Well, I bet you didn't see that one coming! I can't really explain the plot behind that, because that would give away the storyline for part three, so you'll just have to read! In this chapter, Ginny is pondering what Draco wants from her and Charlotte gives her some solid advice that could make her or break her. Ginny finds Draco and things happen. On the other hand, Ron pretends to be-friend Charlotte to find out some of her secrets, and Charlotte decides to experiment with Harry's feelings.

Title: Power of the Purebloods I: Thin Ice

Author: Riea Carlos

Rating: This chapter is R for language & sexual implications

Genre: Drama/Romance

Summary: Charlotte gives Ginny advice; Ginny realizes who Harry and Draco want.

Disclaimer: JK Rowling owns everything except Charlotte, she's mine.

Power of the Purebloods I: Thin Ice

By Riea Carlos

Chapter Four: The Hogwarts Five

Later that night, Charlotte had stashed away the diary and bewitched it to make it become invisible to everyone except her. She had it under her bed where she had kept the snake silent and still. Ginny lay on the bed to her left, and was propped up against three pillows.

"Char, you have insomnia, how do you make it go away? I can't sleep. All I keep thinking about is that bloody incident outside of transfiguration." Ginny mumbled and wrapped her blanket around herself up to her neck.

Charlotte took a deep breath and rubbed the wisps of hair that her ponytail didn't catch out of her eyes. "Just close your eyes and go to sleep. You'll get tired eventually." Ginny rolled her eyes and snorted. She didn't buy it for one minute.

"But there is an alternative. Unless you want to…Nah, never mind. Sorry I brought it up." Charlotte chirped as she rolled over on her side. She was looking at the opposite direction, grinning to herself, knowing that this would certainly tick Ginny off. Ginny jumped out of her bed and rolled Charlotte over so she could look at her.

Ginny's brown eyes blazed with determination and admiration. She was just as brave as Charlotte was -- hell, maybe braver. She was in Gryffindor, wasn't she? "Charlotte! What is it?"

Her best friend sighed and rolled over again, facing her best friend. "Nick little Potter's cloak. I'm sure he wouldn't mind. Maybe you'll meet a few other Insomniacs on your way. Fancy seeing a certain Slytherin wanderer?" She cocked a smile.

"What do you mean?" Ginny said, quietly sliding out of bed. Charlotte rolled her eyes. Damn, how naïve could you be?

Charlotte braced herself on her left elbow and stared at the little, pure redhead. "What I mean is, you might see Draco. I say you should sneak up behind him, give him a little scare. Get him back for what he did to you today. Fancy some vengeance?"

Ginny's eyes widened. "Wouldn't Harry mind if I took his cloak?"

"Come on, Gin. Be a daredevil. Harry might fancy you if you actually lived on the wild side." Charlotte beckoned Ginny up the stairs with her chin. "If you're lucky, he might still be awake." Ginny, without another word, bolted out from the covers and scurried towards the boys' dormitories.

Charlotte sank back on her bed and sighed.

Harry stared into the consuming darkness of his dormitory when he heard rustling outside of his bed. "Charlotte, is that you?" he asked, sitting up straight. Ginny kneeled down quietly at the food of the four-post but let out a small squeak.

"Who's there?" Harry leaned down to the floor and saw Ginny, trembling and beginning to stand. She was chewing on her lip, and looked at Harry with expectant eyes. Then she remembered Charlotte's words. She instantly stopped chewing on her lip and placed her hands firmly on her hips.

He blinked at her, and then clutched for his glasses. "Ginny, go back to bed," he said, exasperated. Ginny frowned and reached down for his trunk.

"I need your cloak," she tried to keep her voice breathy and cool, but it came out as a shaken stutter.

Harry cocked his head. "What? Why?" His eyes wandered to the entrance door. "Is…Is Charlotte coming?" he asked, rather hopefully, Ginny noted.

"Yes," Ginny lied quickly, "but she's waiting outside, so can I…can I have the cloak?" Sighing to herself, she realized what she feared: It wasn't her that Harry liked, it was Charlotte.

He looked again towards the door. "Yeah, you…you can have the cloak. Take it. Just return it, okay?" He said, still looking at the door.

Without mumbling a thank-you, Ginny ran for the door.

Draco leaned towards the trophy room, trying to slide in without anyone who was still patrolling the halls noticing. It needed a damned Invisibility Cloak. Maybe he would get lucky and Charlotte would approach him.

"Malfoy," said a small, high voice behind him. He jumped, and turned around to see nobody there. He knew it wasn't Charlotte's voice; she had a hard, icy, lets-make-a-deal voice. The cloak dropped to the floor, and there was Ginny Weasley.

He gaped at the cloak and then at her. "Gimme that," he said, regaining his composure. He slid the cloak over his head and then pulled Ginny with him. "There. Now, is there any particular reason why you came to stalk me in the wee hours of the night?"

"I wasn't following you. I'm paying you back." Ginny said, her voice full of a rage that was tinted with amusement. Draco shot her a sly smile and slid his hand over her shoulders. It was kind of cold in the hallways, he reasoned, and her nightgown was sleeveless. Her shoulder blades were very prominent, he noticed. Ginny shivered at his touch. It burned her at first, but then numbed her afterwards.

His silver hair looked blended with the gold of the trophies quite nicely. "Pay me back?" he teased, leaning in to flick her ear with his tongue. He wanted her so bad, he realized that he wanted to slam Pansy up against the wall and scream at her that he didn't even need the bet to know how much he ached for the youngest Weasley.

Ginny spun around, now facing him. Like it was said before, he was a good head taller then her and she had to cock her head up and stand on her toes to almost reach his full height. "It wasn't very nice what you did today, Draco Malfoy. But I liked it."

With that, she wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him for all she was worth. Her tongue slid into his mouth, and she felt his lips gathering moisture. She knew that Charlotte was in love with him, and this was payback for stealing Harry.

Ginny almost fainted when she felt Draco's tongue snake around hers. They stayed there, well into the night, the Invisibility Cloak snug around their heads, kissing passionately, forgetting about the very distinct Love Square that was just completed.