A/N: School's started up again so I'll be updating either every weekend or every other weekend. Ahh! I'm sorry about how long this update took. Forgive me by reading this next chapter.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of these characters, just the plot!

Forgotten

Chapter Eight:

"Harry, have you got your Invisibility Cloak?" Ron whispered furtively to his raven-haired friend as they quickly traveled down the hall, their footsteps echoing loudly on the stone floors. Harry nodded, and glanced in Hermione's direction as she quietly cast a spell to silence their steps. He grinned gratefully at her, before returning his attention back to the problem at hand.

Exactly how were the three of them supposed to get a hold of Malfoy's letter? A few days ago, Dumbledore had delivered Harry a message requesting his presence later that afternoon. Harry had arrived, slightly confused as to why he was there. They'd quickly greeted each other, Harry asking how Dumbledore felt, and the Headmaster offering his student a lemon drop.

Pleasantries out of the way, the issue was swiftly brought into the topic of discussion, and Harry learned that Malfoy was about to make an extremely important decision concerning the war.

If he should choose to be a member of the Order, Dumbledore would need to know immediately so he would be able to safely hide Draco. On the other hand, if Malfoy chose to be a Death Eater, following in his father's footsteps, the Headmaster would need to know so he could proceed to instead caution Professor Snape.

"Snape?" Harry had asked, confused. "Why would you need to warn him?" He had to then be explained to about the conversation his Potion's Professor had recently had with Draco. "And what if he wishes to be a spy?" Harry had then asked cautiously.

"Then he is in even more danger than I can express to you, Harry. I will not be able to hide and protect him, or his mother for that matter, without blowing his cover. Should anything happen, he will be fully responsible." Dumbledore had answered gravely.

Now, both Ron and Hermione were accompanying Harry to the Owlery, where they suspected they would find Draco sending a letter. Unfortunately, at the moment, none of the three had a plan as to how they would snitch the letter without Malfoy catching them in the act.

"What we need is a distraction of some sort." Harry mumbled, more to himself than to his friends as he looked to the cracked floors for inspiration. Ron scratched his head thoughtfully, trying hard to come up with an idea to help.

An eerie expression suddenly came upon the two boys' faces, and their eyes glowed as they glanced at each other, as if silently agreeing on something. Nodding, they simultaneously looked towards Hermione as she took a step back, startled at the strange gleam in their eyes.

She wished, now more than ever, that she could have had the chance to read that red, tattered book she'd found in the library once; All You'll Ever Need to Know About Reading Your Best Friends' Minds, by Harriet Smithers.

xXxXx

Dinner in the Great Hall was just about to end, and sunlight was quickly diminishing. The stars in the ceiling slowly began to appear, emitting a light, golden glow.

Ginny delved her fork deep into her chocolate éclair, much more cheerful now that she'd been upfront with Kendra and Colin about her feelings towards Draco (she'd figured she might as well call him by his first name, to herself at least, since the two had snogged.).

She'd been worried they wouldn't understand and be angered by her actions; namely, snogging Draco Malfoy, Slytherin and sworn enemy to all Gryffindors, especially Weasleys, since the beginning of her existence at Hogwarts. Luckily, she was quite wrong, as Kendra had whole-heartedly agreed that she would've done the same, when Colin wasn't listening, of course.

Ginny happily slid her fork into the steaming-hot dessert, and was just about to take her first bite when the éclair promptly disappeared, along with the rest of the food in the Hall. Annoyed, she groaned and silently cursed the house elves and their horrible timing.

"Colin, would you be a dear and sneak down to the kitchens for me?" She asked, carefully lacing her voice with sweetness and giving him her best 'I'm-so-sweet-you'll-do-anything-for-me' look. Colin laughed and shared a fleeting look with Kendra before nodding.

"Sure, love. Mind if I steal Kendra, though?" He asked standing and then helping Kendra out of her seat.

Ginny rolled her eyes and chuckled. "Off to another 'study session' before the kitchens, then?" She asked with a smirk. Kendra smiled mysteriously.

"I guess you could say that," she said, her gaze flicking briefly to Colin. Ginny noted this with slight suspicion but shook it off and stood as well, declaring that she'd meet them in the Common Room.

"After all, there's homework to be finished…in the morning. I might as well take a nap while I'm waiting for the dessert, especially if you two dolts will be 'studying.'" She said wryly, wrinkling her nose is distaste and stretching her arms above her head. She retied her coppery-red hair in its bronze-colored clasp before smiling teasingly at her two friends.

Colin sighed. "Gin, you do know that if you fail another assignment, Ron will have your head. Hard work never killed anyone-"

"Yes, but why take the risk." Ginny interrupted with a laugh. Giving a sarcastic salute, she merged into the already thinning crowd and made her way to the Gryffindor Common Room.

"Shall we?" Colin asked a moment later, offering Kendra his arm. She grinned in acceptance and allowed him to lead her through the halls, though it was surprisingly neither to the kitchens nor to the library. "We've got an appointment with two very different Weasleys." He mumbled to her as they passed a group of Hufflepuffs near the statue of the Witch.

xXxXx

"I can't believe you two are expecting that I do this." Hermione complained loudly, rolling her eyes as Ron and Harry instantly shushed her.

Harry ran a hand excitedly through his already disheveled hair before whispering, "Yes, but what do you think of our plan?" Ron grinned, obviously figuring that Hermione would be as thrilled about their 'bright' idea as they appeared to be.

"I wasn't born with enough knowledge of curses to let you know what I really think." Hermione hissed heatedly, before forcing herself to turn and leave the comforting safety of the Invisibility Cloak and quietly walking up the dismal, spiral staircase that led to the well-known Owlery.

Upon reaching the closed wooden door, she stopped and hastily fixed her hair, muttering a spell to smooth it as she untied the red and gold ribbon that'd been holding it up, letting the curly strands fall loose around her shoulders.

Pulling a small, cloth bag from her pocket, she plucked out a clear-colored gloss and applied it to her lips. Thinking she heard a sigh of awe, sounding suspiciously like Ron, she snapped her head back towards where she assumed the two boys stood.

"Go," she heard Harry whisper in an urging tone, coming from the complete opposite direction she'd looked. Rolling her amber eyes once more in their area, she sighed heavily before turning and pushing the heavy door open, loudly admitting her presence.

She looked around, searching for Malfoy's familiar, tall frame and, upon finding him near the window, about to send out his owl, she plastered a smile on her face. He'd glanced over his shoulder and was eyeing her strangely as she continued to grin at him and took a few steps forward.

"What do you want, Mudblood?" He asked, smirking as both her step and smile faltered.

'I can't do this,' she thought to herself, panicking that she had even agreed to this…this horrid idea. She suddenly felt a reassuring hand lightly graze her arm, though, and quickly bounced back, taking on a low, suggestive tone.

"What do I want, Malfoy? Well, I thought that was quite obvious." At his perplexed gaze, she continued softly. "You,"

Draco's smirk from earlier failed to make an appearance, and Hermione thanked Merlin she'd finally listened to some of the Patil twins' advice on getting the boys of Hogwarts to notice you.

"P-pardon?" Malfoy stuttered, his voice rising. Hermione inwardly smirked, but continued, nonetheless.

"I said," she took a step towards him. "I." Another step. "Want." At this point she was flat up against his body. "You." Draco was backed against the window frame, his letter clutched tightly in one hand, and his owl in the other.

Hermione fought the urge to laugh as his face visibly paled when she brought a hand to his cheek, running it down his face and then the length of his chest, all the while maintaining eye contact.

"Have you gone mad?" He cried, abruptly pushing her away.

'Forget it, I knew this wouldn't work. Pull it off as a joke and fight with him like normal.' She thought to herself. She smiled teasingly in response to his earlier asked question and, once again, stepped closer to him only this time, leaving plenty of space.

"Course not, Malfoy. I was only kidding! You and I are supposed to be doing our rounds tonight as Head Boy and Girl. I just had to ask whether you would be skiving off again, or if I could finally get a night off." She said in response, finally letting the laughter she'd been holding in come out.

Draco seemed downright offended that she, a muggle-born, had managed to trick him, and answered only with a glare and a rude gesture.

xXxXx

Meanwhile, under the Invisibility Cloak, Ron nudged Harry a third time.

"Harry, what's she saying? I can't believe she was touching his fac- hey, she's never done that to me!" He continued ranting, but Harry finally interrupted, thoroughly exasperated.

"Ron! Be quiet, silencing spells can only hold so much noise. Now, we still have to make sure he puts down that letter. Once he does, we'll snatch it and scare off his owl so Hermione can convince him that he's already sent it. Ron, will you quit ogling at her, now's not the time!"

xXxXx

The bell above the door jingled softly as the last customer exited. Sales had gone well that day, especially since a large group of Slytherins had managed to sneak out of Hogwarts around lunch time, leaving the once full shelves practically empty as the day had worn on.

The two, identical, red-haired owners looked around, satisfied with the day's profits. One of them, it was difficult to tell which, stepped forward and waved his wand quickly to lock the door. A moment later, the both of them set about levitating their newest items from their back room out to the display window, and then proceeded to clean the rubbish left purposely behind by the students.

"I hate those sodding Slytherins." George complained, as he tried fruitlessly to vanish the scuff marks left by their shoes off the wooden floorboards.

"Yes, but they're some of our best customers. Looks as if you'll have to do that the muggle way, mate." Fred replied grimacing.

Their attention was distracted, though, as they heard a faint knocking on the front, display window. Looking towards the area, they spotted two students, waiting anxiously to be let in, their hands cupped around their faces as they tried to peer inside through the glass.

Hurriedly, George stepped forward and unlocked the door, as Fred simultaneously silenced the bell. The two blonde teens, one a boy, the other a girl, swiftly stepped inside, brushing their feet off on the rug before walking any further. Fred then ushered them to the back room as George turned the sign hanging on the door from, 'Its open, you twits,' to 'Get the bloody hell out of here.'

"Right on time, Kendra and Colin." He muttered before joining the others in the back room.

As he entered, the curtains separating the front room from the back instantly closed, causing the room to shadow somewhat until Fred hit the room with a brightening charm, making it seem light as day. There were four chairs set around a small coffee table, giving the room a more charming atmosphere.

The walls had been painted a warm gold color, but this was hard to tell as they were completely covered in shelves. The shelves were congested with things such as potion bottles, wands (real and fake), and books on various topics. The floor, however, had been decorated with numerous pictures of the Weasley family, giving it a reddish look because of their hair.

"At first we couldn't afford any red rugs-" George started, noticing Colin's fascinated stare towards the photos.

"But then, by the time we earned enough galleons, we found we rather liked this floor design, and couldn't bear to part with it," Finished a proud looking Fred, as a hundred or so Weasleys below him nodded in agreement.

Kendra smiled and took a seat in one of the cream-colored, cushioned chairs. The others followed her lead and also took a seat. A comfortable silence took place as the four in the room took their time getting situated.

George summoned a teakettle and offered some of their infamous lemon tea to the two Gryffindors. Kendra, remembering Ginny's tales about her summers of learning not to accept anything offered by one of the Weasley twins, politely declined. As Colin leaned forward to reach for one of the yellow, china cups, she quickly whispered to him that he should also decline the tea.

Fred smirked. "Our Ginny's taught you too well." He said, laughing easily. George shrugged and, once again, waved his wand, replacing the tea with an open notebook and black quill.

"That'll record everything we say," George stated cheerfully, as the quill dutifully began writing. "It's just for business purposes, of course-"

"Legal matter and the like-" Fred added in with a grin.

"Quite similar to your muggle tape-recorders, I imagine." George said with a thoughtful expression upon his face. "Right, anyway-"

"What is it you two wanted to discuss?" Fred asked, looking interested. Colin glanced quickly at Kendra before answering.

"Well, we just had a question, but it was too important to explain in a letter, you see." He started fiddling with his hands nervously, only looking up at the twins every few words. "We, I mean Kendra and I, were wondering if you made jewelry." He said as he averted his eyes and looked about the small room.

"What kind of jewelry?" George inquired casually. As Colin was still silent, Kendra took this as a sign to speak up.

"A necklace." She said quickly, before continuing. "Three, in fact. One each for Ginny, Colin and I. With the war going on just barely outside the castle boundaries, we thought it might be wise to place locating spells on the necklaces. We could pass it off as a Christmas present, since we all know Ginny would never agree to such a thing."

Fred eyes narrowed. "She's 17, not stupid."

"Have you talked to her lately?" George asked dryly.

A moment of silence ensued as the two Weasley twins thought the request over. Then, with one look at each other, they both nodded and leaned forward, their eyes alight with excitement.

"It'll take some time-" Fred started,

"But we'll be able to do it." George added as they both stood. Colin smiled, letting out a breath of relief.

"Alright, well I've got some money saved up. I could owl it to you tomorrow, if you'd like." He said, also standing.

"Well, you know what they say. A Sickle saved-" George began.

"Isn't much." Fred concluded with a grin.

With that last, happy note, Kendra and Colin hurriedly ambled to the secret passage in Zonko's Joke Shop that would lead them back up to the school.

xXxXx

The sky had darkened increasingly fast as the sun quickly set into the far horizon. The wind began to pick up and clouds started to gather, lowering the temperature. Hermione shifted her cloak before muttering a warming charm on it and wrapping it tight around her shoulders.

She and Draco had been arguing for the past ten minutes about their head duties. Hermione had thus far been unproductive in the attempt to obtain Malfoy's letter, which was stubbornly still stuck in his tightly clenched hand.

'I need to get him angry,' she thought, desperately trying to pull out all insults she could think of. Finally she settled with one of his well-known weaknesses; his responsibility.

"Malfoy, for the last time, you must make your rounds tonight. I've been covering for you these past weeks, without saying a word mind you, and now I really need you to return the favor." She exclaimed, very close to begging with him. He smirked but said nothing and turned to send off his owl. Panicked, Hermione tried once more.

"Listen," she demanded firmly. "You have a very big responsibility around here." Suddenly, before he could tie the parchment to his owl's leg, he dropped it on the seal and heatedly turned toward Hermione.

"Yes, every time something goes wrong, I'm responsible!" he cried, outraged. "Did you know I've got Professors coming up to me in the halls, all complaining about some Slytherins bullying some student or other, as if somehow I made them do it, or somehow I could have stopped them?"

Out of the corner of her eye, Hermione saw Draco's letter swiftly disappear. She returned her attention to Malfoy, much more relieved now that her task was complete.

"Oh come off it, Malfoy. Just answer my question. Will you cover for me tonight since I've so graciously done so for you many occasions before?" She asked, purposely speaking slowly, indicating she thought him childish.

Draco glared indignantly, but nonetheless answered, "Alright, alright, Granger. Stop whining, it hurts my ears. As soon as I send out this le-" He stopped short as he noticed that his letter once resting on the stone window seal was now gone. "Wait a minute, where did it go?" He turned, peering at her suspiciously.

"Honestly, Malfoy." Hermione said, forcing a light chuckle. "You've already sent it out with your owl, I saw you do it myself." Rolling her eyes and laughing once more for the added effect, she quickly walked out of the Owlery, shouting a short, "Thanks," over her left shoulder.

"Completely batty, that one." Malfoy muttered, utterly bewildered with her behavior.

xXxXx

Colin and Kendra hurriedly thought up excuses as Ginny made her way down the steps into the empty Common Room, leaving the girls dormitories. She'd changed into her pajamas, wearing casual, comfortable clothing that consisted of sweats and a long-sleeved Holyhead Harpies t-shirt. Her blood-red locks had been put up in a messy bun at the nape of her neck.

It wasn't her outfit, however, that drew nervousness from the two waiting Gryffindors. It was her face, which currently held two expressions; frustration, and hunger.

"Gin, before you say anything, I know I forgot your apple cobbler or whatever it was that you wanted, but er…we just…lost track of time." Colin stated weakly, looking towards Kendra for help. Ginny seemed unfazed, so Kendra quickly intervened.

"Is there something else we've done that we're unaware of?" she asked cautiously, before guiltily removing her maroon cloak and placing it on the sofa nearest to the fireplace. Colin recognized this and immediately realized that Ginny knew they hadn't just been in the library.

"Took a stroll outside, did you?" she asked in a surprisingly calm tone. A hint of sadness shone through in her chocolate-colored eyes as Colin and Kendra nodded dumbly, confused at her behavior. "Right, I think I'll do the same." She muttered quietly before brushing past her bewildered friends.

Once outside of the Common Room, she immersed herself in her thoughts and let her feet carry her without thinking of where she should go. Why had she been sad? There was nothing wrong with Colin and Kendra's relationship, so what was the reason she'd been upset?

She knew, deep down though, that she was disquieted at the fact that her two best friends were growing more and more distant from her, and now, they'd even begun hiding things from her.

While Colin and Kendra were supposedly 'studying,' Ginny had snuck up to Harry's room, intending to nick his Invisibility Cloak so she could go to the kitchens herself. Upon finding it missing, though, she'd come across the Marauders' Map instead.

Being used as a test-subject for Fred and George over the summers did have its advantages at times, as Ginny immediately remembered the phrase to work the tattered map. After whispering the well-known, "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good," she'd searched it for Colin and Kendra out of pure habit but was dismayed to find that neither of their dots could be located within the castle grounds.

They'd never snuck off to Hogsmeade or Diagon Alley before without her, and now, they'd gone and hadn't even mentioned it to her. What's more, they were lying about it!

'Okay, try and think rationally,' Ginny thought to herself. 'What reasons are there for Colin and Kendra to wander off of Hogwarts' grounds? Let's see…they could have been delivering a message for someone. No, they wouldn't be that daft to leave the school for that reason alone. It couldn't be for a present, my birthday was in August…ah, but Christmas, on the other hand, is nearly a month away.'

She smiled, easing her worries with the thought that maybe they'd decided to do some early shopping…in the middle of November…at the dead of night…when all shops would be closed. As more doubts and 'what-ifs' filled her mind, Ginny looked up and was startled to find that she was in front of the portrait guarding the Kitchens.

Shaking her concerns from her mind, she quickly stepped up to the painting and tickled the pair, faintly satisfied that it still opened after doing so. Directly, upon entering, five or six House Elves scurried up to her, all eager to please, and kindly asked her if there was anything they could help her with. She ordered one treacle tart and tiredly made her way over to the wooden tables set up.

Taking a seat on one of the comfortable chairs, she rested her arms on the table and lay her head down on them, effectively cushioning it. Her eyes grew heavy as the warmth from the fire behind her immediately soothed her nerves and relaxed her body. She might have fallen asleep had someone else not entered the Kitchens just moments later.

Slowly sitting up from her comfortable position, she turned to see who else had come for a midnight snack. Her eyes widened as they met with an all too familiar, silver pair. Malfoy had just walked in and was staring at her with an expression full of annoyance and exasperation.

Stifling a frustrated sigh at the knowledge that she would receive another detention, she nonetheless pushed out the chair across from her with her feet and motioned to him vaguely that he should sit.

He waved off the House Elves that dashed over to serve him, and stalked over to the table with a scowl on his face, giving Ginny a look of aggravation before taking a seat. A cowering Elf appeared at her elbow and timidly gave her the treacle tart she'd previously ordered.

"Weasley," Malfoy started in a somewhat strained voice as he closed his eyes and massaged his temples. "Do you not know what time your curfew is?" Ginny chose to remain silent and waited for him to continue, picking up a fork as discreetly as possible. "Just because you filled in for a Prefect one night, doesn't mean you can loiter in the hallways or the kitchens anytime you should choose."

His eyes snapped open as he heard the clanking sound of a fork hitting the plate. Ginny was just getting ready to take a bite when, with a quick swipe of his hand, Malfoy snatched both her tart and her fork and began eating her dessert.

She closed her mouth in shock and gritted her teeth as he nonchalantly proceeded to finish the dessert off, not even sparing her a glance. Why, he even looked to be enjoying it! Suddenly, all thoughts of her spending hours in detention promptly vanished, as her patience began diminishing alarmingly fast.

"Mal-ferret," Ginny said heatedly as she stood from her chair. "That was mine."

"'Was,' being the key word, I do believe." He said cheekily, finally looking up at her, only now the irksome glint in his eye was back.

It was as if he enjoyed infuriating her.

"Since you've discovered your spine, how about we discuss why you're out past curfew, hm?" He looked supremely confident as Ginny's cheeks flushed in anger.

"Don't you think that's kind of obvious?" She spat. "I was hungry." The fire crackled loudly behind her. "I might have gotten some dessert earlier, but no, those blasted House Elves took the food away before I could even get one bite!"

Draco smirked as she continued venting, not even looking at him now, but instead pacing. She seemed to be forgetting who exactly she was unleashing all this to.

"Then, just when I think I can sneak down here, I find out that Colin and Kendra are the ones doing the sneaking. So I lost my appetite, and waited till they got back, thinking they would have the guts to tell me exactly where they'd been. Of course, when they did get back, they denied their even leaving Hogwarts!"

'She could be talking to You-Know-Who right now, and I don't think she'd care,' Draco thought, while absently storing the information that two Gryffindors had snuck off school grounds.

"And finally, I come down here, expecting a nice, charming Kitchen to be empty of people like you, only to have my attempt at eating something so good that I've been craving it all night eaten by the person who's been on my mind all week!"

Draco blinked and Ginny quickly realized her slip. Stuttering, she tried to cover it up before he interrupted.

"Really, Weasley, there's no need to be ashamed. It's not as if you're the first girl I've snogged. You should be proud actually, not many Gryffindor girls have had the courage to do that." He said cockily while gracefully standing and handing her plate to the nearest House Elf.

Ginny's anger came back in full speed. "You made the first move, not me."

"Don't flatter yourself." He said with a roll of his eyes. Ginny appeared shocked.

"You're trying to tell me that you didn't feel anything when we…er, you know? Not a spark?"

Malfoy chuckled before answering. "Honestly, Ginevra, are you implying that you fancy me now? That's just pitiful." Then, Ginny did the only thing she could think of to prove her point. She moved over to where he stood and kissed him intensely.

After a few stunned seconds, he hurriedly began kissing back, allowing Ginny to smile triumphantly as she pulled away. She eyed him haughtily, knowing she'd won that small battle.

"Got nothing to say, Draco?" He remained silent, his face impassive as Ginny laughed, though there was no humor in it. "I know. Why don't you talk down to me again, remind me how pathetic I am and how perfect you are." He looked somewhat disappointed at her comment.

He stepped towards her, and slowly brought his lips closer towards her own. "I'm far from perfect, Ginevra," He whispered, his lips brushing against hers. Ginny's eyes fluttered shut as she closed the distance between them and kissed him deeply.

xXxXx

"What's it say Harry?" Hermione asked quietly as Harry fumbled with the parchment.

It seemed Malfoy had expected someone might try to interfere and end up reading his letter. He'd jinxed it with a nose-bleed spell, as was found out by Ron who was currently drinking a Blood Replenishing potion given to him by Madame Pomfrey.

The three Gryffindors were sitting on Ron's bed in the Hospital Wing waiting for Harry to open the letter. He'd been cautiously unfolding it for several minutes, as to avoid anymore defensive spells.

"Will you hurry it up, mate?" Ron finally asked exasperated, as he swallowed another dose of the potion with a grimace.

"Alright, Ron, just a second." Harry said, fixing his glasses and shakily spreading the letter on the bed so the three of them could all read it.

Dear Lucius,

In response to your aforementioned request, I'm writing to inform

you that I accept and will comply to your instructions during our

next meeting over Christmas.

Respectfully,

Draco

xXxXx

A/N: Well that was a long chapter! I know it took me a long time to update, and I could start apologizing by listing off 43753983 excuses…but I thought that would take a rather long time, and you might stop reading, so instead I made this chapter waaay long. Hope you all enjoyed it!

Jade Summers: Hope this chapter had enough Draco-ness for you, I did try to fill it up. Especially after I received your stamp! I was so excited I stopped being lazy and posted this chapter! Thanks so much for that. Hope your vacation went well!

moony's number one: The summary is basically an outlook from the first chapter and, when it's posted, the ending chapter. In the beginning of chapter one, the prologue, you find out that Ginny is in a cell for a reason you aren't yet aware of. The rest of the story is in the past, but she's remembering the events that led to her being in a cell. More explanation will offered as the chapters continue, so I hope you keep reading!

I just want to say thanks to all the readers who, though they haven't reviewed, they've put this story under Story Alert, or even me under Author Alert. Knowing that there's more than just one person out there who's interested enough in my story to give it a chance really encourages me to keep going.

If you like to comment on this chapter, or if you just want to drop a line, please review!

Sunflour