A/N- You guys are awesome! I got 13 reviews for last chapter! That's the most so far! Thanks and keep em' coming. Sorry but this chapter is a little long.

Chapter 10

Ginny walked into potions class with heavy eyes. Yesterday was merely too eventful for her to really sleep well. She sat next to Draco, propped her elbows on the desk and rested her head on her hands. "Long night Weasley?" Draco said with sarcasm.

"I was up late actually. Helping out a friend." Ginny said with a yawn.

"Hmm. I hope he's worth it Red." Draco smiled and placed his hands behind his head leaning back in his chair.

"He is. It's just that I think he's spending too much time alone and enjoying it if you know what I mean." Ginny smiled evilly.

"Enough with that already! I told you what happened." Draco said throwing his hands in the air.

"I know you did. It's just that I like to see you get embarrassed. It doesn't happen that often." Ginny replied.

The trio walked in and waved to Ginny who waved back. Ron glanced over at Draco and nodded. Draco nodded back and then faced the chalk board. Pansy walked in and sat next to Hermione quietly. Snape walked out of his office and pointed his wand at the chalk board which now indicated that they would be conjuring the Draught of Peace. "You should have this potion completed at the end of class. Please begin."

Draco began to collect the powdered moonstone and syrup of hellebore as Ginny ignited the fire beneath the cauldron. The entire class worked quietly with the exception of Hermione and Pansy who worked in complete silence. How they finished their potion properly with no communication was a mystery.

"Please leave the flasks at my desk and be on your way." Snape said and walked back into his office.

"See you later." Ginny whispered to Draco and joined her friends on their way to lunch.

The Great Hall was practically full when they arrived. After they finished their lunch, the post arrived. Ron and Ginny received a letter from their mother announcing that Bill and Fleur were expecting their first child in June and that Percy had sent a short letter offering his congratulations. Hermione received her usual Daily Prophet and began to read it. "Oh thank goodness!"

"What?" Harry asked.

"They found the body of that Knock Turn Rapist. Now we don't have to be so frightened shopping at Diagon Alley anymore." Hermione said sounding relieved. Ginny spit out her pumpkin juice in Ron's face.

"Thanks Gin. But I swear I had already taken a shower today. What's with you? You look really pale." Ron said wiping his face with a napkin. Ginny turned around and looked at Draco who was also reading his copy of the Daily Prophet looking concerned.

"Oh I just. I think I ate too much or something." Ginny said turning back around to answer Ron's question.

Hermione continued. "Well, it says here that they think he was attacking another woman and someone probably caught him in the act and killed him for it."

"How in the heck would they know all that already?" Ron asked looking interested.

"Let's just say they put the evidence together and based it on his condition. They say that whoever killed him did it the muggle way and not Avada Kedavra. They're asking anyone with information to come forward. They're concerned about the woman he may have assaulted." Hermione said frowning.

"Why are they concerned about her?" Ginny said grasping the table, looking at her plate, and trying not vomit.

"Why wouldn't they Ginny? He was a vicious creature that would kill his victims as soon as he was finished with them. If she's not dead, she's probably hurt badly. Are you sure you're okay?" Hermione said noticing that Ginny was turning greener and greener as each moment went by.

"I need to go lay down." Ginny stood and began to see spots. Everything went fuzzy and she fainted. Ron caught her just before she hit the back of her head on the table. Draco rose quickly and rushed over to her lying on the ground with her head in Ron's lap.

"Is she alright?" Draco bent over and asked. Just then, her eyes fluttered open. Several people had created a circle around her and were staring down at her.

"I'm going to be sick." Ginny said quietly and put her hand over her mouth. Hermione handed her a bowl from the table. Ginny vomited in it as Ron held her hair back with a disgusted look on his face. At this sight, everyone walked away except for Ron, Hermione, Harry and Draco.

"Bloody hell Ginny! You did eat too much! Uh!" Ron said gagging. Harry laughed as Hermione swatted him on the head.

"We need to get her to the hospital wing." Hermione shouted at Ron.

"No there's nothing wrong with me. I feel a lot better. I must have eaten something bad but it's out of my system now. I just want to go lay down." Ginny said as Harry and Hermione helped her up and escorted her out of the Great Hall. Ron was still gagging on the ground.

"Don't be such a wimp Weasley." Draco laughed.

"You didn't get front row seats to the barf fest now did you Malfoy? Why are you over here anyway?" Ron said standing up and brushing off his pants.

Draco hesitated and then smiled. "She's my potions partner. You didn't think I was going to let her get off and leave me with all the work did you? I know how sneaky your family is."

"Right. Like you'd do all the work alone. You would probably make some first year do it or threaten to hex them or something." Ron snapped back.

Draco scoffed and continued to smile. "Too true. Anyway, I should go. There are a couple of third years over there that I need to torment." Draco pointed in the direction of some Hufflepuff boys talking at their table. As he walked away, Ron watched him grab his books at the Slytherin table and head out the doors not even glancing at the Hufflepuff boys again.

Ron walked back to the common room and saw Harry and Hermione sitting on a couch in front of the fire. "I don't know Harry. Something's not right with her. I think seventh year potions might be too much pressure. She looks really stressed and tired and it's only the first week." Hermione said twirling her curly hair as she spoke.

"I'm sure she'll be fine. Let's not talk about anymore please. I keep replaying it in my head. Let's get to class." Ron said rubbing his temples and trying not to gag again.

Ginny was lying on her bed trying to compose herself enough to get to her next class but she just couldn't get up. She hadn't thought about what happened to her in what she felt was a long time. Truly, it had only been a little over a week or so. She figured she could just sleep and the visions of that terrible night would go away but she kept tossing and turning unable to drift off. After a few hours, she got up and took a shower scrubbing herself over and over as if it had just happened again. She slipped into a pair of black sweats and a pink hooded sweatshirt and sat on her bed as she put her hair into pony tail.

Ginny needed to talk to someone about it or she was going to burst into tears or vomit again. She took a slow deep breath and headed down the stairs and into the common room that was empty. She sat by the fire for a few moments and then remembered that Draco would need a treatment in about an hour. She headed for the secret passage figuring she would wait in his room until he was done with class.

"Luminary." The portrait that was cloudy and gray swung open for her. She traveled down the passage. Left, right, and then left again. She entered his room that was slightly dark as the sun would be setting soon. The fire was lit and desk was scattered with parchment and books. Ginny eyed the bed that looked so inviting. She lay down and pulled the velvet comforter over her. She was so comfortable and warm. In less than a minute she dosed off into a deep sleep.

Draco walked into his now, dark room and set his books on the already cluttered desk. He walked over to the fire and warmed his hands for a while and thought about what he read in the Daily Prophet. After a few minutes, he headed for the bathroom to take a shower before dinner. As he walked by the bed, he noticed someone in it and jumped back a bit. Quickly recognizing the red hair shining in the fire light, he sighed heavily. He carefully sat on the bed, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. Hoping not to wake her, he quietly got up and went to take a shower. When he came out of the bathroom in nothing but a pair of green sweats, he was happy to find her still sleeping peacefully.

He walked over to his desk and began completing his homework looking her way every so often. It had been two hours and he was almost done with his homework. Ginny awoke and rubbed her eyes trying to remember where she was. She sat up and noticed Draco sitting at the desk staring closely at his book. His hair was slicked back like she remembered how he used to do it when they were younger. She could see his arm flexing slightly as he was intently writing on a piece of parchment. He looked her way to check on her and smiled realizing that she was awake. "Hey sleeping beauty. Glad to see you're awake. Did you sleep well?" He said as he walked over to the bed and sat next to her.

"Better than I have in a while. I'm sorry I came so early. I just wanted to sleep and couldn't relax in my bed." Ginny said yawning.

"Why are you so tired? And what happened in the Great Hall? Are you coming down with something?" Draco asked softly.

Ginny began to cry quietly. "I-just….haven't thought much about….it. And hearing Hermione talk about the story in the Daily Prophet…..freaked me out!"

"I didn't know you heard. Are you going to come forward and tell them what happened to you?" Draco asked as he ran his fingers down her pony tail.

"Of course not! Do you think I want anyone to know what happened?" Ginny yelled in disbelief.

"Ginny. You need to do what you feel comfortable with. Maybe coming forward will help you deal with it." Draco said shifting himself to face the fire.

"Draco. If I come forward….They will know what you've done." Ginny said trying to make him look at her.

"I know. I just don't want to be in the way of you getting through this. If talking to someone about it would help than I want you to do it. Don't worry about what will happen to me. I'm prepared to handle it." Draco said still averting her eyes.

"Listen to me. The reason I am even breathing and able to try to get through it is because of you." Ginny pulled his face towards hers. "And I am talking to someone about it….You. I will never come forward if it means losing the one person who rescued me from being killed that night. There's a reason you were there to save me Draco and to forget that would be ridiculous and against what us Weasley's believe in."

"If that's how you feel Ginny then you need to talk to me. I can't imagine that keeping this bottled up inside is doing you much good. I'm ready whenever you are." Draco said as he wiped away one of her tears.

"All I can think of right now is food and lots of it." Ginny laughed as he smiled. Then she remembered his treatment. "Draco! You let me sleep too long. You must be in so much pain. Hurry get on the bed!"

"Yes Ma'am!" Draco said saluting her and jumping on the bed. "Although I must say…You don't appear to be the aggressive type but, what do I care?"

Ginny smacked him in the head with a pillow. Draco realized that the pillow fell on the floor so he tossed the rest of the pillows onto the floor as well. Ginny looked confused. "What are you doing?"

Draco smiled wickedly. "I'm just removing any more ammo you might try and throw my way." He sounded so innocent.

"Well that was clever seeing how you will need one of those for your treatment." Ginny said thinking she had got him on that one.

"Oh gosh. You're right. Oh well I can improvise." He said as he laid his head in her lap.

Ginny felt as if her heart was going to beat out of her chest. She was sure he could feel her uneven breathing and see her blushing. But, he didn't care. He was holding her thighs tightly waiting for her to begin. "Excuse me nurse? I don't mean to be pushy but I could sure use some of that stuff on my back. Do you mind?"

"Sorry." Ginny whispered and held her breath as she began to rub the cream on his shoulders. He didn't move or squirm this time seeing how this was his final treatment and the pain was subsiding. When she reached to his lower back and started to rub it in he fidgeted slightly and groaned. "Okay. That's it. No more pain. No more scars. I'm guessing you will be completely healed by morning." Ginny shifted slightly to get up but he didn't move his head off of her. He began rubbing her thighs softly and squeezed her hips gently causing Ginny to gasp. One of his hands traveled up slowly to her arm and stroked it gently then trailed down to her hand. He squeezed her hand and brought it to his lips and kissed it softly. Ginny was sure she would catch fire at any moment as he was making her want him passionately. "Draco." Ginny whispered.

"Yes." He whispered back kissing her hand again more strongly. She didn't respond so he looked up at her. "You hungry?" Draco kissed her hand one more time and started to get up slowly onto his hands and knees. His face trailed up close to hers and he stopped inches away from her lips and stared. "Let's go to the kitchens and get something to eat and bring it back up here." With that he slowly pulled away with a smile of satisfaction.

"Ugh." Ginny crossed her arms.

"What's wrong? Aren't you hungry?" Draco said trying to hide his smile as he put on a black sweat shirt.

"Of course but. Oh never mind. Let's go." Ginny said annoyed with what had just happened. Draco chuckled and led her out into the dark passage.

Trying to lighten the mood, Draco thought he'd talk about food. "I'm going to make a humongous sandwich with loads of everything on it."

"What tease…I'm sorry, Draco?" Ginny said obnoxiously.

"As I told you before, you can address me as Prince Draco." He said arrogantly and Ginny smacked him in the arm. "Be careful. My big arms might hurt you Weasley."

"You are such a pig!" She said and pushed him against the wall. Draco laughed and grabbed her hands as she was trying to playfully swat at him. He pushed her arms down to her sides and then behind her back clasping them together with only one hand.

"Now that I've got you under control. I need to tell you something." He said in a more serious tone. Since the passage way was pitch black, Ginny had no choice but to wait for him to speak. She felt him move closer and heard his breathing in her ear. He brought his free hand to her cheek and then outlined her lips with his thumb. Suddenly she felt his lips gently touch hers as he freed her hands. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck as he wrapped his around her waist. Her legs were on fire and felt as if they would buckle at any moment. As if he read her thoughts he lifted her slightly off the ground with one hand leaving the other to bring her hand down to his chest and held it tightly. He began to pull away after a few minutes but Ginny wouldn't hear of it. No, they had waited long enough. She pushed against him and kissed him more passionately letting her hands wander over his arms, chest, and back.

Draco moaned and trembled slightly at her touch grabbing her hands that were now softly stroking his thighs. "Ginny. Ginny. You should probably stop that."

"What's the matterPrince Draco? Can't stand losing at your own game?" Ginny said as she gently nipped his bottom lip. She stepped back and headed for the portrait hole leaving Draco leaning against the wall shaking his head.

After a few moments taken to calm down, Draco followed Ginny to the kitchens. When they walked in, they were immediately greeted by several little house elves eager to serve them. They prepared plates of roast beef, peppermint humbugs, and boiled potatoes for Draco and Ginny. They washed it down with Cherry syrup and soda.

"I won't eat for a week." Ginny said rubbing her stomach.

"Me either. It was nice to eat in peace for a change. The Great Hall is always so loud and crowded. We should do this more often. Then we could carry on a normal conversation." Draco said leaning back in his chair that was now supported by the wall behind him.

"I agree. Draco, would you really have let me come forward to the ministry with what happened that night? Knowing that you would get sent to Azkaban in a second?" Ginny asked propping her chin on her hands.

"Of course. What happened to you that night is much worse than a life in Azkaban for me. I made the decision to dispose of him that night he attacked you knowing the consequences. I am still confident I made the right decision. Do you want to speak to the ministry?" Draco asked tracing circles on the table with his finger.

"No. I don't need to speak with the ministry about it. I've got you to talk to and that's enough. Someday I might tell Hermione but not for a long time. Draco, I'm sure this is the last thing you want to talk about but, what did you do to him?" Ginny asked cautiously.

"Why would you even want to know that?" Draco shouted in surprise.

Ginny whispered hoarsely. "I guess it's just that now that I know you, I can't even imagine you hurting anyone. I'm also confused of why you didn't just use Avada Kedavra….Why did you do it the muggle way?"

Draco began to speak in a tone that resembled discussing an exciting Quidditch match. His eyes locked on hers as he leaned forward with a grin. "I'm not sure we should be talking about this but…..Well, once I discovered it was you that night I couldn't contain my anger. I had to confront him. When I approached him in the alley he was still unable to move and exposed. I lifted my wand ready to speak the unforgivable curse but I couldn't do it. I couldn't strike him as he was unable to defend himself. So I lifted the spell and he quickly got up and raised his wand at me. I charged towards him and got hold of it. I threw it to the ground and began to choke him. After a while, he pulled my hands away and tried to swing at me. I tripped him and threw him to the ground. I got on top of him and began punching him in the face over and over. He pleaded with me to stop. I kept punching him until he stopped begging for his life and was gone. I couldn't stop because I kept seeing him on top of you….hurting you. When I knew he was dead I went back to the manor and fell asleep." Draco finished panting heavily as if it had just happened.

Ginny was wide eyed and she appeared to be suffering from lock-jaw. She couldn't speak. What she had expected him to say, she didn't really know. She definitely didn't expect to hear it as though she had missed the Quidditch match of the century.

"Ginny? Are you alright?" Draco said reaching over gently grasping her hand. She pulled her hand away from his and covered her eyes.

"Please don't ever tell me that story again. It's over and it never happened….Okay!" She shouted with anger.

"Alright. Never again, I promise." Draco whispered attempting to grasp her hand again that was still covering her eyes. She jerked her whole body away from him. "Ginny. Ginny. Why are you acting as if you didn't know this already?"

She finally removed her hands from her eyes and looked straight at him. "I did know that you killed him Draco! But I didn't know you could release so much rage and anger at one person. How could you take someone else's life like that? With so much pain?" Ginny said as her eyes filled with tears.

Draco shifted furiously in his chair and set his hands out on the table in front of him. "Maybe you forgot who I am Ginny? I wasn't raised to show people pity OR mercy. You hurt someone I care for….You die and that's all there is to it." He crossed his arms and leaned back in his chair again waiting for her response.

"But! I thought you changed! You must know that there is a better way to handle things." Ginny yelled.

"I have changed Ginny. I no longer value the lies I was raised with. The craving for power. The desire to dominate above all others even if it meant harming those around you. The need for material things. I can live without them all except for one. Those that I cherish are the most valuable belongings in the world. If someone tries to harm them, they die…with pain. I can't change the fact that I believe in that. I honestly think that it is the one and only worthy thing my father taught me." Draco paused again waiting for her reaction.

Ginny took a long deep breath and spoke quietly. "I don't understand because I was raised differently. I will accept it for now realizing that it is the one thing you hold true."

"Thank you. I'm not saying that I will always be so harsh over time. It's just hard for me to think otherwise right now especially knowing that he's still hurting you in death." Draco said and once again reached for her hand.

Realizing that this whole conversation was about his strong feelings for her and the things he would do for her she gave in and grasped his hand. She could never really be with someone she viewed as a killer and that is exactly how she saw him now. Draco had brutally murdered someone because of her, for her, what did it matter? He did it with no remorse only anger. He had been raised in a household that promoted fear, brutality, power, and hate. She had been raised in a household of love, affection, honesty, and respect. She could never change to see things his way but she knew he had the potential to change his views to hers.