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.

Since Gryffindor had succeeded in beating Slytherin in the opening game, there was a lull in between the matches we would have to play. Without the constant practices, I was left with my thoughts on Draco Malfoy.

I was confused to say the least. From what I had overheard while eavesdropping on the train, that whole Slytherin group had all hated me because I was a Weasley. Now, not only was I good friends with Astoria Greengrass and Blaise Zabini, but I had kissed Draco Malfoy.

I knew I wasn't supposed to be friends with the Slytherins—most of all Draco—because of who I was and what we stood for. I was a Weasley who fought on the side of Dumbledore and the side of lightness to end the terror that was Voldemort. Draco was a Malfoy and his entire family were known Death Eaters who fought on the side of Voldemort and believed in keeping wizard blood pure.

Yet, we were friends. We studied together, joked around together, hung out together, teased each other and even kissed each other. I believed I had glimpsed a side of Draco that only his most intimate group of friends had seen.

Harry, Ron and the rest of the school would never be able to see how good he could be if he wanted. They would never see him walking me to Gryffindor Tower or defending one of his friends from others whose jokes had gone too far or lending me a textbook without making a remark about how poor my family must be because I couldn't afford my own copy.

And that kiss…

I tried to get the kiss and Draco out of my head but it seemed like everything to do with Draco interested me. I caught myself looking at him more than once and I had to shake myself. Since I seemed to be staring at him a lot, I noticed even more slight physical changes.

The dark circles under his eyes became even more prominent and his pale skin now had a slight greyish tinge. I hadn't asked him why he skipped out on the Quidditch match but he really did look sick.

"Hello? Earth to Ginny!"

My elbow slipped off the edge of the table I had been working on and I caught myself just in time before my face smacked against the table top. I righted myself and grinned sheepishly at a bemused Astoria.

"Sorry, I almost dozed off," I said, smoothing down my hair.

"What were you think so intensely about?"

"Umm…just thinking about how difficult these times are," I said, grasping at the first thing to come to my mind.

Astoria frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well, You-Know-Who, Death Eaters, all these murders and deaths…," I babbled.

I could sense that Astoria was uncomfortable with this topic. She grimaced and fidgeted in her seat. "Times aren't bad outside of Hogwarts."

"Look," I said, standing up and grabbing fistfuls of my things to stuff in my bag. I wanted to get out of there as fast as I could without me slipping up and Astoria finding out what I had really been thinking of. "Never mind."

As I packed up my stuff, I thought idly of the fact that Astoria seemed extremely uncomfortable with talk about Death Eaters. Did the fact that Astoria didn't want to talk about You-Know-Who and Death Eaters mean that she was a supporter?

"Ginny, wait!" called Astoria as I started to walk away. She looked absolutely torn as she rung her hands and tried not to fidget her feet. Her dark curls were pulled back into a messy ponytail, accentuating her darkly circled eyes and shallow looking skin.

"Yeah?"

She gulped and took a deep breath. "Meet me on the top of the Astronomy Tower tonight at midnight."

Without another word, she gathered her stuff and sped out of the library. I sunk back down into my chair and rested my face in my hands. I must have stayed like that for a couple of minutes until I heard footsteps approaching my table.

"What's up Weasley?"

I raised myself up and hastily rearranged my features into a smile. "Hey Draco. I'm just really tired."

Draco slid into the seat across from me and emptied some of his work onto the table top. "You look sick."

I shook my head. "No, I'm fine."

In an extremely rare moment, Draco seemed to observe someone else's feelings. "Are you okay Ginny?"

"I'm fine."

Draco shrugged and opened his textbook at random. "Where's Astoria?"

"I don't know. She just got up and left."

Draco didn't seem bothered. "She's probably in the common room."

"Draco," I said suddenly. "Can I ask you something?"

Draco laid down his quill and sat back in his chair. "As long as it's not a favour and if I don't want to answer, I won't have too."

I forced myself not to fidget. "On the Hogwarts Express, I overheard a conversation in your carriage about me. You guys called me a blood traitor and Blaise said he wouldn't touch me no matter what I looked like. So, if you guys all believe that, why are you friends with me? Why is Blaise okay putting his arm around me now? Why does Astoria like hanging out with me now? And I always thought you were the worst of them—so why did you kiss me if I'm such a blood traitor?"

Draco smirked. "Still thinking about that kiss?"

"Forget about the kiss for now!" I huffed. "Why? Why are you all okay with me now even though I'm as much of a blood traitor as ever!?"

Draco leaned forward and seemed to ponder this for a moment. "I don't think you're as much of a blood traitor as the rest of your family."

"What does that mean?"

"It means that you're different. I've heard that you can duel almost like a pro, you're tough and you seem to know how to play with the big guys."

I snorted. "And the big guys are you Slytherins?"

"Exactly. You're different than the rest of your family."

"That still doesn't answer my question though!"

"Why we suddenly like you?" he asked bluntly.

"Well, yeah."

He shook his head. "I can't answer that completely. I'm okay with you because I saw how different from the rest of your family you actually are."

"What about the others?"

He shook his head again. "I can't answer for everyone else. You'll have to ask Astoria."

I sighed and flopped down on the table. I was beyond frustrated. I thought I was finally going to get an answer to the question that had been burning in the back of my mind of a while now.

I could feel Draco's eyes on me but I didn't look up. I was confused and about an inch away from starting to doubt my new friendships as true.

"So anyways," said Draco after a few moments of silence. "You've been thinking about that kiss?"

"Sod off Malfoy," I groaned, finally sitting back in my chair.

"You know, that's not a very Gryffindor thing to do," Draco pressed on.

I sighed and took the bait. "What's not very Gryffindor of me?"

"Having a boyfriend and thinking of kissing me," sniggered Draco. "Whenever you two snog, do you pretend Dean Thomas is me?"

I rolled my eyes. "You would love that, wouldn't you?"

Draco grinned and shrugged nonchalantly.

"And anyways," I continued. "I'm not like most Gryffindors."

"So you admit to thinking of me whenever you snog your boyfriend."

I blushed. I didn't think of Draco whenever Dean and I kissed but I had been thinking of the kiss Draco and I shared way more than I should. "No, I do not think of you when I kiss Dean."

"You may not think of the kiss when you kiss Dean but you didn't deny that you do think of the kiss," laughed Draco.

"Speaking of kisses…did you have to boil your lips after you kissed me?"

"As a matter of fact, I did have to," he drawled. "But don't make it sound like you didn't enjoy it Weaslette."

"Don't call me that," I said angrily. "I thought we were done with you taunting me."

Draco smirked. "You're too easy to bother. I don't think I'll ever tire of provoking you."

"I thought we were friends?"

Draco laughed without humour. "Me be friends with a Weasley? No, what we have is an understanding. We tolerate each other since Astoria insists on remaining your friend and she often drags us to study with you guys."

"Then why are we even talking to each other if Astoria isn't around!" I yelled, my temper flaring up.

Draco shrugged, and crossed his arms. "I never miss an opportunity to taunt those that are easy to taunt."

"Thanks for clearing that up!" I shouted, shooting to my feet.

"Where are you going?"

"Did you honestly think I would stay and talk with you after you just told me that we aren't friends!?"

"You and that famous Weasley temper," he laughed. He waved me off but then shouted to me when I was almost to the library entrance. "Don't think about that kiss too much now Weaslette!"

"I think of both you and the kiss way more than I should," I mumbled to myself.

It was only the next morning when I realized that I had completely forgotten to meet Astoria at the Astronomy Tower at midnight like she had asked. I had been in such a bad mood when I came back to the common room that I had stormed up to the dormitories and barricaded myself from the outside world by pulling the hangings closed on my bed.

I knew that Draco was probably just being his usual obnoxious self by continuing to taunt me but I had really thought that we were past it. And since I had missed my meeting with Astoria, what she had wanted to tell me was a mystery.

I could only guess what she had wanted to tell me but I got the sense that it wasn't necessarily good. She had seemed agitated but also set on telling me what she had to yesterday in the library. Would she be mad at me for not meeting her? Would she think I had purposely avoided meeting with her? If I explained to her that Draco had just distracted me, would she still be open to telling me what she had wanted to yesterday?

And speaking of Draco, I was even more confused than I had ever been when it came to him. I was positive that Draco was just taunting me for the sake of taunting me last night and my temper had gotten the best of me. I knew Draco and I were friends because just the other day, he had told off Pansy when she had called me a slapper after Blaise had threw his arm around me as he told an inappropriate joke. Draco would never tell off a member of his group for just anyone.

Unfortunately for me, I was starting to think of Draco as someone of interest. I started noticing his little quirks, like how he scowled and stared at his hands when he was deep in thought. I noticed how he dressed outside of the school uniform or how he styled his hair differently now and then.

And when I wasn't with him, I thought about him more than was probably healthy. I found myself fixated on his bright grey eyes that I still wondered if they had blue hidden in their depths. I was ashamed to admit that Draco starred in more than one of my dreams recently.

I hated myself for it because I had a boyfriend and Draco Malfoy was Draco Malfoy.

I still hadn't seen or heard of any Death Eater activity from my new friends but after last night, I had a small niggle of fear in my stomach. The way Astoria seemed so uncomfortable when I mentioned You-Know-Who and the way Draco refused to tell me why the Slytherins suddenly liked me gave me cause for doubt. I didn't want to believe they were involved in Death Eater activities but Draco, Theo, Crabbe and Goyle all had family known to be Death Eaters.

The only hope I had of understanding anything was Astoria it seemed.

I didn't see Astoria that day or the next. I didn't see Draco either. They weren't down to eat at all on both days so I decided to sit with Blaise at the Slytherin table for dinner on the second night to maybe get answers.

"Hey Weasley," said Blaise, moving over so I could squeeze between him and Zane. "Decided to come join the cool people?"

"You could say that," I said, reaching for the closest dish.

"It's understandable that you would tire of those Gryffindors."

I looked at all the Slytherins and pretended to notice that Draco and Astoria were missing. "Where are Draco and Astoria?"

Blaise shrugged without looking up from his roast. "I don't know where they are."

I frowned since it was very unlikely that Blaise wouldn't know where they are. "So they aren't eating?"

"I've been making them plates," said Zane from the other side of me.

"They're always in the common room whenever we get back from eating," said Daphne, joining the conversation.

"But you don't know where they are while everyone is eating?" I asked.

Blaise turned to me. "Why are you so interested?"

I turned back to my food, fighting a blush at being caught being so obvious. "They're my friends. I just wanted to know."

"Well I don't know where they are," said Blaise, his voice indicating that the conversation was over.

"You know what?" I said, pushing away from my hardly touched food. "I'm not very hungry."

I strolled out of the Great Hall, ignoring the stares I knew that Florence and Evanna were probably flashing at me from the Gryffindor table. Once I was in the Entrance Hall, I was at a loss at where to go.

I had far too many thoughts bouncing around in my head for me to sit still in the common room or library but it was way too dark to go for a fly. I chose a staircase leading away from the Entrance Hall at random and started to climb it as I let my mind wander.

There was no way that Blaise didn't know where they were or what they were doing while not at lunch. Why he didn't want to tell me worried me more than them missing meals. I needed to see Astoria to talk to her and if I wasn't lying to myself, I needed to see Draco just so I could see Draco.

I shook my head at that thought and pulled myself from my reverie. I had no idea where my feet had taken me until I spotted the familiar portrait of a pretty princess riding a horse with a knight clanking after the horse.

My feet had taken me to the seventh floor and someone tall, slim and blonde was stalking down the corridor towards me. He didn't seem to notice me right away but I recognized Draco. As he came closer, I saw the look of deepest dejection and fear on his face.

He finally looked up and spotted me, stopping in the middle of the corridor. "What are you doing here?"

I covered the distance in the corridor until I was standing right in front of him. His face was wiped clear but I could still see traces of the fear in his eyes. "What's wrong? And don't you dare say nothing because I know something is wrong!"

He cracked a small smile. "Nothing is wrong Weasley."

"Don't be a git. I haven't seen you in two days and right now you look like you've just witnessed a murder!"

"Missed me, did you?"

"I'm serious Draco," I said earnestly. "You don't have to tell me where you were or what you were doing but just tell me that you're okay."

"Why do you care?" he asked.

That stumped me. "I don't know."

"Well I'll be on my way now," he said, stepping around me.

I hurriedly grasped his wrist before he could walk away. He seemed surprised that I would touch him so I used his confusion to my advantage by easily pulling him into the nearest empty room. I shoved him as hard as I could into the room and then slammed the door closed.

"What are you going?" he asked. I was grateful he didn't sound angry.

I stood with my back to the door, hoping that Draco would have the decency not to shove me out of the way if I made him angry. "I want to know you're okay."

He raised an eyebrow. "So you lock me in a room?"

"You aren't locked in idiot," I scoffed. "But I'll resort to using my wand if I have to."

"Why do you want to know if I'm okay? Why do you think I'm not okay?"

"I want to know if you're okay because you're my friend! I don't care if you don't think of me as a friend but to me, you're my friend."

"Great, I have a weasel for a friend."

"And I have a ferret," I shot back.

He sighed and perched on the end of a desk. "Why else?"

"I think something's wrong because you're paler than usual, you look sleep deprived and when I just ran into you, you looked like you had just watched someone being killed!"

"Again I'll ask," he drawled. "Why do you care?"

"Like I said, I don't really know other than were friends. Friends are supposed to worry about each other."

"You don't need to worry about me Weasley and you never have to worry about me being worried for you."

"That's harsh," I said sarcastically.

"That's me Weasley," he said, sliding off the desk and coming to stand in front of me.

I refused to be affected by his proximity. "Friends are supposed to worry for each other. Friends are also supposed to help one another. Do you even know how to be someone's friend!?"

"Ginny?"

"What?" I huffed.

"Shut up."

I opened my mouth to retort when he suddenly wound his fingers in my tresses and dragged my lips up to meet his. At first I was too startled to do anything but stand there but once my brain got the message that Draco Malfoy was kissing me, I responded hungrily.

I brought my arms up to encircle his neck and let my fingers play with the soft hair at the nape of his neck. I felt Draco smile against my lips as he brought one hand to rest on my cheek and his thumb started to stroke my cheek.

As tender as Draco was being, the kiss was electric. It made my heart threaten to beat out of my chest and my blood to sing. I could feel goose bumps on my skin and I shivered as I pressed myself closer.

I groaned deep in my throat as Draco pulled away slightly.

I looked up into his bright grey eyes and I was amusingly pleased to see that I was right about the blue flecks in his grey eyes. He looked down into my dark brown eyes with a small smile on his lips. The hand on my cheek continued to stroke across my cheekbone while his other hand settled on my hip, holding me against him. Both my hands were still around his neck.

"Weasley?"

"Hmm?"

"I don't think we can be just friends."

I smiled back at him. "I'm thinking the same thing."

And then he brought his lips down to mine again and I lost myself in the fiery passion burning through my veins.

Please Review!

So here's another chapter. I was really excited to write this one since things with Ginny and Draco get a little more confusing. Hope you liked it :)