Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. But I do however own a very large and annoying basset hound named Roscoe…

Sorry for the long wait on this chapter but I am suffering (a lot) from a second degree sun burn and I can barely move my arms to type. It hurts like crazy. But I suffered though the pain to bring you all the next chapter!

No longer in 3rd person! Yay! Now it's all in one style :D

Without further ado:

Chapter 3

Ginny POV

I walked slowly back up to the castle, eyes trailed on the footprints in the wet grass as I walked. My thoughts were preoccupied now with the boy that had unexpectedly given me his cloak, the cloak that was now tightly wrapped around my shoulders. When I got into the Entrance Hall I looked around, my eyes seeking signs of what time it was. Some early morning stragglers were trickling out of the dungeons and down the stairs with sleepy eyes. I guessed it was around six in the morning.

My sleepless night catching up with me, I yawned and suddenly felt exhausted. But, despite my tiredness, I decided to head to the Great Hall for breakfast before I let myself collapse for a well-deserved nap. Settling myself on one of the old, worn benches at the Gryffindor table, unconsciously making sure I was facing the Slytherin table, I began to pile my plate high with the fresh food from the kitchens.

As I absentmindedly chewed on a piece of bacon, the post owls flew in, dropping mail off. I eagerly paid a couple knuts for a copy of this morning's Daily Prophet. Thumbing through the paper, scoffing at the newest article declaring Dumbledore as cracked pot and Harry as an attention seeking child, I tried to find any real news. Sadly, like with all the editions lately, it was filled with nothing but cover ups and other denials of Voldemort's return.

Shaking my head, I set the paper aside and put it out of my mind. Instead, I focused on my food, slowly savoring my breakfast. After a little while, a bleary eyed Ron, Harry and Hermione came walking in, spotting me at once. I gave them a smile, motioning them over as I nibbled on a piece of toast. Hermione settled herself next to me and Ron and Harry on the other side of the table. Ron dug into a full plate of food, Harry picked up the Daily Profit and Hermione started taking about classes.

I was glad the three of them had showed up as I finally finished off my plate, wanting an excuse to stay. "'Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lied'," Harry read from across the paper, shaking his head at the paper.

"They need to come up with something new," I teased, letting out a laugh. "That one is getting old. How about 'Harry Potter, the Boy Who Should Have Died'." The three of them joined in my laugher. It had become a common thing, making fun of the paper in the mornings. It was a good way to keep Harry's spirits up, despite the constant derogatory articles from the Daily Prophet and sideways glares from students at school with us.

Just then, the person I was unwilling to admit I was waiting on walked into the Great Hall. Blonde hair still damp from a recent shower, Draco strode over to the Slytherin table and settled on a bench without even a sideways glance in my direction. He gave no acknowledgment at all that they'd spent the better part of the early morning together. Unexpectedly disappointed, I let out sigh and eagerly stood up, wanting to get away from there.

"I'm going back upstairs," I muttered, finishing off my pumpkin juice in one swallow.

"Okay," Ron said around a mouthful of eggs. "Bye."

I rolled my eyes at him. "Bye guys," I said before quickly taking my leave.

Even though I hated to admit it, I'd waited for so long in the Great Hall just for Malfoy to show up. I won't lie, I had been eager to see his reaction to me when he walked in. I don't know what I'd expect, maybe a small change like an acknowledging nod or even just a glance, perhaps even a small smile. But no, he just ignored my very existence as if we hadn't spent so long together that morning. I didn't know why I suddenly felt the sting of his rejection.

Angry at myself, I stalked up the stairs. What was I thinking? Of course he hadn't change. He's still a Malfoy and nothing could change that. Why should I have expected him to change, just because of a short amount of time out at the lake where he wasn't absolutely terrible to me. Why should I have wanted him to change anyway? It's not like I have a reason to want that.

I kept mentally chiding myself through my entire trek up the stairs, trying unsuccessfully to convince myself that he wasn't going to change just because of me and that was good because I didn't want him to anyway. But, despite all of my thoughts, one thing kept nagging in the back of my mind. He had given me his cloak. He had done so selflessly to keep me warm. And he hadn't taken it back. But surely if he'd not wanted a cloak she'd touched, he wouldn't have given it to me in the first place.

Draco Malfoy, being who he was, should have just let me suffer the cold. That was what he was known to do, to be the selfish, uncaring prick that he'd always been. But now there was a seed of doubt in my mind about that. Was he really what he showed the world or was his true self the wounded and worried boy I'd seen at the lake this morning? Was there a different person under that mask of hate?

~!~!~!~

Sleep was hard to come by even with how tired I was and when it did finally come, the nap was fitful at best. I was woken much too soon by Hermione standing at the foot my bed, lecturing me about sleeping late and how I should be doing my homework. "You shouldn't be sleeping this late," she was saying in a motherly tone. "Honestly Ginny, it's past ten in the morning."

"Go away, Hermione," I muttered into my pillow. "I'm tired and I have all weekend to do my homework."

"But you really should do it now while it's still fresh in your mind. Plus, it's your OWLs year. You really need to make sure and keep up with your homework this year. It wouldn't be good to fall behind. Ron and Harry both did that and they regretted it. With the workload you're given this year it's nearly impossible to catch up. If you don't do it now then you'll run the risk of falling behind. If you don't do it now then tomorrow you might put if off saying you can handle it later that day with the rest of your homework," Hermione lectured, grating on my nerves.

Between my irritation over life in general at that moment, the lack of sleep and my dislike of being lectured in general, I snapped. Sitting up quickly, I whipped my wand off the bedside table and pointed it towards the brunette at the end of my bed. "I didn't sleep at all last night, Hermione!" I cried, sounding half crazed even to my own ears. "I have plenty of reason to be in bed right now. I can handle my homework without you telling me what do and how to do it! Just go away and leave me be. If I fall behind, which I won't, then it's my problem not yours anyway. Why don't you just go and snog my brother or something. We all know you want to!"

Hermione turned bright red and practically ran from the room without another word. Guilt immediately hit me and I fell back on my bed with a loud sigh. I'd have to apologize later for my outburst. Knowing going back to sleep now would be pointless, I pushed the covers back and walked into the bathroom.

Fixing my hair, which looked like a rats nest after my fitful sleep, I decided I'd head to Hogsmeade before it was too late. Most people would have left earlier this morning. It hit me suddenly why Hermione probably had come to wake me up. They'd been waiting for me. Guilt washed over me again but I ignored it, pulling my hair up into a ponytail high on my head and twisting it into a messy bun.

Walking back into my bedroom, I spotted Malfoy's plain but expensive black cloak lying on my bed where it had ended up after I'd fallen asleep, still wrapped in it. I picked it up and put it on, securing it around my neck before grabbing a small coin purse that I kept for Hogsmeade weekends such as this. Slipping it into a pocket, I headed down the stairs.

Harry and Ron were waiting on one of the couches and looked up at my decent. "There you are," Harry said with a smile. "Where's Hermione? Didn't she wake you up?"

"Yes, she did, with a bonus lecture about sleeping late and homework habits to go alone with it," I said with a sigh, shaking my head. "So I told her to go away."

"And she just left?" Ron asked skeptically.

"I might have been a bit too snippy but yes, it got her to leave. I don't know where she went," I said, scowling at Ron. He was always prying. Instead of waiting for them, as I really did want to just be left alone, I just began walking towards the portrait hole.

"What did you say to her?" Ron demanded, grabbing my arm to stop my retreat.

I spun around, shooting him a glare. "I told her to leave me alone and go snog you or something, alright? Happy now?" I asked shaking his hand off. "Look, I know it was uncalled for but I was tired and she made me mad. She's probably in her room."

Ron stood there with an open mouth, looking much like a fish, unable to figure out what to say to my comment, much like Hermione. Harry, ever the referee when our fights got out of hand, decided to change the subject. "Where did you get that cloak?" he asked innocently, trying to stop the fight before it began.

"Someone gave it to me," I replied nonchalantly, making my way for the portrait hole once again, hoping to escape this time.

"Who?" Ron demanded, having found his voice again. "It looks expensive." Once again his hand found my arm and stopped me in my tracks.

"Just someone, okay? Now let me go. I want to get to Hogsmeade. I promised I'd meet Luna there for lunch." I said quickly, knowing I'd probably end up having lunch with Luna whether it was planned or not. I usually ran into her there.

"Luna huh? Are you sure you're not meeting that person who gave you that cloak in Hogsmeade?" Ron questioned, stepping in front of me as the protective older brother in him came out.

"No Ron," I said with an exasperated sigh. "And even if I were, it really is of no concern of yours." Stepping around him, I quickly made my way out of the portrait hole finally before either of them could stop me again.

~!~!~!~

When I got to Hogsmeade the first place I went was the Three Broomsticks, eager for a nice warm drink to get rid of the chill that seeped in during the long walk there despite the warm cloak around my shoulders. The place was warm and packed with people. Whenever the door was opened people would yell and gasp at whoever opened the door to close it again. The first few flurries of snow were coming down when I entered.

Quickly closing the door behind me, abruptly cutting off the biting wind, I made my way through the crowded place and ordered a steaming tankard of Butterbeer. Gripping the warm drink in my chilled hands, I quickly scanned the crowd for someone I knew. Spotting Colin and Luna, I made my way over to the boot they were settled at. "Hey guys," I called over the noise of the crowded shop.

"Hey Ginny!" Collin replied happy, motioning for me to sit next to him as he slide over on the booth to make room. We were soon joined by Neville and the four of us began to chat animatedly over the noise of the crowded shop.

A jingle of bells above the door and a cold blast of air announced the arrival of more people, much to the protest of the students inside. Turning my head, I watched as none other than Malfoy and his cronies walked in. Turning back to my friends, I tried to ignore them, doing my best no seem indifferent to Malfoy. After all, why should I be interested in him? I let out a sigh and shook my head, eye sliding over to watch as he and his friend settled at a table not far away from the booth I was in and order their drinks.

Other Slytherins soon joined them and everyone at the rowdy table were conversing happily. They were probably plotting somebody's death or something. Everyone, even the baboons Crabbe and Goyle, were trying to talk and were enjoying themselves. Everyone, that is, except Malfoy.

I found myself staring at him despite myself. He seemed like he wanted nothing more than to get up and walk away from everyone. He seemed tense, his eyes darting towards the door frequently. Why was he so unsettled?

"Ginny," Luna said dreamily. "Ginny." She nudged my leg with her foot, bring be back to reality.

"Yeah?" I asked, trying to cover the blush that quickly spread across my cheeks, hoping they wouldn't notice who I was staring at. "Sorry, must have zoned out. What were you saying?" The conversation picked back up after that and I did my best to focus on it instead of the nervous blonde nearby. After a while though, my gaze drifted back over to Malfoy, only to cause me to turn away as quickly as I could as my eyes met with his own steely grey ones.

Colin leaned over and whispered, "Ginny, why is Malfoy staring at you?" in my ear.

"No idea," I replied in a small voice, my face getting hot with embarrassment. Collin looked like he was about to say something but I cut him off before he could get it out. "I'm going to go. I'll see you guys later."

As Collin, Luna and Neville bid me goodbye I quickly stood up and grabbed the cloak I'd taken off once I warmed up. Putting it back on, trying not to look over at Malfoy as I could still feel his eyes on me, I hurried out the door and back into the cold afternoon air. Caught in my own thoughts, I didn't really feel like going to any other shops. Instead, I started back on the long trek to the castle.

Later that day, news spread of the attack on Katie Bell.

Yet again, sorry for the wait. I hope to get better soon and update more. If you like this story I suggest you take a look at some of my others. I have three or four other Harry Potter stories.

A happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!