Chapter 8

Draco couldn't quite believe it. The feel of her small, but surprisingly strong, hand in his own larger one was indescribable. Still smiling, he helped her step down, almost squishing them both in the small space the trap door provided because he forgot to move out of the way first.

Ginny's grin faltered at the feel of him so close to her, and for a moment, the game ended.

"Bloody brilliant." Ginny rolled her eyes. "Move, Malfoy, you're squishing me like a bug!"

Draco didn't reply, but he did make an effort to move. The only thing was, they were facing each other, which meant that to move down and out of the way without touching Ginny (*cough* ahem *cough*) he was going to have to tread very carefully.

Ginny obviously realized the same thing then, because before he had even moved more than a few inches she had grabbed a fistful of that surprisingly blond hair of his and jerked him back up.

"I changed my mind," she told him firmly. "I'll go first."

"Yeah, right, like that's really going to be more comfortable for the both of us." Draco tried to glare at her, but didn't quite succeed. At least he hadn't burst into outright laughter, he told himself as he tried to keep his facial expressions under control. Normally that was something he was good at, but not anymore it seemed.

Ginny saw the look, and grinned back smugly. "It is for me."

And before Draco could protest, she had already ducked down and out of the hole, waiting for him in a crouch under the carriage. Draco bent down beside her, his eyes scanning the surrounding area warily. The others could be back any minute.

Ginny started to move, scooting forward, but Draco stopped her with a slight pressure on the arm.

"What now?" she demanded in exasperation. Clearly she could not wait to get going. But she would have to.

"They might be-"

"Charlie!" Ginny suddenly exclaimed in delight, not allowing Draco to finish his sentence. Draco watched as she practically jumped forward and flew into the arms of a red-headed man. Apparently it was her older brother.

Charlie embraced his baby sister instantly, surprised, but obviously happy. Until he turned his eyes towards the place she'd come from that is.

Draco sighed, seeing the look on the older boy's face. So much for no one finding out what they were doing. He picked himself up off the ground and out from under the carriage. Standing up, he was about to say something when he noticed the dust that had collected all over his new robes. Snapping his mouth shut, he began dusting himself off furiously before he would even look up again.

When he did, it was to find Charlie still staring at him, and Ginny biting her lip to keep from laughing. He sent both of them his best glare. He did not like to be laughed or stared at.

Turning to Ginny (he didn't even bother saying hello to her brother), he told her commandingly, "We don't have very long, so meet me back at the carriage in just a few minutes. I'm going for a walk."

He moved away then, daring either one of them to say something.

They didn't. And as Draco rounded the corner and walked out of sight, he found himself almost wishing that they had. Or that Ginny had, at least.

He sighed. It was no use. As long as that dragon-chasing, adventure seeking, seemingly world renowned brother of hers was there, he had no chance of continuing with his game.

He was still sore about this when a flash of color just ahead of him made him glance up. Someone was walking towards him from the opposite direction, their blue robes billowing out behind them. He started to turn back to his thoughts, when he remembered.

Wait a minute! Blue robes? Hadn't McGonagall been wearing blue?

Draco realized instantly that she had been. And she was coming this way, the six other students following in her wake. Holy shit!

Quickly, he did an about face and ran back the way he'd come, turning the corner so sharply he almost stumbled. But he recovered, and ran on. He was not going to get caught standing in the middle of the street when he should have been locked up tight in a flying carriage.

Ginny was right where he'd left her, talking enthusiastically to her older brother about something or other. Well, Draco had no time to spare on pleasantries.

Grabbing her arm so hard he was half-afraid he'd bruised it, Draco dragged her along to the carriage.

"Quick get in," he explained over Ginny's indignant protest. "McGonagall's coming!"

Charlie, who had been stepping forwards as if he would try to stop him, instantly fell back at this.

"See you later, Gin," Draco heard him whisper companionably as he shoved the youngest Weasley up through the trap door, then hoped in after her, slamming the trapdoor down behind them.

It seemed that getting in could be done a lot quicker than getting out. When you set your mind to it. And although Ginny was not happy at being thrown around like a rag doll, she passed him a grateful look not two seconds after the carpet had been magicked back into place and a certain harrowed looking Professor came marching around the side of a building.

They had made it.

Ginny grinned in relief as they heard the other students boarding, and for once Draco had absolutely no control over his face whatsoever as he smiled back at her. And for once it wasn't a smile designed to win her for his game.

The door opened then, and two plates of food were passed in to them before the door closed again. McGonagall was serious.

Draco felt the sudden urge to laugh, especially when Ginny was holding her hand over her mouth in a useless effort to stop giggling, but he knew that would be going way too far. He was not going to laugh over something as stupid as this. No matter how funny it was.

So it came as a real shock when he found himself emitting a sound that came very close to the sound he'd been trying to avoid. Frantically, he held his breath, but that just ended with him choking he was laughing so hard.

He was making such a racket that when the door swung open and the Professor stuck her head back in, it was no surprise.

He glanced up as he coughed, his trying very hard to burn in embarrassment and Draco trying very hard to stop it, and met McGonagall's fierce stare. He waved one hand feebly, trying to tell her he was fine. She left.

When Draco finally regained control of himself, the look on Ginny's face did nothing to improve his sour mood. She was still sitting there, food untouched, tears rolling down her face.

Draco glowered at her as he picked up his tray, and her giggles finally died down.

"It's okay to laugh every once in awhile, you know," she told him complacently as she picked at her own food. "It's good for you. Of course, " she couldn't help adding primly as she saw his dark look, "not if your going to choke yourself to death over it."

Draco could think of nothing to say to that. So they sat in silence for awhile, leaving Draco plenty of time to wonder if this game of his had been a good idea after all. It had led him into the most ridiculous and embarrassing situations in his life, and they had hardly even begun! Maybe he should just give up on her. But as he glanced at the girl in question, he knew he could never do that. Not yet. She was challenging, yes, but hadn't that been his goal to begin with?

Just wait until we reach the mountains, Ginny Weasley, he thought resolutely. Wait until I've had time to recover completely from this one ridiculous episode and prepare myself. Then you'll see how really charming I can be…

A/N: Hmm…and that, dear readers, was not even designed to be a real cliffy, though it probably seems like it. So, what's going to happen next? What exactly did Ginny and Charlie talk about? Find out in the next chapter.

Thanks to my reviewers:

Dragonsprincess: I'm so sorry, I didn't realize I did that. So I'm putting you first this time, does that help make up for it? *smiles hopefully* Thank you for all of your reviews, you're wonderful!

Kneh13- Multiple personality? Well, it does kind of seem that way, doesn't it? But no, not really. I think we'll say he just has "mood swings" instead. How's that?

Anna- Thanks for reviewing, hope you liked this chapter too.

LuLuDucky- Don't worry, I fully intend to keep going. Thanks!

Forbidden- *grins evilly* Actually, you'd be very surprised at how easy it is to end a chapter with a good cliff hanger. Those seem to come naturally for me. This chapter was a little longer, so hope you enjoyed it.

Aidenfire- Me too! I'm a sucker for chivalry too, that is, so of course when the idea for the scene at the end struck me, I had to go with it! Oh, and thanks for letting me know about the thing with You Set Me Free. I don't know why it's like that…

Samantha- Yes, his skin and hair is rather pale, isn't it? Lol. Thanks for the review!

Pokey2 (slytherins_angel)- Believe it or not, I'm really not right all the time. I mean, I am some, but- okay, so maybe just most of the time. *grins* This is one time I really am glad I was right though! Thanks.

Draco~Gin*gurl- Thank you! I'm glad you like my cliff hangers too, and very pleased to have captured your interest. Hopefully you'll review for this chapter too? Do you write your own stories?

Kawaiiness- Isn't that like coolness? I think that's right. Anyway, thanks for the review!