Restlessness and discontent are the first necessities of progress. -Thomas A. Edison

"Are you going to eat that?"

Reilly looked away from her newspaper to see Charlie pointing to her breakfast. She silently shook her head and went back to reading the paper, looking over the Ministry report. Nothing new.

"Anything interesting?" Charlie asked quietly.

"No," she responded, folding the paper and placing it down on the table. "There's nothing here about Landon.

"Well, it's been a couple of weeks," he muttered. "Perhaps they're looking somewhere else."

Reilly glanced over at the head table and immediately picked Draco out of the group of teachers.

"But he's been back forever. He's not even looking anymore," she whispered.

"What are you two talking about?"

The two looked up to see Edna Burke, a fellow Gryffindor, standing there, eyeing Reilly suspiciously. Ever since Landon had disappeared, it had become increasingly obvious to Reilly that the girl had a crush on Charlie. However, it had also become apparent that Edna saw Reilly as some sort of threat.

Charlie, of course, was completely oblivious to this entire thing.

"Hello, Edna," he greeted as cheerfully as possible.

The girl's blue eyes immediately brightened and she proceeded to ignore Reilly.

"Hi, Charlie. What are you doing right now?" she asked.

Reilly glanced between the two before she stood up.

"Actually, we don't have a class right now. We have to head back to the common room to study," she said pointedly, snatching the Prophet off of the table and stuffing it into her bag. Charlie stood up as well, smiling at Edna.

"I have a couple of papers to finish writing," he explained.

Edna's excitement only grew.

"Great! Can I join you? I have some work to complete as well," she said, following Reilly and Charlie out of the Great Hall. Reilly frowned at how close the girl was to Charlie, but said nothing about it. Instead, she began walking a little faster.

"Sure. That's okay, right, Reilly?" Charlie asked.

Reilly glanced over at Edna briefly before nodding curtly.

"That's fine."

When they reached the common room, Reilly was greeted with another form of Edna's childish infatuation when, before Reilly could sit down, the girl managed to slide in beside Charlie, forcing Reilly to sit on a seat nearby the couch. Charlie seemed a bit unaccustomed with the girl's proximity, but said nothing about it. Instead he proceeded to pull out his books while Edna looked around the common room.

"There aren't many people here today, are there?" she observed.

Charlie glanced around and shrugged.

"I suppose not," he muttered before frowning. "Um, Reilly, do you have my Potions book?"

Before Reilly could respond, Edna pulled hers out and handed it to Charlie.

"You can borrow mine," she suggested quickly.

Reilly rolled her eyes and returned to the book she needed to read for Charms class, ignoring most of the conversation between the two others.

They remained in the common room for an hour and a half before Edna realized she had to leave to get something from Madame Pomfrey before class started. The girl packed up her stuff and after waving goodbye to Charlie, left.

"Oh give it a rest, Reilly," Charlie muttered when she burst out laughing. "It isn't funny."

"It's a little funny, Charlie," she responded, moving over to sit beside him. She grabbed his two essays and went over them briefly before handing them back with some corrections. "Hurry up. I don't want to be late for Potions this time."

Charlie snorted and quickly finished his work.

"Are you sure you just weren't jealous?" he asked.

Reilly's eyes widened and she hit him in the shoulder.

"Jealous? You're eleven years old and barely passing Potions. What do I have to be jealous about?" she asked as they stood to leave.

Charlie ran a hand through his hair and smiled charmingly.

"My roguishly handsome looks?"

Both of them burst out laughing as they walked out of the common room. Reilly linked her arm with Charlie's and tugged him along endearingly.

"Come on, Mr. Roguishly handsome," she said. "Professor Snape might not have the same opinion of you as I do."

Charlie suddenly stopped and stared at something for a moment.

"What?" she asked.

He pointed and she turned to see Draco Malfoy heading their way.

"Now I really wish Landon was here," he muttered.

"Mum?"

Mrs. Weasley looked up from the dishes she was flicking into cabinets and smiled.

"Oh Ginny! There you are! Could you hold open that cupboard over there?" she asked.

Ginny opened the cabinet and waited until all of the tea cups were in before closing it again.

"Hey, mum," she greeted. "How are you?"

Mrs. Weasley pointed outside into the wintry scene.

"It's already started to snow, Ginny," she said. "Can you believe that?"

The youngest Weasley grinned and hugged her mother quickly before sitting down at the kitchen table to watch her mother move around and make tea.

"How's dad? I haven't had a chance to see him lately."

Mrs. Weasley waved her hands around absentmindedly.

"Oh, you know your father. Busy as ever. Always in and out of the house with nothing better to do that talk about all of those Muggle gadgets and raids they conduct."

"Sounds like fun."

Her mother laughed and sat down across from Ginny with two steamy mugs of tea.

"Oh it is. Especially when he brings some of it home with him. Lord knows, that man needs something to do. I just wish he'd keep some of it at the office," she commented.

Ginny smiled and sipped some of her tea while looking out the window, watching the snow fall lightly to the ground, covering some grassy spots while other places were left untouched. She sighed at the sight and placed her chin in her hand, biting her lip as the grey sky above continued to release the beautiful white powder.

"Anything on your mind, dear?" Mrs. Weasley asked upon hearing her daughter sigh.

Ginny glanced over at her mother and shook her head.

"No… it's nothing. I'm just worried about Reilly."

"Have you talked to her lately?"

Nodding, Ginny took another sip from her tea.

"I received a letter from her yesterday. They're becoming so cryptic, I swear she's becoming like Rayne."

Mrs. Weasley frowned.

"Well, what did you expect to happen? Especially with Greyback out there with her best friend."

Ginny hesitated, eyes wide and heart racing.

"Greyback?" she repeated. "How do you know about that?"

Mrs. Weasley sighed, got up and walked over to the sink, pulling open a drawer nearby. She picked up a couple of envelopes and then returned to the table, handing them to Ginny.

"Apparently, the only honest to come out of Hogwarts was Draco Malfoy," she commented. "We've been in touch for quite some time."

Ginny looked over the letters, surprised by how candid Draco was being with her mother.

What the hell was going on?

"He sent these?" she asked disbelievingly. They were too nice. Too polite. Too… unlike Draco…

"He sends me updates, which is the least that I can say for you or your father," Mrs. Weasley snapped. "I can't believe you tried to keep this from me, Ginny."

Her daughter looked up from the letters, at a loss for words.

Why was Draco Malfoy sending her mother letters?

Why was he calling Jason over to Hogwarts when something had happened?

Why was he here?

"Ginny?"

Blinking quickly, Ginny dropped the letters on the table, paling slightly.

"Mum, why is he sending you these?" she asked.

Mrs. Weasley shrugged, picking up one of the letters.

"I asked him that and he didn't respond. He just sends updates."

"But why?"

Mrs. Weasley could see that this was bothering Ginny immensely and bit her lip.

"Ginny are you okay?"

Shaking her head, Ginny took a deep breath.

"I don't know anymore… Draco… he's acting strangely. He called Jason over to Hogwarts when Reilly had been attacked… He's… not Draco…"

Ginny's mother pursed her lips.

"He was fine when you two were married," she commented.

Ginny's eyes widened and she shifted a little in her seat.

"Um… mum… I… I thought you liked Jason," she muttered.

"I do," Mrs. Weasley said matter-of-factly. "But that doesn't get rid of the fact that Draco Malfoy will always be important to me."

"To you?" Ginny repeated before looking around the kitchen. "I'm sorry, did I miss something? Since when was Draco Malfoy important to you?"

Mrs. Weasley frowned.

"Ginny, this entire family knows how important Draco is. He saved you, or do you not remember that?" When Ginny didn't respond, her mother watched her carefully, noticing something she had not seen earlier. "Ginny, what's really bothering you about this?"

Ginny shook her head and stood up.

"Nothing, mum," she whispered. "Nothing's wrong with my ex-husband suddenly taking an unnatural interest in my family."

Standing up, Mrs. Weasley followed Ginny to the front door, waiting as she put on her coat.

"He's a good man, Ginny."

She turned to her mother, disbelief in her eyes. This was not the first time she had encountered the unusual sentiment. She had talked to Percy earlier and he seemed okay with letting Draco teach Reilly.

"What is this? I thought you all hated Draco? Why is everyone suddenly okay with him?" she asked.

Mrs. Weasley took a deep breath and hugged her daughter tightly.

"Because, Ginny, we all remember how he saved my baby and gave up everything to marry you," she whispered before pulling away. "You're getting married to Jason, but it would behoove you not to forget the past so quickly."

Hermione smiled when she felt strong arms wrap around her waist and pull her back, grinning when warm lips began planting kisses on her neck.

"Where's Sara?" Ron asked quietly.

Hermione snorted and turned around to face him.

"Well, if you had stopped a moment to think, you would remember that she's over at Fleur's for a play date," she replied, snaking her arms around his neck and pulling him closer.

Kissing her quickly, Ron grinned and glanced around the kitchen.

"Hmmm… well, I wanted to see you first," he whispered.

Hermione rolled her eyes as she leaned in to kiss him, enjoying a moment of peace with her husband. However, when he began tugging at her shirt, she pulled away, shaking her head.

"I don't think so, love," she murmured with a grin. "You remember the last time we did that on your lunch break?"

Ron groaned pathetically and leaned his head in the crook of her neck, holding her close.

"That was three years ago, 'Mione," he complained. "What's wrong with one more child? Luna's having one."

She patted him on the head before puling away and walking out of the kitchen.

"I do want more children. I just don't want the first conception to be exactly like the first one."

Ron raised an eyebrow and followed her up the stairs and into their bedroom.

"Exactly the same?"

Hermione glanced over her shoulder with a knowing look on her face.

"That's not what I meant, Ron," she said, rifling through a drawer and pulling out some clothes. She headed for the bathroom. "How was work?"

Ron walked over to the bathroom door and watched her take off her shirt and start the shower.

"Fine," he muttered, tilting his head to the side when she pulled off her jeans. "Beautiful."

Hermione looked over at him and blushed under his gaze.

"What?" she asked, straightening up and folding her arms over her chest.

Ron approached her with a lop-sided grin on his face that melted her heart. He placed his hands on her narrow waist and pulled her right up to him, catching the brief shock in her eyes at his boldness before biting her lip in anticipation.

"You're still on lunch break," she whispered.

Ron nodded as he reached down and pulled off his shirt, making Hermione grin and her eyes twinkle.

"Oh, believe me, this isn't going to be like last time," he murmured, kissing her passionately. Hermione groaned into his mouth and allowed him to back her up to the shower.

"Ron, your jeans are still on," she whispered.

"They'll come off eventually," he replied, making her laugh.

Ding Dong!

"Oh bloody hell," Ron growled in frustration while Hermione continued laughing.

"You should answer that," she giggled, pulling away from him and slipping into the shower. A couple of seconds later, her bra and knickers were tossed over the curtains, making Ron moan.

"Hermione," he complained. "Not fair."

Her face appeared from behind the curtains and grinned as the doorbell rang again. She pointed a wet finger at the door.

"Go get the door and perhaps you'll be able to see what's behind curtain number one for a change," she said before disappearing again.

Ron rolled his eyes and left, hurrying down the stairs to get the door. When he opened it, he was surprised to see his sister standing there. When she saw him, her eyes widened and she bit her lip to stop from laughing.

"I'm going to guess that Hermione's up in the shower?"

Ron looked down and realized he was still shirtless. Blushing violently, he swore at her and let her in before he went up stairs to get a shirt. Ginny waited in the living room and smiled when he came back down, shoving on a shirt.

"Hey big brother. How's life without sex?" she asked, suppressing the laughter.

"Ha ha, Ginny," he muttered, sitting down in the seat across from her. "Are you okay?"

His sister shrugged and looked down at her hands.

"I… I was just talking to mum," she whispered.

Ron snorted.

"Yeah, that seems like a good idea," he commented.

Ginny rolled her eyes at him and looked around the room.

"Anyway, she seems to think that… I'm forgetting everything Draco's done for me and that I'm… upset with him because everyone else is treating him like… family…"

Ron watched her carefully.

"Are you?"

Ginny looked at him.

"Am I what?" she asked, her eyes narrowing.

"Are you forgetting everything Draco's done for you and hating him simply out of jealousy?"

"Jealousy?!" Ginny yelped, standing up and glaring at her brother. "You think I'm jealous? Of what? The only reason I'm upset is because he seems to think that my opinion doesn't matter and is teaching Reilly dangerous curses!"

Ron stood up as well, holding up his hands.

"Gin, calm down," he hissed, glancing up the stairs quickly before going over to her and sitting her back down. "Damn it, Ginny, I thought you said he didn't bother you."

"He doesn't," she hissed.

Ron raised an eyebrow that reminded Ginny too much of Draco.

"Are you sure? You seem a little bothered to me."

Ginny looked as if she wanted to hurt her brother, but after a moment she deflated and looked defeated.

"I… I… I just want to know why he's here, Ron," she whispered. "I mean… I know it's been a couple of months… but… if he were here for Greyback…"

Ron watched his sister for a while, trying to figure out what was really going on. He could see her struggling with coping with the fact that Draco had once again become an integral and unwanted part of her life again.

Perhaps it was the fact that Landon Greyback had not been found yet that was bugging her so much. Or perhaps it was the tension mounting as her wedding day came closer. While it was not for another few months, he knew how much pressure Ginny was under to make this count.

Disastrous relationships had been a major theme of hers for quite some time.

He reached out and took her hand, holding it closely.

"Gin, it's going to be okay," he whispered. "You don't have to worry about him and you sure as hell shouldn't be worried about Reilly. She has a whole lot of people at Hogwarts willing to protect her."

Ginny shrugged and offered up a weak smile.

"I just wish I knew what he was up to," she muttered.

They heard someone snort and saw Hermione coming down the stairs, drying her hair with her wand.

"Ginny, you of all people should know that trying to get into the mind of Draco Malfoy is a dangerous thing," she commented before sitting down across from them. "Besides, if you're so worried about him, why are you letting him teach Reilly?"

Ginny shifted in her seat and shrugged.

"McGonagall basically told me that the only way to get rid of Greyback was to let Draco teach Reilly."

"She said that?" Ron asked.

Ginny nodded.

"Yeah, along with basically saying that I have some unresolved issues with my arse of an ex-husband," she muttered.

Hermione and Ron exchanged looks before Hermione grinned and stood up.

"Oh, you definitely don't have any unresolved issues with him," she commented as she walked into the kitchen.

Ginny let out a groan and placed her face in her hands.

"Oh bloody hell," she moaned. "What is wrong with me? I'm getting married! I shouldn't be worried about Malfoy!"

Ron snorted and Ginny looked up at him. He shrugged and stood up as well.

"It's just… that's the first time you've called him Malfoy in a long time. It was nice."

"Ron," Hermione scolded, coming back to the door of the kitchen. "Look Ginny, I think McGonagall's right. You and Draco do have some unresolved issues…" After getting a look from Ron, she sighed and rolled her eyes. "Okay, you have a lot of unresolved issues, but it's been a couple of months since he's come back and Jason doesn't seem to have a problem with him. You don't see him at all. From what I've heard from Dumbledore, Reilly's doing fine with Draco. What's wrong, Ginny?"

Ginny shook her head and stood up, grabbing her purse.

"Nothing," she muttered. "Nothing's wrong. I guess I'm just getting anxious since Reilly's friend hasn't been found yet." She pointed to the door. "I have to go… Jason's planning to take me out to dinner tonight and I have to finish some work before we go."

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked softly.

Ginny grinned.

"That little restaurant in London. You know, the one with the live music," she told them as she walked over to the door.

Hermione's eyes lit up.

"That Italian restaurant? Oh I love that place! Ron took me there for our anniversary," she said. "It's really romantic."

Ginny leaned against the doorknob, a weird look on her face.

"Yeah… Jason was always romantic… Harry was oblivious… and Draco was…" Her eyes glazed over briefly.

Draco moved so fast, she hardly knew what had happened until she found herself up against the wall, one of Draco's hands beneath the sheets and pulling dangerously on her panties while the other circled close to her breast, causing her eyes to widen and her breath to quicken.

"I have no problem dragging you over to that bed and screwing you," he growled roughly into her ears, his voice sending shockwaves of unwanted pleasure down her spine. Ginny had to close her eyes for a moment to regain her composure as his hands teased her mercilessly. She reached down to remove his hand from her knickers, but that hand pinned hers to the wall while his other hand moved down to pull her hips closer to his, forcing another wave of bliss through her body.

A deep blush crept onto Ginny's face and she straightened up, opening the door.

"Passionate," she muttered. "I'll see you two Friday night?"

Hermione glanced over at Ron before nodding and offering a smile.

"Sure, Gin."

Ginny tried to smile, but it ended up being a grimace as she disapparated. Hermione closed the door and then looked over at Ron, concern written all over her face.

"Did you see that?" she asked quietly.

Ron leaned against the wall, a frown on his face.

"Of course I saw that," he muttered before turning to go get his briefcase. He then leaned in and kissed Hermione's cheek. "The last time I saw that face, we still weren't having sex."

Rayne sighed and began drawing the small hairy creature that was growling at her on her table.

"You okay?" her friend Lisa asked, looking up from her rendering of the unpleasant beastie.

Shrugging, Rayne pointed across the clearing to where Nicholas was sitting with the rest of the Slytherins.

"He hasn't asked me to the Halloween Ball yet," she muttered.

Trent snorted.

"The Ball? You're sighing because you haven't been asked to a Ball?" he asked incredulously.

Rayne shifted in her seat.

"I'm not sighing because he hasn't asked me. I'm sighing because he hasn't mentioned the Ball at all," she replied irritably before poking the little creature to sit up straighter.

Lisa grinned.

"Maybe not to you," she commented.

Rayne sat up straight in her seat and leaned forward.

"He's talked to you?" she asked intensely.

Trent and Lisa exchanged looks before Lisa replied.

"He's not talking to you because one of your bodyguards caught you two snogging," she said.

Rayne's eyes widened.

"No one caught us!"

Lisa glanced over at Nicholas.

"Apparently someone did because Professor Malfoy approached him about it and he's a little… scared to talk to you."

Trent burst out laughing but was quickly silenced when Hagrid lumbered up, observing his progress.

"Not much drawn down," he commented.

Rayne looked up at the giant and offered a smile.

"Sorry Hagrid," she whispered apologetically before shivering at a gust of wind. "It's really cold out here. Talking warms us up."

Hagrid smiled down at her and looked up at the sky.

"It's starting to snow," he said. "I suppose you all can go early."

Instantly, most of the students dispersed from the clearing, talking loudly and shoving each other around. Rayne, Trent and Lisa waved goodbye to Hagrid before they headed for the lake.

"Why must we go to the lake?" Trent complained, shivering. "It's bloody cold out here. And it's snowing!"

Lisa shoved him ahead of them, grinning.

"You're such a baby, Trent," she responded. "It's gorgeous out here!"

"It's cold."

Rayne rolled her eyes and looked around the lake, smiling when she caught sight of the giant squid gliding gracefully around the ice that was forming on the sparkling, mirror surface.

"I agree with Lisa," she whispered. "It's the most beautiful thing I've ever seen."

"One of them."

The three Gryffindors turned around to see Nicholas standing close by, watching Rayne closely. Trent and Lisa exchanged glances and grinned before they began to back away.

"Umm… Rayne, we'll see you later, okay?" Lisa muttered.

Rayne nodded, waving as they walked away. She waited until they were out of sight before turning to Nicholas, who was looking around as if they were being watched.

"Waiting for one of my uncles to show up?" she asked curiously, tilting her head to the side expectantly.

A blush crept onto his face as he approached her.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that," he mumbled. "I'm sorry about avoiding you. I'm just… trying to be careful."

"By avoiding me?"

Nicholas took hold of Rayne's gloved hands and offered an apologetic smile.

"Would it be better if I said that Professor Malfoy said he'd cut off my…" He winced and then looked around. "Cut off something important if he or one of your uncles caught us snogging again."

Rayne raised an eyebrow, but said nothing else on the matter. Instead, she pulled away from him and began walking along the bank of the lake, slowing down only for Nicholas to catch up.

"So… the Halloween Ball?"

Nicholas reached out and took her hand.

"We're going, right?" he asked.

Rayne shrugged nonchalantly, avoiding his gaze.

"I don't know. You never asked."

"Oh come on, Rayne. I told you I was sorry about the whole avoiding you thing, but in my defense, Professor Malfoy is extremely intimidating."

Rayne sighed and turned to face him.

"Well then, are you going to ask me, or continue making excuses?"

Nicholas grinned and leaned into her.

"Will you go to the Ball with me?" he asked, kissing her softly on her trembling lips.

Rayne wrapped her arms around his neck and stepped closer, deepening the kiss briefly before pulling away and nodding.

"Of course. Why didn't you ask sooner?"

Nicholas rolled his eyes and kissed her again, smiling when she shivered against the flurry of snow that surrounded them. She released a muted yelp when his tongue found its way into her mouth and was about to lean into him when something distracted her and forced her to pull away again.

"Ugh! What is that smell?"

Leaning into her neck, Nicholas ignored whatever it was.

"Who cares?"

Rayne glanced around and caught sight of something under a bush.

"Nicholas, look," she whispered, pointing to it. He turned around and after close examination, pulled a face.

"Oh, that just ruined the mood," he muttered.

Lying under the bush was the half-eaten carcass of a deer. Its innards were hanging out and blood stained most of the snow surrounding it.

Biting her lip, Rayne began to back away.

"That's not funny, Nick," she whispered. "That's gross."

He tugged on her coat jokingly.

"Oh come on, Rayne. It's just a deer. It was probably left there by some wolf," he told her, leaning in to kiss her cheek.

Rayne hit his hand lightly, giving him a look.

"How could you still want to snog after seeing something like that?" she asked disgustedly.

Nicholas followed after her.

"I don't want to snog. I'm just saying-"

"Oh my God…"

Rayne had stopped abruptly and was looking at the lake in complete shock. Nicholas frowned and looked around her.

"What? What is it?"

Rayne pointed to a large piece of ice in the middle of the lake. Nicholas looked and froze as well. Standing on the ice flow was a tall hulking man, holding something small in his arms. The man caught the looks of the two teenagers and grinned a full row of sharp bloody teeth, causing both of them to back away from the lake. However, instead of staying around to chat, the man dropped whatever he had in his arms and then disappeared into the water, leaving the limp body drifting on the ice.

"Nicholas… I think that's Reilly's friend… wait! Nicholas!" she screamed when he broke away from her and jumped into the water without another thought. "NICHOLAS!"

She watched him briefly climb onto an ice flow and begin hopping the ice before she took off for the castle.

A/N: I am so sorry for the delay! School just took up a lot of my time and this is already such a difficult story to write. I hope you like it and I'll try to be a bit faster in updating (months faster)! School's out, so I'll definitely be able to do that! Thanks for bearing with me and I hope you like this one! R/R!

MaeSilverpaws1: Sorry it took so long, but there is definitely more!

HPandWEASLEYandDRACOlover: I'm glad you like it so far! As for them getting back together, you'll just have to wait and see.

Nextbestthing: If you were waiting for that chapter forever, then this must have been an eternity! (They're the same thing, but eternity some how sounds longer) :-) We'll learn a bit more about Greyback later.

Alsy: A lot more of Ginny's inner turmoil in this chapter. I promise I'll try to show Draco in the next chapter.

purplegabby123: It is Draco's nature to get a rise out of Ginny, even if she's foaming at the mouth and ready to bite his head off. I think he likes the fact that even though he can't touch her, he still has some power over her. We'll learn more about Draco's motives a lot later in this story. At this point in the story, it wouldn't be appropriate to reveal them.

Jenny: I haven't fallen off the earth yet. I was just really busy. Somehow I managed to write this chapter in a matter of four days. Hopefully it's okay.

snowfire81: I've got to stop taking long breaks. I feel really bad for doing it.

Wrenbailey: I think Ginny's realizing that. I think she just doesn't want to share. However, Draco's going to take it upon himself to explain some things to the two before Ginny has anything to say about it.

Sorry, no Chapter Tease, but I will update soon!