Draco was in the Library the first time he had a real conversation with Ginny.
He'd seen her from across the room, quietly looking through a shelf of books. Her eyes kept darting around, he wondered what she was worried would happen — or who she was worried about running into.
It had been a whole summer since the school found out she'd been the one to open the Chamber of Secrets. But it wasn't common knowledge that she'd fallen prey to Lord Voldemort. Those that should've cared had stopped asking if she was alright, but those that only judged her persevered. Draco had noticed people snickering at her sometimes, or making a point of backing away from her. Their fellow students thought it'd been her evil plan to open the Chamber and unleash the monster within. Her punishment, though unknown, was often a topic of conversation.
Draco felt a pang of guilt whenever he looked at her. His father should've never given her that diary. The people torturing her over it now, well, Draco felt he deserved their attention more than she did. It was his father…
When he quietly approached her in the stacks, she jumped a little. Her eyes swirled with questions, and she stood defensively. She knew who gave her that diary.
"I'm sorry," he said first, holding up his hands in surrender.
He felt like there was fire burning through him as she considered him and his apology. Her lip quivered just slightly, but he knew not to underestimate it as a sign of weakness. She wasn't cowering in this stack, obsessively checking over her shoulder for tormentors. She was angry, and her guard was up. Draco wondered if she ever let her guard down anymore.
Draco could feel the crackling of her magic begging to be released.
It was in the Library that Draco learned to see Ginny as more than just a victim.
They were in the Slytherin boys' dorms the first time Ginny was able to open herself up to Draco.
Tears streamed silently down the angles of his face as he spoke about his fears regarding Voldemort's possible return. It was only a few nights before the first task in the Triwizard Tournament, and they were sitting across from each other on his bed. Like most everyone else, Draco knew that something nefarious was happening with Harry being chosen as a fourth champion.
He confided in her about the conversations he'd overheard at the Manor, and she tentatively reached for his hand, encasing it with her own smaller ones. She was terrified, of course. She didn't know if Voldemort would know about her experiences with his diary or the conversations she'd shared with his sixteen year old self.
What surprised her was the fear she felt reflected in Draco's steel grey eyes.
"Tom Riddle was my best friend first year," she admitted, not able to meet his gaze. "I would've done anything for him."
She expected him to pull back, to turn that fear he felt onto her. She definitely didn't expect him to pull her into his arms and hold her.
Ginny tensed, and Draco pulled away a little to look into her eyes. An apology fell from his lips, and she shook her head.
"I'm sorry," she said, "I have a hard time being touched, but…" Her voice drifted off into silence as she stared at the boy with his arms open to her. Ginny's heart beat wildly in her chest, pounding loudly in her ears. "But I want to…," she finished, finally, grasping at his shirt and pulling him back to her.
It was in the Slytherin boys' dorms that Ginny saw Draco as a safe place for the first time.