A/N: Hi guys! Thanks to you all for your reviews. I made this chapter longer for you, and yes, finally Draco and Ginny meet. You guys HAVE to tell me if they're too OOC. I love good reviews, but constructive criticism always helps too!

Disclaimer: Harry Potter et al belong to JKR. Oh, and as I was putting on the finishing touches, I realized one section is very similar to a section in Davesmom's Desparado. I only just read that today, so I want to say that it's not ripped off from her, and she is a great writer, by the way!

The world was a blur as Harry blinked rapidly, trying to clear his vision. It looked like his eyes were getting worse. Instead of the blaring orange décor of Ron's room greeting him, there seemed to be splotches of pink, red, yellow, green, blue, and many other colors. Harry reached for his glasses and sat up, putting them on.

"Happy Birthday, Harry!" Hermione and Ron chorused. Harry's jaw dropped as his gaze traveled around the room.

"Wow, guys, thanks!" Ron's bedroom was bedecked with streamers and balloons. He swung his legs onto the floor and stood up. Hermione rushed towards him and gave him a hug. Harry grinned at Ron's scowl over her shoulder as he patted her back. He definitely was getting used to this hugging thing.

"I'm famished!" Ron announced suddenly. "Let's get something to eat." He grabbed Hermione's arm and pulled her off Harry, much to her surprise.

"Ron, you're always hungry!" Harry chuckled at Hermione's remark and followed both of them down the stairs.

Once seated at the table, Harry could smell the delicious aroma of Mrs. Weasley's cooking. When she brought plates of pancakes to the table, along with birthday greetings, Harry put on his napkin and got ready to eat, along with the rest of the Weasleys, who had filed in, all wishing Harry.

As soon as Harry put his fork and knife down, thoroughly contented, there was a loud hooting. Several owls flew in through the window, all bearing packages. Hermione screamed and ducked as they all went over her head in order to get to Harry. Five owls deposited letters in the laps of Ron, Fred, George, Ginny and Hermione, while Harry got one letter and three gifts. As if synchronized, all the birds hooted together and flew out of the window in a neat line.

George was the first one to speak. "Now we know what it feels like to be caught in an hailstorm of owls."

Ginny let out a laugh and slit open her letter with her breakfast knife. She gasped. "They're our Hogwarts letters! Dad, we have to go to Diagon Alley as soon as possible. Please!" She got up and ran over to her father.

Mr. Weasley chuckled. "We can go tomorrow, then, if you're so eager."

Ginny threw her arms around her father. "Thank you!" She grabbed her plate, put it in the sink and ran upstairs, her brothers, and Harry all looking at her curiously.

"She's going crazy," Fred flatly stated.

"Going?" George said to no one in particular.

Harry opened his school letter first, reading over his supplies. He was suddenly interrupted by a squeal coming from his left. He jerked his head up. Hermione had stood up, and was waving a piece of paper back and forth.

"I'm a prefect! I'm a prefect! I can't believe it!"

Fred snorted. "We can."

Ron scowled at Hermione for the second time that day. "You're a prefect? There goes all our chances of having fun this year."

Hermione glared at him. "That's right."

George laughed out loud. "Ron gets to snog with a prefect! I count that as fun!"

Hermione and Ron both turned the same shade of red. Ron blurted, "I wouldn't ever want to snog her!"

Harry smacked his palm against his forehead. Here we go again. Hermione looked at Ron, and spoke, her voice dangerously calm.

"And why is that, Ron?"

"Because you're a prefect!"

"So?

"You wouldn't let me within a ten meter radius of you if you thought I wanted to snog you! You know why? Because you're no fun!"

Hermione gasped. Biting her lip angrily, she grabbed her letter and stomped out of the room. Harry could hear her climbing up the stairs, and he almost felt the floor move with every step she took.

"Ron!" He turned around and looked at him.

To Harry's surprise, Ron looked miserable. "Harry, don't say a word. I know." Ron stared at his plate glumly.

George cleared his throat. "Well, Harry, what are you waiting for? You've got three absolutely spiffing presents waiting to be opened!"

Harry looked at the twins suspiciously. "You didn't happen to send any of them, did you?"

Fred grinned. "Actually, we were all planning to give you our presents tonight."

Harry turned his concentration back onto his gifts. He grabbed the smaller one and opened it. Out fell a small silver ball and a note. He read the note first.

Dear Harry,

Happy Birthday! Bella and I got together to buy you this present. It's a Portkey of some sort, but it won't work until you really want it to, that is, in times of dire need. If you hold on to it, and say "Sustuli Salvus," and it will take you to the place which you think is safe. Happy Birthday from both of us!

Lots of Love,

Parvati

XXX

Harry grinned absentmindedly, especially at the closing.

"Harry, who's it from?" Ron asked, his interest piqued.

"Parvati," Harry said simply. As to stop any questions, he picked up the next present and opened it. A tin fell out, and Harry opened it, and still wasn't sure of its contents. He read the note that had come with it, and deciphered that the "cake" had come from Hagrid, who was doing well on his secret mission with Madame Maxime.

"Here," he said, pushing the cake towards Fred and George. "It's cake," he said by way of explaining.

Fred and George, not having had experience with Hagrid's cooking before, gladly took a piece, and bit down simultaneously.

"Ouch!" they said, and Fred swore rather loudly.

"Fred, watch your language!" Mrs. Weasley reprimanded, rather shocked.

"Sorry, Mum," Fred answered, and then turned to Harry. "I'm sure my teeth are all going to fall out!"

Harry grinned. "Maybe you had better see Hermione's parents then. They're dentists, you know." He saw Ron smile and then wince at the mention of Hermione. He opened the last package, read the note to himself, as he suspected this one was from Sirius. He was right, and it seemed Sirius was fine, and having a grand time at Bella's house. Harry loved the gift, which turned out to be Quidditch gloves. He'd needed a new pair for awhile, and wasn't too please with having to use the school's old pair.

What he really wanted to do now was to write back to Parvat-er, Sirius, so he excused himself, and walked up to Ron's room, Ron in his footsteps.

************************

Ginny sat down at her desk, a piece of parchment in front of her. She needed to write to Malfoy, and tell him to come to Diagon Alley the next day. She was thrilled at the prospect of seeing Charlie again. She wrote a quick, curt note to Malfoy, which essentially stated, "I'll be at Diagon Alley tomorrow at Florean's. Be there." She was about to sign it, when thumping footsteps came up the stairs, followed by the sound of her door opening.

"Hermione, what is it?" Ginny asked, shocked at seeing Hermione cry.

"Your brother is such a prat!" Hermione said, trying to wipe away her tears.

"Which one?" Ginny asked dryly. She did have an idea, however.

"Ron." Ginny's suspicions were confirmed.

She went over to Hermione and put her arm around her. "What did that giant prat do this time?" she asked gently.

"He told me I was no fun," Hermione answered, having gotten a grip on herself now. "And…that he'd never want to snog me."

Ginny almost laughed out loud, and she would've sworn she saw a tiny smile on Hermione's face.

"It sounds stupid, I know," Hermione went on, as if reading Ginny's thoughts. "But I think I'll ignore him for a few days for the 'no fun' part."

"Sounds good to me. That git doesn't know what he was talking about," Ginny answered. "And, knowing him, it was probably a cover-up of something else," she added slyly.

Hermione blushed, but didn't continue the topic. "So what are you doing?" Hermione asked.

"I was in the middle of writing a letter."

"Really? To whom?"

Ginny looked at Hermione. She needed to tell someone, and after all, she trusted Hermione. Taking in a breath, she answered, "Malfoy."

Hermione's eyes widened. "W-why?" she sputtered.

"Because I have to," Ginny replied simply. She pulled out the letter Draco had written her and showed it to Hermione. Hermione scanned it and gave it back to her.

"Wow. So I suppose that's why you want to go to Diagon Alley tomorrow so badly."

"That's right. Hold on, let me just sign this and send it to him." Ginny scrawled her name, and then attached the parchment to Pig's claw and opened the window. She watched as Pig flew away. "It's a really nice day."

"I know, I was thinking the same thing."

"Do you want to go outside?"

Hermione swung her legs over the bed. "Sure. We can watch the boys play Quidditch." Together they walked out of the room.

*****************

Draco read over the piece of parchment. "She wants to meet us tomorrow," he informed the ghost.

Charlie smiled. "Good. Can we go?"

"I'll have to ask my Lucius and my mum."

"Well, go on, what are you waiting for?" Draco sneered at the ghost and sauntered out the door. Walking down the familiar hallways, he glanced at the paintings he had seen on the wall all through his life. He stopped at his destination and knocked.

"Come in," a feminine voice called.

Draco opened the door and walked into the library. Seated in front of the fire was his mother.

"Good morning, Mum," Draco greeted her, kissing her on the cheek.

"Good morning, darling."

Draco was not one to beat around the bush. "I was wondering if I could perhaps go to Diagon Alley tomorrow."

"Whatever for, dear? School doesn't start for another month. You have plenty of time to get all your supplies.

"Actually, I'm meeting a girl," Draco replied. He wasn't lying…yet.

Narcissa broke out into a smile. "Really, dear? Pansy?"

Draco tried not to grimace. "Yes, Mum."

"Well, then of course you can go!"

Draco forced himself to smile. "Thanks, Mum." He turned around and walked out of the door, until he stood in front of his room again. He strode in. "Well, I hope you're happy, Weasley. We can meet your sister tomorrow."

"I am," Charlie answered, grinning cheekily. "I'll be sure to introduce you to her."

"I don't want to talk to your Potter-loving sister," Draco said.

"Malfoy."

"Fine, I'll stay with you. Only because I'm afraid that if you don't, you won't help me with my Seeking skills, and today's a perfect day to practice," said Draco, gesturing to his window.

"Damn right I won't," Charlie answered. "Now, come on, let's get outside, and I'll whip you into shape."

Picking up his Nimbus, Draco replied, "I'll have you know I don't butter my bread that way, Weasley."

"Shut up, Draco," Charlie retorted, following Draco out his door.

******************

"Ginny, dear, wake up."

She opened her eyes and looked at the face of her mother. "What is it, Mum?"

"Well, don't you want to go to Diagon Alley?" her mother answered.

Ginny sat straight up. "I'll be right down." She bustled around the room, getting herself ready. She looked at herself in the mirror. She thought she looked all right, for a skinny, freckle-faced, redhead. She didn't realize that at the end of her third year, she had caught the attention of many boys at Hogwarts. But right now, she decided to leave herself the way she was. Besides, what does it matter? I'm only going to go see Charlie and Malfoy.

Stepping downstairs, she saw that Harry, Hermione, Ron, and the twins were all set to go.

"Ladies first," Harry said, giving her the small flowerpot of Floo Powder. Ginny laughed. Harry probably just didn't want to go first, as he hated Floo.

She threw a small pinch of the powder into the fire, and shouted, "Diagon Alley!" She was whisked away in the flames and ejected in the fireplace of Gringotts. Dusting herself off, she waited for the others. One by one, they all fell out of the fireplace.

"I need to go and exchange my money," Hermione announced.

"I'll come with you," Ginny replied, as was the plan.

"Do you want us to stay with you?" Harry asked, gesturing to himself and Ron, woo was trying to avoid eye contact with Hermione.

"No, that's all right," Ginny said hurriedly. That wouldn't do at all.

"All right, then we're off," Harry replied, and followed the twins out of the bank.

Ginny sat down on a bench and waited for Hermione to finish her exchanging. The two of them would shop for supplies and then Hermione would leave her at Florean's shop. Luckily, strange people were always there, so a ghost wouldn't make anyone look twice. Hermione would then find the boys and make sure they stayed away from the ice-cream parlor. The last thing she needed was for Malfoy to see Harry or Ron and start a fight.

"Ginny, are you ready?" Hermione asked, obviously done with her deal.

"Yes, let's go." The girls walked around Diagon Alley, replenishing their Potions ingredients, petting the cats at the Menagerie, and buying new dress robes. Ginny had saved up money for this, as she was growing taller, and as Hermione said with a giggle, in all the right places.

Walking out of the bookstore and down the street towards Florean Fortescue's, Hermione turned and looked at Ginny. "Remember, this could all be a trick of some sort, so I'm going to stay in the vicinity for a little while. Keep your wand ready, okay?"

Ginny nodded, not at all mad about Hermione mothering her. This was Draco Malfoy, and Ginny was getting a little nervous.

"Here you go," Hermione said, stopping at the edge of the parlor. Ginny took a deep breath and continued walking inside, looking for a flash of silver hair.

Suddenly, she spotted one. Ginny purposefully walked over to where she saw it and came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

No one said anything.

Finally, Draco said, "You're late, Weasley."

"Malfoy, I got here as quickly as possible," Ginny said. She hated herself for thinking it, but the summer definitely had definitely been good for him. "Where's Charlie," she asked brusquely.

Draco pointed behind him, and Ginny headed in that direction and Draco followed.

Ginny finally spotted an apparition against the bright-green chair of Draco's booth. "Charlie, is that you?"

"Yes it is, Gin." Ginny made a motion as if she was about to hug her brother, and stopped short as she realized that she could never touch Charlie again.

"Charlie, I've missed you so much," she began, sliding into the seat across from Charlie. She blinked to stop the tears coming out of her eyes. She would not cry in front of Malfoy.

"That's my seat, Weasley," Draco drawled. Charlie glared at him.

"Oh, stuff it, Malfoy," Ginny retorted.

"What, do you want me to stand up?"

"It certainly looks like it, doesn't it, Malfoy?"

"Both of you, stop," Charlie interrupted. "You two are going to give me a headache."

"Ghosts can't get headaches," Draco replied. Ginny almost laughed, and then bit her lip. What was she thinking?

Charlie decided to ignore Draco's comment. "Look, let's be civil, shall we? Draco, call Ginny by her name, and the same goes for you, Gin."

"Fine."

"Whatever," Draco answered.

"Ginny, tell me how everyone's doing."

Ginny smiled sadly. "We all miss you, though we are still living as usual. We really rely on the twins to make us laugh."

"Oh, talk about something that isn't so depressing," Charlie answered, trying to avoid talking about his death at all costs.

Ginny really did smile now. "Well, Ron and Hermione are still being blind about each other as usual."

"Those two," Charlie said smiling. "How's Mum?"

"She's doing all right. It looked like she was going to be the worst, but she talks to Arabella Figg all the time, and it seems to have helped her."

"Arabella Figg? The name sounds so familiar."

"She's Harry's guardian."

Charlie shrugged. "How is Harry?"

"Yes, Virginia, how is Potter?" Draco sneered.

Ginny glared at him. "Harry is fine, and in fact today is his birthday. We're going to give him a royal bash when we get back home," she answered, smiling. "Oh, and I'm not sure, but remember Parvati, the girl he went to the Yule Ball with?"

Charlie nodded, and Draco looked up, interested.

"Well," Ginny continued, "I think something is going on between them, but I'm not entirely sure."

"Are you jealous, Virginia?" Draco drawled.

Ginny wheeled around on him. "What's wrong with you? And why are you calling me Virginia?"

Draco shrugged. "It's your first name, isn't it?"

"Draco, stop acting like you're five," Charlie responded. Then he turned around to Ginny. "Well, what about you then, Gin? Bill's got Fleur, Percy has Penny, Fred's got Angelina, George is too happy-go-lucky to be attached, and Ron's got Hermione."

Ginny blushed. "Can't I be happy-go-lucky too?" Draco looked at her. Her cheeks were matching her hair, and she looked adorable. Merlin's beard, what is wrong with me? This is a Weasley.

"You may think so, but trust me, after not seeing you for so long, you've grown into quite a beautiful young lady."

Draco kicked himself for agreeing. Well, I'm allowed to look at her, aren't I? he tried to reason with himself.

Ginny laughed. "Since when are you so nice to me?" she asked teasingly.

Damn it, why do her eyes have to light up like that? Draco was seriously ready to leave. He didn't know what was happening to him. Maybe he was going crazy. He refused to believe that he thought a Weasley was attractive. He looked at his watch.

"Charlie, it's time for us to leave," he lied.

Charlie sighed. "All right."

Ginny looked up. "Already? Why? Can we meet again?"

"Don't get your knickers in a knot, Virginia. I can come here anytime," Draco said.

Ginny ignored his first comment and focused on his second. "I think I may be able to come here one more time, if I tell Mum that I forgot something. Why can't you meet with anyone else, Charlie?"

"I can't, at least not until Hogwarts starts again," Charlie answered. "Draco refuses to associate with the rest of the family."

"Well then, why me?" Ginny asked curiously.

"Because you're a girl," Charlie said, chuckling.

Draco glared at Charlie. "I'm not even going to gratify that with a response," he retorted.

"I'll leave then, if you have to go," Ginny said, standing up.

"Draco will go with you," Charlie said. Both Draco and Ginny turned around to look at Charlie. "Well, Ginny, it's not safe out there anymore. Especially for us."

Ginny didn't notice Draco's lips tighten, or his avoidance of Charlie's gaze. "Fine, Charlie."

"Draco, will you please go with Ginny?"

"Why can't you come with us?" Draco asked.

"I'd like to, you know, just sit here and reminisce."

Something twisted inside Draco, and he saw Ginny's eyes fill up with tears.

"Bye, Charlie," she whispered. She started walking and Draco followed her. There was an uneasy silence as they walked. They were almost out of the parlor when Draco said quite unexpectedly. "I'm sorry."

Ginny gaped at him. "Sorry about what?"

Draco stopped walking. He hated those eyes. They were making him say things he didn't want to say. He saw an empty booth and sat down. Ginny sat across from him. She had never seen him look so disconcerted.

Draco didn't know what he was doing, or saying, for that matter. "I could have stopped them."

"What are you talking about, Draco?"

"I was there when Voldemort killed Charlie, Ginny. I could've done something!"

Ginny gasped. She didn't want to be reminded of this painful memory.

"Virginia, they're after your father. Voldemort and my father. And they killed Charlie. I was there. Don't you hate me because of it? I was there! I saw him die!"

Ginny started crying, and Draco felt helpless. He didn't have any idea as to what to do in this situation.

"He's haunting me. And he likes me"

Ginny was still crying. Hesitantly, Draco reached towards her and put his hand on her shoulder. He was tearing up himself.

"I wish Lucius wasn't my father. I hate him! I respect Charlie, he was totally innocent," he rambled, not knowing whether he was saying this for Ginny's benefit or his own.

Ginny managed to choke out words. "It isn't your fault, Draco. Not at all."

Draco stood up and sat back down next to Ginny. At this moment, he didn't care if Ginny was a Weasley, if she was poor, if she had beautiful eyes, and adorable freckles. They needed each other right now. As if it came naturally to him, he put both his arms around her, and held her.

"We'll be okay, Virginia," he said.

Ginny held on to him for dear life. He wasn't Draco Malfoy right now, he was her support. She let all her bottled emotions out and just wept, rocking back and forth with Draco.

And that was how Hermione found them.

Thank yous:

Satans Little Princess-Thanks. I hope you enjoy this one too!

witchy_grrl-Thank you so much! I'm rather enjoying my couples too.

Frances Roscommon-You're welcome. And they've met! Hooray!

Ryoko-chan-I'm trying to be original, so thanks! That's an idea, by the way.

herm-oh-ninny-You're not rambling! Wow, what a compliment! I can't believe you think I have a nice writing style. Thanks so much!

tanuki-chan-Thanks so much, but someone offered already. Thanks though!

amy-I'm sorry about Charlie…but thanks for the comment about the plot!