A/N: Well, I'm trying to keep my chapters fairly long now, you lucky people, so here is another long chapter for your reading pleasure.

I wanted to thank everyone who put me on their favorite authors list…It's up to 90 now, amazing! Thanks also to everyone who left me reviews, I broke 400 with the last chapter!

Thanks also to everyone who gave me input on this chapter… you really help speed up the writing process!

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Stirring slightly, Ginny was awoken by the sleeping form of Draco, unconsciously adjusting himself behind her. She grinned at the hand draped loosely over her middle, feeling more comfortable and happy than she ever had in her whole entire life.

Thinking then about the criticism she'd endured, and how Draco had walked out on his own father's funeral, she felt a bit embarrassed. It had been silly of them to expect people to accept their relationship, especially these people, here to mourn for Lucius. They should have started with a smaller crowd.

Although, now with Lucius gone, the Death Eaters could probably care less what happened in the Malfoy family, Ginny reasoned. Therefore, they were right back where they'd started.

" Good morning," the tickle of Draco's breath on her neck abruptly interrupted Ginny from her thoughts.

She shifted positions, turning so that she was facing Draco, with her hair spilling out beside her on the pillow. She blushed a tiny bit, realizing the intimacy of the position.

Draco didn't seem to notice, or mind. Leaning forward a tiny bit, he placed a soft, quick kiss on her rosy lips. "Sleep well?"

Setting her head on his chest, she breathed onto his bare skin. "Mmm… yes." She wasn't fully awake yet, and was still savoring the last moments of her blissful sleep.

Wrapping his arms around her lower waist, he breathed in deeply. Her hair was right below his face, and it smelled faintly of some sort of flower.

Regardless of the fact that he wanted to stay like this forever, Draco's stomach rumbled suddenly.

Now awake, Ginny let out a small giggle. Draco began tickling her on her stomach, causing her to laugh louder and shake a tiny bit, until she jumped up from the bed. "All right! You win!" she gasped, adjusting her nightshirt to fit her body properly. She had slept in one of Draco's large black T-shirts, which reached just to the tops of her thighs.

He grinned at the sight of her. There was nothing better than seeing your girlfriend in your own clothing.

Moments, later, Draco got himself up out of bed. Pulling on a pair of blue jeans, and running a comb through his hair, he turned to Ginny. "I'm going to go get us something to eat. You should…well…stay here," he instructed.

She nodded, watching him walk briskly out the bedroom door.

The unmade bed looked so inviting, she crawled back in while she waited for Draco's return. Hugging the Draco-scented pillow to her chest, she hummed a tune to herself while admiring the decorations in Draco's room once more.

-

Harry felt like he was back at the Dursely's, being in the small, empty cabin room by himself. At Hogwarts, sharing a room with five other people, he never had to feel alone. Cursing himself for thinking so, he almost wished Draco and Ginny would hurry up and get back; he missed having someone near him to talk to. Not that he was really on speaking terms with any of them.

Blaise was in the other room; this he knew. But no matter what he did, Blaise was only cold to him, and pushed him away. He knew his house, obviously, didn't bias her since she was a friend of Ginny's.

But then again, Harry thought, Ginny had something going on with Draco. He was surprised he'd been blind to it until now.

However, it didn't come as quite the shock as it should of. He knew, had he received this information perhaps a month sooner, maybe even a week sooner, he would have flipped his lid. Ginny Weasley, having feelings for a Slytherin? And not just any Slytherin, his archrival, Malfoy?

He didn't know what kind of feelings she had for the guy, but Harry didn't want to get his hopes up that they were merely friendship. He was almost positive that Ginny loved him, in the worst kind of way.

In the way that, Harry feared, he was starting to feel for Blaise. Another shock to him; another Slytherin. He mentally slapped himself. The girl hates you, he told his inner self, she obviously can't stand you and you're wasting your time.

For once, the first time since this trip had begun, he ignored the voice inside him, bounding off to the room next door.

Quietly turning the brass handle, he peeked his head in. Blaise was sleeping fretfully, tangled in her blanket from tossing and turning. The sight brought a smile to Harry's lips, seeing her in such a state of sweet disarray.

Breakfast was in twenty minutes. There, he'd thought of a legitimate reason to be barging into her room.

Leaning over her sleeping body, he watched her face for a moment. It was twisted into a pout. Then nudging her carefully with his hand, he watched as she turned fitfully. He tried again, whispering her name softly.

-

"Blaise…" Harry's face loomed above her. This was a dream. She knew she was dreaming, because in real life, Harry would not materialize before her, whispering her name in such a sweet way. He was smiling slightly, as if just waiting for her.

What kind of dream was this? Harry, standing before her, at her beck and call? She might as well make the most of it, since it was her own fantasy and all. She leaned forward, whispering his name as well, until her voice died on his lips…

"Woah!" Harry jumped back in surprise, eyes widening. Blaise sat up suddenly; unaware at what was going on, lights seeming too bright all of a sudden.

Seconds later her eyes adjusted, and she saw a dazed Harry sprawled out in shock on her floor.

Sudden realization caused her to moan, "Oh, oh NO."

-

It wasn't long before Draco returned to the bedroom with a tray filled with delicious foods.

"Don't worry, none of it is poison." He smirked at her, and Ginny realized for the first time that she loved his smirk, rather than hated like she had thought before. If you looked closely, it was obvious that his twisted smile was playful, not cruel.

Setting the tray up on the bed, the couple began to dig in. Ginny thought it was the first real feast she'd had since the start of school that year.

"I ran into Snape on my way back up from the kitchen," Draco stated.

Ginny figured he would go on, but silence followed. "Oh?"

Swallowing the food in his mouth, Draco nodded. "We have to go back in an hour. It's a pity. I was quite comfortable here."

Emitting a small giggle, Ginny abandoned her breakfast to sit next to him. "Oh, I was too. I rather like your bedroom."

"I liked the lack of extra beds."

"Draco!" Ginny scolded, smacking him on the arm with a grin.

"In that case, next time you choose to stay over, there is a guest bedroom across the hall. The one in which Snape thought you were sleeping last night." Draco faked being hurt in his voice.

Tempting him, she kissed him on the edge of his nose. "You sure you want me to sleep in another room next time?"

On impulse, Draco decided not to answer and kissed her roughly. Leaning her back on the bed, he softened the kiss up a bit, and Ginny returned it with her own fiery force.

Hey, if they only had another hour left, why not make the most of it?

-

Harry and Blaise had not spoken. The students were gathered in the main cabin again, this time eating breakfast. Sitting alone at their cabin's table, Blaise did everything in her power to not look at Harry. Awkwardness hung in the air, and they could both taste it.

She'd kissed him! How could I be so stupid, Blaise silently cursed herself.

Harry was still in shock; she'd terribly surprised him. He wanted to say something to her, assure her that he didn't think she was an idiot, but there were no words he could think of to speak.

They were both saved from awkward conversation, however, when Dumbledore scrambled to get everyone's attention up front.

Harry noticed that the other Professors weren't up front like usual. He wondered where McGonagall and Snape were.

"I have a bit of a surprise for you today, students." Dumbledore's loud voice echoed over the students' mild chatter. The shushed themselves immediately and listened up.

"Your task today is a bit different. You will, again, be working in cabin groups."

Blaise sighed loudly. Wouldn't Draco and Ginny hurry back? She couldn't take much more of this.

"Placed outside the door of each of your cabins is a creature. This creature is often used to guard riches and treasures, and it native to the desert we are currently in. If you want to ever get into you cabin again," Dumbledore grinned, "you are going to have to find some way to get rid of the creature." Seeing some of boastful looks, he quickly aged, "Without hurting it."

Various mumbles were heard throughout the room.

"I am assuming that none of you have ever come face to face with this creature before," he stopped, thinking for a moment. "Well, expect for one of you." With that, he seemed to wink at Harry, causing the young boy to blush. He wondered what was awaiting them outside the cabin.

Breakfast was soon over, and the students anxiously ambled outside. The prospect of an unknown creature was appealing to most, but the task seemed unreasonably difficult for Harry and Blaise, who currently weren't on speaking terms.

The walk back to their own cabin was agonizingly long, and Blaise was getting very nervous. She was never good with small talk, especially after she'd kissed someone on accident. Especially since this was the first time she'd even kissed someone. Especially since that person was now her partner, again!

Nearing the cabin, Harry squinted his eyes. There was, in fact, a large creature lolling around lazily in front of the door, blocking it completely from access. The creature's body was carved distinctly in the shape of a rough female lion, while the head, on the other hand, was that of a young woman, face set into a pout.

"It's a sphinx..." Harry whispered, remembering his last encounter with one in the Triwizard Tournament.

Forgetting about their lack of communication, Blaise looked at him in bewilderment. "You've met one of these things before? All I've done is read about them!"

For the second time that day, crimson stained the boy's cheeks. "Third Task, in the Triwizard Tournament. A sphinx was blocking the trophy at the end of the maze."

She was impressed. "Well, what did you do to get past it?"

The sphinx in front of them was watching them with interest. She licked casually at her paws, yawning every now and then.

"Well," Harry began, "all it did was give me a riddle to solve."

"Hey, sphinx-lady, do you have any riddle for us to solve? We'd like to get back in our cabin today, please."

Harry cringed. He knew any sphinx would not take kindly to that tone of voice. Without thinking, he placed a hand on Blaise's arm. She froze under his touch.

"Maybe…er…you should try saying something a bit kinder. I don't think they even respond unless you treat them with respect." His voice wasn't harsh, it was soft and encouraging.

Shaking herself a bit to sort her thoughts, she tried to focus. She found it impossible, though, with Harry's hand still clinging to her arm. She brushed it off, and took a step closer to the animal.

"Er…excuse me? Do you think I could have a word with you? Please?" She tried her best to make her voice respectful and polite. For the moody Slytherin she was, it was a difficult task.

The sphinx raised its head to peer at the anxious girl. "Yes?"

Its voice was smooth, and deep, in a husky sort of way. She stared at Blaise with large black eyes and didn't blink.

Uncomfortably, Blaise shifted her weight to her other foot. "Um…you see, my friend and I here, we kind of need to get into our cabin today. So, well, do you have a riddle we could solve or something to get you to move?"

The sphinx's laugh was mocking, and she moved her face closer to Blaise's. Almost whispering, she said, "Not all sphinxes like to speak in rhyme, others prefer sleeping to pass the time. Though insomnia is our major defeat, we need something else to put us to sleep."

Harry suddenly decided to speak up. "I thought you don't speak in rhyme."

The sphinx eyed him carefully. "You seem like bright young boy. That wasn't a riddle I just gave you, it was the way you can get me to move."

Without another word, she flopped down on the ground, head turned the other way.

Glancing at Harry, the two students shrugged. For the time being, they had forgotten about their little episode in the cabin, but seeing each other's faces again had reminded them instantly. This looked like it was going to be a long morning.

-

"We had to take the Knight Bus here, because it was the only form of transportation out of where we are staying," Snape explained. He was standing in the Malfoy's living room with Draco and Ginny; almost ready to take the young couple back to their camp.

"However, we are luckily able to go back by floo powder, being that we have it available to us here and there is a fireplace that is part of the floo network in the main cabin."

"Why didn't we come here by floo powder then?" Draco's voice sounded irritated.

"Mr. Malfoy, don't you listen? We couldn't. We had no floo powder at the cabins." For some reason, their Potions Instructor's voice was more curt than usual today.

Taking a handful of floo powder, Snape stepped into the Malfoy's huge fireplace and shouted, "Desert Camp!"

"They really don't want us to know where exactly camp is, do they?" Ginny commented. "They even rigged the floo network to make it vague."

She went next, kissing Draco quickly on the lips before she walked in the fireplace.

Moments later, she and Draco were both standing in the main cabin back at camp, gingerly brushing dust off their robes.

"Welcome back!" Dumbledore exclaimed, offering his students a warm smile. "The rest of the students have already started the day's task, and no one is even near finished. Go ahead and jump right in," he instructed, giving them a final push out the door.

Soon they met up with their cabin mates, who seemed to be unsuccessfully arguing with some sort of large animal.

"What's going on?" Ginny asked, walking up behind them.

Blaise's ears perked at her friend's voice, and she turned abruptly around. "Ginny!" she cried, engulfing her in a hug.

The redhead laughed, returning the frantic hug. "So, what's going on?"

"We have to figure out some way to move this sphinx, that is, if we ever want to get back into our cabin," Harry explained miserably.

Looking at the two frazzled looking students, Draco breathed in slightly. "Well what are we supposed to do? Hex it?"

Blaise rolled her eyes, while Harry looked alarmed. "I think we are supposed to put it to sleep, that's the only thing I can come up with." The female Slytherin put one hand on the animal's back, gently rubbing it.

Ginny thought for a moment. "Harry! Didn't you battle one of these things in the Triwizard Tournament?" She didn't hear fragments of her brother and his friends' conversations for nothing.

Sighing, Harry gave her his reply. "Yes, but I wasn't exactly rocking it to sleep. This one is different."

Getting frustrated, Draco stepped forward. "Honestly, put it to sleep? Let's just get rid of the stupid thing!" He pulled his wand out of his pocket, to quickly for anyone to stop him. "Stupefy!"

The four students watched as the spell zoomed with increasing force at the sphinx, but the animal just watched in interest. The spell ricocheted off the sphinx's back, and immediately reversed directions, heading straight back for Draco.

The blond boy's eyes widened, and he lets out a strangled yelp before his own spell knocked him to the ground.

"Draco!" Ginny cried, falling down to her knees beside him. He wasn't seriously hurt, but the impact of the spell had knocked him out, and he had various bruises starting to show on his body.

The sphinx casually licked her paws again, eyeing the others with distrust. "You can't hex a sphinx while it's awake." Her voice was cold and menacing.

Ginny looked hopelessly to Harry. "Will you please take him to the main cabin for Dumbledore to check out? He's too heavy for me to carry, and he needs to lay down somewhere."

Harry frowned, but followed her instructions anyway.

Soon the two girls were left alone, and Blaise looked at Ginny quizzically. "Too heavy? Ginny, did you forget that you're a witch? You could have easily taken him yourself."

Cocking her head to the side, Ginny grinned. "You looked like you needed a break from Harry. Anything interesting happen while I was gone?"

Blushing madly, Blaise spilled to Ginny the story of what happened. "I…I kissed him!"

"You WHAT?"

"Not on purpose! I accidentally kissed him, in my sleep!" she hurriedly explained what had happened, while Ginny had to hold her stomach from laughter.

"It's not funny." Blaise pouted.

Still giggling, Ginny corrected her. "Sure it is. And you know what's even more hilarious?"

"What?"

"You liked it!" This statement was followed by another mass of giggles from Ginny.

"I did not. I-" she broke off suddenly, looking to the sphinx. "Hey look, it's asleep!"

Ginny looked, and found Blaise was right. Its eyes were closed and it was snoring peacefully. "But, how?"

This time it was Blaise's turn to laugh. "All our girl talk must have been too much for it. Put it right to sleep!"

Together, the girls sent it away with a floating charm, and walked into to cabins together.

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A/N: This isn't one of my best chapters; perhaps the next one will be better. Review anyway though, the more reviews I get, the more I want to update!