Hey guys, sorry it's been sooo incredibly long.  Been sick a lot lately again, and now I seem to have come down with bronchitis, which really stinks.  Anyway, here's chapter 12, chapter 13 should be on the way, and with school winding down I should have more time to write.  Remember, reviews are always welcome, bad or good, although good are preferred. hehe.  As always, thanks to my betas, and I don't own any of the HP characters, they belong to JK Rowling (unfortunately).

Firefly

Chapter 12

Ginny walked into the infirmary and looked around at the beds that lined the walls.  She heard from Ron that Draco had fallen ill during their charms class, and had to be escorted out of class by his classmates, and she wanted to make sure he was all right.  After looking about the room for a bit, she noticed some pale blonde hair peeking out of some blankets on a bed in the corner.  His eyes were closed, and his skin, even paler, had an almost eerie glow beneath the low candlelight.  "Draco?" she whispered softly, not able to tell if he was awake or asleep.  When she received no reply, she pulled a chair up next to the bed and set her bag down next to it.

She glanced around the infirmary for Madam Pomfrey, so she could ask how Draco was doing, but could not find the older woman anywhere.  On a nightstand next to the bed stood a pitcher of water, along with a glass, and a few vials full of what Ginny assumed was medication.  A few of the vials were half empty, which made Ginny think they were what was causing the deep sleep Draco appeared to be in. 

Next to the vials and pitcher of water was a folded up letter, and when Ginny picked it up, a picture fell out.  Picking it up, she looked at it curiously.  The house appeared to be old, only slightly smaller than Malfoy Manor, and the front garden overgrown with weeds.  Vines were creeping up the front of the house giving it a sinister look, and from what she could see between the vines, the house was in need of a paint job.  The pathway up to the house could hardly be seen under all the weeds and grass, and behind the house to the left she could see the start of a forest.  Although she was curious about who's house was in the picture, and why he had it, she slipped it back into the letter, which she left unread, and put it back on the nightstand.

After watching Draco for a few more minutes, she decided that it was not likely that he was going to awaken any time soon, and she reached into her bag and pulled out some homework to work on.  Two hours later when she glanced up from her charms essay, she noticed Draco's eyes were open, and he was looking at her.  He still looked groggy from the medicine, and his eyes did not have their usual hardness to them.  "What are you doing here?" He asked after a minute, his voice scratchy.

"I just wanted to make sure you were alright," Ginny replied looking back at him as she stopped writing.  "Ron told me what happened during class, and I just thought I should come check on you…"

"Well as long as you're here, why don't you make yourself useful and get me a glass of water?" He said pushing himself into a half sitting position, and leaned his head back against the headboard of the bed.  After Ginny had poured him a glass of water, and he had taken a sip, he looked back over at her, "how long have you been here?"

"About two hours," she responded and sat back down setting the pitcher back on his nightstand.  "Not too long, I was just doing homework.  I was hoping to see Madam Pomfrey to see what was wrong, but I haven't seen her…how are you feeling?"

"Like hell."  He shifted in the bed uncomfortably.  "She said I'd be fine by tomorrow morning once I'd take all the medication, and the fever went away."

Ginny nodded, unsure of what to say, and finally commented, "Well I'm sure she's right, you're in good hands with Madam Pomfrey.  She hasn't seen anything yet that she hasn't been able to cure."

Draco scoffed.  "She's just a second-rate nurse.  She'd be useless without the medication the school has sent in."

Ginny glared at him, "You should be grateful- she's the one that's taking care of you.  If she didn't, I doubt there would be anyone else in this school that would because of the way you treat everyone."

"I simply treat everyone the way they treat me," he replied closing his eyes as he pulled the covers up more.  After pausing for a moment, he asked, "even you wouldn't help?"

"Have you ever thought that maybe if you treated everyone differently they would treat you differently?  You don't have to act mean and nasty all the time," she said, ignoring his last comment.

"Are you always this nice to ill people?" Draco asked rolling over onto his side so that he was facing her, his eyes still closed.

Ginny bit her lip.  "Sorry."  She watched him for a minute before she looked down at her hands.  "Is there any school work you need me to get for you?"

Draco opened his eyes almost sleepily, "If there is one thing you don't do, it's ask for schoolwork," he told her and shook his head slightly, closing his eyes again.  "You are a goody-goody, it must be all those Weasley genes."

Ginny scowled, but said, "I'll pretend you didn't say that, since you are sick."  She looked over at the nightstand.  "Who sent you this letter?"

"What letter?"  Draco opened his eyes for a second to see what she was talking about.  "Oh that one…that's from my mother, she sent it along with a picture of our new house.  Go ahead and look if you'd like."

"They bought a house without talking to us?" Ginny asked, too shocked to be angry.

"Of course not.  It's been the Malfoy family for generations, it just hasn't been lived in for years…"

Ginny opened the letter and took out the picture, and studied it for what she believed to be a sufficient period of time so he wouldn't suspect she had looked at while he was asleep before asking, "what if I don't want to live here?"

"Well you probably won't, not for two years at least.  This summer you'll be at home, and then at Hogwarts for the year, same with next year…" he paused to yawn, "but then we'll have to live somewhere.  You didn't expect you'd be living at home all your life did you?"

"I guess I just never really thought about it," Ginny said softly.  "Leaving home, living somewhere else with you…"

"I thought you wanted to get away, get out, I thought that was what this was about for you," Draco remarked.

"That's what this was about for you," she responded.  "I just wanted to not be just another member of the Weasley family anymore.  I never said I wanted to leave home.  I like where I live."

"Well you can't have it both ways, and since you don't have a choice in this, you're going to have to live somewhere else.  Besides, after two years, you might feel differently."

Ginny sighed.  "You're right I suppose."

"Of course I am.  Malfoys are always right.  I will even let you decorate the place- whatever combination of silver and green you prefer.  Black even.  Just no gold or red or any of that maroon junk you Gryffindors wear."

Rolling her eyes slightly, she tucked the letter back into the envelope.  "Do you mind if I keep the picture?"

Draco shook his head, "No, go ahead.  I'd just throw it out anyway."

"Thanks," she said and tucked it into her bag as Madam Pomfrey walked up to his bed. 

"Now, Mister Malfoy, how are you doing?" she asked as Ginny stepped out of the way so she could have easier access to both the bed and the vials she had left on the nightstand.

"I feel like I've been to hell and back," Draco responded as he watched her.  "Isn't there anything else you can do?  If you were really a nurse, or whatever it is you call yourself, you would have gotten rid of this by now."

"I see that while you are sick it has not affected your tongue any," the woman said dryly.  "I'm doing all I can, Mister Malfoy.  It seems that whatever you have, like you, is very stubborn."  She reached over and felt his forehead.  "Your fever is almost gone; another cooling spell should take it away completely.  You should be back to normal by tomorrow morning.  Although whether that's a good thing or not, I don't know."  She measured out some liquid into a cup and passed it over to him.  "Drink up."

Draco lifted the cup to his mouth and quickly swallowed, his face distorting at the taste.  "With all the advances in magic and medicine you would think they would at least be able to make it taste at least somewhat appealing."

Madam Pomfrey rolled her eyes slightly.  "I'll be back later to check on you.  The medicine should make you tired, so don't be alarmed if you start to fall asleep."  She gave Ginny a small smile before she disappeared to help a boy a few beds down.

"I wish you could have seen the look on your face," Ginny laughed.  "Where is Colin and his camera when you need him?"

"Very funny," Draco said crossly.

"At least you'll be well enough for your quidditch game tomorrow afternoon," Ginny pointed out as she sat back down. 

"We'll see," he said as his eyes started to close.  "It all depends on if she knows what she's doing."

Ginny sighed.  "You are so difficult.  Your fever has gone down hasn't it?"  She reached out and gently touched his forehead.  "And the cooling spell has already started to work, so just relax and let the medicine do what it's supposed to."  She let her hand trail down the side of his face to stroke his cheek gently, something her mother had done to her when she was little and couldn't sleep.

"I am relaxed," he replied, his voice sounding far away.  "Although that is helping."

Ginny smiled and continued gently for another minute, watching him.  The medicine was quickly taking effect, and she could tell that he was trying hard to stay awake.  His breathing was starting to become shallow as he slowly drifted to sleep, and he didn't seem to notice she was there anymore.  "I have to go," she whispered and started to pull her hand back.

Draco's eyes opened slightly as he reached out and grabbed her hand before she had fully pulled it away.  "Thanks," he said softly and kissed her fingers before he let her hand go and rolled over onto his side.

She stared at him for a minute, surprised, before she leaned over, picked up her bag, and started to walk out of the infirmary.  She glanced down at her hand and then looked back at the closed doors of the infirmary, confused, not quite sure what had just happened.  Although she would have liked to think that it was possible for Draco to act like a normal human being, a nagging voice in the back of her mind kept reminding her that he was under medication at the time, and had he been aware of what he was doing, probably would have yelled at her to go away.

With a small sigh, she adjusted the bag on her shoulder and started for the Gryffindor common room, where she promised she'd meet Ron for a game of chess.  When she reached the portrait hole, she muttered the password and stepped through, letting it shut behind her. 

Ron had arrived before her, and had already set up the chessboard in the corner of the room, where they could play and look out the window at the same time.  He had a quidditch magazine propped up against the board and was reading while he waited, his head resting in his hand, so engrossed in what he was reading that he didn't even notice when she sat down across from him.

Ginny set her bag down and moved one of the chess pieces.  "Your move."  She could by the chess set that it was wizard's chess, and the set would essentially break any piece that was captured.  Of course the pieces would mend themselves later, after all, no one would invent a chessboard that could only be used once.

Ron looked up, and smiled.  "Hey Gin."  He closed his magazine and set it to the side.  He looked down at the board and frowned, "You already moved? But we hadn't even decided who was going to go first."

"I go first by default," she grinned.  "If the other player is too engrossed in a magazine to notice when his opponent sits down, the opponent gets to go first."

Ron raised an eyebrow.  "I don't remember that rule."  He looked at the board for a minute before he moved a piece forward.

"I just made it up, but it's a good rule isn't it?" she asked as she continued to play.

"Well then shouldn't there also be a rule that if the opponent is late that the other player gets to go first?" Ron asked her.  "I just about gave up and went to go find Harry and Hermione.  I've been waiting for nearly a half an hour."

"Sorry, I went to see Draco in the infirmary and lost track of time," she apologized.

"What did you go see him for?" Ron frowned.  "It's not as though he's dying or anything."

"I just wanted to make sure that he was okay.  Besides, I don't see how it's any of your business anyway," she said her frown matching her brother's as she moved another piece and watched it get destroyed.

"But you hate Malfoy," Ron said confusedly, half studying the board, half paying attention to the conversation.  "I just don't see why you care, that's all.  I don't care- I mean, if he were to get sick and die, why that would solve all of our problems."

"But he's not going to get sick, and he's not going to die, at least not now," she said with a shrug.  "Besides, I'm not sure I hate him anymore.  We sort of have an… understanding."  She grinned triumphantly as her piece destroyed one of Ron's. 

Ron scoffed slightly, but stayed silent.  Ginny sighed and let the game proceed in silence for the next few minutes, before she asked, "Are you ready for the quidditch game tomorrow?  The one against Slytherin?"

"Yes," he nodded and studied the board again.  "We're ready to beat them, we've been working really hard, and besides, we have Harry."  He paused, before he asked, "You are going to be there right?  On the Gryffindor side?"

Ginny frowned.  "Of course I am.  Why wouldn't I?  Besides, someone has to be there to cheer for you, it's not like anyone else will," she added, a teasing tone coming into her voice.

"Gee thanks," he said dryly, and moved another piece.  "I can always count on you for encouragement, can't I?"  He tried to give her an annoyed look, but couldn't help but smile.

"That's what little sisters are for.  How's Hermione been?  I haven't seen her lately…she always seems so busy."

"Oh you know Hermione- using that time turner again, trying to take as many classes as possible.  I tried to ask her when she would really use legilimency, but every since Snape started teaching Harry some, Hermione has been devouring everything she can about it.   I think Snape is even giving her some lessons after school, although why she'd want to spend time when him when she doesn't have to, I'll never know.  I swear she reads more books in a week that I have in my whole life."

"I didn't know you'd ever read a book," Ginny said as she watched another one of her pieces being destroyed by one of Ron's pieces.  "I hate chess," she announced sullenly, leaning back in her chair.

"You only hate it when you lose," Ron pointed out.  "I can't help it that you're a bad player.  You would think that after these years of playing against me you would have learned something."

Ginny shrugged slightly, "maybe you just weren't a very good teacher, or I just didn't pay attention."

"It's probably that you weren't paying attention- I'm an excellent teacher, just ask Harry," he said as he moved another piece on the board after studying where each piece was on the board carefully. 

The two continued to play in silence for a while, until Ron announced triumphantly, "Checkmate!"

Ginny nodded, and yawned.  "Well that's finally over…I'm going to go up to bed.  Good job."  She gave her brother a quick hug and then headed up the stairs, leaving him to clean up after the game.

"'Night, Gin," he called after her, and as she walked up the stairs, she heard him ask Harry if he was up to a game.