Shiver

"Oh, boy," Harry murmured as Ginny clung tightly to his right hand. He breathed deeply, trying to stay as calm as possible for Ginny's sake.

"‘Arree, Jinee, good afternoon," came the cold, smooth reply from Magda. She gave one of her famous fake smiles to them, which made her otherwise beautiful face twist into a laughing-hyena-like sneer. Harry gave Ginny a sideways look that more or less said "I'll handle this. Let me do all the talking." He pulled her to him protectively, smiling back at Magda as she slid a hand through her long jet-black hair, which was partially pulled up into two tight knots on the top of her head, making it look as though she had horns.

"Magda . . . how are you doing today?" he asked cordially. Magda descended the remainder of the steps in front of her gracefully, as though she were a spider coming upon its prey.

"Quite well, quite well, Potter. Considering I'm stuck ‘ere wis you mizerable lot zese ‘olidays," she responded coolly. She pulled her purple velvet cloak a bit more tightly about her body, shivering a little. "Zough I must say somesing to Dumbledore zee next shance I get about zee temperatures zis castle dips down to een winter. It's like an . . . ‘ow you say . . . eegloo in ‘ere. I don't know ‘ow ‘ee expects anyone to conzentrate in classes, much less practeese all zose sillee spells." Ginny snorted at this, for no one else in the school was complaining about being cold at the time. Actually, the castle was rather warm for the wintertime, many of the drafty spots having been searched out and repaired by Filch the previous summer. Harry knew what Ginny was thinking and squeezed her a little tighter to him in an attempt to keep her from saying it. However, this didn't work. Ginny was still sore about Hermione leaving, and she had a temper that rivaled her older brother's in shortness.

"I'm not a bit surprised you're cold, Magda. Considering ice runs through those veins of yours, though I don't know how, since you have no heart whatsoever. Perhaps you should try some Pepper-Up Potion," Ginny snapped. "Oh, but then you would look more like a devil than you already do with smoke coming out of your ears. And we don't want that. All you'd need then is a pitchfork to match those horns of yours and accessorize that pointed tail you manage to hide so cleverly." Magda scowled, her cheeks flushing a furious red and her nostrils flaring in a very unflattering manner, then she turned her attention back to Harry.

"I really don't know why you assoziate wis such reeff-raff, Potter, when you're such an accompleeshed wizard. You could do so much better zan a Muggle-lover like Weasley," Magda said with a superior, biting tone. Harry laughed.

"You forget . . . I am part Muggle," he said pointedly with a chuckle at her stupidity. Magda rolled her eyes and ignored this, smiling once more as though she wasn't annoyed by having to lower herself to speak to them.

"‘Aave you zeen my dear, sweet Ron anywhere? I'm supposed to meet ‘im in an ‘our, but I got shrough writing zat letter ‘ome sooner zan expected, so I sought I'd give ‘im a nice zu-prise by making lunsch for zee two of us," Magda said. Her sugary sweet tone made Harry feel like gagging and Ginny's hand twitched, eager to slap her.

"A nasty surprise, more like. Bet her foul cooking would poison anyone," Ginny mumbled under her breath just loudly enough so Magda heard it. Magda scowled at Ginny again, but this time, Ginny scowled in return.

"You are an abzolute deesgraze to zee pureblooded line of wizardry, Weasley," Magda hissed, stepping closer to the couple. "You and zee rest of zat ragtaggell bunsch you call a fam'lee, along wis Potter ‘ere. Even if every single member of your fam'lee lives to become ‘igh-ups in the Ministry like your father, wealthy as kings, it still won't be enough to make you anysing more zan zee poor trash you've always been." Ginny pulled away from Harry and stepped closer to Magda, a look of determination on her face, her fists balled up at her sides.

"Well, at least I'm not like you. At least I don't go around dating people just because they've suddenly got lots of money and they're pureblood. Atleast I don't try to hide what I am, you prejudiced hag!" Ginny retorted angrily. Magda's eyes widened, and she moved to strike Ginny. Harry moved quickly and stepped between the two girls, facing Magda.

"If money was what I was reellee after . . . do you sink zat I would be dating Ronald? Trust me, being your brother'z girlfriend is no . . . ‘ow you zay? No . . . peek-neek!" Magda shouted over Harry's shoulder, trying to push past him to get to Ginny.

Ginny looked at Magda, confused. If Magda wasn't dating her brother for the money, then why? As Ginny opened her mouth to speak again, Magda's temper boiled over, and she shoved Harry, pummeling him with her fists. It was one of the few times Harry was glad he'd had all that Quidditch training. He easily fought Magda off, and finally, out of breath and getting nowhere, she gave up. She crossed her arms over her chest, eyes narrowed at Ginny, and her upper lip quivering. Her hands were poised like claws, as though she wanted to scratch Ginny's eyes out.

"Whoa . . . whoa, there. No need to get violent," he interjected, grabbing Ginny and backing her away, still looking at Magda. "Magda, I believe you asked where Ron was?" Magda's demeanor changed at the mention of her boyfriend, and she plastered on her fake smile again.

"Oui. Do you know where I might find ‘im?" she responded. As Ginny started to struggle in Harry's arms and shout nasty names at Magda, Harry clapped a hand over Ginny's mouth and answered.

"Last I saw him . . . he was down at the pitch, practicing for our next Quidditch match. Not sure where he is now, but I'd check the pitch first," Harry answered calmly, giving Ginny a stern look.

"Merci," Magda said, then swept off in a mass of cloak and flying hair toward the entrance of Hogwarts. As she disappeared, Harry let out a breath he hadn't known he was holding and turned to Ginny once again.

"What were you thinking, mouthing off to her like that?!" he exclaimed in a worried tone. "She could have hexed you into next year, Gin!" He pulled her closer to him, resting his cheek on her soft, crimson hair. Ginny buried her head in his chest, relishing in the warmth and safety of his arms, as she thought of an answer to his question.

"I was thinking . . . well, maybe if we had all stood up to her sooner, banded together . . . ," she trailed off, letting out a muffled sigh. "This wouldn't be happening. We wouldn't be having to work so hard to keep her at bay long enough for Ron to get to Hermione and tell her how he feels. We wouldn't be working with Malfoy to help Hermione. And she never would have hurt Hermione so badly in the first place." Harry kissed the top of her head, then put a hand under her chin and lifted her face so he could look into her eyes. They were filled with tears - real tears this time, not just tears shed for appearance's sake.

"I know," he responded, kissing her on the forehead. Ginny hung her head and let out a muffled sob, burying her head in his chest once more. He hugged her tightly as she cried, loving the feeling of her in his arms, never wanting the moment to end. But it had to - for now. "Ginny . . ."

"Yes, Harry?" came the quiet answer back. He sighed, a smile playing on his lips.

"As much as I love holding you in my arms right now . . . ," he paused for a moment, almost hesitating saying it, but knowing he had no choice. "We really need to get going. Find a place to hide. Because it's not going to take long for Magda to figure out we've sent her on a goose chase, and then she's going to come looking for us."

"True . . . ," Ginny replied, stepping back and looking up at him. She wore a scared expression, then a grin spread across her face. She grabbed Harry's hand, exclaiming, "We'd better hurry!" She dragged him up the stairs after her, running.

Magda stormed onto the Quidditch pitch, a streak of royal velvet and raven hair. She looked up into the sky above, shielding her eyes from the late afternoon sun as she searched for her boyfriend. There was one lone flyer above, and it didn't take much to figure out that it wasn't Ron. His hair shone like silver, and he wore expensive, forest green Quidditch apparel. Draco Malfoy.

"Draco!" she called out into the frosty air, once again pulling her cloak tighter about her person. He stopped in midair at the wretched sound of her voice and looked down, waving to her, as he groaned softly. Show time, he thought. He then swiftly flew over to where she stood and landed beside her. As wonderful as he was at lying, he couldn't stand Magda, and it was getting harder to hide it with each passing day. He took a deep breath and put on his best game face.

"Magda, my sweet!" he greeted her in a flirtatious tone, plastering a trademark charming Malfoy smirk on his face. He took her right hand and kissed it. "What are you doing out here? It's freezing cold! You'll catch your death, and then where will our Lord be? You're too valuable to the cause." Magda smiled at him in what he figured she thought to be a sexy manner - actually it just made her look like a pouting two year old - before speaking.

"Oui, oui. I know zis," she responded hastily, with a wave of her gloved hand. "I am looking for Ron. ‘Ave you zeen ‘im? ‘Arree zaid ‘ee was ‘ere." She flipped her long hair haughtily over her shoulder, then touched her two "horns" to make sure they were still perfectly in place. Her actions made her look like a preening bird.

"Weasley?" Draco pretended to think for a moment, hand to his chin. "Oh, yes! He was here about ten minutes ago. He headed off to the locker rooms to take a shower. Told me to tell you . . ." He paused, as if thinking once more. "If you happened by here, looking for him, to just go on in and get him." He said the last bit slowly, savoring her expression as she registered the information.

Malfoy had to stifle a laugh as he saw the hungry, lustful look that swept over her cruel features briefly before she turned stony and cold once more. It was a well-known fact that Magda liked sex - a lot. She'd already bedded three-fourths of the boys in Slytherin, though Malfoy had managed to fight her off so far, all behind Weasley's back, but she had not been able to seduce Weasley himself. She was itching to lay Weasley, regardless of her work for Voldemort or whatever orders he might have given her, and Draco knew it. Potter's plan, or Draco's part of it anyway, worked. It was just too easy to bait her.

"Merci, Draco, dear," she chirped in a happy tone that belied her icy facial expression. Leaning forward to kiss him, she only got his cheek as he quickly turned his head to avoid her advances. True to form, even when she was supposed to be looking for her boyfriend, she never stopped trying to pursue other men. With a sigh and an angry frown, she stomped off in the direction of the locker rooms. As she left, a genuine smile finally found its way to Draco's lips, as he chuckled softly.

"Let the chase begin," he murmured, mounting his broom and kicking off the ground again, sending him soaring into the wintry skies.