Rating:: R
House:: Astronomy Tower
Characters:: Draco Malfoy Ginny Weasley
Genres:: Romance General
Era:: Multiple Eras
Spoilers:: Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them
Stats:: Published: 04/27/2003

Updated: 12/22/2004

Words: 79,803

Chapters: 25

Hits: 15,873

Trademark smirks and Temperamental redheads

Rea Yume

Story Summary:: Draco and Ginny have exchanged a few words of hostility over the years, but what happens when an unsteady friendship begins to form between the two? As realizations slowly dawn on the clueless pair, what hindrances will they have to overcome before they can be together? Read as obstacles appear in the form of Draco and his Death Eater training, and Ginny’s attempts to sort out her feelings for Harry, as well as a particularly hot-tempered Weasley, intent on breaking up the couple. Complete d/g bliss!

Chapter 01

Posted:: 04/27/2003

Hits:: 2,676

Chapter 1 - First Year

Platform 9 ¾

Draco carefully arranged himself into a comfortable position, as he leaned against the brick wall below the sign reading Platform 9 ¾. He watched as his childhood friends, Crabbe and Goyle, hoist his large, newly polished, mahogany trunk onto the scarlet steam engine.

Draco checked his reflection in the train window. A Malfoy looking immaculate and regal in his new Hogwarts robes stared back at him. His robes were made of the finest material his mother could find, including new Italian-made dragon hide lace-ups adorning his feet.

His shoes were of the finest quality dragon-hide. Not just any dragon, mind you - it was harvested from the abdomen of the Hungarian Horntail, which was easily the strongest, yet softest part of the whole dragon. It had taken the team of dragon hunters an entire, sleepless week to track and hunt it down. The hide was then carefully packaged and sent to Italy, to be worked by a renowned Italian shoemaker. The shoes were sewn in with baby unicorn's tail hair, and lined with phoenix feathers to make them feel light and soft, so as not to hurt his delicate feet.

Many of the Hogwarts students turned to look at his stately attire as they passed, and he made sure to smirk rather evilly at each of them in turn.

He remembered, quite well, the trouble his mother had gone through to make sure his uniform would be acceptable for his father's inspection. His father had given specific instructions to his mother, and himself, to make sure that he would stand out from the crowd. Even in his Hogwarts uniform, he must denote the superiority of the Malfoy family. His mother had argued with the old lady, Madam Malkin, for over twenty minutes explaining why he couldn't wear the dull uniforms that were made for the ordinary Hogwarts student populace.

He was a Malfoy. Surely, she would understand that a Malfoy must have the best at all times - especially entering first year, as it was imperative to establish a powerful influence, and demand respect for himself right from the beginning. In the end, Madame Malkin agreed for his mother to have suitable materials sent over, to be made into the standard uniform. As a result, his robes now had additions of gray-silver silk lining, and a shiny silver pendant shaped in the form of a tiny serpent.

Draco looked up as he heard a loud 'thwack' coming from the entrance of the train, Crabbe and Goyle had managed to knock their heads together, in their eagerness to exit the train and rejoin him on the platform.

If he turned people's heads before, he certainly had everyone's gaping attention now. It's not everyday one sees a pale, pointed faced boy dressed lavishly enough to be considered royalty. The addition of two towering brutes on either side of him, posing as bodyguards, further attracted the passing interest of the crowd. The two, quite obviously, lacked any form of intelligence; by the way they snickered and grinned at everything the smaller boy said.

With excess pompousness, Draco boarded the train and moved smoothly down the aisle to his pre-claimed compartment - compliments of Crabbe and Goyle. He paused to station them outside his door, instructing them to ward off any pests that might cause a disturbance. With that, he strode inside and slid the door behind him. From his place in front of the window, he watched as the students scurried about the platform, finding old friends and hugging their parents goodbye. He sneered at those fools, half of them mudbloods to say the least. And then, there were those who didn't even know what Quidditch was - the one thing that could make his heart race and his eyes shine.

Draco settled himself in, as the Hogwarts Express gave a final whistle and began to pull out of the station. He looked out the window and watched as a young girl, holding tightly onto her mother's hand began to cry, waving frantically at someone on the train. She had a destitute appearance about her, the only noteworthy feature being her untamed titian hair in a plait down her back. She was bone thin, as if she had never had a decent meal in her life, and Draco noticed that her clothes seemed slightly too masculine to be hers, and most certainly too worn and dull not to be hand-me-downs.

Draco frowned in concentration, and then he remembered of course, she must be a Weasley. His father had told him all about the Weasleys, naturally. They were the poorest pureblood family line you'd find in all of Europe, and for good reason too. All of them were mudblood loving fools, forever getting in the way of his father's plans.

As he watched the girl run to keep up with the train, he smirked, toying with the idea of tormenting this girl and watching her crumble at his feet. Draco carefully took in her appearance, from her tousled hair to her worn boots, and made a mental image of her for later reference. His mind was filling with a lazy anticipation of future encounters with this Weasley girl. He hoped he wouldn't have to wait long...

* * * * *

Draco watched as the suburban scenery of London disappeared from view; soon to be replaced by lush green pastures spotted here and there with cows and sheep. It wasn't long before he got bored of sightseeing, and he began to replay the morning's events over in his mind.

* * * * *

'Draco dear, whatever is taking you so long? Your father is expecting you in the library,' his mother, Narcissa Malfoy questioned, with a concerned look on her face.

'But I haven't yet finished packing, mother. Look at this mess, how do they expect me to pack my Hogwarts uniform, Quidditch gear, the Malfoy family robes AND my textbooks all in one trunk?' Draco whined.

'Leave the packing to the house elves dear, you know your father doesn't like to be kept waiting,' his mother replied.

'Honestly, and why can't I bring my Comet Two Sixty? I need to keep my Quidditch skills up to scratch if I want to make the house team next year. It's hardly appropriate for a Malfoy to practice his flying on one of the school brooms; all they've got are some old Shooting Stars! They're practically antique!' Draco sulked.

'I know Draco, I promise I'll talk to Severus Snape about it, and see if we can't arrange some special circumstances for you, alright dear?' his mother soothed.

Still sulking, Draco sullenly made his way downstairs to the library, knocking lightly on the door and waiting for his father's answer. He quickly sobered up once inside, knowing his father was about to lecture to him on some serious matters.

'There you are Draco, I trust you are packed and ready to leave?' his father inquired, walking through the numerous shelves of the library in search of something.

'Er, yes father. Mother's just upstairs with the house elves double-checking everything,' Draco replied.

'Very well,' Lucius Malfoy emerged from behind a dusty shelf in the corner. 'It's going to be quite a year for you Draco, a very, important year. The time has come, for you to make your presence as the Malfoy heir known to those in the wizarding world. I expect great things from you Draco, I've given you the finest of everything you've ever wanted, there should be no reason for you to disappoint me.'

'Yes father,' Draco replied automatically. Draco sighed inwardly; his father had relentlessly pursued this subject since the day Draco was born, but even more so (if that was possible) now that he had turned eleven.

'Remember, to get by in the wizarding world, it's important to have all the right connections. Use your charms as well as the Malfoy influence to enlist the help of the other pureblood families, your friends, Crabbe and Goyle, will come in handy too. I'm considering making a donation of Nimbus 2000 broomsticks to your house Quidditch team next year; that could certainly guarantee you the position of seeker. Of course, I'd need proof that you've been diligent in the tasks I've set you Draco.'

At this, Draco's eyes lit up; it was his dream to play seeker for his house Quidditch team, he had been looking forward to that day since the moment he had first rod on a broomstick.

'Yes father, I won't disappoint you,' Draco replied with a grin.

'You may go. Enjoy your time at Hogwarts, and make sure to write your mother every so often. You know how she worries about you,' Lucius dismissed him with a nod of his head.

* * * * *

As the train slowed down to a halt in front of a small, dark platform, Draco focused on the present.

"All right Draco, you've got people to impress and mudbloods to tread on," he told himself silently, two words in his mind - 'Slytherin Seeker'. He walked out of the compartment, joined by Crabbe and Goyle, and made his way down the aisle. He made sure to nod his head to the right people and sneer at the rest, as he joined the other First Years huddled in front of a towering Hagrid.

* * * * *

Dear Mother,

This week has been long and tedious. The only highlight of it was when I got sorted into Slytherin, not that it was much of a surprise to me. Crabbe and Goyle are in Slytherin too, and a couple of others: Pansy Parkinson, Millicent Bulstrode, and Blaise Zabini.

I've established relations with them as father instructed, although I find them boring and stupid. That Pansy girl keeps following me around batting her lashes at me - it's rather creepy. Crabbe and Goyle are as brainless as ever... Oh yes, do send more treacle fudge with your next letter, mother, it's the only thing that can shut them up for at least ten minutes. Millicent Bulstrode reminds me of a model Hagrid; I have this uncomfortable feeling whenever I'm around her that she's going to squash me accidentally.

The only half decent fellow I've met so far has been Blaise Zabini. He's actually got enough brains to conduct a somewhat-interesting conversation with me, though he does regard himself much too highly for my taste. Imagine him comparing his father to mine - I mean Malfoys are on a different level altogether.

I've been talking with the Slytherin Quidditch captain, Marcus Flint - he's quite impressed with my knowledge about Quidditch and says he'd love to see me fly. Have you talked to Professor Snape about my having a broomstick yet? I can't wait to show Flint some of my moves. He'd be an idiot not to put me on the team after seeing what I can do.

Please pass on my regards to father, and remember the treacle fudge.

Draco.

This fic has been inspired by a lot of the d/g fics i've read on fictionalley, so my thanks goes to them. Secondly, i'd like to thank my beta: Taigurl for all the hard work she's put into it. OK so i know there wasn't any d/g action this chapter, but! It IS coming! So please be patient, i promise you will not be disappointed! wink*wink ^-^