Take me Home

Lucius had looked concerned about something. James had been expecting the smug Lucius. The smug Lucius was easier to handle. But that other Lucius, the one with distant but troubled eyes had disturbed him. The fact was that James couldn't stop thinking about him and the meaning of his eyes. A part of him needed to know what was going on while the other part kept repeating that Lucius wasn't trustworthy, that he was just one of Voldemort's pawns.

With a sigh, he tossed and turned again, almost kicking the blankets out of bed from frustration. His body was strangely hot, like a sudden fever had taken over him. Thinking of Lucius always had that effect on him. He didn't know why he felt that way after all those years. It wasn't normal. It should have something to do with the fact that a part of his soul was in Voldemort's wand. Maybe the dark side of him had stayed and his consciousness had been taken away.

To cool his head, he got off from the bed to take a stroll. Gelmina would probably scold him by saying that Lucius had given her strict orders not to let James leave the cottage in such improper hours. James would laugh at her by saying that he wasn't the kind of man who accepted Malfoy's orders, and so life would go on. He was used to Gelmina's stressed behaviour at that point. He sometimes found it funny, but most of the times it was just annoying. Lucius was the one to blame for that since he was her master.

When James stepped into the living room, he noticed that the fireplace was burning. That could only mean one thing. Someone was coming through it. Three seconds later, two people landed on the floor. One of them was a blond woman with beautiful eyes who he recognized as Narcissa Malfoy. The other person was Lucius, lying unconscious at her feet. James gasped. It was much later that he understood why he felt as if all the air around had suddenly vanished, making it almost impossible to breathe.

"You are Narcissa, right? What happened?" James asked quickly, kneeling beside Lucius.

Narcissa looked at him as if she had been taken by surprise.

"Oh. I didn't expect you to be up this late," she explained quietly, her eyes shimmering. "Where's Gelmina?"

Before James could open his mouth, the always serviceable Gelmina entered the room followed by Dobby.

"What happened to him?" James insisted, annoyed that Narcissa wasn't paying attention to him.

She made a gesture with her hands for him to wait and gave orders to the house-elves to accommodate Lucius in his room. Using magic, the house-elves took Lucius away under James' vigilant eyes. After they were gone he turned to Narcissa again and asked the same question. This time, as she carefully inspected his reasons, she answered him.

"He had an asthma attack, a very strong one. But I think he'll be fine."

"He still has those?"

"Oh, yes. He still has those, especially when he's feeling trapped."

"Trapped?"

Narcissa sighed and sat on the couch staring at her shaking hands. "He killed Goyle today."

"What?" James whispered.

"Usually I would be disturbed by the idea, but somehow I can't feel sorry for the bastard."

"You're talking about Geoffrey Goyle? The one who used to hang around with Malfoy at school?"

"Yes, that's the one."

"I thought they were on the same side."

"They were. But I guess something is happening to Lucius." She glanced at him strangely. "Goyle's son did something terrible to our son..." her voice failed. "He has poisoned Draco with some kind of potion that no one knows the cure to. I found out about it just yesterday and I went to confront Lucius. I was convinced that he was the one responsible for it, but when I arrived at the Mansion, I found a man that I did not know. It was Lucius, but somehow it wasn't."

"What do you mean?"

"He was in a state of shock, mumbling. It was hard for me to understand what he was saying but when I did I found out he had killed Goyle because he refused to tell him where Gregory was."

"Gregory?"

"Goyle's son." She made a gesture with her hands. "Anyway, Crabbe was there, too, and with the help of two Death Eaters they took Lucius to Voldemort. It turned out that Voldemort knew nothing about the poisoning, but he found everything rather interesting. Because of Goyle's murder, Lucius was considered a traitor to put under trial, but he ran away before they could lock him up. When he got to the Mansion, he found out that the Aurors were looking for him. They wanted to arrest him for Goyle's murder. And Lucius snapped. I found him in a secret room of the Mansion, and if I hadn't been there at that exact moment to help him..." Narcissa stopped abruptly. She didn't want to think about that. She'd always hated Lucius, and had even wished his death, but Draco cared for him and her son, who was already suffering a lot, would be devastated if Lucius died.

James touched her hand in support and she looked at him, stunned to see him right in front of her, alive. She hadn't thought much about James, although Sirius had told her all about him. It was amazing to see him there, in Lucius' precious cottage.

"How is Draco?" he asked gently.

"I don't know. Sirius went to Hogwarts to have a look at him for me. I'm going there, too. I just needed to see Lucius first." She stared at her feet and smiled feebly. "Did you know that Sirius and I had an affair while I was married to Lucius?" James shook his head while she went on, "We did. And for a long time I thought that Draco could be his son."

"With all due respect, I saw Draco and he has Lucius written all over his face." James blushed slightly as the remembered their encounter and the kiss.

"I know. But a girl could hope, right?"

"I guess by your tone of voice that Lucius was a terrible husband and father."

"He wasn't that terrible, just... distant. But what could be expected from a guy like him? Lucius' father was a cruel man, probably crueller than Voldemort, if that's possible. No one taught Lucius how to love. And since our married was arranged, I never really cared to understand him. In fact, I hated him every day of my life."

"It's hard to love him. He doesn't make things easy... for anyone," James said in a significant tone of voice.

"Oh. Ooh."

It was as if a thunderbolt had suddenly struck Narcissa and she finally understood a lot of things about Lucius, especially an episode, sixteen years ago, when he had been desperate to reach James a day before he'd died. At the time she had thought that he was disappointed for not being the one to kill James, but she realised now that it was quite the opposite. Lucius had tried to warn James that he was in danger and when he'd failed, he'd felt devastated for months.

James, she noticed, didn't seem to realise the magnitude of his sentence. Did he know just how much he had given away by saying that? Did he realise what he really felt? She didn't know for sure if she was getting the signals right, but she had the strong feeling that not only James loved Lucius but her husband loved James as well. That knowledge made her hope for Lucius' redemption.

"I'm glad that you're here, James. Welcome back."

"Thanks."

Narcissa shot him a meaningful look that James didn't comprehend or he preferred not to.

"I have to go now," she said, "Could you take care of Lucius? I don't think he'll get worse but someone needs to keep an eye on him. Gelmina knows what to do in case he doesn't get any better. You don't have to worry. Dobby also knows a lot about Lucius."

"I know. Dobby told me a few things. Don't worry about Lucius."

"Oh, I'm not worried." She smiled. "You're here, right?"

James frowned at that, not knowing what to make of the subtle insinuation behind her words, but didn't reply. Long after she was gone, he found himself lying beside Lucius in bed, admiring how peaceful he looked when he was sleeping and paying attention to every little detail of his face, from the long eyelashes to those luscious lips that he had once tasted. Many thoughts crossed his mind, from hate to pity. He thought about his son and wondered if he knew about Draco. Then he thought about Draco and his Lucius-like posture. It was amazing how much Draco looked like Lucius. But even though they looked the same, James had the feeling that Draco didn't agree with his father's beliefs. Draco had the Malfoy's attitude but somehow he seemed to have a quality that most Malfoys didn't have. In his silver-blue eyes there was kindness. He wished that Dumbledore and the rest of the crew would be able to find a cure for Draco's poisoning soon.

James didn't blame Lucius for killing Goyle. He would have done the same thing for his son. A dark thought had been crawling in his head lately. A short, chubby figure used to sneak under his mind and try to get to the surface of his memories but something - probably James' fears - was blocking it. The figure reminded him of the worst betrayal that a man could suffer.

James shut his eyes tightly, not wanting to remember whatever it was. After a while, he fell asleep.

------------

Lucius woke up very slowly, yawning and stretching. He turned to the side and his hand met another. In his semi-conscious state of mind he thought that Narcissa had never had such strong hands. He thought better and came to the conclusion that the hand couldn't belong to Narcissa because his wife hadn't shared a bed with him in a long time. Not only that, but Narcissa had left him a few months ago.

The strong hand caressed him tenderly and he froze. His eyelashes flew open and he found a pair of blue eyes gazing at him sleepily.

"ARGH!" he shouted, making James jump from the bed.

"Jesus, Malfoy! Did you have to shout like that?" James complained, sitting on the edge of the bed.

Lucius opened his mouth to speak but not a sound came from it. He tried again without success. He was too surprised to say anything.

"Well, well, well," James sneered. "The great Lucius Malfoy is stunned and speechless!"

Lucius made such an offended expression that James couldn't help but laugh. Lucius mumbled something not so polite and he quickly recomposed himself. James didn't like the way the silver-blue eyes suddenly sparkled as if something very good had occurred to him.

"Well, Potter, if you hadn't caressed me, I wouldn't have reacted like that," Lucius sneered back, making James mad at the reply. "Honestly. The sight of your ugly face was enough to scare me to death and you had to touch me as well!"

"Ugly face? You didn't seem worried about my ugly face when you were lusting for me!" James retorted.

"That's because I wasn't lusting for your pretty face but for your body, moron!"

"Oh! So you admit that you lusted for me!" James exclaimed triumphantly.

"I never said I didn't!" Lucius sulked. "In fact, you were the one who had morals, Potter, not me! You lusted for me as well but your Gryffindor pride and stupidity would never admit that you desired a Slytherin, and not just any Slytherin but the sexiest and hardest to get of them all."

James rolled his eyes. "Oh, please! You're so full of yourself!"

"I'm adept to the saying that if no one exalts me, then I'll exalt myself."

"There's one word to describe you, Malfoy: V-A-I-N. Vain!"

"Shut up. What the bloody hell are you doing in my bed anyway?" Lucius looked around and frowned. "Even better: What the bloody hell am I doing here?"

"Your wife brought you."

"You mean my ex-wife," Lucius informed him coldly. "Why?"

"You killed Goyle and because of that Voldemort and the Ministry are after your head. You are officially an outlaw."

Lucius pale for a second and then he held up his chin high. James had always hated when he stuck up his nose like that.

"So?" Lucius shrugged.

"So? I'm not the one who had an asthma attack."

"And I'm not the one with half a soul," Lucius retorted as if he was a child.

He instantly regretted his words but didn't apologize.

"Are you sure?" James replied grimly.

Lucius sneered, "I guess we're even. You have only half of your soul and I have no soul at all."

"I'm glad we put things in perspective."

"Yes, we're both screwed up. You still didn't explain to me why you're here. And where's Narcissa?"

"She went to Hogwarts to see your son. I'm sorry about Draco. She told me what happened." James purposely avoided the first question.

"Yeah, that's my life. My life has been a living hell ever since I took my first breath." Lucius looked sad for a moment. "But the kid is tough. I'm sure he'll get over it. I'm actually glad Narcissa brought me here. I happen to have some very ancient Dark Magic books in the cottage's basement. Maybe there's a cure to Draco's poisoning in there."

"I should have known this place wasn't just for peaceful and quiet moments. You hide forbidden things here, right? Things you don't want the Ministry to confiscate."

"You're a genius, Potter. You're not going to tell anyone, are you?" Lucius smirked.

"Fuck you." James grumbled and then said softly, "I'll help you find it."

Lucius stared at him and said a quick 'thank you'.

"I also have a book for your problem, Potter."

"What do you mean?"

"I can call the missing part of your soul back from Voldemort's wand."

"How?"

"It's not a simple spell and it requires the help of a potion. Severus will have to help. I hope you don't mind."

"Like you care!"

"You're right, I don't!"

"Do you call him Severus? How intimate of you. Did you fuck him, too?"

Lucius raised an eyebrow. "Why do you care?"

"I don't!"

"Good!" Lucius stood up quickly. "You know what, Potter? You're still as annoying as ever!"

Lucius prepared himself to leave the room with his usual elegancy but he didn't expect to feel dizzy when his feet touched the cold floor. He tottered, his vision suddenly black. James enlaced him but Lucius tried to push him away, clearly not wanting to be touched by him. They fought for a while until Lucius gave up.

"I'm trying to help you!" James grumbled.

"I don't need your help!"

"I should have let you fall!"

"Why haven't you?"

They stared, only to realise how close their faces were. Their noses touched and their breath quickened. James closed his eyes, his mouth brushing Lucius'. Lucius didn't close his eyes. He was too busy watching James. It was amazed how James could lose control when they were together like that, only to ferociously deny what he was feeling later.

"Kiss me," he heard James whispered.

"No."

James' eyes flashed open. "Why not?"

"It's because you're not under Imperius. What's the fun in that?"

"Fuck you!"

"You would love that, wouldn't you?"

And before James could reply properly, Lucius' lips closed over his. James instantly reacted to it, pulling him closer and deepening the kiss. There was something about Lucius' kiss that pushed him to the edge of reason. It had never been soft and tender between them but rather rough and desperate. This time wasn't any different. The only difference was that Lucius was the first to pull away and not James, who stared at him with his eyes lost in a daze and his mind many miles away.

"You want me," Lucius stated, recognizing the same lust in James' eyes as many years ago.

"What makes you think of that?"

Lucius almost smiled. "Well, perhaps it's because I can feel your hard-on pressed against me."

"I'm not the only one, Malfoy. You're as excited as I am."

"Yes, but there's a difference between us."

"And what is it?"

"I can pull away whenever I want, Potter. The question is, can you?"

Lucius drew back, his eyes never leaving James. He wanted to stay but he knew he couldn't. It was as wrong to be with James at that moment as it had been all those years ago. They weren't made for each other. Lucius knew very well that his life would never be a fairy tale simply because fairy tales didn't exist. Not for him. His life was doomed to eternal loneliness. That was why he would step aside and risk losing something precious.

"Where are you going?" James asked.

"The sun hasn't risen yet. I'm going to sleep in another bedroom. This is yours now, right?"

"You don't have to."

"I do."

"Why?" James didn't want to sound anxious but he did.

"Because... you don't really want to follow the same path again, do you?"

Lucius tried to get out before James could reply but couldn't do it. James' next words paralysed him.

"What if it's not the same path? What if we find a new one right in the middle of the old?"

"It's too late for that, Potter."

There was a sad resignation in Lucius' voice, and James wished to contradict him but he couldn't. There were too many bruises between them, too many lies, too many things left unsaid. He was scared of his feelings as much as he had been in the past. And that was why he let Lucius go.

---------------

"So, let's review the plan again, shall we?"

It was the third time Harry had wanted to review the plan. Ron was tired of it already and so far they hardly had a plan at all. All Harry had done ever since he had wokehey had to save him fast. His ingenious plan consisted of three steps. The first one would be to send Pansy a message to meet him in Hogsmeade. Once there, he would try to convince her to help Draco. The second step was to brew a Polyjuice Potion and add a lock of her hair to it. And then there was the third step, that Ron had chills only to think about. Hermione would have to drink the potion and disguise herself as Pansy so she could fool Goyle and seduce him into telling her about the poisoning's cure.

From Ron's point of view, that was a lousy plan. Anyone with brains would know that.

"I don't like it, Harry," he said uncertainly. "I mean, I know that what's happening to Draco is awful, but this plan has so many flaws! Pansy, the bitch, won't help you. In fact, she might try to kill you instead! Have you thought of that? And make Hermione drink the Polyjuice Potion... Don't even go there! I would never let her do that!"

"You're not the boss of me, Ronald Weasley!" Hermione protested.

"But, Hermione, it's too dangerous! I don't want you in the same room with a junior lunatic Death Eater!"

"Harry thinks I can do it, right Harry?" she shot Harry a meaningful look.

"Yeah, I do. Besides, Hermione won't be alone, Ron. We will be watching the whole thing in my Invisibility cloak."

Ron crossed his arms, still not liking it. "You know it's a crazy and stupid idea."

"Ron..."

"No, Hermione!" Ron cut in harshly. "You are supposed to be the clever one!"

"But Draco is suffering so much," she said trying to convince him. "We have to do something to help him!"

"No, no, no!" Ron spoke up firmly. "The Polyjuice Potion takes a month to be ready! A bloody month!"

"Yes, but it's worth trying!" Hermione tried to argue. "We can do this!"

Ron knew why Hermione wanted to take part in that so much. She wanted to prove to herself that she could get over her first fiasco with the Polyjuice Potion when, instead of being transformed into Millicent Bulstrode, she had been transformed in something that resembled a cat. Ron couldn't let her do that to herself. They were blind with their own motives, and Ron could perfectly understand them, but he would bring them to reality no matter what.

"Hermione, sweetheart, do you remember what happened last time you took the Polyjuice potion? And Harry, are you out of your fucking mind? You know Pansy won't say anything to you. She hates you! If you write to her, she'll meet you only to kill you. Is that what you want? And you, Hermione! You don't know what Goyle can do to you! He's insane!"

Harry sighed, torn between his good sense and his need to do something. He knew Ron had made good points and that his plan had lots of flaws, but it was the only one he'd got. He needed to do something fast to help Draco. He couldn't bear to see him looking so lost and defeated, or acting like the old prick he used to be.

He didn't want to fight with Ron. He had already argued with Snape till the break of dawn.

"Listen, Harry, you said it yourself. Snape is taking care of it. I'm sure he'll come up with something."

"Snape? You're always saying that he is an incompetent bastard!" Hermione reminded him.

"Well..." Ron flushed slightly. "I say that because he's unfair to us! But he's not incompetent."

"All I know is that Draco needs our help. What are Snape and the others doing? Bloody nothing! They just sit and wait for an answer to drop from the sky!" Harry said, aggrieved. "I can't do that! I have to do something. The plan sucks! So what? Do you have a better idea?"

Ron looked upset. "Yes, I do as a matter of fact. Trust Snape!"

"That's not an option."

"Then what am I suppose to do? Watch you both commit suicide without doing anything?"

"The plan will work," Hermione stated.

"How the hell do you know?"

"Because I'm in it! How could it go wrong?" she said in a petulant voice that drove Ron mad.

"Merlin! What will I do with you two?" he stared at his girlfriend and at Harry and shook his head. "Dammit!"

"You don't have to take part in it," Harry remarked.

"The hell I don't! Do you really think I will abandon you? I won't, Harry. You're like a brother to me. You're even more a brother to me than my own brothers! I'll help you, even though I don't agree with it. Did you tell Snape about it?"

"Are you mad? Snape has already warned me to stay out of it. If I said something to him, he would give me a detention and then he'd tell Dumbledore, who would tell my father, and I would have to listen to both of their lectures." Harry grimaced. "We can't tell anyone about it. Not even Draco. And yes, that was a reminder for you, Hermione."

Hermione made a face. "I won't tell him, Harry. I'm not Parvati, you know?"

"But you sure like to hear her gossip," Harry reminded her.

"That's true," Ron smiled.

"Ron!" Hermione protested, "I'd only listened to her once because she heard someone calling me a tramp!"

"Why did someone call you that?" Harry asked, shocked that someone had said that about Hermione.

"Well, apparently I'm a heartbreaker because I got between you and Ron," she said extremely upset.

"That's nonsense!"

"If only they knew..." Ron added.

Harry shook his head, thinking about how the students like to gossip, especially about things that weren't true. He had already heard that same day that Draco was having an affair with Zabini, which had made him more than just a little irritated.

"Do you know what I should do? I should walk into the Great Hall and kiss Draco in front of everybody."

"That would be a little dramatic," Hermione pointed out, smiling at the idea.

"Not to mention stupid. It would put you in grave danger."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "More than we already are?"

"Hmm... I guess it was a stupid thing to say," Ron said to himself. "Maybe kissing Draco is a better plan."

"And maybe smacking you in the head would be great, too!"

"There's no need for violence, Harry."

Harry sighed. "Sorry. Things have not been easy for me."

"Is your scar hurting too much, Harry?" Hermione asked kindly.

"Yes. But that's not the point. Ron is right, Hermione. Our plan is too dangerous."

"But Harry..."

"No. I can't let you take this risk. I'll do it all myself."

"What? Are you nuts? Did you not read Most Potente Potions? It says there that to transform into someone of the same sex is already a painful process. You wouldn't want to know what's like to transform yourself into a girl."

"Yeah, Harry. I mean, can you imagine if Pansy has her period in that same day?"

Ron and Harry laughed but Hermione found no fun in it.

"Oh, for crying out loud, you are hopeless!" she said, crossing her arms. "You're not going to do it all alone, Harry."

"I'm not planning to drink the potion, Hermione. I hope that I get Pansy to talk before that."

"It won't be easy," she said solemnly.

"Finally!" Ron exclaimed. "For a moment I thought you were as insane as Harry."

"I'm not stupid, Ron. I know Pansy won't say anything. That's why we have to do the Polyjuice Potion."

Ron slapped his forehead and shook his head. "You are hopeless, Hermione."

Harry didn't tell Hermione that he was more than ready to make Pansy talk, even if he had to be ruthless with her. He didn't want to put anyone else in danger. If something happened to Hermione, he would never forgive himself. He couldn't let her be alone with Goyle; Ron was right about that. The only excuse he had to redeem himself from such a stupid idea was that he hadn't been thinking rationally for a while. He wanted to see Draco but he didn't have the courage to do that. He was feeling guilty. Deep down he knew Draco was ill because of his connection with him.

Tired, he stared at his friends who were so willing to die for him if it was needed. He would never allow them to do that. He would be the only one to die when the big battle came - and he knew that the day wasn't too far off.

"We stick to the plan, then," he finally said. "Hermione, you can start brewing the potion. I'll set up a meeting with Pansy."

"What about me?"

"You'll be my backup when the meeting takes place."

"I don't like this, Harry."

Harry didn't like it either, but he was willing to try. He wouldn't just wait for a cure like the others. He would find it or die trying if that was what it took. He wished he could predict his future. But Dumbledore had said to him once that the consequences of our actions were always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future was a very difficult business. He and Draco had a glimpse of their future and had tried to change it, for what? Were they destined to die?

"Harry?" Hermione called him softly.

"What?"

"You are so distant. Are you ok?"

He smiled feebly, "I'm as all right as I can be."

"We are going to find a cure, Harry. I'll look in every book of the library," Hermione guaranteed.

"Yeah, Harry, me too."

"Thanks. This meeting is officially closed. You can go now and snog. I know you want to," he taunted.

Ron and Hermione flushed but stifled a grin.

"What about you, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Oh, I'll... I'll just be here for a while. I need to prepare a few things."

"Just don't stay up too late," Hermione said in her usual motherly tone of voice.

"I won't."

Once they were out, Harry took his seat and drew a parchment from his schoolbag. He had only written a few lines before he was interrupted by Ginny's sudden arrival. The first thing he noticed was the way that she was dressed. She had put on a yellow muggle dress - so short that if Ron saw it he would have a tantrum - and her hair was tied in a ponytail. She had a beautiful but also shy smile playing on her lips, and the moment their eyes locked, Harry understood what that was all about. She was there to seduce him. The thing was that Ginny wasn't a femme fatale. She was too sweet for that.

"Hi, Harry. What are you doing?"

He sighed, "What are you doing here?"

"Oh, I was just... passing..."

He put his quill on the table and stared at it. "Does Ron know you are here?"

"Why would he? He's only my brother, you know?"

Harry sighed again, "Look, Ginny..." He glanced at her, not knowing how he could let her down gently.

Ginny was romantic and sweet, but she wasn't stupid. The instant she looked into Harry's eyes, she knew he would say something that would crush all of her dreams of being The One in the Golden Boy's life. Ever since she was ten years old she had dreamt of the moment when Harry Potter would take her in his arms and tell her all the foolish things she longed to hear from him. He would be her saviour, just like he had been in the Chamber of Secrets. They would fall in love, get married and live happily ever after. But just one look was enough for her to realise that that wouldn't happen.

She sat down by his side, a defeated look on her face. "I know that you've been through a lot. I also know that you think of me as this annoying little brat who keeps bothering you when you want to be alone but if you just gave me a chance, Harry..."

"No, Ginny, it's not that at all!" Harry smiled at her frank words. "I don't think of you as an annoying brat!"

"Really?" she glimpsed at him with hope.

"Really. I do enjoy your company. You've been a great friend."

"Friend..." her hope vanished. "I... I wanted us... to be..."

"I know." Harry whispered, enlacing their fingers together. "But things are complicated."

"Because of You-Know-Who?"

Harry bit on his lower lip. "He's one of the reasons, yes. But there's another one."

They stared, and Harry wished from the bottom of his heart that he could love her. He did feel something for her. It wasn't as strong as what he felt for Draco, but it was pleasant nonetheless, and it was there. She was a beautiful girl becoming a beautiful woman.

"You love someone else, right?" she asked quietly.

"Yes."

"Then why aren't you with her?"

"It's complicated."

"I don't see any complications. When you love someone and this someone loves you back, the natural step is for you both to be together. Right? Love conquers all, that's what they say. Unless, of course, that this love is not returned." She made such a surprised face that Harry smiled. "She doesn't love you? I can't believe it, Harry! How can anyone not love you? Or maybe... she's dead. It's Celeste, isn't? You loved her."

"Celeste?" It was Harry's turn to be surprised. He had almost forgotten about his evil ex-girlfriend. "No, it's not her."

"Then who is it?"

"I... I can't tell you, Ginny. Besides, I've been thinking that the best thing for me right now is to be alone."

"Alone? Why? Just because you're heartbroken, it doesn't mean..."

"No, it's not that. My life is in constant danger. I don't want to hurt anyone else because of it."

Ginny squeezed his hand. "What you're saying is that love makes you weak. It doesn't, Harry. Love can help you getting through the adversities of life. You, more than anyone I know, need someone to be by your side," she said with such tenderness that Harry's heart melted.

"Since when did you become so mature, Ginny?"

She looked offended. "I am mature. What did you think? That I was just a silly little girl with nothing to do but dream about you?" She did just that, but she would never admit it out loud. "Well, I don't! You may not know this but I'm the best student of my year. I can play Quidditch better than any of my brothers. I worry about the war, I read a lot. I also read Witch Weekly because no one is that perfect, you know? Besides, in spite of the gossips, it's a good feminine magazine."

A small smiled curved in Harry's lips. "I'm sure it is. Not that I read it, of course," he quickly added.

She smiled adorably.

"You are the most wonderful person I know, Ginny Weasley."

She blinked repeatedly, trying to hold back her tears. "No, I'm not. I'm just a silly girl."

"Whoever thinks that about you couldn't be more wrong."

He kissed her tremble hands softly. It was a crucifying moment for her. To have him so near and yet so distant broke her heart, but she knew - even though she was only fifteen years-old - that one couldn't force love. There was always a Love Potion, but who would like to have someone knowing that the person only had feelings for you because of a potion? There was nothing she could do to make Harry fall in love with her, but she could be by his side when he needed her. There was something she needed to do first. She thought about asking him for a kiss, but she decided to act instead of it. Before Harry could react properly, she kissed him softly on the lips and held the kiss for more than a second, pulling away slowly, her face as red as her hair.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"Oh, it's all right," he whispered back, not knowing what to say exactly.

Ginny's kiss had been delightful but not at all like Draco. He could control himself with Ginny but that didn't apply to Draco. He knew for sure at that moment that as much as Ginny was a great girl, and the only one that could compete with Draco, the blond was still the one for him.

"I'm sorry, Ginny."

"It's ok." She smiled feebly. "As long as we keep being friends, it's all right."

"Of course we will!"

They hugged, and Ginny kissed his cheek before standing up.

"Do you want me to walk you to the Gryffindor Tower?" Harry asked.

"No, I'm not a damsel in distress, Harry. I've been inside the Chamber of Secrets, you know?"

"Yeah, I know." Harry shuddered at the thought. "That's one more reason to..."

"No, Harry," she said. "Just finish what you were doing. I'll be fine. Besides, what can possibly happen to me on my way to the Tower?"

'A lot of things', Harry thought but didn't say. He let her go even though something was telling him not to.

---------------------

Ginny found out that Friday night was a busy night in Hogwarts. Behind old statues and empty classroom she could hear giggles, whispers and moans. It was quite intriguing why Filch couldn't catch them all in the act so loud the couples were. But overall, the corridors werld happen on her way to the Gryffindor Tower. She couldn't be more wrong. Someone had been following her and watching her every step ever since she had gotten inside the library. The person had seen the whole romantic display between Harry and her and hadn't liked one bit.

"Weasley," she heard a sharp and cold voice calling her somewhere behind her and she froze.

She turned around to face whoever it was but saw nobody.

"Who is there?"

She heard a laughter that sent chills down her spine.

"I'm the son, and the heir of a shyness that is criminally vulgar, I'm the son and heir of nothing in particular."

"It's not funny!" her protest echoed in the darkness.

"No, it's not. It's rather melodramatic and sad, Weasley. Just like you and I, all alone in this corridor, craving for the same person," said the drawling voice. "Should we duel, I wonder. It would be romantic if you think about it. He will cry for both of us. It'd be a lovely scene, don't you think? He's beautiful when he cries. But it wouldn't be funny. I would win, so there's no fun in that. Lots and lots of redheads to weep over your grave. How many Weasleys are in the world anyway? I always wanted to know."

"I don't know what you're talking about. Who are you? What do you want?" she asked quite bravely, even though deep down she was scared.

"He would hate me, too," the voice kept saying without paying attention to her. "I guess he already does."

"What..."

"Oh, come on, Weasley! Even your brother is smarter than that! You still don't know who I am? Merlin, I'm disappointed. If you want to be with Potter, you have to be smart, Weasley. That's the first qualification. You can't be with the boy wonder if you're not up to his level. Then you must have the right look - the look is very important - and you need to be bold."

That voice and petulance sounded very familiar to Ginny, but she couldn't believe it was Draco Malfoy. If it was him, that meant that Malfoy, the Draco Malfoy, liked Harry. That wasn't possible. Or was it? Could that be true?

"Are you Malfoy?"

She heard claps and then the drawling voice congratulating her. Draco Malfoy came out of the shadows were he was hidden, his eyes strangely red. She felt scared for a moment but then she held her chin high and with her wand raised she dared him to come closer. He just laughed in a creepy way, but far from feeling cornered she felt rather confident of herself.

"You don't scare me, Malfoy. You're nothing but a poor little rich kid who wasn't loved enough by your parents. I've been watching you for a long time and I know how much you try to get your father's attention in vain."

Draco frowned. "Spare me this Witch Weekly bullshit. I came here to threaten you, not to be analysed!"

"Why?"

"Why? Because of the lovely scene you played with Potter!"

"Are you jealous?" she asked, bemused.

He made a face. "Don't be ridiculous!"

"Well, you sound jealous," she pointed out.

"Honestly, Weasley, you're ruining my bad boy reputation! Why aren't you scared? You were, not a second ago! And how dare you point your wand at me?"

She giggled. "Oh, I'm sooo scared."

"Haven't you heard what I did with the ones who tried to defy me this past week?"

"Yes, and by the way, why did you have to do such a cruel thing with Neville? He's such a sweetie."

Draco seemed embarrassed for a moment but he quickly recomposed himself.

"He deserved it for being so clumsy."

"I thought you and Harry had called it a truce because last year you were quite tamed."

"Tamed? No way!" he crossed his arms. "You're really crossing the line, Weasley."

"George has always accused me of that," she sighed. "Look, Malfoy, I don't know what's up with you and to be honest, I don't really care. So why don't we go our own ways and-"

"No," he cut her off. "I'm really pissed off right now. I would be very careful if I were you. I can't hurt you, Weasley, and to tell you the truth I really don't want to. I'll make this real quick. Are you dating Potter? What did he say to you?"

She stared at him. "Why do want to know?"

"That's none of your business."

"Of course it is! Why do you care if I'm dating Harry or not?" she thought about it for a moment and her eyes flew open. It had just sunk in what Malfoy had said in the beginning of they're conversation: that they both craved for the same person.

"Oh, my God!" she exclaimed, calling herself stupid for not being paying attention to his words properly. "I'd always thought that this obsession of yours was weird enough but now I finally understand what that was all about. You love him. And not as a friend but as a...a..."

"A lover, Weasley! Is it so difficult to say?"

"Oh! I... I..." her face had gone white. "I don't know what to say."

"You don't have to say anything. Just tell me if you and Potter are-"

"Does he know?"

Draco sneered, "Do you even remember Hogwarts' motto? It says "never tickle a sleeping dragon". I'm trying to hold myself not to hurt you, Weasley, because I know Harry will never forgive me if I do, but you're not helping me out here!"

She crossed her arms. "You called him Harry."

"So?"

"Nothing. It's just weird. You know, a lot of things make sense now," she said mysteriously.

He snarled but didn't do anything. She noticed that he suddenly looked very pale and in pain.

"Are you all right?"

He breathed with difficulty, "Yes, Weasley, I'm fine. Are you going to answer my question or what?"

She sighed again, wanting to tell him to bugger off, but instead she decided to answer him.

"I'm not dating Harry. Didn't you hear our conversation? He told me that he loves somebody else. I suspect it's Hermione because he said it's complicated and she's dating his best friend. So you're out of luck as much as I am. Harry loves someone else," she said with resignation in her voice.

To Draco, it was hard to understand why she wasn't screaming and crying that Harry Potter had just dumped her. He would certainly do something. He had seriously considered hurting Weasley, because the potion was kicking in hard. But so far he had been holding himself in check quite well, and he suspected it was because of her and that weird good vibe that she emanated.

"And you don't care?" he asked quite curious.

"Well, I was about to go to my room and cry my heart out but you kind of interrupted my plans by showing up like this," she said with an honesty that caught him by surprise. "Of course it's not easy to hear that the man you love can't love you back. But what can I do? I can't force him to love me. And neither can you if that's what you're thinking!" she said critically.

Draco almost smiled. "What's wrong with you people? You're so... kind to everybody."

"Not really." She flushed. "I have a few enemies that I would never help."

This time he smiled feebly, not at all believing her. "Who?"

"Oh, just some... people." She shrugged.

Draco's body trembled from pain all of a sudden and Ginny helped him steady. They stared for a while, trying to figure each other out.

"You said you would never help an enemy," he pointed out weakly.

"But you're not my enemy. I don't like you but that doesn't make you my enemy. Besides, I think I would help an enemy... Looking back, you did do some good things last year. And... well... I guess Harry respects and cares for you. He never really said anything to me but I can feel it. I could feel it when you snapped at the bookshop."

Draco's eyes shimmered with surprise. He never thought Ginny Weasley was like that. He had pictured her as just a silly girl with only Harry Potter on her mind - not that he could blame her for that - but he realised she wasn't like that. She was just... sweet and tender. 'A typical Gryffindor', he thought bitterly.

"Where do you want me to take you?" she asked.

He stared at her in disbelief. &lduo;I can't believe this is happening. First Zabini helped me and now you."

"Don't look so surprised. Just don't think I'm stupid, Malfoy, 'cause I'm not!"

"Then why are you helping me?"

"Because I can see in your eyes that I can trust you. They are not red anymore. I feel that something is wrong with you though. May I ask what is it?"

"No, you cannot! There's a limit to this weird truce."

"Can I ask you something else then?"

"No."

"Oh, come on. I know your secret now. What's the point of trying to go back to the spoiled-brat mode?"

"I wonder if you're real and not just a product of my imagination."

"I'm real. Or at least I hope so," she smiled.

"You shouldn't be so nice to me."

"Well, you're talking to a girl that was completely deceived by You-Know-Who's teenage self. And don't ask about it, please. It's something that still disturbs me. I guess I'm not that smart after all," she said sadly.

"I don't get you. That's one more reason for you not to trust anyone and yet here you are, being all friendly."

"I can't help it."

"Why doesn't Potter like you?" Draco couldn't understand that after meeting Ginny for the first time.

"His heart belongs to somebody else already. What can I do about it? All I want is for him to be happy."

"I could never be like that." Draco felt his anger rising again at the thought of Harry with someone else.

"Well, as soon as I get to my room I'll get wasted and forget about it for a while."

He looked at her stunned and she smiled.

"I'm joking, you know?"

"You are very weird."

"Yeah, I know."

Draco's pain increased and he moaned softly, "I don't want your pity."

"Well, you already have it so you might as well take it. I pity everybody so don't feel so special about it."

Draco couldn't help but smile at her boldness. "Now I know why you're in Gryffindor."

"Look, we don't have all night, so, if you want to talk, I'm available. We can cry a river over Harry and then move on with our lives. I promise I won't make stupid jokes about it tomorrow. I remember how much Bill suffered when he first broke up with his boyfriend. I'm not even sure why I'm doing this, but... I can't bear to see someone in pain, even if this someone is you."

"I don't want to talk. I certainly wouldn't talk to you of all people!"

"Why not? I'm a good listener!"

"Just take me to my room. I show you the way," he said, defeated, hating the fact that his weakness made him so dependent. "And not a peep, Weasley," he warned her.

"Whatever. I just wanted you to know that the answer to your question is five hundred and one."

"What?" he looked at her puzzled.

"There are five hundred and one Weasleys in the world."

"Good Lord! The world is doomed!&rdqo;

And Ginny just smiled mysteriously.