Ah, so sorry I've been gone for so many weeks…I was kind of disappointed. I NEED REVIEWS!!! Well that and I'm actually TRYING in all my classes…so I have hardly any free time. It's kind of like one sentence and go. Plus the boy I like is a major piece, a major work. He's a big asshole and I can't believe I ever liked him. Ass…

Well anyway, on with the goods!

It was nearly evening when he returned and Ginny was surprised.

He didn't carry a tray with him but instead brandished a newspaper roughly about her face. The headline read, "Dark Lord Defeated! Death-Eaters on the Run!" Ginny snatched it from him with a cheeky grin. She read for a bit, the smile on her face growing larger and larger.

"Really? Oh, really? That's great! Oh my god, yes!" She shrieked, standing up and jumping around. She twirled wildly, dancing like a wild creature, laughing and laughing.

The feeling inside of her grew and grew, ballooning into a gigantic bubble of euphoria.

Her joyous cries were silenced when Malfoy grabbed her suddenly, and his sharp fingers crushing into her skin were like the needles that popped the bubble fizzing in her heart. She looked at him, and her happiness was ruined.

"What are you talking about? What the fuck am I going to do?" He ran his hands through his hair and straightened his back. He looked at the floor, pondering his next move. Then he got a glint in his grey eyes. "Today is the day!" Ginny tried to slap him away, but he grabbed her, and was about to throttle her neck.

Ginny slipped away from his snatching hands, however, and screamed at him at the top of her lungs. "Stop it! Dammit, I am tired of this! Just STOP IT!" She stared at him, furious yet amazingly happy, and she breathed heavily through flared nostrils.

He yelled at her. "I WON'T stop! Goddammit, do you have any idea what is going to happen to me? Bloody hell, I'm better off killing myself by jumping off a fucking cliff!"

Ginny ignored him at first, but she felt her blood boil at the thought of him having the last word. "Well why don't you then? Why don't you jump off a bloody cliff, and I will just sit here and starve, and then die, and finally the world and I will be free of your snarky, wanking presence!" She grabbed the paper from the floor and read through it quickly, plopping herself onto the ground. "Just calm down, Malfoy, and let me read the damn thing! Sit the fuck down, and shut up!" Ginny grabbed his hand and violently pulled him down.

He was absolutely stunned. "Wha…but, I…you can't…stop….I'm…." he stared at her, taken aback.

She glanced at him. "No wonder everyone writes that you don't stutter and that you keep control of your emotions. It's absolutely appalling. Please stop." Ginny returned her focus to the newsprint after giving him a serious glare.

Malfoy clamped his mouth shut and stared at her, breathing rapidly through his nose.

"Wow. Unbelievable. Hey, listen to this:

'Harry Potter was unable to be reached for comment; having just been admitted once again into St. Mungo's for severe burns and curse-wounds. It is thought that he was hit by several spells, including the Cruciatus and the Imperius curses, the Stupefy, the Shredding curse, and other dark spells. However, his best friends Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger are luckier than he is, to have escaped with only broken bones and concussions.'

"What the hell is so much better and luckier about that?" Ginny continued, paying no attention to Malfoy. Suddenly she looked up, beaming. "Hey! I'm on the second page! Wacko…" She began to read another excerpt.

" 'Ginny Weasley, on another note, is still missing. She was seen several weeks ago, and her house has been searched. It was found in ruins, as mentioned in last week's column. However, authorities couldn't find any clues to her whereabouts, as her captor has hidden his tracks amazingly well. Below is a picture of the missing girl, if you have any information please contact….' "

Ginny gasped, and her eyes turned into vicious slits. "What the hell is this?!" She shrieked.

"What?" Malfoy said, acting bored, all though inside, he was a tumult of emotions. Mostly fear.

She shook the paper violently. "This goddamn picture was taken four years ago!" She was fuming, and thrust the paper into his face. "Look at that! I'm sixteen in this picture!" She tore it back, and stared at the moving photo. "No wonder I'm still missing, those bloody wankers, they're all looking for a sixteen year old Ginny Weasley! Fucking hell!" Ginny threw the paper back at him and slumped dejectedly against the wall.

"Do you really have a long scar on your back?" He said, reading the article. She wouldn't answer him, so his voice next adopted an air of mysteriousness. "Well I suppose I'll see soon enough."

Ginny looked at him. "What are you talking about?"

He smirked at her, the fear in his eyes masked for a short moment. "Bath-time…" He said softly.

Draco Malfoy had led her through large hallways, small rooms, past a kitchen, and soon enough she was at a bathroom. He hadn't bothered to cover her eyes, really. She asked him why.

"Because I'm going to kill you soon enough."

Ginny felt a twinge of fear, knowing he would. This time, there would be no escape. "Well," She sighed, "I may as well live it up then." She opened the door.

Inside was a small bathroom, the likes of which were very plain. Ginny loved it though, because it was absolutely everything a bathroom should be. And besides, it was more than she had seen in months. At the scent of soap, Ginny realized her own stench. She looked sheepishly at Malfoy. "I really stink, don't I?"

He nodded. "It's absolutely foul."

She offered him a smile, and stepped up to the tub. "Are you going to stand there while I bathe?"

"Of course. I don't want you to run away, since I'm going to have to kill you."

"Why do you keep saying that? I know you will, but you could stop saying it." She grimaced at him. "Do you really have to watch? Can you at least put up a curtain or something?" She clutched at her shirt, as though she were itching to tear it off.

He groaned.

"Oh come on. I won't have you just watch me bathe."

"I've already seen you naked, twice, so what's the difference? Now hurry up and bathe, or else you'll die stinking." He pulled up a chair from the hallway, and sat down. He had grabbed the newsprint from the cell and began to read it.

Ginny growled at him. She reached for a towel and wrapped it around herself, undressing underneath it. She made sure he didn't notice her clean white underwear, unstained. She threw her reeking shirt at him, and he grimaced. Malfoy looked at her. "Would you mind? Honestly. I'm trying to read here, and if you don't behave, I'll have to undress you myself." He focused on the paper.

Ginny threw her pants at him. He glared at her.

Suddenly her face brightened, as though a light bulb had appeared just above her head. "Wait!" She screeched. He looked up at her outburst. "Malfoy, do you have a fireplace?" She ran to him and grabbed her clothing, clutching the towel around herself.

"Why?"

"Just show it to me!"

He nodded to the room across the hallway. "In there."

Ginny smiled to secretively. She pulled his wand out from his pocket, and he made to take it forcefully away from her. But she tsk-tsked at him, and pushed his hands away. She leaped excitedly towards the other room, and once inside, threw her stinking clothes on the fireplace. "Incendio!" She bellowed, and the fire roared up immediately like a beast, consuming the cloth.

She felt like dancing, and she threw Malfoy's wand back to him. She was much too happy for someone about to be killed, but an odd sense of relief permeated throughout her body.

Soon her clothes were ashes, and the fire lit up the rooms. Ginny smiled to herself, as the stench of burnt cloth faded. Malfoy came up behind her, watching her burn the clothes. He put his hands on her hips, causing her to jump a little. He just guided her back to the bathroom, and pushed her to the tub.

"Hurry up. It's getting late, and I am going to kill you tonight." Draco sighed, sitting back down.

Ginny filled up the tub, and added some soap to make bubbles. The water steamed pleasantly, and released a delightful aroma, smelling like a decidedly masculine soap. She turned to Malfoy, who was still reading.

"Malfoy, shut your eyes, I'm going to take off the towel."

"Why? What does it matter, you'll die anyway. It's not going to be your body for much longer." He shrugged at her.

"Yes but I will die knowing that I allowed you to rake you lecherous eyes up and down my naked feminine curves." She smirked, her voice airy but mocking, as though she was reading to him a racy romance novel.

The corners of his mouth curved upwards in a sarcastic smile. He shut his eyes. Ginny watched him for a moment, to see if he would look. She stamped her feet lightly on the tiles, hoping that he would open his eyes if he thought she turned around. He didn't. So Ginny turned, and took off the towel.

Malfoy opened his eyes a little.

Were they in any one of many different situations, he was sure that he would have had her then, roughly and on the cold tiles, bodies slick with sweat and steam. He brushed the idea away.

Ginny Weasley was a beautiful woman, and it would have been wrong for him not to admit it. She had been, at least.

She was petite, with frighteningly pale skin, most likely due to her being locked in a dark room for a month. Her bones were visible due to lack of food, but she had muscle, most likely from fighting with him. She moved slowly, treasuring the feeling of fresh air. Her body was stained and dirtied, and there were traces of cuts and large scars all over her. Most of the cuts and smaller scars were fresh, but several of the larger scars he was sure that he had not caused. She stepped into the bath, gracefully testing the water first with a toe. Her legs, he noticed, were of course unshaved.

She did have a scar, long and thin and running from the base of her spine to the bottom of her neck. He hadn't noticed it before, really, and it quite surprised him that he hadn't found it.

Draco opened his eyes a little more, and the way she moved very nearly captivated him. She was skinny now, and always had been, but the way she moved hinted at curves; as though the air around her shimmered and gave her a luscious frame. Her hips swayed a little as she stepped into the bath, and Draco suddenly thought he could feel her legs wrapped around his waist, those hips pressing into his.

He clamped his eyes shut, purposefully not thinking of anything related to nudity or sexuality. He straightened his posture and cleared his throat a bit. "Finished yet?"

"Yes, quite." He opened his eyes and shook the paper a bit to straighten out the pages. Ginny let out a sigh. "God, yes. This feels great…" She ducked her head under the water and stayed under for nearly a minute. She came up gasping just as Draco was going to check on her. She grinned like a Cheshire cat. She let out a series of girlish giggles as she poured a handful of shampoo on herself.

She turned to Draco and smiled as she lathered up, careful not to rise too far above the bubbles.

He scowled at her behavior and kept reading the paper.

She continued to scrub. Soon she began to hum. And sooner, she was singing. Malfoy scowled again. Her voice was much too beautiful.

"Why are you singing?" He said finally, turning to her.

"It's a song called 'Why do you-"

"I asked 'Why,' not 'What'."

"Oh." She said huffily. "Well it was quiet, that's all." She dunked back under the water to wash out her hair.

Malfoy turned the page of the paper. Ginny emerged from the water, to catch him leaning over, his eyes wildly moving across the page. He stood up quickly, and Ginny flinched at the sound of the chair falling over.

"Fuck! Bloody fucking hell!" He managed, throwing the paper down and stride through the hallway. Ginny heard a door bang shut.

"Malfoy?" Ginny whispered after him, hunkering down in the water, afraid. She realized he wasn't returning. She quickly reached out for the paper, leaning dangerously out of the tub.

Ginny swept her eyes over the page, and she at first didn't know what had him so upset, because such an event was another that made her joyous. Ginny read the headline again. She realized suddenly, and looked out the open bathroom door into the hallway. "Oh god."

Ginny decided to wait a little. She continued scrubbing until she smelled just like soap, and she managed to shave her legs and armpits very quickly with an open razor she found.

Stepping out of the bathtub and toweling herself, she put on one of Malfoy's robes, hanging on the bathroom door. Tying herself in it, she moved slowly down the hallway and could hear him banging around.

Ginny pushed open the door, slowly, at the end of the hall. "Malfoy…" she whispered. He had thrown several things around, and broken items lay on the floor. A bed was displaced, pushed into the middle of the room. He was roaring, hitting desks and tables. Ginny came up softly behind him.

Looking around, she laid a hand tentatively on his shoulder. "Malfoy…" she murmured again. He stopped, briefly, his hands resting on a splintered table, blood smearing his fingers. Then he whirled around violently.

"What?!" He snarled at her.

"Well…" She didn't really know what to say. She wasn't sure she should apologize, as she wasn't that sorry.

Malfoy stared down at her, his mouth in a cruel sneer. "Go on, say something. It was your bloody boyfriend who did it, anyway!"

Ginny felt the blood creep to her cheeks, but she didn't bother to correct him. He turned suddenly and tipped over the table. It clattered against the wooden floor, the loud noises such surreal sounds in the quiet that surrounded them.

"Well…" she began again as he sat on the bed, putting his head into his hands. "I…I can't really say that I'm very sorry…"

He snorted at her and said harshly, "Yes, amazing how tactful you are about these kinds of things." He looked up from his hands, brushing his blonde hair back behind his ears. Ginny sighed.

"Well I'm sorry that I had to put it so bluntly, but it would be more wrong of me to lie to you about how much I hated him." She sat gently next to him on the bed. "I mean, it's not like he treated anyone I know with very much respect, now is it?" she added, and then biting her tongue for fear she said too much.

He didn't lash out at her like she expected. Instead he began to whisper. "Well, you never really knew him, did you?" Ginny knew that he probably wanted to cry.

After some silence he finally said it, speaking it aloud. "Imagine. My father. Dead." He looked scornfully over at her. "Thanks, of course, to the great Harry fucking Potter…"

She remained quiet, looking at the creases in the bed sheet. Malfoy let out a loud breath. "Figures. Always had to be a bloody hero." He wiped his hands on the sheet, the cuts still bleeding a little. "Couldn't stop at Voldemort, could he, but he had to go for everyone else."

"He's going to come for you, next." Ginny whispered, quietly.

"Yes, I know." He sounded as though he had been dwelling on the idea for days, like a man who knew his fate.

"Why don't you just leave? Kill me, hide me, and leave for somewhere unexpected, like Afghanistan, or Tibet?" She also sounded resigned, and at the lack of fear or anger in her voice he looked up and examined her face for discernable emotions.

He found none.

"You sound so…"

"Submissive?" Ginny glanced up briefly at him and tilted her eyes back down again. "Not really. But I've heard what I always wanted to hear…you know, about Voldemort…and there isn't really any escape, is there?" She sighed. "I just have to let it go. Why stress about something so…unimportant?" She paused. "Well, not unimportant, but you know…"

"Yes I know." Malfoy wouldn't let his eyes leave her face. "Well, as we're opening up about how we feel, I must say that I rather admire your conviction." Ginny offered him a small teary smile.

Malfoy returned it but looked away. He focused his attention on his hands, which had scabbed over. "I just…I can't…" Suddenly he found that he turned to Ginny and began to talk to her, getting her full attention. "It's unfathomable! I've lived my life with that man breathing down my neck! What the hell am I supposed to do now?" He trailed off, unsure of his own words.

"It's terrible to be lost, isn't it?" She asked, scooting closer. "You should just run."

Malfoy hesitated. "I…I can't." Ginny looked at him quizzically.

"Why?"

"I just can't." He groaned. "I don't know why. It wouldn't feel right, I suppose, without someone with me. My father and I used to travel all the time. Even before the War. He would take me to the grandest places, Egypt, Africa, France." He suddenly wanted so much to be able to look at her and hold her gaze, so he averted his eyes.

"Oh." Ginny managed, suddenly feeling the heavy tension in the air. "I…" She didn't know really what she was going to say, but she leaned forward because she could feel it, she could feel what she had to say, because it was so important.

He leaned forward at the same time, and it was quite an accident that their lips met in a dry, wicked kiss.

Okay…well so sorry, eh, about the extra commas. I've a problem with those. But it isn't my fault! I haven't got a beta! Oh well. Just tell me about the mistakes.

And I told myself I wouldn't do this to you guys, but, if you don't leave a review, my spirits will fall down and I'll be totally unhappy and I won't be able to think of a good ending!

Even though I have and all…I just won't type as fast.

So review, and I will love you! FOREVER!!!