my notes: i should have mentioned earlier but in a haste (and a moment of thorough daftness), i forgot.

THIS STORY DISREGARDS HARRY POTTER AND THE HALF-BLOOD PRINCE

A very warm thank you to my very first reviewer. And as zoya.safina was kind enough to review, i'll be more than kind and update (take that zoe!)
some people do update fast :P

DISCLAIMER: The plot of this uh, story (? lol, that is funny!) is my own. It's is humanly impossible to make ANY money out of this, so there. The characters are the creation of one J.K. Rowling (god bless you) and any mention of anything else is to do with the plot. Please don't sue me.

CHAPTER II

In Which Malfoy Makes The First Move

'Gin-ny' screamed Hermione Granger from the door of her dorm. 'Ginny, get over here NOW.'

Ginny came pounding on the stairs and raced through the doors to Hermione's bed, her beautiful red hair flying.

'What happened? Everything okay? Ron, Harry? Did they do something wrong again?' Ginny looked hassled.

Hermione felt like shit now. 'Uh, actually I wanted to ask you to help me with my hair.' Hermione bit her lip.

Ginny's hands covered her face in exasperation. But Hermione asked again, 'French braid okay?'

Ginny removed her hands to reveal a grinning face. Ginny's face radiated when she smiled, which was more often than not. That was why one Arctic blonde Slytherin had lost sleep over her so easily.

'What? But you don't have Arithmancy today' remarked Ginny with a sly smile and a wink.

Hermione opened her mouth to protest and shut it again, and even after repeated attempts, ended up saying nothing.

Ginny folded her arms across her chest, covering the strawberry on her nightshirt.
'Admit it or else you can kiss the French braid goodbye.' As Hermione glared at the younger witch from her dressing table, Ginny appeared lost in thought.
'I suppose you don't want to kiss your braid as much as Zabini anyway.'

Now Hermione's expression really changed. Her doe eyes grew wide. Her flawless creamy white face was tainted with a deep blush. Her hairbrush dropped from her hand and she protested, 'Hey! No on Gin…..he's not, no way….really now!'

'Uh-huh' Ginny pretended to agree as she uncrossed her arms and picked up Mione's brush. She made Hermione's braid without much help as Hermione was still blushing and sputtering in denial.

Ginny returned to her room chuckling. Today was a Saturday and the first Hogsmeade trip since they joined school this year.

Ginny being a sixth year prefect should have dressed appropriately.
She wore a white shirt with a black racer back on top and black cargoes. Only her brilliant smile lit up her appearance, making her look impossibly desirable as she raced downstairs into the common room.

She found Ron and Harry waiting with Hermione.

'You shouldn't get us late like that' chided Hermione. Ginny raised her eyebrows in disbelief and then smirked, her eyes threatening to reveal Hermione's secret.

'Wow, your smirk is just like Malfoy's' added Hermione, smirking herself.

Ginny paled at the mention of Draco's name.

'Hermione!' asked a startled Ron. 'What's with you?'

Only Harry noticed the exchange of death glares between Ginny and Hermione.

Weird.

Everyone had dealt with Sirius' death differently. He was too good-looking and free-spirited to be mourned ceaselessly, Hermione had pointed out, tear-stricken but bravely. She told Harry that with all the pain that Harry had gone through in his life, Harry ought to make Sirius live on as a happy memory, and live his life.

Hermione imbibed the free-spirit approach in her life and eased up last year. She didn't nag Harry or Ron the whole year. Harry was now beginning to get suspicious.
Hermione also hung out with Ginny more often as they found common footing on dissing Ron and dealing with their transient attractions to Ron and Harry respectively.

Ron had tried to 'tap the casanova within' him in order to emulate Sirius.
He was failing miserably.

Ron was caught between Lavender Brown and Pansy Parkinson and he didn't even know how it happened.

Harry now looked at his friends, who were arguing as they moved out of the common room and towards Hogsmeade.

He smiled at those three who had become his family.

Draco hated his family. His only joy in life came when he was at Hogwarts. It was fantastic being able to be himself around Blaise and Pansy. She had surprisingly turned out better looking in sixth year. As the year had progressed, she had felt that she owed it to those she had come to believe as friends, to be honest about her loyalties.

She had found Draco and Blaise in the library one day, and had told them, without any irritation at their impassive, bored expressions, that she hated Lord Voldemort, respected Dumbledore, felt sorry for Potter and wanted to hex Snape for being a prat.

Draco and Blaise looked at each other and regarded her for a moment.

'Do you love muggles too?' sneered Draco.

Pansy's head dropped as she fidgeted with her book. 'I don't hate them or muggle-born wizards and witches.'

'Who else have you told that you've been kidding yourself all these years about the death eater bit?' Blaise asked softly.

'Nobody.'

'Why were we lucky enough to have our time wasted?' asked an irritated Draco.

'Oh stuff it Malfoy' snapped Pansy.

'Where?' drawled Draco, giving a passing sixth year an eye-over.

'Merlin Malfoy! Don't you want to say something productive?'

'Well congratulations on coming out then' he sneered.

Blaise wanted to know whether Pansy was serious. He knew Draco wanted to know the exact same thing.

'I hate HIM Draco' she declared, 'I hate Voldemort.'

'Well what in kilk's name do you want him to do about it?' asked Blaise. 'You're betraying the cause.'

'I regard you two as friggin liars' she snapped, losing her patience. 'I found your comics, Shakespeare and muggle pen pals' letters'. After initial shock, which their perfectly schooled expressions refused to show, they were ready to murder her for snooping.
'Bloody lucky us three eh?' she asked leaning forward.

"A Rose by any other name would smell just as sweet" muttered Blaise.
'All except a Pansy' responded Draco.

Now he sighed and turned to Pansy, 'You put on a fake face and sneer every chance you get, capisce?'

'Capisce?' asked Pansy.

'Italian, Draco wants to know the language of lovvve' drawled Blaise.

Draco protested, 'Not that you can teach it' and then smirked. 'I bet the know-it-all Granger would know it though.'

Pansy noticed how Blaise stiffened momentarily, and how even his amazing skill of feigning indifference failed him.

Ooh, got it bad for a griffy muggle-born she thought.

Since then, they were inseparable. Pansy saw the two as brothers and realised that Draco avoided the Griffindor infested areas especially after he had heard about the death of Sirius Black at the hands of the bitch Bellatrix. He always hated making life miserable for anyone else after all the abuse he got at home.

'It was why Draco couldn't take his shirt off for all the curse marks that were left behind, courtesy Lucius.' Blaise informed her one day.

Today, the three walked to Hogsmeade together. Draco and Pansy sneered when anyone, especially a Slytherin, came close enough to hear them. Even then it was an effort for them to be obnoxious. One would think that years of practice would have helped, but things had changed too drastically this past year.

Of the things that had changed the past year, was Pansy's feelings for Ron. She had secretly found him cute when she had insulted him and Harry with Draco a few years back. She had done so with more viciousness, thinking that Ron fancied Hermione. She was inexplicably crazy about Ron. It had become even worse in sixth year, when she saw him in the dungeons.

He was doing detention for Potions and bumped into her in the hallway. Pansy was too caught up in his handsome face and those deliciously soft eyes to humiliate him.

She had smiled shyly and walked past. Her heart had leapt when he had reached out for her as she walked past him.

'You okay?' he looked troubled.

She was confused and he explained for her. Ron wondered why she hadn't insulted him.

'Can't you just be happy?' she snapped. He had no business looking so cute.

Apparently she spoke the last thought out loud and he was too dumbfounded to stop her as she ran back to her dorm.

Stupid stupid stupid. Pansy has cursed herself in bed that night.

She never did let go of the stupidity afterwards. She and Ron had met up in the library and talked once or twice. Every time, Pansy got happier.

Till she found out that he was dating Lavender Bloody Brown.

On the road to Hogsmeade, she looked ahead to see Ron's red head tossed back in laughter and Harry Potter grinning at him. Hermione was at Harry's other side and she swatted his arm playfully.

Pansy's wanted to be next to Ron that very moment. She kicked a stone and sighed, continuing walking next to Blaise and Draco.

Draco was having trouble looking indifferent, now that he caught sight of Ron's sister some distance ahead. On sighting the laughing redhead, his gulped discreetly and the silver eyes were too close to a sparkle. His sole wish was fast becoming, to be the reason for her laugh. He wanted to get Ginny smiling at him, for him.

He didn't even mind that the thought was rather sappy. He was beyond caring now.

That Red is mine.

Blaise saw Harry's arm around Hermione's shoulder and he wanted to kill Harry.

'Voldemort get in line' chuckled Draco from the side, noticing the intensity, with which Blaise glared at the boy who lived.

'Won't be the boy who lived any longer' agreed Pansy grinning.

Blaise didn't hear their jibes and looked at his shoes.

Harry and 'Mione are just friends. They are just friends. He chanted, a muscle pulsing in his cheek.

He looked up to see Harry give Hermione a peck on the cheek.

His face fell, and the purple eyes admitted defeat.

Draco and Pansy saw it too and looked worried. Blaise had gone years in school without being noticed. When Draco had befriended him, Blaise was more withdrawn than Draco. Blaise's childhood was as bad as Draco's; both had parents who had murdered a few people and swore by the use of crucio. In Blaise's case, it was on one offspring per day at least.

Blaise was overprotective and very, very sensitive; and when he got passionate, it was with all his heart.

His heart was lost to Hermione Jane Granger and his heart was now breaking.

Ginny had become inseparable from the golden trio; and this year, they were, 'the famous four.' It sounded familiar to Harry and Hermione but they couldn't place it.

It occurred to them later that the addition of a dog would make them a popular novel series.

All four of them laughed and chatted all the way to the Three Broomsticks and ordered a round of Butterbeers. They were easily the most popular and noisy group there. Seamus, Dean and their respective girlfriends Hannah Abbot and Padma soon joined them.

Neville came bumping into tables with Colin following. The whole scene was like the breakfast table in the Great Hall and soon Colin got out his camera and clicked "for a later visit down memory lane."

Their banter and chatter was noticed by three Slytherins who had entered to take their butterbeers to go. Wordlessly, Draco handed over a Galleon, left the change and dragged a heartbroken Blaise and almost equally distraught Pansy out of there.

Ron had caught sight of Pansy and he noticed her sorrowful expression. Ron liked Pansy when he was with her. He doubted anyone would understand that though. He hated Malfoy and even that silent Zabini fellow. Ron had refused to understand why Pansy would be around them if she had changed or whatever she said.

They probably got together and sniggered about Ron behind his back.

It's better with Lavender he thought, gulping down his Butterbeer.
Except that I'm kinda in love with Pans.

Meanwhile, Hermione was swatting her best friend Harry's arm and laughing when she saw him. His face wasn't impassive, as was protocol. She realised as the laughter continued around her, that this was the first time she saw Blaise reveal any feelings. The said feelings were that of pain as he looked devastated. Blaise looked so morose that it hurt Hermione. She wanted to go to him and…..…and what? She thought.

She envied anybody who could talk to Blaise.
It's all she wanted to do; talk to Blaise.
And of course, what Ginny had said with reference to Hermione's braid.

Draco was so busy shoving the butterbeer in his friends' upset faces and trying to cheer them up that he almost missed seeing Ginny laugh. The ponce Creevey was snapping pictures of his Ginny.

Note to self, steal Creevey's camera.

Atleast then Draco would have pictures of Gin.

He stopped his train of thought.

Whoa. What's bloody wrong with me?

He'd rather have the real thing in his arms than some lame arse pictures.

She'd never smile for Colin the same way anyway Draco assured himself, smirking.

Ginny looked behind Colin to see a young man with Butterbeer in his hands staring at her. Now she would have ignored it, but she couldn't. She could have been offended or aggressive but she wasn't.

It was his eyes. Those mercury eyes were softened as he made eye contact with Ginny. Never in the six years that she had known Draco Malfoy had she seen his wicked eyes soften.

And now he smiled at Ginny.

Her heart should not beat that fast; it was unhealthy. She was stunned. She gulped and came to her senses.

She smiled back quickly before she lost the chance.

Her eyes were lighting up; she licked her lips as that smile reached her mouth.

Draco had a hard time not staring at her mouth. Never was a smile so alluring.

He had to leave before his body could find it's way near her. The Griffindorks around her might get violent.

Not that Draco couldn't hex them into oblivion, he just didn't want Ginny to have to witness it. He doubted that she would be happy when Draco took special pleasure in pummeling Ron for being such an arse to Pansy.

Draco's body however, was not listening. His hands wanted to touch her. He lips wanted close the gap fast. His body basically wanted hers.

He's coming over, he's coming over, HE'S COMING OVER screamed Ginny's brain.
Blaise finally snapped out of it seeing Draco's lithe form make his way over to Ginny, he guessed. 'Shit Malfoy, you want your arse kicked?' he mumbled.

'He'll probably kick theirs' responded Pansy.

They exchanged looks and then rushed behind Draco to help the to-be wounded Griffindors.

Harry's smile vanished as he saw Malfoy walk over, a predatory gleam in his eyes.

'What happened Harry?' asked Hermione and turned to see Draco Malfoy at their table, Butterbeer in hand. Behind him stood Pansy Parkinson and, her breath hitched in her throat as she noticed, Blaise Zabini; who is glaring at Harry?.

The table fell silent, awaiting the trademark sneer. It had been so long since there had been peace. It was too good to last.

Draco cleared his throat, eyes constantly trying to avoid staring at Ginny, and asked Harry,

'Mind if I join you?'