Chapter 13

When Blaise had suggested meeting out by the lake, he had assumed his friends (who were usually quite good actors) would be overly weary about being seen together in public. Unfortunately, he realized that, for once, he had been wrong, as they seemed to gravitate towards each other regardless of the other students scattered about the vicinity.

"Alright, this is the last time I'm saying this," he began, his tone rich with exasperation. "Can you please act like you hate each other again?" Ginny sighed as she scooted away from Draco before taking another grape from the picnic basket they had brought and plopping it through her frowning lips. Sure, they had eaten lunch before meeting outside to enjoy some relaxation, but that didn't mean she wasn't snackish.

"We know, Blaise. You won't have to tell us again," she mumbled, while Draco simply looked annoyed at having been told off by his friend. Ginny noticed this and a small smile came to her lips. "Oh, come on. Don't pout. I've been spending a lot of time with you." After a second though, she added, "And you can't deny we've been kind of ignoring Blaise lately."

"Thank you!" She rolled her eyes at Blaise's exclamation, while Draco seemed to be more preoccupied with her earlier words.

"Malfoys don't pout," he stated haughtily, causing her teasing smile to widen.

"Then what are you doing now?"

An indignant look appeared on his face. "I'm not pou-"

"You're pouting, mate," Blaise interrupted simply with a grin. Ginny also cut off the blonde, only serving to fuel his temper even more.

"What's wrong?" she taunted as he stood up. "Don't like being-" She suddenly let out a startled yelp as he effortlessly lifted her off the ground. "Malfoy, put me down!" He ignored her and began walking towards the frigid lake. Ginny's eyes grew to the size of saucers as she realized what he was planning; she started to squirm desperately in his arms. "Malfoy!" she shrieked, earning more than a few glances from the other students on the grounds. "I swear to God, if you don't put me down this instant I'll-" Her stomach did an odd little flip as his hold on her abruptly loosened and she was unceremoniously dumped in the icy water with a large, resounding splash.

A few seconds later, she resurfaced, spluttering and shooting him a look that would have caused most people to recoil, but Draco just smirked as he folded his arms over his chest arrogantly. "You'll what?" She scowled as she brushed her sopping wet locks away from her face before climbing out of the water, her water-logged clothes weighing her down. Once she had steadied herself on her feet, a warm, dry cloak was thrown at her. "Now that you've learned your lesson, we don't want you catching a cold," he commented smugly.

Ginny glared at him with contempt, and for a moment he fancied the thought that she was actually going to slap him, but a moment later, her lips twitched. "Thanks," she chimed before giving him a rough shove and sending him toppling into the lake.

As soon as he appeared again, he wiped the water away from his eyes before bellowing, "Weasley!"

With a sweet smile and suppressed giggles, she leaned over and replied, "Yes?" She soon regretted the action, because before she could register what was happening, he reached up and pulled her back into the lake. It was with flailing arms and an incredulous shout that she met the water. "That was just immature," she spat upon resurfacing, her eyes no more than angry slits.

"I'm the immature one?"

"You started it!" she retorted before splashing him in the face with water. It was at this point that Blaise finally intervened from where he'd been watching the whole ordeal on the bank with a look of sheer bliss on his face. The scene had obviously gathered more than a few spectators, and he felt it was better to put an end to it (no mater how entertaining) before his friends embarrassed themselves even further.

"Come on you two. Stop acting like children," he admonished as Draco splashed her in retaliation, though his tone was more jovial than reprimanding. The couple turned to him almost simultaneously, halting the water fight that had broken out.

"We are not!"

Blaise laughed as they turned to each other with sour looks before offering his hand to Ginny in order to help her out of the water, which she accepted gratefully. Draco too got out of the lake, and when he did, he heard his girlfriend mutter "git" under her breath, which brought a slight grin to his lips.

"I can't believe you did that," Blaise mumbled to him so Ginny couldn't hear, shaking his head with disbelief.

"It's not like I haven't done stuff like this before," Draco remarked offhandedly as he combed his fingers through his soaking hair.

"Oh, I know that," he responded with another laugh. "It's just... given the circumstances..."

"Get on with it."

Blaise grinned. "She's wearing white," he informed his friend matter-of-factly, causing his brow to furrow.

"What's that got to do with-" A look of understanding dawned on his face as he whirled around to see that Ginny had taken off her cloak to wring out the water, leaving her in the uniform skirt and blouse – a blouse that was made of a material that happened take on a translucent quality when wet. He turned his attention back to Blaise. "Well, do something."

"Excuse me, but she's your girlfriend," he whispered back. "It's not my fault half the guys in the area are gawking at her and she's completely oblivious."

"Just go give her your cloak," Draco hissed, pushing him towards the red-head.

"What? Don't tell me you're not enjoying the view," he joked, earning a glare from his friend.

"Stop being a perverted git and-"

"What are you arguing about now?" Ginny snapped. Despite the fact that she had time to calm down, she was still irked about ending up in the lake... twice.

"Nothing," Blaise answered, hesitating before continuing. "By the way, your shirt..." She looked down as he gestured and immediately turned a rosy shade of red.

"Why the hell didn't you tell me sooner?" she demanded through gritted teeth, a thoroughly mortified looked in her eyes as she hastily threw on her still soggy cloak.

"I wanted to, but Draco wanted to just wait till you noticed."

"Blaise..." the other Slytherin muttered dangerously while Ginny let out an annoyed huff, still looking extremely embarrassed.

"Why do both of you have to be such prats..." she grumbled as stomped past them. "I'm gonna go change." Blaise picked up the picnic basket and fell into step beside her.

"I'll walk you to your Common Room," he offered before grinning. "You know, make sure none of the blokes out here try to jump you on the way back," he added as he shot a pointed look over his shoulder at his best friend. Draco scowled before following after them, silently wishing he still had a dry cloak as he made his way back up to the castle.

After explaining what had happened to a very irate McGonagall when she found them trekking mud through the corridors ("We just lost our footing, Professor. Honest."), Ginny joined Blaise in the library for a little studying, though he chose to spend much of the time teasing her relentlessly about her unfortunate incident at the lake.

"You really shouldn't be mad at Draco though. It wasn't his fault," Blaise finally noted after over an hour had passed. Upon receiving a dark look from the girl across from him, he relented. "Alright, so it kind of was. Feel free to despise him."

"I'm not mad at him," she sighed. After a second thought, she bitterly added, "But he still shouldn't have thrown me in the lake."

"At least you got him back for it," he shrugged, purposely neglecting to point out the fact that his friend didn't really seem to mind it that much in the long run.

Ginny smiled. "It was almost worth getting soaked just to return the favor," she mused happily, causing Blaise to chuckle.

"Either way, you can't tell me you weren't going to forgive him. Unless I'm wrong, you're meeting him again tonight."

"Did he tell you, or do you just know these things?" Ginny wondered with amusement.

Blaise raised an eyebrow in response. "What do you think?"

"Well, he doesn't exactly seem the type to brag about his meetings with beautiful girls," she said with a grin. He considered this for a moment.

"Oddly enough, I can't tell if you're being sarcastic."

"I don't think he would," she said with a shrug, "but I've been wrong before."

"He doesn't, but with him being so conceited and all, it wouldn't be surprising if he did." His lips curved in a mischievous manner. "Actually, the only girl he's really talked about with me has been you."

Ginny flushed as her mind tried to find an excuse. "Probably because he knows how you like to meddle so much."

"Only this time," Blaise admitted sincerely. "I usually don't get involved." This comment seemed to take the girl slightly off guard, a reaction that he had no trouble seeing in the perplexed expression on her face. He couldn't help but grin. "Well, now that this has turned into a very awkward conversation, I'd say this would be a good time to head to dinner." Ginny latched on to the suggestion appreciatively.

"Good idea."

A few hours later, Draco entered the Room of Requirement to find the set up similar to a Common Room's, with a set of plush sofas and a warm fire dancing in the hearth, but his attention was drawn to the petite red-head that was slouched back in one of the seats. "Hey, Ginny," he greeted, closing the door behind him. He waited a moment for her to respond, but was met with silence. Walking up behind the sofa, he tried again. "Ginny?"

She jumped before snapping her head around to look at the other occupant of the room before exhaling softly. "Don't sneak up on me like that..."

He raised an eyebrow at her curious behavior. "Sneak up on you? I said hello when I came in."

"Oh, I didn't hear you," she uttered as he came around to the other side of the sofa and flopped down beside her.

"Okay, what's bothering you?" he inquired tiredly, leaning back in the seat as he sent her an expectant look.

"What? Nothing's bothering me," Ginny replied with a weak laugh.

"I'm only asking once, so either tell me now or I'm not going to care later."

She frowned at his aloof attitude. "Well, you're sensitive..."

"Your window of opportunity is quickly fading."

"Fine. Someone brought you up in the Common Room," she murmured unhappily. "Apparently everyone thinks you're trying to use me or something like that. Not just you, but Blaise too."

"And what'd you say?" he prompted calmly, even though he was genuinely concerned about her answer. Sure, he wasn't thrilled that people were entertaining the thought that he was using her (far from it actually), but it wouldn't do her any good to know that.

"I denied that we had anything to do with each other, which they didn't really believe..."

"That's their problem, not yours," Draco responded, causing her to cross her arms over her chest as a huff escaped her lips.

"You don't know what they say about you. Especially about what happened last year."

"I'm sure I could guess," he grumbled before pausing to meet her eyes. "Do you believe them?"

"I did..." she admitted sheepishly. "And I'm sure some of what they say is true, but it's not like Harry or Ron ever told me what happened," Ginny finished sardonically before shifting in her seat to face him better. "I mean, I promised myself I wouldn't ask about it, but I would rather hear exactly what happened from you than believe all the stories I've heard."

"What? So you can judge me?" he replied more harshly than he'd meant to. She didn't seem to mind, or she'd gotten used to it at least, because she chuckled a second later as she shook her head.

"The last thing I would do now is judge you. I've done that before and you've clearly proven me wrong." Her chocolate brown eyes narrowed slightly as she continued. "Though after what happened earlier today, I'm having my doubts."

"Blaise told us to act like we hated each other," Draco reminded her.

"I don't think that's what he had in mind," she countered before sighing wearily. "You don't have to tell me, if you don't want to."

He hesitated, considering this option, but decided she'd have to find out sooner or later. "What've you heard?"

Ginny thought for a moment before somberly listing off the different stories she'd heard. "That you're a Death Eater; that it was you who got the Death Eaters in the school last year... That you were plotting to kill various people, including Harry... Among more ridiculous things, but those are the ones that seem to pop up a lot."

"I'm not a Death Eater, you know that."

"...But?" She waited for him to finish his thought, but she had a feeling she already knew what he was going to say. After a minute, he rested his elbows on his knees and buried his head in his hands.

"It was me who brought the Death Eaters into the school." Ginny looked away, unsurprised by his answer. She had hoped it wasn't true... After all, her brother had been severely injured because of it, but there was nothing she could do about it now.

"Why?"

"He said if I succeeded, he'd make me one of them." His already quiet voice was muffled even more, but she still heard him clearly enough.

"Why would you want that?" He lifted his head and faced to her.

"How do you think I was raised? To my father, that would have been the greatest achievement possible," he said with a bitter laugh, diverting his gaze once again.

Ginny reached over to take his hand sadly, focusing her attention on their intertwined fingers instead of his face. "What about... the last thing I said?" she wondered quietly.

"It wasn't Potter." His quick answer caused her to eyes to jump to meet his gaze.

"What?"

"I was supposed to kill Dumbledore... not Potter." He managed to keep his tone even, but she could tell he was as shaken up to say it as she was to hear it.

"B-but... So when Dumbledore died last year, that was-"

Draco shook his head. "It was Snape. I... couldn't do it." The youngest Weasley took a moment to let it all sink in. It seemed unfathomable that this boy sitting beside her, or even the Draco Malfoy she'd known in the past, could ever come so close to doing something so horrible. At the same time, the fact that he didn't do it made perfect sense in her mind.

"...I respect you for that," she whispered, causing him to turn his head towards her. "I'm not saying that everything else you did was acceptable, but... at least you didn't go through with it."

It took a second for him to process the fact that she wasn't rejecting him, but once he did, his lips formed a weak smile. "Thanks, Gin."

She returned the expression slightly before curling up beside him and letting her head fall on his shoulder. "Just don't try to dump me in the lake again..." she mumbled. He chuckled softly before wrapping an arm around her shoulders and pulling her a bit closer, just happy to have someone so understanding by his side.

"Draco!" The Slytherin paused reluctantly on his way to the Common's Room exit and glanced over his shoulder to find that Pansy Parkinson had just come through the hallway leading to the dormitories. With an air of exasperation, he faced her. "What is it, Pansy?"

Her lips formed a displeased frown as she whined, "You disappeared again after dinner yesterday. I hardly ever see you anymore."

He resisted the urge to quip that there may be a reason for that, instead replying with, "I was busy," and turning his back on her. The girl's mood quickly darkened as she glowered at him.

"You weren't out with her again, were you?"

Draco froze before rotated around, trying to brush it off as a silly comment. "What are you going on about?" he inquired in a condescending manner.

"That stupid Weasley bint," she spat, her nose wrinkling with malice. "Were you out with her?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he scoffed with a small chuckle, hoping to convince her of the absurdity of her accusation. "Blaise is the one who wants her, not me."

Pansy gazed at him suspiciously. "Don't lie to me, Draco. You spend time with her too. I've seen you!"

"That doesn't mean I'm interested." And with that, he briskly left the Common Room before she could continue. Blaise was waiting outside the portrait, just where he said he'd be so they could head to lunch after Draco had dropped of his stuff. "You heard that, didn't you?"

"Every word," Blaise confirmed with a nod. "So even you've adopted the cover of me being the one dating Ginny?"

"It makes sense... Wait, what do you mean 'even you?'" he asked sharply upon realizing what his friend had said.

"Mandy came to the same conclusion," he told him with a shrug. When Draco still seemed to be unsettled by the fact, he sighed, though lips quirked at the same time. "Don't worry, I'm not going to steal your girlfriend. That's low, even for me." When the blonde didn't reply, he resumed with the previous topic. "I'm not surprised she noticed though. She usually follows you around like the plague."

"But she won't try anything," Draco stated, though judging by the frown on his face, he seemed unsure.

"I wouldn't put it past her, but Ginny's more than capable of protecting herself," he pointed out. "Besides, Pansy's not the only one who's noticed, and nothing's happened to her so far." The blonde narrowed his eyes at this new information.

"Someone else has noticed and you didn't think it would be a good idea to tell me?"

"Nott saw you two in the library a couple weeks ago," Blaise explained casually. "He's known all along."

"Brilliant..."

"I'd be more worried about Pansy than him. He won't bring it up unless it's to his advantage, and I seriously doubt that'll happen anytime soon." Draco knew his friend's reasoning was probably right, but that didn't make the dent in his and Ginny's secrecy any less disconcerting. People were noticing, and he was sure they weren't just going to leave him alone about it.

A/N - Well, here it is! The next chapter... I have to say, I really enjoyed writing the first scene : ) I would love to see something like that in the movies, but we know that's not going to happen... Either way, it was still fun to write : ) I hope you guys enjoyed it as much as I did and please review!

-Twilight-Songstress