The randomness is perfectly normal, I assure you.

Simplest of Comforts

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:13:41 GMT

Title: Simplest of Comforts

Author: Tamloid14

Arc: HP Canon

Timeframe: directly post-HBP

Characters: Draco, Ginny

Ginny watched as Harry walked away from her and across the lawn. She turned away to look at the lake as she saw first the Minister and then Ron and Hermione follow him away. Ginny wasn’t exactly crushed that Harry had broken it off. As she had told him, she knew that it could last very long, and knew certainly that it wouldn’t have lasted after Dumbledore’s death. Harry had his own inner demons to deal with, along with the search for the Horcruxes. Ginny didn’t think that she was supposed to know about the Horcruxes, but, well, the three of them did tend to talk rather loudly when they thought no one was in the room.

It didn’t matter either way. She wouldn’t be going with them even if they asked. Like Harry had is own task to do, so did she. She didn’t think that her’s was quite as important in the scheme of things compared to Harry’s, but it was important to her. She had heard Harry’s account of the events on the Astronomy Tower, knew the exchange between the Headmaster and Malfoy. Knew the offer that had been made. Knew that Malfoy had lowered his wand.

To Ginny, that was all that really mattered. Malfoy had lowered his wand, had consciously made the decision not to kill Dumbledore. That showed that, however much he had hated the old man and Harry and, really, everyone on their side, he wasn’t a murderer and didn’t deserve to be treated like one.

Gathering herself up, pulling on a mask of strength and determination, Ginny stood up from her seat and set off back to the castle. She had barely made it three steps, however, when a cloaked figure caught her attention at the back of the crowd. The person was just standing there, arms crossed across its chest, staring at the white tomb that encased the Headmaster. She almost didn’t see the figure, covered in a deep green cloak that blended in with the trees around it. Ginny didn’t think that the figure knew that it had been spotted. It just stood there, and Ginny knew that it had been there throughout the ceremony. She didn’t know who it could be that didn’t want to join the rest of them in mourning, or what it was doing there if it wasn’t there to mourn.

As she watched the cloaked figure openly, she saw it turn its head away from the tomb and stare back at her. Ginny didn’t know why, but a spark jolted through her, and she felt like she knew the person, though she couldn’t see the figure’s face.

Before she could find a reason for the feeling of familiarity, the figure turned away from the gathering of mourners and up the path, not towards the castle, but towards Hogsmeade. Ginny found herself inexplicably following the person, even trying to catch up with him. When she was within arms reach, she stretched out you hand and grabbed the cloak. With reflexes of a Seeker, the person spun around with wand drawn and pointed at her heart. Ginny held her breath as the person, whom she could now see was a good head taller than her, appeared to study her under the anonymity of the cloak. Then, to Ginny’s great surprise, the mysterious person in front of her lowered its wand, turned and walked away.

Ginny stood rooted to the spot for a moment, stunned at the person, then followed once again as the stranger led her over to a willow tree and sat down against its massive trunk. The pose reminded her of Harry, Ron, and Hermione, but she pushed the thought out of her mind. Ginny sat and mimicked the pose, knees drawn up to her chest and arms thrown around her legs, and studied the person she was sitting next to.

He, for she could now see that it was indeed a male, was sitting back against the tree in the same pose that Ginny was in, his head resting heavily against his forearms. This, coupled with the hunch of his shoulders gave the person next to her an overall look of a defeated person, a look of someone who had failed in a most grievous way. Before Ginny could hazard a guess as to the person’s identity, the guesswork was took away from her as he lifted one slim hand and pushed back the hood of the emerald cloak, letting silver-blond hair fall into matching grey eyes.

For a moment Ginny didn’t say anything. Then she turned her hear away to stare ahead of her and said in acknowledgement, “Malfoy.”

Malfoy sighed beside her and let his head fall back against the willow. “Weasley,” he replied in the same tone.

The pair was silent for a moment before Ginny let her curiosity get the better of her. “What are you doing here?”

“I could ask you the same question,” he replied in an expressionless voice, which, despite the situation, made Ginny’s annoyance flare up before she clamped down on it. She figured that she would never get anywhere with Malfoy if she allowed herself to be tempted by the infamous Weasley temper. That was what he was most undoubtedly expecting.

“No real reason for me to stay there. Harry’s going his own way, carrying the torch so to speak. And I have my own task to see through.”

Malfoy was silent. His face was a blank mask devoid of expression and Ginny dared not look into his eyes for fear of scaring him away. Finally, after a minute or two, Malfoy spoke.

“It was my fault he died.” It was stated, not in a whisper, but in the same toneless voice that had annoyed her before. Ginny, having heard the whole of the story from Harry, didn’t have to ask for clarification. She just sat there, and waited for Malfoy to continue. “I may not have said the words, or pointed the wand, but I came up with the plan. I gathered them and led them. I let them in. I stood by and let Snape to it.” He paused here, not as long as before, which Ginny took as a good sign. “I didn’t want the task, you know. Never did want to do it,” he continued, still gazing straight ahead, not looking at her. “But once You-Know-Who tells you to do something, there’s not much to be done about it. You should know,” he said, referring to her first year. “He’s a pretty tough Wizard to say no to.”

“Unless you have some help,” was Ginny’s reply.

“Help.” Here Malfoy gave a mirthless laugh. “He offered me help, too, you know. Dumbledore, that is. Offered to save me, protect me and my family. Said that I didn’t have to do it if I didn’t want to.” Ginny didn’t say anything, as she already knew this. “I think the old man knew exactly how I felt about it. He was a smart man. Not much got past him. Knew it was me all along.” When Ginny still didn’t reply, Malfoy gave an exasperated sigh and looked down at her. “You know, Weasley, you shouldn’t have come here if you didn’t have anything to say.”

Ginny looked up at this and experienced that same jolt as before when her eyes locked with his. She was suddenly caught up in a whirling storm of grey. Unlike his face and voice, Malfoy’s eyes expressed everything. They showed his anger, turmoil, grief…and yes, his regret, too. Ginny didn’t think, she just acted. Slowly, not breaking eye contact, she leaned over and wrapped her arms around him and pulled him close. The position was slightly awkward, as they were sitting side-by-side, but the situation resolved itself when Draco turned towards her and returned the embrace. Ginny sighed in relief that he hadn’t pushed her away and allowed herself to rest her head on his shoulder and they held each other.

Ginny couldn’t tell how long it had been, but eventually Draco loosened his grip on her and held her out at arms length. He stared into her eyes, during which time Ginny was sure that he was searching to see if the answers he sought would be written on her pupils.

“Why are you here?” This he did whisper, afraid that he would scare her away.

Ginny smile softly and placed a hand gently on his aristocratic cheekbone. “Everyone needs someone, Draco. Even if it’s just to listen and understand.”

Draco stared at her, as if trying to see through some veil that disguised her true intentions. Ginny let herself stare back at him, trying to let him know that she was telling the truth, that he could trust her. Finally he seemed to accept it, for he reached his arms around her again and pulled her so she was sitting sideways on his lap. He didn’t release her from his grasp, so she wrapped her own arms around him and relaxed into his embrace once more.

Nothing more passed between them for a while but the silent comfort each drew from the other. Ginny was content just to sit there forever and let herself and Draco heal each other, but she knew it had to end sooner or later. She would have to get back to the castle before nightfall, and Draco would have to go back to wherever he had fled to. But until then she would do whatever she could to help Draco heal.

And right now what he needed was just to be listened to and understood. He hadn’t asked for this to happen to him, just like Harry hadn’t asked for his lot in life. But they each had to do their part, and for Ginny, her part was to comfort and heal Draco.

Her thoughts were interrupted by a low hiss from somewhere near her ear. She picked her head up off Draco’s shoulder to see him wincing in pain and staring down at the arm that was held around her waist. Ginny looked down at his left arm as well, and nodded in understanding. She stood up, not saying anything to break the silence, and watched Draco follow her lead. They stood there, now feet from each other, and just stared openly into the other’s eyes, not noticing that the sun was now setting. What Draco read in her eyes, Ginny could not tell, but what she saw in Draco’s made her resolve to help and heal him stronger.

“You had better get back,” she said to him.

Draco just nodded in response, not looking away from her eyes.

Ginny sighed. “Right, then.” She walked up to him and, one last time, put her arms around his torso. This time, Draco wasted no time in wrapping her up in his arms, one around her lower back and one around her shoulders. Before it could go on too long, Ginny pulled back slightly and was about to say goodbye, but was cut off and Draco gently pressed his lips to hers.

The contact surprised her and caused her to freeze, but the feeling of his mouth starting to move on hers was enough to shock her into action. She took the arms that were currently around his waist and moved them up around his neck and brought him closer to her, delighting in the fact that his own arms tightened around her back.

Again, Ginny would have been all too happy for them to stay there and hold each other, but once again Draco’s hiss of pain snapped her mind back into focus. She opened her eyes and released his lips as he glared down at his traitorous arm.

“Impatient little buggers, aren’t they?” he muttered to himself, and Ginny couldn’t help but giggle a little at the comment. Her laugh brought Draco’s head back to her and he smiled slightly. Ginny felt her cheeks grow curiously warm at the expression.

“You had better go before they have to call you again,” Ginny found herself saying, though she knew she wished that he didn’t have to leave. She walked up to him before her resolve could break and kissed his lightly on the cheek. “Goodbye, Draco.”

He smiled at her again and gave her one last, sweet kiss on the lips. “Goodbye, Ginny. And good luck with your task, whatever it may be.” And with that he stepped away from her, turned on the spot, and Disapparated.

Ginny stood staring at the spot that Draco had disappeared before resuming her previous pose sitting against the willow tree. I think that I made some good progress on that task of mine, Draco, she thought, and leaned back against the tree with her eyes closed.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

I love reviews. And tell me if you think I should submit this to the archive.

Two Fics

Tue, 29 Apr 2008 02:10:31 GMT

So, I realized that I had never posted any of my stories here and that there are some of my stories that I've never posted anywhere. So, if anyone is reading this, these are some of my fanfics. These two are posted at The Fire and Ice Archive ,and the next one is just something that I wrote for fun that maybe I'll post sometime. Enjoy and leave a comment if you want. I love reviews.

Title: An Unexpected Change

Author: Tamloid14

Arc: HP Canon

Timeframe: Book Four, interlude

Characters: Ginny, Draco

For the record, I would just like to say that I am not a hateful person. It’s not that I’m a ball of joy and sunshine. Oh, no, not by any stretch of the imagination. I like to keep a happy medium: I don’t hate, I just don’t skip around the school handing out flowers. So, I would appreciate it if you would pay close attention as I say what I’m about to say.

I, Ginevra Molly Weasley, hate Valentine’s Day.

That’s right, I said it. I hate, hate, that stupid, mushy, lovey-dovey, give-a-person-candy-and-flowers-to-show-undying-love waste of a day. It’s not even a real holiday. I have reason to believe that one day, for no other reason than that they had no love lives to speak of, people from the card companies, the chocolate factories, and the florists decided to get together and come up with something to fill their own empty lives. Or maybe it was people from the crazy-house. Seems like something they would do.

Now, please don’t mistake this downright hatred for jealousy or some other rubbish, because, let me tell you, it is nothing of the sort. And if anyone dares suggest it to my face, as a certain blond-haired Slytherin git did earlier today, that person will meet the same unfortunate fate that he did: a swift punch in the jaw and a nice little hex to send him on his way. And believe me, that had been the best part of my day thus far.

I had woken up feeling just fine. It was a crisp and clear February morning. About three seconds after opening my eyes, I was met with squeals of delight just down the hall as Lavender or Parvati or some other giggly girl found a surprise from her flavor of the week. It hit me then that it was Valentine’s Day, my oh-so-favorite day of the year. I reluctantly got dressed for the day, knowing that it would be filled with awkward gestures from inexperienced boys to overly enthusiastic girls from all ages and houses. I walked down to the common room to see my brother, Ron, gazing longingly at my friend Hermione, who was resolutely studying from some textbook or another, completely oblivious to the attention. I swear, ever since the Yule ball a few months ago, Ron has been infatuated with Hermione, though she seems either unaffected or unaware of his interest.

I continued my surveillance of the room, and found Harry staring into the fire. He was probably thinking about the next task in the tournament, or, most likely, that Ravenclaw girl, Cho Chang. Really, it’s pathetic how he swoons after her, when he really could have almost anyone in the school. I am very happy to say that I no longer have an infatuation with my brother’s best friend, and even if he had wanted to share Valentine’s Day with me, I wouldn’t have gone along with it.

It was still pretty early, and most of the stupid giggling girls were still upstairs getting dolled up for the ‘special’ day. Not wanting to wait around for the lot of them to come rushing there to meet up with their boy toys, I waved to my three friends and left the Common Room, hoping not to come across any snogging couples on my way to breakfast. Seeing someone like Crabbe or Goyle with their tongues down some helpless girls’ throats would have ruined my appetite forever. Luckily enough, I made it through breakfast without any mishaps, no snogging or groping to be seen. The Great Hall was decorated, of course, but if I didn’t look up to see the floating hearts and cupids, I could easily pretend that they weren’t there.

Feeling a little happier with a full stomach, I left the hall at a leisurely pace. Unfortunately, as I was walking to my first class of the day (History of Magic with the Hufflepuffs, which makes it so much more interesting, let me tell you), I ran into one of those unfortunate, appetite-stealing sights that was Gregory Goyle snogging some poor girl in the middle of the corridor. Not wanting to stay and risk losing my breakfast, I ran quickly the other way, back towards the Hall.

But it seemed that my luck had deserted me after I finished eating, for no sooner than I had started running the other way from Goyle, that I ran into someone and fell flat on my backside. Or at least, I would have, if the person who I ran into had not caught me at the last moment and pulled me back up. I was lifted into a toned male chest and held there for a moment. I took that moment to catch my breath after the near fall, and inhaled some musky scent that I didn’t recognize.

Just as I was about to give my thanks for the save, I was roughly pushed away and barely managed to stay upright once again. Needless to say, I was pretty confused, not to mention angry. I took a deep breath, intending to give whoever it was a good yelling, when I realized that it was the aforementioned blond-haired Slytherin git, also known as Draco Malfoy. His grey eyes bore into mine and gave me pause for a minute, but then I was back in the zone and snapped at him.

“What gives, Malfoy? Don’t you have anything better to do than to push around people smaller than you? Shouldn’t you be off groping your girlfriend, Pugsy? Or is it that she can no longer stand the sight of your Ferret-face?” I ranted, gradually getting closer to him so that by the end I was practically yelling in his face. Now, considering I’m only a third-year, that probably was not the smartest thing I could have done, but, hey, I blame it on the Weasley temper. That, and the fact that it was the worst day of the year.

At first Malfoy looked at me with surprise, probably that I had the audacity to stand up to him. Me, a little Gryffindor third-year, and him, a tall fourth-year Slytherin, but that look slowly turned into a sneer.

“What’s the matter, Weaselette?” he said in that I’m-so-better-than-you-because-I’m-a-Malfoy drawl that I hate so much. “Potty didn’t give you a snog for Valentine’s Day? Upset that he’s too busy pining for Chang to even notice little old you?”

“Shut up, Malfoy,” I replied. Now that I think about it, it wasn’t my most witty comeback ever, and probably only made him think that he was right. But I was angry, and I don’t think straight angry.

“Ah, so it’s true. The little weasel’s jealous of Cho Chang for capturing the great Harry Potter’s attention. No love for the girl weasel on Valentine’s Day this year.”

I’m pretty sure that he would have gone on, but the punch I delivered him to his pointy jaw pretty well shut him up. I still don’t know if the look on his face was more shock or anger, and I didn’t care enough at the time to take a good look.

“This has nothing to do with Harry, git-face, so go leave me alone and find your snog-buddy Parkinson and occupy yourself for a while. That is, if you can.” At that point I whipped my wand out, very swiftly if I do say so myself, and personally delivered him a Bat-Bogey hex to the face. As he ran away, I noted that even Pug-face Parkinson wouldn’t go near Malfoy with flying bogeys surrounding him. Feeling a little happier, I walked calmly off to class as if nothing happened.

After classes, which despite the teacher’s efforts, were filled with cuddling couples and kissing in the back of the class, I tried in vain to find a spot to just relax and get some reading done. The Common Room was a no-go, as it was filled with more couples snuggling by the fire or whiny people who had nothing better to do. The Library was worse. It contained people in almost every nook and cranny doing things I don’t even want to think about, despite the best efforts of Madam Pince. Really, I feel bad for that woman, having randy teenagers all over her precious books. I wasn’t even going to try the Room of Requirement, because it was almost sure to be occupied.

So that was how I ended up where I did, sitting in an open-arched window by the courtyard, bundled up in my best cloak and a blanket I borrowed from Hermione, trying in vain to read my book. It was a really good book, not one of those trashy romance types that people always think I’m reading. This one had a plot, about a nation in danger from a coup attempt by a cunning, daring politician—

Smack! I almost toppled over from the force of the snowball that hit me. I wiped the cold snow off my face and scooped up a snowball of my own with a grin, abandoning by book and the warmth of the cloak, expecting to find Colin Creevey standing a ways away with a similar grin. What I saw instead was not a grinning Colin, but a smirking Draco Malfoy, another projectile already in his gloved hand. If it was possible, my mood darkened even more than it already had. I had had enough of people interrupting my attempts to get away from the evils of Valentine’s Day.

I gave Malfoy what Fred and George referred to as my evil-smile, and stared him directly in the eyes. “What is it now, Malfoy? Didn’t have enough this morning? Or were you rejected by Pug-face? No love for the little ferret on Valentine’s Day.” I taunted, throwing his words from earlier back at him.

I think that my words had the opposite effect than I had intended, for his smirk only grew. “Not quite, Weasley.”

“Then what, Malfoy? You’re not one to start snowball fights with puny little Gryffindors for the fun of it. At least, not when there’s no one around for you to gloat to. Spit it out. I was trying to read before you interrupted me.”

Malfoy looked speculatively at me. “Why do you dislike Valentine’s Day so much, Weaselette?”

The question gave me pause for a minute. No one had ever really asked me that. It was just a known fact that I didn’t like the day, and that if people didn’t want a hex thrown at them, they would stay away from me that day. To hear Malfoy, probably the one thing I hated almost as much as this dreaded day, ask me that question, was unusual to say the least.

“It strikes me the wrong way, I guess,” I answered honestly, for it seemed the best thing to do. “All the frilly-girliness, red hearts and white chocolate, all for no reason at all. It’s pointless. It’s not even a real holiday. It was made up by some people with no lives and nothing to do.”

Malfoy shook his head. “I don’t think that’s quite it, Weasley.”

I snorted in a very un-ladylike manner. “Oh, really, Malfoy?”

He shook his head again. “Nope.”

This had to be good. “Alright then, Ferret-face. If you think you know me better than I do, why, pray tell, do I dislike Valentine’s Day?”

“Simple, really. You dislike today because you’ve never had a reason to enjoy it,” the smug git replied as if it were the simplest concept in the world.

I, of course didn’t buy it. Really, didn’t that guy pay attention? “I told you before, Malfoy, I’m not jealous.”

He looked like a disappointed professor. “That’s not what I said, Weasley. To be jealous of something, you would have to know what it feels like to have it, have it taken away, and watch other people enjoy it instead. No, you are not jealous, because you have never felt it to begin with.”

And, to my supreme annoyance, I began to realize that the smarmy git was right. I had never been treated to a Valentine’s Day outing, simply because I did not want one. And because I did not want one, and consequently didn’t have it, I was angry and frustrated. It was a circular path that would probably have made me quite bitter in the end.

Instead of being bitter, I was now angry at the smug-looking boy in front of me for pointing out the fault in my logic. “So? What’s it to you, Malfoy? Did you just come out here to show me what an idiot I’ve been? Sounds like something you’d do.”

For the third time, Malfoy shook his head. “No, I did not come here to gloat or hold it over your head or anything. Really, even I have some compassion today. No, once I figured out your predicament, I decided to do something about it,” he stated with a blank face, not giving anything away. And, to my surprise, again, Malfoy reached into his robes and pulled out a single white rose. He handed it to me with an expressionless face.

“Happy Valentine’s Day, Weaselette.”

I took it wordlessly, a bit stunned. I looked into his face, trying to see some kind of emotion to explain his actions, but I was met with nothing. He must have read my mind, though, because he continued. “Don’t read too much into it, Weasley. It’s just a flower. I didn’t even buy it. I grabbed one from one of the many bouquets I get every year. So don’t go getting all emotional on me or anything.”

I still didn’t say anything, just looked down at the white rose in my mittened hands. Malfoy gave me a flower? On Valentine’s Day? I didn’t believe it. But as I looked back up to ask him why he would do that, I saw that he had already turned and was walking away. I couldn’t just let him go, though. I had to say thank you, even if the gift was unexpected and meaningless. I ran up to him and grabbed his arm.

He turned slowly around, a bored look on his face. “What?”

I didn’t say anything, didn’t think, just stood up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. I locked eyes with him, and saw them widen in surprise. His look of shock snapped me back to reality, and I realized what I had done, who I was kissing. I pulled back from the kiss, and took a step back. Taking a shaky breath I managed to say, “Thank you for the rose, Draco,” before I turned around and walked back towards my book and blanket. I tried my hardest not to look back at him, afraid that I would see rage and disgust on his face. Really, though, it was just a little touch. To him, it probably barely even counted as a kiss.

But I couldn’t resist looking over my shoulder once, and I saw him standing in the same spot, with the same look of surprise on his face. It was only there for a second, though, before he turned and walked away towards the dungeons. I closed my eyes, and when I opened them again, I grabbed my things and made my way back towards Gryffindor Tower.

I figured it was time to reevaluate my opinion of Valentine’s Day.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Title: Do Ya Love Me?

Author: Tamloid14

Timeframe: AU, Book 7

Characters: Draco, Ginny, Blaise

Summary: “Did he love her? Did he, Draco Malfoy, love her, Ginevra Weasley? Even though their families were sworn enemies, even though she was a loud-mouthed, red-haired, Gryffindor Muggle-lover?” A songfic inspired by Jump5’s “Do Ya.”

Credit where credit is due: I don’t own anything but the plot. The rest belong to JKR, and to Jump5 for their song “Do Ya” that inspired this fic. Many thanks go to my betas elyaeru and Katzegeliebter. Thanks so much for spending time on this. Ciao.

Tam

* * *

Draco lay on his back on his four-poster bed at Hogwarts, just thinking. He was trying to figure out how his life had gotten so horribly out of control. One moment he was studying peacefully in the library, and the next he was fleeing his table for the sanctuary of his dorm. Well, there was a little more to it than that, but Draco could dream that it was that simple.

The first part was mostly true. He had been in the library revising for an upcoming exam. He had been sitting at his usual table—their usual table—when she joined him. They had been studying together for a few months, him helping her with her Transfiguration and her helping him with Herbology. That in itself was nothing out of the ordinary. Their banter was comforting in its familiarity, and soon the books were forgotten on the table—also normal—and they were chatting and joking back and forth like they had been friends for years instead of almost three months.

She was laughing at something he had said, her face flushed and eyes bright when she seemed to grow somber. At the time he hadn’t known why, but the air seemed to shift somehow. Noticing she had stopped laughing rather abruptly he had asked, “What’s wrong?” Then she bit her bottom lip—the way she always did when she was thinking hard or was nervous—and looked him dead in the eye.

“Do you love me?”

He had stared back at her in shock. The question had been asked calmly, but Draco could see the anxiousness and fear in her eyes and knew that she was being completely serious. He kept staring at her, knowing that she expected an answer, that she deserved an answer. So Draco did the only thing he could think of at the time.

He ran.

He had grabbed his bag and fairly sprinted out of the library, more aware of her eyes on his retreating form than Madam Pince’s call not to run in her library. Draco had run all the way back to the dungeons, for once not mindful of proper behavior. As soon as he made it to the dark common room he had locked himself in his dorm and hadn’t been out since.

He absently waved his wand and the Wireless started up in the background. As he started pacing the room he repeated the same question that had sounded in his head the minute he had reached the silence of his room.

Did he love her?

Did he, Draco Malfoy, love her, Ginevra Weasley? Even though their families were sworn enemies, even though her brother was the Weasel King and she spent her time in the company of Potter and Granger, even though she was a loud-mouthed, red-haired Gryffindor Muggle-lover? The song playing on the wireless drifted over to him.

“Do ya like the freckles on my face?

Do ya like my teeth they’re out of place?

I’d like to think so.”

He thought of one of the first times she had joined him in the library.

* * *

Ginny sat across from him, books and parchments surrounding her, though Draco could tell she wasn’t really paying attention. She was staring off into space, but he noticed that she didn’t have the same vacant look her oaf of a brother had when he wasn’t paying attention.

He was studying her, trying to figure out what her angle was, what she wanted to get out of meeting him. His mind wandered off fairly quickly, though, and instead began counting the freckles on her cheeks and nose. He had counted up to thirty-seven before she caught on to his stare.

“What?” she asked him curiously.

“You have freckles,” Draco stated firmly. “No friend of a Malfoy has freckles.”

She smiled at him like she was amused at his obvious observation. “You have a pasty face. No friend of a Weasley has a pasty face,” she replied.

Not willing to take that laying down (or sitting in an uncomfortable library chair), Draco cast about for another insult before he was distracted, again, by her smile.

“Your teeth are crooked. It’s unbecoming.”

“Your nose is too pointy.”

Draco glared at her. “It’s not pointy. It’s distinguished.”

* * *

Draco thought. Her freckled face wasn’t ugly by any means, but neither was it stunning. The freckles lent her creamy skin definition, reminding Draco of flecks of soot on snow. And despite her imperfect set of teeth, every time Ginny smiled at him, or smiled at anything, Draco felt a little bit happier, a little bit warmer.

“Do ya like the funny was I speak?

I don’t clean my room for weeks and weeks,

I’d like to thing so.”

Draco could call to mind her voice, not the high pitched whine of Pansy’s, nor the low tones of Daphne’s, nor the whimsical notes of her friend Lovegood. Her voice changed pitch depending on her mood. When she was happy, her voice became higher, clearer. When she talked about schoolwork or other serious subjects, the tone became lower and somewhat rough. Draco wondered what her voice would sound like when she was turned on…

No. Draco literally shook himself from those thoughts. That’s not helping.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?

I’d like to think so.

Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?

Anyway…I’d like to think so.

Do ya like the way I go all shy?

I just can’t look you in the eye?

I’d like to think so.

Will you stay here for a while

So I can watch you when you smile?

I’d like to think so.”

* * *

It was about a month into their study sessions that the books became forgotten and homework was abandoned in the search for more interesting topics. This particular topic Ginny had started, though Draco was sure she hadn’t intended it to go this way. It was a simple game where the two of them would trade off asking questions. Ginny had started off with “Do you bleach your hair that way?” and it had gotten underway.

Now they were each trying to outdo each other to find the most embarrassing or difficult questions to answer. Draco rather thought he was winning.

“Do you tilt to the right or the left?”

“The right,” she answered confidently. Damn, she didn’t even turn pink that time. “Who was your first?”

“Pansy Parkinson,” Draco replied without hesitation, not letting her see his discomfort talking about such things with her. “On all accounts,” he added smugly. “And yours?”

This time she did blush and turn her head away to avoid his eyes. Draco felt a sense of accomplishment when she mumbled something under her breath that Draco couldn’t quite catch. “What was that, Ginevra?” The tone Draco used, as well as his use of her given name (the result of an earlier question), made her blush even more, if that was possible.

She met his eyes again, the barest trace of her old confidence returning. “I don’t have one,” Ginny repeated, her voice still low and quiet.

And this time it was Draco’s turn to be flustered. “How is that? I know that you’ve dated loads of boys. Thomas and Potter come to mind. And aren’t you dating Finnegan?” It was a well known fact that Seamus Finnegan was the Loverboy of Gryffindor, and if Ginny was dating him, then there was no way she could still be a virgin.

Ginny looked uncomfortable at explaining this to him. “Well, Dean and I dated a while ago and I was too young. Michael and I never really connected enough for me to even think about it. Harry was too busy with, you know, saving the world. And, well…” she broke off. “Seamus and I broke up last week.”

“Really?” Well that was a new development.

“Yeah,” she said, her nervousness evident now. And with good reason. They had never in their conversations touched on past relationships. “It wouldn’t have worked out with us. You see, there’s this other boy that I’ve liked for a bit and well…I couldn’t lead Seamus on like that.” Ginny met his eyes again for a moment and then glanced down at her forgotten parchment, her face tinged pink again. This time, Draco thought that the tips of his ears might have matched.

* * *

Alright, so he liked it when she was straightforward with him. And he would even admit that she looked rather cute with her face flushed and when she tried to pull off the innocent schoolgirl act. Though she could never keep it up for long. Soon after the awkward silence brought on by her admission she had bravely looked up at him and asked, “Parkinson? What on earth possessed you to do that with her?” And the conversation had gone on as normal. Yes, he admitted, Ginny could even hold her own in a conversation that was uncomfortable for her. Not only that, but even in those uncomfortable situations, she still managed to express herself clearly, if a bit bluntly. It made her seem human, more so than any other girl he knew. And he felt a little bit of his impassive and icy façade crumble each time she challenged him to a battle of words and retained her spirit after he soundly beat her.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?

I’d like to think so.

Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?

Anyway, I’d like to think so.”

But just because he admired her ability to argue with the best of them, or thought she looked her best when she was red with anger or embarrassment or when she looked shy and innocent, or despite the fact that she was innocent and pure she still managed to look sexy and desirable or—

Ugh! This was hopeless! How was he supposed to figure out if he loved her or not if he couldn’t properly concentrate enough to decide? Going through her virtues would not help him make up his mind.

“Well I hope I don’t drive you insane

With my big right foot and my unkempt mane.

Well I know you love me just the way I am,

So I’ll change my ways if I think I can.”

Damn this song! Why wasn’t it over with yet? Just listening to it made him think…

* * *

Just last week, they had again been studying in the library. Instead of sitting at their usual table they had secluded themselves in a back aisle of the stacks, somewhere between the Ancient Runes tomes. No one was likely to gawk at them from there, and Draco had really wanted a moment or peace away from his housemates and her housemates and those who gibed the two of them for spending so much time together.

The stacks they had isolated themselves between were just wide enough for Draco to stretch out his legs, which meant that Ginny had a few centimeters to spare. They were sitting facing each other, backs against the shelves, the outsides of their closest legs touching firmly. Ginny appeared to be enthralled in a novel, and though the cover indicated that it wasn’t approved classroom material, she was paying more attention to her trashy book than she ever did to her Transfiguration texts. Draco supposed he should be paying attention to the book in his own lap rather than to her, but he was distracted by her right foot, the one that rested precariously next to his upper thigh. She was tapping it in a steady yet maddening rhythm, and every so often would twitch it far enough to strike his leg. It was distracting him to no end.

Not taking his eyes off her face, Draco reached a hand slowly and placed it on the offending appendage. Ginny looked up at last from her novel and blushed a little.

“Sorry. I got to an exciting part.”

Draco nodded and she smiled slightly before returning to stare down at the page in her lap. He attempted to do the same, and succeeded for a while, until her foot started up again. Instead of the incessant tapping which would have made Draco sigh and remove her foot from the vicinity of his leg, this time it was a gentle nudging. He looked up from his texts again, thinking, No wonder I never get any work done, and met her expectant eyes.

“Do you want something, Ginevra?” Surely she couldn’t have been expecting him to…

She smiled coyly at him and he fought to hide the fact that his breath caught in his throat. “Maybe. Would you?” She asked this with a flutter of her eyes and a pout that she must have stolen from Pansy.

“Don’t do that, Weasley. I get enough of it in the common room.” But despite his grumbling Draco closed his textbook, set it aside and grabbed Ginny’s right foot. Settling it in his lap, he carefully untied her scuffed Mary-Jane loafer and set it beside his book. He then maneuvered her foot so that he could slip her plain white cotton sock off, leaving her pale flesh exposed to him. Ginny giggled as he did this and at his questioning look, mumbled something about “ticklish.” Ignoring this, Draco started to gently knead the flesh at the instep of her foot, making his way along the sole, down to the heel and up to pay homage to each of her toes. He paid extra attention to the spots that made her gasp lightly or sigh slightly and made sure that all the tension was removed from her muscles. Gradually abandoning her foot altogether, Draco’s skillful hands massaged their way up to her smooth calf. Looking up for a second from his work to gauge her reaction, Draco saw that Ginny had also deserted her book, choosing instead to lean her head back against the dusty shelved, close her eyes, and surrender herself to Draco’s ministrations.

The blissful look on her face stilled his hands as he shifted his focus from her leg to her face. The cessation of movement caused her to open her eyes and gaze drowsily at him. As if recalling what was happening, she flushed full scarlet and brushed a lock of uncombed, blood-red hair behind her ear. She was about to say something, ruin the perfect atmosphere created by his gentle caresses, but he stopped her by removing her right foot from his lap and setting her left one in its place. He raised a white-blond eyebrow at her surprised look, and then showed her other foot the same care and concentration he had her first.

* * *

Damn it! Damn it all to the depths of hell and back! He was screwed, completely and utterly screwed. He couldn’t believe that he, Draco Malfoy, had fallen in love with her, Ginevra Weasley. They hadn’t even shared a proper kiss yet, and he was already screwed over. Now what the hell was he supposed to do?

“What’s got your knickers in a twist now, Malfoy?”

Damn, just what he needed. “Shove off, Blaise. I’m in no mood for this.”

The darker boy nodded in understanding. “Ah, I see. Who is she?”

Draco snorted, but his nonchalance was betrayed by his widened eyes. “She? It’s not a girl, Zabini.”

“Oh? A boy then?”

“Don’t be crass.”

Blaise sighed. “Fine.” He paused. “So, who is she?”

Draco closed his eyes and let out a breath, knowing that Blaise would guess sooner or later. “Ginny Weasley.”

Blaise grinned. “Finally decided to put the moves on her?”

Draco started at what his friend was implying. “She’s not like that, Blaise. She’s innocent, and proper, and beautiful, and…” he broke off, his face falling rather comically. “Bloody hell, Blaise, I’m in trouble.”

Never having seen Draco so flustered he asked, “Merlin, Malfoy, what’d she do to you?”

Draco looked up helplessly at his best mate. “I’m in love with her.”

His statement was met with a low whistle from the other boy. “Yeah, that’ll about do it, mate. What are you going to do about it?”

Draco shrugged with a calm he didn’t feel. “Tell her, I suppose.” But then he winced, imagining facing her again after his hasty retreat.

“What did you do now?” Blaise asked exasperated. “Were you an arse about it?”

“Arse would be an understatement,” Draco replied. “She asked me if I loved her and I ran out of there like the devil was chasing me.”

“Bloody hell, mate. So, what’s your plan of attack?”

Draco thought. If he planned it right, he could manage to put his plan into action all by the following night…

“I’ve got an idea, Blaise.”

* * *

Less than twenty four hours later had Draco fidgeting with his robes in a secluded aisle in the Ancient Runes section of the library. His plan had been fairly easy to implement. His biggest challenge had been to convince the stuffy librarian to have the library to himself for the evening. She had protested hotly, telling him in no uncertain terms that the library was a public space, and not a spot for clandestine meetings for sure, but Draco could be very persuasive when he chose, and especially so when he backed up his words with some galleons and a good bottle of Firewhisky. The set up itself was almost ridiculously simple, but Draco always thought that the simplest plans were the most effective.

A noise at the front of the library put an end to Draco’s fidgeting. As he heard the massive doors slam shut, Draco imagined he could see the puzzled look on Ginny’s face as she took in the dark library, illuminated only by the trail of candles floating above her head. He fancied he could hear her gasp and envisioned her wide chocolate eyes as her book bag dropped to the floor with a thud that he could hear from his hiding place.

Draco counted the seconds in his head. He gave her ten seconds to get over her shock, come to the realization that they would not be studying after all, and figure out that she was meant to follow the candles deeper into the library. Another thirty seconds to reach the first lily, her favorite flower, laid delicately at her spot at the table they had shared the first time they had planned to study together. Twenty more seconds, owed to her increased pace because of the excitement, until she found the second lily at his place at the table they had called their own after her friends started to notice who she’d been studying with. And, knowing her impatience to be growing, gave her another ten seconds before she made her way to him.

Five. He looked his clothing over, making sure his black robes were immaculate.

Four. Running his fingers through his loose hair, he mussed it in the way he knew she liked.

Three. Draco could hear her feet striking the floor. He took a moment to steady his breathing.

Two. He checked one last time that the final lily was secure in his hand.

One. Draco raised his head and met her eyes as she rounded the final bookshelf and stared at him.

Neither spoke for a moment. “Draco, what is all this?”

Draco took a breath. She would laugh at him and his silly ideas. “One flower for each month I’ve known you, really known you. One candle for each time over those three months that I’ve thought that you are beautiful.”

She gasped. “Draco…”

“Yesterday you asked me a question,” he cut her off. “Ask me again. Ask me again and I promise that I won’t run away this time.”

Ginny shook her head. “Draco you don’t have to do this. I shouldn’t have asked—“

“Ask me again, Ginevra Molly Weasley.”

She took a breath and Draco could see the fear in her eyes reflecting off the flickering candlelight. “Do you love me, Draco Malfoy?”

He stepped forward, taking the lilies from her limp hands and placing them on top of the bookshelf. Draco seized her hands from her sides, and pulled her flush against his body. Leaning down to his face was a hairsbreadth away from hers, Draco whispered, “Yes, I do.”

Before she could respond, Draco dipped his head and captured her lips with his, kissing her firmly and with all the emotion he had buried over their three month friendship. In the back of his mind he realized that that her hands had found purchase on his shoulders and that she was kissing him back eagerly. He opened his mouth and traced the seam of her lips with his tongue. As she opened her own mouth to deepen the kiss he grabbed her hips and maneuvered her so her back was pressed against the shelves she had sat against the past week. The kiss took on a life of its own for a while, each of them exploring the other, learning with lips and tongue and teeth the person they had spent so much time getting to know.

The kiss slowed until Draco was merely brushing his lips against her mouth and soon just resting his forehead against hers, their breath mingling. Draco tried to get his breathing under control, a feat made harder by the fact that with every breath he took he could smell her sweet floral scent and taste her on his lips. He could see Ginny struggling just as much as he was to control herself. Looking down at her face, her eyes wide and slightly glassy, cheeks flushed and lips swollen, Draco couldn’t help himself.

He dropped his head to kiss her lightly again and said in a stronger, more confident voice than before, “I love you, Ginny.” She was still silently getting her gasps under control, staring up at him wide-eyed. “Damn it, Ginny, say something.”

“Wow,” she gasped, the first time he had really seen her at a loss for words.

“I agree wholeheartedly, but perhaps something more?” Draco prodded, hoping for a reciprocation of some kind.

“What do you want me to say?”

He looked down incredulously at her, unwilling to believe that she was really that dense, until he caught the look in her eye. Damn, she was being coy again. Of all the times… “You know exactly what I want you to say: do you love me, too?” he shot her words back at her, his nervousness making his temper short.

She grinned at him and wove her hands around his neck. “I’d like to think so,” she answered, and swallowed his resulting grin with a hungry kiss.

“Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love, me?

I’d like to think so.

Do ya, do ya, do ya love me?

Do ya, d-d-do ya love me?

Anyway…I’d like to think so.”

* * *

Fin.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Let me know what you think.

Tam

You know you're taking too many AP classes when...

Mon, 28 Apr 2008 19:44:03 GMT

So, AP testing starts next week for me. Ahhhhh! I'm taking four tests, and I'm only in two classes. One test I don't even know what it's on and the others...uch. Just uch. I'm taking the Physics Mechanics and Physics Electricity and Magnetism, as well as the English Literature and Composition and English Language. I haven't prepared for the Language test at all, and neither of the English tests even count toward my college anyway. So what's the point?

You know you're taking too many APs when...
10. You find yourself reciting Faraday's Law before you go to bed, when you wake up, and once an hour in between.

9. You know that while AP students are the best and brightest, you also know that AP stands for "Advanced Procrastination."

8. You shake your head at people that don't know what "AP" actually stands for.

7. Each AP class that you take has it's own clever acronym: APUSH, WHAP, APEL, etc...

6. You've accumulated enough knowledge in AP Lit to make several clever t-shirts, including ones like "AP Lit baby names" and "AP lit pick-up lines"

5. You and your friends commiserate daily on staying up until 2 or 3 in the morning to finish everyday homework, not to mention the all-nighters before a test.

4. You go the AP exam and everyone from different schools are all singing the Chinese Dynasty Song.

3. You laugh uproariously if someone says "Moby Dick can suck my Pequod" and shake your head in exasperation if someone hates Captain Ahab.

2. You can switch between calculus, english, physics from one minute to the nest and not get yourself confused in the head.

1. You study for one AP test in another AP class.

So...I'm stressed out, as all these apply to me.

Two lists

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:13:04 GMT

You know you read too much when...

10. You can locate the nearest book store no matter where you are.

9. People at the library and your favorite bookstore know you by name and know what kind of books you prefer.

8. You can give people lectures on a wide range of novels, from Shakespeare and Moby Dick to Twilight and Harry Potter.

7. You enjoy the smell of old hardcover books.

6. You own more books than movies, and have since run out of places to store them in your room.

5. The number of books you have bought in the past year has damaged the rain forests.

4. Instead of looking forward to new movies coming out, you count down the days until the book you're waiting for is released.

3. Your parents and friends forbid you from going to the library during the summer, forcing you to go outside instead of reading. And no, reading outside does not count.

2. You count the passage of time with the number of chapters you have read.

1. Your biggest concern for going away to college is the issue of which books you'll bring with you out of your personal library. You can' bring them all, after all.

I know that all of those apply to me. *blush*

10 Reasons to love the letter "E"

10. English: AP English that is, as it is my favorite class right now.

9. Energy: Whether I get really hyper for no reason, or because I've had too much tea, energy always brightens up my life.

8. Electricity: Seriously, where would we be without it?

7. The Letter "E" itself: It's the most frequently used letter in the alphabet. Who wouldn't love it?

6. Epiphanies: Ahh, those wonderful little moments where everything becomes clear. I love those moments, don't you?

5. Embers: My favorite thing about fires is the embers, those little pieces that slowly burn because of their internal heat. Staring at them always lets me think clearly.

4. England: So much history there, and I positively love the accents.

3. Elevators: Make our lives so much easier, better than escalators and stairs.

2. Entrances: They give us access to whatever we want. As weird as it sounds, I love entrance ways, entrance foyers and the like, because they give insight into the rest of the building they belong to.

And my number one reason to love the letter "E" is...

1. Edward Cullen: The reason that young women all over the country are dissatisfied with their boyfriends.

Well, that's my list. Is you read this and want your own letter to work with, let me know and I'll give one to you.

My life as I know it

Sun, 06 Apr 2008 03:43:58 GMT

So, I've been away for a while. No surprises there, as my life has been exceedingly busy over the past two weeks. Barely had time to breath, let alone post anything more than "Can't talk, I'm busy." Well, now I've found time. So, here I have a few updates in my life, and two lists to share. Here I go...

1. My week spend in Florida was amazing! We toured around Disney all week, a different park a day, and I even got to go backstage at Epcot and Magic Kingdom. My performances went really well, all three of them. I got really sun burnt, but that's no surprise either. I always burn the first day out in the sun. Good news is that I'm really tan now.

2. I had a really bad streak of bad luck on my trip. The first day (we went to MGM or Hollywood or whatever they call it now) some guy I sat next to on a ride stole my new digital camera out of my coat pocket. Honestly, who steals at Disney? Then, my last day there my phone falls out of my friend's pocket while we were on a roller coaster at Islands of Adventure. Lost all my numbers, but I got a really nice new phone out of it.

3. A little bit of drama erupted between me and this guy on the trip. We kinda have a history of sexual innuendo disguised by arguing and banter, though neither of us really means anything by it. Well, we took that to the max on the trip, including an hour and a half inter-room phone conversation, both of us on speaker so that all our roommates could hear. It was very amusing, both of us trying to push the other too far, seeing who would crack first. I'm proud to say that he reached his limit first, and conceded with an actual apology. Good news is that we're actually going to try out friendship now. We'll see if we can manage to not kill each other.

4. I'm going to see Drowsy Chaperon twice in the next week. Once tomorrow and once on Saturday. I'm really excited.

5. My computer, my laptop that is, has officially gone into the shop and will be gone for the next month. Luckily, I got the chance to save all my documents, including english papers and fics, before my dad took it in. Now I have to use the family computer until mine is fixed.

I think that I'll post the lists in the next post, as this one is kinda long. But yeah, that's been my life recently.

My life is...interesting

Sat, 22 Mar 2008 15:17:50 GMT

So, right now my mind is in a random jumble that I'm not quite sure what is what and I probably should not be making contact with the outside world right now. I have no idea what I'm saying right now, because I'm so confused about everything in my life right now: boys especially. Once I figure out what's going on there, I'll let you know.

But on to the solid things in life.

So I've decided to start reading Twilight. I don't really know why, but I just want to see what all the hype is about. And I've heard that it's really good. Did I see someone mention something about a movie? I don't really remember.

Next, I'm going away on vacation next week. My school's music program is performing at Disney's Magic Music Days down in Orlando, and I get to perform three times during our trip. I'm doing two vocal performances at Epcott, and one marching band performance right before the SpectroMagic parade, which is the most awesome time to perform. It'll be lots of fun to be there, especially since it's about 85 degrees there and only 25 here in Chicago. Only problem is that I'm rooming with three people that I really can't stand for the entire week. Ugh, it will he horrible. Luckily we're not spending to much time n our rooms and the hotel, unlike my trip to Boston where we couldn't leave the hotel at all. But I guess I'll grin and bear it.

So, because I'll be in Florida all week, I won't be on the computer all week, which means that I'll most likely miss the posting of my fic in the DGFicExchange and I wanted to be there when it happened. Oh well.

Oh, and this post took me about twice the normal time because my mind is too jumbled up to properly type or form words on a screen. I'll be back with a tan and some answers, hopefully.

Busy, busy day for me

Sat, 15 Mar 2008 21:05:37 GMT

I've had a busy day already, and it's not even 4 pm. I woke up early (well, 9 is early for me on a weekend) and got my hair cut. It used to be down to the middle of my back, now it's above my shoulders. It's really different, but I like it. If you want to see pictures, they'll be up here sometime today. I really like it. Then I got to go the doctors. Yeah. Not so much fun, but to make up for it I got to go shopping and got lots of pretty things for me to go to Floida with. I'm going for five days for spring break. And to top it all off, I have a party with my closest friends tonight. I'm really looking forward to it becasue I haven't seen them in so long. Whew, what a busy day for me.

Short Little Anecdote of Happiness

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 12:47:40 GMT

So, yesterday my beta finished editing my story and sent it back to me! I almost leaped out of my chair in joy that she finished so quickly. Suffice to say that I made the necessary changes to the final draft and sent it in, three days early at that. Now I can finally breath easy. And I even get a reward for finishing in the form of a fic of my own. I completely forgot about the prezzies during all this chaos of actually finishing a story. I don't think that I've ever written on a deadline that wasn't school related. All my other fics were 'whenever I get the chance' fics, so finishing this one was a great accomplishment, I think.

Random Anecdote of the Day:

In English class yesterday we were discussing the novel Sula by Toni Morrison and the difference between good and evil. We raised the question: can anyone be totally good or totally evil? We debated back and forth about this, raising the obvious examples of Hitler and Mussolini and Pol Pot to support the evil side. Someone in our class pointed out that 'evil' is a term given to people by others, almost never by themselves. I'm sure that Hitler didn't think that he was evil, even at the height of his power. But if someone like that, with the intent to murder millions of people, can't be considered truly evil, then who can? The bell rang at 1:12 pm, and we never answered that question.

I'm not panicking...really I'm not

Tue, 11 Mar 2008 13:01:20 GMT

So, four days to go for the DG Fic Exchange. I've finished everything that I can finish, and now it's all up to my beta. She's a doll for doing this for me, and on such a tight schedule. Only problem is that I'm a control freak and need to be involved every step of the way otherwise I freak out. I know that I have some time left and I shouldn't be panicking yet and that other people are further behind than me and yadda yadda. Still doesn't help with the panicking.

*deep breath*

And now I can breath a little

Fri, 07 Mar 2008 13:39:00 GMT

Today is a very happy day for me because I am officially caught up with all my school work! Pause while I do a little celebratory dance...alright. Over the past three weeks I've been absent from school at least twice a week, and the high level classes I'm taking left me significantly behind in work. I got out of rehearsal early yesterday and managed to complete everything that I was behind on, including four hours of Spanish homework, English essays and books, and Physics labs. It took me until three in the morning and I'm just a bit tired this morning, but it feels good to get everything done.

And, to make life even better, I've finished writing the entirety of my dgficexchange entry, and all that's left is to type it up, which I'm doing today (another day without rehearsal!) and send it off to my beta. Yay for me. It feels good to know that I can finish it. I was never really worried about actually getting recognition for it, I just really wanted to finish something for once. Now maybe I can finish those other fics that are just hanging out there.

Wishing there were 25 hours in a day

Wed, 05 Mar 2008 13:42:14 GMT

So, I got the e-mail from the dgficexchange mods saying the obligatory "You have two weeks left. Better get moving." As if I needed the reminder. I've been writting pretty much non stop for the past month or so. I still have a good 5000 words to go to be where I want, and I wanted to get the last section out to my beta this Friday. I've been writting during class, during rehearsal, at home, so much so that teachers and other people don't even bother to ask me what I'm writting anymore. They know, Kim is on a deadline and has to finish this part by this time, et cetera. It's so frustrating to not finish what I want to finish when I want to finish it. *deep breath* Alright, now I'm going to go and see if I can get another 1000 words done. Wish me luck.

Casimir Pulaski Day?

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 13:41:09 GMT

So, apparently today is Casimir Pulaski Day. Everyone I have seen today in school has either wished me a happy day or complained that I wasn't *spirited* enough. My question is: who is Casimir Pulaski, and if he is so important to warrant his own holiday, why don't we learn about him? Now, not to disrespect those who appreciate this day, but I have never heard about or learned about him, so today I did a little bit of research. He was a general in the American Revolution and won battles and turned the tide of the war, yadda yadda yadda. But if he was so important to one of the most influential wars in American history, why haven't I ever learned about him in any history class I've taken? None of my Polish friends know exactly who he is, either. Either all of my teachers overlooked him for more important people like George Washington and Thomas Jefferson, or someone decided to make a holiday for no reason and make us celebrate a person we've never heard of and hope that we don't question our ignorance. Something is definitely off here.

So now I'll just have to wallow through my day in ignorance of someone who is supposedly important but that I don't know anything about. *sigh* Somehow I think I'll survive.

Ways to Know You're A Procrastinator

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:50:30 GMT

10. You count down the time left until things are due.

9. You find yourself doing tasks that you would never do unless there was something else you should be doing.

8. Your family and friends are, by now, used to your breakdowns when you have too many tasks at once.

7. People don't ask you to do things too far in advance, knowing that they won't get done for a while anyway.

6. You're on the internet more often than all your friends combined, because they're all off getting things done while you're...not.

5. You studiously plan out a schedule to gradually accomplish a large task, and completely ignore it.

4. You've joined a group on Facebook called "Procrastinator of Today Unite...Tomorrow" and are proud of it.

3. You've mastered the art of staying up until ungodly hours of the morning finishing papers and then waking up a few hours later for classes. Rinse and repeat.

2. You get annoyed when people remind you that there's a deadline coming up and you haven't even started the task.

1. You've repeated the mantra, "Don't worry, I've still got plenty of time," more times than is legally acceptable.

Valentine's Day...for better or worse

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 05:37:17 GMT

My Valentine's day was a very interesting thing. I had a few good things, a few bad things, a random mixup of emotions that left me very confused in the end. Well, I'll tell you about it and then maybe you can figure out if the day was good or bad.

First, I got a bouquet or my favorite flowers the night before, so when I woke up in the morning, my room smelled of lilies. And I woke up to my favorite musical song-Phantom of the Opera. Plus it was a late start, so I got an extra two hours of sleep. Good, right? Well, I get to school, and the cast list for our musical is up. I didn't get the part I wanted, but I still got a lead, not as big, but alright. Then, the really fun parts. The guy I like, he has a girlfriend of course (because it's just my luck) spends the whole day in a bad mood because his girl lives in another state and he can't see her. So instead of letting me tell him all about my excitement for the musical and my college visit, he's in a funk the whole day. But, another one of my guy friends starts to flirt with me a little bit, and I don't know how I want to respond. Ugh, so confusing. Then I have rehearsal for said musical, and people start yelling at each other for the most random things. And my parents start to become overbearing again and puch me towards schools that I don't want. And, oh yeah, there was the NIU shooting only an hour and a half from my house, and I have friends who go there and I can't find out if they're alright or not for hours. They were all alright, but I was scared for a while. Ah!

So, that was my vent about my Valentine's Day. Any thoughts?

Here goes nothing...

Sun, 27 Jan 2008 17:53:52 GMT

Well then, here I am. On LiveJournal . I don't quite know how I got here or why, but I'm here nonetheless and I'll try to make the most of it. I don't know if anyone's out there watching this, but if you are I'd love for you to say so. Say hi to me, I promise that I don't bite.

So, I'll start off my LJ career with some random facts about my life appropriately named:

Ten Things You Never Needed To Know About Me:

10. One of my favorite book series is "Kushiel's Legacy," by Jaqueline Carey, which consists of six books set in an alternative universe renaissance France.

9. I watch the Food Network more than any other TV station, and because of it I can now cook full meals for my family.

8. If you've read my profile you know that I love Star Wars and Harry Potter. If you hadn't, now you know. What you don't know is that within those fandons, I 'ship the most unlikely pairs: Jaina/Jag, Siriwan, Benella, and Draco/Ginny.

7. I can finish a Rubik's cube in under three minutes.

6. I have recently acquired a new hobby: I'm going to learn how to write wth a quill.

5. I am working on learning a third language. I speak English and Hebrew, and am learning Spanish. Conjugations are wierd.

4. I applied to the two universities in the US that have the highest suicide rates: MIT (aka The Massachusetts Institute of Technology) and Harvard University, ranked 1 and 2 respectively for suicides. I haven't heard back from either school yet.

3. I am planning on studying Astrophysics in college. If you don't know what that is, go look it up. As they say at MIT, "If you don't know what it is, you're not smart enough to study it." I don't say that. I say, "If you don't know what it is, go find out what it is, and then prove everyone who said you couldn't do it wrong.

2. More than half of my friends live outside the United States. The majority live in England and Australia, but others hail from Wales, New Zealand, Denmark, Scotland, Canada, and China.

1. My favorite band is Savage Garden. I started liking them last year, and was devastated to learn that they were no longer together.

Well, that's it for now. Ciao.