Ahhh...guys I'm soooooooooooooooo sorry it took so long to update! I really am! I know I promised thatI wouldupdate soon, and then I went and took the longest it's porbably even taken me to write a chapter! I am an aweful author. I know. Feel free to throw tomatoes. Just not rotten ones. But now that swim team is over (ahaha! Behold! I got ninth place overall in districts! Bow down to my awesome swimming ability!) I'll begetting home a full three hours earlier so I promise (really this time) that the next chapter will come out sooner! Plus, I've been dying to write all the Christmas scenes since I started writing this so I'llbe able to write a lot more quickly (YES! Queen Thayet! My amazing use of grammmer! More Quickly! Not Quicklier!) Anyways, seeing as I've delayed this chapter long enough...on to the story!

Disclaimer: Umm...can't think of a cute disclaimer. I disclaim.

He had entered the room looking distracted and tired and had left in much the same manner. Dark circles stood in contrast to his unusually pale skin, leaving her to wonder if she hadn't been the only one suffering from nightmares. He had finished his test within five minutes, and left the classroom, without so much as looking her direction once, an impressive feat considering they were seated right next to each other.

Ginny on the contrary, hadn't been able to look away. And even once he had left, the youngest Malfoy remained the sole occupant of her thoughts. She almost wised she'd never learned to think of him as anything but a condescending, rich, smarmy, brat. Of course, she had. She just didn't know what exactly she thought he was now. Draco Malfoy, a mystery wrapped in enigma. Stupid prat. At least she used to be able to attribute it to the fact that he was a heartless, vicious, cold-blooded, word-that-her-mother-would-faint-if-she-said-out loud. But now she'd seen-multiple times- that he was at least somewhat capable of emotions. That he was at the very least able to feel concern…and where could concern root from if not first from love?

She let out a frustrated sigh. Why couldn't she be stuck with someone whose life was simple… like maybe Harry? Yeah, that would be easy. No, no, instead she was bound to Mr. Death Eater Jr. himself. Which, now that she thought about it wasn't even strictly true. He may have been a prejudiced idiot, but he'd never actually done anything to show he'd really wanted to be a Death Eater. In fact, back in forth year, during the Quidditch World Cup, he'd even warned Hermione not to go back to the woods, no matter how obnoxious and vulgar a warning it had been.

Ginny remembered Harry recounting his conversation with Malfoy at the end of fifth year.

You think you're such a big man, Potter. You wait. I'll have you. You can't land my father in prison-

Malfoy was so sure of himself. It was so easy. Black was black, white was white, and there was no in between. Now, the whole world was a spiraling kaleidoscope of gray. He had adored his father –idolized him even- and now, he seemed to loathe the man. Was it really possible for anyone to change so drastically?

Ashamed and not a little annoyed, she found herself hoping it was. Maybe it was just part of her nature, to think everything and everyone had a good side. Or maybe she was just naive.

But that wasn't even what was bothering her most. The most troubling thing was the fact that she wasn't upset by the fact that she was dreaming about Draco. Even more troubling was that she was upset over the thought of him having the dark mark.

She sighed again. Her focus drifting even farther from her potions assignment to the look he had had in her dream last night. He had reached out and stopped her from touching his arm where the dark mark would have been, and for a moment his mercury eyes had gleamed with more emotion then she had ever seen in them before. He was predictable, and therefore it was usually easy to tell what he was thinking, even when his placid gray eyes betrayed no emotion. But looking into his eyes for that one instant she had been able to see fear and pain and betrayal and even something more than that…some twisted mixture of the feral need to live and the all too human desire to die.

That, she supposed, was what had really struck her, what had made the whole dream so darkly fascinating to her. She couldn't imagine wanting to die, especially as someone who was as supremely selfish as Draco. She had always imagined him grasping to hold onto life, to hold it close to him like a dragon guarding its hoard. The thought shook her deeply. What had he lived through to make him not want to continue?

She shook her head. Her thoughts weren't even rational anymore. It was just a dream after all. No dream was worth getting this excited about. She was just overanalyzing. Working herself into a fit over nothing.

Still, she had an incredible sense of foreboding and she let her hand rise to her neck. Whether to grasp the necklace or touch the spot where Tom Riddle had marked her she wasn't sure. Either way, the action soothed her and she breathed out deeply, and then inhaled letting the bitter air rush though her.

"I wasn't under the impression this test would be so difficult for you."

Ginny started and looked up. She knew the speaker was Professor Snape. Not because she had recognized his voice and certainly not because he seemed focused on her in the least bit- on the contrary, he was busily grading papers at her desk, not at all looking at her- but rather because he was the only other person left in the room.

Where was everyone? This was of course, her last midterm of the semester, and they were free to go as they finished, but surely everyone couldn't be done already. It was only- she paused to look at her watch and gasped. There was no way she'd sat there an hour and forty minutes and not finished her test.

"I-ah-I'm just really nervous. This class is really important for my future. Healer and all that." She said, only paying him the slightest bit of attention, while the rest of her concentration was on reading through the answers she'd put on her exam, answers that she couldn't remember writing for the life of her. She'd only left the last five blank, and the other answers seemed correct, which wasn't that surprising considering she knew her potions book so well she could basically recite it.

He didn't look up. "How many do you have left to complete?"

She blushed. "Five."

"Fine, Miss Weasley, finish." He said, still leaving angry red marks on some student's assignment.

Letting out a breath of relief, Ginny smiled. "Thank you, Professor."

He didn't respond as she quickly finished her paper and gathered her things, crossed the room and placed her test on his desk.

He didn't look up.

"Thank you again, Professor, it was really…decent of you-to let me finish my test."

"Yes, Virginia Weasley thinks I'm a decent sort of man. Now I can die happy."

Despite herself, she grinned as she headed for the door. She paused and looked back at him. "Happy Christmas, Professor."

"Ginny…. take care of things." He said, looking at her for the first time. She was struck by how odd her name sounded coming for his lips. He was staring at her, and she suddenly had the feeling that he was telling her something off monumental importance.

Her smile faltered only a moment. "Don't worry, I'll be careful."

"Hey. I just wanted to give you these before I left, in case I don't get to see you before Christmas."

Neville blushed looking at his redheaded friend. Luna simply smiled, luminous Christmas lights twinkling at her ears, casting a blue radiance across her face. The earrings abruptly changed colors, switching to a lime green no ordinary Christmas light had ever achieved. Smiling back, Ginny handed each their presents.

Neville, still red but this time with pleasure, opened his quickly, showering his two friends with bits of wrapping paper.

"Brilliant!" He cried happily, reading the title of the book Ginny had given him. "An Advanced Guild To Herbology? Ginny," He said, smiling wavering as he ran his hand across the leather cover, "this must have cost a fortune. How'd you afford it?"

She grinned. "Don't worry about it. And don't you even think about returning it." She said sternly. "I already wrote in it."

He flipped open the cover and scrawled across the title page in her familiar, messy handwriting was, To my dear friends Neville and Trevor the Toad, who's always there when you need him. Except when he's not.

He smiled and they both looked expectantly at Luna, who had begun systematically unwrapping her present by removing each individual piece of tape. When she reached the small white box, instead of opening it she set it aside and neatly folded the paper before continuing. As she lifted the lid, her eyes lit up with delight and Ginny smiled.

"To match your necklace." Ginny said, as she helped Luna clasp the bracelet around her wrist. Luna brought her new trinket closer to her face for examination.

The bracelet was made of at least thirty different butterbeer caps. "There's a bunch from different countries." Ginny said, sounding quite pleased with herself. "Charlie brought me some from Romania, and Hungary of course and Bill got a ton from Egypt. And they both brought back some odds and ends from different countries they've visited."

Luna was currently studying one that Charlie had gotten when he'd gone to study in Greenland for a few weeks.

"I…ah…got something for you two Gin." Neville said, smiling sweetly. He pulled something that looked like a brown thimble from his pocket and muttered an augmentation spell. Ginny watched as the thimble developed into a small flowerpot, and inside it were several dark purple flowers surrounded by large green leaves.

"They're supposed to be good luck. And…" He said, he looked up at her sheepishly. "…drive away nightmares."

For a moment she felt so loved that she wasn't even angry with Colin (for it must have been Colin) for telling Neville that she'd been having bad dreams. She happily wrapped an arm around each of her friends. She felt the overwhelmingly bittersweet passing of time, as if before her she could see the sand slowly dropping through the hourglass. She wanted, so bad it almost ached, for things to remain the way they were and at the same time she knew that soon things would change and never be the same. She couldn't explain the feeling, nor could she explain why it had hit her with such sudden intensity.

"I love you guys." She said softly, and the three of them stayed, just like that for a while, basking in each other's presence.

"All packed?"

Draco raised an eyebrow at his friend as he nodded. The house elves had been in ages ago to pack his bags.

Blaise grinned. "Lazy."

Draco huffed. "Condescension. That's all I get from you anymore. I think….maybe this break will be good for us."

"Honestly. I think I'd kill you in you're sleep if you weren't my best mate."

"I didn't know you cared." Draco said, smiling innocently.

"I don't, but I need someone to misplace my aggression on and Crabbe just can't banter the way you can, and Goyle doesn't laugh at my jokes."

"Admit it, I'm the only one that can stand you."

"I thought that was my line."

After a moment's contemplation Draco said thoughtfully, "I wonder if other friends do this."

"What, witty repartee?" Blaise asked. "I think it's just the way we communicate. Last time I tried to be sincere you asked me if I was drunk."

Draco grinned. "I remember that. You asked me if I wanted to talk."

"And then you asked me if I was gay."

"But I was very supportive about it." Draco said solemnly.

"You locked me out, screaming something about knowing someone'd been watching you in the showers!"

"Well, you wouldn't have been the first." Draco stated, sounding defensive. "Girls go wild over my rugged manliness."

Blaise looked at him skeptically. "Rugged manliness?"

"What's so unbelievable about that?" Draco wanted to know.

"Nothing….it's just you're not exactly the epitome of masculinity."

"Hey, I-"

"Know what colors suit your eyes best and own fifteen different types of hair gel. That doesn't exactly scream manliness."

"The ladies find me irresistible." The blond said sulkily.

"Of course they do. Just not because of your 'rugged manliness", because you're a Greek god with a face carved from marble and cold grey eyes that shine like the ocean on a stormy night."

Draco blanched. "That's it. You're officially cut off. If I catch you reading anymore of Pansy's romance novels I'll tell your parents that you can't hide your feelings anymore and that you've run away with Crabbe and some guy named Sue."

Blaise laughed. "Maybe you should tell them that anyway. That would be the funniest thing that happened since Aunt Ophelia got drunk and tried to make love to that ficus on the balcony."

"Remind me not to go to any of your family get togethers."

"I'm sure Malfoy family gatherings are a jolly affair."

Draco glared. "Of course they are. Of course we're stuck drinking white wine with every."

Blaise looked questioningly. "Because red wine is too hard to check for poison." Draco explained.

"Oh yeah, good times."

"Hey, it's like I always say, just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean someone's not out to get me."

"Since when do you say that?"

Draco thought for a moment. "Well, I'm sure I've said it at least once before."

"Where'd you even hear that?"

"From my father. Just one of the cheery adages of Lucius Malfoy. My personal favorite was always one of the down sides of being perfect is that people tent to think you're pretentious."

"You are pretentious, you little prig."

"And I thought you were my friend." Draco said, scoffing.

"Yes, I've been told I'm a good actor."

"Whoever told you that must have been a bloody good actor themselves to convince you of that load."

Blaise was about to replied with a very rude word when a knock one their door interrupted them.

"Draco?" A voice, unfortunately very recognizable, called. "Are you in there?"

"Sorry Pansy, Draco's not in right now." Draco hollered.

"Oh clever plan." Blaise murmured. "She'll never see through that."

"I know that's you, Draco." Pansy said impatiently.

"I'm not Draco! I'm Blaise. Just because I'm the less attractive, poor one doesn't mean I don't have feelings. It really hurts when you get my name wrong." Draco called.

"If you're Blaise then whom are you in there talking to?"

"Sue?"

They heard Pansy sigh heavily. "Draco darling, you're making this very difficult for me."

"What a shame." Draco muttered.

"This is ridiculous." Blaise said he, much to Draco's annoyance, opened the door.

"Traitor." Draco said, glaring. Pansy, for her part, was a very forgiving creature (in this case forgiving, in Draco's opinion, meaning that a black hole in the outer reaches of deep space would have been brighter) and wasted no time in sidling up and wrapping her arm in his. Apparently she was completely oblivious to the fact, or just didn't care that only a moment before he'd been yelling at her through a door in a desperate attempt to get her to leave.

"Draco, love, Professor Snape wants to see you." Pansy said. "I'll walk you down."

"I'd really rather you didn't." He responded, to which Pansy just giggled obscenely loudly and looked at Blaise.

"Isn't he just so funny?" She asked, and then without waiting for an answer dragged Draco through the doorway and up the stairs. Over the sound of their footsteps Blaise could hear Draco asked, "Hey Pansy, you think I'm manly right?"

And even if they hadn't drifted out of earshot before she replied, Blaise wouldn't have been able to hear them over his own laughter.

"Hey Ginny, wait up."

Having walked Luna to the Ravenclaw common room and Neville to the greenhouse (proudly displaying his new book to an admiring Professor Sprout), Ginny was ready to get back to her room to pack. Hermione had been furious when she'd seen that she wasn't ready to leave. But it really wasn't fair to blame her. Between the infirmary, quidditch, homework, and last minute Christmas shopping, it wasn't as though there was much spare time in her schedule.

"Hey…come on Ginny!"

Despite her better judgment, she turned. "Oh, hey Seamus. What's up?"

"Nothing." He was, Ginny noticed, blushing. "Look, I have a huge favor to ask you. And, well, it's just, you're basically the only girl friend I have and…I'm way over my head. I really need your help." He put his hand on her shoulder and she felt her face flush.

Calm down, Ginny! Since when are you the kind of girl that swoons? You don't even like Seamus.

She took a deep breath and prayed her face wasn't red.

"Are you all right, Seamus?"

"Yeah…that probably wasn't the best way to start that, but I'm pretty desperate. Hannah and I've been dating for a couple of months now and I want to get her something really nice for Christmas, only I have no idea what and I just really don't want to get her something really stupid like a cheap charm bracelet or makeup or anything dumb like that."

When she recovered from the shock of his amazing ability to turn a whole paragraph into a single sentence to be delivered in one breath, she was struck with the whole new jolt that he would actually ask his ex to help him pick out a gift for his girlfriend.

Okay, technically she had to admit she wasn't officially his ex considering they'd never actually gone out, but the principal of the matter was still the same.

"I-ah-"

"Please, Ginny?" He said, looking at her with those pretty blue eyes of his.

"Isn't there someone else you could ask?"

"Not really, I've never had to shop for girls before. I mean, if it was you I'd just buy a broom cleaning kit or something, but Hannah's not like that. She hates it when I treat her like one of the guys."

One of the guys? Was that how he thought of her? Still, she had stood him up for their first date. Could she really blame him for not wanting to date her anymore?

"I want to get her something really nice." He said and the look in his eyes hurt her so much she couldn't stand it. It wasn't because it was Seamus talking about another girl, it was just the fact that she could tell he really, truly cared about her. He had the same look in his eyes that her parents had when they looked at each other and the same look that Ron and Hermione gave each other when they thought no one was looking. She wanted someone to look at her like that. Someone who would care about her and be there for her. Of course she had her friends, but it just wasn't the same.

She sighed, cursing herself for being so darn nice. "Of course I'll help you. I have to go, but we'll do it over break sometime?"

He grinned. "Thanks, Gin, you're a lifesaver. I'll floo you all right?"

She sighed. It was Friday evening and she had exactly twelve hours before the train left in the morning. Twelve hours to figure out how she was going to explain to her parents why Draco Malfoy had followed her home.

Okay...not liking this chapter very much. I'm sorry. I promise the next chapter will be better (and faster!). Please review! Thanks to all of you who already have! I lurve you so much! I also promise that the end is near! This story will not (contrary to popular) belief go on forever.