Chapter 6: Confusion
Ginny had a sleepless night after Draco left her in the library room. Her feelings were in turmoil after Draco's declaration of love. Ginny was still confused over her feelings for him. She knew that if she didn't sort those feelings out soon, she wasn't going to get any sleep. Fortunately it was a Sunday, so there weren't any class as Ginny lay in bed, staring at the canopy.
// I'm so tired but I can't sleep. All this thinking about Dra-Malfoy is just keeping me awake. I can't continue like this. I don't want to lose points for the house just because I've been thinking too much about a blonde haired, silver grey-eyed hottie. Gryffindor has never lost a House Cup ever since Harry enrolled. I don't want to be the schmuck to cause our downfall this year. May be a swim will clear my head. //
Ginny pushed the covers aside and padded her way to her drawers to find her swimsuit. Grabbing her towel after changing into her suit, Ginny went through the secret door in her wardrobe to go to the swimming pool room. Opening the door to the swimming pool room, she surveyed the room just to make sure that Draco wasn't there. She didn't think she could handle Draco without a good night's rest.
The floor of the room was covered with aqua tiles and the walls had murals of dolphins and mermaids. There were small windows high up the wall to allow sunlight to enter. The sun had risen slightly, pale sunlight filtering through the windows, casting the room in a soft blue glow. The room was equipped with changing rooms and shower stalls, as well as benches near the walls of the room. Ginny placed her towel and robe on one of the stone benches and stepped under one of the showers by the pool. She dove into the water like a professional athlete, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. The cold water constricting her chest slightly but didn't stop her from doing a few fast laps around the pool. Ginny slowed her pace after the sixth lap and relaxed, floating on her back.
// I forgot how wonderful it feels like to swim early in the morning. I should do this more often. My brothers did a good job of teaching me how to swim even though their method was just to through me in the water and watch me panic the first time. //
Ginny began recalling the conversation she had with Draco the night before and started thinking.
// He says that he loves me but that doesn't mean anything. How can he love me when he doesn't know me? One dinner and a great snog don't mean anything. I just hope that he means it when he said he'd give me all the time I need to sort my feelings. //
The growling of her stomach interrupted her thoughts and reminded her that she hadn't had her breakfast yet. She didn't want to go to the Hall for breakfast, as she didn't feel that she was ready to face Draco yet. Ginny swam to the edge of the poll and climbed out. Drying herself as best as she can, Ginny went back to her room to shower and dress for the day. By the time she got dressed and did her drying spell on her hair, her tummy had growled even louder and threatened to go into gastric mode. Ginny went straight to kitchen, avoiding the large groups of students going to the Hall. She didn't want to be questioned about the drama during dinner the night before and at the same time to avoid Draco.
In the kitchen, Ginny was led by Dobby to a small table where she was served with platters of bacon, toast and fruits. She even had some oatmeal porridge along with glasses of orange juice. Ginny was always starving after swimming. Before she left for the owlery to send the letter to her parents, Ginny told Dobby to send some sandwiches and juice to her room during lunch, as she wasn't intending to come down. She had a few essays to finish up and some reading to do for school the next day. Taking a last sip of juice, Ginny thanked Dobby and left for the owlery.
In the Slytherin dungeons, Draco didn't have a good night's sleep either. He kept thinking about Ginny and was sorely tempted to look for her through his secret door and kiss her senseless till she agreed to be his. Though it sounded good, he knew that it would only push Ginny further away from him and that was the last thing he wanted.
// Maybe a spot of flying will do me some good. May then I could go to sleep and stop thinking about her. //
Draco got up swiftly form his bed and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Grabbing his jacket and his broom, Draco made his way to the Quidditch pitch. It was a very cold morning; his breath came condensing in the air. He zipped his jacket all the way up to ward off the morning chill. The pitch was wet with dew and there was still mist over the grounds. Draco mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring into the air.
Draco had always loved flying ever since he was a little boy. It gave him freedom form all the bad thoughts or problems he had, even though it was only for a while. He would race around he Malfoy estate on his broom every time he had an argument with his father or after his beatings. Flying also help keep him fit and sane, especially after the war. Flying had helped him cope with his parents' death.
Draco did a few quick laps around the pitch. This was followed by breath- taking aerial manoeuvres that he planned to use in the next Quidditch match. He flew so high up till he was light headed and dove down with gut- wrenching speed only to change direction in the last possible minute before he hit the ground. It was his very own variation of the Wronski Feint. By the time the sun rose high above the treetops, he had worked up a very good amount of sweat, that even his jacket was soaked. Landing gracefully near the entrance of the changing rooms, Draco pushed his sweat-soaked hair out if his face. His tummy grumbled very loudly to remind him that he had skipped breakfast. Deciding that he needed food more than he needed a shower at that moment, Draco made his way to the kitchens. He was in time to see Ginny leaving, her hips swaying gently as she walked. Draco leaned against the wall, admiring the view and imagining his hands on that nicely rounded bottom. His daydreaming was cut short by his grumbling stomach. In the kitchen, Draco wolfed down enough food to feed three people having not eaten anything much the previous night due to the drama and having missed breakfast that morning. After downing three large plates of sandwiches and a large jug of juice, Draco went back to his room for a quick shower and climbed back into bed. As he closed his eyes, he could still picture Ginny's hips swaying gently as she walked and promptly fell asleep.
Over the next few weeks, Ginny avoided Draco as much as possible. She rarely came to the Hall but opted to go straight to the kitchen for her meals. Ginny took to peeking around corners before going through the hallways to make sure that the coast was clear of a certain blonde haired, silver grey-eyed boy. She even went so far as to put wards on the doors of the secret rooms to alert her if Draco had crossed the threshold. Fortunately they were in different years so they didn't have any of the classes together.
Ginny was peeking around a corner to make sure that Draco wasn't in the hallway, when a hand tapped her shoulder. She screamed at the top of her lungs and whipped around, wand out ready to hex. She saw a very pale Harry looking at her in fear with his hands covering his ears.
" How many times do I have to tell you never to do that ?!" she said accusingly as she put away her wand.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know you would react so violently to that. I think I've gone deaf in one ear," Harry said, rubbing his left ear. "Nope, still working. Anyway, what were you doing peeking around corners? You looked like you're playing hide-and-seek."
"Can we talk about it later? I'm late for Hagrid's class. See you later," Ginny shouted over her shoulder as she ran out of the front door towards Hagrid's hut.
She wasn't looking where she was going and slammed into Draco's chest and both of them fell on their bottoms. Draco recovered quickly and held his hand out to help Ginny up. Ginny saw the hand offered and looked up. She couldn't see whom it was who was offering help as the late morning sunlight was in her eyes. Once she had recovered from the temporary blindness, she realised that Draco had helped her up and he was still holding on to her hand. She stammered out a thank you and ran towards Hagrid's hut.
Draco watched as Ginny left. In the past few weeks, he had been having this feeling that she was avoiding him. He rarely saw her during dinner and she was rarely with Potter and his friends. Even of he did see her in the hallways, she wouldn't look at him. He didn't want to pressure her but he couldn't stand all the waiting that he was doing. He just wished that she would make up her mind soon.
In Hagrid's class, Ginny couldn't stop thinking about Draco. He looked as good as ever. His hair was perfectly styled as usual.
// He looked as good as ever. It should be against the law to look that good in school uniform. Sigh. //
The sudden stinging pain on her left arm brought her out of her daydream. She looked down and saw that the cat-like creature with the unpronounceable name that Hagrid had brought for the class, had swiped its poison-filled class on her left hand. The wound started to ooze some yellow puss and turn and ugly shade of green. Seeing that her hand was oozing, turning colour and starting to bloat up, Hagrid sent Ginny up to Madame Pomfrey.
On the way up to the infirmary, Ginny bumped into Harry again as she was going up the stairs. Harry stared at her injured hand and asked," What the hell happened?"
"I had an accident in Hagrid's class. I didn't know that that thing had poison claws."
Harry accompanied her up to the infirmary, as he wanted to talk to her too. He hadn't seen her very often in the past few weeks. Harry sat down beside Ginny while they waited for Madam Pomfrey to bring the necessary potions.
"Do you have any more classes after this?" Harry asked. When Ginny just shook her head, he continued, "Why don't we sit down by the lake and catch up? I haven't seen you very much in the last few weeks and I kind of missed you. How about that?"
Ginny thought about the offer and agreed, as she needed to get some things of her chest. Her brother was oblivious to her troubles, as usual. Ron had made a complete recovery and was back to being his oblivious horny self. The only difference was that he was more discreet. She couldn't turn to her brother about her confusion about Draco. Ron would freak if he knew the Draco loves her.
Madam Pomfrey came back with an assortment of vials. She gave Ginny a pain- relieving potion before she dealt with the injured hand. Ginny's hand had swelled up to twice its size and was starting to ooze more pusses. Madam Pomfrey made an incision near the wound to purge the entire puss. She then poured a dark blue potion onto the scratches on the incision to remove the poison. Steam could be seen escaping from the scratches as the potion reacted with the poison. Madam Pomfrey then washed away all the potion, poison and puss before applying healing balm on it. She allowed Ginny to leave the hospital wing with instruction to come back the next day for a follow up and not to get the bandage wet.
Harry guided Ginny out of the school, to a big tree on the south bank of the lake. They sat there, side by side with their backs against the trunk, looking at the giant squid swimming in the lake. Ginny cradled her injured hand, trying to get to a comfortable position as the pain-relieving potion started to wear off.
Harry turned to face Ginny and asked," Is something going on Ginny? I've rarely seen you in the past few weeks and I've seen you peeking around corners. What have you been up to Ginny? I'm worried about you. Ron is oblivious to everything but Hermione. You know I'm here if you need someone to talk to."
Ginny sighed and turned to Harry and said, " I'm confused Harry. The night after the drama during dinner, Dra-Malfoy found me and apologised for shocking me. He told me that he loves me."
"Ha said what?!" Harry exclaimed.
"He said that he loves me. When I asked about Zabini, he said that he and Zabini are only friends. They're not dating." Ginny looked up to see Harry's reaction to what she said. She wasn't disappointed when she saw Harry's eyes shone with happiness and his lips curled in a small smile.
"What else did he say?" Harry asked, hoping that Draco would say something more about Blaise.
"He said that he'll give me all the time I need to sort out my feelings when I told him that I was confused. Oh Harry, I don't know anything about him. What makes him laugh or cry? What makes him happy or sad? How can I make up my mind on how I feel about someone I don't know very well. Just because we have a few things in common don't mean we're soul mates. Besides, I doubt he knows anything about me either. What should I do Harry? You're the only one I can talk to."
Harry was a trifle disappointed that Draco didn't mention anything more about Blaise. He thought about what Ginny said and placed his hands on her shoulder. Looking straight into those hazel eyes he said," You've already figured out what you need. Talk to him. Start off being friends and see if the friendship develops to something more. You're a beautiful girl Gin both inside and out; any guy would love to be with you. I didn't love you like a sister, I would make a play at you too."
"Thanks Harry. You're the best." Ginny kissed him on the cheek and gave him a big hug. Ginny looked over Harry's shoulder and saw Draco staring at them. She called out to him, as he was about to walk off.
Draco had gone out for a breath of fresh air when he saw Ginny and Harry hugging. His heart cracked and had this sudden urge to throw Harry off the highest tower in Hogwarts. He turned away, not wanting to see the scene anymore. He was about to walk away but was stopped when Ginny called out to him. He turned and saw Ginny walking slowly towards him, cradling one of her hands. Potter had went back into the school and left them alone.
Ginny stood in front of Draco and stared into those mesmerizing silver grey eyes. She saw the hunger and desire in them, causing her breath to hitch and the words stuck in her throat. She could have spent the whole day staring into those molten pools of quicksilver if Draco hadn't subtly cleared his throat, snapping her attention back to reality.
"You called?" he whispered. Frowning at her bandaged hand, he took Ginny's petite hand in his and asked, "What happened?"
"Had a run in with one of Hagrid's creatures during class," she said in a whisper. "I need to talk to you. It's rather important. Would you meet with me here at sunset?"
"It would be my pleasure. See you at sunset." Draco turned her hand so that her palm was facing him and kissed her wrist. He dropped her hand gently and walked away.
The Slytherin common room was empty except for two gorgeous people. Draco was restless and was pacing around the room while Blaise watching him pace as she sat on the armchair. Blaise got up and walked over to Draco and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Ow! What did you did that for?"
"Stop pacing already! You're giving me a headache." She leaned against the back of the sofa and watched him pace again. "Relax will you?"
"Relax? How can I relax? I don't know what she needs to talk to me about. It's making me nervous."
"Take a deep breath and calm down. We don't want you to have a heart attack before you meet her right?"
Draco took a deep, steadying breath and calmed down. "What if she says no?" Draco wailed and started to pace already.
"If you don't stop pacing now, I'm going to break your legs. Just calm down and listen to what she has to say. If she says no, just woo her till she says yes. You're a Slytherin, be sly."
"Ok, ok. I've got to go now. Wish me luck." Draco checked his reflection one more time and picked up a rose from the table and left the common room.
~ * ~
Ginny was also pacing in the Gryffindor common room, practicing what she wanted to say to Draco. Everyone in the common room just ignored the pacing redhead who was mumbling under her breath. All the Gryffindors were used to the Weasleys acting very weirdly. Ginny looked up at the clock and realised that it was time to meet Draco.
Both Draco and Ginny arrived at the front door at the same time. The sky was turning orange with streaks of red. Draco led Ginny by the hand to a bench by the lake. They sat down quietly, watching the lake.
"A rose for the beautiful girl," Draco said, breaking the silence as he handed the rose to Ginny.
"Thank you. You're very kind." Ginny inclined her head to sniff the blood red rose.
"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, umm.. After the discussion we had in the library room a few weeks back, I realised that we don't know each other very well. We might have a few things in common but that's not enough. I need to get to know you better before I can make up my mind."
"So what do you propose?"
"We could get to know each other first. Be friends first and we see how things go."
"I guess that's a good idea." Draco was very disappointed that Ginny had not yet made her decision but he saw her reasoning. They barely knew each other and he couldn't expect her to be madly in love with him over one dinner.
"So friends?" Ginny held out her hand to seal the deal with a handshake.
Draco caressed her cheek with his knuckle and said, "Friends." He bent down and kissed her lips as the last of the fading sunlight disappeared.
A/N: It's late and I'm tired. Please don't kill me if this chapter sucks. Thanks to the following people for reading and reviewing my story.
Purple Dusk, Marylani, Ryony, ESN, salt-and-pepper, Lady Obsidian, hart- break, SweetThang123.
You guys give me the strength to carry on writing my story. Thank you so much!
Ginny had a sleepless night after Draco left her in the library room. Her feelings were in turmoil after Draco's declaration of love. Ginny was still confused over her feelings for him. She knew that if she didn't sort those feelings out soon, she wasn't going to get any sleep. Fortunately it was a Sunday, so there weren't any class as Ginny lay in bed, staring at the canopy.
// I'm so tired but I can't sleep. All this thinking about Dra-Malfoy is just keeping me awake. I can't continue like this. I don't want to lose points for the house just because I've been thinking too much about a blonde haired, silver grey-eyed hottie. Gryffindor has never lost a House Cup ever since Harry enrolled. I don't want to be the schmuck to cause our downfall this year. May be a swim will clear my head. //
Ginny pushed the covers aside and padded her way to her drawers to find her swimsuit. Grabbing her towel after changing into her suit, Ginny went through the secret door in her wardrobe to go to the swimming pool room. Opening the door to the swimming pool room, she surveyed the room just to make sure that Draco wasn't there. She didn't think she could handle Draco without a good night's rest.
The floor of the room was covered with aqua tiles and the walls had murals of dolphins and mermaids. There were small windows high up the wall to allow sunlight to enter. The sun had risen slightly, pale sunlight filtering through the windows, casting the room in a soft blue glow. The room was equipped with changing rooms and shower stalls, as well as benches near the walls of the room. Ginny placed her towel and robe on one of the stone benches and stepped under one of the showers by the pool. She dove into the water like a professional athlete, cutting through the water like a hot knife through butter. The cold water constricting her chest slightly but didn't stop her from doing a few fast laps around the pool. Ginny slowed her pace after the sixth lap and relaxed, floating on her back.
// I forgot how wonderful it feels like to swim early in the morning. I should do this more often. My brothers did a good job of teaching me how to swim even though their method was just to through me in the water and watch me panic the first time. //
Ginny began recalling the conversation she had with Draco the night before and started thinking.
// He says that he loves me but that doesn't mean anything. How can he love me when he doesn't know me? One dinner and a great snog don't mean anything. I just hope that he means it when he said he'd give me all the time I need to sort my feelings. //
The growling of her stomach interrupted her thoughts and reminded her that she hadn't had her breakfast yet. She didn't want to go to the Hall for breakfast, as she didn't feel that she was ready to face Draco yet. Ginny swam to the edge of the poll and climbed out. Drying herself as best as she can, Ginny went back to her room to shower and dress for the day. By the time she got dressed and did her drying spell on her hair, her tummy had growled even louder and threatened to go into gastric mode. Ginny went straight to kitchen, avoiding the large groups of students going to the Hall. She didn't want to be questioned about the drama during dinner the night before and at the same time to avoid Draco.
In the kitchen, Ginny was led by Dobby to a small table where she was served with platters of bacon, toast and fruits. She even had some oatmeal porridge along with glasses of orange juice. Ginny was always starving after swimming. Before she left for the owlery to send the letter to her parents, Ginny told Dobby to send some sandwiches and juice to her room during lunch, as she wasn't intending to come down. She had a few essays to finish up and some reading to do for school the next day. Taking a last sip of juice, Ginny thanked Dobby and left for the owlery.
In the Slytherin dungeons, Draco didn't have a good night's sleep either. He kept thinking about Ginny and was sorely tempted to look for her through his secret door and kiss her senseless till she agreed to be his. Though it sounded good, he knew that it would only push Ginny further away from him and that was the last thing he wanted.
// Maybe a spot of flying will do me some good. May then I could go to sleep and stop thinking about her. //
Draco got up swiftly form his bed and changed into a pair of sweat pants and a t-shirt. Grabbing his jacket and his broom, Draco made his way to the Quidditch pitch. It was a very cold morning; his breath came condensing in the air. He zipped his jacket all the way up to ward off the morning chill. The pitch was wet with dew and there was still mist over the grounds. Draco mounted his broom and kicked off, soaring into the air.
Draco had always loved flying ever since he was a little boy. It gave him freedom form all the bad thoughts or problems he had, even though it was only for a while. He would race around he Malfoy estate on his broom every time he had an argument with his father or after his beatings. Flying also help keep him fit and sane, especially after the war. Flying had helped him cope with his parents' death.
Draco did a few quick laps around the pitch. This was followed by breath- taking aerial manoeuvres that he planned to use in the next Quidditch match. He flew so high up till he was light headed and dove down with gut- wrenching speed only to change direction in the last possible minute before he hit the ground. It was his very own variation of the Wronski Feint. By the time the sun rose high above the treetops, he had worked up a very good amount of sweat, that even his jacket was soaked. Landing gracefully near the entrance of the changing rooms, Draco pushed his sweat-soaked hair out if his face. His tummy grumbled very loudly to remind him that he had skipped breakfast. Deciding that he needed food more than he needed a shower at that moment, Draco made his way to the kitchens. He was in time to see Ginny leaving, her hips swaying gently as she walked. Draco leaned against the wall, admiring the view and imagining his hands on that nicely rounded bottom. His daydreaming was cut short by his grumbling stomach. In the kitchen, Draco wolfed down enough food to feed three people having not eaten anything much the previous night due to the drama and having missed breakfast that morning. After downing three large plates of sandwiches and a large jug of juice, Draco went back to his room for a quick shower and climbed back into bed. As he closed his eyes, he could still picture Ginny's hips swaying gently as she walked and promptly fell asleep.
Over the next few weeks, Ginny avoided Draco as much as possible. She rarely came to the Hall but opted to go straight to the kitchen for her meals. Ginny took to peeking around corners before going through the hallways to make sure that the coast was clear of a certain blonde haired, silver grey-eyed boy. She even went so far as to put wards on the doors of the secret rooms to alert her if Draco had crossed the threshold. Fortunately they were in different years so they didn't have any of the classes together.
Ginny was peeking around a corner to make sure that Draco wasn't in the hallway, when a hand tapped her shoulder. She screamed at the top of her lungs and whipped around, wand out ready to hex. She saw a very pale Harry looking at her in fear with his hands covering his ears.
" How many times do I have to tell you never to do that ?!" she said accusingly as she put away her wand.
"I'm sorry! I didn't know you would react so violently to that. I think I've gone deaf in one ear," Harry said, rubbing his left ear. "Nope, still working. Anyway, what were you doing peeking around corners? You looked like you're playing hide-and-seek."
"Can we talk about it later? I'm late for Hagrid's class. See you later," Ginny shouted over her shoulder as she ran out of the front door towards Hagrid's hut.
She wasn't looking where she was going and slammed into Draco's chest and both of them fell on their bottoms. Draco recovered quickly and held his hand out to help Ginny up. Ginny saw the hand offered and looked up. She couldn't see whom it was who was offering help as the late morning sunlight was in her eyes. Once she had recovered from the temporary blindness, she realised that Draco had helped her up and he was still holding on to her hand. She stammered out a thank you and ran towards Hagrid's hut.
Draco watched as Ginny left. In the past few weeks, he had been having this feeling that she was avoiding him. He rarely saw her during dinner and she was rarely with Potter and his friends. Even of he did see her in the hallways, she wouldn't look at him. He didn't want to pressure her but he couldn't stand all the waiting that he was doing. He just wished that she would make up her mind soon.
In Hagrid's class, Ginny couldn't stop thinking about Draco. He looked as good as ever. His hair was perfectly styled as usual.
// He looked as good as ever. It should be against the law to look that good in school uniform. Sigh. //
The sudden stinging pain on her left arm brought her out of her daydream. She looked down and saw that the cat-like creature with the unpronounceable name that Hagrid had brought for the class, had swiped its poison-filled class on her left hand. The wound started to ooze some yellow puss and turn and ugly shade of green. Seeing that her hand was oozing, turning colour and starting to bloat up, Hagrid sent Ginny up to Madame Pomfrey.
On the way up to the infirmary, Ginny bumped into Harry again as she was going up the stairs. Harry stared at her injured hand and asked," What the hell happened?"
"I had an accident in Hagrid's class. I didn't know that that thing had poison claws."
Harry accompanied her up to the infirmary, as he wanted to talk to her too. He hadn't seen her very often in the past few weeks. Harry sat down beside Ginny while they waited for Madam Pomfrey to bring the necessary potions.
"Do you have any more classes after this?" Harry asked. When Ginny just shook her head, he continued, "Why don't we sit down by the lake and catch up? I haven't seen you very much in the last few weeks and I kind of missed you. How about that?"
Ginny thought about the offer and agreed, as she needed to get some things of her chest. Her brother was oblivious to her troubles, as usual. Ron had made a complete recovery and was back to being his oblivious horny self. The only difference was that he was more discreet. She couldn't turn to her brother about her confusion about Draco. Ron would freak if he knew the Draco loves her.
Madam Pomfrey came back with an assortment of vials. She gave Ginny a pain- relieving potion before she dealt with the injured hand. Ginny's hand had swelled up to twice its size and was starting to ooze more pusses. Madam Pomfrey made an incision near the wound to purge the entire puss. She then poured a dark blue potion onto the scratches on the incision to remove the poison. Steam could be seen escaping from the scratches as the potion reacted with the poison. Madam Pomfrey then washed away all the potion, poison and puss before applying healing balm on it. She allowed Ginny to leave the hospital wing with instruction to come back the next day for a follow up and not to get the bandage wet.
Harry guided Ginny out of the school, to a big tree on the south bank of the lake. They sat there, side by side with their backs against the trunk, looking at the giant squid swimming in the lake. Ginny cradled her injured hand, trying to get to a comfortable position as the pain-relieving potion started to wear off.
Harry turned to face Ginny and asked," Is something going on Ginny? I've rarely seen you in the past few weeks and I've seen you peeking around corners. What have you been up to Ginny? I'm worried about you. Ron is oblivious to everything but Hermione. You know I'm here if you need someone to talk to."
Ginny sighed and turned to Harry and said, " I'm confused Harry. The night after the drama during dinner, Dra-Malfoy found me and apologised for shocking me. He told me that he loves me."
"Ha said what?!" Harry exclaimed.
"He said that he loves me. When I asked about Zabini, he said that he and Zabini are only friends. They're not dating." Ginny looked up to see Harry's reaction to what she said. She wasn't disappointed when she saw Harry's eyes shone with happiness and his lips curled in a small smile.
"What else did he say?" Harry asked, hoping that Draco would say something more about Blaise.
"He said that he'll give me all the time I need to sort out my feelings when I told him that I was confused. Oh Harry, I don't know anything about him. What makes him laugh or cry? What makes him happy or sad? How can I make up my mind on how I feel about someone I don't know very well. Just because we have a few things in common don't mean we're soul mates. Besides, I doubt he knows anything about me either. What should I do Harry? You're the only one I can talk to."
Harry was a trifle disappointed that Draco didn't mention anything more about Blaise. He thought about what Ginny said and placed his hands on her shoulder. Looking straight into those hazel eyes he said," You've already figured out what you need. Talk to him. Start off being friends and see if the friendship develops to something more. You're a beautiful girl Gin both inside and out; any guy would love to be with you. I didn't love you like a sister, I would make a play at you too."
"Thanks Harry. You're the best." Ginny kissed him on the cheek and gave him a big hug. Ginny looked over Harry's shoulder and saw Draco staring at them. She called out to him, as he was about to walk off.
Draco had gone out for a breath of fresh air when he saw Ginny and Harry hugging. His heart cracked and had this sudden urge to throw Harry off the highest tower in Hogwarts. He turned away, not wanting to see the scene anymore. He was about to walk away but was stopped when Ginny called out to him. He turned and saw Ginny walking slowly towards him, cradling one of her hands. Potter had went back into the school and left them alone.
Ginny stood in front of Draco and stared into those mesmerizing silver grey eyes. She saw the hunger and desire in them, causing her breath to hitch and the words stuck in her throat. She could have spent the whole day staring into those molten pools of quicksilver if Draco hadn't subtly cleared his throat, snapping her attention back to reality.
"You called?" he whispered. Frowning at her bandaged hand, he took Ginny's petite hand in his and asked, "What happened?"
"Had a run in with one of Hagrid's creatures during class," she said in a whisper. "I need to talk to you. It's rather important. Would you meet with me here at sunset?"
"It would be my pleasure. See you at sunset." Draco turned her hand so that her palm was facing him and kissed her wrist. He dropped her hand gently and walked away.
The Slytherin common room was empty except for two gorgeous people. Draco was restless and was pacing around the room while Blaise watching him pace as she sat on the armchair. Blaise got up and walked over to Draco and smacked him on the back of the head.
"Ow! What did you did that for?"
"Stop pacing already! You're giving me a headache." She leaned against the back of the sofa and watched him pace again. "Relax will you?"
"Relax? How can I relax? I don't know what she needs to talk to me about. It's making me nervous."
"Take a deep breath and calm down. We don't want you to have a heart attack before you meet her right?"
Draco took a deep, steadying breath and calmed down. "What if she says no?" Draco wailed and started to pace already.
"If you don't stop pacing now, I'm going to break your legs. Just calm down and listen to what she has to say. If she says no, just woo her till she says yes. You're a Slytherin, be sly."
"Ok, ok. I've got to go now. Wish me luck." Draco checked his reflection one more time and picked up a rose from the table and left the common room.
~ * ~
Ginny was also pacing in the Gryffindor common room, practicing what she wanted to say to Draco. Everyone in the common room just ignored the pacing redhead who was mumbling under her breath. All the Gryffindors were used to the Weasleys acting very weirdly. Ginny looked up at the clock and realised that it was time to meet Draco.
Both Draco and Ginny arrived at the front door at the same time. The sky was turning orange with streaks of red. Draco led Ginny by the hand to a bench by the lake. They sat down quietly, watching the lake.
"A rose for the beautiful girl," Draco said, breaking the silence as he handed the rose to Ginny.
"Thank you. You're very kind." Ginny inclined her head to sniff the blood red rose.
"So what is it that you wanted to talk about?"
"Well, umm.. After the discussion we had in the library room a few weeks back, I realised that we don't know each other very well. We might have a few things in common but that's not enough. I need to get to know you better before I can make up my mind."
"So what do you propose?"
"We could get to know each other first. Be friends first and we see how things go."
"I guess that's a good idea." Draco was very disappointed that Ginny had not yet made her decision but he saw her reasoning. They barely knew each other and he couldn't expect her to be madly in love with him over one dinner.
"So friends?" Ginny held out her hand to seal the deal with a handshake.
Draco caressed her cheek with his knuckle and said, "Friends." He bent down and kissed her lips as the last of the fading sunlight disappeared.
A/N: It's late and I'm tired. Please don't kill me if this chapter sucks. Thanks to the following people for reading and reviewing my story.
Purple Dusk, Marylani, Ryony, ESN, salt-and-pepper, Lady Obsidian, hart- break, SweetThang123.
You guys give me the strength to carry on writing my story. Thank you so much!