The hallways were dark. And that incessant meowing was getting to him. Draco narrowed his eyes and turned his head in the direction of the noise, and saw yellow eyes in the shadows.

"Go away before I turn you into a rock and throw you outside," he said.

When he heard a voice, however, he stopped. He could hear Mrs Norris walking in front of him, and when she turned her eyes on him again, he knew she was off to alert Filch that he was out after curfew.

That stupid feline was going to get him into trouble.

When something clamped down on his shoulder—a hand—he whirled around, wand in hand, ready to curse whoever it was—even Filch.

"Turn that light off, do you want to get caught? I can see you perfectly well without it," he hissed. "Oh my God, Weasley, don't you know how to sneak around at night?" He squinted at her. "What are you even doing out here?"

She frowned. "I needed the light to see, Malfoy. I was on my way back to Gryffindor Tower, but got turned around somewhere."

He rolled his eyes. "You got lost? That's unfortunate for me that you're here. You should leave, you know, before you spend anymore time near me."

"You're such a jerk," she said.

His mouth twitched. "Your name calling wounds me, Weasley. Now, please leave. I'd rather not suffer through detention with you." He was about to say something else when he heard Filch's voice. "He's going to catch us if we don't hide."

"Since when do Malfoy's hide?" she asked.

He scowled, but was able to use the light from her wand to find a classroom. Quietly, he opened the door, and before she could object, he pushed her inside. She stumbled, and turned around, glaring at him as he shut the door.

"What the—"

"Stop talking!" Draco snapped, and grabbed her wand. "Nox."

Darkness enveloped them.

"Filch's stupid cat will hear us moving around in here. Ouch, damn, that was my foot, you git!"

Enough moonlight from outside filtered in so that they could see. Before he could stop himself, though, Draco had one of his hands around her mouth. He pushed her gently into the wall and kept his eyes on the door. Nothing moved in the hall, not that he heard.

He sighed in relief, but the sigh turned into a low cry of pain when the girl he held stepped on his foot. He stepped back, releasing her, and was sure she was going to punch him. Instead, she slipped to the floor and glared at him.

"You scared me," she said.

"I'm sorry," he said, meaning it. "But I knew if you kept yapping you'd get us caught. I was doing you a favor."

"You call that a favor?" she snapped.

He rolled his eyes. "You're free to leave. And I expect a thank you in the morning."

"For what?" She stood and went to the door, pressing her ear against it, then turned the knob. "You didn't do much, Malfoy. You just—"

"What?" Draco asked, then frowned. "What's your problem? Look, I know I'm irresistible, but being this close to you is making me uncomfortable. So you should just go."

"I'm trying—the door, it's stuck."

He moved toward her, and tried the knob. Then used his wand. Nothing.

"This is unbelievable," he snarled, rounding on her. "What did you? Did you charm it shut? Are you that desperate for attention?"

"You're such an idiot," she said.

He thought she actually sounded hurt at his accusation. But she didn't deny it.

"Use your wand."

"What do you think I've been doing?"

"Not enough, apparently."

"I swear, Malfoy, you're such a damned pain."

"Like you're any better, Weasley."

He heard her huff. Then try the door again. Then asked angrily, "Do you even know my name?"

He thought about it. It had never occurred to ask. She was always just Weasley, along with her brother, and he was just Malfoy. That was the way they addressed each other; there was no need to push boundaries now.

"Why is that important?"

She looked at him, and in the dim light her otherwise fiery red hair looked like a muddy brown. And it was actually nice looking. Unlike that bushy mess of Granger's, Wealey's hair seemed clean and touchable.

"Well, I was thinking that if we're going to be stuck in here until morning, we might want to try to have an actual conversation." She stepped forward and extended a hand. "I'm Ginny."

Ginny?

He stiffened, his eyes narrowed. "Weasley, what the hell are you doing?"

She rolled her eyes. "Humor me, you pompous ass."

Sighing, he gripped her hand. "It's nice to meet you Ginny, I'm Draco."

"See?" She smiled. "That wasn't so hard, was it?"

Draco groaned.

Thin rays of sunlight crept into the room.

"Why didn't you leave me out there?"

He hadn't heard anything from her in a long time. Great. He really didn't feel like talking right now. After they'd exchanged names, Draco had settled on the floor, and she on one of the desks. He guessed she found him so annoying, which was why she'd conjured a book.

But now she wanted to be his best friend.

"What?" he asked, looking over at her.

"You could have left me," Ginny answered, lowering her book. "But you didn't, I was just wondering why."

"You would have ratted me out," he replied simply. "There was no way I was going to get detention because you can't keep your mouth shut. Now, if you'll excuse me, I was having a nice time ignoring you. I'd like to get back to it, if you don't mind."

"Oh, I mind," she said, her tone chipped. "Are you always this stuck up?"

He actually snorted. "I'm stuck up? Is that what you think? In case you've forgotten, this whole thing was your idea."

"Yeah, because I actually thought you'd be a human being for once and let someone in. But I was clearly wrong."

Slipping off the desk, he watched as she attempted to open the door again. Still nothing.

"I want to get out of here!" she yelled.

"You think I don't?" he asked, standing. "This wasn't how I was planning to spend my night—being stuck in here with you."

"God, you're such a bastard!" Ginny was in his face, her finger poking him in the chest. "Would it kill you to show a little humility? You're not the center of attention, despite what you might think. You think everyone is scared of you, and that's not true. Everyone knows you're just a spoiled, selfish prick."

His eyes swept over her face, then he wrapped a hand around her wrist and held it. "You think you know me, Weasley?" His voice was low, his head bent close to her ear. "You have no idea what I'm about."

Ginny's heart kicked when he touched her.

"You're right," she said, as his grip loosened. "I don't. Why don't you tell me something real then?"

Dragging a hand through his hair, his lips twitched into a small smile. "Maybe one day, Weasley. Oh, by the way, the door's open now."

In the second it took her to blink, Malfoy was gone.