Disclaimer: Don't own any of these characters places or anything at all in this story.
The next day Ginny had a class she liked, care of magical creatures with Hagrid. The day passed really quickly and Ginny was still excited that she had gotten the potion right yesterday. She had told Hermione who had said, "I knew you could Gin!!" Which was exciting because she loved Hermione and took her comments seriously. Ron and Harry had been surprised but excited for her also. She hadn't told anyone about talking to Malfoy though. She knew they would all snort and say he didn't mean it or that he was under the influence of some potion. After dinner Ginny picked up her potions book and read up on all her potions because she had a detention with Snape in the morning. She figured he'd probably try and get her to make some obscure potion for detention. Around midnight she tried to go to sleep, only to lay awake in bed for three long hours before deciding to get up.
It was three a.m. in the morning and Draco couldn't sleep. He didn't need sleep much; he was one of those lucky people that thrived on only 4 hours of sleep a night. He was sitting up in one of his favorite places to be, the astronomy tower. He looked out at the sky and let his mind just be blank and relax. He was doing really well, feeling very relaxed until Ginny Weasley came tromping up the stairs. He turned to face her.
"What are you doing here?" He asked in a surprisingly mild voice.
"Couldn't sleep." She looked at him sitting there in his cloak looking very cute. She stood there dumbly.
"Well? Are you going to stand there all night staring at me Weasley?" Draco asked in the same tone as before except now it had amusement in it. "Sit down."
She moved and sat across from him. They were sitting on floor of the room. Ginny was surprised at his tone and actions but she liked it and oddly she wasn't afraid. They sat in silence, Draco looking at the sky, Ginny looking at Draco. He was so handsome. His hair was an amazing shade of blonde and it was a little longer so it fell into his eyes occasionally, which Ginny thought was sexy. Ginny finally broke the silence. "What are you doing up here?" Draco looked at her considering.
"I have a hard time sleeping sometimes. I don't need much sleep anyway so I come up here when everyone else is still catching up on theirs."
"I couldn't sleep tonight either and I decided to come up here. I never come up here but tonight for some reason I felt like I should." Draco continued to stare at her making her uncomfortable.
"I know what you mean." Why was he talking to her like this? Treating her like she was a friend to him. He usually treated her mean and was rude, but she had caught him with his guard down and he didn't feel like raising it yet.
"What?" She asked not following the question. She looked back at him uncertainly.
"Doing things because for some reason you feel like you should." He shifted to a more comfortable position.
"Right. Like anyone could FORCE you to do anything." Ginny snorted.
You could he thought to himself. "No but I do feel compelled to do things because it's what people expect."
Ginny looked startled by the revelation. "You what?"
"Well look at Potter." He shrugged and continued, "I do hate him, that's true enough but not for reasons people assume. Not because he defeated the Dark Lord, I pick on him because everyone assumes I should. My family included." He pointed at her, "You included too. You think I'm some horrible evil person, so I'm horrible to you. Evil might be taking it a bit too far though." He smiled to make it seem like a joke but Ginny knew he was serious.
"I don't think your evil." She told him.
"You don't have to say that because it's the socially acceptable thing to do." Draco looked away and told her in a cold voice.
"I'm not. I really don't think your evil. I think you are mean to people but it's a mask. A pretty convincing one too because I totally believed it until a few years ago. So don't think you know me because I don't presume to think I know you."
He turned to look at her. "If you don't think I'm evil why do you always shrink away from me in the halls?" he accused rudely.
"I've got a mask too, Draco." she told him quietly.
She looked right into his eyes and she could see that he was beginning to understand. Everyone has their faces they show and that was one facet of hers, she was supposed to fear a Malfoy. It was expected. She loved his eyes. A stormy gray when he was upset and a squalling gray when he was angry. They could also be so peaceful and welcoming when he was relaxed. Right now they were a mixture of all three.
"That's true. Id' never thought about it like that. It seems so...ridiculous."
Ginny smiled at his confusion and her eyes were suddenly drawn toward the heavens. She scooted closer to Draco still looking at the sky and asked, "Which is you favorite?" She was so close she could smell the soap he used. A scent that she had always liked because it made her feel happy but she'd never been able to figure out why, until now. Draco looked from her face to the sky.
"I like the Big Dipper the best." He said causing Ginny to absolutely crack up.
"What??" she sputtered between laughs and Draco smiled.
"It's the only one I can ever find!" Ginny was laughing so hard she leaned on Draco for support and he gladly put his arm around her to help. Draco was chuckling now too. When Ginny finally stopped laughing she looked at Draco and he was smiling down at her. "I'm not the greatest constellation locator." he explained
"Me either. That's ok though, we all have our strengths." She leaned into his body a little more; loving the warmth he gave her in the cold.
"I know. Your good at healing and creature care." Draco surprised Ginny by commenting.
"And you're good at everything except healing! Isn't that weird? You're so smart, I mean you're a prefect! Oh and of course your horrible at astronomy." She smiled up into his face. How come it couldn't always be like this between them? She felt completely at ease here sitting with him talking. It was strange because it was Draco, but it was also thrilling because it was Draco. She didn't want it to end almost but she had to get up early to go to detention cleaning the potions floor. "Why is it so easy for us to talk here but nowhere else? Maybe because your finally dropping your mask. You did it once before...do you remember?"
Draco looked down into Ginny's brown eyes and wanted to kiss her so much it was almost unbearable, he almost gave in but sanity prevailed. "No when?"
Ginny smiled at his forgetfulness. "Duh Stupid! It was about six months after you fell off your broomstick. On the way to Hogsmeade my wallet got stolen..."she looked at him expectantly, waiting for him to remember. "You helped me, gave me some money. I remember you also told me not to worry that it would be fine, and then you turned and walked away. I was a little freaked out by you acting all nice and reassuring but after that I knew there was more to you than it seemed." Ginny impatiently brushed Draco's blonde hair that had fallen into his eyes away. "Also when you fell off your broomstick, you tried to act all tough. I knew you weren't and were in horrid pain so I helped. You also were trying to be nasty I think, but it turned out real flat. Like it was a strain for you to come up with all those cutting things to say. Then you thanked me with this look of pure sincerity in your eyes and I knew I was missing something." She finished finally.
"Your right about some of that. Now I remember the wallet thing. I had forgotten about that."
"I have to go." She looked at Draco once more and stood up. "This has been a night I won't forget."
"You can come here anytime you can't sleep. I'll probably be here. Night Ginny." Draco was sincere.
"Night." Ginny left and went back to her room, finally able to find peace and sleep.
A/N: So do you like it?? Is Draco too unlike himself….see I think he's softer on the inside than people think. So anyway! Review please I like em and hmmm oh the next chapter will probably be posted in like a week. Thanks for all the past reviews guys and putting my on your lists I was so excited when I noticed that!!!
P.S. Please read my other story a simple gift the one about ginny and mr. collins. It's a good one I think!!
