Who We Settle For...And Who we Are Meant For

Chapter One

Anouncements, A Different Kind of Food &...Spin The Bottle Truth or Dare?

Last Time:

Ginny got up off the ground, brushing herself off. She looked up into the darkened sky, where the first stars were beginning to come out. She ran a hand over the red mark on her neck, and the tattoo-like picture on her upper arm, before closing her eyes and accepting herself. A tear slipped out, but after that no emotion was seen on her face. She looked toward the moon, shining bright and proud in the sky. It was mocking her, Ginny felt, the whole world was mocking her with its proudness because it knew the last thing she was had been proud. Now that was different. Emotions Ginny had hidden for years came rushing back, making her face flush and her senses spin. Tomorrow was a new day. The day that would start her new life...

----

The liquid rushed down my throat, refreshing and fast

I couldn't believe I was doing this

I couldn't believe I was trying to make this moment last

Its too late...I've taken the risk...

I am gone

----

A rather strange combination of friends sat before the lake that day, under the mild scrutiny of Hogwarts' own giant squid. A mild breeze blew, highlighting the hot sun and the cloudy sky, carryng their low voices away with the wind. One was a Slytherin girl, known as Stephania Tomco, the only somewhat decent girl ever to abide within the cold dungeons of the Slytherin House, but nonetheless a Slytherin. Another was a Ravenclaw boy called Noah Cavaro, one of the strangest living Ravenclaws any one had ever seen with his silent, almost unfriendly ways. And finally the last was none other than the sister of the heroic Ron Weasley, a quiet, smart Gryffindor girl who had been rumoured to have beaten Hermione Granger in the OWLs. They murmered quietly to each other as they leaned their backs against a huge oak tree, staring out into the cool, crystalline calm waters, where beneath dwelled a completely different world. "...And thats how I came back late," Ginny finished. She had been telling the story of her sixteenth birthday, which was yesterday, to her two closest friends. Her blood-red hair was tied back in a pony-tail and a few unruly strands escaped into her strikingly pale face and brought out the blue-ness and intensity of her eyes. She was a quiet, pretty creature, tall and slender with enough curves in all the right places to make any sensible boy go mad. That would have been if she bothered to wear flattering clothes, or to get herself noticed. Ginny was a well-kept girl, kind of like a diamond in the rocks, which were her brothers. She hid from every one, and managed to get by unnoticed. Yesterday, though, she had decided that would change. "I really want every one to see the real me, now, guys," she explained quietly, "I think its time the whole world saw who Ginny Weasley can really be. I'm tired of being the quiet, invisible girl. I want to get noticed. I want people to see how different I am. And if they don't like it, don't accept or understand it...well, I guess that's their business."

Her other two companions looked at each other, shocked. The three of them had been a well kept secret for years now, and Ginny wanted to change that. The determination in her voice said so. Personally, they both knew Ginny. They knew what she was really like, what she really wanted to be and her deepest darkest fears and dreams just as she knew their's. But to give the world a piece of their mind...As they both thought about it, it suddenly made sense. "If you don't face your fears, they're just going to keep haunting you," said the Slytherin girl suddenly, known casually to her friends as Stepha. Stepha was a dark haired girl, with equally dark eyes and a tan face to boot. She usually hid behind her stick straight locks, hiding from the world and its problems. She was a small, meek creature, coming off innocent and harmless at first, but, regardless of her appearance, she had a bite that could sting for weeks, like any Slytherin. She was the smallest of the group, but probably the one with the strongest will. "You're right Ginny," she continued, looking at her friend in awe, "May be the happenings of your birthday were for the best. We have to let the world see us for who we are. No more trying to be some people we're not. Don't you agree, Noah?"

The boy of the group, Noah, was the most silent. He barely ever talked, except occasionally to the two girls. He was tall and slightly muscular from his achievements on the Ravenclaw Quidditch Team, and had a tan face that brought out his big, brown eyes and almost girlishly long eyelashes. His shoulder-length black hair fell around his face, obsecuring it from the world. If he hadn't been such a coldcase mystery to all the girls, he might just have been considered 'cute'. And, to the guys, 'cool', for being able to spend most of his free-time around two girls who would have also been considered 'hot things'. But, again, Noah wasn't like that. He was the type who concealed his feelings, who left his face bland and stiff, eyes cold and expressionless. Not so cold so that he was unlikable, though. Definetly not, for people who understood him, which were very few. Noah was a year older than both the girls, and spent most his time around one or the other, if not then in the library, where he spent his time reading or doing homework. Noah was a kind of neutral ground for both the girls. Both came to him with their problems, not for answers, but for some one to listen, and maybe, if they were lucky and Noah was in talk-mode, a wise answer. "I guess," Noah's voice rumbled out from deep in his throat, "I mean, we've been hiding all these years. And from what? Acceptance-or unnacceptance. We find acceptance in each other, but we're afraid of the fact that, maybe some one else might accept us, too. Or worse, not accept us. We've been hiding like cowards." Both girls absorbed this for a moment. Noah's answers were always brief, one word, mostly. It was a rare thing for him to say something and discuss it with them. But when he did, both girls knew the answer had to be chewed and digested as well as any food.

"So when do we start?" questioned Stepha softly to Ginny. She flipped her hair back from her face, something she rarely did, her eyes ready and just as determined as Ginny's voice had been. She would follow this through till the end-if there was an end. She ran her hands along her shoulders, then down her arms, which were covered, strrangly enough for this kind of weather, in long, black sleeves. Noah chanced a glance over at her as her sleeve ran a bit high on her arm, and watched as she hastily pulled them down. He looked up at her face, his eyes hard and questioning. Stepha, who had seen him watching her, pretended she didn't notice.

"Today," Ginny confirmed, looking out at the lake as a purple tentacle snaked out, then splashed back in, "We're starting today."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Dumbledore joined them for dinner that night, dressed in his grand clothes with his twinkling blue eyes. The very eyes that had watched Ginny as her parents told her the family secret that they had hidden from her all her life. He sat up on his throne-like chair at the very middle-top of the teacher's table, smiling down at his school, pride in every inch of his eyes. Ginny swore, as she sat at the Gryffindor table squished between Lavendar and Hermione, that his eyes settled on her and dimmed for a second, then flew away again, like a restless bird...or a bird who was avoiding something? That made Ginny push her hand through her waves of hair to her neck, where she gently pinched the red mark that was still there. She had hidden it beneath her hair all day today, during classes, between classes. If Ron had even seen it there...Ginny shuddered to think of the tantrum he would throw. She sighed and moved her hand down to her upper arm, where she ran it across the 'tattoo' as she had taken to calling it whenever referring of showing it to Stepha and Noah. Noah had been fascinated with the bite-as he had evaluated it after close inspection- on her neck. He had a knack for this sort of thing and often steadied nocturnal magical creatures. Stepha, on the other hand had been interested in the tattoo. Ginny almost laughed when she remembered Stepha's comment, "Nice, Gin, nice. It works with you, it really does." That had been one of the rare times either girls laughed. Noah plain out wasn't interested in indulging himself in such matters, so had simply ignored their outbreak.

After dinner, one which Ginny only picked at, even though she was hungry, Dumbledore stood up and adressed the school. Attention was given to him, immiediatly, and once he was sure all heads were turned his way, he began, "Students, as most of you know it is October 13th and it will be Hallowe'en in about three weeks. Therefore," he said, pausing for suspense, "I want to make some annoucements. First of all, there will be a Hallowe'en Masquerade Ball. The dress code is that of which will be appropiate for any Masquerade Ball. You do not, I repeat do not need a date. This Ball will take place on Hallo's Eve, and I trust that our Head Boy and Head Girl," Hermione sat up a little taller, "will have the preparations under control, with help from our Prefects." Dumbledore gave this time to sink in, and for it to be applauded, before continuing, "I have two more announcements to make, the first of which I am sure you will be happy with. There will be a holiday," at the very mention of that word there began an excited murmer throughout the hall, "that will be commencing as of Friday. This holiday is both for those who have to catch up on homework, and for those who wish to have a little extra time to complete their costumes. It will end a week after the Hallowe'en Ball." As he finished, the hall burst out in the ringing of clapping hands and hoots of appreciation. Once the applaud died down, Dumbledore's eyes dimmed and he directed his gaze to Ginny. "But, as I said, there is one more announcment," Ginny grew grave. This had something to do with her, and she knew it, "For the rest of the year, no one, under any circumstances is to be in the Defence Against Dark Arts corridor after eleven o'clock. Not even the Head Boy and Girl. I you are found there-well then I am very sorry for you." Ginny's stomach flipped, then growled with hunger. This was about that. "That having been said, you may all return to your Dormitories or where-ever else you have planned to go. I bid you all a good night." With that his moved his gaze away from Ginny and the twinkle returned to his eyes.

As Ginny made her way out the Hall, a knot of dread and hunger formed in her stomach. What Dumbledore had just done was probably for the best, she decided. She wouldn't want any one getting hurt in what she supposed would be her feeding frenzy. Plus, she was damn hungry at the moment.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Ginny was in the Defence Against Dark Arts corridor at presicely eleven thirty, just as Dumbledore had directed her after her ordeal in the bathroom. She would not lie. She had thought about refusing his orders and not going. But right now, her stomach was aching and her nose was smelling a delicious aroma that grew stronger as she strolled down the hall. It was too much, and it was true. She couldn't defy herself this luxury. The luxury of her first feed that was not from her changer's own. She was excited, she had to say, excited, so very excited. The adrenaline pumped through her veins and she felt her canine teeth elongate in anticipation. She still kept her mouth closed, though, just in case. The smell was getting stronger, more alluring, just as the hall was getting darker. Ginny could feel the darkness press in around her, even though she could not see it. Another little plus to the secret: she could see just as well in the dark as she could in the light. She saw a light in the distance and walked faster towards it. Before she could reach it, Dumbledore appeared from no where. He had a green cloak thrown over him, and, in her hunger, Ginny could see the blood as it flowed through his veins. "Miss Weasley," he said, a twinkle in his eyes, "You came. Oh, and you must learn to control your sight and such. It wouldn't be well if you walked around watching the blood in people's veins." He paused and Ginny looked surprised. How did he know she could see his blood? "Anyways," he continued, "behind this door," he indicated one to his left, "you will find your food. Drink your fill, fore tomorrow will be a long day." He winked, smiled, and, with a swish of his cloak was gone. Ginny didn't stop to absorb. She had heard enough-and smelt enough, too. She opened the door with a creak and was hit by a wave of cold air mixed with the strongest most wonderful smell she had ever had the oppurtunity to inhale. She stepped into the room in wonder. This was too good. It seemed to be a freezing room. Like those where butchers kept their meet. Carved into the walls were shelves covered in ice, and stacked in every single inch of the room was... 'Oh Merlin,' was Ginny's last sane thought. With that, her blue eyes rolled back into her head, and when they appeared again, were no longer blue, but red. Her mouth opened and she let out a scream of hunger as she grabbed the first sealed bag. Her fangs, sharp, white, long and dangerous sunk into the bag. She savored every moment of it. Every moment that the cool, red liquid thundered down her throat, quenching her hunger-her thirst. It was wonderful. It tasted heavenly, and it refreshed her whole body. Blood...blood...she loved it...she loved it when she finished the first pack and threw it aside, and she loved it when she did the same thing with the next, and the next, and the next pack. Her eyes red with bloodthirstiness, her stomach growling in hunger and her fangs bared in antcipation, Ginny was a sight to see. She was devastatingly beautiful ,yet at the same time equally dangerous.

In those minutes, maybe hours that Ginny drank, she was truly what her ancestors had been. As the blood dripped down her chin and between her fingers, she was truly, truly a creature of the night. Beautiful, dangerous. Right now, in these moments of pure thirst, pure need and want, Ginny was more herself than any one else. Her red hair, so like the liquid she as downing in great, sweet lunges, fell to the sides of her face as she discovered who she was. Wild. In that moment, Ginny was happy about the fact that her parents had told her what she was, what she had inherited. In that moment, Ginny was happy about the world. That night, that first night that would be the beginning of so many others, Ginny was truly a Vampyress.

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

The rest of the week passed by quickly, with Ginny enjoying every night more than she did the day. Regardless, as she had said, Ginny was now being more herself than any one else. She didn't laugh at jokes she didn't find funny and she didn't smile at people she didn't like. And that was only the beginning. As Friday night came around, every one was in a rush to complete their homework. No one wanted to have to do anything but eat, sleep and hang around with friends during their holiday, and, when Saturday night came around, most every one had completed any work that had been given to 'keep them busy' over the holiday. Snape's Potions assignment was the one Ginny finished last. She read it through, crossed her ts, dotted her Is and voila! As soon as she had packed everything away, she headed off to her nightly rounds, that, being a Prefect, she had to upkeep. Doing these rounds had begun to truly annoy her now, since nothing ever happened at Hogwarts. Tonight, being a weekend night, Ginny had no appointment at the DADA class room. That was a rule she had to live by. Dumbledore had made it clear that she would not be fed on weekends. If she did get hungry, though, she would have to go outside to the grounds and catch her own food. Ginny, finding that rather barbaric had drank herself to sleep the night before and so wasn't even the slightest bit hungry tonight. She exited through the portrait for what she expected to be another boring night doing rounds-with not even some blood to drink in order to spice it up.

Ginny strolled along the corridor, whistling to herself, when out of no where she felt something plummet into her. Ginny, though, didn't fall, but turned to look at the person who had run smack-dab into her. "Giinnn!" said Hermione a bit loudly. Her fuzzy hair was even more tousled than usual and her brown eyes had a crazed, almost drunk look to them. Her freckly face was glowing mischieviously. "Go-go call all your friends and meet us in the Charms classroom," see said, smiling wickedly. That wasn't a good thing. Seeing Ginny wasn't moving, she said, "Now! Come on, get moving!" Once Ginny had begun to walk, she saw out of the corner of her eyes as Hermione flew past, half running half-skidding down the hallway.

'Wonder what that was about,' Ginny thought, but nevertheless she headed in the direction of the Ravenclaw Common Room. Knowing Noah, he'd probably be awake and done his rounds. Stepha would probably still be doing her rounds. Nearing the Common Room, Ginny muttered, "Pixie Kisses," to a tapestry, before readily entering. Being a Prefect, Ginny knew all the passwords to the all the Dorms, with the exception of the Heads'. The Ravenclaw Common Room was fairly empty except for Noah, who had apparently just gotten back because he was just ascending the Boy's Staircase. "Noah!" Ginny said in greeting, whispering so no one would hear her. It wouldn't look quiet the best for Ginny to be seen in here with Noah only just going up the stairs. No, infact that would give people the wrong impression. "You need to come with me, now," she said, "Head Girl's orders."

Instead of complaining or asking any questions, Noah simply consented and followed Ginny. Together they found Stepha, who was just finishing her rounds, and finally they all arrived at the Charms classroom where a whole circle of sixth and seventh years were gathered, some people still in heir pajamas. Ginny giggled slightly as she saw Ron with a groggy look on his confused face and still in his choo-choo train jammies that were at least a size to small for him. He looked like a over-grown baby. And not to mention Harry. All he wore was a white vest and his boxers. Hermione had apparently woken them and gotten them here in a rush. "What's this all about?" Stepha asked, loud and clear. Ginny looked around. She saw all the prefects, all of their friends, of course Hermione, and-no- Malfoy?

"Well," Hermione said, eyeing Malfoy as he shifted to lean against the wall next to her, as if he might make a grab for her neck at any minute, "As most of the people who've been on duty for nightly rounds know it has been terribly boring these past few weeks patrolling these halls. What I was thinking was that tomorrow, at ten thirty, we all meet back here and play a Muggle game called Spin the Bottle Truth or Dare, with a twist to it." Malfoy's face, Ginny saw immiediatly scrunched up in disgust, but he said not a word. The children from Muggle families who had played this game before immiediatly cheered their support, but those who had never heard the game looked around baffled. Hermione, seeing this proceeded to explain. "Its a really simple, fun game, actually. Every one sits in a circle and there's a bottle in the middle. The first person-who ever volunteers- spins the bottle and who ever it lands on has to choose a truth or a dare. A truth is where the person who spun the bottle can ask the person it landed on any question, about any topic, and the person has to answer it truthfully. A da-"

"How do you know if a person is telling the truth?" asked Malfoy suddenly, as if it were the most obvioius question on the face of this earth. Ginny watched him closely. He seemed genuininly interested, his gray eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed. His silvery-blonde hair, Ginny couldn't help but notice fell boyishly into his face and his sharp, masculine features were too definetly attractive. He was tall, too, probably over six feet, lean, chiselled and well muscled. He was a dream, she realized with a shock. Malfoy was every girl's dream. She rid herself of that thought faster than she had processed the meaning and quickly focused her gaze on Hermione, who was turning slightly red in the cheeks under Malfoy's intense scrutiny.

"Um...When we play it the Muggle way we just have to hope that the person we asked is telling the truth-" Malfoy scoffed, rolling his eyes, "But since we're here, and we all know how to perform truth spells...I guess we could put the person under one before we asked. I mean, it wouldn't hurt." Malfoy nodded to this and redirected his gaze to his shoes, his face expressionless as he waited for her to go on. "As I was saying," Hermione said, the words once again flowing from her mouth, "A dare is and challenge the spinner can think up to give to the other person. If the person refuses to answer a truth or to do a dare, they will be blind-folded and, from a hat or bowl, or what ever we can get, we're going to pull out a slip of paper. Before doing this, of course," she explained, "every one is going to write their names on a slip of paper and put it into what ever container we can find." Hermione took a breathe, "To make it interesting as soon as the person's name is read-silently of course- a blind fold will appear over his or her face. Gender, again to make it interesting, doesn't matter. Then from another container we're going to prepare before hand, of course, there'll more slips of paper, that will have intimate actions upon them. We're going to randomly pick another piece of paper, then tell the two what they have to do-not using their names. They'll have to try and figure out who they were with. If they can't, they have to do the action all over again, but not more than twice after the original. If they still can't guess, then we'll just have to show them," Hermione finished, her face flushed red. "So, whose in?" Ginny looked at Hermione, surprised at the usually no-nonsense girl.

There was alot of murmer throughout the classroom. Every one was discussing whether or not they wanted to do that to their pride, after all, the game was very risky. Most of the Muggle-borns raised their hands, then majority of the people that were sitting on the floor. To her own surprise, Ginny raised her hand, followed by Stepha, then Noah. Usually the three friends would sit by and watch as the game went on, never actually participating in it. The only people who so far hadn't agreed were Malfoy and Zambini. Both boys had their pride and they wanted to keep it. But then again chickening out on a stupid Muggle-based game plan was doing an injustice to your pride as well. Wearily, Zambini rose his hand. All eyes were on Malfoy, now. Ginny found herself compelled to looked at him. He truly was something. For a second, he looked right at her, then turned away and said in his usual drawl, "Fine, I'm in."

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=

Once everything was fixed and organized for the next night, all the people involved in it promptly went off to bed. The strangely shaped hat they had found was spelled to automatically contain every body's name, providing they showed up the next night. That spared them the need for quills and parchment to write every one's name down. A bowl Harry had sneaked from the kitchens, special thanks to Dobby, was now filled with tons of ideas for the game, some very intimate, others rather mild. It was amazing, Ginny had thought as she sat down to read each idea, what kinds of thoughts brewed in the heads of mere sixteen and seventeen year olds. 'And a to-be eighteen year old,' she though suddenly, bitterness creeping itself into her head. Up till now Ginny hadn't really spared this 'quest' of sorts a thought. She knew it was important for her family's sake, but she desperatly thought that they were exasgerating. She meant, come on, she was merely a sixteen year old girl trying to get good grades and stay decent in this racy world, but no. It just couldn't be that simple. There had to be a twist in every story, and this was the twist in hers. It was a stupid one, though. Unlike most girls her age, Ginny was not one to be interested in boys. Since she had gotten over Harry, her second year crush, she hadn't really studied boys much. She knew all too well what her mother would say if she learned Ginny was interested in boys, "You can have sex, but we want no babies." And even worst, what Ron would say, "No sex at all." But it came down to the matter that Ginny wasn't interested in boys. The only boy she had ever really carried on a conversation with was Noah or some one related to her. Every one else practically ignored her, forgot about her or didn't know she was there. That was how invisible Ginny had become. It wasn't really a good thing, she knew, but she liked it that way. And now here was this twist in her story that practically demanded she find so and so, and do this and that with him. It was basically demanding her to have sex and fall in love, then get hurt. No, Ginny was strong when it came to boys, and she knew it and liked it that way. She would find him, do what she had to, then leave it as is. There had to be no sex, there had to be no love. She shivered after that thought, remembering what Dumbledore had so blandly stated, "...after that there will be no going back. He will be bound to you forever and you to him..." But no. If she got the wrong person, she surely wouldn't be bound to him, needless to say she could always state that she had tried.

Ginny sighed as she read the last piece of parchment that blandly stated, "Everything right down to licking each other's genitals." Ginny shivered. That was gross. That was very gross. Boy she pitied who ever got that one, and she was all too sure some one would. Suddenly Ginny found herself shuddering again. What if she got that one? 'Don't think about that. Don't think about that,' she chanted to herself. It was that simple, she just shouldn't think about it. But then, the more she tried not to the more she did. What if she got Malfoy? was one of her immiediate thoughts. Her reaction was not as dull as she wanted it to be. 'Wouldn't be so bad,' an evil little voice in the back of her head said. 'Oh no,' the more practical Ginny argued, 'Thats very bad. I don't even want to know what Malfoy has under his pants.' 'You do,' it argued maliciously. 'I don't,' she argued back.

"Hey Gin, you alright there?" it was Hermione's voice. The bushy haired teen allowed herself into Ginny's room, where the other ocupants, since it was roughly around twelve mindight, were fast alseep. Hermione was an exceptional looking girl, with big, doe brown eyes and long curly brown hair. Her face was slightly tan and freckley and her nose was a bit too straight. Her lips were thin, the upper one larger than the lower and she was of medium height. Hermione miracualously had managed to maintain an acceptable weight without the help of Quidditch and was pretty well off in that department. She had also managed to score a few boy friends over the years, but her current one was Ron, Ginny's own brother. So far the relationship was going well. Ron had not yet been repulsed by Hermione's bossy, dominant nature, and Hermione had not yet begun to think Ron was a git. 'Which he is,' Ginny added silently.

"Fine," Ginny said a bit too fast. To avoid questions, Ginny quickly countered with a question of her own, "Why are you here so late? Aren't you supposed to be in bed? In the Heads Chambers?" It wasn't that she was only trying avoid telling Hermione what she had been thinking about. She was also a bit curious as to why the Head Girl happened to be out of the Head's domain so very late at night.

"Malfoy's having a shag with some wench," Hermione said bitterly, "She was screaming all over the damn place." Ginny felt a pang of-what!- jealousy. 'No, no, no, no, no,' she scolded herself, scrunching up her face, 'Bad Ginny.' "I know," Hermione said in response to Ginny's face, thinking she meant it in disgust, "Just the thought is grotesquely fascinating. Didn't seem like she was enjoying it too much either," Hermione snickered wickedly, "He seemed to be hurting her."

Ginny had to snicker too. It was too funny to be true-but then why did she feel she had to know more? "Whats it like to be living with a Malfoy?" she questioned casually as if simply trying to carry a certain line of conversation, but not trying to show her eagerness for information. Ginny didn't know why, but she had, since earliar that night, began to find Malfoy uncannily interesting. It wasn't because she liked him-no, actually, her situation was far from that. She was interested in him, in an academic way. Yes, this was purely for academic reasons. She was curious about Malfoy's habits, so she was finding out about him, from some one who lived only the space of a wall away from him.

"Its OK, I guess," Hermione said, blushing a bit, "Not as bad as I thought it would be, as long as I avoid him for a fair amount of time each day, he usually stays civilized. Some times he's unnerving, though. I mean, he's always so...expressionless. Can creep up on you like a spider upon its prey. He's silent, stealthy...scary." Before Ginny could question what she meant, she went on, "He's a major neat freak, though. Likes every thing in the right place. Not as lazy as I thought he would be. Always on the move, like he's had too much caffeine. Oh," Hermione laughed, "and if he hasn't had his daily dose of caffeine, its not safe to approach him. Thats suicide." Ginny laughed, and Hermione went on, "Boy, he's a study freak, too. I came down stairs once around midnight and he was there sitting on the table with his homework thats due a month from now laid out before him. I mean, god! I don't even do my homework that early." Ginny smiled. She liked listening to Hermione rave about certain topics. Malfoy was beginning to be one of them. "And god have mercy he is hot!" Ginny felt all the blood drain from her face. 'Hot?' she asked herself, 'Hermione thinks Malfoy is hot?' "Oh come on, Gin!" Hermione exclaimed, her cheeks burning, "You can't tell me him and Blaise aren't the two hottest dudes in Hogwarts! That's inhuman!'

Ginny choked for a moment, trying to push out the words that were shying away from her. "I guess they are," she forced out in a strangled tone that made Hermione laugh. Hermione's visit was beginning to become uncomfortable, if not even more interesting.

"You really are something else," Hermione scoffed, laughingly, "Did I tell that that time I found him downstairs doing homework that he was wearing nothing more than his boxer shorts?" Ginny's mouth dropped open and she shook her head, wanting to hear what was coming next, but knowing, some how that she shouldn't be listening to these things about her family's enemies' sons. "Oh god Quidditch has totally done him good! My, my, I found myself wishing Ron's abs were more like that. You know what I mean? He was so chiselled, girl, damn! And his biceps-don't even start. He's so fine!" Ginny was beginning to get goose-bumps now, but not from fear, or from freaking out. She was actaully enjoying hearing Hermione describe Malfoy's body to her. "And, man, have you noticed how devilishly handsome he is? With those gray-blue eyes like metal and his silkly soft silver-blond hair. Like an angel...An evil angel." By now Hermione was blushing bright red, but she couldn't stop herself. Ginny's mouth was going dry with shock and she felt a certain tingling in her stomach that she knew shouldn't be there. "Oh, and I can only imagine Blaise! So what if he's a tad bit shorter. He's less arogant, I can tell you that. And I loved the way he spikes his hair, it totally brings out the green in his eyes-"

At the mention of Blaise, the tingling feeling in the pit of her stomach not only vanished, but it took the sense of daze and silence away with it. In other words, it brought Ginny back to the real world enough so that she could interrupt Hermione. "Mione, don't mean to be rude, but you're ranting. And I thought you were in love with Ron," Ginny laughed a bit at her last statement which had been said in a joking manner. Ginny was really fitting into this show-the-world-your-other-side business quite well.

"Oh, I am, I am," Hermione said, snapped back into reality at hearing Ginny's firm voice. "Its just that, I love Ron for his personality, not for his looks. Zambini and Malfoy are just pleasant to the eyes. I mean, I'm sure they're complete gits in the personality sector," Hermione explained, her face restoring itself to its natural tan color. Ginny disagreed with everything Hermione had just said. First of all, in her eyes, Ron was a git more than Malfoy and Zambini could ever be combined-OK, fine, maybe a bit less- and two Malfoy and Zambini were not pleasant to the eyes. 'You know they are, though, don't you?' raved that voice in her head, 'Especially Malfoy...'

Ginny ignored the comment. She proceeded to continue the conversation with another topic. "How on earth did you get the idea for Spin The Bottle Truth or Dare? Did it just pop into your mind like that?" Ginny knew it was a strange question, but she wanted to avoid the topic of boys from here on.

Hermione seemed delighted by the aspect of answering this question. "Well, as you probably know, things around Hogwarts have become rather boring at night, accept for catching a couple couples shagging sometimes. But since its merely the beginning of the year and not many couples have gotten together, well, I decided we'd kind of have to speed that up. I mean, even Malfoy was beginning to show some signs of boredom," at this Ginny almost flinched. Just the topic she didn't want to talk about. Luckily, Hermione continued with out mentioning Malfoy, "So while I was patrolling the hall, I just got the idea of Spin The Bottle Truth or Dare, which Muggle teens play when they're no adults around at parties. Of course I made some mental adjustments to it since we're all wizards here. I thought it would interesting to see how people react. And to maybe kiss some new guys..."

Ginny laughed. "Herms, I think its time for you to go. You're becoming delirious. Now, listen. I want you to go straight to the Heads' Dorm, then straight to your room. Don't want you joining Malfoy, now, do we?" Hermione nodded, a childish smile on her face. She looked up at Ginny, who was the taller of the two, as she guided her to the door. Before she left, though, Ginny asked, "Hermione, before you leave, can I ask you a question?" Hermione nodded and Ginny went on, "How on earth did the innocent goody-two-shoes Hermione Granger who got nineteen OWLs turn into you?"

Hermione laughed loudly. "Lets just say it took one night, one bed, a condom, and Ron." Ginny's face paled dramatically and she made a barfing noise from her mouth. "Can I ask you a question, now?" Without waiting for Ginny to reply, Hermione's eyes took on a curious competitive glint, "How many OWLs did you get?"

Seeing the glint in Hermione's eyes, Ginny closed the door a bit, then peered out from behind it, smiling, her eyes proud and inched with triumph. "Since you asked," she said, looking directly at Hermione as she turned to leave, "Twenty." Ginny shut the door just in time to see Hermione freeze in her tracks on the outside.

Author's Note-Here is the first chapter! Voila! Hope you guys liked it. If you have time it would be really sweet of you to review. Part of the next chapter will definetly be in Draco's POV. There'll also be some action, if you get my flow. It may not be only between Ginny and Draco, too. There'll be some--can't tell you, that would spoil the surprise. I'm not sure whether it'll be long, though. You'll just have to wait and see. Thanks for reading! R&R, PLEEEZZ! :-)

Just wanted to say thanks to my first two reviewers ever! Thats Napolean and Draco-Ginny-Fan...Thanks Thanks Thanks! At least knowing that some one has read my story boosts my confidence. I hope this chapter clears up your confusion with what Ginny has turned into, Napolean. The only reason I didn't say in the Prologue was because I wanted to save it for this one. It sounds better if you find out in the spur of the moment. As for the paragraph endings and beginnings, thanks for the tip, I seriously tried to follow it in this chapter...Don't know if I did that well...but I tried!