handcuffs {draco malfoy}

six: ginny

GINNY

It was one of her poorest marks she'd ever received on an essay, and she almost laughed out loud when she saw the grade.

This was something that she might have cried about just the previous year, been filled with self hatred and begged to resubmit it to her professor. But instead, Esmeralda just shrugged and threw the parchment in the rubbish without even looking at the feedback.

She had expected it anyway.

It was now the end of a crisp Autumn day, and students were milling into the Great Hall for dinner. There was lots of chatter surrounding the rumoured plan for Death Eaters to take over running Hogwarts, attendance having already been mandatory this year. This had been by order of the corrupt Minister of Magic, who was likely under the Imperious curse.

Malfoy seemed to have accepted that Esmeralda would not budge about not sitting at the Slytherin table over the few days they'd now spent cuffed together, having seen the effort it would take to force her over there as too much for the underwhelming pay off.

He regretfully sat next to her at the Gryffindor table, stabbing at his roasted potato rather aggressively. Esmeralda was pushing a green bean around her plate, taking a small bite from it every now and then to remind herself of the strange texture it had.

"Mind if I sit?" A feminine voice sounded from in front of the pair, causing Esmeralda's head to snap up and meet the bright brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.

"Oh- Um... go for it." Esmeralda stammered, rather in shock to see the red-headed girl interacting with her. She had just assumed the rest of Gryffindor thought she was a traitor, and she didn't care to explain herself to them.

Ginny slid down opposite the two and filled her plate from the trays of vegetables and meats in front of them.

Esmeralda watched her with a curious gaze, but Malfoy's was of annoyance and hatred as he kept them down at his food.

"I know what's going on with you two." She mumbled quietly, her eyes fixed on her plate, "About the handcuffs."

Esmeralda exhaled a breath she didn't know she was holding, "Oh..."

"Mum and Dad asked me to check up on you Ez, and I asked Professor McGonagall why they were being all secretive and she told me surprisingly. I think she just wanted someone else around to look out for you and I was there." Ginny explained, speaking only to Esmeralda and flat-out ignoring Malfoy's presence.

Esmeralda didn't really know what to say, seeing as Ginny and her had always been friends, but never that close. Ginny was fun, social and extroverted. Everything Esmeralda wasn't, and she supposed they'd just never really been drawn to each other.

"Is everything going... okay?" Ginny asked carefully, finally flicking her eyes up to need Esmeralda.

Okay? What a question. She wanted to laugh.

She felt Malfoy's glare piercing into her from the side, as if he was daring her to complain about him.

"It's... fine. We're coping." Esmeralda spoke little words, it felt uncomfortable enough talking about it to someone else, let alone with Malfoy's judgemental ear listening in.

"It's fucking cruel if you ask me." Ginny raised her voice slightly, "The Order is seriously delusional if they thought this was a good way of monitoring him. I mean to put you in that kind of danger..."

"I'm right fucking here." Malfoy interrupted her with a snarl.

Her eyes flicked to his face for what seemed like the first time since she'd sat down.