Draco's Willow

Her life, her chance at an education, and the world's worst broken heart, Harry Potter was the most generous of boys. Ginny Weasley slammed her books into her cauldron, trying to rage through the pain that was threatening to cripple her. It felt as someone was laughing mockingly as they ripped the heart from her chest and held it in front of her. There stood the love of her life, Harry Potter, wrapped around that Cho Whatzer-name, whispering things that no one other then Ginny should have heard!

She turned, ignoring the fact that she had Potions in ten minutes, caring even less that she would loose points for Gryffindor by her skipping, and walked away. What she really needed more than anything else was the nurse her broken heart in solitude. What she wouldn't have given for a butterbeer.

She started out walking, but rapidly her pace changed, till she was flat out running through the front door and away from the Hogwarts building. Her flame red hair trailed after her like a cape as the wind ripped at her tears, drying them as though they had never fallen. It tugged at her robes, yet she kept going, not even bothering to watch where she was going, just knowing that anywhere would be better then being force-fed her heart.

A stitch pulled at her side, her breathing ragged as the tears began to flow in earnest. Ginny dropped down beneath a large, imposing willow, her arms wrapping around her knees. She buried her face in her arms as her shoulders began to shake silently with the force of her tears. She felt like a child, blubbering over someone who had never even noticed her in the six years they had known each other, five of which they had been school housemates. He had even saved her life once, but that was because he was the great Harry Potter, Hero-in-training, and even as lovesick as she had been at the time she had realized that. Ginny shoved the betraying thought away, things like that had the tendency to ruin a perfectly good heartbreak.

"What do you think you're doing, Weasel? This is MY tree, go find your own!" The drawl came from above her, making her look up with a glare. Draco Malfoy, of course. She thought with a slight sneer. He's drawn to misery like a dementor, but worse. He can talk. "What? Did you not hear me? Or perhaps you can't understand simple English." Draco smirked, pointing at the tree then to himself. "Draco's tree you go now."

Ginny gave him her most stubborn look, crossing her arms over her chest to indicate she wasn't budging. Draco shrugged, dropping down beside her with a scowl. "Fine, have it your way, but keep your bloody mouth shut!" He was the only one talking! But she knew if she pointed that out she would be playing into his hands.

"Out of the millions of trees in this bloody forest I don't know why she had to pick mine!" He was complaining to himself, Stupid git. She turned slightly, sticking her tongue out at him. "Real mature, Weasley, Real mature," Draco replied with a smirk. Ginny humphed, turning away so she didn't have to look at him.

"First she steals my tree, now she acts like a three year old," he yawned, ignoring they way she turned to glare at him. "I expected more from one of the loud mouthed Weasleys," he complained, leaning against the tree and closing his eyes. He's just trying to get to me, I will not sink to his level, I will no-

"I AM NOT ACTING LIKE A THREE YEAR OLD!" She bellowed in his face, her hands grabbing onto his robes to force him to open his eyes. He did, cracking one eye open slowly to show how intimidated by her he really was. "I am getting over something you insensitive prat, now GO AWAY!" She tried to shove him against the tree but he didn't budge.

"Nope, my tree, remember?" He closed the one eye, leaning back on his own. "You leave."

"I was here first!" she growled. Draco snorted, telling her how much that mattered to him. "I don't even know why I'm talking to you, everybody knows what an arrogant, egotistical prat you really are. You've probably never loved anything that isn't a mirror!" Her anger turned to amazement as Draco began to laugh.

"I... BWAHAHAHAA... Tried that once... MWAHAHAAA... she k-kept... Seeing other men!" Ginny glared at him until he was merely smirking.

"I'm trying to have a pity party, Malfoy. Stupid jokes are not on the priority, so either go back to being a git or shut it." He tried to glare back but his smirk kept tugging at the side of his mouth.

"It was better than anything Potter could have come up with." His smirk visibly widened when she flinched. "Potter would have been stuttering all over himself, that is if he noticed you were crying in the first place."

RRRRIPPPPP She now knew who the one mocking her with her own heart was, and he went by the name of Draco Malfoy. Ginny turned, giving him her back and curling into herself like a dog that's been kicked. "What, did widdle Ginny get her ickle feelings hurt?" She could hear him scooting closer but was in too much pain to move. The voice came from behind her ear now, his breath blowing gently on her neck. "Did big bad Draco hit a nerve?"

Ginny tried to shrug, pretending not to care, but he was relentless. "Poor widdle Ginny, heartbroken by her hero. The 'great' Harry Potter." His husky laugh trailed chills down her neck. "I suppose the big happily ever after was shot to hell, huh?"

"H-Heartless git." She wrung out, shooting to her feet as though to run away. A single word stopped her.

"Yeah." Ginny turned, finding him leaning against the tree smirking at her. "But it got my tree back," he said with a smug smile. Without a word Ginny stomped back over to the tree and sat down. She could have sworn he was hiding a grin behind that cold-blooded smirk.

"You're a male, right?" she asked hypothetically.

"Last time I checked."

"Then maybe you can tell me if all males are such inconsiderate prats?" she asked, looking at him. He never opened his eyes, merely smirked.

"Of course not. Some are merely incompetent prats." She glared as his smirk grew wider. "Take your brothers for example." Ginny grabbed him by the robes again, giving him her most intimidating smile when he cracked an eye. It made him yawn.

""My brothers are not incompetent!" she growled through clenched teeth.

"Then they must be of the inconsiderate batch," he stated easily. She frowned, dropping his robes and moving away.

"All right, you've made your point. You can leave now."

"Nope, my tree," Draco stated, making himself comfortable once again. For the first time Ginny began to notice where they were. Her eyes grew wide as she looked over at him curiously.

"Since when have you enjoyed being in the forbidden forest?" she asked.

"Since my tree was here," Draco replied, perfectly at ease with the lack of logic.

"I heard that the last time you came into the forbidden forest you ran screaming like a girl." She began to snicker at his irritable expression.

"You watch a freak drink a unicorn like a butterbeer and see if you don't run screaming as well," he replied dryly.

"Well... yeah, but Harry didn't run."

"I've never known Potter to be particularly bright. Annoying, yes, tenacious, yes, but bright? Not at all."

"Harry is too-" She stopped at the sight of his well known sneer. "I don't even know why I bother talking to you, it isn't as though we have anything in common." Ginny stated tightly, moving to the opposite side of the tree.

"Finally the weasel catches a clue!" Draco stated, making it sound as though it were a miracle.

Ginny sat, staring into the forest. "Is it true that there are Werewolves out here?" she asked, trying to sound as though she weren't afraid.

"Only on a full moon." She could tell Draco was once again trying to go to sleep by the way his drawl was exaggerated.

"Malfoy? Why aren't you in class?"

"Why aren't you?" he asked back. Ginny growled, knowing that would be all he would tell her, no matter how many times she asked. He had that tone of voice going on that suggested she not. They sat in silence for a while, each lost in their own thoughts, though Ginny suspected Draco was actually asleep. He ruined that happy thought a minute later, by speaking.

""So how'd Potter break your poor widdle heart, anyway?" he asked curiously.

"What, do you want to take notes?"

"Of course not, I'm just curious of what the non-good looking gits have to do." He smirked as Ginny scooted back to his side of the tree in order to glare at him.

"You are not be- well, that much better looking than Harry, and looks aren't what matter!"

"I bet an ugly person told you that."

"Why you..." He started laughing, forcing her to reach up and mess his hair up.

"Wha'd you do that for?" he bellowed, trying to fix it without his precious mirror. Ginny started laughing, which earned her his most intimidating glare. That made her laugh even harder. He was still glaring at her when his hair was fixed, muttering under his breath about redheaded weasels and no sympathy for beauty.

"You're just jealous," she stated knowingly, making him look up, amazed.

"How'd yo- I mean, jealous of what, Weasel?"

"Jealous of redheads, of course. You blondes are so pale you get mistaken for albinos," she stated with a smirk.

"At least we blondes don't have freckles everywhere," came the drawled reply. Ginny squealed, slapping her hands over her nose and sticking her tongue out at him. "Real mature, Weasel, real mature."

"Aren't I, Ferret?" She grinned at his exaggerated wince of pain at the reminder. "Hey, Malfoy, I forgot to ask." He looked up with what could only be described as dread.

"No, I DO NOT bleach, it's all natural," Draco stated, frowning when Ginny snickered. "What?"

"I wasn't going to ask that! I just wanted to know... Since when has this been your tree?" She watched, slightly stunned as his expression took on its regular inscrutability. He stared off into the trees for a moment, making Ginny wonder if he even planned on answering. "You don't-"

"Since my girl sat under it," he stated bluntly, leaving it at that.

"Wh-who was she?" Ginny asked, for some reason terrified of the answer.

"No one special, really... Just a stubborn redhead with too many brothers and a misplaced crush on a brainless git."

Ginny blinked, for a second taken aback, then gave her most compassionate look. "That poor girl!"

"Yeah, I know. Nobody should have to deal with Potter."

"No, I meant to be liked by you!" Ginny grinned, leaned over to kiss him lightly, then ran away laughing.

Draco sat there for a moment, stunned. Then he started to grin.

"Hey Weasley! Who told you that you could leave my tree?!"

The End.