Chapter 8

Ginny lay awake one night, in her bed in Draco's room. They had returned to Hogwarts nearly a week ago. Draco had been asleep for quite some time already, it was late. Ginny, however, had trouble sleeping now, let alone closing her eyes. Every time she closed her eyes, all she could see was Draco's genuine smile, and then the feeling of his warm lips against hers. It was all Ginny could think about since Christmas day, and it was really starting to bother her. To her, it had just felt so right. It had certainly never felt that way with Dean or Michael. It didn't feel like her insides were melting yet exploding at the same time. And kisses with the other boys definitely did not leave her this anxious for another.

Ginny rolled over with a grumble; she was over thinking the situation way too much. It had been a quick kiss. She couldn't possibly draw any conclusions from one little kiss. She knew that Draco did not see her as anything more than the baby weasel. And Ginny was fine with that. At least she hoped she would be.

Draco woke with a start. He sat up rapidly, in a cold sweat. Bad dream. Draco couldn't for the life of him remember what it was about, but he knew it wasn't pleasant. Glancing over at the clock, Draco noted the time, three a.m. He sighed and lay back. He couldn't get up and walk around, as he usually did when he couldn't sleep. That would cause Ginny to wake up. He glanced at her; she looked so peaceful as she slept. Draco shook his head, these thoughts, they kept invading his mind. Ever since Christmas day.

The look on her face when he had given her the necklace was...perfect. That was the only word Draco could think of to describe it. And then, she had been so peaceful and beautiful as she held him. When she leaned in to kiss him it was amazing, like no other girl he had kissed before. Draco sighed again as he tried to fall back asleep. He knew that Ginny did not see him as anything more than the big bad ferret. And Draco was fine with that. At least he hoped he would be.

Tap. Tap. Tap. An eagle was at the window. The boy rose, groaning and went to let the bird in. The majestic bird flew in and perched on the boy's shoulder. The boy removed the note and fed the bird, sending it on its way. Opening the note, the boy sat down.

Next Hogsmeade weekend. Meet me at the edge of town. Bring the girl.

The boy sighed and tossed the paper into the low fire. He lay back in his bed and closed his eyes, willing himself to sleep.

A few weeks later found the students at Hogwarts on a Hogsmeade weekend. Things between Draco and Ginny had gone back to normal. Or at least as normal as they could make it. Ginny often founder herself day dreaming back to Christmas day. Someone or another would always break her reverie, but she could never explain the blush that quickly overtook her from head to toe. Draco, on the other hand, refused to think back to it, unless he was alone. So he relived the experience again and again in his dreams. But sometimes the dream would warp, continue, and change. One time there was no one around them, and they had continued on until he woke up in a cold sweat, and slightly uncomfortable.

Ginny sat at the vanity table in Draco's room, brushing out her hair. The mindless task had her mind wandering yet again. This time, however it was not back to the Christmas kiss, but to the future. How things would be like if Draco and her were together, as a couple. She smiled slightly to herself.

"If you keep brushing the same spot, your hair will fall out." Draco called from his bureau of clothes. Ginny snapped back, controlling her blush, and moved the brush to a different part of her hair.

Draco emerged a few moments later dressed in his clothes for Hogsmeade. He was wearing a dark grey jumper with black trousers. He shrugged on his black winter cloak and looked at her,

"Almost done then, Weasley?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Ginny put down her brush and rose,

"Yes, don't get your knickers in a twist then." She replied with a smiled. Draco picked up her second hand black cloak and held it open for her. It took Ginny to get her second arm in, before she realised that Draco Malfoy was helping her into her cloak. When she finished putting on the cloak, she turned to face him.

"Thanks." She said simply, refusing to add a petty nickname at the end.

They were really close again. Draco was going to respond but he got caught up in counting the freckles on her nose. One, two, three. He leaned in and captured her lips once more, just like it had been on Christmas. He had wanted to do this again since then. Unbeknownst to Draco, so had Ginny. Draco place one hand on her waist and the other at the back of her hair. Ginny, trapped between his arms, lifted hers up to grasp at the collar of his cloak. This time Ginny was determined to commit it all to memory. The way his hand thread itself through her hair, the light pressure he applied to her hip, and the taste of him – ice cold mint.

Draco was doing the same, memorizing it. Her hand that touched his chest, sending volts of electricity through him, the small noises she was making, and the taste of her – warm cinnamon.

The pair broke apart a few moments later, when lack of oxygen became an issue. They pulled apart from each other, breathing heavily. Ginny's hair was mussed from its previous smooth state, and the front of Draco's sweater was crumpled slightly. Neither of them said a thing for a moment.

"We're going to be late." Draco said shortly, straightening himself out. Ginny's mouth almost dropped open, but she knew better than to display her emotions so freely. How could he dismiss her so easily, yet again? Draco turned to leave, obviously counting on her to follow. Seething under the surface Ginny obliged, for the moment.

Ginny and Draco met up with Pansy, Harry, Ron, Millicent and Hermione. The group had taken to hanging out more often. Had it been Christmas that brought this on, or the binding, no one bothered to look any further into it. A cease fire, no matter how brief was still a cease fire. The group spent about an hour or so together, going through various shops. They eventually decided to rest in the Three Broomsticks before heading out again. A round of butterbeers warmed up the teens from the frigid cold outside. Eventually came the time that the group would split up. It always ended up happening, regardless of what they were doing. First, Harry and Pansy would rise.

"Alright then, we're going to head off," said Harry, helping Pansy into her cloak.

"We'll see you all later then." Pansy finished with a smile. They waved and left the Broomsticks. Draco was next to rise.

"We'll be leaving as well." He said, not bothering to help Ginny with her cloak, as he had earlier in the day.

"Don't you two be getting into any funny business." Ron said, with a scowl in Draco's direction. There may have been a cease fire, but it didn't cause Ron to like Draco in any means. Ginny just rolled her eyes, ignoring his and waving to the two girls.

"Catch you later, if we're not too busy getting into some funny business." She said with a laugh and a smirk in Ron's direction. The pair left a spluttering Ron in their midst.

"Really Ron, you ought to leave them alone." Hermione breathed loudly. Ginny just chuckled to herself and followed Draco out the door, back into the cold.

The pair stopped off in a few more shops along the way. Honeyduke's, they both need to pick up some candy. Whether for themselves or for someone else, one really couldn't tell about the other.

Maybe it's because he's been ignoring me all day, Ginny thought, still angry from the morning. Next they made their way to Gladrag's, Draco had to pick up some more clothes.

Like he even need's anymore, Ginny thought idly to herself. It really surprised her when he didn't make a comment about how she couldn't afford anything or something Malfoy-ish like that. She just chalked it up to the silent treatment he was giving her. Ginny didn't know of the thought's running through Draco's head however. Thought's of the petite redhead next to him, and a certain letter he had received a short while ago.

Lastly, they went to Scrivenshaft's, as Ginny needed some new quills. Hers were worn down to nubs after so much use. Ginny had also received a bit of money for Christmas, and she figured she might as well spend it on something useful. She heard Draco's over exaggerated sigh from behind her as she studied a new quill.

"Something on your mind, Malfoy?" She asked without turning around. This quill had a blue eagle's feather and was stunning, a bit out of her price range though.

"How long does it take to pick a bloody quill?" He hissed impatiently.

"However long as I bloody well feel like. Is there a problem with that?" She started with a bark, but ended sweetly, turning to face him.

"Yes, actually, I have other places to be." Draco said with a sniff.

"Oh, really? Well that's nice, but considering that you've ignored me for most of the day, I don't really feel like taking anything you need to do into consideration." Ginny replied, voice dripping with venom. He just glared at her.

"I'd rather not fight with you in the middle of a store, so if you could just hurry up." He finished, looking away, counting on her to pick her purchases so they could leave. Ginny, however, turned back to the quills and promptly took another twenty minutes.

Once they left the store Draco pulled Ginny around the corner of the building, so that people could no longer see them. Ginny was surprised that she didn't feel scared at all.

"What the hell is your problem?!" Ginny fumed, once they were out of earshot.

"My problem? My – you bloody well just took twenty five ruddy minutes to pick out a quill!" He shouted back.

"Really, as if that is the worst of our problems." Ginny said, rolling her eyes.

"And what's that supposed to mean?" He asked. Ginny noticed his eyes when she turned back to shout at him. They were hard, dark and cold. Nothing like how they had been when he had kissed her.

"As if you don't already know." She shot back, after snapping out of staring at his eyes.

"I wouldn't be asking if I already knew now would I, Weasley?" He said, fuming under the surface. Ginny snapped.

"You've kissed me twice now! And after both times you acted like it never happened! Things like that don't just continuously happen. I said nothing the first time and now I am. You've ignored me all day! What the bloody hell is wrong with you? Are you bi-polar or something?!" When she finished her chest was heaving.

Draco couldn't think of anything to say. He was blind with anger at this point, and he certainly wasn't going to tell her the truth.

"Maybe it's because it never should have happened!" He snapped back, and instantly regretted it. He saw the flash of hurt pass through her eyes before she masked it with anger.

"I cannot believe I thought I saw any good in you. I can't believe I thought you could be any more than a stuck up ferret!" She shouted, holding back tears bravely.

"Well it was stupid of you to see anything than what I am. But you wouldn't, would you? Because you're nothing but a poor, little weasel." He said back angrily.

They glared at each other, fuming and Draco broke the stare down with a scowl.

"Let's go." He growled, pulling on their bind.

"I am not going anywhere with you!" Ginny said acidly.

"Funny that, but you really have no choice in the matter." He replied harshly, pulling on their bind, more sharply than before.

"Go where?" She shot back, holding back a wince. Draco ignored her and started heading towards the outskirts of Hogsmeade.

"Answer me Malfoy! Where the hell are you taking me?!" Ginny shouted, noting that there were no longer very many people around.

That's when she saw him. Lucius Malfoy standing just a little further up ahead. Ginny wanted to scream, at least that would have been the normal thing to do, but her mouth was frozen. She visibly shuddered at his looming figure. His long blonde hair was tied back into a ponytail; his face was sharp and hard. She couldn't help but notice that Draco was the exact image of his father.

Draco noticed Ginny's shudder, but he ignored her yet again. His father had a slightly intimidating look to him. Not to mention it was still bloody freezing out here. Draco just attributed her shudder to that. He was still fuming at her as they arrived in front of his father. He was however careful to mask that anger in front of his father. Lucius nodded at his son.

"Father." Draco said stiffly, straightening his posture out of years of habit.

"Excellent work, son." Lucius said shortly, looking Ginny up and down. She had to repress another shudder.

"She will be perfect for your initiation. Let's go then." He finished, motioning for them to touch the portkey he had in his hand. Both Draco and Ginny froze.

Initiation? Ginny couldn't move, could barely breathe. She knew what Death Eater's used girls for in their rituals. She was terrified. Ginny was alone, with no one around. Everything she had learned about Draco, everything she had believed, everything she felt for him. It was all a lie. A ploy, to use her in the worst of ways. Her numb form snapped back instantly, and violently. She would not be taken quietly.

Draco knew his father wanted him to join the Death Eaters under the Dark Lord, but he thought that he had more time, until the end of the school year at least. He couldn't do anything to Ginny. As much as he hated to admit it, he cared about her. She may have pissed him off but he didn't wish anything upon her. Especially not whatever horror the Death Eaters would make him do to her. Draco started to protest calmly, shielding his emotions, just as Ginny lashed out violently.

Lucius had expected the girl to protest, but what at little surprised by Draco. He had had enough. Angrily grabbing the two teens, Lucius activated the portkey and all three of them disappeared from Hogsmeade.

Author's Note:

Thank you to everyone who took the time to review, they keep me going when the writing isn't flowing. And of course thank you to my beta's, without you my work would still be incomplete

aos