WARNING: Slash ahead.

Chapter 10:

Ginny leaned back against the fluffy pillows in Fred's spacious bed, and looked around with interest at the various gadgets, and mementos that littered almost every available surface.

Sighing, she turned her attention back to the piece of parchment that she was currently writing on, using a book as a desktop on her knees. She was trying to write a letter to Blaise and Draco, and nothing seemed to sound right. There were crumpled pieces of parchment strewn around the bed from her earlier efforts.

The problem was, was that she was not allowed to say that much to them, as George was certain that the Ministry was intercepting their mail currently, and though it pained them, the twins had decided to play along for the moment as dollar bills floated in front of their eyes at how much the Ministry might end up paying for the patents.

Dear Blaise and Draco,

How are you two? I'm fine-

Muttering to herself about the banality of that attempt, Ginny ripped the piece of parchment off, and threw it to the end of the bed. It really should have been easier. Surely they wouldn't be mad about the situation, she didn't exactly have a choice.

"Gin?" Fred's muffled voice sounded as he knocked on the bedroom door, "You decent?"

Ginny laughed, and responded, "Get your arse in here. I'm bored out of my bloody skull."

Grinning widely, Fred entered, holding a tray containing soup and a sandwich. Ginny watched him suspiciously, "Did you attempt to cook again?"

"Shut up." He replied succinctly, then, with a rueful grimace, he expanded, "Mara made it earlier before she headed to the shop."

Ginny laughed at the mention of Fred's girlfriend, Mara, who had been a shop assistant during the summer, but had recently taken over the accounting for the soon-to-be-open WWW in Hogsmeade. She was almost as much of a trickster as the twins, and it was somewhat interesting to see one of her resolutely bachelor twin brothers showing some semblance of "settling down".

"The girl can cook." Ginny remarked, spooning up some of the soup, and closing her eyes at the food that was so much better than anything she had gotten at St. Mungo's. She had only been out for a few days, and was still mostly confined to Fred's bed, as he had lost a bet with George.

"She has a nice big bed too, as I've recently been kicked out of my own by my bloody sister." Fred grinned as she threw another ball of parchment at his head.

Throwing his long, lanky form into the chair beside her, he propped his legs up on the mattress, crossing them at the ankles. Fred looked around his room, taking in all of the expensive parchment that was now covering the carpet.

"I don't really need to think of my brother in that way, thanks." Ginny took a big bite of the chicken sandwich, and looked at him thoughtfully, "Who's managing the store right now?"

"Liam's down there, and Mara agreed to help today. She owed me a… favour." His eyes glinted wickedly, causing Ginny to hold up a hand to forestall any further comment. "Where's George?"

"He's out on a mission, a surprise for you." Fred winked at her.

Frowning, Ginny tried not to think about what constituted a 'surprise' in the twin's books. It was somewhat horrifying to think about the possibilities.

George leaned against the wall just outside of the Ravenclaw common room at Hogwarts, waiting patiently for the dark-haired minx to make an appearance.

He had tried the last Ravenclaw password he had been given (by a delightful blonde who had enjoyed his tongue in the months before he had left the school), but alas, it had been changed in the last two years. Still worth a try though.

Poking at his hair, which he had thrown a glamour charm on to make it a dull brown, he adjusted his boring black robes. The things he did for his sister, George shook his head. It was just plain disrespectful to the ladies that he changed his appearance like this. He laughed at himself, and wondered if this kind of thinking might contribute to the reason he was currently single.

Spotting a platinum head down the hall, heading toward him at a quick pace, George immediately turned to face the wall, hoping to avoid a meeting with Mr. Malfoy. He sighed as the tall young man walked past, seemingly oblivious to his presence. Padma Patil had better make an appearance soon, or he would have to leave her ass to rot in the school for the day.

Draco paused on his way to meet Blaise in the hospital wing, glancing back quickly at the lanky brunette loitering outside of Ravenclaw. He'd know those freckles anywhere…

Quickly whipping around, he tapped the boy on the back of his shoulder. George leapt about a foot, and whirled around to take in Draco staring at him expressionlessly.

"Good Gods Malfoy! You're like a fucking ghost! Get a damn bell!" Quite aware that he was babbling, George calmed himself with an effort, and grinned at Malfoy, who had simply raised a pale eyebrow at him in an expression of arrogant superiority.

"Weasley." Draco crossed his arms over his chest and leaned against the wall, his easy expression a contrast to the thoughts swirling through his head. For a moment, he felt a sense of hope at the sight of Ginny's older brother, but tapped it down quickly with a scowl.

George watched Draco's face carefully, looking for some sign that he gave a shit about his sister. Other than a sudden scowl there was… nothing. From the depths of Ginny's emotion about this man, as well as Zabini, he had expected something more. Well, that certainly made his job a little bit easier. No guilt in lying to someone who obviously didn't care.

"Malfoy." George mockingly copied Draco's stance and ease of expression, staring at those hard silver eyes. "To what do I owe…?"

"The honour?" Draco finished the sentence for him with a sneer. "Absolutely nothing. Just wondering what a Hogwarts dropout was doing lurking around Ravenclaw."

"Well, that would be none of your bloody business." George's chocolate brown eyes hardened minutely, before the mischievous veil swept over them again.

"Really?" Again, that pale eyebrow arched with an air of amused detachment, malice gleaming in the slate-grey eyes. "I'm sure Headmistress McGonagall would probably beg to differ. We can always go ask though."

"Piss off, Malfoy. This is none of your concern." George took a threatening step toward the boy, well aware that they were almost equal in size and weight, but deciding to chance it anyway.

Suddenly, the Ravenclaw portrait swung open, nearly braining the tall Weasley, and Padma stepped out surrounded by a group of second year Ravenclaws. Catching sight of Draco and a strange brunette, she stopped, motioning her curious-looking housemates on with a wave of her hand.

"Draco? What are you doing here?" She ignored the other boy for the moment, focusing instead on the platinum-haired boy in surprise. Could he be here because of Ginny? He had refused to speak to her after that awful night, but maybe he was finally coming to his senses.

At the sight of Padma, Draco sneered before turning on a heel and stalking away. Padma watched him wistfully. It was not fair that a man could have that much unconscious grace.

"Patil?" A low voice questioned her, and she turned to the strange brunette with surprise. She raised her dark eyebrows, seeing that something was vaguely familiar about his face, "Can I help you?"

"Well, at least you're not calling me a red buffoon this time." George grinned at her dawning comprehension, and casually buffed his nails on his robes, "It's the hair, isn't it?"

"Weasley." Padma breathed, seeing beyond the glamours as she focused. They were very good glamours as she had not noticed them until fully focused upon him. Frowning, she wondered wildly at how much power this boy had if he was able to put that much into a simple charm. She had never been unable to see beyond a glamour at first sight, and it had shaken her badly.

"You sound almost like Malfoy when you say my name like that." George grinned at her frown, wondering what the hell had wondered up her arse for her to be looking at him like that.

"Well, I don't know which of you it is." Padma challenged him, "And if I hadn't walked out of Ravenclaw, you would have had no idea if I was Parvati or not."

"Parvati wouldn't have frowned at me." He answered instantly, "And I'm George. I'm the good-looking one."

Padma looked at him with an expression of immense boredom at his words, "Can I see Ginny now? And why were you chatting with Draco here?"

"Well, he and I have always shared this bond. It's magical." He grinned at her before reaching out and grabbing his hand, "Come along now, Miss. Patil. We have places to go, people to see."

--

Draco shook his head as he walked away from the strange encounter with Ginny's brother, and made his way into the hospital wing where Blaise was shaking on his robes with the help of Pansy, as he made somewhat obscene remarks.

Shaking his head at Blaise's predictable behavior, Draco sat down in the chair beside the bed, "If you're finished, we can get back to the dungeons."

"He's such a cheerful individual." Blaise remarked with a grin to Pansy, who rolled her eyes, stepping away nimbly to avoid his hand which was trying to connect with her ass.

Sighing with mock exasperation, Pansy leaned over to kiss Draco's smooth cheek, "I have to go meet Vince, I'll see you two later. Blaise, stay out of trouble."

"Not bloody likely." Draco remarked dryly as she walked out, her laughter trailing back to him.

Blaise grinned and grabbed his bag off the bed, "I'm good. Well, hungry, but good other than that. Let's get back to Slytherin."

Listening to Blaise talk animatedly about all of the wonderful food he could now indulge in after his stay in the hospital wing, 'the food is HORRIBLE! Fucking Pomfrey wouldn't even let me have chips!', Draco thought about his encounter with the Weasley male.

What on earth had the git been doing at Hogwarts? He was obviously meeting Patil. Did it have anything to do with Ginny? Draco decided not to mention it to Blaise, as he tended to lose focus when it came to Ginny. Draco's lips curled in self-disgust as he realized that the same thing could be said about himself. The bloody girl had them both wrapped around her finger, whether he liked it or not.

Blaise stopped talking as he realized Draco was not paying attention at all, and carefully opened his mind to try to see what had Draco's attention. Seeing the encounter with one of the twins… with Padma… his decision not to tell Blaise.

Feeling his face flush with anger, Blaise pushed it away. Strong emotion was never a good idea if you were trying to be sneaky looking at someone's thoughts. Sure enough, Blaise pulled out just in time for Draco to look at him sharply, "What exactly were you looking for?"

"You know what I was looking for." Blaise responded quietly. Draco tended to get overprotective of the dark haired boy, and he knew it well. It was just part of who Draco was, he protected what he cared about. Too often those things had been taken away from him.

Waiting patiently for Draco to expand on what Blaise had seen, they lapsed into a tension-filled silence making their way down the stairs that would take them to Slytherin.

They were sidetracked, however, by the appearance of the Ravenclaw, Luna Lovegood. Draco shook his head, and walked away as Blaise started to chat with her about Blibbering Humdingers that she had spotted in Hogsmeade. Blaise had always had an affinity with the girl that Draco couldn't really understand. Frankly, he thought she was out to the moon half the time.

As soon as Draco was out of ear-shot, a serious look transformed Luna's face, and she stared at Blaise intently, "Are you feeling better?"

Rubbing her arm slightly, Blaise smiled at her, "Much better. Why didn't you come visit me?"

"Draco." She said simply, she was well aware of what he thought of her, and she generally preferred to stay out of the ill-mannered boy's way.

"How was he when I was gone?" Blaise asked, somewhat nervously. Luna tended to see much more than anyone gave her credit for, and she had been an ally of Blaise's almost from the moment she had stepped into Hogwarts during his second year.

Luna swept her hair behind her shoulder, "Not great. Even more quiet and withdrawn. Right bastard mostly. A bunch of people tried to ask him about Ginny, but he just walked away, and after a few days, no one even mentioned her name around him."

"Really." Was the unsurprised answer. "Anything else I should know about?"

"Yeah, I've heard rumours, from a few contacts outside the school, that Ginny is with her twin brothers. I'm not sure why though. Things have been unusually quiet when it comes to her." Luna paused for a moment, her blue eyes thoughtful, "It's very strange how quiet. Usually I would have heard more." Blaise nodded in understanding, gossip ran rampant through the wizarding world, and the Weasley's, though poor, were still an important pure-blood family.

Frowning, Blaise worried the scars on his wrist with his other hand as he contemplated Luna's words. Watching him, she reached out to gently pull his hand away, and quickly cast the glamour that he had forgotten upon leaving the hospital wing. He smiled at her gratefully, and she reached out to hug him gently, "It's good to have you back."

"Of course it is." He leaned back to grin at her, "Who else would chat about those bloody nargles with you?"

"Exactly!" She laughed lightly, and pulled away to wander back to Ravenclaw. Blaise watched her go, shaking his head. Strange one that.

Making his way through the Slytherin common room, he stopped to greet Greg and Milly, nodded to Tracey and Theo, before making his way to his room where Draco was waiting for him.

Watching Blaise wander around the room, Draco reclined on the bed negligently, his robes discarded on the back of the chair. Blaise ran his fingers over his wizarding photos, his broom, everything he had been missing. He liked have his own personal, private space. At Zabini Manor… well… he definitely didn't have 'private' space. It was one of the main reasons he had gone after the Head Boy position with such determination.

Picking up a more recent picture of Ginny flying in her Quidditch robes, he looked over to see Draco staring determinedly at the ceiling. So, Blaise thought to himself, that was how he was going to play it. Ignore the issue. Such a Draco reaction.

"So, what did you get up to while I was laid up?" He asked conversationally, watching the blond closely.

Draco, well used to Blaise's manipulations, and abilities to pry information from even the most unwilling victim, simply sighed, and looked at him, "What do you want to know?"

Allowing his eyes to widen innocently, Blaise drawled, "Why, just if you missed me, of course."

Watching the dark-haired boy, Draco simply rolled his eyes at him, before gracefully standing from the bed, before walking to him. Blaise stepped forward so his lips rested gently on Draco's, wrapping his arms around the taller boy's waist and leaning into him.

Draco angled his head slightly before fully capturing Blaise's lips, brushing his tongue inside and deepening the kiss. His long fingers speared into Blaise's silky black hair, holding his head in place as he took possession.

Moaning against Draco's lips, Blaise tightened his hold pulling them together firmly. Pulling back to gasp in much-needed air, Draco rested his forehead on Blaise's, and stared into his navy eyes in want. Nodding slightly, Blaise stepped away to grab Draco's hand and pull him to the large bed.

Blaise fell down into the bed, and before he could loose all thoughts, he sent a thought to Draco that he could postpone the questions all he wanted, but Blaise would get answers sooner or later.

--

Padma sat cross-legged on the end of Fred's bed, looking at her cards intently. George had brought her to the apartment, with a lot of needless double-entendres, and Ginny and her friend had been chatting for most of the afternoon. Finally, Fred had produced a set of cards, and badgered them into playing a few games of poker.

Unfortunately for him, he had not realized that Ginny's friend was more of a card-shark than even she was. It was a humbling experience to lose that much money, in that little time, to two girls who were three years his junior. Cursing George's disappearing act again to himself, he prepared to lose more money.

Ginny had laughed seeing George and Padma enter the room earlier in the day. George had been absolutely infatuated, and Padma had simply seemed irritated by his presence. He had been bewildered that his charm was simply not working on her, and Ginny had found it entirely too amusing to try and help him. He had left in a huff not long after.

"A royal flush." Padma carefully laid her cards down on the bedspread before Fred's horrified eyes, and he cursed before giving her and evil glare and throwing his own cards down, "You're cheating!"

Ginny looked at him with an arched eyebrow, "Are you seriously accusing someone else of cheating? YOU?"

Fred glared at her, "Some sister you are. Can't even stand up for your poor bloody brother."

"Well…" Padma looked at her winnings, "You got the poor part right at least."

Ginny giggled at the look on Fred's face. Throwing his cards on the bed, Fred stood up, "Not that I'm not having a great time, or anything, but I should go see how Mara and Liam are doing in the shop. Saturdays you know… awfully busy."

Waiting until Fred had left the room, Padma and Ginny started laughing loudly. Rubbing the tears from her eyes, Ginny looked at Padma out of the corner of her eyes, "If you give me half of what you won, I won't mention to Fred that you were cheating."

Padma grinned, unashamed, and pushed half the bulk over to the redhead. "Couldn't help myself. My goodness, he does get all red and splotchy when angry, huh."

Shaking her head, Ginny gathered up the cards again to put away.

"So, Gin…" Lifting her head at Padma's serious tone, "Have you owled Blaise and Draco yet?"

"No." Ginny stared at the small box of cards, not wanting to meet Padma's dark eyes, "Honestly, I don't know what to say. I still can't believe that George told you. The Ministry has our owls watched, and I can't chance it."

"I can bring a message if you like." Padma offered lightly, watching Ginny's eyes light up at the prospect.

"That would be fantastic!" Ginny reached over for her abandoned parchment and quill, and quickly began scribbling down everything that had happened, including the details of the twin's experiment and project, and her involvement. So intent was she on her task, she didn't notice Padma leaving the room to wander into the kitchen for a drink.

Leaning against the counter sipping on the glass of water, Padma's eyes took in the details of the surprisingly comfortable apartment. Painted a bright, sunny yellow, a hardwood floor squeaked under her feet, and large, comfortable couches dominated the living room.

Pictures were everywhere of the Weasley family and friends, and Padma looked closer at one of the twin's posing as mummies in front of a pyramid in Egypt.

"Great place." George intoned from behind her as she took in the details of the sandy land. Padma whirled around in surprise, unaware that he was still in the apartment, and promptly dropped her glass on the floor. Wincing as it shattered, spraying her with water, she heard George swear before muttering a few spells to get it cleaned up.

"Sorry about that." Padma motioned to the floor where the glass and water had been. He held the glass out to her again silently. Sipping, she looked at him in surprise. She hadn't been aware that he could be this quiet for this length of time.

The silence stretched between them, broken only when Padma sat slowly on one of the couches. George leaned against the table, watching her intently. Noticing her fidget under his gaze, he grinned, and sauntered over to sit across from her.

"Having fun?"

"At this exact moment?" She shot back, intent on ignoring him as she drank her water.

"Well, I know you're having fun at this exact moment." He shook his head, as if her words were too silly to consider, and continued, "I meant, the school year in general, life, all of that."

"Sure, why not?" Looking at him suspiciously, she carefully placed the now empty glass on the coffee table that separated them.

"You're too serious." He commented lightly, watching the way her dark eyes shot up to meet his, before they narrowed. Making her angry was entirely too much fun. She was way too sexy when she was riled.

Seeing George's enjoyment at her anger, Padma forced herself into her usual serene state, and simply looked at him, before looking out the window behind his head. "That's your opinion."

"Ah, so you've pulled out the mask again, how wonderful." He drawled, smirking slightly as her eyes shot back to him.

"You are not one to be talking about masks, Master Prankster." Padma retorted, lounging back in the chair, and crossing her long legs, noticing his eyes shooting to watch as her robe gaped momentarily to show skin. She rolled her eyes, typical male.

"And just what might that mean, Mistress Padma?" He asked, moving his eyes slowly back to her face, "And by the way, you can call me master anytime you wish."

Hearing the innuendo in his silky voice, Padma shot him a look of bored detachment, before turning to the window once more. "Figure it out."

Before he had a chance to retort, Ginny appeared at the entrance to the living room, "Padma? Do you have to leave anytime soon?"

"Yeah, I have some homework." Padma stood slowly, making a point of adjusting her form-fitting robes around herself to emphasis curves for George's eyes. Knowing well how to play the opposite sex, she grinned to herself as his eyes wandered over her, until meeting her face, his lips curved in a cocky grin.

"Do you need any… help?" He voice was low, seductive, and Padma resisted the urge to roll her eyes again at him.

"Why, thank you for the offer." She spoke slowly, "But I am more than capable of helping myself."

Watching her brother get shot down really shouldn't have been as amusing as it was to Ginny. She handed Padma the envelope with her letter, and put a hand over her mouth to hold back her laughter as George gaped at the dark-haired girl as she stepped into the fireplace.

"Bye Gin, I hope I'll see you Monday." Padma reached out to grab a handful of the Floo powder beside the mantle, "And I'm sure I'll see you again… Fred."

Unable to help herself, Ginny erupted into giggles. George snarled at her, but that simply helped to set her off further. "Did she just call me Fred?"

"Yes." Ginny gulped, trying to control herself, "Yes she did."

"She knew I wasn't Fred though."

"You're right." Bursting into full blown laughter at George's face, Ginny was able to breathlessly speak, "Maybe you just didn't make that big an impact that she would remember."

George glared at her, before turning to disappear into his room. Ginny stood in the living room, smirking to herself, if anyone could play the devoted ladies man at his own game, it would be Padma. And it would incredibly fun to watch.

--

Blaise gasped as Draco's skilled mouth found the head of his cock, lightly liking around the tip, before sliding over it completely. He squirmed on the bed against the blond head, his fingers clenched in the sheets at his sides, he couldn't help the loud moans that were issuing from his throat at Draco's ministrations.

Long, pale fingers found Blaise's hips, and held him in place for the sweet torture. Draco took his time, pulling off when he felt Blaise getting too close, and then starting again.

Quite sure that Draco was trying to drive him insane, Blaise grabbed the back of his head, fingers tangling in the bright locks, and cried out as he came hard in Draco's mouth.

Gasping for air, he felt Draco slide up the bed to lounge beside him, holding him tightly. Blaise could feel the heat from his body, and instinctively curved into him as he kissed Blaise's neck tenderly.

"So that's what I was missing…" Blaise joked lightly, still panting. Draco chuckled softly against his skin, tasting the sweat there.

Holding each other, they lay in companionable silence, the smell of sex surrounding them. Draco threaded his fingers through Blaise's hair, stroking his head tenderly. Almost purring, Blaise leaned into the caress, and felt himself start to nod off. Wrapping his arms more securely around Draco, his thoughts inevitably turned to a fiery redhead whose presence was sorely missed.

Draco kissed Blaise's forehead as he drifted off to sleep, and watched the play of lights on his perfect pale skin. A little more slender from the hospital stay, Blaise's muscles still stood out, tensing periodically in his sleep. Draco's fingers lightly caressed the body that he knew as well as his own, finding extreme comfort in having him close again, but missing Ginny.

Burying his head in Blaise's shoulder, Draco groaned painfully. He hated missing her, hated thinking about her. It went against everything within him. Draco knew how much Blaise thought about her, and how worried he was, but it was in Blaise's nature to be more caring, to be forgiving.

Draco… well, he didn't do forgiveness. It was something that had been instilled in him almost from the beginning. It was a sign of weakness, and one which he would take great pains to not fall prey to.

Turning on his side in his sleep, Blaise unconsciously pulled Draco closer, and sighed at the contact. Draco tightened his hold almost painfully on his lover, quite determined to not let him get hurt again.

A/N: Ok, finally able to get this chapter out. I had SOOOO many issues, including re-doing about five pages – NIGHTMARE TASK. I should post all of the outtakes of scenes, and various other things, some of them are amusing, they just don't entirely fit the story, and ruin the flow.

Anyway, again, thank you to everyone who reviewed! It's so exciting to see and read what people think! I hope you enjoy this chapter, I'm having a great time with the characters, and I am endlessly amused writing Padma and George, so they will definitely have more moments. Also, I enjoyed Luna. I want to develop her more as a character as she is one of the few that is the same age as Ginny.

Thank you again! And review so I know what you think!