I tried to stop my feelings

but I can't get enough

girl I crave for your love

don't stop this fantasy

let me know that you can be with me

please relieve this agony

you could never ever find another

lover who could love you like

I could

and you would never ever need another

if you let me love you

-Tyrese Do You Need

Chapter 10: The Halloween Ball

Ron was in his dorm on Halloween, preparing himself for the ball that was to start in a couple of hours. He kept thinking back to how weird but yet how normal it was being around Hermione, Ginny, and Malfoy a couple of days ago in Hogsmeade, as well as his encounter with Harry.

*FLASHBACK*

Ginny, Draco, Hermione, and a very cautious Ron went to Hogsmeade to get their costumes. Ron found it weird that Draco had actually paid for Ginny's costume but he decided to stay quiet about it, determined to observe without anyone else knowing. Besides, he had much more on his mind.

Hermione and Ron had agreed to go as founders Rowena Ravenclaw and Godric Gryffindor. They had found the perfect costumes for themselves, and on the way to Three Broomsticks, he had passed by the jewelry stone and had seen a necklace in the window that he felt would look wonderful on Hermione.

He told the others to go ahead of him, claiming to has forgotten something at the costume store. When they were out of sight he went into the jewelry store to inquire about the necklace.

The man in the store allowed him to look at it closer. It was silver with what looked like a very expensive diamond on the charm. 'Too expensive now' thought Ron 'but maybe by Christmas, saving up allowance and bugging Fred and George, I could possibly get it'.

He memorized the amount and asked was there any way that it could possibly be set aside for him. The kind man allowed it. He left the store pretty happy and ran into Harry, walking with Seamus and Dean. Harry had been avoiding his best friends for a few days now, and Ron was pretty pissed about it.

Ron grabbed Harry by the arm and pulled him into a nearby alley. "Ron what the bloody hell!" Harry yelled.

"I should ask the same of you mate! What in the bloody fuck are you doing taking some other girl to the ball?! Is something wrong with my damn sister all of a sudden?!" said Ron, fists clenched.

Harry glared at his friend. "It isn't that, Ron. She and I have been going through a lot. Last argument we had, it seemed as if she didn't want to go anymore, so I agreed to go with Susan as friends. I couldn't very well go by myself."

"You could have at least made up with her and talked about it, Harry. You're being bloody stupid. And even though you're my best mate, at the end of the day, I have to defend my sister." scolded Ron.

Harry nodded. "I understand that. I wouldn't expect different. Look, maybe she and I can talk at the ball or afterwards. Every time I've tried to talk to her since Susan, she hasn't wanted to hear anything I've had to say. So Imma just give her the time to cool off, okay?"

Ron nodded. "Just stop hurting my sister Harry. I can't keep sitting here watching her be pissed over you."

"Noted. I'll fix things soon Ron, I promise." said Harry, as they shook hands and then went their separate ways.

*END FLASHBACK*

Ron was starting to feel conflicted. On the one hand Harry had been his friend since before they arrived at Hogwarts first year. He was almost like another brother to him. He wanted to take his side. He wanted to stand by him and defend Harry's illogical way of thinking, but he couldn't. One, was because he knew for a fact that it was wrong. And two, because everything Harry was doing was affecting his little sister. True, Ginny was far from the 10 year old that had a crush, but she was still his sister. She could very well take care of herself, but he hated sitting back and watching Harry hurt her with his idiocy.

He hoped that maybe this ball would bring them together. To his knowledge, Ginny was going by herself and even though Harry had Susan, it wasn't anything but as friends. He probably wouldn't even dance with her much. Maybe by some miracle, they could come together and put this ugliness behind them.

When Ron had gotten ready, he left Gryffindor tower and made his way towards the great hall, where he would be meeting Hermione outside of it. When he got to the bottom of the stairs he seen a platinum blonde Dracula pacing back and forth. Ron scoffed, but decided to be civil. He promised Hermione that he would be more cordial, seeing as she was trying to be. He would be polite. But he would never like the git.

"Evening Malfoy." said Ron when he got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Weasley." acknowledged Draco, with a nod. "Waiting for Hermione I assume."

"Yeah. Hopefully not too long. You know how girls are." said Ron, attempting a joke to break the heavy tension that they both felt.

Draco chuckled. He too was asked to be cordial to Ron by both Hermione and Ginny. Out of respect for Ginny more than Hermione, he reluctantly agreed. Besides, he figured he should get on his good side. Seeing as Ron would soon find out that his sister was going to the ball with him.

A few minutes later both their jaws dropped when a gorgeous Rowena Ravenclaw and an extremely seductive (in Draco's eyes) wood fairy came down the corridor towards them.

"You.. Ummm that is.. You look..."stuttered Ron to Hermione.

Hermione giggled. "You look very handsome Ron. You wanna go in?"

Ron nodded absentmindedly as he took Hermione's arm and went into the great hall.

Draco looked at Ginny and felt the same way Ron acted, but he pushed those feelings to the side. No way was he going to turn into a bumbling idiot, no matter how much he felt like one. "Well well Miss Weasley. You are looking good enough to bite." he said, showing off his teeth, two of which he had transfigured into fangs.

Ginny laughed. "You certainly went all out with your costume. You look really good. Love the teeth."

"Can't be a vampire without fangs." he said, biting the air.

"Shall I let my hair down to protect my innocent neck?" asked Ginny, touching the left side of her neck.

'Merlin why am I flirting? I'm basically asking for it. But he does look absolutely gorgeous. I can't help myself.' she thought to herself.

"Don't worry. I'll be gentle if I get the urge to nibble" whispered Draco in her ear causing Ginny's eyes to flutter and to let out a breath she didn't realize she was holding.

"Well, I think we should go in and get ready for the backlash. You ready?" asked Ginny holding out her arm.

"Hell yeah. I live for controversy" said Draco, looping his arm through hers.

They walked into the great hall and instantly eyes were on them. Pansy Parkinson spit out her drink on her date. Dean Thomas's mouth dropped. Hermione had to whisper calming things in Ron's ear to keep him from snatching his sister away from Draco, and to top it all off, the look on Harry's face was pure hatred.

Ginny and Draco walked over to where Blaise was standing with another Slytherin boy. "Well well well Red. You sure do clean up nicely."

"Why thank you" said Ginny smiling. "You don't look bad yourself. Surprised to see you in a muggle costume."

Blaise straightened his mask. "Muggles aren't all that bad. Especially if they make me look this good." he said, arrogantly.

Draco and Ginny rolled their eyes. They sat down and started eating and talking about random things. Hermione and Ron eventually came over and joined them. Hermione held tightly onto Ron's arm. Ron tried his best not to frown.

"Ginny, can I speak to you for a second?" Ron asked staring at Draco the whole time.

"Sure Ron. Excuse me Draco." said Ginny getting up and walking with Ron three tables over.

"What the bloody hell are you doing?" growled Ron.

"Ummmmm having fun? Harry can come with a "friend" , why can't I?"

"Fair enough but why bloody Malfoy?!" he said, pointing over to Draco.

"Why not Draco? He has been nothing but nice to me Ron, ever since the start of term. He actually listens and gives me advice on Harry and his horrid ways."

"I don't trust his ass." said Ron glaring at Draco.

"I know you don't, but I'm old enough to make my own decisions. It's just a dance Ron, not a proposal. We are just having fun, just like you and Hermione. Well maybe not exactly like the two of you." joked Ginny.

Ron managed a smile at that. "I guess. Just watch your back okay? And you might want to talk to Harry."

Both Ron and Ginny looked in the direction that Harry and Susan was. Harry and Susan were dancing rather subjectively.

"Oh I'm sure that Harry's very upset." said Ginny sarcastically but sadly.

Ron looked at Ginny and sighed. He wanted to go over there and kick Harry's ass for embarrassing his sister the way he was. However, he didn't want to ruin his night with Hermione, so he went back over to her and asked her to dance.

When they got on the dance floor, Ron started to feel somewhat awkward. He hadn't danced with Hermione since his brother's wedding this past summer, and this music was different here than at the wedding. Hermione sensed his nervousness and slowly took the lead moving her hips to the music on him. Soon Ron felt relaxed and started to get in tune with Hermione's movement and they really started to enjoy themselves.

Draco had seen Harry making a complete douche of himself and felt horrible for Ginny. She made her way back over to him and shrugged her shoulders.

"What are you doing that for? You are not about to sit here and take that bullshit." said Draco, a bit sternly.

"I'm tired of trying Draco. I understand he is mad, but he doesn't have to act that way. I think I want to leave." said Ginny about to walk off.

Draco got up and gently grabbed Ginny's arm. "You can't show that he has gotten to you. You look too damn beautiful tonight and you are too strong to let that rat bastard get to you. Let's go dance and show him that you don't give a fuck about the way he acting." said Draco looking into Ginny's sad eyes.

Ginny managed a tiny grin and nodded. She blushed as Draco kissed her hand and lead her over to the dance floor. A somewhat slow song was playing and Draco held Ginny close as they swayed to the music.

Ginny laid her head on Draco's chest, taking his smell and warmth in. She felt as if nothing else mattered at the moment. No one else was in the room, the evil in the world was gone, and Harry was nowhere to be found.

As another slow, more sensual song came on, Draco and Ginny found themselves getting lost in each other. Inhibitions went out the window as Ginny turned around and started dancing with her back on Draco's chest, her bum rubbing against his groin. Her mind went back to what she saw in the Mirror of Erised as Draco weaved one arm around her waist and placed his other hand gently on her neck. Their bodies moved in a rhythm that was more like beautiful poetry rather than simply dancing.

Ron and Hermione had been watching them intensely. Even though Ron was getting annoyed at the way they were dancing, he couldn't help but feel good because he knew that his sister was actually having a good time and was actually giving legit smiles; something that he hadn't seen from her in a long time.

Blaise looked on and as happy as he wanted to be for his best friend, he knew that the scene playing out would come back to haunt Draco sooner than later. He also scanned the room looking for Harry, as he had a feeling that he would have to step in if a duel, or even worse, an actual fight, broke out.

Draco's mind was racing. He found himself with the most sinful yet tantalizing thoughts in his head about Ginny. He wanted to tell her so much. Not only about how much he wanted her body, but also how much he wanted to be a part of her heart and mind. But for now, he savored the moment they were having and without even realizing what he was doing, he lightly planted a kiss on her neck.

Ginny's eyes popped open. She didn't stop dancing, but she didn't know what her next move should be. She decided that she should turn around and face him so he wouldn't be tempted to do it again. That was the wrong move because she then found herself being hypnotized by the lust in his magnetic gray eyes. She put her hand on Draco's cheek, slowly caressing it as Draco closed his eyes and seemed to let his face melt into her hand.

She felt herself moving her face up towards his. She felt his fresh breath tingling her lips as she was drawing nearer to them.

All of a sudden, she felt a tug on her arm by Hermione, while Blaise had called out Draco's name. Their minds clicked back on, and they realized exactly how close they had came to kissing. They stared at each other as Hermione pulled Ginny away and out of the great hall.

The girls ran outside, Ginny's mind swimming with confusion.

"Ginny what the heck happened?" asked Hermione. "Do you realize what you and Draco were doing?"

Ginny shook her head slowly, mind still fuzzy.

"You and Draco looked like the two of you were about to have sex on the dance floor or something. It was like a romance novel playing out on a cinema. You almost kissed him! If me and Blaise hadn't gotten you and Draco's attention-"

"Hermione" said Ginny. "I didn't...we didn't...I don't know what to say."

Hermione gave her a playful grin. "Well, as your BOYFRIEND'S best friend, I can't help but tell you that what you two were doing was absolutely wrong. As a hopeless romantic, I can't help but give you a thumbs up and also thanks for the motivation to see what I can get out of Ron tonight."

"Okay your statement right there was punishment enough thank you." gagged Ginny.

"No really, you don't understand. Ron seen it too and while he was upset for a few seconds he seemed to almost mock it. Which was very interesting." blushed Hermione, smile stretching to her ears.

"He kissed you?!" gasped Ginny

"My shoulder" laughed Hermione. "Still, a very sweet and tender moment."

"Hermione, everything that me and Draco did was exactly what the mirror showed me. Only we didn't start snogging, and he didn't tell me he loved me. I wouldn't have known what to do with myself if that happened...SHIT! DID HARRY SEE?!" panicked Ginny. "Oh Merlin, I really didn't intend to do any of that, especially in front of Harry!"

Hermione looked out to the lake and then back to Ginny. "We don't even know where Harry is right now. He went walking with Susan somewhere.

Ginny felt her heart drop. She wanted to cry. She wanted to scream. She wanted to just break down and let the earth absorb her, but she quickly threw all those emotions away.

"I need to find Draco. Make sure he is okay." said Ginny.

"Are YOU okay? You need to sort yourself out first. You need to think about what you want. Because it is starting to look like you want him" said Hermione.

As he watched Hermione drag off Ginny, Draco found himself being dragged away as well.

"Come on lover boy we need to talk" said Blaise as he pulled Draco off the dance floor and on the other side of the hall.

"Okay so what the fuck was that?!" scolded Blaise as quietly as he could.

"What was what Zabini?" asked Draco, playing dumb.

"Don't act stupid mate, you almost fucked her on the dance floor!" yelled Blaise.

Draco waved him off. "Don't be ridiculous. We were only dancing."

"Mate, do you realize how much you had pressed her body into yours? You was kissing all over her damn neck! I felt like I was watching that muggle pawn shit!"

"Uh, it's called porn, and you are exaggerating." said Draco, crossing his arms. "Yeah I did kiss her on her neck or whatever, but it wasn't all over, it was one tiny peck and it was just a moment, that's all."

"That looked like more than a bloody moment to me. You're lucky Potter didn't see that shit." said Blaise crossing his arms as well and leaning against the wall.

"Potter needed to see that shit. Maybe he would have seen how to treat his woman." said Draco, shrugging.

"Oh so you're trying to give Potter boyfriend lessons? Bullshit Drayke. You need to focus. You need to stop falling for this girl before the both of you get hurt. Emotionally and physically."

"I'm not falling for her Blaise!" yelled Draco.

Blaise nodded and put his hand on Draco's shoulder. "You know what? Agreed. You're not falling for her." He looked over at the door to the great hall and saw Ginny frantically looking around. "You've already fell. Just watch yourself mate."

Ginny walked back into the great hall. She found Draco talking to Blaise at the far end of the hall. Blaise caught her eye and nodded her over.

"Been throwing your fairy dust around Red?" joked Blaise.

"I sure hope not" said Ginny, nervously chuckling.

"Well you certainly hit this fool with some." said Blaise nodding his head towards Draco. "I'll leave you two to talk"

Draco looked down at his shoes while Ginny stood there trying to figure out the words to say.

"I'm sorry for what I did." apologized Draco. "I really shouldn't have done that to you. Guess I was getting too into my vampire character."

Ginny giggled. "Not too much. At least you didn't actually bite me."

"I almost did." said Draco looking Ginny directly in her eyes. Ginny breathed in deep.

"I'm glad you didn't. I wouldn't be able to explain fang marks to Madam Pomfrey." said Ginny, trying to joke it off.

Draco smiled. "I'm sorry that I took it that far."

"Both of us did Draco. We both almost lost control. It's okay though. I really did have fun." said Ginny with a smile.

"So did I. Maybe a bit too much?" laughed Draco.

Ginny smiled. "This is a fast song. Wanna try dancing again? Fangs away this time?"

Draco grabbed her hand. "Come on, you."

Harry had seen the whole thing play out. He had also overheard the conversation that Hermione and Ginny had. While at first he was very hurt, he thought about the fact that a lot of this was indeed his fault.

However, in a twisted way, he really didn't care. He decided that payback would be sweet. And he was going to get them all back in his own way.

No one screws over The Boy Who Lived and gets away with it.