Winter Fleur: (pops head out from hole in ground) Hello?

Readers: (glares)

Ginny: (glares)

Draco: (glares)

Readers, Ginny, and Draco: YOU'VE NEGLECTED US FOR THREE MONTHS! COUNT THAT, THREE MONTHS!

Winter Fleur: Yes, um, about that... (cringes)

Readers: Yes, ABOUT that!

Winter Fleur: (wrings hands) Well, you see, it happens to be like this... (goes off into long-winded, rambling explanation of how wild polar-bears ransacked her home, ate her sausages, and just so happened to steal her computer)... (eventually trailing off when Readers continue to glare)

Readers: (glare)

Winter Fleur: All right! I'm lazy, I'm sorry! NO more excuses for bad, bad me, I'm an official lazy bum, yes, that's already established! (dodges tomatoes hurled by angry Reader mob)

Readers: (MOB!)

Winter Fleur: (appeases with many cookies and cheese curls) Pant... pant...

Draco: I don't like cheese curls! (swings club and tomatoes)

Winter Fleur: AGGHHH!

end of explanation skit

So, here you have it. Mistress Laziness herself has finally updated. I hope you all aren't too upset with me... eyes suspiciously-tomatoe-like object Please, forgive me bows down to all-powerful readers HAIL READERS!

I hope I've managed to quell your fury over being neglected, and am still very, very sorry. -- but now, on to the update!

p.s. last time I had an author's note, I originally had it posted as a chapter, but later replaced it with a chapter of my actual STORY. The problem is, I don't know if a chapter replacement still counts as an update, so those of you who had me on author update, etc. may not have been notified. So, if you haven't read the previous chapter, make sure you do so

Mkay, now, REALLY moving on to story.

It was nearly three weeks until term ended. The first virgin snows had fallen overnight, thickly blanketing the ground, and the winter holidays suddenly loomed over Hogwarts' staff and students alike, dangling mistltoe and home-baked pies just out of their reach.

Ginny scribbled furiously on her parchment, looping the letters in her last few lines a bit larger to take up more space. Just two more inches and she could join her brothers in the snowball battle currently raging beneath her window. Just one more…

"Done!" she said, throwing down her quill with a clatter and running to grab her coat and mittens. Pulling on the worn blue jacket, Ginny tore out the door as fast as her legs could carry her and sprinted down the halls. Taking the stairs two at a time, the redhead flung open a door, letting in a flurry of snow and crisp winter air, gathering a handful and packing it into a ball as she hurried through the courtyard to the grounds.

Surveying the situation with a general's eye, Ginny noticed that the previously all-Gryffindor match had shifted so that they were all now pitched in a violent battle against the Slytherins. How typical Hogwarts cliche.

A feral war cry tearing from her throat, Ginny loosed the snowball at a hulking form that she guessed to be Millicent Bullstrode before ducking behind Ron's wall, avoiding a counter-attack.

"What's the strategy?" she said breathlessly, grinning from ear to ear as she balled up another snowball. Ron looked at her, a bit of snow encrusted on his left eyebrow.

"Chuck and run, Gin, chuck and run."

Grinning, Ginny scooped up another snowball and stood up, hurling one after the other at random Slytherin targets. Glancing around at the delicious scene of wintry mayhem, Ginny stumbled forward as a snowball hit her square in her back. Whirling around, Ginny caught sight of silvery blonde hair a moment before she had to duck to avoid another missile aimed directly at her head.

"You!" she cried, bending down to scoop up snow as she ran after him. Packing it into a firm ball, Ginny flung it after Malfoy's retreating back, hitting him in the shoulder.

"Take that!"

"Obviously you have no idea of my skills, Weasley; otherwise you wouldn't be challenging me so blatantly!" Draco panted as he flung one snowball after another at Ginny, who dodged both of them.

"I think you're the one who's starting the challenge, ferret-boy; you were the one who hit me." The redhead rolled in the snow to avoid another hit. Recovering quickly, she hurled her snowball at Draco; he dodged it.

"Have to do better than that Weaselette," he said, smirking as he flung another. This one hit her in the arm; frowning, Ginny doubled her efforts, scooping and packing and throwing with renewed velocity. Her next two hit Draco square in the chest.

"Ha! Take that, you evil Slytherin― mph!" Ginny's face stung from the scratch of millions of tiny ice shards. As she spat snow out of her mouth, she could feel clumps of the stuff sliding down her face and trickling down her neck. "No face shots, you filthy cheater!" she sputtered furiously.

Draco couldn't help it; he burst out laughing at the enraged look on her face and, unfortunately for him, didn't notice her eyes narrow determinedly and her fists clench. That is, until she let loose a startling war cry and tackled him to the ground in a flurry of snow and winter coats.

"Ah! Rape! Murder! Defilement by a Weasley!" he cried, voice muffled by her body and the snow. Draco could hear her triumphant laugh from above and quickly grabbed her arms, rolling them over in a tangled heap, and the pair struggled with each other in the snow until Draco emerged victorious, his hands pinning her elbows.

They lay there for a bit like that, panting, carefully observing one another from their respective positions. Draco's pale visage showed no trace of the cold weather, other than two tiny pink spots on his cheeks, and his pristine silvery hair was tousled marvelously; some of the snow had melted in it, making it hang in strands in front of his stormy gray eyes. He observed her shamelessly, surveying just her face for once.

Ginny's cheeks were rosier than normal, probably from his wonderfully-aimed snowball, if he did say so himself, and tendrils of her fiery hair had escaped her ponytail to frame her face. Crystals of snow were tangled throughout like shards of diamond in a raging inferno, and her eyes were brightened rebelliously.

"I win," he whispered, face just inches away. And then he kissed her.

Ginny's eyes widened in shock as his icy lips took hold of hers, demanding submission; she struggled underneath his body weight for a moment, trying to wrench her head away, but she was held fast. And then she could feel the searing heat of his breath, so different from his lips, and any hope she might have had of resisting was lost.

His hands reached down to cup her face, long smooth fingers stroking her skin softly, and Ginny touched his silky fine hair, sighing at the heady rush of emotions that erupted within her. She moaned softly into his mouth, his wonderful, firm, posessive mouth--

"Oy! Scumbag! Get your groping, slimy hands off my sister!"

Draco's headgave a violent jerkupwards as Ron's full body weight sent him flying to the side, and Ginny blinked, trying to shake off the kiss-induced stupor.

"Ron, you idiot!" she roared. Clambering to her feet, she rushed over and seized her brother's hands as he swung back for a blow. "What the bloody hell are you doing?"

"That prick was― was― Gin, he was snogging you!"

Ginny raised her eyebrows, as if to say, your point? "He is, er, my boyfriend, brother dear." Ron scowled, shaking the snow out of his hair.

"Who ever said you could date him?"

"Right Ron, because I need your permission," she spat sarcastically. Pushing past her stupid git of a brother, Ginny pulled Draco to his feet. "Come on, let's go."

Stalking back towards the castle with Draco in tow, the redhead couldn't see the triumphant look on his face as they tramped through the snow and ice.

"What was that all about?" Ginny asked as soon as they were through the door, stopping abruptly.

Draco turned around, bemused. "All what?"

"You kissed me." Ginny scowled as him, cheeks coloring slightly.

"And?"

The redhead threw up her hands in annoyance. "You kissed me."

"Well, you certainly seemed to like it," he said, smirking as Ginny's face went from pink to red. "If you're asking whether I mean to follow up on it…" He leaned in, and Ginny's breath involuntarily caught in her throat. "That's for you to decide." His hand brushed the side of her hip, moving towards the back, and her breath came out in a small gasp.

Smack!

Draco yanked back, face stinging painfully from where her hand had hit it.

Well, that answers that question, Draco thought, rubbing his cheek and watching Ginny's ponytail swing in a fiery pendulum as she stormed away.

Ginny yanked her curtains shut. Stupid bloody wanker, she thought sulkily. Thinks he can get any girl on the planet with his stupid bloody smirk.

Flopping onto her stomach, Ginny inhaled sharply as a hard object jabbed her through the covers. She grumbled, rubbing her torso, and yanked back the comforter to see the book lying innocently on the white sheets.

I didn't put that there, Ginny thought with a growing amount of alarm. I didn't put that there, and I don't know who did. She searched her mind frantically for who could have possibly picked it up.

It'd been in her bag when she'd come back from doing Draco's cleaning yesterday(he had decided to spill the bubotor pus she'd so patiently on the carpet three times, just to watch her clean it up); which of her roommates could have taken her bloody books?

She peered out, expecting to see one of the girls with Madame Pince positioned outside her bed like a siege, but of course no one was there.

Think. Sinking slowly back on her bed, Ginny wracked her brain for answers. Who could have been in here? Any of her roommates, surely; Candace, Rhyanne and Emily had probably come and gone throughout the course of the day. And Hermione had come in to borrow a pair of pants earlier, as hers had gotten potion stains on them. The spell on the stairs ruled out any boys… but then again, any girl who knew the Gryffindor password could have come tromping through to root through her things.

Ginny rubbed her temples, feeling an intense urge to scream, long and loud. Rolling off her bed, she pulled a rolled up poster from underneath and scanned the moon chart, searching for the next full one. It was in two days.

Shoving the chart back into the dusty corner under her bed, Ginny mulled over her situation with a note of finality. The sooner she did the summons, the sooner she could be rid of this bloody book, and any evidence that she had had it.

And Tom.

And Draco.

Draco.

Burying her head in the pillow, the redhead fell into a restless sleep.

Sorry its so short. I kinda don't want to say this, as I've just had to take up half the update calming you all down () but... I'm kinda hitting a blank spot in the writing process. I'mtrying to work it out, but don't plan on many updates too soon. I love you all, but laziness and chem homework can be very time-consuming. I do promise, however, that spaces between updates won't be any longer than one month, at the very MOST.

Much love and cookies and cheese curls:

Winter Fleur