Ginny was released from the hospital wing a week later without any more nighttime visits from Draco. After his actions the first night, she was not surprised; he seemed to be engaged in a serious internal battle, and she knew the cause of it was her question: "Why won't you kill me and spare yourself the trouble?" Of course, she had expected him to laugh and make some comment about how it is too hard to dispose of the bodies, but instead left the room confused, smashed things around in the hall, and came back in a very strange mood. She wondered if she had touched some part of him that was in denial about their relationship; she hoped she had.

Aside from Draco's absence, however, Ginny had frequent visits from Harry, Ron, and Hermione. She knew they were doing it because they cared about her no matter how awful she was to them, but still. She got the impression that they were trying to prove how much better they were than Draco, because they always visited and he never did. His reason for staying away was better than their reason for coming.

Madam Pomfrey released Ginny just in time for dinner in the Great Hall, so she slowly made her way downstairs to get some real food into her system. As she carefully descended the final flight of stairs into the entrance hall, Dean hurried up behind her an offered her a hand.

"Thanks," Ginny murmured, taking his assistance, though she hated that she needed it.

"You okay, Gin?" he asked.

Ginny shook it off. "I'm fine. I've had a bad flu all week, but I'm better, just weak."

"Actually, I meant about other things. But I am glad that you are not sick anymore," he added quickly.

"What other things?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"There is this rumor… and I am sure you don't know anything about it, but maybe you do?"

"What are you getting at, Dean?" Ginny asked impatiently as they neared the large wooden doors of the Great Hall.

"It's about Malfoy. And you."

Without waiting to hear more, Ginny wrenched her arm from his, glared at him angrily, then walked into the hall as quickly as she could, leaving a bewildered Dean at the door.

Her arrival at dinner seemed to be a very happy event; all of the Gryffindors were making a much bigger deal about her sickness than seemed entirely necessary, and Ginny spent most of the meal brushing off sympathetic looks and hearty, victory claps on the back.

As often as she could, Ginny snuck glances at the Slytherin table, to find Draco sulking and looking sullenly into his dinner.

The trio stuck around dinner much later than usual, so by the time they got up to leave, the Gryffindor table was practically empty. Ginny grabbed Hermione's arm and silently motioned for her to stay, so the boys went alone with concerned expressions.

"Hermione, what is going on?" Ginny asked once they were relatively alone at the table.

Hermione looked a bit sheepish before replying, "I'm not really sure what you are talking about."

"Hermione," Ginny impatiently, "don't play these games with me! Just tell me what is going on. Everyone is acting so weird."

Hermione looked around, then lowered her voice and said, "They know about Malfoy."

"What about him!" Ginny shouted, then clapped her hand over her mouth as the few remaining people present shot her curious glances, except Malfoy whose eyes remained firmly on his mess of potatoes. "What about him?" she whispered bitterly at Hermione.

Hermione's eyes narrowed, and she looked distinctly uncomfortable.

"Hermione?" Ginny prodded.

"About why you were in the snow. With Malfoy."

"What?" Ginny spluttered.

"Ginny, why didn't you just tell someone?"

Ginny was thoroughly confused. "Tell someone what? I have no idea what you are talking about." A voice in Ginny's mind nagged, Unless they know about the mark.

"Ginny, we know he has been threatening you! And that night in the snow…" Hermione's eyes welled with tears and she threw herself onto Ginny in a tight hug. "I'm so glad he couldn't follow through!"

From her position crushed into Hermione's shoulder, Ginny watched Draco staring into his plate, still refusing to look up at her, though the stiffness of his shoulders betrayed his knowledge of her eyes on him.

When Ginny was finally able to pry herself away from Hermione, she asked calmly, "What do you think he was supposed to do?"

"Oh Ginny," Hermione moaned, "he was trying to kill you. You don't have to hide it anymore." She swiped the tears from her eyes.

Ginny laughed aloud to keep herself from screaming, and caught Hermione off guard. "Who said he was trying to kill me?"

"Zabini. He went to McGonagall. Told her the reason Malfoy beat him up was because he told him to stay away from you. But he wouldn't listen. And you were in the hospital wing all week! McGonagall has expelled him! Tonight is his last night."

"What?" Ginny shouted, this time without regard for the stares. The few students who had the nerve to look put out by the noise were greeted by glares of defiance before she looked back at Hermione.

"Ginny…" Hermione said as she put a hand out to calm her.

"No!" Ginny shouted. "What did he say in his defense?" she asked hurriedly.

Hermione shook her head. "Nothing. All he said was that it was for the better."

"This is abso-bloody-lutely ridiculous!" Ginny shouted, louder than ever. She turned to the staring students and shouted, "Ridiculous!"

Professor McGonagall stood from her position at the head table and called, "Miss Weasley, I have had enough of your shouting for one night!"

Ginny waved her off rudely before standing and marching over to the Slytherin table, where she grabbed Draco by the elbow and pulled him forcefully from the room. Behind her, she heard the commotion of points being revoked and professors hurrying to follow the 'assassin,' but Ginny was the younger sister of Fred and George, and knew how to disappear in the castle.

Ginny hurried a reluctant and grumbling Draco through a hidden passageway, and as soon as she was sure they were out of reach she pushed him against the wall and poked him in the chest. "What is the matter with you?" she asked in a low growl.

Draco refused to look her in the eye, but pushed her hand off his chest. "It is for the better."

"That is it, Draco Malfoy! I have had it with you and your little mind games! Tell me what is running through that messed up little brain of yours." When he didn't reply, she said, "Come on! Out with it!"

Draco grumbled.

"Draco Malfoy stop being such a coward!"

Draco finally looked up at her, his eyes flashing with anger. "I. Am. Not. A. Coward."

"Then what are you doing? You are running away!"

"I am not running away!" growled fiercely at her. "I made my choice. You get to live your life, regardless of how I have screwed up my own. You shouldn't have to suffer because of it! In his haste to condemn me, Zabini solved the problem that he started in the first place. With me outside of Hogwarts and you in, you are safe. I fail my mission," Draco finished resolutely.

Ginny sighed. "Please don't tell me that you are trying to be noble."

"I am not noble! I am despicable! This proves it!" Draco motioned to the mark on his left arm.

"Oh, please, Draco. It is a mark. It is not who you are! Don't throw away everything and take the easy way out! Besides you can't leave me here alone. You are my friend, and you have to stay."

"I don't have any friends," Draco said simply as he looked away from her.

"You do too, Draco. I am you friend, and you know it, and I know it, and you know that I know it. And that scares you."

"I am not a coward! I am not afraid of having friends!"

"Then why are you running away the first time that you have one? I saw the look in your eyes the night in the hospital wing that you figured it out. You were terrified-" Draco scowled at her, but she continued, "-and that is okay. Just face it, don't run away. I can go to McGonagall. I can tell her that Zabini is lying prick who should hang by his toenails in the dungeon. And I can tell her that underneath all of your nastiness, there is a little bit of a nice guy. Just a little one."

"You just make everything harder!" he cried out at her. "Why is nothing simple with you? Just let me leave and both of our problems will be solved."

"But yours will be solved by a wrathful Voldemort, and I am sorry, but I will not let you go without a fight."

"Why?"

Ginny watched Draco as he posed the same question to her as she had done to him. The only difference, was that Ginny was not as stubborn and undecided as he was, so she answered quickly.

Wordlessly, she closed the distance between them. She kissed him with more emotion than any previous time. Usually their lips met with frenzied passion, but this embrace was calmer and more deliberate. She traced little circles on his neck with her thumbs, and his hands tangled in her wild mass of hair. Draco poured all of his emotion and confusion into the kiss, and the pair pulled apart more breathless than ever.

"Was that supposed to convince me to stay?" Draco asked quietly, his forehead resting against hers.

"Yes. Did it work?"

"I think so."

The pair was silent for a few moments before Ginny laughed a little and said, "This is the most dysfunctional relationship I have ever had. I can't tell one minute to the next whether I want to strangle you or kiss you."

Draco shrugged. "Not to mention that we are doomed because we have completely separate sets of beliefs. Good versus evil and the like."

Ginny pulled away from him finally and said, "Well, I am off to have a little chat with McGonagall. Meet me later?"

"Yeah. The laboratory?"

Ginny laughed and replied, "Yeah. See you then," before disappearing into the dark passage.

An hour later, Ginny arrived in the bathroom to see Draco sitting in a toilet-turned-armchair staring absentmindedly at his nails.

"Well, it is done, and you are cleared of all charges."

Draco raised an eyebrow at her.

"Well, except being a arrogant prat, but that, I think, is a lost cause."

Draco shook his head and said, "Now that you have vetoed my plan, you have to make a decision. And don't say lets go kill the Dark Lord, because I will put my foot down on suicide."

Ginny rolled her eyes. "One step at a time. First, I say we deal with that mark on your arm."

"And just how do you propose we do that?" Draco asked leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"The potion," Ginny replied simply as she pulled a pile of notes out of one of the stalls and plopped herself into a sink.

"Ginevra, we talked about this already! The potion is doomed, and even if it wasn't I doubt it would get rid of this ruddy thing on my arm," he replied in exasperation while rubbing the spot where his mark was hidden.

"You need to have a little faith. Besides, what else were you planning on doing with your time?"

"You mean besides the lifetime of detention that I have been sentenced for beating the daylight out of Zabini and nearly killing you?"

"Of course. And everyone completely over-dramatized my sickness. Honestly, people do not die from the flu."

"They could," he replied petulantly, but grabbed a couple of books and relaxed into his chair to research. "Hey, whatever happened to that potion that you ruined before Christmas?"

"You mean the one that you dropped?" Ginny teased.

Draco waved it away and said, "Yeah. We need to remake it and test it. I think that was a good one."

"Okay," Ginny said simply before going back to her notes.

Draco shook his head. "Well I am going to go prod around in Slughorn's private stores and pick up some ingredients so we can get to work tonight."

Ginny nodded without looking up from her notes.