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.

"I wonder when Harry is going to pluck up the nerves to ask you out," contemplated Evanna.

I was taking a much needed break from the Vanishing Cabinet to tackle some of my ever present homework. Astoria swore she was fine working alone on it since Draco was in detention but I still felt a little bad. "Harry isn't going to ask me out. I have a boyfriend."

"Speaking of said boyfriend," said Florence, putting down her quill. "I overheard him saying to Seamus that it seems like you've been avoiding him."

I decided that honesty was the best policy when it came to this. "I am avoiding him."

"Why?"

I fiddled with my quill. "I'm thinking of breaking up with him."

"Why?" asked Evanna. "I thought you were happy with him?"

"He's a great guy, obviously, but…I don't know."

"Is there someone else?" asked Florence.

This is where I drew the line at honesty. "No, there isn't. I just…it's not working out now. I realize that we're too different."

"What do you mean?" questioned Evanna. "He stopped taking Ron's side in your guy's rows and he doesn't say anything bad about you being friends with Slytherins."

"That's all nice and well but we just aren't…compatible."

Florence eyed my suspiciously. "Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure!" I tried to keep my temper at bay. "I know what I want."

"Harry" offered Evanna.

"No, not Harry," I said. "I want to be single for a bit. And why do you want me to date Harry so badly?"

Evanna shrugged. "Well, I mean, if you break up with Dean, that means you could date Harry when he finally plucks up the courage to ask you."

"Didn't you just hear me? I don't want Harry. I want to be single."

"Well if you want to be single so badly, when are you going to break it off with Dean?" asked Florence.

I shrugged. "I don't know. When the time is right, I guess."

"And when's that going to be?" asked Florence. "I love you Ginny but you know I hate those girls that dangle guys."

With growing horror, I realized that I was one of those girls that Florence hated. Not only had I been putting off breaking up with Dean, I had been snogging Draco behind Dean's back. I was also wronging Draco. I had promised I would break up with Dean because I knew I couldn't be with Dean when I was crazy about Draco but I was hesitating to throw away my safety net.

"I'll do it right now if it's so important for you to that I don't 'dangle' Dean!"

Florence couldn't hide her smirk as I got up, marched across the packed common room, and pulled Dean away from his conversation with Seamus and Neville.

"Wha—, oh hey Ginny. What's up?"

"I think we need to talk," I said, pulling him by his wrist through the portrait hole.

"Sounds serious," he chuckled, letting me lead him.

I brought us to a side tower where there was a small balcony overlooking the lake. I didn't know why but whenever I had a serious conversation, it was always on a balcony.

"What's up Ginny?"

I took a deep breath. It shouldn't be too hard. I broke up with Michael Corner, after all. "Dean, be honest. Has this been a happy relationship for you?"

Dean frowned. "Most of the time it has. I mean, we argue but we always make up."

"Dean, I know you aren't exactly happy. Florence told me how you were telling Seamus that it felt like I was avoiding you."

"Yeah, and?"

"Well, I have been avoiding you."

"Why?"

I took a deep breath. "Because I want to break up."

"What? Why?"

"I was avoiding you because I needed time to think. Face it; we aren't right for each other anymore. You aren't happy and I'm not happy."

"It's because of Harry, isn't it?"

I was taken aback. "Harry has nothing to do with it. Why would he?"

Dean looked at me like I was dumb. "Everyone knows he fancies you. And everyone knows that you fancy him."

"I don't fancy him!"

"Tell that to the entire student body," he scoffed.

"I had a crush on him when I was eleven but that was four years ago. I don't want Harry."

"I'm kind of glad that Katie Bell is coming back tomorrow," Dean said. "Now I don't have to see you and Harry getting all lovely on the Quidditch pitch."

"I'm not going to date Harry! Harry is my brother's friend and that's it. I don't like Harry like that!"

"Whatever Ginny. See you around."

I turned my back on him angrily as he went down the narrow stairs. I had angry tears in my eyes and I furiously swiped them away. I was toughened up by my six older brothers growing up so I was taught not to cry.

In blinding anger at everyone's assumptions about my feelings and love life, I grabbed the delicate necklace Dean had given me for Christmas and yanked it off my neck—successfully breaking the fragile chain. With a growl, I chucked it over the balcony and watched it sink into the lake.

There, let the Giant Squid have it.

"So what's this I hear about you breaking up with Dean?" questioned Ron the next morning.

"You broke up with Dean?" asked Harry, barely hiding the excitement in his voice.

"Yeah, I did."

"Why?" asked Hermione.

"Yeah, I thought you liked Dean," pestered Ron.

I rounded on him. "You've made it quite clear you hate whoever I date. Now you're going to get all high and mighty on me for breaking up with Dean?"

Ron shook his head. "Those Slytherins are a bad influence on you."

I threw my hands up. "Not this again! I thought we had an unspoken agreement that you don't pester me about my friends I wouldn't talk about them in front of you!"

"Well sorry if I think some filthy Slytherins are polluting my sister!"

"Polluting me!" I roared. "Now you listen hear Ronald Weasley—"

"Stop," Hermione squeaked. "Everyone is staring."

I looked away from Ron and saw that everyone in the common room had their eyes avidly fixed on Ron and I.

"Don't you have places to be!?" I yelled in their direction.

The younger ones scrambled away immediately but the older ones took their time gathering their things. I bet they hoped to catch some of the fight.

"I'll write to mum!" Ron hissed.

"And tell her what!? 'Mum, Ginny's friends with some Slytherins.' I'm sure she'll love that."

"I won't tell her that!"

I brushed my hair out of my face and glared at him. "Then what could you possibly write to her?"

"I-I'll tell her about your nightmares!"

I tried to hide the shock on my face but by Ron's triumphant grin, I knew he knew that he had caught me off guard.

"How do you know about that?" I hissed.

"That's none of your business how I know!"

One glance at Hermione who was nervously looking down at her feet told me all I needed to know.

"If you tell mum about my nightmares, I'll tell her that you were the one who burned her signed photo of Celestina Warbeck."

"You wouldn't," he growled.

I crossed my arms. "You bet I would. You know how angry she was! She was even tearing up a bit."

Ron just glowered at me. I saw it as a victory and I flounced happily from Gryffindor Tower for breakfast. I marched right past the Gryffindor table and slid in between Draco and Astoria. Without saying a word, I pulled a plate of eggs towards me and started eating.

"Slow down Weasley," drawled Draco. He slid his hand against my leg and rested it above my knee. His hand on my bare leg made me shudder pleasurably and I immediately stilled my hand.

"What's got your knickers in a twist?" asked Astoria.

Draco started stroking my knee with his thumb under the table and I had to fight not to flush. My fight with Ron was already vanishing from my mind at Draco's touch. "Just my brother."

"Githead is enough to make anyone try to choke themselves with eggs," said Draco, his touch never stilling. "But what did he do exactly that is making you attempt to asphyxiate yourself?"

I shrugged as I fought to remember what we had argued about. "Umm… he doesn't like you guys…so…ah…he wanted to write to our mother."

"That's rich," chuckled Zane.

"He threatened to tell her about my…umm… nightmares…so…I…ah…threatened him about…him burning a picture that belonged…to my mum."

I could barely get out a coherent thought as Draco's touch moved up my thigh until his palm rested flat on the middle of my thigh.

Astoria frowned. "You're still having those nightmares?"

I couldn't get an answer out so I just nodded.

"You know, my offer still stands. I'm sure we could figure something out to keep us busy," Draco said suggestively, moving his hand up a fraction to hit his point home.

Astoria took in my flushed face. "Ginny, are you okay?"

I suddenly got up. I craved Draco's touch once it was gone but I was also kind of relieved since I could think again. Draco smirked down at his breakfast. That prat knew that doing that would extremely fluster me!

"Yeah, I'm fine. I just have to…ah… run up to the common room to grab something before class."

"Okay, see you later," Astoria called, a bemused smile on her face.

That night, I woke up gasping from another nightmare. In this one, Voldemort used the Crucio curse multiple times on Draco before he begged for Voldemort to kill him.

I peered out the window and was disappointed to see that it was pitch black outside. There was no way I would get back to sleep so I guess that meant I was stuck awake for the rest of the night—alone with the demons my dream left behind.

And then Draco's offer flashed in my mind. Could I? Would I? I shook my head. I just wanted a friend right now who would understand. There was no way I was going to sleep with Draco. Would he be angry if I woke him up just to talk? I knew the password into the Slytherin common room—that's if it hadn't been changed…

Before I could change my mind, I scrambled out of bed and slipped on a thin dressing gown over my tank top and shorts. I padded barefoot down into the common room and out of the portrait hole. I was lucky that the portrait hole opening didn't wake the Fat Lady or else she would have made a racket.

I had a narrow escape with Filch on the second floor but I managed to get down to the dungeons without too much of a hassle.

I faced the blank wall uncertainly. "Facta, non verba."

Thankfully, the wall slid open and I dashed inside. It was eerie being in the den of serpents without any of the serpents there. Embers were glowing faintly in the fireplace while the greenish light from the lamps was dimmed.

There were two doors—one leading to the boy's dormitory and one leading to the girl's dormitory. With a stupid grin, I realized that I didn't have to disturb Draco. I could just wake Astoria and she would gladly stay up to talk.

Almost as soon as the idea entered my mind, I dismissed it and my grin faded. She would be rooming with Millicent Bulstrode and Pansy Parkinson, among others, and they would be worse to deal with then an irate Draco.

With a deep breath to gather myself, I chose the left staircase and silently climbed it. I smiled to myself when I stopped outside a door with a sign that told me I was at the right place. I pushed it open—thankful it didn't creak—and slipped inside, closing the door quietly behind me.

Snores greeted my ears from the right and there were two beds with great lumps in them. I figured they were Crabbe and Goyle and I let my eyes drift over them. On my closest left was a bed hidden behind hangings. I peeked through the curtains and recognized Blaise. To the right of Blaise's bed was another bed shrouded in hangings. I recognized Draco so I slid through the curtains to stand to the side of his bed.

Draco looked peaceful in sleep. His face was smooth since he was free from his constant smirk while sleeping. His lips were parted slightly and his hair was tousled messily. He was lying on his back with one arm thrown to the side while his other arm rested across his bare stomach. With a gulp, my eyes trailed down his toned torso until I realized that he was only in a pair of black boxers.

I shook my head. This was definitely a bad idea. I turned to go but I spun too fast and managed to ram my toe into the leg of Draco's bed. I cursed loudly and then bit down on my knuckles once I remembered that I was in a room full of sleeping guys.

Crabbe or Goyle only grunted in their sleep and Draco only rustled in his blankets.

Suddenly there was a flash of light which revealed Draco sitting up in bed with his wand aloft. "Weasley! What are you doing here?!"

"Shh," I hissed, sitting on the end of his bed and bringing up my knee for a closer inspection of my toe. "Don't wake the others."

"What are you doing here?!" he growled low.

After seeing that my toe was fine, I put my knee back down. "I-I had a nightmare."

"That's it?" he scoffed. "You know I was kidding about you sneaking into my bed."

"I know that," I whispered. "I'm not here for that anyway."

"Then what are you here for exactly Weasley? Do you make it a regular occurrence to sneak into boys bedrooms at night?"

"I wanted a friend," I shot back. "A friend who would understand my nightmares!"

Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "I'll bite. What's your nightmares about?"

I crossed my arms. "I'm not going to tell you now."

"Then leave so I can go back to sleep."

Draco made to lay back down and only the knowledge that I would sit up all night reliving the nightmare in my mind made me blurt out the truth.

"Fine, I'll tell you. My nightmares are always about You-Know-Know."

Draco smirked. "And what's the Dark Lord doing?"

"He's killing."

"Oh, really? I never knew the Dark Lord killed anyone!"

"Prat!" I spat out.

Draco sighed again. "Who's he killing in your dreams?"

I looked down into my lap. "You," I mumbled.

"What, I didn't quite catch that?"

"You!" I blurted out. "My nightmares are about You-Know-Who killing you."

Once again, Draco surpassed my expectations. He scooted over and gestured to the empty place beside him on his bed. "You can stay the night here if you want. I promise I won't try anything."

"Thank you," I murmured, slipping off my dressing gown and letting it pool on the floor beside the bed. I took a certain pleasure in that Draco couldn't take his eyes off me as I shed the dressing gown and crawled into bed beside him.

I slid under the covers and Draco extinguished the tip of his wand. My toes were frozen from walking the stone corridors barefoot so I tangled my feet with his.

"Merlin Weasley! Your toes are bloody cold!"

I snuggled down deeper into the blankets. "Deal with it."

The next morning I woke up pressed against Draco's side while his arm was around my shoulder and his hand was resting on my elbow. I lifted my head slightly to see that I had been using Draco's bicep as a pillow.

He woke with a start when I tried untangling myself from his hold. He just pulled me closer and pressed a kiss to my forehead. "Morning Weasley."

I couldn't help but smile. "Morning."

"Were you running away before I woke up?" he asked.

I rolled my eyes. "I kind of have to. Do you want the guys in your dormitory to know I was here last night?"

"Good point," he said, sitting up. "I'll make sure it's okay for you to go."

He peeked around the curtains quickly. "Everyone's still asleep. It's early so if you hurry, you shouldn't have problems getting back to Gryffindor Tower."

I slid out of bed and tied my dressing gown closed. "See you later today then."

"See you Weasley."

"Thank you," I murmured. Before he could answer, I slipped through the curtains and dashed out of the boy's dormitory.

I made it back to my dormitory without any problems. Everyone was still sleeping silently so I gathered my things and went to take a long shower. I really had to think about why sleeping in Draco's bed had stopped any nightmares from haunting me.

I couldn't find Draco. It was a couple days later and we had agreed that we would skip dinner to go work on the Vanishing Cabinet more. We usually met in front of the room but he was nowhere to be found. I dashed down to the Great Hall and found Astoria eating with Blaise, Zane and Daphne.

"Hey, Astoria, can I ask you something?" I asked, clutching a stitch in my side.

She frowned. "Sure. What's up?"

"Do you know where Draco is? He was supposed to meet me."

Astoria face instantly fell. "He's in the boy's toilets on the sixth floor but he wants to be left alone. Blaise already tried to talk to him."

"What's wrong?" I asked.

Astoria dropped her voice. "He finished the list Borgin sent him and none of it worked. He's not doing too well but he wants to be alone."

Without a backwards glance, I tore back out of the Great Hall and up to the sixth floor. I located the toilet Astoria had mentioned with little problems. I pushed open the door and was greeted by muffled sobs.

Draco Malfoy was crying!

"Draco?" I asked, uncertainly. I figured it was best to make my presence known before he cursed me.

"Go away Weasel!"

I ignored him and came to stand beside him. He was standing with both his hands clutching either side of the sink with his vest discarded on the floor and his tie loosened. His face was dripping water I guessed he had splashed onto his face which mingled with his tears. I noticed Moaning Myrtle hanging morosely in the background.

I placed a gentle hand on his back and rested the other on top of his right hand. "Don't," I crooned. "You have help. We can do this."

"No one can help me," said Draco. He was trembling. "I can't do it…I can't…it won't work…and unless I do it soon…he says he'll kill me…"

I squeezed his hand as he gulped and gasped. He raised his head to look at himself in the mirror and then suddenly, he whirled away from my hold, drew his wand and fired a spell towards the door.

I screeched as another spell hit the sink right by my head.

Draco fired another spell at who I recognized to be Harry. I was never more furious at Harry than at that moment. Bloody Harry Potter, always sticking his nose where it doesn't belong!

Harry retaliated with another spell but Draco blocked it.

"No! No! Stop it!" I yelled, pushing away from the sink. "Stop! STOP!"

One of Harry's spells hit the sink and Moaning Myrtle screamed loudly. Water poured everywhere, drenching all three of us. Harry slipped on the water just as Draco raised his wand and cried, "Cruci—"

"SECTUMSEMPRA!" yelled Harry from the floor.

Blood suddenly spurted from Draco's chest like he had been slashed with an invisible sword. Draco staggered backwards and collapsed into the waterlogged floor with a splash, his wand falling from his limp right hand.

"WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" I screamed, sinking to my knees beside Draco.

"No—," gasped Harry, also sinking down to his knees on the other side of Draco. "No—I didn't mean—"

I was running through the healing Charms I knew. None of them would be strong enough to fully heal Draco but my goal was to just stop the bleeding. I started waving my wand over his body while murmuring spells under my breath. His gashes stopped bleeding and started to close slowly.

"MURDER! MURDER IN THE BATHROOM! MURDER!" Moaning Myrtle screamed.

The door banged open almost instantly and Snape burst into the room, his face livid. He pushed Harry aside, drew his wand and started tracing the deep gashes Harry's curse had made. I stopped with my Charms since I knew Snape's would be stronger. He was muttering incantations under his breath that sounded like a song.

Once the wounds were closed, Snape repeated the process which made the thin scars made by the closed wounds seem to disappear. Moaning Myrtle was sobbing loudly in the background as we all watched Snape's ministrations. After he performed the spell for a third time, he pulled an unsteady Draco into a standing position.

"You need the Hospital Wing. There may be a certain amount of scarring, but if you take dittany immediately we might even avoid that."

Harry and I both got to our feet. My jeans and sweater were soaked from the water but I didn't care. I took in Draco's extremely pale face as I fought not to punch Harry.

"Miss Weasley, take Mr Malfoy to the Hospital Wing," drawled Snape. "Potter and I need to have a little chat."

I grabbed Draco's wand and shoved both mine and his wand into my back pocket. I pulled Draco's arm over my shoulder and half dragged Draco out into the corridor.

"Are you okay Ginny?" he asked. He was slurring his words so I really had to concentrate.

I snorted. "We both know you weren't doing that to defend me."

Draco grinned and leaned a little more heavily into me. He must have been really hurt or he would never have let himself show that kind of weakness around me.

"My concern is getting you to the Hospital Wing before you scar. Hogwarts already has one Scarhead."

Draco chuckled at my dig at Harry. "Too right you are Ginevra. Too right you are…"

Please review! Tell me what you think!

So I hoped you liked this chapter. I hoped it had enough action in it for those that like the action and enough fluffy stuff for those that like the fluffy stuff. I promise more action to come if that wasn't enough for you.

I'm kind of happy that the Half Blood Prince storyline is almost finished because I think if I get enough good feedback, I'll continue on with this story until the end of Deathly Hallows. I have ideas and plans but it's really up to my lovely reviewers if I should continue after the Half Blood Prince storyline is finished. Review and give your opinion!