A/N: OMGOSH. I am SO sorry I haven't updated in a month. This great block of writer's block came on and it wouldn't go away until…well today. So this is a really really short chapter and I'm sorry but I've got the writing bug back and I'll post a lot more regularly again. Thanks for all the reviews, you guys really encourage me to keep writing and I love it. So keep up the reviews, I hope I haven't lost any readers…

I LOVE YOU GUYS!

Here's chapter 32. Finally.

Chapter Thirty-Two

"You WHAT?!" Pepper shrieked. "You better hope that you're not talking about the same Ginny I think you're talking about, Malfoy, or you're a goner for sure! Just you wait until Ron hears about this—" Pepper was cut off by Malfoy, who suddenly shoved her roughly against the wall and covered her mouth with his hand. His legs were on either side of her legs and his other hand had one of her hands up against the wall. He let go of her mouth and held her other hand against the wall as well.

"Don't utter a word of that to anyone, especially Weasley, or you'll be sorry, Mudblood," he said threateningly. Pepper struggled under his grasp and glared at him.

"You just like touching me, don't you Malfoy? That's why you always catch my off guard like this," she said, wondering what the Truth Spell would make him say.

"Yes," he responded through narrowed eyes and gritted teeth.

She smiled sweetly at him. "Of course you do," she said. "So Malfoy, I'd like to know why I shouldn't tell anyone about this…"

"Ron stop being so stubborn!" Harry glared at the recently-closed velvet hangings around Ron's bed. "I'm sure Hermione didn't mean it! I bet she's as in love with you as you are with her!"

Ron flung back the hangings and they squeaked on the bar they were hanging from. His face and ears were bright red. "I'm not in love with Hermione!" he exclaimed, looking around as if he expected someone else to hear him.

"Yes you are Ron, and you know it," said Harry.

Ron glared at his friend before retreating back into his bed hangings. Harry sighed. He strode over to the dormitory door and was about to open it when it swung open for him and Neville came in, panting. "Hermione told me to come get you!" At Neville's voice, Ron poked his head out of the curtains once again. He made to rush at Neville but Neville held up his hands and said, "Malfoy's got Pepper in the hallway… looks like he's going to curse her or something!"

Ron, Harry and Neville rushed out of the dormitory, down the stairs and into the common room, where Hermione was waiting anxiously. "I didn't want to attack him on my own…he could overpower me in a second," she said. "I just hope he hasn't done anything to Pepper…"

They followed Hermione out into the hallway, where she led them to Malfoy, who was holding Pepper up against the wall. Malfoy was glaring at Pepper, gritting his teeth, and Pepper had a forced smile on her face. It was obvious they had gotten into some sort of scuffle, but Malfoy, being stronger than Pepper, had gotten the better of her and now she was trying to win with words.

Upon seeing the situation, Harry and Ron ran up to Malfoy and pulled him violently off of Pepper, pinning him to the opposite wall with their wands. "Don't move an inch, Malfoy, or we'll hex you into bits," Ron threatened.

But Malfoy wasn't paying any attention to Harry or Ron; he was looking past them, at Pepper. She was smirking, and he knew what she was about to do. "Don't you DARE, Halliwell," he growled.

"Sure, Malfoy, I'm really going to do what you say…hey Ron, I think Malfoy has something to tell you," said Pepper, smiling so wide at Malfoy that all of her teeth were showing.

"Halliwell, why are you such a bitch?" Malfoy glowered at Pepper.

"Because it's fun," answered Pepper truthfully. "So Malfoy, why you're always hanging out by the Defense Against the Dark Arts room?"

"I've been meeting Ginny there," Malfoy was forced to say.

Ron's wand nearly went up Malfoy's nose. "What did you say, Malfoy?" Ron hissed angrily. The wands of Harry and Ron were a lot closer to Malfoy, who gulped, trying to make his forced answer go back down his throat.

"I've been meeting Ginny there," he repeated.

Without any hesitation, Ron pulled back his fist and punched Malfoy in the jaw. Everyone else, except Pepper, was standing there with their mouths wide open in surprise. "Get Ginny, now," Ron said threateningly to anyone who would take his order. Hermione turned around and sprinted down the hallway towards the portrait hole. "You had better be kidding me, Malfoy," said Ron.

"He can't, Ron, I put the Truth Spell on him," said an extremely satisfied Pepper. "But I think he did something to Ginny, there's no way she would be in a relationship with him by her own free will."

Malfoy was having a hard time not reaching up to massage his jaw, which was bruising quickly. But he couldn't exactly move, with two wands pointed at him. He knew that if he made one move curses would be flying in his direction. If he could just get to his wand…As a distraction he said, "Go ahead, ask me what I did to your precious Weaselette."

"What the bloody hell did you do to Ginny?" Ron said.

"Nothing," said Malfoy murderously, glaring evilly at Ron.

"Are you being told to do something to Ginny? Is it the Indirect Imperius?" Pepper asked Malfoy before Ron could do something really rash that he would undoubtedly regret.

"No," said Malfoy, still trying to get at his wand.

Hermione appeared in the corridor with a scared looking Ginny at her side. As soon as Ron turned his attention from Malfoy to Ginny, Malfoy grabbed his wand from the pocket of his robe and turned the tables on them all: Ron, surprised, was now caught up against the wall with Malfoy's wand at his throat.

"Go on, Ginny, tell them everything," he growled.

Ginny gulped as Pepper, Malfoy, Hermione, Ron, Neville and Harry all focused their eyes on her. "Tell them what?" she squeaked.

Malfoy's eyes narrowed dangerously, though Pepper could see a slight softness in them, as if he was just teasing.

Ginny seemed to be comforted by the fact that Malfoy had her brother in a death grip, so she opened her mouth to speak. "I've been seeing Draco," she said clearly, trying to hide the fear and apprehensiveness she was feeling.

Ron struggled with all his might to get out of Malfoy's grasp. It was apparent that Harry was extremely miffed, and as he tried to approach Malfoy, (who just shoved his wand closer to Ron's throat), Ginny held up her hand. "Wait," she begged before any of the six people in the corridor could do anything to hurt someone. "It's been by my own free will. He hasn't done anything to me. There's a side of him you don't know…" Malfoy wasn't too comfortable with Ginny sharing this information with the contents of the hallway, that much was certain. "You guys should just give him a chance…"

"We have, Gin," said Harry heatedly. "Six years of chance."

"Well then forget you ever knew! He hasn't done anything to me, I can promise you that, Ron," Ginny assured him.

"Ginny, how long, exactly, have you been "seeing" Malfoy?" Pepper wondered. She could tell Malfoy knew what was coming next, and she suppressed a wicked grin as he stared warningly at her, wide-eyed. "Was it before he got me drunk and I woke up in his bed?"

Ginny and Malfoy both had a sharp intake of breath. "What?" said Ginny softly.

"Yes it was," Malfoy said, forced to answer because Pepper's question was out in the air and he had heard it. He almost let go of Ron at the look on Ginny's face: it was one of great shock, torment and anger. "Gin, it's not what you think—"

Ginny didn't stay to listen. She turned sharply on her heel and stormed off down the corridor and back into the Gryffindor common room. Hermione followed Ginny wordlessly, leaving the four boys and Pepper alone.

"You" – Pepper pointed at Malfoy – "Go back down to your dormitory. We'll all deal with you later. To her surprise, he obeyed. It was probably due to the withering stare she shot in his direction. Before Ron, Harry, or Neville could strike Malfoy from behind she ordered them all to stay put. "This is what we're going to do," she said, looking at Ron, who was clenching and unclenching his fists. His face was bright red and he was grinding his teeth. Harry didn't look too much different, nor did Neville. "We're NOT going to overreact here, though I think we're all going to have problems with that." Pepper was trying not to start yelling and screaming and going to beat up Malfoy and Ginny. "Now, I'm going to talk to Ginny…we've got to sort this all out. You guys should go to sleep or something…I dunno…but don't get involved just yet."

To Pepper's great astonishment, no one argued with her. She headed back to the common room, sighing, to face Ginny and Hermione and learn about Ginny's relationship with the person who took her virginity.