It was a brisk February night, and Ginny was curled comfortably in an armchair in Gryffindor Tower. Her vacant eyes reflected the flickering flames of the fire that cackled merrily before her. Despite the cheeriness it seemed to exude, it provided little warmth, and goose bumps had risen on Ginny's arms. But she barely registered that she was cold, being too absorbed in one of her favorite fantasies in which Harry rescued her from the lake during the Second Task and then confessed to being madly in love with her. She was embarrassed of this daydream and had never admitted to a soul how much she wanted to be the thing that Harry would most miss. She closed her eyes and let her head rest on the back of the chair. He probably wouldn't even notice if I was gone, she thought glumly, and then just as she was mentally chastising herself for wasting so much time thinking about him, she heard the creak of the portrait swing open.

Ginny opened her eyes just a sliver. Speak of the devil, she thought. But she couldn't help noticing that he was alone. Irritated with herself, she pretended to be asleep. She heard footsteps, and the butterflies in her stomach fluttered feebly. They beat their wings harder when the footsteps stopped beside her chair. There was a pause. Then someone covered her with a blanket. The butterflies in her stomach were more like Cornish pixies now, treating her intestines like a trampoline. The person hesitated for a moment. She could feel his warm presence near her. Then he walked away.

Ginny couldn't resist. She opened her eyes a crack and snuck a peek at the person's retreating back. Disappointment wrapped its icy fingers around her heart and squeezed.

It was Neville.

Ginny dozed fitfully. When she awoke, the common room was empty and the fire had been reduced to embers. Feeling reckless, she wrapped the blanket around her shoulders and stepped out through the portrait hole. She stole silently through the sleeping castle, not sure of her destination. Then she had an idea.

The stairs of the Astronomy tower were long and winding, but Ginny skipped up them with ease, fear giving her feet wings. Once she reached the top, she shut the wooden door behind her, her heart racing. Then she looked up at the sky and her nervousness was forgotten. A soft sigh escaped her as she sank against a wall and slid to the floor, a warm contentedness filling her. Ginny hated astronomy, but she loved the stars. She loved the fact that some of them might be gone by the time their light reached the earth. They were dead, but their contribution to the universe remained, and it was beautiful. She doubted any human could have such a lasting impact. And the moon was always so sad and lonely and beautiful. She thought she knew how it must feel, watching the world go on without being a part of it, its glory simply reflected starlight, a poor facsimile of the original.

Ginny was pulled out of her reverie by the sound of footsteps on the stars. She stood, her heart drumming a staccato beat against her ribs. She pulled out her wand and stood next to the door, hoping against hope that the person would open it wide enough so that she would be concealed behind it. What a stupid thing to be expelled over, she thought despairingly, stupid, stupid…

The door opened. Ginny held her breath. The person stepped out of the doorway, and she could see the moonlight shining on his blond hair. Ginny let out all her breath in a whoosh, and he spun around.

"Weasley?" Malfoy cried, obviously just as startled as she was.

His voice was loud enough to send a few nearby owls flying away from their perch. Ginny held a finger to her lips and shut the door gently behind him. When she spoke, it was in a whisper.

"Yes, it's me, but be quiet or we'll be found. What're you doing here?"

Malfoy shot her a look that was shrewd, calculating, and curious all at once. "I could ask you the same question."

"I asked you first."

Malfoy noticed the set of her jaw, the hard, blazing look in her eyes, and knew that he wasn't going to win this one. "If you must know, I thought it would be a nice night for a bit of stargazing," he said, trying to sound bored and pretentious as usual, but his voice fell flat, and Ginny knew, without knowing how she knew, that he was telling the truth.

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously all the same, and he gave a little shrug and a nervous grin. "Going to turn me in, are you?" he teased.

Ginny was not in the mood. "You know perfectly well I can't, I'd get in at least as much trouble myself." she snapped.

"Oh, yeah," said Malfoy knowledgably, "Got in trouble for that myself first year."

Ginny was intrigued despite herself. "Oh?" she inquired, trying to sound nonchalant, but she knew by the way Malfoy's lips turned upward slightly at one end that she hadn't quite managed it.

They ended up talking for two hours, sitting on the blanket that she'd brought. Ginny discovered that Malfoy was actually pretty easygoing once you got past his attitude, which, granted, took a bit of work. But under the layers of arrogance there was a real live person. She was shocked to find that he was funny and sweet and deeply vulnerable. The longer they talked, the more and more convinced Ginny became that his whole personality was just an act to hide his insecurity. But she wasn't sure of it until he talked about his love for the stars.

"They just seem so…mysterious, you know?" he said earnestly, looking at the sky like it was a puzzle that could be solved. "But comforting. They're always there when you need them. Not like some people I know," he added bitterly. Without thinking, Ginny reached for his hand and covered it with her own. He shot her a startled look, but didn't pull away. Instead, he laced his fingers with hers and tentatively put an arm around her. The butterflies were back. She defied them by laying her head on his shoulder and considering the heavens once again. They were quiet for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts, and then Ginny broke the silence.

"Do you ever wonder if the moon knows something we don't? If it knows our…secrets?"

Draco hesitated, then cleared his throat. "I know one secret the moon doesn't know," he whispered.

Ginny pulled away slightly and looked at him, hard, but he was still focused on the moon. "What's that?" she asked.

At last, he tore his eyes away from the sky. "I think you're beautiful," he admitted quietly, and kissed her.

After she got over the initial shock, Ginny leaned into him and kissed him back, the feel of his lips on hers sending a thrill throughout her entire body. One of his hands was cradling her head and the other was supporting her back as he gently lowered her to the ground.

Ginny lost track of time as they kissed, at first slowly, sweetly, then faster and more feverishly. She felt the passion surging through her, the kind of adventure she'd always craved. She imagined herself a cartographer, her hands mapping the landscape of Draco's back. She felt the thrill in her hip with Draco's hand rested there, felt her skin quiver with delight as it slid under her shirt-

And then he broke away, gasping, and rolled off of her. Ginny sat up.

"What's wrong?"

He sat with his back to her, his knees bent, clutching two handfuls of his silvery hair. Ginny scooted closer and started to massage his shoulders. He relaxed slightly under her skillful touch, and feeling playful, she kissed his neck. His muscles tensed again.

"Don't," he said, and there was genuine pain in his voice.

Ginny was surprised. "Why?"

He swung around to face her and surprised her with a brief, fierce kiss. "If we stay up here much longer," he said between kisses, "we're going to end up doing things we shouldn't."

Ginny considered this for a moment. "What kinds of things?" she asked, curiosity getting the best of her. She wondered if it was obvious how new she was at this.

He raised his eyebrows at her. She blushed. Oh. This time, she was the one to turn away. She felt slightly hurt, but mostly embarrassed.

"Hey, hey," there was Draco's soothing voice in her ear, his warm hands around her waist. "I like you, Ginny," he said. "I like you a lot. Which is why I want to take things slow…okay?

"Okay." Her voice sounded small and foreign to her own ears, but she allowed Draco to pull her to her feet and kiss her again. He retrieved the blanket and wrapped it around her shoulders once more. Hand in hand, they tiptoed down the steps of the Astronomy tower. Before they reached the corridor and had to go their separate ways, Draco pulled her aside, into a shadowy corner for one last, breathless kiss.

"Tomorrow," he said in her ear when it was over. "That broom closet on the fourth floor. After dinner."

Could she wait that long? She would have to. Ginny nodded to show him she understood. He kissed her forehead, then slipped away from her, saying overdramatically, "Goodbye, my love…parting is such sweet sorrow, that I say goodnight 'till it be morrow!" She laughed and blew him a kiss, and then made her way back to Gryffindor tower, grinning like a fool. She crept into her own dormitory and slipped under the sheets, closing her eyes just as the first rays of dawn were beginning to fill the sky with light.

A/N: I know Sirius said in Order of the Phoenix that all pureblood families are related, but in my AU world I have decided that Ginny and Draco were tied to each other only by a marriage that ended in divorce. I'm fairly sure that it was only a distant relation anyway, but I hate the idea of "kissing cousins" so I decided to play it safe. I'm really pleased with the way this story is going, but if you're not, the only way to tell me is by reviewing. (Hint, hint.) So drop me a line, tell me what you think. Takes what, two seconds? Okay. Done ranting. Cheers.