Misconception

Disclaimer: If I owned Harry Potter, a lot of things would change…But I don't. So…tough.

Author's Note: Right. So there is a reference to book six in the first paragraph about Felix Felicis (the lucky potion). That's about it. THE SIXTH BOOK DOES NOT EXIST! AND PLEASE REVIEW!

Chapter 10: A Different View

Christmas was never Draco's favorite holiday. He found it totally ridiculous that people actually had to go out and buy things for other people just to live up to the Christmas spirit. Luckily, he had no one to buy Christmas presents for, and he would receive nothing at all. If he was lucky enough, Dumbledore might just let him off on the whole spy mission and let him live life. However, Draco was pretty sure that even if he drank ten bottles of Felix Felicis, he wouldn't be lucky enough to score something that high.

The snow drifted down upon Draco and the rest of the people who were moving about quickly at Hogsmeade village. Many were squeezing their way into crowded stores, trying to fight for the products that each store had to offer. Draco merely rolled his eyes at them and continued walking along the snowy paths of Hogsmeade. He was actually fancying himself a cup of warm butterbeer…

"Oh, hello Draco!" came a dreamy voice that he knew far too well.

"Hello Luna," he replied dully.

"Fancy seeing you here at Hogsmeade," she said brightly.

Draco saw that she was not alone. In fact, Potter, Weasley, and Granger were right behind her. They were all staring at her like she had gone off her rocker, which she clearly had. Draco actually admired her boldness.

"Have you seen Ginny?" she asked, "We're looking for her…"

"No," said Draco, "How would I know where she is?"

Luna shrugged and said, "I just had a feeling you would know."

"I see…"

Ron began tugging at Luna's sleeve, beckoning her to leave. Luna merely glanced at Ron with inquiry, while Harry and Hermione rolled their eyes irritably. Draco did not say a word to them, for it was really unnecessary. Harry and Hermione wandered to a nearby shop, looking through the windows. Ron, on the other hand, stayed behind with Luna, which Draco found quite odd.

"Anyway," said Luna, gazing over at Harry and Hermione and back again at Draco, "When you see Ginny…"

"I doubt I will," interrupted Draco.

"Luna," said Ron impatiently, grabbing her wrist now. Draco narrowed his eyes at Ron, feeling very annoyed.

"Patience, Weasley," said Draco.

"Shut it, Malfoy," snapped Ron irritably. "C'mon Luna…"

"Oh, all right, Ronald," said Luna, as if she just snapped out of reverie. "Be careful of nargles, Draco!" she added with a smile.

"What?" said Draco, taken aback. "What are nargles?"

"They're in mistletoe…" said Luna seriously, "Happy Christmas!"

With that, Ron and Luna left, joining Harry and Hermione by the nearby shop. Draco frowned after her, still not completely understanding the nargles concept. What bewildered Draco even more was that Ron and Luna were holding hands as they walked with Harry and Hermione, who were standing a friendly distant apart. His frown grew deeper; he never would have guessed that Ron and Luna were going out…

Draco began walking down the snowy paths once again, kicking the snow up as he went. The Three Broomsticks were filled with people, and Madam Rosmerta looked completely exasperated. Draco squeezed himself in there and asked for a butterbeer, throwing the money over the crowd of people. Rosmerta caught it and quickly went away to get his cup. Having nowhere to sit, Draco stood near the bar area, waiting for his drink.

Someone tapped him on the shoulder, and he turned around to see who it was. It was someone he did not recognize, for their face was hidden under a hood. Draco wondered why no one here found this rather suspicious, but everyone was too busy talking and laughing over their drinks. Draco stared at the hooded person and did not say anything.

"Draco Malfoy?" said the man hoarsely.

"Who are you?" asked Draco.

"Unknown," replied the man quickly.

Draco stiffened. Madam Rosmerta came over with his cup of butterbeer, but Draco paid no attention. He pushed his cup away, his eyes never leaving the man. The chattering around Draco seemingly quieted down in Draco's mind. It was only him and this Unknown.

"Drink your butterbeer, young Malfoy and come with me…" said the Unknown briskly.

Draco pulled the butterbeer toward him again. He brought the cup to his lips but did not drink anything. He set it down on the table and got up.

"I think it's better if we talked outside," said Draco, beckoning the man to follow him through the crowd.

They went outside and went to a fairly empty street. The hooded man looked around him, seeing if anyone could overhear.

"Rumor has it, among the Death Eaters, that you've become quite the blood traitor…" began the Unknown.

"Rumors were never known to be facts," said Draco.

"Blaise Zabini has passed his suspicions to the Dark Lord and your father…" said the Unknown. "The Dark Lord wasn't too convinced the first time, but now he is getting a bit suspicious of your told actions."

Draco gritted his teeth and said, "I've done nothing to betray the Dark Lord."

"Is that so?" asked the Unknown skeptically.

Draco did not reply but glared moodily at the Unknown. The Unknown scoffed lightly and did not speak another word. He reached into his pocket and took out a small vial of clear liquid. Draco immediately recognized it at Veritaserum, but he did not show any expression of surprise.

"I could force feed this to you, or you can tell me the truth," said the Unknown quietly.

Draco shrugged indifferently and said, "You're wasting your time…"

The Unknown began to say something but he stopped immediately. He seemed to stiffen slightly, as he stared forward. Draco turned around and groaned inwardly. Ginny was walking toward them, looking through the shop window. It was apparent that she did not notice Draco and the Unknown standing together, for she began staring into a shop window dreamily. Draco stared at her; somehow, he was unable to take his eyes off of her at that moment.

Her beautiful red hair was down to her shoulders. She wore the Gryffindor scarf around her neck, and a second hand Gryffindor cloak was wrapped around her. Draco wondered why he never noticed that she was rather pretty—for a Weasley, that is.

"You don't fancy her do you?" asked the Unknown in a mocking tone. "Surely not the daughter of the blood traitor?"

Draco tore his eyes away from her and spat, "She has nothing to do with this!"

"You seem concerned for her…" said the Unknown carelessly.

"Why would I hold concern for a Weasley?" snapped Draco.

"How should I know?" retorted the Unknown with a careless shrug. "But anyway, young Malfoy, tell the truth or the consequences will be fatal…"

"And is that a direct message from my father?" said Draco.

"Yes," answered the Unknown "So are you willing to tell the truth?"

"I've been telling the truth this whole time!" snapped Draco.

The Unknown scoffed and said, "Let's hope so." The Unknown put the vial of Vertiaserum in his robe pocket and turned around. "Careful what you drink, Malfoy…anyone can put Vertitaserum in your drink."

"Thanks for the warning," said Draco sarcastically.

The Unknown did not say anything, only laughed a little. He walked up the path of the street and quickly disappeared into a corner. Draco sighed with relief and walked the opposite way, toward Ginny, who was still standing next to the shop window. However, she was frowning at Draco with a look of worry.

"Who was that?" asked Ginny, as Draco passed by her.

"Mind your own business, Weasley," snapped Draco angrily. Don't get involved.

Ginny frowned deeper and said, "I was just asking…"

"You ask too many things, Weasley," sighed Draco. "Don't you know that curiosity killed the cat?"

However, Ginny wasn't listening. She focused her attention on the shop window again. Draco looked into the window, as well, wondering what she was looking at. To his surprise, there were three sets of necklaces all placed on display. They all looked beautiful but very expensive, as they sparkled under the shop's light. The necklaces didn't look very bulky either, they were simple with a small diamond hanging from it.

Draco smirked and said, "You'd have to starve your family for five years in order to get your hands on one of these…"

Ginny sighed and said, "I know…"

Draco was taken aback with her agreement, for it was meant to insult her. He did not know what to say, so he remained quiet. He could not get a guilty feeling out of his head though, as he looked at the price tag for each necklace. They were all over two hundred Galleons each.

Ginny laughed hollowly and said, "It's a bit silly of me, just gazing at these necklaces...wishing I had one. What would I do with one anyway?"

"Wear it?" suggested Draco, arching an eyebrow.

Ginny rolled her eyes, but a smile remained on her face. She sighed and said, "I know, but it's not like I go to any fancy dinners or anything."

"Well, you don't have to go anywhere fancy to wear one of these…they all look like necklaces you can wear everyday."said Draco before he could even stop himself.

Ginny looked over at Draco with a look of surprise. Draco scolded himself inside his head and mentally slapped himself over and over again. Outwardly, he kept his composure and looked rather indifferent.

"Do you want to walk with me?" asked Ginny timidly.

"Er—I—sure." stammered Draco. Was it even like him to stammer?

They walked to the Shrieking Shack, making little bits of conversation as they went. Ginny sighed as she leaned against the fence next to Draco; the Shrieking Shack was just on the other side of the fence. Draco leaned against the tree and gazed out to the abandoned and supposedly haunted building. He remembered the first time they were here together, and how he debated whether he should comfort her or not. It was during the time when Charlie Weasley was still injured in the hospital. Now, they were standing here—gazing out at the Shrieking Shack, quiet in the each other's presence—together again.

Ginny turned away from the Shrieking Shack and looked at Draco with beaming eyes.

"Christmas is just next week," she said with a smile.

"Heh…yeah," said Draco, not sharing one bit of the enthusiasm.

She looked up at the sky and back at Draco. "What do you want for—" she stopped in mid-sentence, suddenly turning very red.

Draco stared at her with a look of inquiry. She avoided his eyes, and she immediately averted her eyes to the ground. She shuffled her feet nervously and mumbled something quickly. Draco leaned closer to her and asked, "What?"

"Mistletoe," she mumbled.

Draco froze and slowly looked up. There was a mistletoe hanging from the tree he was standing under, and it seemed to mock him as it swung back and forth from the breeze. Draco's mind began racing; this wasn't like him…why was he so strange about kissing Ginny? She's just any other girl Draco has kissed; it's not like she was any different, right?

Ginny bit her lip and said quietly, "We really don't have to…I mean…it's not like…"

Draco rolled his eyes and grabbed her shoulders, yanking her toward him. She screamed in surprise, but it was quickly muffled as his lips crashed into hers. He kissed her gently because, in his mind, she was still fragile. What started out as just a simple kiss lasted longer than what Draco would've expected to. In his mind, he kept telling himself to stop kissing her, but he couldn't bring himself to it.

Everything faded away. The war. The Unknown. Blaise Zabini. The risks. The deaths. It was all gone now.

As her shyness wore away, Ginny wrapped her arms around Draco's neck, and his hands slid down from her shoulders to her waist. He drew her closer to him; he felt the warmth of her body against the cold.

I should stop…he argued with himself. Why was he getting so attached to her? This is wrong…

Reluctantly, he pushed her away, and he could tell that she was reluctant as well. He breathed in the cold air, and everything was set back in place again. Her hands had slid down to his arms, and she reluctantly let go of him. She looked down at the ground, blushing. A part of Draco wanted to kiss her again, wanted to feel her in his arms…

Draco heard a rustle in the trees behind him, and he quickly whipped around with his wand. He squinted his eyes to see if there was anyone there; he was sure he heard some footsteps as well. Ginny giggled behind him, and he turned around.

"What's so funny?" he demanded.

She giggled and said, "The way you just take out your wand when you think someone is behind you."

"What's so funny about that?" he said, narrowing his eyes, feeling slightly embarrassed, "I'm just protecting myself."

"Honestly, Draco," said Ginny, rolling her eyes and giggling some more. "You're like a paranoid Auror…like Mad-Eye Moody…"

Draco laughed despite himself. Let's hope I don't turn out like him.

Ginny raised an eyebrow and shook her head. She began walking toward the trees, and Draco followed. He looked down at the ground, behind the trees, and found footprints in the snow. Someone was here; and whoever it was, saw them kissing. It was most likely Blaise…

He did not say anything to Ginny, and he continued walking with her until they could see Hogsmeade. She faced him.

She smiled and said, "I promised I'd meet Ron and Luna here…and Harry and Hermione." Draco felt a small stab of annoyance in his stomach, as he heard Potter's name. "I'll see you," she added, looking hopeful. Draco nodded, and she smiled again. He turned around and walked away from her.

After a while of walking, Draco found himself in front of the store where the necklaces were. He peered through the window again. What am I doing? he thought, as he walked inside the store…