Chapter 7:

Ginny had been mostly avoiding Malfoy. There'd been some insults thrown across the classroom, but nothing out of the ordinary.

It was a Tuesday when Ginny, Astoria and Pansy were sitting in the Great Hall, talking over lunch when Amber came to them in a hurry.

Amber: We're invited over to the Slytherin house party!

Pansy and Astoria, both in Slytherin, looked at each with a confused face.

Pansy and Astoria: Obviously.

Amber: Yes, okay, you two already are, but now me and Ginny are, too.

Amber squealed out of excitement.

Ginny: Why?

Amber: Draco came to me this morning, apologized to me and told me the reason he did what he did was because he was dealing with some stuff. Y'know, I think it has something to do with his parents in Azkaban and all-

Pansy: Amber!

Astoria: You can't say that!

Amber: What? It's the truth, isn't it? Anyway, he told me that and then told me I should come to the Slytherin house party on Saturday and to bring all of my friends.

Amber looked expectantly at Ginny.

Ginny: What?

Amber: C'mon, Gin. Please, can you come?

Ginny looked over at where Malfoy was sitting. Draco looked at her, pouted his lip and put his hands together, to make it look like he was praying.

Ginny immediately looked away at Amber.

Ginny: Absolutely not.

Ginny began packing up her stuff. His stare was driving her mad.

Amber: Please, Ginny! Please!

Amber took Ginny's hand, but she pulled back immediately.

Ginny: I said no, Amber.

And with that, Ginny left the Great Hall in a hurry.

As Ginny sat in class later the same day, drawing squiggles on the empty pages of her textbook, a pair of steel grey eyes were watching her every move. Draco would occasionally watch her hands. Her slim, skillful fingers twirled the pencil around when she took a second to gather her thoughts before drawing again. Ginny's face scrunched up in concentration.

As the bell rang through Hogwarts, indicating the end of class, Ginny looked up from her paper and slowly started packing her stuff. As she never followed the big crowd, the teachers were used to Ginny staying behind a bit. They trusted her enough to not tear the place apart without supervision. Most of the time the teachers joined the students, leaving Ginny alone. Draco, being the observing boy he lately was, had also noticed this. And so it "accidently" happened that Draco stayed behind too. Ginny, as always, was slowly collecting her papers, too indulged in her own mind to notice the boy behind her. Turning around, she almost dropped her papers due to a grinning and very much alone Draco Malfoy, leaning against a desk.

Ginny: Jesus! Malfoy, are you fucking mad? You can't sneak up to someone like that.

Draco grinned at her.

Ginny: Seriously, Malfoy. What the fuck is your problem?

Ginny made her way to the door only to get stopped by Draco.

Draco: Wow, wow. Easy.

Ginny: Easy? You dump Amber, make her feel worthless and just when she's getting better, you start to show interest again? What's your fucking problem? You just fucking stay away from her, okay?

Ginny tried to leave the classroom again, but Draco grabbed her wrist, holding her back.

Draco: No, okay. You can't blame me for this. You were the one that asked me to apologize to Amber. So I did.

Ginny wanted to defend herself but didn't know what to say so yanked her wrist from Draco's grip and left the classroom. Draco, however, wasn't finished yet. He went after her.

Draco: You want me to stay away from Amber?

Ginny kept walking, and Draco kept chasing.

Draco: You are not going to ignore me, Ginny!

He finally caught up with her and pushed her up against the corridor wall. Her put his hands on either side of her shoulders.

Draco: You want me to amber leave alone? One date.

Ginny scoffed.

Ginny: Un-fucking-believable.

Draco: One date and I won't even look at Amber's direction anymore. Ever.

Realizing Draco was being serious, she finally looked him in the eye. Ginny swallowed hard, not having realized just how close their faces were. Her heartbeat sped up and she started breathing fast. Draco eyes wandered over her face. Occasionally, finding their way to her lips. God, how he wanted to kiss her.

Ginny: Astronomy tower. Friday, 11pm. You get half an hour.

Seeing Draco's surprised face, she used his moment of weakness to push his arms away, and hurried down the corridor. Draco didn't follow her. Instead he just stood there, when finally he let out a laugh and ran his fingers through his hair.