omg an update

jk rowling owns it

"Weasley! If you yawn one more time, so help me I will throw you out of this classroom myself!" Professor McGonagall yelled causing Ginny to jump in her seat in Transfiguration the next morning. The snickering from Ginny's classmates was an added bonus.

"Sorry Professor," Ginny said in a meek voice, blushing. "It won't happen again."

"It better not," the witch glared at her student one last time before returning to writing on the black board.

"Merlin, Weasley," Nora drawled under her breath. "Why are you so tired today? Actually, come to think of it, you were tired last Friday too. I wonder if it has something to do with you staying out late each Thursday nights these past two weeks."

"Well if it did I wouldn't tell you," Ginny snapped at Nora who eyed her with raised eyebrows.

"I'm going to chalk your attitude up to your lack of sleep, shall I?"

"Do whatever you want, I don't care," Ginny said just as moodily. But the truth was that she was tired. She and Draco had been up almost all night studying and reviewing Potions work early into the morning.

Ginny sighed, remembering. He was good at the subject, even mentioning once that it was his favorite. But she had fortunately been able to keep up with him, although just barely. She thought back to last night...

"So what are the ingredients for the Draught of Living Death?" she had asked him.

She saw him roll his eyes, an action that he was getting pretty good at. I'VE ALREADY LEARNED THAT ONE, WEASLEY. MOVE ON.

"Okay," Ginny sighed, rapidly flipping through her notes from Slughorn's class. "Fine. What is the special ingredient in a memory Potion?"

Draco thought. JOBBERKNOLL FEATHERS.

Ginny let a small smile seep through. "Right. Next question. What is the function of Dr. Ubbly's Oblivious Unction?"

Draco had remembered learning about this and he wracked his brain. After a pause Draco answered. TO HEAL THE DAMAGE DONE BY THOUGHTS?

"Right again."

YOU SOUND SURPRISED.

Ginny felt herself give a lopsided grin as she refused to meet his dancing eyes. Rifling through her papers again, Ginny searched for a really difficult one. "Do you have to really hate someone to concoct a hate potion?"

Draco blinked at her and then smiled. TRICK QUESTION. A HATE POTION IS MERELY AN ILLUSION OF HATE, JUST AS A LOVE POTION IS OF LOVE. YOU DO NOT HAVE TO HAVE HATE SOMEONE TO MAKE A SUCESSFUL POTION.

"Right, so what does it do instead?" Ginny saw the confusion in his eyes and thought she had tricked him.

But then he smirked. IT REVEALS THE OBJECTS WORST FAULTS AND HABITS TO THE DRINKER.

Ginny sighed and sat back in her chair. "You have behaved admirably, my opponent," she said, teasingly. "I bow to you." She gave him a wide smile which he returned.

They sat there, grinning at each other for a while until Ginny realized the stupidity of the situation. Clearing her throat she looked away first. "Yeah, anyway, so it looks like you're good with Potions for now so we'll check in on it each week and move on to Transfiguration tomorrow."

Coming back to the present, Ginny found herself blushing in McGonagall's class and mortified, she pressed her hands to her cheeks to try and cool them off.

Focusing intently on the class at hand, Ginny tried to distract herself from the thoughts of stormy grey eyes looking at hers with such intensity that they gave her shivers in places that definitely shouldn't be shivering.

Draco woke up that Friday morning late having slept in and much to his satisfaction he felt rested unlike he had in days. Something in the back of his mind attributed this feeling of rejuvenation to a certain red-head, but Draco quickly quashed the thought.

It has nothing to do with her, he told himself. Although he remembered liking the way her cheeks had colored when their eyes had met. Alright, so she's attractive, Draco allowed himself. But it's not like I can do anything about it.

Draco shifted uncomfortably in his bed, turning his thoughts back towards the rational. All I can do is learn to speak my sentence, thank her, and then be rid of her.

But as Draco thought harder about his situation, it became clear that he would need her probably for the rest of the year. And there had to be someway that he could convince her to help him with his speech as well. So much had to be done, and Draco settled down to plot out a way to either convince or trick Ginny into helping him in more ways than just as a tutor.

"It's Saturday, mate! And sunny out, in November, sunny! Come on, a day like this comes once in a lifetime and you simply have to come with me." Blaise was trying to convince Draco to come outside with him the next day.

I KNOW, I KNOW, Draco wrote out, smiling at his friend's enthusiasm. BUT NO ONE CAN SEE ME.

Blaise glared at Draco for a moment. "You think I'm stupid, don't you?" The question made Draco laugh, a sound that he had almost forgotten he could make. "Yeah, that's right, laugh at me. That really makes me want to put a good Disallusionment Charm on you-ow!"

Blaise was cut off from his whining my a sharp punch in his shoulder from Draco. Laughing again, Draco flung his Hogwarts cloak about his shoulders and smiled expectantly up at his tall friend. WELL? LET'S GO.

"Glad to have you back, mate. Now don't go writing letters in the air until I tell you know one's looking. Or better yet, you could practice speaking instead…no I didn't think so." Draco had glared at Blaise who was now taking out his wand.

After casting the charm on Draco, Blaise turned and cast a spell on Draco's vacated hospital bed, making it look like a sleeping form was under the covers. "I know," Blaise said with a grin. "Pretty good if I do say so myself. And I can't see you, which is a good thing, but you better be looking impressed."

I'M NOT. Purple letters hung in the air, and without an owner, they looked creepy to Blaise.

"Don't do that, it's weird looking. Come on, Theo's meeting us down by the lake." The two boys walked in silence out of the castle, Draco beneath his charm enjoying the feeling of uneven ground beneath his legs, the smell of fresh air, the mist of the morning fog… It was a good thing he was invisible otherwise he was sure his face would have given Blaise cause to make fun of him.

"Hey, Theo," Blaise called out, raising an arm in greeting to the boy sitting under a tree near the lake.

Theo nodded in reply and looked to either side of Blaise. "Is he here?"

Blaise nodded and gestured to his left. "Doesn't he look great?" He grinned at the look Theo shot him.

"I thought we could walk around to the far side of the lake, just to get some privacy." Theo stood, closing his book as he did so.

As they walked, Draco noticed how haggard Theo looked. Blaise was right, he thought. He does look terrible. The dark circles under Theo's eyes were only exaggerated in the light of day, causing the boy to look pale and sickly when he usually was athletic and tan.

Reaching the far side of the lake where hardly anyone ventured, Draco convinced Blaise to remove his Disallusionment Charm.

Theo and Draco shook hands and clapped each other on the back. "It's good to finally see you, Draco." Theo said warmly, despite his outward appearance of weakness.

"Y-yuh-ooh t-t-too," Draco stuttered out.

Theo raised his eyebrows. "I thought you'd be better than that by now, when Blaise said you were improving I had hoped he meant it."

Blaise chocked on a piece of his apple he was working on. "I did mean it! Just because the wanker hasn't made any improvement since I saw him last…"

Draco sighed. I'M TRYING, THEO.

"Try harder," Theo said with a straight face. "We need you and your voice to help us with our…efforts."

Blaise finished his apple and threw it into the woods. "Yeah, but it won't be the same. You heard his voice, Theo. The new version's all weird sounding and scratchy like."

Draco shoved Blaise but then turned back to Theo. I KNOW I HAVEN'T MADE MUCH PROGRESS AND IT FRUSTRATES ME AS WELL. BUT I HAVE NO ONE TO PRACTICE REGULARLY WITH EVER SINCE POMFREY GAVE UP ON ME. I DON'T SUPPOSE YOU COULD HELP?

Theo shook his head and Draco's hopeful look fell. "Sorry, but I can't. I wish I could but between the Plan and Quidditch and schoolwork and keeping up pretences, I'm spread as far as I can go for the moment."

"Told you," Blaise interjected. Draco and Theo ignored him.

THEN I HAVE TO ASK YOU BOTH A QUESTION ABOUT MY SPEECH THERAPY.

"Speech therapy?" Blaise snorted. "That sounds gay."

"Blaise, please!" Theo shouted, rubbing his eyes. Grimacing at his friends Blaise abandoned them to sit under a tree near the water.

I WAS THINKING OF TRYING TO GET THE WEASLEY GIRL TO HELP ME. Draco tried to ignore Theo's shocked look as he rushed on. I HAVEN'T TOLD HER ANYTHING ABOUT WHAT WE'RE DOING BUT SHE ALREADY IS TUTORING ME SO-

"Great," Theo interrupted looking pleased. "She's the one who rescued you, isn't she?"

WELL YES, BUT-

"Then that settles it. I mean, if she's already agreed to help you out with tutoring, I don't see why she wouldn't extend her charities to your speech therapy."

"Gay," Blaise grumbled from the lake's edge.

BUT HOW DO I CONVINCE HER THAT IT'S WORTH HER WHILE? Draco was surprised that Theo and Blaise were taking this so well.

"I'm sure you'll think of something. Besides, she's a Gryffindor. She's built to help. Play to her noble side and you'll get her to come around and help you." Theo gave Draco a rare smile and left his side to go sit by Blaise. "You know Blaise, you're really annoying when you want to be."

"I know, right?"

Draco let their conversation drift out of his earshot as he wandered a little away from them. Walking to the edge of the lake, Draco looked down at the gently rippling waters at an angle where he could only see the sky and not his reflection.

He took a deep breath and tried to speak his sentence.

"T-t-th-hh-a-k y-yuh-oo f-f-fo-or ssss-ss-ssss-" Oh fuck it all, Draco thought bitterly. Still, that was pretty good. Farther than he had gotten before. He thought about the sentence in his head, mulling over it again and again until he decided to change it.

Thank you for saving my life…Ginny.