A cold fog surrounded the Hogwart's grounds. A light snow started to fall, and the twinkling lights of the castle flashed brilliantly. Down in the Slytherin common room, Draco sat in a large, gold and emerald throne. Despite his kingly status among his fellow dorm members, he stared wistfully into the dark corner of the room. No words could describe his emotions. Loneliness crashed over him in wave, breaking over his heart over and over and over again. Even with several soft blankets wrapped around his thin body, he still shivered with sadness.

With much effort, Draco heaved himself out of the chair and into the bright light of the school's grand hallway. He tried to shake off Crabbe and Goyle at the door, but they stuck to his side like giant, stupid, leeches. When he arrived in Charms, Draco watched the time drag on. It felt like the class would never end, and he didn't even find an ounce of humour in Neville messing up his retrieval charm. He almost felt bad for the poor Gryffindor. As he collected his books, a shock of red hair flashed through his peripheral vision. Yet another wave of loneliness hit him like a hypogriff as he watched Ginny Weasley's petite frame hustle out the door. Suppressing his sadness, he shouldered his bag and headed to library.

His hair still wet from a shower, Draco climbed into bed and shuddered against the chill of a single drop of water from his hair running down his bare back. With a slight flex, he turned over in bed and his muscles rippled for a second under his pale, milky skin. Across the castle in her crimson bed, Ginny's minds drifted to something completely normal for any young girl…boys.

At breakfast the next morning, Draco stared glumly into his oatmeal. Even the fresh baked biscuits steaming next to his pumpkin juice couldn't cheer him up right now. With a loud cacophony of screeching, hundreds of owls flooded the dining hall. Not expecting any letters, he returned to prodding pathetically at his breakfast. With a start, he turned in surprise to the owl scratching on his shoulder. A small scrap of parchment that looked like it had been quickly ripped from a roll was attached to the steely grey barn owl's leg. Interestedly, he removed the paper and ushered the owl off. Unfolding it, his heart skipped a beat at the name on the bottom of the short letter:

"Draco-

We need to talk. R.O.R at 8:00. Be there.

Ginny"

The day couldn't seem to pass fast enough for him. He tapped his quill so impatiently in History of Magic that the nubb broke, and he had to quietly preform a repairing spell while no one was looking. Finally, 8:00 arrived, and he tried to attract as little attention as possible when he made his way to the seventh floor corridor. As if out of nowhere, a large oak door appeared and unlocked when he reached for the handle. Once inside, he found nothing but two stiff-backed wooden chairs and a tiny window that looked out upon the lake. A sheet of ice was still thawing from the snow the night before. With a sharp click, the door closed behind him and he turned to see Ginny locking the door behind them.

"Draco."

"Ginny," he said, almost hopefully, like a question.

"We need to talk, Draco. We both know what's going on here. I know you like me, and I know that you've also been acting rather awful to some of my friends. Harry Potter, to be exact," she said coldly, her voice barely a whisper.

"Don't bring him up now, Ginny!" pleaded Draco, who would much rather get back to the topic of them.

"Listen. I have a proposal. You're pathetic, and I truly believe that, but I'm willing to be, er, 'romantically involved' with you if it means you'll leave my friends alone. The last thing they need right now is a puny Slytherin distracting them from their work, and if I can help them out by being with you, I'll do it."

A look of shock spread across Draco's face. He barely registered her vicious insults, and focused on one thing: he could be with Ginny. Her voice, now louder and more powerful, shook him from his excited daze.

"Obviously, there's going to be ground rules. I'm willing to give you, within reason, pleasure that you desire. But you must hold up your end of the bargain: no more nasty comments to any of my friends, and there's to be no signs in public that we are at all together. Understood?"

"Ginny, I can't do that: not to you," he said under his breath.

"What? Why? I know you still love me, Malfoy," she said, almost disgustedly.

"I do, more than I want to admit, but that's wrong. If it makes you happy, I suppose I can be nice to Potter and his gang of mudbloods for now. But I won't do it in exchange for your false love."

"I understand. You're better than I gave you credit for, Draco," Ginny said and brushed her hand across his cheek, almost as teasing him with what he was missing out on. Unfortunately, it worked, and Draco rushed from the room as a movement lower than his prominent abs that was familiar around Ginny started up. Sighing, he headed down to the Slytherin common room with a plan swirling around his head like the fog around the castle.