My Mate

Chapter 16: Tentative Agreements and Enraged Slytherins

November 24
4:31pm

Ginny marched in circles around her half of the room, waving her arms like a goose trying to fly. Draco on the other hand was leaning against the wall, his arms crossed over his chest, and a look that could almost be described as a pout on his face.

“How dare they just lock us up in here like prisoners! And how do they expect me to come to an agreement with a madman? We’ll be stuck here until we die. Maybe then they’ll be sorry!”

“A madman!” Draco surged up off the wall and headed for the barrier. “You’ll bloody well turn me into a madman, you psychotic harpy!”

“Ohhh! You’re the psychotic one! I’ve done nothing except trying to get some time alone for me to think. Without you, without the professors, and without my bloody family butting in!”

“So lock yourself in you room or something, but DON’T RUN AWAY FROM ME!” Draco roared and unfortunately got a little to close to the filmy wall and was suddenly flung backward, hitting the wall with a loud THUD. He groaned and struggled to his feet, rubbing the back of his head.

Ginny smirked. “Serves you right, you wanker! I was just about ready to come back and resign myself to this whole situation, but now I’m not so sure!”

Draco swung a fist at the wall and cursed profusely as pain shot up his arm.

Ginny turned away from him and plopped down into a chair. I really should just come to an agreement with him so we can get out of here. The wretch. She looked over at Draco. He was still clutching his hand, muttering under his breath.

“Damn it! I don’t even have my wand to heal it!” Draco spun around and pinned her with an icy glare. “Do you think that we could just get on with an agreement so we can get out of here?” He snapped.

“Right, like I’m even going to talk to some bloody stuck up prat who called me a whore!” Ginny fired back, flicking her hair over her shoulder.

Draco ground his teeth. I really should apologize to her. Smug little witch. He managed to grit out stiffly, “You’re not a whore.”

Ginny’s lips tightened. “Well thank you O Great Malfoy for that little scrap of an acknowledgement, but it’s not good enough!”

“Fine, then! We’ll just rot in this stifled little room and you can have a front row seat to watch me go crazy. What could be better? You couldn’t be safer since I can’t even touch you!” Draco roared.

Ginny humphed and turned her back on him.

November 24
4:45pm


Simeon Black wanted to rip someone apart with his bare hands. He wanted to destroy something. However, he settled for hurling glasses and vials against the walls of his Potions room, relishing in the crashing sound. Only when the room was a shambles and the floor layered with crushed glass, did he stop. Without bothering to repair anything, Simeon snatched up his cloak and headed for Hogwarts.



November 24
5:02pm


Olivia straightened her green robes and studied her reflection in the mirror. Ivory skin, curly black hair, and grass green eyes. A little too short and perhaps even a little too round. Ok, so there was no “perhaps” about it. She placed her glasses on her nose to see a little more clearly.
“I look like a little green bug.” Olivia sighed. “Oh well. At least the glasses make me look a little more serious.” She didn’t normally take too much stock in her appearance, (After all, there was no one to look good for anyway) and usually ended up flying around with dirt on her hands, or elbows…or her nose.
Her mother had been used to her “rooting around in the dirt”. She expected it in fact since her father had done it too and she took after him. Her Aunt Matilda on the other hand, didn’t understand at all. She didn’t seem to understand that her name was Greenwood for a reason and the Greenwoods were a family of green thumbs and a burning passion for plants and growing things.
Being her mother’s sister and coming from a very uptight, socially correct family, Matilda did not at all approve of Olivia’s gardening habits. In fact she had taken it upon herself to eradicate all of Olivia’s less than attractive qualities, of which gardening topped the list. Unfortunately she was dogged and determined and stubborn as a mule to boot.
It wouldn’t have been so bad if Olivia hadn’t been stuck living with Aunt Matilda. After Voldemort had murdered her parents, she had gone to live with her Grandmama Greenwood and happily spent most of her time in the garden and greenhouse until Grandmama died six months ago. That’s when Aunt Matilda had taken her in.

Matilda was married to a stuffy old man named Albacore Whitenridge and had two equally stuffy daughters and one son with a roving eye, that unfortunately tended to rove in her direction. (Heaven only knew why) Perhaps it was because he wasn’t very attractive. Rather funny looking actually and wasn’t particularly enamoring to women. All in all, they were rather horrifying to live with and Olivia couldn’t wait to escape.

Olivia was hoping to get a job somewhere as an herbologist, but it hadn’t happened yet. What with her average NEWT scores and the fact that she hadn’t actually “graduated” Hogwarts, because she’d had to drop out to go into hiding after her parents were killed and missed the last month and a half of school. Others had not graduated as well, but they had either really great NEWT’s like Ginny and Daphne, or else they took easy jobs. Like clerking at Witches Wear in Diagon Alley.

Unfortunately, positions as herbologists were scarce and they usually required better NEWT’s than she had. She’d been holding out, but now Olivia wondered if she hadn’t better try to get a job at a store or something. Good Merlin! She couldn’t stand being stuck at her aunt’s forever. It made her feel positively sick and edgy just thinking about it. Olivia already felt absolutely incompetent not being able to get a job. Oh well. I can’t do anything about it right now.

Olivia stuffed her wand in her pocket and hurried downstairs for dinner. Ginny and Draco were supposedly locked in a room together until they could come to an agreement. Separated, as Professor Snape was so hasty to point out when Bill had him pinned to the wall.

That had been rather amusing, but a bit of a tense moment as the Professor seemed to be in a rampaging mood already and Bill teetering on the edge of volatile. Personally, Olivia was surprised Snape hadn’t hexed the oldest Weasley into oblivion. He’d certainly seemed capable of it at the time.

Mrs. Malfoy hadn’t looked well at all, (Snape had had what looked like a pretty painful grip on her wrist) and Olivia had helped her back to the Infirmary while Michelle had commandeered her husband. The last she saw of Snape was the swirling black cloud of his robes as he marched off to the dungeons, she supposed.

Hopefully Mrs. Malfoy had rested well. She’d promised to collect her and help her down to the Great Hall. She said she’d had enough of being cooped up in the Infirmary with nothing to do.


November 24
5:35pm

Simeon barged through the doors of Hogwarts, his face and demeanor so foreboding that house elves scampered for hiding places. Obsidian eyes flashed, and his teeth were clenched tightly. His pace was clipped and precise as he made his way through the halls of the school he had never been able to attend.

He may never have been to Hogwarts but Draco had told him in detail about the school, so much so that Simeon could find his way around. He assumed they would be in the Great Hall eating dinner. How perfect. He sneered. A crowd for him to rant and rave at.


Olivia hurried towards the doors. They had forgotten Mrs. Malfoy’s cloak and it was quite chilly. She didn’t want the older woman to have a relapse. I wonder how Draco and Ginny are doing? They’re probably at each other’s throats. Olivia burst through the doors and got the breath knocked clean out of her when she ran into something that felt suspiciously like a wall. She gasped like a fish and felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her, pinning her in place. Okay, so it wasn’t a wall, more like a very hard, warm male chest.

Simeon had to plant his feet to keep from getting knocked over backwards and reflexively tightened his arms around the small body. It must be a woman. He looked down at the top of her head. She was soft in all the right places, and smelled of jasmine and ginger, her curly hair as black as his. Her lusciously full breasts were pressed against…well his stomach really. The top of her head didn’t even reach his collarbone and Simeon felt the absurd desire to pull her closer and devour her. Right there in the hallway.

Then she lifted her head and all he saw was thick black glasses and a round little face.
“Oh! Professor, I’m sorry…” She broke off as she pulled away. “You’re not…” She ducked her head. “I’m sorry.”

All Simeon could do was stare. His brain didn’t seem to be working at the moment.


November 24
5:36 pm

They’d been sitting in silence for about an hour, Ginny with her back up against the wall and Draco slouched in a chair.

Her stomach had been growling for the past twenty minutes and she was starting to get sleepy. We’ve got to come to an agreement sometime. Ginny thought. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Ginny’s inner devil said. All in due time. But first we need to make him suffer some more.

That’s not very nice.

Well he wasn’t very nice to us was he?

But still…

Oh shut up!

Hey!

Ginny shook her head. I’ve got to stop talking to myself.

“I’ve never met anyone so bloody annoying and irritating and stubborn that gets under my skin the way you do.” Ginny’s head jerked up at the sound of Draco’s voice. It was surprisingly soft and calm. She couldn’t decide whether to be angry or not.

“I didn’t choose this you know. Merlin!” His voice was self-depreciating. “Do you think I like being this dependent on anyone? I’m a Malfoy after all. If Lucius could have beaten the veela out of me, he would have. I’m not supposed to need anyone or anything. ” He lapsed into sullen silence.

“Everyone needs something Draco.” She snorted. “I bet even your father does. Except for him, it’s probably power, or control over everything. He’s angry that there’s something about you he can’t control.”

“Let me tell you something Weaslette! Nobody controls me! Nobody!” Draco snarled, jumping to his feet.

Ginny lurched up, a raspberry colored flush rising up from the neckline of her robes and over her face.

“Right! Which is why you were such a stuck up prick all during Hogwarts.” She glared. “Or maybe that’s just your lovely personality, but if that’s the case then there’s no way in hell that I want to be your mate!”

Draco’s eyes turned as cold as ice chips and he straightened rigidly. “If that’s the way you want it.” He turned his back on her in disgust. Or at least that’s what she thought it looked like.

In truth, while she wanted to feel good that she had gotten in that last dig, Ginny felt twinges of guilt instead. She didn’t like seeing him retreat into the cold dignitary. The very brief flash of hurt in his eyes made the knot in her stomach tighten.

Oh get over it! It’s not like he’s ever been very nice to you. He deserved it.

But I grew up loved and I have my family. He had Lucius for a father, and I of all people should know how evil the man is.

Give me a break. The man is a git.

That doesn’t mean I should stoop to his level.

Ginny shook her head trying to clear it. She really had to stop talking to herself. Maybe it was the nursing side of her that wanted to help him. It was an instinctive nature to want to soothe away everyone’s hurts and pain. Even Draco Malfoy.

She sighed and sat back in one of the desks. We’ll never get out of here.





November 24
5:40 pm


Simeon knew he should say something but she looked like….a bug. He couldn’t seem to get past those awful thick black glasses. The woman was too…too everything. Too much curly hair. Too plump. Her eyes were too big and too green. She was too sorry. And she had too much energy…or vitality…or something. It was as if her body couldn’t contain her essence and was full to bursting. The woman made him cringe.

She threatened his calmness. His peace of mind. She was like fingernails on a chalkboard and all he wanted to do was get away. But she was already backing away from him, splashes of color on heating up her cheeks.

“For a minute, I thought you were someone else.” Her blasted hair was twisting and curling about her head as if it were alive and she continued babbling on.

Merlin! She even talks too much!

“Excuse me.” Simeon pushed her aside and gathered his thoughts as he stared at the doors, letting his anger simmer back to a boil. He could still feel her presence behind him before he slammed open the doors to the Great Hall.

All eyes were on him as conversations abruptly ceased, forks freezing in midair. He scanned the room until he found the two people he was looking for. One was wrapped in a quilt, white blonde hair pulled away from her face and the other, the bastard, was sitting at the opposite end of the table a sneer on his face.

Simeon strode forward to the table, his steps measured and deliberate until he stood in front of one man.

With a vicious sneer that should have done him proud, Simeon said,

“Hello father.”



Author\'s Note:

I\'ve been having a hard time getting on to post chapters, but this story is also posted on Fanfiction.net

If anyone wants a story alert, just send me an e-mail at writeclassy21@hotmail.com