Chapter 4
Over the next month, Ginny and Draco met in secret, sometimes in the Room of Requirement, or in the secret dungeon room, other times they would sneak off to a well-hidden place on the grounds. Ginny had a suspicion that Harry and Hermione knew what was going on but she didn't think they'd say anything to Ron.
Harry and Ron were sitting in the common room one night playing chess. Hermione was sitting on the floor, her back up against Ron's chair, trying to do her homework. Ginny was busy preparing for another secret meeting with Draco.
As Ginny left, the tower Hermione shot a look at Harry. He almost immediately realized that the look meant she wanted to talk without Ron around, so he quickly let Ron win the chess game.
"You wanna play again?" Ron asked.
"No, I think I am going to try to get some homework done," Harry said.
Hermione followed his lead.
"I was just thinking that I should go to the library, you want to walk up there with me?" she asked.
"Sure, I could use some help on my Potions homework anyway," Harry said.
"You guys are going to do homework on a Friday night?" Ron shook his head in disbelief. "Hermione's rubbing off on you mate, pretty soon you'll be as big a know-it-all as she is."
Hermione playfully slapped her boyfriend's arm. "I have a lot of homework with the extra classes I am taking."
"Fine, be that way," Ron said teasingly. "I'll just go play Exploding Snap with Seamus, Dean and Neville."
Harry and Hermione quickly gathered some books, quills, ink and parchment. Harry ran up to his room and grabbed the Marauder's Map and the invisibility cloak. Harry returned to the common room. He and Hermione left the Tower quickly, and headed in the direction of the Library.
"Do you think Ginny really believes that we buy all the excuses she gives us?" Hermione asked.
"I don't know," Harry said.
As they rounded a corner Harry looked around and pulled out the invisibility cloak, draping it over both of them. After they were completely out of sight Harry pulled out the map and quickly said the familiar spell to activate it. A moment later, he pointed out the small dots labeled Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy to Hermione and said, "They are in the Room of Requirement."
"Then why are we standing here? Let's go!" Hermione said.
They practically ran to the tapestry that they both knew hid the entrance to the Room of Requirement. Harry paced back and forth in front of the tapestry, which was the only way to make the familiar door appear, once it did, they walked in. Harry pulled off the invisibility cloak and they heard Ginny gasp. It was lucky for all four of them that Ginny and Draco had just been sitting there talking.
"Hermione, Harry... What are you doing here?" Ginny asked, her face as red as her hair, half in anger at her friends and half in embarrassment.
"Can we talk to you in private, Ginny?" Harry asked, glaring at Malfoy.
Ginny stood up and started to speak but Draco interrupted her. He put his hand on her shoulder and said, "It's ok, Ginny. I'll go."
Ginny nodded. "Ok."
Draco brushed past Harry and Hermione and out of the room.
"What right do you..." Ginny stopped mid-sentence, too furious to continue.
"Ginny, calm down," Hermione said.
"Why should I?" Ginny said, sitting back down.
"We were just concerned about you," Harry said.
"Why?" Ginny asked.
"Well this is Malfoy we are talking about here, the guy who up until a month ago would have rather hexed you than look at you," Harry said.
"Save it, Harry, I've already had this lecture. How did you know anyway?" Ginny said, glaring at Hermione.
"I had nothing to do with it. Harry came to me a couple of weeks ago and asked if I knew why you kept disappearing, I only confirmed what he already knew," Hermione said.
"How did you find us tonight?" Ginny asked.
Harry pulled out the map and Ginny smiled.
"I should have known," she said. "Have you told Ron yet?"
"No and we won't yet, but you need to tell Ron," Hermione said.
"I know," Ginny said sadly.
The next night after dinner, Ginny met Draco outside the Great Hall.
"So, what did Potter and the Mud... I mean Granger want?" Draco asked.
"They said I am going to keep seeing you I need to tell Ron," Ginny said, ignoring his almost insulting Hermione because she was still a little upset about the night before.
"For once I agree with them," Draco said.
"Yeah I know, I hate to admit it but they're right," Ginny said.
"I need to go," Draco said, hugging her.
"I guess I should go and talk to Ron," Ginny said.
Draco smiled and pulled her even closer, kissing her. This was apparently the wrong thing to do because at that exact moment Ginny heard someone come out the door and walk up behind her. Ginny pulled away and turned around to see who it was and came face to face with her brother.
"Malfoy, get your filthy hands off my sister!" Ron shouted. He backed Malfoy into a corner, holding his wand to Draco's throat.
"Ron, get away from him!" Ginny shrieked.
"Why are you defending him?" Ron shouted back, not taking his eyes off the other boy.
"Ron, what are you doing?" Hermione cried as she and Harry came out of the Great Hall.
"I'm going to kill this son of a..." Ron bellowed.
"Ron Weasley!" Hermione roared, drowning out the last few words.
Ron forgot for a moment that he had his wand pointed at Malfoy and he turned towards Hermione and Harry. Seeing his chance, Malfoy pulled out his wand and pointed it at Ron.
"Ron, watch out!" Harry yelled.
Ron turned his attention back to Malfoy, both boys stood there glaring at each other, wands ready if either moved a muscle.
"Both of you stop it now!" Ginny cried, almost in tears at this point.
"Good advice Miss Weasley," Professor Snape said.
"Oh great, now you've done it," Hermione said.
"Put your wands away both of you. All five of you will serve detention tomorrow night." Snape said.
"What's going on here?" Professor McGonagall asked, walking up behind Snape.
"I was just giving out a few detentions Minerva," Professor Snape said.
"Why is that Severus," McGonagall asked.
"Weasley and Draco were fighting," Snape said.
"And I will assume that they were the only ones who got detention," McGonagall said.
"Of course, what reason would I have for giving Potter, Granger and Ginny detentions?" Snape asked.
At that, Harry, Hermione and Ginny breathed a collective sigh of relief.
"Well now that the detentions are assigned why don't we go on to dinner," McGonagall said.
"Right then. Weasley, Malfoy, detention tomorrow, you should all go on to your houses now," Snape said as he and McGonagall walked into the Great Hall.
Harry, Hermione and Ron ran off towards Gryffindor tower leaving Ginny and Draco standing there. He walked over to her and reached out to put his hand on her shoulder. Ginny backed away.
"Don't touch me," She said.
"But Ginny..." Draco said.
"Don't say it Draco, I don't want to hear it," Ginny turned and walked away.
Draco walked into the Slytherin common room. As soon as most of the people in the room saw the look on his face they escaped to their dorms, nobody likes an angry Malfoy. Soon Blaise Zabini and Draco were the only ones in the room.
Blaise and Draco had known each other for a long time but only really become friends over the summer. Blaise was a tall boy, with dark hair and bright blue eyes.
"So, what exactly is going on with you and the Weaselette?" Blaise asked.
"What are you talking about, Blaise?" Draco asked.
"You have been acting completely unlike yourself since we got back to school," Blaise said.
"And you immediately think something is going on?" Draco said.
"Please, Draco, we haven't been friends that long, but I know you better than anyone here. Besides, it is already all over school how you and the Weasel were caught fighting after he saw you in the hall with his sister," Blaise said.
"It's nothing, Blaise, now drop it," Draco said, glaring at him.
"No, Draco, I won't. What's going on?" Blaise said.
Draco sighed, unable to decide if he should hit him or tell him at least part of the truth. He settled on the truth. "I'm only doing this to piss my father off, Blaise."
Blaise laughed. "Who's fooling who here?"
"What's that supposed to mean?" Draco demanded.
"We've all seen the way you look at each other and the way you look around to see if she's in the same room as you," Blaise said.
"What are you trying to say? I'm not in love with her if that's what you are suggesting," Draco said.
"That's right, Malfoy, you keep telling yourself that." Blaise smiled smugly at him. Before he could respond, the other boy had walked away.
Draco sat in the common room alone for a long time just thinking. He had to admit that he had not been acting like himself lately and in a moment of rare honesty, that yes, he did feel something for Ginny, but what? Draco yawned and decided to go to bed instead of pursuing that train of thought any further.
"How long have you two known?" Ron asked his friends accusingly.
"Only since last night," Harry lied.
"Harry, you don't have to lie for me," Ginny said, having walked in on the end of the conversation.
"I've been seeing him secretly for about a month," She said to Ron.
"Why didn't you tell me," Ron asked.
"You have the nerve to ask me that after the stunt you just pulled." Ginny said, practically yelling.
Ron's face was now almost as red as his hair.
"Sorry," he whispered.
"Sorry? Yeah that really helps. I am just so sick of you all treating me like a baby," Ginny said.
"How do you know you can even trust him?" Harry asked.
"I don't," Ginny said.
She wasn't going to show it but the question bothered her more than she would have liked, she had never really thought about whether she could trust him. Ginny turned and walked away leaving them staring after her as she headed for the dorms.
Ginny spent the next week avoiding her brother, Hermione, Harry and Draco. This was difficult considering she lived with three of them but she managed it by going down to the Great Hall early for meals and spending most of her time in her room since Ron, Hermione and Harry spent most of their time in the common room.
Finally, on the Friday after Ron and Draco's fight, Ginny was sitting in her room when she heard something scratching at the window. Ginny was about to ignore it completely but knew the owl would only try harder or find another way in, she slowly got up and walked to the window, letting the owl in. Ginny took the package from it and sat on her bed to open it, she pulled out a single long stemmed red rose and a letter.
Ginny,
I'm Sorry
Draco
Ginny was mad at Draco before but she was furious now. She grabbed a piece of parchment and began to write.
Draco,
Did you really think a simple "I'm Sorry" and a flower would make everything ok? Just so you know it doesn't change a thing. We do need to talk though. I know you have a Quidditch game tomorrow so meet me tomorrow night at 8:00.
Ginny
Ginny gave the owl the letter and sent it off to find Draco. After the owl left she conjured up a water-filler vase for the rose. She put the vase on her nightstand and sighed deeply. Now that she was going to talk to Draco, she figured she should talk to Harry, Ron and Hermione as well. Ginny left the room and slowly walked down to the common room.
After receiving Ginny's owl the night before, Draco had been unable to sleep so he didn't play well against Ravenclaw. They had almost lost but in the end, he had caught the snitch and they had won 170-60. Now it was almost 8:00 and time for him to meet Ginny. She had come over to him during dinner and they had decided to meet in the Entrance Hall and take a walk about the grounds.
Ginny walked into the Entrance Hall a few minutes after Draco did. They left the castle and started walking, not really having a destination. They ended up by the Quidditch Pitch and Ginny remembered that there had been a game that day.
"How was the game," Ginny asked
"You mean you don't know?" Draco asked sounding slightly relieved.
"No, I spent most of the day in the Room of Requirement studying, I have O.W.L's coming up," Ginny said. "Not to mention that he told our brothers about us and they have been sending me owls constantly."
Draco gave Ginny a sympathetic look, He was an only child himself and had often envied the Weasley children for having so many siblings, almost like having built in friends, but this was one case where he was glad to be an only child.
"Well, I caught the snitch, so we won," Draco said.
They were now sitting in the middle of the Quidditch Pitch; Ginny was lying back, looking at the stars.
"Ginny, I'm sorry," Draco said, "I know you said sorry wasn't enough but it's all I can say."
Ginny sighed, "I know you were only defending yourself, I was just upset, more so at Ron than you."
"Ok. So, why have you been avoiding me?" Draco asked.
"It's just that, well... I'm not entirely sure I can trust you," Ginny said.
"Trust me how?" Draco asked.
"What I mean is how do I know this isn't just a trick to finish what your father started four years ago, or even just a way to get something on Harry," Ginny said.
"I guess there is no way for me to prove it to you," Draco said.
"You're right, there isn't but it's a chance I am willing to take," Ginny said.
Draco smiled and then leaned over to kiss her gently. After a few moments, Draco broke the kiss and sat up. He started to speak but Ginny silenced him by putting her hand on the back of his neck, and pulling him closer to her. This time she kissed him.