Slowly Ginny opened her eyes; this wasn't her room she thought to herself. Trying to sit up, she realised that she couldn't. Rolling over she saw just what was obstructing her and screamed. She was in Draco Malfoys bed with Draco Malfoy himself. Hearing her scream, Draco woke up to see exactly what the commotion was all about. Seeing Ginny obviously distressed he reached out to comfort her, but this only resulted in another scream and her climbing from the bed with the sheet wrapped around her.
"What's wrong?" A thoroughly confused Draco asked.
"What did you do to me? Why am I here, in your room, in your bed, with you!" Ginny screeched at him, hands waving around, and auburn hair flying off in serval different directions. "Ughh…" she moaned, falling to the ground, head in her hands, "My head."
"Here," Draco said, handing her a vial containing a blueish-grey liquid. "Drink this, you'll feel better afterwards, trust me."
"What is it?" Ginny asked, looking at the potion with caution.
"A Pepper-up Potion. The closest thing you'll find to a hangover cure. Just drink it."
She did and almost instantly felt better. Slowly standing up she wrapped the sheet around herself again and took in her surroundings. Eventually the events of the night before came back to her and she began to apologise profusely to Draco.
"Sorry," she began, "I didn't mean to react like that. I guess I drank a little too much of that elf wine last night. I guess a better be getting back to the dorm before Pansy sends out a search party for me." While saying this she had managed to find her school robes and pulled them over her head. Having dropped the sheet earlier, she realised that she was indeed still wearing her jeans and t-shirt. As she left the room, she turned to face Draco again and flashed him a nervous smile before running down the hall. When he was sure she was gone, he lay back on his bed, stared up at the ceiling, wondering what the hell was going on.
Meanwhile, Ginny had managed to slip back into the room she shared with Pansy before the other girl had woken, hence managing to avoid the questions that were bound to follow. Hopping into a very hot shower, she tried to make sense of the thoughts that were running around her head. She'd had a very nice dinner last night with Draco, obviously she had consumed too much wine and ended up falling asleep with him on his bed. The thing that confused her the most however, was the fact that she seemed to enjoy all of these things. She was suddenly brought from her thoughts by Pansy who told her that if she didn't hurry up, they'd miss breakfast all together.
The walk to the Great Hall was rather awkward for Ginny. She spent the whole time explaining away why she wasn't at dinner and then why she hadn't come to bed till late. By the time she reached the Great Hall she couldn't wait to sit down and eat. Walking in, she noticed Draco was already seated and that the only spare seats were next to him. "Probably no coincidence," she thought. Letting out a sigh, that didn't go unnoticed by Pansy, she took the seat next to Draco and began to eat. Throughout the meal, Draco tried to make idle chitchat with her, asking her about how she was liking her new house and how the other Slytherins were treating her. Occasionally she nodded her head and gave a non-committal answer here and there, and by the end of breakfast she was ready to go to sleep again.
Weeks passed and Ginny avoided Draco like the plague. She even began to avoid looking into his eyes cause she couldn't take the look of anguish that she saw there. To begin with, Pansy and her boyfriend, Blaise, who ironically happened to be Draco's best friend, had tried to get her to talk about it. Ginny just blew them off, saying that the hassles of her upcoming OWL's and her family was finally getting to her. Quite simply, she needed some time to herself. The weeks turned into months and eventually the two stopped bugging her about it. Ginny and Pansy became closer as friends, some even went as far as to call them best friends. The Christmas holidays quickly approached and one day, whilst sitting by the lake Pansy asked Ginny what her plans where.
"I don't know," began Ginny, "I was thinking about going home to see everyone, but with the way my brother and Harry have been treating me I don't know if I want to. Then I thought that I might stay here, I haven't made my mind up. Not too many people seem to be staying though."
"Draco's staying," replied Pansy, eagerly watching Ginny's face for a reaction that never appeared. Sighing, Pansy admitted defeat. "I just don't understand you Ginny. One day your giggling all over him and spending the night in his room after a romantic dinner, and don't say you didn't 'cause we all know you did. He told us. Then the next day you're avoiding him like he has grown a second head and turned into a fire-breathing dragon. Tell me Gin, what's wrong? What happened?" Pansy looked at Ginny and saw the tears that were beginning to form in her eyes, gathering her in a big hug. "Oh Gin, I didn't mean to make you cry. Shhh… its ok. Whatever the matter is we can work it out. Everything will be fine."
"I think," Ginny began, "I think, I, I…" she hiccuped a couple of times but was never able to finish the sentence.
An hour later, after Ginny had showered, she was sitting on Pansy's bed eating marshmallows and drinking hot chocolate.
"Sorry 'bout before, I don't know what came over me." Ginny said staring at the doona on the bed.
"It's ok, I just wish you'd tell me what is going on Gin. We're all worried about you," Pansy glanced over at Ginny warily.
"I'm fine. Just a little stressed with OWL's and my family is still angry with me for wanting to be resorted. I just need a break from all this, you know?" she muttered.
"Yeah, I know. You know if you ever need help with schoolwork, just ask. I might be able to help you and if I can't Draco or Blaise would be more than happy to." Pansy looked at Ginny after this last statement and saw her once bright eyes downcast and dull. "You know," she began again, "I was planning to stay for the holidays, but I have a better idea."
"Yes?" Ginny replied, a small spark of curiosity in her eyes.
"Well, we both need a break from this place, and I was thinking that we could go to my place for the holidays. My parents wouldn't mind, they're going to their house in France for the next six months. For some business deal or something. It'll be great, just us, spending time together relaxing. What do you think?
"I don't know. I guess it would be fun. And I could use a break from this damned place. Ok, I'll go." Ginny finally conceded.
"Awesome! Oh, I've got to go write Mum, she'll be so happy." With that Pansy skipped out of the room towards the owlery leaving Ginny with the first true smile on her face in weeks, shaking her head in despair.
A/N: Thankyou to all my reviewers. Sorry this took so long, been busy with work and school stuff (thank goodness it's over)! I'd also likes to thank my wonderful awesome beta... MalfoyVSThompson (writer of Harry Potter & the Heir of Darkness) it's a good story. Check it out. Hoping to have another chapter up by the weeks end, as I'm going on holidays for a week. Good ol' beta & I and a few mates... yea... gonna be coolies. (lol post schoolies). R&R plz!