+Chapter Four+

Reports and Retorts

I got two more reviews! This is pretty much my first posted fic and i'm quite amused at how happy I get getting reviews. Thank you so so much GlassBroomstick and Aelys for your wonderful reviews. I was stuck somewhere in this chapter and I saw the reviews and just started writing again. I know this sounds silly, but thanks!

D/C: blah blah, not my characters, Rowlings, blah blah blah

And oh yeah, there's a sort of "dramatic scene" in the Three Broomsticks during this chapter and I hope I wrote it all right. R&R even if it's telling me its the worst fanfic ever, as long as you tell me why so i can try and improve! ; )

It was finally Friday, and the last class of the day had been dismissed. Once she pretended she didn't have to meet with Malfoy before dinner tonight, the day certainly took a lift. Amazingly, she had no homework for over the weekend, except for a Potions essay, which she decided didn't count, because Snape was always giving you something to do for homework, Monday or Friday, he didn't seem to care wheather his students prefered a carefree weekend or not. Bookbag slung over her shoulder she made her way out of the dungeons, climbing higher up through the castle until she reached the Fat Lady. Mumbling the password, Pumpkin Juice, she slipped inside and was greeted by Hermione, Ron, and Harry.

"Today," Ginny said, slumping in a chair, "was great. I got no homework, except for Snape, of course."

"What?" Ron said, indignantly. "I have Potions, Transfuguration, and Divination for over-the-weekend work!"

"Oh Ron, get over it," Hermione laughed. "You've always breezed through Divination before, making up all your silly things about how you die, and in Transfiguration you wouldn't have homework over the weekend if when Professor McGonagall gave us the last half of class to work on our papers you actually worked," Hermione finished tartly, closing her Potions book and stretching slightly. Ron frowned sourly and slammed his Transfiguration book shut.

"Let's go to dinner."

"Alright," Hermione said wearily, getting up and putting her book on her vacated chair. Ginny frowned as the four of them went back out through the portrait hole- she was going to have to met up with Malfoy soon. It was maybe because of this that Ginny ate two helpings of mashed potatoes with gravy, more than a few scoops of peas, and a large fruit cup of diced apples, pears, pineapples, and so forth. Dragging her feet she stood up long after Hermione had glared at her and Ron and left to meet up with Ernie in the prefects room. Ron followed her with a sigh and pulled out a piece of parchment with scrawls of names and dates and Houses next to short sentences scribbled over it.

"I, hmm. I forgot my report up in my dorm, I'll see you there." Ron stuffed his back in his pocket, buying time with Ginny,

"Oh, me too!" Padma Patil had never really forgiven Ron about the Yule Ball. Dashing quite slower than they might have if they actually wanted to get to the Prefect's room, the brother and sister made their way to Gryffindor Tower, Ginny truthfully getting her report and Ron pretending to have retrieved his. They left through the potrait hole again, this time down two hallways before coming up at the picture of the ladies, now sipping lemonade."Willow leaves," Ron muttured unhappily, walking into the room, followed by Ginny.

"It's about time, Ronald," Padma said. "I haven't all night."

"I'm here, I'm here," Ron grumbled, sitting next to Padma as he pulled out his wrinkled piece of parchment. Today the room had many small, round tables scattered about with two normal chairs at each of them. Seeing Ron seat himself next to Padma, and Hermione talking fast at Ernie, and Pansy and Hannah somehow managing to almost cooperate across from each other, Ginny also saw Malfoy sitting by himself at a table, books spilled across it, him not even looking up. Uncertainly, she sat down in the chair across from him but he was either ignoring her or didn't notice that she'd arrived. Quietly, Ginny looked at the books, wondering what exactly was going on. She saw a closed Transfiguration book with a mess of parchments sticking out of it, a volume of Arithmancy shoved to the side, and an open book before him which looked like it was for Potions, a long piece of parchment on the table beside it on which he was busy writing away on.

"Er, Malfoy?" He gave a slight, almost unnoticeable start and looked up at her.

"Weasley," he said, business-like, shutting his Potions book with it's essay tucked inside. He reached into his robes and pulled out a folded piece of parchment and slid it across the table at her. "Where's yours?" Quietly, Ginny took out her report and handed it to him, shrugging.

"I didn't give any detentions this week."

"Obviously," Malfoy drawled, taking the parchemnt, "I would've gotten a note. Unless you'd messed up the spell."

"It's probably the simplest spell there is, Malfoy," she retorted. "I mean, if you could do it..."

"Yeah, yeah," he said, sounding bored as he scanned her report. "Go ahead and try to get under my skin, Weasley, that's the poorest way to taunt someone that a person could buy." She shut her mouth and turned her attention to his report as he smirked at his play on words. His first student was Pansy Parkinson, awarded ten points to Slytherin for talking quite rudely about some certain other students. Disgusted, Ginny crossed it off with her quill. Surprisingly, the rest of the report was in good shape and Ginny didn't get to cross anything off on the remainder of it. Mutely, she gave it back to him and he gave her's back too, amazingly not giving her a hard time about any of it, just re-opening his Potions book and taking his unfinished essay out of it, freshly dipping his quill in a bottle of dark, almost black, emerald green ink.

"Malfoy?"

"What?" he asked shortly, still writing.

"Did you go to supper?"

"No," he said, turning to scan a paragraph in the Potions book.

"Why not?" Using his finger to mark a line in the book he sighed and looked up at her.

"Does it matter, Weasley? I'm just getting some work done, alright?" and he looked back down at the book. She fell silently and quietly pulled her Potions book from her bag also, deciding that doing her essay here in the calm quiet was better than going all they way back to her noisy Common Room to do it. He didn't pause in his writing. She opened the book, flipped a couple pages, and looked back up at him. Whether or not he was purposefully ignoring her, he was still writing his essay and not looking to see what she was doing. Realizing she had no ink, Ginny stretched and let her arm, quill in hand, fall onto the table, almost reaching his bottle of ink. Inching it forward, her dark hazel eyes darted up to see if he noticed. He hadn't. Stretching forward a bit more she was almost ready to sneak the tip of the quill in...

"Go ahead, Weasley. God, you can't sneak for you life, can you?" he asked, not taking his eyes away from his essay until he paused and referred to his book again. Slightly alarmed and guilty, Ginny dipped her quill in the ink bottle and neatly writing her name in the top right corner of it, beneath that scrawling: Potions Essay.

Silently, she wrote a few lines, scanned her book, wrote a few more lines, then sat back with a sigh.

"What Weasley? What now?" he snapped, glaring up at her.

"What?" she asked, surprised, and looked about. Hermione and Ernie were gone, Padma was very busy writing on Ron's report, and Ron himself was glaring uncertainly at Malfoy.

"You sighed."

"Is that illegal?" He shook his head at her like she was a silly little child and went back to writing, and she stared at him after glaring at Ron so that he looked back down at Padma's unmarked report. After a few minutes of trying to keep going with her essay, Ginny sat back quietly, this time keeping her sigh inward, and found herself examining Malfoy.

He was nicely built, and his slightly calloused hand that she found herself remembering across her mouth, gripped the quill easily, smoothly writing word after word. The bangs of his blonde hair hung slightly in his eyes as he wrote, and the eyes themselves were intruiging. Normally they were a cold and stormy, a grey-silver painted closed door, laced with the cold hatred a closed door will give you, and even then they were nice eyes, if you only glanced at them, quick enough to not see that they're only a veil. But when she'd come in and almost startled him, when he hadn't known she was there and was concentrating blindly on his essay, when he looked up when she said his name and she met his eyes for that small second, they were not closed doors. Closing doors, yes, but not yet firmly shut. His eyes were two twin worlds of truth and scary wonder that had Ginny dizzily confused and at a loss.

Draco Malfoy was enemy. Draco Malfoy was rude, careless, mean, taunting, and full of hatred, especially for her brother and his two closest friends. Draco Malfoy was empty and hollow. He was born to be a Death Eater. Raised to be a Death Eater. Destined to be one, and wanting to be one. He was emotionless and dull, and his only desire in life was a burning, ugly and barbaric tattoo against the flesh of his upper left arm. And that is all, Ginny told herself, almost done convincing herself when he interrupted.

"Weasley, what are you staring at?" Malfoy asked, closing his Potions book and stretching his arms. Startled, Ginny blinked, realizing that as she had been silently talking to herself, she'd been vaugely looking at Malfoy and he had noticed.

"Nothing," she murmured, blushing slightly and also closing her book, sticking it back in her bag and glancing at Ron, who was arguing with Padma about something she had crossed off on his report.

"Right, Weasley," he said. "I'm-"

"Leaving." Ron said dakly, glaring at Padma. "Come on, Ginny." Taking her report, the others following suit, she stuck it in a folder that had been left out for them to put their reports in.

"Alright," she said, pushing her way out through the portrait hole and making towards Gryffindor, hearing Ron jogging to catch up.

"What's the matter with you?" he asked.

"I'm just tired." Ginny almost snapped, finally reaching the Fat Lady. "Pumpkin Juice," she said, watching it swing open and going inside.

"What took you guys so long?" Hermione asked in surprise.

"Padma kept being pushy about my report."

"Yeah, Malfoy too..." Ginny lied. "I'm really tired, guys, I think I'm going to go up to bed." They looked quizzically at her, but none of them objected, so Ginny jogged up the stairs to the girl's dormitories.

"Hey Ginny, are you coming?"

"Coming where?" Ginny asked, rolling over in her bed, early Saturday morning.

"To Hogsmeade, of course." Hermione said, leaning over to pet Serena, laying at the foot of Ginny's bed.

"It's a Hogsmeade weekend?" Ginny asked, sitting up. She'd been saving any money she got for the past year or so, so that she might have a nice time on a Hogsmeade visit, someday. Getting out of bed she eyed the already showered and dressed Hermione and wondered what time it was.

"We're going to go down for breakfast and then leaving."

"Alright, probably about twenty minutes after you get there you guys can meet me in the Three Broomsticks."

"Okay," Hermione said, watching Crookshanks wander into the room and hop onto Ginny's bed. "Is this alright?" Ginny glanced at Hermione's cat as it lay down and yawned at Serena who barely cast Crookshanks a look, and shrugged. "It's fine. See you soon."

After a quick shower Ginny threw on her robes, and very hungrily made her way down to the Great Hall, quietly slipping through the doors and scanning the room quickly. She almost blushed again when she saw Malfoy glance up at her to see who was entering for breakfast and quickly looked away, sitting next to Neville at the Gryffindor table. As she had suspected, Hermione, Ron, and Harry had already left, leaving few people to their breakfasts. Scooping a pile of eggs onto her plate and grabbing to pieces of buttured toast she happily munched her breakfast as Neville chatted at her about next year being his very last year. Quietly, Ginny swallowed a suddenly very large, thick bite of toast and put her fork down.

"What's the matter, Ginny?" Neville asked in concern as she stared in blank, slight confusion at her full glass of orange juice.

"Oh Neville," Ginny said softly. "Next year I'll be in my sixth year, and you'll be in your seventh, your very last year. And then I'll be in my last year, all alone. You and Hermione and Harry and Ron will be graduated, and gone, and what will I do?" He appeared at a loss for words and whipsered something about next year really being is last year at Hogwarts and what was he going to do after that? It ended up that Ginny was the one patting his arm and telling him it would all be alright. Picking up her last piece of toast, she made her way towards the entrance to the grounds and was annoyed to see Malfoy, Crabbe, and Goyle pick themselves up from breakfast and also make their way to leave for Hogsmeade, falling roughly in step with Ginny.

"Weasley."

"Malfoy."

"Going to beg for ink at the villiage? Or going with the perfect trio to visit you flea-bitten friend?"

"No," she said shortly, feeling a pang in her heart.

"Oh right, Lestrange killed him didn't she? What a mangy mutt. At least the Ministry does have to waste their time on him anymo-" But he was cut off by Ginny wheeling around and slapping him with as much strength as she could muster across his cheek. When she looked there was a bright red outline of the blow and she wasn't sure if she felt more giddy or scared from hitting him.

"Granger is that you?" he sneered, not allowing himself to react to the pain. "God Weasley, please tell me you don't also have a mudblood for you role model." But she wasn't listening, she walking fast towards Hogsmeade, fast away from Malfoy who no longer had her confused, just utterly angered. Eventually bursting into the Three Broomsicks she looked around and quickly spotted her three friends. Making her way over to them she sat down between Hermione and her brother.

"Is something the matter, Ginny?" Hermione asked in concern.

"I hit Malfoy." Ginny sighed, tracing her finger across the table top.

"You what? Go Ginny!" Ron almost yelled, beaming at her. Hermione seemed startled and Harry interested, maybe impressed. "What for, Ginny? What'd he do?"

"He made me...pissed." Ginny said simply. Uneasily, the other three looked at each other, trying to recall if Ginny had ever even said 'pissed' around them before.

"Yeah, he, he does that a lot." Hermione said. "What happened?"

"I was walking here, and him and his goons were behind me, and he asked what I was going to do in Hogsmeade...go with the perfect trio to visit our flea-bitten friend?" Ginny felt limp as she watched Harry clench his fist.

"And?" he said.

"Harry..."

"And?"

"And I said no. And he said, oh that's right, Lestrange killed him, at least the Ministry doesn't have to deal with him anymore...and I slapped him. His cheek was all red." Ginny cringed as Harry stiffened while she spoke and tilted her head on Hermione's shoulder sadly as Harry banged the table with his fist.

"Let's kill him," Ron suggested fiercely, looking about as if Malfoy might be in the Three Broomsticks along with them. Surprisingly, he was, and Ginny's stomach felt like it sank to her toes when she spotted him, laughing with Crabbe and Goyle and pointing at Harry. Unfortunately, Ron spotted him too, and knocked his chair over as he sprang to his feet quickly followed by Harry. "Hey Malfoy," Ron shouted, the tips of his ears glowing a fierce red. "Are you ready to die?" All the students in the room as well as quite a few strangers looked up at Ron. Those who didn't know Malfoy watched Ron curiously looking about. Those who did recognize Malfoy glanced at Ron in surprise, then curiously, expectantly, watched the boy with the platnium hair, seated calmly between his two Slytherin goons. Casually, he stood up, pushing his chair in behind him.

"Potter," he said, his voice quiet, calm, as he smirked. He glanced almost in amusement at Ginny, then fixed his cold gaze on Harry's glittering eyes. At the mention of the famous name, everyone except the students familiar with being around Harry stared at the boy-who-lived, some slack jawed. "He was only a dog." This caused slight confusion among anyone watching, but there was no time to even frown before Harry yelled and wildly drew his wand,

"Conjunctivitis!" he roared, wild silver sparks shooting for Malfoy's eyes, who through his hands up in defense. Blinking fiercely and trying to clear his vision from the spell, he pointed his wand at the blurry form of Harry.

"Densaugeo!" With a small bang a jet of pale yellow lightning was hurled at him and it happened to hit true, unlike the last time he had cast it at Harry and it had collided with Hermione Granger. At an alarming rate, Harry's top front teeth were beginning to inch past his bottom lip towards his chin. Hermione jumped to her feet.

"Stop it!" she yelled, pointing her wand at Harry's teeth and snapping, "Finite Incantatem," which had his teeth shrinking back to normal size. Harry ignored her and brandished his wand again-

"Furnunculus!" Apparently, this really wasn't to Draco's liking, who ducked and decided Harry's should stop trying to jinx him and cast his mind about furiously,

"Confundo!" he yelled, deciding to confuse Harry, but at that exact moment Ginny stood up yelling for them to cut it out, almost in unusion with the owner of the caffe who came bursting angrily from behind the counter, and the spell hit did not hit Harry.

Hermione yelled shrilly and Ron and Harry roared all manners of things at Malfoy as Ginny limply fell back in her chair, looking dazedly around her at her furious friends and the yelling owner, not understanding what he was saying though he was obviously shouting at a roaring tempo, throwing them out, dragging Harry and Ron, who were about to charge at Malfoy, and pushing them out the door, followed by a shoved Malfoy and Hermione, who was trying to keep Ginny upright against her.

"You can fight out there! Don't come back anytime soon!" the man roared, his larged Vernon-like face a Dursley-decent shade of violet as he slammed the door shut.

"Ginny are you alright?" Hermione asked anxiously, but for once not bothering with whatever answer Ginny might manage, she whirled around and slapped Malfoy, who was thoroughly done with being hit today, whether by a girl or Potty and Weasel, but not quite done with getting his own hits in, not that he had a chance. "What is wrong with you?" Hermione yelled at Malfoy. "Ginny had nothing to do with it, you did not have to hit her with anything! You are the most loathsome-"

"I didn't mean to hit that stupid girl!" Malfoy roared above Hermione's shrill yelling. "I was aiming for Potter when she got in the way!"

"Oh yeah right!" Ron roared back, shoving Malfoy. "You were aiming for Ginny, weren't you?"

"Why the hell would I aim for her when it's Potter I-"

"Shut up," Ginny moaned, and the yelling ceased, Harry, Ron, and Hermione looking anxiously at her.

"Are you alright?" Harry asked. His temper had certainly not abated yet, but he was forcing himself to calm down a bit for the sake of his best friend's sister, and apparently, Ron was struggling with the same concept.

"Yeah," Ginny said, still sounding slightly confused from the spell. "I managed to get a little shield up, but I'm still kind of...I can't really remember what exactly had happened, but my minds clearing up, it wasn't the greatest Confundus charm." Ron and Harry turned to glare and smirk at Malfoy at the same instant and he sneered at them.

"Because it wasn't meant for her," he said arrogantly, stalking off with Crabbe and Goyle who had wandered out to Malfoy during the yelling, cracking their knuckles, but unnoticed.

"Are you sure you're alright, Ginny?"

"I'm fine, Ron," Ginny snapped at breakfast the next morning. Her friends had forced her to Madam Pomfrey after going straight back to school, and the nurse had, as usual, reluctantly let her go in the morning. Looking up she saw Malfoy at his table putting down a half-full glass of orange juice, smirking as he said something and a group of Slytherins' laughed, but he somehow didn't look pleased. "I've got to go, I'll see you guys at lunch," Ginny muttured, standing up.

"Where are you going?" Ron asked.

"I'm just getting a book I forgot up in my dorm now instead of being late for class." Ginny snapped, swinging her book bag over her shoulder and marching back towards Gryffindor. Mutturing the password to the Fat Lady she ran up to her dorm and flopped down on her bed, pulling Serena into her lap.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked, looking worried at Harry. "It's Sunday, we don't have classes."

After a long, warm, boring day in which Ginny kept herself only in Serena's quiet company, and an almost sleepless night which seemed hotter than the day, it was Monday, and classes were back in session. The following week was quite tedious. In between classes, Ron or Harry would insist on escorting her to her next period, glaring at Malfoy each time they passed and hurrying Ginny along. It was Friday night again and dinner wasn't exactly quiet and pleasant for Ginny, who's head was beginning to throb with her three friends arguing about her as if she wasn't there.

"I think Harry should come to the meeting too," Ron told Hermione, who shook her head.

"Harry, you're not a Prefect!" she reminded him as he instantly agreed with Ron.

"I know, I know," he said, pushing that fact out of the way. "But Malfoy is, and me and Ron don't want him to try anything."

"But Harry, Ron and I and probably a bunch of other Prefect's will be there, he's not that stupid!"

"He didn't even mean to hit me!" Ginny snapped again. "I'll be fine." Ron glared at her, Harry ran his fork through a small pile of peas on his plate, and Hermione huffed, putting down the rest of her treacle tart.

"Well, let's just go then." Hermione said after a moment. "Malfoy must have already left because he isn't here, and look Ron, there goes Ernie and Padma."

"Fine," he said. "Come on Ginny." Sighing, she got up muttured goodbye to a slightly left-out looking Harry and trailed Ron and Hermione to the Prefect's lounge. Once inside, Ginny scanned the room and again saw Malfoy amongst his books, scrawling away on a piece of parchment, ignoring her when she quietly sat down across from him.