Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. Must we go over this every time?

Sorry in advance for misspelled words! The program I'm using to type on doesn't have spellcheck.

Okay everyone, I promised and update and here it is! I hope it's long enough to make up for the delay in the update. I know it's been a few weeks or so. Sorry about that. Anyway, I hope you all enjoy it! I had fun writing this. It flowed out of my fingers so effortlessly.

Without further ado...

Chapter 5

Ginny POV

Once Dean returned with two steaming mugs of Butterbeer, I forced Draco Malfoy out of my mind. This was my first date and I was going to enjoy it, not spend it all wondering about the boy who should in all right's hate me. I smiled at Dean as he sat, suddenly struck with a shyness that wasn't like me. I was really on a date! What did I do? What did I say?

Thankfully I was spared trying to figure that one out when Dean began to speak. "So how did your errands go? Did you get everything done that you needed?" he asked, obviously feeling none of the sudden nervousness I was.

"Yeah," I said, smiling shyly and tucking hair behind my ear. "And then some."

Dean chuckled lightly and took a sip of his butterbeeer, still steaming from the mug. "We'll, I'm glad. I myself have a few things I need to pick up before we head back to the castle, but it's no big deal. I'm sure you wouldn't say no to going to a book store," he said with a laugh, knowing my affinity for the written word.

"Of course not," I laughed, relaxing a bit. "In fact, I spent less today than I'd planned on what I needed so I'll even have enough to get a new book or two."

"That's good. It's always nice to have a little extra jingling in your pocket," he said. Picking up a menu from against the wall, he opened it, gazing at the food choices.

I already knew what I wanted, the same thing I almost always got. Madam Rosmerta's chicken and dumplings were to die for. Add a side salad to start with and a piece of chocolate pie for dessert, it was heaven in a meal. I was so predictable, by the end of the last term, Madam Rosmerta began preparing it as soon as I walked in the door. She probably didn't remember anymore though, not after all summer away.

When Dean finally decided on his meal, he put his menu aside. "Have you ever tried the eggs benedict here? They sound really good. I think that's what I'll order. I like to try new things. Do you?" he rambled as he tried to catch Rosmerta's eye to get her to come take our order.

"Yes and no," I told him, smiling at Rosmerta as she made her way over. "It depends on what it is. If it doesn't sound completely repulsive, like tripe or gizzards or something, I'll try it. But if it's anythings to do with internal organs of an animal, count me out. I only do things I trust."

Dean laughed, smiling at me. Just then, Rosmerta appeared at the table. "What can I get for you two today?" she asked in her kind, silky voice that usually had men hanging on her every word.

I stayed quiet to let Dean order first, being polite. I realized just as quickly I shouldn't have when the words left his mouth. "We'll both have the eggs benedict, a side of toast on each. Ham on the eggs, and add some cheese," he said smoothly, not even glancing at me.

"Sure thing, hun," Rosmerta said, her quill flying over the order page. "It'll be right out. Can I get you refills in the mean time?"

"Sure," Dean agreed, pushing both of our mugs towards the barkeeper, despite the fact I'd hardly touched mine.

I tried to squelch my annoyance at Dean as Madam Rosmerta waked away, my nearly full mug in hand. "I had planned on getting dumplings," I said softly, trying to take the edge out of my voice and be nice about it, not quite succeed.

"But you said you like to try new things and that the eggs benedict sounded good," he said, his tone bordering on defensive. "I thought you wanted it. Besides, you didn't even touch your menu. How was I supposed to know?" The smile that had graced his face since his arrival was replaced by a small scowl.

"I already knew what I wanted," I told him, trying not to sound defensive too. But I had to make my point he wasn't to order for me from now on. It was rude, especially when he had no clue what I wanted. "I nearly always get the same thing. The dumplings are to die for." And he didn't even order a salad or anything to begin with. I didn't say that though.

"Well, you can get that next time we come," he said, his tone ending the discussion. "I'm sure you'll like the eggs benedict."

I couldn't keep the scowl off my face, but thankfully was saved from responding by Rosmerta's return with our mugs, mine looking maybe half an inch fuller. I took the mug gratefully and wrapped my hands around it, smiling my thanks at her halfheartedly. My first date wasn't going nearly at all how I'd planned. If it kept on at this rate, I wouldn't even want to tell the girls about it tonight when we settled down for bed, even though they were fully expecting a play by play.

Taking a sip of the warm liquid, I sat the mug back down. Now though, I really didn't know what to say. This time though, it wasn't because of nerves, it was because I wasn't sure if I could manage anything in a kind tone. I was irked.

"So, we'll head to Zonko's after this," Dean finally said, breaking the silence that lay like a blanket over our table.

"I'd rather go there last," I told him. "It's closest to the road back."

He waved his hand at me, dismissing what I'd said. "We'll go there first," he repeated. "I've already got the day planned out. We'll go to the bookshop after that and then maybe Honeydukes before heading back."

Oh he was really angering me now. I wasn't one to go along with being told what to eat, where to go, having what I say dismissed like an annoying fly. And the way he said maybe Honeydukes said it all, he didn't plan on going at all. Honeydukes was a must for me! I never left Hogsmeade without going there. It was like a sin!

I kept my mouth shut though, just hoping to get through the meal without blowing up at my date. I was sorely wishing I hadn't agreed to a date with him. This was going to ruin our friendship. I'd never seen this side of him before. He was acting like he owned me, he controlled me. I wasn't even his girlfriend! Pompous jerk! Malfoy would have made a better date!

I started at the thought. He really would have been. In the two hours we had spent together before my date, I'd had so much fun. I'd enjoyed myself a lot more than I had in the fifteen minutes since Dean sat down. I suddenly found myself drawn to the windows again, searching absentmindedly for the familiar blond head.

I spotted him easily, walking out of Honeyduke's across the street with Pansy Parkinson on his arm. He looked as annoyed as I felt. Guess I wasn't the only one having a horrible time. "You know what, I'm not so sure I feel up to going anywhere after this," I told Dean suddenly, coming to a decision.

"Of course you are," he said without hesitation. "We're on a date."

"And a bloody horrid one at that," I muttered quietly, too soft for him to hear. "I know," I said a bit louder. "But I'm not so sure I want it to last as long as you do. I kind of just want to head back to the castle."

"Well, fine," he said, sounding annoyed. "I guess we can head back after we eat, though I don't know why you insist on wasting such a beautiful day in Hogsmeade."

I scowled down at my mugs, taking a big drink to try and sooth my nerves. I really should never have agreed to this date. "You don't have to waste it," I said icily. "You can feel free to enjoy it without me. In fact, enjoy you're two plates of eggs, because I'm not sticking around to try them." With that I stood angrily and went to storm away.

Dean caught my arm before I could get two steps though. "Wait," he said, sounding angry. "You can't just leave. You need to at least pay for your half of the meal, whether you plan on eating it or not. It's not fair to me to have to pay for it all just because you're being prissy."

"Pay for my half?" I nearly scream at him, drawing eyes to us. "I'll do no such thing! I'm not going to eat it. I didn't even order it. So I most certainly am not paying for it!" I was livid now. He was acting like a complete pompous chauvinistic jerk! "You know what, here's a couple knuts." I threw three onto the table. "That'll pay for my butterbeer. But don't you even expect me to pay for the food you ordered."

"You bit-" he began, only to be cut off by a fist connecting with his face.

"That is no way to treat a woman," I heard a deep voice say from beside me. In my anger, I hadn't even noticed anyone approach. Glancing over, I saw Draco standing at my side, his face an angry mask. "And if you ever speak to Ginny again, or even so much as look at her wrong, I will personally find you and beat you to a bloody pulp."

I was in shock, complete and speechless shock. Suddenly my day just got a whole lot better. I smiled triumphantly at the blood running from Dean's nose, which look seriously broken. My smile grew even wider when Draco feigned another punch, making Dean flinch away with a look of pure hatred and fear.

"Come on Ginny," Draco said, shaking his head angrily at the bleeding boy. "Let's go."

He grabbed my hand and pulled me away, out of The Three Broomsticks, leaving a hurt and furious Dean behind. On our way out we passed an even more furious looking Pansy, who had suddenly lost her own date, as Draco stalked by her without a glance. "Draco!" she called, only to be ignored. To her credit, she took the hint and didn't pursue.

Once out the door, Draco stopped and took a deep breath. Turning to me, he looked me up and down. "Are you alright?" he asked, concern filtering through his anger. "If he lay a hand on you, I'll go back in there and break all his fingers."

I smiled and shook my head. "No, he didn't hurt me, just made me mad. But if you want to break his fingers anyway, go ahead," I said, laughing in relief to be away from that horrid date.

Draco finally smiled, rolling his eyes. "Don't tempt," he said lightly, taking my hand again and pulling me along down the path. "Are you hungry?"

"Starved," I said as we got further and further from The Three Broomsticks.

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I don't think you want to go back to for a while," he said in a questioning tone.

I shook my head. "Not till I'm sure he cleared out, and maybe most of the people that witnessed that scene," I muttered, annoyed that because of Dean I wouldn't get my dumplings.

"Well, it's not as good, but do you want to go to the Hog's Head?" Draco asked. "Or I guess there's that frilly tea shop if you'd rather." The look on his face told me that the tea shop was the last place he wanted to be though.

I laughed and shook my head. "Much to frilly for me," I told him, earning a look of relief. "The Hog's Head is fine."

"Then we go," he said, turning down a side street and heading to the not as popular bar. As we walked, he struck up a conversation. "It sucks you're date went so bad," he said sympathetically. "I know it was your first. Bad luck."

"You know, I'm kind of glad it went so bad," I mused, realizing my hand was still held firmly in Draco's grasp. "It was a site to see, a Malfoy rescuing a Weasley. The whole school will be talking about it for weeks."

"Let them talk," he laughed. "I enjoyed punching the git."

I joined in his laugher, finding myself relaxing and enjoying myself once more. Lunch was just as happy and light, nothing like the disaster of a date had been. And though the Hog's Head didn't have dumplings, I settled for a nice plate of chicken with potatoes and macaroni. That, along with a cup of tea, proved to be a very good lunch, made all the better by the unexpectedly good company. Who knew I could enjoy myself with a Slytherin?

But enjoy myself I did. I found myself talking to him like we were old friends. I was comfortable around him, much more so than I should have been I'm sure. It was enjoyable though. After lunch, we stopped by the book shop. I still wanted to look at some books. Draco was a good sport too and quietly left me to the books as I browsed. Once I'd finally picked out a several of books, in total going to cost the three sickles I'd saved earlier, I went to find where my companion had wandered off too.

"Have you chosen your books yet?" he asked as a rounded a shelf and found him amongst the potions books.

"Yeah, three of them," I said with a smile, holding my small stack up with a smile. "Are you getting any?"

He looked thoughtful before answer. "I think I might," he said, holding a thick volume out to me. Tampering With Potions was written boldly across the cover. "It may help us when we try and start changing the potion we're doing for class. It's really detailed on what can and can't be messed with when it comes to ingredients."

I nodded. "It sounds like it would help a lot," I told him, happy he'd found it. "How much is it?"

"Two gallions," he said with a shrug.

"That's horrid," I responded incredulously. Talk about a pricey book. "We honestly don't need it if you don't want to spend that much."

"It's no big deal," he said with a ghost of his former pompousness. "Here, let me carry you're books. I'm not quiet done yet and you don't need to be hauling those around."

I let him take the books wordlessly and followed after him as he continued towards another isle of books that really didn't suit him. "Romance?" I questioned doubtfully.

"I never go to a book store without getting Mother a book," he answered with a chuckle at my disbelief. "She likes romance."

I smiled and shook my head. The boy was so full of surprises. I stood quietly while he browsed titles, eventually selecting one about a king. With that done, we headed up to the register. He lay the books on the counter as a witch made her way over to us. I went to separate my books from his but he batted my hand away.

"Let me, it's my treat," he insisted. "You've had a horrible day, it's the least I can do."

I didn't aruge, knowing by now it was pointless. "You've already done enough," I told him softly. "You're the reason I'm not crying in bed right now." I wasn't sure why I confessed that to him, but I coudln't take the words back.

He didn't say anying, but I saw a smile tug at his lips. Once the books were bought and wrapped, he shrunk down both packages and handed me mine to slip into my robes, pocketing his own. After heading back outside, we made our next stop at Honeydukes, after Draco insisted it was fine even though he'd already been once. "One can never have enough Honeydukes," he told me with a smile.

After loading up on enough chocolate's and candies to last a month, sparingly eaten of course, we headed for the counter. Sitting there, right next to the register, was a oversized chocolate frog that came with five chocolate frog cards. I eyed the pound of chocolate goodness longingly, but didn't pick it up. It was much too expencive. Even though I knew by now Draco would insist on paying, I didn't want to ask more of him than I myself would be willing to pay. And I wasn't willing to pay four sickles for an oversized chocolate frog.

Draco, noticing my glance and the look on my face, smiled and rolled his eyes. "You'd make yourself sick," he chuckled, handing the wizard at the counter what we owed him.

"It's not like I'd eat it all at once!" I cried with mock indignance. I couldn't keep from laughing. "Okay, I probably would and yeah, I would really regret it. But I would enjoy every agonizing bite."

"You probably wouldn't make it halfway before giving up," he said with a laugh of his own.

"Never underesitmate a girl with chocolate," I told him in as serious a voice I could manage before chuckling again. I was really enjoying myself.

"So, where to next?" Draco asked as we walked out of the store.

I popped a chocoball into my mouth before repsponding. "Well, the only place I want to go before heading back is Zonko's, but if you'd like to stop somewhere else before I don't mind," I told him as we meandered down the lane.

"No, Zonko's is fine. I usually go there last anyway," I said, leading us back towards the joke shop.

I smiled at his comment, a habit much like my own. We didn't spend all that much time in Zonko's, having ready access to things from Fred and George. I didn't want for much when it came to things from the joke shop. I only got a fanged flyer. Though Filch had banned them, I still liked to throw them down the hall ocassionally and run like mad before I got caught.

Afterwards, we found ourselves on the familar beaten path back to Hogwarts. The sun was starting to sink in the sky and I realized we'd sepnt the better part of the day together. As sunset blazed in the sky, giving off an array of colors. The walk was peaceful and as we walked I thought back on the day.

Minus the twenty minutes I'd spent with Dean, I'd had an amazing day. I would have never thought it possible to have such a good time with Draco Malfoy, but I had. I had a really good time. Maybe he wasn't so bad. I found myself thinking happily that I'd been forced to partner with him and Blaise. They weren't nearly as horrible as I'd imagined, or as they'd been towards me in the past. For some reason this year was different. I could easily find myself being friends with Draco, and maybe even Blaise if he didn't complain about potions so much.

"Thank you, Draco," I said as we neared the castle. "I've had a wonderful time."

He smiled down at me as we walked. "Me too," he said honestly. "You saved me from a miserable few hours with Pansy. I'd say we're even."

I laughed softly. "If you don't like her, why did you go out with her today?" I asked, not all that sure he was going to tell me.

He just shrugged. "Habit I guess," he told me. "Everyone expects it, even me to a point. We've been betrothed since we were children."

"You're betrothed?" I asked incredulusly. "Is that even legal?"

"Amongst old magic families, as long as both sides agree, yes," Draco explained with a frown.

"But you obviously don't agree, so isn't it null?" I questioned, shaking my head at the whole thing.

"No, it was agreed on and signed when I was too small to have a say. Our parents agreed, so it's legal," he told me with a sigh. Then he shrugged. "It's no big deal. I plan on ignoring it."

"But can you marry another if you're betrothal contract stands?" I couldn't believe that old tradition was still used.

"Legally, no," Draco said softly, his brow furrowing. "But a life without marriage is better than marriage to Pansy."

"Surely there is someting you can do," I said indignantly. "It's just not right."

"Oh, there's a way," he said with a humorless laugh. "Both sides, parents and Pansy and I, would have to agree. A null and void contract would have to be drawn up and signed by all."

"Well, then there's hope, right?" I asked.

He shook his head. "Pansy believes herself in love with me," he told me without emotion. "She'd never agree to sign it. It gives her legal right to demand I take her as a wife. And her parents would never let me out of it. If she and I marry, they have access to the Malfoy fortune. Not to mention my parents would never agree either."

I sighed, unable to think of another way around it. "Well, maybe being single for the rest of your life won't be so bad after all," I said with a shrug.

"Oh, I don't have to be single," he said quickly. "Just not married. And no kids."

"What happens if you have a child with someone else?" I probed, curious.

Draco looked thoughtful for a moment before shurgging. "Not sure. In other curcumstances, I'd be obliged to take the mother as my wife. But I'm not sure with the contract."

"How legally binding is it?" I asked, wondering if he could just ignore it.

"Very, no marriage I try to have outside it will be legal, not recognized by authority. The woman couldn't take my name or wouldn't have access to my property. I may even be cut off or disowned if I try," he said, shaking his head. "But honestly, it's no big deal. I've accepted it long ago. It doesn't bother me."

I let it drop, seeing from his expression he wasn't really all that fine with it after all, despite his words. Instead we continued to the school in a comfortable silence. The trip didn't take much longer, and before I kenw it we were walking through the gates. The sun was lower in the sky and twilight was falling.

We walked back into the castle side by side, stopping in the entrance hall. The dungons entrance on the other side of the stairs and I had to go up. "I guess I'll see you later," I said, not knowing how to really say goodbye.

"Bye Gin," he said, giving my hand a quick squeeze before turning away. I watched him until the door to the dungons closed behind him before heading up the stairs and towards my bed, fatigue hitting me.

"Bye," I whispered as I turned away, much too late.

Well, how did you like it? I hope it didn't feel too rambling. I had fun writing it. I like writing this side of Draco. And fear not, the next chapter will be his POV. We haven't seen that in a while, I know.

Anyway, I started a new story too! It's called The Common Room. The first chapter is up and I'll post another in a day or so if I get a good response. It's post war back at Hogwarts. Draco and Ginny are Head Boy and Girl and are forced into the same private dorm. As you might guess from the name, a lot happens in that shared common room. I like it so far, it's more mature than this story, seeing as they're older and have gone through a war and the loss that goes with it. I think you'll like it too. So check it out!

And as always, remember a happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!