Disclaimer: In no way do I own anything relating to Harry Potter.

A/N: I haven't posted or written any stories in a while, so I'm curious to see people's thoughts. This will be a multi-chaptered story, probably my longest so far. I have more written but am looking for a beta and am still converting my handwritten pages into a typed document. Call me old fashioned.

The Date

"Gin. Hey Ginny! Wait up!" Harry called after her, smiling down at his friend. She looked up at him and waved. "Hold on for one second." He dashed down the flight of stairs and paused out of breath in front of her.

"You're not going to believe this," he started pausing to breath deeply. "Guess where we're going during the next Hogsmeade weekend." He had that self-satisfied look on his face that Ginny knew meant he thought he knew something she didn't.

"I don't know. Hogsmeade perhaps?" she asked sarcastically. He gave her a look that made it clear to her that he didn't appreciate her sarcasm.

"Well yes, but that's not the surprise." he paused dramatically, but realized Ginny wasn't in the mood to humor him so he continued. "We're going to meet Amanda Linstrom." he paused expecting her to jump up and down with joy. He was slightly disappointed when her only reaction was a genuine, but moderate, smile.

"That's fantastic! How'd you manage that?" her tone clearly implied disbelief.

"He didn't. I did." the droll voice sounded from above and Ginny looked up into the face of her other best friend.

"Draco you dog! How on earth do you know Amanda Linstrom?"

"I met her at one of my mother's luncheons this summer," he winked, "and I'm sure you can guess the rest."

And Ginny could guess. Draco was a playboy and always had been. Girls swooned over his refined good looks and bad boy image. Ginny doubted that any girl Draco put his mind to attaining could resist his charms.

Draco simply smirked at Ginny who sighed and rolled her eyes at him. She was used to Draco's antics.

"Well I'm sure you two will have loads of fun, but sorry, I have other plans." she shrugged apologetically. Harry looked utterly surprised, while Draco's face betrayed his shock only to Ginny's familiar eyes.

"But she's practically your hero! You have a poster of her on your wall. What other plans could you possibly have that would compete with meeting a world-famous Quidditch star?" Harry asked his voice clearly implying he thought she'd gone mad.

"It's no big deal, I'm just busy." she explained, "Maybe next time." It was clear to both boys that there was something Ginny didn't want to tell them. She had never been so... un-Ginny before.

"What are your plans?" Draco's voice sounded icy to his ears, and Harry knew he was upset. Draco had wanted to surprise Ginny, and he thought she was going to be ecstatic. But Harry thought that Draco's anger was slightly unwarranted, after all, it wasn't a big deal. They didn't always have to do everything together, just the three of them. Her response was strange certainly, but it wasn't a big a deal.

"I'm going to Hogsmeade with Theodore Nott." she admitted looking down. Harry realized why she had tried to avoid telling Draco her plans.

"That prat?!" Draco exploded. "Why on earth would you want to go anywhere with him. Just cancel." Harry immediately knew that Draco had miscalculated and was about to be slammed by the petite redhead.

"Draco Malfoy!" Ginny scolded, sounding just like her mum, "You do not control my social life. I can see who I want whenever I want. And today I want to see Theo. Got it?" Draco looked away at a nearby portrait, Harry could see a muscle in his jaw ticking violently. When neither of them spoke, she continued, "Now if you'll excuse me, I have a date to get ready for!" she turned on her heel and stomped down the staircase toward the dungeons. Harry looked over at Draco and paused. Draco was furious, but there was something else. Harry couldn't quite place it, but something else besides anger lurking in his eyes.

Before he could analyze the look any further, he heard giggling from behind him and turned to look for the source. In a dark corner, surrounded by shadows, was Hermione Granger and her shy friend Pansy Parkinson. His eyes narrowed and he turned to her.

"What's so funny Granger?" he spit out. How dare she laugh at him. She seemed unaffected by his glare and took a step forward into the light.

"The two of you being chastised like little puppies" she giggled. "In fact, I'm sure I saw your tail go between your legs at one point." She was openly laughing at him. He blushed. Granger always managed to make him feel stupid.

"Mind your own business!" he snapped. Her eyes widened with pretend shock, and she clutched her hands dramatically against her chest.

"Oh my." she cooed. "Someone seems a little bit sensitive. Touchy, touchy." she wagged her finger at him as if she was indeed scolding a puppy who had misbehaved. She always got the better of him, but not this time. Harry wasn't about to let this girl make him feel like a fool. He reacted in the only way he knew how. Harry stepped forward abruptly bring him in arm's reach of her. She started backwards, but he grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere. With his other hand he reached up and gently brushed an errant strand of hair out of her face, subtly caressing her cheek.

She didn't flinch, but he could tell she had stopped breathing. Her eyes had gotten wide with his sudden intrusion into her personal space.

He leaned forward until his lips were scant inches away from her face and whispered, "Is that what you want?" she shivered, and he pulled back looking into her wide brown eyes, "For me to be touchy?" He noticed, with satisfaction, her gaze drop briefly to his lips and she opened her mouth to speak.

"Your breath reeks." she whispered conspiratorially and before he had even realized what she said, she disappeared down the hall. He felt blood rush to his face and resisted the urge to cup a hand over his mouth and smell his breath. That damn woman! She always managed to turn everything around on him. He looked around for his friend Draco, who was looking at him with a mixture of pity and surprise. Without a word, Harry turned and stormed down the corridor.

He hadn't planned to go anywhere in particular, but before long he found himself sitting on the bleachers, still seething over Granger and her infuriating habit of always getting the better of him. He couldn't erase the picture of her smug face as she walked away. He'd never had an urge to strike a girl before he met Granger. Not that he would ever hit her, but the urge was there all the same. The only thing he was better than her at was Quidditch, but that day sitting by the pitch, that fact gave him very little satisfaction.

He heard faint voices as someone seemed to be getting closer. Harry didn't want to be bothered so he slumped down in the bleachers. But not before he noticed that one of the people walking through the middle of the pitch was none other than Draco. His platinum blond hair pretty much makes hiding his identity impossible. However, Harry couldn't tell who the other person was. They were short and knowing Draco most likely a girl.

Draco seemed to be arguing with her about something and motioning with his hands enthusiastically. That caught Harry's attention. Draco didn't argue with girls, he seduced them, so who was this person he was talking to. Whatever, Draco wanted, the girl seemed to agree because she nodded her head at him and walked off the pitch, the shadows obscuring her face.

A little while later after Draco had gone back in, Harry left as well. Draco having a secret rendezvous was nothing new to Harry. In fact, Harry decided, Draco had the right idea. Harry strolled back to the castle, hands in his pockets trying to decide which girl he would pick that night.