A/N: I may just be getting better at these updates—what should it be, anyway? Twice a week? Once a week? Every other week—so you can savour every chapter and let me come up with really good stuff? Hmmm . . . I suppose I'll update whenever I can. Anyway, thanks sooo much to all of my reviewers! You made me feel oh so very special and warm and tingly inside, ha.

(Special note to DrakesDream since the poor dear's email got cut off by Windows has turned into something completely unexpected and I'm going to re-edit it to fit the new cannon—book 6—and repost it as soon as I can get all of my facts straight. You see, I went on holiday once, and while I was there I came up with this really complicated plot that is just very wonderful in my opinion, so . . . it'll just take a while. I'm glad you like it though. Hopefully you'll like it even better when it's reposted under the title A Page in the Book of Fate.)

Too Far Gone

Chapter Eight: A Little Heart-to-Heart

Draco stalked off in the direction of Dumbledore's office, leaving Ginny attempting to match his pace, and failing miserably. Try as she might, she couldn't catch up with him.

That was just as well for her, thought Ginny, glaring evilly at the air in front of her as she imagined Malfoy bouncing around as a white ferret. Her triumphant smirk suddenly transformed in seconds into a very worried expression as she realized that returning to the headmaster's office required an encounter with the grudging gargoyle at guard. She increased her pace, hoping to catch Malfoy as he stepped unto the rising stairs, and slip by the wretched, leering block of stone. As luck would have it, the gargoyle had just leaped back into its guarding position as she rounded the corner. But it wasn't Malfoy that had entered it.

Malfoy was peering over a statue's head, back to Ginny. Seeing no one in front of him, he straightened his back, stepped out from behind the statue, and continued down the corridor.

'Training for your career as a Death Eater, or is it in your nature to sneak about and hide that way?' Ginny called to him.

Without turning around or slowing his stride, Draco replied, 'Very funny, Weasley. I suppose as a brave Gryffindor you wouldn't have any trouble facing the prat that's just gone into the Headmaster's office, would you?'

'As a Gryffindor, I would. Who is so terrible you had to hide from that person?' Ginny said.

Draco, reaching the gargoyle, turned around to face her. He smirked, and said, 'Scrimgeour.'

Ginny didn't blink. 'Liar,' she said, and closed in on the distance between them.

Draco's smirk was even more triumphant. 'You caught me,' he said, then added, 'well, it was nice chatting and such, Weaslette, but I'd better get going.' He patted the gargoyle's nose and turned to leave.

Quick as lightning, Ginny stepped in front of him and grabbed him by the neck of his robes. 'I didn't get you out of class just so that you could skive off, you big git. Dumbledore really does want to see us.'

'Don't worry, Weasley, I get it,' said Draco, and he brought her face up to his. 'There's a broom cupboard over there, you know.' Ginny slapped his hand away, but his grip on her jaw only tightened. 'It's a shame you had to go to such great lengths to get some—I mean, all you had to do was ask.'

If looks could kill, Draco Malfoy would have been sent to the Afterlife and back again to be hit over the head with a cauldron by none other than humanitarian Ginny Weasley, servicing the world. But Ginny seemed to ponder Draco's offer, and her face softened. 'You're kidding me. All I had to do was ask? But answer me, dearest Draco,' Ginny said in sudden harshness, 'why would I ever want to lay a finger on you? You're an arrogant prick whose head is so large, it really puzzles me how anything but your ego can fit in there. But then, I suppose that explains a number of many things, doesn't it? Your idiocy, for example?'

Draco narrowed his eyes at the girl whose chin he had wrapped with his own fingers. He pushed her head away and sighed resignedly. 'I can't be all that bad, Weasley.'

'But you are.'

Draco leaned against the wall, crossed his arms, and smirked. 'No I'm not. You can't deny I am dead sexy and charming.'

'Oh yes I can, you narcissistic prat. Now let's get going before Dumbledore gets his knickers in a twist,' Ginny said, and started back towards the gargoyle.

Malfoy visibly cringed.

'What? Afraid of the Headmaster?' Ginny said mockingly.

'No, it's just that—that's the worst mental image I've ever had,' he said in the most sincere tone Ginny had ever heard him use. He then proceeded to rub his stormy grey eyes with a look of pure disgust.

Ginny smirked. 'Not worse than Snape in a Speedo.'

Draco looked at her and with a sheepish expression said, 'I once upon a time had the misfortune of imagining him in a thong, actually.'

Ginny couldn't help it. She slapped her mouth over her hand and laughed outright. 'Well, that's your own fault isn't it? God, you've got a distorted mind. You're going to make a great Death Eater someday.'

'And when I am, I'll be sure to use these exact images for torture.'

'You're sick,' Ginny said, frowning.

Draco's usually impassive face took an uncharacteristic cheerful grin as he made his way in the opposite direction of Dumbledore's office. 'I think you're right. Let's take me to the hospital wing.'

Ginny looked utterly horrified. 'Listen Bunny-Butt, I'm not playing any more games,' she said, and swiftly shoved him in the correct direction. 'We've got to go see Dumbledore. Snape's in there. And so is—whoever you were hiding from.'

'Your friends entered the office,' Draco said flatly. 'And if you must know, it's rather awkward to walk in on someone describing the exact way they'd skin you alive and eat you.'

'You cowardly Slytherin twit, Malfoy! Honestly, you hiding from a bunch of girls? I've never heard of such a thing!' Ginny was laughing at him again.

Draco's eyes narrowed and was about to retort when the gargoyle jumped aside to open the office.

'Touching as it is to hear this heart-to-heart, I believe, Miss Weasley, you were supposed to bring Mister Malfoy to the Headmaster's office, not indulge in small talk,' said a languidly cold voice from behind them.

Draco immediately straightened up. 'Professor Snape, sir. Weasley and I were just—er—we were just—'

Ginny, surprised to see Malfoy of all people flustered, spoke up. 'We were just trying to come up with the password, Professor.'

Snape sneered at the pair. 'You will recall that all persons expected in the Headmaster's office need not a password to enter, merely the thought that they are not intruding. Perhaps one of you did not want to enter at all?' The Potions Master inspected each of his students critically.

Ginny's eyes flickered over to Malfoy, but his face was impassive, almost immune to Snape's terrible beady, black eyes. 'No, sir,' he breathed.

'Right, then,' Snape said lazily. 'Perhaps we could bring this party into the Headmaster's vicinity? He is waiting for us after all.' And with that, Severus Snape promptly turned and ended all conversation between the two victims of the plan fashioned by the Headmaster and himself. He could only smirk at the punishment that awaited them.

Ginevra Weasley scowled darkly at her Potions Master. But, she thought to herself, at least now I've got some blackmail on Draco. Honestly! Hiding behind a statue! She sniggered under her breath as she and Draco slipped past the gargoyle and unto the winding staircase.

A/N: So Draco's getting a little soft, don't you think? Maybe we can give him something about Ginny to hate again—coming soon: A Scheme of Schemes, where Dumbledore and Snape unveil their 'punishment' for our favourite Gryffindor/Slytherin couple.

Review, review, review!

--blufiresprite