A/N: Yes, I know, you are all waiting for when they leave on the trip. Well
don't worry, it's coming. I can tell you now; this story is going to be
longer than it's prequel. It may even reach 20 chapters before it's done.
But there are a lot of subplots and a lot to work out, so please just stick
by me and keep reviewing! Oh and one more thing- So many people were
saddened when I told them that I wasn't doing individual shoutouts anymore
that I'll do it again. Just this once.
~*~
There was only one day until they were to depart on the field trip. Ginny's trunk was packed full, and she was waiting around in her bedroom until two o'clock. That was the time that they were to meet in the library again for their second meeting about the trip.
She was excited.
It was all still a mystery to the students. The only information they knew was that they were leaving the school, and going someplace secluded. Dumbledore hadn't told them anything since then.
She glanced at her watch. There were still twenty minutes before she needed to leave, but she decided to walk down to the common room anyway. Hermione had been avoiding her since their argument. Harry wasn't quite as friendly, and Ron had been moping all week. He still had to attend all of his classes, and got pangs of jealousy when he saw his friends laying about in the common room doing nothing.
At all costs, Ginny had been avoiding them.
She'd spent most of the remainder of her week with Draco and Blaise, even had a few conversations with Colin. He really was a good friend. As if on cue, Colin ran up to Ginny the moment she entered the red and gold decorated room.
"Guess what!" he whispered excitedly.
She looked at his eager face, wondering what was up. "What's going on, Colin?"
"I was just in the library, and they had all these big boxes in there. I asked Madam Pince what they were for, and she told me that they ordered some enchanted computers for public school use. For research and everything. But they have the chat rooms on them. I'm going to be able to keep in touch with you guys while you're away!" He seemed positively ecstatic, and Ginny smiled.
They'd told the sixth year boy about their computers. He seemed just as curious about them as Ginny and Draco had been. "That's great Colin. We'll all have ours along, we can chat with each other now and then." She thought for a moment, and then added with a wink, "I'll be sure to tell you Blaise's screen name."
Colin blushed and bit his lip. It was no secret, at least to Ginny, that Colin had a crush on Blaise. She was the only one who noticed it, however. Colin was too shy to say anything, and Ginny was happy to keep his secret.
Colin still hadn't replied, and Ginny realized it was nearly two o'clock. "Well, I better be going, I'll talk to you this evening, Colin." He nodded, and she turned and hurried down to the library.
When she arrived at the library, Dumbledore was already speaking. She rushed in and sat next to Blaise, receiving displeased looks from some of the Gryffindors.
Dumbledore merely smiled and said "Hello, Miss Weasley. Glad to have you here."
The redhead nodded shyly and looked at Blaise. "You didn't miss anything." Her friend assured her. Ginny leaned back in her chair and tried to get comfortable.
"Welcome to the second meeting, students. As you know, we will be departing tomorrow morning on our field trip. Please be down in the entrance hall at seven o'clock with your luggage, the Hogwarts Express leaves at eight sharp. The train ride is about four hours, and the bus ride after that is another three. An other words, bring something to occupy yourself with."
Draco leaned across Blaise and grinned at Ginny. They had already decided to 'occupy each other' on the train.
"Once we arrive at our destination, we will be staying in cabins that have 2 rooms each. You will have a partner that will share your room with you, and this person will be your partner for the course of the trip. We will explain more about cabins and such once we arrive there."
Dumbledore turned to face Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. Naturally, they were the other teachers chaperoning. They seemed to discuss something for a moment.
"That is all. See you bright and early tomorrow."
Draco rolled his eyes. "That's all they dragged us down here for? We practically already knew all that stuff."
Blaise only shrugged. "Oh well. I have to finish packing, I'll see you lovebirds later." She left the room in a rush. She'd told Ginny the day before that she hadn't even begun packing yet. Something about being a procrastinator.
"Well," Ginny whispered, "We really can't stay in here and talk, let's go back to your bedroom."
Draco nodded. "I'll be right back, I'll clear everyone out of there and grab my cloak." He turned and left, and at just the right time.
Hermione and Harry had been discussing the prospect of seating arrangements on the train, and neither was too fond of Ginny at the moment. However, they'd rather put up with her than see her hanging around with that Slytherin girl throughout the whole trip.
"Hey Ginny!" Hermione shouted across the whole library. It was perhaps the first time Hermione had ever raised her voice in the library. She saw Ginny standing alone by the door, and the younger girl slowly walked toward them.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice resembling ice.
"Ginny, Harry and I will be sitting in our normal compartment on the train tomorrow, I expect you'll be joining us?" Hermione said it in a condescending manner.
Internally Ginny was screaming. On the outside she merely said "No thanks."
Harry sighed. He's known this was coming. "Ginny, please? Ron wants us to look out for you-"
He'd crossed the line. Harry knew it, Ginny knew it, everybody knew it. She glared at him with fire in her eyes, turned, and left the room.
-
"You're bringing ALL of this tuff along on the trip?" Ginny's voice was rising in disbelief. "I thought I'd over packed, but you must have double the amount of what I have!"
Color rose in Draco's cheeks, however he only smirked at Ginny. "Hey now. Don't tease." There was a playful sound to his voice and Ginny giggled.
Draco had bribed his roommates to stay out of his room for the afternoon; he'd offered them some amount of money. Ginny only wished she was able to do that with her own roommates. She was surprised, not once since they'd known each other had Draco brought up to her the prospect of Ginny's family, and what his own father would say if he knew what was going on between them. Money was never an issue, and neither was the situation of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Though it seemed to matter to everyone around them, these petty things hadn't been brought up between the couple yet. Ginny began to wonder if that was a good or bad thing.
Was it all for the best that they were able to see passed these things? Or, more importantly, would it pay off in the long run? Or maybe it would help them more to deal with it now.
Neither knew what fate might have in store for them.
Though, for the time being, it seemed unspoken that they would just enjoy what they had, and deal with the problems later. These thoughts had been bothering Ginny all week, and although she didn't want to, she knew they had to talk about it.
"I almost forgot to pack my computer." Draco said suddenly, breaking Ginny from her thoughts.
She looked up at him with her innocent questioning eyes. "You know we have to figure this out some time." Her voice sounded odd, as if it echoed off the walls of his bedroom.
He turned his head toward her. "What's that?" He saw her frown in concentration, which made him smile. She was so cute.
"This situation. Us. We have to figure out what we're going to do. I can't keep this a secret forever, my family can already tell that something is up." She explained. Ginny expected Draco to get angry, but surprisingly he sat down next to her and took her hand.
"I've been thinking about that too. What do you propose we do?"
She could see it in his eyes. He was telling the truth, and wanted to work this out just as badly as she did.
"Well, only two people know about us. Blaise and Colin. Hermione and Harry know about my friendship with Blaise, but I'm not worried about that. You know that sooner or later either Hermione or Harry will find out about us, especially with this trip and how closely we'll all be living together. Then the first thing they'll do is write to Ron, and he'll tell everyone else, and then everything is ruined."
Draco looked straight into her eyes. "Well, what will you tell Ron, Ginny? What will you tell him when he finds out? Will you tell him that I'm your friend?" His blonde hair whipped about as he shook his head. His voice rose a tiny bit, showing his exasperation. "No, that wouldn't work at all. Malfoys and Weasleys aren't supposed to be friends. He'll just assume I have you under some curse. Then perhaps he'll try to kill me. Won't that be fun?" He saw her lowering her eyes, though kept talking. "And then if he doesn't succeed in killing me, my father surely will complete the job. You know how-"
"I'll tell him I love you."
He looked down at the girl sitting beside him. She stared at him, with an air of seriousness in her eyes. "What?" Draco asked, not quite comprehending her words.
"I'd tell him that I love you. It's that simple. My brother may be an idiot, but he will accept it eventually. He's not a murderer."
He scoffed. "Sure, your family may accept it. But mine wont. In my family, our reputation is stronger than love." A dark shadow crossed his face as he thought of his father. How he longed for a father he could look up to and feel proud. "I'm sorry Ginny, but love just doesn't fix everything."
She knew he didn't mean it. Ginny knew that he loved her, and would do anything for her. He wasn't afraid of love, he was only afraid of his father. It was written all over his face. "I know, Draco. It won't fix anything. In fact, it will only make things worse. But I've learned that in the long run, it is always best to tell the truth."
He only rested his arms around her middle and pulled her back with him on the bed. He was so lucky to have someone who cared so openly for him. "Perhaps you're right..."
They were lying side by side with their eyes closed. "Of course I'm right." She murmured.
~*~
A/N: Yes, this chapter is a little on the short side, but not to worry! Here come shoutouts! {^_^}
[PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED CHAPTER 6]
Eric Faith- Yeah, I guess Colin IS growing up! I never thought of it that way. In a sense, they are all growing up, and life is getting more difficult. Thanks for the luck with Finals, I actually did pretty good! I'm glad you liked that chapter so much...It's good to get encouraged even when I don't personally think I'm up to standards. Hope you like this shoutout, it's because of you that I did them this time!
Serizze- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME WITH THE PLOT! It's sooooo cool! EVERYONE GO READ SARAH'S STORY, "THE BOOK"!!!!. Talk to you later!
Missy- You are the only one that suspected that Blaise is hiding something. Good work!
Silver Lips- Thanks for all the nice reviews, I love reading yours! Again, you were one of the people that compelled me to do thank yous again...it just takes so long that's why I wasn't going to do it.
Cassi0peia- You were right to wonder about Blaise, but that's all I'm going to say. I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job on her and Ginny's friendship. I thought that it would seem more plausible it there was more than one nice Slytherin. Hope you feel better, I forgot what you did but I know you are sick/hurt. I keep up to date on your story too. ^_^
Ec- Hehe! You guessed it, Colin DOES like Blaise. I can't promise they will get together though. It seems that a lot of people review my story while on a sugar high. That's funny, I get some interesting reviews.
DreamofTF- I'm glad that it wasn't too angsty. I'm kind of an angsty person so I always fear I'm adding too much.
Goobersprinkle- I'll have to read your D/G fic, always love another D/G fic...[grin]. Hey, and thanks for reviewing 'Cecil's Journey' !!! That meant a lot to me, because no one reads that story!
JJ the Authoress- Thanks for that great song you sang me. Lol. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only Harry-hater out there. We could start a club...Authors Against Stupid Harry Potter...AASHP? Lol, thanks also for the slapping stick. Hahaha. Blinky has been good. [laughs evilly]
Frananddragon- haha, never thought of it that way. Colin and his camera...[shakes head] Is this soon enough for you?
Bamboo Anime- Mountain Dew makes you smile? Teehee, that's funny. Well, here is more story, hope it was quick enough for you.
Kellyanne- Poor Blaise, Nice Colin. Glad you like my other characters!
So there you have it. Ask really really nicely and leave me lovely reviews and I just may do thank yous again sometime. Maybe. {^_~}
~*~
There was only one day until they were to depart on the field trip. Ginny's trunk was packed full, and she was waiting around in her bedroom until two o'clock. That was the time that they were to meet in the library again for their second meeting about the trip.
She was excited.
It was all still a mystery to the students. The only information they knew was that they were leaving the school, and going someplace secluded. Dumbledore hadn't told them anything since then.
She glanced at her watch. There were still twenty minutes before she needed to leave, but she decided to walk down to the common room anyway. Hermione had been avoiding her since their argument. Harry wasn't quite as friendly, and Ron had been moping all week. He still had to attend all of his classes, and got pangs of jealousy when he saw his friends laying about in the common room doing nothing.
At all costs, Ginny had been avoiding them.
She'd spent most of the remainder of her week with Draco and Blaise, even had a few conversations with Colin. He really was a good friend. As if on cue, Colin ran up to Ginny the moment she entered the red and gold decorated room.
"Guess what!" he whispered excitedly.
She looked at his eager face, wondering what was up. "What's going on, Colin?"
"I was just in the library, and they had all these big boxes in there. I asked Madam Pince what they were for, and she told me that they ordered some enchanted computers for public school use. For research and everything. But they have the chat rooms on them. I'm going to be able to keep in touch with you guys while you're away!" He seemed positively ecstatic, and Ginny smiled.
They'd told the sixth year boy about their computers. He seemed just as curious about them as Ginny and Draco had been. "That's great Colin. We'll all have ours along, we can chat with each other now and then." She thought for a moment, and then added with a wink, "I'll be sure to tell you Blaise's screen name."
Colin blushed and bit his lip. It was no secret, at least to Ginny, that Colin had a crush on Blaise. She was the only one who noticed it, however. Colin was too shy to say anything, and Ginny was happy to keep his secret.
Colin still hadn't replied, and Ginny realized it was nearly two o'clock. "Well, I better be going, I'll talk to you this evening, Colin." He nodded, and she turned and hurried down to the library.
When she arrived at the library, Dumbledore was already speaking. She rushed in and sat next to Blaise, receiving displeased looks from some of the Gryffindors.
Dumbledore merely smiled and said "Hello, Miss Weasley. Glad to have you here."
The redhead nodded shyly and looked at Blaise. "You didn't miss anything." Her friend assured her. Ginny leaned back in her chair and tried to get comfortable.
"Welcome to the second meeting, students. As you know, we will be departing tomorrow morning on our field trip. Please be down in the entrance hall at seven o'clock with your luggage, the Hogwarts Express leaves at eight sharp. The train ride is about four hours, and the bus ride after that is another three. An other words, bring something to occupy yourself with."
Draco leaned across Blaise and grinned at Ginny. They had already decided to 'occupy each other' on the train.
"Once we arrive at our destination, we will be staying in cabins that have 2 rooms each. You will have a partner that will share your room with you, and this person will be your partner for the course of the trip. We will explain more about cabins and such once we arrive there."
Dumbledore turned to face Professor Snape and Professor McGonagall. Naturally, they were the other teachers chaperoning. They seemed to discuss something for a moment.
"That is all. See you bright and early tomorrow."
Draco rolled his eyes. "That's all they dragged us down here for? We practically already knew all that stuff."
Blaise only shrugged. "Oh well. I have to finish packing, I'll see you lovebirds later." She left the room in a rush. She'd told Ginny the day before that she hadn't even begun packing yet. Something about being a procrastinator.
"Well," Ginny whispered, "We really can't stay in here and talk, let's go back to your bedroom."
Draco nodded. "I'll be right back, I'll clear everyone out of there and grab my cloak." He turned and left, and at just the right time.
Hermione and Harry had been discussing the prospect of seating arrangements on the train, and neither was too fond of Ginny at the moment. However, they'd rather put up with her than see her hanging around with that Slytherin girl throughout the whole trip.
"Hey Ginny!" Hermione shouted across the whole library. It was perhaps the first time Hermione had ever raised her voice in the library. She saw Ginny standing alone by the door, and the younger girl slowly walked toward them.
"Yes?" she asked, her voice resembling ice.
"Ginny, Harry and I will be sitting in our normal compartment on the train tomorrow, I expect you'll be joining us?" Hermione said it in a condescending manner.
Internally Ginny was screaming. On the outside she merely said "No thanks."
Harry sighed. He's known this was coming. "Ginny, please? Ron wants us to look out for you-"
He'd crossed the line. Harry knew it, Ginny knew it, everybody knew it. She glared at him with fire in her eyes, turned, and left the room.
-
"You're bringing ALL of this tuff along on the trip?" Ginny's voice was rising in disbelief. "I thought I'd over packed, but you must have double the amount of what I have!"
Color rose in Draco's cheeks, however he only smirked at Ginny. "Hey now. Don't tease." There was a playful sound to his voice and Ginny giggled.
Draco had bribed his roommates to stay out of his room for the afternoon; he'd offered them some amount of money. Ginny only wished she was able to do that with her own roommates. She was surprised, not once since they'd known each other had Draco brought up to her the prospect of Ginny's family, and what his own father would say if he knew what was going on between them. Money was never an issue, and neither was the situation of Gryffindor and Slytherin. Though it seemed to matter to everyone around them, these petty things hadn't been brought up between the couple yet. Ginny began to wonder if that was a good or bad thing.
Was it all for the best that they were able to see passed these things? Or, more importantly, would it pay off in the long run? Or maybe it would help them more to deal with it now.
Neither knew what fate might have in store for them.
Though, for the time being, it seemed unspoken that they would just enjoy what they had, and deal with the problems later. These thoughts had been bothering Ginny all week, and although she didn't want to, she knew they had to talk about it.
"I almost forgot to pack my computer." Draco said suddenly, breaking Ginny from her thoughts.
She looked up at him with her innocent questioning eyes. "You know we have to figure this out some time." Her voice sounded odd, as if it echoed off the walls of his bedroom.
He turned his head toward her. "What's that?" He saw her frown in concentration, which made him smile. She was so cute.
"This situation. Us. We have to figure out what we're going to do. I can't keep this a secret forever, my family can already tell that something is up." She explained. Ginny expected Draco to get angry, but surprisingly he sat down next to her and took her hand.
"I've been thinking about that too. What do you propose we do?"
She could see it in his eyes. He was telling the truth, and wanted to work this out just as badly as she did.
"Well, only two people know about us. Blaise and Colin. Hermione and Harry know about my friendship with Blaise, but I'm not worried about that. You know that sooner or later either Hermione or Harry will find out about us, especially with this trip and how closely we'll all be living together. Then the first thing they'll do is write to Ron, and he'll tell everyone else, and then everything is ruined."
Draco looked straight into her eyes. "Well, what will you tell Ron, Ginny? What will you tell him when he finds out? Will you tell him that I'm your friend?" His blonde hair whipped about as he shook his head. His voice rose a tiny bit, showing his exasperation. "No, that wouldn't work at all. Malfoys and Weasleys aren't supposed to be friends. He'll just assume I have you under some curse. Then perhaps he'll try to kill me. Won't that be fun?" He saw her lowering her eyes, though kept talking. "And then if he doesn't succeed in killing me, my father surely will complete the job. You know how-"
"I'll tell him I love you."
He looked down at the girl sitting beside him. She stared at him, with an air of seriousness in her eyes. "What?" Draco asked, not quite comprehending her words.
"I'd tell him that I love you. It's that simple. My brother may be an idiot, but he will accept it eventually. He's not a murderer."
He scoffed. "Sure, your family may accept it. But mine wont. In my family, our reputation is stronger than love." A dark shadow crossed his face as he thought of his father. How he longed for a father he could look up to and feel proud. "I'm sorry Ginny, but love just doesn't fix everything."
She knew he didn't mean it. Ginny knew that he loved her, and would do anything for her. He wasn't afraid of love, he was only afraid of his father. It was written all over his face. "I know, Draco. It won't fix anything. In fact, it will only make things worse. But I've learned that in the long run, it is always best to tell the truth."
He only rested his arms around her middle and pulled her back with him on the bed. He was so lucky to have someone who cared so openly for him. "Perhaps you're right..."
They were lying side by side with their eyes closed. "Of course I'm right." She murmured.
~*~
A/N: Yes, this chapter is a little on the short side, but not to worry! Here come shoutouts! {^_^}
[PEOPLE WHO REVIEWED CHAPTER 6]
Eric Faith- Yeah, I guess Colin IS growing up! I never thought of it that way. In a sense, they are all growing up, and life is getting more difficult. Thanks for the luck with Finals, I actually did pretty good! I'm glad you liked that chapter so much...It's good to get encouraged even when I don't personally think I'm up to standards. Hope you like this shoutout, it's because of you that I did them this time!
Serizze- THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR HELPING ME WITH THE PLOT! It's sooooo cool! EVERYONE GO READ SARAH'S STORY, "THE BOOK"!!!!. Talk to you later!
Missy- You are the only one that suspected that Blaise is hiding something. Good work!
Silver Lips- Thanks for all the nice reviews, I love reading yours! Again, you were one of the people that compelled me to do thank yous again...it just takes so long that's why I wasn't going to do it.
Cassi0peia- You were right to wonder about Blaise, but that's all I'm going to say. I'm glad you think I'm doing a good job on her and Ginny's friendship. I thought that it would seem more plausible it there was more than one nice Slytherin. Hope you feel better, I forgot what you did but I know you are sick/hurt. I keep up to date on your story too. ^_^
Ec- Hehe! You guessed it, Colin DOES like Blaise. I can't promise they will get together though. It seems that a lot of people review my story while on a sugar high. That's funny, I get some interesting reviews.
DreamofTF- I'm glad that it wasn't too angsty. I'm kind of an angsty person so I always fear I'm adding too much.
Goobersprinkle- I'll have to read your D/G fic, always love another D/G fic...[grin]. Hey, and thanks for reviewing 'Cecil's Journey' !!! That meant a lot to me, because no one reads that story!
JJ the Authoress- Thanks for that great song you sang me. Lol. I'm glad to know that I'm not the only Harry-hater out there. We could start a club...Authors Against Stupid Harry Potter...AASHP? Lol, thanks also for the slapping stick. Hahaha. Blinky has been good. [laughs evilly]
Frananddragon- haha, never thought of it that way. Colin and his camera...[shakes head] Is this soon enough for you?
Bamboo Anime- Mountain Dew makes you smile? Teehee, that's funny. Well, here is more story, hope it was quick enough for you.
Kellyanne- Poor Blaise, Nice Colin. Glad you like my other characters!
So there you have it. Ask really really nicely and leave me lovely reviews and I just may do thank yous again sometime. Maybe. {^_~}