Ginny was about three steps into the dark passageway that led from Hogwarts to Hogsmeade when she ran straight into what felt like a warm, relatively solid wall.

Because Riddle's earlier speech had turned her absolutely paranoid, Ginny's first thought was that it was the basilisk. Then she realized that that was stupid, opened her eyes, and found herself looking into twin pools of electric blue.

Her face twisted into a grimace.

"What the hell-" Abraxas began, but then he must have recognized Ginny in the dim light, because the annoyance on his face- probably put there incase he ran into a common 'Mudblood' or something of that sort- evaporated into a relatively cautious smile. "Ginny," he said, his voice colored with surprise. "How do you know about this…"

"Mason showed it to me," Ginny lied, figuring that Riddle bought the story, and Abraxas wasn't half as mistrusting as the Heir of Slytherin. Then, before he could think on it anymore, she said, "Now, I'm sorry, but I've got things to do, and I really need to go, so-"

"Last minute shopping?" Abraxas interrupted.

"Er, yeah. Why?"

"I wouldn't mind coming with you. You did say that we were supposed to be friends, and, so far, I haven't seen anything that would suggest you weren't lying. You owe me this, Ginny, if nothing else."

Ginny bit her lip. He was right. She had promised to give him a shot at friendship, and then taken to avoiding him completely, mainly because she was scared that Riddle would be mad at her for spending time with him. Abraxas had been acting decently, though, and unless she wanted to start playing the part of a bitchy ex-girlfriend, there were no good excuses that Ginny could use to keep him from going with her.

"Well," Ginny said. "…I don't supposed that telling you Riddle won't be thrilled about this will discourage you any."

Abraxas grinned so brightly that his white teeth glowed in the dim passage.

"Given that I like to make that bastard-"

"Abraxas-"

He ignored her.

"-squirm, it would actually make me want to go with you even more. Besides, you're a Hufflepuff- he cannot be dense enough to think that you'd cheat on him. Riddle doesn't have anything to worry about."

"I don't think he's worried about that," said Ginny, reluctantly beginning to move forward again. "It's more like he just doesn't like you."

Abraxas laughed.

"Keep telling yourself that, Gin, but there's a difference between dislike and jealousy, and I know jealous when I see it. It's the exact same thing that turned me into an arse after you dumped me, except it's not as easy to notice on Riddle, given that he's practically made of stone."

Ginny opened her mouth to laugh Abraxas off, but closed it just as quickly.

Her first reaction was that, even if Abraxas had noticed Riddle getting a little green-eyed, it would have been nothing more than an extra bit of acting for their fake relationship. Then Ginny realized that there was a problem with that theory; Riddle would never willingly display such a weakness, not when he had no reason to. No one was doubting their relationship- Riddle didn't need to go out of his way to convince anyone.

With a hollow feeling in her gut, Ginny recalled the last prefect meeting, where she'd been so sure that a shadow of jealousy had danced in Riddle's eyes. Then, she had written it off as something else, but… what if her first instincts had been right?

"That's impossible," she breathed, both to Abraxas and to herself, as a growing realization started picking at the edges of her brain.

Riddle… jealous…?

Nu-uh. I'm going crazy, and Abraxas is already poisoning my brain, Ginny thought decisively. With a firm resolve, she pushed thoughts of a jealous Tom Riddle out of her head just as she and Abraxas arrived at their destination.

Like a perfect gentleman, Abraxas went out of his way to open the passage, then let Ginny through before following behind. It was kind of strange, being around him and spending time with him again, but Ginny grudgingly admitted that it wasn't awkward at all. Abraxas evidently had a short memory, and Ginny had never had trouble spending time with the charismatic Slytherin, so everything fell back into place with a strange ease.

The only difference was that Ginny no longer felt any desire to hold his hand, or make him smile… his presence had quit giving her butterflies, and even though she supposed that was to be expected given their breakup, she was still surprised.

Shouldn't she have still have felt something for him?

Ginny shook the question off.

"Here's an idea," said Abraxas as he hopped into Honeydukes's cellar and shut the door behind him. "Let's quit talking about Riddle. He's an arse, I frankly find it awkward, and we've got other things to do. You need presents, you said?"

"Yeah." Smiling sheepishly, Ginny added, "And a dress, but you don't have to help with that if you don't want to."

"Let's see… I get to see a beautiful girl make herself look even more beautiful? Oh, the horror."

Ginny slapped his arm, gritting her teeth in an attempt to hold back a traitorous blush. This was one of those moments where she absolutely hated having pale skin.

"First, anymore awkward comments, and I'll run back to the castle, screaming at Riddle that you're hitting on me. Second, you've got a Greek goddess for a fiancée. She'd be plenty happy to pose for you if you'd ask, and I'm sure I wouldn't compare at all."

"I'm only stating the facts," Abraxas said innocently. "And don't compare yourself to Cassie," he added. "She's a Black, and they've got genes that make me jealous. The thing is, though, what they've got in looks, they lack in character."

Ginny shook her head, but she was fighting a smile.

Maybe being friends wouldn't be so bad after all.

…

Two hours later, Ginny was regretting that thought.

Abraxas had been fine when they were buying presents- he hadn't even complained when Ginny handed him a bag of chocolate frogs and told him that it was his Christmas present-, but he was an absolute menace to pick out a dress with.

If Abraxas wasn't such a good kisser, Ginny would have been ninety percent certain that he was a complete pouf.

She had planned on grabbing a decent dress and leaving it at that, especially given that Riddle would undoubtedly not give a crap, but after the blond had lazily informed her for the fifth time that she had no idea what she was doing, Ginny abandoned all hope of an easy escape.

"You're hair is red, in case you have not noticed," Abraxas said irritably. Ginny was wearing a rosy pink dress that she had thought looked really pretty on her, but was apparently some kind of fashion monstrosity. "Haven't you learned by now which colors not to wear?"

"If I cared," Ginny seethed, "I would have brought Allison along to help me. You're supposed to sit in a corner and not give a crap."

"Then neither of us would, and you'd wind up looking terrible," Abraxas said. "I grew up shopping with my mother, and I know what I'm doing. Find something green, gold, or maybe light blue, with a longer skirt, a relatively tight bodice-" Ginny snorted at that specification, "-and a high neckline. I want you to look nice when you dance with me- which you will-, but there's no way that I'm going to help Riddle see more than he-"

"Sorry, Dad, but as much as I value your opinion-" started Ginny, not wanting to think about Lord Voldemort and wandering eyes.

"Just do it," Abraxas interrupted tiredly.

Ginny, who wasn't a big shopping fan in the first place, obeyed the Slytherin with a bitter glare.

Five minutes later, she was holding a beautiful, midnight blue masterpiece with a glittering skirt, a modest neckline to make up for a rather low back, and an affordable price tag. Ginny tried it on, but, uncomfortable with the idea of Abraxas analyzing her in it a dress that she knew was dead on, took it off again before she left the changing rooms.

At his raised brow, Ginny help up the dress. The Slytherin made a face.

"I said light blue... the dark color isn't great with your hair-" Ginny opened her mouth to tell him to shove it, "but the rest of the dress more than makes up for it." He smirked. "It's good enough. "

Ginny narrowed her eyes and let out an annoyed huff, but went to pay. She supposed that a 'good enough' from Abraxas was probably as good as a lot of squealing and laughing from Allison. At least she hoped so, because, for whatever reason, she was dying to make an impression on Riddle.

It was strange, but Ginny wanted the Head Boy's jaw to drop when he saw her- she wanted Riddle to think that she was beautiful.

…

"Just so you don't get mad at me," Ginny announced when she staggered into the Head's common room, weighed down with bags, a short while later, "Abraxas found me- coincidentally- and helped me pick out some presents."

Riddle's head jerked up sharply- jealously?- and Ginny hastily continued, "And no, I did not kiss him, or fawn over him, or even look at him admiringly. I didn't even have plans to meet him. Do you have any complaints?"

Riddle, who didn't seem to have left the spot he had been sitting in that morning, grit his teeth, and, rather tightly, replied, "No, I suppose not."

Then the Head Boy moved to get up, and Ginny, knowing him well enough to recognize the look on his face, stepped in front of him.

"Oh, and in case you're wondering, I discouraged you from coming with because I wanted to get you a present without you knowing about it, and all I got Abraxas was a bag of cheap chocolate, which doesn't constitute much secrecy, so don't you go getting butt-hurt about that, either, because I did not pick him over you-"

"A present?" Riddle interrupted. The anger was entirely gone from his face, replaced by a numb kind of shock. Ginny felt herself relaxing, and she almost wanted to smile.

Never, in the four months she had been in 1944, had she seen Tom Riddle look so unexpectedly surprised. Ginny figured that she could have stripped down to her underthings and waltzed with an imaginary vampire before Riddle's expression even got close to the one that he had on his face at that moment.

It was perfect and priceless and the kind of thing that Ginny wished she could have a picture of to keep and cherish forever.

"Obviously," Ginny said, even though it probably wasn't that obvious to Riddle. There was no doubt in Ginny's mind that her present was going to be the first he had ever gotten, and she only hoped that he wouldn't think it was stupid. "You're my boyfriend, remember?"

"I've never… Peverell, this is…"

"Holy Merlin, you're speechless," Ginny laughed. With a bright grin, she flicked her wand and carelessly sent her bags up to her room, then plopped down on a loveseat across from Riddle. "I kind of like it. It makes you… endearing."

Riddle's mouth slammed shut just as Ginny realized what she had said, and the Hufflepuff quickly moved to take back her statement when she recognized the look on his face.

It wasn't disgust, annoyance, anger… it was hope, and that was when the realization hit Ginny over the head like a hammer.

Abraxas had been right. Riddle had, most likely, been jealous. Just like his words the other day, his strangely desperate, accusing, "What are you doing to me?", meant more than she had thought… even now, when Ginny had called him endearing, Riddle's eyes had flashed with too much awareness.

"Holy bloody hell," Ginny muttered under her breath. Suddenly, she felt totally and completely lost. She had to have been wrong… it wasn't right, not at all, that Riddle would see her, of all people, like that, but something in her gut told her that she wasn't imagining things, and that, no matter how superficial it was, the Heir of Slytherin didn't just want to be her friend anymore.

"Peverell?" asked Riddle.

He was concerned.

Lord Voldemort should not have been concerned.

"I… I think I'm going to start knitting Addie's sweater," Ginny said quickly. Her thoughts were flying, and she was very, very confused, and even now she was wondering how in the world this had ever, in a million years, managed to happen.

Riddle said something, but Ginny didn't hear it. Numbly, she left her seat and headed to her room, still unable to process her impossible theory.

I'm almost positive that Tom Riddle has a thing for me, the Head Girl thought with wide eyes. Why am I not completely disgusted?

Ginny didn't know, and she frankly didn't care. All that she knew was that she had misinterpreted something, or that he was simply acting too well, or maybe that her eyes needed to get checked, because there was no way that she could be right.

Objectively, a traitorous part of Ginny's brain began entertaining very disturbing ideas.

Ginny ripped a spool of thick yarn out a bag and began clumsily stabbing at it with enchanted knitting needles.

Could nothing ever just be simple?

A/N-

Alright, if anyone's rereading this, I finally got it edited. If not, just disregard that, assume that I would love and appreciate any reviews, and start waiting for the next chapter.

Just a hint, but since this was such a filler, and because next chapter is going to be relatively interesting, I just might update this weekend. Or at least I'll try to, just because I have 500 reviews now, I'm super happy, and you guys have been really awesome.

~bballgirl32~