Ginny was sitting in the Gryffindor common room, trying desperatly to finish her Transfiguration homework while practicing the accompanying spell, when Hermoine ran towards her in a frenzy.
"I came to warn you - Ron-and-Harry-are-right-behid-me-and-they're, er, not so thrilled. Especially Harry. He-says-he's-gonna-kill-Malfoy!" Hermoine let out in one big breath.
"Whoa, Hermoine, calm down! What? What about killing Draco? Where are they?" As soon as the words escaped her lips, she heard screams from the portrait hole.
"WHAT ARE YOU THINKING"
"ARE YOU CRAZY"
"HOW COULD YOU"
"WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU"
"DO YOU EVEN KNOW WHAT YOU'RE GETTING YOURSELF INTO"
"ARE YOU CRAZY"
"...MALFOY!"
They were both so worked up, and so tired from running this whole way, that Ginny couldn't tell who was yelling what or what was going on.
"What?" was all she could get out. As calmly and rationally as he could, Harry began telling Ginny what Hermoine had told him.
"Hermoine seems to have this strange idea that you've got a crush on Malfoy. She says she isn't kidding, and for a second there, I got caught up in the whirlwind and actually thought she was telling the truth. Sorry for yelling," he began to laugh, "I just realized how ridiculous that sounds. A Weasley? With a crush on Malfoy?" Now he was almost hysterical with laughter, "Good one, Hermoine." As Harry spoke, Ginny's eyes narrowed, but she stayed quiet. She had patiently waited until Harry had finished, but Ron was not as convinced as Harry was that this was a joke. He wasn't laughing.
"It's not a joke, Harry, and I asked Hermoine to tell you so I didn't have to put up with this load." She stood up to face the two boys head on, and wasn't going to back down. "Draco's changed --"
"'Draco'?" Harry inquired, seemingly dumbfounded.
"Yes, Harry. 'Draco'." She spat. "I do like him, I like him a lot."
"But Gin, that's ridiculous. I mean, he's my arch-enemy, he's hated me - and Ron and Hermoine! - since the day we arrived! He's done nothing but make fun of us! Of you!"
"Harry, don't you think I went through all this with Hermoine? Don't you think I've thought this all through? Do you really have that little faith in me? That little respect for me?" She seemed sad, now, on top of all the anger. This struck Harry as a blow to the ego.
"What? Of course I respect you, of course I have faith in you! Why would you think I didn't?"
"Hold up, here. We're not here to talk about you two, we're here to talk about MY sister dating a MALFOY." Ron interrupted.
"Well you can just chat with Hermoine for the rest of the day because I'm through." She stated, "I have class now, so please get out of my way." She said the last part only as a courtesy as she pushed past the two bewildered boys. And when Ginny Weasley walks out on you - you wouldn't run after her if you know what's good for you. And Ron and Harry did know what was good for them. They stared at Hermoine, lost, and she just simply said,
"I told you so."
"Oh, shove off, Hermoine!" Harry began, "This is unbelievable. She's mi--" He stopped himself before he could finish that word, but being the smartest witch her age, Hermoine knew what he was going to say, and it made her blood boil.
"Harry James Potter, don't you DARE say that! Ginny is not a posession! She's not a prize to be had! She is a girl - and a smart one at that! SHE knows what's best for her, not you! If she wanted you she would be with you, but you don't have time for her! You don't listen to her or respect her skills! You don't treat her like an equal you treat her like a child! So don't you DARE! Don't you dare think that you even know what's best for her!" Fuming, and finished ranting, Hermoine stormed off to class. Now the two boys were as confused and mad as ever. What could they do? Ginny wasn't going to budge, but maybe...just maybe...
"Hey, Malfoy!" Harry yelled out on the lawn on his way to Herbology, and as Draco realized who wanted to talk to him, a mix of emotions shot up in him. Ron decided he'd had enough of dealing with Draco, so he continued into the greenhouse.
"What do you want, Potter?" he sneered.
"Back to your usual pleasant self, I see." Harry sneered right back at him.
"What?"
"What have you been doing to Ginny?" He shot at his enemy
"TO Ginny?" Draco smiled mischievously, thinking about the kiss, "Not much, but she's certainly been doing a lot of talking to me."
"I'm warning you Malfoy - lay off. Or I swear, I'll hex you into last week." Malfoy laughed at him,
"Oh please, Potter, you couldn't hex me if you tried." And with that challenge, Harry shot a hex at Draco, which he deftly reflected. "See what I mean?"
"Shut up, Malfoy. And stay away from Ginny. She's our friend, not yours."
"Correction, she's his sister, and my friend. She hates you, you stupid git."
"What? That's ridiculous. She isn't your friend, and she doesn't hate me! You're mental."
"And you're a git. Please, you think these are my words? If I were describing you, it wouldn't be with a word as nice as 'git'." Draco simply said.
"Boys? Planning to come to class today?" Professor Sprout asked. Draco smiled, and Harry grimaced.
"Yes, Professor." they said as they walked into the greenhouse. Things quieted down for most of the class, but afterwards, Harry saw Draco walk off toward the lake.
As Draco approached their normal tree, he sat down and relaxed a bit. A few minutes later, he heard the rustle of leaves behind him.
"I told them." Ginny said. Draco smiled and stood up to face her.
"So I noticed. I take it it didn't go down too well." Draco walked over and, entranced by Ginny's eyes, embraced her. They sat back down together, on the cold, hard ground.
"What makes you think that?"
"Potter came up to me before Herbology ranting and raving."
"He didn't..." Ginny trailed off, obviously seething with anger. "Bloody hell, will he ever leave me alone?"
"I doubt it," said another voice behind them. They were both so startled, they drew their wands and found themselves face-to-face with Hermoine. "Calm down you two, it's just me." Ginny smiled and sat back down, inviting Hermoine to sit next to her, but Draco wasn't so sure.
"Why are you here?" he asked, obviously not pleased with her presence.
"To talk to you and Ginny. I can't go back to the common room, and - as much as you're going to hate it - you should probably know what happened after you left." Hermoine looked at her best friend, not excited about what she was supposed to tell her. Ginny looked at Draco, who was still standing up, and almost laughed at him.
"Oh it's just Hermoine. She's fine - not like the others. She knows what a git Harry is, don't worry so much." Draco still seemed unsure, but he sat down anyway, just to hear what she had to say.
"You might want to clear things up with Harry." Hermoine said to Ginny. "He, er...isn't sure where you two stand."
"Stand? What do you mean?"
"Well, after you left, he made it pretty clear that he was pretty sure you two were still together...kind of..." Hermoine was tip-toeing around what Harry had actually said - she knew Ginny would fly off the handle if she heard it word for word.
"What are you talking about? HE was the one who dumped ME! HE's been the one acting like a git!"
"I tried to tell him you didn't like him, but Potter just doesn't listen." Draco said coolly. Hermoine wasn't sure what to make of the statement, so she just spit out what she was thinking.
"Well, he was so angry after you left, he said that this," gesturing to Ginny and Draco, "was ridiculous, and it couldn't be true because you're...his." She finished, but before Ginny's mind could even process what had just been divulged, Hermoine added quickly, "But don't worry - I yelled at him, I think he knows not to mess with you again."
"THAT. UNBELIEVABLE. GIT!" Ginny jumped up and began walking towards the castle, when Draco caught up with her, and hugged her close. It was an honest effort, he was kind of amused at himself, but Ginny was not to be consoled.
"HE WAS THE ONE WHO DUMPED ME! HE'S THE GIT! HOW DARE HE! HOW --"
"GINNY! Calm down!" Hermoine shouted,
"See? I told you you should hex him." Draco said amusedly. "He tried to hex me, but after weeks of dealing with you, blocking it was a cinch." Ginny started to smile, and Draco laughed at her reluctancy. "You're a nut." He said in the most loving way possible.
The three of them talked for awhile, and calmed Ginny down. Hermoine noticed how different Draco was when he was with her. She was increasingly happy for them, happy that Ginny had finally found someone who she could really confide in. As lunch neared, Ginny ran off to finish more homework, eat and get to class, but Hermoine and Draco stayed behind. With a kiss to Draco, and a wave to Hermoine, Ginny was gone. The pair sat there by the lake, until their uncomfortable silence was broken.
"So you really like her?" Hermoine timidly asked. She expected Draco to revert back to his old self - to sneer and scoff at her, but to her amazement, he just smiled.
"Yeah...I really do." Draco looked at Hermoine earnestly, and she couldn't help but smile back.
"What made you...you know...come...to our side?" Draco's face fell as he remembered the events of that night.
"Voldemort killed my dad. Then, at that battle a month or two ago, Ginny let Greyback get away, and...well...he almost got loose in the school." Hermoine gasped, realizing now what had happened to Fenrir Greyback. He recounted the events with Ginny, Tonks, and his mother for her, more willingly than Hermoine ever expected him to.
"They took her somewhere, though. I don't know where. No one really trusts me yet, and I'm not sure if I should ask Ginny. I don't want to make it seem like I'm just trying to get information out of her." Hermoine bit her lip, unsure of what to say next. She wanted to tell Malfoy about Grimmauld Place, but then again, she wasn't the Secret-Keeper, so technically, she really couldn't.
"I'm sorry no one's told you yet, but there's a really good reason." The cold look she knew so well returned to his face.
"A good reason! That's ludicrous. She's my mother - I should know where she is. I did this to keep her safe, not to have her carted off to Azkaban! He can get in there, too, you know. She isn't safe there." The reference made Hermoine laugh,
"I can promise you that headquarters isn't Azkaban." His tirade made him smile a little, too. "Maybe you can come with us at Christmas. I mean, you could see your mum, and get to know Ron and Harry a little better."
"I don't want to know Potter or Weasley any better, and I surely don't want to spend Christmas with them."
"Would you rather spend it here? Alone?" He considered it, but before he could respond Hermoine simply said "Think about it." They changed the subject and talked for a little while longer before heading up to lunch. Ron and Harry saw Draco and Hermoine walk in together, and were not very happy with it. They confronted her, but she wanted nothing to do with them, so she just walked out after grabbing a sandwich. Neither Hermoine nor Ginny talked to Ron or Harry for the rest of the day. That night, Hermoine sent an owl to Tonks asking about Christmas and Malfoy. She just thought it would be a nice gesture of support to Ginny. Little did she know how Ron and Harry would react to the news...little did she care.