"Ginny! Over here!"

Ginny looked up in the direction the voice came from. Colin Creevey was waving at her from the Gryffindor table. She smiled in response and settled herself in the seat next to him.

"Good morning, love," Colin said cheerily and leaned in to give her a one-armed hug.

"Morning, Col. Why so chipper?" Ginny asked. Colin was rarely in a bad mood, but he looked especially amused this morning.

"Have you seen your brother and Harry today?" he asked with a wicked gleam in his eye.

Ginny groaned, "No, what have they gotten up to now?"

"Well," Colin suppressed a laugh, "Hermione was having trouble with a particular spell and Harry and Ron graciously offered to be her guinea pigs. When I saw them they were on their way to see Madame Pomfrey with matching duck bills. It seems Hermione hadn't mastered the counter spell either."

"All before breakfast even," Ginny snorted, shaking her head, "This has really got to stop. I ought to say something to Hermione. I can't believe she's letting them behave like this. Those two are going to kill themselves trying to impress her."

"Oh, Ginny," Colin patted her arm comfortingly. "They'll work it out. Don't get involved; you'll only end up arguing with them and stirring up more trouble. Besides, entertainment like this doesn't come along every day."

Ginny gave Colin a half-hearted shove. Just then Dean Thomas sat down on Ginny's other side.

"Hey Ginny, how's it going?" he asked with an almost imperceptible tremor in his voice.

She looked over at the attractive black boy and tried to keep her expression neutral. Dean had been her boyfriend at the end of the last school year but they'd broken up about a month into summer break. He'd told her it was just too difficult to keep up a relationship when he wouldn't be able to see her until school was back in session. Later she'd heard that he'd been dating a muggle girl that lived nearby even before he'd broken up with her. Ginny hadn't forgiven him yet.

"Hi Dean," she said coolly, "It's going alright. What's up?" Ginny raised her eyebrows and gave him a look that indicated he should get to the point.

Running a hand over his hair, Dean replied, "Oh, you know, not much. I just thought I'd come by and say hello."

"Ok then, see you later," Ginny responded dismissively as she turned back to Colin.

"Hey, uh, Ginny?" She looked back over her shoulder. Dean continued nervously, "I was wondering if you were seeing anyone."

Oh, this is too much, she thought. Her eyes narrowed and Ginny retorted caustically, "No Dean, I'm taking a bit of a break from relationships. You see the last bloke I dated turned out to be a cheating bastard. It's left a bit of a bad taste in my mouth where boyfriends are concerned." With that she gave him a curt nod and turned away again. She heard him mumble something like 'Sorry, Ginny' as he left the table.

Across the room at the Slytherin table, Draco had been watching the Weasley girl give Thomas the brush off. He felt the corners of his mouth twitch upwards when he saw the steely look in her eyes. What had Thomas done to upset the little spitfire? The red hair was no lie; this girl was a force to be reckoned with. He knew from personal experience just how dangerous she could be when provoked. Ginny Weasley had caught him with a damned good bat bogey hex last year. Draco grimaced at his memory of the day he had fallen victim to her ire, it had taken Madame Pomfrey quite a while to fix him up. Judging by the look on Thomas' face, the little weasel was just as devastating with her words as with her wand.

Draco studied the girl for a few moments. Her shoulder length red hair was wavy and slightly darker than her prat brother's. She was petite and quite slim. She had the longish nose typical of all the Weasley children. Her wide eyes were a deep chocolate brown. She was not voluptuous; her curves were proportionate to her small frame. All in all she was not beautiful, but she was definitely attractive. Add her fiery temper into the mix and Draco would even say she was downright sexy. Compelling in a way that cows like Pansy Parkinson could never be. Draco's brow furrowed and he wondered where these thoughts had come from. He'd never considered her as anything more than an irritating pest before. She was a Weasley; he was a Malfoy. He was rich; she was poor. She was a Gryffindor; he was a Slytherin. Those simple facts effectively eliminated any possibility of dating the girl. They had been more than enough to keep him from having any interest in her at all until now. What had changed? Quickly deciding that lack of sleep was affecting his brain, Draco turned his attention away from the intriguing young witch.

As Draco tried to refocus on his breakfast two feminine hands slipped over his eyes.

"Guess who," demanded a nasally voice he had no trouble recognizing.

Draco rolled his still covered eyes and let out an exasperated sigh.

"What do you want, Pansy?" he snapped.

The dark haired Slytherin girl removed her hands and sat down next to him in a huff.

"Charming as always, Draco," she pouted, "You're very lucky I'm so forgiving. A less understanding girl would have ditched you and your foul temper by now."

Staring at her in disbelief he replied exasperatedly, "If only you were as gifted in memory as you are in compassion. It seems you've forgotten that I ditched you last year, you stupid bint."

The nostrils of Pansy's pug nose flared and her face contorted into a scowl. Rising from the table she peered down at him contemptuously. "You'll come back to me, Draco. Your father's in prison and your mother's a whore, who else is going to want you?"

Draco sprang from the bench and pressed his wand to Pansy's throat. His eyes were molten silver and his restraint parchment thin. Gritting his teeth he spoke to her in a low growl. "Never speak ill of my mother. I will harm you, Pansy."

An oily voice came from behind him, "Is there a problem, Mr. Malfoy?" Professor Snape stepped between the two students and firmly guided the hand that held Draco's wand back to his side.

Draco turned away from his Head of House. "No sir, there is no problem."

"Don't blame Draco, Professor. Having your family disgraced would put anyone on edge, I expect." With a flip of her dark hair, Pansy stormed out of the Great Hall.

"My office, Mr. Malfoy. Now." Snape walked briskly out of the dining area with Draco following a few steps behind.