The possibility of liking Draco had Ginny thinking well into the next morning. How could she suddenly have feelings for such a git? Malfoy had insulted and belittled her ever since her first year, and suddenly she wanted to kiss him madly in the pouring rain? None of it made sense, and Ginny finally made herself fall asleep at about two in the morning, scolding herself softly for being up so late.
The next day, she rushed out of bed, took a quick shower to wake herself up, and dressed rapidly, gulping down her coffee. She gathered her things and apparated to the Burrow. A warm welcome assaulted her as she walked through the kitchen, abandoning her things moments before, she was glad when her mother wrapped her into a big bear hug. Her father and Ron hung back as Molly chattered excitedly to Ginny, who looked as if she was only taking in half of what her mother was saying. She was still exhausted.
"Ginny dear, do you have all your things, trunk packed, wand, broomstick, books..." she was interrupted by Ron hugging Ginny and asking her about her broom.
"What kind did you buy Gin'? Can I see it?" he asked excitedly. Ginny turned and pulled the Firebolt case out from behind her trunk.
"A Firebolt, Gin'? I thought you were going to by a Black Diamond 1200." Ginny could tell he was really disappointed, and she slid her Starfly out of the case with a flourish.
As soon as Ron saw the name inscribed into the wood he gasped.
"Bloody hell, Ginny! Where did you get this?" he asked in an awed voice. Arthur was staring at the broom with an equal amount of disbelief, but Molly was staring at Ron sharply.
"Ron, do not use that kind of language in this house!" Ron cowered before his mother and backed up a step.
"Sorry mum." He said softly. Ginny stifled a laugh, but quickly turned it into a cough when Molly glared her way.
"I bought it from Mr.McConnely. He had one extra; the rest went to England's Quidditch team." Ginny smiled excitedly, along with Ron.
"Can I ride it Gin'? Please?"
"No! Ronald, we need to get to King's Cross." Molly looked at her watch as Ron frowned. "It is ten already and the train leaves at eleven!" she bustled everyone into a small circle on the floor with Ginny's luggage and said and incantation. Before they knew it, Arthur, Ron, Ginny, and Molly were right outside the station. Walking briskly inside and moving hurriedly through security, they pulled up to the wall between platforms nine and ten at about one quarter before eleven. Ginny gave her family big hugs and leaned on the barrier, falling casually into the world of wizardry.
Ginny made her way to the back of the train, nodding casually at people she knew. She always sat in the back with Bridget and Colin, but they had become prefects two years before and were never in the compartment with her. Today was the announcement of Head Boy and Girl and they were in the front of the train with all the teachers. She slid open the glass door and looked inside. To her intense surprise and embarrassment, a blonde man was sitting inside already, running through Potions textbooks.
"Hey, Weasel." He said offhandedly. Ginny was furious. How had he just brushed aside the past so quickly? She blushed softly and sat across from him. This was her compartment, and she wasn't going to let the fact that Malfoy was there stop her. She pulled out her notebook and began to draw, shoving her emotions on to a piece of paper. As they sat in silence, only the scratching of her pencil and the flipping of his pages filling the compartment, the train began to chug along the track. The silence began to get to Ginny and she began to fidget slightly. Suddenly, without warning, she spoke.
"So, how did you get the job at Hogwarts?" she asked politely.
"What?" Practically shouting from surprise, he turned to face her sharply. Bad idea. It brought pictures of that night in the rain swimming into his head, and all he could see was her in her Quidditch robes, smiling softly at him.
"Oh," he started coolly, "Snape retired and Dumbledore thought I might be good for the job. Don't ask me why, always thought he belonged in the loony bin." Smirking, he looked at her questioningly. "Why talk to me anyway, Weasley? Something on your mind?" he raised an eyebrow suggestively. Ginny blushed slightly but ignored his last comment.
"I was just kind of bored and thought we might actually be able to have an intelligent conversation."
"You thought wrong, Little Weasel." He snapped, changing his tone drastically. "I have to prepare for my first class, and we do have homework tomorrow, two rolls of parchment on the proper way to make a Sleeping Draught. All review, and that would give you something to do so you don't annoy me, correct?" Ginny nodded and pulled her potions book out of her bag along with parchment, a quill, and a spare bottle of ink. The essay was long, although easy to write, and took her most of the trip.
When the train screeched to a halt in front of the Hogsmeade station, Draco and Ginny began to pack their things. Draco swept out of the compartment a millisecond ahead of Ginny, slightly brushing her hand with his by accident. Jerking his hand away from hers like it had struck lightning, he quickened his pace, pushing through students rudely. Ginny followed determined to confront him about the 'Incident.' She didn't know why she felt she needed to talk to him, but the thought of their kiss haunted her thoughts, and if the only way to get it out of her head was to talk to him, she was going to get it over with quickly.
Seeing him step into a carriage, she followed with a determined air, stepping briskly over to it and ripping open the door sharply. Draco looked astonished for a moment before he scowled bitterly. Ginny yanked the door shut and turned to him silently.
"Yes, Weasel?" he asked sharply. "What do you want?"
"How can you ignore it?" She ranted. "How can you pretend like it never happened? Like it is going to vanish if we don't talk about it? I'm not used to running from things that frighten me, Malfoy!"
"So I scare you, Weasley?" he asked with a small smirk. Ginny swiftly flicked him off.
"Why did you kiss me?" she got straight to the point.
Draco pondered the question for a short moment before replying. "Why did you kiss me? He asked.
"That is unfair!" Ginny protested. "You can't bloody change the subject! Answer the question!"
"A Malfoy is never fair, Weasley." The line of carriages had stopped, and he gathered his small briefcase. He winked at her quickly, so fast she wasn't even sure if he had and stepped out of the carriage, gliding elegantly through the sea of students heading toward the castle. Still in the carriage, Ginny jerked her head onto the back of her seat, slamming her eyes shut and wishing with all her might that life wasn't so complicated.
a/n: k, so here tis! Thanx to my wonderful reviewers, specially Depth of Soul. You Rock! Check out her stories...they're vry good! Thanx everyone for your reviews! The next update shall be arriving soon, hopefully! TTFN!