Painted Faces Frown

Hello, you, how was the rest?
You made it through, but nevertheless
I got you out on a wire.
You be love and I'll be a liar.

Draco Malfoy scowled and kicked his trunk. He was rewarded with a sharp pain in his left toe. "Bloody Potter, always gets things his way," muttered Draco to himself, rubbing the injured foot. It had been a perfectly wonderful summer, evading the Dark Lord's wrath. His mother was dead, his father was in prison, and Draco was considered a traitor. And Potter got away scot-free, the hero of the Wizarding World, and most importantly, hero of Ginny Weasley.

Tell it all and fill up the air,
But make it loud cause nobody's there
And nobody's there
And nobody's there

"I'm the one who saved his measly arse, and what do I get? Nothing! Abso-bloody-lutely NOTHING!" Draco threw himself onto his four-poster bed. He hadn't even gotten Head Boy badge, for Merlin's sake. Weasley had! Stupid, blundering, poor, Muggle-loving Weasley! Draco screamed in frustration. Where the fuck was the silver lining?

Stop, turn, take a look around
At all the lights and sounds.
Let them bring you in.
Slow burn, let it all fade out,
Pull the curtain down.
I wonder where you've been?

Draco sighed, hidden behind the hangings of his four-poster bed. He had gotten through the war, hadn't he? He would get through this as well. He needed to be strong. I've changed on the inside, Draco thought to himself. So why not on the outside?

Make it new, but stay in the lines.
Just let go, but keep it inside.

A second chance...give them a second chance, and surely they will give you yours. At least one of those fools will look beyond the lies and trust you. It was the last bit of advice Professor Snape had seen fit to give him before he had died. Draco had taken it to heart.

Smile big for everyone,
Even when you know what they've done.

The next morning he strode into the Great Hall, trying hard to keep his face straight as every single student and teacher stopped to stare. Yes, he thought with smug satisfaction, stare at the new Draco Malfoy. He wore Muggle clothes in blatant disregard of Hogwart's Dress Code of Conduct. It had taken several hours of research on his part, to find out which piece went where, what was fashionable and what was not, but the school's reaction was worth every moment. Now, dressed in simple boot-cut jeans and a black dress shirt that he'd left unbuttoned for effect, Draco smiled.

They gave you the end but not where to start
Not how to build, how to tear it apart.

Draco started to walk towards the Slytherin table, but slowed as he saw the looks of utter disdain and disbelief on their faces. I've tossed every other value of mine out the window, Draco mused. Why not this one? Still grinning, he turned sharply and strode towards the Gryffindor table instead. He took a seat right in between Harry Potter and Ginny Weasley, worming his way in.

So tell it all and fill up the air,
But make it loud cause nobody's there
And nobody's there
And nobody's there

"What-are-you-doing?" hissed Hermione Granger, her frizzy brown hair crackling at his audacity. The entire Hall seemed to wait with bated breath for his answer, an answer to a question that was surely running through all of their minds.

"Eating breakfast, of course," he replied. "Would you pass the marmalade, Hermione?" Draco could barely keep the smirk off his face, though he was mentally shuddering a bit at having to use her first name.

Stop, turn, take a look around
At all the lights and sounds.
Let them bring you in.

The whispers and mutters rose up then, like a great swell. Chatter finally resumed at the tables as people gossiped away happily about Draco Malfoy. The Dream Team, unsure of what else to do (though Ron had quite a few ideas, none of them nice and all of them resulting in a bruised Draco), started to talk in furious whispers, throwing glances at Draco every once in a while. Leaving him in no doubt of what they were talking about.

Slow burn, let it all fade out,
Pull the curtain down.
I wonder where you've been?

The only person not participating in this mindless gossip sat on his right, regarding him silently. Ginny Weasley, the flame-haired vixen, the one trophy Draco couldn't bear to lose to Potter. He hadn't the foggiest idea how he was going to win her, but he was determined it was going to happen. Something in her bright brown eyes told him she already knew why he was there.

I've got a way to work this out
I've got a way and you know how
I've got a way to work this out
I've got a way and you know how
I've got a way to work this out
I've got a way... [x3]

Draco abandoned all pretenses, leaning forward and capturing her lips with his own. Again the Hall sat suspended in time, but now neither of them was conscious of the fact. Ginny slowly returned the kiss, her fingers traveling from his wrist to the nape of neck, finally stopping to tangle in his silvery-blonde hair. They only knew each other.

Stop, turn, take a look around
At all the lights and sounds.
Let them bring you in.

"Oi, Malfoy, what the bloody hell do you think you're doing to my sister?" yelled Ron, jumping up in anger. He looked ready to kill.

Draco shared a momentary glance with Ginny before standing up as well. "Nothing she didn't want to do," he replied with a smirk. He offered her his hand. Ginny looked at Ron and the gaping faces of her fellow classmates in defiance before taking Draco's hand and allowing herself to be led to the door.

"Ginny, you can't mean this!" called Hermione desperately. Ginny slowed, forcing Draco to stop as well.

"Yeah!" Ron added. "He's a Death Eater!"

Harry came out of his shock to add his own two Knuts. "He is, Ginny. I saw the Dark Mark on his forearm myself. Ask him to show you his arm, Gin. I swear to you it's there," he said, his emerald eyes begging her not to go with him.

Ginny glanced at the anguished expression Draco now wore, and knew that her friends spoke true. She also knew that she didn't give a damn.

"I don't care!" she said angrily, standing in the middle of the Hall and meeting everyone's eyes boldly. "He may have a scar on his arm, but he helped us--or did you forget that bit? In its own way, that scar is as great as your own, Harry. You of all people should know how he feels," she shouted, chocolate eyes fiery in Draco's defense. And with that, she tugged on his arm and led him out of the Hall.

Slow burn, let it all fade out,
Pull the curtain down.
I wonder where you've been?

Draco was a bit shocked at how quickly Ginny had come to his defense. And a bit aroused, as well. He pushed her into the nearest empty classroom and snogged her senseless to show her just how much. She moaned low in her throat, her fingers tangling in his hair again. So head over heels was Draco at this point that he allowed this atrocity to pass without a word.

You earned everything you found,
And painted faces frown.
I'll say I knew you when...

He was probably still hated. Definitely still thought to be a liar. But now he had his flame-haired vixen, Ginny Weasley.

"And just what are you grinning about, Draco Malfoy?" she asked playfully.

"You," he replied, silencing her with another kiss.