Draco-

I slouched down to breakfast the next morning, Astoria clinging to my arm and gazing adoringly up at me, and tried to look smug, as everyone would expect me to look. It wasn't real though. I didn't feel smug with Astoria attached to me.

Glancing around the hall as I entered, I noticed immediately that Ginny was not present. Should this have concerned me? I shrugged it off, throwing myself down at the Slytherin table, Astoria placing herself delicately beside me. She was acting like an innocent little princess, not at all like she did when we were alone together. As I thought this, I noticed that she was chattering away to me, placing my favourite breakfast foods onto my plate.

"Here, Draco, have some bacon," she said, smiling as she slid a few rashers of bacon onto my plate. "Would you like something to drink, darling? Pumpkin juice?" She poured me a glass of pumpkin juice and handed it to me. I took it, placing it down on the table and continuing to watch as she sorted my breakfast out for me. "You like toast, don't you? Here, have some toast. What would you like on it, darling? Jam? Marmalade?"

"Astoria, stop," I said suddenly, quietly, not even trying to hide the contempt in my voice. Astoria froze, looking at me with a look of hurt on her face.

"What's wrong, Draco?" she asked, putting the toast down and gazing at me intently.

"Just stop, ok? I can feed myself perfectly well, and as it happens, I am not actually hungry at this moment in time," I snapped.

"Draco-"

"Will you stop bleating my name like that?" I hissed, pushing myself up from the table. The Slytherins had fallen silent, were watching us curiously. Some of them were smirking in amusement.

"What have I done wrong?" asked Astoria, going red.

"Just leave me alone," I said, and I began to walk away. I felt her hand on my arm, trying to pull me back. "Will you just leave off!" I shouted, pushing her back towards the table and leaving the hall at a run.

I continued to run until I had come to a deserted corridor near the Owlery, and then I stopped, gasping for breath, clutching a stitch in my side. I sank down to the floor, leaning against the wall, and sat with my head in my hands.

I'd ruined things with Ginny. I knew I had. She'd looked so confused, so hurt when I'd broken away from her last night, and I'd done nothing but run away from her. I wondered if she would forgive me, if I apologised.

Wait. Draco Malfoy, apologise? I'd not really done anything wrong. I had merely made a little mistake in kissing her.

But I'd wanted to. I'd wanted to for a while before it happened. I had not wanted to stop at just kissing her. I wanted her to be mine, totally and completely mine, in the only way I knew how. I wanted very much to sleep with Ginny. But that was going to far, wasn't it? She was just a mission. She was nothing more than that. Nothing I should be confused over.

And I'd just stormed out on Astoria, a beautiful pure blood girl who was giving me breakfast, all because my head was so messed up about Ginny.

"For fuck's sake," I moaned, hitting my head against the stone wall.

"Well, well, well- Mr Malfoy."

The soft voice shocked me out of my senses, and I jumped quickly back to my feet, looking around for who had spoken. Out of the shadows stepped Alecto Carrow, an entertained look on her flat face. It felt as though someone had just frozen my insides.

"That was quite a performance you just put on. Something wrong with your little relationship?" she sneered.

"What do you want?" I asked bluntly.

"I came to find out if you were alright, dear," she said in a thoroughly unconvincing tone. She didn't stop smirking, and I saw the glint in dull, beady eyes. I swallowed.

"As if you care," I replied, keeping my voice monotone.

"Now, now, Draco," she said tauntingly. "Just because everything isn't all sunshine and rainbows in your little world, doesn't give you an excuse to be so rude to one of your professors…"

"But of course," I said, sneering. "My apologies, Professor."

The smirk disappeared from her face. Replacing it was a very ugly look.

"You want to watch your back, Draco," she said threateningly. I raised an eyebrow.

"And why would that be?"

"I've seen who you've been sneaking around with," she said in a deadly quiet voice.

"And who would that be?" I asked.

"I've seen you sneaking around with that Weasley girl," she said triumphantly. "Saw you come storming out of a room only last night, shortly followed by her. She looked very upset, poor little thing." Her tone was now painfully mocking. I stared at her, bile rising in my throat. How dare she mock Ginny? "What've you done to upset two girls in the space of 12 hours, Draco? Tut, tut. Clearly your useless father never taught you anything about manners…"

"Don't you insult my father!" I said hotly, glaring at her.

"Now, now, Draco," she said again. "Does he know you're sneaking around with a blood traitor? What would daddy say if he found out, I wonder? And what about poor mummy, poor, poor mummy…"

"Leave my mother out of this, Alecto!" I snapped, pulling my wand out and pointing it directly at her face. She laughed softly.

"You don't have the nerve, Draco," she said.

"Try me," I said quietly, glaring at her, such hatred coursing through my veins that it felt as though, where there had previously been ice, there was now fire.

"You want to watch your back," she repeated, and she turned and walked off down the corridor, pausing at the end to wave at me, wiggling her short, stumpy fingers in my direction.

"You're having an eventful morning."

Another soft voice was issuing from behind me, and I spun around, my wand at the ready- but I stopped short. Ginny was standing behind me, refusing to look directly at me; instead she was staring at my feet.

"Ginny," I said, stowing my wand away hastily. "What are you doing here?"

"I was sending an owl," she said, motioning towards the steps leading up to the Owlery, which she had presumably just come down.

"Oh," I said. "Who to?" I was only trying to make polite conversation, but she snapped at me.

"How is that any of your business, Malfoy?" she snapped, still not looking at me.

"Right, sorry," I said.

She looked up at me in evident surprise.

"You just said sorry," she said, meeting my eyes and then blushing furiously.

"Yeah, I know," I said, shrugging. "I'm going to say sorry again though."

"What for?"

"For last night."

Ginny said nothing, merely returned to looking at the floor.

"I'm sorry, Ginny," I said, moving towards her and putting my hand underneath her chin, making her look up at me. Still, she avoided my eyes.

"There's nothing to be sorry about, Malfoy."

"Why are we back to Malfoy? I thought we'd moved past that?" I asked, still keeping my hand under her face so that she couldn't look back down.

"Yeah, well." She shrugged.

"I didn't mean to just take off like that," I said. This was it… this was my chance to make it up to her for being such a jerk the previous night…

"Take off like what? I don't know what you're talking about."

"Wha- oh." I understood. She was going to pretend it hadn't happened. "You can't act like we didn't ki-"

"Shut up, Malfoy!" she snapped, pulling herself away from me. Finally she met my eyes, but she was glaring at me.

"Ginny, I'm sorry!" I said again, meaning it with every fibre of my being.

"Sorry for what? Sorry that you kissed a silly little blood traitor? Don't act like I'm anything more than that to you, Malfoy! I saw it in your eyes when you broke away- I disgust you!"

"Ginny, that's not true!" I said sharply.

"Of course it's true! I'm nothing to you!" Tears were forming in her beautiful brown eyes now, but I couldn't tell if they were from anger or unhappiness.

"That's not true! And even if it was, why would it matter to you? It's not like I am anything to you either!" I said, bristling at her anger.

"You don't know anything, Malfoy!" she cried, tears now falling down her cheeks. "You don't know bloody anything!"

We both stood in silence for a minute as I pondered her words. She continued to glare at me, apparently not aware that she had said anything that could be considered as strange.

"Do I mean something to you, Ginny?" I asked quietly, staring at her.

I knew very suddenly what I wanted to hear. I wanted her to say that yes, yes I did mean something to her. I was not just a Death Eater with an overactive sex life. I was something to her. I wanted her to want me.

"I- does it matter?" she asked, wiping her tears away hastily. "It's not the first time my feelings have been unrequited."

"Feelings? You have feelings for me?" I pressed, determined to get an answer out of her.

"Look, it doesn't matter. Just… just leave me alone from now on, ok?" she said, turning to leave. I quickly reached out, grabbing her arm and holding her there.

"Wait! Wait, Ginny," I said, pulling her around to face me. The mask she always wore was back in place. If it wasn't for her red eyes, you'd never have known anything was wrong. "Can I ask you to meet me later tonight?"

"You can ask," she said, raising an eyebrow.

"Well then, meet up with me later tonight? Room of Requirement?" I said, trying not to sound as though I was desperate- I was Draco Malfoy, for god's sake. I did not do desperate.

"I…"

"After dinner? 7.30?"

"I… I'll see, ok?" she said, and, wrenching herself free from my grip, she began to walk off.

"I'll see you there then, Weasley!" I called after her, smiling in spite of myself.

Ginny-

The day seemed to go very, very slowly. I didn't know if I was actually going to meet up with Draco later. A part of me- a very large part of me- was telling me that it was stupid, that I'd do better to walk away and focus my energies on getting out of Hogwarts and the war alive. However, a very small part of me wanted to go and meet up with him, see what he wanted. Unfortunately, this part seemed to be winning overall.

I was still battling with myself when I went to dinner that night. As I sat beside Neville, I didn't hear his constant attempts to engage me in conversation. I barely knew what I was eating- I merely placed small morsels of food into my mouth every now and again, and then spend the next few minutes struggling to swallow it.

Draco was sitting next to Greengrass, but they were both looking away from each other in stony silence. Zabini, next to Draco, was attempting to make conversation, but Draco didn't seem to be paying attention. His pale cheeks were flushed pink, as though he was excited, or anxious. Maybe both? Was it our possible meeting later on that was causing him to feel like that?

Greengrass looked towards me suddenly, catching my eye. She looked mutinous, and quickly threaded her arm through Draco's, as though claiming him for herself. I rolled my eyes, and looked away, but not before I had seen Draco pull his arm away from her and get to his feet. He glanced at me with a hopeful look on his face before leaving the hall, and, looking down at my watch, I noticed it was already 7.15. I didn't get up. I refused to move.

It wasn't until 7.40 that I made my decision. I got to my feet, apologised to Neville for having to leave him so suddenly, and then walked as casually out of the hall as I could. As soon as I was sure there was no one around however, I broke into a run, sprinting down the corridors until I was there- outside the Room of Requirement. I began to pace in front of the wall, three times, until the door appeared. Taking a deep breath, I pushed on it, and entered the room, unsure of what I would find.

I walked into the room so quietly that Draco didn't notice me at first. He was pacing nervously in front of a very grand looking fireplace, in which was a beautifully warm fire and on which stood a large, old-fashioned clock, which showed the time as now being 7.50. He glanced at the clock every time he passed it. I remained in the shadows, looking around the room. It wasn't particularly big, but there was a large, plush looking sofa, and in the corner, next to a bookshelf full of extremely old looking books, stood a cabinet which contained, from one quick glance, what seemed to be a number of bottles containing different alcoholic drinks.

Draco was still pacing anxiously. I decided to take pity on him, and quietly cleared my throat, making him jump and spin around. He looked at me for a moment, and then, as though unable to help it, he smiled widely, something I had never seen him do before. I didn't smile back, but moved into the firelight, sitting myself down on the sofa.

"I didn't think you were coming," he said quietly, sitting next to me uncertainly.

"Neither did I," I admitted.

We sat in awkward silence for a minute.

"What do you want, anyway?" I asked eventually, unable to take the silence any longer.

"I wanted to talk to you," he said hesitantly.

"Well, go ahead," I said, motioning with a hand that he was to continue.

He didn't say anything, merely looked at me, his large, grey eyes anxious in the soft light from the flames. I refused to meet his gaze, and instead looked into the fire.

"Shall we have a drink?" he asked, nodding towards the drink cabinet.

"Oh, I don't know…" I said uncertainly. Did I really want to be drinking alcohol with him?

"Well, I'm having one," he said, standing up and striding over to the cabinet. Out of it he withdrew a large bottle of Ogden's Best Firewhiskey. He pulled the cork out and took a swig, straight from the bottle.

"Not having a glass?" I asked jokingly.

"Don't see much point," he said, sitting himself back down and taking another swig. He offered the bottle to me, but I shook my head.

"I don't think I should," I said.

"Why? Think I'll take advantage of you if you're drunk? Just have a sip, Weasley, it's good stuff," he said, pushing the bottle into my reluctant hands.

"Really, I don't think I should," I said, handing the bottle back to him.

"Suit yourself," he shrugged, bringing the bottle back up to his lips.

"What did you want to talk about, anyway?" I asked curiously, watching as he drained some more of the amber liquid.

"You said you have feelings for me," he said, looking me dead in the eye. The Firewhiskey seemed to have made him more confident. I blushed.

"I did not, you assumed I do," I said, trying not to get angry.

"Well, do you, or don't you?" he demanded.

"What does it matter?" I snapped.

"It matters because… because it does, alright?"

We fell silent as I contemplated him. Suddenly, a wild thought made itself known to me, and I had voiced it before I had even thought properly about what I was saying.

"Do you have feelings for me?"

Draco choked on the Firewhiskey, and then silence fell again. All that could be heard in the room was the gentle crackling of the fire.

"Draco?" I asked tentatively, breaking him out of his reverie.

"I don't know," he said quickly.

"You don't know?" I asked, confused.

"I don't know if I have feelings for you or not," he admitted, and then he drank deeply from the bottle again.

"How can you not know? You either do or you don't," I said.

"Well… I don't know. Do you have feelings for me?" he demanded again.

"If I answer that, will you give me a real answer, other than 'I don't know'?" I asked.

"'Course I will," he said.

I paused for a moment, then held my hand out.

"Here, give me the bottle," I said resignedly, taking it from him and taking a deep swig from it. It rushed down my throat, burning it but making me feel more confident. "Bit of Dutch Courage," I said, handing it back to him.

"Well?" he asked after a moment.

"Yes," I said quietly, not looking at him.

"What was that?" he asked, cupping his ear with his hand and leaning towards me.

"Yes," I said a bit louder, refusing to look at him.

"Yes what?" he said, and I could hear the smirk in his voice.

"Yes, alright? Yes, I have feelings for you," I admitted, blushing to the roots of my hair, feeling as though I was on fire.

"Hmm," he said, leaning back on the sofa and contemplating me.

"What?" I asked, agonised.

"Nothing," he smirked. He put the Firewhiskey down on a little table next to the sofa, and moved so that he was facing me. "Look at me," he said quietly, when I still refused to look.

"Draco-"

"Ginny, look at me," he said, reaching out and taking hold of my hand. I glanced down, looking at our clasped hands, and then reluctantly looked up at him.

The second I met his eyes, I felt energy surge through me. I bit back the gasp that had almost escaped as I looked into his eyes. He was looking back at me as though he could see right through me, right behind the mask I always wore, and it unnerved me. I fought the urge to look away again, but eventually it overpowered me, and I looked back down at our hands.

"Ginny…" he said quietly, and he moved quickly, so that he was sitting directly next to me, placing my hand on his chest so that it was resting on the buttons of his shirt; I noticed that a couple were undone, and I felt the warmth of his skin under my hand.

He put his hand in my hair, pulling me closer towards him until we were hardly separated. I took a deep breath, and he kissed me. This kiss was different to the one we had shared the previous night; this one was more… well, more. It was deeper, as though he wanted me- as though he needed me. I put my arms around his neck, surrendering to the want I felt, letting him deepen the kiss, running his tongue across my lower lip… he bit it suddenly, making me gasp, and then his lips left mine.

Before I realised what he was doing, his mouth was on my neck, gently kissing from my jaw line down to my shoulder. I could feel so much energy flowing between us that it was all I could do to stop myself from ripping his shirt off- but I didn't need to. He paused for a moment, and I opened my eyes, about to question why he had stopped. My question caught in my throat as I saw him, standing before me, his shirt now discarded on the floor. He was slim, but he had the wiry muscles of a Seeker. He was stunningly pale, as though he never saw sunlight; the only thing marring his otherwise flawless skin was the mark on his left forearm- the Dark Mark. It looked hideous on his skin- it didn't belong there. Before I could dwell on it for more than a moment though, he was kissing me again.

Without knowing how it happened, we were lying on the sofa, entwined, him on top of me, his weight pressing on me pleasantly. He moved slightly, and I gasped again as his erection pushed into my stomach, catching me off guard. He smirked, but it was different to his usual smirks; instead of the taunting smirk that usually flashed across his face, this one was more… teasing. He pulled away from me slightly, and I brought myself up to meet him.

"Do you want me, Ginny?" he whispered, his lips grazing my ear.

I didn't reply, unable to form a coherent word. I merely bucked my hips up to meet his again without meaning to, and he chuckled.

"Do you want me?" he asked again, and he bit my neck, making me jump and let out a small moan. "Is that a yes?" he asked. He was clearly enjoying himself. "Answer me, Ginny," he whispered, and he bit harder onto my neck.

"Yes," I whispered, my voice sounding strange; I sounded excited and yet my voice shook, although I knew it had nothing to do with nerves.

"What was that?" he asked, pressing himself against me so that I could feel his erection again.

"Yes," I said, unable to get my voice to go louder. "Draco… I want you."

"I thought so," he said, sounding triumphant. He pulled himself up off of me, standing with his back to the fire, facing me, as he pulled off his trousers and boxers, which he deposited next to his shirt, and then he slowly began to unbutton my school shirt. I could tell instantly that this was not something that was at all unfamiliar to him. He continued to kiss me as he removed my shirt and threw it down next to his own jumble of clothes.

I had my arms around his neck as soon as my shirt was off, and I was kissing him again, my hands in his platinum hair, pulling tentatively as he bit down on my lip again. Whenever I recalled the scene, even years later, I could not remember him taking the rest of my clothes off. All I know is that suddenly we were both completely naked, our bodies pressed against one another, the warmth coming off of him almost burning my skin.

He continued to tease me further, his skilled mouth moving from my mouth, my neck, he skimmed his tongue over one of my nipples before he bit it, making me moan softly as a surge of energy pulsed through me…

"Draco," I whispered, wanting him to take me then, on that sofa in the Room of Requirement, not a single thought of the consequences passing through my head; I just wanted him, there and then, with all of my body, all of my mind, I knew I had to feel him inside me.

He moved so that he was kissing my neck again, and I moved my hips up to meet his… He pushed me back onto the sofa, smirking again.

"Tell me what you want, Ginny," he whispered, holding himself so that I was unable to move underneath him.

"You," I replied, looking into his incredible grey eyes. "I want you."

It was as though he had been waiting to hear those words, because he smiled suddenly, not a smirk, a real smile. He kissed me gently on the lips, and then quickly, without my realising what he was going to do, he pushed himself into me, making me gasp and dig my nails into his back. It felt incredible, and I brought myself up to meet him, letting him go deeper… our breathing was coming in short, sharp breaths now as he continued to push himself into me, pulling back, and then pushing again, deeper, harder, faster… This wasn't making love, this was fucking- and I was grateful for that.

He suddenly quickened his pace, and I felt myself climbing, could feel myself reaching my climax, but I held onto it, not wanting to yet…

"Let go, Gin," he whispered, biting my neck again. It was too much for me, I couldn't contain it anymore… Not one to be quiet, I let out a ragged scream, feeling him come at the same time that I did… I scraped my nails down his back, and he moaned, pushing harder and faster until-

He collapsed onto me, both of us panting, trying to catch our breath. We didn't move for at least 10 minutes as our breathing gradually became normal again, and then he pushed himself onto his elbows so that he was looking into my eyes. I looked back, both of us smiling at the other. He kissed me softly.

"Ginny…" he said, his expression becoming anxious. "I think… I think I love you."

A/N: Well, there it is. Took me long enough to get to this point, wouldn't you say? Haha. I hope you liked it, I struggled to write this. I'm not used to writing about this kind of thing (which I'm sure is evident), but hey, I did my best xD. I again apologise for it taking me so long to update. Please review, let me know what you think!

Love, Beccari x