Serpent's Bride

Serpent’s Bride

Chapter V: The History Discussion

Chapter V: The History Discussion

Ginny sat casually on top of her desk that afternoon and scanned the room before opening her mouth to speak. "And so with that important fact, who can tell me something about the wizard persecution back in the 1400’s and the 1600’s?" she asked her class. Although she knew that this discussion was very much against the rules of ‘Muggle’ history teaching (since Muggle history was based on facts and wizardry was an unproven thing for Muggles), she just couldn’t resist knowing what Muggles thought about it. Ginny then nodded her head as a hand raised in the air. "Yes, Ms. Watson?" she said acknowledging her student.

"I completely disagree with it, with all due respect professor," her student answered cordially.

Ginny’s brows crinkled as she stood up from her desk and walked towards the window. She turned around and faced the class once again. "And why is that?" she asked.

The brown-haired woman shrugged. "Well, the thing is, based on our study, I found that wizard persecution was an inhumane way… well, that is, to treat a human being. Whether witchcraft or wizardry is a proven fact or not, I don’t see any importance in it. Nobody deserves to be accused or treated that way," she replied. Ginny raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow as murmurs of agreements erupted inside the classroom.

"But then, you very well know that if wizardry is true, it would be dangerous for mug— I mean, non-wizards, right?" she pressed.

"Well, even if it is true I wouldn’t blame the wizards for putting hexes and curses. Being mistreated will surely make them do it," her student answered shrugging.

"Okay, I get your point," said Ginny while nodding. Her student gave a satisfied smile and waited for her next statement. "But let me put it this way. What if I tell you that a witch purposely hexed a non-wizard just because she didn’t like his face?" she asked challengingly. "You still think it’s humane? What if that witch, if you were living back in the past, changed you into a toad because she didn’t like your face? Or because she was bored and had nothing better to do? Wouldn’t you join the wizard persecution movement then considering that you yourself was a victim?"

"I don’t believe such a person would do that just for the fun and amusement of it," the girl replied hastily. At that, Ginny smiled.

"Then I think congratulations are in order, Ms. Watson," she said professionally. "You are now the certified president for the humanitarian crusader for humans and witches alike," she added. With that, the class laughed. Ginny chuckled. "But then, it was really good to see that one of my students has a thing for equality in rights and such. That was a very good statement, Ms. Watson," she added.

"Thank you," her student said amiably.

Ginny nodded her head and purposely walked back to her table. She then sat again on top of her desk and rested her right elbow on top of her right knee. "Any other opinions? How about the men?" she asked her class, her eyes scanning the multi-colored heads before her again. "How about you, Mr. Rochester? What can you say about this?" she asked the dark-haired man with tanned skin.

Her student slowly shook his head. "I really don’t know, Professor," he started to say. "It’s really hard to give out concrete answers without concrete facts," he stated.

Ginny found herself chuckling mentally. "If you only knew," she thought. "If you only knew that the person sitting before you is a witch..."

"I second that opinion," another student with blond hair quipped. "This is history and facts should be dealt here, don’t you think?" she continued quite snottily as if indirectly saying that the ongoing discussion’s nothing but loads of rubbish. And then the class went silent, each having their own thoughts. Some murmured ‘yes’ while most stared at her, waiting for her to say something.

Ginny nevertheless smiled. She was about to answer when a very familiar voice suddenly rang inside the stillness of the classroom.

"I beg to disagree, if you don’t mind."

Ginny looked up and instantly her brown eyes widened with shock. Draco, upon meeting her eyes, raised his eyebrows and nodded his head, a tiny smile lighting up his well-chiseled face. He stepped inside the classroom, closing the door gently behind him. Immediately, whispers and murmurs of confusion filled the room. All eyes then turned to her, waiting for her to say something.

"What is he doing here?" Ginny mentally hissed. She stared at him unbelievingly as he strode inside her classroom like he truly belonged there. Her eyes followed his tall, elegant frame as he purposely walked towards the blond woman. But then… her brown eyes softened. Was this the same Draco Malfoy she met twelve years ago? She found herself asking wonderingly.

Unwillingly, she found her eyes feasting over his face. She couldn’t help but notice the amused smile lighting up his gray eyes, making them twinkle, changing its lonely gray color to a sparkling silver. Her eyes then went to his perfectly shaped nose then to his lips, those lips that were always set in an arrogant smirk. For the first time, Ginny noticed the perfect contour of his face, his strong chin, and his fine, blond hair that was always brushed up neatly, tucked behind his ears... She even wondered how it would feel against her fingertips. And the way he moved or walked—it was so very, very… smooth and suave and drop-dead sexy. There was an air of arrogant confidence about him. All in all, Ginny thought about the rat-faced pale boy she had seen twelve or eleven years ago and she could really say that that rat-faced pale boy really grew up to be a good-looking man, a handsome man, just like the ugly duckling who turned into a very beautiful swan in some Muggle fairy tale book her dad once read to her. Realizations struck her. She would be marrying one of the best-looking guys in the wizarding world! Now that was really… something.

"Stop it! What is happening to you? This is Draco Malfoy we’re talking about! Are you out of your mind?"

her brain screamed. And with that, Ginny forced some common sense inside her head and frowned with much disapproval. But all that common sense crap ended when she saw the predatory look of her female students, all eyeing Draco with appreciation.

"Wow! What a hottie!" Ginny even heard one of her students gasped.

"Who’s the guy?" one brunette asked.

"Does Ms. Weasley know him?"

"I don’t care as long as he’s not ‘personally’ involved with her," a woman with short black hair answered back, her eyes not leaving Draco. Draco’s face lit up with subtle pleasure and amusement upon hearing the ‘appreciative’ whispers about him. He looked at Ginny, who was currently staring at him, lost in her thoughts, and winked.

"You won’t mind I’m sure, Virginia? Draco asked and without waiting for her answer, he smiled charmingly and made his way towards the blond woman. The woman, upon seeing his handsome form before her, smiled and giggled coquettishly.

"I understand that you are taking up history here, am I right um--- " Draco started, looking at her expectantly. The women raked her blue eyes first over his face, then to his black Armani suit then back to his face again. Draco didn’t miss the look of raw ‘hunger’ in them. "Welsh. Melissa Welsh," the woman replied finally, batting an eyelash. Ginny tried her best to keep a straight face upon hearing the woman’s syrupy voice.

Draco nodded as a sigh of acknowledgement. "Ms. Welsh it is, then. Pleasure to meet you," he said gallantly. Ginny’s jaw dropped when Draco proceeded to take her student’s hand and kiss it lightly. The woman gave an audible gasp of surprise and pleasure.

"Likewise I’m sure," replied Melissa in a low, raspy kind of voice. Draco in turn, found himself ignoring the sexy drawl that came out her lips, much to his surprise.

"But you will excuse me if I beg to disagree, won’t you?" he asked pleasantly finally letting of her hand.

The woman, her eyes wide as saucers, started nodding her head earnestly. "By all means yes. Yes, of course," she replied breathlessly.

Ginny immediately stood up from her desk and walked towards him, forcing out a smile. "Malfoy," she greeted taking his arm with forced cheerfulness. "What a pleasant surprise," she said her brown eyes smiling but flashing with annoyance at the same time. "What are you doing here?" she then demanded through gritted teeth, determined to end this ‘nonsense’ right now.

But before Draco could reply, Melissa Welsh spoke. "Why do you disagree?" she asked wonderingly.

Ginny shook her head and turned to her student, her eyes turning cold. "Mr. Malfoy is not a part of our class, Ms. Welsh," she said authoritatively, her nerves coiling together. Then turning to Draco, she hissed. "Wait for me in the faculty lounge."

"But he seems like a very ‘interesting’ fellow," said Melissa stubbornly. Then she looked behind her. "I think the whole class would not object to hearing out what he has to say?" she asked, her perfectly arched eyebrows raised in question. When all the female students nodded in agreement, voicing out an audible ‘yes’ and ‘right’ and all the men shaking their heads and rolling their eyes with a hint of unhidden interest in them, she turned to Ginny once again and smiled. "And besides, I think that his opinion in this matter is for educational purposes." With that, Draco turned to Melissa and raised one eyebrow questioningly. Melissa, in turn, smiled and winked. Turning back to Ginny, Draco gave her a winning smile. Ginny just scowled, defeated. Finally she nodded her head and turned her whole attention to her class.

"If the whole class wishes to hear Mr. Malfoy out, though I couldn’t see what difference and importance this would make in the subject discussion," she paused and glowered at him. Draco just gave her an innocent smile, saying nothing, "then by all means, let us hear him out," she continued through gritted teeth. Looking at Draco, she forced out a smile. "Mr. Malfoy?" she asked professionally, signaling for him to start.

"Does he have a first name?" one light voice asked. Ginny fought for control. Draco pursed his lips, trying hard not to laugh. He couldn’t help but notice that Virginia looked quite pretty when irritated.

"Yes," she answered with forced patience. "His name is Draco Malfoy."

"Draco Edward Malfoy," Draco supplied. He smiled charmingly at the girl who looked away bashfully. At that moment, Draco knew he had made another conquest. Ginny shook her head with obvious irritation, muttering an audible ‘whatever’ and made her way back towards her desk.

Draco cleared his throat and faced the whole class. "Right, then," he began. He momentarily scanned the group before speaking. "When I said ‘I beg to disagree’ I didn’t actually mean that wizardry is entirely true," he paused, studying the heads bobbing up and down before him.

"This is stupid," thought Ginny with disgust upon seeing the rapt attention her female students gave Draco.

"But then, I’m also not saying that wizardry is entirely false," he continued, walking towards the black board. "Now you may wonder what my stand on this, but I can only say that this witch thing sprang up because of undeniable statements which some people in the past claimed to be true and some people in the past claimed to be false," he said.

"So, you’re saying that it could be true and it could be false?" one guy with red hair asked pompously.

Draco nodded in agreement, frowning. Strangely, he remembered Ron Weasley with this boy. "Pretty much, yes," he said. "Haven’t you wondered why we study Greek mythology even though we all know that everything about those gods and goddesses are a myth?" he asked. When the class shook their heads, Draco cleared his throat and nodded. "Well, aside from the fact that it has a very splendid story of how things began, it was actually part of Greece’s culture and people study Greek culture because they want to trace back the roots of their being. Surely, we can’t deny the fact the Greece was one of the pioneers when it comes to study of the important sciences, am I correct? And that study of sciences, according to the ancient people of Greece, wouldn’t have been possible without those gods and goddesses. Now, studying them today gives us an insight of how people were before. Other than the proven fact that that they were completely bonkers at that time, " he paused as giggles and chuckles rang inside the classroom.

"This is so unbelievable!" Ginny thought. How the hell did he know about Greek mythology and Muggle studies? she asked herself with astonishment. And the fact that he was charming the whole class--!

"Well, everything was really just for the sake of worthwhile study or research. Why? Because people found written scriptures and documents about those gods and goddesses. Whether those gods and goddesses really did exist, mind you that it was said that Zeus, the almighty god of all mortal and immortals, was banished when God came, it really didn’t matter to people who found the subject worth studying," he continued as he walked back and forth in front of the whole class, just like a true professor. "Just like our subject discussion now, wizardry, whether true or false, have become a part of our country’s culture. Some claimed it was true, others claimed it was false but to the researcher, well, he doesn’t care," Draco stopped and took a deep breath. "As long as there is written documents stating the truth or the falsity of this matter, people still study about them, right. Why? Because as I’ve said, it’s a part of our culture and the study of culture is a part of history and from what I understand, you are all studying--" he paused and smiled. "History," and with that last statement, murmurs of agreement erupted inside the classroom.

Ginny’s jaw dropped with mixed amazement and annoyance. The man was able to spin a good argument by logically asking and answering the whole class! What the class didn’t know was that Draco, by stating some mythological rubbish and facts, was able to trap them by saying that truth and falsity don’t matter. He was able to point out that the subject was worth discussing because it was a part of Europe’s culture and undeniably, the study of history included the study of culture and not because of whether it was true or false. Although she hated to admit it, Draco really did well.

"But if we say wizardry, it involves magic, right?" the girl named Melissa interjected after a moment’s pause. Ginny turned to Draco expectantly, smiling inwardly.

"Let’s see you pull yourself out of this, Malfoy," she thought. She just knew what Muggles thought about magic.

Draco nodded. "Well, yes it does," he answered casually.

"But—" Melissa began frowning. "There’s no such thing as magic, right?" she continued. "Magic tricks maybe, but magic?"

At that, Draco smiled and walked towards her. "Oh really now?" he asked smoothly. Warning bells immediately rang inside Ginny’s head upon seeing the predatory smile that grazed Draco’s feature. She immediately stood up.

"Draco?" she called. But Draco ignored her as he advanced towards Melissa, his eyes glistening. "Draco, you—"

"Magic is just for children, am I right? Only children believe that magic does exist," prompted Melissa. At that moment, Ginny wished that Melissa would just shut her mouth. "You have no idea on what you’re up against," she thought hurrying towards him.

"So you don’t believe in magic, eh Ms. Welsh?" Draco said now fully standing before her. When the girl shook her head, Draco held his hands before her face, his eyes narrowing. The whole class waited in earnest as if stupidly expecting that Draco ‘could’ really do magic. The faces before Ginny told her that her students were actually waiting to see if Draco would turn Melissa into a toad or something.

"Draco, what do you think you’re—" she began with alarm, seeing the determined look on his face. Then to her horror, Draco’s right hand went to the girl’s ear.

"If magic is just for children," began Draco staring at the confused face of the girl before her. Clearly, the girl had no idea on what was bound to happen. Ginny was about to go back to her desk for her wand to counteract whatever Draco had in store for her when she heard Draco say ‘Then what’s that behind your ear?’ then a giggle and then an applause and laughter. Ginny turned around only to see Draco handing Melissa a single white rose and Melissa giggling and blushing at the same time. It was without a doubt that Draco had won her students over! That did it! Ginny’s temper snapped.

"What do you think you’re doing?" she demanded crossly. With that sudden outburst, the class immediately fell silent. Ginny’s eyes narrowed angrily, not even caring what her students would think. Just then Draco smiled. "She now believes in magic, Gin," he answered. Then before she knew it, Draco strode towards her and held her by the waist. "You aren’t jealous, are you Virginia?" he drawled.

"What are you talking about?" Ginny asked nervously while squirming from his grasp. "You will stop this nonsense right now and you will let go of me," she added softly with forced calmness. Draco just chuckled and turned to the whole class who were watching them as if they were a bunch of weird bunny rabbits in a zoo.

"I would like to make a happy announcement," he began, not letting go of her. Ginny forced a smile while standing rigid beside him. "Just as everybody should know, I and your professor, Virginia, are engaged to be married any time now. I just thought I’d dropped by to see how my fiancé’s doing," he added. And with that, to Ginny’s surprise, the class applauded and hooted while some gasped with disbelief with Melissa Welsh having the loudest gasp of all, a very repulsive gasp with her mouth hanging wide open. Draco smiled and turned his back to the class. Ginny faced him angrily. "You will leave this classroom now and we shall discuss—"

"Orchideous Rosarios"

Instantly, a single red rose stemmed out of Draco’s wand tip. It was so fast that she didn’t even notice that he took his wand out. He then hastily shoved his wand back into his jacket pocket and smiled at Ginny who was looking at him, stunned. He turned to the class and showed them the rose. To Ginny’s surprise, he offered it to her.

"For you," he whispered. The class roared with approval. It was without a doubt that the class thought it cute. "Happy now?"

Ginny looked at the awaiting expression of the whole class before her. Seeing that she had no other choice, she reluctantly held her hand and took the rose. "Thank you," she said. Then taking him by the arm and pulling him with her she said. "Now, will you please wait in the faculty lounge and —" They were already by the door when suddenly the bell rang, signaling the end of the class. As if on cue, the students stood up, all ready to leave. Ginny stopped and looked at her departing students stupidly.

"That was a very good argument, Mr. Malfoy," one of the men said while walking towards the door.

"I can’t believe he’s engaged," Melissa Welsh couldn’t help saying. She looked darkly at Ginny and haughtily made her way outside the classroom.

"Where the hell did he get the rose?" one guy asked.

Ginny blinked as she felt the rustling of people leaving around her. She then focused her attention back to her departing class.

"Don’t forget," she called out. "Essay about the fifteen most decisive battles that changed the course of history. That’s for tomorrow."

Groans of displeasure and complaints followed the announcement as her class drifted away one by one till there was only the two of them left. Once alone, Ginny turned to Draco and angrily slapped him with the rose. "Who do you think you are, bursting inside my classroom like that?" she demanded crossly.

"You very well know that that rose is going to cost me a warning and a fine in the Ministry, right?" Draco asked smoothly as he held the rose out to her. "The least you could do is to appreciate it," he added.

"Well, I don’t care!" Ginny snapped. "You deserve it! You knew that it was against the rules to do magic here!" she added spitefully.

Draco smiled upon seeing the fury written across her face. "Do you know that you suddenly remind me of Professor McGonagall?" he asked delicately instead. "A much prettier Professor McGonagall, that is," he added smoothly.

Ginny fell silent at this, an unwilling blush creeping up to her face. "This man is so unbelievable!" she silently screamed.

Draco chuckled. Indeed, now he was beginning to enjoy annoying her! She would be angry and cross at one moment, then shy and tongue-tied the next. What an interesting woman this Weasley was.

Ginny, upon hearing his amused laugh, frowned angrily. "What are you doing here anyway?" she asked again. She walked briskly back to her desk. Her back to him, she hastily gathered her books and arranged her table, muttering out her displeasure again and again. Finally emptying her desk with her things, her papers stacked neatly in one corner, she turned around only to find Draco just inches away from her, staring at her, the look of amusement completely replaced with the same intensity he showed her the night he proposed. She swallowed hard upon feeling the heat rushing up to her cheeks, spreading down her body like wildfire. She stared at him, her eyes reluctantly locking with his. Good god! Why does she feel like liquid fire every time Draco looks at her like this?

"Tell me," Draco began, his voice soft, almost caressingly. Ginny closed her eyes momentarily upon feeling the same usual fervent atmosphere every time their eyes met. "When did it become a crime to visit my fiancé?" he added advancing towards her, closing the space between them.

"You— disrupted," Ginny began, her breathing becoming fast. "my class," she finally said.

"Really?" he drawled softly, his eyes not leaving hers. He placed his hands on her desk, trapping her whole frame between them. He leaned closer. "But you can’t deny the fact that it was a good and ‘educational’ disruption, right?" he asked.

Ginny looked at him. "I— I don’t think that—"

"Tell me, Virginia," Draco interrupted as he stared at her lazily. "Did you miss me?"

"Don’t," Ginny paused and swallowed hard. She totally hated it whenever Draco looked at her and said her name that way, "flatter yourself, Malfoy," she said breathlessly.

"So it’s Malfoy, already?" he asked. "You’re not a good liar, do you know that?" Draco moved his face closer to hers. Ginny found herself not thinking anymore as she closed her eyes and waited for his lips to touch her own. She leaned her face closer to his when suddenly she heard him chuckling softly.

"I’m hungry. Won’t you like to have a late lunch with me?"

Ginny’s eyes snapped open only to see Draco walking away from her. Her mouth dropped as a mixture of annoyance, disappointment, disbelief and anger crashed at her simultaneously as she stood there, not moving. "That asshole!" her body screamed.

"Coming?" Draco asked, turning around upon feeling her not beside him. He raised his eyebrows at her, hiding his amusement.

"You—you are so—" Ginny began.

"What?" he asked. Ginny just shook her head and went for her things instead. Draco walked back to her. He was about to take her books from her when Ginny yanked her arm away from his.

"I can do this, thank you," she said stiffly, her face feeling hot. She walked briskly past him, making her way towards the door. Draco suppressed a laugh as he hastily followed her. With his tall frame, it only took him a couple of strides to reach the door before her.

"After you," he said, opening the door for her and gesturing for her to go first. Ginny looked daggers at him but nevertheless she stepped out without turning back.

Draco closed the door behind him and looked at her departing figure. "Right, then," he said silently as he wordlessly followed her, no doubt on her way to the faculty lounge.

==========

"I’ve already written a letter to my grandfather, as a matter of fact," Draco began as he delicately cut his steak to bits and pieces. "Of course, he wants to see you but he agreed that it would be more proper if I saw your family first." He paused as he took a bite of his succulent steak.

Ginny sat there, not saying anything. Even with the nice and romantic (since the light was dim and there were candles on the tables emanating a romantic yellowish hue) ambiance of this Italian restaurant, Ginny felt her insides burning with rage upon seeing the calm and neutral look on Draco’s face.

"Stupid git!" she found herself thinking as she remembered the kiss they nearly had earlier. She took her wineglass and drowned its contents. He was deliberately teasing her. And to her horror, she realized that yes, she had WANTED for him to kiss her! And the fact that Draco seemed unaffected by it! He even found it amusing! With that thought, Ginny filled her glass again and drank quickly.

Draco, upon seeing this, raised his eyebrow. "It would go better with the steak, I assure you," he said.

"No, I’m not hungry," replied Ginny civilly, staring at the plate before her. Just thinking about her behavior a while ago was enough to make her lose her appetite.

"Suit yourself," he said, his eyes going back to his food. "But you don’t know what you’re missing."

Ginny looked at him crossly. "Since when does Draco Malfoy find Muggle food good?" she asked viciously.

Draco looked up. "Well, we used to have Muggle prepared steak back in the manor," he replied smoothly. He paused and took a sip of his wine. "Muggle food and wizard food, there’s no difference really. Some taste good, some taste horrible."

"This is insane," muttered Ginny, shaking her head.

"Depends on what you mean by it," he answered back. "I hardly find having this late lunch with you insane."

"Oh, because you’re used to having dates that are annoyed and cross sitting across from you while watching you wolf down your food?" she asked nastily.

Draco looked at her and smiled. "Whatever you say," he replied turning back to his food.

With that, Ginny frowned with disbelief, her mouth half-opened. "You are so—despicable," she said shaking her head. Draco just shrugged.

They continued the meal in silence with Draco finishing his steak and Ginny drinking her wine and poking her food with her fork listlessly. After a moment, Draco wiped his mouth delicately with the table napkin, asked and paid for the bill and stood up. Ginny was about to stand up realizing that he had already finished his meal but Draco was fast. He immediately stood behind her and assisted her up from her seat.

"Don’t do that," snapped Ginny.

"Why?" he asked deliberately. "It is customary for a man to assist the lady when leaving," he added as if she were stupid.... again. Ginny hated it when he did that.

"Well, it’s not you," said Ginny spitefully as she made her way towards the restaurant’s glass door. "Stop pretending and be the same miserable git I used to know," she added nastily.

Draco chuckled without humor and held her coat before her. "Oh, I still am, believe me," he drawled. Ginny stared at him coldly though she saw no other choice but to let him drape her coat on her. "You never knew but I was raised to respect the ladies, you know."

"Oh really?" said Ginny, sarcasm dripping from her words. "Then what do you call that skirt-lifting shit you did to me back then?" she asked stepping out the restaurant with Draco following her.

Draco raised his eyebrows. He casually slid his hands inside his pockets and walked beside her. "Well, come to think of it," he began thoughtfully. Then he grinned. "Crabbe did that and not me," he answered finally. "You have great legs, by the way," he added nonchalantly as they crossed the street.

"I don’t believe you!" Ginny said but in reality she felt like screaming and hitting him hard on his groin.

"Oh, I know when I see great legs, Weasley. So believe me when I say ‘you have great legs’."

"Not that, you idiot!" she hissed.

Draco stopped and looked at her innocently. "What then?" he asked.

Ginny was about to say something nasty when she decided just to shake her head tiredly. "You’re deliberately annoying me, aren’t you?" she asked.

"What makes you say that?" Draco asked frowning. "I just gave you a compliment, right?" Oh he just loved annoying her!

"Oh, don’t act like I was lucky you gave me a compliment!" said Ginny tiredly as Draco let her go first through the revolving doors of her flat’s building. She crossly made her way up to her flat.

"I give compliments all the time," he replied. "To those who deserve them, that is," he added as they reached her door.

Ginny stopped and turned to him. "Go away," she sighed tiredly. "This has been the craziest and not to mention, the most annoying day of my life. So would you just please spare me the—"

"Do you really want me to?" he drawled moving closer to her again.

But instead of taking a deep, heated breath, Ginny stepped away from him. "Oh no you don’t!" she began. "You’re not doing that again and—"

Draco smiled lazily, pulled her to him and quickly shushed her by placing his lips on hers. At first, Ginny’s eyes widened with surprise. She opened her mouth to muffle out her displeasure but Draco took the opportunity to slide his tongue inside her mouth, coaxing her to respond.

Upon feeling the sensuous movement of his lips against hers, Ginny reluctantly found herself closing her eyes, her hands trailing to his neck, then to his hair, kneading his fine silver strands. She gasped when she felt his strong hands moving down to her waist only to pull her closer to him, so close that she felt his quickening arousal throbbing against her. Instantly, fear and excitement rushed inside her. Without thinking, she placed her hands against his shirt and began yanking it, her fingers clumsily unbuttoning them.

When Draco felt the heated movement of her hands and the sensual flick of her tongue against his, he groaned and was about to place his hands on her breasts when danger signals suddenly began to ring inside his head. He reluctantly pulled himself away from her, breathing hard. He smiled and looked at her lazily, desperately trying to hide the hot aching need his body was screaming for.

"Not in here, Virginia," he drawled.

"Wha—," Ginny gasped out. She couldn’t help but frown with displeasure and disappointment. Draco gently pried her hands away from his shirt. Ginny felt her knees weakening as she reluctantly slumped her body against his, her head on his shoulders.

"Soon, Weasley, soon," he said, his voice rich with promise.

Ginny took a deep calming breath and frowned. "I hate you," she whispered. "Don’t you ever, ever do that again or I’ll kill you."

But Draco only smiled, knowing that she hadn’t meant it. He gently steadied her and took his wand out. "Isn’t that what you wanted?" he asked. When Ginny fell silent, he stepped back. "I’ll see you tomorrow." And with that, he disapparated, leaving Ginny alone in the empty hall.

End of Part V

(End of Chapter)