1 Year Earlier

She opened her eyes and looked around. It took her a moment, but she realized where she was. The dark, musty chambers were seared permanently into her mind, and this was a place Virginia Weasley would never forget. She tried to scream, to call out, but she found her voice lost and sorrowfully looked down, tears streaming down her face. She was back in the Chamber of Secrets. She looked around and saw the lifeless body of the basilisk. It twitched, and she rubbed her eyes, sure it was her imagination. Then, it twitched again, shuddering as life returned. The gray, dead scales came alive in a rich green and the snake began to slide across the floor. She saw the diary, the fang inserted in it. The snake nudged the fang from it, causing it to fall to the ground with little noise. The diary instantly mended itself. Ginny's eyes widened in horror. A swirling gust of wind came out of no where, flipping the diary's pages open.  A flash of light ripped through the page and Ginny yet again found herself facing the younger version of Lord Voldemort himself: Thomas Marvolo Riddle. Tom leaned over and grabbed her chin delicately in his long fingers and looked into her eyes. He caught her lips in a quick, tender kiss. Ginny pushed away quickly and opened her mouth again.

"HARRY!!" she screamed, finding her voice. It echoed long and loudly through the corridors, and Riddle's eyes narrowed. He raised a hand to slap her.

"Hold it right there, Riddle," a cool, crisp voice cut in. Tom looked up and over. A malicious grin spread on his face. Ginny turned, expecting fully to see Harry Potter in all his glory, here to rescue her. She gasped in shock as a hooded figure stepped from the shadows. Tom raised his hand again to hit her, and Ginny winced, preparing for the blow.

"I SAID HOLD IT RIGHT THERE!" the figure yelled. Ginny whirled and saw the figure pull down his hood. Draco Malfoy stood, wand drawn. "Touch her…and I might have to kill you…" he whispered in a deadly tone his gray eyes flashing. Ginny's heart was racing. Surely this wasn't real! Just as the two boys each raised a wand, Tom Riddle's began to flash-was it Harry's?!- just as Draco's had too. Green light flashed and just as they beams of light hit one another…

Ginny gasped for breath, holding her throat as though she were short on air. That dream had kept coming, over and over, and she didn't know why. She was covered in a cold sweat and her blankets were at her feet. She only had her very last sheet covering her to her waist. The dream got further and further every night…She sighed and got up, pulling on her a cute plaid mini-skirt and a soft gray turtleneck sweatshirt. She'd actually realized how lame her clothes used to be and made a startling bloom from that geeky faze. She decided to take a walk. No one else would be up this early. She would be able to just go to her spot and think. Think about life. Her friends. Her family. Her dreams. But most of all, she'd think about him. About Draco.

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Draco Malfoy leaned up in his four-poster, pulling his curtains roughly aside. He swung his legs over the side of his bed and rested his elbows on his legs. He leaned his head down and buried his face in his hands. He needed to go for a walk. That dream was going to tear him apart. Why was he having dreams about the seeming most annoying Weasel of them all? And worse than that, why was he fighting for her life against the preserved memory of his Lord? He got dressed quickly in a black turtleneck sweatshirt (they were all the rage with young European wizards and witches) and his pressed gray dress pants. He pulled on a cloak over his clothes. He crept carefully down to the Slytherin Common Room. He tapped the wall with his wand, and the stones shifted. Slipping through the hole that had temporarily opened, he walked down the drafty corridors,

He was lost in a daze as he walked down the hall, listening to the faint patter of his shoes on the cool stone floor. He didn't even notice that he had walked to the main entrances to the school. He sighed and walked out the door. He slid down the narrow path that led to the water below the bridge. He drew his wand and played with the water, making it swirl in circles and causing beautiful fountains to arise. Hours passed of doing this. Draco's toes, fingers, and ears all felt the crisp cool of the night nipping, but he ignored it.

He froze as he saw a girl in a light cloak walk outside and sat on the bridge. She dangled her feet over the edge and sighed. From her cloak pocket she drew her wand and created a dolphin out of water and made it splash and play merrily, expressing the exact opposite of what she seemed to be feeling right now. He watched her but couldn't see her face in the pale moonlight. It was too early for the sun to be up but there was still a sufficient amount of light. Why couldn't he see her, damn it?

Time elapsed quickly, flying by and still Draco couldn't figure out who it was. Then, she drew down her hood and took a deep breath of air. Exhaling, her breath froze in the crisp autumn atmosphere, and Draco saw her face.

"Weasel!" he exclaimed. Damn…he thought. He hadn't meant to say that aloud. Her eyes snapped down and rested on him. The sun had started to rise over the hills, illuminating her flowing hair that fell softly on her cloak, making her look gorgeous. Draco's head was spinning slightly. It took him a moment to realize she was staring at him…no! not staring…the youngest Weasley was glaring angrily at him.

"What are you doing out here, Malfoy?" she asked bitterly. She'd said his name like it wasn't worthy of rolling off her tongue. Her sharp words stung slightly, as any insult from an attractive female did to a male's ego, but he hid it.

"So now I have to explain myself to you?" he sneered. She scoffed and jumped to her feet.

"Why do I even bother?" she cried. She turned on heel and stormed inside. He could only look after her, stunned. Hadn't she taken the sharp tone first? He hadn't even done anything! He jumped to his feet angrily and followed her. He saw her muddy tracks on the floor and knew Filch would be looking for the exact match of the size and shape, so he paused. He was, after all, trying to earn the status of Head Boy. He whipped out his wand and flicked his wrist, muttering a cleaning spell. The mud disappeared. Once he was satisfied that it was clean, he continued to the Great Hall where she was obviously going, oblivious to the poltergeist who'd appeared out of no where, spreading a fresh bucket of mud on the floor.

"Excuse me, Miss Weasley," Malfoy said, bursting into the Great Hall. The scattered students all looked up at him and Ginny looked up from her breakfast. She'd been daydreaming, and he had rudely pulled her from this sedated state. Pulled from her trance, she dropped the tendril of hair she'd been absent-mindedly twirling. She sighed, rather annoyed. She rose, her bagel still in her hand. She wrapped it in a napkin quickly and transfigured her goblet into a thermos, taking her hot chocolate with her. He sneered at her.

"Running away?" he called. She froze and turned.

"Not at all, Malfoy," There! She did it again! He sighed, but covered quickly with a smirk.

"I was just warning you of the mud on your shoes. We wouldn't want you to spoil those pretty hand-me-downs, seeing as the Weasley family can't afford anymore…" he drawled. She glared at him, making him want to cower.

"I'll have you know, these are new! And they were bought by me and my money!" Ginny snapped. He simply rolled his eyes and turned. Why had he followed her? "And at least my family loves me!" Ginny called to his retreating back, not quite finished with him. He froze, hands clenching and unclenching. He whirled around and stormed back over to her. In the Muggle world, that insult would've rolled off without so much as a slight sting, but here in the Wizard's world, it meant something...especially to a family with such standing as the Malfoy's.

"And I'd much rather have a loving family than more money than I could need in 4 lifetimes!" she finished sharply, glaring. Draco's face looked as though she'd slapped him. Hard. Her eyes softened instantly. "And I'm guessing from the look on your face…so would you…" she said gently. Malfoy was shaking. His emotions quickly vanished under the typical mask he held when he noticed that all of the students in the Great Hall were staring. He looked around and glared at them, making them return to their business (or at least pretend to). His fingernail's bit sharply into the tender flesh of his palms, drawing crescents of blood. Ginny's eyes widened when she noticed this. He snatched her arm and half-dragged her out of the room. She looked at him sadly, following with struggle. Once they were out of the Great Hall, he shoved her, releasing her arm. She stumbled but didn't fall.

"You're bleeding…" she started softly, taking his hand gently. Her medical instincts overcame her hatred for Malfoy, and she ignored the urge to slap him. Her touch seared through him and he yanked his hand away. Compared to her warm hands, his were ice cold.

"Don't talk about what you don't know!" he snarled.

"But you are bleeding…"

"Not about that! You know what I'm talking about!"

"Malfoy…"

"Good day, Miss Weasley," he said, and stormed away. Ginny sighed, and rolled her eyes. Why did she care so much if Malfoy was mad at her? She turned sharply and walked back to the Gryffindor Common Room.

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Later that morning, once everyone was up and eating breakfast, Ginny sat in the Great Hall munching on a piece of toast and sipping her Pumpkin Juice. She was studying for an extremely difficult potions exam, and was deeply absorbed in the book. It took her a while to notice Malfoy's constant flick of glances at her. She looked up and stared at him. Harry nudged her and she jumped, spilling his Pumpkin Juice.

"Oh Harry! I'm sorry!" she said, handing him her napkin. He smiled and shrugged his shoulders. Ginny grinned. It'd been a while since she'd actually had a crush on Harry, because he'd become, more or less, just another big brother Weasley, looking out for her and helping her. Ginny tugged nervously on her sweatshirt and couldn't help but let her eyes flash over to see if Malfoy was looking. And sure enough, his cool gray eyes met her amber ones. She couldn't look away. Malfoy slowly started to stand, as if to come over and say something. Just then, Dumbledore rose, lifting his glass. He tapped his spoon on it, and all eyes instantly fell on him, the room dead silent.

"Ahem…as some of you may know, we are third year since the Triwizard Tournament was last held. We will be, yet again, holding another in our following year," Murmurs spread through the hall. A bold second year Ravenclaw stood up.

"I thought they were held once every 5 years, and at different schools! It's only been 3 since the last one, 4 by next year, and it was held here too!" he said. A few older students chuckled.

"True, true. Clever Ravenclaw, obviously in his right house!" Dumbledore said, eyes twinkling. "However, under the circumstances, we believed a Triwizard Tournament would boost the spirits of the three schools. Now that the war is ended, we need some exciting events. We chose Hogwarts because the other schools all enjoyed it here thoroughly." The hall murmured again.

"Now, for those of you who don't know what the Triwizard Tournament is, it's a competition between three European Wizarding Schools: Hogwarts, Durmstrang, and Beauxbatons. A champion is selected from each of the three magical schools, and will be required to compete in three magical tasks. The heads of Beauxbaton and Durmstrang will be arriving with a their short-listed contenders. Please make them feel comfortable and at home. They are, after all, our guests for the rest of the year," Dumbledore said, smiling. "As it was last year, only students above the age of 16 may enter. Thus, I'm predicting only 6th and 7th years should attempt entry. And please, don't try any spells. Students have tried" –he paused, and everyone, including Dumbledore, instantly thought of the mischievous Weasley twins and the bearded results of their aging spells- "and failed. Thank you." He smiled and sat down. A murmur passed through the students and crescendoed into the usual morning's chatter.

Malfoy looked up to try to re-meet the youngest Weasley's eyes. However, she was already trapped in her potion's book. He sighed and turned back to his meal. He felt an arm slip through his. Pansy. He had to resist the growl that rose in his throat. She rested her head on his shoulder. This was going to be just one of those days.