AS usual I do not own HP. Do you take immense pleasure in what one could call the equivelant of rubbing my face in dog crap for it? I think you do. Well maybe...I should punish you.

I think my threat is kind of gone now. I have a feeling if I stopped on this story a lot of people would hunt me down and kill me. So perhaps not typing on it is the wrong choice...Now I have to do lots of thinking...it hurts! hahaha.

Author Bio is where you can find responses as well as my threat which is still a possibility.

Colin flipped through the air and splashed into the lake.

Ginny watched. Everything seemed to be happening in slow motion. "COLIN!" She leapt to her feet.

Dashing to the water Ginny wrapped an arm around him to help him get to his feet.

Draco felt like a knife had been run through his heart. He would savor punishing Colin.

Draco stepped from behind the bushes and allowed the two Gryffindor a view of their attacker.

"Stupefy," he pointed his wand at Ginny.

Colin struggled to support both of them but his legs suddenly flew out from under him as he began to do a tap-dance in the lake water.

"Wingardium Leviosa," Draco called before Ginny bit the water.

Draco levitated her and placed Ginny at his feet so she was leaning against his legs.

As suddenly as the dancing started it stopped. Colin fell down on his knees in the water.

Draco patted Ginny's hair briefly and began murmuring under his breath and swished his wand in the direction of Colin. Huge festering boils erupted all over his skin and he began to scream. It pierced through the air and Draco grinned impishly.

"Stupefy," Draco called out.

Colin fell face first into the water his legs twitching occasionally.

Draco directed his wand first at Ginny then at Colin and obliviated their memories.

Draco wiped their minds of it having been him that attacked them.

"Ennervate," his wand was pointed at Ginny and he knelt down and held her in his arms.

Ginny's eyes fluttered open and she looked up into a pair of grey eyes.

"Draco!" she cried flinging herself into his arms. "Someone attacked Colin and I. We were just talking. He was trying to help me with something."

"Shh. It's okay. I just found you," Draco said cherishing the contact before pulling back roughly as if he had been burned.

Ginny looked up at him, tears in her eyes and she leaned against his legs. She wrapped her arms around one of them and clung to Draco. Her nails dug in tight to the cloth.

Draco wanted to step back and continue punishing her for her crimes but something about seeing her there holding him desperately for comfort and protection made him take a reprieve from hurting her. It made him feel good to be the one banishing her fears.

Instead he slid his silk outer cloak off and draped it over her shoulders.

"He your new boyfriend?" Draco asked pointing his wand at Colin and saying, "Mobilicorpus."

"GROSS! NO!" Ginny half shouted as she got to her feet. She had the most disgusted look on her face. She tugged at Draco's cloak a little tighter.

Draco watched her but sensed no hint of dishonesty in her features and she definitely sounded convincing when she said she was not going out with him and she stared him right in the eye.

"Colin may like me that way but I can assure you that the feeling is far from mutual," Ginny cried pointing at Colin.

That was when she saw what the attacker had done to her friend.

"Oh Colin," her voice was full of pity as she moved forward and touched one of the boils on his face. "Who would do a thing like this? Who was so annoyed by him that they would hurt him in a way like this? He would not have stood a chance."

Draco gripped his wand tighter when Ginny put her hand on Colin.

"Don't touch him," Draco ordered grabbing her and pulling her back.

Ginny stared up at the blonde Slytherin that she loved. She stared at his eyes to see if there was any chance his emotions might show through them. They were darker than she ever recalled seeing them and they sparkled with an unknown emotion.

Envy? Was it even possible? Could Draco be envious of the attention she was showing Colin?

"You might make him worse," Draco said directing Colin around a bush on the way up to the castle.

Ginny felt her heart sink a little when he said that. But then again Draco was known for disliking Colin quite a bit because Colin was an idiot. But maybe he was jealous. Ginny hoped so.

Ginny and Draco walked silently back up to the castle and to the hospital wing. Ginny gave him his claok before he left the hospital wing.

Draco felt a little hurt. He wished she would wear it around.

Draco waited and was sure Madame Pomfrey was taking care of Ginny before he left her to be alone with his thoughts.

"Miss Weasley you may leave and visit your friend tomorrow," the nurse told her shooing her out of the hospital.

Ginny was all smiles once she left the hospital wing. Draco had saved her. Draco had been worried she had been seeing another boy. Draco had spoken civilly to her. Draco had not told her to call him Lord Malfoy.

Ginny almost began to skip with joy. Cloud nine here she came.

"Gin what's up?" Hermione asked a week and a half later. "I have not seen you this happy since you know."

"He does not hate me. He was jealous when he thought I was seeing Colin," Ginny said giddy and giggled.

"I see," Hermione said carefully. "What about Pansy's task?"

Ginny's smile froze on her face before vanishing as if it had never been there.

"What is today?"

"December seventeenth," Hermione replied instantly.

"Two days!" Ginny exclaimed. She began to bite her thumbnail. "Two days to find that bloody memory stone."

"Well Ginny, a certain Slytherin told me what you needed and I took the liberty of doing a little research for you," the bookwormish girl said. "You collected a moon flower for your first task, correct?"

Ginny nodded feeling less worried already.

"The flower remained silver and green when you removed it from the lake and it did not shrivel up, correct?"

"It did not change colors or shrivel up but what does that have to do with anything?" Ginny asked getting a little annoyed and perplexed.

"The flower may only be cut with a memory stone," Hermione answered sounding like a combination of a teacher and a textbook, "and still retain its properties."

Ginny grinned and plunged her hand into her pocket removing the clear stone. It made a small sloshing noise as if there was a liquid in it. She turned it over and over in her hands. Ginny shook it. The stone suddenly began to glow a bright electric blue.

"Take it to Pansy," Hermione said staring transfixed at the stone.

Ginny nodded standing up from the Gryffindor table. She searched along the Slytherin table for the blonde girl who promised to help her.

Pansy was no where to be seen.

But as Ginny scanned the Slytherin table she met a pair of grey eyes that quickly looked away when they were caught. Ginny frowned when a Hufflepuff went up and started talking to him.

Great. Now she was the jealous one.

She saw him staring. Draco frowned. He really should be more careful. He was revealing too much when they ended up looking into each other's eyes.

Draco stared pointedly down at his food and began pondering how he could ask Ginny to be with him again, how he could ask her to forgive him.

"Draco?" a girl's voice jarred him out of his thought.

Draco shook his head and looked up into the face of a very beautiful girl from a different house.
Draco nodded to her to show she could continue and she had his attention.

"Would you go to Hogsmeade with me this coming weekend?" she asked looking down at the ground with wide eyes and wringing her hands.

Draco nearly choked, "Excuse me?"

"I know. It was silly. I am sorry," she started to walk away looking down.

"Wait," Draco called pushing his plate away and standing up. "Who are you?"

"Susan Bones," she answered. "I never should have listened to that Gryffindor."

"Listening to Gryffindors is usually a bad idea. You are in Hufflepuff right?" Draco said.

Susan nodded wide-eyed. This was the most Draco had ever said to her and she had liked him for a little while but she liked someone else better.

"May I talk to you about this problem I am having right now?" Draco asked.

Susan nodded again and visibly brightened at the prospect of helping someone with a problem, "of course."

Draco reached forward and took the girl's arm steering her out of the great hall and up the main staircase. Draco led her into the restricted section of the library and he led her to the back and sat on the window ledge leaning on one side watching the sunset.

Susan gingerly sat on the ground and leaned up against a bookcase.

"Susan?" Draco started slowly.

Susan nodded and smiled encouragingly at him.

"I figure a Hufflepuff would be able to help me better than any one else," Draco said taking a galleon from his pocket and flipping it through his fingers.

"Matter of the heart?" Susan asked reaching and to touch his knee chastely.

Draco nodded grimly. Susan smiled with sincere sweetness and let her hand slide off and down into her own lap.

She looked up into his eyes patiently waiting for the gorgeous boy to continue.

"A while back I sent a note to a girl and asked her to meet me," Draco began speaking carefully not wanting to give away too much but enough to get the help he was seeking. "We met for several months and I never told her who I was. We always met in the dark and I used a charm to disguise my voice. I asked her to wait to see me but a few weeks ago she did and we have not privately met since."

Susan looked sad when he said they had not been meeting.

"I told her we would not meet again. I ran away and did not even give her a chance to say anything to defend what she did. I know it was wrong of me to not tell her who I was but I thought that is she knew who I was she would never in a hundred years want to be with me. I know I need to apologize but some part of me thinks she deserves it and she deserves to feel pain even though I hurt when I see her in pain as well," Draco said, vanishing the coin.

"I do not think you meant what you said," Susan replied looking up at the grey eyes.

"I want to ask her to meet me again but I do not know how. When I heard she was going out with another guy I almost completely flipped out and attacked him. I've never been so blinded by my emotions. I have never felt so hurt in my life," Draco said revealing the coin again and flipping it over and under his fingers again.

"You are in love with her," Susan said softly hugging her knees.

"What?" Draco asked looking at her as if she had gone mad.

"Tell me, hypothetically, what would you do if death eaters were still around and had captured the girl of whom you speak?"

Draco's head shot up and he had a determined look on his face, "I would save her. I would not care what the risks were to myself."

Draco could have slapped himself. He was turning into a great stupid bloody Gryffindor.

Susan grinned, giggling; "You are in love with her Draco Malfoy."

The way Susan said that made it seem definite and true and it made sense.

"But does she love me? How could she forgive me for the way I've for how horrible I have been?" Draco moaned putting the coin in his pocket and dropping his face forward into his hands."

"If you tell her what you have just told me...how much you care about her the real question would be how couldn't she forgive you?" Susan said lightly standing up, "and if the girl of whom you speak is indeed who I suppose she must be, judging from all the talk going around in our common room, then you have nothing to fear for she loves you just as dearly as you clearly love her."

"How are you Hufflepuffs so reassuring and positive on things like this?" Draco asked looking at Susan.

"What house does everyone turn to for comfort?" Susan asked through a grin.

"Should've known," Draco responded, "wouldn't go to a Slytherin. The whole school would know in no time. Do you Hufflepuffs just go about and talk to easy other about who spills what to them at the end of the day?"

"Unless we say we won't but every Hufflepuff knows what we say of the problems the members of other houses are having does not leave our common room. We are the shrinks of Hogwarts."

"I would appreciate it if no one else knows about this but us," Draco requested looking at her.

"No problem, I won't say anything to anyone else about this," Susan said smiling and leaving.

"I love her," Draco mumbled to himself with a grin.

I am aware Draco is a little OOC in this chapter but it is necessary for him to admit he cares for Ginny to himself...otherwise how can he admit it to her?

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