Pride

Chapter 3 - Tear

Draco's eyes narrowed at Ginny as his lips steadily began to curl in response to the worried expression she wore.

"What are you looking at?" he spat.

Draco lifted himself from the floor, leaving a bloody trail from his nose to drip onto the ground. He coughed and stood rigidly as his hands twitched at his side, determined to snap Theodore Nott's scrawny little neck in two.

Ginny stood very still with her eyes on Theo. He did nothing but smirk at her.

"I don't understand," she whispered.

"Why are you even here?" Draco snarled, pinching the bridge of his nose lightly.

Ginny let out a long, protracted sigh. "This is a library, you know! I heard people shouting and wanted to know who it was. Now is someone going to tell me what's happened, or do I have to get the Headmaster?" She smiled thinly, challenging them both.

"I don't think you want to do that, Weasley." Draco frowned, scratching the back of his head. "Then I'd be forced to tell how your boyfriend viciously attacked me and-"

"Just because your father's a Death Eater, it doesn't mean you can intimidate Professor Dumbledore!" the redhead shouted, her eyes blazing malevolently.

Draco's smile was heinous. "You seem so sure of that."

The look she saw in his cold, grey eyes made her shiver so that she was forced to pull her robes tighter about her.

Draco walked towards the other boy, his eyes glinting maliciously. "You do not touch me again - understood?"

"How are you going to explain the bruises?" Theodore asked with a smug smile of satisfaction on his lips.

"I fell," Draco retorted facetiously and in an off-handed tone.

"And me?" Theo prompted.

Ginny took Theo's hand and watched as Draco scowled at her.

"You hardly have any marks on you," she whispered.

---

Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley sat side by side a half an hour later. His jaw still throbbed slightly, and the dried blood had him constantly running the back of his hand along the bottom of his nose. Several students had to walk past him in order to get to Professor's Snape's desk, each staring at him as they lined up. More often than not, a few had stumbled straight into the person ahead of them because they were paying more attention to a battered seventh year than they were to the vial that they held in their hand.

She, on the other hand, had taken it upon herself to work vigorously on her Potions assignment, not bothering to exchange awkward glances with anyone.

"Gin, are you alright?" Harry muttered, leaning over, glaring at the Slytherin beside her.

Ginny pursed her lips together, her amber eyes hardening. "Why do you care, Harry? You've already made your feelings clear that I'm not in my right mind, haven't you?"

Draco looked over with a hint of interest and a small smirk played on his pale, pointed face. "What's this ― a quarrel with the Boy Wonder?" he mused softly, catching her off guard.

"Shut it, prat!" Ginny hissed.

Before Harry could even begin to cut in, Professor Snape swooped down upon the three. His black eyes were dancing with unpleasantness.

"Just because you're deemed a celebrity, Mister Potter, it does not mean that you can socialise in the middle of my class!" He glanced over at Ginny, sneering. "What are you looking at, Miss Weasley? Get back to work!" he snapped at her, satisfied to see the tips of her ears turn pink with embarrassment.

"This is turning out to be quite an interesting day," Draco remarked, leaning back in his chair.

Ginny glared and him and continued to work in silence. Being stuck in a class with him was hard enough, but having to work so closely with him was pure torture.

"What?" he asked innocently as he glanced at her. "It's not my fault we're stuck together on this stupid project."

"If you hadn't stopped me-"

"Me?" Draco hissed quietly, not wanting to draw attention to them. "I was only late because some bloody Hufflepuff got in my way."

"Get back to work!" Ginny snapped, looking down, glaring at her Potions book.

Draco snorted. "You know, Weasley, one would think that I actually bother you. However, what I think bothers you more is what people are saying behind your back."

She dropped her quill that she had poised in her fingers, letting it fall to the floor between them.

"What did you say?" she asked, turning her brown eyes on him.

He smirked and bent down to pick up her quill. He held it out to her. His eyes were cold.

"Oh, I can't tell you that. You might start to cry," he said, mockingly.

"You don't care whether I get upset or not," she said softly, refusing to take the quill from his hand.

"On the contrary, Weasley, I think your anger would be something quite amusing to see," he said as he dropped the quill onto the table. "But I'd rather you not make a scene in front of everyone."

"Tell me," she demanded.

"No."

Before he had even turned the next page of his textbook, Draco felt something hard and cold stick him in the neck. His eyes widened briefly before he slid his hands away from the desk and held them up in mock surrender.

"Alright," he said calmly. "Just get that fucking thing away from my neck."

Ginny lowered her wand slowly, a satisfied smile tugging at her lips. "I want answers."

Draco turned his head. His grey eyes were sharp. "You really know how to get a guy's attention," he said with a smirk. "I guess not enough to turn Potter's head though."

"Bastard!" Ginny hissed and stood up, raising her wand at him. "Take it back!"

"Will you sit down?" Draco said, looking around.

"No!" Ginny cried petulantly, tilting her head. "Take back what you said, or I'll-"

"Sit down!" a sharp and demanding voice boomed.

Professor Snape had been standing behind Ginny since the moment she had stood up to threaten Malfoy, and he did not, as Ginny turned to face him, look pleased at all.

"I was just-"

"Going to hex one of my students?" Snape stated more so than asked. "I don't think that's the wisest idea, Miss Weasley."

"But he-"

"Sit down, Miss Weasley!" Professor Snape demanded once more. "I did not agree to Professor Dumbledore's suggestion to allow you into this class to have you throw a tantrum in the aisles." He stared down the length of his crooked nose at her. "Are you hard of hearing?" he asked with a cruel sneer on his face.

"No," Ginny replied, her voice just above a whisper. Her cheeks had begun to turn a bright shade of pink as she sat back down in her seat, bowing her head slightly. Beside her, she heard Malfoy chuckle. "Shut up," she whispered through gritted teeth.

"You can't even stand up to a teacher! I'm not sure you could take knowing what people have said behind your back," Draco said with a hint of disgust and merriment.

Ginny pressed her fingers to her temple and started to massage, letting out an aggravated growl. "This isn't how it is supposed to be," she breathed.

Snape's voice rang out, signalling the end of the class, and Ginny gathered her things. As she exited the room, she caught Theodore's eye on the way out.

---

Ginny sat outside, long after the class from hell had ended. She lifted her face to the bright, warm sun. She had a quill poised in her hand and was softly biting her lip.

Without looking up, she sighed. "If you're here to ask me what happened, I'm not in the mood."

"Are you ever?" was the whispered reply, and he sat down behind her, gathering her hair in his hands.

"Not recently!" she snapped, pulling the strands out of his grip. "I'm busy - bugger off!"

"So that's how you talk to your boyfriend then, is it?"

"You're not my boyfriend."

He laughed. "No? I seem to recall you, last year, in my bed for three months. What was it - just a fling, then?"

"I've moved on," Ginny half turned, but did not fully face him.

"You haven't," he said softly. "You still want me. You've just found a ... replacement to block me from your thoughts. I'm not stupid. I hope you know that." He stood up slowly, brushing the grass from his pants. "Theodore Nott is a snake in disguise."

"Oh?" she almost choked on his words. "You're one to talk."

She felt superior, but what she didn't expect was a pair of strong hands to lift her and whirl her around. His mouth came crashing down on hers, and she tried to move, but he held her fast.

"No―don't do this now."

"I know what you really want, Weaslette," Draco said as he smiled down at her and pulled her in closer, deepening the kiss.