A/N: I hope that this story will at least make it to twenty chapters if no more...
On the day before Hogsmeade, Rose was frantically going though her clothes looking for something to wear. Ginny was sitting on Rose's bed and flipping through the pages of Rose's diary.
"You know he wouldn't understand most of this. Even if he did get it translated. There's too many phrases that are like English metaphors in here that he would never understand," Ginny said, pausing to attempt to interpret a sentence.
"Why are you reading my diary anyways? There's not much interesting in there. It's only about my family and all that. I just didn't want him to know about them... or that," Rose said.
"Well, it's not that bad, besides, I'm only trying to read it. Just because you taught me how to speak Spanish doesn't mean that I'm fluent," Ginny replied, rolling her eyes at Rose's high expectations.
Rose laughed, "You weren't exactly the best student either."
"Hey! I tried really hard to learn Spanish, but it's tough to learn it from a friend."
"Arg! Help me pick out something to wear tomorrow!"
"Who cares what you wear anyways? Draco will love whatever you pick out," Ginny reassured Rose, who ignored her and kept tossing clothes from her wardrobe.
"How about this?" Rose asked, holding up a pink turtleneck and a long jean skirt.
"Well, it depends on what look you're going for. If you're aiming for foxy grandma, then that's it," Ginny said sarcastically.
Rose mumbled something under her breath and grabbed another outfit.
"This?" Rose asked again, holding up a long sleeved T-shirt and some old khakis.
"Rose, are you seriously this outfit deficit? You're going on a date. To Hogsmeade. Not to some Spanish punk rock concert. You need something sexy to wear. Here, get out of the way," Ginny said, stepping around Rose and sorting through the many clothes.
Finally, Ginny held up a short black Chinese embroidered dress and some blue jeans with a black featherduster to go over the top of the dress.
"Perfect, huh?" Ginny said, smiling to herself.
"Oh no, oooohhh no. That's way too... it's too-" Rose started.
"Wicked awesome, you'll look great. Besides, Draco will love it," Ginny said, winking.
Rose tried to give her a stern look, but couldn't manage through the smile that she just couldn't repress.
"Fine, I guess I don't mind being atractiva for a bit," Rose said. Ginny just laughed. Rose had no idea that she was beautiful, but obviously Draco did.
"Chill out, Draco. Seriously, it's no big deal," Blaise said.
"Chill out? I'm not worried at all, why would I need to 'chill out?'" Draco lied.
"Sure man, whatever. Are you ready to go? We've gotta leave in twenty minutes."
"Yeah, come on," Draco said, leading the way as usual. Blaise didn't mind. He was a pretty laid back kind of guy, and besides, he could tell that his mate was worried about the date. Blaise had his own date as well. Ginny and him had decided to make sure their plan was seen through.
When they finally reached the group heading to Hogsmeade, Blaise and Draco walked over to Rose and Ginny. Draco and Rose stood next to each other waiting for the last few students to come out, so they could lead them to the village. Blaise and Ginny stood talking animatedly on the side.
The last Third years joined the group and the Head Girl and Boy started up the path.
"So...what do you want to do today?" Draco asked.
"I'm not sure... Do you have any ideas?" replied Rose.
"I do," said Ginny. "Let's go to the Shrieking Shack. It's not really haunted you know."
"Good idea, Gin. I'm for it," Rose said.
"Sure, I'm in" Blaise said.
"I don't see why not," Draco said.
"All right, but first we should get a drink of butterbeer from the Three Broomsticks," Ginny replied, winking at Blaise when everyone agreed. They walked up the path in companionable silence with some idle chit chat, until they reached the small wizarding town.
"Ok, everyone meet back here at five o'clock. If you're not here by then, we'll have to send someone to look for you, and I don't think McGonagall would like that. Do you?" Rose said, addressing the large group. They all just laughed and walked away. Everyone knew that Rose would deal with the latecomers herself vs. bringing a professor into it. They also knew that everyone would be on time, because facing an angry Rose was just not worth it.
As Rose, Ginny, Draco, and Blaise headed for the Three Broomsticks, Draco noticed that Rose was looking rather nervous. She kept glancing around as if she was expecting someone to come up behind them.
"Rose, what's wrong?" Draco asked. He saw Rose exchange a nervous look with Ginny.
"Nothing... nothing's wrong," she replied, although this answer didn't appease Draco at all. Draco said nothing, but pretended he didn't notice the nervous looks while secretly observing Rose's every move. He was intent to find out what Rose was so uptight about.
"Ginny, what's up with Rose?" Blaise whispered. Ginny glanced over to make sure Rose wasn't listening and pulled Blaise a little closer.
"Ok, let's just say that Rose has a secret that she doesn't want anyone, especially not Draco, to know about," Ginny whispered back.
"You know though, right?" he asked, returning to a normal voice.
"Yes, and I'm sorry that I can't tell you, but...," Ginny trailed off.
"Hey, protecting her secret is fine with me, just make sure Draco doesn't find out that she has one. You know how he can be," Blaise said, laughing a little.
"What's so funny?" Draco asked Blaise. This just made Ginny and him laugh harder.
They were nearly to the Three Broomsticks with Draco and Rose walking a bit ahead of Blaise and Ginny. Just as Draco turned the corner, he heard Rose who had been only a step ahead of him let out a shriek. He pulled out his wand and pointed it directly at Michael Corner's head.
"Now, now, we don't want the Head Boy to set a bad example for Hogwarts students now do we?" Michael said, smirking in a way that was almost Slytherin.
"Let go of her," Draco commanded, lowering his wand. Michael released the hold he had on Rose's wrist, but he didn't step back. He used the hand that he had been using to hold Rose to pull out his wand.
"Rose, come with me, you know you want to," Michael said, pointing his wand at her.
"Leave her alone, Corner. She's here with me," Draco said, protectively. He stepped over to Rose and put his hand around her waist, hoping Michael would become angry.
Rose shot a nervous glace at Draco who whispered in her ear, "Just go with it." Rose decided that Draco must know what he was doing, since Michael's face was turning red with anger. She melted into him and smiled at Michael.
"Get away from him, Rose. You're mine," Michael said, grabbing her hand.
She threw him a look of disgust and wrenched her hand away.
"I'll give you ten seconds to get away from us," Draco said, raising his wand. "One, two, three, four, five..." Michael ran on the word five.
"He wouldn't have done anything to you, don't worry," Draco said to Rose, who was tearing up.
"Thanks, Draco. I don't know what I would've done without you," she replied, blinking away her tears.
"You Spaniards are so dramatic," Ginny said.
"You were standing there the whole time and you didn't do anything!" screamed Rose, anger flashing across her classic features.
"Of course we did something, we backed you up," Blaise said.
"When Draco started counting, we pulled out our wands and pointed them at Corner, so he would have a triple threat. That's why he left running," Ginny pointed out.
"Thanks, guys. I mean... could've handled it, but I'm sure Corner won't be back for a long while now," Draco said.
"Can we just go to the Three Broomsticks? Please? I really need a butterbeer," Rose said.
"Or a firewhisky," Ginny said, laughing.
"Shut up, Gin," Rose said, laughing too.
The guys, who were completely baffled by this, just walked ahead until the girls caught up.
As they walked into the Three Broomsticks, Madame Rosmerta spotted Rose.
"Hola, pri-," she started but quickly cut herself off at the look from Rose.
"Hey, Senorita Rosmerta," Rose replied, giving her a scathing look, hoping the others wouldn't notice. "Cuatro, por favor."
"De vino?" Rosmerta questioned, looking slightly startled.
"No, tonto! Butterbeer," Rose replied, laughing.
"Ustedes Españolas!" Rosmerta said, laughing.
"Ustedes Gitanas!" Rose shot back, which had both of them holding their stomachs and laughing.
"So, what are we going to do at the Shrieking Shack?" Rose asked, noticeably
more relaxed. All but Blaise walked over to the table they had picked out.
"I was thinking that we might talk and play some games and such," Ginny said.
Blaise was getting the butterbeer, not paying attention to the other customers.
"There she is. Quick put up your hood. Hmm... If we could just get a good picture of her doing something... Wait, where are they going? Follow them, Henry. Let's go!" whispered Magdalena Antiluz harshly.
"Aww... Do I really have-" started Henry Douglass.
"Yes, you do! Now pick up your camera and get a move on!"
The four Hogwarts students left the Three Broomsticks and walked towards the Shrieking Shack. Rose was even more loosened up, although Ginny and Blaise figured that it was the work of the butterbeer and the "little extra" they had secretly added to it. Ginny hadn't just been bringing up an old joke when she mentioned the firewhisky. Luckily, the taste of butterbeer is so strong it had covered up the firewhisky, but it obviously didn't reduce the combined effect of alcohol. Ginny added a bit to Draco's drink too, but it had less of an effect on him, like Blaise had said it would. He had mentioned something about Slytherin House parties, but hadn't filled her in on all the details.
Ginny walked a little along the side of Rose, on account of the fact that she was already a little bit tipsy, and she hadn't even finished her drink. (A/N: They had bought them in the bottles and taken them with them.) Draco didn't seem to notice, but informed them that they were almost there.
As they approached the Shrieking Shack, Blaise noticed some strangish looking tourists with a camera, but thought nothing of it and led them through the back way into The Shack. Since Draco hadn't ever really been around the Shrieking Shack, Blaise led the way up the stairs and into a room that had the most light.
"Ugh! This place is filthy! Scourgify!" Ginny incanted, cleaning the place in an instant. "That's better. Now, everyone sit in a circle. Rose, I need your butterbeer bottle."
Rose drained the last of her "butterbeer" and handed it over to Ginny.
"What game are we playing, Gin?" Rose asked, suppressing a small hiccup.
"Spin the bottle," she replied, looking around at everyone. Draco and Blaise exchanged knowing looks, and Draco could hardly hold back a huge smirk. Only Rose looked confused.
"It's your turn first, Ginny," Blaise said, smiling wickedly.
"Wait, before I go, the rules are, if it lands on someone of the same sex, you lose your turn, and the winners go in the other room," she said, not waiting for agreement.
Rose watched as Ginny spun the butterbeer bottle. It was making her dizzy. She had only really felt like this that one time at her cousin's wedding reception. She was the maid of honor, and to say she got a little carried away might have been an understatement. She wondered if Rosmerta might've brewed the butterbeer a little strong, considering that her alcohol tolerance level was unusally low for a Spainard. She didn't have to wonder why...
"Rose, it's your turn," Ginny said, waving a hand in front of her face.
"Huh? What? What happened to yours?" Rose replied.
"I already had my turn, it landed on you, so I lost my turn," Ginny explained.
"Yeah, but what do I have to do for my turn?"
"Just spin!" Blaise, Ginny, and Draco said at the same time.
"Alright, alright, I'm going," Rose said, giving the bottle a good spin. Only Ginny noticed Blaise mutter something under his breath and the small spark that emitted from his wand.
The bottle kept spinning, until finally it stopped.
"Okay, it stopped, now what do I have to do?" Rose asked, realizing that she should've asked that question before.
"Well, you've got to... kiss Draco," Blaise said, barely managing to withhold his laughter at the look on her face.
"Go on, go in the other room! Plus, we've put a hex on you, so we can tell if you don't do it," Ginny said, grinning from ear to ear.
Draco leaned over and whispered in her ear, "Don't worry, Rose. I won't let anything happen." Rose nodded and took the hand Draco offered to help her up.
Ginny and Blaise watched the Prince of Slytherin smoothly escort Rose into the other room.
"Do you think it'll work?" Ginny asked.
"No, not really. With his Slytherin cunning and her brains, they'll figure out a way to get out of it," Blaise replied.
"I don't know... I obviously added a little much firewhiskey to Rose's drink. Not that it would matter, considering the only thing she's ever drunk has been wine with dinner. But her Gryffindor boldness might just come in hany for this stunt."
"We're counting on too many things. Sure, there's a chance it'll work, but there's a better chance that it won't... hey, what are those tourists doing back here again?" Blaise questioned as he glanced out the window, trying to figure out why they wanted to get into the Shrieking Shack.
"What tourists?" Ginny asked.
"There. I saw them outside... I think I saw them at the Three Broomsticks too. They must be following us."
"Oh no. This is what Rose was worried about! We've got to get away from here before they get to us," Ginny said with wide eyes.
"Draco, I'm not ready. I can't-" Rose started.
"Shh. I know, I'm trying to find a way out of this. Kiss... hmm... Rose, what's that thing you do in Spain, when you greet someone?" Draco asked.
"The two kisses?" Rose queried, looking a little dizzy.
"Yeah. If we do that, it'll work, because it's a kiss, but it's not that kind of kiss. Got it?"
"Yes, ok."
Draco and Rose kissed each others cheeks, then stepped back.
"Well, that worked w-" Draco began.
"Let's go! Come on, Rose. They're here! We've gotta make a run for it! If you want to get out of this, we have to leave right now," Ginny burst in saying.
"Ay no¡Maldígalo! This is what I wanted to avoid! Let's leave, fast!" Rose said, scrambling for the door.
Ginny and Blaise ran down the stairs and out the back entrance, closely followed by Draco and Rose. As they were running across the yard, Blaise caught sight of the two "tourists" still trying to get in the warded front door. They made it into the tree cover before the two people turned around, looking defeated. They caught a brief snatch of conversation coming from the woman.
"Oh well, Henry. Next time for sure..."
Ginny looked at Rose, only to discover that Draco was helping her sit against a tree. 'Jees, I really did load too much firewhiskey on her,' Ginny thought. She pulled out her wand and did a quick de-nauseous spell. Rose sat upright and glared at Ginny.
"I cannot believe that you were being serious," she said, her face turning red with anger. "You got me drunk! You know what could've happened!"
"Rose, relax, nothing happened. Besides, you had a good time anyways. So, did you two kiss?" Ginny asked, exchanging a look with Blaise.
"I thought you had a hex on us," Draco said, smirking.
"We did, but man, we knew you two would probably find a way out of it. So, how did you get out of it," Blaise said, leaning against a tree.
"That's none of your business! Hey, we never finished our game. I believe it's Blaise's turn to spin, no?" Rose said, giving him and Ginny a look that was completely Slytherin. Ginny turned beet red, but Blaise took the bottle none the less.
He spinned, and was hardly surprised to see it land on Ginny, considering that he had charmed it. He smirked at her. Surprisingly, she winked at him and got up. Blaise stood up and grabbed Ginny by the waist, about to pull her into a deep kiss, when he heard the loud protests coming from the ground.
"Blaise, we don't want to see this! You're going to burn my eyes out, go behind that tree... or better yet, that tree!" Draco shouted, pointing out a far tree.
"Ginny! Get out of here! I do not want to see that! Eso es grueso!" Rose said, covering her eyes.
Blaise and Ginny exchanged a look as if to say, 'They're like little kids,' and walked to the second tree Draco pointed out. They went behind it and Ginny wrapped her arms around Blaise's neck as their lips touched softly.
Blaise broke the kiss off. "I don't know where this may lead...," he said, trailing off.
"To tomorrow, and that's all we can hope for, but right now, it's perfect harmony," Ginny replied, giving him a soft kiss once more.
Before Blaise could return the favor, they couple heard Draco yell, "The rule is one kiss, not a snogging session!"
Blaise and Ginny walked back over to Rose and Draco, with Blaise replying, "Hey, man. It's not my fault you didn't get any."
Draco frowned, "Whatever, let's just play the game. It's Ginny's turn."
Ginny spun the bottle quick, before there could be any more objections. The bottle turned and slowed to a stop in front of Draco. Rose and Draco, and Blaise and Ginny exchanged looks with each other, trying to decide what to do. There was a thick tension in the air hovering around the foursome.