Blaise practically dragged an uncharacteristically giggling Ginny to the Room of Requirement, which was a hastily put together bedroom with a couch. Ginny rolled her eyes as she sat down on the couch and pointed at the bed. "Got a little head of yourself there, fella."

"I'm not embarrassed," said Blaise with a grin as he slid next to her. He put his hand on her cheek. "You are amazing, you know that?"

Even as he said it, it surprised him. He hadn't planned on it. It came out. It seemed to him that whatever he was doing was working, but he wasn't sure if what he was doing was solely out of the desire to beat Draco. She was attractive, smart, and funny. He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss.

"Well, thank you," said Ginny, blushing without having meant to. She knew all of this was very uncharacteristic of her, but she couldn't help it. She ought to hate him, she thought, for whatever he was doing with Malfoy to her and Hermione, but it felt too good. She would have laughed if she saw them from afar; she might have even made gagging noises. But right now, her heart was beating way too fast to analyze the situation and decide her moves.

"Oh, right," he whispered. "Almost forgot." He moved in again, this time a bit more aggressively, and his right hand moved to her side and up until it covered her left breast.

Ginny told herself all of this was to win him over so that she could one-up him, in which case it was the both of them that were acting. But what kind of a girl could keep her heart from beating when an incredibly good looking boy has his tongue in her mouth and his hand busy all over her chest?

Blaise's heart too was racing. He had gone a lot further with other girls before, but even through Ginny's shirt and bra the feeling beneath his hand was driving him insane. He wanted to touch all of her, and it felt like there would never be enough time.

His kisses moved from her mouth to her cheek and down her neck. Ginny let out a soft moan, and his fingers move to the buttons of her blouse. Her head said to stop him but it also felt too good. He unbuttoned the top four buttons, revealing the top of her breasts cupped by a light pink bra. His kisses traveled down as she tilt her head back, her hands in her flaming red hair.

His hand softly test-tugged at her bra, and when she didn't stop him he pulled down the right, revealing a nice round breast topped by a now erect nipple. She took a sharp intake of breath as his mouth cupped it.

"Oh, Merlin," she gasped as he sucked lightly on her right nipple while tugging down the left cup of her bra. His fingers squeezed her left nipple as his tongue went to work on the right, and she thought she may lose it.

"You like that?" Blaise said before his mouth went to her left. It was at this comment for some reason that her mind got some clarity. He was only doing this as part of a plan, and she couldn't let him think that he was winning her over; it had to be the other way around. She softly pushed him back and covered herself.

"Well, that escalated quickly," she said with a grin. "That's quite enough for today."

"No it isn't," Blaise said immediately, but she got up and buttoned up her blouse.

"I'll see you at Ron's party?" she said. "To be...continued."

Blaise bit his lower lip and grinned. Merlin, he looked cute, she thought.

"Of course."

Somehow the news that Ginny and Blaise were going out quickly spread throughout Hogwarts, and honestly neither could feign surprise at this. Pansy had seen them at the concert after all. Blaise found himself bombarded with mean glares from Slytherin girls, and Ginny too could not escape interrogations.

"Nope, nope, nope," said Ron. "I am not allowing it."

Ron, Hermione, Harry, and Ginny were gathered around a table in the Gryffindor common room, the seventh years pretending to do their Charms essays and Ginny not even bothering with the pile of homework in her bag.

"It's not up to you," Ginny said, balancing Hermione's quill on her nose. "I date whoever I want."

"Whomever," said Hermione softly, but no one heard her.

"I'm bringing him to your party."

"No, you absolutely are not," said Ron sternly. "It's my party."

"You know, with your ridiculous dates-only rule and banning me, how do you expect to have a good turn out?"

The answer came without missing a beat. "Free firewhiskey."

"Oh."

Ron threw his hands up exasperatedly. "He hangs out with Malfoy!" Harry nodded firmly, and Hermione shifted in her chair uncomfortably.

"You're banned," Ron said.

"Well, have fun at your lame party, then," Ginny spat.

"You'd be missing out, Ginny, just come without him," Harry said worriedly. "We'll all be there and-"

"Um," Hermione said. "I...I don't think I'm coming."

"What!?" said Harry and Ron at the same time.

"You don't have to bring a date, Hermione," said Ron. He sounded sympathetic. She rolled her eyes.

"It's not that."

But it was. She knew whom she wanted to go with: Draco. But there was no way in hell that she was showing up to the party with him. She no longer trusted herself to behave like she should when he was around. Damn it.

"Well," said Ginny, getting up from the table and reaching for her bag. "Have fun at your dumb party. Sure I'll hear all about how it sucked." She headed to the girls' staircase.

"Come back here," said Ron. Ginny ignored him and climbed the stairs to the girls' dormitory.

"Don't think I won't come after you!" called Ron. "You know they got rid of the stair-melting spell!"

"I have a lock on my door, you dimwit," called Ginny.

Hermione had to give Ginny the credit for creativity in vengeance. On the night of Ron's party she somehow convinced a decent number of (mostly single and dateless) girls to forego the party and join her for a sleepover, managing to piss off a desperate Ron who even changed the rule last-minute to allow dateless girls to enter.

"You ladies made the right choice," Ginny said firmly as the girls took their place in Ginny and her roommates' dorm room. "I bet it's awful over there right now without us there."

"Please," said Ginger. "Without me it's not really a party." Although Ginny knew Ginger was regularly hooking up with Neville, she was still surprised to see Ginger in attendance. A one-guy relationship didn't quit fit Ginger Stotts' profile.

"I think an all-girls night was a great idea, Ginny," said Hermione. "So relaxing and-"

"Relaxing?" scoffed Ginny. "This is going to be a night of extreme gossip and shit talking. I hereby name this group Girls Who Say the Darnest Things."

"That sounds oddly familiar," said Luna dreamily. Ginny had convinced Luna out of going to the party with Harry, further pissing off both Harry and Ron. "Perhaps one fewer word," Luna added, but no one paid her any attention.

"Well, if you really want to talk shit," said Pansy, who was yet another surprising attendee. "I know why you're here, Weasley."

Ginny gave Pansy a blank stare. "Well, yeah, it's my room."

"You know what I meant," spat Pansy. "We all know you have something going on with Zabini. Bet your brother didn't like that now, did he?"

No one in the room seemed as surprised by this as they were with the fact that Pansy said it out loud. Ginny was, after all, an athlete. And a feisty one at that. Hermione was fairly sure that Ginny could literally kill Pansy if she wanted to.

"I mean, kudos," said Ginger. "Zabini's hot."

There was general agreement.

"Who invited you, Parkinson?" Ginny spat.

"It was an open invitation," said Pansy.

"Bitches, bitches," Ginger said in a professional tone that not at all matched what she said. She reached and put her arm over the shoulder of the girl next to her, who happened to be Natalie. "We're not here to fight. We're here to chat, have a good time, touch each other-"

"We are not touching each other," said Hermione quickly.

"Oh, sorry," Ginger said, taking her hand off the red-faced Natalie's chest. "But why not?"

"She has a point," said Luna.

There was a knock on the door.

"Come in!" Ginny called. It was a small first year. She peeked in. "Oh, sorry, no kids," said Ginny apologetically.

"No, no, I know," said the little girl. "He told me there'd be a bunch of people here. I'm just here to deliver a message."

"What is it?"

"There's a boy outside and he wants to see...Harmony Granger?"

The girls erupted into surprised oohs and ahhs, and Hermione's face turned beet red.

"What does he want?" asked Pansy, her face almost as red as Hermione's but for a different reason.

"He said, um, Harmony and he has to go to a party or something?" The little girl scratched her head. "Oh, and one more thing. He said to tell her..." she giggled. "...that he fancies her!"

The confusion and excitement in the room was uncontrollable. Hermione buried her burning face in her pillow.

"Well, you better go, Hermione," said Ginny slowly with a grin.

"You're mad," Hermione said through her pillow.

"Is this for real?" cried Pansy.

"Oh, and he also said," the little girl continued. "That if she doesn't come out soon-"

"-that he'd break in."

Draco Malfoy stood at the door.