Chapter 6 A Collision and an Unexpected Kiss

    Ginny gathered up her books and hurried out of the library. It was getting late, and she has to be back in the Gryffindor dormitory by ten o' clock. She nodded to Madam Pince with a smile that said "Goodnight" and walked down the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower.

    Ginny felt very accomplished. She'd finished her Charms essay, a particularly difficult one, but Ginny had enjoyed the challenge. She also found time to decipher a Potion ingredients list which Snape has given as homework, and Ginny felt quite confident that she had got it almost right. Potions was not one of her strongest subject, but she'd spent quite a bit of effort on this one. Hm, what if Snape purposely put the Unicorn's horn as a decoy ingredient? Yes, that could be a possibility to trick the students into thinking…

    "Interesting, a little weasel on the loose tonight" came a familiar drawl. Ginny was suddenly jotted out of her thoughts and she turned around to face the cold, grey eyes of Draco Malfoy, his Prefect's badge glistening in the light.

    "I…I…" Ginny stuttered.

    "What's the matter, Weasel? Can't you afford to speak? I didn't know you are that sunk into poverty." Draco's cold grey eyes looked menacingly at her, and there was the trademark smirk on his face.

    "What do you want?" Ginny said finally, at the same time forcing herself to look at him straight in the eye.

    "Knowning that all students should be back in their dormitories by this time, I myself liked to know why you are roaming around at this forbidden hour."

    "I..I was about to to go back to my dormitory, and…it's not quite time yet." Ginny braced herself.

    "Is that so?" Draco brought a finger up to his chest, underneath his robes, and drew out a silver pocket watch. The pocket watch dangled from Draco's finger in front of Ginny's eyes. It showed five minutes after ten.

    Draco looked at Ginny expectantly. Ginny's hair shone softly under the light from the flame torch on the stone walls. Her features, he noticed, were beautiful, and her dark brown eyes looked back at him a touch of vulnerable innocence. Bloody hell, since when did the baby Weasel grown to be so drop-dead gorgeous?

    "Er, I was quite sure I left the Library at a quarter to ten" muttered Ginny with a puzzled voice. "Perhaps your watch's time is faster than that of the Library's clock."

    Draco certainly hasn't expected this. You are quick, Weasel, and close, he found himself thinking. He had silently muttered a spell to adjust the timing of his pocket watch ahead by seven minutes when he saw Ginny walking down the stairs towards Gryffindor Tower. He thought this would be a good opportunity to take some points off Gryffindor. After all, a Slytherin needs to do what a Slytherin needs to do in order to win the House Cup this year. Or at least, make sure the blasted Gryffindors don't.

    But Draco did not have the chance to retort. For at that moment, the staircase which Ginny and Draco was standing on has chosen to move itself ninety degrees to the right. It swung so fast that Ginny momentarily lost her balance and fell towards Draco.

    Draco's hand reached for the banister to balance himself but before he could reach it, Ginny fell on him, pushing him to the ground with a loud thud! Her face fell onto him, and her lips smacked into his! Draco's back was banged hard against the ground before the staircase mercifully halted.

    Draco felt Ginny's sweet lips on his mouth. Her soft body was pressed on his. And he detected a light apple scent. The atmosphere came to a stand still. Ginny's large brown eyes were blinking into Draco's grey ones, wide-open with a stunned expression on them.

    Ginny suddenly regained her composure, and lifted her head from his face. She put her hands on his chest and tried to detach herself from Draco.

    "Get off me, Weasel" came Draco's voice.

    "Erm, I'm trying to, but…but, you…" Ginny sounded desperate.

    Suddenly, Draco realised, to his horror, that he was holding her tightly by the waist. He let go of his hand in a lightning flash. Ginny stood up, still blushing furiously, and she quickly bend down and muttered a charm to gather her books and parchment rolls which was scattered around the staircase. Draco, by now, had stood up and was brushing his robes with his hands, as if Ginny had dirtied them.

    Draco hurriedly decided on his next move. He was not one to be caught in an awkward situation. Suddenly, he didn't feel like finding fault with her. He decided the best way was to get her away from him.

    "You may go" he said, as if he was speaking to his house-elf.  "Ten points off Gryffindor the next time it happens".

    He saw Ginny turned around and scurried down the stairs as quickly as she can, clutching her books.