Draco sighed with relief and managed to crack a weak smile. After half an hour and three-fourths of a bottle of some nasty looking healing potion, Ginny had finally opened her eyes. Draco had watched her, seated on a hard backed chair in the Hospital Wing, since he levitated her up to the hospital wing, hoping she'd wake up soon. He went through many hopeful daydreams about her waking up and confessing her eternal and undying love for him in thanks for saving her. But soon, he'd given up and found himself just hoping she'd wake up.

Her almond-shaped eyes searched her surroundings momentarily, her face only slightly shocked, before landing on him. She stared, her gaze almost pleasantly surprised to see him and he looked uneasily back.

"Why'd you stop me?" she asked, her voice surprisingly strong for a person who'd been out cold for thirty straight minutes. He didn't answer for a moment, hardly even aware her lips had moved. Though he did understand why she asked. The old Malfoy would have laughed as she fell and probably even claimed the accident as his doing. But not anymore. He wasn't the old Malfoy.

"Why shouldn't I have?" he murmured at last, unable to find a better, more logical excuse.

"Because you hate me." Another pause. Her words were true and he wasn't sure how to answer them.

He was saved the reply, however, by the nurse bustling in, fawning over Ginny and making sure she was okay. Draco grimaced as Madame Pomfrey nearly forced more potion down the stubborn young woman's throat. She swallowed unhappily and lay back against the bed, her mouth twisted into an unhappy frown.

Madame Pomfrey then looked at Draco. Most people acted like they forgot about what happened last year. Everyone knew what he nearly did and they, gratefully, acted like they didn't. But he could see the hatred in her eyes. The fact that he brought Ginny here didn't seem to matter and he knew she was about to throw him out. Ginny seemed to see it as well and she did something rather strange.

"Please, miss. Let him stay?"

The nurse look horrified as she turned to stare at Ginny. She stared resolutely back. Finally, Madame Pomfrey turned away and went back into her office, obviously disapproving of this arrangement but unwilling to argue just now.

"Why didn't you let me fall?" Ginny asked again, sitting up in bed and looking at him hard. He felt like shrinking a few inches under her blazing gaze, which had grown stronger now that she took the medicine.

He gazed at the strips of the last evenings' sunshine that shone in through the high windows, then shrugged. "Why'd you jump?" he asked her, proud of his good comeback.

"Because I wanted to," she retorted angrily, as though she thought he had no business asking her that.

He took that as the end of that, but he was still curious to see why she attempted something so dangerous. Clearly not suicide? After watching her as much as he had been, it seemed extremely unlikely. She seemed like such a happy, jubilant person. What would make her want to kill herself?

"Well, I'm sorry for butting in then," he muttered. "It just seemed like the right thing to do at the time, was all."

Ginny smirked, a smirk that Draco believed cute and irritating simultaneously. "Well, well, well… Mr. Too-Cowardly-To-Kill-A-Weak-Old-Man-Malfoy talking about doing the right thing." He felt a quick flame of anger and embarrassment burn in his stomach and he averted his eyes. She fell quiet and he felt her eyes on him accusingly.

"Why didn't you do it?" she asked softly, leaning forward towards him slightly. "What held you back? What did he say to you to make you stop? Where you scared?"

"Listen," he said a bit loudly, standing and looking down at her. "I don't know how you even know about what happened up there but you weren't there when all that happened. No one was but me and Dumbledore, no one. You don't even have a clue what I was thinking or feeling!"

"That's why I asked," she whispered, slightly taken aback by his out burst but not afraid.

He sat and considered this, admiring her straightforwardness, though ashamed of the way he spoke to her. "I don't really-"

"It's okay," she said softly. "I guess you don't have to talk about it if you don't want to. It's your business and none of mine."

"Did you just say something respectful to me?" he asked, grinning in spite of himself. That was rare from a Weasley to a Malfoy.

"Did you just save my life?" she retorted.

He chuckled. "Good point."

He looked at her and found her smiling, though she stopped as soon as he looked at her. He wished she hadn't. He loved when she smiled and couldn't believe he had caused her to smile that way.

"You know, you've really—"

"Do you want to go to Hogsmeade with me this weekend?" he asked her, realizing he cut her off but not thinking about it. He had to say it before he changed his mind.

She frowned and looked at him. "This weekend isn't a Hogsmeade weekend," she said.

"I know."