Hi all. So I've recently been working on three, yes three, different D/G fics (plus one for a different fandom). Sadly, this is the first that I've decided to publish. Well that's not entirely true. I had one chapter up of another one, but took it down because I am currently reworking it in order to make it less confusing and longer in the end. But yeah, so I'm working on this plus those other ones. But I really do like this story, and I want your feedback on it, so I decided to publish this first chapter with the intent of continuing to write for this fic and not get distracted by the other ideas floating around in my head.

Disclaimer For This Whole Story: I do not now, nor do I ever have a prayer of owning any rights to the Harry Potter franchise. I've simply taken my favorite character (one Draco Malfoy, expertly imagined by J.K. Rowling) and a very popular fanfiction romantic interest for him (one Ginny Weasley, also imagined up by J.K.R.) and let my own imagination run wild with them. Just so you know, I really like it when Draco is a complete ass, so he's probably going to do that a lot in my story. Also, I have never read the books( shame on me, I know, I know). I just haven't gotten around to it, YET! I'm going to, I swear. I've been doing a lot of research (and asking a million annoying questions to my friends) while I've been writing, trying to keep my facts straight especially in the time spent at Hogwarts. All story purists, please note: I'm sorry in advance for the fact that this story doesn't fit in the whole greater scheme of the series, I just really like the story, and I'm trying to write it out. I'm not a professional, so my story will probably have grammatical errors. If you point them out, I'll correct them.

Note: The name of this chapter comes from the song Set Me Free by Casting Crowns.

Prologue: Missing

An article running in The Daily Prophet:

MINISTRY OFFICAL MISSING; WHEREABOUTS UNKNOWN

Arthur Weasley, husband of Molly Prewett, father of Bill, Charlie, Fred, George, Percy, Ron, and Ginny Weasley, was reported missing by his family this past weekend. Mr. Weasley is a Ministry of Magic official in the Misuse of Muggle Artefacts Office and the Office for the Detection and Confiscation of Counterfeit Defensive Spells and Protective Objects. No clues have been found as to Mr. Weasley's whereabouts, and Ministry Officials maintain that they have no reason to believe that the disappearance is related to his work there. This comes in the wake of several episodes of mismanagement at the Ministry over the last several weeks. As details begin the come to light it will become clearer whether or not this is just a small drop in the bucket of problems that the Ministry may be hiding from the public. Mr. Weasley's youngest son, Ron, is known friend of the infamous Harry Potter who could not be reached for comment.

-Rita Skeeter

Part I: Hogwarts

Chapter 1: "Set Me Free"

Morning breaks another day

Finds me crying in the rain

All alone with my demons I am

Who is this man that comes my way?

The dark ones shriek

They scream His name

Is this the One they say will set the captive free?

Jesus, rescue me

Set me free of the chains holding me

Is anybody out there hearing me?

Set me free

She was having the dream again.

No matter how fast she ran, or how many turns she took, she always ended up here. It was always in this same classroom that she ended up. After the third or fourth time, you'd think she would have learned, but she hadn't. Then, after she counted to five, on cue, the door swung open and the Devil himself walked in. Red, with horns and a tail, he stalked her as a lion would stalk a gazelle. And then, he would pounce.

Ginny Weasley sat up in her bed with a start. It was a beautiful morning at Hogwarts. Looking around, she saw that all of her roommates had already left for breakfast. Great, it's the first day of school, and I'm already running late, she thought to herself with a curse. She leapt out of bed and hurriedly prepared herself for the day.

Anytime she had that dream, Ginny was in a funk the whole day. This morning was a particularly rough morning. Breakfast was especially horrible this morning. Coming down late, there was only one seat left at the table, right next to her brother, Hermione and Harry. Sitting down, they all flashed their winning smiles at her and took her into their conversation. They were, as usual, recounting their heroic efforts, discussing class (although that was mostly Hermione), talking about Quidditch, and as always, eyeing the Slytherins with disdainful eyes.

After she finally got away from them, Ginny hurried to her first class hoping to get a good seat in the back. Unfortunately for her, several nasty Slytherin boys had beaten her to it, and now, not wanting to be just one row ahead of them, she was stuck in the front row all year for Transfigurations. Not that she didn't like that class, but being in the front was the worst. The people in the front couldn't have a bad day, because chances were, that was the day you'd be expected to be brilliant, whereas very rarely was anyone in the back called upon. And, her luck being what it was at the moment, she was called on twice that morning, though she was not at all prepared.

Potions hadn't gone any better. Normally, Ginny was ecstatic for Potions. It was one of her favorite classes, and much to the dismay of her teacher Professor Snape, she was exceedingly good at it. Generally she was able to use her skillfully honed, yet natural ability to conceive a witty comeback without being insubordinate to help herself out when Snape was being particularly unfair to her just based on her House. Given her disposition this day though, having to verbally spar with her Professor was not something she was feeling up to doing. As a result, Ginny had been belittled all class, making her even more upset.

By lunch, she really couldn't take it anymore. Everyone was in such a good mood, and she couldn't help but think every last one was mocking her with cheerfulness. Excusing herself from the table, she rapidly made her way up the stairs, all the way to the Astronomy Tower. Given that it was now mid-day, she didn't expect any company for several hours. Sitting down in a remote corner of the room, Ginny closed her eyes and looked forward to the next few hours of uninterrupted misery.

Hunched in the corner, Ginny had hoped to just sit there all day, undisturbed. She was about to allow herself to shut down when she heard a noise. Listening closely, Ginny realized that it had been someone opening and closing the door, and now there was someone coming up the stairs. Thinking perhaps that the person simply would stay in the main area of the tower, she didn't worry too much. Many times students would come up here for a heated mid-afternoon make out session. Occasionally, she knew, couples would come up here for more intimate activities, but even then, they very rarely would come back to where she sat now. She was just settling herself back down when she heard the footsteps approaching where she currently sat. Ginny looked over, annoyed, and began to appraise the person who rudely interrupted her foul mood.

Just looking at the shoes, Ginny could already tell it was a boy. This boy definitely had money, because his shoes looked very expensive and were thoroughly polished. Her eyes traveled up to see a pair of finely tailored black dress pants. Tucked into them, she caught sight of a very clean white dress shirt. Around his neck, he wore a silky green and black tie. Damn it, Slytherin she thought to herself. Then she looked into his face. His pale skin shone in the sunlight streaming into the tower. His fair hair, expertly kempt, also reflected the sun back. And, his brooding silver gray eyes stared right back into hers with a cold metallic stare as he slouched against the wall across from her.

Draco Malfoy. Shit.

"Hello there Weasley." he said his voice coated with disdain. He said her last name as if it were the name of a disease.

She just stared at him, not trusting herself, in the mood she was in, that she would not kill him then and there. As she stared, she noticed that his eyes left hers and began to appraise her, just as she had previously done. She could not help but blush a little bit. She took advantage of his momentary distraction to observe his face. Looking at its perfection, she could not help but wonder if he wasn't carved from marble. Nothing on this face gave away any emotion, except perhaps an edge of disgust permanently etched there, to tell Ginny what he thought of her.

The silence was deafening. In an effort to alleviate the growing tension in the room, Ginny finally spoke "What are you doing here, Malfoy?" she attempted to sneer his name in the same manner in which he had done to her name, but the effect wasn't as strong coming from her.

"What could a young Fourth Year Gryffindor be doing in the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the afternoon?" he asked, ignoring her question, and eyeing her with suspicion. She couldn't help but wonder if his voice was always this vile sounding.

"What could a Fifth Year Slytherin be doing in the Astronomy Tower in the middle of the afternoon?" Ginny asked in a mocking tone.

Rolling his cold eyes at her, he said in a bored tone "Fair enough." and then much to her surprise, he sat down across from her.

"What shall I tell the young Weasley girl?" he mused aloud "Shall I tell her the truth or a lie? Which would she be more likely to believe?" He looked over at her as if he were waiting for an answer.

Completely dumbfounded, Ginny couldn't believe what she was seeing and hearing. A Malfoy sitting down on the dusty floor of the Astronomy Tower to have conversation with a Weasley? The unbelievability of the situation put her brain into a temporary state of shock. Realizing that his silver eyes were still boring into her, she tried to collect her thoughts and remember his question. Finally, answered him "I am a firm believer in the truth"

"Ah the truth" he said in a wistful tone, if a Malfoy was capable of being wistful "Such a fluid concept, don't you think?"

Again with the conversational bit Ginny thought. Then out loud, she said to him shaking her head "No. The truth is the truth. There are no two ways about it."

"So says you, Weasley." he replied scornfully, again fouling her family name "But if 'beauty is in the eye of the beholder' wouldn't it hold true that truth is perceived by the person being spoken to?"

To say that she was shocked would be an understatement. Was this seriously happening? Was she dreaming? Was she high? Okay, so even though she knew the second one couldn't be true, she was so lost at this point, that she wasn't even one hundred percent sure about that. The look of complete and utter disbelief on her face made him smirk ever so slightly.

"What do you want Malfoy?" Ginny asked, annoyed. She really just wanted him to leave so she could be alone with her thoughts.

"Want?" he asked, "Whatever do you mean, Weasley?" His tone dripped of feigned innocence.

"Why are you talking to me?" She asked him in a tone that implied he should have easily guessed what she meant.

"As I recall, you asked me why I was here. I was simply answering your question," he answered in a similar tone.

Ginny opened her mouth to tell him off, but then shut it when she realized he was right. Instead, she said "Then why don't you just answer me instead of asking me all of these unnecessary philosophical questions?"

Rolling his eyes, Draco looked at her "I was trying to tell you."

"Then just tell me and go away" she said, her voice laced with anger.

"I don't see why it's any of your business anyway." he commented, his tone mocking as his eyes traveled away from her and to the wall they were facing.

The anger welling up in her chest all day finally rose up and she snapped. Ginny jumped up and reached over on impulse to grab his neck.

Draco just smirked wider at her and grabbed her hand. She fully expected him to pull her hand off of his neck, especially because he was definitely much stronger than she was. Instead though, he pushed her hand harder into his neck, "Do it." he said, "You know you want to"

And he was right. She wanted to choke him until his perfect pale face was purple all way up to his perfect white blonde hair. She wanted him to suffer, and she wanted to be inflicting pain on him. She wanted him to feel as terrible as she did at that moment.

But surprisingly, that wasn't the most overpowering feeling she was having at that moment. She realized that her face was just inches from his, and that she had somehow ended up crouching over him. More than wishing to inflict pain on him, she wanted to reach out and touch his perfect face. She realized that, to her dismay, she wanted to kiss Malfoy. Horrified with herself, Ginny pulled her hand away and sat back down next to him.

"I knew you wouldn't," he said in a taunting tone.

Ginny, still very red, and feeling slightly lightheaded, closed her eyes and breathed deeply, "Malfoy" she said, trying to keep her voice as calm as possible "Just please tell me why you're here"

"Well before you tried to murder me," Draco said, his voice laced with fake horror, "And interrupted me, I did try to tell you."

Still slightly flustered from her horrifying revelation, Ginny fidgeted in place waiting for him to tell her. After a few minutes when he did not speak, she glanced over to find him looking at the ceiling thoughtfully. "So…?" She prompted.

He looked back at he and a mischievous smile lit up his face, giving him an almost boyish air. "Playing hooky" he stated simply.

Ginny couldn't help but start at this plain sentence. There was nothing particularly wrong in her mind about skipping class, after all, she was doing it at that very moment, but it was exactly who it was who was "playing hooky" as he put it, that startled her. Here was Draco Malfoy, King of the Slytherins, sitting next to her, Ginny Weasley, the poor Gryffindor, on the dusty floor of the Astronomy Tower, telling her flat out that he was skipping class.

"B-but…why?" She finally managed to stammer out past her shock.

With a slight shrug, his smile fading, Draco simply said "Because I can"

Considering this for a few moments Ginny couldn't help but wonder if perhaps Draco was hiding from something in the same way she was escaping her demons. Maybe there was a reason that he deigned himself to sit next to her in the dirt. Perhaps it was written across her face that she was damaged and broken and hiding so that those like her could find her. Maybe she actually had something in common with this boy she had despised for so many years.

"Aren't you going to enlighten me as to why you are here?" Draco's voice cut into her thoughts like an axe.

Her last few musings aside, Ginny did not trust Draco. She could not entrust to him her secret, her pain. She would not, could not, tell anyone, let alone a boy she had not ever had a civilized conversation with before that moment. He could not be so delusional as to believe that years of hatred could be erased in moments and that she would tell him her life story. She knew what people said about her since her father went missing, and she grasped onto that and told a very smooth, practiced lie, "Sometimes during the day, I get a little upset because I miss my dad. I come up here to escape from all the people and just be alone." She tried to stress the last few words hoping he would get the hint and leave.

He looked into her eyes carefully. Then after a few moments of awkward silence he looked away and stood up. As he began to walk away, much to Ginny's pleasure, he stopped suddenly and looked at her once again. "Once you're done lying to yourself," he said in an uncharacteristically kind voice, "let me know." Draco then turned and left her sight.

As she listened to his steps retreat back the way he came and down the stairs, Ginny sat in the silence and let herself absorb what had just transpired.

A/N: Ahh the hostility of young love! I really enjoy writing dialogue for Draco, I never know what he's gonna say and that mystery makes this author find him incredibly sexy. Not only that, he's pretty damn smart and, as Ms. Ginny is discovering, he might actually *gasp* care about her wellbeing! What? Never! A Malfoy? Only time will tell.

I'd like to dedicate this chapter to EarlGreyTea (She's under my favorite authors) because she got me into fanfiction. Thanks hun, and sorry for writing a story with a pairing you don't like.

Anyway, I'm writing this for pleasure, so I'm not going to be sticking to strict update schedule. I'll write when I'm in the mood, and I'll update when I finish a chapter. From what I have mapped out, this is gonna be a pretty long story, but like I said; I'm just doing this for fun.

And please review. I want to know what you think, even if you hate it. As Churchill said "Criticism may not be agreeable, but it is necessary. It fulfils the same function as pain in the human body. It calls attention to an unhealthy state of things." So go ahead criticize, but remember, "Criticism, like rain, should be gentle enough to nourish a man's growth without destroying his roots." -Frank A. Clark.

Okay I'm going to stop throwing quotes at you. Thanks for reading! (: