Chapter 2- Down the List

Ginny woke up quite early the next morning. She consulted her list of guys.

#Which one next? Man, I can't believe that I actually have to do this! Well, I s'pose I'll get Dean out of the way. #

She quickly dressed and went downstairs to the Great Hall. There was the usual chatter of students gossiping and talking about how much homework they had to do etc. Ginny seated herself at the Griffindor table next to Harry. She hoped that he wouldn't try to get close to her through breakfast, because then Dean would see that she was already taken.

'Morning Ginny,' Hermione said brightly as she sat down at the table.

'Hi Hermione,' Ginny replied, her voice more down beat. She looked down the table and spotted Dean sitting next to Neville Longbottom. She took a deep breath. She had already been out with Dean before and she broke up with him for her own personal reasons. To date him again was going to be total misery for her, but misery or no, it had to be done.

After breakfast, she pulled him aside to talk to him quietly and in no time at all, they were going out again. Ginny avoided Harry's gaze as he watched them. #God I don't want to do this to him. Why? WHY? I'm gonna get Nancy Phillips back so bad for this!#

So, as the terms of the dare were met, Ginny sat with Dean on the bench close to where her group was sitting so that they could all see she was doing the dare properly. She looked at Nancy's smug face and resisted the strong temptation to go over and slap her.

And so the days dragged on. She dumped Dean as quickly as possible and slowly checked off the names down her list. She felt so bad when she dumped Neville, but she kept telling herself, 'as soon as I'm finished with this stupid dare, the sooner I can go out with Harry' and the thought reassured her when she felt like giving up. The other guys were nice enough, except for Justin Finch Fletchy whose breath positively reeked and Seamus with his snorting, idiotic laugh. Precisely three weeks had gone by.

Malfoy's name was drawing too close for comfort and soon, Ginny came to dread the next day, for his name was the only one left on the list.

#How the hell am I going to pull this off? I mean, his family and mine are like archenemies. He'd never even contemplate going out with me.# But, nevertheless, Ginny wore one of her tight uniforms and walked briskly down to the Great Hall, making sure that she swished her hips whilst walking. She took a slight detour in getting to the Griffindor table. She walked up along the side of the Slytherin table and made sure that Malfoy saw her wink at him. She was quite satisfied when she saw his look of shock, but quickly became irritated when she saw him whisper to Goyle and then smirk.

# Man he drives me crazy!#

She sat down and talked to Harry, Ron and Hermione as usual and soon, it was time to head off to class. She was very happy with the way Harry kept smiling at her #probably because of the tight uniform and all#.

On her way out from the hall, Ginny was taken aside my none other than Draco Malfoy.

'And what do you think you're playing at Weasley. Realised that there's no chance in hell you can get a boyfriend from any of the other houses and thought you'd try the last one?'

'Oh yes Malfoy. I simply want you so bad, just looking at you makes me go weak in the knees,' Ginny said theatrically and the smirk on Malfoy's face immediately vanished. She walked off, making sure that she was swishing her hips. She turned back once, her hair flying around her and laughed mockingly at Malfoy because he had definitely been watching her ass.

On the way out of Transfiguration, someone pulled Ginny's hand lightly and she was taken away from the flow of the crowd. Her eyes lit up when she saw that it was Harry. He pulled her slightly closer to him and went to kiss her, but she pressed a finger gently against his lips and whispered, 'Not yet. Wait till we get to the common room.' He grinned.

'So are you going to come to the dance with me?' Harry asked

'Dance?'

'Yeah, there's a Seventh grade dance this Friday.'

'B-but.'

'What? Don't you want to come with me?' And his face suddenly looked grave.

'No, that's not it at all! What am I going to wear?' Harry couldn't help laughing.

'There's going to be a trip to Hogsmeade tomorrow. Everyone gets the day off in grades six and seven so you'll get a chance to buy what you want, don't worry,' and after giving her a quick hug, he walked off.

Ginny was extremely happy with herself. Everything was basically going according to plan.

It was a great day for going to Hogsmeade. There was snow, sure enough, but Ginny didn't mind. Everyone chattered as they went excitedly through the town. Ginny and Hermione stuck together.

'Why don't you go and have a butter-bear guys? Ginny and I have some shopping to do,' Hermione said.

'Aaaw, look at that Harry. The girls don't want us to come and see them buying their outfits for the seventh grade dance,' Ron said in a baby voice, pretending that he was offended. Hermione quickly kissed him.

'Cheeky,' she said reprovingly and then brushed them off with some swift hand movements. 'Now shoo!' They laughed as they walked off to 'The Three Broomsticks'. 'C'mon, this is going to be fun,' Hermione said excitedly and she took hold of Ginny's hand and practically dragged her to the nearest clothes shop.

Ginny was amazed by Hermione's behaviour. She had never seen Hermione shop and thought that she might not be that 'into' it, of course, she was mistaken. Every five seconds, she exclaimed, 'Ginny, come and look at this quickly!' or 'This would look so good on you!'

They went to eight shops altogether and Ginny was starting to feel 'all- shopped-out'. She had bought the most beautiful outfit. It was a flowing, light green top with beads and small sequence making a beautiful pattern and the neck-line was quite low and triangular in shape. It was sleeveless, save for the two, short bits of material, which hung loosely from each side where the sleeves would have started. She also bought a new pair of denim jeans (they had become the fashion over the years in the wizarding world) and a pair of green shoes that were very 'strappy' but didn't have a very high heel.

After this, the two girls carted their bags of shopping into 'The Three Broomsticks' and sat down at a table with Harry and Ron.

'So, find anything you like?' Ron asked looking wide-eyed at the bags.

'Oh stop being sarcastic,' Hermione said.

They stayed in the Three Broomsticks for some time. Harry bought Ginny a butter-bear and Ron did the same for Hermione, so all in all, it was a fun day.

In no time at all, it was back to Hogwarts.

'You know what, I kinda miss having Fred and George here,' Harry said.

'Yeah, by now they would have bought out the joke shop here and brought it all to school-probably to make mischief at the dance,' Ron added. Ginny missed her twin brothers as well. They might have played the class clowns but they had always been there for her when she needed help.

The next day was Friday, and Ginny endured all her classes for the entire day. Indeed, it felt to her like the day would simply never end.

Finally, the day of classes had finished. All the girls in seventh grade (and some from sixth grade) were practically running out of the classrooms to get ready. Ginny herself felt very excited. The boys weren't in much of a hurry-then again they didn't have to do much to prepare themselves. Most of them were laughing at the girls who were stampeding down the hallway.

Ginny rushed upstairs to her dormitory. As soon as she entered, she heard giggles. Some of the girls had obviously been invited as well and were already getting out their outfits. Ginny knew that there would be absolutely no point in going to one of the bathrooms because they would all be taken with girls, frantically doing their hair and makeup in the mirror. Ginny slipped on her jeans and carefully put on her top. She used her friend's hair dryer to make her hair completely straight and give the false impression that it was thicker. When it was all done, she looked in the mirror and was quite satisfied with what she saw. She noticed some of her dorm room-mates eyeing her enviously but she didn't care at all.

She went downstairs, forcing herself not to break into a run. On the landing she spotted Harry talking to Ron. She took a deep breath and slowly approached them. Harry, who had been talking to Ron about quidditch, stopped in mid-sentence. He stood with his mouth open, looking at Ginny.

'So, what do you think?' Ginny asked, smiling and she did a little turn.

'Well, you um. You look beautiful Ginny,' Harry said, his eyes sparkling.

'Well I'm glad you approve,' Ginny said, stepping over so that she was standing next to him.

'Ok, I'm ready,' a voice said behind them. Hermione approached them. Ginny noted that what she had picked suited her very well indeed. She too wore jeans and a top similar to Ginny's but in blood red. This time it was Ron's turn to stutter. In the end all he could manage was, 'Wow.' Hermione couldn't help smiling.

'Well, I think we got the best-looking girls from the bunch. Wouldn't you agree Harry?'

'Oh yes,' Harry said not taking his eyes off Ginny. 'I think we have.'

They made their way down to the Great Hall. All the tables and chairs had been moved out and music from all kinds of famous wizard and witch artists was blaring. Ginny felt her heart thumping in her chest almost in time to the beat of the music. She could have danced with Harry all night.

A slow song came on (it is always inevitable) and Ginny put her hands on Harry's neck and he put his around her waist. They swayed together gradually drawing closer and closer to one another. Many guys were looking at Ginny and yet, she only cared about being with Harry.

There was, however, one person watching Ginny from the corner of the Hall who Ginny was unaware of. Draco Malfoy stood, almost struck dumb. He tried to shake himself out of this strange trance that seemed to come over him, and yet he couldn't take his eyes off Ginny...Ginny and Harry.

'Look at them,' he thought. 'He doesn't deserve her!'

'Then who does?' a little voice in his head said quietly. Pansy Parkinson was trying to snuggle into his shoulder and he kept shaking her off, annoyed. She simply wouldn't get the message.

The dance was nearing its end and, at last, it was time to play the final song. Harry and Ginny were so close now that they were almost tripping over each other's feet, laughing as they did so. At the end, Ginny pressed her lips against Harry's. He drew back with a look of surprise.

'But-but I thought..' He began. She smiled.

'It doesn't matter,' she replied. And this was partly true. Tomorrow, she planned on telling Nancy Phillips that she wasn't going on with the dare and if she didn't like it, she could kiss her ass.

Harry moved his hands up Ginny's back and they kissed again, this time more passionately. Mad desire filled each of them, yet they went no further than a kiss.

The dance was over and practically all the students were smiling, some however, were too weary to put on a happy face. Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione were about to make there way up to the Griffindor common room when Seamus Finnagan ran up to them.

'Hey guys, you coming to the after-party?'

'After-party? What after-party?' Harry asked with interest.

'In the divination tower. Guess some people weren't ready to stop partying,' he added with a snorting laugh. Then he looked at Ginny hopefully.

'Don't even go there,' Ginny said putting her hand up. Seamus lowered his gaze, mumbling and walking off.

'That's right,' Harry said to her. 'She's taken,' he said pulling her close. Harry and Ginny laughed together.

'Coming to the after-party Hermione? Ron?' Ginny asked. Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

'Nah,' they said in unison. 'We've got, um, some homework to do,' Ron added.

'Right, sure you do,' Harry said with raised eyebrows. Hermione and Ron walked off, Hermione leaning her head on Ron's shoulder.

Ginny looked at Harry. 'Shall we?' he asked, offering her his arm.

'Yes I think we shall,' Ginny replied, smiling brightly. They climbed up several flights of stairs, making their way to the divination tower. On their way, Ginny almost fell from a moving staircase, but Harry pulled her up to him. She looked at him wide-eyed. He grinned at her, but kept a closer eye on her for the rest of the way.

At last they came to the trap door, leading up to the divination tower. Harry pulled down the stairs and let Ginny go up before him, then followed her himself. When he emerged, he looked at the faces around the room. There was Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy, Pavarti Patil and her sister, Crabbe and Goyle, Seamus Finnagan, Neville Longbottom, Nancy Phillips and the rest of her 'group' and various other seniors from Ravenclaw and Hufflepuff..

'Alright everyone, listen-up,' Pavarti began. 'We're all going to play a game.' At this, everyone groaned. 'No, no, no, not that kind of game, it's called mystery kisses.' A few students' eyes brightened at the name. 'Everyone know how to play?'

'No,' said all the students together. Pavarti sighed.

'Ok, we're going to turn off the lights, then everyone has to walk around and find someone. Once they've found another person, they have to kiss them. They're not allowed to ask any questions or feel them up. Sound good?'

'Hell yeah,' Seamus shouted and the rest of the group cheered.

'Ok then,' Pavarti said with a gasping tone of finality.

The lights were all turned off and darkness enveloped everyone in the room. There were squeals and giggles accompanied by male laughter and shouts. Before Ginny knew what was going on, someone grabbed her. She knew it was Harry. She could feel his strong back beneath his shirt and his muscular arms wrapped around her.

'Harry,' she giggled. He didn't reply but kissed her. He kissed her like he had never kissed her before and Ginny felt that she was engulfed with pleasure. The kiss was gentle and yet strong, you could almost say that it lapped around her and filled her with a sense of wildness and passion. She had her arms around his neck and his hands, which felt very certain of their path, rubbed slowly up and down her back.

It took Ginny a while to realise that the game had come to an end. She hadn't noticed that the light was indeed turned on. She became aware that there were gasps of shock coming from various places around the room and some people who were uttering 'ssssh' over and over. All in all, the room was silent and hushed.

#What on Earth? What..they didn't know that Harry and I were together?#

She withdrew from the kiss she would remember for the rest of her life, eyes still closed. She looked around and saw Harry, standing about a metre away from her. His face stiff, yet showing no emotion. His back was rigid and he didn't take his eyes off Ginny.

#WHAT THE?!#

Ginny looked at the person she had been kissing. 'MALFOY!' she exclaimed. She quickly released herself from his grasp, backing away with a look of surprise. Even more shocking was that he hardly looked surprised at all. His face simply displayed a look of slight amusement.

Suddenly, Harry walked to the trap door and went straight down and out of the room. Ginny looked at Malfoy one more time, still in shock, and then she quickly went after Harry.

She heard Pavarti announcing that they were going to start the game again while she quickly ran to catch up to Harry who was walking briskly in front of her.

'Harry!' she called. He didn't stop. 'Harry wait!' She ran up to stand in front of him, barring his way.

'What was that?!' he asked incredulously. 'I thought you said that stupid dare thing was over!'

'It is Harry...'

'Then why the hell were you kissing that jerk?! I thought that we were meant to be together,' he faltered on the last sentence.

'Harry, we are. I swear to you, I thought it was you, I really did.'

'What, are you telling me Malfoy and I kiss the same way?'

'Well no, I mean yes. God, Harry I'm sorry. Honestly, I thought it was you. Harry looked at her. His green eyes piercing her own with a searching look.

'Yes, but you enjoyed it, didn't you?' Harry said quietly. 'I watched you. You had this look of joy and serenity on your face, which has never been there when you kissed me. Your arms were so tight around him and his around you,' he added bitterly, looking away from her. He stepped aside and walked briskly away once more, heading for the Griffindor common room.

'Harry...please...' but he kept walking. Ginny ran her hands worriedly through her hair. She followed him once more but this time without the intention to catch up to him.

He walked through the Griffindor common room entrance, leaving it open behind him. He didn't even say anything to Ron and Hermione who were lying on one of the lounges, Ron on top of Hermione, kissing each other as if there were no tomorrow. Harry kept walking until he got to his dormitory and then slammed the door behind him.

Ron and Hermione looked at each other, and then at Ginny, who had just entered the room.

'Ginny, what happened. Are you alright? What's wrong with Harry?' Hermione asked.

But Ginny didn't pay them any attention. She was looking at the dark stairway leading up to the dorms, the way Harry had went. A glistening tear ran down her cheek and she didn't bother to wipe it away. She ran up the stairs, banged open the door to her dormitory and flung herself onto her bed crying. She wiped her tears away every now and then and closed the hangings of her bed. She was thankful that there was no one in the room.

#It was all going so well. And then.then.. That kiss. I wish it never happened.#

'Oh, but you don't mean that, a little voice inside her head uttered. 'You were thinking it yourself, that it was the best kiss you've ever experience, lapping all about you, filling you with mad desire, you've never felt that good when Harry was kissing you.'

Ginny didn't know where the voice came from, but she couldn't shut it out. She kept thinking about how wonderful it had felt and how she wanted it again, but she quickly reprimanded herself for thinking such thoughts.

#This is Malfoy we're talking about here, MALFOY. There is no way I could feel anything for him.# And with this thought, she cried herself to sleep, yet she didn't feel so certain that she was in fact right.

-------------------------------Well, there you have it, chapter two. I'm so sorry about the delay, but you know how school is, exams, homework galore. Anyway, I hoped you enjoyed it. I'll post the next chapter on A.S.A.P. Happy reading! Ta ta----------------------------------------------------