Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. I'd think that was obvious by now.

Well, it's been not quite a year... I'd beg forgiveness but the best peace offering I have for my long absence waits below. Go forth and enjoy!

Without further ado…

Chapter 12

Ginny POV

Unlike the previous weekend spent brewing the first batch of the potion, this time seemed to fly by. Blaise stopped in twice to bring us food, but otherwise was nowhere to be found. I didn't complain however, as I rather enjoyed the uninterrupted time with Draco. That first kiss was one of many to follow in the following days. I'd never known how much I'd enjoy the feeling.

When his lips were on mine it was like the whole world just melted away. Once even Blaise had walked in and I hadn't noticed until Draco pulled away. But kissing wasn't all we did. In between stirring the potion and taking turns napping, we talked. As if making up for the years of animosity, neither of us ran out of things to say. We discussed favorite Quidditch teams and holiday traditions, childhood antics and recent struggles.

Though he refused to speak much on the topic, I began to glimpse how hard his life had been recently. Though it took a while before the majority of the wizarding world accepted his return, Draco had known about You-Know-Who's arrival from the beginning. It would seem his father returned to the side of his old master, a fact I already knew from the goings on of last year and his father's recent imprisonment.

It was hard on Draco, for now I could see that he wasn't as okay with that lifestyle as everyone seemed to think. He let me see as side of him in those long hours of darkness while we whiled away the nights that I didn't know if anyone had ever seen before. His whispered confession of, "I hate all of this," was about all he said on the subject, but it was enough.

It was in that moment that I finally put aside the few reservations I'd been harboring in the back of my mind. My brother was wrong, Harry was wrong. Draco wasn't evil. Blaise had been right about how most people misunderstood the blond boy. How could anyone think this hurting boy was bad?

Never able to turn away from someone I knew was hurting, no matter how well they hid the hurt from the world, we'd spent the next few hours simply wrapped in each other's arms. To pull him from the dark thoughts I could see forming in his stormy gray eyes, I began to tell him of my plans for the future, if a world without You-Know-Who was ever reality again.

I told him how I'd always wanted to play Quidditch professionally. He understood and agreed with my sentiment that there was almost no better feeling than the freedom of being on a broomstick. "If I could do that for a living, I would never truly work a day in my life."

When I asked what he would do, in an ideal world, he surprised me by telling me he wanted to be a writer. "I've always enjoyed it," he told me with a shrug. "I'm not a fan of school essays, but I've always been good at them. I'm not sure what I would write professionally, but whatever I chose would surely bring me satisfaction."

It was in this way the two days of constant stirring were passed. It went quicker than it felt, but still by the time we finished the potion we were both feeling the effects of the long weekend. When it was finally the right shade of almost-clear pink, we set to brewing the ever important antidote. Unlike the potion it works to negate, it took nearly no time at all. Within the next hour it was done and the modified potion ready to test.

"I shouldn't be the one to take it," Draco said as we stared at the seemingly innocent vile of potion.

Butterflies fluttering in my stomach, my eyes met his. "Why is that?" I asked, my mouth dry and hands clammy. Sure I'd kissed him, several times over the course of the weekend, but to know that this little vile held the power to make it so easily go much, much further was terrifying.

"We wouldn't be able to gage if it accurately worked. I'd feel no different than I already do," he murmured, pulling me against him.

My breath stuck in my throat, his words startling me. Of course I was well aware of his feelings for me. He'd made it obvious from the beginning of this weekend that he liked me. But when you liked someone you wanted to hold hands and go on dates and kiss talk for hours. What he was talking about feeling was much more than just simply fancying someone. Could he really feel that way about me?

Self-consciousness and doubt plagued me, but I forced both down. "And what makes you think it would do anything to me?" I asked, testing to see what he'd say.

I felt him chuckle softly against me, his lips touching the top of my head in a gentle kiss. "You may want those things already too, but you're too scared to act on them. The potion takes away those inhibitions. If you're willing to do more than kiss me, then we know it worked." His logic was sound, and I couldn't deny it.

My eyes found their way back to the vile of potion on the table. "Can we wait a while before we do this?" I asked, only putting off the inevitable. "It's been a long weekend and I could really use a shower and a hot cup of tea. Why don't we meet back here in two hours? Maybe Blaise will show back up by then and we'll have a buffer to make sure nothing happens."

Draco nodded, surely only agreeing because he could see the panic building in his eyes. If all went according to plan, nothing would happen. I would drink the potion, feel the effects, take the antidote, and we'd be done. But if I can't think clearly, if I lose sight of taking the antidote, and Draco isn't able to force it on me, then only God knows what would happen. I'd have no control over my actions. My only though would be about Draco.

I knew I trusted the boy I'd be lusting after to not take advantage of me but he wasn't infallible. If I was insistent enough, if I threw myself at him, who's to say he'd be any more able to stop than I was. Doubt and fear, and a small dose of excitement if I was honest, filled me. For my sake, because he could see how nervous I was, agreed to give me time.

"A shower does sound nice," he agreed, tilting my chin up and kissing me softly. His lips were warm against mine, and the contact much too brief. "Come on." With that, he slipped the kissing concoction into his pocket along with the antidote.

He took my hand in his and led me out of the classroom we'd spent the last few days cooped up in. Instead of parting ways at the stairs however, with me going up and him heading down, he tugged me along with him down the winding staircases. "Where are we going?" I asked, letting him pull me along.

"A place you can shower in peace," he said simply, giving me a small smile. "Just wait. You'll see."

If I didn't know any better, I would have guessed he was leading me right down into the Slytherin dormitory, but I knew that couldn't be. We passed a few others down in the dungeons, but they headed down an opposite corridor than we did. Finally stopping at a fairly convincing stone wall, he gave a password and a door materialized in the wall.

"What is this?" I asked in astonishment when he opened the door to reveal a large room with a bed, seating and writing desk. There were also two other doors within the room. I could assume from his earlier statement that one held a bathroom but the other was beyond me.

"My room," he said simply, pulling me in and shutting the door. "I've had my own quarters since first year thanks to my father and his connections with the school board. I kept it even after he was removed. It's been nice to have, that's for sure. The only other person who knows how to get in is Blaise."

I looked around in disbelief, and a bit of jealousy. How nice it must be to have one's own room. I had to share a room with four other girls. It got old. "This is fantastic," I said with a laugh, shaking my head. "I haven't been able to shower without other people walking in for ages, or maybe even ever." We only had two bathrooms at the Burrow, and many of us living there. Even before Hogwarts my shower time was limited by my brothers banging on the door.

"It's all yours," Draco said with a grin, kissing my head and the gently pushing me towards the left-hand door. "Take all the time you want."

I didn't have to be told twice. Feeling ridiculously excited, kissed him back and practically danced to the bathroom. The room beyond the door was about as fantastic as I had hopped. Not only was there a roomy shower stall, there was also a massive bathtub begging to be filled. Passing on the tempting bath, I stripped my clothes off and turned on the shower.

The stream of hot water was steady and relaxing, inviting me to stand there for hours. I could have easily stood there as long as my feet would support me. After living on freshening spells for days, the shower was a welcome change. And knowing I wouldn't be interrupted was a strange but delightful feeling. I stood there for a while, just enjoying the warm water and steamy air, before finally reaching for the soap.

It didn't take long after that before I was regretfully ready to get out of the shower. Draco still needed to shower too, for I was sure he felt just as grimy as I had. Besides, this was his shower after all, who was I to hog it? It was in that moment that a thought suddenly struck me. This was Draco Malfoy's shower, in Draco Malfoy's private rooms. Two months ago, at the start of term, I would have never thought it possible, but here I was in his private sanctuary stripped naked and enjoying his shower! The idea would have been too outlandish to believe before.

Shaking my head with a grin, not at all unhappy about the strange turn of events, I stepped out of the inviting stream of hot water and grabbed a towel and wrapped it around myself. A quick drying spell sent my hair cascading around me in smooth waves around my head. I then turned to my clothes, wrinkling my nose at the thought of putting them back on. But I didn't see much other option, so with a regretful sigh I used a freshening charm on them for good measure and picked up my underwear.

A nock on the door startled me as I was putting them on, sending me sprawling to the floor as I tipped over, unbalanced on one foot. I let out a surprised scream as I fell, crying out as I crashed to the floor. Rather than another knock, the door flew open. Draco rushed in, a worried look in his eyes. They held an almost unreasonable amount of concern for me having just fallen over.

"Are you alright?" he asked as he rushed to myside, ignoring the fact I was in nothing but a rather askew towel. Crouching down beside me, he gently eased me into a sitting position.

My face began to burn and I was sure turn a brilliant shade of red. "I-I'm alright," I stammered out, not able to meet his eyes. "You're knock startled me and I jumped, but I wasn't well balanced and fell. Honestly, I'm okay."

"I'm sorry," he said, a grin slowly working its way across his face, the worry disappearing. "And I apologize for bursting in. Usually when I hear people scream, it's for a lot worse reasons that tipping over." Just like that his grin was gone, the serious look back.

My heart ached for the boy, and I reached out to gently touch his face. "It's okay, Draco," I said, softly, stroking his alabaster cheek. "I'm alright now."

I wasn't exactly sure how it happened, but the next thing I knew I was on his lap and his lips were on mine. They were strong and possessive, full of need and desire. My hands found his back and I clung to him, pulling myself closer as our lips moved. By now my towel was surely very precarious, bunched up around my hips, but I found I was beyond caring. All I could think of was Draco.

His hands started roaming, tracing their way down my back. When he reached the bottom of the towel, I could feel his fingertips graze my low back. Gasping into his mouth at the contact caused him only to pull me closer, his lips never leaving mine. It wasn't until a soft moan escaped my lips that he finally pulled back.

The need in his eyes was surely as strong as mine, but he pulled away with what was surely a great effort. I could even feel how much he wanted me, if what I was feeling underneath me was of any indication. His arousal was obvious. We were both breathing hard and he gave a small chuckle. "Maybe you don't need that potion to make you lose your inhibitions after all," he laughed.

Heat flooded my face, making my eyes drop from his. A grin spread across my own lips too, despite my embarrassment. Suddenly, I realized how slightly clothed I was. The towel had opened in the front a bit and was bunched up around my hips. It was barely hold on. Feeling my face burn even hotter, I quickly righted my towel and scooted off of Draco's lap.

"So," I started, searching for something to say. "Why did you knock anyway?"

Shaking his head with an amused grin, he stood, pulling me up with him. "I was going to offer you clothes. They're on the bed. Why don't you go get dressed? I'll be out soon."

Nodding, I left my clothes where they were and headed into the next room, glancing at Draco as I left. Before I'd even shut the door he'd started to undress. I caught a glimpse of a very well-toned back before the door closed. Letting out a sigh, I turned towards his bed and saw the clothes he'd left for me. It was nothing fancy, just a t-shirt and some pajama pants. I pulled them on, not even caring I didn't have underwear.

The shirt was baggy but comfortable and the pants were much too long. I had roll the pant legs up three times before I was satisfied I'd no longer step on them. Taking a deep breath, I breathed in the smell of Draco, the smell I'd smelled in a love potion at the beginning of term. Curious, I glanced around the room in search of the vile we'd brewed.

It was sitting on his writing desk, right next to the antidote. Picking up the small and seemingly innocent vile of potion, I uncorked it and sniffed. Just like before I smelled the same three things, thought by far the most overwhelmingly strong scent was that of Draco. Taking a deep breath, I steeled myself for the side effects and downed the potion.

Well, well, well! What will happen next? I'm as excited to find out as all of you! The only difference is I have to write it myself to find out. What do you think will happen now that she's taken the potion? Let me know what you think!

I do have a special thanks that needs to go here. If it wasn't for a dear friend of mine, I would have probably not come back to this story, at least not anytime soon. But, at her request, I decided to give it a go. Now I'm super pumped for this story so we'll see where it goes! But yes, everyone say a BIG thank you to Sam!

And as always, please, please leave a review. They're like air to a drowning man, water to someone parched. I need them to keep me going!

As always remember, happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!