Matters of Blood and Connection

Chapter 11: Don't Fake This

When Madam Pomfrey healed Ginny's arm, and said it was all right for her to leave the infirmary, the first thing she did was search for Draco. It didn't take her long to find him, sitting outside on one of the steps leading from the castle to the grounds. When she brushed his arm, he lifted his head and touched her hand to pull her down next to him.

"How are you?" he asked as he slipped an arm around her waist.

Ginny wiggled her arm in front of him. "How do you think I feel?"

He smiled thinly and looked around. "Do you see Potter anywhere?"

Ginny was startled by his question. She glanced at him and shook her head. "What does that have to do with anything?"

"He'd just love this whole thing, to know I was nearly killed, that even my own mates can't stand me. Really, Potter would take this to the Daily Prophet if he could."

The redhead gave him a glare.

"All right," he said, sighing. "Actually, I was hoping you'd come and find me. I wanted to ask you something."

Whatever anger she felt towards him melted as he looked at her. His hands were on her waist, and his eyes focusing very much on her. She swallowed, not understanding why she was suddenly nervous.

He brushed his tongue across her lower lip. "You know I care about you very much, right?"

Her heart thumped in her chest and she pulled away.

"Look," she said nastily, "if you're mad at me because I'm friends with Harry, then be mad, but don't let that influence your decision to break up with me."

Suddenly, she didn't know which was worse - having him look at her the way he was, the air around them as it tightened, or the feeling of humiliation being dropped right on her head. She silently picked all three and shut her eyes.

"Break up with you?" he asked softly. "Why would you think I would do that?"

Ginny opened her eyes and blinked at him, feeling her cheeks going red.

"I just thought-"

He gave her a stern look that caused her to squirm, and then touched her cheek and moved closer, his eyes were hesitant as he gazed at her. He brushed his lips against hers quickly and watched as several expressions flood across her face at once before he spoke again, his voice calmer than his mind wanted it to be.

"Didn't you always say you wanted to see Malfoy Manor?"

Ginny's eyes fluttered and she nodded slowly. He smiled at her and she wanted to tell him how stupid she had been to jump to that conclusion. Of course, he had said he wanted to ask her something, but how could she have thought he wanted to break up when things were going so well?

"Yes," she said quietly. She turned to catch his eye. "What's going on, Draco?"

She watched as his cheeks went pink and he turned to her, smiling softly. "You know that day when you were in my dorm and you got to snooping around? Remember the paper that you found about the ball? Would you like to accompany me? I'd look pretty ridiculous going to my parents' house without a girl on my arm."

Ginny thought about this for a moment. "Are you serious? Draco, your father would tear me apart, my family, too. He would get so mad at you for bringing me."

"Well, if you don't want to come you could have just told me," sneered Draco suddenly. "You didn't have to make my father out to be some kind of psycho, Ginny."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something, but nothing came out. That was just great. When she never needed to say anything, something always came out, and now, when she needed her voice, it had run away and betrayed her. She looked at him, hoping he would understand that she didn't mean what she said, that he was taking it the wrong way.

When he stood up without looking at her, Ginny's heart thumped loudly in her chest, her eyes widened as she stared up at him. He wasn't even acknowledging her, only staring out at the lake, his expression masked with his usual sneer. She closed her eyes and heard his footsteps leaving her, and when she opened them again, she saw that he was standing on the grass, glancing back at her.

He had his hand out and a smile on his lips. "Come with me, love," he said softly.

Ginny bit her lip, uncertainty flooding through her body as she stared at him, and took a breath before grabbing his hand. She held it tightly as he lead her closer to the lake, and she noticed, closer to the three people standing there. They had their backs to her and were talking quietly amongst themselves.

One of them happened to turn and look back at the castle and Ginny stepped behind Draco, who looked at her and chuckled softly, saying, "It's all right."

"What do you want, Malfoy?" one of the three said.

A smirk fell across Draco's lips as he tugged something out from behind his back.

The redhead poked her head out and her eyes widened as the boy stepped forward, looking stunned.

"Ginny, what are you doing?" Harry asked.

"I-" she started.

"Well, this is a surprise. Are you showing him off to your friends, Weasley?" said a familiar voice.

Theodore Nott was walking down the grass toward them, a roll of parchment in one hand, and a quill in the other. He stopped and looked around, his eyes flashing when they caught sight of Ginny practically cowering behind that git.

Harry, Ron and Hermione stared at him.

"Ah," Nott mused, with a smirk on his lips. "You didn't know your precious sister was dating the enemy?" he said to Ron. Nott's eyes fell on Harry. "I bet she thought about him when you two made love. What do you think, Potter?"

He touched her Ginny's shoulder and she jerked away.

"Why aren't you expelled?" Draco asked harshly as he turned around, grabbing Ginny's hand as he did so and easing her from Nott slowly. He didn't want her to get hurt again.

Nott smiled. "Dumbledore isn't expelling anyone today. He has too much to do."

"That's ridiculous," Ginny said angrily. "He knows what happened."

Nott sneered and grabbed Ginny, pulling her against him, his mouth seeking her ear. "He doesn't know about what happened in the hallway, and without the full story, he never will. As far as he's concerned, no seventeen-year-old wizard would ever be able to cast a type of barrier that I did."

Ginny's eyes widened as he let her go. "A barrier?"

Draco shook his head. "He used a barrier to try and kill me, and Pansy was in on it, and I don't know what he did to make her that way." He had stepped forward and took hold of Nott's collar, pulling him, so that he stumbled. "But now there's no one to save you, and you're going to get what you deserve."

"Wait a minute," Hermione interrupted. "What's going on that we're missing?"

Ginny turned to her and started to explain everything that had happened in the past few weeks. When she was done, she took a breath and looked around anxiously, hoping someone would tell her that it was all right to feel this way, that no one was going to hate her for her kissing Draco, but nothing came.

She wondered what was going to happen now.