The Shotgun Bride

Chapter 14: Smack Down

They were interrupted suddenly by a banging on the window. Ginny looked out the window to see Lavender standing there, looking in at them speculatively. Ginny and Draco looked back and forth at each other, then Draco rolled his window down.

"Hello, Lavender," Draco drawled.

"Hi!" said Lavender.

There was a long pause.

"Did you want something?" Draco asked.

"No! I mean, yes! Yes, I did want something!" Lavender said, flustered.

"Well?" Ginny asked with an impatient flick of her hand. Lavender's eyes grew large as she looked at Ginny's hand.

"Is that an engagement ring?" she asked.

"That's what you wanted?" Draco asked. "Because I'm pretty sure I'm only supposed to give out one."

Lavender flushed and Ginny smacked him. "Shut up," Ginny hissed.

"So you two are getting hitched?" Lavender said, recovering nicely from her embarrassment. "That's rather unexpected."

"I didn't think so," Ginny replied.

"Well," Lavender said.

"Well," Draco agreed. "We'll be off now. Do be a dear and not mention this to anyone."

He then pulled out of the parking spot, leaving Lavender standing next to the menu.

"Everyone in town is going to know by morning, if not sooner," Ginny said, twisting her hand around to watch the sparkle of her ring.

"You know, they probably are," Draco agreed.

"Maybe we should have, you know, mentioned it to our friends. This is probably going to come as a shock to them," she continued.

"Too late now," Draco said. He slowed down the car as he turned onto a narrow, bumpy back road. A few minutes later, he pulled into a small gravel lot and cut the engine. He pulled a blanket from the backseat, and said, "Continue this outside?"

"Sure," Ginny said, and climbed out. A few minutes later the newly engaged couple were sitting on the shore of a lake, with Ginny leaning back into Draco's arms. As dusk settled over them, they kissed, it deepening into intensity as they forgot about everything that was happening to them and all their troubles, lost in one another.

They didn't get home until late.

*

Pansy Parkinson stalked down the street towards the Malfoy's trailer. She had heard the most disturbing news earlier that morning. Surely it couldn't be true- everyone knew that Millicent Bulstrode lived for racy gossip, so it was completely plausible that she'd just made it up to cause a ruckus.

After all, the entire idea was preposterous, really. There was no way in hell that her Draco would ever get involved with one of those horrid Weasleys, and even if he did want to have an affair with a Weasley surely he could have picked a more attractive one that Ginny? Pansy rather thought that the long haired one was rather handsome, surely he was more Draco's type than slutty Ginny Weasley? She shook her head. No, Draco shouldn't be involved with any Weasley. She cursed Millicent for even bringing up the concept.

She suddenly felt a sharp pain in her left foot, and realized a rock had gotten into her sandal. As she bent down to remove the rock when she heard a girlish giggle come from the Malfoy's yard. She quickly ducked down behind some bushes, and slunk towards the Malfoy's yard, using the Flint's unkempt yard to her advantage. She peered around the edge of the trailer to see Ginny Weasley sitting on the hood of Draco's car.

How dare that little skank sit her big butt on Draco's beautiful car? Who knew where it'd been! She was probably even denting the hood, as she was not the lightest chicken in the coop, despite the fact her parents could scarcely afford to feed their brood.

Pansy thought it was scandalous how Ginny had the audacity to not starve herself into a size two like Pansy had. And that garish red hair! Everyone knew that bleach blond was a much more attractive color, and so much more classy.

She crouched down beside the trailer, continuing to peer at the scene that was unfolding. Draco was now within her view, and she watched as he walked up to Ginny, and it didn't appear that he was telling her to get off his car. No, to the contrary, he was now standing between the skank's knees and now he was leaning in and kissing her and that most definitely was not an unfriendly kiss. Pansy watched, horrified, as Draco's hands moved south and the trollop arched herself against him. That could not be happening! And she could see in the late morning light a sparkling ring on the skank's ring finger.

Pansy bit back the wail that threatened to escape, and gripped the side of the trailer, forcing herself to stay hidden rather than going and strangling the skank. However, she couldn't stop herself from falling over as she saw Lucius Malfoy stroll out of the house, completely ignore his son practically mating with a Weasley not ten feet away, and climb into his car and drive off.

Had the world gone mad?

She stood up, brushing off her mini skirt and tugging at her tube top. Once everything was in place, she looked up only to see Draco and the Weasley staring at her.

"Pansy?" Draco asked. "What were you doing behind there?"

"Nothing," she snapped. "What were you doing over there?"

"I'd rather think it was obvious," replied Draco. "Were you spying on us?"

"Spying? Why would I be spying on you when you're putting on a show for the whole neighborhood right there?" Pansy replied coldly. "And with that Weasley skank, at that."

The Weasley skank in question's eyes flashed and she took a step forward. She refused to stand for being called a skank by a trailer trash slut. Draco, however, put an arm out and stopped her.

"Calm down, Gin. That's not good for you."

"Well, I'm not going to let her get away with that," she snarled, only to be forcibly held back by Draco. "Come on, Draco, let me go!"

Draco looked as though he might want to see the excellent cat fight that would ensue, but had the presence of mind to be concerned over the health of his unborn child. Pansy was still standing there, sneering at them.

"Yeah, let her go," Pansy said. "See if the skank can hold her own."

Ginny stopped struggling against Draco, and stood up a little taller. She wasn't going to take that kind of insult, but she didn't have to go all caveman on the trailer trash either.

"You're just jealous," Ginny snapped.

Pansy smirked. "Ain't nothing I haven't had before."

Ginny spun on Draco. "You never mentioned that to me," she said accusingly.

"It never came up," he replied with a shrug.

"We're definitely going to discuss this later," she said. Draco didn't look the least bit worried.

Ginny stalked up to Pansy, who looked down at the shorter girl, nose held high. "So, is the rumor true?"

"What's the rumor?"

"I hear you and Draco are going to get hitched, but I didn't believe a word of it," Pansy said.

Ginny just flourished her hand, where her engagement ring flashed with what Pansy interpreted as pure malice. She reached for the girl's hand, wanting a closer look at the ring when she suddenly got a closer look than she had hoped for.

Pansy crumbled to the ground as Ginny's fist connected soundly with her nose.

Draco stared at the girl lying on the gravel, whose skirt had ridden up far enough so that if he turned his head just to the left, just a little, he could see her-

Smack.

Draco rubbed his cheek which was stinging. He hoped that there wouldn't be a red mark, that would be embarrassing to explain.

"You slept with- with that?" Ginny demanded.

"Gin," Draco began, trying to figure out the best line of defense. "It isn't as bad as it sounds."

Ginny raised an eyebrow. "You slept with the girl known near and far for, well, how far she'll go. How can that not be bad?"

"I didn't say it wasn't bad!" Draco said. "It was way before I got with you, anyways."

"Way before? How many other girls have you had since then?" Ginny snapped.

"Well," he began before coming up with the perfect counter. "How many guys did you sleep with? You aren't exactly virgin pure yourself, you know."

Ginny floundered. "That's not the point!"

"So if I happen to find out who one of them was, then I can punch them out?"

"No!" Ginny snapped.

Draco looked pointedly at Pansy, who was beginning to stir. Ginny looked at Pansy, and then said stiffly, "I didn't hit her because you slept with her."

"You didn't?" Draco asked with a smirk.

"No, I didn't. I hit her because she called me a skank," Ginny said in her best that's-final tone.

"Gudd," Pansy groaned, turning over. She reached up and patted her nose tenderly. "Stubid bitch."

Ginny glared down at the girl, then said, "Come on, Draco. We're almost late for lunch with my mother."