Saint-Seducing Gold

Chapter Eight: In Secrecy

"Love goes toward love as schoolboys from their books; but love from love, toward school with heavy looks."

-----

Ginny woke the next morning surrounded by warmth. Her eyelids fluttered open to be confronted by golden sunlight pouring through the curtains, and she smiled sleepily to herself to find Draco lying beside her on the bed, his arms wrapped protectively around her. She gently removed herself from his embrace and sat up to stretch. Yawning briefly, she looked down at Draco as he stirred. A small smile crossed his lips as she leaned over him and brushed his hair back from his forehead. She smiled as well, and leaned closer to gently kiss him goodbye. He murmured in protest when her lips left his, and his grey eyes opened fully to see her pulling the curtains around his bed open.

"It's Saturday," he objected, his voice still muted with sleep. "Do you have to go?" Ginny turned with a tender look for him and smiled sadly.

"Yes. Zabini there might wake up any minute." She leaned down and kissed him again. He reached for her arms and held her close for a moment before letting go. Her smile deepened.

"We'll see each other at breakfast," she promised, sliding off the bed and smoothing her rumpled clothes. Draco sat up.

"At breakfast!" he exclaimed bitterly. "Where we'll be separated by every hate that ever existed at this school, and unable to even come near each other, let alone talk together." He caught her troubled gaze, and sat up. "I'm sorry, Ginny. It won't be that bad. At least we can have our room on the third floor to ourselves."

Ginny sighed, and shook her head. "Hermione knows about us." His eyes widened, and she quickly sat down next to him, taking his hand in hers to reassure him. "It's okay. I had to tell her everything last night, but she's okay with it." She looked at him seriously, brown eyes blazing with a sudden vigor of optimism. "She's okay with it, Draco! We might not have to hide from everyone forever. If she can understand then we have hope yet."

Draco took in the emotion of her words, let it wash through him. "She understands?" he asked tentatively. Ginny nodded, searching for the reflection of her optimism in his face. Suddenly, he smiled at her. Taking her face in his hands, he pressed a kiss upon her lips and whispered, "Then everything will work out okay. If one person can understand the love between a Slytherin and Gryffindor, then everyone else may yet."

Ginny beamed at him, and Draco fought to silence his inner objections. Maybe Hermione Granger understood, or thought she did, but he knew that no Slytherin would ever forgive him for this deadly transgression. Love with anyone outside his own House was forbidden to Draco and he knew it. Love with a Gryffindor, and, worse, a Weasley went beyond disgrace and dishonor. Any Gryffindor was a Slytherin's enemy, and any Weasley, a plague upon the pure-blood name. He would be cast out of all familiarity with his friends and family, if not locked up and physically punished for daring to think that he was above these sacred traditions. His parents would certainly disown him, and his father might go farther, no matter his mother's protests.

But Ginny grinning so hopefully at him made him want to scream defiance at his father and throw away his life, just to please her. He knew it was dangerous to be so caught up in another person's happiness as to forget his own, but Ginny's smile - her dancing eyes, her confident words - made him disregard these thoughts. He leaned forward and kissed her again, drinking in the forbidden richness of her mouth: a taste that ought to have been denied to him. What had started out chaste, turned passionate, and Draco found himself pulling away and panting for breath. Ginny did likewise, leaning against his shoulder as her face flushed.

"That was hardly appropriate for a love barely a day old," she said, breathing heavily. Draco looked at her out of the corner of his eye, found that she was smiling, and laughed with sudden pleasure.

"You were the one who spent the night in my bed," he accused, smirking at her. Who cared what his friends thought? Who cared what his parents were going to do? He had never been with someone who could make him this happy with a single expression. "Ginny," he declared, spellbound, and turned to her. "Ginny, I love you more than you'll ever know."

She echoed his laughter as he fell to covering her face in feathery kisses. "Draco!" she protested amiably, making no attempt to push him away. "Such a vow from one still young!"

"You're younger than me," he pointed out between kisses, making her twist with laughter as he tickled her skin with airy breath. "And the word of a Malfoy isn't to be taken for granted. I vow true."

She grasped him by the shoulders, finally making him stop, and looked him in the eyes. "Well, so do I," she stated, with a strange smile. "I love you, Draco. And to hell with everyone else; let's go down to the Great Hall together. Let's hold hands for them all to see."

Draco grinned to take the sting out of his words. "You know we can't."

She looked at him, and her strange smile slowly faded. "No, you're right. We can't." And if Draco was worried that her buoyant spirit had been crushed, his fears were allayed as she jumped up and swiftly kissed his cheek.

"I'll see you at breakfast, then?" she said, making for the door. Draco nodded silently, aware that his dazed grin was starting to look silly, but finding that he couldn't summon the emotion to care. Ginny shot him one last parting smile as she lingered in the doorway, and then she was gone.

Draco sat on his bed for several long minutes after she left, still feeling her lips pressed against his, still seeing her happy face, still hearing her words as she said, I love you, Draco. And to hell with everyone else... He stared up at the ceiling and whispered a fervent prayer that he wasn't dreaming. Finally, he arose and went to his mirror, absently beginning his morning routine.

"Well!" a breathy voice exclaimed from the mirror. "Someone's been getting a little attention!"

Draco smiled at his reflection as he automatically fixed his hair and reached for his school uniform. The mirror continued to make its exclamations over his flushed appearance, and Draco continued to smile, blissfully unaware of his surroundings.

"So, you're in love with her, Malfoy?"

Draco jumped, his Head Boy badge slipping from his fingers and falling to the floor. Sitting on the edge of the bed across the room, Blaise was staring at him with a dull look in his dark eyes.

Draco bent to retrieve his fallen badge. Aware of the precarious situation, but confident of his Slytherin superiority, he straightened and said in a neutral voice, "Sorry. I didn't hear you."

Blaise tilted his head slowly, studying Draco as if he had never seen him before. "Yes, you did," he said, voice flat.

Draco's pale eyes narrowed and he turned back to the mirror in order to pin his badge on correctly. "I don't know what you're talking about."

At once, Blaise bounded across the room, and grabbed Draco by the wrists. Once again, the unfastened badge clattered to the floor. Draco struggled to keep the expression of distaste on his face as he stared at the snarling Blaise. He was terrified of what his friend was capable of when pressed, and he knew that if he showed any weakness he'd be deposed by his housemates.

"That girl," Blaise growled. "She was a Gryffindor, wasn't she?"

Draco gritted his teeth and twisted away from Blaise, wrenching his wrists out of Blaise's grip. "What does it matter, Zabini?" he asked viciously. "It's no affair of yours." He summoned up the image of Ginny's smiling face, and found it in him to ignore Blaise and assume the masterful aura of indifference he was so famous for.

Blaise, seeing that he'd been beaten, sank into an armchair and watched Draco check his appearance in the mirror. Long minutes of silence passed as Draco carefully combed his hair and told himself to remain aloof. Finally, Blaise could stand it no more and said, "Do you really love her, Draco?"

It was the defeat in Blaise's voice that made Draco turn around. Had he been mistaken about a fellow Slytherin understanding? It wasn't like him to take such a chance but... He narrowed his eyes. "Would you condemn me for it, Blaise?" he asked seriously.

Blaise thought about it, obviously fighting some personal battle. "Who is she?" he inquired at last.

Draco studied his friend, trying to see past the cruel, dark-humored young man that everyone else saw, and see just the boy who had been one of his constant companions since he was eleven. "Do you love Jaclyn?" he asked, knowing the answer already.

"Yes," Blaise said without hesitation, defiance flaring in his eyes. Blaise's girlfriend, Jaclyn, was often shunned amongst the other Slytherins because she was Muggle-born. Blaise, a pure-blood, had taken a chance in dating her, and Draco had once been publicly opposed to Blaise's relationship with her. Now he could not blame the defensive wall that Blaise had instantly thrown up in response to Draco's question.

"I love this girl," Draco said then, knowing that he would be all right in admitting this to Blaise.

Blaise nodded. "A Gryffindor?" he asked, without animosity this time.

Draco watched his friend carefully, but didn't reply. Blaise's face underwent a myriad of expressions and Draco appreciated that in the end only acceptance remained. Then a spark of insight flared in his face. "It's not Hermione Granger, is it?"

Draco looked at him, stunned. "No," he laughed in disbelief. "It isn't."

"Oh..." Draco couldn't tell if Blaise seemed disappointed or relieved. "Who is it then?"

Draco shook his head. "You know enough."

Blaise rolled his eyes in familiarity with Draco's attitude.

Draco gave him a dark look. "I don't need you to understand, Zabini. I didn't even have to tell you." His grey eyes widened in uncharacteristic terror. "You won't tell my father?"

Blaise, slightly surprised by the fever in Draco's words, shook his head. He understood that Draco wanted to hide, and even though he had an inkling as to why, he was a loyal friend. He suddenly felt closer to his roommate than he ever had in the seven years they had known each other. "I promise," he assured him. "I won't even tell Jaclyn."

Draco gave him an odd look. Mentally, he was wondering at how wrong he had been about a Slytherin's inability to understand. Blaise no doubt knew that it was a Gryffindor. And then he realized that he was a Slytherin, and it had been he who had fallen in love with Ginny in the first place. Perhaps he truly did underestimate his Housemates.

-----

Ginny slipped past the Fat Lady's portrait, and waltzed across the common room floor, full of her newfound happiness. Life was, for the first time in her memory, going completely right for the youngest Weasley. She had found her soulmate, and together they could get through anything that life might throw at them. The future was looking brighter by the minute.

Caught up in her elated meanderings, Ginny didn't notice Hermione sitting in a chair by the fire until it was too late for her to escape detection.

"Good morning, Hermione," she said pleasantly, stopping in her tracks, and trying to erase the idiotic smile from her face.

" 'morning," Hermione greeted her suspiciously. She looked around and lowered her voice. "Have you been with Malfoy all night?"

Ginny glanced at the clock, noticed with a thrill that it proclaimed the time to be seven in the morning, and gave brief speculation as to why no one else was downstairs yet. "Yes," she said, and a note of defiance entered her voice. "So what?"

Hermione stood up, shaking her head. "How long have you known this boy, Ginny? How can you be this serious about him so soon?"

Ginny's eyes darkened as she looked at the older girl. "I don't have to explain myself to you, Hermione," she said, feeling something inside of her start up in rebellion.

"Yes, you do!" Hermione drew Ginny away from the stairs, and looked at her out of the corner of her eye. "If I have to cover up for you, then I want to know what's going on."

Ginny crossed her arms. Hermione was the only other person who knew about her and Draco after all. To alienate her might be the suicide of their so-far brief relationship. "All right, fine. Yes, I stayed with him all night." At Hermione's look of askance she added, "No, we didn't do anything. We just... talked. We're in love, Hermione, do you understand? I need you to help me make this okay with everyone else."

Hermione shook her head again, and brushed the hair from her face. "You know what you're getting yourself into, Ginny? I don't want to see you get hurt." Ginny swallowed back a lump in her throat at the worry that shone in Hermione's eyes and nodded.

"I know, Hermione. So does Draco. But we can make this work. We can be accepted." She sounded like she was pleading even to her own ears.

Hermione studied Ginny's face, and saw the desperation there. The younger girl was holding onto this with every last fiber of her being. She could see the redhead's determination in this venture was not about to flag any time soon. Draco Malfoy must have proved to her that he was quite a different person from the snot rag that the Gryffindors hated so much if his evident love could provide such a surge of devotion in Ginny Weasley. "Okay," Hermione said gently. "Okay, Ginny. I'll help you. Are you going to--?"

The sound of footsteps on the stairs made her stop mid-question. Students were beginning to make their way down to the common room, on their way to breakfast. Hermione glanced at them and sighed.

"We can talk later," she said. "I need to go get dressed anyway." Ginny nodded and watched her head up the stairs. Looking down at her own wrinkled clothes that she'd worn the previous day, she darted after her friend.

Regaining her cheerful mood, she sashayed into her dorm room and found four pairs of eyes staring at her.

"Well, here she is!" Miranda exclaimed as Ginny turned to close the door. "She's back at last!"

Aubrey, half-way through pulling on her stockings, laughed at the faraway look on Ginny's face. "At last, indeed," she giggled. "Our little girl is growing up." And she took a moment to clasp her hands together and give a matronly sigh of loss.

Ginny ignored her friend's teasing, and went to her trunk, humming happily. Catherine picked up on the tune and began to sing along with a smile. Ginny darted her a grin, and the two girls nodded in understanding as Catherine realized the important difference in Ginny's mood. All Miranda and Aubrey saw was Ginny returning from a late-night excursion with a boy, but Catherine saw the truth of the matter - that Ginny was as much in love with her mystery man as Catherine was with Colin. She felt a new connection with her red-haired friend, and knew Ginny had at last forgiven her.

Ella, her nose stuck in a book already, took a moment to smile to herself. She knew that she and Harry could stop worrying about their friend now. It looked like everything was going to be all right.

-----

At breakfast in the Great Hall, Ginny found it hard to keep her gaze from stealing back to Draco any time it wandered. He seemed to be having the same problem because every time their eyes met, the two would blush and glance away, only to find themselves staring at each other once more.

Every time Hermione noticed this, she swatted Ginny on the arm.

It was Ron and Harry's talk of the upcoming Quidditch game that made her tear her gaze away at last. Ginny had made the team as a chaser when Alicia, Angelina, and Katie left, and this was the first time that Gryffindor was going to play Slytherin this year. She wondered how distracting it would be to fly with Draco on the field too, but shooed the thought from her mind, trying to focus on the strategies that the two boys were discussing for the upcoming game.

"I think you should try that new move you learned, Harry," her brother was saying. "Anything to knock that bastard off his broom will be fine."

Realizing that Ron was referring to Draco, Ginny felt her face heat and suppressed the urge to rise to Draco's defense. He had been truly awful to the Gryffindors for the past month anyway, and she really couldn't blame them for wanting a little revenge. Looking at the vicious nods of approval around the table, she wondered how far some of them might go to get that revenge. Surely no one would try anything drastic, she reassured herself. They might have hated Draco Malfoy and his Slytherin cronies, but surely, Gryffindors wouldn't fall back on sabotage just to get revenge.

-----

Draco watched Ginny converse with her friends until they all got up and left to go to their classes. She stole one last look at him before she went, and Draco smiled at her. She managed to return his grin just before she was hauled off by the vigilant Hermione.

"Draco," Grahm said, exasperated. "You weren't listening again. What's wrong with you this morning?"

"Nothing," Draco replied as he finally heard his cousin speak. He caught Blaise's look of suspicion, and raised his eyebrows slightly in acknowledgement. The brooding Slytherin had followed Draco's gaze and was staring at the Gryffindors with a frown on his face.

Grahm threw up his hands. "I give up!" he declared, looking back and forth between Draco and Blaise. "I don't have time to guess what you two are up to without me, and I don't like being ignored." He moved to stand up, gathering the papers he'd carefully laid in front of Draco into his arms.

"We weren't ignoring you, Grahm," Blaise said abruptly as Draco hauled the sixth year back into his chair by the back of his robes. "You were telling us about your plans for the Quidditch match on Saturday, right?" Draco nodded, trying to look like he had paid attention. How could he have forgotten this weekend's Quidditch match? Suddenly the prospect of flying against Ginny and her housemates sickened him. He couldn't believe that just yesterday he'd been boasting about how badly Gryffindor was going to lose.

"Right," Grahm said slowly, still looking at the two of them with obvious distrust. Blaise eyed Draco as Grahm spread his papers out again, and began outlining his plan with a quill. "We'll slip Potter the potion with his breakfast Saturday morning. It shouldn't be too hard for me to--"

"Wait!" Draco said. "Wait just a minute..." He couldn't remember what the potion they were supposed to 'slip Potter' was, but it couldn't be anything good. "I've changed my mind. I don't think we should sabotage Potter before the game. It needs to be a fair match."

"Fair!?" Grahm cried, outraged at the thought. Blaise darted Draco a similair look; this could be the end of the road for them where the Quidditch Cup was concerned. They'd beaten Hufflepuff last month, but already lost to Ravenclaw, so this match was critical.

"Yes. It should appear to be a fair game." Draco drew them in with a conspiratorial whisper. "Listen, guys, I'm Quidditch captain, and what I say goes. Blaise, tell the others that all sabotage is off limits. In the game, anything goes, but nothing beforehand, okay?" Blaise nodded, and moved off to tell the others on the team what Draco had said. Grahm shook his head at his cousin, and leaned back in his chair.

"And I had such a good prank all worked out for those damned Chasers," he grumbled. Draco shot him a warning look, and Grahm grimaced at him. "What you say goes," he parroted. "I just hope you know that the chances of you winning are--"

"Don't tell me," Draco interjected, knowing full well that Grahm's computation was probably right, and not wanting to hear the bad news.