A/N: Thanks again to all who reviewed! I love you all!

Beta'd by Lena and Jess.

Disclaimer: I disclaim.

Chapter Four:

Ginny trudged to the Potion's classroom, with no hope of being saved from her detention fate. She couldn't believe Snape had put her in detention just for getting her book from his classroom. She had learned her lesson, most definitely, but just couldn't seem to convince the greasy git of that.

Flashback

"Ginny, I'm sorry for laughing!" Colin said in an exasperated voice. "You don't know how sorry I am, but it was funny! It's still funny! Would you look at me?"

Ginny sat next to him at their table in Potions. Ginny had been staring straight ahead with her arms folded since Colin had walked in.

"No," she stated curtly.

"Well, at least I got you to say something," Colin said as Professor Snape walked into the room.

"Quiet down; this is a class, not a zoo. Ms. Weasley, I noticed you left your textbook here last class. I also noticed it was gone this morning. Do you have your essay done?" Snape asked accusingly.

"Of course, Professor Snape. I always get my homework done," Ginny said with a fake smile.

"Well, then, either you snuck out after curfew or copied the work off of another. Please believe that you will be punished for whatever crime you have committed. Detention, tonight, eight o'clock."

"But Professor!" Ginny protested, "I didn't do anything wrong!"

"Ms. Weasley, take your detention and be happy I'm not sending you to the Headmaster," Snape threatened.

Ginny huffed back into her seat, pouting for the rest of the class.

Flashback end

Ginny had finally started talking to Colin again after that, to ask him to figure out some way to get her off the hook for the detention. Of course, there was no way they could think of. She was hoping, at least, that Snape wasn't overseeing it. She didn't think she could stand to look at that greasy jerk for three hours without using her wand to wash his hair.

She opened the door to the classroom and stepped in, head down. She had planned to go flying with Ron and Harry. They didn't often include her in the buddy type things that they did, as they figured she'd rather hang out with Hermione. This was the first time she'd been asked to join them, and she had to cancel because stupid Snape had decided he wanted her to be stuck in detention.

She walked straight to her seat without so much as a glance to see who her torturer would be on this dreary day.

"Weasley," drawled a voice from the front of the room before she could sit down. Ginny gasped and looked up, convinced that whatever entity was controlling her life had now decided it was time to have a little fun at her expense.

"M-malfoy." She looked up in shock, her jaw hitting the floor and her eyes wide. Ginny recovered quickly and tried to make herself look like she wasn't completely going crazy. "I take it your overseeing my detention tonight?"

"Of course, Weasel. Snape would never oversee his own detention," Draco snarled with his arms crossed. Ginny noticed that he had made himself very comfortable. He had on his Quidditch robes, which, she noted, looked very good on him. Ginny remembered that the Slytherin team had practice earlier, and that was why Ginny, Ron, and Harry couldn't fly before her detention. He had his feet propped up on top of Snape's desk, and his hair was slightly messy.

"Of course," Ginny over dramatically reiterated to him. "Why would he do it, when he has his very own bitch to do everything for him?"

Draco smirked. As much as it annoyed him that she was talking back, her wit and sarcasm was one of the things he appreciated about her the most. He took a moment to look her over before replying. She wasn't wearing her robes, which he could've taken points off for, had he not liked how she looked so much. Her skirt was a few inches shorter than the dress code required, but it was obviously because of the growth she had done in the past year, and not her own attempts of looking older. Her white dress shirt was also about a size too small and clinging to her chest rather nicely. It was also untucked and the top button was loose. Her medium length, auburn hair was pulled up in a clip, with a few loose strands framing her face. She looked flushed, as if she had been embarrassed. Well, Draco thought, since she knows what she knows, it's a given she'd be embarrassed.

"Weasley, I'm in charge here. I would stop snapping at the person who is in charge of everything move you make," Draco said with a hint of mischief and insinuation hidden in his voice. Draco fought the urge to laugh at the expression on her face.

She gasped, not believing that he had just said that and insinuated that he'd make her do things. Well, she thought to herself, that is what the person that's over detention does: hand out certain punishments to fit the crimes. But she knew that the punishments he was thinking about were not as simple or innocent as cleaning a few desks.

"Weasley. Snap out of it. Now, first, Snape asked that you make sure the ingredients are all in alphabetical order in the closet. That shouldn't take long, as I made sure of that just last week." Draco removed his feet from the desk and began to walk toward the closet with a key.

Ginny let out a sigh of relief, glad she was wrong about what punishments would be assigned–at least, so far. She watched Draco unlock the door and move back a few feet, smirking all the while.

She did find this odd, but she didn't think about it. Opening the closet, she realized that he had tricked her. The boggart had not been removed.

She gasped as the ghost of Tom Riddle stared back at her, smirking better than any other Slytherin could ever wish to. His jet black hair and piercing blue-green eyes stared back at her, leering like she had seen him when he had finally met her in the chamber. She stood in shock, trying to force herself to move, but she couldn't make it happened. She couldn't breath at all, and was beginning to whimper slightly. She was paralyzed with fear, and her wand was back on the her desk, not that she'd have been able to use it had she brought it with her. Tears were starting to streak down her face right before she collapsed from the fear, nearly hitting the floor before Draco caught her in his arms. He laid her down, banished the boggart, then carried her to the front of the room. As he laid her down, he mused on how light she was, and how wonderful it felt to hold her in his arms, even if she didn't know it.

He stood next to her for a few minutes, reveling in being so close to her. All he wanted was to lean in and capture her lips with his, just once. He didn't, though, because he was afraid he wouldn't be able to stop at just once. He pulled himself away from her, convincing himself that it was better that he stayed far away.

She regained consciousness Snape's desk, although it took her a minute to realize that. She looked around, expecting to see that thing again, but he was gone. The only other person that she saw was Malfoy, sitting a few feet away and looking a tad concerned. She sat up, only to get dizzy and find herself laying down again.

"Weasley, are you okay?" he asked, in a frantic, slightly warmer voice that she wasn't so used to.

She couldn't help a bit of sarcasm. "You sound worried, Draco. Why ever could that be? And, yes, I'm fine," she said, trying to sit up again.

He gave her a look, not sure how to respond to her statements.

"Why would you do that, Malfoy?" she cried as soon as she gained enough composure. "You knew there was a boggart in that closet! You knew about the chamber! Why would you do something like that to anyone?!" She found herself screaming at him.

"I. . .I don't know." He looked down to the floor. He should've realized her biggest fear would be Tom Riddle. He had almost killed her. How could he think her biggest fear would be as shallow as. . .well, as his? He started getting this weird feeling in the pit of his stomach, almost as if he wished he hadn't done what he'd just done.

"Weasley, I think we should end this detention now. You may leave," he said, resuming his usual voice. Ginny stood up, and walked over to grab her things off of her desk. She took one more searing look at Draco before turning for the door. She was almost out of it before she heard him say, "I'm sorry."

Ginny stopped where she was and looked back at him, just a little shocked. She couldn't see him anywhere in the room. Realizing he had no intention of her actually hearing her, and that he'd walked into the potion's closet before she could see him, she continued out.

Draco emerged from the closet and watched her walk down the hall. He was glad she didn't decide to look back or something, because he wouldn't be able to explain away watching her hips sway slightly as she walked slowly away from him.

He pulled himself out of his thoughts and gathered his things. He had homework, and he had Head Boy duty tonight. He needed a shower before it got too late.

He entered the Slytherin common room only to be assaulted by Blaise.

"Why back so early, Malfoy?" Blaise asked, with a smirk on his face.

"Nothing of your concern, Zabini," Draco responded with a slight sigh.

"How did the detention go?" Zabini fired back.

"None of your business, Zabini." Draco started walking up the stairs to his own dorm away from Blaise, but felt his nerves rattle as he heard Zabini stand and follow him.

"Come on, Draco, I want to know what happened. Obviously, it wasn't good, because you're not very happy. I mean, if you had made out with her, or screwed her, I believe you'd be skipping up these steps. But you're trudging like the world has ended," Blaise was babbling a bit.

"Antithesis of Truth," Draco said at the portrait of a pink and black fairy.

"Come on, Draco, tell me! You always used to tell me these things, then this little obsession with the Weasel-bitch happened, and you won't even talk to me at all!"

Draco spun around, pinning Blaise against the wall by his throat. "Call her a bitch again, and I'll not have any remorse over your dead body lying on this floor. Got it?" he whispered.

Blaise nodded frantically, seeing as how his air supply was cut off and he couldn't speak. Draco let him go and Blaise grasped at his now red throat.

"Geez, Malfoy. This crush is much more serious than I thought. Seriously, talk to me," Blaise said as he followed Draco into his dorm.

"You never get any less annoying, do you know that?" Draco asked as he placed his books on his desk.

"Yes." Blaise had a seat on Draco's bed. Draco looked at him, and gave in. He started from the boggart and told Blaise the whole story.

As he finished, he looked at Blaise. "Happy now?"

"Well, not really. I mean, this feeling you're describing, wishing you hadn't done it and all? Draco, I can't believe I'm saying this, but you felt guilty. You have a conscience."

"Well, this is certainly new. I've never felt bad about anything before. Even our little quarrels in the hallway; I loved to see her fired up. But what just happened made me feel like the lowest piece of crap in the Wizarding World," Draco said, pulling his fingers through his hair.

"Well, old boy, what exactly are you going to do about this?" Blaise asked.

"Do? What do you mean do? Why do I have to do anything?" Draco asked, cooly.

"Draco, you do know what this is, don't you?" Blaise asked, shocked at the absence of realization from his friend.

"No. What are you talking about?"

"Draco, my friend, you can't just let this pass, because it never will. You're going to be stuck with this feeling for the rest of your life," Blaise said, then pausing for effect. "You're in love with Ginny Weasley."

Draco, who had just put a bite of chocolate frog inside his mouth, gasped, then started gagging and choking.

Review, please?