Returned From Superstition

Chapter Four

Two weeks had passed and Ginny had grown so comfortable around Draco she couldn't imagine her nights without their study section.

Where they actually studied, she thought with a little bit of resentment. Draco Malfoy, the boy who had snogged every single girl in Hogwarts - but Hermione, she knew it because Hermione never said anything - didn't seem at all interested in snogging her.

Not that she was interested, of course.

Oh, what the hell, she was very interested. She wanted him to stop talking and kiss her. Was that too much to ask?

What she didn't know was that Draco was thinking exactly the same thing. But it was worse in his case. After spending two weeks with her, he was considering telling her the truth.

That was amazing. Actually, it was unbelievable. How could he, Draco Malfoy, actually feel tempted to tell her that this study sections was just a cover for him to seduce her?

And he felt that way because he was uncomfortable lying to her. Every time she would struggle with a rune, he would think of his DADA assignment, all finished and ready to get the highest grade, resting inside a drawer in his desk.

But every time she would struggle with a rune she would look so adorable that he just stopped and looked at her. He had already memorized her face. He knew her smiles by heart.

There was a chemistry between them, couldn't Ginny see it? It was there in the air every time they talked; it was pressed against their skin every time they looked at each other. But it seemed they had a wall built between them, and he couldn't see how to break it without damaging what he had conquered so far.

And he had conquered a lot - she was seeing him as a friend, and he knew it. She was trusting him and even told him how she felt about all the attention she was receiving. "It's so strange," she had laughed. "One year, I'm nobody wishing to be noticed; the next year, everybody notices me and I'm wishing to be nobody again."

But he had also lost a lot of himself - he was feeling so uncomfortable around her, like he could do something that would destroy all the comfort he felt when around her. Yes, it was a contradiction: he never felt so uncomfortable and yet so comfortable around someone before. He had even given up the seductive games a week ago; it just seemed pointless. Not only because he suspected she was so naïve she wouldn't realize his intentions in a million years, but also because he felt bad he was trying to be as charming around her as he had been around other girls.

He wanted to give her something unique, something he hadn't given any girl before.

And the only thing he could think of was the truth. Great plan, he thought and watched her play with her hair, make her feel unique by telling her you lied to her.

You've never done that to any girl before, his inner voice told him.

Has anyone killed his inner voice before? he hissed in thought. Wouldn't it be nice to try?

"What happened?" Ginny asked, seeing his face contort in an angry and yet hilarious way.

"Have you ever argued with yourself?"

"Oh, you never win those arguments." She smiled. "Trust me, I've tried."

He smiled back to her. "So you have voices inside your head too, huh?"

"Only one voice and it's enough. I'm about to name her and place her on the top of my list of enemies."

He laughed along, and soon a heavy silence fell between them. There it was, the tension. He had to do something about it.

"I'm lying to you."

Good, now he had done the wrong thing about it.

"What?" She was puzzled.

"I have already finished the assignment."

"What?" She was so surprised she didn't know what to think. And Draco looking heartbroken wasn't helping her train of thought either.

But he didn't answer, and she didn't even know if she had asked the right question; all she knew was that something was very wrong about it. Why was he telling her that?

And after the doubt, came the awful feeling of being used. And that feeling was so overwhelming she had to run.

She didn't know where she was going, but she walked quickly away from Draco - that's all that matters, to get away from him, she thought - she would think about those two weeks they spent together.

It had been so perfect. He had been a friend; he had seemed to care. He had even consoled her when she had been angry with Ron for abandoning his friends - alright, he had said she shouldn't cry for such a stupid git as her brother that didn't deserve any friends anyway, but that is Malfoy we are talking about, and that's already a lot for him.

Had he just faked it all? And if he had, why had he done that?

She felt an arm pull her shoulder and she almost lost her balance, if it wasn't for Malfoy behind her to catch her. He held her against him and she didn't even try to fight it.

"I'm sorry," he said, and those words seemed so strange coming out of his mouth he fought the urge to smile about that whole situation.

"Why?" She couldn't think of anything else to say. And that was pretty much all she wanted to know anyway.

"Because I wanted to be with you. I wanted to know what your brother saw that made him so angry."

She felt her body relax close to his against her will. How could she trust him, even if she wanted to?

They heard a noise that startled both of them. She looked around trying to find some place to hide, but Draco was quicker and pulled her inside a door he had opened.

"A broom closet." She sighed looking around. "That's so cliché. I bet we're locked now."

"No, we aren't." He was surprised with the sarcasm in her voice. "You can walk away whenever you want," he moaned. "Do you want to walk away?"

She realized she didn't. But she couldn't stay either, could she?

Maybe she could, she pondered while he stood very close to her, his lips very close to her ear, although he was not touching her at all.

"Why go to all this trouble of lying and making up an assignment?"

"I wanted to be with you. Besides, you should have seen your brother's face when he looked at the crystal ball." He smirked. "Your brother is no innocent flower. To have him looking so shocked, it had to be good."

She smiled. When had she become so fond of his twisted humour?

She didn't know, but she was very fond of it. And the closeness of their bodies was not helping either. She was breathing heavily, just like he was, and she could feel his breath on her neck, making her shiver and melt. And he still wasn't even touching her!

Oh, yes, about the touching, something had to be done about it, so she held him, sensing he was as tormented as her. He promptly held her back fiercely, her back against the wall

"This is wrong," she murmured against his ear, as his lips tried to get closer to hers.

"No, this isn't." Draco murmured back. "Do you honestly think this is wrong?"

"I'm not thinking anything right now." She held his head as fiercely as he held her and puller him closer. "Just kiss me."

But there was no need to say it, since he was already hungry for it too.

Their kiss was very intense. He couldn't tell when exactly he had started unbuttoning her blouse, and she couldn't say how she was planning to take his shirt off without breaking the kiss, but their excuse for doing so were the same: they needed to touch each other's skin; the kiss had not been enough right there.

And God knows what else would have happened if they hadn't heard the door opening and then closing with a loud thump, two laughing creatures entered the room, oblivious to both of them, although they were almost touching because of the small space.

The moans had hinted who were the intruders, and Ginny felt nauseated, just as Draco made a disgusted face no one could see because of the darkness.

"Oh, Ron." Padma voice seemed to echo through the small closet, and Draco couldn't help but burst,

"Now I understand why you're always caught on the act, Weasley. Could you two be any louder?"

"Malfoy?" That was Ron, and Ginny moaned in despair. "Who's here with you?"

"Just because you perverts like to snog in broom closets it doesn't mean I do." To everybody's surprise, Draco's tone was everything but convincing.

Ron reached out and grabbed his sister's hand. "Is it Ginny?"

"Ron, calm down," Padma tried to say, but was thoroughly ignored.

"Is it Ginny?" his voice was a very dangerous murmur.

"Ron, please," Ginny tried, but she knew it would get very ugly.

And so it did when without saying another word, Ron simply pulled Draco harshly outside the closet - making Ginny fall not so graciously on the floor, since she was still being held by Malfoy - and they rolled through the corridors in their worst fight so far, the two girls close behind them crying for them to stop and also trying to take one away from the other. But when they rolled down the stairs to land right at Professor Flitwick's feet, they all knew where it would end.