A/N: an update already? So soon? Just joking. PLEASE read and review, I hope you enjoy reading this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it. I tried to show more of Ginny's playful side, because I just cannot live with the idea of her totally being all Hermione-like. D but not all of her 'playful' side is showing in this chapter…you shall see why…
By the way...sorry if the Pneumonia stuff isn't all true, i needed to tweak it a bit to fit with my story (for that i disclaim!).
Dweeb.


"Art is the thrilling spark that beats death - that's all."
-Brett Whiteley


Ginny turned around to face the owner of the voice, but was only presented with the sight of an empty infirmary with a single curtain drawn around the only occupied cot. A flickering candle placed on the night table beside the cot formed silhouettes against the curtain, giving Ginny a clear view of two figures. Both were of women, one sitting in a chair and one standing over the latter. Ginny moved quickly to the side, to avoid being seen if one of them were to come out from behind the curtain, taking refuge behind a tall cupboard filled with healing supplies.

"Once again, Miss. Parkinson, what are you doing here…again?" said the now familiar voice of Madame Pomfrey.

"I have a right to be here! It's visiting hours!" said the shrill voice of none other than Pansy Parkinson.

"That may be Miss. Parkinson. But I do recall having banned you from any more visits, this morning when I had so graciously permitted you to visit with Mr. Malfoy, and you had taken advantage of that visit-" here Madame Pomfrey had been rudely cut off by Parkinson.

"How did I take advantage of my visit?" Parkinson screeched flailing her arms widely as she got up from her chair to stand in front of the nurse.

Madame Pomfrey placed her hands on her hips, as far as Ginny could tell from her secluded spot behind the cupboard, and continued speaking, in a much more patronizing tone,

"Well, if you hadn't so rudely interrupted me, you would have gotten the answer. You are not a healer Miss. Parkinson, but I highly doubt you were trying to give Mr. Malfoy a check-up with the way you were touching him. And that, my dear, is how you had taken advantage of your visit. You as a visitor are supposed to respect the space of those of my patients. You are not supposed to disrespect them by fondling them while they are in a state unconsciousness and cannot defend them selves." Said Madame Pomfrey and Ginny could just picture the smirk that graced the face of the kind and gentle hearted, yet strict school healer.

"Are you trying to say that Draco wouldn't want my touches? He loves it when I touch him." Parkinson screeched back stepping closer to the nurse. Ginny could just feel her hand itching to reach her wand; she was ready to hex the little chit into oblivion just at the thought of her touching Malfoy, her Malfoy.

"I'm not saying that Mr. Malfoy wouldn't want you to be touching him, I am just simply saying that no one, not even in their unconscious states would want you to touch them. Now Leave." Madame Pomfrey said in a tone that suggested the conversation over.

Ginny closed her mouth after she realized that it had been hanging open. Never in her six years of being in and out of the infirmary had she ever heard Pomfrey be so…upfront with a student.

Ginny heard hurried footsteps heading her way and she scooted deeper behind the tall cupboard, only able to see Pansy Parkinson making her way out of the infirmary with an angry expression on her face that frankly did not help any with her already piggish features.

Ginny waited a few more moments to make sure no one was going to enter the infirmary any time soon before she made a mad dash towards the still drawn curtains.

Just as she entered the enclosed space, puling the curtains tighter around herself she felt a hand on her shoulder. She jumped visibly from fright as she turned around, hand resting above her pounding heart.

"Madame Pomfrey! You nearly gave me a heart attack." Ginny said as she gave a sigh of relief that it wasn't an unwanted presence.

"Sorry dear, are you here to visit Mr. Malfoy?" She asked raising an eyebrow in question.

"Yes…how is he?" Ginny asked timidly not meeting the medi-witch's gaze. She could feel the medi-witches gaze search her face but whatever thoughts had been running through the witches mind were not voiced, and for that Ginny was grateful. She was also grateful for the fact that Madame Pomfrey was not a nosy soul, and that she would not repeat the events of what she had seen today to anyone.

"It was a trifle worse than I thought. He has swallowed too much of that horrid lake water for his own good. And as you know, the lake, with all its many and different inhabitants, there would be no doubt all the bacteria and such swimming around in there. The bacteria invading his lungs and flowing into his bloodstream was only made worse by the chill from the quickly falling autumn season." Here Madame Pomfrey sighed; Ginny looked up and saw the medi-witch looking sadly at Draco. "He will be fine in time, he has a fever…and a cold…which is quite peculiar and he has also contracted some kind of muggle sickness. Pneumonia, I think it may be called…"

"Couldn't you just give him a simple pepper-up potion? It is just a muggle sickness. So it must be easier to get rid of than any of our magical-induced sicknesses." Ginny said staring at Malfoy longingly.

"I'm afraid that Pneumonia is the sort of muggle sickness that leaves the body very vulnerable, especially the lungs. If I were to give him a pepper-up potion, it would only interfere with the healing process his body is already going through. The pepper-up potion works in a way that it forces out the sickness by first bringing it to its full potential, and then speeding up the process of sweating out the sickness. But by administering that potion in him making his fever and cold more pronounced, it will only make the Pneumonia worse, spreading faster throughout his body, and it could possibly kill him…" Madame Pomfrey said her voice becoming quieter. "It is nothing too serious, but it will take time for him to heal, it all depends on his immune system, but I can only imagine how sensitive he must be right now."

Ginny stared wide-eyed at the medi-witch and then back at Malfoy, noticing for the first time his harsh and rapid breathing, and she noticed his skin taking on a blue tint. Her heart immediately ached for him, Madame Pomfrey seeing the look on Ginny's face silently retreated back to her office.

Ginny watched the retreating form of the school healer until the curtains were once again drawn shut, and without another moment of hesitation she clambered up onto the cot beside an unconscious Malfoy.

"Malfoy, wake up!" she whispered into his ear as she sat next to him, not wanting to invade too much of his space, he was still healing after all. She shook him, but he didn't as much as move, besides the rapid up and down movement from his harsh intake of breaths. She shook him once again gently, starting to panic as his breathing became shallower and less frequent.

"Malfoy, please wake up." Ginny said finally relenting as she was nearly straddling him on the small cot.

They had been dating over a year now; she had gone against most of her values and morals just to be with him. Being deceitful, and not to mention a horribly good liar when needed in order to keep their relations a secret, and she wasn't going to let him throw all that out a window because of a petty sickness that she knew he could fight off.

If he could fight off Parkinson then she had no doubt he could fight off Pneumonia, but she still couldn't help but be a little worried.

Seeing as they had been dating over a year, she had to reluctantly admit that she had gotten to care for him far more than she thought humanly possible, she cared for his well being and existent far more than she cared for her own well being and existence. It didn't make much sense when she had voiced it out loud to herself, but in her heart it made all the sense in the world.

Watching him lying there seemingly getting worse by the second made Ginny's heart wrench, her stomach turn to knots and unwelcome tears spring to her eyes. She wanted more than anything in the world to admit to him how much he meant to her right then and there, but she knew she couldn't. They had made agreements that they both followed to maintain the relationship.

When they had begun seeing each other in her fifth year they had agreed that it was mainly physically based, and only a slight emotional attachment, seeing as no matter what they thought, he was still a Malfoy and she was still a Weasley.

They had agreed to continue calling each other by surnames, incase they had gotten too accustomed to calling each other by pet names, or by first names that they would accidentally make a slip in public. They had also agreed to not become emotionally attached to each other, because according to him emotions that were not of hatred, indifference, mock glee, or anything negative was seen as a weakness, and he had refused to be in relations with someone who was going to show weakness.

Ginny shook her head slowly, a ghostly smile playing at her lips as she stared at Malfoy's angelic face. She was stupid to agree to those terms. Although she was a witch, she was still human, and by being human how could she not have weaknesses? How could she date someone for a year, get to know them, understand them, have them understand her, share such intimate moments with them, and not become so emotionally attached that every time she saw that person she wanted nothing more than to be able to simply call out his name and have him look at her in the corridor?

Ginny knew it wasn't anything serious what Malfoy was going through right now, but the weight of guilt that it was her fault he had become sick in the first place sat upon her shoulder as if it were Hagrid himself. She bit her lip to stop the tears from spilling over the rims of her eyes as she raised her head staring fixedly up at the ceiling.

What if the fever and cold got worse? What if it made the Pneumonia worse spreading further from one lung into the other? The endless possibilities of what ifs flooded her mind, intoxicating her senses. What if he doesn't wake up? What if his immune system is so weak that his lungs just collapsed, if that's even possible? What if he stopped breathing…like he is now!

Ginny's mind stopped functioning as she held her own breath as she now longer saw the slow rise and fall of his chest, nor heard the disturbingly harsh intakes of his breathing.

Just as she was sure she was going to pass out she sucked in a breath and shook him again.

"Malfoy, please, please, wake up!" Ginny pleaded as her vision became blurry. She didn't know why she was being so emotional about the situation; she didn't know why she was overreacting to him not waking up. She knew that the simple words of Madame Pomfrey that he was going to 'be fine in time' were not enough for her, she needed the physical and visible reassurance that he was going to recover, and by him waking up that was enough for Ginny.

Every second that ticked by seemed like hours on end to Ginny as she sat on top of his waist, hands on either side of him as her face was mere inches from him, mentally egging him to take in a breathe. When he didn't seem to be complying with her mental requests Ginny let the first tear slid from her eyes, but she bit her lips once again, this time holding in the urges to sob out loud. She shakily brought one of her hands up to touch his cheek, but quickly withdrew it as her warm flesh came in contact with his icy cold flesh.

She withdrew herself sitting up straight, both hands clamped over mouth to keep her sobs a bit quieter than they would be if her hands were removed. She looked to the ceiling again, taking in long deep breaths calming herself, letting her sadness and grief flow out of her as she let her emotions take a slight turn, settling on anger instead.

She glared down at him, how dare he leave me like this? Taking the coward's way out of this 'relationship'! If he had gotten bored of me he could have just said so, instead of letting this stupid sickness take him away. Ginny knew that these thoughts were far from the truth, but she needed to get a grip on herself, she didn't want to accept the fact that he might be…

"You listen now, wake up this instant or I shall never speak to you again. I shall leave right this instant and never return Malfoy, you hear me?" Ginny said sternly as she glared at him, but her expression softened as she looked at his blue tinted skin.

"Please Draco…" She pleaded as she rested her head lightly against his chest and hugging his sides tightly to herself as she let her tears silently flow.

She didn't care whether or not she used his first name or last, she only cared for him, besides she had always loved the feeling of his name rolling off her tongue on the rare occasion that she used it. Heck, she loved him to no end and she was about to admit it when unexpectedly her head was pushed up rather suddenly. Ginny stared as he took in a shuddering breath, and opening his eyes reluctantly.

"Weasley," he coughed out hoarsely as he smirked at her, "what are you playing at, breaking our agreement like that first feeling something for me and using my first name?" he said, a teasing note to his voice, "What are you getting all worked up about? I was only sleeping."

She was so happy to see him breathing again that his words took a while to process in her head, and once they did…they did.

"You prat!" she said indignantly as she smacked his chest, "You were awake the whole time and you were playing a joke on me! How dare you?" she said hitting him again, clearly infuriated with him even if she did have a huge grin on her face.

"Hey! Careful there, be gentle, I'm still healing you know." He said letting his smirk slip into a smile that he only reserved for her.

She bent down and hugged him tight to her as she felt the relief flood through her body.


Draco ran his fingers through her hair out of habit, letting them run along her back in a soothing manner as well. He picked up a strand of her hair and looked at it. He loved her hair color, deep auburn. He thought about when Ginny had called him by his first name earlier, trying to wake him up, and he had sucked in a breath of air involuntarily. Hearing his name coming from her lips had made it so melodic and angelic sounding, that he couldn't help but gasp.

He felt stupid for making up those stupid agreements of calling each other by surnames. He felt even dafter for including the part of not letting them develop feelings other than physical ones for each other as part of the agreement. Although he was born and raised as a Malfoy, being drilled to never let emotions surface or show, what kind of prat would believe for a second that he wouldn't develop feelings for the little vixen straddling him?

As much as he didn't want to admit it, he cared for her that much was evident. But he didn't want to admit that to her just yet, he already felt weak for even…caring for her, but to openly admit it first would definitely show he was weak, and he didn't want that. Besides, he didn't even know if she felt the same way, she couldn't…and worse than feeling weak was feeling rejected. He shook his mind from those thoughts and let them linger on the feel of her body pressed against his, a smile slowly forming on his lips once again.

His smile deepened as she nestled her head deeper into the crook of his neck, and wiggled her body closer to his, seemingly trying to get him warmer. And warmer she accomplished.

"See here, what you're doing isn't helping me in my state of 'defenselessness' and it certainly isn't helping me heal any faster." he said in a mockingly teasingtone.

She sat up immediately, obviously not catching the mocking tone as she slowly started to get off of him, but he stopped her placing his hands firmly on her hips.

"I didn't say I was complaining." He said trying to sound husky with his parched throat. Ginny smirking as she remained where she was, and starting to bend over to kiss him.

"But your body will be soon enough, Mr. Malfoy." The undeniable drawl of Severus Snape drifted towards them as the curtain surrounding Draco's cot opened, revealing their potions master and their school healer.


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