Chapter 6

The hospital wing was very dark when Ginny awoke. The summoning candle had gone out. She felt groggy from the potion Madame Pomfrey had given her. She very carefully sat up in the bed. Not too bad so far, she thought. Reaching behind she gingerly fingered the lump at the back of her head. It wasn't so tender as before, but she grimaced as she pulled her fingers away. Her hair was still matted with blood around the wound and she could feel a long smooth scar where the Bludger had split the skin open. Ginny stretched slightly, her muscles stiff, as though she had been lying in the same position for hours.

She reflected that she probably HAD been in the same position for hours. What had Madam Pomfrey given her, anyway? Whatever it was, it certainly worked.

Ginny still felt exhausted, but hunger and thirst were also nagging at her. She couldn't do much about the hunger, but she was certain she could get herself some water. She could rinse out what was left of her sleeping draught and fill the glass with water from the girls' bathroom. She pushed the covers away and shivered. The room was cold outside the protection of the blankets. She swung her legs over the side of the bed and wondered why Hermione couldn't have brought her flannel pajama bottoms instead. She didn't even have socks on, and dreaded stepping onto the cold stones of the floor. Stalling, she stretched again, arching her back and extending her arms toward the ceiling. It's really cold, she thought as her tee shirt rode up her ribs to stop just below her breasts. She heard a sudden sharp intake of breath and she froze. Someone was in here with her! As she listened, she heard the scrape of a shoe against the floor and her paralysis broke.

Jumping off the bed, she backed against the bedside table trying to see through the inky blackness. She reached behind her to pull open the drawer, and scrabbled inside for her wand. The wand wasn't where it should be! The drawer was empty! Ginny heard another footstep and groped for the candle. Holding it like a club, she hissed, "Who's there?"

Ginny still couldn't see much in the darkness, but she stepped forward, thinking she might be able to make her way to Madame Pomfrey's office. She had only taken two steps when she ran into someone standing in her path. She gave a small squeak and swung the candle. A strong hand caught her wrist while another plucked the candle from her. Ginny tried to wrench her wrist from her captor, flailing with her free arm, but only succeeded in losing her balance. She was quickly gathered into strong arms, still struggling when a familiar voice hissed, "Quiet down, Weasley, unless you want Madame Pomfrey in here. She usually sleeps in her office when she has patients."

Ginny was bewildered. What was Malfoy doing here? Had he been injured, after all? Maybe the Bludger had careened off her head and gotten him anyway? Regaining her balance she tried to move from his arms, but he seemed reluctant to let her go.

Ginny looked up to where she could barely see the outline of his face.

"Uh, Malfoy, I'm not going to fall," she whispered edgily.

"No, you're not, not now," was the drawled reply.

Oh, he was irritating. "Malfoy," she hissed, "You're still holding me!"

"Am I? Why, yes, I am!" His voice was smooth and lazy and as annoying as ever.

"Malfoy! You can let me go, now."

"Oh, is that what you meant?" Ginny heard the amusement in his voice and, as usual, wanted to slap him. But, as he'd pointed out, that kind of noise would probably bring Madame Pomfrey charging out of her office.

Getting a grip on her temper, Ginny took a deep breath. Then she released it, saying, "Malfoy--let--me--go!"

"Oh, very well, if you insist." Ginny was still trying to pull herself away from him, so when he abruptly released her, she nearly toppled back again. She sensed him reaching for her again, so she quickly regained her balance and backed away from him. Then she shivered, just now noticing how warm she'd been in his arms. She crossed her arms, still shivering.

She heard Malfoy move, then whisper, "Lumos."

The glow from his wand was dim, but Ginny shielded her eyes for a few moments to let them get used to the light. Then she stared at Malfoy. She had never seen him like this before. Instead of the usual school robes, he was wearing a soft black fleece hooded jacket, zipped about half-way. Under the jacket was what looked like a black silk tee shirt and black jogging pants which seemed to hug his narrow hips and long legs. It was all black, as usual, but incredibly sexy. Realizing that she was staring, she blushed and looked at his face. He seemed to be doing his own bit of staring. Ginny looked down and remembered her own scanty attire.

Ginny had to fight the urge to cover herself with her arms and hide under the covers. It was too late, anyhow; he'd obviously already seen what there was to see. Ginny defiantly lifted her chin, as though daring him to comment, but he was now shrugging off the jacket. He draped it over her shoulders, then turned to the bedside table.

"Put that on," he ordered in a tight voice.

Ginny resented the order, but welcomed the warmth of the jacket. It carried a hint of the cologne that must be his favorite. She felt the now- familiar tingle race up her spine as she zipped the jacket. Malfoy had set the candle back on the table and was propping his wand against it.

"Uh, th-thank you, Malfoy, I'll give it back--" Ginny started but he cut her off.

"Forget it," he said, turning back to her. He eyed her up and down. "It looks better on you, anyway. Besides, it's the least I could do."

Ginny stood where she was, shifting from one foot to the other while Malfoy pulled one of the visitor's chairs close to her bed.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

He turned to her, to answer, but frowned instead. Even with the jacket, she was still shivering. Malfoy advanced on her and in one swift movement scooped her up in his arms.

Ginny gave a surprised squawk, and threw her arms around his neck. She couldn't help notice how good he smelled, any more than she could help notice the firm muscles in his back and shoulders as her hands slipped over the smooth material of his shirt. Must be silk, she thought distractedly. But she knew she shouldn't let it distract her. This was Malfoy, the irritating git who had turned her life upside down for almost two months, who hated her family, and was opposed to everything her family believed in. With as much anger as she could muster, she demanded,"Malfoy, put me down."

"What are you trying to do, Weasley," he snapped. "Trying to complete the job your brother started? Your freezing! You don't even have socks on!"

He moved to her bed and dropped her unceremoniously in the middle of the mattress. Ginny spluttered, now truly angry. Who did he think he was? What right did he have to manhandle her? She bounced immediately up and scrambled back to her feet. She glared up at him.

"For your information, Malfoy, I got up for a reason."

He glared back. "For your information, Weasley, you're not going anywhere. You're going to get back in bed and cover yourself up and get warm again. And if you don't want to cooperate, I'll be happy to put you back in bed myself and make sure you stay there!"

Ginny's mouth dropped open. He wouldn't dare! Something warned her not to push him, but she ignored it. Reaching around him, she grabbed the glass of potion Madame Pomfrey had left on her table and marched toward the girl's bathroom. She had only taken a few steps when Malfoy scooped her up again and dropped her back on the bed. Ginny was so surprised that she dropped the glass. It landed on the cold stone floor and shattered into hundreds of pieces, spewing potion everywhere. Both of them froze at the noise, almost like an explosion in the quiet of the wing.

A noise from the healer's office broke their paralysis. Ginny shot Malfoy a quick look and saw him nod. He stepped to the bedside table and grabbed up his wand. He started to raise the wand, but Ginny gestured wildly at him. Instead, he carefully skirted the spilled liquid and broken glass and moved to the bed opposite Ginny's, slipping under it. This seemed so ludicrous that Ginny had to stifle a nervous giggle. Malfoy hissed, "Nox" and the wing was bathed in darkness again. Ginny hastily covered her legs and lay back. She heard the solid wooden door to Madam Pomfrey's office swing open, then the healer strode out, wand ablaze.

Madam Pomfrey's usually tidy hair was tangled and corkscrewed about her head. She was wearing fuzzy pink slippers and a pink terry robe, which she was struggling to belt while holding the wand. Finally she clamped her wand in her teeth and finished belting the bathrobe. As she neared Ginny's bed she began to glance around.

Ginny sat up immediately, anxious to keep the witch's attention on her.

"Miss Weasley," the healer demanded in annoyed tones. "What on earth happened here?"

"Uh, I'm, uh sorry, Ma'am, but I needed to use uh, the bathroom. Yeah, I needed to use the bathroom and when I tried to find my wand, I knocked over the glass!" Ginny lied.

Madam Pomfrey surveyed the damage and sniffed. "Your wand is in the drawer, Miss Weasley. You should have looked there first."

She waved her wand and the glass and potion suddenly disappeared. She stomped over to the table and pulled the drawer open.

"Besides," she began, reaching into the drawer. "The candle should have-- ." She stopped, a confused look on her face. "Well, it should have been right here!"

The healer witch rummaged some more, then opened the cabinet beneath the drawer. She extracted Ginny's blood-stained Quidditch robe and the clothes she had been wearing underneath. Ginny shuddered slightly at the sight of her blood. After fishing in the pockets she finally withdrew Ginny's slender yew wand. She handed it over with a muffled, "Hmph" and shoved the soiled clothing back into the cabinet.

"Regardless," she continued her lecture; "The candle should have given you sufficient light for your purposes."

Ginny apologized and explained that the candle had gone out before she even woke up. Madam Pomfrey sniffed again, then said that Ginny might as well go now. She, Madam Pomfrey would get Ginny another sleeping draught. Ginny meekly climbed out of bed, conscious of Malfoy just opposite. She could barely make out his black clad form and, after making sure the healer was distracted with the potion, she childishly stuck out her tongue as she passed. He couldn't stop her this time! Then she hurried to the bathroom, realizing that she really did have to use it.

When Ginny returned to her bed, Madam Pomfrey was waiting with another glass full of the vile sedative. She eyed Ginny oddly as the girl climbed back into the bed.

"Miss Weasley, I don't remember that jacket. Where did it come from?"

Ginny bit her lip. Any magical explanation was out, because she hadn't had her wand. Thinking quickly she stammered, "Uh, I don't know, Ma'am. It looks like one Hermione wears sometimes. Maybe she put it on me when I fell asleep?"

"Hmmmm." The healer cast a glance around the wing, then back to Ginny. "Well, no matter. Now drink your potion. After your injury, you need rest."

Ginny was tired, and sleep sounded good to her, but she wanted to talk to Malfoy. She wanted to know what had gone on at the Quidditch match, and why he was here now.

"I, uh, don't really think I'll need it. I'd really rather just have water. I don't like how the potion made me feel when I woke up."

Madam Pomfrey nodded sympathetically. "I know what you mean," she said, sounding slightly less irritated than she had. "Don't like them myself. Very well, Miss Weasley. But if you can't fall asleep make sure you take some. You do need rest." She relit the candle. "And call if you need me."

She waved her wand once again and two glasses of water appeared on the table, beside the potion. "I could use some water myself, " she said to Ginny's questioning look. She extinguished her wand and turned to leave, reaching for her glass.

"Oh, Madam Pomfrey?" Ginny said quietly.

"Yes, Miss Weasley?" The healer picked up her glass and waited.

"I'm sorry about waking you. Good night."

Madam Pomfrey smiled. "Don't trouble yourself. It was an accident. Good night Miss Weasley."

She turned and moved carefully back to her office. She opened the door, disappeared inside and the door closed with a loud click.

Ginny breathed a huge sigh of relief. She jumped when Malfoy placed his hand on her shoulder. She hadn't heard him move from his hiding place. He looked at her with a strange smile on his face.

"Did you do that on purpose, Weasley?" he asked quietly.

"Do what?" She had no idea what he was talking about.

Now Malfoy looked slightly puzzled. He glanced at the office door and back to her.

"Distract her so she'd take the wrong glass. Did you do that on purpose?"

Ginny's eyes widened and she looked at the table. Sure enough, the two water glasses remained. She was about to say something to Malfoy when they heard the sound of a glass breaking and a loud thump. Ginny jumped out of bed and pounded toward the office, Malfoy only a few feet behind. Ginny threw the office door open.

In the light of a flickering summoning candle, they saw Madam Pomfrey's limp form lying halfway across her small trundle bed. She had apparently stumbled over a chair before tumbling onto her bed because the chair was knocked over. The glass was shattered, but Madam Pomfrey must have downed most of the potion in one gulp, because there was very little liquid left. Ginny moved toward the healer, but Malfoy grabbed her back.

She turned an angry look on him, but he said, "Wait." With his wand, he restored the glass and set it on Madam Pomfrey's desk. "Okay, now you can go in," he muttered.

Ginny hurried to the healer and tried to rouse her. It was no good. She was in deep sleep. Ginny, with Malfoy's help, moved her onto the bed, removed her fluffy slippers and covered her. They set the chair upright again, then returned to Ginny's bed.

"Poor Madam P," Ginny said as she crawled up onto the bed, oblivious to the view she was giving Draco. His mouth dropped open as he watched her shapely backside and legs disappear under the blankets. Ginny fussed with the blankets for a moment, which gave Draco an opportunity to close his mouth and erase the dazed expression from his face. He came over and sat at the foot of her bed, crossing his legs and resting his elbows on his knees, watching Ginny prop her pillows against the headboard. She leaned back against the pillows, then looked at him. In the candlelight his expression was hard to read.

"Yes, well," Draco tried to remember what he had been about to say. "Um, well, at least we don't have to worry about waking her now."

"Well, the excitement's over. Now tell me what you're doing here. Don't you have better things to do, like sleep?"

Ginny was determined to get some answers and determined to keep him from distracting her. That would be hard to do with him sitting on the bed, practically leering at her. It didn't help that he looked so sexy. Black was certainly a good color for him. Especially black silk, the part of her brain she was trying to ignore reminded her. Stop it, she ordered herself. Concentrate and get some answers.

As these thoughts raced through her head, her face remained neutral. She merely looked at him as though waiting for his answer. She was surprised to see his face harden for a moment, then relax.

"I don't sleep well," he said casually. "One of the perks of having a sadistic old bastard for a father."

Ginny couldn't believe she had heard properly. He had spoken the last softly, almost to himself. She didn't get a chance to question it, though.

"Actually, I came to thank you for what you did. It was very brave."

Ginny felt herself blushing at his warm tone. She forgot what he had said about his father. Don't get distracted! she warned herself.

"Well, uh, you're welcome, but I don't want you to get the wrong idea." She looked away, not wanting him to see the lie. "I only blocked the Bludger because I didn't want Hooch to call a penalty on Ron."

Draco didn't say anything for a moment. In the uncertain candlelight she thought his face hardened. Then, "I see, of course." He paused again, then in his normal sarcastic drawl he said, "Well, thanks anyway, Weasley. You at least saved me a headache, compliments of your dear brother." He sneered slightly when mentioning Ron.

Ginny felt the usual irritation and wondered how he could be so irresistible one moment and such a bastard the next. Before she could snap out a sufficiently contemptuous retort he continued.

"Besides, I couldn't sleep and thought I'd drop by and see what you were doing. You don't have anything better to do, right?"

He leaned back and rested his head on the footboard, stretching his long legs out in front of him. Ohhhh, the nerve, Ginny thought. She grabbed the blankets and yanked as hard as she could, tumbling Malfoy right off the bed. He caught himself and landed on his feet, but only just. She glared at him, but he smirked back.

"Temper, temper, Weasley," he mocked. "I brought you a present, but I won't give it to you if you don't play nice."

"You can keep your bloody presents, Malfoy, all I want from you is some answers. Now sit down!" She pointed at the chair near the bed. He raised his hands in mock fear and moved to the chair. He sprawled in the chair and locked his hands behind his head. Ginny swallowed as his tee rode up his flat belly. She might detest him, but he was certainly easy on the eyes.

When she raised her eyes to his, his were dark and glittering.

"Well, Weasley, ask away. But are you sure all you want is answers?" His voice held just a hint of suggestion that made her blush. She looked away.

Gathering her scattered thoughts, she asked, "What happened at the end of the Quidditch match? Why weren't you around when Dean asked for a rematch?"

Ginny wasn't looking at him, but from the corner of her eye she saw Malfoy start. That wasn't what he had expected her to ask, apparently.

"Didn't your brother tell you?" he asked, flatly.

"I was only awake long enough to find out about the rematch and that you weren't around to ask. But naturally," she gave a sneer worthy of a Malfoy, " you would have jumped at it, wouldn't you?"

Even as the words left her mouth, Ginny was horrified. Why on earth did this young man bring out the bitch in her? She immediately started to apologize.

"Draco, I'm sor-" she stopped abruptly as Malfoy was out of his chair and grabbing her shoulders in one smooth move. He would shake her until her teeth rattled, he thought.

"Listen, Weasley, my team doesn't need your Gryffindor, better-than-you charity to win. If I had known what was going to happen, I might have dropped what I was doing and stayed on the pitch! If your friends didn't see fit to tell you what happened, I don't see why I should."

He was about to release her and storm out, but her eyes widened and he saw a single tear form. She put her hand on his cheek and he froze.

"I'm really sorry," she said softly. "I'm not usually such a bitch, you know. It's just," Just what? she wondered. "The headache is coming back and I'm tired and confused." His hands loosened their hold slightly. "And I'm terribly afraid that when I finally find out what happened, I'm going to be completely ashamed of myself. Won't you just tell me?"

Draco let go of her and stepped back, running a hand through his hair. He stumbled back to his chair and flopped into it, one hand on his cheek where she had touched. He glanced at her, her hand still slightly raised. She still looked at him, eyes bright and lips trembling. He stifled a groan. How did she do it? How did she bring him to the verge of violence one minute and the next wrap him around her little finger? Did she know what she was doing to him? Gods, he wanted to wrap her in his arms and tell her not to cry, but she would probably push him away again, as she had this afternoon. He didn't blame her; she'd probably have bruises where he'd grabbed her.

"I, uh, think--" Gods, he sounded like an idiot. He cleared his throat. "You better ask Granger. She may be a Mud--, er, Muggle born, but she'll tell you what happened."

Suddenly Ginny didn't care what had happened. She wished she were brave enough to walk over to Malfoy, and smooth the fine hair that was now lying across his brow. She wished she had the confidence to pull him out of his chair and make him kiss her. She had a vivid memory of how she looked in the bathroom mirror earlier, hair spiky with blood and the pillow, skinny body, tired brown eyes. She stayed where she was.

She saw Malfoy move, and suddenly a wrapped bundle landed on the bed near her knee. She stared at it, then looked to him for explanation.

"Um, just something of yours I forgot to return."

Ginny's eyes widened. Her book! She tore off the wrapping and looked at the book. She opened it and skimmed through the pages, then clutched it, smiling at him. The smile faltered.

"Did you read it? But no, you couldn't have, or your team would have countered our plays."

Draco scratched his neck absently.

"I did leaf through it, but once I realized all the scribbles in the margins were plays and strategies, I stopped. Well," he smiled slightly, teasingly at her. "I did read all the parts where you wrote my name surrounded by hearts and x's and o'x."

"Hearts? Malfoy, I never--" Ginny began, then realized he was teasing.

"Yeah, I know, and more's the pity. But I did read that odd song you scribbled inside the front cover. Muggle song?" His eyes looked intently at her and Ginny blushed. He couldn't know she had been thinking of him when she'd written the words.

"Um, it was, but now the Broomstick Boys are doing it."

"Hmmmm, interesting lyrics." He hummed a bit, then softly sang, "'You better let somebody love you, Before it's too late'." His voice drifted off. Ginny stared, mesmerized. He stood.

"Speaking of late, I'd better go and let you rest."

He'd better go before he attacked her. The soft look in her eyes was almost irresistible. And those lips! He honestly didn't think she realized it. He moved just close enough to touch her cheek if he reached out. He resolutely held his arms to his sides.

"There are a lot of things we both need answers for, but not tonight." he said, his voice serious. "Good night, Ginny," He allowed himself to brush her cheek with the back of his hand. "I think I'll take your advice."

Ginny watched his departing back and wondered, what advice? She caught the final words of the song, Desperado, as he sang them once more. When she realized what he meant, her heart soared.