Dedicated to my beta Dom and.

Grr-Krissy-Grr: Updating as ordered

Icanreadandcount: Couldn't you just tell that Aidan was gonna be gorgeous? And I'm quite liking that name (

Akawsha: *feels like the most complimented person ever* wow! Thank you! The fact that you can't see through my plot may have something to do with the fact that I don't quite know what it is yet.

***

Ginny's Kiss In Poltrick

***

The Entrance Hall was beautiful, and Ginny had to stop herself from gasping. It looked more like a palace then a castle, and the walls looked like they were made from glass, or crystal. A middle-aged man was walking towards them, talking in very fast Russian, and smiling. Draco quickly strode up to him, and they talked quickly.

Draco called, and the man looked at him startled. It was, of course, Professor Noginski. His hair was greying, and he was small and portly.

He responded, looking confused.

I'm sorry, of course you don't recognize me, we havn't seen each other since I was five. It's me, Nathaniel Bowcott. Draco said, smiling,

Noginski's brow furrowed in confusion, then understanding dawned.

He whispered I heard both families have lost children from my friend Albus Dumbledore.

Draco said, trying to look uninterested. He glanced nervously at the crowd, who were looking at them with confusion.

I Noginski said to the other visitors, And with that he hugged Draco and Ginny quickly. Ginny looked startled at Draco, but he nodded, telling her to play along.

The Professor called, motioning for them to follow him. He led them to a large chamber, with a stage and many seats set out in front of it.

"Malfoy!" Ginny whispered, "He's going to speak in Russian, I can't understand a word of Russian!"

"Don't worry." Draco whispered back, "They'll have arranged for something."

And sure enough, a young man was walking around with what looked vaguely like Muggle earphones. The sign on the box changed from language to language, and Ginny waited patiently for it to come to English.

Transo-Phones! Do you have problems understanding foreign languages? With Transo-Phones, all you have to do is pop them in your ears, and everything is converted into a language you understand!

Wow, that's convenient." Ginny mumbled, staring at the Transo-Phones. Several other people had picked up the boxes as well, and were putting on the strange devices. Ginny quickly followed suite.

"Emily!" A lilting voice called. It took her a moment to realise that it was Aidan calling her.

"Coming!" She called, and hurried over, a grumpy Draco following her.

"Best seats in the room." Aidan told her, pulling out the seat so she could sit down, "For the prettiest girl in the room."

"Didn't you hear Em?" Draco drawled, "He's reserving this seat for someone else."

"Yeah, you." Ginny shot down.

"I'm not a girl!" He scoffed, looking offended.

"You're not pretty either." She snapped, sitting down and smiling at Aidan, "We don't get on very well."

"It always happens with family who are so close in age." The Irish man assured her, "I'm always fighting with my brother. He's only a year older than me. You'd have thought that we'd grow out of it but."

"As soon as we have everything sorted out and we're back in England, I don't intend on seeing my cousin very often." Ginny told him, "So I don't think it'll matter."

"Ah come on, you like him deep down, don't you?" Aidan chided.

"No." She said, and it was obvious that it was true.

"What, not at all?" he looked shocked.

"M-Nathaniel and I tolerate each other, because it would be hell travelling with each other if we didn't." Ginny explained, "But we're not close, we never have been. He's always been a bully."

"Hey!" Draco exclaimed, with a fake expression of hurt, "It was always you and your stupid brothers that started it! You lot and Potter and Granger."

"Potter?" Aidan asked, confused.

"Yeah, Potter Bowcott, Nathaniel's brother." Ginny lied quickly, "Charles Granger's his best friend. Me and my two brother's have always gotten on better with Potter than with Nathaniel."

"There are an awful lot of you." The Ireland Seeker said, looking confused, and slightly worried. It appeared to him as though he had just landed in the middle of a family feud.

"Our father's are close, so we see each other a lot, that's all." Draco said, gritting his teeth, he looked furious that Ginny had named Potter as his brother.

But before the conversation could continue, Noginski walked onto the stage, and up to a stand.

"Hello my fellow travellers, and welcome to Poltrick Academy for Magic!" He boomed. Ginny had to stifle a giggle. His lips were moving, and words were coming out, but there seemed to be no correlation between to two things. Of course, Ginny was hearing in English, while in fact he was talking in Russian, "How good it is to see you here. My colleagues have assured me that you are here to hear e speak, although I have no idea why. You can't possibly want to hear about my slaying of the Manticore, can you? And I'm sure my journeys into the dangerous Un-Plotable Forest will bore you to sleep!"

The crowd laughed, and he continued seriously, giving detailed accounts of all his expeditions. He talked about his findings, and the dangers he encountered while searching for them. After a while Ginny realised that her mouth was hanging open, and she closed it quickly, her eyes shinning with eagerness.

In her first year of Hogwarts she had had the famous Gilderoy Lockhart as her Defence Against Dark Arts Professor, and had spent many an hour sitting listening to her friends chatter about him. She even received the same torture from her Mother, and even level headed Hermione. But she had never seen what was so interesting about his accomplishments. Of course, it had turned out that they weren't his accomplishments, but even when she had thought they were, they all seemed slightly dead. But the way Noginski talked, and the things he had done.she was captivated.

"I'm terribly sorry," Noginski said, after what seemed like a few minutes, "I seem to have been talking to you for a two hours! I hope that I didn't bore you too much. Shall we make our way back to the Entrance Hall? You are all welcome to stay for lunch in the Main Hall, and I hope none of my students will show me up."

***

"This is useless!" Hermione snapped, shutting her book, "All we have to go on is the word 'vessel', do you know how many references there are to that word in the Hogwarts Library? It's ridiculous!"

"We could cross reference it with the phrase 'missing slimy git'." Ron suggested, but Hermione ignored him.

"If we knew what it was a vessel for, that would be a start." She said to Harry.

"Well, my guess is something evil." He replied, and Ron hid a chuckle.

"You two are not taking this seriously." Hermione growled, picking up 'so you need to trap a ghost', "Maybe they've killed Malfoy and they want to trap his soul to drain its power."

"Or maybe he had a fight with his dad and did a runner." Ron suggested, "The point is, we need to know more, because what we have isn't enough."

"I could go and talk to Blaise, see if she knows anything more." Harry said, looking at his feet.

"Oh yes, I can see how that will be productive." Hermione snapped sarcastically, "And while your snogging your new girlfriend Malfoy is off somewhere being sacrificed to a Goat God!"

"Why a goat god?" Ron asked.

"And why are you so concerned about him?" Harry added, "Even if we saved his life or something, he's just sneer at us, and asked us what took us so long."

"I hate Malfoy just as much as you do, but I don't think he's evil, not like his father." She said, packing some of her books into her bag, "And I can't help but feel that the Ministry isn't going to be much help. We may be Malfoy's last hope, and if we are, I refuse to just sit around and listen to your jokes."

And with that she stood up and stormed out of the Library.

***

They all walked in a group, and Ginny found herself talking to Aidan Lynch again, as Draco walked ahead with Noginski.

"Why are you visiting your uncle again?" Aidan asked.

"My uncle, Nathaniel's father, is ill, we thought Uncle Ivan would like to see him again, in case he doesn't get better." Ginny explained. She had always been a good liar, something she shared with Fred and George, but lying to Aidan seemed wrong somehow, and she felt guilty, "But I'd rather not talk about that. What's your family like?"

They talked until they reached the hall, and sat down next to each other, opposite Draco and Noginski.

"Of course me Mam wish's I was doing a nice safe job, like owning a shop, but she knows I love Quidditch." Aidan told her, "And all my family are proud, which is more than I could ever hope for. You play much Quidditch?"

"Yeah, I suppose. I always stole my older brother's brooms when they weren't around when I was little, so I got quite a bit of practice." She explained, "I played as a Seeker for a year in my house team when I was at school. After that thing's got a bit hectic, and I didn't have a chance to play again. I played against Nathaniel for the finals, and we won, but that was mainly due to my brother's excellent Keeper Skills."

"Emily, did you catch the Snitch?" Aidan asked, and she could feel a compliment coming on. She nodded slowly, and he smiled dazzlingly, "Then you won the game! What else could you have done?"

"Ah, you're right, I guess." Ginny laughed. As she talked she was adopting Aidan's almost lazy way of speaking, and it felt nice to feel that comfortable with someone again.

"Is everyone ready?" Noginski called, "Good, then my students will begin. They like to put on a bit of a show for the visitors."

The hall was filling with students, taking their seats in the surrounding tables. Three older students walked towards them, and stood at the head of the table. The two boys looked similar, both being tall and having dark blond hair. They both also had slightly square jaws. The girl who stood with them was small, with long dark hair, and wide staring eyes. They pulled out their wands, which were much longer and thicker than the ones you saw in Hogwarts, and pointed them at the empty table.

"Doré Assietteta!" One of the boys shouted, and the table was suddenly filled with gold platters, and two golden fountains, that produced nothing. The next boy stepped forward and shouted out his incarnation.

"Nourriturita Apparaîtrium!" Now the platters were filled with food that put the Hogwarts feasts to shame. Ginny had to stop herself starting straight away, remembering that there was still the girl to go.

"Argenta Commencius!" The girl shouted, and the gold fountains came to life, shooting silver liquid high into the air. Noginski laughed and took his cup, dipping it into the fountain bowl. The other guests did the same, and he stood up, obviously to make a toast of some sort.

"To the delight of discovery, and the discovery of friends." He called, and they all took a sip of the drink.

It was the most amazing thing Ginny had ever tasted. It felt like she was swallowing warm silk, and tasted rich and sweet. Draco leant over, and she moved towards him, to hear what he had to say.

"It's Unicorn Milk." He explained, "Russia is the only place where you can get it, because the Russian Unicorns are much more easily tamed than any other."

"It's.amazing" She whispered, "I fell so happy."

"It's a bit like alcohol, in a good way. It makes you fell happy and friendly, and makes everyone around you seem so much nicer." Draco said, taking another sip.

"I'll have to drink a lot to find you nice." She laughed, but she smiled as she said it, and he smiled back. Not a smirk, or a sarcastic smile, a genuine one.

They ate, and talked, and laughed. After both Draco and Aidan had drunk quite a bit of Unicorn Milk, they started to discuss Ireland's prospects for the next World Cup.

"We're not looking so good this year." Aidan admitted. As the Quidditch World cup had so many different teams, the world cup was held only once every two years.

"You'll do alright." Draco assured him, "The only reason you didn't beat Krum last time was because you didn't expect him to be so good. You'll be prepared this year. Who are you up against next?"

"Australia, but there's a rumour they may pull out because of You-Know- Who." He replied, "Emily mentioned you were a Seeker, any chance I might end up against you one day?"

"Not likely. The only reason I wanted to be a Seeker was because Potter was the Seeker for the other team, and I wanted to beat him." The younger boy explained, "I like the game, but I never loved it, and I think that's why I never beat him."

"Lots of fights between you and your brother?" Aidan asked.

"Lets put it this way, the only person who could get me angrier then Emily or her brother, is Potter." Draco scowled, and poured himself some more Unicorn Milk. He had never really got on with people before, and he was enjoying the new experience.

"With me and my brothers, everything is about love for your family." Ginny explained, "But with M-Nathaniel, it's all about family pride."

"Ah, I get it." Aidan nodded, "Just one question, why do you always start Nathaniel's name with an M?"

"I-" Ginny began, not sure what to say. Draco came to her rescue though.

"It was my old nick-name." He said, "Maggot. When we started the journey, I made her promise not to call me it any more, and she agreed, but sometimes she forgets."

"Maggot, that's not very nice." Said the Irish boy.

"You should hear what he calls me." She laughed, and to her surprise Draco looked embarrassed.

"Look, it might be the milk.in fact, I know it's the milk, but I'm really sorry for what I've always put you through." He told her, taking her hand. He then turned to Aidan, "And I'm sorry for being a prick when I first met you. I may not be nice to Emily, but I am protective, and I didn't know if I could trust you."

"You're right." Said Ginny, "It is the milk!"

They all laughed, and Ginny took both their hands, and squeezed them. Suddenly, Noginski leaned over and smiled at them.

"You will, of course, be staying here tonight, won't you?" He asked, "We have a lot to talk about."

"Of course we will." Ginny said. She looked over at Aidan, and felt her heart tug, "Can-?"

"Of course he can!" The Professor said, but the Seeker shook his head.

"I have to be going tonight." Aidan said, smiling sadly, "Otherwise I'd love to stay."

"Oh." Ginny's face fell, but she tried to pull it back into a smile. The Unicorn Milk helped.

A whistle blew overhead, and all the guests looked around in surprise. Noginski stood, and all eyes turned to him.

"That, my friends, is the school telling us that your Port Key is ready and waiting. Shall we make our way?" Everyone stood, and they all followed him to the Entrance Hall, where the statue of the castle stood, waiting.

"Aidan, can you do something for us?" Draco asked.

"All you have to do is ask." The other boy replied.

"When you get back to the Hotel, can you tell the woman that we've moved on, and have gone to Spain?" Draco lowered his voice, "And keep to that story, no matter who asks, or how many people ask."

"I'll do that." Aidan assured him, before turning to Ginny, "So, can I write to you?"

"Uh, owls'll have a bit of a hard time finding us." Draco interrupted, "It's not really possible."

"Send all your owls to your local Letter Hub." She said after some thought, "Then, if I go to any Letter Hub in the world, I'll be able to get them, isn't that right?"

"Yeah!" Aidan said, smiling, "I wouldn't have thought of that. You'll write back?"

"I promise." Ginny said, smiling at him. He looked at her for a moment, before quickly kissing her on the lips before hurrying over to the castle, which everyone was gathered around.

Draco had started to like Aidan; he had already respected him for being such a good Quidditch player. Near the end, Draco had felt that Aidan was, really, a good guy. Of course, now he understood that Aidan was nothing more than a womanising glorified bastard.

I should be taking notes, Draco thought to himself, but he couldn't shake the feeling that his real dislike of Aidan was centred on Ginny's like for him.

***

Review please! This chapter was a bit choppy, because I hadn't posted for so long, and felt that I had to write quickly. I'm gonna be very busy lately, GCSE revision and all that, but I'll try to keep writing. I have a lot of other story ideas, and I want to get started, but I'll try not to rush through this.