Chapter twenty Four

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Ginny fell down, hard. Before Draco could stop himself he extended a hand to her.

Pansy's snickering faded and her eyes narrowed. The hoard of faithful Slytherin bitches behind her looked at her in confusion. Pansy glared at Draco. She was still with Hermione but she knew the importance of playing by the rules, at least for now. With Snape in charge and the Slytherins reigning supreme, only their controlled arrogance was enough to keep the others at bay.

Ginny looked up at him and shook her head, almost impercetably.

Damnit, he thought. He was tired of this game.

"Oh, sorry," he drawled loudly. "Weasleys are used to the dirt, aren't they?"

Ginny gave the slightest smile and Pansy's own smirk redoubled in size.

"Leave me alone, Malfoy," Ginny snapped but Draco could see the laughter flickering in her eyes. It pained him to see it there. This was just a game to her. It wasn't for him. It hurt him to say these things to her.

"Why should I?" he demanded, wanting the truth for once. "Your protectors are gone, little girl, or hadn't you noticed? Potter gone and that over protective oaf of a brother of yours. Just who will keep your nightmares at bay?"

Something flickered in her eyes as she stared up at him. Despite the role she knew she had to play, Pansy felt like slapping her friend.

He extended a hand and this time she took it. He pulled her up sharply. She stumbled and for moment pressed against his chest.

"Fourth corridor, Little Red Riding Hood," he breathed into her hair.

She was tense for a moment longer then relaxed, pushing him away. A fierce blush was creeping up her face. He smiled down at her then turned away.

He wanted her to be safe. Hopefully she would take his hint. This year was not going to be an easy one for either of them and while he pretended that he wanted her to have a safe haven, what he really wanted was for her to be safe...with him.

"God in heavan, you have it bad," Pansy snapped. The hall was empty save for them and he turned in surprise to see her keeping pace beside him. He shrugged.

"So be it," he said.

888

Ginny stood in the hallway, feeling quite like a fool. She knew Draco didn't mean for her to feel this way, but she did anyway. Did he not realize how insanely huge this corridor was?

She sighed and was about to sit down when Draco came around the corner. Caught in a half crouch, she blushed, sure she looked elegant. He just smiled.

"Figured I'd find you wandering around," he said, coming closer. "Here, let me show you."

He put an arm around her waist and turned her to face a portrait of a beautiful fair haired woman who was wearing a long red cape. The woman smiled down at Ginny.

"Who is she?" Ginny asked.

"She doesn't talk. We call her Little Red Riding Hood. I can tell you her story if you like."

Ginny nodded, transfixed by the woman's beauty.

"She came from noblilty and was the most beautiful woman around. Everyone who met her instantly loved her. She was kind and gentle and one day she fell in love. But he was a man she could never marry, a We- a werewolf. She loved him with every part of her but when her family found out they had him killed. He was burned at the stake. She was devastated and took to wearing a red cape in his memory. Every day she would disappear into the woods and return at sunset. No one knew what she did in the woods but one day she stopped coming back. They searched for her but never found her. All they found was her red cape."

Ginny looked up at the smiling woman and wondered what had happened.

"Little Red Riding Hood," Draco announced and to Ginny's surprise, the portrait swung open, revealing a beautifully furnished room.

"The Head Boy's rooms," Draco said. "Ginny...This year is going to be hard and I want you to know you can come here any time you need to. These doors will always be open to you. No one else can get in here but me."

Ginny turned to him, trying to read what she saw in his face. "Thank you, Draco."

He smiled and took her hand. "Now, let me give you the grand tour."

The rooms were huge and had every comfort available in the wizarding world. Ginny gushed over the potions books that covered entire walls and fell in love with the large bathroom. They talked for hours, as dinner was delivered by house elves.

Neither of them mentioned the war going on around them, outside these halls or Dumbledore's death and the small package in Ginny's bag remained untouched.

Finally it was curfew and Ginny went into the bathroom to brush her teeth. To her surprise, there was a pale blue tanktop and matching shorts laid out for her in the bathroom as well as an ivory hairbrush and all the things a girl might need to get ready in the morning. She fingered the soft silk of the tanktop and debated. She knew she shouldn't really stay the night but Draco made her feel safe.

The shorts were much shorter than Ginny thought or else she had grown. She felt like she was showing a lot of leg as she shuffled across the carpet towards the master bed. Draco was lying on it already, half naked in a pair of dark green pajama bottoms. He was staring at the canopy with a faint frown but he smiled when he saw her.

"You're going to find it hard to get back to your common room dressed like that."

"I was hoping I could stay here for the night," Ginny asked quietly.

"Of course," Draco said, moving over to let her on.

She crawled onto the bed and curled up next to him. He darkened the room with a flick of his wand and after a minute, she could hear his breathing slow and deepen with sleep. She crawled closer to him on the bed and rested her head on his bare chest. He didn't stir, still sound asleep.

As sleep drifted up to claim her, Ginny thought, This is where I belong.

The thought jarred sleep right out of her and she sat up abruptly. Draco's breathing caught for a second then he continued, still undisturbed. Ginny stared down at him, horrified as she realized...

I love him.

(A/N: Ahhhh! :3 Who saw that coming? Well, you guys knew she loved him. I did enjoy moving to just Draco's thoughts for a while there. From here until almost the end of the fic, the story is going to be GInny's side. That's not to say Ginny's POV just Ginny's thoughts more than Draco's.