A/N: You have my greatest apologies, I'm sorry it took so long for me to update. For this chapter, I had some er, inspiration, from certain reviewer. You know who you are. Please thank Angie, because without her, it would indeed have taken longer still. Remember, Read and Review.

Chapter 8:

~ Differences ~

Harry slowly moved his head, burrowing it deeper into the pillow where it lay. He was extremely comfortable. A soft glow of light seeped through the curtains surrounding his bed, creating a magical effect on the red bedspread. The morning birds sang, and a gentle breeze ruffled the once calm curtains. He opened his eyes to a slit, just seeing the satiny, red material, of the drapes. He closed his eyes, not wanting to get up. It was a Sunday, why should he get up at dawn?

Ginny sleepily brought her hand to her face, wiping the sleep out of her eyes. Her bed was unusually comfortable. She pulled the blankets up around he chin. Her feet knocked something. Not remembering the end of her bed to be so close, she sat up, to inspect what had denied her feet space. Glancing at the foot of her bed, she saw a lump of her blankets. Frowning, she tried to push them out of her way.

Harry felt something tugging at his blanket, quietly muttering, he tried to get back to sleep. The tugging continued.

"Ron, let me go back to sleep." He mumbled.

The bed went completely silent. No mumbling occurred, not a blanket rustled, all breathing paused.

Ginny slowly pulled back the top layer of blankets. Looking at her was a boy, not any boy, but a boy with sparkling emerald eyes, and completely bed rustled hair. A boy who stared back at her, silently, a blush rose to her cheeks, his doing the same. Minutes passed, neither breaking eye contact with the other. Suddenly, Ginny gently pulled back her curtain. Glancing out she saw her friends sleeping bundles on each respective bed.

"Oh god."

Her friend Jen must have evidently been awake. She glanced over at Ginny when she had heard her speak

"Is something wrong Gin?" Jen asked, concern flooding her voice.

"No, nothing at all." Ginny somehow managed to squeak out. "Just a nightmare, I'll try to go back to sleep."

Jen pulled herself into a sitting position. "Not me, I'm going to get ready for the day." She walked into the connecting bathroom, shutting the door.

Ginny quickly closed the curtain, glancing back at Harry.

"You have to get out of here!" She hissed urgently.

Harry gaped at her, only starting to register what was actually happening. He had woken up from that very pleasant sleep in Ginny Weasley's bed. Oh god, Ron was going to kill him, and Fred and George were going to help. He could look forward to a slow and painful death. This wasn't going to be fun.

"Umm, I-I g-guess I sh-should g-go?" He managed to stutter.

Ginny just glared at him.

He slowly got to his feet, not wanting to disturb the sleeping girls. Just as he was about to reach the door, the door to the bathroom opened and Jen walked out, toothbrush in hand, waving it around to prove her point.

"Do you think Dean likes me, 'cause they way he's act-," She saw Harry, helplessly standing at the door. "Holy sh-"

She was cut off by Ginny, who interrupted by saying,

"Jen, shh, please be quiet, I don't want anyone jumping to conclusions."

Jen, it seemed, had already jumped to conclusions.

"You guys are together?" she hissed. "You're sleeping together?"

"What!?" Harry was brought out of his dazed confusion. "No! It was a accident."

Jen smirked. "Sure it was."

An even redder blush rose to Harry cheeks as he thought about what Jen had said.

Ginny sighed, clearly aggravated with the present situation.

"Harry just go." Harry looked at Ginny one last time before leaving. When he closed the door behind him, he breathed a sigh of relief. At least nobody else knew besides Jen.

And maybe Hermione, Hermione walked by him, down the hall to her room. She paused, slowly turning around, clad only in her nightgown and fuzzy slippers.

"Harry!" she whispered. "What are you doing in the girls dormitory?"

It seemed her reputation as the smartest girl in the fifth years class, seemed to be delayed. Then, the wheels started turning in her head as she noticed whose room he had came out of.

"Ginny!" she gasped. "You and Ginny? I knew you were friends and everything, but I didn't think it was going this far-" Hermione continued to babble on about the dangers, how she didn't expect this to happen, and how Ron would react.

"Hermione, you can't tell Ron." Harry pleaded. "Please."

"Why shouldn't I?" she huffed. "He has a right to know."

"But were not sleeping together! We just slept together. Not in the way you're thinking."

Hermione raised her eyebrows, clearly amused and appalled with the current predicament.

"Please." He pleaded with her one last time.

She sighed, wanting to promise Harry that she wouldn't tell Ron, but feeling guilty that if Ron found out later, that she knew the whole time.

"Maybe. It depends what happens after this." Harry looked incredibly relieved, for 'maybe' was better then 'no'.

She gave out one last sigh, and then walked back to her room.

Harry snuck out of the girls' dormitory, across the hallway overlooking the common room and into the boys' dormitory. He slowly crept back into his room and fell onto his bed with a great sigh of relief.

He heard rustling in the bed next to him. The curtains of his bed to the left of him opened, and a red haired boy stuck his head through.

"How was your sleep?" asked Ron.

***

Three weeks passed after the sleeping incident, and Ron still knew nothing of it. Ginny must have bribed Jen somehow, and Hermione resorted to giving Harry and Ginny disapproving looks, but Ron was still none the wiser. As for Harry and Ginny, they had resolved it all by telling themselves that it was all an accident. It would never happen again, they thought.

He walked down to the Great Hall for dinner. He seemed to have a growing appetite with all the power he was in the midst of receiving. When he arrived, he noticed the Gryffindor table laughing hysterically. Whatever was so funny, it seemed he was about to find out.

He sat down in between Ginny and Fred, George being opposite to him. They seemed hardly able of communication they were laughing so hard.

"What's so funny?" He asked, stating the obvious. This, it seemed, only made them laugh harder.

George was the first one to catch his breath. He put on an incredibly innocent face that must have taken hours of practice.

"How were we supposed to know that," he paused, laughter coming over him again. "That hot sauce on ice cream would upset people stomachs?" Once he said this, Harry glanced around, to find the victims.

Half the Slytherin table was doubled over, clutching their stomachs, moaning.

Harry laughed, seeing Malfoy among the countless victims.

He grinned at the twins.

"I couldn't have done better myself."

***

Later on, as Harry sat in his empty dorm room, upon his four-poster bed with the mysterious sword in his lap, he rubbed his temples, trying to relive a very aggressive headache. Ever since that fateful night where he had fallen asleep in Ginny Weasley's bed, it seemed he could do nothing to rid his mind of her. That wasn't a bad thing, technically. He sighed, trying to figure out why he had found this sword. In all his life, he had only seen three swords. The one in The Chamber of Secrets, the one Dumbledore owned, and this one that now laid upon his lap.

It was a plain sword, as swords go. The curved blade shimmered in the light, and the black handle fit perfectly in his closed palm. But wherever in the world it had come from, Harry was still clueless. He brandished it, the sun making patterns of the wall. As he swished it around, he noticed a carving at the tip of it. A snake followed the edge of the blade. He ran his hand across the snake, carefully trying not to lose a finger in the process.

When the moment his hand brushed across the carven snake, a bolt of electricity rushed through him. He dropped the sword with a clatter. A burning sensation at the tips of his fingers made himself yelp. He looked at the pads of his fingertips. Where there would have been fingerprints, was a smooth circle of skin.

He looked at the once awed sword with disgust. It seemed to be a thing of evil. What really irked him was that, even when he didn't ask for something to become involved in his life, it just seemed to make things more complicated.

He took a sheet off his bed, wrapping it around his now burned hand. With this hand, he gently picked up the sword that was lying on the ground. He shoved it under his mattress, wishing it to disappear. He sat back on his bed, shaking slightly. Wherever that sword had come from, it wasn't good. It frightened him, who knew what source of magic it contained.

He checked to see if you could notice it from the door, from where he placed it under the mattress. When he convinced himself he couldn't, he walked down the stairs to the common room.

Seeing Ron and Hermione on the couch, with Ginny on the floor in front of them, he walked up and plopped down next to Ginny. Noticing that Ron and Hermione seemed to be sitting a little closer then usual, closer then what would have been expected. Saying that they were plastered together would not have been far from the truth. He looked at Ginny questionably. She shrugged, as if to say 'How should I know?'

He lay down on the floor, hands crossed behind his head. He was suddenly extremely tired. Ginny lay next to him, visibly drained as well. About to drift off, he heard a noise the right of him. He lazily peered through his eyelashes, not really caring what was causing the sudden commotion.

Standing there was Ciaran, and with him, was Malfoy.

Harry stood up quickly, reaching for his wand. If there was going to be action with Malfoy, he unusually felt like being a part of it.

"Potter." Malfoy sneered.

"Ahh, Malfoy. What a pleasant surprise. I hoped you'd know that tea started later, not now." He sighed in false frustration. "I was hoping to have dollies, now it's all ruined."

Malfoy just stared, eyes blank. Harry swished his wand out in front of him, back and forth, watching glistening sparkles of magic fall to the floor. Malfoy's eyes hardened, narrowing on the now swishing wand.

"So, Malfoy. Feel like proving yourself? 'Cause really, I'm in need of a laugh." Harry said evilly.

Everyone in the common room was silent. They backed away, forming a silent circle around the two wand holders. Ginny was standing to the left of him, hand tucked away in her pocket. Harry had a suspicion it was clutching her wand. He gave her a small nod, telling her that if she wanted to step in, he wouldn't stop her.

Malfoy grinned that hard grin of his, Ciaran behind him. It seemed to Harry that Malfoy had found another follower.

"Demtoria!" Harry shouted, his voice echoing in the room.

The lights in the room vanquished. A gloom settled over it, darkness rising from the corners to engulf the room. Malfoy seemed to have a hard time standing straight. He clutched his stomach; he raised his head, again his once cold eyes flashed with a scarlet colour. They seemed to shimmer from their depths. He smiled, a crooked smile at that. Once his eyes met Harry, Harry felt a force fly through him, power surging through his veins. It seemed to come from deep within him, a power that was once kept guarded.

He felt angry, frustrated and dominant all at once. He raised his wand, levelly meeting with Malfoy's.

"Expelliarmus!" They both cried at the same time.

The power of their selves and their wands met, ricocheting magic in every direction. Everyone ducked, covering his or her head. A spark flew into Ginny; she fell down in a faint. A spark also flew into Harry. He felt the magic being absorbed into him.

Malfoy looked sapped, as if all his magic had been sucked out of him. He walked to the portrait hole, barely able to stand up properly. He gave one final sneer at Harry and disappeared.

Harry, shaken back to reality, noticed Ginny on the floor next to him. He went to his knees, gathering her head onto his lap. Hermione and Ron came, right beside him.

Harry rocked back and forth, humming a familiar tune under his breath. He brushed Ginny's hair back from her face, whispering comforting words.

Ginny shook a little, colour coming back into her face. Her eyelids moved, slowly opening. She peered through her eyes to see the-boy-who-Lived, staring back at her. His eyed glistened, as if trying to hold back tears.

"Are you alright?" He whispered.

She nodded. "I just feel a little different, light headed."

"That's understandable, you were out cold."

Her head was still positioned in his lap, but they were silent, their eyes talking beyond all comprehension of the human language, who knew what messages they were exchanging.

"Harry?" Ginny suddenly asked quietly.

"Yes?"

"You promised nothing was going to happen to me this year."

He frowned, "I remember."

"You were wrong."

TBC….

Thanks to:

Shdurrani: As you can see, Malfoy seems to have problems keeping himself out of trouble. Will he ever learn? I'm thinking, no.

Honey666: As of Chapter 7, I did have a beta's help. I plan to revise the first 6 chapters, but I need to find the time. Thanks for reviewing.

evillalmanotlamma(frogs: I plan too.

Geor-sama: Hmm, what can I say to you? Thanks for the review/inspiration? You know you're thanked. *smiles*

Ian: I plan on continuing. Thanks for reviewing.

Tigerlily: Malfoy is becoming creepy, isn't he? Beware; this is just the tip of the iceberg.

Cyqnus Crux: Malfoy's eye flashing? Can Harry just see it? Don't worry, you'll find out soon enough.

Little Ear, Big Ear's sis: Ack! Here's another chapter. Sorry I made you experience a terrible moment. Forgive me?

Blue Eyes: sorry about that.... thank you...... I will...... thank you again...... I promise I will.

Amanda: If I told you, I'd have to kill you. I don't have time to do that, plus, I really don't feel like facing a murder charge right now, so you're going to have to wait. Sorry about that.

Moonygirl13: Thank you so much! A favourite story, believe me, I feel honored. Thanks for reviewing.

IceChick1205: Malfoy, the question of the hour. But as I told Amanda, I really don't want to have to kill you, It would ruin

my perfect record. As with Harry's medallion, expect more news about it later.