'd struck a nerve when his steps halted and he turned slowly to face her. He folded his arms across his chest slowly and stared at her with his cold silver eyes.

"Out with it, before I lose my patience with you and throw you out myself."

"I heard that Ginny Weasley was staying here," she said, looking around as if looking for Ginny. "And I just came to verify the truth for myself."

"You've no business knowing who stays here or who doesn't," he said calmly, his expression unwavering. She stared.

"She's here, isn't she?" Her voice was filled with amazement. "Oh my God, she's actually here! Do your parents know? What does your father think about all of this? And your mother? Dear Merlin, Draco, do you know what having that girl here will do to your reputation? She's at the bottom of the food chain! She's part of the nastiest, most Dumbledore-loyal family in the world! How could you?"

"Is that all you have to say?" he asked. "Because if it is, I assure you, I was already quite aware of those rumors."

"There's more," she said, sticking her chin out proudly. "Potter and his friends, including her brother, have been out looking for her for the last few hours. They're bound to come here and find her, and take her away." Draco stiffened, and Daphne felt a wave of triumph.

"Get out," he said, his voice low and dangerous. She blinked in surprise.

"What? Draco, you must listen to me, I-"

"Get out," he said, with more force this time. "I can't believe I listened to your traitorous babble this long, and I won't stand for it a moment longer. Get out, Greengrass. I mean it."

"Draco, please! Listen to reason! That girl is going to be like a plague to your house! She's-" her protesting was silenced when Draco raised his wand and muttered "Silencio!"

"I told you. Get out." With that, he rang for a house elf. "Escort this whore out of my home, and make sure the proper wards are put up so she can't get back in." Daphne's mouth moved silently, and Draco smirked as he made out several curse words. He waited until he knew she was gone, then turned and headed towards Ginny's room.

~*~ ~*~ ~*~

Ginny stood under the hot spray of the shower and closed her eyes, reveling in the feeling of the water gently pelting her skin. She sighed softly and a slow smile spread across her face. Draco had been holding her hand in the stables! She turned the water off and opened the shower door, reaching for one of the fluffy white towels that hung on the towel rack. She wrapped it around herself and stepped out of the shower.

She was confused about Draco's behavior, but she couldn't stop the happy, nervous bubbles that were floating around in her stomach. No boy had paid this much attention to her since she'd broken things off with Seamus in her seventh year, and it was somewhat exhilarating. It was confusing, though, because she wasn't sure why he was doing it.

She didn't want him to pay attention to her just because she was staying there. She stopped toweling her hair off and stared at her reflection in the mirror. Did she want Draco to have feelings for her? She didn't know. Maybe yes, maybe no... she'd have to give the matter more thought. She shook her head, trying to shake the thought away, but she couldn't rid herself of it.

She pulled her clothes on slowly as she thought about it. Draco was handsome, there was no question about that. She'd thought that he was even before they'd begun speaking- only he was so much more attractive when he wasn't being a complete prat. She smiled to herself. He was interested in animals, which piqued her curiosity. How many other things did she not know about him? How many other facets were there to his personality?

He'd been nothing but the perfect gentleman to her since he'd lost the bet. She had to admit that she was surprised at this. She'd expected him to be the epitome of a sore loser, especially from his reactions to lost Quidditch matches - but she'd seen nothing of the sort from him. He'd accepted that he was wrong and seemed to be honoring his end of the bargain.

She wandered out into her bedroom and began rummaging through her suitcase for a pair of socks. She was curious to know who his visitor had been, and why they'd been so important that the terrified house elf had insisted on his coming back to receive them. Briefly the thought had entered her mind that it might have been a girlfriend of his, but she dismissed the thought immediately.

He wouldn't be interested in her, after all - at least, not that way. She was a filthy Weasley, and below him. He'd never even consider dating her. She frowned at this thought, feeling oddly disappointed. What had that kiss been about, then? And why had he allowed her to kiss him back?

Experimentation, she thought. That must have been all it was. He was slumming and just wanted to know what it felt like. She sighed dejectedly and pulled the socks from her suitcase, then sat down on the edge of her bed. Tears sprung to her eyes unbidden as she pulled the socks on, and she hugged her knees to her chest. How was it that she'd been able to block out emotion for so long, and all it took to reduce her to tears was the thought that Draco couldn't possibly be interested in her romantically? She'd known he wouldn't before this began, and she'd told him as much. So why was this thought making her feel so wretched now? She was so involved in her tears and her own thoughts that she failed to hear the soft knocking at her door, and the squeak of the hinges as it opened.

Draco stood just inside the doorway, frozen to the spot. He could hear her quiet sobs, and from where he stood, he could see her shoulders shaking from the force of them. He shifted uneasily. He had seen his mother cry before, and he had seen Pansy cry plenty of times, but he didn't know what to do or say to Ginny to make her stop. All he knew was that he didn't like seeing her cry like this.

He took a tentative step forward, then another, and another, until he was standing in front of her. He lowered himself gently onto the bed beside her and wrapped an uncertain arm around her shoulders. He was taken by surprise when she leaned into him and began crying harder.

They stayed that way for several moments, and Draco thought he finally understood where the old saying "a shoulder to cry on" originated. He squeezed her shoulder gently with his hand, and she looked up, mortified. She pulled away quickly and stood with her back to him.

"Oh, sweet Merlin," she said, brushing the moisture away from her eyes angrily. "I'm sorry, Draco. I know you must be thinking I'm crazy, crying over nothing." He frowned. She was still upset over whatever it was that she'd been crying about; he could hear it in her trembling voice. Did she not think him worthy of crying on? Or did she think he was too stupid to understand what she was crying about? He stood, his pride wounded, and walked stiffly to the door.

"Wait!" she said. He stopped and turned slowly, his anger melting away when he saw her tear-stained face. Something else he couldn't identify began to fill him and take over; something that made him tingle, down to the very tips of his fingers. She looked utterly vulnerable at that moment, and something about the way she was looking at him was almost... pleading.

"Are you all right?" he asked softly. She nodded, tucking a strand of copper hair behind her ear as she did. The motion was a habit for her, but for some reason, it set him on fire. There was nothing he wanted more in that moment than to crush his lips to hers and kiss all of her pain away. Instead, he stood stiffly at the door, confused by the urge to touch her.

"I'm fine, really," she lied, turning and going into the bathroom in search of some tissues. She returned moments later, looking as though she'd calmed down a bit. "I'm sorry you had to see that. I guess it's the weather." His brow knitted together again. Was she getting homesick? His heart leapt around inside his chest, making him feel sick. Would she want to be found by her brother, after all?

"Is there anything I can do?"

"No, I'll be fine, really I will," she asserted. He nodded. "Did you want something?"

"No, why would I want something?" She looked confused.

"I just thought that since you came to my room, maybe something was wrong, or you needed something."

"I was just coming to see if you'd made it back to your room okay," he lied. She nodded slowly.

"I found it." They stared at each other for a long moment, and then he cleared his throat.

"I see. Well, I'll be getting back to my room now, and leave you alone, then." He'd made it halfway down the corridor when she rushed out and called after him.

"Wait!" He spun around so quickly that she wondered for a fleeting moment if he hadn't been waiting for her to come after him.

"What is it?" he asked, closing the distance between them quickly with his long strides.

"Maybe if you don't have anything better to do later on, you might be up for a game of Wizard's Chess, or something?" she asked, fidgeting nervously. He eyed her thoughtfully.

"You know how to play?"

"Of course I do," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "My brothers forced me to play when they were bored."

"And now you're forcing me, is that it?" he asked, amused. Her cheeks turned pink.

"I didn't mean it like that. You don't have to play, you know. I just thought that if you were bored, it might be something to do to pass the time." She turned and went into her room, and he followed her.

"Let's play now, then," he suggested. She whirled around to face him, and he shrugged. "I don't have any other plans. I've got time to beat you in a game or two." She snorted.

"You're awfully sure of yourself, considering the fact that you've never seen me play before."

"I'm good," he said simply.

"Maybe not as good as you think," she said, her eyes sparkling with laughter.

"Shall we?" he asked, gesturing towards the door.