A/N: This ficcie is dedicated to Kiki (Kaseomelette). She's a major
Draco/Ginny shipper (or at least she was..I'm not sure if she still is..)
and she seems to be in to the Romeo & Juliet scene so I thought I'd write
this for her for Christmas as part of her present. Merry Christmas Kiki!
^_____^ Oh, and you might notice the excessive use of quotes. That would
be due to the excessive amounts of caffeine I've consumed. It's all the
caffeine's fault..I swear. -cough- Yes, well. Shall we be on with the
story then? Right-o!
Disclaimer: Phaerie doesn't own. Plain and simple. But one day - ONE DAY - she will take over the world and she WILL own Harry Potter and Co.
-:-Romeo & Juliet: Act I, Scene V, Line 137-:-
Virginia Weasley Malfoy flung open the tall oak doors of the bedroom she shared with her husband, one Draco Malfoy, swiping the back of her hands at her eyes to rid them of their tears. Her eyes were narrowed quite dangerously as she brandished her wand and began directing various clothes and personal objects into a trunk which had slid out from under the giant four-poster bed. The items arranged themselves quickly and the trunk's lid slammed down and was bolted shut with a quick snap of the wrist. The trunk shrunk to the size of a jewelry box before flying into her left hand, which deposited it in one of the many pockets of her robes.
Turning on her heel, Virginia swiftly made her way through the endless corridors of Malfoy Manor with surprising accuracy. She threw on her dark grey cloak and was just about to open the heavy doors that lead to her freedom when she was stopped by a small voice: "Mum? Where are you going?"
Virginia choked back a sob as her eyes welled-up with tears that threatened to spill out with new vigor. Without turning around, she answered her daughter with a distant voice, "Mummy needs to go on a vacation, sweet."
"You aren't coming back, are you?" young Gwynne Malfoy asked, her voice going hoarse as her throat dried up. Gwynne was the seven-year-old - and only - child of Draco and Virginia Malfoy. She had her father's pale blonde hair and aristocratic features and her mother's warm chocolate eyes and small build. She was a mix of Draco and Virginia's best traits, with a dash of Virginia's quick temper and Draco's sly and ambitious nature thrown in. Not to mention she'd inherited a deadly combination of her parents' sharp wits. In short, she was a force to be reckoned with, despite her age.
Virginia ignored the question and pushed her way out into the snowy grounds that surrounded the manor, making a hasty retreat from its confines. Gwynne ran after her mother grasping tightly onto her arm as she demandingly rasped out, "Are you?" Virginia paused to remove her daughter's hand from her arm before continuing down the drive. "Mum!" Gwynne shouted desperately at the retreating back of her mother, "'The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands!' Right!? You can't leave just because you had an argument with Daddy! You love him don't you? You said last night that love is the most magical thing of all if it could bring the two of you together in the first place!" Gwynne really was too smart than was good for a girl her age to be.
"'Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes..just be an illusion,'" was her only answer as she quickened her pace.
"How can you say that? You're a witch!" As Gwynne watched her mother walk away from her knowing it would be the last time she saw her if she didn't think of something quickly, she remembered something her father had once told her. She shouted as loud as she was able to after her mother, "Your only love was sprung from your only hate, right!?" That stopped Virginia dead in her tracks as her knees gave out and she sank into the snow, her body racking with sobs as she was thrown back in time by her daughters words.
( ^^) 9 years earlier ( ^^)
A petite girl with a short hairstyle that was a shocking shade red stood on her tiptoes to reach a book that rested on one of the higher shelves in Hogwarts' library. As her small fingers delicately enclosing the book's worn spine, she pulled it down with extreme cautiousness so as not to damage any further than it already was. Her fingers trailed along the dusty cover before they pulled it back to reveal a yellowed cover page that read: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Closing her eyes, she began to recite the prologue that she had long ago memorized, "'Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene - '"
"'From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.' Really, Weaslette, how can you stand to read Shakespeare? Not only is it barely comprehensible, but also that one story of his - what is it? Juleo & Romiet? - has one of the most moronic plots I've ever heard of," Draco Malfoy asked as he pulled the book from her hands and looked at it disgustedly.
Virginia "Ginny" Weasley turned to face with the loath of her existence with an impeccable show of patience and stated nonchalantly, "But you have heard of him. And obviously have delved in the confusion of his poetry at least once if you know selected words of the prologue. Oh, and it's Romeo & Juliet, you ignorant twit."
"Now, just when did you grow a backbone, little Weasel?" Draco inquired with a raised eyebrow, a twitch to his lips and a gleam in his usually emotionless eyes that Ginny thought might possibly be admiration, but as it was Draco Malfoy - spawn of the devil himself - she dismissed that idea for a much more favorable theory that it was an evil glint, which meant that he was inevitably planning her demise.
"Just because I choose not to waste my breath on sodding prats like you, it doesn't mean I don't have a backbone, Malferret," Ginny replied while snatching the book back and walking away from him to a nearby table where she'd put her things. Malfoy sneered at her back before following her over to the table. She sat down, opened the book, and stared determinedly at its words, trying her hardest to ignore the Malfoy that was lurking just behind her chair. "Bugger off, Malfoy."
"You don't own this library, do you? Sorry, stupid question, shouldn't have asked. Of course you don't own the library, you're a Weasley for Merlin's sake. Your lot's poorer than dirt. But I'm getting off topic. As I was saying, since you don't own this library, you have no right to tell me to 'bugger off,' now do you?" Draco said with his oh-so- annoying smirk firmly in place.
"True, it's not my place to tell you to bugger off, but if you keep talking as loud as you are now then Madam Pince will take care of you for me. And, to quote Oscar Wilde, 'who, being loved, is poor?'" Ginny retorted while trying to keep her temper in check. He was really starting to irk her, so much in fact, that her knuckles were going white from clutching the book so tightly.
She clenched her teeth and tried to force her eye to stop twitching, there by only making it worse, when she saw that Malfoy was making himself comfy in the chair across from her. "Malfoy," she spat out with as much patience as she could muster at the moment, "kindly stop invading my personal space and let me read in peace."
"I'm curious," he said thoughtfully after a bit, disregarding her requests for him to leave her be, "just what about that play is so interesting that it could hold your attention long enough for you to read it multiple times and memorize it?"
"I haven't memorized all of it.." she muttered under her breath defensively.
"Really? I find that quite surprising," Draco said as he leaned back in his chair, "Act I, Scene V, Line 137?"
"My only love, sprung from my only hate," Ginny answered immediately before realizing her mistake and whipping her head up from her book to look at Draco wide-eyed with a faint blush beginning to make its way to her ears. Draco smirked knowingly and at the irony of the line she'd just recited. It was time he put his plan into action.
"Oh, yes, it's very likely you haven't memorized the whole sodding thing. But really, how can you stand it? Love isn't strong enough to bring two mortal enemies together, especially not those two," he said gesturing to the book that now lay on the table by Ginny.
"What would you know of love? It's not as if you've ever experienced it," Ginny snapped back.
Draco's eyes darkened for a second before returning to their original stormy grey, "Love is highly overrated Weaslette. 'Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.'"
"'People who are sensible about love are incapable of it.'"
"So you agree then?" Draco said as his smirk widened.
Ginny's eyes narrowed and the twitch made a comeback for a single moment before she masked her emotions much the same way as Draco himself did, "'Whoso loves believes the impossible.'"
"Touché. 'Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you never can tell.' I don't see why anyone would want to get their hopes up and risk it all when it's very likely they'll only be rejected."
"'The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.'"
"'Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.'"
"'A relationship is like a rose, how long it lasts, no one knows; love can erase an awful past, love can be yours, you'll see at last; to feel that love, it makes you sigh, to have it leave, you'd rather die; you hope you've found that special rose, 'cause you love and care for the one you chose.'"
"Oh, look at that, you rhymed. Someone give this girl a cookie," he drawled out sarcastically. His eyes drifted to the ceiling while he racked his brain for a reply, "'Love is being stupid together.'" This was, without a doubt, a very lame retort, and he knew this, but his Malfoy pride wouldn't let him end this 'battle of the quotes' with her as the victor.
Ginny raised an eyebrow and gave a small snort before firing her next quote, "'Love means never having to say you're sorry.'"
"Now that one I don't believe," Draco cut in stubbornly, "You apologize to your mum whenever you disappoint her, don't you?" Ginny looked at him owlishly, pausing to think over his words and then giving him a quick nod. "So really, that quote is inadequate. Weaslette, you used to have a crush on Potter, correct?"
"Used to being the keywords, yes," she ground out, her eye slits becoming dangerously small. She wasn't in the mood to hear him insult her once again about her schoolgirl crush on Harry; it truly was getting quite old.
"Answer me this, what is it you girls see in him anyways? I mean, have you ever actually looked at him?" Draco asked her incredulously.
Ginny bent her head to impair Draco's view of her face so that he wouldn't see the faint smile playing on her lips that was slowly becoming wider, "'Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.'" Her eyes shot back up to Draco when she heard him chuckle quietly, his eyes alight with - wait, was that mirth? "What's so funny?" she asked him accusingly.
"In a very round about way, you just said Potter was as ugly as a troll," he pointed out triumphantly. This time he was able to catch the slight twitch of her lips before her bangs covered her face.
"Malfoy, are you feeling alright? Because, if I'm not mistaken, we're participating in a civil conversation," she recovered quickly.
"'Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place..'" he whispered to himself, but obviously not quietly enough, for Ginny had heard at least a snippet and got the jest of it.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably and stood while packing her things away, "Well Malfoy, it's been..interesting, but I must be off, homework to do you know." She then began to make her way to the exit. Draco swiftly stood as well and hurried after her, his plan was working for the most part, and he'd be damned if he let her get away this easily.
"I now know you're thoughts on love, but I wonder, what are your thoughts on kissing?" he inquired casually once he'd caught up to her as she was pushing open the library's doors.
"'A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That's basic spelling that every woman ought to know.'"
"Yes, well, I'm not a woman," he pointed out matter-of-factly.
"True. Um..how about 'a kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous?'"
"Ah, that one I agree with whole-heartedly. And I do believe our words just became superfluous," Draco said with a smirk before turning to her and catching her lips in a quick kiss, a small peck really, but a kiss all the same. She stood stalk-still looking much like that frog of Longbottom's whenever the git actually managed to find it, or so Draco thought. That was about the time the searing pain that usually follows a rather powerful slap to the face reached his brain, which, oddly enough, only caused him to laugh out loud. And that, as we all know, is a rare sight indeed. Ginny was glaring at him quite threateningly, a vibrant red coloring her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "'A lawful kiss is never worth a stolen one.'"
"Malfoy! What the bloody - " Draco silenced her by putting a finger to her lips, knowing all too well that had he kissed her again, she would have most likely castrated him.
"Act I, Scene V, Line 137. What does it say?" he prompted her, amusement clearly shining through his eyes as he pulled his hand away so that she may answer.
Ginny sighed in frustration, "'My only love sprung from my only hate.' But what - "
"Exactly."
"Hold on for a second. Isn't that Juliet's line?"
"Well, yes, but I thought it quite accurate for my current situation."
Ginny had that look again, the one that reminded Draco of Longbottom's frog, as realization dawned, "You - me? Hadawadawhowho? Aren't we supposed to hate one another?"
Draco smiled down at her - not a smirk, but a real smile - before answering her, though it be a rather cryptic answer, "'We hate the ones we love the most because they are the only ones who can hurt us.'"
All Ginny could do at the moment was stare at him disbelievingly, then, her look becoming that of a determined someone, she replied, "'Love is friendship set to music.'"
Draco gave her a questioning look, "Are you saying that, before you can love someone, they must first be your friend?" Ginny nodded stubbornly. "Well then.." Draco's eyes lifted to the ceiling again as he thought over this new development - if one could call it that, "Want to be friends?"
Ginny's eyes widened once again, she'd obviously received an answer that she hadn't expected, before saying in a rather defeated tone, "You do know that friends don't kiss each other, right?"
"No kissing?" Draco pouted, which surprisingly Ginny found quite cute, "I suppose I can restrain myself for at least a week. That should be plenty of time to get you to fall madly in love with me." Draco's smirk was challenging now.
Ginny snorted, "'Love: The irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.'"
Draco's smirk only grew, "But before we initiate this friendship, to quote Romeo, 'give me my sin again.'" This time Draco let his lips linger over hers before withdrawing and winking - yes, winking - at her.
"Malfoy!" she shouted as her senses came back to her in a rush. Really, that shouldn't be happening to her from just a simple kiss from Malfoy, should it?
"So sorry, love. I swear, not another kiss unless I hear you utter line 137 from Act I, Scene V?" his apology ended sounding much like a question, as if he were prompting her for the line again. And it worked. Ginny recited the line again from habit and Draco gave her another quick kiss.
Again, she had the feeling of a lost child once their lips had parted and ground out another exasperated "Malfoy!" once her senses had returned, but Draco was already making his escape down the hall. "'Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks,'" he threw back to her over his shoulder.
"Again with the Shakespeare," she bit out irritably.
Draco laughed again, which was both enjoyable and disturbing, as he rounded the corner but not before telling her, "Au revoir mon aime!"
( ^^) Fast forward nine years ( ^^)
Gwynne stood behind her mother anxiously while chewing on her bottom lip, a habit she'd picked up from her mother. She began to rock on her heels as she waited for her mother to calm down. She would have hugged her mother, but for the fear of being rejected again. "Mum? You still love him, don't you?" This only made Virginia cry harder, her tears leaving icy trails down her cheeks as the fell to the ground, which made small imprints in the snow. Taking this as a yes, she continued her interrogation, "So why are you leaving? Is - is it because of me? Because you don't love me anymore?" Gwynne choked out while rubbing away the tears from her own eyes.
Ginny gasped for breath as if she'd just suffered a heavy blow to the stomach. She looked up from the ground at her daughter with big puffy brown eyes, shaking her head violently, "No, Gwynie, that's not it. I love you more than anything! What makes you think I could ever stop loving you?"
"If you still love me and Daddy, then why are you leaving!?" Gwynne demanded furiously.
"It's just that..things are complicated between me and your Dad."
"But you still love him, right?"
"Of course! The two of you are my world!"
"So you aren't going anywhere?" her daughter asked her with a look of innocent hope only a child was capable of possessing.
"Gwynne," she caught the warning in Virginia's voice and looked down at the snow crestfallenly, "I just need to take a break from him is all. I promise I'll be back, I just don't know how long I'll be gone."
"NO! You can't leave us! You have to stay!"
Virginia stood and cupped Gwynne's face in her numb hand, smiling at her sadly, she kissed her forehead and stepped back, "I love you, Gwynie. Don't ever forget that." And then she was gone, walking down the drive without a backwards glance. Gwynne looked fearfully at the manor's entrance where she could see her father standing forlornly on the porch and then back to the retreating back of her mother. Virginia had almost reached the gates; just a few more steps to go and she would be free again. She was pulling open the tall gates, stepping through.
And then a pair of strong arms that restrained her from taking another step engulfed her. She could feel warm breath on her the back of her neck and the arms tightening around her as she struggled against her husband's hold on her. She was so close, freedom was just another step away, and all that was stopping her from taking that step was the stubborn fool that was holding her back. Her eyes began to tear up again, clouding her vision.
"Draco..let go of me," she whispered haggardly.
"No," he replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
"Draco," she said more forcibly.
"I won't let you leave me and Gwynne. You belong here, you can't go.." he reasoned childishly. "Besides, I thought love meant never having to say you're sorry?"
Virginia untangled herself from his arms and looked defiantly ahead, "I thought you didn't agree with that particular quote?"
Draco opened his mouth and then shut it quickly, what was he to say to that? Virginia shook her head, as if clearing it of jumbling thoughts and made to take that last step to carte blanche, but Draco's arm shot out and his hand clasped around her wrist desperately. "Gin wait..please. I - I'm - I'm sorry.." he said, the last part barely audible.
Virginia, still staring straight ahead, had an expression of awe on her face. THE Draco Malfoy had just apologized. To her. For the first time, well, ever. He had pushed aside his infamous Malfoy Pride and apologized to her. Why was she leaving again? Suddenly, she had no recollection of the day's previous events. All she knew was what was happening in the present, which now involved her knees giving out and the ever-familiar arms encircling her to give support.
Virginia turned in Draco's arms to face him and offered him a watery smile, "Do my ears deceive me, or did Draco Malfoy just apologize?"
Draco smiled at the teasing tone before eyeing her questioningly, "So just how much do you hate me right now?"
"I'm not sure, it's steadily decreasing at the moment."
"Enough so for me to steal a kiss without you socking me in the jaw?"
"Sorry, no."
Draco gave her a pouty look that made her knees go weak before pulling her in closer to him with a devilish smirk, "Act I, Scene V, Line 137?"
"'My only love sprung from my only hate," Virginia answered immediately just as his lips descended upon hers bringing a twitch to her eye, but as the familiar feeling you get when you first take off the ground on your broom washed over her, she let her lips quirk upwards before deepening the kiss.
Meanwhile:
A few meters away from the lip-locked couple stood Gwynne, one hand covering her mouth while the other held her stomach as she made gagging sounds at the grotesque display of affection her parents showed toward each other. Didn't they know that's how you got cootie's?
A/N: Haha..I made Gwynne seem a little younger in that last line. That was fun. So, did you guys like that? Kiki better have, with as much as she's been begging me to finish this. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! And a Happy Arbor's Day! ^______^
Have you spread some holiday cheer today? Make Phaerie's day and leave a review. It's quite simple, just puch the purple button below and type a few words. She would greatly appreciate it! ^___^
'I got to give credit where credit is due:'
"The ultimate test of a relationship.." ~Alexander Penney
"Love can sometimes be magic.." ~Javan
"Two households.." ~William Shakespeare
"But you have heard of him.." ~Yeah, I got that from Pirates of the Carribean..I love that movie. I 3 Johnny Depp.
"Who, being loved.." ~Of course, Oscar Wilde
"Love is only a dirty trick.." ~William Somerset Maugham
"People who are sensible.." ~Douglas Yates
"Whoso loves believes.." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Love is a fire.." ~E. Joseph Crossmann
"The heart has reasons.." ~Jacques Benigne Bossuel
"Love is much like.." ~Mark Overby
"A relationship is like.." ~Rob Cella
"Love is being.." ~Paul Valery
"Love means never.." ~Erich Segal
"Sometimes the heart sees.." ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"Love makes you soul.." ~Zora Neale Hurston
"A kiss can be.." ~Mistinguett
"A kiss is a lovely.." ~Ingrid Bergman
"A lawful kiss.." ~Maupassant
"We hate the ones.." ~Don't know..
"Love is friendship.." ~E. Joseph Crossmann
"Love: .." ~Mark Twain
"Love goes toward love.." ~Shakie-poo
"My only love.." ~Of course, Shakespeare
"I got to give credit.." ~Sawyer Brown
I'm so unoriginal..In reference to the line number, that's what it was in my text book..so that's what I went with. Oh, as for the translations: au revoir mon aime: French for 'Goodbye my friend.' And carte blanche: roughly means freedom in French. I think that's all..
Disclaimer: Phaerie doesn't own. Plain and simple. But one day - ONE DAY - she will take over the world and she WILL own Harry Potter and Co.
-:-Romeo & Juliet: Act I, Scene V, Line 137-:-
Virginia Weasley Malfoy flung open the tall oak doors of the bedroom she shared with her husband, one Draco Malfoy, swiping the back of her hands at her eyes to rid them of their tears. Her eyes were narrowed quite dangerously as she brandished her wand and began directing various clothes and personal objects into a trunk which had slid out from under the giant four-poster bed. The items arranged themselves quickly and the trunk's lid slammed down and was bolted shut with a quick snap of the wrist. The trunk shrunk to the size of a jewelry box before flying into her left hand, which deposited it in one of the many pockets of her robes.
Turning on her heel, Virginia swiftly made her way through the endless corridors of Malfoy Manor with surprising accuracy. She threw on her dark grey cloak and was just about to open the heavy doors that lead to her freedom when she was stopped by a small voice: "Mum? Where are you going?"
Virginia choked back a sob as her eyes welled-up with tears that threatened to spill out with new vigor. Without turning around, she answered her daughter with a distant voice, "Mummy needs to go on a vacation, sweet."
"You aren't coming back, are you?" young Gwynne Malfoy asked, her voice going hoarse as her throat dried up. Gwynne was the seven-year-old - and only - child of Draco and Virginia Malfoy. She had her father's pale blonde hair and aristocratic features and her mother's warm chocolate eyes and small build. She was a mix of Draco and Virginia's best traits, with a dash of Virginia's quick temper and Draco's sly and ambitious nature thrown in. Not to mention she'd inherited a deadly combination of her parents' sharp wits. In short, she was a force to be reckoned with, despite her age.
Virginia ignored the question and pushed her way out into the snowy grounds that surrounded the manor, making a hasty retreat from its confines. Gwynne ran after her mother grasping tightly onto her arm as she demandingly rasped out, "Are you?" Virginia paused to remove her daughter's hand from her arm before continuing down the drive. "Mum!" Gwynne shouted desperately at the retreating back of her mother, "'The ultimate test of a relationship is to disagree but hold hands!' Right!? You can't leave just because you had an argument with Daddy! You love him don't you? You said last night that love is the most magical thing of all if it could bring the two of you together in the first place!" Gwynne really was too smart than was good for a girl her age to be.
"'Love can sometimes be magic. But magic can sometimes..just be an illusion,'" was her only answer as she quickened her pace.
"How can you say that? You're a witch!" As Gwynne watched her mother walk away from her knowing it would be the last time she saw her if she didn't think of something quickly, she remembered something her father had once told her. She shouted as loud as she was able to after her mother, "Your only love was sprung from your only hate, right!?" That stopped Virginia dead in her tracks as her knees gave out and she sank into the snow, her body racking with sobs as she was thrown back in time by her daughters words.
( ^^) 9 years earlier ( ^^)
A petite girl with a short hairstyle that was a shocking shade red stood on her tiptoes to reach a book that rested on one of the higher shelves in Hogwarts' library. As her small fingers delicately enclosing the book's worn spine, she pulled it down with extreme cautiousness so as not to damage any further than it already was. Her fingers trailed along the dusty cover before they pulled it back to reveal a yellowed cover page that read: Romeo & Juliet by William Shakespeare. Closing her eyes, she began to recite the prologue that she had long ago memorized, "'Two households, both alike in dignity, in fair Verona where we lay our scene - '"
"'From ancient grudge break to new mutiny, where civil blood makes civil hands unclean.' Really, Weaslette, how can you stand to read Shakespeare? Not only is it barely comprehensible, but also that one story of his - what is it? Juleo & Romiet? - has one of the most moronic plots I've ever heard of," Draco Malfoy asked as he pulled the book from her hands and looked at it disgustedly.
Virginia "Ginny" Weasley turned to face with the loath of her existence with an impeccable show of patience and stated nonchalantly, "But you have heard of him. And obviously have delved in the confusion of his poetry at least once if you know selected words of the prologue. Oh, and it's Romeo & Juliet, you ignorant twit."
"Now, just when did you grow a backbone, little Weasel?" Draco inquired with a raised eyebrow, a twitch to his lips and a gleam in his usually emotionless eyes that Ginny thought might possibly be admiration, but as it was Draco Malfoy - spawn of the devil himself - she dismissed that idea for a much more favorable theory that it was an evil glint, which meant that he was inevitably planning her demise.
"Just because I choose not to waste my breath on sodding prats like you, it doesn't mean I don't have a backbone, Malferret," Ginny replied while snatching the book back and walking away from him to a nearby table where she'd put her things. Malfoy sneered at her back before following her over to the table. She sat down, opened the book, and stared determinedly at its words, trying her hardest to ignore the Malfoy that was lurking just behind her chair. "Bugger off, Malfoy."
"You don't own this library, do you? Sorry, stupid question, shouldn't have asked. Of course you don't own the library, you're a Weasley for Merlin's sake. Your lot's poorer than dirt. But I'm getting off topic. As I was saying, since you don't own this library, you have no right to tell me to 'bugger off,' now do you?" Draco said with his oh-so- annoying smirk firmly in place.
"True, it's not my place to tell you to bugger off, but if you keep talking as loud as you are now then Madam Pince will take care of you for me. And, to quote Oscar Wilde, 'who, being loved, is poor?'" Ginny retorted while trying to keep her temper in check. He was really starting to irk her, so much in fact, that her knuckles were going white from clutching the book so tightly.
She clenched her teeth and tried to force her eye to stop twitching, there by only making it worse, when she saw that Malfoy was making himself comfy in the chair across from her. "Malfoy," she spat out with as much patience as she could muster at the moment, "kindly stop invading my personal space and let me read in peace."
"I'm curious," he said thoughtfully after a bit, disregarding her requests for him to leave her be, "just what about that play is so interesting that it could hold your attention long enough for you to read it multiple times and memorize it?"
"I haven't memorized all of it.." she muttered under her breath defensively.
"Really? I find that quite surprising," Draco said as he leaned back in his chair, "Act I, Scene V, Line 137?"
"My only love, sprung from my only hate," Ginny answered immediately before realizing her mistake and whipping her head up from her book to look at Draco wide-eyed with a faint blush beginning to make its way to her ears. Draco smirked knowingly and at the irony of the line she'd just recited. It was time he put his plan into action.
"Oh, yes, it's very likely you haven't memorized the whole sodding thing. But really, how can you stand it? Love isn't strong enough to bring two mortal enemies together, especially not those two," he said gesturing to the book that now lay on the table by Ginny.
"What would you know of love? It's not as if you've ever experienced it," Ginny snapped back.
Draco's eyes darkened for a second before returning to their original stormy grey, "Love is highly overrated Weaslette. 'Love is only a dirty trick played on us to achieve continuation of the species.'"
"'People who are sensible about love are incapable of it.'"
"So you agree then?" Draco said as his smirk widened.
Ginny's eyes narrowed and the twitch made a comeback for a single moment before she masked her emotions much the same way as Draco himself did, "'Whoso loves believes the impossible.'"
"Touché. 'Love is a fire. But whether it is going to warm your heart or burn down your house, you never can tell.' I don't see why anyone would want to get their hopes up and risk it all when it's very likely they'll only be rejected."
"'The heart has reasons that reason does not understand.'"
"'Love is much like a wild rose, beautiful and calm, but willing to draw blood in its defense.'"
"'A relationship is like a rose, how long it lasts, no one knows; love can erase an awful past, love can be yours, you'll see at last; to feel that love, it makes you sigh, to have it leave, you'd rather die; you hope you've found that special rose, 'cause you love and care for the one you chose.'"
"Oh, look at that, you rhymed. Someone give this girl a cookie," he drawled out sarcastically. His eyes drifted to the ceiling while he racked his brain for a reply, "'Love is being stupid together.'" This was, without a doubt, a very lame retort, and he knew this, but his Malfoy pride wouldn't let him end this 'battle of the quotes' with her as the victor.
Ginny raised an eyebrow and gave a small snort before firing her next quote, "'Love means never having to say you're sorry.'"
"Now that one I don't believe," Draco cut in stubbornly, "You apologize to your mum whenever you disappoint her, don't you?" Ginny looked at him owlishly, pausing to think over his words and then giving him a quick nod. "So really, that quote is inadequate. Weaslette, you used to have a crush on Potter, correct?"
"Used to being the keywords, yes," she ground out, her eye slits becoming dangerously small. She wasn't in the mood to hear him insult her once again about her schoolgirl crush on Harry; it truly was getting quite old.
"Answer me this, what is it you girls see in him anyways? I mean, have you ever actually looked at him?" Draco asked her incredulously.
Ginny bent her head to impair Draco's view of her face so that he wouldn't see the faint smile playing on her lips that was slowly becoming wider, "'Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eye.'" Her eyes shot back up to Draco when she heard him chuckle quietly, his eyes alight with - wait, was that mirth? "What's so funny?" she asked him accusingly.
"In a very round about way, you just said Potter was as ugly as a troll," he pointed out triumphantly. This time he was able to catch the slight twitch of her lips before her bangs covered her face.
"Malfoy, are you feeling alright? Because, if I'm not mistaken, we're participating in a civil conversation," she recovered quickly.
"'Love makes your soul crawl out from its hiding place..'" he whispered to himself, but obviously not quietly enough, for Ginny had heard at least a snippet and got the jest of it.
She cleared her throat uncomfortably and stood while packing her things away, "Well Malfoy, it's been..interesting, but I must be off, homework to do you know." She then began to make her way to the exit. Draco swiftly stood as well and hurried after her, his plan was working for the most part, and he'd be damned if he let her get away this easily.
"I now know you're thoughts on love, but I wonder, what are your thoughts on kissing?" he inquired casually once he'd caught up to her as she was pushing open the library's doors.
"'A kiss can be a comma, a question mark or an exclamation point. That's basic spelling that every woman ought to know.'"
"Yes, well, I'm not a woman," he pointed out matter-of-factly.
"True. Um..how about 'a kiss is a lovely trick designed by nature to stop speech when words become superfluous?'"
"Ah, that one I agree with whole-heartedly. And I do believe our words just became superfluous," Draco said with a smirk before turning to her and catching her lips in a quick kiss, a small peck really, but a kiss all the same. She stood stalk-still looking much like that frog of Longbottom's whenever the git actually managed to find it, or so Draco thought. That was about the time the searing pain that usually follows a rather powerful slap to the face reached his brain, which, oddly enough, only caused him to laugh out loud. And that, as we all know, is a rare sight indeed. Ginny was glaring at him quite threateningly, a vibrant red coloring her cheeks and the tips of her ears. "'A lawful kiss is never worth a stolen one.'"
"Malfoy! What the bloody - " Draco silenced her by putting a finger to her lips, knowing all too well that had he kissed her again, she would have most likely castrated him.
"Act I, Scene V, Line 137. What does it say?" he prompted her, amusement clearly shining through his eyes as he pulled his hand away so that she may answer.
Ginny sighed in frustration, "'My only love sprung from my only hate.' But what - "
"Exactly."
"Hold on for a second. Isn't that Juliet's line?"
"Well, yes, but I thought it quite accurate for my current situation."
Ginny had that look again, the one that reminded Draco of Longbottom's frog, as realization dawned, "You - me? Hadawadawhowho? Aren't we supposed to hate one another?"
Draco smiled down at her - not a smirk, but a real smile - before answering her, though it be a rather cryptic answer, "'We hate the ones we love the most because they are the only ones who can hurt us.'"
All Ginny could do at the moment was stare at him disbelievingly, then, her look becoming that of a determined someone, she replied, "'Love is friendship set to music.'"
Draco gave her a questioning look, "Are you saying that, before you can love someone, they must first be your friend?" Ginny nodded stubbornly. "Well then.." Draco's eyes lifted to the ceiling again as he thought over this new development - if one could call it that, "Want to be friends?"
Ginny's eyes widened once again, she'd obviously received an answer that she hadn't expected, before saying in a rather defeated tone, "You do know that friends don't kiss each other, right?"
"No kissing?" Draco pouted, which surprisingly Ginny found quite cute, "I suppose I can restrain myself for at least a week. That should be plenty of time to get you to fall madly in love with me." Draco's smirk was challenging now.
Ginny snorted, "'Love: The irresistible desire to be irresistibly desired.'"
Draco's smirk only grew, "But before we initiate this friendship, to quote Romeo, 'give me my sin again.'" This time Draco let his lips linger over hers before withdrawing and winking - yes, winking - at her.
"Malfoy!" she shouted as her senses came back to her in a rush. Really, that shouldn't be happening to her from just a simple kiss from Malfoy, should it?
"So sorry, love. I swear, not another kiss unless I hear you utter line 137 from Act I, Scene V?" his apology ended sounding much like a question, as if he were prompting her for the line again. And it worked. Ginny recited the line again from habit and Draco gave her another quick kiss.
Again, she had the feeling of a lost child once their lips had parted and ground out another exasperated "Malfoy!" once her senses had returned, but Draco was already making his escape down the hall. "'Love goes toward love, as schoolboys from their books, but love from love, toward school with heavy looks,'" he threw back to her over his shoulder.
"Again with the Shakespeare," she bit out irritably.
Draco laughed again, which was both enjoyable and disturbing, as he rounded the corner but not before telling her, "Au revoir mon aime!"
( ^^) Fast forward nine years ( ^^)
Gwynne stood behind her mother anxiously while chewing on her bottom lip, a habit she'd picked up from her mother. She began to rock on her heels as she waited for her mother to calm down. She would have hugged her mother, but for the fear of being rejected again. "Mum? You still love him, don't you?" This only made Virginia cry harder, her tears leaving icy trails down her cheeks as the fell to the ground, which made small imprints in the snow. Taking this as a yes, she continued her interrogation, "So why are you leaving? Is - is it because of me? Because you don't love me anymore?" Gwynne choked out while rubbing away the tears from her own eyes.
Ginny gasped for breath as if she'd just suffered a heavy blow to the stomach. She looked up from the ground at her daughter with big puffy brown eyes, shaking her head violently, "No, Gwynie, that's not it. I love you more than anything! What makes you think I could ever stop loving you?"
"If you still love me and Daddy, then why are you leaving!?" Gwynne demanded furiously.
"It's just that..things are complicated between me and your Dad."
"But you still love him, right?"
"Of course! The two of you are my world!"
"So you aren't going anywhere?" her daughter asked her with a look of innocent hope only a child was capable of possessing.
"Gwynne," she caught the warning in Virginia's voice and looked down at the snow crestfallenly, "I just need to take a break from him is all. I promise I'll be back, I just don't know how long I'll be gone."
"NO! You can't leave us! You have to stay!"
Virginia stood and cupped Gwynne's face in her numb hand, smiling at her sadly, she kissed her forehead and stepped back, "I love you, Gwynie. Don't ever forget that." And then she was gone, walking down the drive without a backwards glance. Gwynne looked fearfully at the manor's entrance where she could see her father standing forlornly on the porch and then back to the retreating back of her mother. Virginia had almost reached the gates; just a few more steps to go and she would be free again. She was pulling open the tall gates, stepping through.
And then a pair of strong arms that restrained her from taking another step engulfed her. She could feel warm breath on her the back of her neck and the arms tightening around her as she struggled against her husband's hold on her. She was so close, freedom was just another step away, and all that was stopping her from taking that step was the stubborn fool that was holding her back. Her eyes began to tear up again, clouding her vision.
"Draco..let go of me," she whispered haggardly.
"No," he replied, burying his face in the crook of her neck.
"Draco," she said more forcibly.
"I won't let you leave me and Gwynne. You belong here, you can't go.." he reasoned childishly. "Besides, I thought love meant never having to say you're sorry?"
Virginia untangled herself from his arms and looked defiantly ahead, "I thought you didn't agree with that particular quote?"
Draco opened his mouth and then shut it quickly, what was he to say to that? Virginia shook her head, as if clearing it of jumbling thoughts and made to take that last step to carte blanche, but Draco's arm shot out and his hand clasped around her wrist desperately. "Gin wait..please. I - I'm - I'm sorry.." he said, the last part barely audible.
Virginia, still staring straight ahead, had an expression of awe on her face. THE Draco Malfoy had just apologized. To her. For the first time, well, ever. He had pushed aside his infamous Malfoy Pride and apologized to her. Why was she leaving again? Suddenly, she had no recollection of the day's previous events. All she knew was what was happening in the present, which now involved her knees giving out and the ever-familiar arms encircling her to give support.
Virginia turned in Draco's arms to face him and offered him a watery smile, "Do my ears deceive me, or did Draco Malfoy just apologize?"
Draco smiled at the teasing tone before eyeing her questioningly, "So just how much do you hate me right now?"
"I'm not sure, it's steadily decreasing at the moment."
"Enough so for me to steal a kiss without you socking me in the jaw?"
"Sorry, no."
Draco gave her a pouty look that made her knees go weak before pulling her in closer to him with a devilish smirk, "Act I, Scene V, Line 137?"
"'My only love sprung from my only hate," Virginia answered immediately just as his lips descended upon hers bringing a twitch to her eye, but as the familiar feeling you get when you first take off the ground on your broom washed over her, she let her lips quirk upwards before deepening the kiss.
Meanwhile:
A few meters away from the lip-locked couple stood Gwynne, one hand covering her mouth while the other held her stomach as she made gagging sounds at the grotesque display of affection her parents showed toward each other. Didn't they know that's how you got cootie's?
A/N: Haha..I made Gwynne seem a little younger in that last line. That was fun. So, did you guys like that? Kiki better have, with as much as she's been begging me to finish this. MERRY CHRISTMAS EVERYBODY! And a Happy Arbor's Day! ^______^
Have you spread some holiday cheer today? Make Phaerie's day and leave a review. It's quite simple, just puch the purple button below and type a few words. She would greatly appreciate it! ^___^
'I got to give credit where credit is due:'
"The ultimate test of a relationship.." ~Alexander Penney
"Love can sometimes be magic.." ~Javan
"Two households.." ~William Shakespeare
"But you have heard of him.." ~Yeah, I got that from Pirates of the Carribean..I love that movie. I 3 Johnny Depp.
"Who, being loved.." ~Of course, Oscar Wilde
"Love is only a dirty trick.." ~William Somerset Maugham
"People who are sensible.." ~Douglas Yates
"Whoso loves believes.." ~Elizabeth Barrett Browning
"Love is a fire.." ~E. Joseph Crossmann
"The heart has reasons.." ~Jacques Benigne Bossuel
"Love is much like.." ~Mark Overby
"A relationship is like.." ~Rob Cella
"Love is being.." ~Paul Valery
"Love means never.." ~Erich Segal
"Sometimes the heart sees.." ~H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"Love makes you soul.." ~Zora Neale Hurston
"A kiss can be.." ~Mistinguett
"A kiss is a lovely.." ~Ingrid Bergman
"A lawful kiss.." ~Maupassant
"We hate the ones.." ~Don't know..
"Love is friendship.." ~E. Joseph Crossmann
"Love: .." ~Mark Twain
"Love goes toward love.." ~Shakie-poo
"My only love.." ~Of course, Shakespeare
"I got to give credit.." ~Sawyer Brown
I'm so unoriginal..In reference to the line number, that's what it was in my text book..so that's what I went with. Oh, as for the translations: au revoir mon aime: French for 'Goodbye my friend.' And carte blanche: roughly means freedom in French. I think that's all..