A/N: You know what? Blaise is just incorrigible, so I'm not gonna even try to warn you every time he's gonna say or do something 'slashy' anymore. :P Ok, if it's gonna be something flagrant (like the last chapter), I will, but otherwise he's pretty harmless. Just assume that Blaise is apt to say or do just about anything and we'll leave it at that. I don't want to have to put heading notes on EVERY chapter!

------------

Chapter 11

Draco let out a contented sigh as a warm body nestled against him. Slowly he realized that it seemed much brighter than it should be...

He cracked his eyes open. He looked up at the unfamiliar canopy above him... all of the colors seemed wrong... where the hell was he? He tensed as an arm slipped across his chest. He looked down, seeing Ginny draped half across him and realized it must be her bed... but how did he get there? He rubbed a hand over his face, trying to throw off his disorientation and get his bearings as panic began to rise in him. He was in Gryffindor tower... enemy territory! How could he have fallen asleep in such a dangerous place? It was obviously past dawn, as he could see himself clearly. If he was caught there...

"Calm down... the others won't be up until at least noon..." Ginny murmured against him tiredly.

He quickly tried to disengage himself from her without bringing her any more awake. If he wanted to get out of there in one piece, he had best do it now!

Her arm latched around his chest firmly, pulling him close. "Don't leave Draco..." She murmured softly.

He froze, his heart pounding in his chest... did she just call him Draco?

She felt the tension in him and lifted her head, blinking open her eyes groggily. He stared into her eyes in shock. There wasn't the slightest hint of surprise. She started to smile, "What?" she asked mirthfully.

"You... knew...?"

She chuckled, "If you were looking for a Hufflepuff, your aim was quite a bit off... I'm not a simpleton, Draco... of course I knew. You really think I just go off shagging perfect strangers?"

"But... how?" he asked, baffled.

She rolled her eyes, "You really need the list of hints?"

He hesitantly nodded.

She propped her head up on one hand, trailing her fingers over his bare chest absently, "Ok then... let's see... first there was your cologne... a very expensive, recently developed brand... one few here wear... The Slytherin crest embroidered on your robes... that snake was changed slightly in my second year, and yours was current... and then of course there was the taste of strawberries... I found out about your little strawberry patch over a year ago... and your features when I felt your face of course... and then you made it blatantly obvious by telling me you were a Slytherin and a Malfoy... and of course the obviously non-ghostly attributes... like being solid, which a ghost can only become by possessing someone... the fact that you left a real, physical shirt behind... your need for a broom to fly... your ability to cast spells... and then we flew... and... well, I imagine that very few century plus old ghosts ride the top of the line brooms with the name clearly engraved on the handle... in fact you're the only one at Hogwarts with one of those..."

He smirked ruefully, "I guess it was a pretty lame ruse... sorry..."

She smiled, "It wasn't entirely a ruse..."

He blinked, "What do you mean?"

"I mean that Darien is real... I've seen him in your eyes since last year... that's how I knew it was you as soon as I realized you were a live person... the other hints just confirmed it. I had no idea he was related to you at first of course, not until you told me. I had been wondering for quite a while when he was going to come out..."

He blinked again, "What are you talking about?"

"I have some experience with being possessed, Draco... at least your spirit seems more than willing to share... I used to just black out entirely when..."

"He wasn't real! I made him up..." Draco said, breaking in.

She smiled at him in an irritatingly knowing way. "Do you really think so?"

Draco scowled at her, studiously avoiding the memory of feeling jealous of 'Darien' and wishing he were more like him. It was just the bunged up spell... "Yes... I just made everything up." He said steadfastly.

"So... did you base your 'made up' ghost on anyone?" She asked innocently.

He blushed slightly. "My... mother once told me that she wanted to call me Darien when I was born, but my father had insisted on Draco... she may have mentioned there having been a Darien in the Malfoy family before... and him being a bit of a disappointment... but that's all that was real." He said firmly.

She smiled. "Darien Malfoy attended Hogwarts one hundred and thirty four years ago..." She began, obviously quoting something, "An uncommonly kind boy, especially for a Slytherin, he was often complimented by his teachers, and well liked by his peers. His death shocked and saddened all those who knew him, and his funeral was the first in Hogwarts history to be attended by students from all four houses. He was the seeker for his House team, and an amazingly skilled flier. In his sixth year, it was rumored he had taken up with a girl of a different House, though this, and it's suggested link to his death were never confirmed. On the eve of his seventeenth birthday, which was on February the seventh, he fell to his death during the night. It was assumed to be a flying accident. He was found the next morning below the Gryffindor tower. His family, surprisingly, refused his remains. At the request of his closest friends, he was laid to rest in the Forbidden Forest, where it was said he had often been seen sporting at night with the wild Thestrals that dwelt there."

Draco felt a chill going through him. It couldn't be real... it was his birthday... and all of what she had said would have fit the story he had told her exactly... and something in him seemed to resonate with the words, as if confirming they were true... Draco swallowed, feeling light headed, "You... you're making it up!" He said, but his voice had little conviction.

She leaned over him, reaching under the bed and fishing around, being very careful not to let the hangings come open. He tried to ignore the fact that she was laying directly across his lap... and they were still both very naked... he was both relieved and disappointed when she came back up, moving off him. He tried to take control of his suddenly surging hormones, glancing over at her.

She was sitting there, flipping open a very large tome. He looked at the title across the top of the page. It was Hogwarts, A History. He rolled his eyes. "He isn't going to be in THERE..." his throat went dry and he trailed off as she set the book in front of him triumphantly.

He hesitantly looked at the page before him. The first thing that struck him was the color illustration of a boy about his age... in fact... it could have been a picture of HIM if the clothes were more recent... other than that, the only difference was that the boy had brown eyes, as opposed to his own pale, icy gray ones. He glanced at the boy's tousled white-blond hair. He had definitely been wearing his hair naturally a lot more often of late... His eyes drifted down to the short entry. She had pretty much quoted it to him verbatim. "But... but why would he be in THIS book...?" He said, baffled.

"Because he died and was buried on the grounds, not to mention the unprecedented coming together of the houses for his funeral. He was, therefore, a part of Hogwarts history. Not many people have been buried here. Not even the ones who's ghosts wander around. They died here, but their bodies were buried elsewhere... so that makes him rather unique... after I knew his full name it was easy to find him. Actually, Hermione told me. They were talking about you... um... don't ask... and I asked if the Malfoy's had always been... um... difficult... and she went on for a bit on some of your ancestors, and eventually got to Darien."

He closed the book and tossed it towards the foot of the bed irritably, "This is just coincidence!"

She smiled at him. "It takes a while to get used to the idea... but believe me... he's there... he's in your eyes when I look at you... it's like he's a part of you now... but he's become so much stronger in the last couple of days... I don't know why..." She said wonderingly.

He blinked. It wasn't true... it couldn't be... but what Blaise had read to him from the little book kept coming back to him... the Living Haunt spell left you open to mental invasions... maybe even possession? If a spirit was truly trying to possess him... he'd all but handed over the keys when he started using that spell! The thought should have been terrifying... so why wasn't it?

"You like him, don't you?" She asked softly, watching his eyes intently.

He furrowed his brow, "What do you mean?"

She grinned. "I mean you don't fight him... I hear it in your voice when it's him talking... your accent changes slightly, though I couldn't say quite how... but you both seem to be there at the same time... it's... interesting..."

His head was spinning. He just wasn't sure how much to believe her... or what he should do about it... or IF he should do anything at all! He was suddenly distracted as she slipped a leg over him, straddling his waist. He looked up at her in surprise.

She grinned down at him. "This time I get to watch you..." She said in a soft, utterly seductive tone.

All other thoughts were immediately forgotten...

------------

Ron woke, feeling a sudden draft as the bed under him shifted slightly. He opened his eyes, peering around and feeling utterly disoriented. He rubbed his eyes, slowly remembering where he was. A little smile grew on his face as he remembered what he had been doing there the night before... all the way up to nearly dawn actually... he'd probably only had a couple hours of sleep. He looked around now that he wasn't quite so.... distracted. He was in a bedroom of course... but it was far from his own. The whole place was almost unbelievably extravagant. The pillow under his head was filled with the finest goose down, the blankets covering him were a royal green and soft as butter... not to mention that, now that he thought about it, the bed was roughly the size of his entire room at The Burrow. The bed hangings and draperies were flowing green silk, the furnishings looking as if they each cost more than his father made in a decade. He pulled the blankets back up into place, shivering as the cool air met his bare skin.

"Sorry." A soft, musical voice said from the foot of the bed.

His eyes darted over, spotting Pansy pulling on a tiny pair of green lace knickers. She smiled over at him. "I would dearly love to stay, but I'm supposed to meet Millicent for breakfast." She said, expertly donning her matching bra in one fluid movement. She looked over at him and smiled mischievously. She came over and crawled back up on the bed beside him, "You were even better than he said you'd be..." She murmured seductively, leaning down and giving him a long, passionate kiss, her tongue invading his mouth unhesitatingly. When she finally released him she chuckled, "Any time you want to do that again you just say the word... As a general rule, I don't shag Gryffindors, but for you I'll definitely make an exception..." She tousled his hair and giggled, bouncing off the bed playfully. She slipped into the simple dress she'd been worn there the night before and pulled on her robes. "See you later, lover boy... just remember there's the Quidditch match after lunch... if you two don't show up they'll probably send search parties!"

With that, she opened the door, checking to make sure the coast was clear, then slipped out.

Ron blinked. 'You two'. He turned over and saw Blaise laying on the other side of him. He was still fast asleep. A little smile flickered over his lips. Blaise looked so innocent and adorable when he slept... He was quite surprised when he caught himself thinking he was even cuter than Harry.

Blaise stirred slightly. Ron quickly turned over on his side facing the other way, not wanting to get caught watching him. After a moment, Blaise rolled over, spooning up against him, draping his arm over his side and pulling him closer, nuzzling against his neck. Ron closed his eyes, trying not to remember the night with Harry... He pressed back against Blaise's warm skin.

Blaise chuckled softly, still mostly asleep. "Keep it up and you're gonna get me all worked up again Ron..." He muttered softly, gently kissing his neck.

A little smile tugged at Ron's lips as his eyes got watery. He had more than half expected to be called by someone else's name... but Blaise knew exactly who it was he was cuddled up against... even half asleep, he knew... Ron wasn't sure just why that was so important to him, but he felt his heart catch in his throat at the sound of his name. He slipped his hand over Blaise's and twined his fingers in his, pulling him closer. He felt completely at peace for the first time in a very long time. He sighed happily and let sleep reclaim him.

---------------

AN - I know, I know... I skipped again. So sue me. Next time. Too tired to do it justice at the moment.