A Touch of Sugar

by venom one

It was a months worth of detentions.But the time alone with Ginny was a lot more than Draco expected,odd feelings are starting to surface,and...he hears voices? Draco questions what these new emotions mean and he get's a little help from... well, himself.

7. Catch Me

It's done!!!!

A/N: The dream he had has something to do with this chapter…

There's also not as much as Ron as I had expected. Only two parts with him really…. But for that one reviewer that said she hated Ron then I guess that's ok. J

Chapter Seven: Catch Me

Arms crossed over his chest, Draco sat against the wall; looking at the other side of the room and muttering to himself sounding very distressed. He glared.

"Stupid Damien… that insufferable bastard. Who does he think he is?! Going around being such an intolerable git all night, stupid… stupid…" Draco couldn't find anything more creative to say so he settled with: "…bastard."

"Oh, this one is so cute!" he heard Ginny wailed from the other side of the room. She picked the small puppy in her arms and held him (yes, a him, Draco could clearly see it from where he was standing) in front of her face. The puppy licked her nose and she giggled.

Damien pointed to it. "That one's an owner surrender, it is."

"And what does that mean again?" Ginny asked slowly. Damien had been explaining all the different types of animals that were there and what it was called. Draco spoke up from the back of the room.

"That means the people came in and dropped the dog off at the front desk in person and not at the night box," he said. Ginny looked up to Damien to see if it was correct. He looked over at Draco.

"I thought you weren't listening Mr. I'm-in-a-bad-mood," he said, raising his eyebrows. Draco scowled.

"I just happened to overhear that's all, nothing to get all worried about,"

Ginny looked over at Draco. "Do you want to hold him?" she asked in a much better mood then when they had started off their evening. Draco looked at her and then back to Damien. He'd probably be sitting on the ground next to her pretending not to like all the cute animals, but Damien was there. Now he was stuck pretending over by the wall. Well, no. He wasn't going to let this bastard ruin his evening. His last detention.

"Sure," he shrugged and walked over to her; sitting down on the floor beside her and outstretching his arms. She handed it to him with care and the puppy squirmed playfully. He licked Draco's hands rapidly and gave a tiny bark.

Draco looked down at it with restrained interest. As a boy growing up with everything he could want, you'd never expect that Draco Malfoy had never come in contact with a real life puppy before. It was sad in horrible, childish way.

An odd feeling sparked up in him as he watched the small black fur ball sniffing his shirt curiously. There were patches of brown on its paws, muzzle, and chest and it's small nub tail was shaking back and forth furiously.

"I don't see why they cut the tails off of rottwielers. If you ask me, it's stupid. He can barely wag his tail,"

Draco saw Damien shrug. "I think that's just what they do; people are so used to them not having tails. I think that they originally started cutting off the tails because some of the dogs were used in war a long time ago and the tails would get in the way and the dogs wouldn't be able to work if it got injured. So they cut 'em off. And like I said, people were used to them without tails. However… I'm not sure if that's true, it's what my dad told me, though."

"I didn't ask for you to give me the history of dogs," he said handing it back to Ginny who took the small dog back gratefully.

            Draco looked around the shelter. For the past hour Damien had been showing them around and letting them take out a few of the animals. To Draco's disappointment, but Ginny's delight, they didn't have snakes there.

"So, what would you like to see now?" Damien asked, taking the dog away from Ginny and setting him back in the cage. She looked around the room they were sitting in.

"Cats… where are the cats?" she asked.

Damien smiled. "All right… this way."

He led them into a room and Draco was instantly greeted with the meowing of many, many cats. Ginny looked around.

"How cute…" she said. Draco crossed his arms and mimicked her in a high pitched voice.

"How cute…"

She glared at him but didn't reply. Instead she turned to Damien.

"Can I hold any?" she asked. Damien smiled…again.  What was with this guy?

"Sure you can…" he walked over to one of the cages and opened it. Inside was a small black cat. Maybe it was a kitten. He picked it up and handed it to her. Damien looked at it.

"He's getting… put down next week," he said lightly.

Ginny's eyes grew wide. "Why?!"

Damien shrugged. "No one will buy him. No one wants him," he said sadly. Draco looked away from him.

Oh god…is he trying to get her to like him or something? Wants her to think he's all nice… what a loser.

It would do you good to do the same…

Shut up

"I wish I could keep him…" she mumbled quietly, although Draco heard.

He glared at her as she held the kitten close to her chest. "Well, Weasley," he began bitterly, "if you weren't so poor you'd be able to save him…"

Ginny fell silent. Damien looked at Draco and back to her. "That wasn't nice… apologize, to her," he said.

Draco's mouth opened and closed rapidly. "What? Why?"

"I already told you why. Go on," he said, gesturing toward her.

"No. You're not my father…"

"I should be. Doesn't sound like yours taught you properly,"

"You know what? If my father…" Draco stopped. This guy had no business about how his father raised him. Of course his father raised him right, he'd raised him wonderfully. He'd prove this guy wrong. He turned to Ginny.

"I'm sorry Virginia," he took a glance at Damien that wasn't short of disgusted. "If you really want the cat, I'll get you the da…" he paused, perhaps that wasn't the best thing to say right now. "…I'll get you it," he corrected dully.

Ginny stared at him, Damien seemed slightly shocked. Draco only smirked. He was winning.

"What?" she asked quietly.

"I'll get you it," he said slowly, as if talking to a particularly young child. "You know, I hand him something called "money" and in return, you get the cat,"

Ginny stared and blinked, not knowing what to say. "Really?"

"Really."

She stared again.

"Listen. Do you want the thing or not because I tend to change my mind quickly,"

She looked down at the cat and then Draco with a slightly confused look on her face.

"Sure…"

Damien who had been watching now turned to Ginny.

"Well, what are going to name him?"

She looked at the cat and Draco again. His eyebrows rose expectantly.

"Dragon," she finally concluded. Draco gave a shocked looked.

She flashed him a smirk that only a Malfoy could give and turned back to Damien with a smile. 

~~~~~~~~~~

Draco pouted as he walked down the hall, not paying attention to exactly where he was going. His arms, once again, were crossed over his chest and his demeanor was different then usually.

"Bye Damien! Thank you," Ginny said, smiling and waving like a mad man, the small black kitten tucked under her arm. Damien bowed and pulled her hand to his lips. Laughing he said, "No problem."

            She blushed to the roots of her red hair. Draco took a deep breath and tried not to watch them. Behind him, Professor Snape didn't seem too happy either. Ginny turned around, "Draco aren't you going to say good bye?" she whispered. He glared at her, fuming. "No."

            Professor Snape gestured them to leave. As they left Damien called out to her. "Perhaps I'll see you around then, Ginny?" he inquired. Draco clenched his teeth and fists as she blushed again.

            "S-sure,"

            Draco turned around, the only thing on his mind was getting back to school. Well, perhaps not the only thing.    

Must get to the common room. That was the only thing he wanted and the only thing he needed right now. Common room…nice, warm, happy common room…

Wait, what was he thinking? That he had been accidentally transferred into Gryffindor?! Warm and happy indeed. Their common room was about as warm and happy as a snow shoe hare caught in a particularly violent blizzard.

Dormitories, that was it. Must get to the dormitories.

"Draco," Ginny said as they had just arrived in Professor Snape's room from the portkey. "I'm ashamed of you…"

"And so you should be, innocent little Gryffindor…" he answered. She seemed to ignore it.

"You were horrible all night long, all he did was act nicely and…"

"He acted nice because you were there and frankly I don't give a damn about how he treated me…" Draco tried to exit but found the fuming Gryffindor standing in his way with a cat cradled in her arms. He tried to ignore the fact that he had actually bought her something.

He walked and walked. Why wasn't he at his common room yet? He had went the right way didn't he?

Draco turned around. Perhaps not, because he had no clue as to where he was or in which direction he was heading. He had never been down this corridor before, it was strange how after seven years of attending Hogwarts, every once in a while he managed to get himself lost.

He frowned and continued onward. It was a perilous journey that everyone must face sometime in their life, getting lost in Hogwarts. But getting lost in Hogwarts was about the worst thing you could do when you really wanted to lie down by the fire and have a good sulk because most likely, you'd never get to.

Draco continued with his walking; it seemed to be the best thing to do at the moment. He couldn't just stand here in this corridor that was unknown to him and try and wait for someone to find him. That would be idiotic.

Suddenly, Draco wished that he hadn't been so stubborn and stayed with Ginny. At least then he would have been lost with someone. But did he want to get lost in the middle of a giant castle with Ginny?  

Perhaps, but Draco didn't wish to dwell on that right now. He had other matters to take care of…

"What do you mean he was only nice because I was there?" she asked as she – much to Draco's slight dismay but enjoyment – followed him down the hall. He sighed, figuring that the way to get rid of her and think on his own was to answer. There was the slight part of him that didn't want her to leave but since he was angry (for some reason that he couldn't put a finger on…) it seemed best for her to leave.

"You know what I mean. He was all over you the whole time…" Draco said, not looking over at her. Ginny's eyes widened at this and she stopped.

"He was not! He was a perfect gentleman unlike some of us!" she said, her eyes flashing with anger. Draco merely rolled his.

"Of course he was, he only wanted to get into your pants…" the second the sentence was out Draco regretted it. Ginny's mouth dropped and her eyes held an emotion he'd never seen before. Simply put, that was probably the most insulting thing anyone, including him, had said to her in a very long time. She was shaking with slight fury.

"You're horrible! How…" suddenly, she looked appalled.

"You're just jealous… you're jealous aren't you?"

Draco was thrown off by her forwardness and that it was now apparent she could read minds…

 

…Like finding out where he was at. There were no longer any doors lining the walls and the torches were just a foot above his head. Their flickering light cast upon the stones on the floor as he walked. He preferred to stay to the patches of light; you didn't know what could be in the shadows. Especially in a castle right next to a forest with weird and terrifying animals…

He still regretted that horrible Forbidden Forest escapade back in first year. It had been horrible…

Especially counting the fact that he used to scream like a girl then. Just the time to get scared in front of Potter, lucky him. He didn't scream like a girl any more that is, especially since his voice had cracked about four years ago. He remembered, back in the end of third year, grinning at the fact that Harry's hadn't… stupid childish bastard. And his voice still had an odd squeak to it every once in a while. Besides, Ginny needed a real man to take care of her. She should forget about all the Harry Potter wonder boy nonsense and see what was really good for her.

Draco had almost stopped walking right then. Did he just think that? Oh… he was in trouble now. Thinking stupid things like that… it was something that everyone but Draco would think about. This was bad.

He shrugged. Not like anyone cared. Not like any one would find out….

And if they did he'd kill them before they could say Quidditch. This was a touchy subject, it was, and no body needed to know.

Draco stared at her, feeling rather stupid that he couldn't come up with a witty retort. Finally he settled with, "Of course I'm not jealous Weasley. What the hell would I be jealous for?" he asked bitterly.

She stared at him, shaking her head angrily. Draco suddenly realized that during the fight, they had unknowingly moved closer to each other. Draco was looking down his arrogant nose at her when he noticed how close they were. He could actually feel her chest rising and falling against his own as she breathed heavy with anger. Just the smell of her made him want to lean down and kiss her and he wasn't sure that he'd be able to control himself for much longer. The feeling was coursing through him and was begging to be let out; to be planted right on those strawberry coated lips of hers…

"I don't have one damn reason to be jealous," he repeated firmly, perhaps a little more firmly than he had planned. His nose was almost touching hers. Suddenly, she put her hands on his chest. With a surge in his stomach he wondered what she was doing. It only came to him once he was several feet away from her, that she'd pushed him.

"Then either you're stupid, or your blind. I'd wager you're both…"

He glared darkly at her. He hadn't understood what she had meant and he sure as hell wasn't going to spend the time to comprehend it.

Not just yet anyhow.

Again, Draco began to wonder where he was at. Shouldn't he have found somewhere he recognized yet? There were a couple of doors now, scattered along the hall. Sometimes it would be several paces before he came upon another. They were ordinary doors, the only thing odd about them was their layout.

No, they weren't all ordinary doors. As Draco walked he came closer and closer to a dead end in the corridor and at the very finish was a strange looking one; set apart from the rest. He approached it and stopped. It stood out from all the rest… it was different. Of course, it looked like the rest; plain brown with a small silver handle, but something about it was just different. He couldn't figure out what it was. He cocked his head and raised an eyebrow as if it would help him understand better. It looked as though it had never been touched by the grubby hands of students. Was that possibly what was different? No… no it wasn't. There was something else… something that wasn't visible… almost like the door had been placed for him to find.

Draco turned around and looked back down the corridor then to the door again. It wasn't as if he wasn't lost enough, it couldn't possibly get any worse. It wouldn't hurt if he went inside would it? He could always walk back out.

He stepped up and put his hand on the handle, turning it and pushing it away from him. The door swung back on its hinges easily, it seemed to be beckoning him in further. He stepped inside. The room didn't have an extraordinary feeling about it. It appeared to be just like the other class rooms. However, there were no desk, chairs, or boards; anything that would suggest teaching. It was completely empty except…

Draco looked over in the corner. About ten feet away from the wall facing him was a large golden frame. The only thing he could see of its contents was the brown wooden back. It could either be a picture or a particularly large mirror. His brow furrowed and he peered at it with interested. Couldn't hurt to go see what it was, could it? Carefully and as quietly as he could, for a reason unknown to him, he walked toward it and around to the front. He didn't take the time to glance at the reflection, he had seen his fair share of mirrors in his lifetime, and instead he looked at the frame. There were small jewels encrusted in the gold leaf-like pattern; it was extremely exquisite.

He looked at the top of it. Small, calligraphic words were carved there.

Erised stra ehru oyt ube cafru oyt on wohsi

His eyebrows quirked. He had seen a mirror like this… there were only about 10 in existence and one happened to rest soundly in Draco's bedroom back at the manor. It was the mirror of Erised. Of course, there was a large sheet covering over it at the manor so that he didn't look in it often. He stared, not remembering what it did.  He smoothed his hand over the soft frame. It was odd and he still hadn't looked at his reflection. Not that it mattered, he had just realized that it was much too dark to see a whole lot in it. He was lucky that he could read the inscription because it had been as if the mirror was giving off a strange omniscient light that didn't reach out to the darkness of the room. As if it wanted him to read it. But again, he couldn't understand it. The only language he could speak was English. Though, he did know a bit of Latin and French along with that. But, the mirror contained none of those. Instead it was…

Well, what was it exactly?

Maybe, if he studied it, he might be able to find some clue as to what it was.

Because he certainly couldn't remember. Again Draco cocked his head to his head ever so slightly and a memory rushed towards him instantly.

It was his fifth birthday.

There weren't presents, or running children, or balloons. Nor was there a cake, candles, confetti… nothing of the sort. Not much of a celebration what-so-ever. He was given 'gifts' of course. But they were never wrapped and they didn't ever hold the charm as most presents would for a small child on his birthday.

            Little Draco was sitting on the floor of his room, idling playing with a spider he'd found crawling across the wood. He poked at it with his fingers, hoping with all his tiny little body that it would do something more remotely interesting than scuttle around dully. It never did. So, he began to practice his writing in the dust. He had just recently learned how to spell his name.

            Draco Tempest Augustus Malfoy

             It was very hard and he had been so proud of himself that he hadn't listened while being taught numbers, and ran to his father. He quickly showed the man and his eyes welled with tears when he had said it was nothing extraordinary.

            The fact the Draco didn't know his numbers properly yet, showed in the next line of dusty letters.

            10 year old.

            "There," he said grinning happily. "Draco Tempest Augustus Malfoy, 5 years old," instantly he swelled with pride but didn't dare stand up to show his father. "I'm so smart… when I go to Durmstrang, I'll be the smartest one there…"

            He was glowering with content just as his father came in.

            "What are you so happy about?" he asked.

            Draco's mood changed in an instant.

            "Hello father," he said meekly.

            "I've brought you a gift Draco," he said, not returning the hallow greeting. "Maybe you won't screw it up this time…"

            "Yes father…"

            Their butler suddenly wheeled in a large object. Draco stared at it, his wide blue eyes taking it in with slight curiosity.

            As Draco grew older, his eyes had lost that innocent blue luster and had become cold and grey as they remained to this day…

            "What is it father?" Draco asked, not trying to hide his excitement.

            Lucius Malfoy waved his hand lazily. "Take off the covering, Jeeves, and let him see it,"

            Jeeves did so and Draco found himself looking into an extremely large and beautiful mirror with writing on it. He stared in awe.

            "What is it father?" he whispered, unaware that he had asked the question earlier and hadn't been answered.

            "This is a mirror of Erised. It shows you your deepest, heart's desire. But, it can be dangerous… so I'd advise you to watch out and keep it covered when not in use…"

            His father left then and Jeeves gave a small bow at Draco and left too. Draco sat there staring at the mirror feeling slightly empty. He had gotten a mirror for his fifth birthday. A mirror. He had hundreds of those around the manor. Was his father hinting at something? Was Draco not cleansing enough? Brushing his hair and teeth properly? It sounded like something his father would do.

            Draco looked in the mirror and realized that the reflection wasn't of him in this dusty old room but he was outside. And he was playing. Draco was hardly ever allowed to play. But there he was in the reflection, riding around the grass on a toy broomstick. To the far right of the yard stood Draco's father. His arms were crossed over his chest and he was just staring at Draco happily with a small grin on his face. It was a genuinely pleased grin that people used when they were enjoying something.

            It was a smile that 5-year-old Draco had never seen on his father and never would again.

 Ah, so that's what it did then. It showed your heart's desire. Suddenly, he felt slightly anxious to see what his was. He hadn't glance in his for a while now and surely it had changed.

He glanced in it and simply stared at what he saw as his heart pounded painfully in his chest.

There were… well, there was a number of things in there. Draco saw himself of course… that was a given. There was a girl standing beside him. He had known automatically that it was Ginny. His reflection had his arm around her casually and seemed to be acting as though everything was right in the world. However, that was not the only thing in the mirror that Draco was surprised at. On the large stone wall behind him and Ginny, were many paintings. A large number of them were of couples. Some where kissing, some hugging, others were just there. The floor and drapings on the wall were deep red. Not blood red or anything gory like that, but simply a pleasant deep red that one would see during Valentine's Day or something. He noticed something else too. In the corner of the reflection was a large roaring fire and in front of it sat a woman and a small child. They were sitting cuddled on the floor and she was reading to him out of a large book. Draco's heart heaved for some unknown reason and he ached to touch them to see if they were real because the warmth and love coming out of the reflection certainly seemed so. He had rarely had this feeling in his life. The only times – he decided – were when he was around Ginny. That was a positively frightening thought and he turned his attention to why all that was in his reflection. His heart's desire really had changed but to what exactly, he wasn't sure. He wished to sit in front of the mirror for the rest of the night and simply bask in the warmth of it all the while particularly enjoying the site of himself and Ginny. But he thought better of that idea. His father had said it had been dangerous and he knew why. When he was five he had sat in front of the mirror every day for nearly a year in hopes that it would open and would be some portal so that he could go play too, because he had desperately wanted to. But that had taken all the energy out of poor Draco and had actually gotten him sick. No matter how much he liked this image he – very regretfully – turned from it and slowly, very slowly, walked towards the door to leave; wondering what the hell it all meant.

He slept very badly for that night and a few of the one's to come.

~~~~~~~~~~~~

One Month Later…

The common room seemed more packed than it usually did. Gryffindors were scattered about everywhere; reading, chatting, playing games, or finishing homework. Some people were trying to juggle all of them at the same time. Not Ginny though. She seemed to be solely set on finishing whatever paper she was working on. It looked like it was Muggle Studies. Ron frowned. He didn't know until a couple days ago that she took Muggle Studies. Obviously, he wasn't paying close enough attention to that. However, he was good at paying attention to other things. Like people. Ron, surprisingly found himself intrigued with peoples emotions and their actions. He often reflected on how they were feeling and was able to talk easily to most people using this skill.

            It had actually really started back in fifth year when he realized that he had started liking certain girls. Like a girl that was sitting across from him right now; nose buried in a text book. He sighed. Unfortunately, she was taken. Did they think he didn't know? Could they really be that dense? Not only could he tell by the way that they acted but his sister had tipped him off to pay more attention. Obviously, she knew somehow. Why wouldn't they just tell everybody? What were they afraid of? Him? Yes, Ron could be jealous at times but when it came to his friends, he really wanted the best for them. No matter how much that it actually hurt him…  

            But that didn't matter. Not when he had stuff going on in his own family that he needed to pay attention to. Ron looked over at Ginny again. The last few days had been… odd, if anything. Ron had begun to notice things. Things he didn't want to notice; things that made him… confused. Ron was very observant. You might not think so, but he was. It had been a month since his little sister had been freed of her detentions. Ron shuddered, at first he had felt sorry for her… a months worth of detentions with Malfoy? No one wanted to go through that. But now… he didn't know what he felt for her but it was confusing. He had been watching her over the past few days, her behavior had somehow changed. She seemed unusually happy to the untrained eye. To most people, she seemed back to normal. For that month that she had the detentions she had been easily irritated; always snapping at people and never in a good mood. Ron had thought at first that it had been because of Malfoy. And now she should be happy… ecstatic that she didn't have to see him any longer. And to most people, it seemed as though they had their old Ginny back. But she wasn't. When it seemed that people weren't looking Ginny looked awfully… lonely. Like something was missing. Something she didn't want to admit was missing. It was like when he had had Scabbers. Ron was constantly complaining about him but when he was actually gone that had been another story completely.

Ron didn't know what was wrong with her but he knew that it had something to do with Malfoy.

            Malfoy. He had been acting different too. Unfortunately, Ron had noticed this also; he hadn't wanted to of course. During the detentions Malfoy had seemed a little higher up on the 'nice scale'. Of course, he was still only a 2 but his usual attitude earned him a negative 100. So, he had actually improved quite a bit. Which was odd… and scary. What was different from that month than any other in their school career?

            Of course, the answer was that Malfoy had been with Ginny for at least an hour every night. But how should that change anything? It shouldn't. Not unless something was going on. And Ron was almost positive that there was.

            It had started out with little things. The fact that Malfoy wouldn't try to kill Ron if he had called him 'ferret' or 'daddy's boy', usually at times Ron would receive a "…if my father…" or "… listen Weasel." Now all he would get was a "Shove off," or "Not now, Weasley."

            It wasn't exactly that Ron was complaining but still.     

            Then Ron started to notice that Malfoy didn't eat as much as usual (which was quite a lot, actually). However, the blond antagonist seemed to devour strawberries in a heart beat.

He slouched to his classes and didn't seem to have the same arrogant air about him as he did normally.

            And then there were the looks. Whenever Ginny passed the Slytherin in the hallways to or from class, Malfoy would just barely glance at her quickly and move his eyes defiantly to the floor. Not in an embarrassed sort of way but more angrily. As if he had lost something or that it hadn't been given to him in the first place. And everyone knew that Draco Malfoy hated not getting his way. He'd clench his teeth and continue to class, only to glance behind his shoulder again to watch the redhead descend down some flight of stairs. But this time, he wouldn't look angry. Almost… hurt. If Malfoy could ever show "hurt". Which, Ron didn't think exactly could be possible for someone that cold and stiff. Malfoy was an enigma all right.

            Ron would often catch Malfoy glaring over at Ginny during dinner too, as if something was her fault. Of course, Malfoy always wanted to have someone to blame things on. Ron would look up and their eyes would meet. Then, Malfoy would become cold again and be almost back to normal by narrowing his eyes and mouthing "Screw you," to Ron. And Ron would almost smile, that is until a burning furry would build up in him and he'd suddenly, desperately want to protect Ginny from whatever plan Malfoy seemed to be scheming.

            But Malfoy, too, had that look as though something was missing.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

As Ron grew closer to her, Ginny looked more and more lonesome. But why? Of course, the reason he was going over there was to find out. Would she tell him though? Did he even really want to know what was going on? Perhaps he did, perhaps he didn't. Well, he knew that at least something was going on because Ginny wasn't sitting by herself any longer.

            Dean had just come and sat by Ginny as Ron was walking toward her. Her face seemed to light up a bit, but not much. And it made him wonder. Exactly what was she thinking? Shouldn't she be happy to see him? They had, much to Ron's distress, been going out for the couple (though for a while she had been going on and on about some guy named Damien…).

            Ron had noticed that Malfoy hadn't seemed too eager about that either.

            Quite the opposite actually.

            For example, Dean and Malfoy had gotten into a fight during potions just the other day.

            Dean had come back to the common room that night with a black eye and cut upper lip. He had obviously come off worse in the brawl.

            It had all started because Malfoy thought Dean had looked at him wrong.

"What are you looking at Thomas?" he had spat venomously over the top of his cauldron.

            "Er… nothing?" he said, cocking his head.

            Malfoy's eyebrows rose. "What was that?"

            "I said nothing Malfoy…" Dean said, sounding slightly confused.

            "Didn't sound like it…" he hissed.

            "Well, that's what I said,"

            Malfoy became indignant. "Do you feel like messing with me today, Thomas? Because if you do, you're setting yourself up for a major ass kicking…"

            Unfortunately, Dean rose to the bait. "Oh really?"

Poor Dean. He should have just quit while he was ahead. Ron sighed as he sat down in a chair across from them. Dean gave him an apprehensive glare.

            "Hey guys,"

            "Hiya…" Dean answered. Ron looked at him. He, on the other hand, looked completely giddy compared to Ginny. Possibly because he was just accepted to go into the ministry after school ended.

            "Um… Gin, I was hoping I could talk to you alone…" he said, more to Dean than to her. Dean seemed to have got his meaning.

            "Alright," he stood up and placed a hand on Ginny's shoulder. "I'll see you later?" She looked up at him slowly.

            "Oh… sure," Ginny replied quietly as Dean walked off. Ron got up to sit on the couch beside her.

            "So… how's it going?" he asked, looking down at her. "You don't look to well…"

            Ginny shot a poisonous glare at him. "I'm doing homework, Ron. Do you think I'm going to look happy about it?"

            "That's not what I meant, Ginny. And you know it…"

            "I don't know what you're talking about, Ron," she said shortly. He shook his head. Of course he wasn't going to get a straight answer out of her. He should have known. Alright, so he was going to have to fight it out of her. So be it.

            Besides, Ron held the remarkable skill of getting Ginny to tell him things.

            "Ginny, what happened?" he asked slowly. Because something had happened and Ron was determined to find out what.

            "Nothing," she said quickly, returning back to her work desperately as if it were an escape. His voice held a warning tone when he next spoke.

            "Ginny…"

            "Alright," she put in miserably as if she had lost some kind of game. Which it was. This was a game. "He… kissed me. But that's all…" her face flushed. Obviously, she had known what he was talking about.

            Ron was aghast. "What?"

            "Don't make me say it again…" she said, embarrassed.

            "Is that all?" Ron inquired. They had… kissed? Dear Lord… this was worse than he thought.

            "Well there were… no… nothing," she had stopped herself from revealing anything important. He didn't talk for a while and just sat there staring at her oddly. His little sister… kissed Draco Malfoy? He finally spoke up and was restraining himself to keep a calm voice instead of yelling: "What the hell were you thinking, dammit?"

            "Ginny… and I'm not asking you this as my normal stubborn self," he laughed dryly before he continued. "I'm asking you seriously. Do you have any feelings for Malfoy?"

            She glanced up at him quickly and looked down again. "Ron, don't be stupid…"

            "Answer me Ginny… do you have any feelings for him?" he shuddered at the sheer thought of it.

            "No!" she said indignantly.

            "Ginny, are you sure?" he asked, his voice dropping to a gentle whisper, one he didn't think he could have.

            She stuttered. "Of course… Ron, I… you see… Dean…"

            "Don't bring Dean into this," he said, shaking his head. "If you really cared about your relationship with Dean, you'd put more heart into it…"

            "But my heart is in it!" she defended.

            "It is not… and pretending it is, isn't only hurting you but it's hurting him as well…"

            Ginny didn't answer. They sat in silence for a bit and Ginny seemed to be thinking about what he said and rolling it over in her head. Her face gave away the fact that there was a battle of thoughts playing in her head. Finally, Ron broke the quiet…

            "When?"

            She turned to him, startled. "What?"

            "When did he kiss you?" he asked with a little more force than he meant.

            "It… it was a while ago. During detention…" she said weakly. Ron became slightly outraged at the thought.

            "…!..."

            I knew they weren't supervising them enough!

            Ginny seemed to have read his mind perfectly. "They were supervising us plenty…"         

            Silence again. Then…

            "Was it only that once?"

            She didn't answer him at first. She sat and stared at her Muggle Studies text book.  

            "Yeah… well, no – not really,"

            "There were more?" he asked loudly. Harry, who was over sitting with Hermione, turned his head to look at them quickly. Ginny glanced at him and then back to her brother.

            "Ron, I don't want to talk about this right now…" she said quietly.

            Ron sat there and struggled with what he was hearing. It wouldn't help to get angry with her. Of course… this wasn't her fault. It's not like she had kissed him. Malfoy probably made the first move. But why…?

            That stupid bastard was so hard to understand…

            Ron tried to control his voice and decided to go with the friendly approach that might get her out in the open.

            "You know… it's okay Gin. You can tell me. Everyone goes through these phases where the fall for bastard people like Malfoy. And if there was someone more wrong in the world than Malfoy then God help me…" he trailed off and looked back at her.

            Some kind of emotion flickered on Ginny's face momentarily. "He can be nice sometimes…" she said firmly.

            "Yeah, I know…" suddenly, he realized what she had actually said. It wasn't what he thought it had been which went along the lines of: "I know… Malfoy's a total bastard…" He stared at her… "What did you say?"

            "That wasn't fair what you said… he can be nice on very rare occasions…"

            His eyebrows rose. "Give me an example…"

            "Well… I don't know… he – ate Neville's toad to prove that he was sorry to me once," she said slowly. Ron looked at her. He hadn't known that Malfoy had eaten Trevor. Heck, he had forgotten that Trevor was actually gone.

            Ginny rather struggled to continue, as though she was realizing all this stuff for the first time too. "And once, he stopped a skrewt from biting my hand off by jumping on it and he ended up getting his face burnt again…" she laughed slightly at the image of Malfoy getting burnt for a second time.

            "And then he sent those Dungbombs off because someone was about to attack the school and he wanted everyone out of the great hall because they'd all get…er… attacked,"

            Ron hadn't been paying attention to the last one, the word "Dungbomb" had been enough for him.

            "I don't call all that very nice. I call that stupid," he said quickly. Ginny looked up at him a-matter-of-factly.

            "Listen, he can be nice… and funny and I know deep down that he actually cares about stuff. Now, it may not be the kind of things normal people care about but it's still something and that's important to him…" her chest was rising and falling a little faster than usual as she looked at him.  

            Ron stood up and looked down at her. He could leave now… he knew what was going on. And it shocked him. He had to go somewhere to think about it. He looked down at her quietly. "If you don't have any feelings for Malfoy… then why are you protecting him?"

            Ginny looked up at him and seemed to be imitating a rather large fish. Ron just winked at her and turned around to go to the boy's dorms. As casual as anything he finished with:

            "Later…"

             ~~~~~~~~~~

Draco sighed and flopped his arm lazily across his face.

            Home…

            He would love to be at home right now. Away from all this nonsense.

            Away from all this… love crap that Goody Tempest had been taking about a few minutes ago. They'd had an argument. Goody seemed to think that he had deep feelings for Virginia, Draco on the other hand didn't…

            Quite the opposite.

            And what was Goody Tempest's defense and proof that he was true?

            You're completely miserable without her…

            Draco was particularly pissed off about that. So now they weren't talking to each other anymore. Simple and easy. Draco just wouldn't think.

            Which actually was going to be quite hard…

            Especially since he was doing a lot of thinking right now. Was he miserable without her? Did he actually have feelings for her? Well, after his long time of thinking Draco had come to one conclusion…

            Yes.

            Plain and simple… Yes.

            Draco must be the plague of all in the Malfoy family. Feelings? Malfoy's didn't have feelings. Except for him… this wasn't fair.

            What were those feelings, exactly? Only time could tell. But there was a more important question nagging at the back of Draco's mind… not the fact that he had feelings for her but more…

            Did she have any for him?

            And, after a bit more thinking, Draco came to yet another conclusion…

            No.

            No… it rang like a bell in Draco's ears. No… no…

            Soon, it sounded as though someone was actually saying it…

            Nope, nada, no, none, zip, zilch, just forget about it loser…

            Oh, so maybe someone was saying it…

            I thought we weren't talking any more?

            He didn't get a reply.

            Good.

            Draco looked at the night stand. A small package was sitting next to his lamp.

            You were supposed to give that to her a month ago.

            We aren't talking. Get out of my head.

            I can't, where the hell am I supposed to go? For the first time he had sounded slightly angry.

            Draco crossed his arms indignantly. I'm not talking to you any more. Draco was relieved to find that he didn't get an answer. He looked out the window enjoying his moment of peace. Stuff was just so complicated now. Really it was. How was he ever going to keep up his reputation of being the bad boy when his personality gets totally thrown off balance whenever Ginny was near? It was like he wasn't even the same person anymore. Every time that he saw her he somehow transformed into this guy that she could possibly come to like after time. It wasn't supposed to work this way; nobody else had been able to get him to act like this.

            At least it couldn't get worse, could it? At least he wasn't tramping around getting all romantic and crap over someone like Granger. No, this was nothing compared to that; there was no possibility that he'd ever fall for Granger. Not now, not ever.

            Actually, there was a time when he thought falling for Ginny wasn't possible.

            It actually showed that people should pay more attention to what they said. Perhaps someone was punishing him for always treating her badly. Damn them…

            Or maybe…

            Draco frowned. Didn't a months worth of detention seem awfully harsh for just getting into a fight? And they weren't really fighting either, she had just punched him. They should have only gotten one detention and a couple of points taken away from the houses…

            A months worth though? It was as though McGonagall and Snape had purposefully given them that amount of time together. What exactly was she playing at?

            This question raced through his head and he'd probably never know the answer…

            ~~~~~~~~~~~

Two months ago…

"Severus this is all getting very ridiculous!" Professor McGonagall said as she walked past a group of Slytherin's bullying a small Gryffindor first year. "All the years that I've worked here it hasn't changed one bit… not one bit!"

            Snape looked over at her, annoyed. "Minerva, please stop your complaining. I'm not in the mood. Slytherin and Gryffindor have always been rivals. It's been like that since the founders were here, there's nothing we can do to change it and you know that," he said evenly. McGonagall let out a puff of air.

            "There are ways we could change it. There has to be. What if we forced the students to spend more time together? Both would realize that the other house wasn't that bad. I'm not saying they have to get along and be friendly but the fighting and competing that takes place is absolutely horrid. Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff get along perfectly well, why can't it be the same with these two,"

            He glanced at her as they continued down the hall, having just come from dinner where this argument had first started. "The rivalry that goes on between the houses is what keeps this school alive. It keeps them competing against each other like you said, it makes them strive to be better. If everyone liked each other you wouldn't have half as interesting Quidditch matches, the house cup wouldn't be nearly as fun for the students, and Hogwarts would turn out to be as dull and dreary as Beauxbatons,"

            She seemed to refuse to take his point, though he had made several good ones. "But it's unhealthy for the well being of the students,"

            "It is not," he disagreed firmly.

            They continued walking and McGonagall couldn't think of much to say at the moment. Suddenly, Professor Snape seemed as though he was about to talk when a Hufflepuff third year came running down the corridor; not paying attention to where he was going. He ran straight into Snape. The Hufflepuff was knocked to the ground while Snape was barely disheveled. The boy stood up and with round frightened eyes stared up at his potions Professor. 

            "P-professor Snape! I… didn't see you," he said frantically.

            "That much was evident," Snape said darkly. "Ten points from Hufflepuff. Now get out of my site before I make it twenty,"

            The boy nodded. "Yes sir," he said taking off in the other direction. Snape narrowed his eyes after him.

            "Severus that was uncalled for," she said as they resumed walking.

            "He should have been watching where he was going instead of being so reckless. I swear, the next student I see put a single toe out of line is getting a detention. Better yet… make it a months worth,"

            "Let's not get impractical, we don't give out months worth detentions," she said.

            "We should, it would teach the students a lesson or two about behaving. Honestly, half of the detentions I give…"

            He stopped as they rounded a corner. In front of them, however still quite far away, were two examples of their earlier discussion.

            Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy.

            Seeing them alone together was very uncommon for Professor McGonagall. It had happened only once before and they had been fighting…

            Which seemed to be what they were doing now. Before McGonagall could say anything she saw Ginny's arm pull back and…

            Collide square in the middle of Draco's face. McGonagall's eyes widened, where had that girl learned to punch like that? Draco got up and said something to her; covering his now bloody nose. Ginny seemed about to leave.

            "Stop right there!" Professor McGonagall called out, briskly walking forward. Professor Snape followed her. As she neared Draco she realized it was worse than she had thought; his nose was obviously broken.

            I can't believe this, she though to herself. This is exactly what I was talking about. Suddenly, she remembered what Professor Snape had said earlier. Quickly, she decided that she should make up a punishment before he had a chance to but it was too late, the words were already spilling from his mouth.

            "Miss Weasley! Fighting in the hall?" he seemed to pause momentarily, trying to come up with the right punishment for punching someone who resided in his house. "That'll be a hundred points from Gryffindor and a…" he paused yet again and McGonagall hoped that he would say it. "A months worth of detentions!"

            She saw Ginny Weasley's eyes grow extremely wide. "But Professor he…"

            Snape cut her off quickly. "No buts," he said firmly. Professor McGonagall was about to intervene to change it when something occurred to her. Hadn't she been just saying that perhaps there might be a way for the houses to spend some more time together? Wouldn't the students take it as an example if they saw one of the most popular boys in Slytherin with Gryffindor Ronald Weasley's little sister? It would probably shock them into liking each other. Perhaps they could both have the detention. A whole months worth. Imagine, Draco being forced to spend time with a Gryffindor sixth year for more than an hour every night for thirty days. This was truly one of her more brilliant ideas.

            "Severus, I think the boy should get punishment to," she said slyly. "Obviously he taunted her…"

            Both Snape and Draco's eyes widened. "Minerva, she could have permanently damaged him," the older of the two said. McGonagall didn't pay attention to Ginny who had the look as though she had just been hit in the stomach with a troll's club.

            "Oh his pretty little face will be fine," she said glancing at Draco's nose. "After he goes up to the hospital wing they can both have detentions together. It's only fair," she said resolutely.

            "But Minerva…" Snape started. McGonagall threw him a look that said "I'll explain later" and was relieved when Draco spoke up.

            "Professor, please can I go to the hospital wing?" he said, his nose still dripping with blood.

            Professor McGonagall smiled. This might be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the two houses…

            But it could also lead to certain disaster.

            ~~~~~~~~~

Er… later.

"So Minerva, what is it exactly that you want me to do?" Dumbledore asked, his hands folded on his oak desk. He looked at Professor McGonagall who was sitting in a chair directly in front of him.

            "Sir, I set up that they serve the detentions together. I think that something good might come out of it," she said, rather apprehensively. He raised an eyebrow.

            "How so?"

            "Well, you see, Severus and I were discussing the rivalry that goes on between Gryffindor and Slytherin. This seemed like a perfect opportunity to show the students that it doesn't always have to be that way."

"Minerva, do you know what happens when a boy and a girl end up spending that much time alone together? No matter how much they happen to dislike each other…?" his soft blue eyes twinkled.

            "Well, yes Headmaster but honestly do you think there is even the slightest possibility that can happen to this particular pair? Draco Malfoy and Virginia Weasley?"

            "It can happen to everyone. I'm sure you remember Arthur and Molly, am I correct?"

            "But that was different," she said, giving dry laugh.

            "How so?" he asked, raising his eyebrows.

            "They didn't hate each other…"

            He gave her a short look.

            "As much…" she added quickly. Dumbledore sighed and shifted some papers on his desk.

            "Just be careful, meddling in the lives of students can be very dangerous; especially if it has to do with their emotions…"

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Getting Malfoy to talk was going to be much harder than it was to get Ginny to, Ron decided. Malfoy never talked to Ron voluntarily unless it was a rude, off hand comment. And he especially didn't go about boasting feelings for Ron's little sister. So this was going to be… tough. And interesting. Especially since Harry seemed to be sticking closer to Ron than he usually did. But maybe it only seemed like that today because Ron actually didn't want him there.

As the minutes until they went to potions ticked by Ron actually was a bit… nervous. He had to know what was going on between Malfoy and his sister. Because most people couldn't see it… but it was there. As clear as water. And to Ron, it stuck out like Harry would at a rock concert…. You could see it from a mile away.

But he didn't want to see it. Why'd it have to be him to notice it and not some else? Someone who wasn't about to puke and the pure horrendous thought of Malfoy actually liking his sister.

Someone who hadn't just seen Malfoy walk by and suddenly have the urge to strangle him. But instead, what he said in cheerful tones was…

"Hi Malfoy,"

Ok, so maybe that was going to make him puke. Had he really just said "Hi" to Malfoy? Of all horrible outrageous things to do in the world!

Ron watched apprehensively as Malfoy turned around slowly on his heal to glare at him. He had a bemused expression on his face as he looked at Ron.

Oh great. Ron should have known. Be nice to Malfoy… and he kills you. Slowly and painfully just with his eyes which, at the moment, seemed to be drilling into Ron for an explanation.

"What?" Malfoy asked.

Of course, if he wanted Malfoy to talk then being nice to him might just be the way to startle the words out. Malfoy wasn't used to people always being nice to him.

"I said hi, Malfoy," Ron said smiling brightly. "It's a beautiful day isn't it?"

Harry was looking over at Ron as though an alien from some other planet had taken over his body.

Perhaps one had.

But none the less… this plan seemed to be working, no matter how little its effects were. Malfoy looked nonplussed.

"Er… hi…?" Malfoy replied, his eyebrows still meeting his hair line. Ron was startled that it had sounded… nice, to some degree. Especially coming from Malfoy. He had expected a "What do you want, Weasley?"

But, maybe that's because something was wrong with Malfoy. Something that started with a "G" and ended with an "inny Weasley".

Ron fell into step with Malfoy as the Gryffindor and Slytherin seventh years made their way to potions. The Slytherins were giving Ron murderous glares while Harry still looked utterly confused but followed Ron none the less.

Malfoy sent him a glare that could have burnt through a fire proof wall. Ron remained calm. Harry remained… still totally bewildered.

"Ron…?" he whispered urgently. Ron silenced him.

"Wait, I'll tell you in a bit…"

"So Malfoy, like any girls lately?" Ron made a cough that sounded oddly like "My sister." Malfoy stopped dead.

"So that's what this is about…"

"Pretty much. What's going on?"

"What do you know? What do you want to know?"

"Do you have a thing for her?"

"Weasley, what the hell is wrong with you? Of course I don't… I'm too busy with all my other woman…"

Ron looked at the group which only consisted with one girl at the moment: Pansy. He smirked at her.

"What women?"

Malfoy scowled.

"Shut up Weasley… Come on guys,"

            Ron looked at Malfoy's back, defeated. Then, he thought of something. Something that would get Malfoy's, and all the other Slytherin's, attention in a heart beat.

            "Why is it that you kissed her then…?" he asked loudly. Malfoy froze and so did all the other seventh year Slytherins. He turned to stare at Ron. His face was betraying him with a shocked look. Instead of denying it or just ignoring the comment what Malfoy said, in a small questioning voice that seemed foreign to him, was:

            "How do you know?"

            There was a shocked gasp from the Slytherin crowd. Pansy pushed her way toward him and grabbed his arm.

            "Draco… you didn't!"

            He flung a hand up to stop them all; they fell instantly silent.  Even Blaise didn't seem to have anything further to say.

            "Go. Go now… all of you," Draco ordered. They didn't budge.

            "Did you hear me? You'll be late for potions if you don't hurry…" he said again. Reluctantly they started to continue down to the dungeon until only Harry, Ron and Malfoy remained. Malfoy looked questioning.

            "How do you know?" he repeated. Ron glared down at him….

            Yes down… he was still quite a bit taller than Malfoy.

            "She told me..."

            Malfoy looked shocked. "She told you? So… does that mean she told you about the pound thing… or the port key thing… or when we were in Snape's office…?"

            "What?!"

            "I was only kidding you prat…" he said, smirking evilly. He stared at Ron quickly and then continued. Ron was still trying to recover from what Malfoy had said.

            "Well, that never happened…" Malfoy finished quickly.

            "What didn't?"

            "I didn't kiss her," he said firmly. A little too firmly.

            Ron highly doubted that Malfoy was telling the truth. "But you just practically admitted it…"

            "Well, let's pretend I didn't…" he said, walking back toward potions. Ron called out to him.

            "Malfoy get back here!"

            He didn't, and he gave them a last glance as he shut the dungeon door behind him.

            Well, there was still Care of Magical Creatures.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ron's chance to figure out what really was going on came later that day. Not much later actually. The Gryffindors where on their way to Divination, the Slytherins to Transfiguration. Some how they ended up going down the same hall at one time, unfortunately for some people, but to Ron's delight.  Malfoy was just a few steps in front of him. Time for action again.

But, Ron didn't get his chance just yet. Who hadn't been paying attention to where he was going from some reason, bumped into someone (this person happened to be Ginny but Malfoy didn't know it yet) and his book bag dropped to the floor. Several of his things fell out, including a small package.

"Oh, I'm sorry…" she said.

 He bent down to pick them up; so did Ginny. Ron watched them curiously, they hadn't known they bumped into each other. As Ginny was trying to help him their hands touched and he pulled it back instantly, almost as if he already knew it were her just by the contact. His eyes went up slowly.

"Weasley…" his voice cracked. She gulped.

"Malfoy…" the package was in her hand and Malfoy quickly looked down at it before returning his eyes back to hers.

"Um…"

She cut in. "Uh, here," she shoved it toward him. He took it and stared down, he gulped and ran his hand through his hair.

"Actually, it was for… you," he said, carefully not looking at her, the tips of his ears turning slightly pink. He pushed it into her hands and she stared at it.

"Really?" she asked. "Uh, thank you but… why?" she was blushing now. Ron noted, with slight irritation, that their faces were very close. Malfoy stood up.

"It doesn't matter," he said, walking off, holding his bag with more care than he had been before. She stood up to and was staring down at it with interest. Ron went up to her.

            "Ginny, what was that that he gave you?" he asked slowly. She looked up at him quickly.

            "Obviously I don't know, I haven't opened it. Go away Ron,"

            Then she walked off too. What was up with people lately. Ok… Ginny wasn't going to talk to him. Now it was Malfoy's turn. He quickly followed him, gesturing Harry to come to. He came somewhat reluctantly. The reach Malfoy just as he was about to go up a flight of stairs. The hall was clearing now and most people were already at their classes.

            They stopped him.

            "What did you just give her?" Ron asked quickly. Malfoy glared at them and his lips curled.

"Nothing, shove off,"

Ron stopped him from walking off again. Yes… he was being the cliché over protective brother at the moment. So what? Something might be going on and he wasn't going to let Malfoy hurt his sister. "Tell me…"

"No, I don't have to. It doesn't matter,"

"Listen Malfoy, and your therapist might say otherwise, but I think that you might have… have fe-"

Malfoy's next words were rushed and he didn't seem to know exactly what he was saying. Perhaps if he had, he may have been a little bit more careful to what his words were.

            "Listen Weasley, it doesn't matter that I have feelings for her! Go away…why don't you just leave me alo…" Malfoy had clamped his hand firmly over his mouth to stop him from embarrassing himself further. He desperately looked from Ron to Harry.

            Harry seemed to be suppressing laughter and Ron? Ron was absolutely, positively mute with horror. Of course, he had known that something was up but this? He hadn't expected this. He shadowed Malfoy by throwing his hands over his mouth also.

            At Ron's side, Harry was still rolling in silent laughter. Ron watched as Malfoy dove at Harry, knocking him into the wall and holding him up by the hem of his robes. Malfoy's nose was inches from Harry and his eyes were threatening.

            "Don't you dare tell her, Potter," he hissed in Harry's hear. "If you do, I swear… you'll wish you've never been born. Do you hear me? You won't breath a word of it…" despite his threats, Malfoy seemed frantic.

            How stupid can you get? Ron thought. The prick practically just told us that what he said was true. Couldn't he have denied that he had said it?

            Harry winced. "Ok, OK… I wasn't going to tell her anyway… get your bloody hands off of me…"

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny flung her dorm door open and hurried inside, shutting the door swiftly behind her. Hopefully, no one would come in. She looked over to her bed where Dragon was lying fast asleep on one of her pillows. She sat down next to him.

            "Hey you. Are you hungry?" she asked him. His deep gray eyes looked up at her and he meowed.

            "Alright I'll go get you something right after…" she faltered and looked down at the pockets of her robes which were protruding slightly. She reached her hand in and grabbed the small package. She cocked her head and frowned.

            "I wonder what it is," she asked herself, her heart pounding slightly. She turned it over in her hands; it didn't say anything. She slowly pulled the wrapping back and a small paper fell out and fluttered to the ground. She bent down to pick it up.

Here. Happy birthday. Sorry it's late.

-DTM

P.S. Maybe you won't hate me now.

            Her eyebrows met in the middle of her forehead as she moved to what was in the package. "How did he know it was my birthday?"

            It was a bracelet. A small silver and green bracelet. It didn't look too expensive but it still the fact that he had got her a present… jewelry at that.

            Didn't guys get jewelry for people they…

            Ginny shook her head. Of course not… it wouldn't even do to hope that that was true. No way, no how. She slipped it over her hand and looked at it. The colors were so very… Slytherin of Draco to get her.

            "The worst thing is…" she said to herself quietly, stroking Dragon. "I don't hate him."

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~   

Not that much later…

Not much had happened after that. Draco avoided Ron, Harry, and even Ginny most of the time now. It was too risky to do otherwise. And now… something the whole school had been waiting for all year was just about to start.

            Quidditch. Gryffindor vs. Slytherin.

            The game was more anticipated this year mainly because the last time Slytherin had, amazing, won. 180 points to 90. It hadn't been a close game… that is, until Draco caught the Snitch. Anything could happen with the Snitch, it could turn the game around at last minute.

            Well, Harry had been sick last year. But Draco liked to pretend otherwise.

            The two captains glared at each other.

"Potter, Malfoy, shake hands," Madame Hooch said, rather fearing for each of the boy's safety. Both of them scowled and grasped hands, each one trying to break the bones of the other.

"Alright, that's enough," she said. "Mount your brooms…" Draco swung his leg over his broom, glaring at Harry. "On my whistle… three – two – one…" Draco kicked off the ground just before she blew her whistle. Harry followed. It used to be that his Firebolt could out beat Draco's in an instant but not anymore. Harry's broom was nothing compared to the Tazer.

After about ten minutes in the air, Draco became bored. The Snitch was no where to be seen. Harry was only a little bit away and seemed nervous for some reason.

"Easy there, Potter! We wouldn't want our youngest seeker in a century getting hurt like last year!" Draco called out to him

"You might want to be careful, Malfoy. Your girlfriend might hear you," Harry yelled back icily. Draco scowled.

"Pansy isn't my girlfriend anymore…" he said bitterly.

Harry smirked. "That wasn't who I was talking about…" he jerked his head at something behind Draco. He turned around, looking at the players confused. That's when he spotted her.

"What the hell is she doing here?" he turned to Harry.

"She's a reserve…"

He tried to reclaim himself. "I'd think that you Gryffindors would realize that the Weasley's weren't actually helping your team… You just keep on letting them in for some reason. Must be pity. Slytherin would never let them keep getting on the team, well… they'd never get into Slytherin in the first-"

Draco stopped suddenly. He had been looking over at Harry but now…

He had spotted the Snitch, flitting just above one of the goal post on the Gryffindor side. Harry turned around to see what Draco was looking at and at the same time they dove. However, Draco was still on his Tazer, the best broom in a century. He lunged forward suddenly. He and Harry were side to side, racing to get there first; their knees bumping into the other's. Draco elbowed him in the side fiercely. He smirked as Harry gagged and fell back.

"…and Malfoy and Harry Potter, who we might add has never lost to Slytherin aside from last year, are racing for the Snitch. Although Harry's the better Seeker he might lose again to Malfoy's broom. The Tazar, which is the newest, fastest broom on the market, can reach speeds up to 180 miles per hour and has excellent…"

"Finnigan…" McGonagall warned.

"Sorry Professor…"

Draco tried not to pay attention of the commentary. He was growing on the Snitch with quickening speed. Any moment now…

There was a yell for somewhere above him. He stopped in mid air and turned around. Harry, who was still after the Snitch, barreled into him and froze too.

"Dodge this Weasley!"

With sickening realization he noted the yell to have come from Pansy and she hadn't been talking to Ron.

What she had done, was sent two angry bludgers straight at…

Ginny, who was unaware of all of it. Because of the excitement of the game, Pansy's remark was unheard by her. And currently, Ginny was facing the opposite direction, anxiously awaiting a pass from her brother who had just received the ball from Thomas. She couldn't see the bludger either.

"… and the Quaffle is passed to… Well look at that, the Seekers stopped before they reached the Snitch…"

Harry was glaring at Draco angrily. "What do you think you're doing? The Snitch is gone now…!"

Draco wasn't listening to him.

"Weasley, behind you!" he yelled. Both Ginny and Ron turned to look. Ginny's eyes grew wide as she saw the bludgers heading right at her but she didn't move, possibly frozen with fear.

"Why aren't you moving?" he muttered to himself. "Come on, move Weas-"

CRACK!

Ginny let out a cry as the first bludger hit her square in the chest.

"They don't seem to really be paying attention to where it is, for some…" Seamus' voice changed suddenly. "Bloody hell! Ginny Weasley, Gryffindor reserve, has just been brutally ambushed by the Slytherin Beaters…that's a foul, damn it! Somebody better catch her before she falls off her broom!"

Harry gasped and at the same exact time as Draco said, "Ginny!"

He looked over at Draco startled but his eyes didn't remain there for long. Ginny was clutching her broom with one hand and her chest with the other. The ball, which hit her extremely hard, was probably enough to break her rib cage.

And, still both at the same time, Harry and Draco raced toward her as she painfully slipped off the edge of her broom.

It was as if they were in a race for the Snitch, but more seemed to be at stake here.

Well, it sure seemed like that to Draco at least. He had no clue what Harry was thinking.

Well, actually he did. Harry had turned to him while they were still trying to reach her…

"What are you doing, Malfoy?!" he yelled over the rushing of wind as they gained speed. Draco yelled back to him not regarding his words, which didn't seem to really matter right now.

"What does it look like I'm doing, Potter? I'm trying to save my 'girlfriend'," and with a spurt of speed he broke ahead of Harry.

He was under her now. Any minute… come on…

His broom dropped a foot as he caught her in his outstretched arms.

As she opened her eyes to looked at him Draco's stomach did a familiar flop. She seemed awfully hurt and was surprised to see it was him.

"Draco?"

"Thank Merlin she was caught but… is that Malfoy? It is. Draco Malfoy, Slytherin Captain and Seeker has just caught her. Well I'll be…"

Draco opened his mouth to speak. He should say something. Something nice or something to show his concern or something comforting…

The problem was; Draco didn't know how to comfort people. He spoke. Almost regretting the words that hadn't even come out of his lips yet.

"I told Potter you Weasley's were useless when it came to Quidditch."

"…and Malfoy's just sitting there like an idiot! Bring back down to ground already!"

She looked at him confused. There was some bloody trickling from somewhere on her head. She must've clipped it on her broom as she was falling.

There it was again… that feeling of complete defenselessness. That feeling that if he didn't kiss her at that moment – that very moment – that he would absolutely die from lack of her lips on his. That would be a funny way to die, it would. And embarrassing in a way. He closed his eyes, trying to calm his breathing and subdue his pounding heart because in her position he was sure she'd be able to feel it. Draco didn't want her near him any longer because it made him feel that the only logical action would be to kiss her, that the only logical thought would have to be of her. It was a horrible feeling and yet thrilling at the same time. Draco felt the slight urge to drop her and try to calculate if the feeling would leave or just increase immensely with her absence.

Suddenly, Draco remembered something…

There was still another bludger coming. Bloody hell.

The crowd had all gasped when Draco had caught her and now they turned their heads and winced as now Draco was pelted with the bludger. His broom dropped another foot.

Draco bit his lip as white hot pain coursed through his arm. How was he supposed to play the rest of the game with a broken bone?

"Ooh, and Malfoy is hit by his own Beater! The plot thickens!"

He decided the best thing to do was get Ginny back on the ground. He lowered his broom and the teachers and students came out to meet them instantly.

"That was spectacular Mr. Malfoy…" Professor McGonagall didn't even seem to care that he was on the Slytherin team. Madame Pomfrey was furious.

"I don't see the point of this ruddy game!" she said, grabbing Ginny. Pomfrey then looked at Draco.

"And you're hurt too!" she exclaimed. McGonagall glanced at him.

"Yes, it would be best if you got to the hospital wing…" she said. Draco made an indignant noise.

"I'm not that hurt. I'll keep playing…" he said, holding his arm.

"You can't!" Ginny's voice piped up. Some people turned to her, shocked.

"I will if I choose to," Draco said, throwing his leg over his Tazer and wincing.

"But…"

He didn't hear her for he had already taken off.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"They're getting Ginny ready to be carried over to the Hospital Wing but it looks as if Malfoy wants to continue playing. But after a hit like that it looks as if the Gryffindor Seeker will have the advantage…"

 The first thing Draco did, however, was go up to Pansy. She seemed particularly happy about something.

"What did you do?" he yelled at her. She seemed confused as he glared at her.

"I hit her," she said, as if stating the obvious.

"Why?"

"This is Quidditch Draco. People are going to get hit; people are going to fall off their brooms. For Merlin's sake she's a Gryffindor!" she said.

"But you aren't supposed to hit her purposefully! How can you be so reckless, you could have killed her!"

Draco didn't know that Ginny could hear him yelling at her.

"And? She deserved it. Draco, what's gotten into you? It shouldn't matter!"

"It does matter. You prat!" he said squeezing the end of his broomstick with fury.

Pansy looked utterly shocked. "Draco! What has gotten into you?" she repeated.

"Nothing," he said, through gritted teeth and turned to continue looking for the Snitch.

"And the game continues. The Quaffle is passed to Pitchard, the newest Slytherin Chaser. Then to Baddock and Morag. Oh, it's intercepted but Weasley, who passes it off to Thomas and… oh no, stolen back by Pitchard again, this kid must be good. Somebody better get him before he…" Seamus swore and got a cross look from McGonagall. "Right, right…" he carried on dreadfully. "Point to Slytherin. The score's now 90 to 70. Gryffindor's down by 2."

Minutes went past and still nothing. Much to Draco's distress, Harry had been on his tail since Ginny had been taken out of the game. He kept annoying him with snide comments and Draco was about to explode.

"Why don't you give up, Malfoy? Ginny doesn't care for you tagging around her trying to win her heart, it'll never happen," he said.

A spark of anger flared up deep in Draco.

"Potter, if you say one more thing about it, I'll slap you so hard it'll look like you've been beaten with an ugly stick," Suddenly he smirked, switching his tone altogether. "Oh wait, it looks like somebody already did it for me…"

"You're not so pretty yourself,"

"I hope I'm not pretty. I'm satisfied with unbearably handsome, unlike some people who can't seem to get anybody better than a Mudblood,"

Harry fumed, he was shaking now. You never insulted Hermione in front of him. It was probably the stupidest thing someone in Hogwarts could do.

"I can't see what you think Ginny will ever see in you," he hissed.

"And I can't see what Granger sees in you, scar face,"

Ah… again, the Snitch comes in a lovely spot during a conversation, only this time, Harry spotted first. It had been right under them and in order to get it both had to do a ninety degree dive. Not good. Draco felt as though he was going to fall off of his broomstick. Harry was still a couple of feet in front of him.

"Ah, everyone can turn their attentions back to the Seekers who are again after the Snitch. Harry's ahead of… no, no now they're even. Someone needs to get him a slower broom… they're knee to knee,"

It was close now. They were side by side… almost to the ground. The Snitch hadn't moved yet, hopefully it wouldn't.

This was going to be the dive of the century.

Draco gripped onto his broom, he was going to collide with the ground. His hand was stretched out and he could see Harry out of the corner of his eye, desperately trying to reach the Snitch before he did.

Come on. Any second now and he would be there. He was going to hit, he was.

With a final burst of speed he reached out and felt something hit his hand. The Snitch? No… it was wet and felt like grass

Draco smashed into the ground with a sickening thump. He saw Harry slowing down, obviously not wanting to do the same. Draco rolled off his broomstick and onto the ground. He moaned in pain before…

"Aha! The Slytherin Seeker crashed! That arm must've effected him but…no bloody way! "

With a large triumphant grin his hand reached up and grasped onto something that was fluttering in the air about a foot above him…

Take that Snitch! 

Its tiny white wings beat against his hand furiously.

He stared at it; his heart pounding in his chest. "I beat Potter…" he said faintly. He smiled broadly and stood up, although it was clear that his arm was broken.

Draco could hear over half of the school booing and hissing at him. But that didn't matter. The Slytherin stands were making up for it with a blanket of noise that could have beaten the other houses any day.

Tazer racing broom: 310 galleons. Special summer Quidditch camp: 75 galleons. The look on Harry's face: Priceless…

Draco pointed his finger at him victoriously. "Take that lightning head!" he yelled. "That's the second year in a row that I've beaten you!"

Harry looked as though he had just been dumped by Cho Chang…

Oh wait, that already happened.

Off in the distance Draco could hear Ron yelling a string of swear words.

That Weasley sure had a mouth…

"Slytherin wins the match with 240 points to 70," came Seamus' voice with much disappointment.

The Slytherin team was racing down to him. As they touched the ground Draco heard a particularly familiar squeak.

"You beat him, Draco!"

A pair of arms was thrown around his neck as Pansy hopped off her broom.

"Cease from groping me woman!" he yelled at her. Apparently, she had already forgiven him for his little talk with her… the girl was such a flake.

Someone pushed through the crowd of Slytherins.

"Mr. Malfoy, let me check that arm! I can see a broken bone from a mile away!"
            Madame Pomfrey pushed her way through the crowd to him. She looked up at his face and gave an annoyed look.

"And you've still got damage from that bludger! Come… I'll get you fixed up," she started for the direction of the castle. "Hurry up now, you're bones aren't going to mend just standing there!"

             ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Draco hobbled into the hospital wing slowly; cradling his arm. Madame Pomfrey wasn't too far behind him. She bristled past him.

            "Come on, I should have known that someone else would get hurt too…" she said quickly. "Mrs. Weasley's already here. She got the wind knocked out of her she did…"

            Madame Pomfrey took a quick glance to the corner of the room. Draco looked too. Ginny sat in one of the beds looking rather put out. The bed next to her was empty. Madame Pomfrey gestured towards it.

            "You can take that one, sweet."

            "But-"

            "No buts," she said. Draco sat down on the bed. He continued.

            "Why do I need a bed? I've only got a broken arm…" he said, cradling the afore mentioned body part. He saw Ginny take a glance at him before returning her gaze to the window.

            "Because you're not well. Now lay down,"

            "But I'm perfectly well! I'm fine, if you would just fix…"

            She stuffed chocolate in his mouth. He was taken particularly by surprise because of this and choked it out onto his hand. The wet brown lump sat in his palm.

            "What's the chocolate for? I'm not sick or anything,"

            "Put it back in your mouth and eat. I'll be back with the potion to fix your arm…"

            Quickly, she left the room.

            Draco leaned over the side of the bed and stuffed the mushy candy under it. He sat back up and rested his chin on his hand.

            "She gave me chocolate, too," said a voice from the bed next to him. He turned. She didn't look too well and there seemed to be something large stuffed under the front of her robes. Probably some kind of cloth or compressor easing the pain. But why not magic?

            Draco didn't answer her. None of them talked for a while. Draco was just too tired to talk, that was it.

            Ginny broke the silence. "Why did you do that, Draco?"

            He raised his eyebrow. "Because that chocolate was nasty and it wasn't necessary that I eat it."

            She sighed. "That wasn't what I meant. You know what I meant. Why did you do it?"

            Draco's reply was fairly short. Perhaps he should have thought up an answer.

            "Oh," was all he said. "Oh"? That wasn't even an answer. Was it even officially a word. He had never seen it in the dictionary before…

            He was suddenly interrupted.

            "And why did Pansy hit me in the first place?" she paused. "Why did you break up with her anyway? Right after she had her outburst in the Great Hall a really long time ago… she walked passed me and said 'You'll pay Weasley, when you least expect it'…. Or something like that. Does any of this have to do with me?" she asked quietly. Though most people wouldn't have a clue as to what she was talking about, Draco knew exactly what she meant. He didn't answer her. What was he supposed to say to her? 'Yes, I think I'm bloody falling in love with you and she hates it.' Was that what she wanted? Probably not…

            He continued to look at the sheets.

            "Draco, does it?"

            His teeth clenched to keep him from saying anything he didn't want to. "No," he said flatly.

            "But…"

            "No, it doesn't. What else do you want me to say?" he asked firmly. Ginny quieted.

            "Nothing… I'm sorry," she said.

            ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Ginny wouldn't leave him alone. She seemed determined to find out about Draco, Pansy, their break up, and if it had anything to do with her. Especially the part where she got him. Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table the weekend after the game. She glanced over at Draco. He was quieter than usual. This could either be good or bad.

Samantha had been overjoyed that Draco caught her and was constantly teasing Ginny about it. Just like she was now.

"You should have seen the look on his face when you were hit. He looked so sad or… maybe worried. It was sweet whatever it was. You're so lucky, Gin…"

Ginny glared at her. "I'm not lucky… there isn't anything going on."

Samantha raised her eyebrows.

"Well… not that I know of, then," Ginny continued. Samantha smirked.

"That's what I thought… ooh!" She pointed somewhere. "Look, look, he's getting up!"

Draco had just stood and was heading out of the hall. Samantha gave her a push.

"Go get him!" she urged. Ginny looked confused.

"Go get him?"

"Yes… just go… talk to him or something. I'm sure he'll realize how much he likes you," she said excitedly. Ginny wasn't moved.

"What am I supposed to talk to him about?" she asked. Sam shrugged.

"I dunno… ask him,"

Ginny's shoulders drooped. "I already have and he never answers me," she said.

"Well… maybe he will this time. Come on… go. I know you want to,"

Ginny sighed. "All right…" she got up and headed over to the door reaching it before Draco did. He stopped when he realized that she was blocking him. He looked irritated.

"Hi," Ginny said smiling, her knees getting slightly weak as she looked at him. He glared at her.

"Hullo," he said bitterly. "Have you come to pester me about whether or not it has anything to do with you?" he asked. Ginny sighed.

"Yes," she said shortly.

"Well, it's really none of you're business… now leave me alone," he said, turning to go the other way. She grabbed his arm, her stomach gave a jolt at the contact.

"Please?"

He looked down at her hand and his lip curled. "Why do you want to know so badly?" he asked. Ginny looked up at him. Should she tell him why she really wanted to know? Was it the actual reason or was her brain just playing a trick on her…? Was her heart playing tricks on her? No of course not. "Listen to your heart," was what people said. How was she supposed to listen when it was saying something this ridiculous? When it was trying to tell her that…

            No. That was absurd. Positively, one hundred percent absurd. But yet why did it feel so right? Millions of questions raced through Ginny's mind suddenly and she only just realized that Draco had been staring at her, confused, still waiting for an answer. An answer that she should have been able to give him without hesitation. The answer should have been, "I just wanted to know you prat. It's none of your business,"

            But instead…

            "I wanted to know because I…I," she could seem to find the words. All the wrong ones seemed to be wanted to push up through her throat and spill out of her mouth. But she couldn't let that happen. It would reveal everything that she had kept secret. It hadn't been for very long but for some reason it seemed forever that she hadn't told anybody that she actually really liked Draco Malfoy.

            Oh, her brother was going to kill her when he found out.

            If he found out.

            Draco had raised his eyebrows expectantly.

            "Because why? I couldn't quite pick up your answer… you know, you're supposed to finish your sentence,"

            Ginny didn't have the heart to get mad at him right now. She looked up at him. If he continued this she was bound to tell him. If he stood there just looking at her, Ginny would feel compelled to admit everything to him. She'd have to. Her eyes pleaded him not to make her say it.

            He didn't seem to get her meaning. "Well?"

            She wrapped her hands around each other. She muttered very quietly, "Because I think I've fallen…"

            She paused painfully and almost sighed with relief as Draco cut in. "You've fallen as in how?" his voice sounded tight and restrained.

            She looked up at him and let out a soft inaudible sigh. She cast her eyes quickly to the ground so they wouldn't betray her.

            "I think that I might've fallen in l- "

            Something muffled her words and she stopped, bewildered. She looked back up again. Draco had clamped his cold hand over her mouth almost frantically and leaned in close to her so only she could hear him.

            "What?!" he hissed. She stared up at him, her eyes growing round. He stared at her for a moment and than took his hand away very slowly; looking slightly confused.

            He leaned back slightly as if wounded. "What?" he asked sincerely.

            Ginny swallowed the lump in her throat. This was it… she was going to tell him. Of course she was. Why else had she been put in Gryffindor? She was brave and honest and if that meant standing up and telling Draco Malfoy that you had fallen for him then so be it. She didn't care what his reaction was.

            Come to think of it, she did. That's the whole reason she got herself into this mess. Because she cared about how he felt.

            It was actually very shocking.

            "I kissed you Draco."

            Ok. So maybe that hadn't been what she was going to say but it was a good start.

            He looked slightly confused.  "So?"

            "It wasn't when we were in the hall during detention," she explained. "It was when you were sleeping," he still looked confused. Ginny began to feel as though she was rambling. "Sam and I were… visiting you and she told me that you had broken up with Pansy and then she… dared me to kiss you. And…well, it was for 50 galleons so I said yes. And I thought that I wasn't going to like it and I thought that it was going to be horrible just like the first time we kissed…."

            "Oh thanks…." He mumbled, taking a look at the ground. She sighed, he wasn't making this any easier on her.

            "No, listen Draco. I thought I wasn't going to like it; I thought it was going to be horrible. But it wasn't. I… liked it."

            Draco stared and it seemed as though he didn't know what to say. She continued. "I mean, maybe it was because you were sleeping. Or maybe it was because I wasn't feeling well. But that doesn't matter because what I felt when I kissed you won't go away…. Believe me, I've tried to make it," she said.

            "You probably think that this has nothing to do with what you asked me… but it does. Ever since then I've seen you differently and I've felt for you differently. And… and I've noticed things. The answer is that I was hoping it did have something to do with me and that the reason was because you…"

            She faltered. She couldn't say it. Being a brave Gryffindor had gotten her so far. Perhaps she didn't need to continue. It sure would save her a lot of embarrassment.

            "Are you trying to say that you think I've…"

            She interrupted him. "Not necessarily thinking you did but… but hoping so."

            An odd expression sped through his face but it was gone so quickly that Ginny wasn't sure it had been there, suddenly he changed and his character was bitter.

            "And what leads you to these conclusions, Weasley?"

            As her surname spilled out of his mouth Ginny's heart dropped. He couldn't call her Ginny. He had before. Even Virginia would do. She actually liked when he called her Virginia in a way. It was different; nobody else called her that. She liked how it sounded when he said it. Why couldn't he call her Virginia now when she wanted him too?

            She couldn't seem to find an answer for him. He didn't seem up to waiting.

            "Are you saying that you hope that I might like you; might have feelings for you?" he asked this as though it were something so absurd that it shouldn't even be thought of. Ginny looked up at him; her eyes like saucers. Oh why did it have to be him? Why couldn't it have been Dean? Or even Harry? But… Draco? The pointy-faced (though remarkably handsome) snotty, rich, Slytherin prat that was everything but what a normal Gryffindor could possibly want?

Ginny's heart plummeted and she looked away, biting her lip; hoping for the tears not to fall from her eyes.

            Horrified, she felt one drop onto her cheek. Oh why must she get upset now? He had been mean plenty of times to her. Why did it suddenly have to matter so much?

            She saw the boy in front of her go ridged as he watched at her. Had he seen it? Furiously, she wiped away the tear and stood tall with her chin slightly in the air.

            "That's not what I said," she replied firmly, wishing this conversation had never been started but still trying to show him that he wasn't going to affect her. Draco looked at her with that same expression that he had had earlier. The one she thought hadn't really been there. But perhaps it had.

            "But it's what you implied," he said. Ginny was about to answer when she noticed that Draco had taken a step closer to her.

One thing that Ginny had learned about Draco was that he never stayed in the same mood for very long. He might be happy then suddenly upset. In this case he went from bitter to… well, whatever he was. It was much gentler than usual. Draco Malfoy was a very odd young man.

Suddenly, she realized that he had started talking. "But in this case," he said frowning slightly. "Your implications would be right," he looked into Ginny's eyes causing an odd mixture of feelings to stir up in the pit of her stomach.

Ginny looked up at him. Had he just said what she thought he did? He couldn't have…

Did he realize they were still in the Great Hall? In front of the entire school? Did he realize that people had started to stare at them with confused and bewildered looks? Ginny could vaguely hear voices talking amongst the crowd.

"Is that Draco? What is he doing with that Gryffindor girl?"

"…………………."

She stared into Draco's eyes apprehensively. He wasn't acting like himself. This was out of character for him.

What startled her was that she knew what was in character for him.

"Look what he's doing…" a small voice hissed from somewhere behind her.

The voice broke Ginny out of her trance and she suddenly noticed that Draco's hands were holding her lower arms and he had taken yet another step towards her. He…

Ginny's heart pounded against her chest fiercely; threatening to break her rib cage. She wasn't sure what was going on. This is something that only used to happen when she was around Harry but now, as Draco stood so very close to her, she felt as though she was going weak in the knees, as though her stomach was twisting itself into knots. She looked into his eyes, deep pools of grey that seemed to be sucking her in; that seemed to hypnotize her so that she didn't seem capable of controlling her body any longer.

All of this for the boy she used to hate?

"Dra…"

But again, Ginny's words were cut short only this time; it hadn't been because of Draco's hand…

I felt so bad for Draco when I wrote the bit about when he was five. I re-read the last sentence a couple of times and it made me just want to hug him… even though I had made it up. Yes, weird… oh well… that's me for you.

            I honestly don't know when the next chapter will be up and I don't want to lie and say soon like I have before. Well, those weren't lies but I had been very wrong with my assumption. School is busy and so is my life therefore I don't not get to write as often as I do on vacations. Hopefully when Spring Break comes around, which is two weeks long for me… I'll be able to crank out more than one chapter (probably meaning two) in that time. I think I should be up to chapter nine or ten around that time. It just depends….