Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. Sadly… Why can't I own the Harry Potter series? Instead I'm gonna be stuck paying off student loans for the rest of my life instead of living in the lap of luxury like J.K. Rowling … life sucks

Fixed this chapter too! It's even longer once I put it in first person! Look at that :D

Without further ado…

Chapter 2

Ginny POV

Though it was late and I'd gotten no sleep, I was sadly wide-awake. Letting out a sigh, I pushed the drapes on my bed aside and stood up, stretching. My roommates were all still fast asleep, the sounds of their even breathing and the occasional snore filling the room. Shaking my head, I padded quietly into the bathroom and shut the door softly behind me. Maybe, I though, if I took a nice hot shower I'd feel more tired.

Undressing, I turned the water on as hot as I could stand. Once it was going, I stepped in and let the hot water run over my body, soaking my hair and warming me down to my toes. It was late in the year and winter was setting in. The castle had been cool lately at night and even under my blankets, I wasn't quite warm enough. The hot water felt amazing. Sadly though, by the time I stepped out of the steamy shower, I was no closer to sleep than I was before.

Wrapping a fluffy towel around myself, I headed to the sink and brushed my teeth, hoping the mundane action would get me ready to sleep. After that I dried off before wrapping the towel back around my torso. Realizing all of this was for naught, I gave up on trying to make myself tired. Tiptoeing back into the bedroom, I grabbed some clothes from my trunk before heading back into the bathroom. Dressing in the warm sweater and worn jeans, tossed the towel in the bin by the door with other used towels.

Hopping up onto the counter, I grabbed my brush and spent several minutes, a think I'd always found calming. Before long though, I'd run out of things to do. Putting the brush down, I picked up my socks and shoes and slipped them on. It was nearly three in the morning, according to the clock on the wall, and that meant I still had three hours before it would be a decent time to get up. Deciding I might as well something, I grabbed my wand and quietly headed out of my dormitory and down the stairs to the common room.

Like expected, the place was deserted and the fire was burned down to embers in the fireplace. Walking over to the grate, I stirred the fire back to life, putting a couple logs on. Settling in front of the flames, I warmed my hands and watched the fire dance before me. Soon even that lost its interest though and I decided that, even though it was technically against the rules to do so at this hour, I would go down to the lake. I loved it there at night.

Decision made, I quickly slipped from the common room and into the hallway, trying my best not to wake the Fat Lady as she had the bad habit to question students sneaking out. Thankfully though, as I shut the portrait, she was snoozing still against the frame. It was an eerily quiet trek though the castle but I made it down without incident. Slipping out the front doors, I took a deep breath of the cool night air.

It was colder than I'd expected and I completely forgot to grab a cloak before I left the tower. There was no way I was going back up though. I was lucky to have not run into anyone on the way down, I wasn't going to risk going back up then down again. No, I'd deal with the cold. I was wearing a sweater at least. Instead of dwelling on the cold, I started walking towards the lake, to the familiar old tree that was my favorite spot.

Once there, I slipped to the ground, leaning my back against the rough bark of familiar tree. Pulling my legs up to my chest, I rested my chin on my legs and let out a deep sigh, content for the first time all night. The full moon was reflecting on the smooth surface of the lake and the sound of nocturnal animals stirring nearby was soothing. This was one of the few places I really found peace.

It took no time at all for the peacefulness to lull me nearly to sleep. It was so nice out here, despite the cold, and my eyes soon drooped closed. It wouldn't be the first time I slept out here anyway. Settling down, I could feel myself slowly slipping asleep.

The sound of footsteps crunching on the fallen leaves that covered the ground startled me awake. Alert in an instant, I quickly scanned the night for whoever was walking around nearby. The moon was bright and it was easy to pick out the solitary figure heading my way, blond hair reflecting the moonlight. Draco Malfoy.

"Just my luck," I muttered quietly to myself, scooting around the side of the tree and out of his site before he could spot me. I'd rather avoid any confrontation with him at the moment. I hoped he would just keep walking, or turn around and go back to the castle, but such was not my luck. Instead, lost in thought, he sat down in the exact spot I had just been occupying, just feet from where I now sat, out of site. Peering around the trunk, I could see his stormy grey eyes gazing out over the open waters of the lake.

His face was devoid of the usual angry mask he wore and I could see his true emotions clear on his face once again, just like in the second after he'd walked out of Moaning Myrtle's bathroom earlier that night. The pain and fear were clear on his aristocratic features, his eyes filled with worry. Despite the way he'd always treated me, I couldn't help but feel compassion to his suffering. He was only human after all. But, troubled or not, I wished he would leave soon.

I fought shivering against the cold as I sat on the hard ground, a root digging painfully in my thigh. I just kept hoping Malfoy would either get up and leave or just fall asleep, any opportunity for me to slip away. I just didn't want to ruin this peaceful night with a fight, a fight I knew would be inevitable if he found me sitting here. Sadly, as the minutes ticked by, he seemed no more inclined to move than he had the moment he sat down.

I didn't want to move, for fear he'd hear me, so I was forced to just sit, shivering in the cold night air. My teeth were beginning to chatter and I bit my bottom lip to muffle the sound. Much to my horror, the familiar feeling of a sneeze began building and, though I tried to stop it, I soon couldn't deny it any longer. I tried to muffle it with my arm, but despite my attempt, it was still loud enough to draw the nearby blonde's attention to myself.

Malfoy's reaction was instantaneous. He was on his feet, wand ready and angry mask back in place, before I could even blink. Then there he was, standing over me with a fierce scowl on his features, wand pointed at me for the second time that night. For a moment, I cringed into the tree behind me. The hate and anger in his gaze was enough to take my breath away.

"What are you doing here, Weasley?" he asked angrily, his voice cold as ice.

His words brought me back to my senses and I quickly scrambled to my feet, anger of my own flooding me for his treatment. My own wand was pointed back at him in seconds. "I was just sitting here," I began, narrowing my eyes at him, "minding my own business. You woke me up tromping through the leaves like you did. I moved out of your sight so we could avoid this! It's not my fault you decided to spend so long here."

Malfoy looked down at me for a moment, his expression hard, before finally lowering his wand. Much to my surprise though, he didn't stalk off or retort to my angry comments. Instead, he just simply sat back down, staring back out at the black water of the lake. I stood there, startled as my anger faded. Shivering even harder now that I was no longer huddled up on the ground, I knew I should go back to the castle. My better senses screamed at me to do just that even as I hesitantly settled myself on the ground beside Malfoy's still form.

Pulling my legs back up to my chest, I wrapped my arms around them once again. With a sigh, I put my chin on my knees and stared back out at the lake. Occasionally I couldn't help myself but sneak a sideways glance at the confusing blonde next to me. Why was he just letting me sit here without getting mad? His face was even no longer that angry mask of loathing. Instead, his features were blank and unreadable.

For a long while, Malfoy just sat there unmoving, staring out at the lake. If not for the occasional blink or the steady rise and fall of his chest, he could have been a statue. How could he be so still? I myself was anything but still as my shivering intensified and my teeth began to chatter in earnest. I must have been out in the cold now with nothing on but a sweater for at least an hour and a half. I closed my eyes and buried my face in my knees in a vain hope of warming it up and maybe getting feeling in my nose again.

I didn't look up when I heard Malfoy sigh next to me, the first sound he'd made since he sat down. I was too focused on warming my cold face. But I was startled when I felt something warm being draped over my shoulders. A cloak, I realized. His cloak! Confused, I glanced up at him, now not wearing a cloak, still staring out at the water. If not for the fact his own cloak now rested on my shoulders, he might have never moved.

"Thanks," I muttered softly, unsure of what else to say or do as I pulled the warm cloak around my chilled body, happy for the warmth.

Malfoy just shrugged beside me and said, "You were cold." He said it like it was nothing, meant nothing. But the action spoke volumes without the need for words. He, a Malfoy, had given his cloak to me, a Weasley. It was the first gesture of kindness I'd ever witnessed out of a Malfoy.

Mystified and confused, I sat silently for a while longer before Malfoy finally spoke again.

"I come here a lot when I can't sleep," he said quietly. "It's peaceful out here. Just staring at the lake drains all of the worries away, at least for the time being. It's relieving." He let out a soft sigh. "I've been out here a lot lately." His eyes didn't move from the water as he spoke, but I knew he wasn't just talking to himself.

I could have just nodded, unsure of what to say at a moment like this, but he wouldn't have seen it. Having Draco Malfoy opening up to me, even in this small way, startled the words right out of me. Finally though, I plucked up my courage and quietly spoke back. "I like it out here too," I confessed softly. "I haven't been out here lately since it started getting cold out but, I don't know, I couldn't sleep tonight."

"Why?" he asked unexpectedly, voice gentle, his eyes still trained on the water.

I couldn't have explained it later if I'd tried but for some reason I just felt compelled to answer his question truthfully. Before I could stop myself, the words came spilling out. "I broke up with my boyfriend this evening. I feel guilty for hurting him but I know it was the right thing to do. But if it was the right thing to do, then why do I feel like a jerk? Oh, I don't know! Then to top it off, I get all those smug looks from Ron, Hermione butting in and trying to make things better, even when I asked her to leave me alone, and all those worried expressions from Harry. Then, of course, I was brimming with undying curiosity about…" I trailed of, not sure if I should bring up what happened earlier in this evening. I didn't want this conversation to turn violent.

"Me," he finished my sentence for me. For the first time since he sat down, he turned his head and his eyes met mine. I couldn't read his expression but there was a definite sadness in eyes stormy gray eyes.

I nodded, unable to speak. I did want to know why he'd been crying earlier but, seeing that sadness in his eyes, I didn't have the heart to broach the subject. I didn't want him to get angry with me. That was a startling realization. I didn't want Malfoy mad at me.

He just stared over at me for a few second longer before returning his gaze to the stretch of water before us. "I can't tell you," he said simply after a few minutes of silence. "You wouldn't understand anyway. You wouldn't know what to say." He let out a harsh, humorless laugh, causing a tightening in my chest. He sounded so broken.

"Okay," I replied gently, not wanting to push him.

We were both quiet for a while longer. The sun was just starting to peek over the treetops, the sky becoming increasingly lighter, when Malfoy finally got to his feet and started off towards the castle without a word or backwards glance.

I scrambled to my feet and started after him, reaching to take his warm, plain black cloak off as I went. "You forgot your cloak," I called out.

"Keep it," he said without pausing in his steps or turning towards me. "I have more." And with that, he was gone, slowly disappearing from sight on his trek back to the castle. I froze in my tracks, caught off guard by his gesture, his giving me his cloak. Finally, as the first rays of sun hit the water of the lake, I started back towards the castle myself, following in Malfoy's footprints he'd left in the morning dew.

Ok everyone. Sorry about how short this chapter and the first were but, I didn't feel like making them longer because I just really wanted to get this story posted.

I will try my best to make the next chapter longer and I will try and get it up soon.

Please REVIEW! It makes me write faster knowing people want me to update xD

And remember, a happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!