((A/N: Happy late Halloween! It's been a while since I've uploaded anything. Mostly due to the problems and rebirth of FF.net. I was also engrossed in trying calculate when the last episode of The 8th MS Team would air again on Toonami, cuz I missed it the first time. ^_^ (Why do my favorite characters always have something really, really bad happen to them??) And there's some stuff I forgot to mention about the last chapter cuz I was tired. So do you see where I got the title from? Corny, huh? Ah, well. What chapter are we on, 5? And how many detentions do we have left? One? Ok. Cool. Let's see if I can remember anything I typed...))

Chapter 5

Losing It

You, my friend, are a moron, Draco told himself. How could you just spill your blimey guts out to her? A Weasley! Of all people! The only person that would have been worse would have been Potter!

These were Draco's first thoughts when he awoke the next morning to prepare for his classes. He felt like he had just fallen into bed when his magical alarm went off, which is pretty much what happened seeing he and Ginny weren't done with the detention until three in the morning. He still had paint on his face from the ceiling job.

Draco sat up and rubbed his eyes.

"Malfoy, you're gunna be late," Goyal said stupidly. He was already about to go down for breakfast.

"I know!" Draco snapped. "I'll meet you down there!"

Crabbe and Goyal lumbered out of the dorm. Draco sleepily got out of bed. He hadn't changed out of his robes that morning. He had been too tired. He changed and began to make his way to the Great Hall, all the while mentally scolding himself.

She probably thinks you're waaay off your rocker. That you're pathetic.

Well, you were tired and had no idea what you were saying....

But she still heard what you told her.

Draco replayed the scene in his head. They had been sitting against the wall...she had cut her hand...

And you helped her.

No...I...I just wanted to get it over with!

But she was sooo pretty...

He stopped walking, struck by this sudden thought. He gave a lopsided smile.

She had looked very pretty that night...with the moonlight on her red hair and pale face...

NO!

An alarm went off in Draco's head. He had to stop himself. Why was he starting to think like that? He forced himself to keep walking.

You've gone soft, Malfoy, he said to himself. Ever since Father died you've been no better than Mum. You would never have thought things like that before, why start now? Why her? You're becoming weak...and you can't be like that. Not when Voldemort is still out there....

"Just stop it!" he said out loud.

"Stop what, me lad?" said a voice. Draco looked at the painting on the wall to his right. It was a small knight accompanied by a fat gray pony who had spoken. Draco had seen this painting before, but never talked with the knight.

"Who be you who dares to trespass on my lands?" he demanded.

"Er...I was just on my way to the Great Hall-" Draco started.

"A QUEST!" bellowed the knight. "Long has it been since I had embarked on such a journey!" ((A/N: this guy's the coolest! ^_^) He attempted to mount the pony, but ended up sitting backwards on it. "Now, ONWARD! We shall find the treasure and glory at the end of our travels or parish bravely in the struggle to-!"

"-Yeah, yeah. Right. Look, uh...Mister..." Draco interrupted.

"Sir Cadogen!"

"Er, right, listen, I-" Sir Cadogen toppled off the pony, who stood grazing as though nothing had happened. "I think by my 5th year at this school I would know the way to the Great Hall. So...see ya." Draco began to walk away.

"That was a weird one," he said.

"Ginny!" cried Jessica Lows. "Are you okay?"

"Was it horrible?" asked Sara Goldner.

"Was he a jerk the whole time?"

Ginny plopped down at her seat at the Gryffindor table.

"The detention was bad, but he wasn't."

Sara blinked.

"Draco Malfoy wasn't being evil?" she sputtered.

"No."

Sara and Jessica looked at each other.

"Did you hit him on the head?" Jessica wondered.

"Nope."

"Well, what did you two have to do for the detention?"

Ginny told them all about the painting and the scrubbing of the Tower, but she left out the conversation she and Draco had.

Jessica spotted the piece of fabric wrapped around Ginny's hand.

"What's that from?"

"This? Oh, Peeves was in the room earlier and he left some sharp objects in the ceiling. While I was painting it I got cut," Ginny explained.

"Who tied it up for you?" Sara pressed on.

Ginny paused. "Who tied it? I did it myself," she lied. "Why?"

Sara shrugged.

"Just wondering."

Ginny ate her breakfast and headed off to Potions class.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't young Weasley, the one serving detentions with Mr. Malfoy this week," Snape hissed as Ginny stirred the potion in her cauldron. She wondered what business of his it was whether she had a detention or not and with whom.

"I would have loved to see your face when you saw your chore last night."

Why is this guy so nosey? Who cares? Ginny thought.

Snape bugged her the rest of the class. She didn't know why he cared or if he was entitled to do that, but she tried to ignore him. After what seemed like an eternity, she was finally liberated by the bell. Transfiguration was her next class after which Professor McGonagall informed her that she would be in Snape's dungeon that night for their third and final detention.

Beautiful, she thought. Just peachy. Back into Hell on Earth tonight.

"You decided to join us after all, Mr. Malfoy," said McGonagall. Draco closed the dungeon's door behind him. He was late by about ten minutes. Not a good idea when you're heading for a detention.

"Yeah, I just thought I'd stop by and see how things are going," he replied, to tired to care what the Professor thought.

"You're treading on thin ice, Mr. Malfoy," she warned. "Don't crack it."

Ginny remained silent.

"For your final detention, you two will sort through these potion ingredients and put them in separate cauldrons."

Ginny and Draco peered into the two large cauldrons in the middle of the classroom. Ginny thought she would throw up. In it were body parts of animals-teeth, claws, talons, eyeballs, bones, livers, and more.

McGonagall left them wandless and depressed.

Draco slapped on a sarcastic smile.

"Doesn't get much better than this, eh?" he said.

"Great," moaned Ginny. "It's a good thing this is the last detention we have. I don't know if I could stand another one."

They got to work by the light of the candles on the walls and, like the previous night, didn't talk at first.

Then, Ginny broke the silence.

"Listen, um...about last night-"

"Forget it," Draco said simply. "I was tired and...I don't know. I was just being stupid."

Ginny tossed a rat skull into the designated cauldron.

"No you weren't," she said. "You were saying what you felt. There's nothing wrong with that."

Draco remained silent for a moment, then said, "You must think I'm crazy." He sorted an eyeball and a hippogriff talon.

Ginny looked up at him.

"No," she said. "I don't."

Draco looked at her.

"How come?"

Ginny shrugged.

"I just...don't. It all seems reasonable to me. Have you said anything to your mum?"

Draco gave a short laugh.

"Hell no. I haven't spoken to her since I came back to school." He tried to get a tiny snake eye off of his finger, but the goo from everything else caused it to stick. "Geez-screw this! I'm going to find some gloves!" He walked into the back room where the Potions Master kept his private supplies.

Ginny looked up at him.

"But you'd have to go through Snape's stuff to do that!" she said. "He'd go bonkers on you!"

"Then screw him too!" Draco called back. Ginny couldn't help but laugh.

"That a boy," she said. "Get your ass in trouble with Snape. Interesting plan."

"Got 'em!"

Draco reappeared with two pairs of plastic gloves.

"You think we'll get in trouble?" Ginny asked hesitantly.

"No doubt," replied the Slytherin. Ginny smiled and took the gloves, wiping her hands with a rag.

The work was far less revolting once they were able to work without having to touch eyeballs and hearts and livers with bare hands. The work went faster, too. Eventually, they began to think that the detention wasn't as bad as the previous one.

They began to talk to each other a little, too. Draco telling Ginny of the Slytherin tower and Ginny telling Draco of the Gryffindor tower, since neither of them had been to the other's common room.

"Why is it that you guys get along with Snape so well?" Ginny asked.

"Well, he just likes us and hates you lot, so he always agrees with us. Kind of handy, when you're the teacher's pet," Draco replied. "Do any of the teachers like you?"

"Well, McGonagall usually likes me, which is why she was so mad that day. She was surprised that I could act like that," replied Ginny.

"Yeah. Snape argued with her when he heard I got a detention." Draco examined a baby dragon bone, then tossed it in a cauldron.

"You're so lucky."

"I know."

Ginny looked at the clock. It was almost nine o'clock. And they were almost done with the last cauldron. Some of the candles along the walls had started to go out.

"Do you know that crazy knight in the paintings, Sir Cadogen?" Draco asked.

"Huh? Oh, yeah. He's an odd one," Ginny said. "Easily excited, don't you think?"

Draco nodded. "Sure is. He was bothering me this morning. I told him I was heading to the Great Hall and he was all excited and starts going on about quests and stuff."

Ginny laughed.

"That happened to me once," she told him. "I was heading to Charms class and he was visiting another portrait of some witch. She looked annoyed with him. Hey-we're done!"

They had sorted all the ingredients from both cauldrons. And it was only 9:06.

"We'd better get the gloves back and clean them off," Draco said. They rinsed the gloves off in the sink, wiped them off with their robes, and Ginny followed Draco as he put them back in their cabinet.

"Lucky us he forgot to lock them," Draco said with a smile. He turned around and bumped into Ginny.

"Oh-sorry!" the both said. The two of them went back out to the dungeon. Ginny grabbed her unused hair clip that she had brought with her.

The last of the candles burnt out. They were plunged into semi-darkness, like in the Astronomy Tower. Draco found himself staring into Ginny's eyes.

What are you doing? What are you doing? You're losing it! Stop it! said a voice in his head. He tore his eyes from hers.

"I guess I'll see you around."

Ginny ran her fingers through her hair.

"Yeah," she said. "I guess so." She smiled at him. Her emerald eyes meeting his gray eyes. "You're not so bad after all. For a Slytherin." Then Ginny realized that their faces were just inches apart.

Draco noticed too. And they didn't know why, but neither of them pulled away.

"Yeah?" he replied. "You're not so bad, yourself. For a Gryffindor." He moved his face closer to hers. Ginny didn't back away.

Then the alarm went off in his head again.

STOP IT!!! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!

In one smooth motion, he inhaled deeply in frustration at himself and pulled away. Ginny looked away as well.

They stood there for a moment.

"I'll...umm...see you around," Draco said, avoiding her eyes.

"Yeah...see you," replied Ginny.

She flopped down onto her bed.

What happened back there? she asked herself. Did we almost kiss? The thought struck her like a bolt of lightning.

Draco Malfoy.

Of all people.

Him!

...

Why?

Ginny sat up. He's not so bad, though. He's actually...kind of sweet...

And cute...

"Stop it," she ordered herself. "Get a grip. He's Malfoy, remember? He's rude and mean and annoying-"

"'S that you, Ginny?" Asked a sleepy voice. Ginny looked over to the bed to her left. Jessica had woken up. Ginny felt her face turn pink.

"Yeah, did I wake you up?" she asked.

Jessica shrugged and replied with a yawn, "I guess so."

Ginny offered her friend a smile. "Sorry."

"'S okay. Hey, tomorrow's the big day!" Jessica said, sitting up. Ginny turned so she could sit facing her friend.

"What big day?"

"The trip to the island! Duh!"

Ginny blinked. She had totally forgotten about the trip, being preoccupied with the detentions.

"Oh, yeah!" she said. Jessica rolled her eyes.

"What do you think we have to do while we're there?" she asked.

Ginny shrugged. "Who knows. Now I'm glad my mum made me pack my bathing suit. She said 'Well, you'd better pack it, just in case, sweetie.'" Ginny spoke imitating her mother's voice. Jessica laughed.

"This is going to be so cool!" she said.

"Shh! Don't wake everyone else up! See you tomorrow."

"Good night," said Jessica. She rolled over and fell back asleep.

Ginny, however, did not fall asleep right away. Her thoughts were on tomorrow's trip.

And on Draco.

((A/N: There you go. I'm home sick from school right now, so I had plenty of time to type this. Just not all the patience. ^_- What do you think? In the next chapter, you lucky folks get to read about a tropical island! Da party's gunna be jammin', mon! ^-^ Catch ya later!))