The Redemption of Draco Malfoy

Chapter 3: The Potions Dungeon

Draco found himself looking over at the Gryffindor table more often than usual over the next few weeks. He'd look in Ginny's direction until she looked up and saw him, then quickly drop his eyes.

So he'd made a connection. What good was it going to do if he never talked to her again? He wasn't sure how to approach her, though. He certainly couldn't do it in the Great Hall; even though Ginny wasn't a Mudblood, he wouldn't want a friendship with her to be public knowledge.

He needn't have worried. One night, as he made his rounds before curfew, he found Ginny waiting for him near the potions dungeon.

"Draco," she muttered, looking furtively around. Quickly, he pushed open the door of Snape's classroom and waved her inside. She entered with a quizzical look on her face. "Shhh!" he said, closing the door quietly. "The entrance to the Slytherin common room is right around the corner! If Crabbe and Goyle saw you here, they'd flatten you!"

They wouldn't have, at least he didn't think so, but it was a good excuse to talk to her alone.

"I have to give you back your handkerchief, Draco--the ones Mum buys me are all pink and this one really stands out, you know."

"Oh. I, I, er, I guess I would have taken it back last time if I'd known that," replied Draco, wondering how he was going to bring the conversation around to Harry Potter. "So, er, are you feeling better now?"

"Well, yes, I guess. Fred and George aren't teasing me as much any more," she grinned. "Now they're teasing Ron because they found him kissing Hermione!"

That figures, thought Draco. Muggle-lover and Mudblood. A match made in heaven.

"Of course, they still tease me some. But no more than the ordinary brotherly teasing."

Draco scowled. "I wish I had a brother. Or a sister. Or a cousin, for that matter. It sounds dreadful, but I'd like to be teased at least once."

Ginny's eyes widened in surprise. "Who did you play with, growing up?"

Draco grimaced. "Crabbe and Goyle, of course. My parents only let me associate with children of De--" He broke off suddenly, realizing what he'd been about to say.

"Oh, that's no secret," said Ginny. "Harry already told us they were there when You-Know-Who came back last year."

"Really?" said Draco in surprise. "Was Harry really there? Father won't tell me a thing about it. He treats me like such a child." Suddenly he felt like he was stretching his believability too far. Better to get her to trust him first, before he pried for information.

"So," he said, "Tell me what it's like to have six brothers." He saw the skeptical look on her face and interjected, "It's okay! You still have twenty minutes until curfew!"

She still looked like she didn't trust him. "Look," he drawled, "if you don't talk to me, I'm going to waste my conversational expertise on Crabbe and Goyle tonight! I've met Ron, and the twins, and Percy. Charlie was awfully good at Quidditch, I hear--tell me about him."

Ginny's face softened a bit. "Well, okay, just for a bit, okay?"

Draco nodded. And suddenly he felt like he was seeing a new girl. Ginny exploded into talk, telling him all about Charlie and his dragons, then Bill, and then her whole family. He responded as warmly as he could without being too insincere (which was only something of a strain, as he had always regretted being an only child).

Before he knew it, fifteen minutes had flown by and he had to usher a flushed and happy Ginny up to the entry hall. Looking around carefully to make sure that no one else was around, he whispered, "It's been really nice talking to someone intelligent for a change. Say, would you mind meeting me in the same place again--maybe on Halloween? If you leave the feast a bit early, no one would notice--we could have more time to talk."

Ginny nodded eagerly. "But don't say anything about this to Harry or Hermione--they'd kill me!" she wailed.

Draco smiled. "I wouldn't dream of it."