When Ginny pulled away, she was breathless. She stared at Draco, neither of them moving for several long moments – neither of them wanted to be the first to move away. Finally Ginny broke the silence.
"Why would you be interested in me?" she asked cautiously.
"Because you make the best hot chocolate I've ever tasted." She laughed, and he grinned at her.
"You know, that wouldn't be half so funny if I didn't actually believe you." Her sienna eyes sparkled madly at him as she spoke. His smile faded as he leaned in for another tender kiss. When he pulled away, he grinned – her eyes were still closed.
"Oh," she whispered, opening her eyes and pressing her fingertips to her lips. He saw (with no small amount of satisfaction) that she was trembling.
"Are you cold?" he asked, knowing full well that she was not trembling due to the temperature of the room. He knew because he was trembling, too. She smiled shyly at him and shook her head.
"No," she said, feeling embarrassed. How could she explain that she was trembling because he kept kissing her like that? She couldn't, for fear that he'd think her nothing more than a silly schoolgirl with a crush. Her cheeks flushed at the thought.
"I hope I haven't overstepped my bounds or made you uncomfortable," he said quietly, misinterpreting her blush. She shook her head quickly.
"No!" she breathed. "No, you haven't. I wouldn't have let you kiss me if-" her voice died, and this time he laughed at her blush.
"If you hadn't wanted me to?" he offered. She nodded, her face burning. She gave him a weak smile, and he smiled back. "That's okay – you shouldn't be embarrassed by your honesty. It's nice to find someone who isn't constantly playing games."
"Speaking of playing games," she began, a teasing note in her voice. "We haven't finished the one we started yesterday." He raised his eyebrows at her.
"Are you that eager to be beaten again?"
"Big talk from someone who tried to get me to forfeit my turn due to an imaginary time limit," she laughed. He grinned.
"I'll play if you'll make a pot of chocolate to drink during the game." She sighed melodramatically.
"I knew it. I'm being turned into your personal house elf." He laughed, and she admired the way the corners of his eyes crinkled when he did. He saw her expression change and wondered at it.
"What's wrong?"
"Nothing," she said, giving him the softest of smiles. His stomach did several somersaults. "I just noticed that you have a really nice smile, is all." The warmth rose in his cheeks and his breath caught in his throat.
"I like yours, too." He reached for her hand, and then threaded his fingers through hers. "Now, how about that chocolate?"
"Where is she?" Ron asked angrily, kicking the ground in frustration. Hermione shot him a sympathetic look and put her hand on his shoulder, hiding her hurt expression when he shrugged it off.
"I'm sure Harry will find her," she said quietly. Ron frowned and stared off into the distance. Hermione was frightened. She'd never seen Ron so worried before. He jumped, startled, when Harry strode into the room, and looked hopefully at his friend.
Hermione knew it was going to be bad news when Harry took a deep, steadying breath before speaking.
"I'm sorry Ron, I didn't find her." Ron swore under his breath. "Look, we've been looking all day, and we're all tired, so why don't we take a break to relax and get something to eat? I still have a ton of things I need to get done for the Order, and I'll never get to bed tonight if I don't finish them all." Ron stared at Harry as though he'd just sprouted a second head.
"Take a break? Take a break?" he shrieked, his ears turning purple. "I'm not taking any bloody breaks! I want to find my sister! How can you just dismiss her like she doesn't matter, Harry? You need to do some things for the Order that are more important than my sister?"
"Ron, Harry's right. We just need a short break, to take care of some other things, and then we'll start looking for her again," Hermione said, glancing down at her wristwatch. "It's almost seven o'clock, and we haven't done anything else all day except look for Ginny." Ron glared at her.
"Ginny is supposed to be your friend, Hermione. Don't you care about finding her, either?"
"Of course I care about finding her, Ron! I just think we need to focus on some other things for a bit, and after we've regrouped, we can look some more. Besides, Ginny is a big girl, and she can take care of herself." Ron gaped at her, his jaw hanging open.
"I can't believe what I'm hearing," he boggled, looking between them. "Harry wants to stop looking and run errands, and you're complaining because we've been looking all day?" Hermione sighed and tried to look sympathetic, even though Harry could tell by the way that she was standing that she was getting annoyed.
"Ron, you're blowing this all out of proportion! You didn't see how she blew me off for Malfoy when I went to talk to her. She was happy that he was there! She doesn't want us to find her, or we would have found her by now."
"The last time I saw her, she was telling me that she never wanted to see me again, and Malfoy was there, laughing at me," Harry offered, nodding at Hermione.
"See, Ron? Harry was right to have banned her from the Order meetings. Who knows what she's telling Malfoy, even as we speak!"
"You know what? I'm fed up with you always taking Harry's side when you're supposed to be on mine." Hermione looked stricken. "And I can't believe that the two of you are here trying to convince me to give up on my sister."
"I only meant that-" He cut her off by holding up his hand.
"I don't want to hear it. This-" he gestured between them. "Isn't working for me anymore."
"What?" she gasped. Harry's mouth fell open.
"Ron, you can't mean that!" Harry said disbelievingly.
"I know what I mean. I'd like my ring back, Hermione." He held his hand out, palm up. Tears filled her eyes as she removed the sparkling diamond ring and dropped it into his hand. She gave him one last pleading look, then ran from the room, sobbing. Harry gaped at his best friend of ten years.
"What in the bloody hell are you doing?" he asked. Ron glared icily at him.
"I'm going to go and find my sister. And you had better hope, Harry Potter, that I find her, and that she's all right. Because if she's not, and I find out that it's because of you, you'll regret it."
"She's been talking to Malfoy, Ron! There's no telling what he's poisoned her mind with!" Harry protested angrily. Ron snorted.
"My sister has a mind of her own. She won't let Malfoy influence her."
"Just like she didn't let Tom Riddle influence her?" Harry blurted. The moment the words were out, he wished he could take them back. Why had he said that? He was starting to sound like Snape. Ron's face hardened.
"I think we both know whose fault that was," Ron said, his words clipped. Harry's mouth dropped open.
"I know you aren't blaming me," he said, pointing to himself.
"Didn't she start writing because of you? She told me that all she wrote about in that stupid diary was you."
"It's not my fault," Harry growled.
"Of course not," Ron said, his voice dripping with sarcasm. "Nothing is ever the great Harry Potter's fault, is it?"
"She fell victim to Voldemort because she was being ignored on all fronts, Ron, not just by me!"
"A mistake I don't intend to repeat." Ron turned and strode towards the door.
"You're not thinking straight," Harry called after him. "Ron, wait!" But Ron was already gone. Harry removed his glasses and pinched the bridge of his nose, wondering why the Gods thought it was so funny to torture him.