Downfall

Chapter Four: Plotting the Humiliation of an Insufferable Git

Ginny stepped into the Gryffindor Common Room, the portrait swinging closed behind her. She had used the walk back from the hospital wing to calm down, convincing herself that Malfoy was just messing with her head, trying to get the upper hand after the humiliation of her finding out he didn't wear pants. Yes, that's exactly it. But no one messes with my head! The arrogant bastard. I'll show him how it's done properly.

People were scattered throughout the common room, playing games of Exploding Snap, doing prep at the tables, or just talking and laughing in small groups.

Ginny paused and surveyed the room. Good, Dean isn't here. I really don't feel like hearing another explanation of how he tripped and fell face-first onto Vicky Frobisher, so when I came upon them, it APPEARED they were kissing.

What she really felt like was telling him that Vicky was welcome to his kisses, as they made her feel rather ill these days. She still liked him, but in a different, more friendly way. After all, they had dated on-and-off for almost the last two years, and she had never felt anything more than a liking for him. After two years, she should have cared, if not deeply, then at least a little for him.

I guess his interlude with Vicky was for the best. Made me see that we were only prolonging the inevitable. And Ron's ecstatic. He doesn't seem to like anyone I date, and I've had a boyfriend almost constantly for the last three years. Probably still hopes Harry and I will fall madly in love, have twelve babies, and live happily ever after. Ginny smiled fondly, loving her brother in spite of his hopeless optimism about her romantic non-future with The Boy Who Lived.

She spied Ron and Harry in the corner, engrossed in a game of Wizarding Chess, Hermione curled up nearby in a chair, her nose buried in a book. Life as usual. Ginny walked in their direction, silently thankful that the two boys were oblivious to anything not on the board in front of them.

She stopped next to Hermione and tugged playfully on a hank of the older girl's bushy hair. Hermione looked up and smiled. "Hey, Gin."

"Can I talk to you for a second, Hermione?" Ginny glanced furtively at her brother and Harry. "Upstairs?"

"Sure. Is anything wrong?" Hermione uncurled her legs out from under her and stood, smoothing down her skirt and laying her book on a small table next to the chair. She looked back at Ginny, a small frown knitting her eyebrows together. "Where are your robes, Ginny?"

Ginny just shook her head and motioned for Hermione to follow her up the stairs. Once safely ensconced in Ginny's room, which was thankfully empty, they set themselves on the edge of her bed.

"Well, you know how Michael Corner and I had to monitor that detention with Snape tonight?" she started off. "There was an explosion."

Horrified, Hermione shot off the bed and began to gesture furiously with her hands whilst pacing the length of the room. "Oh no! What happened? I just knew I should have supervised that detention myself, but I desperately wanted an evening off, just one, and now look what happened. I'm the worst Head Girl ever! I should-"

"Hermione!" Ginny yelled over Hermione's wailing. She stood up and walked over to Hermione, grasping the taller girl's shoulder with one small hand, and pointed at the bed across from her. "Sit!"

Momentarily speechless, a docile Hermione sank back onto the bed and stared at Ginny. "Is everyone all right? Was anyone... injured?" she whispered hoarsely.

"A few bruises and scrapes were the worst of it for the students. Snape wanted blood though. He was shrieking like a banshee. Went completely nutters."

Hermione blew out a huge breath in relief. "So no one was seriously injured, then?"

"Well, mostly."

"Mostly?" Hermione looked thoroughly confused. "I thought you said a few scrapes and bruises were the worst of it?"

"Malfoy took a rather large chunk of glass to the chest." Ginny said bluntly. At the look on Hermione's now pale face, she hurried on. "He'll be fine though. That's what happened to my robes. We used it to staunch the bleeding."

Unreasonably irritated by the look of pity for Malfoy in Hermione's watery eyes, Ginny snapped, "Oh, stop it. Don't you dare cry. Madam Pomfrey said he'll be as good, or more accurately, bad, as ever in a few days. Besides, why should you care anyway? He's absolutely horrible to you!"

"Just because I dislike him doesn't mean I want to see him sliced to ribbons!" She said defensively. "Well, maybe having his voice box cut out would be nice... " Hermione sat on the edge of the bed across from Ginny, contemplating a mute Head Boy. That would be the loveliest gift ever. "Ooh, never mind. We're supposed to set the example for the rest of the school. You know that, Ginny."

Walking over to her bed, Ginny smoothed out the bedclothes. Not half as nice as his. Sigh. Life could be so unfair.

"Setting a 'good example' didn't stop you from slapping the prejudice right out of him a few years back," Ginny retorted.

"Ginny! I'll have you know I was very stressed that year. My timetable was completely full, we were worried about Harry and Sirius, and there were all of those dementors around." She paused and gave a delicate shudder. "I think we need to listen to the Sorting Hat now and strive for a little unity. After all-"

"I know, Hermione. Trust me, I know. That's partially why I didn't leave that spoilt git laying in a pool of blood in the corner." Ginny settled herself back on her bed and drew up her legs, wrapping her arms around them. "Here's the kicker. Professor Snape made me collect Malfoy's things from his room and take them up to the hospital wing."

"You were in his room?"

"Oh, yes. Of course, getting in there was an interesting exercise in and of itself. Did you know there's a talking statue of Salazar Slytherin that guards the entrance to Malfoy's room? It's evil. And very, very rude. Told me my 'colouring was too garish to be a house elf'. Garish!" Ginny sniffed.

Hermione opened her mouth to ask exactly where that non-sequitur had come from, but then thought better of it. Ginny certainly has a unique way of telling stories, she mused.

"But I'm getting off-topic. Remind me to owl Fred and George later, won't you? I have a pressing question for them." She paused as Hermione nodded at her. "Where was I? Oh, yes. Anyway, Malfoy tried his little head games on me when I brought him his things and managed to aggravate me enough to give him back a little of his own. I think what I found out is just the thing to keep him from harassing Ron and Harry quite so much. He'll be far too busy dodging Hogwart's Horniest."

Ginny paused dramatically. With a flourish of her hands she announced, "Draco Malfoy, upon close inspection of his wardrobe, hasn't any pants."

Hermione goggled at her, mouth hanging open in a rather unbecoming manner. "WHAT?"

Ginny grinning cheekily, responded, "Not a y-front to be found."

Hermione scratched her cheekbone thoughtfully, a sly grin curving across her face. Her brown eyes sparkled mischievously as she regarded Ginny. "So. Lavender or Parvati?"

Ginny grinned back. "Both. But I think I'll pass it on to Pansy Parkinson, too... hmm, no, she's probably well aware already. How about girls that want to have a bit of revenge?" she mused. "Luna. No, no, I don't think she would do anything. But I bet Padma would, she's still brassed off about all of the house points he took from Ravenclaw during his stint in the Inquisitorial Squad. Ooh, Millicent Bulstrode! You know how he jinxed her weight reducing potions at the beginning of term? I think she'll appreciate this chance to even up the score."

"Evil." Hermione's face was lit with admiration, not reproof, as she laughed at the look Ginny was wearing. The self-satisfied smirk was, ironically, eerily reminiscent of Draco Malfoy himself.

"I prefer ingenious and brilliant, thank you."

"So why the sudden interest in Malfoy's humiliation?" The corner of Hermione's mouth quirked. "Not that I'm complaining. It's most deserved, in my opinion. I want the whole story, not the quick brush-off version, Ginny. It has to be good if you're going this far to make him suffer."

"Promise you won't breathe a word of this to Harry or my brother. If they find out, there won't be enough pieces of Malfoy left to bury."

"Of course."

Ginny wriggled across the bed until she was leaning back against the bedpost and began to tell the story from the beginning.

"HE SAID WHAT?!" Hermione yelped, hand flying to her throat.

"I know. I think he was delusional. And right in front of Snape and Madam Pomfrey. I could have died on the spot."

"What did you do?"

"Threatened to push that piece of glass through a vital organ, I think."

Ginny shook her head, a blush spreading across her cheeks at the memory. "Dead embarrassing. And when I was holding his shoulders and arms down so Madam Pomfrey could pull the glass out, I accidentally leant too far forward, and smothered him with my chest. I think his precise wording was 'suffocated by two luscious breasts. Professor Snape, see that my tombstone is inscribed with that.' I swear, Hermione, I could have hexed him into a horklump."

She huffed angrily, tossing her long fiery hair back over her shoulders. "Delirious from losing all of that blood, I tell you. But revenge is sweet. Madam Pomfrey, bless her heart, took that as her cue to pull out the glass, and he screamed like a baby that dropped its dummy. Turned whiter than Peeves, too. Just as nice, in my opinion, was when she gave him the mother of all dressing-downs for talking to me like that as they were leaving."

"Ron is going to kill him."

Ginny glared at her pointedly. "Ron is NOT going to find out."

Hermione laughed. "Right. You're going to tell Lavender and Parvati and not expect the whole school to know?"

"Bugger. You're right." Ginny paused thoughtfully, her light-brown eyes shining. "I just won't tell them that part," she said triumphantly.

"So what happened when you brought his clothes up to him?" Hermione prodded, thinking how vibrant Ginny seemed. Her eyes sparkled, her face was flushed; it was almost like she was... No. No way. Maybe she's just really excited about Malfoy getting treated with a taste of his own medicine. Maybe. Hopefully.

Ginny sat back up on the bed and began to pick at a loose string on her skirt. Aside from drooling over his chest hair, of all things? "Well, I was taking the mickey out of him for the pants thing, and-"

"You TOLD him?!" Hermione shrieked.

"Of course," Ginny said, looking at Hermione as if she was slow. "Couldn't very well pass up an opportunity like that. May I continue?" she asked archly.

Hermione fluttered her hands. "By all means."

"I said good night and that I hoped he felt better, he asked why I helped him and then tried to psychoanalyse me, so I started to leave. He muttered that this conversation wasn't over by a long shot, and I left. That's it. Very anticlimactic."

"He threatened you?"

"No, I don't think so. He seemed more... determined. Very un-Malfoy."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"Nothing, Gin. Just thinking is all. Shouldn't we go find Lavender and Parvati now? I think they were going to see Professor Trelawney before dinner."

Ginny giggled. "Lets."