A Very Good Excuse

--A Very Good Excuse--

by

Shards of Normality

* * * * *

Got everyone but you

Tellin' me what to do

-Jewel

* * * * *

"Draco..."

There went that incredibly sweet yet distracting voice again. It was so tempting just to turn around, push the chair back so roughly it tipped backwards so that if you sat in it you'd be staring at the roof, then push the owner of that voice back onto his bed and--no! It was out of the question, this paper had to be done, tonight. He had the class tomorrow, and his teacher didn't favour anyone that much. Most normal males wouldn't even consider doing their homework when a female was boring her eyes into his back with her best come hither look, and most males, apart from the ones at Hogwarts, didn't have Professor Severus Snape as their teacher.

"I'm lonely. Come comfort me."

Without turning around, Draco shook his head, then he propped his head in his palm, resting his elbow on the desk, turning his head to the side he spoke.

"It's not going to work, Gin. I have to finish this." With that he turned his head back to the paper, digging his fingers firmly into his blond hair and scratching lightly at his scalp, the roots of his aforementioned hair still damp from his earlier shower. A rustle of the bedcovers and then a slight poof of air escaping indicated Ginny had thrown herself onto her back and was now staring up at the top of the canopy. The first movement she had made in perhaps ten minutes when the bedcovers rustled again. Making a silent bet with himself Draco counted to three and then turned in his chair, glancing over his shoulder. Hah, he was right! she had rolled over onto her stomach, the only problem was that her gaze snapped around to meet his own, offering a curl of his lips that passed for a half smirk and a half smile at the same time. She returned it with a genuinely sweet one, he paused to watch her face light up with the smile before heaving a soundless sigh. This bloody essay was killing him, and she was killing his concentration. Not that he was complaining, but if any of the other students of Hogwarts could see him they would all wonder what he was thinking, he was so whipped.

"Ron and Harry tried to have one of those little brotherly talks today," her voice came absently and he smirked to himself.

"I hope you told them to get stuffed," Draco replied amicably

"Well, I told them to get a life. Does that meet your approval, monsieur?" A teasing lilt entered her voice now and he chanced another glance over his shoulder at her, this time luckily the flame-haired Gryffindor wasn't looking at him again with her mischievous blue eyes. All hope would be lost then.

"It'll do. What speech did they try today?" This would no doubt amuse Draco to no end, those two were so pathetic, and it had been about a month since the dream team had found out about their relationship. They had reacted like tiny little children - to him they were tiny now, he was even taller than that gangly brother of hers - a good intimidation tool it was if you thought about it.

"It was a mixture actually, there was the we-only-want-what's-best-for-you-Gin and then there was a tiny little bit of he'll-only-break-your-heart-in-the-end." Ginny was reliving it, he could tell because her voice had drifted into that faraway soft whisper of her normal one.

"What about my personal favourite? The ever amusing even-if-it's-serious-you've-only-been-hanging-around-each-other-for-a-month." Draco asked with a hidden smile playing at the edges of his lips.

They both laughed at the irony.

"Yeah, there was a smidgen of that as well. I swear, I'm beginning to believe they're counting off the days now."

"Sad."

"Indeed. Very sad," she agreed with a grin to herself. Sometimes Draco wondered where his mind had gone. It seemed a lifetime since his exterior was a mere memory that she kissed away, he´d always thought of her as just another Weasley, that they were everywhere, one and brave and pure as the other. That was if you could find a pure angle to watch those bloody twins whose pranks he had fallen victim to more than a few times, but as it turned out she was very different from the rest of her family. The rest of her family, or the Weasley clan as enemies and friends alike called them, hadn't taken the news of them too well. Ginny had wanted to wait but her second youngest brother had decided, even though he `only-wanted-the-best-for-her´, that he´d go against her wishes and send an owl to The Burrow ten minutes after he had agreed to let her tell them herself. Oh yes, loving as hell. Although, they were in unspoken agreement his family would not find out until they had managed to find a counter curse for Avada Kedavra. Anyone with even half a brain knew the Weasleys and the Malfoys were like bloody Montague and Capulet.

"What´s this?" Ginny asked. Twisting his head Draco saw the top of her head, crouching by his bookcase, his view slightly obscured by the bed.

"A bookcase." Had to crack a sarcastic quip complete with a sarcasm-fuelled smirk to that one.

Her head lifted and she looked at him with exasperation, a roll of her bright blue eyes and she bent her head once more.

"I can see that, Draco," Ginny replied dryly. "But these books all look so old."

Placing his quill down with a growl of aggravation Draco climbed from the chair and crossed over to where she was now kneeling, dropping into a similar position as her own and reached out, smoothing a finger along the carved out hollows.

"They are old. Quite a few are dark magic, which is required due to my maniac father. Some are fantasy, there might even be one you´d like, a sappy romance my mother sent me," he lifted his hand and flicked at her red hair affectionately. Pretend biting at his fingers, Ginny then searched through and pulled out the correct book. "Now, hush. If I don't finish this, you get nothing." Draco stood, looking down at her ivory skinned face.

Blinking innocently up at him she watched as he headed back to his schoolwork, contemplating him. He walked differently from other people, her first five years she had been relatively quiet and just watched people. Draco Malfoy was indeed a Malfoy, just not the kind his family wished he was. His walk in a way was almost feline, it was like a sort of swagger, a stride and a glide all in one, quite strange.

"Draco?"

"Yes?"

"Is there anyway I can convince you to leave your essay alone?"

"Perhaps."

"I'm all ears," Ginny replied, an eager smile threatening to blossom into a grin as she got to her feet and going to his side. Obviously she thought he was taking too long to answer and prodded him in the shoulder with her forefinger.

"If I leave this alone, you have to write a note to Professor Snape, explaining why I haven't done my homework."

Draco quite enjoyed the wheezy gasp that fell from her open mouth, and the wide-eyed look of horror in her gaze, her hand starting to contract around his shoulder. He wasn't an entirely good person and revelled in it.

"You want me to write you an excuse? To Professor Snape?" she asked carefully.

"Did I stutter?" Earning himself a pinch through the black turtleneck he had on, he then smiled up at her. "It's your only option, Ms Weasley." Drawing out her last name Draco sneered playfully at her

"Don't do that, you sound like Snape."

"Only I'm sexy."

"Don't flatter yourself." Ginny couldn't help but smile at his comments.

"Why, Virginia. Are you going to leave me for...a professor?" he asked with a snicker as the blush spread rapidly on her cheeks, it was like a bloody plague, a cute plague.

"Yes, we've been having an affair."

"Snape, no less. Oh my poor old heart."

Ginny smothered a giggle. "I can see the gray hairs already...alright. I'll do it."

Draco blinked, a mixture of suprise and mock-outrage upon his face. "I do not have gray hair--you'll do it?"

She nodded.

"Bugger."

"What?"

"You've called my bluff," Draco sighed, knowing there was no way out of it now.

Ginny leant down and kissed him, her hand sliding from his shoulder to lightly curl around his neck, partially running through his hair. When she finally let go, their foreheads touching gently, he looked at her suspiciously,

"Really?"

"Really, really."

There was a pause and she snickered to herself. "Of course, I´m going to have to be quite drunk."

"That I can help you with," Draco smiled, as he lightly took her hand, kissing the back of it before leading her to the wall, tapping it with his wand and muttering the word `snakeskin´ and ignored her sarky `how original.´ He stepped back as the wall folded back on itself, much like the one in Diagon Alley except without the brick and noise.

"Wow." Ginny´s eyes were almost as wide as saucers at the range of alcohol in the cabinet that had just been revealed. "This is all yours?"

"I´m a collector."

"All expensive brands?"

"Yes, so you won't be a cheap drunk anymore." He dodged her carelessly aimed hit and they both laughed at the thought. Hunting through the cupboard he pulled out the most expensive bottle of whiskey, handing it to her, catching her expression of mock-outrage.

"You will be punished for that." Setting the bottle down on the bedside table she grabbed the front of his shirt, pulling him closer. As they fell onto the bed Draco kissed her neck, having already expertly discarded her jumper.

"Promise?" After that the room was only filled with the rustle of bedcovers, the slight giggles from the redhead, whispers from the blonde, both whispering each others names so as not to break the feeling of magic in the air, and breathy moans. This young woman loved getting her way, especially on this occasion.

* * * * *

Ginny sat on the bed, her bare back pressing against the headboard as she stared down at the clean sheet of paper on her raised knees, and then at the quill in her hand. If she was to do this she would need lots and lots of alcohol. Ah. Remembering the whiskey she leant over Draco´s sleeping body and collected the bottle. Placing her bottle on the sheet, making a dent inbetween her legs she looked once more at Draco and smiled to herself. While he was asleep he looked so peaceful, unlike his decidedly acid tongue while he was awake. Moving some blond hair from his face she tilted her head, smiling once more, who would've thought, the two of them? But she had to fulfil her end of the promise. He had more than done so on his part.

"Right," Ginny said with a wicked grin. Quietly determined to get this right she set the quill down and struggled to unscrew the cap, managing it with only minor thrashing of the legs on her part she contemplated the bottle. Who knew what she would write after some of this, the percentage was very high. "Bottoms up." Taking a deep swig from the bottle, she swallowed and immediately beginning coughing, spluttering and shaking her head violently.

Fuck!

That burnt terribly. Pain was not her friend and she didn´t intend to befriend it anytime soon either.

"I forgot to tell you, caution is advised for first time drinkers, it's very strong," Draco mumbled. Glancing down Ginny glared at him, still recovering but the glare was lost on the Slytherin who still had his eyes closed.

"Thank you very much, Mr Spock."

"You're welcome," came the mutter from beside her and a wayward giggle escaped her mouth. After a few more swigs from the bottle, each time swearing just a little more quietly than the last, Ginny blinked rapidly. Feeling light-headedness setting in she giggled once more to herself although the latest sounded a fair bit more drunken than the first and then plucked the quill up. Time to get to work!

* * * * *

The sunlight pierced the thin haze of canopy drapes, spilling a burning gaze onto Ginny´s pale skin. She turned a pale back to it and then she yawned, the end of the noise punctuated with a squeak. Opening sleepy eyes to gaze upon equally pale features opposite her she smiled to herself and then sat up, her limbs feeling wonderfully heavy. Stretching to feel the crunch in her back she relaxed into a not so lady-like posture.

"Time to get up sleepy head," Ginny whispered softly nudging Draco´s side with her arm.

"Really?"

"Really, really. Now up!"

"Slave driver."

"You know you love it."

Without any further comments they both left the bed, changing quietly, with the unbashful yet admittedly teenage act of changing clothes without any blushes or usually characteristic giggles of the young flame haired woman.

"I wrote you the letter."

"Good, we missed breakfast."

"Never mind."

"Alright."

"I´ll walk you down to the dungeons." Ginny took up the sealed envelope and rushed to his side once more, threading her arm through his own; taking the torch lit dungeon hall Draco attempted to find out what the note said.

"Even if I could remember, I wouldn´t tell you. That drink is very strong."

The only problem with their route was that the pair, when in each other's space tended to forget about each other's house's disapproval of their respective partners. Crossing her eyes and poking her tongue out at Pansy Parkinson and her little female goons Ginny giggled (which wasn´t abnormal for her) and turned back to Draco, completely poker faced. He shared the same deadpan expression she wore and they both knew that the other had probably managed to insult each other's house but not giving a damn either way.

* * * * *

Professor Severus Snape sat at his desk while the bulk of his class were scrambling to finish the essay. One of his favourite students, if there was such a word in his vocabulary, Draco Malfoy had handed in a note but was still bent over his parchment. Curiously he slit open the envelope, his handwritten name upon it, which he didn't recognise as any teachers or even Mr Malfoy's, unfolded the letter and swept his black eyes over the words, which seemed to be wobbly, strange. A thin smile crept over his face, which he was unaware of as he read the letter.

Dear Professor Snape,

Draco Malfoy could not complete his essay because his evil girlfriend lured him to bed. This was the doing of a very evil Gryffindor, which I'm sure you will be delighted to hear, but hopefully you'll cut Draco a break just this once, because he was dearly trying to finish it but I distracted him. So punishment should be directed at me.

Sincerely intoxicated,

Virginia Weasley

P.S:

Was absolutely smashed at time of this letter.