A/N: Finally! Probably not worth the wait, but here it is. The next chapter will consist mainly of Ginny's postcards and some interesting people she meets in Brazil and then back to the main thrust of the story. Thanks again to everyone who is still reading! And thank you all for your patience.
Chapter 15
"So, what now?"
Draco was holding Ginny close and stroking her hair. They'd come very close to taking that final step, but to Ginny's private relief, it hadn't happened. She was sitting in Draco's arms in nothing more than her knickers, bra and socks, but that didn't seem to register with her at the moment. In fact, although Ginny was extremely inexperienced in sexual matters, she didn't feel at all uncomfortable right now.
She'd been afraid that Draco would be angry at how she'd suddenly backed off, but he'd seemed almost as relieved as Ginny had been. Something in her brain tugged at her, something that seemed slightly off, but she shrugged it away, concentrating instead on how good it felt for him to hold her here, close to him.
"I guess we should get dressed" he said finally, moving his hands away. "At least, you should get dressed before I'm tempted to try to persuade you. Besides, we're supposed to meet Zabini and Creevey soon. Then we'll decide on what to do for lunch."
His words were light and Ginny looked up at him, a smile spreading across her face. It faltered when she saw his expression. He covered it immediately, but she'd seen. He looked irritated or even disgusted. Confused, she pulled quickly away and stood.
"Are you angry with me?"
"No, of course not," he answered calmly. "Why would you think that?"
She frowned. "The way you were looking at me. You looked…I don't know." Ginny shrugged her shoulders and gave a small shake of her head. "Angry?" she offered.
Now he stood and Ginny flushed, noting that he was still aroused. And, my God, how did I miss that when I was sitting right next to it? She was noticing now, though. In fact, her eyes seemed riveted to his groin. When he chuckled, Ginny dragged her eyes away and stared at his face, mortified.
"What you saw, little weasel," he drawled, apparently completely unashamed of his current condition, "was sexual frustration. I already told you how much I want you. Just because I'm okay with waiting doesn't make it less hard--literally!"
Ginny gave him a confused look, then moved closer, still embarrassed, but contrite, too. "I'm sorry!" she said, placing a hand on his chest. "I don't want to make this even harder…"
As she spoke, her nearly bare bust brushed against his chest. He grabbed her shoulders, sucking in a sudden breath.
"If you don't want to make it harder, little weasel," he said in an odd, strangled voice, "I suggest you put your clothes on. Because right now it's so hard I can't even walk!"
Ginny's eyebrows shot up and she finally realized what he was saying. A tiny 'oh' escaped her as she spun away and grabbed for her clothes. Keeping her back to him, she quickly donned her blouse and skirt before turning to face him. She had to stop as she took in the sight of him, still clad only in his underwear.
Draco Malfoy was lean, almost skinny, as she'd seen before, when she'd found him drunk and bleeding in the dungeons. His long, silvery hair hung over his shoulders, wildly disarrayed, a fact that made Ginny blush since she'd probably put it in that state. His eyes were dark as he watched her watching him. Letting her gaze drift lower, she noted that his chest and arms were firm and muscular, though not bulging.
His pale skin seemed flawless until you looked closely at the scars on both forearms. One, she knew, was from the raking a Hippogriff had given him in Ginny's first or second year. The other, of course, was where he'd tried to carve the ugly mark from his forearm a few weeks ago. The scar was still livid, but fully healed. The mark itself was clearly visible, and Ginny couldn't help wonder whether there were something not right about her. He was wearing the mark of the most vicious of their kind, and here she was, hopelessly in love with him and almost as hopelessly in lust. And she really hadn't even noticed the dreaded mark until this second.
I'll think about that later, Ginny told herself with a small shake of her head. Forcing her eyes away from the ugly mark, she looked instead at his midsection, where the small ring pierced his flesh. A trace of dried blood could still be seen just below his navel. As Ginny watched, his stomach muscles seemed to flex and tighten, causing the ring's small pendant to sway and catch the light. She wanted to touch, but even more, she wanted to look at all of him.
The barest of smiles touched her lips as Ginny's eyes were drawn downward. She never really knew what her idea of male perfection was until this moment.
"Angel, you're not helping," he said abruptly.
"Huh?" Startled, Ginny looked into his eyes.
"I said you're not helping. To not make it hard? Remember? Well, eying me like I'm lunch isn't helping."
Ginny flushed and stammered some excuse, realizing she probably had been staring hungrily at him. Draco laughed it off. "At least," he said, reaching for his own clothes, "I know you like what you see. That's something."
When they were both dressed and Ginny was finally able to look at him without blushing, she asked, "What are we going to do about lunch? I'd love to eat in the great hall with you, but you keep telling me it's dangerous for us right now, so did you have another plan?"
He had been poking at his belly as though the ring was paining him.
"Does it hurt?" Ginny asked, concerned.
"Not really, just itches like hell!" he complained. "Anyway, I'll have to put something on it. Did your ears itch when you got them pierced?"
Ginny shrugged. "I don't really remember. I was about six or seven and my brother Bill pierced his own ear. I begged and cried for him to do mine, too, so he bought me those studs and pierced my ears. I thought Mum was going to murder him!"
Her hand went to one ear, and she smiled fondly, tugging absently at the lobe. "I wore them so long, I didn't really feel them any more, but it feels strange not to have them there now."
Draco took her hand and kissed it lightly. "Well, I'll transfigure something for you later. Don't want anyone noticing you aren't wearing them when you always have before. Which brother is Bill, anyway?"
Ginny grinned. "He's the oldest, and sort of a rebel. He wears his hair long, too, and he doesn't wear robes much. He's more into the dragon hide boots and blue jean pants and the rock star image. He wears a shark tooth from his ear now, but a few years back it was a fang. Mum just hates it!"
Draco returned her grin. "He sounds pretty cool," he said in a slightly disbelieving voice, as though he couldn't credit that one of Ginny's brothers was actually all right. "A Weasley rebel? I wouldn't have believed it. At least, not until I ran into one in Diagon Alley. A regular little vixen, she was, and turned my life completely upside-down."
Still smiling, Ginny asked suddenly, "Are you sorry? I mean, that I kept on bothering you and trying to get your attention and all?"
Draco's grin faded. He looked at her, his expression now very serious. "I'm not a bit sorry, little weasel. I think you've probably saved my life, for whatever that's worth. But, in case I don't get a chance to tell you, you're my future. Without you, I won't be anything. So, no, I'm not sorry."
Ginny studied him for a moment, wondering if it were just her, or if there seemed to be something besides the surface meaning of his words? Was this another hidden message; something he couldn't say out loud? When he bent his head to kiss her, she forgot to wonder anymore.
She would have probably forgotten her question about lunch, too, if her stomach didn't remind her that she'd only picked at breakfast. It growled loudly, demanding attention.
They were sitting on the platform in the music room, and Draco laughed and stood as Ginny rubbed her middle with one hand.
"Sorry, angel, I almost forgot about lunch. I thought we might eat together, but you're right. I was careless earlier, but it felt good to walk with you, I mean, really with you this morning, so I just did it. But eating together would definitely be risky, so I was hoping you might be able to talk something out of the kitchen staff again. Enough for the four of us, since we'll be meeting Zabini and Creevey in, uh," he consulted his watch, "ten minutes. All right?"
He held his hand to her and helped her to her feet.
"Sounds fine with me, but where are we going to eat? Will we come back here?"
Draco shrugged. "I don't know, really. Zabini said he'd arrange somewhere, so we'll have to trust him and hope Creevey doesn't let the great git plant us in the middle of the lawn or something."
Draco led her out the door, carefully locking it behind them. As they started down the dark corridor, Ginny was suddenly overcome by curiosity.
"How long have you know about Blaise?" she asked. "I mean, that he doesn't fancy girls?"
It was very dark in the corridor and Ginny couldn't see his face. He didn't answer for a moment, but Ginny waited.
"Probably since he knew," he said finally. "We used to talk about girls, you know, like most guys do. Then, one day, he stopped talking. I never asked. As time went on, it was just sort of obvious. At least to me."
Ginny thought about that for a moment. "Didn't anyone else guess?"
Draco was silent again, but this didn't seem to be a contemplative silence. It was almost menacing, and for just a second Ginny felt a chill travel down her spine.
"You've seen Zabini operate, little weasel," he finally said. "Would you ask him? Would you even tell someone else if you suspected?"
Ginny chewed her lip thoughtfully. "You have a point there, except that I would have thought that might give someone a hold over him. You know, like blackmail or something?"
He gave a hard little chuckle. "It might," he agreed, his voice every bit as icy and arrogant as Ginny had ever heard. "If you weren't afraid of Zabini tearing you apart in some dark corridor. I didn't care, and those who did learned quickly that 'gay' doesn't mean 'pouf', at least as far as Zabini is concerned."
Ginny gave a small shudder. No, Blaise Zabini was certainly not what anyone's opinion of a 'pouf' or a 'nancy-boy' might be. She could well imagine Blaise taking care of someone who had the temerity to give him a hard time about his sexual preference.
"So, what about you, little weasel?" Draco asked. "How long have you know about Creevey?"
"Um, for a few years, at least," she said. "I found out from the twins."
He was silent so she elaborated. "My brothers? Fred and George?"
She couldn't see him clearly, but she felt his surprise. She smiled. "No, not like that. They found some older boys setting on Colin, so they made it their mission to make life hell for those boys. The twins never let on to anyone but me, so I could help keep an eye out for Colin. He's a good person, and he's my best friend." She added almost aggressively, "And even if he's muggle born, he's a good wizard!"
The hand that had been lightly holding her arm suddenly tightened. "You're preaching to the choir, angel," he told her. "I know from personal experience how good he is. Besides, I'm not about to insult the person who not only patched me up, but wouldn't let you give up on me. Don't think I don't know. I owe Creevey a lot."
Ginny grinned and covered his hand with hers. "Oh, well then, that's all right," she said.
Feeling more lighthearted than she really should have a right to, Ginny almost skipped along at Draco's side for a moment before asking, "So where're we meeting them? Why didn't they just come and get us?"
"Well, it's Saturday, and a Hogsmeade trip, so I thought the fewer of us up and down this way, the less likely Filch is to find us. We'll just meet them outside the Charms classroom again. From there, it's up to Zabini. Is Labelle about?"
Ginny concentrated on her feline friend and sent an image out of them in front of the Charms classroom.
"I don't really know where she is, but I sent her a message. Sometimes it works, but sometimes it doesn't. Do you need her?"
"It would be nice if she could scout ahead and let us know if anyone's about. Especially if she could chase that blasted cat away."
Ginny nodded. Mrs. Norris was always sneaking around the corridors, and wherever she was, Filch was bound to be close by. But even without Labelle's help, they made it to the Charms classroom without incident. They'd only been there a moment when Labelle joined them, limping slightly.
"Labelle!" Ginny cried, kneeling and reaching for the Kneazle. "What happened?"
Draco also knelt beside the kitten, his hand hovering over Labelle's hindquarters.
"She's bleeding!" he exclaimed. "Let's get her in the room!"
He gently picked her up and, fishing his wand from his pocket, opened the door. Ginny hurried ahead of them and motioned to one of the tall desks.
"Put her here so I can look at her."
Depositing her softly onto the desktop, Draco pulled up a stool and sat while Ginny stroked Labelle and tried to get her to roll onto her uninjured side. The kitten meowed as though she were fine, and actually seemed irritated with the fuss. Finally, however, she flopped onto her good side, giving Ginny a chance to examine her wound.
"It doesn't look bad," she said when she'd poked at it and moved the fur out of the way. "Just a scratch."
Labelle's look seemed to say 'Didn't I tell you?' and Draco chuckled.
"I supposed she told you, didn't she?" he laughed.
Scowling, Ginny said, "Well, I don't like seeing people I love hurt. Is that so bad?"
She pulled out a handkerchief and tried to dab at the blood on Labelle's fur, causing the Kneazle to roll onto her back and playfully swat at Ginny's hand. Draco moved behind her and wrapped his arms around her waist.
"No complaints here little weasel. I seem to remember you coming to my rescue not too long ago. You wouldn't let me be until I let you have your way with me."
A smile crept over her face as Ginny leaned back into his arms. She was about to reply when Colin's voice intruded.
"I've obviously lost all sense of timing," he declared. "The last thing I wanted to hear was Malfoy discussing you having your way with him."
Ginny giggled and snuggled closer to the young man behind her, while Labelle jumped up and greeted the couple at the door with a meow. Draco grumbled something, but he didn't try to snatch his arms away, so Ginny figured he didn't mind too much.
"I, on the other hand, would have loved to hear that conversation," Blaise said, his voice cool and superior. "It would have helped immensely to understand what Ginny sees in this git!"
Motioning casually toward Draco, Blaise moved completely into the room and closed the door. Then he wrapped his arm around Colin's shoulders and pulled the younger boy into a firm embrace.
"Besides which," he added with a suggestive lilt in his voice, "it is giving me certain ideas."
Ginny finally noticed that both Blaise and Colin looked flushed, and Colin had a decidedly rumpled look about him. She grinned at Colin, who looked shyly down at his feet, but leaned into Blaise's embrace all the same.
Labelle chose that moment to nudge Ginny's hand and send her an image of being fed. Ginny's stomach growled in sympathy, making Draco laugh again.
"I guess that's our signal to grab some lunch. Did you find somewhere for us to eat, Zabini?"
The tall Slytherin smirked at Ginny. "I understand you have a way with the house elves," he said. "If you'll oblige by getting enough for all of us, I think I found the perfect place."
"And I have some news," Colin added excitedly.
"What?" Ginny asked, finally unwrapping herself from Draco's arms.
"Later," he said. "First, lunch!"
"How do they do that?" Ginny said in wonder as she walked up a back stairway with Draco. "They already had the trays set out for us!"
Both teens were carrying laden trays, Ginny carrying two, while Draco had three. The topmost was obviously Labelle's because of the saucer of milk and the bowl of tinned tuna. The others were a mystery, but the aromas wafting from the covered dishes were wonderful.
Draco shrugged as best he could. "They always seem to know what's going on. Except that Dobby seemed to be very surprised about us. I guess we were doing a good job hiding it."
Smiling, Ginny nodded. "When I told him, I thought he was going to rush out and try to hug you. He kept saying that you'd really changed. That you'd found a 'nice' girl."
"He just doesn't know you like I do, little weasel. He doesn't know just how wicked you are."
Ginny snorted and stuck her nose in the air. "Fat lot you know, Draco Malfoy. I happen to be one of the nicest, sweetest, kindest girls in the school, and don't you forget it!"
"Sweet? Nice? You're delusional, Weasley. I've already told you, you're the wickedest girl I ever met. Not," he continued teasingly, "that that's a bad thing, of course. And poor me," he added with a sigh. "I'm hopelessly…"
When he stopped suddenly, Ginny glanced quickly at him. "You're hopelessly what?"
He gave her a sly grin. "Sorry, Weasley, I forgot. Anyway, here we are."
Ginny gave him a quick look before taking in her surroundings. She had never been in this section of the castle before. The passages had been growing more and more dusty and the only evidence that anyone had actually been up here in the last century was the torches brightly lighting the way. That had made both teens nervous until they saw that the torches promptly guttered as soon as they passed. More of Blaise's work, Ginny suspected. Now they stood before a door with a small replica of the Slytherin house insignia.
"Hmph," said Ginny. "Could he be more obvious?"
"I wouldn't ask, Weasley. I'm sure he could. Now let's get inside before I drop these things."
Ginny gave a push and the door opened easily. She stepped into the room and stopped so quickly that Draco nearly crashed right into her.
"What the…whoa, not bad, Zabini!"
"Well," came the cool reply from the boy standing just inside the door, "I had to find something to beat that stained glass window. What do you think, Gin?"
Ginny stared, awestruck. They had stepped not into a room so much as onto a terrace in a southern facing wall of the castle. This terrace was enclosed, however, so despite the frigid temperature outside it was warm and comfortable on the terrace. The enclosed terrace resembled a conservatory or an arboretum with large potted plants and ferns. There was even a wrought-iron table and matching chairs with thick cushions set up to take advantage of the view. It looked out over much of the forest and away in the distance the hills around Hogsmeade could be seen. It was spectacular.
"It's brilliant!" she breathed. "How did you find this place?"
Blaise shrugged and motioned for them to set the trays down on the table.
"Just luck," he said with a smile at Colin. "So, what's on the menu?"
As they set to eating, Ginny glanced around appreciatively before turning to Colin.
"So what was the big news you were going to share?" she asked.
Colin flushed, but looked delighted, and Ginny happily noted that Zabini looked rather pleased, himself.
"Well, when Blaise and I were leaving the charms classroom this morning, Professor Dumbledore found us. I thought we'd be in trouble, but he didn't seem to care. Anyway, he asked if I thought I could take the pictures for the graduating seventh years again this year! He said everyone really liked their pictures last year and he wanted to do the same thing again!"
"Wow! That's great! When are you going to do it?"
Colin was still a little flushed, but his expression was elated. He glanced quickly at Blaise before saying, "I thought I'd do it after the holidays. Maybe around the middle of January. I thought I'd do half one day and half the next."
"And since he's going in alphabetical order, he'll, of course, save the best for last," Blaise added smugly.
Ginny couldn't help teasing. "I suppose now you'll know whether Blaise would be a good model for your life studies portfolio, right?"
"No, angel, that's enough. It's one thing to listen to Zabini singing Creevey's praises all day. I won't listen to them talking about taking their clothes off!"
"Jealous?" Blaise asked with a twitch of his eyebrow.
"Just have a weak stomach," Draco retorted.
Colin was blushing furiously and Ginny felt a little embarrassed, herself, but both Draco and Blaise were smiling, so she knew they were joking.
"Anyway," Colin said firmly, "the headmaster said that if they come out as good as they did last year, he'll give me references when I graduate if I want to open my own studio. And when I told him I wanted to do stills this year, he said it was all right!"
"Stills?" Draco asked. "You mean, like muggle photographs?"
Ginny looked cautiously at him. Blaise seemed to tense, but Colin just nodded.
"So, they just sit there and stare back at you?"
"Yep," Colin said easily. "Much harder to get a decent photo when you have only an eighth of a second to work with, don't you think?"
Draco frowned but didn't say anything else.
"Actually, if the still photo really bothers folks, they can always enchant them later. But I think most people will like them. It's different from what they're used to, but I think I'm a decent photographer. The pictures will be good."
Blaise gave him such a look of approval that Ginny nearly cheered.
They spent the rest of the day in the terraced room talking and laughing. Draco had transfigured one of his shirt buttons into ear studs and had made a big production of putting them in place. For Ginny it was one of the best days she could remember. No arguments marred their enjoyment and nothing disturbed their solitude. The dark specter of evil wizards or their minions didn't intrude on them. In fact, as far as Ginny was concerned, the only thing that would have made it better would be for them to be able to be seen together in public, with no fear of who might be watching or what others thought.
When they finally said goodbye and the Slytherins headed toward the dungeons, Ginny and Colin walked quietly side by side for a while. Labelle seemed fine, none the worse for the scratch she'd somehow acquired. After several moments, Ginny turned to Colin and grinned.
"You did it, didn't you? You kissed him!"
Colin's grin widened. "Actually, no. I didn't get a chance. As soon as you two left this morning, Blaise kissed me. And, wow! Was it worth the wait!"
Ginny nearly squealed in delight. "See! I told you! Now, I don't want details, but he really kissed you, right? Like he meant it?"
"Yes, he really kissed me. Like he meant it. You were right."
Ginny threw herself at him, wrapping her arms around his neck. "Oh, Colin, I'm so happy!"
"Well, I guess I know who the fellow is now, don't I?" a snide voice suddenly demanded. "But then, I don't guess that's right, is it, Colin?"
Ginny jumped away from Colin and spun around. Harry was standing in the corridor staring at them with a nasty smile on his face. Colin was frowning, but Labelle suddenly hissed. She launched herself toward Harry, but before Ginny could stop her the Kneazle rushed right past the dark-haired boy and down the passage, as though she were chasing something.
"What are you talking about, Harry?" Ginny demanded. "And since when have my boyfriends been your business?"
Harry opened his mouth to say something but suddenly stopped, a confused expression on his face.
"Oy, Harry! Where'd you get off to?"
Harry swung around as Ron came hurrying up the corridor.
"And Ginny, your Kneazle's running wild again. Saw her zip past chasing something. Didn't even stop when Dean tripped over her. Sorry you missed Hogsmeade, but it was dead boring anyway. Cold, too. So, coming Harry?"
Harry glanced back at Ginny and Colin but he still seemed bemused. Shaking his head, he waved absently at them and hurried to Ron's side. The two boys disappeared up the corridor toward the Gryffindor common room. Ginny just stared but Harry wasn't the only one shaking his head. Colin let out a low whistle and gave his own head a small shake.
"He gets worse every day," Colin exclaimed. "I wish I knew what was going on there."
"That makes two of us," Ginny agreed. She started walking again. "I just hope Draco doesn't find out how bad he's getting. He'll have a fit."
"Look, Gin," Colin said suddenly, pulling her to a stop. "Malfoy really cares about you and he's trying to keep you safe, just like the rest of us. If you're in danger, even from Harry, I think he has a right to know, don't you?"
Sighing, she nodded. She guessed he had a right to know, but it didn't make his jealousy over Harry any easier to bear. As they began walking again, she said, "What do you think Harry meant at the end? About that not being right?"
Colin gave her a gloomy look, but didn't answer.
The week seemed to speed by. Ron and Ginny had talked about Ginny's leaving and Ron seemed okay with it. He had plenty of spending money and he'd wanted to stay anyway. Ginny had avoided Harry for the most part, and the few times she'd seen him in the common room, there were really too many people around for him to talk to her. Su and Daisy were in raptures over their day in Hogsmeade and if they seemed to be pulling away from Ginny and Colin, at least it wasn't the way it was before. This time it seemed natural.
As for herself, Ginny had been able to see Draco once more, in the middle of the week. Unfortunately, they had a huge row over, of all things, money. Draco tried to give her money to buy herself a Christmas gift from him. She argued that she would rather have nothing than to buy something from him for herself. He said that he couldn't very well pop over and get her something, now could he? She would rather have had a kiss or a card, she returned tartly. Not everyone was obsessed with money and what it could buy, she added. The argument had only gotten worse from there and ended with Ginny storming out of the empty classroom as soon as Colin popped his head back in.
And now, on Saturday, Ginny's stomach was in knots. She hadn't even said goodbye to Draco before storming away. And it had been such a stupid argument! He'd only been trying to be nice. But then, he should have known that she wouldn't accept his money, shouldn't he? Especially not as much as he'd tried to give her! What did he expect her to buy? Diamonds?
Ginny continued to fret and even Colin seemed at a loss. Not a word from Draco. If he'd wanted to, he could have sent a message through Blaise to Colin, couldn't he? Hell, Ginny thought, he could have sent a message through Labelle if he' really wanted to, but he didn't! Throwing the last of her things into the small bag she was taking with her, Ginny turned to Labelle.
"Are you sure you'll be okay here, love? You know Mum said you could go with me."
Labelle purred loudly and rolled onto her back, begging a scratch. Ginny smiled sadly and reached for the soft belly.
"Why are boys so stupid?" she asked absently.
A picture of a certain blond Slytherin formed clearly in her mind. In this picture, the blond Slytherin wasn't looking angry and stormy, as he had the last time Ginny had spoken to him. Instead, he looked worried. Ginny felt even more horrible. Why had she quarreled with him when they wouldn't see each other for weeks? How stupid was that? Before she'd even gotten started berating herself, though, Daisy hurried into the room.
"Ginny, aren't you done packing yet? Isn't your mum going to be here in an hour?"
"Just finishing," she said glumly. "I was just giving Labelle a last scratch."
"Well, we'll miss you! Make sure you send lots of postcards, even if they do get here after you get back! Can I help you carry anything?"
"No, I've only got this one bag and my cloak. You know it's going to be warm there, even if it is Christmas."
"Yeah," Daisy said wistfully. "You're so lucky! It's already freezing here."
"Yeah, I guess. Well, that's it. I'm ready. Are you going downstairs with me?"
Daisy smiled and nodded.
As the girls left their room, Ginny gave her friend a sly look. "So how are you and Dennis getting along?"
Daisy blushed and grinned. "I--we're getting along great. He's not really at all like Colin, is he?"
Ginny smothered a giggle. If he were, he wouldn't be interested in Daisy, would he?
"As different as night and day," Ginny agreed.
As they descended into the common room Su and Colin met them, and the four friends made their goodbyes. Labelle kept rubbing against Ginny's ankles, begging attention until Ginny finally picked the large feline up.
"You're turning into a regular giant, Labelle! I won't know you when I get back! Are you sure you won't come?"
Ginny almost laughed at the image the Kneazle sent her. Labelle had pictured herself being terribly spoiled by not only Colin, but Draco, Hagrid, Snape and McGonagall, as well.
"Well, then, if you're sure. I'll miss you, Labelle."
Just then Ron came strolling over. Ginny was relieved to note that Harry wasn't anywhere around. Things were becoming even more uncomfortable between the two of them and even her somewhat clueless brother had finally noticed. Ginny figured Harry's absence was Ron's doing.
"Ready, sis?" he asked when he was standing beside her.
"Yeah, I guess. Are you sure you want to walk me? I mean, Colin could walk me if you're busy."
Ginny was afraid that Ron might resent the fact that she got to go but he had to stay behind.
"Naw, it's no problem. Besides, you're MY sister, right? Least I could do and all that."
Ginny gave her brother a skeptical look, but finally shrugged. "Right, then. I guess I'm ready."
She gave Labelle a last pat before setting her down. Then she hefted her bag onto her shoulder, gave her friends a last wave and followed Ron out of the common room.
"Ron!" Ginny said several minutes later as they hurried down the empty corridors. "What is this about? We're early! What's the rush?"
As soon as they'd left the common room, Ron had started walking quickly, making Ginny jog to keep up with his long stride. They were now nearing the main staircase and Ginny was very nearly out of breath.
Ron finally slowed, giving Ginny an unreadable look. "I know we're early, but I wanted to talk to you, privately. Without every ear in the common room tuned to what we're saying."
Ginny felt a sliver of unease creep down her spine. "What did you want to talk about?" she asked after catching her breath. "Something about the trip?"
"Nothing about the trip," he said, his voice tight. "Ginny, what's going on? I mean, what's really going on?"
"What do you mean? I'm going to Brazil with Mum and Dad. That's why we're going to Dumbledore's office."
"Don't, Gin. I'm not that stupid. You know what I mean. What's going on with Malfoy?"
Oh, boy, Ginny thought. This is it. Ginny wasn't exactly sure how to answer that. Whatever she said, Ron was bound to take it badly. As she searched for words, Ron clicked his tongue and rolled his eyes.
"Look, Ginny, ever since school started you've been getting into it with that prat. I kept hearing about how you would tell him off in the hallways and always get the last word in. Then, a few weeks ago, he rescues you from Flint in Hogsmeade. I know what Hermione told me and at first I couldn't believe it, but after watching him watching you, I have to believe that Malfoy really does care about you. I don't like it, but I believe it. And since I've seen you watching him back, I have to assume you feel the same."
He paused and waited, but Ginny was so shocked she couldn't say a word. Ron gave her a disgusted look.
"Geez, Gin, didn't you think you should tell me? Not just about Malfoy, but about everything else? I had to hear from Hermione, or from Colin, or from the great prat himself. You've got Flint after you, his brother stalking you and you don't even tell me! No, I had to have Malfoy pull me aside yesterday and demand that I tell you to keep yourself safe! Do you know how humiliating that was?"
Her cheeks were red, Ginny knew. Not only because of Ron's righteous attitude, but because Draco had overcome his dislike for her brother long enough to express concern for her. In spite of their argument, he still cared. Tears stung her eyes as Ginny gave Ron a big, sloppy smile.
"Oh, now that's really disgusting, Gin! Please don't make those lovesick faces around me, especially when I know you're thinking of Malfoy." He stopped in the middle of the hallway to face his sister. Leaning against the wall, he crossed his arms and said, "Anyway, I imagine you and that great prat had a fight? I had hoped it was serious, but judging from your expression..."
Ginny was about to answer when another voice, a cool, smug, arrogant voice, cut in.
"Not a chance in hell, Weasley."
"Draco!"
Ginny spun around to see him standing at the end of the corridor. He was leaning casually against the wall, mirroring Ron's pose, but Ginny could see how tense he was. She hurried to his side, relief washing over her as he opened his arms and gathered her close.
"Sorry, angel," he whispered softly as he stroked her hair. "It was stupid of me."
"I'm sorry I blew it out of proportion," Ginny answered, relieved. "I hate fighting with you."
He gave her a small smile but whatever he'd been about to say was interrupted.
"Damn," Ron complained loudly. "And here I was, crossing my fingers that you'd tell him to bugger off."
Ginny whirled, ready for a fight, but Draco grabbed her arm.
"Easy, angel. Believe it or not, this was his idea."
"Ron's idea?" she said in disbelief. "I thought you must have seen us and just followed us, but…Ron?" Ginny's eyes were wide as she faced her brother again.
"Thanks for the vote of confidence, Gin. Good to see you have faith in your brother. I don't like it, but you were unhappy. Even if I was hoping it was a bad dream or something, I don't want you unhappy. So, I imagine you two want some privacy."
His tone was disgusted, but his expression was carefully neutral. Ginny kept looking from one to the other, still unable to believe that her brother was actually behaving civilly to her boyfriend.
"We'd appreciate that," Draco finally answered with only a trace of his usual arrogance.
"I also imagine it's not necessary for me to tell you that I will track you down and rip your guts out if you ever hurt my sister, right?"
Ginny huffed, but Draco tightened his grip on her arm.
"I wouldn't expect anything else, Weasley."
Ron looked surprised at the calm reply. Somewhat awkwardly, he pushed away from the wall. "Right, then," he said a bit too loudly. "Well, I, er, guess I'll leave you two alone."
Despite his words, he stayed where he was. Ginny couldn't help smiling.
"Were you going to leave us alone sometime this century?" she asked sweetly.
"Oh! Uh, yeah, right." He turned and headed up the corridor, but stopped. "I'll be back in fifteen minutes, Gin. Then I'll take you to Dumbledore's office. So no funny stuff, Malfoy!"
Giving the Slytherin a harsh look, Ron finally retreated up the corridor. As soon as he was out of sight, Ginny turned and wrapped her arms around Draco's neck.
"I missed you," she said quietly.
"After only three days?" he teased, his eyes seeming to dance with amusement.
She shrugged. "So I'm addicted. You didn't miss me?"
Now he leered at her. "Angel, I miss you five seconds after I say goodbye. I just didn't think you needed to hear it to know it. I don't want to fight with you again. It's not fun."
Ginny grinned at his understatement. It majorly sucked when they fought. "Okay," she agreed. "Let's not fight. So now what should we do?"
Draco's eyebrows twitched suggestively. "I can think of some funny stuff we could do in our remaining…er…thirteen minutes."
When Ginny joined her mother and father in Dumbledore's office, she was unaccountably flushed. Her mother asked if she felt well, while feeling her forehead for a fever. Her father looked mildly concerned, but Ron just looked disgusted. After giving her brother an extra tight hug and a whispered thanks, Ginny joined her parents, reached for the portkey, and departed for her holidays in Brazil.