Chapter 3

A trip to the Himalaya Mountains… Draco toyed with the thought. If he went, he'd at least have a way to get out of school for a bit, and his father had to have approved of the expedition or else Draco felt certain the idea would never have passed.

That settled it.

I'm not going, he told himself as he headed towards the Great Hall for lunch. If his father approved of it, it was sure to be Boresville. No way would Lucius allow anything that was actually fun be allowed as a school trip.

Then again, Draco thought, he doesn't really have as much influence over the school anymore, not since Voldemort came back…

Uncertainly, he paused to see who had already volunteered as he passed the sign-up table that was positioned in one corner of the Hall.

1. Hannah Abbot- Hufflepuff

2. Cho Chang- Ravenclaw

3. Neville Longbottom- Gryffindor (Draco couldn't keep back a disbelieving snort at that one. Neville chosen to represent his house? Yeah right!)

4. …

And so on.

Not surprisingly, there were no volunteers from Slytherin house at the moment.

Continuing on down the list, which was pretty full considering, Draco reached the last a most recent entry.

15. Ginny Weasley- Gryffindor

She didn't!

He'd always known the girl was a Class A dweeb, but come on. Why would she sign up for something like this?

Maybe because she thinks it might be fun, a small voice in the back of his mind rationalized. Or maybe she just likes the mountains. Or maybe-

Okay, okay, he got the picture. She just wanted to, that was all.

Well, that was fine with him, what did he care? But- What would happen if she was chosen? That would be four whole weeks when he wouldn't get to play his game, wouldn't get to taunt and tease her until she couldn't deny that she wanted him, no matter how hard she tried.

Okay, that didn't sound too good. He was actually starting to scare himself. When had he taken such an interest in the little Weasle rat? The past few days had seemed to pass by in a never ending game of cat-and-mouse, with no clear winner or loser.

He would seek her out-unobtrusively of course, so that unless someone was paying very close attention, they wouldn't even notice he was running into her on purpose. Then he would smile, or wave, or would otherwise be unnaturally charming.

And each time, a frown would pass over her face and she would ignore him, or backtrack in the opposite direction, or lose herself in a crowd until he couldn't see her anymore.

One time she did this, he could have swore that for a second, just one moment, he saw a slight smile cross her face, but then she was gone, vanished into another part of the castle.

The girl was virtually unbreakable.

Too bad that made her all the more irresistible.

This last thought decided him. Without another minute's hesitation, he picked up the pen lying beside the scroll and signed his name with a graceful flourish.

Look out mountains, here I come!

A/N: Hope you all aren't too disappointed, I know this was another short one, but hopefully the content made up for the lack of size! So, the pace is moving pretty quickly huh? Next chapter, we begin our journey, and hopefully get our first look at the place where Draco and Ginny will be spending 4 exciting weeks together, though neither of them realizes it yet.

Thanks to all of you who reviewed my last chapter:

Hallie87- I'm glad you liked it! Thank you so much for reviewing.

Harmonia- Yes, the chapters are short, but I do think that that helps me write better because it keeps me wanting to write more. And hopefully it makes you want to keep reading more!

Dragonsprincess- Thanks for reviewing-again! And as for your question, whether it was Dumbledore or the heads of houses who pick the winners, it's really both. Although I'm not really planning on explaining it that much in the story, in my head the staff take votes on who should go. Is that answer enough?

Aidenfire- Well, although this chapter doesn't really come right out and say it, the answer to both your questions is yes. Thanks for another great review! *grins* I like to make people feel special!

SamiJo- I'm glad you like it!

Kneh13- Are you a mind reader? Or just a really good guesser? *grins* You're right of course, Ginny is (or already has *scratches head*) going to volunteer.

Marybecca- That's so nice of you, and I really do hope that you will keep reading my stories. And don't worry, hopefully The Soul Keeper will be updated soon!

I can't believe all the reviews I've received for this story already, 11 reviews in just two days! That's got to be some kind of record for me! Anyway, keep those reviews coming, PLEASE! Can't you tell how excited they make me? *grins*