Draco seemed to calm, and he continued his narrative as though he'd never stopped. "By the end of September, I'd had enough. I couldn't even find a few moments' peace in my own dorm. At the first opportunity I went to the glade to try and sort it all out. Just grabbed my broom and took off. I don't know how long I was there, but it was sometime in the afternoon when... I'd been just sitting on this rock shelf behind the falls, just watching the spray, not really seeing anything. A dragon could've walked by and I wouldn't have known."
Harry nodded in understanding, "I tend to watch clouds, myself."
"Looking for silver linings, eh Potter?" Draco smirked. "Anyway, when I came out of it, I realised that I wasn't alone. There was a pile of clothes near the water's edge, and they couldn't be mine because I always stash my stuff in the hollow of an old oak." Draco gave Harry a very wry look. "Young unicorns have a peculiar sense of fun."
While Harry laughed at that revelation, Draco continued his narrative. "I was looking everywhere I could without showing myself, but there was no one there. And then she was." He leaned back against the wall and looked heavenward, "My God, she was beautiful. Surfacing with more grace than any mer'ai, and more alluring than any veela could ever hope to be. Silky soft hair like a rose kissed by the morning dew, skin.."
Harry interrupted him with a look of mock pain, "All right! I get the idea! You don't have to start spouting poetry to convince me you fell in love."
"What I did was fall in and knock myself out on a rock. When I came to, she had me laid out on the shore and must have been doing that muggle thing to revive me, 'cause when I opened my eyes her face was right above mine...and that was when I fell in love with her. That she could save my life when I'd done nothing but blindly hate because of who she was, it changed me." Draco grinned wryly, "Of course it took some time before she was convinced, but by first snow..."
"She reciprocated. Congratulations." Harry's voice was drier than a martini. "Now are you going to stop beating around the bush and tell me who she is? And more importantly what this favour you need is. I kinda like that part."
Draco looked at Harry in disbelief, "Bloody hell, I know you're only a Gryffindor, Potter, but surely not even you're that daft. I practically came out and told you her name! There aren't many redheads in this school, and only one of them is female!" He ignored the gradually dawning comprehension in Harry's eyes and ploughed on, "I'll give you a few more clues: about yay high, a half dozen brothers, followed you around like a..."
Draco found himself pressed against the wall, his toes dangling a full foot above the floor. "How dare you? How dare you come in here pretending to want help, and then brag of making a conquest of my best friend's little sister!? You Bastard!"
Draco gave as disdainful a look as he could given his position, and gave his best imitation of Snape. "I assure you Potter, if Ginny were nothing more than another notch on my bedpost, I'd be humiliating her in front of the whole school, not myself in front of you. Now, put me down!"
Harry spent seeming eternity, glaring at Draco, searching his face for the usual deceit. He found none. Roughly, Harry let him down, "I'm not entirely sure if I believe you or not, Malfoy, but I do know this: hurt her and you'll wish for a Dementor's Kiss!"
"Which brings us back to why I'm here. The favour I need from you. I need you to protect her, not from me, but herself. Tomorrow will be a very bad day for Ginny, and she might say the wrong thing thinking she's defending me. She's been hinting lately that we should go public, which would be a very bad idea, considering what will happen tomorrow."
"What happens tomorrow?" Harry asked grimly.
"Tomorrow I become Voldemort's newest servant."
A/N Yes, I know. I'm evil. But that's beside the point. Review and you'll get more chapters faster, and thanks to my new beta VioletJersey and Isabelle for the inspiration her fic "The Island of Galleno" provided.