"YOU WHAT?" Ron shouted at his sister, his face as red as his hair. A few students glanced at them, then quickly hurried on their way. Hermione, standing beside Ron, was watching Ginny with a look of mixed emotions on her face. Harry, was leaning against the corridor wall, his arms folded across his chest as he stared down at his shoes, lifting his eyes only a few times to see Ginny's face.

She rubbed her face with her hand, shaking her head. "What do you mean?" Ginny snapped at him, "You heard what Harry-" She shot him a glare, but he did not see for he was once again looking at his shoes, "said. I was in London with Blaise."

"Zabini!" He shouted, his voice starting to go hoarse. Ginny was thankful of that. She was sick of listening to him yell, but didn't want to upset him more by stalking off. Ginny nodded her head, then looked to Hermione for some sort of assistance with her brother.

Hermione seemed like the only person that could calm him down, besides Ginny or Harry. But at the current moment, Harry had told Ron about Ginny's date, and Ginny was being yelled at. That only left Hermione. Hermione pressed her lips together, and looked at Ginny with her somber chestnut eyes and only offered a helpless shrug. Ah-well. Hermione probably couldn't do anything at the moment anyways.

"Why were you in London with Blaise? Did you have permission to go to London...With BLAISE?" Though he was still yelling, it wasn't as loud as it was before. Like was stated before, his voice was hoarse from yelling.

"Blaise had permission. Blaise invited me."

"You accepted!" He leaned in closer to his sister and lowered his voice, "His parents–family, friends–Deatheaters! Then you left with the ferret! His family is full of supporters of you-know-who. They whole lot of them are Deatheaters! We are not! We do not associate with that scum! We are in the Order!"

"You three are in the Order. I am not. You, Ronald, said I wasn't old enough and mature enough to be in the Order!" She hissed back, "His name is the ferret. It's Draco Malfoy...And do not tell me who to and who not to associate with!" And with that said, Ginny turned her heel, walking away from them in long, brisk strides.

Harry watched Ginny walk away before he looked at Ron. He put a firm hand on his friends' shoulder, shaking him gently. Ron was gritting his teeth, watching Ginny leave them. "Thanks, mate." He muttered to Harry, "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem." Harry answered coolly.

"Honestly, you two!" Hermione snapped, his hands on her hips as she turned back to them.

They looked at her with raised eyebrows. "Huh?" Ron's confused voice answered.

"You can't expect her to do something just because you tell her to!"

"You're right!" Ron said, nodding feverishly. "We should find some type of spell or something like-"

Hermione's hand quickly met the side of Ron's head, "No, you idiot! You can't use a spell on your own sister! What I mean is you can't control her. She has to live her own life!"

"So what are we suppose to do?" Harry questioned with an eyebrow cocked, "Just let her be around guys like Malfoy and Zabini?"

Hermione sighed, "I'm not saying that. I'm just saying let her be happy. She's been awful since the start of the year...Couldn't you see it in her eyes?" She asked in regard to their questioning faces, "It was like...She was missing something. Only recently has she seemed to be happy. Who knows? Maybe she likes to be around them."

"NO!" Ron yelled suddenly, as if that would make it untrue. "Don't say that!"

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Well I've got better things to do than argue with you two." She said simply before leaving them.

"Burying her face in a book and Head Girl duties... Real better." Ron muttered, turning back to face Harry. "Can't see what she sees in the two snakes. Why didn't you offer to take her to Hogsmeade or to walk with her or something? You told me you were going to earlier this week."

Harry nodded, "Things came up and I didn't get the time. Besides, I forgot about the meeting I had with Lupin."

Sighing, Ron looked to the direction Hermione left in, "Maybe she's right." He said in a pained voice, hating admitting it, "Ginny didn't really seem all there at the start of the year."

"Maybe that's because we broke up just a few weeks before school started." Harry said in a tone as an explanation. He didn't want to admit that Hermione had the possibility of being right.

Ron turned back to his friend and shrugged. They stood there next to each other in utter silent for a few moments before Harry spoke up, "C'mon... We still have to finish our potions essay."

Draco, his blonde hair hanging in front his eyes, strolled the corridors of Hogwarts for nothing in particular. Alright. So maybe there was a particular place he was going. Well, more to the point, a particular person he wanted to find. Yes, that person was Ginny Weasley.

He hadn't meant to get her upset by demanding an apology. Draco hadn't meant to sound demanding. He wanted to sound joking, but apparently, he didn't know how to have that tone. But when before had he been joking? He could threaten, talk with a growl, scoff, be harsh, command, brag, gloat, but joke? No. Joking was something he hardly, if ever, did.

So, he walked. His hands into his pockets, his head hung low. For once, Draco Malfoy wasn't strutting about as if he owned the place. He wasn't walking boldly, confidently, or with pride. He was just... he was longing for Ginny. For some reason he couldn't explain in words, he just wanted to be around her.

Holding her hand yesterday, while running to the Leaky Cauldron caused his chest to tightened, trapping his breath in his throat, heart to pump, stomach to feel like it was in knots. But in the good kind of knots. The kind that make you feel like you could either fall or fly at any moment.

Wait. Draco scolded himself, shaking his head from left to right, right to left. He hated the way he was thinking. He was making it out to be like he was in complete, utter love with this girl and would do anything for her. But... He would, wouldn't he? He'd give anything just to see her and for her not to be angry with him.

Draco would buy all his money could buy, or, if she wished it, burn it all, or toss it out of some window to the rest of the world. Draco would walk to the edge of the earth and jump off if it would please her. But who know where to find the edge of the earth at? A cliff would be much easier to walk to. Yet if she said 'edge of the world' he would gladly walk for days. If she wanted him to jump off a tower, trying to fly without a broom, he would.

He put hand through his hair as he stopped at a window and sat on the sill, resting his forehead against the glass.

Draco wondered how Blaise would react to him now. Draco had taken Ginny's hand, running with her, leaving Blaise in a brawl with Potter. He left his best-friend, since the age of four, in a fight with a Gryffindor, not offering any type of help. All he did was watch them for a moment, then jump to Ginny's side.

Surely Blaise would hate him with a passion now, right?

That question didn't have to be pondered for long. In only a moment, he heard his name being called.

"Draco Malfoy..." A voice said lowly, through gritted teeth.

Draco didn't have to look to see who it was, he already knew that it was Blaise. Even before he said anything, he could sense Blaise was turned the corner and was watching him. But a feeling, a warning feeling, made it's way through Draco's blood and he turned to look to Blaise.

He felt his eyes widen in shock, his mouth hung open slightly, the breath trapped in his lungs.

Blaise had his wand raised to Draco, standing in the dueling position. Slowly, Draco lifted himself from the sill of the window and moved to the center of the corridor. He put his hand into his own pocket, raising his wand, also standing in the duel position.

If Blaise wanted to duel, Draco would gladly do it. He had, in the past, hit Pansy and now he was too obsessed with Ginny for Draco's comfort.

Now, their friendship that lasted years was forgotten, and hatred for eachother was in their eyes.

It seemed to last a lifetime, the two of them standing there, their wands raised to eachother, glaring at eachother, their breathing already growing ragged in hatred. Then, all at once, the scene came into action.