Poisoned

Chapter Seven

Halloween happens and Ginny and Draco talk, but Draco finds it hard to concentrate on anything other than the red in the Gryffindor common room

Evening came and Ginny wasn't feeling even slightly excited. She was still wearing the same robes she had worn all day, and the same bad mood she had worn all day, standing in front of the Great Hall trying to gather the enthusiasm to enter. Not to mention her knees were still aching from the fall she had had that morning.

Which reminded her of Malfoy and his friends and worsened her mood. She looked beside her, to the statue she had hidden behind weeks ago only to find Draco. She imagined him eating and chatting animatedly, enjoying the feast in the exact way she wasn't, and she hated him for that. She wished he'd be feeling as miserable as she was; he deserved that.

"Are you as delighted as I am with the idea of going in there?" His voice made her jump and she turned to look at Draco, who looked as bored and grouchy as her.

*~~*~~*~~*~~*

The entire castle seemed to be vibrating with the feast, which didn't fit their moods. But at that moment she didn't know why exactly she had thought that to take Malfoy to the Gryffindor tower would be such a good idea, although she had to confess it was a funny picture, Malfoy standing at the middle of the common room, looking as if he didn't belong at all and disgusted with everything in there. "How can you live with all this red?"

She laughed but didn't answer, because she knew he wasn't really expecting her to. "I can overlook the gold, but the red! Honestly- it makes me want to run away from here as soon as I can."

"Well, if that's the case, you're free to go, Malfoy." Ginny wasn't upset by his comment, but felt that she had to provoke him.

"No, since I'm here I want to know it all." He looked around. "Although it's not much. Our common room is so much larger than this. Are you sure all you Gryffindors fit in here?"

Ginny asked, curious, "I've always thought that because it was in the dungeons, the Slytherin common room would be small and uninviting."

"What are you talking about?" Draco was outraged. "Our common room is large and comfortable! To begin with, it's decorated in green- a nice, soothing colour, unlike this barking red of yours."

She sneered. "Funny, your common room is so comfortable and soothing, and yet you try so hard to spend most of your time away from it."

He didn't answer, but after an embarrassing silence he confessed sheepishly, "Our common room is not as warm as this one."

Ginny smiled and took a seat by the fireplace, what made him exclaim, "What, that's the tour?"

"What else is there to see?"

"The dormitories," he stated as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"You can't enter my dormitory!" Ginny exclaimed, her jaw dropped in shock.

"I know I can't; boys can't enter the girl's dormitories." She could only imagine how he could know such a thing, and the look she cast him showed exactly what she was thinking, what made him explain quickly and almost coyly, "Or so I've read in Hogwarts, A History."

She blinked, amazed. She had always been so sure that Hermione was the only person who had ever read that book that it came as a surprise to know that Draco knew about its existence.

"But you can show me where your brother sleeps."

"Why would you want to see where my brother sleeps?" She lifted and eyebrow and smirked, an almost perfect imitation of his malicious way. "Actually, I understand it now, I've always known that such an animosity could only be caused by some kind of unreciprocated attraction-"

"Oh, go to hell!" he exclaimed, cutting her off while climbing up the stairs. "Just tell me if I should turn left or right."

She soon was standing behind him and pointed him the way, which he followed, only to gasp in shock, looking at the five four-posters beds. "Deep red curtains!"

She laughed at his appalled face, but soon stopped and asked, "What's that?"

The sound of footsteps was near, and they ran to one of the beds and closed the curtains to hide them.

"Whose bed is this?" Draco asked in a murmur.

Ginny looked at Trevor sleeping on the pillow. "Neville's, I guess."

His face turned to an even more revolted expression, although Ginny had thought that couldn't be possible. She almost laughed, but the sound of someone entering the room froze both of them. She couldn't imagine what would happen if anyone found them there, lying side by side in a bed where neither of them should be lying. Suddenly she realised how close they were, her body touching his unintentionally, feeling like every part of her body in contact with his was burning.

She remembered that morning in the Owlery, thinking about how untouchable his beauty was, and felt the same that moment, touching him and yet feeling as if nothing could reach him. He dominated every inch of the small space they were hiding in, and she felt overwhelmed by his presence. She gathered the courage to take a glance at his face, and he looked concentrated on what was happening in the room, his face so beautiful he looked like a sculpture carved in the finest marble by a talented artist.

Sounds of different steps obliged her to focus her attention on who was in the room as well, praying it wasn't Neville. But soon she heard Ron's voice and relaxed a bit. "Harry, aren't you coming back to the feast? They're using those fireworks Fred and George created and Flitwick is having a lot of trouble trying to calm the fairies down, they're flying all around the Great Hall screaming, and they seem so scared-"

He had said it all almost in one breath, but apparently he sensed Harry wasn't listening and interrupted himself. It was only after seconds of silence that he answered, "I don't feel like celebrating anything tonight."

"Not just tonight," Ron said, but considering the uncomfortable silence that had installed in the room, he hadn't wanted to. Ginny and Draco heard him sigh heavily and say in a cautious voice. "Can't you just try some more? You know how worried Hermione is about you. We are all worried about you."

Harry didn't seem to feel like he needed to answer for the room was completely silent, but Ron tried again. "Look, if you don't go you'll have to endure more questions from Hermione about what's going on and why you are like that. And it will last for weeks, and you know it. Why can't you just make an effort tonight so you save both of us the trouble for days to come?"

He sighed very unpleasantly, but agreed with Ron. "You're right." The sound of steps towards the door made Draco relax a little, and they heard from the distance, "Do I have to look happy?"

"It wouldn't hurt, mate," was the answer, but whatever else was said, Ginny and Draco couldn't hear.

Feeling like the danger had passed, Draco thought it was safe to move and rested his head in his hand, looking at Ginny with an unreadable expression. She looked at him too, but suddenly she had to suppress a laugh.

"What's so funny?" Draco asked, clearly annoyed, watching her bury her face in the covers and snort in a highly non-sexy way.

"I was just thinking that red does nothing for your complexion." She tried to keep her face straight, his face as pale as ever among all the red that covered the bed.

"Neither does it to yours," he answered, sounding as natural as ever, almost as if he wasn't lying down in Neville's bed, among Neville's things, after almost being discovered by two Gryffindor boys. "With your hair and those eyes," he said while turning completely to her, their bodies still touching, "you would show up much more if you were in Slytherin."

"There's more to your house than a flattering colour, Malfoy." She finally gave in to the favourite hobby of every Gryffindor, which was demeaning the Slytherin house. "There's betrayal, unmeasured ambition, cruelness..."

"Don't start on Slytherin and I won't start on Gryffindor." His eyes shone a dangerous shade of grey among the darkness of the curtains. "Do you really believe betrayal is something only Slytherins practice? That ambition is our quality and ours alone? We are not hypocrites that hide it, that's all. You of other houses want to blame Slytherin for all the problems in the world, but let me tell you something: it's not our fault." He looked infuriated. "Do you have any idea how many Gryffindors are among the Death Eaters?"

Ginny froze, but she answered, "Less than Slytherins, I bet."

"Yes, there are less Gryffindors than Slytherins," he agreed while pulling away the bed curtains, his voice so cold it sent shivers down her spine, "but just because we don't get ourselves killed as easily as you do. Bravery can cause one to act recklessly, and you, Potter and your brother are perfect examples of that."

"At least we have friends we can rely on!" Ginny exclaimed, following him as he got away from the bed and away from the room.

He stopped so suddenly she almost crashed into him, but steadied herself and faced his angry face. He seemed to be going to say something, but changed his mind and shook his head; when he said, it was with a calm, almost warm tone. "Can't you see it, Ginny? You can only rely on Potter to get yourself killed."

With that he left, leaving her to think of everything he had said; but what really caught her attention was that he had called her 'Ginny', and it had sounded so beautiful she felt like crying.