Here's the next part! It kind of turns the tables... keeps the reader guessing! heheehe.

Freya4 - Thanks for catching that mistake about Harry's Patronus. I suppose I was under the impression that it was a unicorn because of James Potter's Animagus form. But I checked the book, and you're absolutely right; the correction has been made! :)

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September 28th – 2:10pm – Gryffindor Tower, Girl's Dormitory.

Merlin's beard.

I've officially snogged Draco Malfoy.

I could tell he'd taken an interest in me, starting with the whole library encounter. But he'd been especially obvious during the past few days.

On Thursday, I was hauling the case containing the Quidditch balls to the equipment shed after practice. Ron, being the responsible Captain and thoughtful brother that he is, left it for me to put away. It didn't help that I was in a rather crummy mood as it was. Practice hadn't been the best; we were working on penalties and I kept missing the hoops. Also, I was kicking myself for not bringing my wand.

"Could use bloody Wingardium Leviosa about now," I muttered bitterly to myself.

I heard shrill laughter to my right. It was a group of Slytherins. Draco was among them. Pansy Parkinson and Millicent Bullstrode were giggling fervently at one of his jokes. Then I heard him speak.

"Excuse me for a moment."

He began swaggering toward me. I dragged the case a few more meters, then dropped it heavily, my arms burning. By then, Draco was beside me, wearing a manly smirk.

"Allow me," he offered, nodding toward the case as he rolled up his sleeves.

He grasped both handles of the case, lifted it with ease, carried it to the equipment shed and came out brushing his hands together in a cocky fashion. I couldn't help but smile as he ambled back over.

"Cheers," I said, inadvertently batting my eyelashes.

"Not a problem. You take care now, Ginny."

He winked as he turned back to his friends. My stomach flip-flopped like a fish out of water. My knees wobbled and I swayed precariously. Pansy Parkinson was glaring like she would strangle me if I were closer.

This combination of feelings did not make me feel any worse; quite the contrary, in fact. I thrust my chin out and smiled smugly as I made my way to the changing rooms.

On Friday, Draco was just plain following me around. He chatted me up on the way out of the Dining Hall after breakfast. Harry, Ron and Hermione were walking behind us. I could feel them staring; three pairs of eyes drilling into the back of my head. But I didn't turn around, and they didn't say a word.

My first class was Double Potions with the Ravenclaws. I sat next to Luna, who wasted no time bombarding me with questions about Draco, as she had noticed that he walked me to class. I told her that he's just an acquaintance. She squinted at me in an observing manner, trying to read my expression. I kept my face as blank as possible. Judging from her reaction to Draco's appearance on the train ("What do you want!?"), she's not exactly fond of him. I couldn't let on that I liked him as a bit more than a friend.

Luna seemed satisfied with my innocent demeanor.

I left Potions in a foul mood. Snape docked ten points from Gryffindor because I asked what the due date was for his most recently assigned essay. He called me a "typical vacant-headed Weasley who never pays attention", claiming that he had already announced the due date. I had barely begun saying "That's so unfair!" when he took another ten points for my "blatant impertinence".

I left class in a huff as soon as the bell rang, muttering curses under my breath.

And there he was, waiting for me outside the door.

"Draco!" I broke into a smile.

"Hey you," he drawled, smirking as usual. His hair was tied back in a slick ponytail. A stray lock dangled down to the bridge of his nose. He tucked it behind his ear, but it flopped stubbornly back into position.

We strolled shoulder-to-shoulder all the way to Transfiguration.

And he was waiting for me again after class.

This continued all throughout Friday. Sounds cheesy, but it made me feel special, having a handsome seventh year walk with me from class to class. I mean, it would make any girl feel special.

Saturday was when it happened.

I'm still in shock.

I spent the day with Harry, Ron, Luna, and some others. Hermione was studying, as usual. She's been high-strung this month, already stressing herself out over NEWTS ("Don't you lot care about your futures at all!?").

There was a nip in the air, but it didn't stop us from spending our Saturday outside. Justin brought out something called a "frizz-bee", a weird, disk-shaped Muggle thing that flies if you throw it just right. We tossed it around for most of the afternoon, talking and joking around, enjoying our freedom.

At suppertime, Draco was trying to tell me something from across the room. He kept glancing in my direction, lip-syncing what seemed like an important message. The only words I could make out were 'meet me'.

As I was leaving the Dining Hall, Draco passed me and discreetly slipped a folded piece of parchment into my hand. I quickened my step and unfolded the note as soon as I arrived in my dormitory. Though I could tell the message was written with haste, Draco's penmanship was distinguished. The single sentence was very straight, very uniform.

Meet me in the Astronomy Tower at eleven o'clock, tonight.

Excitement and nervousness brewed in my chest, a swirling concoction over a flame in my stomach that had slowly been growing since I'd first seen Draco on the Hogwarts Express.

A stitch of doubt made me unsure of whether or not to go. But an imposing voice, saying 'He's older, he's hot, and he wants to meet you, alone' pushed aside the skeptical feeling. I kept busy with my 40 kilos of Potions homework, anxiously awaiting 11pm.

At around 10:30, I slipped upstairs to change. I dressed in fitted jeans and a white tank top. Assuming it'd be chilly up in the Astronomy Tower, I tied a maroon sweater around my shoulders. I styled my hair pin-straight with my wand and applied some gloss to my lips. Pleased with my appearance, I drew in a deep breath and exited the dormitory.

I bumped into a frazzled-looking Hermione on the stairs.

"You look nice," she commented as I passed.

"Oh, thanks," I mumbled, jogging down the steps before she could ask where I was headed.

I peered cautiously into the common room to find Harry and Ron playing Wizard Chess by the fireplace. I tiptoed from my hiding place toward the door, but Ron spotted me.

"Hey, Gin! Where you off to at this hour?"

"Ah, ermm..."

I couldn't think of an excuse fast enough.

"I've a date."

I hustled out of the common room and into the vacant hallway. I took a few strides when I heard footsteps behind me. I assumed it was Ron, as he's quite paranoid about who I date. I turned to tell him that he should sod off because it's my business, only to find myself face-to-face with Harry. My eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Ginny," he said in an earnest tone. "Are you meeting—I mean, who are you going to see?"

I shuffled my feet. There was no use in lying.

"Draco," I confessed.

Harry drew in a sharp breath and opened his mouth to object, but restrained himself.

I suddenly felt guilty.

"Harry, I know you don't like him, and I'm sorry, but, Harry, he's real nice to me—"

"It's fine," he interrupted curtly. "Just... I don't know, be careful."

He looked pleading, slightly desperate.

I nodded vigorously, trying to reassure him. Maybe I was trying to assure myself as well.

With that, I turned and trekked quickly down the hall, forcing the image of Harry's worried face aside. When I arrived at the Astronomy Tower, Draco was already there, his back to me.

"Sorry, have you been waiting long?" I inquired.

He spun around coolly.

"Not at all," he replied. He held out a hand. "Come here."

My mind hesitated, but my body moved toward him by impulse. I took his hand and gazed up at him, a flirty smile plastered on my face. He tilted his head back.

"There was a full moon on the 15th," he murmured.

I immediately thought of Lupin.

"Now it's only about a quarter whole, but when it's full on a clear night, the view from up here is quite breathtaking."

"I imagine so," I said, angling my head upwards as well.

The sliver of moon was in the center of my vision, surrounded by thousands of twinkling stars. I've always been fascinated by them, the fact that they shine so innocently, when in reality they burn with such fierceness millions of miles away.

"When I was younger, I used to pretend stars were lights from distant cities," I told him.

Draco snickered. I shoved him.

"Don't make fun of me!" I whined. We met eye-to-eye.

"I'm not, I'm not," he stated. "I think it's cute."

He slid his arm around my shoulder and pulled me closer. His robe smelled like it had just been laundered. His scent reminded me of winter, clean and crisp. He started playing with my hair, twirling a piece around his index finger. We stood like that for many minutes, making small talk, our bodies touching.

Draco then turned his body toward me, his hand relocating to my hip. I turned to face him as well, not knowing what to expect. His unoccupied hand rose to my cheek. I froze. He stroked my skin lightly, then traced his middle finger from just under my ear to my chin, following the line of my jaw.

"You're very beautiful, you know that?" he whispered.

Speechless, I smiled stupidly.

He dipped my head back and our lips met. Fireworks exploded inside my head. My heart was a hysterical bird, slamming against the confining bones of my ribcage.

Draco's kiss was firm, confident. It wasn't a French kiss, but it was still sensual, sending a tingling sensation down my spine.

It lasted about ten seconds. Draco smirked when we pulled away from each other. I leaned into him, feeling like I was about to faint. Both of his hands in the pockets of my jeans, he pulled me in, our hips matching up.

"Spend next Saturday with me, at Hogsmeade," he said, his head resting atop mine.

It sounded more like an order than a request, yet I was so overcome with bliss that couldn't have cared less.

"Mmhmm," I answered vaguely, my face buried into his robes. I didn't want him to let go. But sure enough, he did.

"It's late, Ginny. We should get back now."

My shoulders sagged with disappointment. I stepped away reluctantly but took his hand for support, as I was still unsure of my feet. We descended the spiraling staircase together.

Draco planted a quick kiss on my cheek when we parted ways. I crept through the dimly lit hallways until I'd reached the Fat Lady. I whispered the password, scrambled through the portrait hole, passed through the empty common room and climbed the stairs to my dormitory.

I changed into pajama pants and slipped into bed without a sound. I replayed the kiss in my mind a dozen times, then fell asleep with my fingertips on my cheek where his lips had been only moments before.

I don't know what's come over me. Just over a week ago, I was crushing on Harry. Now I'm head-over-heels for Draco. Everything's happening so fast.

There's no way I could've seen this coming. Boys are confusing, unpredictable.

I cannot believe I snogged Draco.

Write later,
Ginny

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A/N: Crazy, eh?
Just in case anyone cares, I Googled a calendar of September 1997 to find out when the full moon actually was. Accuracy is everything! :)