A/N: Welcome to another Draco/Ginny romance. Rated R for language, a little violence, and a little more than romance.

Chapter One: September First

Draco Malfoy was a boy of many mysteries. No one knew much about him, what he liked and disliked, his favorite color. No one knew the actual Draco. No one really cared.

Draco was sitting in a train compartment on the Hogwarts Express, the train rattling along its tracks. The sun was setting in the dark blue sky, and the mountains were now becoming dimmer in the black shadows. Rain was splattering against the window, making him calmer than he had been for a long while. He was dreading the upcoming school year for some reason. It was his 7th year, the very last he would have to endure of that godforsaken school, and even though it had not even started, he was already dying for it to be over. Things had definitely changed over the past few months, and Draco was now faced with lonely times ahead.

Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle, Draco's thickheaded companions, had long been stripped from their titles of Draco's 'bodyguards', you could say. None of them were really friends, not truly. The three of them drifted apart, Crabbe and Millicent Bulstrode becoming unusually close, and Goyle hanging around Adrian Pucey every waking hour of the day. Draco didn't mind all that much. He liked being alone. At least, he told himself that everyday.

Suddenly, interrupting Draco's thoughts about Crabbe and Goyle's parting of the ways, his compartment door practically flew open, startling him so much that he almost let out a terrified yelp. Draco whipped his head around to see who had made this sudden intrusion and saw the most illuminate shade of red he had ever seen.

Ginny Weasley was latching the door shut when Draco loudly cleared his throat, causing her to gasp and spin around quickly toward his direction, breathless. She was wearing muggle attire, a plain black sweater and jeans, which caused Draco to despise the girl even more, if that was possible.

"Malfoy!" she cried. After a few moments of steady breathing, she looked at him with daggers in her eyes. "What the hell are you doing in here? I thought this was empty."

Draco glared at her. "You thought wrong, Weasley. Now get out of my compartment before I make you get out."

Surprisingly, Ginny didn't look remotely scared or defeated. She folded her arms and narrowed her eyes even more at him. "Try it, Malfoy," she told him menacingly. "One day you'll get your comeuppance."

Before Draco could even make a scathing reply, she opened the compartment door, turned on her heel, and strode away coolly. She'll get hers, Draco thought to himself, and he turned his head to the window once more, muttering to himself.

&&&&&&&&&&

As the Hogwarts Express rolled down the valley on its train tracks, Ginevra Weasley was thinking deeply in her train compartment. She had managed to find an empty one about ten minutes after leaving Malfoy and their small backbiting and was now sitting with her legs crossed, her head against the back of the seat and her eyes closed. Malfoy was the particular person she was thinking about.

What was with him? She had met no one quite like Draco Malfoy, no one as rude or obnoxious. And not only that, but where had his Crabbe and Goyle cronies got to? Ginny had noticed towards the end of the year before that he was always without them.

She thought about this for a considerable amount of time before uncontrollably thinking that Malfoy was possibly the most handsome boy she had ever laid eyes on.

Almost immediately she squashed this out of her brain and shook her head, wondering why on earth she would think such a thing. Malfoy couldn't be handsome. He was rude and obnoxious, point blank. And someone who was as rude and obnoxious as Malfoy could never be handsome. Yes, Ginny thought. Point blank.

&&&&&&&&&&

The train then came to a complete stop, and Ginny got up out of her seat. She opened the compartment door and walked out of the train onto the platform. It seemed as though none of the students were quite ready to dismount the train, as she was the only one who stumbled out. Looking around, she supposed that since she had put her robes on earlier the others were falling behind.

The first thing Ginny saw was the Hogwarts gamekeeper, Rubeus Hagrid.

"Hello, Hagrid," she said quietly, looking up at him. Hagrid started; it seemed as though he had not seen her, being the enormous size that he was. He turned toward and looked down and his mouth turned into a wide grin.

"Oh, hello, Ginny! Excited this year?" Hagrid asked cheerfully.

"Not really."

It was, after all, the truth. Nothing had changed over the summer; she had not met any new friends, or had a budding romance, or learned a new language. The year ahead was already looking extremely dull.

"There's a new girl this year," Hagrid told her, almost as if he didn't hear her answer. "She transferred from Beauxbatons. She's in 7th year."

Ginny was keenly interested.

"What's her name?" she questioned.

"Dunno. Blank somethin'. French," said Hagrid.

Before Ginny could say anything in response, the rest of the Hogwarts students started coming out of the train onto the platform, and Ginny saw Harry, Ron, and Hermione get out right near her.

"Oh, there you are, Ginny," Ron said to her once her saw her. "We didn't know where you were. Neville and Luna said that you weren't even with them."

Ginny didn't answer this at once. She secretly knew the reason why she had left their compartment earlier; she always felt rather uncomfortable around the trio, not being in their year, and had gotten tired of being ignored. She had told them that she was going to find Neville and Luna, though really she had wanted some time to herself.

"I – er… shared a compartment with some other girls from my year. No big deal," Ginny said.

"Oh," said Ron, shrugging. Then, quite suddenly, his face brightened with excitement and he said, "Did you hear? Harry asked Cho Chang out!"

At this, Harry blushed a deep rose-red and glared at him.

"Thanks, Ron. That wasn't in any way awkward," he said sarcastically.

Ginny's jaw dropped. Cho Chang? Right after Ron had said that, she very much wanted to slap Harry round the face, and not just because she was jealous. She almost said, "Isn't she that ditz who wears so much makeup you can't see her face?" but held back wisely. It was enough that Cho was beautiful, and exceptional at Quidditch, but now she had Harry, too? What more could a girl like her possibly ask for?

"Wait a minute..." Ginny said suddenly, her eyebrows knitted. "Isn't she out of school?"

"Nah. Parents held her back. Said she didn't get enough N.E.W.T.s." said Ron, looking off into the sky. Harry blushed a little and said, "You don't have to tell the whole world."

Tell the whole world what? Ginny thought. That your new girlfriend's an idiot?

"Shall we go to the carriages?" said Hermione, breaking off the conversation and pointing her head to the Thestral-drawn carriages that awaited them.

"Yes," said Harry quickly, glad that the subject had been changed. All of them made their way to a carriage, slightly slipping every once in awhile from the fresh new mud that the rain had produced for them. Unbelievably, there were only two carriages left. Ginny guessed that all of the students were as hungry as starving chimaeras, and had taken their carriages as fast as they could.

"Whoa, how did we get held back so far?" Ron laughed, noticing this as well. They began walking to the carriage in front when a familiar voice came from it.

"Hello!" It was Neville, accompanied by Dean and Seamus. All of their heads were sticking out of the carriage window, making them look a lot like Fluffy, Hagrid's old three-headed dog.

"We have room for about three more," said Dean eagerly, looking around the carriage and back at the four of them. "Who'd like to join?"

Without hesitation, Harry, Ron, and Hermione immediately started to walk forward, leaving Ginny behind.

"What about me?" she said loudly, feeling rather lonely now that she knew she'd have to have a carriage all by herself, not to mention the very last one.

"You can go in the other one, Gin," Ron told her simply, unfazed by her obvious feeling of rejection, and with that, he closed the carriage door behind him. Ginny opened her mouth to perhaps shout out a rude comment, but the carriage began to move, and Ron stuck his head back inside. She was now standing alone in the middle of the muddy road, more agitated than she had been in quite awhile.

"Fine, you can leave me out here, who cares anyway?" she muttered to herself, turning around to the other carriage. As she opened the carriage door, she saw that someone was already sitting in it.

"Malfoy!" she said with a slight laugh. "Is this going to be a continuous cycle?"

Malfoy looked over to her, surprised by her sudden appearance. His face was expressionless, yet his eyes were gleaming as though he wanted to kill her.

"Who said you could come in here? Aren't there any other carriages?" he said haughtily.

"No, you took the last one," Ginny told him, getting into the carriage unsteadily and closing the door.

"Great," mumbled Malfoy. He turned his incredibly white head toward the window and the carriage started toward the castle. Ginny looked over at him with a little apprehension... she wanted to say something, but she was afraid it would make him angrier.

"Er - I heard there's a new girl in your year," she finally said, breaking the silence that had surrounded them. Malfoy stared at her.

"Are you actually talking to me, Weasley? I don't think I gave you permission, did I?" he spat. His eyes were still gleaming.

Ginny glowered at him, clearly insulted. "I don't need permission to talk to you, Malfoy. How could you be so uncouth?" she said angrily.

Malfoy scowled. "Weasley, you don't even deserve to be speaking to me, I don't go as low as your level," he told her, trying to get her upset.

Ginny refused to give in, however. She simply smiled and said sarcastically,

"Oh yes, I forgot. You go lower."

Malfoy glared at her and did not say anything more.

&&&&&&&&&&

As the carriage rolled along the wet Hogwarts grounds, Draco couldn't help but stare at Ginny's practically radiating hair, the candles within the carriage illuminating every strand.

Her head could start bleeding and no one would even notice, he thought, smirking.

Suddenly, out of nowhere, the carriage came to a stop in front of the extravagant Hogwarts doors, which had been thrown open as a welcoming gesture. Ginny slowly got out of the carriage, barely taking a side look at Draco before disappearing. It had been the smallest of glances that Ginny had given him, but he couldn't help but wonder why she would do such a thing. Odd family, the Weasleys. Glancing at people like that.

Shaking his head of all thoughts, Draco stepped out of the carriage, looking around with dull eyes. For a split second, he wished he was back at the manor, but then he remembered what happened the last time he was there… A moment later, Draco was strutting into the great hall, finally taking a seat at the Slytherin Table next to Blaise Zabini.

"Hello," said Blaise, not looking at him. His eyes were wandering around the Great Hall, looking unusually excited.

"Hi," Draco replied stiffly. He wasn't really in the mood to talk; all he wanted to do was eat and then go to bed, considering he was very tired.

"Look at that!" Blaise suddenly exclaimed, pointing at the Great Hall doors.

Draco whipped his head to where Blaise was pointing, and the first years were coming through, looking very scared. There was one there, however, who was about two feet taller than all of them.

A radiant girl with dark brown hair and amazingly beautiful lips was in the line of first years, no certain emotion on her face. She looked around the Great Hall, eyeing everyone with a sort of resentment.

"She doesn't look very happy, does she?" said Draco to Blaise.

"It's probably because she's from Beauxbatons. They all were pretty snobbish about Hogwarts," Blaise responded.

"Who wouldn't be?" Draco said. "This place is a complete joke. Durmstrang would be so much better."

Blaise decided not to reply, and Draco watched as the first years walked to the High Table.

The Sorting Hat sat on its stool, and the first years stared at it apprehensively. Suddenly, its brim opened up and it started to sing.

Once, long ago, when Hogwarts newly stood

I watched as the founders argued

About how to sort each student

Into which house that they belong to

Great Gryffindor set eyes on me

And picked me up and told the rest,

"This smart hat shall do our bidding

To decide which house is best!"

Gryffindor, for all the brave

Ravenclaw, for brains

Slytherin, for the cunning

Hufflepuff, all that remains

And since our loving founders

Are all long gone, you see

I am here to put you

In the place that you should be!

So put me atop your Hogwarts head

For it is you I'd like to know

I am the Hogwarts Sorting Hat

And I shall tell you where to go!

When the Sorting Hat finished, the Great Hall applauded, everyone except the first years. It seemed as though they had never seen a talking hat before. Blaise turned to Draco and said, "I wonder why the song was shorter this year?"

Draco laughed. "Maybe it has its own suggestion box."

Blaise rolled his eyes.

"When I call your name, put the Sorting Hat on your head," said Professor McGonagall loudly, holding up the Sorting Hat. "Then, once it calls out your House, you may sit down at that table."

"Borgan, Jennifer!"

A trembling little girl stepped up and sat on the stool, looking out at all of the students in the Great Hall. Professor McGonagall put the Sorting Hat on her head, and the girl started to tremble even more.

After a few moments, the Sorting Hat made its decision.

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

The Great Hall clapped kindly, and Jennifer Borgan went to go sit at the Hufflepuff table, now smiling. After the applause quieted down, Professor McGonagall called out the next student to be sorted.

"Cross, Joseph!"

The boy called Joseph Cross walked, trembling, to the Sorting Hat. After about two seconds the Sorting Hat shouted,

"GRYFFINDOR!"

The little boy enthusiastically dashed to his table where he was greeted by a generous crowd of Gryffindor 5th years. Draco yawned widely, wishing he were asleep in his comfortable four-post.

"Du Gris, Blanc!"

At that moment, the girl that Draco and Blaise were talking about walked forward to the front of the group and sat down onto the stool, clearly not impressed with the Sorting Ceremony. Draco himself jolted forward and gave all of his attention to the girl. It seemed that everybody else had done this as well.

Professor McGonagall then sat the Sorting Hat on her head, and the entire Great Hall waited in bated breath. Then, out of the blue, the Sorting Hat started to talk aloud.

"Hm… right. You have a lot of temper, I see. Ambitious, yes. Slytherin would be good… but maybe Ravenclaw as well. Definitely not Hufflepuff, I can tell you that… right. Gryffindor would not suit you… cunning and sly… hm… I'd say… SLYTHERIN!"

At the Sorting Hat's words, the girl slid off the stool, looking extremely bored and went to go sit at the Slytherin table, which was the only table clapping loud and hard. The rest of the Great Hall seemed to be faltering at the moment the Sorting Hat had announced the House in which she was sorted into.

Once the clapping died down, Professor McGonagall called out another name, and another. Ginny yawned widely as the Sorting Hat bellowed out the new students' houses.

"RAVENCLAW!"

"SLYTHERIN!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

"HUFFLEPUFF!

"HUFFLEPUFF!"

"RAVENCLAW!"

"GRYFFINDOR!"

Ginny looked over at the Slytherin table and her eyes settled on Draco Malfoy. He is very curious, she thought. What was even more curious was the fact that he, Crabbe, and Goyle were all spaced lengthily apart and had not acknowledged each other the entire time they had been there.

Soon enough, there was only one first year left.

"Zimmerman, Laurel!" Professor McGonagall barked.

After the girl was declared a Slytherin, she ran to her table and Professor Dumbledore stood up, making the Great Hall go silent.

"Yet another year!" he said, smiling at them all, the same twinkle in his eye. "May you all have a wonderful time here! Dig in!"

Dumbledore sat back down, and Draco saw that the plates in front of him had already filled up with food, and the students promptly tore apart every last chicken leg.

&&&&&&&&&&

As the desserts cleared, Dumbledore stood up once more.

"Now that we have all been energized with food and drink, I am sorry to tell you all that you must lie down to rest. Goodnight!"

Ginny stood up with the rest of the Gryffindor table, her belly full of chicken, mashed potatoes, biscuits, peas, and chocolate éclairs. She was very tired, and she was ready to fall asleep in seconds.

Ginny walked out of the Great Hall and up to Gryffindor Tower, feeling rather nauseous. She had a strange feeling that out of all of her years, this one would be different... somehow... somehow...

The feeling went away almost as instantly as it had come. Ginny didn't know why she would feel such a thing... what was it? All too soon, she had already reached the Fat Lady, who looked down at her, eyebrows raised. Obviously she was not expecting anyone else; Ginny must have lagged behind from being so exhausted.

"Er -could you tell me the password? I'm all alone," she said warily, afraid of what was about to come.

"Absolutely not!" the Fat Lady shrieked in obvious outrage. "I don't even know if you're a Gryffindor!"

Ginny rubbed her face, frustrated, wanting more than anything for someone to eventually come along and help her out. For a moment, she had a vision of a swaggering boy walking past her and yelling out the password as if he had caught a Tourette's Hex.

"I'm a 6th year!" Ginny said loudly, turning back to the Fat Lady. "You should know me by now! I'll blast your portrait to pieces if I have to!"

The Fat Lady, looking very appalled by Ginny's threat, frowned at her as a mother would when their daughter walked into the house at two in the morning.

"It's 'widdershins', but don't expect me to tell you that next time!" she said heatedly as she opened up, defeated.

Ginny sighed with relief and walked through the portrait hole, into the common room. No one was in there at the time, so she supposed they were up in bed already.

She crept up to her dormitory, changed into her pajamas, got into her bed, and fell asleep faster than you could say 'sleeping draught'.