Ok, I'm really really sorry for the super long wait. All I can say is that I had the worst case of writer's block ever. That and the holidays are hectic. But here's chapter 15. Enjoy! Oh, and I do a lot of jumping back and forth between Draco's and Ginny's POV in this chapter. That was a side-effect of getting over the writer's block.

disclaimerI do not own Harry Potter./disclaimer

Chapter 15: Goodnight

Ginny bit her nails nervously as she headed back to Gryffindor tower. Mixed emotions were running through her though the most prominent feeling was relief. She had been lucky to escape in one piece after she had angered Malfoy like that. She still didn't know what had made her say those things to him; she knew he was dangerous. Another familiar feeling that was fluttering in her stomach was guilt. Why did she feel the need to…to what? She wasn't picking on Malfoy or teasing him. But something just didn't seem right. Ginny knew that Draco was a self-centered jerk who was emotionally challenged, but she still didn't think what she was doing to him was right. She had never been one to lead a person on with false pretenses…even if it was Draco Malfoy.

A clanking sound to Ginny's right made the young Gryffindor girl jump away, her heart pounding. Could Draco possibly be hiding for her, waiting to get revenge? She peered forward cautiously and breathed a sigh of relief when she only saw Mrs. Norris's yellow eyes staring at her from behind a suit of armor. Ginny had never been happy to see Filch's cat before now, but at the moment anything would've been more welcome than a certain irate, blonde-haired Slytherin seventh year.

Ginny hurried past the cat and up the few remaining staircases until she reached the portrait of the fat lady. The lady's eyes were closed and a few snores escaped from her mouth. Ginny poked her and the fat lady woke up, grumbling and eyeing Ginny with distaste.

"What are you doing out so late?" she accused sleepily.

"Mugwormp's root," Ginny said, ignoring the portrait's inquiry. The fat lady, closing her eyes again, swung open and Ginny scrambled through the opening.

When she got into the common room, she peered around cautiously to see if anybody was there. Other than a few dull coals that were glowing in the fireplace, the room was empty. Ginny sighed and started up the girls' staircase, welcoming the sleep that would numb her of the many worries that plagued her mind.


Draco pounded out of the castle and into the cold December night. He closed his eyes as he stood at the top of the stairs that overlooked the school grounds and let the wind wash away all feeling. The moon was very bright that night and it reflected off the snow, creating a surreal feel. A few of the trees near the Forbidden Forest swayed slightly but other than that, the night was still.

The calming nature of the night failed to stifle Draco's emotions completely. How dare that weasel accuse him of being a Death Eater? He could think of no worse insult somebody could say to him. They could say that he was heartless and mean, but a Death Eater? He had felt like wringing Weasley's neck after she had said that to him; he still did. But he knew he'd probably be expelled if he killed her, and then he'd have to go home to his father. Anything was better than that. Besides, he wasn't entirely sure that he wanted to kill Weasley; she was helping him clear his name. Draco snorted. Fat lot of help she is.

Draco slowly descended the stone steps and sat on the bottom one, his hands in his pockets. His heart rate was steadily slowing down and his temper was ebbing away. He still hated Weasley's guts, but he no longer felt like marching back into the castle and murdering the whole Weasley clan.

Now the question was, what next? What would he do now? He didn't know if he'd be willing to accept any help from Ginny; that is, if she was still willing to give it. The school was still talking about Trent Johnson and Albert Harding, but everybody was still just as confused. A few students had approached Johnson and asked him if Draco had done it. The boy had just stared blankly at them and walked on.

Another thing that bothered him was his upcoming Christmas. He had never before wanted to stay at Hogwarts for the holidays, but this year he was envying those who were able to remain. His life was already tough with his father; add Voldemort to the mix and Draco was as good as finished.

He shook his head at the irony of it all. Everybody thought him to be buddy-buddy with Voldemort but it was really the opposite; Draco wanted to get as far away from him as possible.

Draco remained seated there, staring into the snow-lit night, for quite some time. Eventually he stood up and stiffly walked back into the castle.


The next morning, Tuesday, Ginny kept nodding off in class. I suppose all these late-night rendezvous are getting to me, she thought during Transfiguration. She stared blurrily as McGonagall assigned them an essay and then dismissed them for lunch.

Ginny sighed as she stumbled through the crowded hallways towards the Great Hall. She bumped shoulders with a few people, resulting in them giving her a stern look, but she really didn't care.

When she entered the Great Hall, she plopped down in a seat and stared at her plate, blinking, before she put a small helping of potatoes on it.

"Is something the matter, Ginny," asked Hermione, who was sitting next to her. "You seem a little down."

"Nothing's wrong," Ginny said, plastering a fake, if somewhat small, smile on her face. "It's just all this homework the teachers are giving us is getting to me. That's all."

"Oh," Hermione said, brightening up at the mention of homework. "I don't think it's too much at all, really," she said. "And you'll need to know all this stuff for the N.E.W.T.S. next year. It's really important, you know."

"Yes, I've heard all this before," Ginny said, rolling her eyes. "I do my homework. It's Ron and Harry that you need to explain this to."

"I've told them a million times," Hermione said, shaking her head. "They just don't seem to listen. But they'll regret it when the N.E.W.T.S. come around and they're not prepared."

Ginny continued eating her meal in silence while listening to Hermione ramble on about the importance of studying and diligence. An image of Mad-Eye Moody popped into Ginny's head and she smiled.

"What are you on about now, Hermione?" Ron asked as he, Harry, Dean, and Seamus came up to the table and sat down.

"I'm just explaining to Ginny how all the work the teachers are giving her is for her own good," Hermione said, looking across the table at Ron. Harry sat down next to Ron while Seamus sat next to Ginny; Dean sat on the other side of Seamus.

"Don't listen to her, Gin," Ron said, a pretend, horrified look spreading over his face. "She'll brainwash you…"

Dean snorted into his pumpkin juice but when Hermione sent a death glare towards Ron, he shut up. Ron's grin slipped off his face and he shrank in his seat.

"Oh, come on Hermione…you know I was just kidding," he squeaked nervously. "You know that we know that study is important. You've only told us every day of our lives."

"Honestly, Ronald, I don't see how you can be so inconsiderate sometimes," Hermione said, shoving her plate back and standing up. "I was only trying to help." After one last stern look at Ron, Hermione stalked out of the Great Hall.

Ginny looked at Ron and sighed loudly to express her exasperation.

"What?" Ron asked.


Draco watched with amusement from the Slytherin table as Hermione Granger stomped out of the Great Hall furiously. He rolled his eyes as he watched Ginny and Ron Weasley start an argument of which he couldn't hear, but could guess the topic.

"So, Draco," Pansy cooed from next to him. She slipped her hand casually onto Draco's lap and started massaging it. "Do you want to go to the ball with me? I already have our costumes picked out."

Draco flicked Pansy's hand off of him and replied, "Pansy, I do not want to go to the ball with you. In fact, I never want you to speak to me again. So just leave me alone and find somebody else to annoy."

Draco turned his back to Pansy and tried to start a conversation with Blaise, but Pansy scooted herself in between them, shoving Blaise backwards. She looked up at Draco and fluttered her eyelashes, twirling a strand of her hair in her fingers.

"Silly Draco, you don't really mean that," she said in a high-pitched, girly voice that disgustingly reminded Draco of Dolores Umbridge. "I know that you love me. We were meant to be together." She placed her hands around Draco and buried her face in his neck. "You don't have to hide your feelings for me anymore."

Draco stared down at Pansy's hair with his eyes wide in disbelief. Who did this girl think she was? She's delusional, Draco thought.

"Are you finished?" he asked, not even trying to mask the menace in his voice. Pansy nodded and moved her hands to Draco's hair, trying to massage his scalp, but Draco leapt up from the seat as if he were on fire.

"Nobody touches my hair," he snarled at her. He grabbed a spoon and peered into it, moving the spoon around to see all of his hair. He pushed a few stray strands back in place and smoothed out his robes. "Let me make something clear to you, Parkinson," Draco drawled. "I hate you, plain and simple. I never liked you and I never will. So don't come near me again or I'll curse you."

With that said, Draco sauntered out of the Great Hall. As he passed the Gryffindor table, he heard Ginny shouting at her brother, "You're being a jerk, Ron! Just grow up!" He smirked as he saw an angry-looking Ron rise out of his seat and start to berate his sister. Ginny wasn't listening though. She turned around and stalked right past Draco; he didn't think she even saw him. Ron sank back into his seat and folded his arms, staring at Ginny's empty seat with a half-pout, half-scowl on his face.

Draco rolled his eyes and exited the Great Hall. All of the halls were empty and he raised an eyebrow. Weasley's fast, he thought. His stomach rumbled as he headed towards the Slytherin common room. Maybe I should've eaten something, thought Draco. He paused and thought for a moment. I could just go to the kitchens and get something to eat. Yes, I'll do that. There's no stupid Pansy there to bug me.

Draco turned off from the hallway that led to the Slytherin house and headed down a long corridor, at the end of which was a portrait of a bowl of fruit. When he approached the painting, he stuck out his hand and tickled the pear, which started giggling madly. The painting swung forward and Draco stepped inside.

Inside the kitchens of Hogwarts were many house elves bustling about. Some were carrying platters piled high with food, some were carrying stacks of clean plates, some were sporting a mop and broom, and others were standing about tables and chopping up different foods.

There was a large fireplace that was built into a stone pillar that started from the floor in the middle of the room and rose to the ceiling. Several black pots were hanging over the fire and steam was rising from them.

As soon as Draco was spotted by the house elves, he was surrounded by them.

"What can we do for you?"

"What would Sir like?"

"How may we help?"

Draco smirked arrogantly as he saw all of the servants clamoring around him and trying to please him. As it should be, he thought.

"You, Elf," Draco pointed to a small house elf to his left, "get me a glass of butterbeer. And you get me some biscuits." Draco said, giving another elf a shove as it scurried off.

"Stop it," called a voice from behind him. "You can't just order them around like that."

Draco turned slowly and came face to face with Hermione Granger and Ginny Weasley. Hermione was standing before him with her hands on her hips and a defiant look on her face. Ginny was sitting at a table further back and nibbling on a pumpkin pasty, closely watching the exchange between the two students.

"Well, Granger," Draco said, a smirk forming on his lips, "I think I just did. Besides, who are you to tell me what to do? You're just a mudblood."

Hermione looked like she was about to retaliate but decided not too. She turned and walked back to the table where Ginny was sitting. She sat beside her friend and took a sip of a drink she was holding. Draco watched the two girls for a moment, but then a house elf timidly approached him, carrying a plate full of fluffy biscuits and a goblet of butterbeer.

"Here you are, Master Malfoy," the elf said, bowing his head as he handed the food to Draco.

"Wait a minute...I know that voice," Draco mused, his eyes narrowing as he stared at the house elf. The elf looked up and Draco was met with two large, green eyes and oversize ears. "Dobby?" he asked as he eyed the pink and orange mittens that the elf was wearing. A bright blue scarf was wound around his neck and the elf started fingering it nervously.

"Yes, Master Malfoy?" Dobby asked. His other hand was twitching at his side and the fear in his eyes was obvious.

"Father told me you were working here," Draco sneered, his eyes dancing with laughter at Dobby's outfit. "Now get me something sweet."

"Yes, Master Malfoy," squeaked Dobby as he bounded away and out of sight. Draco smirked and turned around; two sets of eyes were watching him carefully. Draco rolled his eyes at Ginny and Hermione and sat down at a different table.

Soon Dobby came trotting back to him, carrying a plate filled with an assortment of sweets. The elf halted at Draco's feet but tripped and fell face forward; the plate and all its contents went spinning away across the floor. Dobby cringed as he rested on his hands and knees. Slowly he stood, his whole body shaking.

Then, without warning, Dobby threw himself towards an oven and ripped open the door. He stuck his head in the oven door opening and started slamming the door on his face. Hermione and Ginny leapt forwards with cries of alarm as Draco just watched in amusement. Ginny opened the oven door as Hermione pulled Dobby's head out of the oven and held him back as the elf groped for the oven again.

"Dobby was bad," the elf moaned. "Dobby must punish himself, Miss Granger. I have disappointed Master Malfoy and I must punish myself."

"Listen, Dobby," Ginny said, bending down and staring the elf in the eyes, "Malfoy's not your master anymore. You don't have to let him boss you around."

"And you certainly don't have to hurt yourself," Hermione said gently. "You are a free elf."

Dobby's eyes quickly darted towards Draco, then to the oven, and then back to Hermione and Ginny. His mouth twitched with fear briefly before he nodded his head with a sigh.

"You are both right," Dobby said dejectedly. "Harry Potter has told me time and time again not to hurt myself."

"And he's right," Ginny said, patting Dobby on the shoulder. "You aren't a servant anymore. You are an employee of Albus Dumbledore and he's the only one you have to listen to."

"You are right," Dobby said, perking up. "Dumbledore is a great man. I won't listen to – to him anymore." Dobby shrank away from where Draco was sitting and bowed once again at Hermione and Ginny. "Thank you, misses, for your help. If there is anything you need, just ask."

Having said that, Dobby scooted back into the throng of house else and was soon out of sight. Hermione gave Ginny a look and the two of them turned and faced Draco, their arms folded across their chests.

"What?" Draco asked from his seat. The two girls continued to stare silently at him. "Oh come on, I wasn't going to hurt him," Draco continued.

Ginny looked at Hermione with raised eyebrows and they both turned and stalked out of the kitchens. Draco rolled his eyes at their retreating forms and muttered, "Girls…"


Ginny and Hermione walked through the hallways that were quickly filling with other students.

"Like I was saying before we were interrupted by Malfoy slime," Ginny said, "don't worry about Ron. I talked to him – well, actually I argued with him and I don't think we'll be speaking for a while, but he was just being his usual, hot-headed self."

"That makes two of us who won't be talking to him," Hermione said. "He always does this. All I try to do is help and he practically bites my head off."

"And yet we love him," Ginny said, sighing. "Honestly we should have just dumped that boy years ago," she said in a fake, girly voice. Ginny glanced at Hermione out of the corner of her eyes and saw a small grin form on her face. Ginny smiled and pulled Hermione into a hug.

"Don't worry about Ron," she said. "He'll straighten out in the end."

"I suppose you're right," Hermione replied. "Reckon we should give him the silent treatment until then?"

"Of course," Ginny said. "He only deserves the best, right?"

"Right."


That evening in the Gryffindor common room, Ginny was trying to do her Transfiguration homework. So far she had been doing a pretty good job of ignoring her guilt over Draco, but it was still there. Should she apologize to him? Just ignore him altogether? The latter was preferable but the former was practical. If she had any hopes of snagging Harry, then proving Draco guilty was her only chance. And there was no way for her to do that unless she was working with him. And there was no way of that happening unless they were on good terms.

Ginny sighed and threw her quill down. Now you have to apologize, Ginny thought. Brilliant, Ginny. Simply brilliant. She pulled out a spare piece of parchment and wrote on the corner of it:

Be in the Astrology tower at midnight.

She ripped off the corner of parchment that had her writing on it and glanced around her. Harry and Ron were in the corner of the room worrying over some Potions essay that was due the next day. Hermione had already gone to bed and there were only a few fifth years left that were playing Exploding Snap near the fire.

Carefully she scooted towards the portrait hole and with one last look back, she hurried through it. There were only a few students in the hallway since there were only twenty minutes left until curfew. If she hurried, she could get to the owlry and back and she wouldn't be in any trouble.

Ginny sprinted through the hallways; a few people turned to look at her as she shot past them. A few of the portraits also muttered at her as she flew by.

As she neared the owlry, she slowed to a walk to catch her breath. Her side ached but she ignored it and scanned the rows of sleeping owls. She called a small, brown one down to her and quickly tied the letter to its leg. The owl snapped at her hand irritably and flew off.

Ginny paused for a moment and watched it fly away before she took off back towards Gryffindor house. She got back with just minutes to spare before curfew started. Nobody even noticed that she had been gone.


Draco was sitting at the edge of his bed reading the letter he had just received. So Weasley wanted to meet him again? He contemplated showing up; it would serve her right if he ignored the letter altogether. What could she possibly want, anyway?

Nevertheless, at midnight Draco found himself wandering through the cold, dark hallways of Hogwarts towards the Astrology tower. I'll still be late and make her wait, Draco assured himself. I don't have to be completely complacent.

When Draco entered the Astrology tower, Ginny was sitting in her usual chair at the table. Draco stood in the doorway and folded his arms.

"What do you want?" he sneered at her.

Ginny shifted in her seat and looked anywhere but at Draco. There was no fire lit this time, no candles lighting the room. There was little moonlight in the room, causing Ginny to be in the shadows.

"I just wanted to…to say that – that I'm – that, that I'm…I just wanted to say that I'm…" Ginny stuttered, still not looking at Draco.

"Well come on, I don't have all night, Weasley," Draco said impatiently. He tapped his foot on the ground and watched Ginny squirm in her seat. "Whatever it is just spit it out."

Ginny sighed and rose from her seat. Reluctantly she came forward and halted before Draco. Instead of looking him in the eye, she stared at his chin and said, "I just wanted to say that…" Ginny trailed off and raised her eyes until she was staring into Draco's. Her warm, brown eyes met his cold gray ones and Draco just stared into them. He could see himself reflected in her eyes and saw that he still had a scowl on his face. He frowned and peered closer because for the first time ever, he saw that the scowl actually made his face seem ugly. Disbelievingly, he wondered if that was what people always saw in him when he was scowling; he had never known it to be so ugly before. But then again, he had never seen himself when he was scowling.

Still staring into Ginny's eyes, he let the frown, as well as the scowl, melt off his face until he was staring expressionlessly at Ginny. Her eyes were scanning his face but they came to a rest at his eyes once more.

"I just wanted to say that I'm sorry," she said, resignation heavy in her voice. "I'm sorry for what I said to you last time and I didn't mean it. I was just mad at the time and I'd like it if we continued working together."

Draco watched her for a moment and tried to detect any sign of deceit in her face but he couldn't see any. "You sound like you rehearsed that," he scoffed.

Ginny closed her eyes and shook her head disbelievingly. "I just apologized to you and all you can say is that I rehearsed it? Can't I even get a 'Thank you' out of you?"

"Don't push it, Weasley," Draco said. "You're lucky I'm even here." Draco became silent and merely stared at Ginny, who glanced around awkwardly. She sighed and tapped her foot, staring back at Draco with an impatient expression on her face. The minutes ticked by and Draco just stared at her in amusement as her face became more and more exasperated.

"Well?" she finally asked.

"Well what?" Draco retorted.

"Well do you still want to work together?" Ginny asked. "Do you accept my apology?"

"Sure," Draco said simply, shrugging his shoulders. "But there's really no point in working together right now. There aren't any students missing."

"Yes, but people still think that you are guilty," Ginny said. Mild relief crossed her face and for a moment, Draco wondered if she was truly happy that he wasn't upset with her. This girl was a real mystery to him; Draco could hardly ever tell what she was really thinking. That was unusual for him, because usually he could read people like a book.

"Well fine then," Draco said. "We'll still work together."

"Good," Ginny said. "We'll discuss it later though; right now I'm too tired to think straight."

"Then maybe you shouldn't keep dragging me up here in the middle of the night," Draco replied.

Ginny snorted and started walking out of the room. "Whatever, Malfoy. Whatever." Ginny exited the room and started walking down the corridor; Draco followed and soon caught up to her. They silently walked through the dark hallways of Hogwarts together, each completely aware of the other next to them.

Before long they came to a "T" in the hallway. Draco started to turn left, which led down towards the dungeons, while Ginny turned right.

"Night, Malfoy," Ginny called, and Draco stiffened. He turned around to see that Ginny had frozen in the hallway. He couldn't see her face but he could imagine that there was a horrified expression on it right now at what she had just said.

Without another word, Ginny took off down the hall at a sprint, not looking back once. Draco watched her go until she turned the corner and was lost from sight. He shook his head and slowly continued walking towards Slytherin house.

Did she just say goodnight to me? Draco thought in shock. This familiarity with each other has got to stop. Pretty soon we'll be calling each other by our first names.

Draco shuddered and kept on walking.

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A/N: Well, that chapter definately is not one of my favorites. Most likely because I couldn't figure out what to put in it, but whatever. Now, I can't remember if I replied to reviews or not for the last chapter, so I decided not to do it again. I don't want anybody to get two review responses and be all like "Ok..." Yeah. I'll try responding to them as soon as I get the review this time.

Everybody, have a safe holiday and avery Merry Christmas! See you in 2006!

Lauren