Tangled Web

Chapter One - Be Still My Beating Heart

October 1997

Draco watched Ginny from across the library as he pretended to work on his research project for Defense Against the Dark Arts. She was sitting at the same table she always did with the usual prats, Finnigan, Longbottom, and Creevey. Tonight she was sitting on the other side of the table next to Finnigan where he could see her face.

He liked to watch her face.

He watched her smile and blush at something Finnigan said while the others laughed. She brushed stray tendrils of hair from her face as she tried to resume studying. She was trying hard to keep a straight face. Finnigan reach up and tickled her right by her ear. She giggled and playfully slapped his hand away, telling him to behave. Draco wished he could make her giggle like that.

She reached up, grabbing her hair in one hand and removing the clip with the other. She twisted her hair up in a knot, securing it with a well aimed quill. She returned to studying as she absently loosened her Gryffindor red and gold tie and undid the top few buttons of her dress shirt. Her eyebrows knotted as she concentrated hard on what she was writing.

Draco returned his thoughts to the task at hand, researching the Dark Wizard Grindelwald. He was scratching notes on his parchment when he hazarded a glance at Ginny. He was rewarded with sight of Finnigan pulling the quill from her hair. She squealed as her long hair fell suddenly around her in waves of curls the color of fire. She shook her hair back from her face, the candlelight glinting off the golden highlights he hadn't noticed before. He thought her hair looked alive, a living, breathing, beautiful entity, that red hair of hers.

Finnigan playfully grabbed a handful of that fiery hair and pulled her to him for a sound kiss. She pulled away from him after a few moments, looking at him with sparkling brown eyes. Draco wondered idly if she tasted of peppermint. The nub of his raven feather quill broke with a dull thud, leaving a large black ink splotch on his parchment, as his hands shook with his rising anger.

He hated Finnigan at that moment more than he thought he could hate anyone other than his father.

~*~

Draco slowly opened his eyes to find Blaise, wearing only his black silk robe, straddling him, pinning him under the covers.

"Blaise, what are you doing?" he asked, knowing the answer already. There were certain privileges of being Head Boy and a private bedroom was one of them.

"What does it look like I'm doing?" she purred while seductively moving her hips against him.

He sighed deeply. "What time is it? I was trying to sleep until noon."

She sat back on his thighs to pout. She ran her fingers through her thick blue-black hair, shaking it about her shoulders. She knew how much he loved her hair. They've been shagging off and on for nearly two years now. She knew what he liked.

Draco watched her through half closed eyes. She had a body to die for and she knew how to use it. He once thought it was indecent for a girl her age to know the things she knew, but it certainly hadn't stopped him from enjoying that knowledge. He was a Malfoy after all. He'd been taught to exploit advantageous situations if they presented themselves for the taking.

"You know if Pansy catches you in here she's going to rip all that pretty hair out," he stated matter-factly. He reached up to twist a stray curl in his fingers. "I rather like your hair."

"Let her try! I can take her," she hissed jealously, her pout deepening.

He knew she could take Pansy anytime she wanted, hell, he was pretty sure she could take Crabbe and Goyle if they crossed her the wrong way. Blaise was a cruel, manipulative, cunning girl who rarely let anything get in the way of what she wanted.

"You're not really going to marry her are you?" Blaise asked, suddenly very serious. Her violet eyes narrowed under her furrowed brows as she gave him a hard look.

He'd answered this question at least dozen times already. The answer was always the same. He simply answered with a quiet, "yes," and silently added, but not if I can help it. They'd been over this before. More times than he actually cared to discuss the matter, but Blaise was insistent if she was anything. It was way too early in the day for this. He closed his eyes for a moment, as the scene replayed for him in his mind.

Any hope for a decent present on his sixteenth birthday had been dashed when Father announced over dinner that he'd pick out a wife for his only son that he would marry shortly after graduation from Hogwarts. And it was none other than Pansy Parkinson. He looked to Mother for help after Father's announcement, she did always try to help where she could, but this time her head was bowed. She wouldn't look at him, silently communicating that he was on his own this time.

"Did you honestly think I was going to allow you to make this choice, Son?" his Father had said in that cold voice of his that meant there was going to be no negotiations on this matter. "You can't even decide what you're going to wear in the morning."

He sat in stunned silence. He looked to Mother again, trying to will her to speak.

"Your Mother agrees with my choice, don't you my dear?"

At the sound of Father addressing her, Mother had raised her eyes to meet those of Father. She gave a small nod of compliance. He knew then that his fate was sealed.

"Draco! Did you fall asleep on me?" The sound of Blaise's annoyed voice drew him from his troubled thoughts. "I swear sometimes I wonder why I bother!"

She started to move off of him in a huff.

"Blaise," he said firmly in an attempt to reel in her temper before it got out of hand. He slid his cool hands up her bare thighs while looking deeply into her eyes. "Blaise," he repeated, much more softly this time.

Her anger melted instantly as it always did when he looked at her that way with those silver eyes. She'd been in love with him since she was eight or so when she first met him at Malfoy Manor. Her father had business at the manor. He'd brought his daughter along to show her off in hopes of catching Lucius Malfoy's attention; his young son would need a wife someday. She'd been allowed to play with Draco in the sitting room. Yes, he'd been nasty to her, but she was struck by his pale angelic looks. She set her sights on him at that very moment and she always got what she wanted, almost always anyway.

She leaned down to softly kiss him along Draco's jaw, her hands slipping down along his bare chest. Her thick hair became a dark curtain around them as their kisses became more intense. His hands deftly slipped the black robe from her shoulders.

"It's warmer under the covers," he murmured in her ear.

Blaise didn't have to be told twice.

~*~

Ginny woke with a start. She was drenched in cold sweat and was breathing hard. She wildly glanced around her, trying to figure out where she was. She relaxed a little, trying to calm her breathing once she realized she was safe in her bed at Hogwarts. She rubbed her face with her hands trying to remember anything about the dream she'd just awoke from. Dark cavern, damp, hissing noises...no best not try to remember that now.

She shook her head to clear her mind. She threw back the covers and crawled out bed. She gave herself a cursory glance in the mirror before deciding how much work she was going to have to do to make herself presentable. It was the year's first Hogsmeade weekend and Seamus had promised to take her to lunch at the Three Broomsticks. She wanted to look good for him.

Seamus had acted strangely towards her all last spring. He'd always been one of her little gang members along with Neville and Colin Creevey, but then things changed. He started opening doors for her, offering to carry her books, making weird small talk. He'd written her frequently over the summer, finally confessing his love to her. She decided she liked the idea. It was a refreshing change to have someone actually like her back after her first couple of disastrous crushes.

She pulled on a pair of black tights, her black pleated skirt and slipped on her favorite forest green sweater. She scrubbed her face hard with cold water and brushed her teeth quickly. She ruthlessly pinned her unruly red hair up, ignoring the suggestions of the talking mirror. She was on her knees hunting her other shoe when Hermione came in looking for her.

"There you are Gin! The boys have been waiting half an hour and you missed breakfast," she said in the motherly voice she used when she chided Harry and Ron.

"I'm coming, I'm coming. I overslept. I look like a wreck and I can't find my shoe," Ginny said exasperated.

"This shoe I presume," Hermione said chuckling as she picked up Ginny's left shoe from over by the doorway.

"Merlin! Thanks, Mione." Ginny stuck her foot into her shoe as she shoved her arms into her well-worn black school robe and hurried out the door behind Hermione.

As they descended the staircase leading to the common room, the girls could hear the boys discussing their favorite topic, Quidditch. They were discussing the first match of the season against Slytherin the next weekend. Harry was the Gryffindor team captain and Seeker; he took over as captain as soon as Oliver Wood graduated. Ron was keeper and Seamus and Dean Thomas were Beaters while Ginny, Parvati and Lavender were the Chasers.

"Oi, Gin," Ron began as the boys stood up to greet the girls. "Guess who one of the new Chasers is for Slytherin?"

Harry had stood up to greet Hermione, but cut Ron a dirty look before he leaned down to give her a quick kiss.

Ginny eyed Ron warily as she walked over to Seamus who greeted her with a very quick peck on the cheek. He was a little intimidated by her very much taller, older brother.

"Ron," Harry started in an attempt to cut him off, giving him the raised eyebrow treatment. "Leave it for later."

"Pray tell."

"Ronald Weasley," Hermione warned, doing her best Molly Weasley imitation to date.

"Your very own favorite Slytherin," he said gleefully, ignoring the stern warnings of his friends. Ron knew just how to push Ginny's buttons. He'd been doing it for seventeen years now and he wasn't about to stop. It was simply too much fun getting his baby sister all railed up.

"Blood hell!" Ginny swore rolling her eyes, "Zabini!" Blaise had been a thorn in Ginny's side since her third year. For the life her she could not figure what she did to attract the attention of that girl. She knew it couldn't possibly be that kiss she'd shared with Malfoy. She knew she hadn't told a soul and she was quite positive Malfoy wasn't going around bragging about it. It just had to be something, but for the life her she couldn't figure it out.

Ron laughed at Ginny's reaction as it was exactly as he expected. He had almost gotten her started on one of her infamous swearing binges, but she sobered quickly remembering she was standing right next to Seamus who was looking at her curiously. She didn't want to scare him off too quickly with her amazing ability to swear, something she learned under the tutelage of six older brothers.

She grumbled something incoherently while Seamus squeezed her hand reassuringly. "It'll be alright, Gin. You're a much better chaser than that silly bint," he offered.

Ginny's eyes narrowed as her thoughts turned murderous. "I bet anything she's shagging Malfoy." Her chest tightened in a fit of inexplicable jealousy at the mere thought.

"A match made in hell, I'm sure," Harry sighed. "Can we go now before Ron ruins the rest of the day?"

He pulled Hermione toward the door signaling this particular conversation was finished as far as he was concerned. He could have simply killed Ron for baiting Ginny about Zabini. He knew it was a sore spot for Ginny since she'd had a crush on Malfoy the year before. He knew the tell-tale signs since he'd already been on the receiving end of one of her crushes. He was just thankful she was much more discreet about this one and wisely left the singing Valentine alone. He was actually happy that Seamus finally made his feelings toward her known. Harry loved Ginny like a little sister; he only wanted her to be happy. Malfoy did not equal happiness, Seamus did.

~*~

Pansy had shaken him awake not fifteen minutes before, but Draco was still laying face down on his very messy bed, tangled in the white sheets and a dark green velvet bedspread. Blaise, thankfully, was long gone. He was wishing he could lie there forever, not ever having to move again. He knew that wasn't an option since Pansy had shopping on her brain and it was the first Hogsmeade weekend.

"Must you do that in here," he snapped as the scratching of quill against parchment finally got to him.

"Well, good morning you too," Pansy said evenly. "I wanted to make sure you were awake."

She put down the quill and coolly regarded her future husband who still hadn't made a move to get out of bed. "I brought you some breakfast."

He muttered something that vaguely sounded like cursing and finally moved, defeated. He slung the covers from him and gracefully slid out of the bed. He padded over to where she was sitting at his writing desk, stretching as he went and rubbing his hands through his messy pale hair. His black silk pajama bottoms hung dangerously low on his hips. He stifled a yawn with an elegant hand as he stopped before her.

"I brought you some fruit, bread and cheese. I wasn't sure what you'd want." She knew he was a picky eater at best.

He picked out an orange wedge from the plate she offered to him. "Thank you," he said absently before popping it into his mouth. He took the plate from her and padded over to the large leather chair in front of the fireplace. He draped his long frame over the arms of the chair and proceeded to lazily pick at his breakfast plate, nibbling at pieces of this and that.

"You should get dressed," Pansy suggested, not really knowing what else to say. She knew he could be difficult, especially first thing in the morning, and she had plans for the day.

"Who are you writing?" he queried ignoring her request, noting that she was using his personal writing parchment, heavy linen in Malfoy gray, and his last raven feather quill.

"Your mother."

"Ah, dearest Mother. Telling her how awful I treat you?" he sneered.

Pansy sighed, recognizing the first signs of a full on snit. She'd known him all her life and she knew snits were never a good thing. She was just thankful Draco's snits paled in comparison to those of his father. She'd learned in the past couple years how to nip them in the bud if she caught them early enough.

"Of course not, you know better than that. She wanted to know what colors I preferred so that she could decorate my chambers." She returned her attention the note.

"Mmm" was the only sound he issued, as he seemed placated with her reply. He dropped the plate of half eaten food on the floor before rising from the chair. He walked over and flung open the doors to the massive wardrobe that dominated the far wall on the other side of the bed. He selected the items of clothing he wanted, leaving the doors wide open, then stepped into the small room that was his private bath to dress.

Pansy never looked up. She knew he'd go in there looking like something the cat dragged in and come out looking more beautiful than a Greek god. He was vain about his appearance. He'd always been that way, even as a small child. She also knew the girls of Hogwarts would be sorely disappointed to know that he could look rather rough in the mornings.

She had finished her note, stamping it with the Malfoy crest and tying it neatly with a green ribbon, before starting to pick up the mess he had managed to make. She was wondering if his mother went through anything like this every morning with his father when she heard the door finally open.

"You know, there are house elves to do that," Draco slowly drawled, watching her curiously. He was strongly reminded of his mother for some reason, only Pansy was shorter, not nearly as regal, although he was sure that would come with time, and she was much darker than Narcissa Malfoy.

She turned to look at him, smiling her approval of his restored appearance. He was leaning against the doorjamb looking just the like the Greek god she'd imagined and smirking as only a Malfoy could. He was wearing neatly pressed black trousers, a black silk knit turtleneck under his favorite slate gray sweater that made his eyes darken a bit. His face was still pink from the cold water scrubbing he'd given it. His platinum hair was parted to one side; the stylish angular cut was even with his razor sharp cheekbones. He'd given up slicking his hair back when he turned fifteen.

"We should be going soon. Merlin only knows what Crabbe and Goyle have gotten themselves into while waiting so long," Pansy said, completely unfazed by his stunning transformation.

He sat down on the rumpled bed while he put on his favorite soft Italian leather boots. Pansy retrieved his robes from the peg by the door and stood there, waiting for him to finish. After he finished with his shoes, he slipped on the robes she'd held for him. She straightened the robes, wiped out the folds and wrinkles on his shoulders, then fastened the clasps for him.

They walked silently up the steps to the Slytherin common room where Crabbe and Goyle were entertaining themselves with a game of exploding snaps.

"Let's go," he commanded.

Crabbe and Goyle obediently dropped their game at the sound of his voice, quickly assuming their natural position of bodyguard a short distance behind Draco and Pansy.

He held her robes for her to slip on and waited as she fastened the clasps before offering her his arm. They walked down to Hogsmeade with nary a word between them.

~*~

"I think they are just adorable," Hermione said with a huge grin as she watched Ginny and Seamus walk hand in hand up head of her, Harry and Ron.

Ron rolled his eyes at her pronouncement. She knew how much this irritated Ron and she liked to rub it in a little bit.

"I bet they get married someday," she continued wistfully. "They'll live happily ever after in some big castle in Ireland with lots of children! I bet at least one of them will have red hair!"

"He's not tall enough for her," Ron grumbled, finally taking the bait. He eyed Seamus beadily. He liked Seamus well enough, just not with his sister. There was no one good enough for Ginny as far as he was concerned, but with Seamus, he really did have to hunt for things that were objectionable. "Look at him, he's barely taller than her."

Harry chuckled, enjoying every second of this.

It was true, Seamus was not blessed with the Weasley height. He wasn't even blessed with the Potter height which was lacking compared to the Weasley height. He was instead cursed with the Finnigan height which put him a number of inches under six feet tall. Which in turn meant that his girlfriend, a Weasley, was a mere couple inches shorter than he. She didn't have to look up to him to look him in the eye.

"Yes, well, Ron not all of us can be cursed with giant genes," Harry cheerfully added.

Ron topped all the Weasley boys by a few good inches. He was finally starting to fill out his lanky frame along the same lines as eldest brother, Bill, a muscular sort of lean with broad shoulders. And top it all off with the trademark Weasley flaming red hair and dusting of freckles and sparkling blue eyes. He was a sight to behold as any number of the girls at Hogwarts would attest.

Ginny and Seamus had stopped walking to look at one another. She was smiling at him. He was slowly pulling her closer by the hand he was still holding.

"Aww! I think they're gonna kiss," Hermione cooed.

Ron sprinted up to them quickly, putting a stop to anything that might have occurred. "Hey now! There will be none of that here!"

Ginny gave her big brother the dirtiest look she could manage and whined, "Ron!"

Seamus blanched at Ron's sudden glowering appearance.

Harry caught up to Ron, grabbing him by the arm. "Come on, let's leave them alone."

Hermione took Ron's other arm and started to pull him along with Harry away from Seamus and Ginny.

"Well, look at this way, Ron, it could be Malfoy kissing your sister," joked Harry knowing just the mention of Malfoy would make him forget about Ginny and Seamus.

~*~

Ginny liked to sit on the opposite side of the Gryffindor table, facing Ron and Harry. That way she could sneak looks across the Great Hall at Malfoy without be so obvious. She was doing it even now with Seamus sitting beside her at the table. The boys were talking Quidditch yet again and Hermione's nose was in some thick tome as usual. She had all the time in the world to watch him without notice.

She was admiring his pale angelic looks. She was so very glad when he finally stopped slicking back his hair. She thought his hair looked like moonlight and the new haircut he'd show up with this fall just made his patrician good looks even more predominate. She knew he was cruel, nasty and an all around prat, but she couldn't help herself. There was something about him that always drew her attention.

He was sitting there in his usual place, but it was different now she noticed. Instead of being between Crabbe and Goyle, Pansy Parkinson sat at his right while Crabbe had been scooted down one space to make room for her. She suddenly wasn't very fond of this new development.

Parkinson was playing with something on a chain around her neck. Malfoy said something to her and she obliged him by leaning her head back so he could examine the necklace she'd been toying with. He nodded to her, spoke a couple words and she rewarded those words with a kiss on his cheek. He didn't look as put out by that kiss as he should have been Ginny thought. It was icky Pansy Parkinson after all. They actually looked comfortable with one another. Her ire was starting to rise.

Malfoy stood up, then offered a hand to Parkinson to help her up from the table. She slipped her hand through his arm and they walked out of the Great Hall together with Crabbe and Goyle trailing behind them. Parkinson had the haughty look of clear ownership on her hard face. Ginny flushed pink in her anger, the fork she forgot she was holding clattered loudly to the floor, drawing everyone's attention.

At that moment Ginny hated Pansy Parkinson more than she thought she could hate anyone in her life, well, except maybe Blaise Zabini, who she was sure was shagging Malfoy.