Weasels, Dragons and Dreams

The first years were lined up against the wall, each of them nervous, just some covering it better than others. Ginny was sitting at the Gryffindor table, teasing her friend Shana over how she kept staring at the Ravenclaw table. Draco was over at the Slytherin table, surrounded by his guard dogs, and trying to figure out why he hadn't ripped the little red head apart on the train. The rest of the room was loud and boisterous, at least until Dumbledore stood up, a slight twinkle in his eyes.

"Welcome all! And as usual, first years should know not to go into the forbidden forest. But before we begin, I have an announcement. Hagrid, our Care of Magical Animals teacher will be away for the next month on private business. But no need to fear, we have an excellent substitute, one some of you might know very well. Everyone, please welcome Charlie Weasley!"

A stocky red head dressed in black leather pants and a jacket stood up, grinning over at the Gryffindor table. Ron bellowed happily, as the rest of the dream team waved. Ginny jumped up and ran to hug her big brother, making everyone at the Slytherin table smirk, though Draco's wasn't nearly as mean as the other's.

"Now, now, Miss Weasley, you may greet your brother all you wish, but preferably after the meal?" She blushed, hiding her face in her brothers big leather jacket, feeling Charlie's rumble of laughter through it. She grinned up at her brother as he gave her one last hug then ran back to her chair. Ginny sat down, smiling as Ron ruffled her bright red curls. The smile hesitated though, when she caught sight of Draco watching her from across the room. She shook it off, turning away from the blonde and watching the first years being sorted.

Soon the entire affair had been forgotten in the excitement of a new year. The only thing that would have made this year even more entertaining was if Fred and George were still in school, but they would be around. They were opening another branch of WWW in Hogsmead. Ginny would see them every other weekend, and that thought made her grin even wider. This time Charlie would be the picked on one, since he was a teacher. She couldn't wait.

"Now! Let's dig in!" Dumbledore announced, making the entire room grin. As soon as the meal was finished Ginny, Ron, Harry and Hermione ran up to see Charlie. "I see you guys haven't changed much. Hey, Gin? Did you bring your stuffed dragon?"

Ginny laughed, happy to be the first one noticed. "Yeah, I brought him, but I still haven't figured out how to make him stop whistling. Ever since Fred and George, well, you know." Ron and Charlie smirked, leaving the other two blank as to what they were discussing. "Could you fix him?"

"Sure, bring him down to Hagrid's place tonight and I'll see what I can do." Charlie replied, ruffling her curls. She hugged him, and ran up to her dorm. Grabbing the snoring dragon off her bed and tucking it into her backpack she raced down the stairs and towards the exit.

It was nightfall, the sun setting slowly, making the ground hard to see if one was in a hurry. She tripped, falling to the ground with a muffled "Oomph!" As her backpack came open. The next thing Ginny knew the sounds of a small creature scampering told her that Draco had gotten away. Last time he escaped she found him knocked out wearing muggle makeup and a skirt. It wasn't something she wanted to deal with again. Draco had refused to come out of her room for a week.

"Draco!" She yelled, as quietly as possible in case someone heard her. Even the thought of trying to explain to a professor that she wasn't out looking for Malfoy, but her stuffed dragon, made her blush brightly. "Draco! Don't make me say it!" She growled, looking around for a flash of silver.

"All right already! FOXY!! Draco! Foxy!!" She was bright red by this time, and not even the sound of a whistle in the distance could damper her embarrassment.

"Why, Weasel! I never knew you felt that way!" The drawl came from behind a tree, making the youngest Weasley wish the ground would swallow her right then and there. Draco Malfoy sauntered up to her, his sneer firmly in place. "But I'm astonished that such a good little girl would be out here at this time of night! Perhaps one of the professors should know of this."

Ginny gaped, trying to come up with something, only to have a flash of silver catch her eye. "DRACO! You bad boy! Do you have any idea how much you worried me?" She dropped to her knees, scooping up the small dragon and hugging it to her chest. The sound of mocking laughter made her look up with a glare.

"Why, Weasel! Did you loose your ickle Dwagon? Is the widdle Weasley gonna cry?" Draco asked through bursts of laughter. Ginny stood, turning on her heel and storming away, only to be stopped by his voice. "What's the matter? I thought I was 'Foxy!'" The small dragon in her arms automatically gave what we muggles know as a 'Wolf Whistle,' making the blonde haired tormentor stop in amazement. "So that's what the whistle comment was about."

Ginny's eyes grew large. "How'd you... wait, I don't think I want to know. Yes, Draco whistles whenever someone says the word Foxy, I think it's cuz Fred and George really like that muggle singer Henry-No, I mean Hendrix." She grinned, knowing that he was completely lost in this conversation then walked away for real.

"Who? Hey! Wait up!" Draco called, running after her. "I'm not done with you weasel!"

"But I'm done with you, Ferret!" She stated, waltzing up to Hagrid's door with a smirk. The door slammed open before she had even had the time to knock, and an irate red head stepped between her and Malfoy.

"Is there a reason you're following Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy?" Charlie asked, rather intimidating even though he and the blonde were the same height. Charlie had more mass, and a very Weasley temper going on. Ginny laughed silently at Draco from behind her brothers back, even going so far as to mockingly throw him a kiss. He blushed, making up some stupid excuse and walking away. No doubt plotting on revenge against the irritatingly protected little red head.

"Did he do anything? Because I would have no problem taking that little prat out behind the woodshed and-" She started laughing so hard that she had to sit down. "Well, I guess not. I should have known my little sister could take on a Malfoy." Charlie grinned, waiting patiently for her to calm down enough to explain.

"He... BWAHAHAHAA!! He heard me calling Draco... HAHAHA!! And then the Foxy, and he..." She stopped, so overcome with laughter that her eyes began to water.

"I take it Fred and George have been listening to Dad's Hendrix records again?" Charlie asked, smirking at her enthusiastic nod. "So what does it do this time? Sing, dance? Play the air guitar?"

Ginny snickered, imagining Draco playing the air guitar with his tongue. "No, he just whistles. And whenever someone sings the song he starts wagging his tail in time. You wouldn't believe how often I heard that song this summer! Fred even made it so that my alarm clock plays it to wake me up! Try explaining that to half a dozen rudely awaken witches! I gotta get it fixed before morning." She gave him her best puppy dog eyes, knowing that he never could say no.

"All right! Just stop with the eye thing, Stop!" She laughed as he pretended to shield his eyes, and handed him the happily smiling dragon. They stayed there for a while, Ginny eating cookies while Charlie slowly went through the many spells placed on the dragon, making sure to leave the less annoying ones in place. He even left a few of the annoying ones, knowing how it irritated their mother. All the time the two talked endlessly, neither knowing how irritating this was to the blonde sitting outside in wait.

"Are they gonna be in there all night?" Draco asked himself softly, kicking a small rock with his toe. He was sitting under a tree overlooking the small house, a slight scowl on his face. He was about to give up as the door opened. The little red head turned, hugging her brother once more then skipped out the door as though she hadn't a care in the world. She was singing something under her breath as she hugged the small silver dragon to her chest.

"I want to take you home! I won't do you no harm!! Foxy lady!" Draco could almost swear the small dragon was wagging its tail in time. He smirked, stepping out of the shadows and anticipating a scream.

"Don't you have anything better to do?" Ginny asked, disappointing him by not reacting. "I mean, don't you have to bleach your hair or something?" He stepped in front of her, moving so she couldn't get around him. "Look, I've gotta get back to my dorm and fix the alarm before I get turned into a frog by six angry witches."

"I thought it was the guy who got turned into a frog..." Draco stated, rather uncertain of the stupid muggle fairy tales. "And since when did the witch protect the dragon?"

"Since he got such a stupid name of course!" She grinned innocently, running around him before he could figure out the insult. "G'night Malfoy!" She called over her shoulder, once again tossing him a kiss. He stood there, a rather baffled look on his face for quite some time. For some reason he was almost certain he had just been made fun of. It was a rather unsettling experience, especially since he had no idea what she was talking about. The feel of a large hand clamping on his shoulder made him jump.

"You do know you have no chance in hell, don't you?" Charlie Weasley asked, looking almost pleased to see him. With that cryptic statement the large redhead turned, sauntering away as though everything were right in the world.

"Who is Hendrix?!" Draco asked the now empty area. Seems he was a little behind in this story. But everyone that's surprised raise your hand. Yeah, I thought not.