Draco leaned against the wall outside Snape's class waiting for Ginny who was due to come in another 5 minutes or so. He was going to miss his next period to see her but it he didn't care as long as he saw Ginny.
'What are you doing in the corridor?' snapped Mr Filch, the caretaker.
'It's none of your business, Filch. I've got a free period so I'm spending it in a corridor, do you mind?' He replied.
'Stupid wizards nowadays and their cheek, we didn't have that in the old days. We used to suspend you from the ceiling in chains for three days' muttered Mr Filch under his breath as he walked off in the corridor with Mrs Norris, his cat, trailing behind.
After a few minutes Draco heard a distant voice shout 'class dismissed' and pulled himself off the wall to go stand by the door. After a crowd of busy, tired children pushing past, Ginny came rushing out the door with a bag leaning off her shoulder and 2 books nestled in her right hand and 2 books nestled in the left.
Draco walked towards her and helpfully picked up the four books while she straightened the bag on her shoulder, put her wand away and reached out her arms to take her books back.
'Oh it's ok, I'll carry them' said Draco.
'Well thanks. Are you sure?' She asked.
'Yeah, it's not heavy at all' he lied. 'I can easily carry this'.
'So where do you want to go?' laughed Ginny while she watched Draco struggle with her Monster Book of Monsters.
'Well, we could go to the Astronomy Tower. There's no one there so we'll get to talk in peace without any interruptions' he replied.
'Mhm' mumbled Ginny.
Ginny wasn't sure how she felt about this 'talk' with Draco. At first, it felt wonderful and she really started to have a crush on him but she knew it was wrong. As well as cheating on her boyfriend, Harry, she was spending some quality time with her friends and brothers enemy but there was nothing she thought she could get blamed for. He might be disliked by her close friends and family but he hadn't done wrong to her so she didn't see why she shouldn't have a nice friendly chat with him.
She walked by his side while he led her up the stairs to the highest floor of the Astronomy Tower. Everything was starting to get real now between her and Draco and as well as being exciting, it was just that more scary. She felt so guilty since she woke up that morning because she didn't know whether what she was doing was acceptable. On one hand she shouldn't be alone with a guy that everyone dislikes but on the other, she felt like he's been misunderstood all this time and all he needs is someone to keep him on his feet and Ginny so desperately wanted to be that person. This relationship with Draco was nothing like her relationship with Harry and it felt so good to be around someone who actually cared about her personality and character rather than just her looks. She wasn't saying that Harry only cared about her looks but it's every time he would flatter her, he would only talk about her hair or her nice body. Sometimes, not always, she would feel as though a pretty girl like her was all that was needed for Harry since he already had fame, good lucks and talent. Every week or so, a new girl would come in her way and ask her what it was like being the girlfriend of Harry Potter, the guy who single-handedly stumped Voldemort when he was just a baby. Ginny didn't see what was so admirable about Harry when that event occurred since it was Lily's doing and not Harry's. The longer she dated Harry, she felt more like a toy rather than a human being and it hurt her. It was only times when she was with Draco that she actually felt as if someone cared that she existed and she had to admit that it was one of the best feelings in the world.
She looked to Draco, who was walking at her side, and noticed just how much he made her smile with his cute grin, his lovely eyes and his tall lean frame. As they walked up the winding spiral staircase to the high floors of the Astronomy tower, they heard voices that gradually got louder till they recognised who was speaking.
'Hermione, you've been revising for weeks now. Put that book down and let's talk about Ginny because I'm starting to get the feeling she wants to break up with me' whispered Harry.
'Look Harry, maybe I'm not the right person to talk to about this. If you feel as if there's something wrong then maybe it'd be better if you talked to her yourself' suggested Hermione.
'She's been mentioning Malfoy ever since yesterday. I saw them talking in the library but by the time I went to go see what they were talking about, he was already leaving so I went and hid, god knows why. I wasn't sure about asking Ginny in case she thought I was spying on her. I don't know what's going on between them but Malfoy's starting to really annoy me. I get the feeling that he's trying to talk to Ginny to find out things about me' mumbled Harry.
Ginny couldn't help but feel angrier at the minute. If he had seen her and Draco talking, why had he just listened in and left her alone? Of all the things he could have done, he could have, at the very least, talked to her about it instead of Hermione. She was concerned that his worry seemed to be Draco talking to her about possibly him rather than Draco trying to trouble her.
'Maybe we should find a better place to talk' whispered Draco in her ear. 'Do you wanna-'
'-do what?' interrupted Harry who was walking down the staircase with Hermione to suddenly face Ginny and Draco. 'What are you doing with Ginny?'
'It's none of your business, Potter' snapped Draco.
'Well she's my girlfriend, Malfoy, not yours' replied Harry. 'I get to choose whether she talks to you'
'Actually, I get to choose. I'm not your house elf, Harry. If I want to talk to Draco then I certainly will and I don't know why you mind'
'Of course I mind. This is Malfoy and he's just a little bitch' snapped Harry, looking towards Draco.
'Be careful Potter unless you want to get kicked in the face' threatened Draco.
'C'mon Draco, let's just go' said Ginny who was tugging on his robe sleeves.
They walked down the spiral staircase leaving Harry and Hermione looking very taken-aback. Hermione was starting to realise what was going on between Ginny and Harry and for once, she wasn't on Harry's side. She gave one last glare to Harry, who was standing beside her looking furious, and walked down the stairs a couple of steps behind Ginny and Draco.
She didn't want to confront them just yet so as soon as she got to the bottom of the staircase, she walked out the back door of the tower to go meet Ron and tell him what just happened.
Draco and Ginny, on the other hand, walked out the front door and Ginny stopped as soon as she was a few steps outside the door. After a moment or two, Draco realised Ginny was not walking beside her and he looked behind to see her lost in thought.
'What happened, Ginny?' asked Draco.
'I don't know' replied Ginny.
'Do you wanna talk about it?' he asked.
'Not yet, maybe later. Right now, if it's okay, I just wanna be alone. Is it okay if we talk later?' mumbled Ginny.
'Of course it's alright, you don't have to ask' he said as he walked towards her.' Just remember that you can talk to me about anything any time, okay?'
'Yeah, thanks' replied Ginny as she took her books from him. 'I'll speak to you in a while, I promise'
And with that promise, she turned back and walked towards the Gryffindor Common Room, leaving Draco standing alone in the cold winter snow feeling more forlorn than he ever was.