Author's Note: Welcome to my longest one shot ever. I'd like to thank SF3P0X1 for giving me the basic plot and helping with the ending.

Disclaimer: I don't own anything that you can recognize from the world of Harry Potter.

The Great Hall was in an uproar.

Gryffindor had lost the match against Slytherin. After the game, even the Hufflepuffs had been at a loss for words.

Now, on the other hand, they seemed to have forgotten their silence. All they could talk could talk about was Ginny's missed goal, Ron's missed save, and Harry's missed Snitch. If someone didn't cheer Harry up fast or shut them all up, heads would be rolling. The latter didn't seem likely to happen, so Ginny took her opportunity while she could. Taking the flask from her pocket, she shook it around a little under the table.

She'd been saving the pumpkin-juice-flavored love potion that Fred had sent her for months. Grabbing her empty goblet, she poured the love potion in. Surprised that it actually looked like pumpkin juice as well, Ginny held the cup over the table, attempting to pass it to Harry.

"Here," she said to him, "try some of this pumpkin juice."

He eyed it wearily. "I'm really not thir-"

"No, really," Ginny insisted. "I've heard it's good for relaxation."

Harry eyed the goblet again, this time with interest. "In that case…" he trailed off, reaching for it.

A white hand swept between them, stealing the cup from Ginny's outstretched hand.

Ginny looked up to see Draco Malfoy's stony gray eyes and signature sneer on his pinched face. "Why, thank you, Weasley," he said, his head almost visually swollen from the Slytherin team's win. "I was just thinking about finding a drink, but I see you've found one for me." He was addressing Ginny, but looking at Harry. With a smirk, he lifted the cup to his lips.

Ginny reached up, trying to knock the goblet from his hand, but it was too late – Malfoy'd already downed the potion.

The cup hit the floor with a ringing clang. Not even a drop splattered out of it. He'd drained it all.

Ginny hid her face in her hands and tried not to swear out loud. The crowded tables around them had all gone silent. Ginny knew they were watching Malfoy's face contort into an expression they'd never seen on it before.

A gentle had touched her shoulder. Ginny knew it was Draco, of course. Panicking, she caught Hermione's eye.

Hermione was staring at her with wide eyes. Ginny knew she'd already figured it out. "You didn't," she said.

Ginny nodded weakly. "I did," she whispered back, hiding her face in her hands again.

A voice hissed in her ear. She could feel his feathery blonde hair brush against her cheek. It was sickening. "What's wrong?" Malfoy asked. "Do you not want to see me, love?"

Ron and Harry obviously heard. They looked like they could strangle something, preferably the boy hanging over Ginny's shoulder. Hermione looked like she was suppressing giggle fits with great difficulty.

Ginny sighed, resigned to at least twelve hours worth of this… Well, she supposed it could be described as "unintentional torture."

Before anyone could actually say anything more to either Malfoy or Ginny, she fled from the Great Hall with him on her heels. She'd been heading for Gryffindo Common Room when she took a shortcut through a hidden corridor and cornered Malfoy.

He was on the floor already, kneeling at her feet and managing to pull off puppy-eyes rather well. "I think I'm in love with you, Ginny," he said, wistful. "Your glorious red hair and gorgeous chocolate eyes…"

Ginny felt sick. The slick, soft tones in his voice made her want to find a toilet to vomit her guts into. She turned away from him, intending to do just that.

Cold fingers wrapped around her wrist and swung her back around.

Standing now, Malfoy's determination was evident in his eyes. It was then that Ginny realized just how much shorter than Malfoy she was. Her head stopped at his shoulder.

This could be bad.

Why hadn't she let the twins teach her self-defense when they offered? Or Charlie? Or Bill? Or even Ron?

The hand that was curled around her wrist loosened and found her hand, squeezing it. "I mean it," he said, with more sincerity than Ginny though would ever be possible for a Slytherin, let alone Malfoy.

"I know you mean it," Ginny replied, pulling her hand out of his. "But you won't mean it in a few hours, and we've never exactly been friendly."

"What do you mean? Of course I'll still mean it in a few hours. And sure we've been friendly – it's just that neither of us can remember a time." He took a step toward her.

She backed into the wall.

Hermione had watched her friend leave, not believing her eyes when Malfoy trailed along behind her. Ginny'd really done it. She'd tried to slip Harry a love potion and Malfoy, of all people, had gotten it instead.

"Bloody hell," Ron said, jumping to his feet so quickly that he pushed the bench back and, with a cry of alarm, Harry fell off it, his toast flying out of his hand and landing on some poor Ravenclaw girl's head. Harry waved sheepishly at her. "What's going on?" Ron asked when Harry went to retrieve his toast.

Hermione's still wide-eyed gaze turned to the boys. "Don't you get it?" she said desperately. "She was trying to give Harry a love potion and Malfoy stole it."

Harry came back and sat down, pulling Ron back down to his seat. "She was trying to give me a love potion? Why?"

Ron and Hermione rolled their eyes. "Look, mate," Ron said. "My sister's been after you for years."

"And she's not been hiding it, either," Hermione added. "You're incredibly thick when it comes to girls, Harry." Hermione stood, craning her neck and looking toward the end of the hall. "Now, I'm pretty sure she's had that potion for months."

Ron's mouth twisted in an expression of horror. He shot up yet again and Harry fell off the bench, scowling. "But that means it's way stronger!" Ron cried, nearly shouting. He turned to Harry, who was still on the floor, holding his aching head. "I've got to go save my sister from Malfoy. You coming?"

Harry nodded and held up his hand, letting Ron pull him to his feet. When Harry was up, Ron turned to Hermione. "What about you? You're just going to… sit here?"

Hermione had sat back down. "Yes, I'm going to just sit here," she said, letting out the giggle fits she'd been holding in earlier. "Draco Malfoy wouldn't dare hurt the girl he's 'in love' with –" Air quotes surrounded the words 'in love' and Hermione smirked. "—and I really doubt Ginny will let him follow her around for long. Plus, they both deserve it."

Ron gaped at her, then turned and left, Harry right behind him.

"I don't believe her," Ron muttered as they ran along the corridors on the way to the common room. "She'd let my sister and her best friend fall into the hands of Malfoy?"

"I really don't think that love potions works both ways, Ron," Harry said. "If it did, Romilda Vane would've been in love with you, too."

Ron stopped in his tracks to think for about a second. Shaking his head, he started sprinting again. "Right, but I'm sure that even if she doesn't take a liking to him, he'll get his hands on her somehow."

As they turned around a corner, they heard Malfoy's voice, but didn't see him. Ron paused in his step, and Harry stopped altogether, holding a finger to his lips. Ron nodded and let Harry take the lead as they made their way toward the tapestry on the wall – the tapestry that they knew led to a passage that Gryffindors often used as a shortcut. Or a snogging corner, depending on who you were.

Ginny took a shuddering breath. Malfoy's eyes implored her to accept him, love him – she shook her head. "We're not friends. We never will be." She detached herself from where she'd been clinging to the wall for comfort and pulled out her wand. "Now if you don't back off, I'll hex you."

"Ginny, please – wait," Malfoy called after her as she ran to the other end of the corridor. His feet pounded on the stone floor, following.

Pointing her wand over her shoulder, Ginny yelled, "Locomotor Mortis!" She heard a thump and a cry of pain, but didn't stop. Instead, she pushed her way through the tapestry and on the other side, found herself running into Harry's arms.

Surprised, she let out a little scream and dodged away from him. She tripped over her own feet and tumbled into her brother. In a tussle of robes and hair, they fell over, but Ron still managed to catch her. "That was a close one," Ron said, taking a good look at her. "You okay? He didn't try anything, did he?"

"No," Ginny replied. "He just tried to convince me that we'd been friendly and that he'd always love me." She shrugged and looked at Harry. "I would say sorry for trying to slip you a love potion, but the only thing I'm sorry about is that Malfoy stole it instead. I'm pretty sure he's trying to crawl his way out of there," she said, pointing over her shoulder at the tapestry. She was a bit shaken – no one but that Corner guy she'd dated a few years back had been so forward with her before.

Harry glanced at the tapestry before looking back at Ginny, deciding to ignore her un-apology. "What'd you do to him?" he asked, impressed that Malfoy hadn't shown his face yet.

"Leg-locker jinx," she replied curtly. "I really do hope he's okay, though…" She crawled away from Ron and lifted the edge of the tapestry. Malfoy was there, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. Ginny dropped the tapestry. "I think he might've given up for a little while."

Ron and Harry were both staring at her. "You feel sorry for him?" Ron asked, his tone sounding slightly as though he was questioning her sanity. He stood and held back the tapestry to get a better look at Malfoy.

"A bit, yeah," Ginny said, looking up at her brother. "I mean, I did give him a love potion."

"No, you didn't," said Harry. "He stole it."

Ginny sighed. "It doesn't matter." She got up and ducked under Ron's arm. She turned back to the boys. "I'm going to help him out. Stand back." Walking to Malfoy's side, she kneeled next to him. He watched her with mournful eyes.

"Draco, you need to understand something before I let you up," she whispered, putting a comforting hand on his shoulder. He could have grabbed it, but didn't.

"What?"

"When we were in the Great Hall a few minutes ago, you took my goblet from me. You drank a love potion meant for Harry."

His face twisted with rage. "You were trying to get him to fall in love with you?"

Shoot, Ginny thought. Wrong thing to say.

"Let me up," Malfoy said. "I'm going to kill him." He struggled to get to his feet, legs refusing to cooperate.

"Wha – No, you can't kill him!" Ginny cried, shoving Malfoy to the floor and pinning him there. "You're going to have to accept that I like Harry and not you, Malfoy," she hissed, "or you'll never get off this floor."

Draco's expression changed far swifter than it would normally. His arrogant self returned. He smirked. "That's fine with me, Ginny. Means you won't be leaving either, doesn't it?"

With a resounding crack, Ginny slapped him. He cradled his cheek, scowling. "Come on, Ginny, was that really necessary?" he whined.

She nodded and pulled out her wand, not remembering putting it away. Malfoy was quicker – he'd had his out and crossed with hers before she could do anything with it. "What are you going to do to me?" he asked.

"I was thinking about transfiguring you into a ferret again," she growled. "But if you promise not to hurt Harry, I'll let you up."

"I promise I won't hurt Harry."

She waved her wand at his legs and they visibly relaxed. "Now," she said, "I want you to leave all of us alone – Harry, Ron, Hermione, and especially me. Do you understand?"

Malfoy nodded weakly.

Ginny let go of his shoulders and saw him off as he stalked to the other end of the corridor, keeping his eyes on her the whole while – at the end of the passage, he ended up walking into the wall. He looked a bit flustered at that, but eventually found his way through the tapestry. When he was gone, Ginny burst into giggles and skipped back to Harry and Ron. Throwing her arms around their necks, she steered them to the Gryffindor Common Room, where they had a good laugh with Hermione when she returned from the library.

The next morning, Ginny was one of the first up. Yawning, she dressed slowly, trying to keep her balance as she put her socks on. She tramped down the stairs into the common room, and upon finding it empty, left through the portrait hole, intent on heading to breakfast.

At least, that was what her intention was until she stepped on a warm, rather solid object when she tried to put one foot on the floor. Looking down in alarm, she saw the still-sleeping figure of Draco Malfoy at her feet. Sighing, she couldn't help but sit down next to him. She didn't want to wake him… But she didn't want anybody else to step on him, either.

Curious and alone, Ginny decided it was time that she actually got to know Malfoy a little. Aside from his bad attitude, she knew next to nothing about him. She cautiously ran her fingertips through his hair – softer than feathers and prettier in color than any of the other boys' locks. He'd definitely been taught how to care for them. She couldn't resist running her thumb down his jaw line. He really was beautiful, but nothing could happen between them. She knew that. She did.

But he was just so hard to defy…

She didn't notice that she'd been leaning closer and closer to his face – his lips – until his eyes flashed open. She froze.

She could feel his warm breath on her mouth, could imagine the beating of his heart, quickening in his chest. His eyes, grayer even than storm clouds, focused on her. "Ginny?" he breathed. The air in her lungs promptly disappeared.

She gasped and scrambled backward. "You weren't supposed to wake up," she whispered, getting to her feet nervously. "You weren't supposed to see me here."

Malfoy sat up. "But I did," he said. He smiled. "I woke up. I saw you."

Ginny looked around furtively, and before she knew what she was doing, ran for it. There was a girl's bathroom nearby, she knew. If she could get there before he caught up… The door was in sight. Yes! she thought. Almost there.

And then she realized that it was Moaning Myrtle's bathroom.

She suppressed a groan. Why didn't I just go back into the common room?

The door knob slipped through her fingers as she tried to twist it. Trying again, it turned with a grating screech. She had to force the door open with her shoulder, but it allowed her entrance. She slammed the door in Malfoy's face with a satisfying bang.

Gasping, she went to the sinks. Ginny remembered this place all too well – it still haunted her nightmares. She stared at her reflection in the grimy mirror. There was no need for this – for any of this. She shouldn't be haunted by things she couldn't even remember doing. Her eyes showed the horror she recalled every night. Shivering, she went to the far corner of the bathroom and slid down the wall, pressing her palms to the floor just to make it all seem real. Everything disappeared in a blur as her eyes unfocused and her mind went blank.

She didn't hear the door open; didn't see Draco come in. All she knew was that she was suddenly wrapped in a warm, tight embrace, and that those arms were the only things holding her up. She held onto him with all the strength her arms could muster, resting her chin on his shoulder. "Thank you," she said softly when he let her gently rest back against the wall.

"You're always welcome, Ginny," he said, sitting down next to her. "I think you should know something."

She sighed. Even if she said she didn't want to hear it, he'd tell her anyway.

"I'd sell my family to the Ministry for you."

"No you wouldn't, Malfoy."

He took her by the shoulders and turned her toward him. His eyes searched hers, beseeching. "Yes, I would. I'd wait outside in the hall for you every day rather than sleep in the filthy Slytherin dungeons."

Ginny couldn't help but raise an eyebrow. The Malfoys had always been so proud of their part in the history of Slytherin – proud of how they'd been in it for centuries. Brushing Malfoy's hands off, Ginny got to her feet and looked down at him.

His careless posture, his vulnerable eyes… She nearly sat back down next to him. Forcing herself to turn away, she hid behind the sinks. Why does he do this to me? she thought. Why hasn't the potion worn off yet?

Once again, Ginny was so lost in her thoughts that she didn't notice Draco stand or sneak up beside her. However, she did notice him when he was right in front of her. He'd leaned down to be at eye level with her. She regarded him with weary eyes and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Can… can I try something?" he asked.

"If you must," Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

She was so unprepared when he kissed her.

He was gentle and soft, almost experimental – of course, he had said he was "trying something". Ginny was about to give in to his spearmint-flavored lips when a squeal and a giggle interrupted them. She pushed Draco off her as fast as she could, glaring daggers at him, then turned to the ghostly form of Moaning Myrtle. "What?" she spat.

Myrtle giggled some more. "Oh, nothing." She floated off, a smirk set in her face. Ginny hoped she hadn't heard something that sounded like, "Wait 'til Peevesy hears about this…"

Ginny wheeled to face Draco. "You aren't allowed to do that again," she said, pointing her wand at him. She was desperate now. This had to stop, had to end, before something she couldn't reverse happened.

He held up his hands. "I was just trying it."

She lowered her wand, exasperated, and headed for the door. She was hungry, thirsty, tired, and confused – she needed a good shot of firewhiskey, but she'd never get her hands on that here. She'd have to settle for pumpkin juice instead.

Draco, of course, dogged her footsteps. They'd just gotten to the Entrance Hall when she'd tired of it. She spun to face him. "Will you stop following me?" she shouted, not caring that beyond the open doors of the Great Hall, every head had turned in their direction. "I don't even like you." She tried to leave it at that and continue on her way, but he grabbed her arm and whirled her around.

"You may not like me, but you sure as hell liked that kiss," he hissed in her ear.

Ginny stared at him. There was no way he was still under the influence of her love potion. There couldn't be – love potions didn't make people act like this… But she'd had the thing for months. Side effects were bound to come into play after months being hidden in her trunk. Oh no… "Don't you dare," she snarled, attempting to pull out her wand. His hand curled around her wrist, though, overpowering her only defense. "My brothers will rip you to shreds."

Draco smirked. "All the better."

And for the second time in five minutes, Malfoy pressed his lips to hers, pulling the breath from her lungs. Distantly, Ginny heard benches scrape back and the cry of students in outrage and astonishment. With both her arms trapped, she was helpless. She nearly melted into the floor with humiliation, though a small part of her – a small part she'd never admit existed – kind of liked Malfoy.

"Depulso!"

"Stupefy!"

"Petrificus Totalus!"

And Malfoy was gone, on the floor twenty feet away. Ginny fell to her knees, breathing heavily, trying to get her air back. Harry, Ron, and Hermione were at her side in moments, lifting her up and frantically asking what had happened. She just shook her head and leered at Malfoy, who was being helped up by Pansy Parkinson, Goyle, and Zabini. Peeves was floating above their heads.

Professor McGonagall was there a second later in a flurry of robes. "What's going on here?" she asked, looking from Malfoy to Ginny.

"Malfoy kissed my sister," Ron cried, hugging Ginny close to him.

"Ron, will you get off?" Ginny muttered, pulling herself away. She huffed for a second, then darted across the Entrance Hall, closing the space between herself and Malfoy. She held her wand threateningly at his throat. "I'm going to make you feel pain that you've never felt before, Malfoy."

He sneered. "Kinky."

She couldn't hold back her hexes any longer. He was just too much. "Furnunculus!" Ginny shrieked, pointing her wand at Malfoy's face. Where his skin had been perfect before, it was now covered in boils. He clutched at his face and let out a yell, drawing his wand.

Professor McGonagall stepped between the two of them, hands out. "Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy, I'd like you to come with me. And give me your wands before you seriously injure one another." Draco reluctantly gave McGonagall his wand and stepped back into the midst of his cronies.

"I believe that seriously injuring Malfoy was my intention, Professor," Ginny said, gaze still locked venomously on Draco.

"Miss Weasley, your wand."

She grudgingly handed it over, and on impulse, mouthed the word "ferret" at Draco behind McGonagall's back. He tried to surge forward again, but Pansy held him back.

"She's friends with the Mudblood, Draco," Pansy murmured, though her words were loud enough for everyone to hear. "Not worth your time."

But even as she said this, Peeves broke out in song above their heads.

"He kissed her, he smooched her, she hates him – she does

But the potion went wrong, and his head's full of fuzz!"

Peeves cackled and circled above their heads, raining pebbles and candle wax down over them. Pansy gaped at the poltergeist and slapped Malfoy. Ginny felt Ron wince beside her – that had to sting. "I hope Peeves is telling the truth, because if he's not, I just smacked you for no reason," Pansy said, softly patting Malfoy's cheek. "And I won't be defending you against Weaslette if it's true, either. I might be tempted to join her in her hexes if Peeves is talking fact, love."

But even as she slapped him, something broke in Malfoy's eyes. The gray spheres widened and he looked around. "What the bloody hell just happened?" he said, rubbing his cheek and shoving off his friends' restraining holds. Pansy and Zabini exchanged puzzled looks.

"Uh, Draco, you've just been wandering around for nearly a day and a half, weeping over the fact that Weaslette doesn't love you. Are you okay?" Zabini asked, more confused than ever.

"Hell no." Malfoy started toward the group of Gryffindors on the other side of the hall, but McGonagall stepped in front of him, accompanied by Peeves, and his friends restrained him again.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione were keeping an eye on Ginny, but her calm stance and crossed arms told them she wouldn't be going anywhere fast.

"She fed me a love potion!" Draco crowed, freeing a hand to point at Ginny.

Ginny smirked, an unfamiliar expression for her mouth to form to. "On the contrary, Malfoy. 'Fed' implies that you took it at least semi-willingly and -knowingly. You stole it from me and drank it."

McGonagall rounded on them. "Whether he stole it or not, Miss Weasley, the fact remains that love potions have been banned from school grounds. You've also hexed Mr. Malfoy between classes in the halls, engaged in public displays of affection and physical fights, and caused quite a few distractions…"

Ginny stopped listening. She was seeing red. Malfoy had decided it was his turn to mouth an insult behind McGonagall's back. And what was it that he'd chosen to mouth? "Blood traitor."

No one made a move to stop her. No one held her back. So she punched Draco Malfoy in the nose.

A crunch chopped sickeningly through the air.

He doubled over immediately, and she ran for it. All the way out to the Quidditch changing rooms, she sprinted. There had to be a way out of this mess. Grabbing her Nimbus 2001 – a gift from Harry – she swerved and circled around the pitch at full speed, weaving between the goal hoops. No one aside from Harry would be able to catch her; he was the only one that had a faster broom.

But she'd forgotten – a flash of green robes somewhere below her told her to remember – the Slytherin team had Nimbus 2001s as well. She nearly fell off her broom when, from nowhere, a ball of enchanted magical steel flew past her face. Another one whizzed by her forearm, and she let out an involuntary screech.

Glancing down, she saw Malfoy, Beater's bat in hand; he was obviously the culprit. But she could do nothing – the Bludger came back, and she was forced to shriek and swerve out of its way. Even as she swerved, though, the other Bludger slammed into her and rolled down her back with bone-crushing force. Crying out, she leaned forward and clutched her broom, unintentionally driving it toward the ground. Screaming, she discovered that she couldn't pull it out of the dead-dive. She heard Malfoy's yell of horror past the wind blasting her ears. The grass was only feet away from her now. While she still had time, she closed her eyes…

Ginny bolted upright in her bed, biting back a scream and covered in cold sweat. Breathing heavily, she searched herself, trying to make sure everything was still attached. Her back was a little sore, and her lips tingled a bit, but nothing was broken. She flopped back onto her pillow, hiding her face in her hands.

None of it had happened. It'd all been a nightmare. The worst nightmare imaginable, but a nightmare all the same. Draco hadn't kissed her; she wasn't dead. Everything was okay.

Well, everything but one thing.

Scrambling out of her tangled sheets, Ginny went to her trunk and dug through her belongings. She knew it was in there somewhere… Wrapped in one of her favorite sweaters…

Ripping the green shirt from the rest of her clothes, she shook it. The thick glass bottle of "perfume" came tumbling out, thunking on the wooden floor when it hit. She picked it up, oh-so-tempted to crush it in her hands. She knew better than that – she'd fall in love with herself for the next day and a half. No, she went to the window and shoved it up, the glass quivering in the pane. She took a step onto the sill, bracing herself against the frame – the human-height window was a bit scary to stand in. Looking down was not an option. All that was between her and the ground were the roofs of other parts of the castle and empty space.

The door slammed open behind her.

Ginny glanced back and saw Hermione standing in the doorway, hands over her mouth. She took a step toward her friend. "Ginny," Hermione said, hands out in front of her in an "I'm friendly" gesture. "Don't do it. I'll follow you to Hell and kill you again."

Ginny smirked at Hermione and held up the bottle in her hand, looking at it. "I'm not the one making the jump, Hermione," she replied. With that, Ginny pulled her arm back and threw the container with all her might. She watched it shatter on the roofs below, spewing a liquid the color of pumpkin juice on the way down.

Hermione joined her on the windowsill, holding onto the wall. "That was your love potion, wasn't it?" she asked.

Ginny allowed a gust of wind to push her back into the room, closing the window when Hermione joined her on the floor. "That was it," she confirmed.

"So… What now?"

Ginny smiled. "I'm going to ask him myself."

"Wait, wha—"

Ginny waved her away, and with a grin, Hermione left her.

All of the other girls must have gotten up earlier – it was Saturday, after all. Every bed was empty. Ginny firmly believed that Saturdays were for sleeping in, but the rest of them thought it was the best day for wooing boys. She grimaced. Today, she would be agreeing with them.

Pulling on the green sweater she'd grabbed earlier and her comfiest pair of jeans, she went down to the common room after brushing her teeth. Surprised to find that Harry was already there, she beckoned him over to the free couch in front of the fire. He left his table with Ron and Hermione, who were watching the pair of them with what looked like crosses between wavering smiles and concerned frowns. Ginny waved at them, then made room for Harry on the couch.

Once he was comfortable, she cut to the point. "Harry, I've liked you for a really long time. You know that."

He just nodded.

"But I like you as more than a friend – I want us to be more than friends. I want to have a relationship with you."

He stared at her with wide eyes. "Seriously?" he asked. His tone was incredulous, as if he couldn't believe his ears.

Could he really be so thick?

Ginny nodded. "Yeah. What do you think?"

"I think that… Well, that's just brilliant," Harry replied, no hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Smiling, Ginny couldn't resist giving him a hug. When he wrapped his arms around her, though, all she could think was, This is so much better than kissing a Malfoy.