A Whisper In The Night

Slipping out quietly through the grandly decorated doors, Ginny was sure that nobody would miss her in the Great Hall. It was so much more relaxed here, compared to mingling among hundreds of noisy students. She had never been a big fan of huge parties or high attendance gatherings.

Ginny moved silently along the long dark corridors of the castle, only jumping occasionally at the clank of polished armor propped up against the stone walls. The entire Hogwarts population was still in the Great Hall enjoying the first feast of the school year. Reaching a colored glass window that marked the corridor a dead-end, Ginny leaned against the wooden frame of the semi-oval opening. Her fingers touched fragile glass gently and pushed it forward, letting a pleasant cool breeze wash over her. Ginny drew a deep breath of the fresh night air and relaxed to the breathtaking scenery lying far beyond the window.

A full moon was high up in the sky, its serene silver light illuminating the Hogwarts grounds with a shimmering sheen. The Quidditch pitch was at the far end of the school and beyond it was the Forbidden Forest. Leaning out the window, Ginny closed her eyes, feeling the soft wind caress her face and tease tendrils of her red hair.

During her fourth and fifth year, she had found this deserted corridor by accident. Since there were rarely any students passing by, this passageway had turned into her private corner in the entire of Hogwarts. Even Filch the Caretaker and Mrs. Norris didn't bother to check here always, and Ginny had spent long nights here, all by herself. When she was unhappy, or when she couldn't tell anyone her problems, she would come here. Somehow, the tranquil setting always managed to calm her down.

Ginny was confused. Very confused.

And there was nobody she could talk to.

Self-consciously, a hand went up to feel the pendant she used to wear around her neck with a silver chain. Missing the familiar cool touch of the gold locket, she sighed despondently. She had forgotten that Draco Malfoy had taken it from her in the apothecary.

Everything had changed so much since she arrived in Hogwarts. She used to be that outspoken and brave girl under Authur and Molly Weasley's watchful eyes, but the Ginny Weasley now was the shy, awkward and quiet girl who hid in the library. She was the Ginny Weasley who had no real friends. She was also the Ginny Weasley who tried so hard to fit in with the rest of the Gryffindor girls.

In the end, she was just Ron's baby sister.

Her love life had been non-existent. It had been six long years since she had set her eyes on the Boy Who Lived, Harry Potter. Harry was not the handsome type, nor was he the charming kind who would sweep any girl off her feet. In fact, Harry could be a little boring. Before she first saw Harry in King's Cross Station, she imagined him to be tall, strong and heroic looking. Then, she was infatuated with him after hearing all those wonderful things he did as a baby, and then as a First Year in Hogwarts.

Ginny felt that she was in love with him, and that feeling was so strong. The worst thing was, Harry wouldn't even look twice at her.

What was love then?

A Muggle poet once defined love as an elixir that could make a person live, or die from the lack of it.

Then came Draco Malfoy. Three days ago, his name would never cross her mind, but now, it was different. Why didn't recollections of her dreams come when Harry rescued her from Malfoy? Or, when she was in the train sitting opposite of Harry? When he smiled at her, Ginny felt her heart leap, but it was not the same sensation she felt when Malfoy held her in that brief encounter in the Potions shop. With Harry, it was innocent and sweet. With Draco, it was exhilarating and dangerous. It was... carnal, the desire burning in her, the moment his body pressed against hers.

Animalistic.

That was the only word to describe those sensations. Ginny felt her cheeks burn as those dreams replayed themselves over and over again in her conscious mind. Those soft lips had kissed her so passionately that it seemed so real, so true. The soft brush of his lips against her ear in the Potions shop was electrifying, so that she nearly lost consciousness at the very touch of him on her skin.

Ginny stopped herself. Dangerous? Carnal? Malfoy? Having erotic dreams starring herself and Malfoy? No, it must be Harry, Ginny assured herself, as she felt her cheeks tingle with a deep blush. She must be going insane. How could she 'even' be thinking of Draco Malfoy in the first place?

For all she knew, Draco Malfoy was the most selfish git to walk the earth since Lucius Malfoy, whom had constantly sneered and ridiculed her father since his schooldays. Ron's vivid description of Malfoy as a bouncing white ferret didn't help too. The incident in the apothecary yesterday was not pleasant either; she had bruised her elbow badly after Malfoy released her sleeve suddenly. To top it, he was always stirring up trouble for both Harry and Ron.

"I don't need a self-centered, arrogant and annoying git like Malfoy to make my life more miserable than it already is!" Ginny shouted angrily through the window, her hair tousled by the sudden gust of wind. Feeling the knot in her stomach easing a little, she exhaled slowly and closed her eyes.

"Who is a self-centered, arrogant and annoying git again?" a male voice drawled softly in her ear and a pair of strong arms encircled her waist. Ginny suddenly found herself leaning against a firm chest as his bodily heat seeped through the thick layers of robes which were separating them.

There was only one single person in the whole wide world that could make an insult sound like a compliment, and he was Draco Malfoy. There was no need to confirm his presence by opening her eyes. A slight hint of fresh lemon pervaded her senses again, driving away her rationale.

*Malfoy has to be the male version of a veela,* Ginny thought weakly as his hold grew tighter. "Malfoy, what do you want?" Ginny protested softly, and never quite asked him to release her, no matter how much her self-respect was kicking and screaming inside her head.

"Just wanted to spend some quality time together," Draco whispered coolly, his soft breath rustling stray strands of her hair. "We should get to understand each other better."

"I don't even know you," Ginny replied as her lower lip trembled in pure daze and she reached down to remove Draco's hands. Suddenly, Draco's hands were away from her waist and his body was no longer pressing against hers. She turned around quickly and found herself staring into steel-gray eyes. Under the moonlight, his high cheekbones were prominent and locks of his silver blonde hair fell in silky sheens over his forehead. Ginny held her breath. She had never seen Malfoy from such a close angle before this. *He looks like a marble statue lovingly sculptured by skillful hands, except that he is breathing and very much alive,*Ginny thought pensively, but the thought dissipated quickly as a mental image of Harry flitted across her mind.

"I'm Draco Malfoy, a 7th year Hogwarts prefect from Slytherin," Draco answered, a playful smile tugging the corners of his mouth. "You know me now..."

"I... I'm Ginny Weasley, a 6th year Gryffindor. Most people call me Ginny," Ginny began shakily, blushing helplessly under Draco's simple words. Of course she knew he was Draco Malfoy! What game was he trying to play now? With a trembling voice, Ginny forced herself to look at his face. "Dra... Draco, I... uh... I have go back to the Great Hall now... Ron... Ron will be looking for me."

"Oh? But that Weasley sees you up close every day. That is why I have to watch you from afar. I never have a chance to talk to you in person since your brother is always somewhere near," Draco whispered into her ear and stroked her cheek gently with a finger. "I have my prefects duty and Slytherin housemates to watch out too."

"But why did you humiliate my family in the Potions shop? You sneered at them, Malfoy. You said that I taint you and you need bicorn serum to sanitize your hands after holding me," Ginny hissed suddenly as the unpleasant memory flashed past her conscious. The redhead then stepped away from the taller boy until she hit the wall behind her. Ginny's heart barely registered a small leap of triumph when Draco sighed softly.

"Perhaps I didn't know what else to say to you," the Slytherin drawled nonchalantly and walked towards her, his hands reaching out to enfold her in his embrace again. "I just had a sudden impulse to approach you when I saw you." Ginny shuddered and felt herself melting in his hold. Draco Malfoy actually sounded... regretful, Ginny thought and felt his hands moving across her back in gentle circles.

"Dra... Draco, please let me go... Ron may see us here anytime," Ginny whispered, her voice betraying her poorly hidden anxiety at the Slytherin's sudden advances. "Har... Harry may be with him too!" At the end of the sentence, a tear rolled down her cheek as the youngest Weasley fought to keep the years of frustration and accumulated low self-esteem breaking through the barriers she erected around them. It was strange, to hear those words from Draco Malfoy, of all people, instead of Harry Potter.

"Just because Potter never looked twice at you doesn't that mean I don't," Draco answered evenly. "I'm not blind, Ginny." The redhead felt a shiver run her a spine at the way Draco mentioned her name. His natural aristocratic inflection present in his voice added an original twist to her name, and Ginny was starting to blush again when his gray eyes locked hers in an intense gaze. Slowly, Draco reached up to brush away the moist trail the single tear had left on her face.

It was a scene that Ginny had rehearsed a thousand times in her mind, except that it was always Harry who had said these words instead of Draco.

"Draco, why me?" Ginny started but a slender finger was placed across her lips. An internal conflict was building up within Ginny, and the tangle of indefinable emotions was getting so bad that she wasn't even sure she ought to slap him for touching her or kiss him passionately. *No, this has to be a dream! It can't be real... Can't be real... Ginny Weasley, get of hold of yourself!*the trembling girl screamed internally, but Draco's mesmerizing gaze had frozen her in place.

"You don't have to know why," Draco brushed off her question with a short laugh. "Do not worry, we'll get to know each better in time." Then, his arms were gone from her waist. The next moment, Draco's arms were above her head, draping an elegant object hanging from a chain around her neck. Ginny felt the familiar weight of the pendant on her chest and gasped. Draco reached behind her neck and locked the clasp of the chain.

Lifting Ginny's chin with a finger, Draco looked straight into her eyes, his gray ones alive with emotions. Bending down, the older boy inched closer to her until she could feel his breath caressing her face. Feeling the distance closing rapidly between her and Draco, the redhead then closed her eyes in anticipation for Draco's silky lips against hers. *Dear Merlin, I'm going to snog a Malfoy,* Ginny thought helplessly, intoxicated by the dizzying soft scent of his skin.

But it never came.

Suddenly, the comforting warmth of Draco's embrace was gone. Ginny opened her eyes in disappointment and saw Draco standing five feet away from her. "I'll be waiting for you in the Potions classroom next Sunday evening," Draco spoke softly and turned around to walk away.

"Malfoy..." Ginny called out, but he was already too far to hear her. A million questions swam in her head but she was unable to answer any of them.

*Why, Draco Malfoy? Why a Weasley?*

*Why me?*