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I saw Malfoy heading to breakfast the next morning and smiled. I wasn't sure if he'd want to talk to me or not, so I said nothing and I didn't walk over to him. He, however, walked close to me, as we were heading for the Great Hall. I decided to say something that wouldn't sound like I was trying to be his friend, but that sounded casual and polite. "Hey."

He looked a bit surprised that I was talking to him and walking with him in front of everyone. "Hi." We walked in silence for a little bit, then he spoke again. "Why are you walking with me?"

"Do you not want me to?"

"…I don't mind. I just thought you wouldn't want to be seen with me."

"If anything, you shouldn't want to be seen with me, what with that Malfoy pride and all. And for the last time, Malfoy, you saved my life."

"A life for a life. You helped me last night. And that pride was gone as soon as it was stolen from me." We reached the Slytherin table near where Pansy Parkinson was sitting and sat down. I don't know why I thought of her as Pansy instead of Parkinson - maybe because calling her Parkinson sounded bad. Malfoy raised an eyebrow when I sat next to him. "I still don't get why you helped me. You could have just walked away."

"I don't walk away. And I already told you. I can't just let someone suffer."

"You should have."

I was shocked. "Why?"

"I've done a lot of bad things. I deserve to suffer."

"That's bullshit." He looked at me, startled. "You did a lot of good in the war. You and your family turned on Voldemort and were the weight that tipped the scales in our favor. You may have been a right bastard to us in school, but you grew up, and instead of slicing into my neck and raping me, you tried to get me to leave. When I offered my wrist, it took you three times before you accepted, hesitantly. When I asked you to stop, you did. If it'll make you feel better, consider your time as a vampire to make up for the past."

"Why did you kiss me?" He asked, his voice a little lower so no one could hear. This was so sudden, I almost missed it.

"You're the one who kissed me," I said. I could feel my face flushing.

"You kissed back."

"Why…are you asking?"

"Because you're a Weasley. You should hate me."

"Well, I don't."

"Did you felt you had to?"

I took a little while to answer because I was embarrassed. "No."

He looked at me with a new expression in his eyes and might have said something had Zabini not interrupted. "Draco! Wanna come play some chess after breakfast? We're all gathering in the common room. Oh, hi Weasley."

I could hear the question in his voice as to why I was sitting with the Slytherins. Though he wasn't as shocked as I thought he'd be, or Pansy either, for that matter. She still hasn't said anything. I gave my own questioning look to Malfoy and nodded my head in Zabini's direction. "Yeah, he knows," he answered.

He went to reach for a pitcher of TrueBlood but I stopped him. "Hey, are you ready for the whole school to know?"

"They're going to, sooner or later. Especially when I stop going outside during the day." He took the pitcher and poured himself a glass full.

It was then when Ron decided to stir things up. Hermione and Harry were behind him, trying to stop him. "Ginny!"

I looked at him. "What?"

"What are you doing with them?"

"With who?"

"Them," Ron said, nodding to the Slytherins.

"Oh, the people who helped us turn the war around?" Sarcasm was my middle name.

Ron looked uncomfortable and Zabini looked amused. I saw Pansy Parkinson glance up. "When did you start hanging out with them?" my brother asked.

"Not that it's your business, but –"

"She helped me out with something, Weasley," Malfoy finished for me with a warning undertone in his voice.

"What could you possibly need help with?"

Apparently, even though Malfoy had jumped in front of a curse for me, Ron had still not gotten over his grudge. Old habits die hard, I guess. I got really mad and stood. "Remember when he went missing?" I asked Ron. I figured if people were going to find out about Malfoy, he wouldn't be too angry with me for spilling his secret to my brother. I was quiet. "It was because he was kidnapped right outside his house the night before he was supposed to get back and forced to turn into a vampire, like Fred. Then he was tortured and starved for days after, until he finally escaped and got back last night. I found him on the seventh floor, tormented almost to insanity." Malfoy had shrunk in his seat in the middle of my rant and I felt bad, but it was the only way for Ron to understand and let it go. He didn't have the energy or ego to defend his pride, anymore. "And he was starving. He was paler than a vampire is supposed to be, and he was very thin, as you can see. So that's why I helped him out."

"You…wait, you let him FEED from you?"

I almost smacked my forehead. He still didn't get it. "How can you focus on THAT after what he went through?" I nearly shouted.

"Help him, bring him TrueBlood, whatever! But how could you let him do that to you? How could you lower yourself to the level of a fangbanger?"

In an instant, Malfoy was out of his seat and pinning my brother against the wall. His fangs were fully extended and he had a furious look on his face. For a fleeting second, I felt fear for him. Malfoy was still very new to vampirism, and has only fed twice. "Malfoy! Don't! He's just an idiot sometimes!"

"Oh don't worry. His blood is too disgusting for me to even think about drinking it. I'd rather starve again." He said this while never taking his grey eyes away from Ron's. Then he spoke to Ron, and didn't lower his voice. "You listen to me, Weasley. Your sister has done more for me in one night than anyone ever could in my situation. She is kind, loyal, fierce, protective, and above all, a good person. Don't you ever treat her as anything less. I had no choice in becoming what I am, but you can choose not to be an asshole and respect her like she deserves to be."

Well, that was one way of letting the school know. He let go of Ron and I eased my way over to them. I put a hand on Malfoy's arm and instantly felt him calm down. "Hey, put those fangs away, go sit, and have some TrueBlood, okay? Let's leave my brother in one piece, yeah? Guys," I said, addressing Harry, Hermione, and my brother, "go sit. I'll be there in a bit."

"See you in a few," Harry said, steering Ron away from us. He gave Malfoy a nod and walked back to the Gryffindor table.

"Well," Zabini said, "that's one way of letting the cat out of the bag."

"My thoughts exactly," I replied.

He smirked at me. "I must admit, my view of you has gone up quite a few notches. I never would have thought a Weasley would help a Malfoy. I mean no offense, you see. It's just how it is. Weasleys and Malfoys don't get along."

"Apparently these two do," Pansy interjected, finally giving her two cents on the whole situation.

"Maybe they just never tried," I said.

"Or maybe it's because I'm not a Malfoy anymore," Malfoy grumbled.

"Oh stop griping, Draco," Pansy chided. She flipped her long black braid over her shoulder. "It's very unbecoming. You are still a Malfoy. Just because you are now immortal doesn't mean you aren't. You may have changed, but you're still our Draco. I think you're good for him, Ginny. Maybe you'll bring him out of this."

I was surprised she knew my first name

"Everyone's staring at you, Draco," came the voice of the fun-loving Theodore Nott. He was also a vampire, and very, flamboyantly gay. He was turned two years ago, the first vampire to go to Hogwarts.

"Fuck them."

"That's our Draco!" Pansy squealed.

"Something I miss?" Theo asked. So Pansy told him, and he whistled. "You're a brave one, Ginny. And because you took care of one of our own, we'll take care of you, no doubt."

I smiled. Poor Malfoy still looked sullen, so I pushed the untouched glass of TrueBlood towards him. "Try it."

So he did. And gagged. "Ugh! This is disgusting!"

"George didn't much care for it, either. But he tried other flavors and got used to it. Fred loves it. His favorite is B negative, and he likes AB, too. Why don't you try those? Or you could try mixing."

Pansy reached out and turned the pitcher Malfoy had poured from. "O negative. Okay, cross that off the list." She grabbed another pitcher. "Here. Try O positive. You might as well try them all." She dug through her bag and got out some parchment, ink, and a quill. I saw her write a list of all of the possible blood types and cross out O negative. A second later, when Malfoy made a face, she put a line through O positive, as well.

"What's wrong with it?" Theo asked.

"It's too sugary," Malfoy said.

"That's why I like it." Theo suddenly squealed – or what sounded like the male version of a squeal. "I have a vamp best friend, now! I'll teach you loads of stuff about vamps and we can go out at night together…Club of the Living Dead!"

"My relative is the Sheriff there," I commented. Theo's eyes widened in surprise.

Malfoy put his hand over his eyes. "Yeah, sure, Theo. Just remember I'm still hetero."

"Oh of course, darling. You are hot, but you're not my type, no offense."

"Am I your type, Teddy?" Pansy asked sweetly, batting her eyelashes.

Theo leaned over the table on his elbows. "You know you're the only one for me, cupcake."

They cracked up. I couldn't help a smile. Even the corners of Malfoy's mouth turned up.

"You two make my life complete," Zabini said, shaking his head. They both proceeded to stick their tongues out at him. "I swear you were twins in another life."

I saw Malfoy drifting into his self-hating world again, so I changed the subject and reached for another pitcher. "Alright, back to business. Try AB negative." He made a face, but not as bad. "You like it?"

"It's okay, but not great. Tart. Much better than sweet, anyway. Let me try the positive."

I smiled; he was getting into this. I summoned the pitcher from where it was further down the Slytherin table and poured a little into his glass. He took a sip, savored it, and looked thoughtful. He took another sip, a bigger one this time. "I like it."

We cheered and I looked over at Pansy's list. Both O's and AB negative were crossed off. AB positive had a check mark next to it.

"Alright, we're getting somewhere," I said.

Then Malfoy looked at me curiously. "What's your type?"

"You liked mine?" I asked, startled. He nodded. "B positive."

So he accioed the pitcher. When he tried it, his eyes lit up, and I knew that he loved it. He poured himself a whole glass and gulped it down.

"Gimme that," Theo said, grabbing it and filling his glass. "Mmm, you have fine-tasting blood, Ginny Weasley. I've never tried B before, pos or neg."

I chuckled and shook my head at his antics.

"Well it's not perfect," Malfoy told him. "Hers isn't as heavy or as dry, but the sweetness is nearly spot on. Not sugary, not tart." I blushed; it sounded like he was describing wine.

"Yours wasn't that sweet, either," I observed. The others' eyes widened.

"You had his blood?" Theo asked.

"…Is that bad?" I asked back.

They glanced at each other, and then Theo answered me. "No…but he'll be able to tell what you're feeling, just like you can feel what he's feeling."

Malfoy and I gasped. "What?"

Zabini nodded. "If he has your blood, he can tell where you are and can feel what you're feeling, but only a little – like he'll know if you're in trouble or feeling happy. Simple things. If you've had his blood, you'll become stronger and you'll heal faster. If you both have each other's blood, those characteristics heighten. It's called a blood exchange, and it's used in vampire marriages, family, etc. It'll fade eventually, but if you do it enough, it'll become permanent. It's mostly a security thing."

"How much is enough?" Malfoy asked tentatively.

"A lot. Between thirty and forty times," Theo explained.

Malfoy and I shared a look. "That makes a lot of sense, now," he commented, mostly to himself.

Pansy nodded. "Blaise forgot something, though. You won't only feel the pull and be able to find your way to the other; you'll also feel each other's presence."

That made sense; as soon as I walked down the hallway to the Great Hall that morning, I immediately looked to my left and saw him there. That was when we met up and walked in together. I also felt safer when he was near me. Maybe that was also because of the exchange?

"What's the list like?" I heard Zabini ask Pansy.

"No for both O's, no for AB neg, yes for AB pos, and three exclamation points for B positive because that's what Draco's face looked like when he tasted it." We laughed.

"Wanna try B neg?" Theo asked Malfoy.

"Later. I'm quite happy with this." He poured another glass and I wondered why my stomach was fluttering.

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