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Chapter 22

Hermione rolled her eyes as she watched Ron slide down the stairs to the dormitory. He had been a nightmare since they had returned from Hogsmeade. Ron had stormed out of the carriage screaming threats about what he would do once Draco, Death Eater, Ferret Boy returned; giving Hermione and Harry quite a hard time getting him to see reason. Finally, Harry had been able to convince Ron that without having some clue as to where Draco had taken Ginny, they needed to gather whatever information was being exchanged between Professor McGonagall and the ministry.

After being shooed out of Professor McGonagall's office twice with a promise of serving detention with Argus Filch, the school caretaker, should they return, Ron reluctantly retreated to Gryffindor tower between his two friends. Ron had been sitting absently as his pieces were being demolished in the game of wizard's chess he and Harry had stricken up. Just as Hermione abruptly shut her book in a final attempt to snap Ron out of his current state, the portrait swung open and Ginny stepped through.

That had been two hours ago and Ron was in a more frightful state than before, if possible. Ginny had simply swept past the trio, with no explanation other than she needed to clean up and rest before she could talk with anyone. None of the Gryffindors in the common room had heard her from her since.

"I can't believe that she won't come out and talk to her own brother. It's not right I tell you! What was she doing when you went up there 'Mione," Ron continued the line of questioning that had become exceedingly familiar to Hermione and Harry since they had been dismissed from McGonagall's.

"Ronald Weasley, I have not returned to Ginny's room since the last time you asked me that question. She, as far as I can tell, was talking with Liane," Hermione replied indignantly, brushing some dust Ron had picked up as he slid down the stairs from the girls dormitory. Hermione hadn't been up to Ginny's room in an hour, after the promise the young girl had made to inform McGonagall of a certain Head Girl's abuse of privilege should she refuse to acknowledge her right to privacy.

"I'm sure she just needs to have a bit of 'girl talk' with Liane before she faces everyone," Harry stated, trying to quell Ron's anger.

"Everyone? EVERYONE," Ron bellowed, his face turning crimson as his knuckles lost all color at the pressure of his clenched fists. "Since when is one's older brother classified as 'everyone'?"

"Calm down Weasley," Liane's voice came from the top of the stairwell as she suppressed a giggle.

"Think it's funny do you? Tell my sister that she's to get down here this instant or,"

"Or what, are you going to come up here and bring her down? Wait a minute, we tried that already didn't we," Liane choked out as she came down the steps. "Relax Ron, Ginny and I only spoke for a short while. I pretty much gave her a much needed hug and made sure she settled in for the evening."

"C'mon mate, it's after 2 AM, they're not going to floo this evening. We'll go up to the school first thing in the morning and see Professor McGonagall," Fred called to George as he finished tallying the day's sales.

As Fred slowly closed up the shop, and George found himself sitting in the dark, he begrudgingly arose from his seat to head to their upstairs apartment and at least attempt a couple hours of sleep.

"Hey Mate, we're all worried about Gin, but there's nothing we can do about it tonight," Fred assured George as he waited at the top of the stairwell.

"I know you're right, I just can't believe that we haven't heard anything yet," George sighed defeated.

"Well, if what her friend said is true, perhaps they just got into a lover's quarrel…" Fred began as George looked at him warningly. "C'mon George, you're the one that said that girl,"

"Liane,"

"Right, whatever. She said that Ginny and Draco had something going on right? Well our little sister isn't so little anymore, and she is pretty capable of taking care of herself. Perhaps they just got into a row and are making up."

George cringed as he listened to his twins reasoning. "I don't need the visual of Ginny making up with anyone, much less that prat."

"I suppose she could have chosen a bit better, but if McGonagall and…"

"Liane,"

"Right, Liane thinks she's okay. I say we go with them for the night. Besides, no one seems to know where they went off to, we can't do anything properly without the some assistance from the ministry," Fred shrugged as he turned for bed.

"Fred," George sighed as he heard tapping from the shop below, "did you forget to put the immobulus charm on the scampering spectacles again?"

As he turned back down to the shop to stop the twins' latest invention, George chuckled despite himself. The idea for the glasses was very basic, but very effective for your basic prank as Harry had proven last summer when he stayed at the Burrow. The twins had stayed over at the Burrow, as Molly had insisted that she have everyone over before Harry, Ron and Gin returned to Hogwarts.

After spending the first week, watching Harry repeatedly blindly feel for his spectacles in the morning, the twins had been inspired and hastily set about making their prototype. It took Harry nearly two hours to discover, that his glasses had not been removed from the bureau he had set them on, rather the sound he kept hearing, were his glasses moving out of his reach.

Shaking his head, and crossing over to the bureau, George saw that none of the spectacles were out of place. As the tapping sound began again, he realized that it was not the prank glasses making that sound; rather an owl at the window. As George opened the window and his Ron's pet owl flew in the window, he muttered under his breath, "Should have known it was you, nothing else can make quite as incessant a racket as you girl."

"Fred! We've an owl from Ron," George bellowed up the staircase, as he took the rolled up parchment from the small owl, and pulled a cracker out before sending her back to Hogwarts. Unrolling the parchment, hopeful for some news about Ginny, George read it frantically as his brothers thunderous footfalls made their way from upstairs. Waiting for Fred to breathlessly ask his flurry of questions regarding the status on their sister, George rolled the parchment back up and sank into the chair.

"What, what is it George. Why if that little prick has done anything…" Fred started, unable to read his brother's reaction from the parchment. George, unable to reply simply handed the parchment to his twin, before allowing the tension that had been built in his body from the days events to slowly ebb away.

As Draco watched Ginny leave his room, he quelled the small amount of emotion that threatened to rise within him. Shrugging the unfamiliar feeling off as something he ate at dinner, he turned to his closet to prepare his robes for the evenings feast. As he slowly began to disrobe, the silver clip adorned with a single ruby that he had been carrying in his pocket fell to the floor. Suddenly Draco was hit with the realization there was no doubt that what he and Ginny had been sharing went beyond mere snogging. Regardless of how detached and aloof he had attempted to remain with her, watching her leave his room at that moment had him aching in a way he never had.

Draco watched in his mind's eye Ginny walking into the great hall with the clip that he had planned to give her; holding her crimson hair up off of her neck. He could imagine the curve where her jaw met her throat, and his mouth salivated at the memory of that sweet flesh. As he continued to daydream he saw Ron enter the hall behind his sister, his little mudblood grasping to his arm, trying to keep his temper at bay. Ginny would undoubtedly look across the hall to the Slytherin table, the corner of her lips slightly turned upward in a secretive smile. Even in this fantasy, Draco could not resist fixing a suggestive sneer on his face, and licking his lips slowly; causing the imagined Ron to pale before flushing.

Just as a chuckle began to rise in his throat, Draco crushed it. 'This is how you lost her,' he thought suddenly. Mentally analyzing the fact that he was feeling, remorse? As he reluctantly accepted the fact that remorseful was indeed the word to describe his feelings, Draco attempted to further rationalize his feelings. 'I can't possibly feel remorseful over imagining pissing her brother off," he thought. After all, he had relished in these moments, real and imagined for the past six years, what should be different now. 'It's not that you pissed him off, rather that you used Ginny to do it," an unsolicited voice answered.

"Great! Father would be so proud. The Malfoy heir concerned about using a witch for his own amusement. Not just any witch, a Weasley," Draco considered before snorting in disgust and confusion. This was not a position with which he was familiar. Draco Malfoy had always been in control; at the top of his class, followed by his peers, excused by his elders, these were the privileges afforded to the Malfoy heir. For the first time in his life Draco was faced with something that could not be afforded by his charm, money or status could afford him. Had he told Ginny to leave, perhaps things would have been different. However; he had not, and this rejection was not something he knew how to handle.

Author's Note: Okay, it has been way too long. I'm soo sorry, no rotten tomatoes please! But I was determined to put something out tonight, so here it is! All excuses, none very good. Let's just say, the way the story was written meant I had to catch back up and put my mind back into this story before I could update.

I should also warn you all, I'm a little iffy about this chapter, but I wanted to just write through this excessively long block so I could get back to the story. I didn't want you all to think I'd moved onto another story and forgotten this one.

So Review Responses!!!!!

LovesFantasy: hehehe, I wanna understand it too :) No really, I do know basically what solved it, it's just getting back there. Sorry no Blaise and Colin, had to revisit the twins, their worried about Ginny you know!

Dracomio: not so sure it was a happy medium. Maybe a happy extreme, but it's not abandoned :)

Cjean: hehehe, "I think it would be an awesome story if it made more sense" That is an awesome comment. Don't know if that's a positive statement or not, but it made me smile. I'm hoping that it's the time that throws it off, and that I wasn't the only wishy washy teenage, wait adult, female out there. I can't count the number of times I have decided that I "hate" a guy, and was "through" with him but he did whatever, apologized, serenaded, did flowers, or neat little things with his tongue… I digress. The point is, this is 5th year, Ginny's what? 15. There's some chemistry there, and I don't think it's unreasonable for her to change her mind, after all she's a woman in training and that's our prerogative.

BeckyD: you're welcome. I hope this one somewhat lives up to it's predecessors

BigRed: sorry I made you wait, but here's more!

Nice: Thank you so much for the compliment. I'm glad you're enjoying it

KawaiiRyu: I'm afraid I made you wait, I just hope you didn't disappear.

Bradhadair: Nope not finished at 21, or 22. I'm going to try and work on an outline so I can better end this story and not get quite as stuck as I did between 21 and 22

Lalis186: well it took me a while, but I've updated!

Beautiful-exterior: Why thank you!

Rebecca Haliwell: I know it might not have seemed like it, but I haven't abandoned it! I'm glad that you're enjoying it

DGloveangel: Thanks for the compliment. Unfortunately I got sidetracked, but it's updated!

Possum: I'm glad you like Blaise and Colin, I think they may end up being my favorite lil part of this story, despite the fact it's D/G. They're so cute and well, I won't say more now

Silverbutterfly: Awww, it's updated. Thank you for the compliment, it means a lot. BTW I loved Silver Eyes! Can't wait to see something new!