Chapter 23

"What?" Ginny shrieked at Draco, her face flushed with excitement. He should know why she was mad at him! How could he stand in front of her and pretend like he had no idea why she was upset? How could he be so stupid? He mustn't have thought that it was ok to go around and tell people that kind of false information.

"I asked you why you are angry with me-" he began tiredly, annoyed at having to repeat himself. It was quite amusing to see an angry Ginny, she could be one angry woman, but at the same time he was curious as to why. Did she even have a good reason or was it some woman thing?

He no longer had an actual reason to be mad at her anymore. If only he didn't throw away that list then he could finish reading it, but that didn't matter. Why would she lie about something like that? Apparently she likes him, but she certainty wasn't acting like it. Well, she has always been on the odd side, so maybe that has something to do with it...

"I heard you the first time!" she yelled, throwing up her arms. He must think that she is dense, for he is definitely treating her like she is. The fact that he was acting dumb and as if she was simply insane was what irritated her even more. Her face went into a stern expression, she pointed her finger at him, and she said, while sounding much like her mother when she was mad at her brothers or father, "You know what I am talking about."

She had to admit though, as angry as she was it felt much better to let out her feelings on the person who had been causing them. Plus it was better in the long run to get everything out in the open, especially after all of the hidden secrets and assumptions that each of them had made on their own.

He sighed and then honestly replied, "No I don't," He had no clue as to what she was referring. How did she expect him to know what she was talking about when she wouldn't even give him a clue as to what it was about? He wasn't physic.

"I know it's difficult for you, but try to think real hard," she said sardonically. She was getting fed up with him. For a supposedly smart and clever wizard, he could act pretty thick at times. Not only thick, but also impossible. Plus 'at times' was more often then she would have liked. Draco gave her a look, and so she added, "Let me give you a hint. Two words: Cho Chang."

That was more then a hint, that was handing over her reasoning on a silver platter while he lounged in a Jacuzzi and sipping on some Butter beer. If he didn't realize what she was talking about now then he either had memory problems or he was so insensitive that he could not understand it was wrong to talk to people's enemies about them, especially when you are lying.

There was also a third, but very unlikely, option that entailed Draco being a brainless dimwit who only appeared to be bright. Maybe things would have been simpler if this was the case, then again maybe not. If there was one truly irritating kind of person in the world then it was the type who were blundering morons and practically impossible, not to mention frustrating, to deal with.

The gears of Draco's mind began turning. Cho Chang, where had he heard that name before? She went to Hogwarts with them, was on Ravenclaw's Quidditch team... oh, and was the reporter that he met up with several weeks ago. But what did she have to do with Ginny?

'Well, they do work at the same newspaper together if I do recall,' Draco began thinking. 'What did I talk to her about? Right, she asked me about Ginny... Now that I think about it I never asked why she asked about her,' Then it all clicked, or at least partially. It was as if a light bulb was just gone on above his head. 'I told Cho that Ginny was a thief. That must be why she is mad, but technically she did steal those papers...'

"So," Ginny said impatiently, interrupting Draco's train of thought and turning his attention to the redhead. With her hands on her hips and her hair wildly resting on her shoulders, she asked, "Figure it out yet?"

His eyes on hers once again, he calmly replied, "I think so. Does this pertain to my conversation with your colleague Cho Chang?"

He figured the best thing to do was to go with it and see what was bothering her so much. Playing dumb would not help him in this situation, especially with her in the mood that she was currently in. She was scolding him like a mother did when her children turned their pet cat into a cross between a tiger and an antelope, or something along those lines.

So he did know! He wasn't that dense after all. "Ding ding ding, we have a winner people!" Ginny exclaimed sarcastically, receiving a raised eyebrow from her current companion. Finally she would get to find out the other side of the story concerning Draco and Cho. Not sure where to begin, she let her mouth do the talking without carefully pondering her inquiries.

"How could you be such a backstabbing arse? Do you even have an excuse?"

"An excuse for what?" he asked. She wasn't being very specific. Once again she was acting as though he could read her mind, which was something that he couldn't do, no matter how much he wished he could. "An excuse for talking to her?"

She ignored his question and asked, "What were you doing talking to her anyway?" That seemed to be an important question, although she was still expecting a proper answer to her previous questions. If he did have an excuse then she wouldn't have to be so upset that she liked him, like she had been ever since she found out.

Not even bothering to debate whether or not to answer this question, it was evident to him that it would not injure him by telling her and it was indeed a matter of low importance. Besides, he knew that if he didn't answer any of her questions then she would start flipping out on him again and he would never get the opportunity to hear why she was this distraught.

With that thought in his mind he responded coolly with, "She sent me a letter saying that it was urgent I meet up with her at some cafe. I thought that it was going to be important, so I went and she asked me about you."

"Really? That sneaky snake. I can't stand her!" she stopped herself short, realizing that she was mumbling to herself. With a quick fake smile she went back to interrogating him. "What exactly did you tell her?"

He was a bit hesitant, knowing that she was going to be angry after he said it, but him being as confident as he was born to be, went on with it anyway with surprising ease. "Only the truth, that you stole those papers from my apartment."

He was right; his words incensed the fiery woman. "That is a lie! I did not steal those papers; you put them there on purpose. That doesn't count as stealing!" she knew that he would come at her with some absurd comment like that, but she felt that she was right. If he put them there on purpose so that she would take them then it doesn't count as her stealing. "You almost got me fired!"

"What?" he asked. So that was why she was angry, but what did he have to do with her close encounter of being fired?

"Cho hates me, she told my boss what you told her, hoping that he would fire me. Luckily he didn't and fired her instead, but for a different reason. Why did you say that to Cho in the first place? Not that I would expect you to have a good excuse."

"You wrote that list! I thought you hated me," he replied immediately. "I was angry. Do I need more of an excuse?"

"You weren't supposed to read it in the first place!" Ginny cried out, exhausted from trying to deal with this situation. It seemed pointless. Was it even reasonable to think that a Malfoy and a Weasley could ever see eye to eye? Ginny thought so.

"And that is my fault? I didn't even want to read it," he retorted. She couldn't possibly blame him for receiving a package and opening it out of curiosity. She probably would have done the same thing if something like that were mailed to her. It was not after you read at least part of it to realize that you wish you hadn't opened it.

"Well if you had to read it then you might as well have read the whole thing instead of being an arse and making bloody assumptions!"

"What do you want me to do? Apologize? Well I can't help you on that one, Malfoys do not apologize," he snapped, getting annoyed at her attitude. He had liked her, much to his dislike after finding out who she was, when she had acted like herself. Why did she have to make his life difficult? He was fine until she jumped into the picture.

Ginny was repulsed by his remark, and wasn't quite sure how to take it. She was hurt. Did he not care for her at all? He wasn't acting like he did. There was a split second when she thought that there was even a possibility that he did, the kiss being her only real evidence, but now she just was left feeling dumb. She felt crushed, stomped on, carelessly broken and thrown aside.

"Fine, I understand now," she said despondently in a low voice as she looked away from him. She was throwing in her towel, waving a white flag, surrendering...

She did not sense the desperation in his voice, nor the subtle signs that he felt similar to how she had been feeling this entire time. When you are preoccupied with your own feelings then you often miss these subtle signs as she did. Now, after that fleeting moment she realized how much she had just revealed to Draco. She had to leave; being around him any longer would just be torture.

Right at the same moment that she made her decision to go, it was like the gods were giving her a sign not to. The train sharply began moving again, throwing everything backward this time. Before anyone knew what had happened, Ginny found herself on the floor, but that wasn't the worst part. The floor was moving, breathing even, and she looked down to see why.

She was lying on top of Draco. She quickly pulled herself off of him and brushed herself off. He got up right after her. Neither of them said a word as they both regained balance and Ginny grabbed the handle of her suitcase.

She kept to her plan and opened the compartment door, exiting the compartment and straining her neck to stop herself from looking back. Keeping her gaze in front of her, she walked down the hall in hopes that there was space for her on another part of the train.

Draco, meanwhile, was left alone and confused. He wasn't sure what had just happened, and he didn't understand what he was feeling. What had he just done? He drove away the only person he had ever felt this way for. Good going Draco.

His eyes surveyed the empty spot she left behind, the book that was still on the floor, and then they caught notice of something. There was a piece of paper sitting on her seat. Curious, he picked it up. 'Weasel and Mudblood's wedding...'

A/N: Wow! Thanks for all the reviews! Sorry I didn't get this out sooner, but life interrupted my schedule. At least I didn't wait too long to work on it. Hope you all like it so far, about one or two chapters left. -Tear drop- I know I'll miss writing this.

Anyway, please review!