The Spring Production

         Chapter Three-The First Rehearsal (or, in other words, Draco's odd behavior)

 Two nights later, after dinner, it was time for the first rehearsal.  Ginny pulled out her lavender dress robe she'd bought at the end of last year and put them on, ready to begin working lines.

Speeding to the Great Hall, Ginny's watch told her that if she didn't run, she was going to be late.  Picking up the robes, she ran as fast as she could through the halls.  She reached the Grand Staircase no more than twenty seconds later, and she had a choice to make.  She could run down the stairs and risk arriving late for her first rehearsal, or she could slide down the bannister and get there early.  Quickly, she chose the latter and hopped on it, sliding feet first down the curved marble.  Suddenly she realized she'd made a stupid mistake: at the speed she was going she'd never be able to stop, and she risked landing face first on the flagged stone floor.

Having no choice, she shrieked, "Help!", hoping beyond hope that someone would hear her.  She was even open to Snape catching her at this moment (A/N-then again, maybe not).  Out of nowhere, Draco Malfoy arrived at the bottom and held out his arms.  She tried to avoid him at all costs, but she couldn't.  She landed directly in Malfoy's arms, and he turned and put her on the ground.

 "You should really be more careful next time, Virginia," he sneered as he walked towards the Great Hall.  Ginny had to thank him...and did he just call her by her first name?

 "Thanks, Mal-Draco," she returned softly as she strode through the door behind him.  He looked back at her, and shook his head.  Did she just call me Draco? he asked himself.  Ron came up next to her and hissed in her ear.

 "Did he touch you?  I'll beat him to a pulp, I promise you," Ron muttered. Ginny gave Ron a glare.

 "Sod off, Ronald Jacob Weasley."  With that, Ginny walked over to Cho to pick up her script.

 "Thanks, Cho," Ginny said as Cho handed her a script.  She checked it out. I have the first line, she thought to herself.  She read it under her breath.

 "Lovers came and went in this humble school.  But none could compare to...Our Founding Fathers."

 Flipping through, she suddenly came upon the line when she declared her love for Sukor.

 "Sukor?  I love you.  And before you say a word, yes, I do know who your father is.  And do I care?  No.  Why?  Because...he's not you."

 Smiling at the romance, Ginny was jolted back to reality by Cho's voice.

 "Okay, cast, I want everyone to come sit around me at the Ravenclaw table so we can do a run-through."  Obliging, Ginny sat beside Ron at the table, across from Cho.

  "Ginny, please start us off."

 "Lovers came and went in this humble school.  But none could compare to...our Founding Fathers..."

 The dialogue began, and Ginny lazily said her lines.  Draco, sitting one seat apart from Cho, seemed to be doing the same thing.  Then came the love declaration scene.  Ginny said her line nonchalantly.

 "Sukor?  I love you.  And before you say a word, yes, I do know who your father is.  And do I care?  No.  Why?  Because...he's not you."

 Draco avoided her eyes, and muttered, "I love you, too, Gi-Gabrielle.  You are the only one who seems to care.  The only one who calls me by my first name.  To everyone else I'm just 'Slytherin.'"  Ron was infuriated at his slip-up.  Ginny was just plain confused.  He slipped up?  He nearly said Ginny instead of Gabrielle?  Maybe she was just imagining things, but Draco Malfoy was not the same person he'd been toward her in the past five years.

 Sighing, Ginny kicked her older brother in the shins because he was being an idiot [A/N: Sorry, my brother was being stupid and nearly erased this file because while I went to change into pyjamas he stole the computer from me and screwed it all up] and continued to read her lines.  Draco was giving her a funny glance, like he was dying to tell her something.  She just gave him a sarcastic smile in return.  That gave him his sneer back, Ginny minded.

 "All right, all right, everyone's dismissed.  We begin blocking for Act One, Scene One tomorrow," Cho told everyone matter-of-factly.

 Climbing the stairs with a deep sigh, Ginny followed Harry, Ron, Lavender, and Parvati up to Gryffindor Tower.  Looking back and forth between Lavender and Ron, she noticed that they were giving each other dreamy smiles, which told Ginny they wanted to snog, big time.

 Muttering "Lion cubs" since the password hadn't lasted long enough for her to climb through, Ginny finally made it to the common room.  Then she realized a way to help Ron and Lavender out.

 "Hey, Harry, Parvati," Ginny said suddenly.  "Maybe we should let Ron and Lavender work on their scenes," she looked at Harry and Parvati pointedly, "alone."  Harry got the idea.

 "Yeah, I think I'll go up to bed now."  He jogged up the stairs, obviously tired and not wanting to witness snogging.

 Parvati headed off too, after giggling with Lavender, and finally Ginny herded herself up the stairs.  Opening the door to the dormitory, she was instantly greeted by the girls of her dormitory.  "You're finally back," Lara smiled, poking her head out from behind her curtain.

 Three other heads came out as well: Francesca Williams, a fiery redhead like Ginny, Kimberly Marshall, a sweet and really friendly blonde, and raven haired Anna Carlisle.  "How'd it go?" Kimberly, or Kimmie as they all called her, asked.

 "All right," Ginny answered earnestly.  "Draco Malfoy acted odd, though. First of all..."

 She told them all about her slide down the bannister, Draco's nice catch, her disbelief at him using her first name, his slip up on the line...

 "Daisy, m'dear," Anna said pointedly, calling her by her middle name. "He's so completely in love with you.  Isn't it obvious?"  Ginny gave Anna a stare as if she were mad, then she got her pyjamas out of her trunk, and changed into them behind her bed curtains.

 "I don't know though," she said as she reemerged in blue paisley pyjama bottoms, a white tank top, and yellow slippers.  She tied her hair back into pigtails with peach ponytail holders as she said, "He's acted weird before, and it hasn't been because he likes me.  Besides, he hates my brothers.  Why would he like me?"

 "Just because he doesn't like your brothers doesn't mean he doesn't like you," Francesca pointed out.  "I mean, honestly, if all guys had to like their girlfriend's brothers in order to like them, then there'd be a lot less couples in the world."

 Ginny brooded on this, and while she did, Lara bid her good-night.  "Night, Lara," Ginny returned.

 A few minutes later, Francesca and Anna turned in, too, and the only one awake was Kimmie.

 "Hey, Kim," Ginny said, using yet another name shortening.  "Do you want to see my brother and Lavender Brown snogging?"  Both girls' grins were devilish.

 "Sure," she whispered.

 They crept out the door, and down a flight of stairs.  There was Ron, with Lavender in his lap.  Her hand was on the back of his neck, and his hand had crept around her waist.  They appeared to be very deeply involved in their kiss, possibly even Frenching.  Grinning from ear to ear, Ginny crept back up to their room, Kimmie at her heels.

 Both fell into bed, wishing each other a good night's rest, and blew out their candles.

 Tonight was VERY interesting, Ginny thought to herself as the sandman put his claim on her.