Don't eat me! Please! Lol. I know I haven't updated in ages. But here I am, sick with the flu at 9:46pm typing cause I feel guilty. And if you were wondering, yes I did write during the weeks I didn't update but I kept deleting and starting over again. And then my pc got this virus. So take pity on my congested throated self. Huh?

Disclaimer: Er . . . There haven't been any reporters around my house, and I haven't been mobbed my screaming kids asking for my autograph while in the loo. So I don't think I'm JK Rowling. And as a result, the characters from the original Harry Potter aren't mine.

Chapter 11:

Fighting and Harry often didn't appear in the same sentence…. Well apart from Voldermort, and the death eaters, and this article that had been written this past summer about him 'fighting the depression that came with his godfather's death'. Draco on the other had… okay, well fighting and Draco didn't occur in the same sentence a lot either. But that wasn't because he couldn't fight. Of course not. It was just that Slytherins had more civilized ways of settling arguments. What was magic for after all?

He'd tell you what magic wasn't for: Magic wasn't for this:

Potter, of all people, hitting him smack-dab in the middle of his nose. Knocking him senseless, with blood pouring out of it. He staggered a few steps back, landing on the ground. He had finally pushed the little do-gooder to far. Served him right. But damn, Potter? Had it been anyone else he would have expected it. But not Mr. High and Mighty. And certainly not in front of the Weasley's.

And as Harry's punch hit him full force, Draco couldn't help but admit that as much as he had grown from the scrawny little first-year he was, so too had Potter. They were now two equally matched men. Physically, that is. Because he had something Potter did not. He had his knowledge of the dark arts. More dark arts than even the leader of the DA squad had. And he was going to use it.

He put his hand in his pocket searching for his wand.

It wasn't there.

"Looking for this Malfoy?" Ron called out to him, dangling his wand in the air, while Ginny ran to his side.

"Draco! Are you okay?! Come on, let's go inside," she fussed.

But if it was one thing he wouldn't back down from, it was a fight with Potter. He had waited long and hard for this. There was no Dumbledore to save him now. No McGonagall hanging around. Just him and his rival, Potter.

"Now Malfoy, just you and me, man to man." Harry told him.

Draco chuckled at Potter's statement. Man to man ? This would be too easy. He was sure that the Slytherin Dungeons had prepare him infinitely more for this than the Gryffindor Playhouse ever could for Potter.

"That would hardly be fair," he replied.

"Oh don't worry I'll go easy on you," Harry seethed.

He smirked, "Believe me Potter, that's the least of my worries."

And dashing forward he planted a firm punch straight into Harry's abdomen, sending him doubling over in pain. But Potter would not give up so easily, not when Malfoy had the nerve to intrude on his private vacation with Ginny. . . And the other Weasley family of course.

It was hard to tell whose side Ginny was on as the two boys collapsed onto the Weasley's picket fence, tackling each other. She yelled distressed for Draco when Harry would send punches and kicks his way. But she was right there for Harry whenever Draco's hand curled around his neck almost cutting off his air circulation. Mr. Weasley was torn between doing the right thing and finally getting to see a Malfoy get his share for his cockiness. He settled somewhere between the two shouting at intervals, "Try not to hurt him too bad, Harry," as the only help he would give Malfoy. Ron was, indeed, very pleased at every blow Malfoy received, screaming, "Oh! He's feeling this one Harry!" "You've almost got him now!" "Ha Ha Malfoy! Who's dirt poor now!" And only shutting up when Malfoy managed to reply between kicking Harry, "It's still you Weasley!"

It was anyone's guess who would have won, and they might have found out who too, if it hadn't been for Mrs. Weasley.

"HARRY WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!" She yelled coming out of the kitchen, stopping everything.

"Mum! Oh mum! Thank God you came. Make Harry stop!!" Ginny cried.

"Harry?!" Ron yelled. "Now see here Ginny-"

"Harry Get off the poor boy now!!" Mrs. Weasley yelled.

"Poor?" Ron asked at the irony.

"Mrs. Weasley you don't understand-" Harry tried to explain.

'What has happened here?!"

"Molly, now let the boy explain-"

"Arthur?! Arthur you allowed this?!" she asked, stunned.

"Er. . . Well . . . Not . . . Exactly-"

"I'm ashamed at you all! Everyone into the kitchen! Why never in all my years . . ." and she vanished into the kitchen, everyone following sullen faced behind her. Leaving Draco, extremely sore and discontent to follow behind. Some vacation this would be.

XX

He would have wrinkled his nose if it wasn't broken. The Weasley living room where Mrs. Weasley had placed him was by far one of the worst he had seen. He decided if he was a Weasley he'd never want to go home. Though it was essentially clean, there was this scent of cheap perfume about the place, and the furniture had this air of being second hand. The walls, he could tell, were old and lacking the elegance that even Hogwarts managed to have. The room was terribly cluttered, one of his mother's peeves. She would definitely hate being here. Not to mention, that if she ever found out he was here she would have a fit.

Blocking out the incessant lecture Mrs. Weasley was giving everyone in the kitchen he settled into his self-made silence. It was one of his most treasured skills. It did come in handy when talking to Crabbe and Goyle. And it was almost essential at the Malfoy Manor when he needed to block out the frequent arguments and the talks about Voldermort.

He thought back to the fight he had with Potter. He had emerged from a fight with the famous Harry Potter with less injuries than Voldermort ever had. He smirked at this thought. If only his father could have heard that. Then it would change everything around the Malfoy Manor, for the better.

Footsteps was what brought him back to the present and had him looking straight up into the faces of the Weasley twins. They looked at him cautiously, taking slow steps towards him and whispering to each other.

"Oy, George, you don't see what I see do you?" Fred whispered.

"You mean on the couch?" George asked.

Fred nodded. "Do you think the hallucinating Hershey drops are malfunctioning again?"

"Nonsense, we're only supposed to see Snape in his underpants, not Malfoy on our couch."

"Well it can't very well be Malfoy, can it?"

"Only one way to find out," George replied. He put his had out to poke Draco, but Draco stopped them both.

"I'm not in the mood," he said lazily while putting up his hands.

As if on instinct they both took out their wands, but Draco was a step ahead of them.

"Expelliarmus!" he yelled, sending the Weasleys' wands flying. "I said I'm not in the mood."

After sharing perplex glances they both darted into the kitchen, yelling on entrance, "WHAT THE HELL IS MALFOY DOING IN OUR KITCHEN!"

"Malfoy?!" Mrs. Weasley asked.

"Why don't you ask Ginny?" Ron said.

"Malfoy?!" She yelled again.

"That's what we've been trying to tell you but you never listen!" Harry shouted.

"Your daughter brought Malfoy here as her little friend," Mr. Weasley told her.

"Ginny, what in the world-"

"I say we send the git home!" Harry yelled.

"Shut up Harry," Ginny countered.

'Leave Harry alone Ginny!' Ron warned.

"Why should I?!"

"Now children, behave-" Mr. Weasley warned.

"Ginny what were you thinking?"

"Oh stuff it George!"

"What's gotten into you!"

"Nothing I can't handle."

"Ginny, come on, you can't seriously want Malfoy here."

"Why, no, Harry, which explains why I dragged him here," she rolled her eyes.

"Hey! Don't get moody with me!"

"Shut up," Mrs. Weasley told them.

"This would never had happened if you idiots weren't so barbaric."

'Barbaric?! The prat pulled his wand out on Harry!"

"Shut up," Mrs. Weasley said more loudly.

"Well Harry deserved it, punching him like that."

"Didn't you hear what he said to Harry?"

"Stop blaming him Ron. You guys were on his case since the train station."

"What did you expect, a friendly hello?!"

"I SAID SHUT UP!" Mrs. Weasley screamed. "My family. Can't even have a civilized conversation! Why can't we discuss this properly?"

"Because there's nothing to discuss!" Mr. Weasley replied. "Molly, we need to send the boy home"

"Dad, that's not fair!" Ginny whined.

"Oh it's fair in my book," Ron added.

"You just don't like him because you're not friends with Lucius," she told her father.

"Exactly. Like father like son I always say."

"Now Arthur that's hardly fair to the boy. I'm sure he isn't as bad as his father."

"Oh believe me Mum, he is," George added.

"You're not helping," Ginny seethed, sending him an evil glance.

"I know," He replied.

"Besides Molly, it's impossible his father knows where he is. He'll be furious when he finds out. He might think we kidnapped the child."

"Oh so instead we're gonna send him home with a broken nose and a sore body. Won't Lucius be pleased. Smart, dad, real smart."

"No one said we're sending him home, we just don't want him here," Harry said.

"Where'd you think he's gonna go? Do you really think he's going to wander the streets like some poor kid."

"He has money. He can find a place to stay."

"Oh shut up Harry."

"Be nice to Harry, Ginny," her mother scolded.

"Oh right. Let's be nice to Harry but let's kick Draco out of the house!"

"I'm glad you finally got it right dear," her father said, patting her on the shoulder.

"You know what?! Shove it! All of you!" Ginny yelled at them.

"Ginny, calm down." her mother told her. "Arthur be reasonable. We can't just send the boy onto the streets."

"Why not?!" Harry yelled.

"Because, Malfoy or not, he's just a child. And who knows what kind of vacation he'd be having if he were at his own house."

"One with lots of gifts and money I bet," Ron said spitefully.

"Control yourself Ronnykins," Fred said.

'Well we can't have him here," Mr. Weasley told Molly.

"And why is that?"

"Molly, you've seen the way the boys act when he's around. Look at us now. The house will be total chaos."

"It's about time the boys learned to get along with him."

"Oh joy," George added.

"Oh joy indeed. Besides, we've always said how much we trust Ginny's judgment," Molly added. "And if he's any trouble at all then we can send him home."

"MUM! YOU CAN'T DO THIS!" Ron yelled.

"I think it'd be a good change for him. Let him see how a real family spends Christmas. Maybe then he can tell how evil his father really is."

"OH FINE JUST IGNORE ME!" Ron added.

"And plus, Ginny likes him, so he can't, be that bad, now can he?"

"Oh right. Trust Ginny, she makes great choices. Just like the one with the diary," Ron added.

'Ronald Weasley, you better take that back right now!" his mother ordered.

"Never mind Mum. It doesn't matter. I'll go help Draco get settled," Ginny said dismissively. And without waiting for another word she exited the kitchen.

XX

Two loud thuds woke him up, and in front of him was Ginny, holding two bags.

"You're staying," She said. "Now get your bags."

He tried to get up but he was hit by a sharp pain in his abdomen and immediately he lay down again, "I don't think I can," he said, "I ache too much."

"Oh stop being such a baby. If Harry can do it, so can you."

"Glad you have so much faith in me," he replied sarcastically. Every movement he made gave him pain, but he was up soon enough. Ginny handed him his bags and proceeded to show him to his room.

"So where are we heading?" he asked her.

"The basement," she replied.

"The what?"

"Basement."

"But why?"

"Harry and Ron are in one room, Fred and George in the other. Bill's bringing his girlfriend so he needs his space, and Charlie's got lots of work to do so he's got to have a room all to himself. And you can't very well stay with me-"

"Why not?"

She rolled her eyes. "They think I'll take advantage of you," She said sarcastically. "Now come on, mum's fixed it up for you so it won't be so bad."

It was so bad. The bed was so tiny it hardly had space for two people on there, and the room itself was cramped. If he even dared to stretch or tiptoe his head would hit the ceiling. He had one small chest for his clothes. No closet. There was no desk to write anything on, no shelves to put up his books. This was worse than the living room.

"So," Ginny started, "How d'you like it?"

"Just show me to the shower," he replied pulling his towel out of his bag.

XX

No hot water. Go figure.

In the Malfoy Manor his bathroom had a bathtub and a shower, exotic bath beads and bubble bath, three different towels- one for his face, the other for his hair, and the last for his body - , much less for hot water. But all he got here was a shower with water freezing cold, and one bar of soap. He sighed as the water trickled down his body. Damn Brock for all he had caused. He hoped that he was suffering just like him. But he knew that Brock was probably at his own mansion, eating chocolate covered strawberries and resting peacefully in the comfort of his gigantic bathtub filled with warm water, and sweet smelling odors that came from his soft bath bubbles. Lucky Bastard.

He had only finished dressing when he was called to dinner. He was seated right next to Ginny, and Potter, for some strange reason, sat on the other side of her too. Never in his life had he seen such . . . Squishy food. They made this horrible plopping sound as they fell on his plate: Macaroni and cheese, mashed potatoes, and baked chicken. Definitely not what was served at the manor. But he couldn't get on their bad side now. And ignoring the protests from his stomach he lifted his fork and took a bite.

It was actually quite good. No, not good, great. There was so much flavor in each and every bite that he just couldn't get enough of it. Catching the surprise in his face Ginny let out a small laugh.

"Beats caviar any day, huh?" she asked.

"She could make millions cooking these," he replied.

The macaroni was so cheesy, and the mashed potatoes so soft and fluffy, not to mention the chicken. There was flavor in every part. Soon, his plate was almost empty, something his mother would die to see for her own eyes.

"Potter, would you pass the mashed potatoes?" he said to Harry.

'Why don't you get them yourself Malfoy?" Harry retorted.

"Because you're gonna get them, now hurry up."

"I'm not getting anything for you," he said.

"Oh stop being such a sore loser-"

"Loser?! I would've beat you if we weren't interrupted!"

"Uhuh, sure Potter, and McGonagall's the new Wizard's playmate, now pass it."

"Harry just pass it," Ginny sighed.

"What's with you nowadays? Why are you so much on Malfoy's side?"

"Maybe because you're too much of a prat to bear with," Draco interjected.

"Shove it Malfoy."

"Yeah, up yours Potter."

"Here Draco dear," Mrs. Weasley interrupted, "I'll get it for you. Really Harry, you're usually not so vile."

"Thanks Mrs. Weasley. The dinner's great by the way." Draco said flashing her an earnest smile.

"That's so nice of you to say dear, I hardly hear it enough nowadays."

"Oh but you should. This is absolutely the best meal I've had. Those five star restaurants have nothing on you."

Mrs. Weasley's face spread into a proud smile, "Have as much as you like dear."

"Oh come on mum, you can't be falling for that one!"

"Oh be quiet Ron. None of this bickering at the dinner table. And stop filling you're plate with so much food, there's more than one person at this table you know. Would you like some more chicken Draco?"

XX

She hadn't had nights like this in a long time. Nights when she couldn't sleep. When she tossed and turned in her sleep. Nights when she heard the cold, spine-chilling voice of Tom Riddle. She could still feel his presence. Even though they all said he was gone he wasn't. Not to her. She doubted he ever would be. And as she slept she could hear his laughter as she wrote bloody messages on the wall. She could feel him lurking as he did back then. She heard his voice calling to her as clear as before.

He was back again. Back to haunt her. His memory would stay with her forever. For a while she thought it was gone, but it was because she had only forgotten. She was too busy with schemes and plans to remember the only thing she was really scared of. But she had learned today that nothing had changed. It had hit her with Ron's outburst in the kitchen. He was right. She was the one who had the diary. And she would never escape it. She tried to shoo the memory away with helping her mother with dinner, and showing Draco his room. And she thought it had worked. But part of her knew better. Part of her knew who she really was. And that part of her was alive. Now.

Everything in her room seemed so much scarier now, that when she woke with a start from her nightmare she thought that she was back in the chamber once again. It was much colder when his memory was around. And she felt so inferior, all alone, facing her fears by herself. She needed someone. She needed someone to keep her calm. Someone who cared. Someone who knew how she felt.

XX

He looked so calm there, his hair sprawled on his pillow, the peacefulness on his face. It was different from how she had ever seen him. She had seen him angry. She had seen him scheming, plotting and planning. She had often seen him sure and confident. But there was always something missing from his demeanor and now she knew what it was. Through all of that she had never seen him at peace. There was always a vague instinct telling her that he was never at rest. And it was somewhat of a pleasant change when to see him finally be what he normally was not.

She walked over to him, careful not to wake him and slipped under the covers. He stirred. Feeling a Figure beside him he opened his eyes, squinting in the dark to see anything.

"It's just me," she told him quietly.

"Ginny," he drawled, still half-asleep. "What is it?"

"Can I stay here, just for the night?"

"Why? What's wrong?"

"He's back Draco."

"Who's back?"

"Tom."

'Tom? Gin, what are you-"

"Tom Riddle. I can't sleep. I hear him when I do. Please can I just stay here?"

"Won't your parents be mad. They think I'll take advantage of you," he joked.

"I'll be out before they wake," she said.

"Tom Riddle is gone, you do know that, right?"

"He's not gone to me. I hear him Draco, I do."

"So am I supposed to protect you from him or something?"

"I just want to stay here. I don't want to be alone again. It's how it happened last time."

"It's not gonna happen again."

"Just please-"

Yeh, you can stay."

"Thanks," she said snuggling up to him.

"Don't mention it. Now get some sleep."

=XX=

Yep. Thanks for reading and don't forget to review, eh?

Jac31890 : dude, sorry for the long wait. I suck don't I? Lol. Well I hope it was worth it.

CaRa: Hey thanks. I do appreciate it. And thanks for reading to.

SpiralSpace: Yeh I think I should update sooner too. I'm just a lazy bastard. Lol. Okay, no I'm not. I'm just a moody writer I guess.

-Ma_Fer- : Hey Ma Fer! Lol. Great to see you haven't forgotten this story.

LiL' LiSe: Whoah. You just made me excited. Lol.. I love your enthusiasm.

Feltonzluvr : YAY! Lol. I'm a future JK. Major complement. I have a bunch of groups. Lol. If you can add me to your msn or something and I'll send them.

ESN: lol. Major thanks. Yeh fights with hot guys rocks! *clears throat* anyway.

xi-swt-tearz-ix: Thankies dude. Hope you're still here to read this one.

GothicVampress: I know exactly how it is. You've forgotten about reading. I've forgotten about writing. Sad eh? School spoils everything.

Stunned Angel: Thanks so much! It's great you're still reading, I'm always afraid you'll stop because I take so long to update.

soccersweeti88: Hey great. Thanks man. I appreciate it. Thanks for the review too. You rock, lol.

Fî®é Åñgé£: Hey, thanks a lot. I hope I'm not letting you down. Lol. And I hope you stick till the end.

cucho cousins: Lord knows I don't want to leave you hanging. Really I don't. School's just so damn important. But anyway, I hope you like the chappie.

Lady Obsidian: I'm glad you like it. I hope you still do. Thanks so much for your review.

Asia : Lol. Cool. Asia's a cool name. Well, mine's really Seka so I totally understand. Thanks for the feedback. It did put a smile on my face.

Cassie-aka-Ginny-Weasley: I dunno if Draco and Ginny will get together. You'd expect them to, though, right? An hour? Lol. Impressive. Most people don't bother past the first chaps since they aren't that good so…… thanks a whole lot.

d[n-n]b: lol.. Yes, a fight.

Cursed4Life: LMAO. Definitely, lol. Thanks, I will try to keep it up.

KuTiExAzNxAnGeL: I never update soon, do I? I'm pathetic. Lol. But thanks for reading.

GinnyDracoFan *sings* You want it! You got it!. Lol. I cant even remember where I got that song from, some commercial. Thanks so much for taking the time to read.

Dracomio : Dude, thanks. I really appreciate it.

Re-writing Destiny: lol. I'm glad Draco makes you laugh. I hope he does in this chap too.

Lady Raven Rosethorn: Sorry I made you wait, really I am, I just hope it was worth it.

Vu : Lol. We can only hope he does. Thanks for reading.

Melissa Adams : Missy! Lol. I hope you like this chap. I'm glad you reviewed. : )

Fezza : Yay! Fezza! Lol I'm glad Draco's in character. I'm always a little worried with that. I hope you like this one, and keep on reviewing, I look forward to it.

Special thanks to RENS. LOL. You see I don't forget? I remember……when I'm reminded. Lol. And to Scorchia/Ice Princess you rock!

=X=