That morning, Ginny woke up with a horrible headache. It felt like a whole herd of angry hippogriffs were stomping around in her brain. She slowly sat up and groaned in pain. The room felt like it was spinning and her stomach was threatening to throw last night's meal.

Trying to ignore her pain, she stood up and almost fell back down again. Whimpering softly, the teenager tried again and managed to not crumple to the floor. Somehow she made her way to the bathroom with her school clothes and robe to change into.

She was already changed before she remembered that it was the weekend, and therefore there were no classes. Growling with frustration, she pulled her school uniform off and changed into a comfortable pair of jogging pants and sweat shirt. Not bothering to put her hair up, she slowly made her way downstairs where she found Ron and Harry in a heated discussion.

Curious, Ginny slowly sank to the bottom step of the stairs and listened closely. Their conversation made her whish she had simply charged into the room and not eavesdropped.

"I'm telling you, she's been acting really weird lately. I mean she's always been a little weird, but even more so now than usual. Like last night! She totally blew up at me for no reason!" Harry said, throwing his hands up in the air in defeat.

Ron shook his head slowly. "You need to tell her Harry. Trust me mate, you do not want to let this go on, and have her find out before you can explain. I've been on the receiving end of one of her bat boogey hexes. She's bloody scary when she gets mad."

Ginny frowned slightly. What did Ron want Harry to tell her? What was going on?

"I know, I know! I just can't face her yet. The way she is now, I don't know how she would react. She's always been a little. . . .I don't know. Obsessed with me? I just don't want to hurt her," Harry admitted in a low tone.

Ginny's breath caught as she heard his last comment about her being obsessed with him. She wasn't obsessed! She was in love with him! But, apparently, he didn't feel the same way about her.

She stood up silently and backed up a few steps before coming back down, making sure to be as loud as she could. "Hey Harry! Ron. What's up?" she asked brightly, a forced smile on her face. The two older boys gulped and paled considerably. "Uh. . . .nothing. Nothing at all. So, what are you doing today?" Harry asked her in a hurry. Ginny narrowed her eyes at him. So, he was going to lie to her?

"Are you sure you have nothing to tell me Harry?" she asked pointedly. Harry shook is head violently, several times. Ron's eyes widened slightly. He knew better than to lie to his little sister. Harry, on the other hand, apparently didn't.

"Oh, well alright. I'm going to head to breakfast now. . . ," she replied. Now wasn't the time to kill him. Not yet. Soon though. He had his chance, and he chose to lie to her. She valued honesty above all.

After a few more seconds of strained conversation, she left the commons room and went directly to the Great Hall for breakfast. She walked with her head down the entire way, not wanting anyone to see her eyes, shiny from barely suppressed tears. What Malfoy had said at the Quidditch pitch was true. Harry was only baby-sitting her for Ron. He didn't really care about her.

Her pace increased until she was almost running. Not looking where she was going, she accidentally bumped into something big and warm, sending them both to the floor.

"Oof!" she heard from under her. Curious, she looked down at what she was laying on. Pale platinum hair and silver grey eyes stared back at her. She opened her mouth to say something, but only a soft squeak came out. Malfoy glared up at her and started trying to push her off him.

"Oh! I'm so sorry! I wasn't looking where I was going. Sorry, so sorry," she rambled, hastily standing up and pulling him with her. He brought a slender hand up to rub the back of his head slowly. "Ouch," he muttered, wincing as he touched a tender spot. Ginny bit her bottom lip and looked away.

Malfoy glanced at her face and noticed tear trails running down her pale face. Her silky red hair was stuck to her wet cheek, and his hand itched to brush it away. Whoa! Where did that come from? Just a few seconds ago, he was ready to hex her for knocking him over. Now, he wanted to caress her cheek?

Ginny suddenly heard footsteps behind her and turned around, only to see Ron and Harry walking up. No! She couldn't let them see her like this. Especially not with Malfoy! Making a snap decision, she quickly tugged the pale haired teenager into a shadowy alcove, where Harry and Ron wouldn't see them well enough to identify them.

Malfoy let out a soft yelp as she jerked him by his robes into the alcove. He had been jerked around too many times in the past few days for his tastes. His poor robes couldn't take all the abuse. They were expensive after all! Probably more money than the Weaselette had ever seen in her entire life actually.

Suddenly, he realized what she was doing and hastily turned towards her, so that the approaching Gryffindors wouldn't see his face and recognize him. If they saw him with the Weaselette, with her crying and all, then they were bound to jump him or something. Hmph. Talk about unfair assumptions! Thankfully, Harry and Ron merely glanced over their hidden spot in the shadows before continuing on down the hall to breakfast.

Malfoy let out the breath he didn't know he was holding. Then he realized just how close he was to Ginny and his breath caught once more. They stood almost nose to nose, her hands pressing against his chest from where she had grabbed his robes.

She gasped as she looked into his smoldering grey eyes. Her brain stopped functioning as he stared down at her, a strange look on his face. Their breath mingled in the air between them. His scent overwhelmed her senses, making her feel something she had never felt before.

Before she could do something she knew she would regret, she hastily pushed him away from her and hurried on past him with her head down. Malfoy stared after her, a foreign emotion pulsing in his chest.

What just happened?