Of Inscrutable Conceit

Chapter One

Ginny rushed down the corridor. She was late to Potions yet again. Her robe billowed around her, threatening to fall off, the blasted thing. She turned the corner, fumbling at the clasp with one hand.

"Hallo, Weasley," Draco said, leaning against the wall.

"Malfoy," Ginny said, giving a curt nod.

Draco spun suddenly, blocking Ginny's way. "And that's all you have to say, is it now?" Draco asked.

"Yes, Malfoy," Ginny said through clenched teeth as she attempted to push past him. The boy had some nerve, acting as if it were perfectly natural for him to be hulking over her for a friendly chat.

Draco leaned towards her, pushing his face closer to hers, his lips hovering over the top of her ear. "Oh, but say it with feeling, Weasley. Yess, Malfoy," Draco said, exploding the last s with a loud hiss.

"Malfoy, have you gone mad? What are you going on about?" Ginny spat in return, her impatience growing by the minute. She did not have time for this. Snape threatened no less than double detention for the next late student.

Draco paused for a moment. "I don't like being second best to anyone, Weasley. As a Malfoy, that should go without saying, of course. But I especially do not like being second best to Potter." He raised his chin, his body suddenly stiff against her.

Ginny stopped at Draco's words. Much to her embarrassment and annoyance, she was blushing. She leaned against the wall for a moment. Her rucksack fell to the ground. Draco loomed over her, his hands resting on either side of her head, his face hovering over hers.

"You are completely mad, Malfoy. The world does not revolve around Harry Potter. Why is it always Harry Potter this, Harry Potter that?" She shook her head, closing her eyes for a moment. "A girl is entitled have a bloody sulk without interfering, nosy good-for-nothings sticking their noses where they do not belong!" she said, jabbing Draco's chest with her finger.

Draco snorted and shook his head. "Think what you will, Weasley, but if Potter leaves a bad taste in your mouth, rinse it out with some pumpkin juice. Don't use me."

She had been too busy fuming to notice him until he coughed, blathering about maidens in distress and their heroes. O, that infuriating sneer! His eyes were sparkling with amusement, clearly at her expense. Ginny had meant to slap Draco, she really had.

"This is not the time, Malfoy. I'm late for bloody Potions."

She glared at him, leaning forward in an attempt to break free. Draco did not push her back, but he did not give in. Ginny was now pressed more tightly against Malfoy. She frowned. Her wand was lying on the floor in her rucksack. No hexes for Malfoy. She would simply have to immobilse him the old-fashioned way.

She raised her knee to his groin, but Malfoy stopped her, trapping her knee between his legs. They were now close enough for Ginny to feel his breath against her eyelashes. She shuddered. She had kissed him. Yes, it was rash. But Ginny had been sick of bloody waiting for something to happen to her. This was the new Ginny Weasley. This Ginny Weasley had a string of boyfriends who were not Harry Potter. She could and would do whatever she damn well pleased. Ginny tilted her head forward. Draco leaned in slightly as if to meet her. Ginny shuddered again. It was dangerous to have such thoughts when he was so warm and close and present.

Draco let out a short, sharp laugh and tapped her freckled nose with a long, pale finger. "Well, you should have said so, Weasley. Don't want Snape to give you detention again. Can't have your precious House losing what little points it has. We can finish this discussion later." Draco managed to disentangle himself gracefully and glide off with a small flourish of his robe.

Ginny gaped at him for a moment as she fumbled with her rucksack. No time to think. She was late. She ran down the hallway without a backward glance.

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Snape had given her detention all next week and an assignment—a whole parchment on the antidotes to all the potions they had brewed in class this term. And it was due by the end of next week! Just thinking about it made her ill. She couldn't be bothered to start the bloody thing now. Hermione would help her with the punishment later. Probably think it was a lark and tell Ginny she was lucky to be offered this opportunity to expand her knowledge. Ginny wrinkled her nose. Hermione was a dear, but sometimes, she was a bit odd.

Ginny walked into the library's main reading room. She turned right towards the stacks and then veered slightly to the left to the sublevel containing the special collection of advanced arthimancy scrolls. Over on the west wall, there was a spot two hands beneath the precise centre. Before, Ginny had to fumble for the spot. Now she could find it with her eyes closed. Given her previous encounters with secret chambers, Ginny should have been more sceptical of her hiding spot. Hogwarts was riddled with secrets—far too many secrets for its own good, in Ginny's opinion. However, it was no secret that the library had special study cupboards for seventh years working on their final projects. It was just a musty and ickle study cupboard. There was no need to be cautious, really.

Ginny's thoughts were rudely interrupted by the impact of someone's chest. Startled, she fell forward, causing the other person to also fall, and landed on top of...Draco Malfoy.

"Malfoy, what are you doing here? This is my...," Ginny said, ready to launch off into a much needed vent.

"Your what? I found this place too, you know, and I've made no promise to leave it to you alone. It's just as much my secret as it is yours," Draco replied with his little self-satisfied smirk. The not so veiled threat of revealing their secret did not escape Ginny.

"Fine, I suppose you can use it. Just don't use it while, I'm here," Ginny said as she waved her hand in a shooing motion.

Draco shrugged and gave Ginny a charming smile, or perhaps a smirk. It was too hard to tell so close to his face.

"Whatever you say, Weasley," Draco drawled, clearly satisfied with her response.

Ginny waited. There was a long silence as neither of them moved.

Ginny cleared her throat and gave Draco a look, "Why are you still here, Malfoy?"

"Weasley, it's hard to move when someone is lying directly on top of you," Draco said, passing his hand along the length of Ginny's back.

Ginny grumbled as she scrambled off of Draco. She ducked her head as she removed her robe to shake off the real and imaginary dust. Her face hadn't been this red since Harry first stayed at the Burrow! The nerve of Malfoy.

"A pillow too, Weasley. I didn't know I was so versatile. And here I was worried I would have to add purely fabricated fluff onto my c.v. At least now it'll be real fluff," Draco said as he stood up and straightened his robes. Not that they needed straightening. It would take a herd of hippogriffs to even dent his perfection. Ginny wrinkled her nose at him and made no more attempts to fuss with her patched robes.

Draco raised an eyebrow at Ginny and smiled. "It's a joke, Weasley. You're supposed to laugh. Ha, ha. Funny. Then again, you are a Weasley, so I suppose I would have to explain my jokes to you."

Ginny set her robe down and poked Draco's chest. "Malfoy, if all you want to do is lob taunts at me, fine. But there's no bloody reason to stalk me. This morning, before potions. Now, after potions. For what? One accident. One mistake. One nothing!" Ginny's face grew redder as her speech became more vehement, her poking taking on a staccato beat.

Draco's eyes narrowed as he calmly snatched Ginny's wrist. "And a punching bag. The list grows."

Ginny struggled in vain against his grip. For a scrawny boy, Malfoy was strong. Draco did not seem to notice Ginny's attempts and continued talking.

"Weasley, an accident is, well, half your siblings. Snogging the enemy of your secret, or in this case, not so secret love is pure manipulation."

Ginny's jaw dropped. She blinked at Draco. Malfoy was talking utter pish. She was trapped in a study cupboard with a raving lunatic.

Draco sighed. "You Gryffindors like to pretend you're so bloody pure. You break the rules just as much as we do. More, if you ask me. And you're transparent, Weasley. You might as well be shouting. Oh, wait, you've already done that," Draco coughed and had the decency to look away before smirking at her.

Ginny snorted. "Malfoy, I know that you Slytherins believe yourselves the end all be all, but I'm telling you, there is nothing between Harry Potter and I. Nothing. Shall I spell it out for you? N as in nancy boy, O as in zero, T as in Terminus Ridikulus, H as in hallucination, I as in I am telling the truth, N as in Nil, and G as in Ginny knows what she feels, thanks for asking."

Draco smirked some more. Was it spellotaped onto his bloody features?

"Fine, fine, denial is also a key element of the Gryffindor psyche. Not in love with Potter, my arse." Draco paused and winked broadly at Ginny.

Ginny giggled in spite of herself. Everyone knew that Harry was so first year. Perhaps second year. Oh very well, third and fourth year. This was fifth year, though! She was over him. She did stare at him, sometimes, but Harry was such a romantic figure. Growing up in a cupboard, the scar, those eyes? She sighed. A girl was allowed to look, wasn't she? Everyone stared at Harry. He was Harry Potter after all. It was hard to believe he was for real, sometimes.

"That infamous Weasley temper—you can count on it every time, dependable like clockwork. And no one would ever believe that Ginny Weasley would voluntarily touch that Slytherin, Draco Malfoy, even with his dashing looks and charming personality," Draco said, gesturing with his hands, tossing his hair so it fell just so. "And then Harry Potter would come rushing to aid of his friend to rough up Draco Malfoy, the defiler of little Ginny Weasley. Nothing like a fight to stir up the romantic sensibilities of our hero, eh, Weasley?" Draco nudged Ginny in her ribs.

Ginny blinked. He wanted to pretend to be her boyfriend? She had thought Malfoy would be too ashamed to mention the incident to anyone. Imagine, Malfoy kissing a Gryffindor, more or less a Weasley! This was too much. True, she could snog whom she pleased, being an independent woman and wot not. And Malfoy's plan sounded like a brilliant way of having the last laugh. Was she really that manipulative? She wrinkled her nose. It was just so ridiculous, it might work. More nefarious than the twins, that was her!

"So what's stopping you then, Malfoy? Why don't you go and besmirch my reputation? You can have a go at the Gryffindors and I can have Harry. What's wrong with that?" Ginny asked. She willed the blood to rush her face, thinking of the look on Ron's and Harry's faces when she and Malfoy came out to Hogwarts. Yes, in the Great Hall, she could see it already. She prayed the splotches made her look embarrassed as she clamped down on her tongue to keep the laughter in.

Draco, still grasping Ginny's wrist, pulled her in. "I don't like being used, remember, Weasley? Although I must admit, the plan is rather clever. I almost missed it myself. Didn't think you had it in you, Weasley." Ginny could hear a grudging respect in Draco's voice. "At first, I thought you were trying to forget your anger. A little fling. Perhaps you were. But you Gryffindors should stick to weaker stuff. Dragons can be dangerous."

Ginny gulped. This wasn't quite on par with the secret diary and Tom, but still, plotting with Malfoy? Her impulses always landed her in a heap of trouble. Not that she was taking the dangerous dragon bit seriously. She could imagine Malfoy practicing that line in front of the mirror and then doing that little flip with his hair to insure the adoration that was rightly his. He was definitely the loose cannon in this latest trick of hers. But a little chance made the game all the more fun, didn't it?

"And of course, if I were going to play along with your little game, well, I figured I might as well have a proper go at you. Ravish you and what not," Draco leered, pulling Ginny even closer.

Ginny groaned and pushed Draco away. His grip never loosened. "Oh, get off it, Malfoy. I was not plotting an all out war between you and Harry. I vow, boys really do think the world revolves around them." She couldn't play herself too eager; Malfoy expected resistance.

Draco shrugged and faced Ginny. "It's not such a terrible idea. I wouldn't mind having an excuse for a duel, " Draco said as he idly pressed his finger against her cheek where her dimple had been a few moments ago, tracing the shape of it.

Ginny smiled sweetly as she stared directly into Draco's eyes. She felt his finger shift as her dimple appeared and tried not to blush. He really did know where her dimple was. Did she ever mention how simply infuriating boys were? She snagged her foot on the strap of her rucksack, just a little closer. "I'm so glad that I meet with your approval, Malfoy, but I do recall asking you to leave. I'm here to sulk, not plot ridiculous plans with you. You remember what happened the last time you interrupted my sulking. Now leave," Ginny ordered, lazily waving the wand she had retrieved from her rucksack.

Draco chuckled, letting his fingers trail against the edge of her jaw, cupping her chin lightly. "Weasley, you are far too much fun for your own good. You're completely wasted on Potter. And you're clearly besotted with the git. More's the pity," Draco dropped her wrist and winked at her.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" Ginny asked, keeping her face blank while repressing the urge to have him say more of the same. She thought the very same thing most of the time. Harry really could be a git.

"You kissed me the last time I interrupted you. I'm waiting, Weasley," Draco said, smiling as sweetly as Ginny had before.

Ginny began muttering a curse, but Draco sauntered out of the cupboard before she finished. Ginny plopped down. Yes, it was definitely time to be alone with her thoughts.