Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I do however own a new kitten I've dubbed Sir Arthur McFluffy Butt. He's a doll!

Yes, I am well aware of how long it's been since I updated. I can apologize and beg forgiveness, but we all know that drill. Let's move on, shall we?

Without further ado…

Chapter 9

Ginny POV

That weekend proved to be a really, really long weekend. I'd finished all my homework by Saturday morning, finished the book Hermione had given me and two of my own that I'd gotten in Hogsmeade last weekend, told Draco all about my childhood, and even managed to get him to tell me his middle name. We did anything we could to stay awake. Even with taking turns napping, by Saturday night we were exhausted.

Draco, with a determined look on his face, had left in search of a well-rested Blaise. When finally he reappeared an hour later, a sulking Blaise on his arm, I gladly retreated to the bed in the corner of the room to sleep while Draco made himself comfortable on the couch. Blaise grumbled unhappily but didn't say anything as he was tasked with stirring the potion until we woke.

By Sunday evening when the potion was finally ready to be finished, I wanted nothing more than to collapse into my own bed and sleep for a day. Instead I spent the next two hours finishing the potion. By the time it was done, it was a pink so light it was nearly clear. I sighed in relief, having done it right.

As I bottled up a bit to take to Professor Slughorn, extremely grateful we didn't have to test the unaltered batch on ourselves, I was contemplating the fastest way back to Gryffindor tower. Just as I was about to clean the cauldron with a wave of my wand and be on my way, Blaise was reaching forward with a vile of his own, a huge grin on his face.

Before I could say anything about how love potions were technically prohibited at Hogwarts, Draco had taken the empty vile from him and pocketed it. "No," was all he said, shaking his head and rolling his eyes. "She'd hate you for it anyway, once it wore off."

I wondered who he was talking about, but brushed it aside, clearing out the potion.

Blaise scowled at the lost opportunity. "Desperate times mate," he muttered, leaving without another word.

As I grabbed my bag, slipping the full vile into my pocket, I turned to Draco. He was shaking his head. "So who was he wanting to use the potion on?" I asked as we walked towards the door, leaving the empty cauldron, couch, and bed in there to be used again later.

"Some Ravenclaw," he said with a roll of his eyes. "He doesn't stand a chance with her."

I laughed at the thought. Blaise gave off the air of confidence that said no woman could resist him. He didn't seem the type to stoop to a love potion, but if his pride was pricked that badly, maybe he would. "Why doesn't he just move on?" I questioned as we walked, heading towards the stairs.

Draco gave a chuckle and shrugged, like he knew something I didn't. I wondered but didn't press. Maybe it was a guy thing. There was more than once I was left out of the loop with my brothers, and I was okay with that. There were some things I'm sure I'd rather not know.

"So when are we going to brew the second batch?" Draco asked as we walked.

"Well, we have three weeks after we turn in the original Monday, but we'll need to do a lot of work to modify it. Talking with Fred and George this week will help. But if we don't get it right on the first try, that'll be an entire weekend gone. With classes, we can't do it during the week. Even if Professor Slughorn excused us from classes, I'd still fall so far behind I'd never catch up. This is my OWLs year after all," I rambled, thinking of the month ahead of us.

"How about the weekend after next?" Draco proposed as we walked. "That leaves us this coming week to do all the research and make the changes, one weekend to do it, and if that fails, another week and weekend to re-brew."

It was a good idea. We were going to get to floo with Fred and George in a few days, thanks to Professor Slughorn. That would give us a week and a half before we had to brew it to make the changes. "That would probably work best," I said, rubbing my eyes and letting out a yawn.

We'd reached the stairs by now. Draco would go down whilst I went up. I shifted my bag on my shoulder, already thinking of a hot shower and warm bed. When I looked up at Draco, he was looking at me with that small smile on his face I'd never seen before these last few weeks. Just seeing his smile make the corners of my own mouth turn up. Who would have ever though a Malfoy could make me feel such things?

"You look like the walking dead," he said with a small chuckle, one hand reaching up to trace the dark circles under my eyes.

"Gee thanks," I said with a grin, rolling my eyes.

"We should go to bed," he said softly, his hand moving to cup my cheek.

My breath stuck in my throat. "Yeah," I managed get out.

It was like time stood still, like it had when we were dancing Friday night. My eyes met his, those pools of liquid silver. I felt like I could lose myself in those eyes, fall into them and never look back. They held such emotion, some I wanted to embrace and others that scared me. To be honest, much of this scared me. It hadn't even been two weeks since I gave up detesting the boy and I couldn't help but feel drawn to him now. Draco Malfoy of all people should not be who I was attracted to. I was supposed to like Harry, wasn't I?

I hadn't given Harry much thought as of late. I'd told myself I'd move on from him. That's why I'd agreed to that disastrous date with Dean. When I'd accepted it though, Harry had still been in the back of my mind, if I was honest with myself. Hermione had pointed out Harry would never see me as more than Ron's little sister if I didn't act any different that I'd always done. I had to move on, before I had any chance with him.

But unlike with Dean, Harry wasn't in the back of my mind when I was with Draco. Being with Draco consumed my thoughts, leaving no room for a crush I'd been harboring since I was ten. As I gazed up at the aristocratic face that I'd grown up hating, I felt a rush of emotion I shouldn't have felt towards him. "Draco," I sighed, feeling a smile tugging at my lips.

"What's going on here?" I heard a voice bellow from the stairs behind us, an all too familiar voice.

I jumped away from Draco, though to his credit he did no more than raise an eyebrow in irritation. We had been so caught up in ourselves, or at least I had been, that we hadn't noticed the sound of approaching footsteps from the stairs. I turned slowly to face who could only be my brother, my face on fire.

Ron stormed towards us, fumbling for his wand, with Harry a step behind. Ron looked livid, his face already a fantastic shade of purple. He had Dad's ability to turn many colors when angry, though with Dad, it was a rarity to see. To my surprise, Harry looked just as upset. "I said what's going on?" Ron demanded again, stopping in front of us with his wand in hand.

"Nothing," I said, willing him to drop it. I knew he wouldn't though. I knew him too well.

"It sure didn't look like nothing to me!" Ron raved angrily, though thankfully he restrained from using his wand so far.

I chanced a glance at Draco, not surprised to see a look of irritation on his once smiling features. "Then you are blind as well as stupid," Draco said in a cool voice, not once reaching for his own wand to defend himself should Ron get any stupid ideas.

Ron bellowed angrily, no words intelligible. Harry put his hand on my brother's arm thankfully, keeping him from raising his wand. "Heed my words now Malfoy," Harry said in a soft, angry voice. "I don't know what you're up to, but don't think for one moment then I won't find out. I know what you are, and you had best leave Ginny out of it. You leave her alone."

"You don't know anything, Potter," Draco spat, his face billowing with rage. His eyes were as hard as granite and his mouth a fine line of anger. With that, he brushed past them and swept down the stairs, sparing me not even a backwards glance. While it stung me a bit, it was probably for the best.

"Ginny what do you think you were doing with that Death Eater?" Ron demanded, his face a little less purple now that Draco was out of sight.

"We had a potion to brew this weekend," I started, only to be cut off by a sharp look from Harry.

"That's not what he meant," the black haired boy pointed out.

I gave them both a hard, angry look of my own. "Why don't you two just mind your own business," I said crossly, following Draco's lead and making for the stairs. I took them two at a time, getting well away from my angry brother and Harry before they could stop me. They'd calm down in a bit, for now, I just wanted to get up to my bed and go to sleep. This weekend had been a rollercoaster of emotions.

I knew the boys would be right behind me, so I half jogged down the corridor, trying to outdistance them so I could make it up the stairs where they couldn't follow. I hardly spared glance at the fat lady as I said the password, climbing through the portrait hole.

"Hey Ginny," I heard Hermione say as I strode through the common room. "How'd the potion turn out?"

I stopped for a second, turning to her and letting out a sigh. "The potion turned out perfect, but my brother is an arse and Harry is no better," I told her before striding away and up the stairs. I knew I'd have to face them tomorrow, we had potions together after all, but for now I planned on getting a good night's sleep. First thing's first though, I needed a shower. I'd lived on freshening charms over the weekend and I felt in dire need of real soap.

With the hot water pounding down on me, I felt my anger melt away. They had every reason to be upset, though they both could have handled it better. It's true that Draco had spent the better part of their time at Hogwarts tormenting my brother and his friends. And if Harry's farfetched theory of Draco being a Death Eater were true, that would be all the more reason for them to want him as far from me as possible.

But the boy I'd come to know over the last few weeks wasn't at all like that. He'd finally seemed too grown out of that childishness that had plagued him for years. It turned out he did have a kind side, a sense of humor. He even knew how to smile, not just smirk. Who knew? But Ron and Harry hadn't seen that side of him like I had. I couldn't blame them too much for being supsicous. But they really could have handled it better.

Letting out a frustrated sigh at being thwarted from could have happened if those to hadn't rudely barged in, I turned off the water and stepped from the shower. A quick drying spell and clean pair of pajamas later, I was crawling gratefully into my bed. As I thought back on that weekend, I couldn't help but replay the moments with Draco in my head. That almost kiss Friday, him wiping away my tears, dancing with me to the radio he'd conjured and that moment in the hallway before Ron and Harry had come that I was sure could have led to a kiss.

Maybe Ron and Harry were right a little bit though. Maybe it would be better if I was wary of Draco, kept my distance a bit. He may not be a Death Eater, but his father was. His whole family was in with You-Know-Who. But when I was with him all of that melted away. His past and his family were gone. He was just Draco. He was a kind boy with a wonderful sense of humor, a protective streak and a certain flair for the romantic.

I fell asleep with conflicted feelings, but nevertheless dreamt of a certain blond that night.

Well, there you have it. I know it wasn't as long as usual, and for that I'm sorry. I'll try and update again soon, on this one as well as my others.

Let me know what you thought! Feedback is like the air an author lives on. I need it to survive, or at least for the story to survive. What did you think of this chapter? I felt Draco and Ginny were moving a tad too fast, so there was a dash of reality necessary! Do you think Ron's reaction was appropriate? What about Harry's? Is Ginny really going to heed their warning and make some space between her and Draco? Oh the suspense! Not even I know yet! What do you think will happen?

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