Several boring and rather lonely hours later, the train arrived and Ginny departed to find Hagrid waiting for her on the platform.

"'Ello there Ginny!" Hagrid bellowed. "Welcome back!"

"Hello Hagrid. Thanks for picking me up."

"Glad ta do it Ginny. Glad ta do it!" Hagrid said as he hoisted Ginny's trunk into his arms. "Let's git goin', we can take one of the horseless carriages 'up ta the castle."

"Thanks for the help," Ginny said as she helped herself into the carriage.

"Ain't never taken one o' these thingies before.I always cross the lake with the firs' yeas." Ginny nodded and looked out the window to watch the castle looming over the lake grow closer and closer.

"Why don ya go right to dinner Ginny?" Hagrid said when they reached the castle, "The elves 'ill take this stuff up to ya dorm."

"Thanks Hagrid," She readily agreed. After all, Harry was likely to be at dinner. "Bye Hagrid," she said with a smile.

"Goodbye Ginny," he said but leaned down to whisper something to her, "And Don't ya let that Malfoy git to ya. He ain't worth it."

"Thanks" she said with a smile and opened the front door to find the entryway filled with students fresh from their last class of Friday afternoon.

"Ginny!" she heard someone yell excitedly and looked up to see Harry, Ron and Hermione running down the steps towards her in a rush.

"Hi!" she said as the four of them embraced.

"We're so glad you're here!" Hermione exclaimed.

"How was your little break?"

"Nice, but lonely. I'm actually glad to be back."

"Psh," Ron spoke up, "You can't possibly miss Snape,"

"He's better than Malfoy," Ginny countered.

Ron looked like he wanted to contradict her but thought better of it.

"Speaking of Snape, we should go." Hermione said, sending a glare towards

Ron.

"Huh?" Ginny asked looking between her brother and friend.

Harry chuckled, "Someone was caught playing footsies in Potions class."

"No!" Hermione countered, "Someone got caught trying to play footsies in Potions class and got us both a detention." Hermione said indignantly. Ron was too busy turning the shade of his hair and looking chagrin to comment. "Well no use to make it worse," she said, "We should be going," Hermione said again, and they were off, leaving Ginny and Harry standing alone.

"Er- walk you to dinner?" Harry offered.

"Sure," Ginny smiled. They walked together in an awkward silence for a few minutes before Harry finally cleared his throat and said, "So er- how umm- was your train ride."

"Frightfully boring actually."

"I've always liked the train ride up," Harry said.

"Yes, but it was really just hours of being alone because everyone else came up five days ago,"

"Why did you come up today instead of waiting until Monday?"

"I told Mum I wanted the weekend to get set but honestly I couldn't take just sitting around the house much longer. I was glad to be home and even more delighted to see her again but I just wanted to get back here and have something to concentrate on, so I just told her I wanted the weekend to settle in."

"And she believed you?"

"Apparently." they sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Are Hogsmeade weekends still on?"

"Of course."

"Oh, well I just thought with You-Know-Who on the loose they wouldn't want us all in Hogsmeade."

"Dumbledore must not think he's a threat." Harry shrugged.

"It's his myrmidons I'm worried about."

"Is Draco still getting to you?"

Ginny sighed and set down her fork.

"Yes and No. I'm not scared of Draco; I'm scared of Draco as a Death Eater. I know he can't do anything to me here with Professor Dumbledore around, but I don't like the idea of him being close to me,' she shuddered involuntarily.

"Well you know Ron and I are here for you if Malfoy gets to you. Not to mention Hermione; She could out spell Malfoy any day."

"I know. I just hate seeing him and knowing he got away with it all."

"Like you said on the train, he'll get what's coming to him." Harry commented and patted her on her back. Ginny let a little smile curl onto her lips when she felt Harry's hand remained there. It felt good.

~

Draco walked into the Great Hall after lessons on Friday afternoon smiling like there was no tomorrow. The mud-blood and Weasel had managed to get themselves a detention in potions that morning by being all lovey dovey. They had deserved it. He was just striving past the Gryffindor table when a flash of long red hair caught his eye. He stopped dead in his tracks and focused on the redheaded figure. There was his pet sitting with Potter and that insufferable git had his arm slung over her shoulder. He stared at them, his eyes narrowing into two dangerous silver slits. Potter had no right to touch her. She was his, not Potter's but his. His father had given her to him for his seventeenth birthday not that scar-faced orphan. Spitefully, his thoughts drifted back to that day on the train. She had told him he would get what's coming to him, but he believed that she would get what was coming to her. That little whore played with his emotions; nobody did that to Draco Malfoy and lived to tell about it. He remembered clear as day the terror in her eyes when she saw him in his Death Eater robes. He would make her pay. True, his father had forbid him to go near the girl, but he was certain he could cause a fair amount of terror without actually being near her. He sat down at the Slytherin table in clear sight of Ginny and Potter, staring at her until she looked up and caught his eye. He gave her a cold smile and as if to say, "I have something you can never give Potter," she glanced away in a split second but Draco reckoned it was enough to make her uncomfortable.

Ginny snuggled into Harry's comforting shoulder.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

"I'm fine" she sighed. Harry looked up to see Draco Malfoy staring at them. He stared back and tightened his grip around Ginny. Malfoy would come nowhere near Ginny when he was around.

It surprised Ginny how nice it felt to be in Harry's arms. They were so comfortable, unlike Malfoy's where she had had to force herself to stay put.

They finished eating and Harry hurried Ginny up to the common room so he could have some time alone with her before Gryffindor tower was flooded with students studying for early term exams and—for those who were lucky enough to escape homework—the sounds of exploding snap games.

"Nice to be back," Ginny said, settling herself onto a couch.

"I love it here," Harry said. "If I had it my way I'd never leave."

"What are you going to do when you have to leave Harry?"

"I'm thinking about being an Auror."

"Really?" Ginny asked. She would just love to be married to an Auror.

"Yeah. I'd love to help people, and the Ministry needs all the help it can get with all this Vol—Sorry, You-know-who business."

"That's very noble of you."

"Thanks," Harry smiled that smile that made Ginny feel like swooning. It was that same boyish grin she had been become absolutely smitten with when she was eleven. Another awkward silence fell between them.

"So Er, Ron and Hermione have been rather cuddly lately have they?" Ginny finally spoke up.

"Yeah," Harry said plopping down next to her. "It's been rather sickening being around them all the time actually. Don't get me wrong, we're still best friends, but it's easy to feel like a third wheel."

"I can imagine," Ginny said with meaning. Hermione and her had started to become friends in fourth year, and good friends in fifth year but she had always felt like the fourth wheel on a tricycle.

"Have we ever, er, made you feel that way Gin?" Harry asked cautiously.

"Sometimes," she replied honestly.

"I'm sorry Ginny."

"It's okay. You never did it intentionally." Harry was saved from replying by a group of chatting sixth years entering the common room.

"Ginny!" Kelly, one of Ginny's roommates called, "we're so glad to see you back."

"We all heard about your kidnapping of course," another girl jumped in.

"The most horrific rumors have been flying about. Creevy said he heard Draco Malfoy saved you!" someone else piped up.

"I can't believe it!"

"Of course I don't think any of us would say no to a little rescuing by Draco Malfoy," Kelly concluded with a smirk, prompting the other girls to giggle. "Well like I said, we're just delighted you're back." And with that the chatting group went up the girls' staircase without Ginny getting so much as a word in.

Harry watched them go.

"I don't blame you for becoming friends with Hermione," he said. "Those girls seem annoying,"

Ginny snorted, "Tell that to the sixth year boys. They all seemed quite smitten with Kelly."

"Well they just don't know what to look for," he said with a meaningful look towards Ginny. She blushed and looked down into her lap. Draco was behind her, Harry liked her, and it seemed as if she had an in into the infamous trio. This year was shaping up to be a good one.

A/N: Review if you'd like e-mail updates and leave your e-mail address in the review. If you're not a Harry/Ginny fan just stick with me here for a few chapters, I promise Draco will come back full force in just a few chapters.