Chapter 3

Ginny was trembling slightly. She still couldn't believe that she had told Malfoy off and gotten away clean. She was inclined to giggle when she remembered the expression on his face when she had imitated him: shocked disbelief. He probably couldn't believe that someone had actually dared to make fun of him. Not that that reaction had lasted. She stole a quick glance in his direction as she forked some beef onto her plate. He had just sat down and was again wearing that sneering grin, the one she had tried to imitate.

Oh, well, she thought to herself. At least she hadn't stood there like an idiot and let him walk all over her this time. She glanced once more at him and froze, her fork midway to her mouth. He was staring right at her. Malfoy made sure she was looking at him, then raised one eyebrow and smiled. It was not a very nice smile; in fact, it said quite plainly that she hadn't gotten away with anything. Malfoy held her gaze for another moment then deliberately looked away. Ginny gave an involuntary shudder, her fork dropping with a clatter to her plate. Suddenly, she wasn't hungry anymore.

"Ginny! Wake up, girl! You missed the Quaffle again!"

Dean's voice was impatient. More than a week had passed since Malfoy had accosted her outside Great Hall, and Ginny, in an advanced state of nerves, was finding it difficult to concentrate on practice, studies, or homework. She was back to creeping around the castle, peeking around corners and looking behind her.

"Sorry, Dean, I don't know what's wrong with me lately." She said apologetically.

Natalie flew close and said in a low voice, "I bet I can guess what's wrong!"

Ginny looked at her quickly and saw Nat waggling her eyebrows suggestively. Ginny gave Natalie a look that should have made her freeze, but Natalie just ignored it.

"Why don't you two just kiss and make up? You're both like long tailed cats in a room full of rocking chairs!"

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ginny huffed.

Before Nat could elaborate, Dean called an end to practice. The Slytherin team was just filing onto the pitch, waiting for their turn to practice. The Gryffindor team was outraged that Malfoy's team had begun showing up earlier and earlier. Malfoy had grinned smugly when Dean had complained.

"Sorry, old boy, but shorter days, you know. Can't be hogging the pitch all afternoon any more, even you Gryffs have to share. We all need time to practice."

He had then sauntered away, leaving Dean fuming.

That was when the Slytherin team had begun arriving early, cutting short the Gryffindor practice since Dean was reluctant to let the Slytherins watch them practice. That was bad enough, but Ginny had noticed that from the time Malfoy arrived to the time Ginny left, he watched her. He didn't glare, didn't leer, he just watched. It was disturbing. Especially since he was so attractive without those annoying expressions on his face.

As they landed, Ginny tried to ignore Malfoy and concentrate on Dean. He had landed next to her and was fiercely whispering instructions in her ear.

"Wake up, Gin," he repeated. " What on earth is the matter? Do you realize the Slytherin game is only a week away?"

"Look, Dean, I'm sorry! I'm okay and I'll be fine for the game. I just have lots of things on my mind!"

Dean put a companionable arm around her shoulders and hugged her quickly.

"Just don't forget, we're counting on you, girl. You're the backbone of our offense!"

Ginny smiled and leaned into the hug briefly.

"Thanks, Dean, I won't let the team down."

"Of course not," Dean agreed, releasing her.

Natalie moved quickly to his side, between Ginny and Dean. Ginny thought this was comical; first Nat advised her to make up to Malfoy, then Nat tried to keep her away from Dean. She smiled slightly, then stopped abruptly. She felt an odd chill down her neck. When she looked around, she saw Malfoy staring at her, but this time he WAS glaring. She quickly turned and almost ran into Harry.

"Ginny, are you okay?" he asked, concerned. "You're white as a ghost. Of course," he amended with a slight smile, "you're family generally is white as ghosts. Except the hair!"

Ginny actually laughed. It was good to talk to someone as comforting as Harry. She knew he suspected something was going on involving Malfoy; he had said as much in the Common Room a few evenings back. But he wasn't prying or judging, just offering his support if she needed it.

"Thanks, Harry, but I think I can handle it. I just need to focus."

"Well, if 'it', whatever 'it' is, becomes a real problem, you know you can tell me," he said quietly. "I know things between us didn't work out, but I want you to be happy, you know?"

Ginny smiled again and grabbed his arm.

"I know," she said earnestly, walking arm and arm with him. "And thanks for being a friend."

There were a few advantages to the shortened practice times, Ginny told herself. She had plenty of time to clean up before dinner, and the Slytherin team was almost always late. That left very little chance for more run-ins between her and Malfoy. As they entered the locker room, Dean was waiting for Ginny with a very mutinous-looking Colin at his side.

"Look, Ginny, I want you and Colin to do a bit of scouting for us," he said.

"What do you mean, 'scouting'?" Ginny didn't like the sound of this at all, especially when Colin looked like he hated it.

"Well, I mean just hang about a bit, watch the Slytherins, take a few notes. Just until the game."

"Dean, that is cheating! Why don't you just say spying? That's what you're asking us to do, isn't it?"

Ginny knew that George and Fred had made a habit of spying on the opposition, but it just didn't feel right. Besides, the one thing she didn't want to do right now was anything more that might bring her to Malfoy's notice again. It seemed uncanny the way she couldn't seem to avoid the obnoxious git lately.

"Come on, Gin. If he makes a stink, just say you're returning the favor. Hell, they've been showing up early for practice for over a week and we've just let them. C'mon, for the team?"

Ginny felt everyone's eyes on her. She hated this, but knew she would agree.

"All right," she muttered. "But just until the game, never again!"

"Good girl," Dean beamed at her.

Ginny and Colin filed back out of the locker room and headed back to the Quidditch pitch. Colin looked at Ginny with eyebrows raised.

Ginny shrugged and said, "Yeah, I know it stinks."

"'Take notes', he says," Colin complained. "With what? Our wands?"

Ginny took her wand from her pocket and said, "Accio, book bag!"

Moments later, her book bag came floating toward them. She grabbed it out of the air and put her wand away again.

"He wants notes, he gets notes," she muttered, taking her 'Chaser's Guide to Quidditch Strategies' and a quill from her bag. She stomped to the stadium and threw herself into a seat.

"You watch and I'll make notes on today's practice, all right?" she asked Colin, opening the book to a page that didn't have any scribbled notes in the margins.

He hesitated a moment then slid into the seat next to her.

"At least if Malfoy decides to hex us, I'm in good company," he muttered.

"If Malfoy decides to TRY to hex us, he'll get more than he bargained for," Ginny snapped, placing her wand on the seat next to her and firmly ignoring the athletic blond figure flying around the pitch.

Draco was organizing his team, setting them to warm up. He looked critically at them. They were mostly very young. The oldest members of the team were himself and Millicent Bulstrode, both sixth years. The rest of the team were second, third or fourth year students. Also, besides himself, the only returning player was the Keeper, a fourth year who had only played one game for Slytherin last year (and that really didn't count) when her predecessor's parents had pulled him from school to move out of the country. There had been a lot of that. Slytherin kids being pulled from Hogwarts to go to Durmstrang, other houses' kids being pulled to just leave the country. He shook his head and concentrated on his team. They were good for being so inexperienced, but it would take a minor miracle to beat Gryffindor. He would have to grab the Snitch early in the game, no easy task when he'd be playing against Potter. He scowled as he remembered the way the Weasley girl had grabbed Potter's arm and laughed with him. The game, he reminded himself, concentrate on Saturday's game!

If he did get the Snitch first, it would certainly have to be early in the game. The way the Gin--Weasley played, Gryffindor would be miles ahead within twenty minutes. He wasn't fooled by the way she dropped the Quaffle and made those obvious mistakes as soon as she knew he was watching. She was trying to mislead him, make him think she wasn't very good.

Draco looked at his own team again. His beaters were very strong and could generally keep the Bludgers off his Chasers, especially Millicent. She was the first female Beater in years. Strong and fairly accurate, Millicent's downfall was that she was slow to react and didn't really have a head for tactics. She was just as likely to belt the Bludger straight out of the pitch (a penalty for delay of game, and still possible to do even with the Bludgers enchanted to keep 'em in the stadium) as to obviously aim one right at an opponent's head (a different penalty for attacking another player). The other Beater, a third year named Ian, was faster, more accurate, and grasped the finer points of the position, but still didn't have the strength most Beaters did. He'd be great in a year or two, but...

Draco sighed and considered his Chasers. They were also young, a second year, a third year and a fourth year. They were all eager, skilled flyers, but had never played competitive Quidditch before. Last year's graduation and the uneasy political climate had decimated the Slytherin team.

He was still considering his team and what tactics to use against Gryffindor when Millicent Bulstrode pulled her broom up next to him.

"Hey, Draco," she said in a loud stage whisper, "we have an audience. That Weasley girl and one of her little boyfriends."

Millicent was jerking her head toward the entrance of the stands, looking to Draco as though she had developed a severe twitching disorder. He looked where she indicated and saw Gin-Weasley! he corrected himself firmly, sitting in the stands, writing in a book. One of her teammates was sitting next to her.

With an unexpected and uncharacteristic surge of anger, Draco noticed that the teammate was not spying on the Slytherin team, but seemed to be hanging over Weasley's shoulder (hanging all over her!). He was gazing at her in the most disgustingly adoring way. It was enough to make a person sick.

"Get them going," he snapped to Millicent, indicating his team, then flew down to the ground and stomped over to the stands.

"Jeez, Ginny, I wish I felt as confident as you," Colin said, his voice full of a blend of skepticism and admiration. "If Malfoy threatened me, I'd probably just stand there and get hexed!"

"Colin," Ginny said impatiently, "I really don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh, come on, Ginny, if Malfoy came down here right now in one of his typical nasty moods, you would just give him the evil eye and tell him to shove off, right?"

Colin really was impressed that Ginny didn't seem to be either infatuated with Malfoy's good looks (as quite a lot of the girls were) or frankly afraid of his nasty reputation (as most of the rest were). Ginny was in a class by herself. She either didn't notice or didn't care that Malfoy was going out of his way to intimidate her. He had noticed that her play became clumsy when Malfoy was watching, but he, like Malfoy, figured it was a ruse. Being extremely observant and still having aspirations to being a great photographer, it was natural that Colin noticed Malfoy following, almost stalking, Ginny around the castle, but she just ignored him.

Good for her, he thought. About time some girl put the arrogant git in his place. Not for himself, of course. Colin was happily dating the Hufflepuff Keeper. But just because Malfoy was Malfoy and it was nice to see someone get the better of him.

Colin continued in a teasing voice.

"I'll bet if Malfoy came over here, wand blazing, you wouldn't even turn a hair, would you?"

Ginny slammed her book shut and eyed Colin icily.

"You know, Colin, right now I would almost welcome it!" she declared.

They both jumped when they heard the cold, sneering voice from the field.

"Well, then, I guess it's your lucky day, isn't it, Weasley?"

Malfoy was glaring at them across the short fence that separated the pitch from the stands.

Colin, showing a remarkable sense of self-preservation, backed quickly away from Ginny, removing the arm that had been resting on her seat back.

Malfoy barely spared him a glance before continuing.

"Shall I get my wand out and start blazing?" he asked sarcastically.

Before Ginny could comment, Malfoy started again.

"What the hell do you think you're doing here, spying and taking notes? You know the Quidditch pitch is off limits while other teams are practicing!"

He had advanced all the way to the fence and was actually leaning slightly over it, practically shouting.

This was the last straw. Ginny came out of her seat in a blur and was nose to nose with him in an instant.

"I'll tell you exactly what the hell we're doing here, Malfoy," she spat out. "We're returning the favor!"

She backed up slightly and poked him in the chest with her forefinger.

"For the last week your team has shown up at LEAST fifteen minutes early, wandering around while we were still trying to practice." She emphasized every few words with another poke in the chest.

"We're getting bloody tired of it. Colin and I will be here for YOUR practice until your team can damned well tell time and stay OFF the pitch until we're done!"

She whirled around and marched back to her seat. She threw herself into it and crossed her arms rebelliously. Her glare dared Malfoy to try to move her. Damn her, Draco thought. He was tempted to try to do just that, but wasn't sure he'd actually be able to. She was still glaring at him and he realized she'd done it to him again. Gotten the last word in effortlessly.

Anything he said now would just sound stupid, and he was not one who cared to look stupid. He had waited too long to react or reply. He realized that his team was watching, too, waiting to see what would happen. Finally, he growled, "All right, Weasley, they were a few minutes early for one week, I figure you're entitled to stay and watch for about another thirty minutes. After that, you shove off! And," he added so quietly that Colin, now two rows back, couldn't hear, "this isn't finished yet. Not by a long way!"

He smiled nastily at her and had the very slight satisfaction of seeing her react before he turned his back on her and sauntered away.

As Malfoy flew back to his team, Colin crept back to his seat next to Ginny. He was very careful to keep well away from her. He had not missed the look in Malfoy's eyes and would have sworn that he'd seen jealousy. That was ridiculous, of course, but Colin did have a well-developed sense of self-preservation and decided one couldn't be too careful. He would make sure to be seen more often with his Hufflepuff girlfriend, too.

"Uh, Ginny, are you all right?" he asked. "I'm sorry I wasn't more help, but you didn't seem to need any."

She looked stonily at him, causing him to back even farther away in his seat. She was obviously furious. Her smooth cheeks were flushed and her eyes seemed to be throwing off sparks. Colin thought it odd that he had never noticed just how striking Ginny's looks were. Not beautiful, but, well, striking. You would definitely remember her in a crowd. He glanced up at Malfoy, flying around with his team, then back at Ginny. Maybe there really was something there after all. Maybe there was something there that not even Ginny or Malfoy suspected...

Exactly thirty minutes later (Colin had been checking his watch) Ginny stood and gathered her things. She marched out of the stands, Colin following silently. He had tried to get Ginny to talk to him but she had simply glared at him. She had also glared occasionally at Malfoy, so he didn't feel too bad.

Ginny had been doing some serious thinking, though. She was embarrassed at her behavior, her loss of temper. Shouting like some bitchy, nagging fishwife at Malfoy! She never lost her temper like that, and it irritated her that Malfoy always seemed to provoke her into uncharacteristic behavior. Not even Ron could get her this angry. She remembered Malfoy's parting shot. Had Colin heard? She didn't think so, or he would have mentioned it. Well, it promised no good for her, that was for sure. She tried to imagine what the next days, weeks or even months would be like, looking over her shoulder, watching her back until Malfoy finally made his move. Ginny sighed and slumped her shoulders. Well, she sure wasn't going to tell Ron or Harry or Hermione. This was her problem and she would handle it herself.

When she and Colin entered the Common Room, Dean called them over to a table where the rest of the team was sitting. The others were showered and changed, reminding Ginny of how tired and dirty she was. She trudged over to the table, Colin following behind, and sat down heavily.

"Well, what did you learn," Dean asked eagerly.

Ginny looked at her hands folded in front of her on the table and didn't say anything. Colin cleared his throat and looked uncomfortably at Ginny.

"Well?" Ron looked from one to the other. "You were there practically a full bleeding hour. What kind of plays were they practicing?"

Ginny still didn't answer, so Colin cleared his throat again. His teammates turned to him. Colour rising to his face, he stammered, "Well, we didn't learn much of anything, actually."

"What?" Seamus Finnegan looked confused.

The others on the team also began clamoring for an explanation.

"Er, they, I mean, that is," Colin stammered again. "I don't think they are very, um, comfortable playing together, yet, but..." he trailed off, looking pleadingly at Ginny. Ginny continued to examine her hands, hoping no one would notice the colour rising in her cheeks. Ron eyed her suspiciously.

"But, what," Harry asked calmly. "Just spit it out, Colin."

Colin took a deep breath, then started talking fast.

"Well, we were only there a few minutes when Malfoy came storming up, wanting to know what we were doing there. He and Ginny had this flaming row!"

He paused for breath, then, as briefly as possible, he explained the argument.

"I honestly thought Malfoy was going to choke her right on the spot when she kept poking him in the chest!"

Ginny's face was hot and she squirmed as she felt her teammates staring at her. Suddenly, Harry burst out laughing. The others quickly joined in; all except Ron. His face had gone almost purple and he kept opening his mouth to say something, only to close it again.

Harry was laughing so hard that he was having difficulty talking. He finally was able to stammer, "Oh, gods, I wish I could have seen Malfoy's face when Ginny rounded on him!"

He removed his tear-fogged glasses and wiped them and his eyes. Natalie was holding her sides and looked like she was in extreme pain. Dean and Seamus were still chuckling, and even Colin was grinning. The only ones not laughing were Ginny and Ron. Dean finally got himself under control and called them back to order.

"Well, today's efforts weren't a total waste. I needed a good laugh! But tomorrow, I want you two back in the stands, and this time take notes!"

Colin sputtered. "But, why? I mean, we play them in a few days, and besides, we're even now. What'll we say to Malfoy tomorrow?"

Seamus cut in before Dean could answer.

"We'll tell 'em their math sucks and they still owe us another day. And you and Ginny watch 'em good, just to piss old Malfoy off!"

The team laughed again and then started moving off. Ginny sighed with relief and headed for the girls' dormitory stairway. She was almost there when Ron caught her by the arm.

"All right, Gin, now tell me what really happened."

Ginny yanked her arm away, feeling like she had left some skin behind. She glared at her older brother.

"You already heard what happened," she snapped, rubbing her arm and lifting the sleeve of her robe to inspect for bruises. She was not in the mood for his 'protective older brother' routine.

"You damn well know what I mean," Ron growled angrily. "I want to know why for the last month bloody Malfoy is following you everywhere. Why suddenly he's staring at you all the time. What's going on with you two?"

Ginny looked up, startled. Following her? She hadn't noticed and she'd been looking. Staring at her? When? At meals? Ron must be mistaken.

"And you! A Weasley! Blushing and stuttering whenever he's around or someone mentions him! It's enough to make me spew!"

Ginny felt her face heat up, but this time with anger. Ron noticed the colour washing her face again and got even madder.

"You're doing it again," he raged. "What has Malfoy been doing to you that you have to blush about it? Huh?"

Ron's tirade stopped abruptly as he felt the tip of Ginny's finger stab into his chest.

"Lay off, Ron," she hissed angrily. "Not another word, or so help me I'll break your nose. I can do it, too, you know. It was you and Fred and George taught me how!"

Her now pale face stared into his flushed one. He couldn't quite believe his quiet, shy little sister was threatening him.

"I'll tell you this just one more time," she continued. "There is nothing between Malfoy and me, there's nothing between me and anyone right now. But," she paused and gave another quick jab into his breastbone, "when I do choose to have a boyfriend, regardless of who he is and whether you like him or not, it's MY business. Not yours, not Mum or Dad's, not the twins'. Just mine!"

She backed away slightly and said in a more normal voice, "You and the twins taught me how to defend myself. You have to learn to trust me. Now, I'm tired, and filthy, and starving. I'm going up to shower and change, then go to dinner."

She brushed past him before he could reply, and then hurried up the stairs.

Hermione and Harry moved quickly to Ron's side as Ginny disappeared up the stairs.

"What was that all about?" Hermione's eyes were wide as she gazed past Ron toward the stairway.

"Bloody Malfoy!" Ron snarled. "I think he's messing with my sister. Trying to scare her or something."

Harry pushed his glasses back up the bridge of his nose and looked calmly at Ron, his green gaze steady. Although he didn't say it, Harry figured 'scaring' Ginny was the last thing on Malfoy's mind. Quite the opposite, he figured.

"What's Ginny say about it?" he asked.

Ron clenched his fists and shook his head.

"She said it's none of my bloody business! I'm her brother; of course it's my business. Right?"

Hermione laid a small hand on his arm. He glared at her, then heaved a sign and relaxed a bit. She pulled him toward a private table in the corner of the room. Harry followed along. She sat and waited for Ron to pull up a chair beside her. He automatically put an arm around her shoulders, pulling her closer. Hermione let herself be hugged for a moment, then pulled slightly away, facing Ron.

"I know you're not going to like hearing this," she told the two young men sitting with her. "Especially you, Ron. But Ginny's right. Until and unless she asks for help, it's no one's business except hers."

"Bullshit!" Ron muttered. "I don't recall her asking for help when she opened the Chamber of Secrets. She's just a kid and Malfoy is bad news!"

Hermione held up her hands to stop more comments. "Now just hear me out," she said calmly.

"Ginny WAS just a child, only eleven when she found Riddle's diary. Even if she had been older, or if one of us would have found it, there is no guarantee we would have done any better. That was powerful dark magic. But now, she is just dealing with one young man who, in my opinion, is just as confused as she is."

She stopped as she noted Harry's small nod of agreement.

"I really don't think Malfoy's 'out to get her', or anything like that. He just doesn't know how to approach her. Ginny's definitely not a typical girl."

"Damn right," Ron said. "She's way too good for a piece of filth like that!"

"Hang on, Ron," Harry said. "Let Hermione finish."

She smiled slightly and continued.

"You two aren't girls, so you don't really understand, but I'll try to explain...the girls in this school generally act one of two ways with Malfoy. The first group giggle and flirt and fawn on him because of his looks, his money, his family's position."

Ron rolled his eyes and mimed throwing up.

"The second," Hermione grimly continued, "are just scared of him. They avoid him, hide in the bathroom, slip into classrooms, whatever. Very few just ignore him, and arguing with him? Embarrassing him? No way, it just doesn't happen!"

"What about you?" Ron snapped.

"I don't count," Hermione said, shaking her head. "Ever since Professor Moody, I mean Bartie Crouch, turned him into a ferret, Malfoy has behaved toward me personally. I thought Ginny was one of the run-and-hiders, but I was wrong. She holds her own with him and doesn't back down, if Colin isn't exaggerating. And," Hermione caught Ron's eyes with hers and held them, "Ginny isn't about to let Malfoy hurt her."

Hermione stood and smoothed her robes.

"Ron, she's your sister and she does appreciate that you worry about her, but give her credit for having some brains. TRUST her! And don't interfere unless she comes to you!"

Ron made a grunting noise that could have been either denial or acceptance. He stood, too, and, as Hermione moved closer, wrapped his arms around her.

"Well, I don't know about you two lovebirds," Harry said quietly, "But I'm starved. Dinner, anyone?"