Dragon's Fire

I must have growled or made some kind of noise, because they looked up at me and then laughed even harder. Instantly, I realized that they were laughing at me. I hissed to Pansy for a mirror, which she handed me obligingly. I opened the tiny compact to find that my face was covered in freckles! Normally, I'm not so vain. But this, this was not happening! My hair and my intensely pale complexion do not go with freckles. On Ginny, they were cute and sexy. On me, they were a tragedy waiting to become a catastrophe. I kept my head low for the rest of the class, and silently prayed for tea to come faster. I'd never prayed before, but Ginny talked about it a lot. Maybe if this God listened to Ginny, he'd give me a chance. So I prayed with abandon to whatever would hear me, for the class to end as quickly as possible.

Finally, someone took pity on me, and the class ended. I bolted out of the greenhouse, without giving anyone a chance to hassle me. I ran straight to the boys' lavatory, and looked in the glass. I was still covered in freckles, and if I wasn't mistaken, my hair was turning red. My hair was a nice shade of pink at the moment, but it was getting darker by the second. I had been cursed to look like a Weasley! I'd never had this type of curse put on me before, so I didn't have a chance in hell to reverse it before it got out of control. I'd just have to hope that Pansy might know the counter curse. Damn my hair and skin for being so lightly-toned! If I had been born with darker features, I might stand a chance at looking closer to normal. I watched, awestruck, as my entire appearance changed before my eyes: My hair was a deep ruby red, my freckles were darker and more obvious, my eyes colored to a cross between gray and brown (not a flattering shade, mind you), I grew another five inches (making me well above six feet), and my voice deepened. I looked exactly like a Weasley clan member, but much better dressed. Sadly though, my clothes no longer fit me in this state, so I'd have to charm them to lengthen temporarily. I quickly performed the spell and stood in shock when it didn't work. In fact, my clothes shrank so that I was very uncomfortable and I was forced to take them off. My boxers were intact, so I wore them only. I needed to get back to my common room, but I wasn't sure how to do it without getting caught. And if I was caught, how the hell would I explain myself? I simply stood in front of my reflection and puzzled about how I could get out of the bathroom without being seen or how to find a way to reverse the spell that I hadn't already tried. A very powerful someone must have cast the spell, because I am not caught off guard too often. I thought about the problem carefully for a long while, considering all the possibilities. After a few minutes spent figuring the problem at hand, I gave it up to someone who bore a grudge against me. Right at that moment, I heard the door open and accompanying footsteps entered. I ran like a bat out of hell toward the nearest stall, grabbing up clothes and shoes as I raced. I shut the door as quietly as possible. I heard the door open again, and more footsteps came in.

"Harry? Are you in here?" Damn, it was that Granger.

"Yes, Hermione. I'm over here," came Potter's voice, frighteningly close to where I stood.

"Where? I have a blindfold on, remember," Hermione replied. She sounded a little excited at the prospect of seeing him. I did not like where this was going.

"Right here." Granger gave a small muffled sound, indicating she had bumped into something, or someone.

"Why, Miss Granger, what are you doing in the boys' lavatory?" Potter's voice had deepened to a huskier tone. This was not going into good territory.

"Oh, dear. You're right. I must have wandered in here by mistake, sir. I'll just be leaving now," came Hermione's amused breathy voice.

"Well now, I don't believe you can simply walk out of here without a punishment," Potter said. Oh god, they were role-playing.

"What are you going to do to me, sir?" Hermione said, breathless. Potter then listed various positions and times that I would never have thought he'd know. I felt almost sick to my stomach, knowing without a doubt they were going to do the dirty right here and I couldn't do a damn thing to stop them. Unless of course, I was willing to risk my reputation and show them my Weasley self (which I wasn't). Damn, damn, damn! What to do?

I didn't think that a Transfiguration spell was the answer to my prayers, as it might backfire and make things worse. I couldn't think, even as I ordered my brain to do just that. The only prayer I had was to steal Potter's Invisibility Cloak without being seen. How best to retrieve it when I had the tell-tale hair and freckles of a Weasley? I surmised that the best possible conclusion was to wait until Hermione and Potter started going at it, and left the cloak unnoticed. So there I sat, waiting.

I finally made my move when I heard clothing fall to the floor and soft moaning. I dropped to all fours and crept to where they lay on the makeshift sink-turned-bed, and quick as a cat, I grabbed the cloak, tossed it over my head and ran out of the lavatory. I raced down the hall toward my dormitory, hitting people and causing confusion as I went. I finally made it to my door and whispered the password, quickly sealing it behind me. I changed my password daily, so I had no worries that Pansy might come in. She and I were the only two who knew my password, and as yet, I hadn't had the chance to tell her what it was today.

My room also has its own secret room, where I could easily hide another small family. Pansy spent most of her nights with Lavender here, to keep up the appearance that she and I were together and to conceal her relationship with Lavender. Mr. Parkinson had once told Pansy that if she were ever to "disgrace the family" by being with another woman, he would kill Lavender in front of Pansy's eyes and then force her to marry someone like me. I had always thought this was unfair, that he was just a biased old codger who was stuck in his ways, and had told Pansy as much when I cradled her in my arms the nights she cried.

I thought to myself again, how to get out of this situation. I couldn't very well go in a cloak to every class, as I had no idea how long this particular curse lasted. Transfiguration spells seemed a bad idea, Charms no better. Glamouring never worked, although that's probably because it was primarily a girl's charm. I thought and thought, pondering possible outcomes of various solutions, each ending in disaster or making things worse. Finally, I just decided that I would go to Ginny and ask her help.

Once she was through laughing in my face, she agreed to help. She went to the library and borrowed some books on the subject of curses. We flipped through them, dust flying and yellowed pages making my eyes sting with tears (I'm allergic to dust). I sneezed my way through every book that Ginny handed me, causing her to giggle and me to get more and more frustrated. Finally, after about what must have been my thousandth sneeze, I slammed the book shut and stood. I paced from one end of the corridor to the other.

"Draco, stop that. You're not helping," Ginny's irritated voice said as I walked past her.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so bloody frustrated," I replied.

"Is it so horrible to look like me?" she asked.

"No, I just feel out of place; sort of like I'm not comfortable in my own skin. Do you know what I mean?"

"Yes. I was possessed in my first year, if you'll recall." She sounded sad.

"I remember. It was horrible of my father to do that to you. I wouldn't wish Voldemort on anyone, even my worst enemy," I said.

"I'm your worst enemy?" Now she sounded shocked.

"No. Damn it, that didn't come out right. You're my father's worst enemy," I said, digging a deeper hole.

"There goes the marriage," she snarked.

"Yeah. In-laws are a bitch," I joked.

"Tell me about it. I always knew that my in-laws might want to kill me, but I didn't think they'd ever actually do it."

"Well, the Malfoys do have an unfortunate history," I said.

"I know," she said sheepishly.

"How do you know?"

"I read your ancestry in a book somewhere. I was a little turned off by what I saw there, that I stopped reading it," she said in a low voice.

"Did you stop at the French Revolution or the Irish potato famine?"

"The Revolution."

"Why there?" I was curious to hear the answer.

"Because your family was responsible for beheading the queen of France. I can't believe that you were related to Robespierre," she said in a mix of awe and disgust.

"Ah, yes. Good old Max. That was the day Marie Antoinette gave the ultimate head," I joked. She slapped my arm.

"That's not funny. She could have been great, you know. She was never given the chance to rule," Ginny said.

"Yeah, you're right. I'm just trying for some comic relief here. This hasn't been one of my better days, if you hadn't noticed," I replied.

"Oh, I've noticed," she said, eyes taking in my Weasley looks again.

"I'm not amused," I said.

"You don't look too bad like that. Maybe you should just stay redheaded," she said.

"Okay, it's scaring me because now I don't actually think you're joking."

"I am, I swear. I was just making a joke. Don't get your boxers in a twist," she said.

"My boxers, or what they cover are none of your concern, Ginny." I was getting more ticked off at the lack of possible answers and because the girl I loved so desperately saw me like this. I was mortally embarrassed at having to come to her at all and now all she could do was laugh in my face.

"Do you want my help or not?" she huffed at me.

"Yes. I'm sorry." At that, she looked up at me with a puzzled look on her face.

"You're what? What did you just say to me?"

"I'm sorry. I'm acting like a prat, so I apologize for my rudeness and short temper," I said softly.

"A Malfoy apologizing to a Weasley? I must be imagining this," she retorted.

"Ha, ha. See if I ever apologize to you again," I muttered.

"I'm sorry for poking fun at you," she said as she rose. She walked over to me, and looked dead in my eyes. I was enraptured by the gorgeous color, and at the nearness, I went a little crazy.

"You're forgiven," I managed, trying not to betray my feelings with a few words.

"I can only think of a few very complex spells that this could have sprang from," she said and began to name them off. I stared at her mouth, mesmerized by her lips and they way they moved to form each word. I stopped listening to her words and instead listened to my own desires. I gave into impulse and the heat of the moment and leaned down to kiss her. She resisted at first, denying me entrance. Slowly, she accepted my persistence and I slipped my tongue to mix with hers. Nothing had ever felt more right than kissing Ginny. As soon as my lips caressed hers, I knew that I never wanted to kiss any other lips again. I knew that my love was real and whole and because of her, I could really live again. Her arms came up to encircle my neck and lock into place, just as I gripped her waist to keep myself from falling. Her kiss was like a drug; it dulled my senses and yet I wanted nothing more than to become addicted. I ran my hands up and down her back, restless to touch her. I didn't want to scare her off, so I contented myself with rubbing her back and molding her hips. I wanted to memorize every curve, every moment. Breathlessly, we pulled apart. I took a moment to drink in air and take in her appearance. Her lips were swollen from mine and her face was flushed. She had a smile on her face that charmed away any worry I had about that kiss. I righted my tie, which had become loose from Ginny's wandering fingers.

"Where did that come from?" she asked lightly.

"I wanted you," I said. I didn't want to tell her the whole truth just yet, and what I'd said wasn't a lie.

"Well, I must say, you are a very good kisser," she said coyly.

"Thank you."

"I do believe that your curse has lifted," she said.

"Curse? What are you talking about?" I asked, suddenly confused.

"Your Weasley-look-alike curse. It's gone," she said. I borrowed a mirror from her, and sure enough, my freckles were receding and my hair was lightening.

"Well, at least now it doesn't look like you've snogged one of your brothers," I said.

"Yech. And, I guess we should put these books away," she replied.

"All right, then. We'll put them to rights as soon as I take care of one other thing," I said, standing. I grabbed Ginny's hand and pulled her to me and plundered her mouth again. God, her mouth was the cinnamon and chocolate that her eyes promised. She put a hand to my chest and gently pushed me away.

"We'd better put the books up first, or they will never get done," she said. Relief flooded through me that she wasn't rejecting me, just delaying me. I quickly gathered up as many books as I could carry, leaving only two or three for her to carry. We settled them into their rightful places and proceeded to snog each other senseless for the next two hours.