Game of Emotion

Ginny was suspicious, very suspicious. She had no problems with whatever was going on between Pansy and Harry, or even Hermione and Malfoy.

But one thing was affording her a lot of worry, and that thing was Ron.

She knew he had just began to act weirdly one day a few months before, and it just did not add up why he would do it with very little provocation. I mean, Ron had a rather volatile personality, but he was not that volatile!

The girl slipped into the seat next to Dean at the almost deserted Gryffindor table and gave him her brightest smile. "Dean!" she exclaimed heartily, "just the guy I wanted to see!"

Dean turned to face Ginny, and a slight smile curved his lips. "Ginny. And to what do I owe this most pleasant of women gracing my humble presence?" He accompanied this flowery bit of speech with a flowing half-bow, and his slight smile graduated into a full-on cheeky grin.

Now that she had his full attention, she gave him a serious look. "We all know that Ron just suddenly started acting weird a few months ago. Now, what I need to know is... do you remember if he had any packages delivered that day?"

The boy began to shake his head when he stopped. "Wait a minute. There was that small package of sweets from your Mother..."

Ginny frowned. "Mum only sends us sweets individually on our birthdays. He had already had his, and Mum always sends our combined packs to me, as she is afraid Ron will eat them all before I get some..." She paused as her mind whirred over this new piece of news. "Thanks Dean," she said absently. "You should probably get to class. I have a study period."

As Dean stood, she suddenly caught his arm. "Did you want to come to the Ball with me?" She asked quickly, figuring she may as well ask him as Colin had been pestering to take her for weeks, and besides, Dean Thomas was rather cute.

Far better than Colin Creevy, anyway.

Dean grinned again. "Sure," he said. "Now, I'd better get to Divination, before Trelawney predicts that I've been killed by rabid squirrels again or something." He shrugged.

Ginny relinquished his arm, and Dean resumed his walk towards the door. "Oh,"she said, "and Dean?" The aforementioned boy half turned back to her. "Thanks." She waved as Dean continued out the door, this time not looking back.

So, if Ron had received a package that Mum had not sent...

Ginny felt her eyes narrow in suspicion. An entire life of living with five brothers had caused her to be very wary of 'gift horses' so to speak. The old adage "Never look a gift horse in the mouth" was one that Ginny would never subscribe to.

But how to find out if it was the twins?

If she asked them, they wouldn't tell her.

Certainly not! Favourite sister or not, they would still try to feed her a line if she asked outright.

And if she told Mum and was wrong... Ginny shuddered at the thought.

Okay, so she needed someone close enough to the twins to have been told, and who would talk to her...

Ah!

The youngest Weasley stood and ran off towards the Owlry.

Lee Jordan was about to get mail.

Ginny knew him fairly well, as he had always spent a fair amount of time at the Burrow.

She wrote out a careful note, asking vague questions about Mood Enhancers... and Weasley's Wizard Wheezes. Hopefully, Lee would just tell her without informing Fred and George first.

Fingers crossed against the possibility of discovery, Ginny gave the letter to Melusine, her brown owl, and sent her on her way.

Now that was done, Potions homework was beckoning.

Meanwhile, Harry felt like he was flying on the Quidditch Pitch. This came as no surprise however, as this was what he was actually doing.

He soared across the Pitch, considering the strange turns his life had taken in recent months. No longer friends with Ron, and what was with that? He almost suspected Ron had been fed some kind of emotion modifying drug. He'd have to look into that... but he also digressed. No Ron, his relationship with Hermione had changed quite a bit since he started studying. Now she afforded him more respect than she had before.

And he was not bothered by the rumours about Hermione and Malfoy, mainly because it would have been rather hypocritical of him to do anything about any possible relationship.

Especially one without any apparent real basis whatsoever.

Then there was Pansy... she had really turned out to be stunning. Beautiful and cunning, she was the embodiment of everything a Slytherin was supposed to be, everything Harry had been taught to despise.

Still, there was still the game to remember.

If anyone had told him that he would be playing some kind of seduction game with Pansy Parkinson the previous year, he would have thought them insane.

Now though, it was rather fun.

The Ball was Saturday, and today was Wednesday.

Only three days, and then he would have won this little game. She would have to acknowledge his... superiority of prowess. Okay, so that was more than a little egotistical, but damn it! He was Harry Potter, the boy who did not have to live up to everyone's preconceptions that he was some kind of saint!

With very few people could he not be cast in the role they thought he should be in!

Pansy, Hermione, and oddly enough Malfoy, were the only people who would not die of shock if he told them to fuck off so he could be himself.

He had thought Ron was another one, but based on his past inappropriate reactions, he really was not.

The Triwizard Tournament had just been one of the instances where Ron had turned his back on Harry because he perceived himself to be wronged.

Sure, the Weasleys didn't always get the same breaks as everyone else, but none of the other Weasley's wore it like a big cross around their necks like Ron did.

And... bloody hell! Now all the good three hours of flying had done had been undone!

Oh well, another three hours were obviously on the agenda for the afternoon.

So what, if he was skipping Divination? Trelawney was just going to predict his doom again.

Even Hermione would not tell him off for missing Divination. She had never forgiven Trelawney for her class in third year.

Hermione... how was he ever going to explain what he had done with Pansy to her?

Harry was confused, and the clouds were beckoning.

He cleared his mind of all thought and just soared.

*

Hermione was cross.

She had seen Ron peering at her from the shadows on the way to the Prefects' Baths. Honestly! Why had he had to become a stalker-type, anyway? If anyone, he would have expected Colin Creevy to do it, but Colin had mellowed in recent years, and would not do anything like that.

He was quite a pleasant boy these days, actually.

Of course, had she been asked the previous year, Hermione would have thought the person insane to say that one day Ron would be her stalker, and she would have a relationship with Draco Malfoy. Okay, so they weren't exactly dating yet, but she expected him to ask her any day. Oh, who was she fooling? He probably wouldn't ask her for ages.

Damn.

Ron wouldn't have either.

All boys were the same. Inconsiderate to the point of lunacy, and then jealous when you accepted someone else in their place.

Okay, so she had no real basis for comparison with Draco, but she did not expect him to be any different to the other boys she had known throughout her life.

She no longer held any real fear about Malfoy winning. She was almost positive that there was little or no chance of that happening, but still... it never hurt to be careful. She had been concentrating on circumventing all his attempts to interfere with the pair.

The stupid man had been doing the same to hers. Still, Harry and Pansy were spinning their own webs without the aid of Draco or Hermione. The game was now drawing to a close, and all the moves were now firmly within the grasp of the players.

Harry had better not let her down, or she would be a very unhappy Hermione.

With a sigh, Hermione slid under the water in her bath.

Bother that, she hated not being in control.

The next three days would be very, very hard.

Damn.

*

The owl reached Ginny as she surveyed the grounds from above, ironically in the same spot as Harry had first seen Pansy on that fateful night.

It was a brown spotted owl that cooed affectionately at Ginny as she took the letter from it. Ginny patted the owl, before opening the letter from her brothers' friend.

The writing was in neat and unadorned blue writing.

'Hi Ginny,

It's been a long time since I've seen you. How are you enjoying sixth year? Yes, Fred and George have been working on mood enhancers. How did you know? At present they're testing them, and they hope to have them on the market before next Christmas.

Bye,

Lee

Ginny told Melusine she wasn't going to give a reply, and the owl left for the Owlry.

It was only then that she allowed herself a touch of righteous anger. Oooh! That Fred and George! Did they have any idea how much trouble they had caused??

Ron stalking practically everyone in sight, offending all around him, even more than usual... Ginny sighed in annoyance.

Right, when this mess was over, she was going to send them a Howler.

A nice, loud howler that detailed the full and far-reaching consequences of their actions.

At the very least.

Virginia Weasley was not impressed, not one little bit.

Another unimpressed person was Draco Malfoy.

Sure, most of his plans had fallen into place so far, which was wonderful as the whole thing was due to end in three days, and the scandal to hit the front page in four. Still, how could all of his plans work, if he couldn't find Hermione??!

It was like she had vanished, he'd been looking for her for what felt like hours (but in reality was rather less than twenty minutes), and no one, not even the paintings had seen her.

Damn.

Well, that was it. He couldn't take this stress.

Forget Granger, he was off to have a bubble bath, blueberry of course.

Drawing his robes tighter around him, he swanned off to the Prefect's Bath with a flourish.

Honestly, did Slytherins get lessons in dramatic entrances and exits?

Unseen behind him, multiple Fifth year girls swooned at his departing back.

Draco heard the raised voices before he saw them, and in fact, before they saw him. Recognising Pansy and Blaise, he hid behind a statue of a fat man eating a plum pie.

"What do you mean the room behind the fifth candelabra isn't free? You told me it was, just yesterday when I asked! I need somewhere to play this out..." Pansy's voice grew softer as the pair continued off down the hallway.

Draco frowned. Pansy had to find somewhere for it to work. Or else all his plans would come to naught.

This merited some thinking.

Off to the Bathroom!

With that, Draco walked off towards his destination.

*

As fate would have it, Ginny was the one who intercepted the next care package from her 'mother' to Ron, and substituted all but a few of the sweets inside.

Then she forwarded it onto Ron, who rudely snatched it out of her hands and stomped off.

Ginny sighed. She could not wait until this whole mess was over. Who knew what else would happen?

She paused in an alcove, in time to see Snape swoop past like a huge bat.

Now there was something strange.

He'd questioned her the other day, looking for the person who had spread a rumour involving him. Ginny had been truthful... partially. She did have some family loyalty after all.

So she had informed Professor Snape that Millicent Bulstrode was apparently spreading them, because Pansy Parkinson had stopped paying her any attention.

Snape's eyes had narrowed, and he had swept off, leaving some of the first years trembling in fear over his angry expression.

First years. Had she been so timid?

Oh bother, the ball!

Ginny was horrified. She had been so caught up thinking about the things that Lee had told her, and about everything else, that she had completely forgot to purchase the Dress Robes her mother had told her to buy.

Merlin!

With that final thought, Ginny ran off, not noticing Dean stepping up to her to ask something.

*

Draco was finally at the Bathroom, and stalked through the portrait hole in a really bad mood.

He heard a gasp somewhere across to his right. "Malfoy!"

There was only one person who would sound so outraged at his very presence.

He had found Hermione at last.

Now... what had been that plan again?

Curses. One of the Gods was definitely conspiring against him.

Setting his mouth into a smile, Draco approached the bath. "Hermione," he began with a wolfish smile "how... wonderful to finally find you."

Hermione was uncertain. Part of her was screaming at her to get out of the situation, that she did not want to be in a bathroom alone with Draco Malfoy wearing absolutely nothing... well except her bath, but that was besides the point. The other part really, really wanted her to invite him in.

She was leaning towards the second option when one of good!Hermione's arguments broke through. "What are you doing in here, Draco?" she asked coolly, eyes narrowing into slits.

Draco bowed mockingly to her. "Why, all I wanted was a bath."

'Good answer,' thought Hermione, inwardly frowning. 'He has to get out, so I can finish!' She'd never be able to keep her resolve if he stood there in a towel looking yummy. 'Okay... Um...' "Get..." Hermione was once again slightly embarrassed by the husky tone her voice had taken on. Damn this boy! "Out for a moment, Malfoy," she demanded.

Surprisingly, he acquiesced, slung his spare towel over a rack by the door,and stepped out.

Hermione sighed. Well, there went all her chances of bathroom fun with Malfoy today. Within Hermione's mind, bad!Hermione was slapped quite viciously by good!Hermione for that thought.

With another sigh, she stood, emptied the bathtub, and dried herself off.

This day just got stranger, and stranger.

She put on her bathrobe, and opened the painting.

Draco brushed past her, walking into the bathroom.

Thank Merlin! Now he could just sink into a bath and relax a bit, before any of his other plans came to fruition.

Wait... oh, that was what his plan for Hermione had been! Keep her off balance.

Well, that had worked rather well, judging from her reaction.

He was definitely good at what he did.

On that happy thought, Draco set about filling the bath with blueberry bubbles.

Outside the room, Hermione sighed and leant against one of the couches. Only three more days, and then she would see if her plans had come to naught.

She really hoped not, because who knew what Draco would have in store for her should she fail.

Hermione let out a shiver of anticipation.

She would not fail. She just couldn't.

But three days more, and all would be told.