Disclaimer: I don't own anything, just the plot.

Ginny slowly opened her eyes only to be blinded by the bright sunlight that had crept through the curtains. She looked to her left; Draco was staring at the ceiling, in the same position that he was before she fell asleep.

"Draco?" she asked groggily.

"What?" he asked annoyed.

"What time is breakfast?"

"At nine o'clock," he replied.

"What time is it now?"

He looked at his watch, his eyes widened. "Argh! It's eight-thirty. We have to get up and take showers."

"How will we do that?"

"The showers are private, so my arm could stick inside the shower and my back could be turned while you take a shower, and you can do the same thing while I take a shower," he explained.

"Okay," Ginny yawned, following him as he walked towards the bathroom.

Draco opened a closet door. He took out two green towels and threw her one. He pointed to the door of the shower. She stepped in and closed the door as much as she possibly could, leaving a couple inches for the invisible rope and Draco's hand, if necessary. She quickly undressed and turned the faucet. After she was satisfied with the water's temperature, she pulled a lever, and the water came out of the spout above her head. She thoroughly washed her hair and body, as well as shaved her legs. All of this was pretty difficult because one of her hands had little room to move, unless she wanted to pull Draco in with her (which was certainly not an option). She finally turned the water off, and towel dried her hair. She had difficulty wrapping the towel around her body, but then finally managed to knot it to make it stay.

Ginny opened the shower door, and stepped out. As she came out, Draco stepped into the shower. Draco had somehow dragged her trunk inside of the bathroom, and she quickly found an outfit to wear. They were Muggle clothes, but they complimented her figure. She wore a pair of light-wash jeans and a modest green halter-top. By the time she was fully dressed, Draco came out with a towel around his waist. He dragged her over to his closet, and picked out a pair of green robes. When they finished getting ready for breakfast (i.e. brushing teeth, fixing hair, et cetera), they walked down to the dining room where they found Snape reading an article from the Daily Prophet.

"Sleep well?" he asked, his lips curling into the signature Slytherin smirk.

Ginny threw him a nasty glare. To her surprise, so did Draco.

"Guess not," Snape chuckled.

Ginny decided to change the subject. "When do we start on the potions Professor?"

"Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy will not be helping you, just supervising, in case you accidentally produce an unstable reaction.. He will also be surveying your skills and reporting to me. I will then grade your potion, as well as your essay. You will complete one potion and essay each day. Do I make my self clear?" Ginny nodded. "Good. You will be starting immediately after you and Mr. Malfoy are done eating."

When the two teenagers finished eating they went to the potions room.

"The directions are on the board," Draco said quickly. "You must pick out and prepare your own ingredients. The ingredients are sorted in alphabetical order. Now begin," he ordered.

Ginny read and reread the directions thoroughly five times. She then grabbed each ingredient. She prepared each ingredient in the manner in which the directions called for. She followed each step perfectly. When she was finished, she looked over at Draco, who nodded approvingly. She carefully bottled and labeled it.

"Good job," Draco complimented. "Now, go over to the bookshelves over there—" he said, pointing across the room at a shelf filled with books, "—and research about the potion, copy the directions, list incidents when it would be used, side effects, common mistakes, and properties of the potion."
"Okay," she replied, walking to the bookcase quickly with Draco right behind her (as if he has a choice).

Ginny sat for the next few hours writing her essay. When she was finished, she read it over, and finally looked up at Draco, who was absentmindedly staring at her.

"Draco?" she asked.

"What?" he said, snapping back to reality.

"Do I give this to Snape?"

"Along with the potion," he said. "We'll go to his office and drop it off there."

He stood up, pulling Ginny up by her arm. She grabbed her parchment and potion, quickly following Draco. They knocked on Snape's office door.

"Professor Snape," Draco shouted through the door.

"Yes Mr. Malfoy? I assume Miss Weasley has successfully completed her assignment?"

"Yes Professor," Draco replied, still shouting.

The door swung open. Snape stood there, his hand extended out.

Ginny handed the potion and parchment to him, and he quickly closed the door.

"Well, do you thing we could go and—"

"It's my turn to pick the activity Ginny. We've done what you needed to do, now it's my turn," he insisted.

"Fine," she sighed. "What do you want to do?"

"We're going to Diagon Alley. It's three o'clock and Blaise Zabini is waiting for me at the Leaky Cauldron."

"Fine, but only if I can bring something to do. I'm not going to sit there bored to death while being constantly insulted by Zabini."

"He won't insult you if I tell him not to." Draco said simply. "He might actually be nice to you. He might be nicer than those Gryffies who ignore you."

"Hah. A Slytherin nicer than a Gryffindor…well…I guess anything's possible."

"It'll be fine, Gin," he said. "I'll leave a note on the dining room table for Snape."
He picked up a piece of parchment and quill, and wrote:

Professor Snape,

Ginny and I went to Diagon Alley by using the Floo Network to meet Blaise Zabini for the afternoon. We should be back before dark.

D.M.

He folded the parchment, and left in ton the table. They walked over to the fireplace. Draco took some dust from the Floo powder can, which was sitting on a nearby stand, and pulled Ginny next to him. He then proceeded to throw the dust down and shout "Diagon Alley!"

Ginny felt the same sensation she felt when leaving the Burrow. 'I'll never get used to this, no matter how many times I use the stuff,' she thought to herself. She opened her eyes. She was standing in the fireplace of the Leaky Cauldron. Draco grabbed her arm and led her across the room where a sixteen-year-old Blaise Zabini was waiting impatiently.

"You're twenty minutes late, Drake," he growled.

"It's not my fault. Ginny took way too long to write her potions essay. She had to make it just perfect," he explained.

"What does the Weasel's sister have anything to do with you being late?"

Ginny, who was standing behind Draco, stepped next to him so that Blaise could see her.

"What is she doing here?"

Ginny stood staring off into space while Draco explained about how they were stuck together until they've become good friends. "She's not that bad, you know. She even called Granger a Mudblood and blew off the trio right before the summer—"

Blaise interrupted, "—You know that could just be for show—she might be fishing for information for Potter and the Order—" Blaise whispered intensely.

"—Don't think I haven't thought of that Zabini. I'm not an idiot. She doesn't know anything., We've only been tied together for less than a day—" he said, anger rising, his cheeks turning red.

"Dude, I'm sorry. The way you talked about her, it's like you like her or something. I was just making sure you weren't leaking out important information—"

"What information? What I know—she probably already knows—her family is a part of the Order, you know," Draco said, becoming angrier by the second.

Ginny was listening intently to Draco and Blaise's conversation, though she maintained a spaced out facial expression. 'How dare Blaise accuse me of loving Harry Potter? I hate Harry, I hope he dies. He's hurt me so much. He only talks to me when he wants something. Why would I tell Harry anything?' She stopped thinking and focused her attention back on Blaise and Draco.

"Fine, I'll give her a change—" Blaise said, reluctantly.

"Good," he said, his temper subsiding. He pulled Ginny in front of him. "Gin—this is Blaise Zabini. Zabini—this is Ginny Weasley."

Blaise stuck out his hand, Ginny took it and they shook hands. Ginny noted his firm grip. He was strong, and could definitely hold his own.

"Hello," she gestured.

"Hello," she replied.