A/N: I am so so so sorry for taking so long to update. I know, it's been almost a month! Go ahead and yell at me in your review (because I know you're going to review). I had a huge amount of end-of-the-year homework piled on, so I didn't have time to really write, and my sister came home from college, and we had to catch up and all that. So. Moving on.

Disclaimer: HP doesn't belong to me (though my birthday is in two weeks. That would be a great present…)

Dedication: This is dedicated to Bunny08, my 101st reviewer. You rule! Moving on to the actual story…

Twenty minutes later, Ginny was back in the Gryffindor common room, sitting in the big chair and staring blankly at the fire a house elf had coaxed back to life. Once in a while, she raised her hand to her lips as if checking if the scene earlier that morning had really happened. Sure enough, her lips felt a little swollen. Or maybe she was just overreacting. Or she was crazy. Or overreacting and crazy. And hopefully hallucinating, too, she thought, feeling slightly hysteric. Blaise had left her wit ha slow wink and a "I've been wanting to do that for forever, you have no idea."

"Hey, Ginny." Hermione had just come down the stairs from the girls' dormitory. She didn't sound happy, exactly, but she didn't seem devastated like she had last night, either.

"Hermione," Ginny said. She thought she sounded a bit crazy, too. "Am I insane?"

"Um, what?"

Ginny was still staring into the fire. "Do you think I've gone mad?"

"What brought this on?"

Ginny touched her lips again. "Please just answer the question."

Hermione was looking a little freaked out now. "I think you act a little mad sometimes, but I don't think you're crazy. Honestly, Ginny, though, why?"

"Either I did something crazy, which is probable, he did something crazy, which is pretty close to definite, or I'm hallucinating, which, unfortunately, isn't very likely."

"I've never heard someone hope they were crazy," Hermione said. "And, wait a minute. Who is 'he'?"

"I don't think you really want to know."

"I really want to know. I told you about Draco, and I felt loads better afterwards," Hermione pleaded. But she made a face when she said Draco's name. Ginny guessed that Hermione still wasn't convinced that she was worth his time.

"Yeah, you told me. But this is different. Kind of. I have no idea what to do."

"Ginny, you're scaring me. This isn't like you. Now tell me what happened." Hermione sat down next to her friend. Ginny got an odd feeling that they were doing the same scene over again, only this time with the roles reversed.

Ginny took a deep breath, thinking, in and out. Chill. "okay. I guess I'd better start from the beginning so it makes at least kind of sense." Hermione nodded, encouraging. "okay. So I woke up really early, and I just felt like going out, so, you know, I just kind of left. I was on the third floor, in the corridor with the tiles. You know the one I mean?"

"Yeah," prodded Hermione.

"Well, I kind of forgot about shoes, so I was out in just my socks," Ginny continued.

Hermione laughed. "Ginny!"

Ginny sort of half-grinned, too. "Yeah. So I was sliding around, acting like a stupid ditzy first year, and I kind of crashed into someone." Hermione raised her eyebrows, but didn't say anything. "And he caught me, so I didn't fall, but then…um…he kind of wouldn't let me go, either."

Hermione's eyes widened and her hands flew to her mouth. "Oh my god, Ginny. Did he-"

"Don't worry, Hermione. He didn't hurt me," Ginny reassured her friend. Her hand went to touch her lips again. "Anyways, his arm was around my waist- oh, wow. That sounds really bad. But don't worry. And he has behind me, so I couldn't tell who it was, which was really frustrating."

"How did he keep you there? You're the strongest girl I know," Hermione said.

Ginny grimaced. "I'm just going to say that it is unfair how strong some people are. To continue, he was talking to me, asking what I was doing and whatnot-"

"Isn't that kind of uncivilized?" Hermione interrupted. "He's talking you while not letting you see who he is, restraining you, and practically insulting you?"

"Believe me, I made my feelings on that pretty clear," Ginny muttered. "But I made him promise that if I told hem what I was doing before dawn without shoes on, he would tell me who he was."

"And did he?"

"Hold on, I'm getting there. Well, he turned me around and…um,"

"Ginny," Hermione began warningly.

"He kissed me." Ginny's hand traced her jawline where Blaise had kissed and went back to her lips. Again.

Hermione's eyes widened. "Oh good god! What did you do? No, wait, who was it?"

Ginny winced slightly. "Um, Blaise Zabini."

Now Hermione's eyes looked like dinner plates. "No way. What did you do?"

"Well." Ginny was feeling a bit ashamed. "He was a really good kisser."

"No way!" Hermione almost squealed. "No bloody way. Do you just let him kiss you? Or… did you kiss him back?"

"Umm…"

"Don't worry, Ginny. You know I would never gossip if you did. Look at the relationship I'm in. Well, sort of in at the moment."

"Okay, I kissed him back." Ginny was blushing furiously by this point.

"Oh. My. God. That's amazing. Then what?"

"Uh, he just said, 'I've been wanting to do that forever,' and he left."

"You're kidding. No apology. Nothing?"

Ginny shook her head.

"Wow."

"Yeah. So if you think you can't face Draco today, I definitely can't face Blaise."

"No kidding. But I know you better than that. You can't let him change your whole life. It's hard to go and face it, but you got me out there last time, so I'm getting you out there this time. And you can't starve, so yes, you are going to breakfast."

"Do I have to?"

"Yes. You don't have to say a word to him until he talks to you. Which, trust me, is way easier than actually having to confront someone. I should know. Now come on. I'm starving."

Hermione dragged a very reluctant Ginny out of the portrait hole and down to the Great Hall.

xxxxxxxxxxx

Draco and Blaise had just left the Great Hall when Hermione and Ginny finished their breakfast and stood up. Neither of them really wanted to leave and risk being caught by some certain Slytherin boys, but they had to leave or be late for class.

Hermione didn't even notice that Ginny wasn't with her anymore when a hand grabbed her wrist and pulled her into a surprisingly large alcove. She almost yelled, but when she saw who had grabbed her, she gulped instead. She wasn't entirely sure she was really ready to face Draco yet.

Ginny definitely noticed she wasn't with Hermione anymore, mainly because of the hand encircling her wrist.

"Hey, Ginny," said Blaise, grinning teasingly. "I see you have shoes on."

Ginny blushed. "Yeah."

"Come on." He dragged her after him.

"Hermione," Draco began, "I thought about what you said, and-" But just then, they were interrupted.

"Hey, this is my spot!" Blaise Zabini told Draco loudly. Hermione was interested to see that his arm was around Ginny's waist, and Ginny was very red.

"Save me," she mouthed to Hermione.

"Sorry," Hermione whispered back. "You're going to have to save yourself. If you really want to."

Draco cut their mouthed conversation short, drawling, "I think that for what you have in mind, Zabini, you're going to want a smaller space." He was looking at Blaise's hand on Ginny's waist. Ginny went bright scarlet.

"Hmmm. You have a point," Blaise commented. "Let's go, Ginny."

"What kind of friend are you?" Ginny yelled at Hermione as she was dragged off to places unknown. She suspected somewhere small, dark, and inaccessible. But she really hoped her suspicions were going to be proven wrong.

Draco turned back to Hermione. "As I was saying, I thought about what you said."

"Yeah?" said Hermione uneasily.

"And I guess… I don't think you would lie to me."

"Oh, god, thank you, Draco." Hermione couldn't believe how relieved she felt.

"But,"

"But?" The unease was stealing back into her.

"If you ever go near Fred Weasley again, consider yourself dumped, okay?"

"That won't be a problem." She smiled, and kissed him.

As it turned out, Ginny's suspicions were proven correct. The alcove was in a deserted corridor, dark enough that she could only just see Blaise's face, and so small it wasn't possible for her to be more than about six inches away from him at any given time.

Blaise leaned back against the side of the tiny space, grinning. "I guess I should probably apologize for this morning, but I just can't bring myself to be sorry."

"Um, that's okay, I guess," said Ginny, feeling a bit breathless.

"Is it really okay, or are you just saying that it's okay?" he asked, leaning a little closer to her. Actually, he could only lean a very little closer to her. The space they were in was so small that they were either touching or inches apart.

"Uh, a little of both, I think," she replied.

"Does that mean it would be okay if I kissed you again?" he asked hopefully.

"Don't you think that this relationship is progressing a bit fast for two people who've only acknowledged that the other exists this morning?"

He shrugged. "Maybe. But who cares, really?"

"Do I even get a say in this?"

"Well, sure. But I was still planning on kissing you."

"Oh. Really."

"Yep. But I would feel better if I wasn't forcing you against your will."

"Oh. Okay." Her voice was higher pitched than usual. "Then go ahead, I guess."

Fifteen minutes later, Ginny was heading back to the Gryffindor common room, feeling a bit dazed. And dizzy. And not really sure she was actually going the right way. This was confirmed when a hand grabbed her elbow and Hermione said, "Ginny, the common room is that way."

"Oh," Ginny said, blinking. "Right. I know. I was just… turning around." Even if Ginny couldn't see her friend, she know that Hermione was rolling her eyes as she guided Ginny down the corridor.

"Right, Ginny. Sure. I bet you can't even see strait."

"Hey!" Ginny protested. "Not fair! How can you tell, anyways?"

"You're drunk," Hermione told her. "Totally high, drunk, and drugged."

"Whatever!" Ginny knew that Hermione was right, but there was no way she was going to admit it.

"I'm right and you know it. You must have had a good time back there… with Blaise."

Ginny went bright red. "Thanks to you," she snapped. "You could have saved me."

"And have you miss that opportunity? I would never!" Hermione smiled sweetly.

"Loser. I bet you had a good time with Draco yourself."

Hermione only went slightly pink. "So what if I did? You were a bit preoccupied."

"Can we change the subject?? Ginny asked. She was walking a bit straighter now. "I don't want to think about it."

Hermione laughed. "You could tell him to leave you alone. But somehow, I don't think that's really what you want."

"Just shut up, okay?"

Hermione grinned even wider. "Yes, ma'mn!" she said in mock seriousness. Ginny glared and turned on her heel to storm away from the common room.

A/N: Again, I'm sorry this took so long! I also started yet another story, but it's not on here yet. It'll be amazing though! Please review! I'm working for 115 reviews. Come on people, you can do it! Also, I'm begging you to read Green and Silver Silk and Project Animagus. Project Animagus should appeal to you, so come on! It's a funny story! I've only got one review! I'll try to update faster this time, but reviews will spur me on.

Love you all!

-k