A/N: This chapter contains a lot of plot filler and lots of different things going on. Just though I'd let you know, hope you enjoy it.

Just wanted to thank my good pal Silver Essence for her major contribution to the making of this chapter, couldn't of done it without you! Another note- it would have been out much quicker if FFN would have been working properly last week.

Last note- this chapter is extremely long, I just kept adding more stuff. It's way longer than any other chapter yet. You're welcome.

Now without further ado, here's chapter 13.

~*~

It was very extremely in the morning. As Draco rubbed his eyes and blearily looked out the window, he noted, unhappily, that the sun was only just coming up.

Right away, he wasn't sure what had jolted him from his dreams. That is, until he saw Harry pacing the length of their cabin room, wringing his hands.

"Potter." He said gruffly, as if stating something to a two year old. "What in bloody hell are you doing?"

The tousle-haired boy stared at him in surprise, then embarrassment. "What's it to you, Malfoy? Leave me alone."

However sleep-ridden he was, Draco's mouth dropped open. "What's it to me? You woke me up, and it's an insane hour of the night! How about you leave ME alone?"

"Sod off." Was the only reply that came from Harry's side of the room. He plopped down, defeated, on his bed.

"What crawled up your arse? Try getting a bit more sleep." His taunting voice was a just a bit too unnerving for the boy who lived.

Something in Harry snapped. "YOU try getting woken up from dreams solely involving the plans of Voldemort!"

Draco merely smirked. "Try growing up with a father involved in them."

Harry blinked, and turned away.

Draco realized the source of his cabin-mate's unusual behavior at that moment, remembering his conversation with Snape the previous day, about the new vacant position of father in his family.

"Well, glad that's over." He was talking about the death, of course, giving his father one more thought before turning over and trying to get a bit more sleep. He really was exhausted.

Harry didn't bother him for the remainder of the morning.

-

That afternoon while the rest of the students were practicing advanced healing charms, Draco and Ginny were speaking with Dumbledore about their trip to the funeral. Their Headmaster had immediately agreed to Ginny accompanying Draco on the trip, stating that it may make the shock a little easier to withstand having her there with him. He said this with a knowing grin.

None of the teachers seemed to realize that Draco really wasn't all that upset, and only Dumbledore seemed to be playing along with the 'secrecy' of their relationship.

Sure, he acted depressed, sorrowful, and downtrodden, but inside Ginny knew he was jumping for joy. She felt bad for him, and offered her comfort, but he didn't seem to want it. In fact, he had smiled more in the last twelve hours with her than he ever had before in his life.

Dumbledore gave Draco a weak smile, before giving him his instructions. "Professor Snape will be seeing you two to the funeral; he was invited as well. You will leave this afternoon, as we have just been informed, since the funeral is late tonight. You will then stay one night at your own house, Mr. Malfoy. We look foreword to your return tomorrow morning. And Draco?"

The young blonde looked up. "Yes?"

"I give you my………er………greatest sympathies."

He nodded. "Thank you, sir." Taking Ginny's hand, they exited the main cabin and made off toward their own, the one farthest away.

-

"I wasn't aware that I was taking more than one student to the Malfoy Manor." Their Potion's Master's voice was curt, and to the point.

The three of them were standing outside the Knight Bus, preparing for yet another uncomfortable ride on the ridiculous thing.

"Dumbledore agreed. Go ask him if you don't believe me."

Astounded by the way Draco spoke to a teacher with such ease in the rude manor; she cowered a bit behind him.

The older man eyed the two curiously. "May I ask simply………why?"

The suddenly shy girl looked up in time to see Draco flashing him a sly look. "I asked her to come along. We've become………close."

It almost sounded strange, hearing Draco admit this. Even though he only hinted at the intimacy of their friendship, he and Ginny both knew that it was time to let people know. So, who better to start off with than Professor Snape?

"I see." Nothing more was said as they loaded their few belongings onto the bus, which was magically a lot smaller than it had been when they had ridden it with the rest of their classmates.

It was a long and uneventful ride. Snape said nothing to the two teenagers, and seemed deep in thought the entire ride. Draco and Ginny, on the other hand, found it awkward to speak to each other in Snape's looming presence and resorted to just enjoying each others company. Which, in all honesty, wasn't that bad.

-

Back at the cabins, Blaise was busy trying to 'heal' Harry of a dreadful case of Alligator Pox. Their task today was to learn to heal random diseases with a single spell that could be used for most hazardous run-ins with certain unordinary diseases. These diseases were usually aftershocks of hazardous run-ins with dark wizards.

They had been assigned partners based on their cabins, and being that Ginny and Draco had left prior, Blaise was stuck, yet again, with Potter.

She just didn't understand how the one person she was most intent to avoid seemed to be everywhere she was now.

It was only when Harry tried biting her arm that she realized she'd better get working, before the Pox took a turn for the worse.

Nearby, Goyle had a severe case of Mandarin Measles, and was turning everything he touched into oddly shaped citrus fruits. Blaise stifled a laugh, which turned into a cry of pain only moments later.

"Ouch! Harry, you drew blood!" She pushed him off of her, and his currently rough and green face showed a look of apology, though it seemed to be battling with his sudden animal instincts.

"Genkus Returnius!" she cried, before he could advance on her again. Though his face stayed Alligator-like, he seemed to have returned to normal. "McGonagall said your skin would eventually return to its original state as well," she thought for a moment, "Not that it's much of an improvement."

Harry, for some reason, moved a bit closer to her. "Well, thank you, Ice Princess of Slytherin. Are you always this cold? Or is today just an exception, because your friends are gone? Wanting to take it out on poor little Potter, eh?"

Something about Harry's forwardness, Slytherin-like attitude, and green skin, made Blaise want to pin him to the ground and snog him senseless. "Nope. Nothing special about today. I just don't like you, is all."

Harry shrugged. "Whatever. Sorry about trying to eat you, by the way."

Eyes blazing, she couldn't help it. She blew up at him. "Quit being so bloody nice to me, Harry Potter!"

He smirked. "I wasn't being nice. I was going to say sorry for trying, I should have just done the world a favor and gone through with it."

Her heart dropped a few notches lower in her chest. "Oh."

-

Stepping off the Knight Bus and looking up at Draco's home took Ginny's breath away.

'Note to Self; don't ever take Draco to the Burrow.' She instructed herself, slinging her bag over her shoulder and following Draco up the front drive.

Despite all his negativity toward going home, Ginny noted that he seemed at least a little bit happy to see his house again. Probably because for once, he didn't have to anticipate the reign of discipline waiting for him just inside the door. The old man had croaked.

Slipping his arm through Ginny's, perhaps to make her feel welcomer, they entered the front door together. People were bustling about inside, many wearing black for the occasion. Others had dressed in what looked to be their finest robes, which seemed a bit silly, especially those that were very colorful and flashy.

Snape slipped off up the elegant stairs without so much as a goodbye, entering the first door at the top.

"He's probably going to comfort my mother. She and Snape were always close, Merlin knows why." Draco offered the explanation of Snape's quick departure.

A few people were giving the quiet redhead odd glances, which Draco noticed, thankfully, before she did. "Let's go on upstairs, I'll show you my bedroom. We wont be needed down here for hours."

Ginny nodded, and followed him shyly up the grand staircase Snape had darted up moments earlier.

Taking Ginny's hand, he led her down the long hallway at the top of the staircase. The walls were painted a pale green color, and were adorned with various pictures all the way down. Ginny took interest in the pictures, shying away from ones she recognized as Lucius. She then realized how odd it was that she was attending his funeral. He was the one who had set her up, back in her first year. She wondered if Draco knew that.

Blocking the memories from her mind, she admired the walls of the hall again. She saw Narcissa and Lucius sharing a toast on their wedding day, vacationing in Spain, and holding a blond sack of blankets she assumed to be baby Draco.

He sighed when a giggle erupted from her mouth. She'd spotted the first picture in his wall of fame, as a chubby little baby sucking his thumb. Next he was standing, at age two, wearing overalls and tousle-haired. Her laughter got louder as the pictures progressed, seeing Draco missing various front teeth, eating a Popsicle, and then riding what she guessed to be his first broom.

"Aw, Draco, you were adorable." She mused, coming to an end with a picture of him at their past Quidditch match, sitting on his shiny Nimbus in full uniform and looking bored. The Draco in the picture gripped his broom and did a couple of lazy flips, before returning to his stationary spot and resuming his look of boredom. "Showoff," she taunted.

He shook his head, pulling open the door to right of the picture. The door was black, and there was a silver nameplate mounted in the center. It read "Draco Malfoy," in fancy script.

Ginny wasn't sure what she was expecting with the Slytherin's bedroom, but when she saw it, she immediately knew it belonged to him.

He saw the smile playing on her lips, knowing his room was rather homey compared to the rest of the house. "I spend a lot of time in here, you know," he cast his gaze downward, "avoiding my family and all."

Entering the room and setting her stuff down beside the bed, Ginny thought it better to let the comment drop. Instead, she looked around his room, taking in the atmosphere.

Unlike her brothers' rooms, there were no posters of Quidditch teams cluttering up the walls. The comforter on the bed was not a makeshift quilt like her own; instead it was a large black down blanket. She could only imagine there were black silk sheets underneath, and she found herself grinning at the thought. His bed was made of oak and had ornate posts rising up even higher than the top of her head. The dresser and night table were made of the same matching oak design, and a mirror rose high up above the wooden drawers. Ginny saw her curious reflection staring back at her as she fingered a few of the odds and ends littering the top of the dresser.

"Go ahead, make yourself at home," Draco teased, as Ginny shamelessly opened a wooden box she'd found.

She gasped at what she saw, though not sure why it startled her so much. It was an old photo, of Draco. He was maybe seven years old, and was holding a little blonde haired girl in a pink blanket. The smile on his face in the picture perfectly matched the smile he'd had on his face all day today.

"Who's………?" Ginny wasn't quite sure how to phrase the question.

Instead of answering, he pulled her over closer to him, making her drop the photo back into the box. He pulled Ginny onto his lap, as he was now sitting on the tall bed. The comforter was very fluffy; they sunk into the mattress a bit, with their weight.

"I had a sister." The statement had a hollow sound to it, and Ginny chose not to respond again. She figured Draco wasn't done talking. "Her name was Sierra. I had never loved anything in my life, but when Sierra was born, I loved her. I was protective of her, too. Never let my dad touch her, if he was mad I made sure he hit me instead of going near my sister."

He felt Ginny's breath catch when he mentioned that his father had beat him, but bypassed further discussion about it.

"Then one day, I woke up and my mum was crying. Sierra had died."

Ginny looked at him, a wave of sadness washing over her features. "What happened to her?"

This seemed to pain Draco the most. "I don't know. They never told me."

-

It was free time in their cabins at last. After an exhausting day of learning not so exciting spells and curses, Blaise was ready for a break. Besides, she and Harry had been at each other's throats all afternoon, and she was fed up with it all.

Luckily, Harry wasn't unusually nice to her anymore. That had really gotten under her skin. However, even though he was meaner now, it wasn't really serious insults that he was giving her. She was almost afraid that he might be, well, flirting.

She sighed in exasperation, thumping her hand down hard on the side of her bed. Her anger came out the most when she was worried about something important, something she cared about. This thought made her even more frustrated.

If she couldn't stand Harry Potter, then WHY couldn't she get his stupid scar face out of her mind?

Desperate to find anything to take her mind off her current complexities, she pulled out her recently abandoned laptop and opened it on her bunk. With the tap of a button, it whirred to life.

After clicking a few buttons and some random typing, she found herself in a chat room with twelve other people, one of which being none other than Colin Creevey. Within an instant, a private chat box appeared on her screen.

CameraShy: Hi Blaise

She decided to offer him a formal greeting. As usual, Blaise wasn't feeling very open.

SilentSlyth: Hello Creevey.

CameraShy: Are you guys having fun? How is the trip?

SilentSlyth: It's all right. How are things back at school?

Never having been good at being casual about things, she just blatantly changed the subject. But Colin didn't seem to mind.

CameraShy: Eh, things are pretty boring. The only entertaining thing around here is that Ginny's brother Ron is completely miserable. He storms everywhere and slams things around; I'd say he is a bit jealous.

SilentSlyth: Can't say I blame the poor bloke. His best friends AND his sister got chosen while he was overlooked.

CameraShy: Yeah. How's Ginny holding up?

Having said this, Blaise assumed Ginny and Colin had a closer friendship than she had let on in the past. She had made it seem like they were merely acquaintances, but Colin talked as if they were best friends. He seemed like a good guy though; Blaise wasn't worried at all, just amused.

SilentSlyth: She's fine, Colin.

She decided that she wasn't the one to tell people about Lucius' death, let better people explain it if they wanted.

There was a pause in the conversation.

CameraShy: And you? I miss you, Blaise.

Another sigh rang through the room. Why couldn't she get away from confusing situations with boys? She'd had enough for the day. The year.

SilentSlyth: I'm great too, Colin, but I'd better get going. Er, dinner soon. Later.

SilentSlyth has logged off.

This seemed to be becoming a tradition for the two of them. Colin asked rather personal questions or hints that he liked her, Blaise bolted before getting caught answering.

-

When the couple came down the stairs later, many of the guests were already seated in the parlor, where the funeral was taking place. Draco had told her that many of their families' parties, get-togethers, and activities that normally took place elsewhere were always held in their home. His mother didn't like to venture out much anymore.

Ginny adjusted her skirt, it was dreadfully hot inside the mansion and nobody had a need for cloaks. So, instead, Ginny was clad in a knee length black skirt and matching blouse. Beside her, Draco was wearing simply black jeans and a dark gray shirt. He thought he should bring his cloak, in case he had to speak or something and needed to look nice, but then thought better of it. He just realized that he didn't care.

Just as they were about to sit down in some chairs about three rows back, someone stopped them.

Looking up at the figure's tall frame, Ginny couldn't tell exactly who the person was. They looked a bit familiar, in an offhand way. Draco instinctively stepped in front of her, as if shielding her from the stranger.

"Hullo, Mister Malfoy. Sorry to hear about your father, it's a dreadful shame. We are all deeply," he chose his words carefully, "scarred, by his death." Something about his voice let on that he wasn't sad at all.

Casting his glance fiercely into the man's eyes, Draco spoke. "Sure, Mr. Parkinson. Now that the old man's out of the way, you all move up a spot in line, am I right?"

Ginny was taken aback by he malicious tone of his voice. Was this Pansy's father?

Artfully dodging the question, Mr. Parkinson glanced around him. He seemed startled when he recognized the girl cowering a bit behind Draco. "Bloody hell, Draco, did you bring this thing here?"

She could see Draco's anger flare at the question, and his fists tighten into balls.

"If I'm not mistaken, that looks a lot like a Weasley you've got hiding behind you. Hey guys, look at this!" the man's vice was rising, as he motioned a few of his cronies over. They all came running and he pointed at Ginny. "Look at this, we've got a Weasley mourning the loss of our old pal. Isn't that curious?"

The rest of them looked as though they were checking her out, making Ginny very self-conscious of the neckline of her blouse.

An unusually ugly man dodged Draco and peered closely in her face. "Yes, definitely a Weasley. Get her out of here, Draco."

She unconsciously reached for her flame and ice necklace, as though to assure herself that she did indeed belong here. After this she glanced at Draco.

His anger had reached his peak. Grabbing Ginny's hand a little too tightly, he yanked her toward the door. "If Ginny isn't welcome, neither of us are! You bloody fools are never going to get anywhere in life! You think just because my father's dead, you all might become the next right hand man? It's disgusting."

With that, they stormed from the house.

Moments later, a figure emerged from the house after them. It was Snape, and he had a scowl on his face.

"Yes? Did you come to ridicule her too?" Draco spat at him.

"Don't be ridiculous, Malfoy. You of all people know I'm not like those miserable fools. I merely came to tell you that if Miss Weasley has genuinely come to pay her respects, I wont see to it that she's thrown out. No one treats my students like they just did," he grinned, "but me."

Without another word, he walked back in the house, leaving Draco and Ginny alone in each other's company.

Deciding not to go to the funeral, even after Snape's pep talk, they wandered back up to Draco's bedroom. It was getting late, and they had decided to call it a night.

"Well, Ginny, do you want to sleep in the guest bedroom across the hall that Snape set up? It all pink and ruffles and lace." His voice was playful and taunting.

She pretended to think over the option. "Well, I DID find a room I liked better."

His eyes seemed to light up when he laughed, jumping on fluffy mattress with her.

"Hmmm, Snape wont know." She mumbled, crawling under the comforter, and, to her delight, finding black silk sheets.

Once they were settled under the covers, Ginny turned to him. "Sorry this funeral turned out so horribly."

He frowned. "No, I'm sorry they treated you that way."

She shrugged and snuggled closer to him. "It's really not a big deal, Draco."

But from the way she requested his comfort and the way her voice shook a tiny bit, he could tell her feelings had been hurt.

-

A/N: Whew. That took awhile. Anyway, I hope you liked this chapter, I'll try to get 14 up soon, please R/R~!