The ones you call your friends, are leaving you again, reach into your bag of tricks and make it go away! Woo, this is fun. My Ghosts' soundtrack is on, I've got a delicious glass of sweet tea, and now…THE STORY! The hit counters for this story do tell some tales though...it's strange how many hits one can get as opposed to reviews. Quite strange.

Just A Small Note: Although I know some of you have your reservations about certain things in this story, I assure you that my plot is a finely tuned instrument. Just trust me on this one. Have I ever let you down before? (Don't answer that.)

Kamikaze-chan: Artwork? Of my story? No one ever does pictures for me! Although, I wish I could draw at all, I'd make the best poster type thing ever for this story but I can't really describe it because it would reveal future plot points…but still, I'm honored to think that my work can in turn inspire others.

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.

Warnings: Mild swearing.

Ghosts

Chapter Six

"Where were you?" Ron asked Harry the next morning, when they met on the stairs to go down to breakfast. "Did you wake up really early or something?"

"Yeah. Sort of." Harry scratched the back of his head with his hand. There was no reason to tell Ron where he had been. He tried to tell himself it had nothing to do with what Ron's reaction might be, because as Harry irritably thought, he was his own person and could do what he wanted, but he knew it had a lot to do with just that. Ron's reaction would be important to him.

He just doesn't need to know what happened…I'm still not sure what happened.

It was kind of like some weird dream I had.

That sounded like an understatement though. When Harry woke up that morning, noticing that he was in a different place, wondering vaguely where he was, he was horribly reminded by the sight of Draco's empty bed. Not that he knew why he thought that was a horrible reminder. Just something in him thought so. If only he could somehow explain what was going on or what had happened.

More importantly, what would it be like now? After what had happened? Only time could tell.

"Good morning you two." Hermione yawned her greeting when they entered the kitchen together. Ginny was sitting next to her and Draco was sitting across from Ginny. Draco glanced up quickly at them and back down. Harry felt very tense all of a sudden.

"Good morning 'Mione." Ron sat down next to her rather pointedly, giving a quick dirty look to the blonde haired boy. Harry stood for a moment, unsure what to do, noticing that Ron was giving him a look that suggested the red-haired boy wanted him to sit next to him but Harry set his jaw and sat across from them—next to Draco.

"Good morning." Harry mumbled, not looking at the blonde-haired boy. He did this out of courtesy. He got the strangest feeling that Draco would appreciate the fact that he wasn't suddenly being really buddy-buddy towards him. Draco didn't say anything and Harry felt a small resentment towards him.

Never mind that then.

Scowling, he turned towards the others. "Where's your mom?" He noticed that there were already plates and dishes on the table and began helping himself to bacon and eggs.

"Oh, she went out shopping." Ginny volunteered, leaning on one elbow. "She went to Diagon Alley to get our school supplies."

"Our letters came today?" Harry blinked.

"Apparently Dumbledore dropped them off last night." Hermione was suddenly beaming so brilliantly that Harry had an inkling of what was about to be said. "I'm Head Girl! Can you believe it!"

"Like we didn't see that coming a mile away." Ron grinned proudly. "You are the smartest girl in our whole year."

"So, who's Head Boy?" Harry asked interestedly.

"I don't know." Hermione shrugged. "It wasn't Ron."

"It's most certainly not me." Draco finally spoke, looking as cool and casual as a cat. "It's either Goldstein or Macmillian."

"I say it's Ernie." Ron voted. "I mean, Goldstein wasn't really into it or anything when it came to prefect duties."

"Well, it doesn't really matter." Harry shrugged. "Really, congratulations Hermione—you earned it."

"Thanks." Hermione tried not to look too pleased with herself as she took hold of her glass of orange juice.

"Do you really get your own rooms?" Ginny asked, using a piece of bacon to gesture. "You'll enjoy that—no having to yell at anyone while you're trying to study for your N.E.W.T.s."

"Oh, don't remind me!" Hermione had a stricken look on her face. "This year is going to be so important! If I don't get all my N.E.W.T.s…"

"This is going to be just like fifth year." Ron sighed. "Hermione's going to a nervous breakdown, you and I are going to have color coded study guides again…"

"They were helpful." Harry defended, but he was smiling. "Although if I don't get everything, that's it for me. I'll never be an Auror."

"I'm sure you will be." Hermione said comfortingly. "Besides, you'll have, um…" She bit her lip. "Besides, you have tons of experience! And even if you don't become an Auror, maybe you can become a professor and teach Defense Against the Dark Arts." He knew Hermione was going to mention the fight with Voldemort but had refrained.

Let's just pretend that it doesn't exist right now…I don't want to think about it right now.

"What about you, Draco?" Ginny turned towards the silent boy with great interest. "What are you going to do after school?" Ron suddenly turned and eyed his sister quite suspiciously. Harry tried to make the situation easier by turning towards Draco as well. Draco looked over at him and then back towards Ginny.

"I haven't really thought about it." Draco said rather coolly, while getting up from where he was sitting. "I'm finished now." And then he walked out of the room. No one said anything for a moment.

"As if anyone cared what he did." Ron rolled his eyes. "He probably doesn't know now that his rich daddy disowned him—"

"Shut up, Ron." Ginny frowned at her brother.

"What?" Ron turned towards her quizzically.

"I said to shut up." Ginny stood up, tossing her red hair angrily. "You don't know anything about Draco and I think it's really unfair of you to say that."

"Why do you keep calling him Draco?" Ron's eyes narrowed.

"Ron…" Hermione began to cut in, even though she was looking at Harry. Why was she looking at him? What did she expect him to do? Why did she have that strange look on her face?

"I've been calling him Draco because I feel like it." Ginny stuck out her chin quite defensively, as she was prone to doing.

"You don't even know him!" Ron pointed out.

"I know him better than you do. At least I talk to him, which is more than the rest of you do!" Even though she said that, her eyes rested momentarily on Harry and he felt acutely uncomfortable.

"Ginny, did you forget what he's done to us over the years? Did you forget what his dad did to you?" Ron looked around the table for support. Hermione had a quiet, concentrated look on her face, her lips were pursed. Harry wished that he didn't have to be in the room right now.

"His dad, Ron, not him." Ginny hit a hand on the table. "Hermione, you said that we were all supposed to be civilized and you three aren't even making an effort! Do you think just ignoring him is civilized? I thought better of all three of you." She spun on her heel and stomped out of the kitchen, slamming the door shut behind her.

"What the hell was all that about!" Ron turned towards his best friends. "What's wrong with Ginny?"

"Ginny has obviously become friends with Malfoy." Hermione explained in a weary, exasperated tone. "You aren't making things easier Ron."

"Easier? For him?" Ron turned towards Harry. "Come on, mate, back me up here!"

"If Ginny wants to be friends with him, we can't really stop her." Harry felt like a coward right then. Ginny was the only one who was going to stand up and declare that she would be friends with whoever she damn well pleased. Not that Harry couldn't do it, but it was different. It was just different for him. It was easier for her. "Have we ever been able to stop Ginny doing anything?" He tried to joke.

"We all shook hands." Hermione reminded Ron. "Even you. You could at least try—"

"I don't understand you Hermione! Or you!" Ron gawked at the two of them. "I mean, this guy has been trying to make our lives completely miserable since day one and now you guys are defending him? That's just—"

"I am not defending him, Ron." Hermione cut in, her voice as sharp as a knife. "Stop acting like we're all ganging up on you. I didn't say we were all great friends with him now, but Ginny seems to like him and it probably hurts her feelings to hear you say mean things about him."

"He needs to stay the hell away from Ginny!" Ron declared protectively, jumping to his feet.

"Ron, how would you feel if you were him?" Hermione tried, her voice perfectly calm but Harry could tell that she had emotions just beneath the surface of that. If only he could do that—pretend to not be feeling anything at all. "He's probably lonely. Who does he have now? His family wants him dead. His old friends are all Slytherins and they're not going to be very happy to see him. He's lost everything. I'm not saying that makes him a good person, but at least try to see it from his perspective. Harry?" She gave him an expectant look.

"Everything's changed Ron." Harry put in, feeling lame. "If you keep letting him get to you, you're letting him win…"

"Yeah, you're right." Ron nodded and sat down heavily. "I can't let him get to me. But I still don't want him hanging around Ginny." Hermione sighed and once more pursed her lips to show she had nothing more to say.

"I'm…I'm not really all that hungry." Harry had lost his appetite.

"You seem kind of weird this morning." Ron said decidedly.

"Have you been having nightmares again?" Hermione blinked, looking concerned.

"Oh, no." Harry lied. "I'm just not hungry, that's all."

"Well, we don't have to do anything today, since Ron's mom is shopping." Hermione told him. "Maybe you should go lie down for awhile." His mind immediately went back to sitting on Draco's bed with Draco. He shook his head a little.

"No, I'll just, er, go take a shower or something." Harry knew that Ron and Hermione still suspected something was out of place but he quickly exited the room.

Way to go Harry. You really made your opinion known, didn't you?

It's not going to do any good, not with Ron acting the way he is…

He climbed the stairs to the second floor but found that he kept on walking, right passed the bathroom and up the stairs towards the third floor. He decided he would just peek into Draco's room for a moment and…and…check.

Check on what?

I don't know…I don't even know what I'm doing?

Harry really wished he could explain himself lately, but he just couldn't. If someone had told him first year that he would end up checking up on Draco, he would have said they were crazy.

Two voices were talking. Ginny's and Draco's. It was a good thing Ron hadn't come looking for Ginny; he would really blow a gasket.

"I just think Ron was being unfair." Ginny's voice came drifting out the doorway and Harry saw that the door had been open part way. When he got up to the door, he stopped, not wanting to interrupt them. Why was he spying? Why did he even care? Ginny was sitting on Draco's bed, just a foot from the boy.

"Do you?" Draco raised an eyebrow at the youngest Weasley. "Are you defending me now?"

"I can do what I want." Ginny replied testily.

"The champion of such a terrible person." Draco's mouth twisted into a sardonic half smile. "After making your brother's life so miserable…don't you feel any loyalty to your family?"

"Well, yes." Ginny looked at him warily. "Of course I do. My family is the most important thing in the world to me but I still want to be friends with you."

"And you suppose that we're friends?" Both of his eyebrows were raised now. "What if I don't want to be friends?"

"Then you'll have to talk to yourself." Ginny reply held the hint of a joke to it. "And you enjoy having an audience too much."

"My weak spot." Draco admitted. "So, there's no cleaning today?" He had clearly switched subjects on purpose and Harry felt he had come to that point in time where he was officially eavesdropping but he couldn't find it in himself to announce his presence.

"I'm so glad too." Ginny nodded her head and held up her hands in front of her face with a look of slight unhappiness. "My hands have gotten all rough from all that scrubbing." Harry goggled as Draco reached over and took one of her hands, not holding onto it but peering at it for a moment before beginning to massage it with his own hands.

"They really aren't all that bad." Draco spoke knowingly. "But you should try taking better care of them. What would we do without Ginny Weasley and her hands?" Harry didn't even know he made a noise until Draco and Ginny both looked at him. Ginny had a terribly guilty look on her face and snatched her hand away from Draco hastily. Draco just looked mildly surprised, as if he had simply been expecting Harry but not quite so soon.

"Hello Harry." Ginny tried to pretend that nothing strange had been happening. "I was just talking to Draco and…" She trailed off when she realized that Harry wasn't looking at her. Harry wasn't sure why he wasn't looking at her, even though she was talking. He was just looking at Draco, unable to tear his eyes away. Something felt wrong and he didn't know what it was.

"It's fine." Harry finally mumbled. "Sorry, I thought I…" Then he tore his eyes away from Draco's pale blue ones. "Nobody's going to use the showers right?" He plastered a cheery, normal look on his face. "Because I'm going to take a shower now."

"Oh, no, I wasn't." Ginny looked back and forth between Draco and Harry with a questioning and curious look. "Well, I better go see what my brother's up to." But Harry had already turned away from the door and was heading back towards the stairs. He heard footsteps behind him and for some reason, his heart lifted in his chest with hope but then dropped back down again when he realized it was Ginny.

What's wrong with me?

There was a moment of silence before Ginny spoke. She tugged nervously on his sleeve to make sure she had his attention.

"Hey, Harry…" Ginny trailed off. "You aren't going to say anything to Ron, right?"

"No." Harry had half an idea right then to tell Ron. He felt like it would be only right somehow but he quickly dismissed it. "I don't care if you and Draco talk…"

"I didn't think you did…" Ginny glanced around. "He just…wants to talk to somebody sometimes…you know. Sometimes he…" She glanced around once more, as though she thought someone would be hiding in the shadows, listening to the conversation. "He talks about you."

"What?" Harry didn't understand.

"He told me about last night." Ginny toed the ground. "I came to get him for breakfast this morning and you two were sleeping…I asked what happened…"

He told her? About what happened last night…

And for some reason, the idea that Draco had told her, that Draco had shared that moment with her really bothered him. He couldn't explain why Draco shouldn't be allowed to talk about it. But…but…

"Good night, Harry."

It's just private. It's not any of Ginny's business…

"We were just staying up, neither of us could sleep." Harry tried to trivialize it as best he could. Make it sound like he didn't care and make it sound as small as Draco had obviously done. "Well, is that it?"

"Yeah." Ginny still looked like she really wanted to ask him something but refrained. "Ron's not really angry right now, is he?"

"Nah." Harry didn't really know what came over him but he put a hand on top of her head, ruffling her hair a little bit. Ginny was like a little sister to him. "He's just being stubborn. Hermione probably talked to him more after I left."

"And we all know that Ron can't resist her." Ginny giggled into her hand. "Have a nice shower!" And she hit him on the back before skipping down the steps. Harry watched her go, still feeling like he was wondering around in a fog. Why was he so confused all of a sudden? Why was he acting so weird about all this? It didn't have anything to do with him if Draco and Ginny wanted to…hold hands or whatever it was.

"Are you going to stand there all day?" Draco's voice asked, making a reference to last night that almost made Harry smile.

"No, I was just thinking." Harry didn't turn around to look at him. A moment of silence where neither one said anything passed.

"It's not what you think." Draco said suddenly.

"I'm not thinking anything." Harry felt defensive for some unknown reason. "Don't worry, I'm not going to tell Ron about it—I already told Ginny that."

"I don't really give a damn whether or not you tell Weasley anything, Harry." Draco's use of his name made him turn. It still sounded foreign to hear that drawling voice say his first name, but it had been the right thing to say. "It just sounds like you didn't like what you saw just now."

"I don't care." Harry replied in a biting voice. "I really don't." He was lying. But what was he lying for? And why? Why was everything so out of focus all of a sudden? He turned completely away from the blonde haired boy. "I'm going to go take a shower." And with that, he descended the stairs, leaving Draco behind him.

Why did you tell me that?

And why did you have to say my name?

But now I know…

Harry closed the bathroom door behind him and locked it. He turned the water on and started to undress.

I really didn't like seeing you and Ginny like that…

Kind of a weird chapter again. Plenty more where that came from! (And in comparison to some future chapters, this is actually quite normal.) Although some have expressed their feelings that Hermione seems a little too accepting, I don't know, I just don't see it that way at the moment. But then, I do know everything that's going to happen in the story, so of course my point of view is a little different than everyone else's. Same thing with the pace of the plot, I know what's going to happen, thus I don't see it from the reader's perspective as easily. Well, hmm, yes, everything does seem to be going okay now, doesn't it?