Down the Toilet

Down the Toilet

As you might know, my father was a rich man,
his father was rich, I'm gonna be a rich man too, oh yeah!

It was the Yule Ball. Draco Malfoy was leaning on the wall and watching the crowd attentively. Finally his eyes found the red-haired girl he had been trying to catch a glimpse of. He grinned, "Here we go again," he whispered, "Let's party."

Slowly he loafed behind Ginny's back. She didn't notice him, obviously concentrating on admiring the decorations of the Great Hall.

"The decorations are really not that special," he commented nonchalantly. Ginny jumped a little when she suddenly heard his voice. "But then again, I'm used to seeing something a little more... sophisticated. I would guess that you are not," he continued lazily. That made the girl turn around.

Ginny stared at him angrily. "I suppose that when you say more sophisticated you actually mean more expensive. They must be like synonyms to you, but let me tell you something, everything is not about money! I think that the house elves have done a wonderful job here. Probably your house really is decorated with a bigger budget than this entire school, but I bet that the atmosphere there is nothing compared to this." She waved her hand around.

As a matter a fact Draco was impressed, the Great Hall was looking really good, but there was still no way he'd admit that in public. "Well, I suppose someone like you might think that this is wonderful," he smiled with a pitiful expression on his face.

Ginny was getting annoyed. "You know what, Malfoy," she hissed, "I don't care about your opinion! You're a spoiled git, nobody likes you. People only put up with you because they are afraid of your father and his money! I'd die if I were you."

Right now my job is to have fun, buy whatever I want,
just be with my girl, it's such fun, you know?
I guess you don't 'cos your daddy ain't driving a Rolls Royce,
n' your family ain't famous after all.

"You know what, Weasley," Draco replied, "I don't care whether you care or not. I'm enjoying myself, you don't know how much fun it is to be a Malfoy!"

"You're hopeless," Ginny said bitterly, "I don't know why I bother to talk with you. It seems that all I do these days is to argue with you. You must be stalking me or something. I've got better things to do than waste my time in your company. So why don't you leave me alone?

"Why should I? You're the one that makes my days entertaining," Malfoy announced cheerfully. "Would you like to dance?"

"I most certainly do not want to dance with you," Ginny said, but Draco had already pulled her to the dance floor.

"I know that deep in your heart you were dying to dance with the most handsome man here, so there's no need to deny it," Draco explained smugly and whirled her around. "Happy now?"

To her surprise, Ginny had actually been enjoying the very first steps they had danced together, but hearing something like that was more than enough to make her see red. "What?", she shrieked, "I can't believe you!"

"Don't make a scene," Draco said in an annoyed tone, "People are watching."

"Don't make a scene," Ginny repeated icily, but continued to dance and flashed a smile to Fred, who was watching them suspiciously. "If people are watching, you're the one to blame. I never wanted to dance with you, you just forced me to do so. Besides, what does it matter if they are watching? Are you worried that all your slimy Slytherin friends will see you with me? After all, I am just a poor Weasley and surely I'm not worthy to dance with someone as all-mighty and rich as a Malfoy."

I flush my money down the toilet, if it is the best choice.
Nothing is my problem, see?
I don't have to pay my bills, right?
I don't have to get a job.
I don't have to train my skills, right?
'Cos I will never be poor.
What would you do, if you had my money?
You wouldn't go to school, you wouldn't get a job, like me.
You'd just hang around.

"Funny how obsessed you seem to be about me being rich. Aren't you Weasleys always telling people that money doesn't matter?" Draco's tone was amused, "But then again, why wouldn't you be? I guess to you money is a serious issue."

"Yeah, and you probably practise your aim throwing galleons at the servants.

Draco was getting tired of the subject. "Sure, that's one of my hobbies, but I have to say that I prefer flushing money down the toilet. That doesn't require so much work, because, you know, I'm not capable of any kind of work. I just spend my days eating ice-cream and torturing people."

She didn't say anything, she just looked at him with a weird expression. He sighed, "Listen, I was joking. Have you ever heard of it? You're expected to laugh."

"I got it, I'm not a moron," Ginny said, "I was just surprised that you could joke at your own expense," she replied. "You're always so full of yourself that I didn't think you'd be able to do that."

"And what makes you think you know me well enough to draw any kind of conclusions?" he demanded sharply.

"We've been arguing practically every day since the school started this year," she stated calmly, "If you talk with someone on a daily basis, you do form an image of this person."

"And arguing just happens to be such a constructive way to get to know people."

Silence fell as Ginny didn't reply to Draco's sneering. They kept dancing until the song finished, and then Draco followed Ginny as she marched off the dance floor. She sat at the nearest empty table and he followed her example. They stared at each other for a while. Draco was looking a bit bothered. He hesitated for a moment, but finally asked her a question. "Do you really think that all I'm interested in is myself and money?"

"The whole time I've known you you've been bragging about how rich you are, and you've been picking on others, who aren't as fortunate. You bought your way into the Slytherin Quidditch team and you have never been friendly to anyone, if it hasn't been necessary. Your only friends serve mainly as bodyguards-"

Draco interrupted her. "I see your point, there's no need to go on. I'm the guy everyone loves to hate. You probably hate me as well."

"I didn't mean that," Ginny said studying his face, "It just appears that you don't even want people to like you. Why is that?"

You would go to the parties where all rich people meet,
where people are having fun.
Yeah, such fun, you know.
I guess you don't 'cos your daddy ain't driving a Rolls Royce,
n' your family ain't famous after all.

Draco seemed to be considering her words, but she couldn't figure out what was going on behind those gray eyes, his face was emotionless. This was a question that she had been wondering for a while now, so she really hoped he would answer truthfully.

Finally he spoke, choosing his words carefully, "I don't see why should I give a damn about what people think. I hardly care about their opinions anyway. There aren't many people with whom I wish to spend time with." He glanced at her and smirked a little and then committed himself. "Actually, Weasley, for some odd reason, you're one of those rare people."

It was definitely a surprising revelation to Ginny, but she didn't say anything. She had a feeling that there was more to come. She was right.

"I like being rich," Draco continued. "I also enjoy being a Malfoy. I like knowing that I can get things that I want- good clothes, excellent service... being rich and famous gives you a feeling of security. It's hard to explain, but it kind of gives you a feeling of superiority, too. And I'd be a liar if I said that I didn't like that, I've always wanted to be the best."

There was a small pause as he hesitated again. Then he smirked again, over-weeningly.

I flush my money down the toilet, if it is the best choice.
Nothing is my problem, see?

"There are things you don't know about me yet, Weasley. You may think that I really don't do anything else than annoy people, but that's not the real deal. I'm actually doing well in my classes. I suppose I'm among the top three students in the seventh year. If I lose my money, I'll still have a bright future ahead of me."

Ginny couldn't help but to look amazed. The image of Draco sitting hours in front of a huge pile of books pulling a Hermione seemed really absurd. He laughed a little at her obvious astonishment. Then he moved forward and kissed her quickly on the forehead,which caused a great deal of surprised gasps in the tables located nearby. It was weird enough that Weasley and Malfoy were talking and dancing together! Kisses, even on the forehead, were something totally inconceivable.

Ginny flushed, but Draco didn't seem to care about the whispering voices around them. He grinned conceitedly and said, "I'll be sure to see you around, Weasley."