Trademark smirks and Temperamental redheads

Chapter Two - Meetings and Valentines (Second Year)

Hogwarts Express

Ginny Weasley was a very happy little girl, and for good reason too. Harry Potter had just spent the last month at the Burrow visiting her brother, Ron. That's right, she had been able to spend one whole month with the hero of the wizarding world, up close and personal.

On top of that, she would now be attending Hogwarts along with four of her older brothers. As the baby of a family with seven children, all her older brothers spoiled her. But it was also hard for her to see them go off to Hogwarts one by one, leaving her at home by herself for months on end.

It had been hardest for her when Charlie left for Romania to pursue his study of dragons. He had always been the one who tucked her in at night, and told her bedtime stories as they watched the stars shine in the night sky. The one who put money under her pillow when she lost her first tooth, and the one who had taught her how to fly a broomstick. Letting her play on his team in Quidditch when the others complained that she was too slow.

After Charlie left, she had only Ron to look up to. Although he worried constantly about living up to his brothers' image, he'd always tried to be a good brother to her. Knowing how much she missed Charlie, he'd even filled in as her coach, teaching her some Quidditch moves he'd seen Fred and George practicing in the yard. So that the next time they played Quidditch, even the twins marveled at her improvement.

Last year had been very lonely for Ginny, she had spent most of her days helping her mother with odd jobs around the house, and de-gnoming the garden once in a while. Thinking about Harry Potter and her brother had taken up much of her time, and her fascination with The Boy Who Lived had increased to a full-out obsession. So imagine her surprise when she walked downstairs to the kitchen one morning and found him sitting at the table smiling up at her.

She had turned an unhealthy shade of red and ran all the way back to her room. The chances of her doing embarrassing things like putting her elbows in her food when Harry was around was about eighty percent of the time.

Ginny looked up from her daydreaming to find Hermione standing at the doorway to her compartment with a frown on her face.

"Ginny, have you seen Harry and Ron anywhere? I've been looking for them all over the train. They did get on the train with you didn't they?" Hermione asked.

"I'm not sure really, I went through the barrier first with Mum and then I got caught up with Mum telling the twins off," Ginny replied worriedly.

"Well thanks anyway, Ginny. I think I'll take a look up ahead," Hermione turned to close the door.

"I'll come with you!" Ginny offered quickly. "it's kind of boring being here all by myself."

Hermione quickly nodded her head in agreement, and the two girls set off down the aisle to the next compartment.

~~~

"Excuse me, have you seen H-" the words died on Hermione's lips as she stepped into the compartment, met by the view of Malfoy and his goons in the middle of a game of exploding snap.

"What's wrong? Did Wonder Boy and his faithful sidekick get lost on their way to school? Finding it hard to board a train without instructions are they?" Malfoy asked with a smirk as Crabbe and Goyle snickered at his remark. "Speaking of sidekicks, got yourself one too did you? Another Weasley? One would think they were genetically related to rabbits, the way they sprout more offspring than they can afford." Malfoy drawled, looking over Hermione's shoulder at Ginny.

Ginny could feel herself turning red, and was thankful when a moment later, Hermione gave Malfoy a disgusted look and slammed the compartment door closed. Marching down the aisle, she suddenly realized that Ginny was not following behind her.

"Let's go Ginny," Hermione said over her shoulder. "Don't worry about Malfoy, he's just got a problem with proper etiquette. Can't stand the fact that everyone else has friends and he's stuck with two obtuse trolls."

Ginny nodded at Hermione and hurried to keep up with her. Somehow, Ginny thought Malfoy's problems ran deeper than just having no friends.

The Sorting Ceremony

Draco lazily raised his eyes to the front of the Great Hall, where the Sorting Ceremony was taking place.

"Weasley, Virginia!" Professor McGonagall called out in a stern voice.

Suddenly Draco came to life, on the inside that is, on the outside, nothing had changed in his demeanor, besides a slight twitch at the corner of his mouth. He watched with interest, as a small girl with a mop of wavy red hair stumbled to get onto the stool, fumbling to place the Sorting Hat atop her head.

After a few seconds pause, the word 'Gryffindor' was shouted loudly to the Hall, followed by clapping and cheers. The little girl hurried to joined her brothers at the Gryffindor table, where all the red haired boys clapped her on the back.

Draco allowed a slight smirk to emerge on his lips, after taking a sip of his pumpkin juice. The school term was a boring time for him. He had spent the greater part of his holidays with a private tutor, a top graduate from Durmstrang who specialized in the Dark Arts. His mother had painstakingly selected his tutor from a large range of candidates, all of whom had been eager to offer their services at the prospect of working for one of the most prominent wizarding families in Europe.

This was after his father went into a rage about his 'second-rate' school results and threatened to withdraw his donation to the Slytherin Quidditch team of seven brand new Nimbus 2001s. As a result he had now learnt most of the school curriculum, and much more about the Dark Arts than thought appropriate to teach at Hogwarts.

His only entertainment nowadays, was torturing the first years and humiliating the Mudbloods. His favorite, of course, being that damn Potter and his sidekicks, now this female Weasley would prove a valuable tool for his hobby. An encounter at Flourish and Blotts earlier that month, had proved quite informative. After seeing the disgusting look of adoration on her freckled face, it was easy to figure out a new form of attack. Things would get interesting soon enough.

Halloween Feast

Ginny looked around the Great Hall expectantly, waiting for Harry to arrive. As she was still short for her age, she had to stand on tiptoes and crane her neck as high as it would go. This wasn't a good idea, however, as a passing Hufflepuff boy walked into her, making her lose her balance. She fell against a hard chest where strong arms gripped her waist. She did not have time to calm her pounding heart, as a moment later, those arms had pushed her forward, and she landed none too gracefully on the hard floor of the Hall. People in the Great Hall stopped their chatting to stare at her, and a Gryffindor boy from her year, Colin Creevy, hurried over to her side, hastily helping her to stand up.

Ginny looked up to see the sneering face of Draco Malfoy, looking down at her in disgust.

"Don't go around falling into people and ruining their clothes Weasley. These robes are worth more than your whole wardrobe put together," Malfoy drawled as he walked over her and sat down at a nearby table.

"Are you ok? Don't worry about Malfoy Gin, he's just a jerk," said Colin Creevy trying to look brave, although his voice clearly faltered when he said this. She nodded, and together they walked away, Ginny could feel herself going red but couldn't stop herself. What a jerk! Ron had been right, that Malfoy was a total slimy git if there ever was one.

~~~

Later that night, Ginny sat in a corner looking quite disappointed. Harry hadn't shown up at all, and neither had Hermione and Ron for that matter. Clearly they were off on some secret adventure too important to let her in on it.

When would they finally trust her with their secrets, and when would Harry finally notice her? Ginny was so deeply engrossed in her self pitying, that she didn't notice the figure approaching her from across the hall, until he was about a metre away.

"Shouldn't you be hanging off the Trio's tails little Weasley? Or didn't they want you around?" Malfoy asked in mock sympathy.

"Sod off Malfoy," was all Ginny could get out in her rage.

"Oh come now Weasley, you should be grateful someone even noticed you enough to want to conduct a conversation with you," Malfoy said, while at the same time feigning a hurt expression.

Ginny rolled her eyes in disgust.

"I'm not in the mood Malfoy, now sod off and go bully some other first year. As you've noticed, I'm busy feeling sorry for myself, and I'd prefer to be left this way," Ginny finished, adverting her eyes from the angry frown on Malfoy's face.

When it was apparent he wasn't planning to leave, she got up and quickly strode to the entrance, hoping that Malfoy wouldn't follow.

Either Malfoy didn't read minds or he was purposely being difficult, as a moment later Ginny felt someone grab her arm, and rather violently throw her against the wall. The impact sent throbs of pain down her backside, and most definitely left some nasty bruises along her left arm.

"I don't like being ignored Weasley," Malfoy hissed in a low voice. "What is it with you and Harry Potter anyway? Fawning over him as if he were some god. He was just lucky that he survived the Dark Lord's curse, and now he's the hero of the wizarding world. The Great Harry Potter, our champion, the hero that saved us from the Dark Lord. If it weren't for that lightning scar on his head, he'd be nothing. Nothing!"

By this stage, Malfoyhad moved away from Ginny, pacing back and forth ranting to himself. All Ginny could do was cower on the floor, shocked at this sudden outburst of rage from the normally composed Slytherin.

Sure he had a few insults up his sleeve wherever he went, but never had Ginny seen him like this before. His eyes shining with hatred, his usually smooth hair now tousled and falling into his eyes after his chase with Ginny.

Ginny continued to study the enraged Slytherin, watching as he paced back and forth, until he finally settled in front of her, muttering something about Quidditch.

"I think you're a great Quidditch player," Ginny blurted out, then gasped and put a hand to her mouth when she realized what she had just said. It was true though, Ginny had seen the way Malfoy moved through the air on a broom, he was a natural, though not quite in the way Harry was.

Harry was born with the talent, while it was obvious that Malfoy had practiced long hours to get his tactics flawless. His every swerve and swing, every turn and roll was executed with perfect precision and familiarity, as if he practiced it in his sleep every night.

~~~

Draco was still staring at her, a questioning look on his face. He frowned. Had he heard right? Had the Weasley girl just complemented him, after he had pushed her into the wall, and ranted on like a lunatic in front of her?

"I have to get back," she whispered quietly, before raising herself up slowly and running away into the Great Hall.

Draco just stared at her retreating form until it disappeared out of sight. Then he stepped outside onto the Hogwarts grounds, making his way to a bright spot by the lake. Above him, the gnarled branches of an old oak stretched lazily towards the water. He looked up at the branch closest him, judging the distance, then made a jump for it, looping his left leg over it and hoisting himself up. Leaning his back on the trunk, he watched silently as the giant squid left ripples dancing away from the center of the lake.

"You'll catch cold if you don't come back inside," a soft voice spoke from below him, startling him from his trance. He looked down to see the face of Ginny Weasley staring back at him. "What's so interesting up there anyway?"

"You want to see?" Draco asked her, and proceeded to pull her up, so that she was sitting in front of him, holding onto his arm for support. He observed her quietly as she glanced around, her eyes sparkling.

"It's beautiful," she whispered softly focusing on the giant squid's tentacles stretching lazily above the water. They stayed that way for a long time, each content to sit there quietly looking out at the night.

"He doesn't care about you, you know?" Draco said suddenly, she looked at him, surprised at his statement.

"He does. I know it, even if right now he only treats me as a sister, but I know one day he'll notice me the way I want him to, I just need to be patient that's all," Weasley said to him with a small smile.

Draco sneered. "You read too many romance novels."

"Probably," Weasley said with a shrug. "but I have hope, Tom tells me it takes time for guys to notice these things."

"Who's Tom?" Draco asked curiously. Weasley looked up at him startled.

"Oh, uh, he's my uh, cat," Weasley said uncertainly.

"Cat? Didn't think you could afford a cat, judging from the state of your robes," Draco said carefully.

"Well I do. Anyway that's not the point, Harry does care about me, but he's just really busy that's all. I mean it's a big responsibility having to fight against You-Know-Who all by himself. He's really brave, even for a Gryffindor," Weasley sighed with a far away look in her eyes, completely missing his insult.

Draco snorted, she looked just like a lovesick puppy, and it was disgusting. What could she see in that four-eyed idiot anyway? Stupid scarhead.

He could feel himself losing his temper again, he jumped down from the tree branch and walked back into the castle, not bothering to say anything to the startled Weasley, left dangling on the branch.

Valentine's Day

For the first time in his life, Draco desperately wanted to roll his eyes in disgust, but as that action was beneath him, he sneered his disgust at everyone who cared to look.

That stupid Weasley, what type of idiot would send someone a valentine as ridiculous as that! 'His eyes are as green as a fresh pickled toad?' Draco was deeply disgusted, but with the valentine itself or with the fact that it had been for Potter, he wasn't sure.

Frustrated with himself, he quickly mouthed an insult at her as he saw her passing him in the corridor. When he saw her cover her face with her hands and run away, he settled into a smirk, feeling much better with himself.

There, he had proved it, she was a fool not worthy of his time, and so therefore he would not allow her to swim incessantly about his mind. He successfully locked up all thoughts of her, and proceeded to laugh till his eyes watered, as an embarrassed Potter tried unsuccessfully, to pack up his things and hurry off to class.

~~~

At the same time, on the other side of the school grounds, a petite redhead was sobbing her heart out, recalling the embarrassing scene she had endured earlier. Why did she have to go and send that stupid singing valentine? It was the most embarrassing day of her life, and Malfoy had to be there to witness the whole scene.

'I hate him! Damn that smug Malfoy, always thinking he's better than me. Why does he always make me feel so small and silly? Why do I have to care what he thinks of me? He's nothing to me. Nothing,' Ginny assured herself, as she wiped away her tears and headed to class.