Cold Cold Heart – Ginny

As they sat against the wall they talked. Ginny told him about what it was like to grow up with six brothers, two of whom were Fred and George. He admitted to always holding a grudging respect for those two. He told her that he was usually cruel because he had nothing better to do. He had long ago learned to find other's discomfort entertaining, and it wasn't like anyone would let him be anything else. She admitted that he had a point.

She finished the story about Fred and Ron's teddy bear just before they reached the Great Hall for dinner, and as a result they both entered laughing hysterically. When they finally caught their breath he told her he'd see her later and she waved as they went to their separate tables.

They were both greeted by disbelieving stares from pretty much everyone at their tables as they sat down. Draco just shrugged and started filling his plate. Ginny smiled and said, "What?" before doing the same.

It took a moment, but as soon as the shock wore off, Ron started yelling, right there in front of everyone. Ginny sighed and looked over at the Slytherin table. Meeting Draco's eye, she cocked her head up at her brother that had gotten to his feet. Draco smirked.

Getting up, he made his way over her table. Everyone else in the Hall was watching silently. Draco grabbed the back of Ron's robes and started dragging him out into the Entrance Hall. Ginny rolled her eyes and followed with Harry, Hermione, Luna, and Neville.

Once out in the Entrance Hall, Draco shoved Ron up against the wall. "Listen, weasel. Your sister has a mind of her own and she has decided to be nice to me. No one has ever done that before, do you understand? No one has ever let me be whatever I want, they all, like you, just take it for granted that I'm a clone of my father." His voice was as cold as a marble floor in February and just as hard. "Do you have any idea what that means to me? I will not, I repeat, will not let anyone give her a hard time for it." He let go of Ron with a shove. "If I hear that you have…" He left the words hanging.

He turned to face Ginny. She had a rather surprised look on her face. "If he yells at you again, let me know." She nodded.

She had no idea what to expect when she gave Malfoy permission to 'deal' with her brother, but she certainly hadn't expected that.

He headed back to the Great Hall to finish his dinner. She did the same with Neville and Luna behind her. Harry and Hermione stayed with Ron who was once again in shock.

The buzz around the school about their friendship was certainly loud and excited. Everyone had something to say about it. Everyone had an explanation to offer. It did not last as long as they thought it would, however. It didn't really matter though.

They soon found that their new friendship was more than enough to break the monotony. The more they talked, the more they realized they had in common, from their philosophies to their humour. They had enough differences, though, to keep things interesting. They soon became quite close. He even tolerated Luna and Neville for her sake, even though he found them a bit perplexing.

Their biggest disagreement was about the war. He didn't see how it mattered what side you took. He wasn't precisely a blood purist, but he didn't really care the other way either. They both believed that you should fight for your convictions, for what you care about; he just didn't care about much.

She was surprised by how fast she let him close. It took most of the year, but it still only took most of the year. She found herself talking to him about things as they happened, working out her feelings as she spoke, rather than before. The strange thing was that she didn't mind; it didn't scare her.

He cared about her, deeply. What he had told Ron was true, and he would have done anything to protect her. She knew this.

That was why the next year hit her really hard. They hadn't talked over the summer; there wasn't really a way they could. When she found him on the train and joined him, he seemed a little different somehow, but she wasn't sure exactly what it was.

Over the next month or so, it really started to bother her. He kept her at a distance now. There were times she was convinced he didn't trust her. What had happened? It seemed the more she cared the more he withdrew.

Finally she couldn't take it anymore. "What the hell is your problem?" she asked him one day while they were on the ground.

He turned to her like she had lost her mind. "What are you talking about?"

"What is with you? Ever since we've come back you've been acting really weird. What happened?"

He lowered his eyes.

She shook her head in disbelief. "No. Tell me it's anything but that."

He got up and took a few steps away from her.

She stood up as well. "You let him turn you against me, didn't you?"

He turned to face her. She could see it in his eyes.

She started nodding with pained understanding. "You let him convince you that I'm no different than he is, that I just befriended you for my own purposes. You let him make you believe that all I care about is myself because that's all you've known. Nice." She huffed. "Real nice. Point for Lucius. I opened up to you Draco; I don't do that, not to anyone. You know it was real. You know I care about you. You know me. You know how I feel." She couldn't stop the tears. "But you don't know that, do you? You don't know how to know that. It's so foreign to you because no one has ever done anything but use you." She was crying, "Why can't I free your doubtful mind? Why is my heart paying for things I didn't do?"

She turned to walk away but stopped to say one last thing "Why can't I melt you heart?"