Pure Emotion
*
AN: I used to be a Harry/Ginny fan. And then, for some twisted, abnormal reason I can't remember for the life of me, I became a Draco/Ginny fan. *pauses* I swear, if I could only freakin' remember WHY… Anyway, this is my first Draco/Ginny fanfic. Really. This is, however, my fifth HP one-shot. Moving on…in order to withstand this pathetic piece of fanfiction, it is probably wise for you to not have any prejudices against a nutty fourteen-year old girl writing happy little fanfics that put Malfoy in an OOC position of romance with Ginny. I can't help being the way I am. *^o&* However, if you are a D/G fan, I can't help but wonder why you're wasting your time reading this, when you could be reading something by StrangerWithMyFace or Flaming Ashes or w&m law or somebody who writes GOOD Draco/Ginny fanfics. I SUCK. You have been forewarned.
WARNING: Large amounts of fluff await you if you continue the act of reading this. I will not be held responsible if this causes traumatizing side affects or presents to you a side of Draco Malfoy that probably does not exist. If you are a Harry/Ginny fan with a narrow, prejudiced mind, it is not recommended that you read the following fanfic.
DISCLAIMER: All characters mentioned within are © to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, and all affiliates. This was written merely for entertainment purposes only, at which it shall surely fail, and no profit is being made from the on-line publication of this. Money is currently better off being sent to help those in NYC and the various firefighters funds that have sprung up overnight to assist efforts in and around the World Trade Center area. This fanfiction, its meager plot, and whatever scraps of dignity I can scrape up belong to myself. I also can lay claim to owning the five original characters in this (all of whom have very minor roles): Nanci the waitress, the Triples of Terror (aka Fred and Angelina's children, Eric, Erica, and Erin), and Yoko Nonaka (who is from a Percy-centric fic I'm working on entitled "Charm and Pomp"). Please don't steal.
REQUEST: If you're already wasting time reading this, you might as well review it, ne?
SUMMARY: A short Draco/Ginny piece set when Ginny graduates from Hogwarts. Might turn into a miniseries if people review… *lol* ;] { read / don't read / review / weep / flame }
*
Got a fist of pure emotion
Got a head of shattered dreams
Gotta leave it, gotta leave it all behind me
~ Selected lyrics from "Back For Good" by Take That
Everything was proceeding at an insane pace: there were robes to be cleaned, shoes to be polished, books to be locked away, feasts to be prepared. It was probably the one time in Ginny's life that she would have so much attention settled around her by her family, so much attention that she was no longer the baby girl in the family, but a young woman of seventeen years. Tall, poised, self-assured, everything she wanted to be, desperately needed to be. This was her day, and no matter if there were countless others graduating alongside her! She would finally get the respect she'd dreamed of for heavens know how long, and she'd be free to do what she wished.
As much as she loved her mother, as much as she loved her family - which was apparently going to grow soon if Ron would ever get around to popping the question to Hermione - she couldn't stay near the Burrow like Molly Weasley wanted. Perhaps there had been a time when she had wanted to be a dutiful witchwife, like her mother, but that was all in the past. Clutching her wand to her chest, Ginny pulled her legs up onto her bed, staring sightlessly out the tower window at the meadow and forest stretching out into the horizon, a sliver of the gleaming blue lake visible at the edge of the glass. There was an old pain in her chest, one that she wished would leave her, but never would it seemed. Painful, humbled first pangs of love, buried deep inside.
Giving up her devotion for Harry had been one of the hardest things she had ever done. The sun was setting, golden rays dipping below the horizon, the sky a melting pot of varying colors, from dark purple to light pink, to a rich orange. With a sigh, she returned her attention to the chore of packing her heavy wooden chest, red curls tumbling down along her shoulders, resting against the cloth of her nightgown.
*
Suspicious looks and wary sideways glances had always been an accepted part of Draco Malfoy's unusual life, but for the first time they had him on an edge. Once Harry Potter - the perfect, precious Boy Who Lived - had destroyed Voldemort, as most people had been expecting, it had become public knowledge who exactly the Death Eaters were, including Draco's own be-damned father. He hadn't felt much pity for the conniving man when he had been once again placed on trial, then found guilty unlike the first time, but rather a seething, boiling hatred for the man and what his dark doings had finally done to the admittedly dysfunctional family. Narcissa had long turned a blind eye toward what Lucius and his 'business associates' did; pretending her husband wasn't a Death Eater had worked fine for her for years and it wasn't until the trials began did her sheltered little world crash in on itself. As it was, parties were no longer held in Malfoy Manor and she had grown far too attached to alcoholic drinks as her anesthetic for life.
Those untrusting looks only dug deeper into his sense of self-honor until there was only one place where he would not be recognized as the malevolent son of a Death Eater. The one place he despised more than anything else: a Muggle world. Streets and towns filled with frivolous beings that had not a single magical bone in their body. And even worse, even more irritating, was the fact that he, against his own will, was becoming used to their vastly different world.
Hunching over, lips drawn into a thin white line, he stalked along the sidewalk, hands buried deep into his pockets as he moved, jacket lapels fluttering in the breezy wind of a late spring storm as it rose and swelled at the edge of the small city, preparing to pound mercilessly down upon the hurried citizens rushing about in last minute errands, hoping to return to their homes before the storm broke. It was of no matter to him whether or not he was caught in a thunderstorm. He was a wizard and rain was of no great importance. Still, he was drawn toward a small indoor café situated on the corner of the block, windows stretching along the sides of the café. Leaning against the metal PUSH bar on the glass door, Draco stepped in with all the regality he deserved to show and was immediately set upon by a small girl, no more than eight years in age, dressed in something like a waitress' uniform.
" 'Ello," the girl smiled, bobbing in a tiny curtsy and motioning toward an empty booth. "I'm Nanci and I'll be servin' you t'day." With the amount of barely restrained energy a small child has, she all but skipped over to the booth, placing a folded laminated menu down on the checkered tablecloth and beaming at the young man as he seated himself with great dignity.
As the girl - Nanci, was it? - hurried off to soothe an impatient customer on the other side of the café, his eyes wandered around, bored, from wall to wall, skimming over the many faded posters and blown-up black-and-white pictures Muggles seemed prone to taking. It was rather odd seeing lifeless, unmoving images of people. Behind the counter, a whiteboard hung from the wall, loopy handwriting stating the date and the special for the day. He frowned momentarily. Tomorrow would be graduation day at Hogwarts.
There was a flash of red, red hair in his mind, and a shy girl with freckles shading her face.
Standing up abruptly, he scowled angrily at the table and whirled on his heel, slipping out of the café. Why should he care if some Weasley girl was graduating?
Not girl anymore, though, a pesky little voice reminded him, but a woman in her own right.
"Damn," he hissed, and overhead, the dark clouds finally erupted, dashing thick glittering droplets against the earth.
*
Smiling out at the thick mass of her peers and easily spotting her family by their flaming red hair, Ginny radiated overjoyed pride and she descended from the stage along its left steps, dodging through the crowd of graduates - some of whom congratulated her on her way through - and locating Fred and Angelina first, due to the three pre-toddlers making as loud a noise as possible for their lungs. Obviously, judging by their red hair and the fact that they were already behaving raucously (for infants, at least), the Triplets of Terror were taking after their father.
"Well, don't you look pretty!" Angelina smiled, hugging her sister-in-law with one arm, the other arm busy cradling a gurgling Erica. Fred, in turn, was balancing the two boys, Eric and Erin, both of who were yodeling to the best of their infantile capabilities.
Soon the entire Weasley family was encircling Ginny and she was somewhat surprised to see that even Percy had managed to arrive, with considerably less pomp than usual and a young woman of obvious Asian heritage in tow. A whirlwind of conversation was started and she pieced together that, yes, Ron had finally gotten up the courage to propose to Hermione - Miss Granger and the youngest Weasley male both turned bright red - and that Harry - who arrived a bit later, slightly out of breath - was dating Cho - who arrived with Harry, but not out of breath. The young woman with Percy was one Yoko Nonaka, the only Muggle in the rather distinguished Nonaka line of witches and wizards, and a woman who not only had a rather wild sense of humor (much like Fred and George's) but was also the co-chairman of the newly opened Muggle Relations Office, and Percy's fiancée, oddly enough.
Words blended into one another as various conversations shifted and, carefully, Ginny slipped away, scooping up her dress robes into the crooks of her arms and tiptoeing off, into the relative shelter of a small circle of trees. Scooting into the enveloping shadows of the trees, she picked her way across the ground into the tiny little clearing in the center of it, just wide enough for three people to sit with their legs crossed. Kicking off her slippers and wriggling out of her dress robes, she relaxed, the sun dappling her freckled arms where it managed to pierce through the trees. The fabric of her t-shirt and jeans cooled slowly, having been heated uncomfortably due to the black robes she had worn to the ceremonies. For just a moment, she closed her eyes, savoring the damp coolness of the earth and the trees overhead. It was a rare moment of quiet and peace, and, despite how much she had truly enjoyed being the center of attention, it was just as wonderful to be alone.
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice drawled, breaking her train of thought and she almost jumped, opting instead to sit up rigidly straight, eyes as wide as a doe's caught in headlights. "If it isn't the lovely Virginia Weasley."
He'd grown far too tall since the last time Ginny had seen him and he was as effortlessly slender now as he had been then. Draco Malfoy. Silver-blonde hair, silver-blue eyes, everything about him was silver. Reaching around the trunk of the tree she was leaning against, she inched up, eyes locked with his, expecting the insult that never came.
Somewhere in the distance, in the forest not far off, a bird whistled a silly trilling note and then fell silent, waiting and waiting for nothing at all, like Ginny was.
Something was different, she knew. She knew by the strange knot forming in the pit of her stomach, knew by the way that suddenly Draco didn't seem like the personification of every horrible thing that had ever happened to her. And that scared her in a wholly new way. And why was he just staring at her? Finally, in a desperate bid to keep herself sane, she demanded, "What do you want, Draco?"
A curious little smile curved his lips and he simply cocked his head to one side, as if to study her better. Nervously, she folded her arms over her chest and began edging along the small enclosure that had seemed so cozy only a few minutes before. Before what? Beneath her hand, she could feel her heart pounding erratically, crazily. Good Lord, why was she getting so jumpy? It was only Malfoy, the bane of every Weasley's existence. Malfoy, who was very, very attractive and was eyeing her in a very flattering way. Damn him.
"What are you thinking?" she tried again, deciding to rephrase the question, inching along the circular clearing; he was walking along at the same pace she was, so that he was always directly across from her.
That same slow, enigmatic little smile. "You sure you want to know?" he made a show of asking, voice soft and pitched low. Again, there was silence, broken only by the sound of twigs snapping underfoot as they continued their steady cat-and-mouse movements.
*
He had never suspected that Ginny Weasley, the shy little girl he'd found so much pleasure in tormenting and insulting, would grow up so much in only a year. She was curvaceous, now, with dips and hollows that served only to spark images in his mind he most certainly did not want. She was a Weasley, for God's sake, and that meant she was as low as a Muggle, and he was having lecherous thoughts about her? "Christ," he muttered, deciding then and there to stop trailing her and face her. The moment he stopped walking, so did she and then, whatever insult had been brewing behind his lips died a swift and painless death.
She was too damn pure, too…too…whatever word it was, he found he was unable to toss an insult at her.
Before Draco could put any more confusing thoughts into motion in his mind, he clenched his hands into fists, then loosened them, striding across the clearing in one easy step, hands reaching up to grasp Ginny's shoulders.
"Wha…?" she was suitably startled, her heart-shaped pixie face bewildered, lips pursed in her surprise.
And that was far too tempting.
*
End AN: That's the end. *ducks various blunt objects* Anyway, if you want me to write a sequel or whatever - *barely avoids a gym sock thrown by an irate H/G fan* - THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR! *brushes self off* AS I WAS SAYING…if you'd like me to continue this, please review and say so. Or, if you can't bear the humiliation of publicly reviewing a story this bad, e-mail me at [email protected] and request such in the body of your e-mail. (Why would anyone want *this* to be continued? *shrugs*)
*
AN: I used to be a Harry/Ginny fan. And then, for some twisted, abnormal reason I can't remember for the life of me, I became a Draco/Ginny fan. *pauses* I swear, if I could only freakin' remember WHY… Anyway, this is my first Draco/Ginny fanfic. Really. This is, however, my fifth HP one-shot. Moving on…in order to withstand this pathetic piece of fanfiction, it is probably wise for you to not have any prejudices against a nutty fourteen-year old girl writing happy little fanfics that put Malfoy in an OOC position of romance with Ginny. I can't help being the way I am. *^o&* However, if you are a D/G fan, I can't help but wonder why you're wasting your time reading this, when you could be reading something by StrangerWithMyFace or Flaming Ashes or w&m law or somebody who writes GOOD Draco/Ginny fanfics. I SUCK. You have been forewarned.
WARNING: Large amounts of fluff await you if you continue the act of reading this. I will not be held responsible if this causes traumatizing side affects or presents to you a side of Draco Malfoy that probably does not exist. If you are a Harry/Ginny fan with a narrow, prejudiced mind, it is not recommended that you read the following fanfic.
DISCLAIMER: All characters mentioned within are © to J.K. Rowling, Scholastic, Warner Brothers, and all affiliates. This was written merely for entertainment purposes only, at which it shall surely fail, and no profit is being made from the on-line publication of this. Money is currently better off being sent to help those in NYC and the various firefighters funds that have sprung up overnight to assist efforts in and around the World Trade Center area. This fanfiction, its meager plot, and whatever scraps of dignity I can scrape up belong to myself. I also can lay claim to owning the five original characters in this (all of whom have very minor roles): Nanci the waitress, the Triples of Terror (aka Fred and Angelina's children, Eric, Erica, and Erin), and Yoko Nonaka (who is from a Percy-centric fic I'm working on entitled "Charm and Pomp"). Please don't steal.
REQUEST: If you're already wasting time reading this, you might as well review it, ne?
SUMMARY: A short Draco/Ginny piece set when Ginny graduates from Hogwarts. Might turn into a miniseries if people review… *lol* ;] { read / don't read / review / weep / flame }
*
Got a fist of pure emotion
Got a head of shattered dreams
Gotta leave it, gotta leave it all behind me
~ Selected lyrics from "Back For Good" by Take That
Everything was proceeding at an insane pace: there were robes to be cleaned, shoes to be polished, books to be locked away, feasts to be prepared. It was probably the one time in Ginny's life that she would have so much attention settled around her by her family, so much attention that she was no longer the baby girl in the family, but a young woman of seventeen years. Tall, poised, self-assured, everything she wanted to be, desperately needed to be. This was her day, and no matter if there were countless others graduating alongside her! She would finally get the respect she'd dreamed of for heavens know how long, and she'd be free to do what she wished.
As much as she loved her mother, as much as she loved her family - which was apparently going to grow soon if Ron would ever get around to popping the question to Hermione - she couldn't stay near the Burrow like Molly Weasley wanted. Perhaps there had been a time when she had wanted to be a dutiful witchwife, like her mother, but that was all in the past. Clutching her wand to her chest, Ginny pulled her legs up onto her bed, staring sightlessly out the tower window at the meadow and forest stretching out into the horizon, a sliver of the gleaming blue lake visible at the edge of the glass. There was an old pain in her chest, one that she wished would leave her, but never would it seemed. Painful, humbled first pangs of love, buried deep inside.
Giving up her devotion for Harry had been one of the hardest things she had ever done. The sun was setting, golden rays dipping below the horizon, the sky a melting pot of varying colors, from dark purple to light pink, to a rich orange. With a sigh, she returned her attention to the chore of packing her heavy wooden chest, red curls tumbling down along her shoulders, resting against the cloth of her nightgown.
*
Suspicious looks and wary sideways glances had always been an accepted part of Draco Malfoy's unusual life, but for the first time they had him on an edge. Once Harry Potter - the perfect, precious Boy Who Lived - had destroyed Voldemort, as most people had been expecting, it had become public knowledge who exactly the Death Eaters were, including Draco's own be-damned father. He hadn't felt much pity for the conniving man when he had been once again placed on trial, then found guilty unlike the first time, but rather a seething, boiling hatred for the man and what his dark doings had finally done to the admittedly dysfunctional family. Narcissa had long turned a blind eye toward what Lucius and his 'business associates' did; pretending her husband wasn't a Death Eater had worked fine for her for years and it wasn't until the trials began did her sheltered little world crash in on itself. As it was, parties were no longer held in Malfoy Manor and she had grown far too attached to alcoholic drinks as her anesthetic for life.
Those untrusting looks only dug deeper into his sense of self-honor until there was only one place where he would not be recognized as the malevolent son of a Death Eater. The one place he despised more than anything else: a Muggle world. Streets and towns filled with frivolous beings that had not a single magical bone in their body. And even worse, even more irritating, was the fact that he, against his own will, was becoming used to their vastly different world.
Hunching over, lips drawn into a thin white line, he stalked along the sidewalk, hands buried deep into his pockets as he moved, jacket lapels fluttering in the breezy wind of a late spring storm as it rose and swelled at the edge of the small city, preparing to pound mercilessly down upon the hurried citizens rushing about in last minute errands, hoping to return to their homes before the storm broke. It was of no matter to him whether or not he was caught in a thunderstorm. He was a wizard and rain was of no great importance. Still, he was drawn toward a small indoor café situated on the corner of the block, windows stretching along the sides of the café. Leaning against the metal PUSH bar on the glass door, Draco stepped in with all the regality he deserved to show and was immediately set upon by a small girl, no more than eight years in age, dressed in something like a waitress' uniform.
" 'Ello," the girl smiled, bobbing in a tiny curtsy and motioning toward an empty booth. "I'm Nanci and I'll be servin' you t'day." With the amount of barely restrained energy a small child has, she all but skipped over to the booth, placing a folded laminated menu down on the checkered tablecloth and beaming at the young man as he seated himself with great dignity.
As the girl - Nanci, was it? - hurried off to soothe an impatient customer on the other side of the café, his eyes wandered around, bored, from wall to wall, skimming over the many faded posters and blown-up black-and-white pictures Muggles seemed prone to taking. It was rather odd seeing lifeless, unmoving images of people. Behind the counter, a whiteboard hung from the wall, loopy handwriting stating the date and the special for the day. He frowned momentarily. Tomorrow would be graduation day at Hogwarts.
There was a flash of red, red hair in his mind, and a shy girl with freckles shading her face.
Standing up abruptly, he scowled angrily at the table and whirled on his heel, slipping out of the café. Why should he care if some Weasley girl was graduating?
Not girl anymore, though, a pesky little voice reminded him, but a woman in her own right.
"Damn," he hissed, and overhead, the dark clouds finally erupted, dashing thick glittering droplets against the earth.
*
Smiling out at the thick mass of her peers and easily spotting her family by their flaming red hair, Ginny radiated overjoyed pride and she descended from the stage along its left steps, dodging through the crowd of graduates - some of whom congratulated her on her way through - and locating Fred and Angelina first, due to the three pre-toddlers making as loud a noise as possible for their lungs. Obviously, judging by their red hair and the fact that they were already behaving raucously (for infants, at least), the Triplets of Terror were taking after their father.
"Well, don't you look pretty!" Angelina smiled, hugging her sister-in-law with one arm, the other arm busy cradling a gurgling Erica. Fred, in turn, was balancing the two boys, Eric and Erin, both of who were yodeling to the best of their infantile capabilities.
Soon the entire Weasley family was encircling Ginny and she was somewhat surprised to see that even Percy had managed to arrive, with considerably less pomp than usual and a young woman of obvious Asian heritage in tow. A whirlwind of conversation was started and she pieced together that, yes, Ron had finally gotten up the courage to propose to Hermione - Miss Granger and the youngest Weasley male both turned bright red - and that Harry - who arrived a bit later, slightly out of breath - was dating Cho - who arrived with Harry, but not out of breath. The young woman with Percy was one Yoko Nonaka, the only Muggle in the rather distinguished Nonaka line of witches and wizards, and a woman who not only had a rather wild sense of humor (much like Fred and George's) but was also the co-chairman of the newly opened Muggle Relations Office, and Percy's fiancée, oddly enough.
Words blended into one another as various conversations shifted and, carefully, Ginny slipped away, scooping up her dress robes into the crooks of her arms and tiptoeing off, into the relative shelter of a small circle of trees. Scooting into the enveloping shadows of the trees, she picked her way across the ground into the tiny little clearing in the center of it, just wide enough for three people to sit with their legs crossed. Kicking off her slippers and wriggling out of her dress robes, she relaxed, the sun dappling her freckled arms where it managed to pierce through the trees. The fabric of her t-shirt and jeans cooled slowly, having been heated uncomfortably due to the black robes she had worn to the ceremonies. For just a moment, she closed her eyes, savoring the damp coolness of the earth and the trees overhead. It was a rare moment of quiet and peace, and, despite how much she had truly enjoyed being the center of attention, it was just as wonderful to be alone.
"Well, well, well," a familiar voice drawled, breaking her train of thought and she almost jumped, opting instead to sit up rigidly straight, eyes as wide as a doe's caught in headlights. "If it isn't the lovely Virginia Weasley."
He'd grown far too tall since the last time Ginny had seen him and he was as effortlessly slender now as he had been then. Draco Malfoy. Silver-blonde hair, silver-blue eyes, everything about him was silver. Reaching around the trunk of the tree she was leaning against, she inched up, eyes locked with his, expecting the insult that never came.
Somewhere in the distance, in the forest not far off, a bird whistled a silly trilling note and then fell silent, waiting and waiting for nothing at all, like Ginny was.
Something was different, she knew. She knew by the strange knot forming in the pit of her stomach, knew by the way that suddenly Draco didn't seem like the personification of every horrible thing that had ever happened to her. And that scared her in a wholly new way. And why was he just staring at her? Finally, in a desperate bid to keep herself sane, she demanded, "What do you want, Draco?"
A curious little smile curved his lips and he simply cocked his head to one side, as if to study her better. Nervously, she folded her arms over her chest and began edging along the small enclosure that had seemed so cozy only a few minutes before. Before what? Beneath her hand, she could feel her heart pounding erratically, crazily. Good Lord, why was she getting so jumpy? It was only Malfoy, the bane of every Weasley's existence. Malfoy, who was very, very attractive and was eyeing her in a very flattering way. Damn him.
"What are you thinking?" she tried again, deciding to rephrase the question, inching along the circular clearing; he was walking along at the same pace she was, so that he was always directly across from her.
That same slow, enigmatic little smile. "You sure you want to know?" he made a show of asking, voice soft and pitched low. Again, there was silence, broken only by the sound of twigs snapping underfoot as they continued their steady cat-and-mouse movements.
*
He had never suspected that Ginny Weasley, the shy little girl he'd found so much pleasure in tormenting and insulting, would grow up so much in only a year. She was curvaceous, now, with dips and hollows that served only to spark images in his mind he most certainly did not want. She was a Weasley, for God's sake, and that meant she was as low as a Muggle, and he was having lecherous thoughts about her? "Christ," he muttered, deciding then and there to stop trailing her and face her. The moment he stopped walking, so did she and then, whatever insult had been brewing behind his lips died a swift and painless death.
She was too damn pure, too…too…whatever word it was, he found he was unable to toss an insult at her.
Before Draco could put any more confusing thoughts into motion in his mind, he clenched his hands into fists, then loosened them, striding across the clearing in one easy step, hands reaching up to grasp Ginny's shoulders.
"Wha…?" she was suitably startled, her heart-shaped pixie face bewildered, lips pursed in her surprise.
And that was far too tempting.
*
End AN: That's the end. *ducks various blunt objects* Anyway, if you want me to write a sequel or whatever - *barely avoids a gym sock thrown by an irate H/G fan* - THAT WAS UNCALLED FOR! *brushes self off* AS I WAS SAYING…if you'd like me to continue this, please review and say so. Or, if you can't bear the humiliation of publicly reviewing a story this bad, e-mail me at [email protected] and request such in the body of your e-mail. (Why would anyone want *this* to be continued? *shrugs*)