The next day, having heard nothing from Dumbledore regarding her time-traveling ancestors, Ginny quickly walked to Dumbledore's office before lunch. Staring perplexedly at the gargoyle, she realized she had no idea what the password was. Sighing, she slumped to the ground next to it, hoping that a teacher would come by and solve her current dilemma.

Ginny leaned her head against the cold stone behind her, thinking about Seamus' recent odd actions. Ron had also been very intuitive for once, but it hadn't exactly been in her favor. Ginny allowed a small smile to drift across her lips at what he would say if he ever found out she had spent an entire day and night in Draco's company.

"Are you feeling quite alright? Got something going on in that head of yours that's funny?"

Ginny's eyes snapped open to take in the boy who stood above her. She hadn't even heard him approach. "I didn't know you cared. I'm touched."

"One would assume," he replied loftily, motioning to his head to suggest his doubt about her mental competence.

Ginny narrowed her eyes at his insolence. "You said we would talk."

"I say quite a variety of things. Excellent training, understand."

Ginny scampered to her feet. It seemed to her that she might be better off in this conversation if she weren't craning her neck to see the person she was talking to.

Make that arguing with. "Usually, when people say they'll do things, they follow through."

Draco cocked his head as if she'd said something interesting. "Oh, really?"

"Yes, really!" Ginny was starting to lose her patience.

"Then follow through I shall," Draco said gallantly. "We will talk…soon."

Ginny put her hands on her hips. "And when would your majesty define soon?"

Draco smiled at her irritability. It was exceedingly effortless to anger this one. "Later than now, before never."

Ginny looked murderous. "Do you enjoy antagonizing me like this? Do you think I enjoy it?"

Draco bowed slightly. "Forgive me if I'm touched with a modicum of compassion fatigue."

"Touched with incurable stupidity is more like it," Ginny muttered under her breath.

Draco heard perfectly. "Well, honestly, I could say the same of you."

"No, you couldn't."

Draco looked thoughtful. "Well, I probably wouldn't, now that you mention it. I would probably say 'you're a complete idiot,' or quite possibly 'you're without question the stupidest person alive, possibly suffering from auto- intoxication and should consider an enema.' But then, I doubt I'd even use those. Vernacular slang does irritate me so."

"Foolish, dense, irksome boy."

"Pauperized, incompetent, abortive irritation."

"You arse-," Ginny's probable response was cut short by the appearance of the headmaster from behind the gargoyle.

"Yes?" He asked the two students who were glaring at each other in front of his gargoyle.

Draco started to say something, but was cut off by a smug Ginny. "What I was wondering, Headmaster," she began, knowing she was being childish and not caring, "is if I could speak to Lantur and Predak. Do you know where I can find them?"

Dumbledore scratched his beard thoughtfully. "You could try in the library."

Ginny started to thank him, but stopped abruptly as he continued. "I doubt they'd have their own section, however. Perhaps in Hogwarts: A History?"

Ginny stared at him in shock. "They've left? Without telling us anything else?"

Dumbledore nodded slowly. "I'm afraid that matters out of their control interfered with their visit."

Draco nodded amiably. "Oh, that's perfectly alright. I'm sure we'll catch them for tea the next time the world ends." Not waiting for any response, Draco turned and walked down the corridor in the direction he'd come from.

Ginny turned back to Dumbledore. "Did they say anything before they left?"

Dumbledore withdrew a necklace from his pocket. "As a matter of fact, yes. Lantur left this with me, and asked that I give it to you immediately. She said that within is the answer, but you can receive it only after you've solved your problem."

Ginny took the necklace, gasping at its beauty. It was a silver heart-shaped locket, on the end of a fine chain. If you looked closely at the chain, you could see gold intertwined with the silver. The locket said nothing on the outside, and when she tried to open it, Ginny found she couldn't.

"That's all they left? And that's exactly what she said?" Ginny asked, never taking her eyes off the locket.

"That's all, Miss Weasley. Now, it is my understanding that it is your lunch hour. This may require further thought, but now isn't the opportune time," Dumbledore said, smiling kindly.

"Yes," Ginny responded absent-mindedly, fastening the locket around her neck. "Thank you."

Draco walked back into the Slytherin common room, in a considerably better mood from his argument with Ginny. He went to his room, but he had barely shut the door when someone knocked hard and nearly sent it flying back into his face. He flung up his hand instinctively, wincing when the door connected head-on.

Draco sighed, carefully moving it open to see Blaise with a sheepish grin. "Blaise, I understand that any person would be jealous of my astonishing good looks. But, most don't get so resentful of them that they actually try to maim my beautiful face, disfigure my nose, mar my-,"

"It's ok, Draco," Blaise said breezily as he strode into the room. "I wouldn't want your head to swell from injury to any greater size than it already has from ego."

Draco sat on his bed with a grimace, nursing the hand that had taken the hit. "Nice to know you care."

Blaise grinned. "Anything for my best mate. Well, in news not concerning your majesty, we have a huge problem."

"I know," Draco said with a frown. "I make look like royalty, but everyone has been mistaken lately. Of course, they could probably be forgiven."

"Yes, yes, enough about you," Blaise said, casting Draco a rare serious glance.

Draco saw it, and confused, immediately sobered. Blaise was almost never serious.

"Dumbledore has apparently cancelled all further Hogsmeade visits. He's also reinforcing that ban on the Forest, and now even Care of Magical Creatures will be moved inside of the castle," here Blaise cast Draco a glance, "Tell me you had no idea about any of this. I know you went to his office today."

Draco looked at Blaise with interest. "Well done, Blaise. You're a lot more perceptive than you ever were before."

"Mmm," Blaise said in agreement. "And you're just as good at avoiding questions as you ever were."

Draco sighed. "Well, this is going to take a great deal of explaining…"

Ginny was walking in the direction of Great Hall for lunch when she remembered she had left her books for the afternoon in her dormitory. As she turned in the direction of Griffindor Tower, she had the oddest feeling of being watched, which she dismissed as insignificant.

She got up to the tower without any problems, but was surprised to see that it wasn't empty, as she'd previously assumed. "Hello, Ginevra."

She stopped, halfway through the portrait hole. "Hey, Seamus," she said, confused. Few people used her few name.

Seamus stood, walking over to her. He smiled down at her, but it lacked any of his usual warmth.

Ginny suddenly felt as though this entire situation was wrong. "You know what, Seamus," she stammered, backing out of the portrait hole, causing the Fat Lady to start muttering about indecisive kids. "I think I'll hurry to go grab some lunch."

Seamus smiled again. "That's a great idea. I'll walk you."

Ginny turned, having no choice but to agree. As she walked beside him, he slid his hand to the small of her back, and she twisted away. At his questioning glance, she responded lamely, "I'm ticklish."

They made it to Great Hall without incident, and Ginny breathed a sigh of relief. Seamus was acting very weird lately. Reaching to her throat to feel for the locket, she stopped suddenly. It was burning hot.

"Are you kidding me?"

Draco gave Blaise a plaintive look. "You know I hate rhetorical questions, right?"

"Isn't that a rhetorical question?"

Draco gave Blaise a look. "But I digress… Apparently, Ginevra Weasley and myself are the only two who have any chance of stopping this threat. Which is, to me, amazingly lacking in any sort of intelligent foundation."

Blaise frowned in agreement. "What do they expect you two to do?"

"Therein lies the problem."

Blaise looked thoughtful. "Why don't you try looking up these people in the Library, and finding out more about them?"

Draco looked at Blaise as if he were stupid. "Because I have no intention of doing anything."

"Hmmm… There's the Draco I remember. Selfish to a fault. So, what do you plan on doing?"

"That remains to be seen," Draco said; he was loath to tell Blaise his now-ruined plan.

Blaise stood to go. "Well, I'm going to go get some lunch. Are you coming?"

Draco waved his hand dismissively. "No, I'm not all that hungry."

Blaise nodded and left, leaving Draco to his thoughts.

No more Hogsmeade visits… Well, this was certainly a setback. But he was sure he could easily sneak out at some point anyway, regardless of the heightened security. You don't grow up the son of one of the most elusive Death Eaters and learn nothing, he thought bitterly. Even so, Draco felt a pang of guilt at leaving Blaise behind. And the Weasley girl, she probably didn't deserve to have him leave her behind like this either. But, he thought savagely, not everyone deserved what they had to go through. Resolving to leave that night, before any other doubts shook his already tenuous grip on his identity, he began to pack. Draco Malfoy would be gone by morning.

Ginny was sitting, trying to pay attention through Potions. Draco wasn't in class, which was odd. Snape had also noticed, his eyes periodically flicking to Draco's empty seat while he lectured.

Ginny began to wonder what had happened to him. He surely couldn't have gotten sick so quickly; she'd just seen him before lunch. She looked around the room, and Blaise was also looking at Draco's chair perplexedly. Well, that settled it.

Normally, she wouldn't care, but she needed him to help her with this problem, and he was the only one who could. No matter how infuriating it was to try, she needed to talk to Draco as soon as possible.

Ginny hadn't gone to dinner, and in an attempt not to run into Seamus, she went directly back to her dormitory after her last class and stayed there, giving Hermione an excuse about feeling ill when she inquired.

She worked ahead in her classes (She wasn't in advanced Potions for nothing), and then decided to get some extra sleep. Lying there until her roommates came in for bed some hours later; Ginny pondered how to approach Draco tomorrow.

Sometime towards the middle of the night, Ginny woke up in a cold sweat, not even aware she'd dozed off. She gasped, lifting the locket off of her bare skin. It was even hotter than it had been the previous day, and it seemed to burn her skin right through.

She tried to undo the clasp, but found none, just a smooth chain that ran all the way around her neck, too small to slip over her head. Still holding the locket away from her throat, she staggered out of bed, passing the window and chancing a glance down. There, she saw a small figure walking hurriedly across the grounds. Its cloak slipped down, and she had a glance of unmistakable blond hair. Oh, so he thought he was going to get out of this easily? Ginny grabbed her wand quickly, pointing at the figure. "Impediamenta!" She whispered. Seeing it stop suddenly, she ran to grab her cloak.

Draco cursed as he felt something hit him, recognizing it at once. Advanced curse. Damn, maybe a teacher saw him.

Regardless of his now hindered movement, he struggled with moving forward, but found himself staggering in the direction of the Forbidden Forest. Draco cursed again, but stopped suddenly as he heard a sound from the Forest to his right. He froze, not daring to look.

There was a low growling sound, and Draco now turned his head slowly, but saw nothing but blackness in front of him. He wouldn't be able to run well, not with this curse on him. Whoever cast it was nowhere in sight.

Slowly removing his wand from its normal position up his sleeve, he ran through his current options.

This is irony, he thought. Running away, only to get killed sooner.

"Finite Incantatem!"

Draco collapsed, not prepared for the full use of his limbs to be returned to him. Wincing, he turned to face-

"Weasely!"

"Well, who else? Did you honestly think I would just let you leave me to figure out this whole mess by myself?"

Draco winced, noticing that she didn't go to any length to keep her voice down, but now the Forest was silent. "We have to get out of here," he said, limping away.

"Oh, no, you don't! Don't make me use the curse on you again!"

"Do trouble to keep your voice down," Draco said between gritted teeth. He had thought before that Ginny Weasley possessed some sort of intelligence, but it was becoming increasingly apparent that she had all the intellectual capability of pumpkin juice.

Ginny noticed his apparent discomfort and, to her credit, lowered her voice. "Are you ok?"

"I'm dandy. Worried for my life, in extreme pain, stuck next to the Forbidden Forest, but dandy all the same."

The two of them moved silently away from the Forest, pausing by the lake. Draco noticed it was the same place they'd been before and again, saw the irony of their current situation.

Ginny frowned, turning to him. "Where are you hurt, Malfoy?"

"Nowhere that won't heal by itself, eventually."

"Must you always be this obstinate?"

Draco slanted his head toward hers. "It's a gift."

Ginny ignored the way her throat had gone dry when he had turned towards her, instead busying herself pulling out her wand. "Alright, since you won't tell me…"

She waved her wand over his legs, golden sparks following its movement. When she finished, she sat back on her heels and muttered some words under her breath, and a red light began to hover over his right ankle.

Draco raised his eyebrows. "Someone's been paying attention in class."

"Shut up, Malfoy," she responded, not looking up at him, but beginning to roll his trouser leg up.

Draco sat silently as Ginny inspected his ankle, and then muttered a spell over it. Immediately, the pain receded, and a cooling numbness entered. He bit his tongue to keep from groaning in relief, instead nodding at her. "Thank you." He started to stand, but Ginny gently put her hand on his shoulder. "It's best if you wait about an hour before trying to put any weight on it."

Draco sat back, looking at her apprehensively. "You are completely aware of what I was trying to do tonight?"

Ginny nodded. "I am."

"Well, then, not to be blunt, why the hell are you helping me?"

"Because I understand why you're trying to go."

Draco leaned back on his hands. "Do you really?"

"I'd like to think so."

"You'd probably like to think a lot of things," Draco said blandly. "That doesn't make them true."

Ginny looked at Draco, and he saw trust in her eyes, trust he didn't deserve. "Why are you so quick to think that I'll help you at all?"

Ginny smiled benignly. "If you were so set on leaving, you would have Stunned me, and probably be gone by now."

Draco had indeed thought about this possibility, and he hated that she had summed up his emotions that easily.

"I suppose you think I'll stay now?"

Ginny smiled again. "I think you'll do whatever you think is best for yourself. You just might be surprised at what that is."

Draco had to smile. "So, you got me all figured out now, huh?"

"Hardly. But, I'd like to think I have a good idea."

There was silence for a few minutes, and then Draco sighed. "You may never have a better idea than you do right now. But, I'll stay."

Ginny smiled, and he felt something tighten. How could she be so trusting with him?

Draco sighed again, rising to his feet despite her protestations. "If we don't get back up to the castle before the teachers do rounds, we'll be stuck in detention. My ankle will live."

"At least lean on me," Ginny said, coming close to him and putting her arm around his waist.

Draco said nothing, looking down on her. She shouldn't be associating with him. She should be above this kind of shit. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and brushed her lips gently with his own, swallowing her gasp. Then he drew away, just as quickly as he had initiated the kiss. "Thank you, Ginny."

The unlikely pair turned as one, starting towards the castle without any further conversation. Neither noticed another pair of eyes who watched them go.

AN: Wow, this chapter just would not be finished. I had expected it to be shorter, but it got away from me. Oh, well.

Kerichi- Actually, I think Butterbeer does have a minute amount of alcohol in it, nothing that would really hurt, which is why it's served in The Three Broomsticks to kids. Lol, yeah, Ginny probably isn't normally so prone to cursing, but all things considered, she probably had the right this time.

Pia- Whew, I'm glad you think so! Yes! Rum! Lmao… I know I had mentioned adding Pansy, but then I'd give all my thoughts about Ron/Pansy to this story, and I'd have no more corny ideas for Bleed Like Me O.O That would never do, so I'll stick with my basic layout here, and Ron/Pansy can reign next time!

Irene- Thanks so much for reviewing! Yes, Draco is hardly as mean as he was before, but he's still the Draco we all know and love!

Ok, I've actually given serious thought to putting this story on hiatus until I get some more ideas, because I'm co-writing another story simultaneously. It won't be abandoned, definitely not, but if it's not working the way it's going now, I may take a break from it. I think this one might be getting a bit weird, but I wouldn't really know, so please, drop me a review to let me know what you think I should do!