A/N: Thanks for the reviews, you know the drill.

New Note: This was initially titled Plans, Portraits and keeping it together.

Disclaimer: Still the same. =[

As soon as they returned to HQ, Draco turned to Ginny and said, "Well Freckles, I am thoroughly impressed. Though, I should warn you, that even while my father is locked in Azkaban, he still has his ways. I'd be wary of starting anymore trouble, no matter how amusing it may be, if I were you."

Ginny rolled her eyes and scoffed, "Oh please. First of all, your father doesn't scare me, despite his creepiness and apparent evil connections. Secondly, I don't cause trouble," he gave her a look which she promptly ignored, "and third of all if you insist on calling me some sort of name that you intend, for some ungodly reason, to be endearing, for cripes sakes, think of something else!"

Draco smirked and shook his head. "I'll think about it."

Ginny looked up towards the ceiling and said, "Thank Merlin for the small favors in life."

The two walked in, taking a step in opposite directions. As Draco made for Blaise's office, he turned towards Ginny and said, "Hey Freckles?"

Ginny rolled her eyes causing Draco to smirk once again, but said "Yes Ferret?"

"Thanks."

Ginny's face softened and she put on a smirk that matched his, "Anytime Ferret Face."

Draco snorted and rolled his eyes as he entered Blaise's office.

Blaise was sitting with his hands folded on his desk waiting, waiting for Draco to push him away and close himself off, waiting for the disappointed looks. What he got however, was not what he was expecting.

Draco entered followed by pacing, lots of pacing.

"Blaise I have a problem, and I'm only telling you my problem is because even if I don't you'll know I have a problem and you'll bug me about it, and I don't want to be pestered by your annoying little face and your annoying little all knowing looks until I get annoyed enough to tell you about it anyways, even though you already knew, and you just wanted me to say it. I think I like her. I mean really this time. Like not pretend like, like actual feelings. And Malfoy's don't have feelings. Just ask my head healer. But I think I like the littlest Weasley. And that's a problem isn't it? I mean she's a Weasley. I shouldn't like her. But I do like her; I mean I think I do anyways. And I can't imagine why. Her family is overbearing, her brother is a brute, and she has red hair! We'll have pink haired children for Merlin sakes." Draco looked up from his rant and stopped pacing to make elaborate hand gestures to emphasize his next point. "Did you hear what I just said? I said we'd have pink haired children! Since when do I think like that? I don't even think of children. Ever. Let alone say the word aloud. And now I'm using that word," he said with disgust as he resumed pacing, "to attempt to convince myself not to like her. As if that word would ever play a realistic factor in any part of my life. But she's got fire, and she's mean! And her manners are appalling! And she doesn't know her place at all! And she doesn't listen! She just goes off and does what she wants and when she wants without any regards for anything, like the bloody sodding Gryffindor she is. It's really unbelievable. Honestly, she just went off and started retorting line for line with my father like he was some insignificant child, as if he couldn't destroy her with a simple clap of his hand. Even worse, she beat him at his own game as if - "

"What?" Blaise interrupted with incredulity.

Draco now out of his rambling, but somewhat distractedly said, "Ohh right, I took her with me to see daddy dearest instead of you."

"You mean you're not mad at me?"Blaise said, not bothering to mask his surprise

Draco stopped pacing, clearly caught off guard "What? Why would I be mad at you?"

Blaise looked at Draco as if he were daft, "Because I let you down when you needed me you great daft buffoon, why in the hell else would you be here?"

"What are you on about? You're my best mate, honestly, as if you needed to hear that again, I'm here because I have a problem, and I need you, so unless you've blown me off for a shag while we were having a this conversation, which I would understand, I hardly think you've let me down."

"You mean you're not upset I forgot to come with you to see your father?"

Now it was Draco's turn to look at Blaise as if he were the daft one, "You mean that?" Draco asked almost annoyed, "That's what you were going on about? Honestly mate, you think under normal circumstances you would have forgotten something as important as that, especially with your incessant need to 'understand me' and 'get into my mind'? Please, if I hadn't arranged the whole thing I would never have gotten alone with Weaselette. Honestly mate, keep up."

Blaise was torn between relief as he was no longer in jeopardy of losing his best friend, and anger as Draco nearly gave him a panic attack/heart failure for nothing.

Blaise cut him off before he could continue, and said in the most seriously concerned face "If I shagged a guy and a transvestite would that make me a tri-sexual? Cause if it did, what would I be if I shagged two siblings at the same time? I mean that's incest on their part, but on mine I'd just be having a good time. Or would it be tri-sexual if I shagged a boy, a girl and a transvestite? What would they all be classified as? I mean it's all Jerry Springer shit, but still."

Draco looked at Blaise as if he had lost his mind, "What? What are you ON ABOUT? Jerry What? How in the hell should I know? I only shag girls, how, in any way, am I qualified to answer this problem? Are you speaking from personal reference mate? because I don't think I can handle your 'issues' right now? Have you even been listening to a word I've just said? I have my own problems! I have feelings Blaise! FEELINGS! MALFOY'S DON'T HAVE FEELINGS. I think this takes precedent over your little sexual identity issues."

"Jerry Springer? You don't know Jerry Springer? The muggle show about…never mind." Blaise said, knowing it was a lost cause. "Yes, Draco, of course I've been listening to what you've been rambling on about. And I figured since you've obviously lost your fucking mind, I was just going to throw a few more things out there to think about. And for the record, I do not have sexual identity issues; I know exactly what I am. It's you who has taken up post as team mental case."

Draco shot him a look before saying, "You, are not funny."

"Ohh I'm not funny? I wasn't trying to be, but you obviously are out of your mind Drake, you made this bet with Granger to get in her pants, and Ginny's pants, but then you don't even follow through, and are acting like you don't even care if you get into Granger's pants, You buy Ginny's paintings, you let her into your personal life, you have her paint pictures of you and your mother, you planned to take her to see YOUR FATHER, you know, evil bastard number two, the one who tried to kill her. You make up an elaborate plan to get me out of the picture so it looked like she was a person of convenience. You are out of your mind, and now I'm pretty sure you plan to do a Draco tells all article."

"Considering we already know I'm mentally unstable, would you like to point out something we don't know? LIKE THE FACT THAT YOU KNEW MY FATHER TRIED TO KILL GIRL WEASLEY AND YOU DIDN'T TELL ME?!"

Blaise looked at him, "Nope I think that about covers it. How'd your father take it?"

Draco stopped and narrowed his eyes at his best friend and said in a very controlled and dangerous tone as he leaned over Blaise's desk gripping the edges very tightly, making his already white skin look translucent at his knuckles, "my father took it fine, he seemed very aware of the fact that he tried to kill my girlfriend multiple times, and that she seemed unmoved by this fact. In fact she was all too aware of the fact that he attempted to kill her. I believe the phrase used went something along the lines of 'You tried to kill me, you failed and then when Voldie, realized you went and gave away part of his soul, which was then destroyed by the exact same person he was trying to kill, you paid dearly for that mistake didn't you? Not to mention the fiasco at the ministry two years ago where you got yourself locked up in Azkaban the first time because you got your ass handed to you by six kids, including myself.' Then something to the effect of 'Now you have a blood traitor living in your house, and holding hands with your son, while you rot in a magically enchanted glass wall for the rest of your pathetic existence, so really Mr. Malfoy, what harm is it you think you can bring to me, when every harm you've tried to enact just ended you up in a fix far worse than the one you attempted upon me?'" So I suggest before I get very, very angry, you explain to me what exactly it is you know about why neither seemed very concerned with the fact that I was even in the room let alone the fact that I was unaware of these particular happenstances."

"What do you mean girlfriend? And you mean to tell me that you don't know anything? I mean I know you're oblivious to anything not involved in your little world but, honestly mate, are you seriously telling me you have no idea? Where have you been your entire Hogwarts career? Are you seriously that daft?"

"Blaise, my patience is running thin."

"You know what," said Blaise once he finally could manage to get his thoughts straight, "You both are fucking crazy. Scratch that you, Ginny, Granger, the Boy Who Never Dies, the Boy Who Can't Decide If He's Gay or Straight or Both, You all are fucking crazy with your plans to seduce each other and your plans to defeat dark lords who want to take over the world and your plans to agitate ridiculous parents, your apparent decisions to date each other without even bothering to tell me, you are all fucking crazy. You know what Drake if you want to find out what happened you just find out your bloody fucking self. And since you're so hell bent on making all these ridiculous plans when clearly you're off your bloody rocker, then why don't you just devise some other sort of scheme to find out yourself?"

Draco smirked, "So you're in then?"

Blaise sighed in defeat, "What did you have in mind?"

As Ginny watched Draco go into Blaise's office, she went off to see Pansy and find out what happened in her absence.

When she found the girl in one of the offices alone in tears, Ginny's compassion took over.

"Parkinson, what's wrong?"

Pansy turned sharply and noticed the littlest Weasley standing near the door looking genuinely concerned and it surprised her. "What's it to you, Weasley?"

Ginny shrugged, "Nothing really, but I figured I'd ask and see if I can help anyway. Us Gryffindors, we care about people, even sneaky Slytherins like you, on occasion."

"Ohh really, name one person besides Blaise that you've actually cared about before this moment."

Ginny smiled before saying "Malfoy." She turned and walked away.

Pansy was slightly surprised at her words, but not because she cared about a Slytherin, well a few Slytherins, but because she was well aware that Ginny knew about the bet Draco and Granger had cooked up. The fact that Ginny had admitted to caring for Draco despite what he plans on doing to her was not a good sign. Not that she was willing to admit it aloud to anyone other than Blaise , and that was only because he's all knowing and would pester her about it non-stop until she actually admitted it, but she liked the littlest Weasley. Anyone that can keep Blaise in line and can keep Blaise around and be okay with the fact that he sleeps with other people is okay in her book. She was not going to stop Draco, but she sure as shit wasn't going to let him hurt Ginny. She decided if anyone could help her it would be Blaise, with that she went to his office forgetting that she had just been crying…and that Blaise would see through her glamour charm.

Hermione was walking to one of the offices to work on some important papers when she overheard Ginny and Pansy. She was about to brush it off and go on her way until she heard Ginny say she cared for Malfoy. When she heard Ginny's footsteps, she cast a quick disillusionment charm on herself just in time.

The last thing Hermione was going to do was sleep with Draco Malfoy and she was going to do whatever it took to ensure that she didn't have to.

When Pansy stormed into Blaise's office, Blaise himself was so startled he nearly missed her tear stained face hidden by a glamour charm.

"What the hell happened?" he demanded.

"What? Ohh my face, nothing we have more important matters to discuss." She said dismissively.

"The hell we do. Why were you crying?" he demanded of her again with his face in a frown.

"Shut up and listen to me," she said angrily, "we can't let Draco hurt Ginny."

"What?" said Blaise taken aback.

"The bet, Ginny's falling for Draco and he is going to hurt her, and I can't let that happen." Pansy went on earnestly.

Blaise became so confused. First Pansy was crying, then she cares about Ginny and then she finds out that Ginny has feelings for Draco. He seriously didn't know what the hell was going on with everyone lately but he needed a bloody drink and he needed it now. With that thought, he strode over to his mini bar and poured himself a glass of firewhiskey and downed it in one shot.

"Feel better now," asked Pansy.

"Yes, a bit, and how in the hell did you find all this out?"

"Ginny told me." She said offhandedly.

"She told you she liked Draco?" Blaise asked incredulously.

"Of course not," Pansy scoffed, "she implied it and I was smart enough to catch on."

"Pansy darling," said Blaise taking her hands in his, "I assure you, Draco is not going to hurt Ginny, they both know what they are getting into, I promise."

"You know something I don't know, don't you." She said thoroughly irritated now at the fact that Blaise now knew that she cared about the littlest Weasley even if it were minutely.

Blaise smirked, "yes, yes I do, now tell me about these tears."

Draco walked out of Blaise's office feeling better than he had felt in a long time. For him, it was hard to believe so much had happened within a few days. Well, actually it had been more like a week but really, who was actually paying attention?"

To him, it was very scary how fast he already had fallen for the littlest Weasley. He would sit for the portrait his mother wanted of him tonight, but he wasn't going to have her paint his portrait for his plan until after school started.

He and Granger didn't set a time limit, but it was an unspoken agreement that he would do it before the school year was out. Draco however, would not be able to do it after Christmas break. He had almost 4 months to make Ginny his.

When he arrived home, he found Ginny and his mother discussing in depth what Draco would be doing in the photo. He stood in the door way with his arms and legs crossed as he leaned against the post watching the two with mild interest. The two women turned to him, both surprised at first but then both got a look that clearly said they had an idea. The two looked at each other before Ginny said, "Alright Malfoy, don't move."

Draco merely raised his eyebrows while his mother watched Ginny start sketching rapidly. He too watched her sketch him, though he couldn't see the actual sketch, he could tell it was good. He knew Ginny and he watched her face carefully. He watched her frown slightly right before she erased something and he watched her smile triumphantly every time she fixed something, after she erased a mistake. He noticed, she rarely had to look at him but when she did, she focused greatly on him. He watched her as she furiously would tie up her hair when it escaped from the tie that held it in place. He decided that he could watch her do this for hours, which was exactly what he did as she moved from sketching to painting. She didn't need him there for that, but he couldn't tear himself away from watching her. He was so focused on noticing every little thing about Ginny that he didn't notice his mother studying him.

Narcissa watched her son as he became mesmerized by Ginny's every move. She had known from the start that she would be good for him. When Blaise had informed her of both her son's plan and the bet, as well as Ginny's plan, she decided she would work with Blaise and Pansy and do whatever it took to get Ginny and Draco together, happy and unhurt, despite the later repercussions.

The chemistry the two had was undeniable and quite frankly not many people could handle her son. He needed someone who would tell him no and Ginny needed someone who would fight back.

They were total opposites, the fiery overemotional temperamental redhead, and he, the cruel blonde ice prince that reveled seldom emotion.

Ohh yes, Narcissa, Blaise and Pansy had their hands full in making this plan work as well as keeping everything together.