Fire and Ice

Chapter 3

The past night had left Ginny, in a state of shock and confusion. Not only had she saved Draco Malfoy's life, her worst enemy mind you, she had also received a kiss from his very lips. She knew the kiss meant absolutely nothing, it couldn't mean anything … or at least that's what she hoped. Because, deep down tearing at the inside of her stomach was the aching feeling she had actually enjoyed such a kiss.

Which in reality that particular kiss, should have never happened. His lips should have never met hers, with such desperation and lust. Now, lying on the small mattress of her room, Ginny found her thoughts stirring violently, thinking up any explanation it could to avoid further thoughts on the subject.

Then through everything, Ginny noticed Draco stirring beside her. Turning on her side she glanced over the edge of her mattress. She frowned at what her eyes revealed. There was Draco alright, but something about him was not right. He looked troubled, as if in a severe pain. His eyes were tightly shut, and he seemed to be worrying on his lower lip.

What surprised Ginny even more was the fact that, he was sleeping. I mean, he was literally in a deep state of sleep. He must be dreaming … Ginny mused to herself, silently. Then, sitting up, Ginny slid from her bed and onto the floor next to him. He continued to stir, tossing and turning from side to side. Ginny watched him carefully, observing his every move.

Slowly, his thrashing began to decrease and within a few minutes he was completely still. Ginny continued to watch him, her eyes lingering on his chest, as it rose and fell. Then, without hesitation, she reached out and stroked his cheek with her middle and forefinger. He shuttered, and a small smile played across his lips.

Her fingers glided up his cheek to his forehead, brushing stray strands of hair from his eyes. They continued to skim lightly over the skin on his forehead, until to Ginny's surprise, Malfoy's eyes shot wide open.

"What do you think your doing Weasley?" Draco demanded, practically leaping up from the makeshift bed and scowling down at her.

"I-I was … ummm …"

"Well?"

"I was just …" Ginny sighed. "I don't know what came over me, just forget it." Getting up she headed for the door but, Draco easily blocked her path. He gripped her hand, and yanked her towards him.

"What were you doing?" He questioned harshly, glaring daggers into her.

She struggled to get her hand released from his grip but, he didn't budge. "Malfoy! Let go of me!" she said, angrily

"No, not until you explain to me why you were …" Draco, gulped. "Touching me." Ginny frowned, realizing how tense he seemed. Finding this the perfect time to break free, she yanked her hand from his grip.

"It doesn't matter. I told you forget it. Now, I have breakfast to attend to. So, if you don't mind, I'd like to get going" she pushed past him, skimming her shoulder with his, and left.

Draco remained still, starring at the spot in which Ginny had just stood. No one, and I mean NO ONE had ever stood up to Draco, like Ginny just had. They were all to terrified, to afraid they might become dragon dung if they were to so much as lay a hand on his head. Draco's thoughts were whirling; Who does she think she is? Disobeying me as if im a poor humble rat like herself!

A sudden voice echoed from behind the wooden door, and Draco's eyes widened. Quickly he dove for cover, beneath the secrecy of Ginny's bed and prepared himself for a long wait if necessary. He watched as two pairs of feet, entered and walked amongst the room.

"Harry, I really don't think you should be doing this" stated a worried, timid voice.

"Hermione, I think I should know if Ginny is-"

"If Ginny is what? You don't even have an idea as to what, Ginny is doing!" Hermione hissed, clearly annoyed.

"I know she has some sort of book … a diary possibly" Harry stated, ignoring Hermione's protest and continuing to skim the room.

"And how do you know this?" Hermione demanded

"I've walked in on her a couple of times … writing in it" he replied nonchalantly

"That doesn't mean anything! Harry, you really shouldn't be going through Ginny's-"

Suddenly another pair of feet came parading into the room, although these feet bore no shoes. Meaning only one thing … Ginny was back. Draco's eyes widened, as he continued to listen in.

"Harry! Hermione! What are you doing in here?" Ginny screeched, horrified.

Harry spun around, "Oh hello Ginn, have a good night's sleep?"

"Don't pull that rubbish with me Harry Potter! Now, what in merlins name are you doing in my room?" she hissed, marching right up to him and glaring him in the eyes.

"I-I was just …"

"Ginny, we were just-" Hermione broke in, only to be silenced with a deadly glare from Ginny.

"Get out …" Ginny growled, furious. "I said, GET OUT!" she screamed, tears brimming in her eyes.

Harry and Hermione hurried from the room, and words of disgust were heard from down the hall. Ginny quickly ran to the door, and slammed it shut. Then without uttering a word, she fell against the door, and slid down till she reached the floor. Gently pulling her legs against her chest, she buried her head between her knees, and cried.

Draco watched as her tears glided down her cheeks, and hit the wooden floor beneath her. Watched as she continued to cry, holding herself. Slowly he crept out from under the bed, and stood up straight. At this point Ginny realized he was watching her, and promptly began to wipe her eyes.

Draco was completely shocked. I mean, here was a girl who had just moments ago stood up to a Malfoy, one who was feared highly by many students. It surprised him how quickly the girl could loose her self control, and break down. Apparently, she had been through much worse than he had suspected.

Ginny's sniffles broke the silence in the room, as she continued to wipe her tears away. She looked up, and frowned.

"What are you looking at Malfoy?" she questioned, miserably.

Draco shook his head, clearing away any remotely sorrowful feeling for the girl. "Nothing." He stated firmly.

Ginny rolled her eyes, and pushed herself up from the floor. Dusting off her jeans, still dirty from the night before, she stood up straight.

"Well then, I suppose we should begin planning the master plan to get you out of here, shouldn't we?"

"Yes. The sooner I get out of here, the better" he growled, plopping down upon the plush blankets in which Ginny slept.

Ginny snorted, rolling her eyes. "Anyway, you say you can't apparate?" she questioned

"Weasley, if I could apparate don't you think I would have left this ruddy old house of yours by now?" he said, with one of his trademark smirks.

"True." She stated weakly. "Well, then I suppose I could always borrow Harry's invisibility cloak for a bit, and smuggle you out" she mused out loud.

Draco shrugged, and laid down against the pillow. "Fine. As long as I'm out of here by day break I'll be good".

Ginny rolled her eyes, "What ever Malfoy". Then heading over towards her dresser, she pulled open a drawer slowly, and dug around in its contents. Soon enough, she had found what she was looking for, a small blue diary. Quickly finding a quill, she perched herself within the windowsill and began to write.

Draco slowly began drifting into a state of light sleep, breathing in deep, refreshing gulps of air. Soon, his dreams swept him away into another dimension, while Ginny poured her heart out into the tiny, light blue book.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

A sudden crash rang throughout the room, and Draco's eyes shot open. Mumbles of curses, rang in his ears. He rubbed his eyes, and glanced up. There, was Ginny hunched over a pile of parchment, which was strewn about the floor. She was obviously annoyed, as she snatched up each individual piece of parchment, stuffing it inside her trunk.

"What are you doing she weasel?" Draco mumbled, sitting up

Ginny jumped, and dropped all the parchment, her head flying up to her chest. She breathed heavily, "Bloody hell, Malfoy. You scared me to death! I thought you were sleeping!" she stated, beginning to gather up all of the parchment once more.

"I was, until you made all that bloody noise. So, what are you doing anyway?" he questioned, frowning.

"I'm packing up my belongings for Hogwarts; we're going to leave within an hour." She stated, finally collecting all the parchment from the ground.

Draco sighed, looking aggravated. "Thanks for the notice Weasley!"

"Well, you were sleeping. And, it really doesn't matter anyway. After all it's not like you have anything to bring with you" she countered, smirking.

Draco growled words of hatred and turned over on his side, facing the wall. Ginny, just ignored him, and continued packing up the rest of her things.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sooner than later, Ginny had finished up packing everything there was to pack, leaving her room surprisingly empty. She had sneakily snatched up Harry's invisibility cloak, and stowed it away within her knapsack. Now, sitting on the edge of her bed she began revising a plan in her head.

Draco sat lazily in the windowsill, which Ginny had found herself, very often that summer. She watched as he gazed out the window, longing to get out of this hell, she called home.

"So," Draco said, turning to face her. "When are we leaving?"

Ginny shrugged, "My mum should have been up a bit ago. I wonder what's taking her …"

Suddenly the door flew open, and Ginny lunged towards Draco, pushing him into the closet.

"Ginny, dear we're about to set off. Are you ready?" Mrs. Weasley questioned, entering the room.

"Uh, yeah mum. I'll be down in a minute, just got to make sure I've gotten everything"

"Oh, alright. I'll meet you outside by the car-"

"Car? We're taking the car?" Ginny asked, surprised.

"Well, yes dear. Your father insists on giving it another chance" Mrs. Weasley sighed. "Might as well, give in … you know how your father can be."

Ginny laughed lightly, "Yeah, a real pain. But, how are we going to fit all of us in one car?" she mused, frowning.

"Well Harry, Hermione, and the twins went by floo. Unfortunately your brother had a bit of a problem, and couldn't get through. So, he'll be coming with us"

Ginny's eyes widened. "What's the matter deary?" Mrs. Weasley questioned suspiciously.

Ginny shook her head, as her eyes shrunk back to their normal size. "Oh, nothing nothing. I'm fine" she said, conjuring up a fake smile.

"Alright, see you in a few moments then!" Her mother said, cheerfully bouncing out of the door.

"See you then …" Ginny mumbled.

A sudden crash rang throughout the room, and Ginny spun around to find Draco lying on the floor, covered in old cloths from Ginny's closet. She bursts out into fits of laughter, clutching her side as her laughs echoed off the walls.

"It's not funny, Weasley!" Draco snarled, throwing a pair of old trousers from his head.

Ginny just continued to laugh, harder and harder, while Draco recovered from his nasty fall. Throwing yet, another pair of old tattered trousers to the floor Draco stood straight.

He looked over at Ginny, who was still laughing and glared. "Are you done Weasley?" he hissed, extremely annoyed.

Ginny gasped for air, continuing to hold her stomach. Eventually she calmed down enough to speak. "Yes Malfoy. I'm done …" she grinned, smirking.

Draco snorted, and made his way towards the door. "Where do you think your going?" Ginny demanded, following him quickly.

"To the car where else?" Draco retorted, smartly

Ginny's eyes widened, "You can't go to the car! My mother will see you!"

"Then you best hurry up, and get me that cloak of yours" Draco continued, making his way down the rickety set of steps.

Ginny rummaged around inside her bag, pushing aside a few quills, along with the small blue diary, she had hidden away with the rest of her important belongings. Finally her hand collided with a soft fabric, and she yanked the cloak free.

"Here!" she shoved it into Draco's arms. "Now, hurry up and put it on!" she demanded, worrying on her lower lip.

Draco held the cloak in his hands, but proved to be doing nothing with it. He was watching Ginny's every move, the way her eyes continuously darted back and forth, and how she kept biting down on her lower lip nervously. Suddenly she turned to him, and caught her eyes with his.

"What are you doing?" she questioned, eyes bulging

"I was just-"

"Doing nothing!" she sighed, and leaned forward attempting to help the cloak over his well built body. She couldn't help but notice, how his muscles flexed ever so slightly, as her fingers trailed over his shoulders, flattening the cloak.

"Now, that's what I call improvement" she said smiling triumphantly, her eyes glazing over at what used to be Draco Malfoy but, was now thin air.

Draco chuckled sarcastically, "Alright, now can we please go Weasley? I'm getting sick of this hut." he drawled

Ginny rolled her eyes, and began making her way out to the car. "Wait up!" Draco whispered harshly, trailing behind.

Ginny smirked, this is going to be loads of fun … she thought.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Authors Note: Well, what did you think? Good? Bad? Please review with your thoughts! Thanks!