A/N: You know when something really random gives you an idea? Well this happened here. And yes, I do know this is random beyond belief. But I think it's quite cute too… AND I managed to write something relatively cheerful for once! Be proud of me, people.

And: to the people that have been asking if I'm writing a long-length fic, yes, I am. But it is taking a long time, as I am a very slow person I want at least 8 chapters done before I put it up, and I keep drifting off to write oneshots. So, don't hold your breath. It is currently called Fingerprints, but the title and storyline have already changed twice, so…

Disclaimer: Woah. I actually remembered to put a disclaimer. But they still aren't mine. Damnit!

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Two for Joy

Right now, she was in a bad mood. A very bad mood. A comment-on-my-red-eyes-and-I'll-murder-you-slowly-and-painfully kind of mood.

It was understandable, really. Any girl wouldn't exactly be pleased to discover that her boyfriend of four months had been seeing his other girlfriend for three of those months, and then had suffered the humiliation of walking in on them in a… compromising position. But what made it all so much more embarrassing was that the he in her story was Draco Malfoy, and she was just plain old Ginny Weasley. And she'd believed that he was… not 'the one', with all its ideals and happy-ever-afters, but pretty close to it. Almost perfect. Unbelievably, their relationship's record had been stainless in its four-month span: no arguments at all; Draco had been a perfect gentleman. Still, it seemed clear that the floating feeling Ginny had been relishing could indeed not last, and the comedown was harder than expected.

Thinking back over it, the cruel demise of their relationship seemed so… obvious to Ginny now. Before they'd got together, she'd known him to be a player, always with a different girlfriend. Yet when he'd asked her out, she'd believed he'd changed, just for her. Stupid. At the time it had been so sweet, though. Somehow, Draco had begun to notice her, at the start of her sixth year, and things had progressed from there. At the time, Ginny couldn't believe her luck at being the girlfriend of one of the most sought-after boys in the school. Sadly, now she'd realised that this 'luck' was in fact, virtually non-existant.

Deciding that Draco was indeed a sick and thoughtless bastard, Ginny tutted to herself. The last thing she needed right now was Harry or Ron coming down to 'comfort' her. Even when her and Dra-… no, Malfoy had announced they were together, her imbecile of an older brother had thrown a fit. It had taken several bottles of butterbeer and a couple of firewhiskeys to calm him and even then, Ron had warned Malfoy, "If you ever hurt her, Malfoy, ever, I will personally murder you, and whoever happens to be near you at the time. Promise me you'll treat her good."

The heartbreaking thing was that Draco had squeezed Ginny's hand, remained perfectly calm and composed and told Ron that he promised he would.

Tears dripped down pale skin. Look how long it had lasted.

She heard footsteps behind her, crunching in the wet grass. Spinning round, Ginny found herself face to face with a familiar stranger. Zabini. Malfoy's best friend. So much for getting away from it all, and all its reminders. Misfortune seemed to be following Ginny.

"What the hell-" she began, as he crouched down to her level, but he put a finger across her lips, silencing her.

"You alright, love?" He cocked his head to the side, a confused look across his face.

She pushed him backwards, away from her. "I'm fine. Leave me alone, Zabini." She frowned. "What are you doing out here?"

He merely smiled, clearly having no intentions of leaving. "Call me Blaise, love. And correct me if I'm wrong, but you look like you need someone to talk to."

"Well, you are wrong." Ginny folded her arms, stubbornly. "I'm fine."

He raised an eyebrow. "You've been crying."

"So? What's it to you?"

Blaise smirked. "Do you usually cry when you're happy? Is this a girl thing that I haven't heard of?"

She tutted. "Shut up."

He settled himself down on the grass, resting his elbows on his knees. "Listen, love. I know what Draco's done to you, and I'm only trying to offer you some comfort. I don't normally do the whole cry-on-my-shoulder thing. So you can either get over the whole I'm-a-stubborn-weasel act or I'll leave. And you wouldn't want that, would you?"

"Of course not, Blaise." She grinned at his easy manner and friendly smile, wiping her eyes.

He tutted. "Don't be sarcastic, Weasley, it doesn't suit you. Anyway, I can tell you're just relishing every second being this close to me."

Ginny shifted her position, tutting."Well, you're pretty confident, Zabini, I'll give you that. Not sure if you should really be so optimistic, but.."

"Ah." He said, nodding. "However, you see, I've never failed yet."

"Failed at what?"

Blaise reached up and grabbed a branch hanging down off the tree, picking off a leaf and spinning the stem between his fingers casually. "I can cheer anyone up. It's a fact."

"Go on then." Ginny prompted. "Make my day. I mean, it can't get any worse."

"Is that a dare, Miss Weasley?" His eyebrow raised casually, a sneaky smile across his face.

She batted her eyelashes. "Perhaps it is, Mr Zabini…"

"Well, in that case," he said, matter-of-factly. "Another thing you should know about me is that I never fail a dare."

Ginny rubbed her hands together, trying to generate some warmth out in the cold afternoon. "I'm impressed, Blaise. Your skills include cheering people up and never failing dares. I totally see why most girls are attracted to you."

"Most girls, Weasley?" he asked suspiciously. "Does this include you?"

She laughed. "I'm sitting here, crying over your best friend, Zabini, and within the hour you're already hitting on me!"

Blaise shrugged. "No point wasting any time with these things, eh?"

"You're insufferable, you know that?"

"Of course, love. But would you really want me any other way?"

At this point Ginny turned to stare at the lake, desperately trying to think of a comeback. There was no point just telling him to shut up, because the friendly banter was cheering her up, despite her wishing she could prove Zabini wrong. Struggling to think of a reply, Ginny decided a conversation change was in order.

"Look- two for joy." She pointed to two magpies resting on a nearby tree. "How ironic…"

Blaise looked confused. "Come again, Weasley?"

"Two for joy." She repeated plainly. "Haven't you ever heard the rhyme?"

He shrugged. "Nope."

Ginny gasped in mock-surprise. "Makes sense. It's an old muggle rhyme my mum used to say whenever we saw a magpie."

"Muggle sayings aren't really my strong point." Blaise pointed out.

She smiled. "I think I can still remember it. It's been a long time since I heard it. It's something like,

"One for sorrow,
Two for joy,
Three for a girl,
Four for a boy,
Five for silver,
Six for gold,
Seven for a secret,
Never to be told."

"So let's get this straight." Blaise said, struggling to comprehend. "Whenever you weird lot see a magpie, you say this rhyme… and then what?"

"It's like good luck." Ginny explained. "It's supposed to come true. Like in this case, 'two for joy', I would get joy or happiness for spotting the magpies."

Blaise remained silent for a moment, obviously deep in thought, then;

"Well, it's true, I guess."

Ginny cocked her head. "What?"

He tutted. "Attention span of a gnat, you weasels. That rhyme thing. Two for joy. You just dared me to cheer you up, right? And then you spotted the magpies…"

"Oh, yeah." Ginny realised. "Looks like you'd better get to work, then. The fates have predicted joy, but I'm still feeling…" she pretended to wipe away a tear. "…Pretty miserable."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Actually, this might be easier… and better thanI originally thought." He stopped, obviously deep in thought: a notion that slightly worried the redhead beside him.

The silence that entailed after this statement made Ginny laugh out loud.

"What?" he said irritably. "I was thinking."

Ginny couldn't resist. "You actually think, Zabini?"

He sighed. "Being with you, Weasley, is like having a train run me over every ten minutes. You should really learn some new comebacks. That joke is only acceptable from First Years."

"I'm so sorry, Your Highness." She giggled, pretending to bow down. "But seriously, what were you thinking about?"

"That bloody rhyme again!" He turned to face her. "Are you sure that's how it goes?"

She shrugged. "Pretty sure. Why? Puzzling you, is it?" she grinned at the perplexed look on his face.

"Well yeah, actually." He admitted. "I've just realised what a coincidence it all is."

"Coincidence?" she asked, confused. "Blaise, love, it's an old-fashioned rhyme from years back, not some secret code."

He shook his head, then grinned. "No, seriously. Listen. One for sorrow: you were upset. Two for joy: I came and cheered you up. Three for a girl: you're a girl… at least I think…"

"Hey!" she slapped his arm playfully.

Blaise ignored her. "Four for a boy: I am indeed a boy, and a rather gorgeous one at that. Five for silver: that's a Slytherin colour. Six for gold: a Gryffindor colour…" he broke off. "And then…"

"Seven for a secret never to be told?" she prompted. "What about that?"

He shrugged. "Well. Then it goes wrong."

"Aww, Blaise." She smiled. "Oh well. Nice analytical work, though."

"Thanks." He grinned.

The comfortable silence overcame them both again, but neither felt the urge to break it.

Ginny turned to face him. The look of deep concentration had returned again. Yet now it was accompanied by the familiar sneaky smile he'd worn earlier.

"What?" she asked suspiciously, not quite sure if she liked the thought of Blaise plotting something.

He smiled again, that same smile that Ginny suddenly realised was the cause of the weak feeling in her knees. "Just thinking about that final line."

"Oh yeah? Don't forget, you've still got to make my day, as well. You did say you never fail a dare."

"Darling Weaselette; would I ever let you down?" he grinned, moving closer towards her and putting on his best puppy-dog eyes.

She snorted. "You really worry me sometimes, Blaise."

"It's in my nature" he shrugged. "Now, back to this dare…"

Ginny's heart couldn't help feeling slightly apprehensive. "So- you thought of anything, then?" she squeaked, voice coming out higher than predicted.

"Maybe, maybe…" he bit his lip, leaning closer towards her. "Maybe…"

And then she felt his lips on hers.

And she, Ginny Weasley, realised that she was kissing him back.

The kiss deepened, and Ginny found that the initial surprised of being kissed by Blaise wore off very quickly, to be replaced by a feeling of… something she couldn't place. But, she decided, it was a something she could live with very happily…

He broke away, a casual smile gracing his lips. "See?" he whispered, his breath tickling her cheek. "I told you I could make your day."

"And so you did." Ginny breathed, running a hand up his arm. "But how does that solve the magpie rhyme?"

Blaise grinned. "Ginny, love. You've just kissed your ex-boyfriend's best mate within an hour of breaking up with him – and enjoyed it. Not something I'd advise you to spread around. A secret, never to be told. I won't mention it, if you don't."

"But, what if I just happen to let it slip?" she enquired playfully. "How are you going to make sure I remember?"

He shrugged.

"I'll tell you." She whispered. "I will never mention this to Draco on one condition."

"What?"

"That you kiss me again."

Blaise's face lit up again as he smiled, inches away from her own skin. His eyebrow raised casually, that sneaky smile back across his features. "Is that a dare, Miss Weasley?"

She batted her eyelashes. "Perhaps it is, Mr Zabini…"

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