Disclaimer: Unfortunately, my name isn't J. K. Rowling...which means that I own nothing. While you guys read, I'll go cry in a corner about the fact that I didn't create this marvelous world and these amazing characters.

The next morning I was still seething about me and Malfoy's argument the night before. So just to spite him, I happily plopped down between Astoria and Zane at the Slytherin table.

This didn't faze Astoria in the least. It was like she was expecting me to come sit down with her and her friends. "Hey Ginny. Have some bacon."

I scooped up a piece and eyed Malfoy. Instead of looking angry like I thought he would be because I sat with Astoria, he was grinning down at his plate.

"What's so funny Draco?" asked Pansy.

Malfoy looked up, caught my eye, grinned and turned to Pansy. "Nothing."

Pansy looked to Daphne confused and Daphne just shrugged, as confused at Pansy. I grinned despite myself at their lack of understanding.

I let my mind drift as I nibbled on my bacon while everyone talked around me.

Why was Malfoy grinning at me? And what did I say that was so funny? And did Malfoy and I just share a joke?!

"Ms Weasley?"

I jumped in my seat and turned. Professor McGonagall was standing above me with her arms crossed. Everyone stopped the conversation they were having to listen in.

"Yes, Professor?"

"You will serve your third detention tomorrow with Madam Pince. Some books need to be catalogued so you will report to the library at seven tomorrow night and Madam Pince shall oversee your work."

I nodded my understanding and Professor McGonagall gave me one more piercing stare before she made her way back up to the staff table.

"So you did get another detention!" laughed Malfoy.

I glared at him. "Yes, I did, all because of you."

"And what did I do exactly?"

"If you hadn't tackled me in the library the other day, I wouldn't have gotten detention in the first place and I wouldn't have ran into Professor McGonagall while I tried getting a textbook who thought I was skipping out on detention."

Everyone except for Pansy burst out laughing.

"That's why you got detention? McGonagall thought you were skipping detention!" asked Astoria as she tried to contain her laughter.

"I was trying to get a textbook," I explained.

"You're such a badass," laughed Blaise.

Zane chuckled and nudged his shoulder against mine. I threw a small piece of bacon at Blaise but he had good reflexes and he swooped down to catch it in his mouth.

"Good catch Zabini," said Astoria, clapping politely.

"Show off," I giggled. Blaise winked at me as he started to chew.

"Ah, Ginny," said Daphne quietly. "Your brother is coming over."

I turned in my seat and spotted Harry and Hermione standing by the entrance to the Great Hall while Ron marched between the Slytherin table and the Gryffindor table.

"This isn't going to be pretty," I muttered.

"Oi, Ginny!" yelled Ron, stopping in front of my group.

I swivelled in my seat to face him. His arms were crossed and the tips of his ears were pink.

"Yes, Ron?" I asked as innocently as possible.

"What are you doing, sitting with them?" he asked, glaring at the people around me.

I balled up my fists. "They're my friends."

"Got a problem with that Weasley?" asked Blaise, standing up across the table.

"Ron, go sit down," I hissed. "I'm obviously fine here."

"They're Slytherins," he growled. He turned to glare at Malfoy. "And they're Death Eaters."

Malfoy jumped to his feet and Blaise and Theodore had to hold him back. His rage was etched in his face and I could tell the only thing stopping in from reaching for his wand was the presence of the teachers.

I jumped to my feet. "Ron, you prat! Just leave me alone! You aren't my keeper!"

"I promised mum I would keep an eye of you!" he yelled as he eyed Malfoy who seemed too angry to form words.

"I'm not a little girl!" I roared. "I'm perfectly capable of choosing my own friends!"

I knew Ron and I were making a scene but I was too angry at him to care. From the corner of my eye I saw that Professor McGonagall was seconds from intervening. Thankfully, just then, Harry and Hermione came, whispered something to Ron and he slowly retreated back to the Gryffindor table while still managing to glare at me.

"Git," I spat, sitting back down heavily.

As soon as Ron was gone, the fight seemed to have left Malfoy and Blaise and Theodore were able to let go of him. He straightened his robes with a jerk but refused to sit back down.

"You're welcome," I said, glancing up at Malfoy.

He rounded on me. "I didn't ask for your help you filthy little blood traitor!"

I eyed him scathingly. "Yeah, because mouthing wordlessly really insulted him!"

And with that, the little semblance of civility Malfoy and I had enjoyed for the last twenty minutes disappeared.

He grabbed his school bag and marched from the Great Hall. Glancing at the Gryffindor table, I saw Ron, Harry and Hermione watching Malfoy as he stalked away.

"What's got a broomstick up his ass?" asked Blaise to no one in particular.

To keep Rom from having an aneurism, I sat at the Gryffindor table for lunch and dinner. I sat on the side of the table where I wouldn't have to look at Malfoy and avidly joined in conversations around me so I wouldn't have to think about my detention.

According to Astoria, Malfoy had been in a foul mood all day and there was no reason that he would be pleasant during detention. I wasn't looking forward to slaving over a hot cauldron with a raging Malfoy.

So it was with a heavy heart that I left the common room at seven and headed for the dungeons. Like yesterday, the instructions were written on the board but tonight we were brewing two potions; Calming Draught and Pepperup Potion.

Malfoy was late again but instead of waiting for him like last time, I started in on the Pepperup Potion which seemed the easier of the two.

I had just added a measure of crushed up Belladonna to my cauldron when Malfoy strolled in. He was wearing the same dark jeans as yesterday but he changed his sweater for a black t-shirt that clung to him.

I noticed that he really made that t-shirt look good. I turned away from him to clear my head, forcing myself not to blush. I did not just think that about Malfoy!

"Do you know what you're doing Weaslette?" drawled Malfoy.

"I can read," I said, annoyed.

He smirked. "You didn't seem so confident of that yesterday."

"Well Mr Potions Expert didn't really give me a chance, now did you?"

He quirked an eyebrow. "Would you like to take the lead today then if you're so good at this?"

I blushed. "I don't want to brew these wrong…."

Malfoy's smirk grew as he grabbed the mortar and pestle from my hands. "Pass me the Dandelion root."

Malfoy and I brewed the Pepperup Potion in a silence that was only broken if I asked a question or he asked me to pass him something. I didn't mention the scene at breakfast and he seemed happy enough that it wasn't brought up.

While the Pepperup Potion stewed, we started in on the Calming Draught. Unfortunately, the Calming Draught was quick work and we were stuck with two stewing cauldrons with nothing to do but wait for an hour and a half for them to both be done.

I perched on a desk and whiled away half an hour by doodling on the desktop with my finger. When I couldn't take the silence anymore, I turned to Malfoy who was lounging in a desk.

"So what was up at breakfast?"

"The part where I wanted to hex your brothers head off?" he asked. I could see him trying to reign in his temper.

I shook my head. "No, the part where you were laughing at your plate."

He shocked me by giving me a straight answer. "You surprised me."

"How?"

"Most girls would have backed off after yesterday but you purposely sat with us to irk me."

I rested my chin on my knee and let my hair fall to one side over my shoulder. "I'm not most girls."

He smirked. "Obviously. Most girls I associate with aren't poor as dirt."

"Most guys I associate with aren't little ferrets!"

I was hoping to get a rise out of him but instead he started to laugh. "That's the best you can do? Ferret?"

I shrugged. "I'm not as practised as you are at insulting people."

"True. I've had many years."

So far Malfoy didn't seem in as foul a mood as Astoria said. We almost seemed to be having a civilized conversation—if you could define a civilized conversation as not yelling or arguing with each other. Maybe I was wrong when I thought that all appearances of civility were gone between us. But then, what had got his knickers in a twist this morning?

"So, about the part where you wanted to hex my brothers head of…why were you so angry?"

I watched as he balled his hands into fists and I was suddenly struck with how good looking Malfoy was. Sure, I had noticed how he dressed but now, I stared into his face.

His blonde hair was longer than it was when he was smaller. Now, it was messily tousled and he had a habit of running his hands through it and it reminded me of how Harry told me that his father James often did that too. Malfoy was tall and slim but if his clinging t-shirt was any proof, he was well muscled. I could see that his eyes were a steely grey but I wondered vaguely, if I stared deep enough into them, would I find flecks of blue?

"What are you staring at?" he growled.

I jerked up from my staring and shook my head. "Nothing…"

Malfoy peered at his watch. "Forty more minutes."

"If I didn't know better, I would think you couldn't wait to get out of here."

He looked at me like I had grown three heads. "I can't wait to get out of here."

For some reason that bothered me a tiny little bit. I slid off the desktop into a chair and drew up my knees, trying not to think about why it seemed to bother me.

I hadn't brought any homework again today and I cursed myself now for not bringing any. These two days in detention had already set me back on homework and now I would have to stay up late tonight to try and put a dent into my pile. And since I had another detention tomorrow night, I would have to pull a second late night tomorrow.

"What are you thinking so hard about Weasley? I can see the steam coming out of your ears."

"Just thinking about all the homework these detentions have set me back on."

"Stop griping," he said, scowling. "I have way more important things to be doing instead of making potions."

Suddenly, he clenched his jaw and grasped at his left forearm.

As much as I hated Malfoy, if he was somehow hurt I would help him. So I slid out of the desk and rushed to his side.

"What's wrong?" I asked. I reached for the arm he was still gripping but when my fingers were an inch away from him, he jerked his arm out of the way.

"Get away from me you blood traitor bint!"

I recoiled like I had been slapped. "I was only trying to help!"

Malfoy stood up and stalked to the door. "Again, Weasley. I didn't ask for your help!"

With that, he slipped out of the door and slammed it behind him. I was gripped with such a rage that I grabbed the nearest empty bottle we were supposed to be filling and chucked it against the wall. It shattered against the stone and the tiny glass slivers tinkled as they fell back against the floor.

With a sigh, I sat back in a desk and put my face in my hands. Why was Malfoy so able to get under my skin? And what had been up with his arm? I didn't see anything that could have hurt his arm. Was he faking it so he could skip out of detention? I shook my head at that idea. If he had been faking, he wouldn't have lashed out at me like that when I tried to help.

"Reparo," I muttered, pointing my wand at the shattered bottle. The pieces zoomed back together and the bottle was whole again, sitting on the stone floor.

I sat in silence until I figured enough time had elapsed. Since Malfoy had skipped out, I was left to finish brewing the two potions. Thankfully, the last instructions were easy and I was able to bottle and label the potions with no problem.

As I was cleaning up, I had the urge to tell Professor Slughorn that Malfoy had skipped out. I decided against it when I realized that Malfoy would be royally pissed off at me. We hated each other enough; I didn't need him hexing me in the corridors.

"Last detention tonight," announced Evanna, clapping me on the back. "Looking forward to it?"

"You have no idea. I'm really behind on homework."

"How late did you stay up to do your homework last night?" asked Florence, pouring milk over her cereal.

I yawned. "I think it was only two in the morning."

"That's not too bad."

"Are you going to try to do some homework after class?" asked Evanna.

"Yeah, unless I cave and decided to go for a nap."

"Now Ginny, what did I tell you about keeping up with homework?"

I turned in my seat and Astoria was grinning down at me. Evanna and Florence turned to glare at her but they didn't say anything to her.

"Hey," I said, scooting over so there was room for her to sit.

"Draco told me about your detentions. Tough luck," she grinned.

I lightly elbowed her. "It's Malfoy's fault for me getting detention in the first place."

Astoria reached for a piece of toast. "Do you want to study tonight?"

"I can't. I have another detention with Madam Pince."

"Well, we'll be in the library tonight anyway. After your done with your detention we can try to get a little of your work done."

I grinned. "Thank you. You're a huge help."

Astoria playfully shoved me and stood up. "No problem. See you tonight and try not to get another detention."

Once she was out of earshot, Evanna turned to me. "I can't believe you're still friends!"

"What do you mean?" I asked, confused.

"Remember what I said about remaining true to Gryffindor and Dean?"

I snorted. "And how am I not being true to Gryffindor and Dean?"

Evanna threw up her hands. "Gryffindors do not mingle with Slytherins. It just isn't done! You know our houses have an intense rivalry."

"Which is kind of funny," cut in Florence. "I mean, Salazar Slytherin and Godric Gryffindor were close friends so it's kind of funny that their houses would be rivals."

Evanna rolled her eyes. "Thanks for the history lesson."

"Look," I said angrily, throwing down my toast and standing up. "You guys need to accept that I'm friends with Slytherins. I don't care if you like them or not but I would appreciate if you stopped bashing them in front of me."

Evanna looked pissed off and Florence seemed shocked at my outburst. I grabbed my bag and strolled out of the Great Hall without looking back.

When we had got out of Potions class that morning, Florence had pulled me aside and said that she promised to stop making a big deal about my new friends. For the rest of the day after that, Florence tried to quietly make Evanna and I talk to each other. After my outburst at breakfast, Evanna refused to speak to me. I was still angry at her so I didn't make an effort to try and talk to her either.

Florence finally seemed to give up when we had Care of Magical Creatures and I partnered with Luna and Adrian to draw and label a Bowtruckle.

"Not that I don't enjoy your lovely company, but why aren't you with Florence and Evanna?" asked Adrian.

"Evanna pissed me off this morning."

Adrian sighed and put down his sketchpad. "Tell me what happened."

I giggled and threw a handful of grass at him. "You aren't a muggle doctor!"

"Just pretend I am."

I threw down my sketchbook and watched Luna feeding the Bowtruckle happily. "Evanna just won't shut up about my Slytherin friends. I got tired of it and snapped on her this morning."

Adrian looked thoughtful for a moment. "Well the way I see it is—like you keep vehemently telling people who insinuate otherwise—you're a big girl. You are capable of choosing your own friends."

I threw up my hands. "Thank you! Tell that to Evanna and Ron."

Adrian frowned. "Well, Evanna and Ron are partly right too. I mean, they must worry about you."

"They don't have anything to worry about."

"Well, just be careful Ginny," said Adrian quietly. He leaned forward and I leaned closer to hear him. "Malfoy, Nott, Crabbe and Goyle are all affiliated with the Death Eaters. All their fathers are known Death Eaters."

"I'll be careful," I promised.

I could tell that, unlike Evanna, Adrian wasn't talking down to me. He was just simply warning me about the dangers but he knew I was smart enough to take care of myself.

"Look Ginny, he's giving you the finger," laughed Luna suddenly, pointing to the Bowtruckle.

And sure enough, the Bowtruckle was floating right by my head and making rude hand gestures.

Evanna and I made peace over dinner when she asked me to pass her the pumpkin juice.

"So you're talking to me again?" I asked, shoving the pitcher into her hands.

She had the decency to look chagrined. "I'm sorry if it seemed like I was jumping down your throat."

"You were jumping down my throat," I pointed out.

"Oh take the apology," snapped Florence, smiling. "You two are idiots."

"At least we aren't the ones with sauce all over our faces," sniggered Evanna.

Florence blushed and tried to hastily wipe her face while Evanna and I roared with laughter. It was so very rare that we could unsettle Florence.

Even though it was barely a day we hadn't talked, I was glad that we were speaking again. Evanna could be annoying but she was my best friend.

"'So what do you have to do for detention?" asked Florence once she was sure her face was clean.

"I have to catalogue books or something," I said. "Unfortunately it's with Madam Pince."

"Madam Pince isn't that bad," said Florence.

"After we knocked a whole self of books down, she hasn't been my biggest fan," I explained. "I swear she would ban me from the library if she could."

"Ah well, if that happens, you could just do your homework in the common room with me and I would be able to copy," said Evanna.

"Fat chance," I said, sticking my tongue out at her.

"Well we'll wait up for you," said Florence.

I shook my head. "I'm studying with Astoria later, remember?"

I saw Evanna tense but then she seemed to calm herself. "Great, then when you let me copy, it'll be bound to be right if a sixth year helped you with it."

"Stop being like Ron," I said.

"Then you stop being like Hermione," she shot back.

"Touché."

Review! Review!

Sorry if this chapter was slow going. I love writing Draco and Ginny's interactions. Their so volatile.