An Addictive Solution

Chapter Five

She had received a note from his black owl at dinner that same day:

"Meet me at the Great Hall tomorrow at eleven."

She couldn't help but smile, excited with the idea of spending the whole day at Hogsmeade, with no other Hogwarts students there to block her way. She hated crowded places, which was why she was never too happy to go to Hogsmeade, for it was always so full of people.

And although she would be with Draco, she didn't seem to mind. It would be her first date, and she was determined to make it good.

"Hermione," she turned to her brother's girlfriend, who was eating beside her, "can you help me with something?"

"Sure, Gin. Problems with your homework?" Hermione asked, looking away from her plate and facing Ginny.

"No. I need to look good tomorrow."

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Hermione did find it strange, but she didn't ask anything. On the contrary, she woke Ginny at eight to help her.

It was fifteen minutes to eleven when Hermione finally allowed Ginny to look in the mirror. There were clothes tossed on the floor everywhere, and her head was hurting from the many times they tried to fix her hair and decided not to, just to start all over again. She was using a green summer dress that belonged to Hermione, but didn't fit the girl anymore. It looked good on Ginny, but not perfect, although she couldn't complain. It was better than any piece of clothing she had.

Her hair was falling down her back, and Hermione decided that the less makeup, the better. "Use your natural beauty," she had said.

Ginny smiled at Hermione in the mirror, happy with what she saw. She hadn't felt this beautiful in a long time.

"What do I do?" she asked, nervous, turning to Hermione to ask for advice.

"I know it sounds like a stupid thing to say considering the situation, but... Be yourself, Ginny. And don't try to look better, or different, because you are adorable the way you are." Hermione sighed, smiling at the little girl. "And run, because it's very rude to keep your date waiting."

Ginny looked at the clock and panicked. Waving to her friend and screaming her thanks, she ran down the stairs and through the common room without even noticing anyone.

When she was gone, Hermione appeared from the stairs, laughing at everyone's amazement.

"Is today her date with Draco?" Parvati asked, ignoring the murderous look that Ron gave her.

"Yes, it is," Hermione answered, going to Ron and sitting on his lap. "Now we have to cross our fingers and hope for the best." She looked at her boyfriend, who didn't seem very keen on doing so, and said, motherly: "All of us."

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Draco watched as Ginny ran through the Great Hall, looking around for him. He decided to let her panic for a while before showing himself. And with that, he took a good look at her.

She was beautiful. Green went well with her red hair, and was also his second favourite colour. He was impressed; the girl had gotten it right on the first try.

Her face was not so pale today; probably because of the exercise, for she clearly had run through the castle to arrive there on time. He had been there for fifteen minutes already. Not that he was trying to impress anyone, especially not the Weasley girl, but principles were principles. He had learned that if you go on a date, you arrive before the lady. And he was too much of a gentleman to ignore this today.

He didn't have much trouble picking out clothes, but he did spend more time thinking about it than he would have liked to. The fact that he had gone to bed last night thinking of what he could wear the next day was annoying.

He was enjoying watching her look around for him so much that he couldn't help but smile wickedly, while hiding behind the column, escaping her view. Then he heard a familiar voice tell him in a paternal tone:

"Treat her right, Draco."

Looking behind him, he faced Professor Snape, who was staring at him with an expression impossible to describe.

"It's not been easy for her, either."

Draco nodded, feeling embarrassed. Snape was someone he respected very much, and would always bring him to his senses. He wondered how he had come to see his teacher as a father figure, but that was an answer he knew he would never have. It had been something gradual that happened naturally because of the absolute failure of a father he had had at home. It was also amazing how he was much more critical about his father now that the man was dead.

"She is waiting, Mr Malfoy." Snape took him away from his thoughts, and Draco nodded again, finally leaving his hiding spot and taking a few steps toward her.

The minute she saw him, it seemed as if the world was in slow motion. She saw him walking to her, and she could see how beautiful he was. When he was younger, he had had this feminine beauty, almost delicate, that made him look less dangerous somehow.

But now it had changed. There was nothing delicate about him. He was tall, and his body was now fully formed. She could see how his black trousers suggested his perfectly-shaped legs when he walked, and his black shirt couldn't hide his masculine chest either, his robes opened in a calculatedly reckless way. And now he had this dangerous aura around him. It wasn't scary, but rather intimidating. And now that his silver hair sometimes fell over his face, the perfect word to describe him was 'sexy.'

She was still breathless by the time he reached her. He smiled at her and the world finally went back to its normal speed.

"Shall we go, then?" he asked, his deep voice making her feel warm inside.

She smiled, and reached for his hand, which he didn't offer. When she saw the look on his face, she realized her mistake and tried to let go, but he caught her hand on his, squeezing gently, and smiled faintly back at her, leading her outside the Great Hall and then outside to the Hogwarts grounds.

She couldn't bring herself to walk beside him. Not that he was walking too fast or anything, she was just intimidated by him, and by all the other students who stopped what they were doing just to watch them. She could see them all whispering, and tried to look calm, but she was very confused.

With her hand in his like this, she felt like his captive. When they reached the gates, he looked at her, never stopping walking, and said:

"You look like a slave, walking behind me like this."

She muttered an apology and came up beside him, still embarrassed for having taken his hand like that.

"Cat got your tongue?" he asked, looking at her blushed face.

She didn't answer, resigning herself to look intensely to the ground.

"Oh, my, Virginia, you are a ray of sunshine today!" he mocked.

"I'm nervous, that's all."

"Well, I'm telling you, if you intend to stay all nervous throughout the whole day, than this will be the most boring date I've ever had!" he exclaimed.

"Have you had many dates?" she asked, coyly.

"I have had some. I intend to have more," he said, not bothering if that hurt her or not.

She nodded, not daring to face him so he couldn't see her eyes full of tears.

They walked together for several minutes that felt like hours to Ginny until they finally saw the first Hogsmeade house appear on the horizon.

"Are you hungry?" he asked, breaking the silence between them.

She almost said she wasn't, because the truth was that she was so nervous she thought she would throw up anything she put in her mouth. But realizing that was not a good answer, she just nodded.

"Good, 'cause I've planned our first stop to be the Three Broomsticks."

She smiled as they entered the pub. She had always liked the place, and Madam Rosmerta would always make her feel at home.

This time was no different. The woman greeted them enthusiastically when she recognized them, but didn't ask any questions. She led them to one table at the corner, in the back, from which they could watch the street and wouldn't be disturbed by the movement at the bar.

She left them with the menu, and went to greet another customer who had just entered, and that was when Draco realized Ginny's uneasiness while looking at the menu.

"What happened?" he asked, lowering his voice so only she could hear.

She leaned on the table, very embarrassed and whispered: "I didn't bring much money... so I don't know if I'll be able to pay for..."

She was interrupted by his dry laugh, and looked at him, feeling unsteady.

"I'm the one taking you on a date today, right?" he said, smiling dazzlingly. "It's on me. Just order what you like and don't worry about money."

She wasn't sure of it yet. "I don't know if this is right..."

"Weasley, there will come a day when I'll let a woman pay for anything on a date, but this day is not even close to it. Actually, I don't believe it will exist at all."

She smiled, embarrassed, and looking hurt.

"What is it now?" he asked, feeling unnerved already.

"You called me Weasley."

"What can I do, I love your last name," he joked, and then said, serious again, "Virginia."

Every time he said her name she felt dizzy. He had this way of calling her Virginia that was unique. Not just because almost no one called her like that, but also because his voice would get deeper and more paused. He seemed to savour her name instead of just saying it, and she caught herself imagining if she would react to one kiss from him as she reacted to him saying her name.

"So, what are you ordering?" he asked, putting his menu aside and smiling at her.

She read the first thing that came to her eyes, hoping he wouldn't notice she had been far away in thoughts.

He didn't seem to notice, and nodded, looking at her intensely while waiting for Madam Rosmerta to come to take their orders.

When she finally arrived, he turned his full attention to her, and ordered with a charming smile that was enchanting the woman just was much as it was enchanting Ginny.

"Don't you think you're both too young to have wine, Draco?" Madam Rosmerta asked, taking Ginny out of her enchanted state.

"Oh, come on, Rosmerta," Draco said, blinking conspiratorially, "it's a special day... You won't let a minor thing like our age ruin it, will you? Besides, I'm not so far away from my 17..."

The woman smiled and agreed with him, certainly caught by his charm. Soon she left, leaving them by themselves again.

"Do you always do that?" Ginny asked, amused.

"Do what?" He smiled to her now.

"Smile your way to your objectives?"

He laughed quietly, and looked at her with that charming look.

"Don't you?"

"No!" she exclaimed, shocked.

"Oh, Virginia, you don't just because you are not confident enough with your charisma," he explained calmly. "You should try someday. Life is less complicated when you use it..."

"What do you mean? That I should begin to manipulate people, just like you do?"

"That's not manipulation!" he exclaimed, annoyed. "If you think it is, then you know nothing about life! Look, what I mean is to talk to people in a certain way, be more than nice, or polite, but be..." he searched for the right word, "almost personal. Like you were sharing something with them that is precious to you, be it your smile, or your voice, anything. All you have to do is make them feel like they matter. It's not manipulating, it's just called being civil."

It still seemed quite manipulative to Ginny, but she decided not to say anything about it. Although, she couldn't let something else pass:

"So why aren't you like that to everyone?"

"Because I grew used to giving orders and having them obeyed, that's all," he said, like it was something very usual, that everyone had to pass through. "Being nice just seemed stupid. Useless, actually."

"But now that you've discovered that it's very useful..." She couldn't believe his nerve.

"It's not like that. I didn't simply discover one day that smiling at people made them give me what I wanted... I discovered that being polite wouldn't hurt, and usually was less stressing."

She would have liked to remain mad at him, but he said that in such a way that she could understand his point. And, somehow, it made her respect him a little more.

That was when Madam Rosmerta came back with their orders, and Ginny could see she had ordered what seemed to be a chicken pie. "Good," she thought, relieved. "I like pie."

The woman set the bottle of wine on their table after Draco said he would serve them and said: "That's the one and only for you two! After this, you'll be having butterbeer!" And with that she left.

Draco smiled and began serving them, playing the perfect gentleman. "Have you ever drunk wine?"

"No, I haven't."

"I hope you like it," he said, handing her the glass. "That's not the right way to serve wine, and I should have tasted it before giving to you, but there is not a point in doing so, for they probably have only this kind of wine here. Even so, it's still more romantic than butterbeer."

She was feeling exultant after what he said. He was trying to be romantic, and make it special for her! She felt very happy with that, and took a sip of her wine.

She soon understood why he said it was more romantic than butterbeer: she felt the liquid on her tongue, and it seemed to have a texture. She looked at him, enchanted, and saw him smiling at her, his glass against his lips, the dark red liquid still intact.

"Be careful, though," he warned, after taking a sip. "It is stronger than butterbeer, and it can get you drunk."

She consented, putting the glass reluctantly on the table, and turned to her plate.

"Now, let's have lunch. And while we have it," he said, teasingly, "give me several good reasons why I shouldn't hate your brother."

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An hour went by like seconds, and they had already finished their lunch and the wine, but they didn't leave the table. They were talking so spiritedly they didn't even notice when Madam Rosmerta replaced the bottle of wine with two glasses of butterbeer.

"Of course, Fred and George tried to take advantage of being twins... you could never tell who was who," she continued, as Draco laughed. "But it didn't work that well, because they were never apart, so both of them would get the blame, anyway..." She paused to think. "But I remember my mother telling me that they could cause a lot of trouble at their Muggle school and it was always a hard time finding out which one was to blame..."

"So they went to a Muggle school?" Draco asked, interested.

"Oh, we all went to a Muggle public school," Ginny explained, taking a sip of her butterbeer. "Dad always loved the Muggles, so he and Mum decided to send us to one of their schools, instead of teaching us at home. It was good, although we had to hide the fact that we were wizards. But we all behaved perfectly, and even Fred and George always pulled their tricks in perfect Muggle way!" She smiled. "Except for one time, when Ron got very angry at one boy for hurting me, and he transformed his pens into worms... But it was not on purpose, I'm proof of that!"

"Oh... so older brother Ron is quite protective, isn't he?" Draco teased. "You didn't mention this when you were enumerating reasons to like him..."

"Because I've figured that it wouldn't make you like him!" she said, as if it were obvious. "And besides, he is a wonderful person. Just because he is a little protective, it doesn't mean he is bad... But what about you?" She changed the subject. "Didn't you go to school before Hogwarts?"

"No, I didn't," he answered, looking bitter. "I had tutors at home who taught me what I had to learn."

"It must have been very lonely..."

"It was..." he said, smiling again as if to comfort her. "But it was also a way my parents found of protecting me from the big, bad Muggles of the outside world."

"They are not that big and certainly are not bad..." She smiled back, wondering if he was joking or actually offending Muggles in his own way. "I had the best times of my life while I was among them."

"I know... I know they are not that bad...I was just teasing you," Draco assured her. "But why do you say you had the best times of your life? You're fifteen; the best part of life is just beginning... so they say."

He laughed, but realized he had made a mistake when he saw her face. She was serious and sad, staring at her plate but with her mind far away.

"I'm sorry, Virginia, I didn't mean to..." he began apologizing.

"No, there's nothing to apologize for," she said, staring back at him. "I think I haven't stopped to think about it all yet... I haven't begun to cope, you know?"

"It's not something you can actually cope with..." He seemed to understand her perfectly. "I also didn't stop to think about it. It seems too..."

"Surreal."

"Yes, surreal is a good word." He smiled reassuringly. "It's a very good word. This whole situation doesn't seem to be happening... It seems more like a game, where we are the contestants and we are playing for a prize that's not tangible... A prize that nobody has shown us yet."

She looked at him carefully, amazed by his words, and nodded.

"I wonder how things will turn out..." she said.

"I wonder that, too," Draco said, feeling he should warn her, "because I can't promise you..."

"I know," she said quickly, before she could feel embarrassed. "I know that."

They smiled at each other, feeling strangely comfortable, when they saw that it was already dark outside. They rose, and Draco went to pay for their lunch while Ginny waited outside. He soon was beside her carrying two little apple pies.

"We already missed dinner..." he explained, handing her one of the pies.

She took it, amazed at how time had passed so quickly that day, and how much she had learned from the boy that was supposed to save her life. And from that moment on, she started believing he actually could. He could save her life.

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They soon were in the castle again and he left her at the Great Hall, which was now empty.

"I guess I'll see you tomorrow...?" she said, or asked, anxious for his answer.

"Sure..." he answered, puzzled by her question. "We can meet at McGonagall's tree again, and use our time to study."

She nodded, happily, and stood there, looking at him.

"After lunch, then?" he asked this time, realizing he was not feeling so badly about having to spend the time with her.

She nodded again, too nervous to say anything. Then, he leaned over and kissed her forehead tenderly. "See you tomorrow, Virginia."

She realized he would wait for her to leave before heading to his dormitory, so she waved, shyly, and began climbing the stairs. When she looked back, he was still there, waiting for her to go. With that, she turned her back quickly and began climbing the stairs two at a time.

That day was amazing. It had been her first date, and he had managed to make it perfect!

She couldn't believe her luck. She had gone out with the most handsome boy at school and he had been a perfect gentleman the whole time. She doubted even Harry could top Draco at this...

She stopped, shocked at her thoughts. When had she started comparing Draco to Harry? And when exactly had Draco started to win at the comparison?

That was not right... but even still, it seemed right. Oh, never mind; it was just because she was still excited about everything that had happened that day. Tomorrow she would probably feel better, and would be seeing Harry as the wonderful Prince Charming again.

But was that it? She thought as she continued her way to the tower. Was Harry nothing but a fantasy to her?

She tried to remember when she had begun admiring Harry, the person and sadly realized she never had. She had always been in love with the idea of Harry she had in her mind, the boy who lived, the boy who was beautiful and full of life and made her brother so happy in their friendship.

But he was a boy passionate for Quidditch, who hated his teachers and hated homework, just like any ordinary boy. He was, as far as she was concerned, someone who had been forced to fight against things he couldn't control, things that were threatening him and had to be fought. He was just an ordinary boy trying to survive extraordinary circumstances. And although it was remarkable, it was not astonishing. It was all he could do.

Draco, on the other hand, was trying to fight himself. He was fighting a war against everything he believed and everything he had learned was right for all those years. And he was winning. He was outdoing himself to become something better. That was astonishing. This type of strength should be admired.

And even still, nobody did. Nobody noticed. They were too busy with the extraordinary to notice the ordinary in it; they were too wrapped up in their problems, or in Harry's doings, to notice such a demonstration of courage.

Harry didn't want to be loved. He had his friends and he had never cared too much for her appreciation, or for anybody's appreciation. He was too busy trying to prove himself worthy. Draco needed to be loved. He was also trying to prove himself worthy, but he was trying to prove it against everything that surrounded him.

Now she didn't have a doubt about who needed her most. With that, she felt something deep inside of her grow like pain, but it wasn't bad. It didn't really hurt. It felt right in there, and it felt necessary. Almost like she couldn't live without it.

She hardly knew the curse was already taking effect.