What Stands Between Us

What Stands Between Us

(AKA God, I want to jump him!)

By Heliona and Kyizi

*****

Chapter One: The Day It All Began

*****

Draco:

Draco Malfoy had left Snape's office after a long conversation with him concerning Quidditch, and was heading back to the Slytherin Common Room when he remembered that, in his rush to speak to the Professor, he'd left his bag in the Great Hall. Upon reaching it, he noticed that nobody was there, and Draco realised that it was just past curfew. He grabbed his bag and hurried out of the Hall, hoping to miss all the teachers.

Unfortunately, Professor McGonagall met him just as he was about to go down the stairs. "Malfoy," she called, stopping him in his tracks. "Detention tomorrow for being out of bed past curfew."

Draco was outraged. It wasn't even his fault. He'd had to talk to Snape about changing the Quidditch team, since they were so rubbish, and Snape had kept him talking for hours. "But," he started to protest.

"No excuses," McGonagall snapped. "Be down at Hagrid's Hut before breakfast." She turned and stalked away, her cloak swirling.

Great, I had to catch McGonagall when she's in a bad mood, Draco thought gloomily as he walked down to the Slytherin Common Room. And, just my luck to get a detention with that imbecile, Hagrid.

Draco had been made the Captain of the Quidditch team the year before, and he was determined not to lose to Gryffindor and bloody Harry Potter again. This, he felt, required a complete re-work of the Quidditch team. He slammed his books down on his desk and looked round with satisfaction at his room. In addition to being made Quidditch Captain, Draco had been made Head Boy, and this meant that he'd been allocated his own room. For that, Draco was very grateful. It meant that he didn't have to interact as much with his classmates, who were all either idiots or full of themselves. Draco couldn't stand any of them. Apart from Blaise, of course, but thinking about her made his head ache. He still wasn't convinced of her allegiances, and, although a Malfoy like himself would associate with a Zabini, he remained friends - he supposed the word was as accurate a description of their peculiar relationship as he could muster - with her in order to determine whether she would be an asset to his cause.

Putting Blaise out of his mind, the young man decided that he would start his homework straight away, since he didn't know how long the detention would take, and aside from that, Saturday would be taken up with re-organising the Quidditch team. As he sat down to the homework Professor McGonagall set, he once again cursed the Head of Gryffindor. Was there anyone in that House that was halfway decent?

*****

Ginny:

The sound pierced the air and Ginny cursed, slamming her hand onto the alarm clock. Groaning, she ignored the clock as it began to complain, rolled over onto her stomach and buried her head into the pillow. It was half past six and already she was having a bad day.

Light was streaming in through the crack between her bed curtains, almost blinding her as she forced her eyes open. She struggled to make her mind work as she quickly dressed and headed out of the door. She wasn't due at Hagrid's hut for another fifteen minutes or so, which was plenty of time to sneak into the kitchens and grab a bite to eat. She would have to thank Fred and George again for telling her about all the secret passages. The Marauders' Map Harry had let her borrow once had been useful as well. She was very glad she had a photographic memory when it came to maps.

The Common Room had been empty; not that she had expected anything else, and Ginny found the castle eerily quiet as she made her way to the kitchens. It was unusual not to run into a few of the ghosts, but it seemed that even they were having the morning to themselves. Once more she wished she was still curled in her bed. She had been having a really good dream about playing some Muggle racket sport with a really cute guy.

She reached up to tickle the pear and couldn't help but smile as it began to giggle. It was so cute! Shaking her head to help rid herself of the last remnants of sleep, she entered the kitchen.

"Miss Wheezy! Miss Wheezy!"

"Hi, Dobby," she said, reaching for an apple. "Is there any chance I could get a little to eat? I'm not going to be able to make breakfast this morning."

Almost instantly, she was surrounded by a group of elves holding out platters of breakfast food. She made herself a few bacon sandwiches and, stuffing one into her mouth, thanked the elves.

"You will come and visit Dobby soon?" the house-elf asked as she made her way to the door. Dobby was used to her early morning visits and he knew that meant she had to rush, but she always made sure to thank the elf by stopping in and chatting when she could.

She pulled her cloak tighter around her as she made her way across the grounds. She reached Hagrid's hut, but before she could knock on the door, it opened.

"Hey Hagrid," she said, a little forlornly. It wasn't that she didn't love spending time with the gamekeeper, but she would much rather have still been in bed. It was, after all, a Saturday, not to mention that it was not her fault that she was there.

Hagrid offered her a grin and shook his head. "Back again, Ginny?"

"It was not my fault this time, Hagrid!"

He chuckled and smiled. "Sure it wasn't."

"No, it really wasn't! I completely admit that the itching charm on the Slytherins' Quidditch robes was worth a detention if I was stupid enough to get caught. But this was not my fault!"

"I heard you tried to blow up the Transfiguration classroom."

"As if I would ever do that with McGonagall in the room!" Ginny protested, unwilling to admit that the idea had occurred to her to try in Charms. "It was Thomas."

Hagrid frowned. "Thomas? Your boyfriend."

"Ex-boyfriend," she said, crossing her arms. "I dumped him yesterday and he put those fireworks in my bag to get me back."

"To get you back?"

"It is not my fault that the entire Common Room heard me tell him he was a terrible kisser!" she protested.

Hagrid shook his head and turned to call on Fang. "We just need to wait a few minutes. There was a last minute detention last night."

"Oh, who is-"

"Ah, here he is."

From the tone in Hagrid's voice, Ginny really didn't need to turn around. In fact she didn't want to because it would confirm what she was pretty sure she already knew. But for some reason her legs weren't cooperating and she found herself looking back up at the school, watching as Draco Malfoy walked towards them.

"Crap."

*****

Harry:

Harry yawned as he pulled his jumper over his head. He rubbed his eyes as he pulled open the door and headed down to the Common Room. His roommates were still fast asleep but it was Saturday, and if it weren't for Quidditch training making him an early riser, he would have still been fast asleep as well.

As he entered the Common Room, he glanced automatically at the chair by the fire and smiled when he saw Hermione curled up with her legs tucked under her. She hadn't noticed he was there and her concentration was completely absorbed in the book she was reading.

He watched her, smiling as her forehead scrunched up. She leaned closer to the book and muttered something to herself. She was obviously in disagreement with the author. Again. He still remembered the time she had written to the author of one of her Arithmancy textbooks, explaining that one of the main principles was wrong. He also remembered having to calm her down when the reply was less than flattering.

"What are you staring at?" Harry jumped a little in surprise as she grinned at him.

"I'm just wondering which author is going to be next in receiving your thoughts on their theories," he said with a smirk as he sat down beside her.

"Hey!" she cried, hitting him on the arm. "That's not funny."

"I thought it was."

"Clearly," she said dryly. He grinned and nudged her arm and she mock-glared at him. It was a large chair, but with the two of them sitting in it, he suddenly became aware of just how close they were.

His expression had obviously changed, because her smile faltered and he wasn't sure whether or not she had done it on purpose, but she had licked her lips. Her lips that were very close to his, and seemed to be getting closer.

"...did embarrass him."

"Well, that was still no reason to put Filibuster Fireworks in her school bag. Especially in McGonagall's class!"

Harry jumped up from the chair and in his peripheral vision, he noticed Hermione hastily picking up her book. Just as the girls entered the Common Room, he quickly turned the book up the right way and turned to smile at Ginny's roommates.

"Hey, Harry," Stephanie said, dropping onto the seat opposite the fire and Harry was ever grateful that her Muggle upbringing meant that she didn't treat him like some kind of celebrity.

"Hey," he replied, feeling as if he had just been caught doing something he wasn't supposed to be doing. He started to shift a little as he noticed the other girl, Cara, staring at him wide-eyed. He knew that the girl had always been slightly star struck by him, and that did make him feel uncomfortable. But at the moment, he felt as if she was looking at him like that because she knew he had been about to kiss one of his best friends.

"Is Ginny at her detention?" Hermione asked, and Harry could tell from her voice that she was as jumpy as he was.

"Yeah," Stephanie replied. "I can't believe McGonagall didn't believe she was innocent!"

Hermione raised her eyebrows. "I don't think McGonagall has any reason to trust Ginny since she stepped on her when she was in her cat form. Not to mention the itching charms on the Slytherins and the slime in Filch's office."

"That was all purely circumstantial."

As the girls continued to talk the other Gryffindors were beginning to make their way downstairs, but all Harry could do was stare at Hermione and try to figure out why exactly he spent every day wanting to kiss her.

For as long as he had known her, Hermione had been nothing more than a friend. A best friend, in fact, but now when he looked at her, he saw her for the beautiful, intelligent woman that she had become and he wanted nothing more than to kiss her senseless where she sat!

"Harry, we got practice today?"

Harry started and turned to face Ron wide-eyed as he was suddenly reminded of the other reason that he and Hermione were not together. The entire school saw Hermione as Ron's. Not that she was a possession, but that for so long, there had been something there.

"Harry, are you okay?"

"F-fine. I'm fine." Harry cleared his throat. "Yes, after breakfast."

Ron grinned. "Fantastic. We'll cream Slytherin next week."

Harry nodded and tried to convince Ron that his mind was on Quidditch, but he didn't have to try for long as Ron's attention was captured by the conversation beside them.

"...it's not like she meant for everyone to hear."

"I don't condone what Ginny did, but what Thomas did was not only going too far, it was dangerous."

Hermione once more captured Harry's attention and he couldn't help but smile at her. She noticed he was looking at her and smiled back before returning to the conversation.

"Personally, I feel sorry for Thomas," Ron said with a slight smirk. Harry and Hermione grinned at their friend; they both knew that Ron had hated Thomas. In fact, Ron had hated every boyfriend that Ginny had ever had.

"Why feel sorry for Thomas?" Stephanie asked. "It's Ginny that has to do detention with some creepy monster of Hagrid's."

"Yeah." Ron smirked. "But I'll bet she's spending it trying to figure out how the hell she's going to get Thomas back for what he did."

*****

Hermione:

I can't believe I nearly kissed Harry, Hermione thought, wide-eyed. I can't believe I nearly kissed Harry, she repeated, a goofy grin on her face. She suddenly realised that Ron was staring at her.

"What's up with you?" he asked, puzzled.

"Oh, nothing," Hermione answered, purposefully not looking at Harry. "I just figured out the answer to a problem Professor Vector set." She slammed her book closed. "Excuse me, I've just got to write it down." She dashed up the stairs.

When she reached the room allocated to her as Head Girl, she paused, and then moved to sit on her bed. She breathed out slowly. Fighting back her feelings was getting harder and harder, and now that Harry had nearly kissed her, she knew for definite that he reciprocated them.

For one absurd moment, Hermione violently wished that a certain red-haired best friend wasn't in their lives. She shook herself, and laughed slightly. Things were definitely getting desperate if she was wishing that she didn't know Ron.

Hermione knew that Ron was the glue in the Trio's relationship. She also knew that everyone thought that she would be going out with him by now. Although a couple of years ago, she had certainly entertained the thought, Hermione came to the conclusion that she loved Ron like a brother, and it was actually her lanky, rather famous, other best friend that she fancied now.

Hermione couldn't ignore the fact that Harry, over the last couple of years, had suddenly filled out and grown several inches. Hermione was still small, and although initially she was somewhat intimidated by the fact that both Harry and Ron towered over her now, she soon found it comforting. Ron had always been tall, and his lean frame had filled out from playing Keeper on the Quidditch team. Hermione fully admitted that, with his cheery grin and laughing eyes, Ron was quite a catch. Harry was still lean and slim, the ideal build for a Seeker, and he was often more serious than Ron. When he grinned, though, his entire face lit up, and his green eyes sparkled. Hermione shivered as she thought about it.

Suddenly she heard Ron yelling up the stairs. Glancing quickly at the clock, and realising that she'd been up in her room quite a long time, she dashed back down the stairs to meet Ron and Harry.

"Took you long enough," Ron retorted, winding her up.

Hermione stuck her tongue out at him, and glanced sidelong at Harry. He was looking back at her with a queer look in his eyes. Hermione bit the inside of her lip to stop herself from blushing, and tucked her hair behind an ear. "Come on, I'm starving."

"I don't know how you put it all in that tiny body of yours," Harry teased, leading the way out of the Common Room.

"Yeah," Ron added, "how do you manage to eat so much and stay so skinny?"

"I'm too busy stressing about you two," Hermione retorted, thinking to herself, Harry's noticed my body. Oh, stop it, Hermione, stop being so childish and act your age!

"More like stressing about homework," Ron said. "You're unbelievable!"

"Hey, I put up with you!"

Ron punched her lightly on the arm as the three of them made their way, laughing, down to the Great Hall. As they entered, Ron again brought the conversation back to Ginny. "I wonder how she's fairing?"

*****

Draco:

Great, not only do I have a detention with Hagrid that I don't deserve, but I have it with a Gryffindor. And not just any Gryffindor, but a Weasley to boot. Draco's mood soured with every step he took towards Hagrid's hut. He glared at the Gamekeeper and the diminutive girl standing beside him.

Hagrid shuffled his feet and looked uncomfortable, as he always did around Draco, which gave the Head Boy some comfort. Ginny, however, was returning the glare, her brown eyes glittering.

Well, I guess she's got spirit, Draco thought grudgingly. "Let's get on with it," he grunted.

"Right then." Hagrid picked up a huge bucket from which a rather nauseating smell was emanating. "Those are yours."

Draco's disgusted gaze was drawn to two smaller buckets that also contained a foul-smelling substance. Ginny, who was closer to the buckets, wrinkled up her nose and picked up the smaller of the two.

Draco took a deep breath and held it as he picked up the last bucket. He risked a quick glance down, and had to stop himself from retching. It appeared to contain masses of raw meat, which, judging from the smell, and the luminescent sheen covering it, was slightly off.

"Hagrid?" Ginny asked, her voice strained from the effort to carry the heavy load. "What exactly are we feeding?" She sounded dubious, with good reason, Draco thought.

Hagrid's face lit up. "Oh, just you wait. They're beautiful. Here we are."

They turned a bend and there, inside a pen that, to Draco, didn't remotely look strong enough to keep the creatures inside contained, were two huge animals. He heard Ginny breathe a "Wow" beside him, and, from what was currently a safe distance, he had to agree with her.

In front of them stood two griffins. Draco had a suspicion that they were going to be the summer project Hagrid had been spouting on about during their last lesson. They had obviously just woken up and were pacing about the pen.

"Now, what you want to do is to get quite close to them. They don't like their food thrown at them," Hagrid was saying. Draco exchanged an incredulous look with Ginny. He expected them to get close to those creatures?

Draco said as much to Hagrid, and added that there was no way he was going near them. "Oh, don't be such a baby," Ginny huffed. "It can't be that bad if Hagrid's doing it." Draco noticed that she didn't sound that confident.

"Just watch me," Hagrid instructed. The two students stared as Hagrid made his way, gingerly, Draco thought, towards the two hungry griffins. They eyed the huge Gamekeeper up, and watched him carefully with their golden eyes. Hagrid bent down slowly and gently tipped the bucket, trailing the contents in front of the griffins. He then backed away slowly.

"See, easy," Hagrid said once he was out of the pen. "I'll leave you to it, then, I've got to get to breakfast. Just don't turn your back on them, and keep your movements slow and you'll be fine. Have fun!" Hagrid then proceeded to leave them staring after him. "Oh," Hagrid turned back, "and Malfoy, I've left Fang to make sure you do your detention."

Draco suppressed a groan, and turned to the small redhead beside him. "After you," he said, smirking.

Ginny glared at him and started towards the pen. Draco fully intended to stay behind and watch, but a low growl from Fang made him rethink. Apparently the huge, slobbering beast expected him to follow Weasley in. He lifted his bucket with ease, thanking all those hours of Quidditch practise that toned his muscles. Ginny ahead of him was now quivering slightly, out of fear and most likely from carrying the heavy bucket.

The two of them slowly made their way in. Fortunately for them, the griffins were already occupied devouring the meat that Hagrid had left for them. Draco screwed up all his courage, and slowly tipped his bucket. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny doing the same thing.

Once their buckets were empty, they left them by the side of the pen, next to Hagrid's. "There, that wasn't so hard, was it?" Draco said, smirking at Ginny.

Ginny glared at him. "Argh!" she growled and turned away from him.

Draco's Seeker eyes caught the reaction from the nearest griffin, and his arm shot out. Ginny squeaked as Draco pulled her back against him, out of range of the ferocious animal. Instinctively, he dragged her with him as he opened the gate and shut it behind them quickly.

"Phew!" Ginny breathed. Draco looked down at her; the top of her head barely reached his chin, and noticed that she had opened her mouth to say something else.

Draco's eyes fixed on her mouth, with its pink lips that bizarrely reminded him of raspberries, his favourite fruit. Suddenly he realised who he was still holding around the waist, and let go of her just as she leapt away from him.

"Ugh!" Ginny pushed her hands against his chest and then wiped them on her robes. "Well, at least it was quick." She gave Fang a quick pat and kiss on the head, and then walked off, ignoring Draco.

Draco looked after her, unable to believe what had just happened. He couldn't believe that, firstly he'd rescued Ginny, and secondly that she hadn't thanked him. Surely that was something that Gryffindors did. Oh Merlin, Ginny was a Gryffindor. And he'd been thinking about her lips. Lips that belonged to a Weasley. Draco groaned. Could life get any worse?

He was about to run his hands through his hair, wanting to feel the silky smoothness of his now short hair, when he realised that they still stank of raw meat. Not about to stoop to Weasley's level of wiping his hands on his robe, he had to keep thinking of her as a Weasley, and not Ginny, meant that he had to stop by a bathroom to wash his hands first before heading to breakfast.

Draco looked up at the sun as it rose above Hagrid's hut. He'd have to hurry if he wanted to make it to breakfast.

*****

Ginny:

Oh, my God! Oh, my God! Oh, my God! That did not just happen! Ginny quickened her pace the minute she was sure that Draco was not behind her - No, not Draco, Malfoy! she admonished herself.

She had hastily wiped her hands on her robes, but she was sure she still stank of raw meat. She'd have to have a quick shower before practice, which meant that she'd have to catch Harry before breakfast ended.

She rushed into the Great Hall and randomly wondered if Draco had thought to grab some breakfast this morning. Ah! Stop it! Stop it!

"You missed breakfast, Gin," Ron said, shaking her out of her thoughts.

"Oh, it's okay, I grabbed something from the kitchens before detention." She sat down beside them as the tables magically emptied, sending all the dishes and leftovers back to the kitchens.

"What is that smell?" Hermione said, scrunching up her nose.

"Essence of Malfoy," Ginny said absently.

"What?" Ron yelped.

"It's raw meat, Ron. We had to feed the griffins."

"We, as in you and Malfoy?"

"Ooh, griffins?" Hermione said with interest. "Wow, they're supposed to be extremely beautiful."

"And dangerous," Harry added, with a slight frown. "You're all right? Nothing happened?"

Ginny felt herself blushing. Oh, nothing happened, she thought, closing her eyes a little, but it almost did.

"Ginny?" Hermione questioned.

"Did Malfoy try anything?"

"Oh, be quiet, Ron." Hermione shook her head. "As if Malfoy would even think about it."

Ginny frowned, almost wanting to protest, but luckily her brain was quick to point out that that was not a good idea. "Look, as you can tell, I smell like raw meat. I need to shower before practice, but I'll be there as soon as I can."

Harry nodded. "That's okay. You're not playing this weekend's match, are you?" he said with a secretive smile that Ginny chose to ignore. She knew when to press Harry and when to leave it alone, and she knew he would only tease her with this until he was ready to tell her, anyway.

She shook her head. "No, Anna, Joy and Dennis are Chasing this week, which you know because you told us that."

"Okay." Harry smiled, but didn't comment on what she had said. "That means we can do some Seeker training." Ginny groaned, but she was still smiling. "You need to be in shape to take over from me next year, Ginny."

"I know, I know, I was only joking." Ginny smiled and stood up. "I'll see you soon."

She rushed out of the hall and connected with someone solid. Just before she hit the floor, a strong arm grabbed hold of her and steadied her. She stood still for a moment, a little too shocked to think.

She shook her head and turned with a smile. "Thank y-" Her eyes widened as she stared into two intense grey eyes. The same eyes she had been staring into earlier that morning.

"Watch where you're going, Weasley," he said, suddenly letting go of her. She was just about to reply when the reason for him jumping back became apparent.

"Get your hands off my sister, Malfoy!"

"With pleasure, Weasel. It's not like I get a kick out of touching up Gryffindors." Malfoy sneered, his eyes hardening.

"Well, it wouldn't surprise me!"

"Oh, shut up, Ron!" Ginny said, getting angry that she was being fought about like some kind of object.

"See that, Weasel," Malfoy said with a smirk. "Even your own sister can't stand listening to you."

"Oh, sod off, Malfoy!" Ginny whirled round and headed straight for the stairs leading to Gryffindor tower. As if it wasn't bad enough that she smelled of raw meat, Ron was being a complete jerk and Malfoy had really nice eyes.

Stop it! She stopped and smacked her head against the wall beside the Fat Lady. Malfoy was evil and a Slytherin and evil and...well, evil! She was not allowed to have lusty thoughts about his nice eyes and gorgeous body and this really wasn't helping. She groaned and hit her head again.

"I don't think that's really going to help, dear," the Fat Lady said, with a note of sympathy. "Who is it this time?"

"Ugh, you really do not want to know." Ginny shook her head, trying to clear her thoughts of Draco. He was mean and nasty and why was he being so nice? Well, perhaps nice was too strong a word. But he was being civil and he kept looking at her lips, was that a good thing?

No! Bad thing. Dra - Malfoy, is evil and his being... decent and gentleman-like is not helping matters. Just because he's gorgeous and sexy doesn't make him not a Slytherin! And he does not want me! And I need a shower.

"Weasley Wizard Wheezes," she said and the Fat Lady moved to reveal the door to the common. She definitely needed a shower. A cold shower.

*****

Ron:

Ron watched as Malfoy turned on his heel and walked away from him, not even allowing him to get the last word in. Ron ground his teeth.

"Watch it, Ron, your head might explode!" Harry said as he and Hermione joined him.

"That stupid git, he's such a..." Ron couldn't get the words out, he was so furious. There was just something about Malfoy that got right under his skin.

"Look, don't worry about it," Hermione said soothingly, laying a hand on his arm. "Ginny can look after herself."

Ron just grunted and glared at the corridor Malfoy had disappeared down. "We had better pulverise him in Quidditch."

"Speaking of Quidditch," Harry said quickly, as he and Hermione dragged Ron up the stairs, "we have to get ready for practise."

Ron brightened immediately. Now he had something interesting to focus on. "You're right, come on," he yelled, pulling his arms away from his friends and bounding up the stairs.

He waited for them outside the Fat Lady, grateful that his long legs made the trip easy. Hermione was definitely puffing, and even Harry, although he had grown considerably in the past few years, was slightly out of breath.

"Looks like you need some more exercise," Ron teased Harry. He still couldn't get over the fact that he could nearly look him in the eyes now. He hadn't been able to do that since first year. For some reason it irked Ron a little. It didn't seem fair that the Boy-That-Lived should be tall as well as everything else. Ron quashed that thought right away. He knew where that led, and he didn't want to end up not talking to Harry for weeks like the time when they were in fourth year.

Of course, there were always advantages of both of them being tall now. For one, the fact that Crabbe and Goyle had had to repeat their fifth year meant that Malfoy no longer had his bodyguards, and thus made it easier to threaten the Slytherin. Ron conveniently forgot that Malfoy wasn't exactly vertically challenged either, and lost himself in thoughts of the Slytherin git's frightened face as Harry and him beat him to a pulp. Another reason was that they could protect Hermione. She hadn't appeared to have grown since fourth year, and the top of her head only reached his mid-chest, and Harry's shoulders. Ron reflected that, despite that, the Head Girl still had the ability to shut anyone up with one glare.

He grinned at her flushed face, ignoring her mock-glare as Harry gave the password. Ron loved her like a sister, and certainly felt as protective towards her as he did Ginny. He wasn't sure when his feelings for her had changed, for they certainly had. He remembered when he had realised that Hermione was actually a girl, as opposed to just one of his best friends. He had never got up the courage to say anything to her, and then events had overtaken them, and when he finally had time to think about her, Ron realised that during that time his feelings had changed again. He could certainly see that she was, well, female. He couldn't bring himself to think of her as a girl, she was far too mature for that, and the word woman made it seem as though she was experienced, which he definitely hoped she wasn't! It wasn't hard to miss, now, after all. Ron fully admitted that Hermione was beautiful.

He had a passing thought as to why she hadn't ever gone out with anyone, but then realised that anyone who wanted to go out with her would know that they had to go through Harry and himself. And everyone knew that that would be virtually impossible.

"Well, while you two are practising, I'm going to be doing some actual work," Hermione was saying. "You know, that homework that Professor McGonagall set us. It needs doing." She looked sternly at the two of them.

Harry groaned. "Hermione, we know, but we also have to practise."

"And I resent you suggesting that Quidditch should take a backseat to some stupid project," Ron added.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "This stupid project is worth a lot of marks, which go to your NEWTs, in case you had forgotten."

Ron grinned. "I know. Have fun!" He loved winding her up.

Hermione rolled her eyes, and threw her hands up in the air, before walking over to a table to pick up a book. Harry and Ron watched her go, and then glanced at each other. "We can do it once we've finished," Harry said, making his way up to their dorm. "Come on, let's get changed and get our brooms, or else we'll be late."

Ron snorted. "Late? I don't think so, but all right. I take it you have something planned for the match next week?" He struggled with his boots, narrowly avoiding the flying jumper that Harry tossed his way as he undressed.

Harry looked up from tying his Quidditch robes on. "Of course I do. How can you doubt me?"

Ron shrugged and straightened up, his own robes swirling gently around his ankles. "Well, you just haven't mentioned anything to me. And, normally we talk about strategies."

Harry paused on his way out the door, holding his Firebolt. "You're right, and I'm sorry. But, this time it's different. You'll understand when I talk to the rest of the team. I'll need your help this week, though. I have this idea about a new formation, but I'm not sure."

Ron smiled, relieved. He had his own ideas, and he had hoped that Harry was going to ask him about strategies. Although it was unofficial, Ron thought of himself as being as much the Captain as Harry was. They had certainly hashed out enough tactics this term together. Ron's schemes always involved Harry's role as Seeker, which Harry tended to forget. He generally focussed on the rest of the team, since he saw how they played from his vantage point up in the sky. But Ron, as Keeper, saw the whole pitch, including Harry, and had cooked up some brilliant plans. He couldn't wait to put them to good use against Slytherin.

As he and Harry walked back down the stairs, Ron grinned. "Malfoy's not going to know what's hit him."

"You're right," Harry said, smirking.

Ron glanced at him, curious. Harry had something up his sleeve. Clearly he wasn't going to say anything just yet, but Ron was sure that he could get it out of his friend soon enough.

"It's perfect weather, too," Harry commented as they walked through the Common Room. "Ah, this is the life," he added, grinning as he stepped out of the portrait-hole.

*****

Parvati:

She watched as Ron and Harry passed by her again, this time clutching their broomsticks. She knew that they had not seen her and she didn't really care. No one ever saw her, not really.

I have got to stop feeling sorry for myself, she thought, shaking her head. It is not the end of the world. I'm still alive and if I word it right, I'm sure Lavender will forgive me...I think.

She sighed and forced the tears in her eyes to stay where they were. No one might know she was there, but she refused to cry, especially in the common room. She wasn't like that, not anymore. Not that anyone really knew her well enough to realise that. No one but Terry, and Terry didn't care anymore.

"Parvati, are you all right?" She jumped and froze for a moment. Hermione had taken her completely by surprise and she had to collect herself. "Parvati?"

"I'm fine, Hermione." She knew it had come out harsher than she meant, but in truth, Hermione was the first person she had talked to in a while, and she was still angry and upset. Hermione had turned to leave, looking more than a little hurt and offended by the way Parvati had spoken to her.

"Hermione," she called and the girl turned around. "I'm sorry. Thank you for caring enough to ask."

Hermione smiled and nodded, picking up a book that was sitting on the table beside her, before heading towards the stairway that led to the Head Girl's room. It was strange seeing the extra staircase back again; it hadn't been there since her third year when Percy Weasley had been Head Boy.

She looked around the room and suddenly felt very claustrophobic, she needed to get some fresh air. She quickly went up to her room and grabbed her cloak before heading out onto the grounds. She walked towards the lake and sat down beside her favourite tree. Lavender had always thought that it was strange that she had a favourite tree, but Parvati had always loved playing in trees when she was younger, something that no one who knew her would guess. She just loved the sense of magic that seemed to be around them.

She didn't know how long she sat there, but she didn't care. She could stay in that spot for hours and not notice the passage of time. After a while, she heard noises behind her, which wasn't unusual for a Saturday; people were always walking about the grounds. What caught her attention was that she recognised one of the voices, very well.

"I don't know."

"Come on, it'll be fun."

"Aren't you going out with Parvati?"

Terry laughed. "No, that was just a phase. Us, however..."

Parvati didn't hear anymore. She was too busy running away. She couldn't believe what Terry had said. After all the time they had been together and all the things he had said, it was just a phase?

She wasn't paying any attention to where she was going. And the fact that she nearly knocked someone over as she rushed through the school was barely even a thought in the back of her mind. All she could think about was that she wanted nothing more than to curl up and cry.

*****

Harry:

"Watch where you're going!" Ron said shaking his head as Parvati Patil bumped into him. "What do you think that was all about?"

Harry shook his head. "I have no idea."

"Same time tomorrow, Harry?" Dennis Creevey asked, changing his broom into his other hand.

"No," Harry said with a large smile. "Slytherin have the pitch all day tomorrow."

"And you're smiling?" Ginny cried. "How is this a good thing?"

"Because you don't know what I know." Harry smirked and gave the Fat Lady the password. "Seems that Malfoy is changing his team. His entire team." Harry watched the team's expressions change from alarm to happiness.

"Are you serious?" Ron asked incredulously. Harry nodded and Ron jumped in the air with a loud whoop.

"No wonder Draco seemed preoccupied yesterday," Ginny said with a frown and Harry was sure that he had stepped into some warped kind of reality.

"Did you just call Malfoy, Draco?" he asked, aware that Ron was so shocked he seemed incapable of constructing a sentence, let alone a coherent one.

Ginny only just seemed to have realised she had spoken out loud and, instead of replying she fumbled with an excuse about taking another shower and quickly headed up to her dorm, Anna, Joy, and Ashley running after her with their brooms.

"Tell me my little sister did not just call Malfoy by his first name."

Harry shrugged and shook his head. "Maybe the girls will get something out of her."

"Yeah," Seamus said with a grin. "That Ashley has a way of getting what she wants." He shook his head and rubbed his left arm where Ashley had sent a Bludger flying at him during practice.

Seamus and Dennis managed to talk Ron into going back up stairs to get dressed instead of running after Ginny, but Harry's attention was captured by Hermione as she entered the common room. She caught his gaze and smiled radiantly. Harry felt his cheeks flush, but he didn't really care; she was beautiful and she was smiling at him.

"What?" she asked, blushing. She walked right up to him and punched his shoulder playfully.

"Nothing." He smiled. "Just you." Her cheeks reddened even more and she ducked her head. Harry was suddenly aware of what he had just said and cleared his throat. He glanced across the room and his eyes widened when his gaze locked with Stephanie. The girl was staring at them, smirking.

"So, eh." He stepped back, shuffling his feet a little, ignoring the giggle that had clearly come from Ginny's roommate. "What were you doing?"

*****

Hermione:

Hermione looked up and shook her head before she could become lost in those deep green eyes. "Uh, homework, Transfiguration, remember?"

"Oh, right." Harry nodded. "So, was it hard?"

Hermione shrugged. "It wasn't that bad." They walked over to a table. "All I needed was to find the right book in the library."

"I don't suppose you want to lend me..." Harry started.

"No, I'm not lending you my homework, no matter what I feel..." Hermione trailed off, unable to believe she was actually going to finish that sentence.

"I was going to say the book, Hermione," Harry said, his eyes twinkling. "What were yougoing to say?"

Hermione's eyes widened. "Uh, nothing." How can I be so clever, and not be able to think of a smart answer? It must be those eyes. And that body. She caught herself before she started to drool. Hermione, stop it NOW! "Just what I feel about you having to do so much extra work, what with Quidditch, and everything." Phew, nice recovery.

"That's okay," Harry said, and Hermione sighed inwardly in relief. Obviously Harry was as dense as Ron. "I'm sure if you lend me the book, I'll be fine, although I thank you for your concern." He sat down at the table and avoided her gaze, but Hermione was sure that he winked at her.

Did he just wink at me? Oh God, does that mean he knows? Well, if he knows, then that's good, right? Hermione's thoughts tumbled over one another. Argh, just concentrate on something else. Like what, how can I possibly concentrate when Harry's sitting opposite me, staring earnestly at that bloody chess game he and Ron are ensconced in. Did I just say bloody? Argh, Ron's getting to me too! Hermione swallowed and sat down opposite Harry. She tried not to stare as Harry slowly picked up a pawn and advanced it one square.

He looked up when he'd finished, and caught her eye, grinning. "Ron's going down."

Hermione felt herself smile back. It was as though there was no-one else in the world when he smiled at her like that. "If that's what you'd like to think, then I won't correct you," she returned, laughing.

"Hey," Harry said, standing up, "what's that supposed to mean?"

"Harry, when was the last time you beat Ron at chess?"

"There's a first time for everything," Harry said haughtily.

Hermione stuck her tongue out, and punched him on the arm again. "Aren't you starving after your match?"

"Yeah, I am, actually." Harry looked down. "Which reminds me, I've got to get changed." He walked away, picking up his Quidditch cloak from the chair, and Hermione gazed unabashed at Harry's arse in the tight Quidditch uniform. She suddenly had a new appreciation for the sport. "I'll bring Ron back down with me," he called back.

Hermione's eyes darkened slightly at the reminder why anything between Harry and herself would be difficult. She had a sudden urge to match-make Ron with anyone, even a Slytherin, just so that she could have Harry to herself occasionally. She tore her gaze away from Harry, and avoided the smirks of Ginny's roommates, whilst she waited for her two best friends to return.

*****

Ron:

"Hey, Harry," Ron said as Harry walked in, his Quidditch cloak swinging from his arm. "You're looking cheerful." Indeed, Harry was. His eyes were twinkling merrily, and he had a rather absurd grin on his face.

"Yeah, I am," Harry responded, throwing the cloak on his bed, and digging into his trunk for clothes to wear for lunch. "I just can't believe Malfoy's being so stupid to get rid of his whole team."

Ron stopped attempting to shove his cloak into his trunk, and looked up. "Maybe there's something behind it," he suggested.

"Like what?" Harry asked, pulling an old green jumper over his head, making his glasses wonky. "You can't expect me to believe that there's sinister plan behind it all. Not even Malfoy could pull that off!"

Ron shrugged. "I don't know, this is Malfoy we're talking about. I wouldn't put anything past him."

"I mean, I know their team was pretty rubbish to start off with, but there's no way anyone could expect to scrape together a team good enough to beat us in a week," Harry continued, leading the way down the stairs.

"Don't count your dragons before they're hatched," Ron muttered. He didn't trust that Malfoy git as far as he could throw him. On second thoughts, not even that far, Ron added to himself. "You're in a hurry," he commented as Harry barrelled down the steps.

"What?" Harry stopped mid-step, his eyes wide. "No, I'm not. Er, I mean, yes, of course I am, I mean, I'm really hungry." He swallowed nervously and wouldn't catch Ron's eye.

"What is with you?" Ron blurted out. "Look, I didn't mean to get you all worried about Malfoy and his conspiracies. I'm sure we'll be fine, as always."

Harry visibly relaxed. "You're right, I'm sorry. Come on, Hermione's waiting for us."

Ron nodded. "We'd best get going then, you know how homework makes her hungry."

Harry agreed and dashed down the rest of the stairs. Ron followed more slowly, and emerged to see Harry and Hermione standing beside each other, their faces flushed and eyes sparkling. Ron shook his head inwardly. He didn't know what had got them so antsy, but he was beginning to believe that it was something important, and he had the feeling he was missing something obvious.

Maybe Ginny knows. Ron shook his head again. Nope, you're not to talk to her until you've found out about that Draco comment, remember. Bloody Malfoy, he's sliding his way into all of my friends' thoughts. Ron growled, and then looked up, expecting to see Harry and Hermione staring at him. Instead, they were gazing at the floor and a chair respectively. Ron rolled his eyes, and walked over to grab an arm each. "Come on, if you're not going to make a move, then I am."

Harry and Hermione jerked their arms away from his as though he was a Blast-Ended Skrewt, but Ron ignored them, and chivvied them towards the portrait. He did, though, file away that piece of information away for later investigation.

*****

Parvati:

Parvati rubbed her swollen eyes and picked up her wand, muttering an illusion charm to hide the fact that she'd been crying. She had thought about just missing lunch altogether but then she had realised just how weak that was. She had been raised well, and it was no secret to her that a lot of people considered her a snob, and if there was one thing that her upbringing had taught her it was that no one had the right to make her feel the way Terry had. And it was time that she remembered that.

She took a deep breath and straightened out her hair before exiting the bathroom, calling a quick goodbye to Myrtle, who was crying somewhere in the U bend. She walked quickly through the hallway, her stomach reminding her that she had only just picked at her breakfast.

As she entered the Great Hall, she spotted Harry, Ron and Hermione, arm in arm, making their way to the Gryffindor table. She smiled sadly, wishing that she had friends like that; someone that she could talk to. Her gaze drifted down the table, finally resting on Lavender. She was sitting with Dean, laughing as she fed him something from his plate, purposefully missing and smearing it on his face.

Parvati smiled and longed once more to be able to turn back time. She remembered when she and Lavender had been inseparable. For five years they had done everything together, they had shared everything with each other. And then it had all gone wrong; she had started dating Terry and everything else had changed.

She and Lavender had drifted further and further apart, and when her friend had started dating Dean Thomas, they had slowly become strangers. Lavender had finally commented on it and they had ended up arguing and hadn't spoken since. What made it worse was that Parvati wasn't even sure what had been said or why they had ever let it go that far.

She suddenly realising that she must have been staring at Lavender for a long time, because her old friend was looking at her strangely before turning back to talk to Dean. Parvati looked away and her gaze caught Terry's. He was looking at her with a smirk, obviously loving that he had his arm around Holly Matthews and she was standing alone in the middle of the great hall with no boyfriend and no friends.

"Parvati?"

She turned to Hermione and forced a smile. "Sorry, Hermione, what is it?"

"Well, I was, that is, Ron, Harry and I, were wondering if you wanted to sit with us."

Parvati smiled, only this time it was genuine, and nodded her head. "I'd love to."

*****

Draco:

Draco only picked at his food, instead shoving it round his plate. He glanced down the table of Slytherins. He saw two large fifth year boys; Dave Matthews and Steven Burrows, he remembered. They appeared to have some intelligence, and Draco was intent on recruiting them as Beaters.

He already had two Chasers lined up, a sixth year named Kelly Marshall, and a fourth year called Ian Knight. Scanning the group of Slytherins further down the table, he spotted the girl he was looking for. Draco had seen Keira Silver fly the week before, and knew that he'd found his last Chaser. The only problem was that she was becoming annoyingly difficult to find outside of lessons, and because she was only a third year, Draco hadn't yet been able to arrange a chance meeting.

He turned to the lean boy sitting beside him. It was Vlad Davids, a transfer student from Durmstrang. For some reason, although he was born and bred English, his parents had decided to give him a silly name and send him to Durmstrang. Although, Draco certainly didn't see anything wrong with going to Durmstrang, it definitely helped if you could speak the language there, and Vlad was useless with languages. His parents had finally given up trying to get him to learn anything there, and sent him to Hogwarts in his fifth year. Draco knew that the only thing he'd done well at Durmstrang was play for a Quidditch team.

"Vlad, how would you like to play Keeper for my team?" Draco asked, out of the blue.

Vlad choked on his mashed potatoes. "What? I would love to, Draco, but how did you know I was a Keeper?"

Draco smiled an emotionless smile. "It's my business to know these things. And don't call me Draco. I'm your team Captain, not your friend."

Vlad swallowed nervously. Good, Draco thought, better that he's nervous and listens to me. Getting this team in shape is going to be a nightmare. He finally decided what he was going to do about Keira, and quickly finished the food in front of him.

Pushing the plate away, Draco stood up, ignoring a puzzled look from Blaise opposite him. He strode down the Hall, stopping to stand behind Keira. The conversation around her died, and she looked up to see why. Draco leant down and whispered in her ear, "Meet me at the Quidditch pitch in ten minutes. Don't be late." He turned and walked away, not giving her time to answer.

As he exited the Great Hall, Draco's eyes were caught by a flash of red. Bloody hell, Draco, stop thinking about that tart and concentrate on Quidditch. He ignored the very quiet voice that whispered to him, She's not a tart, and walked outside, taking a deep breath of fresh air. That should clear my head of thoughts of her. Although, he admitted to himself, she certainly has a fit body, he reflected as his mind skipped back to their detention that morning. Was it only that morning? It seemed like forever.

He quickly brought his thoughts into check as he stepped onto the Quidditch pitch. He spent the next few minutes going over strategies in his mind, and then turned to watch Keira Silver walk towards him. Speaking of great bodies...Draco smirked openly as she eyed him warily.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"What don't I want, is the more appropriate question," Draco said lightly. "However, I didn't ask you here to talk about me, as lovely as the topic is."

"Commanded, more like," Keira muttered, obviously to herself, but Draco caught her words.

"Exactly, Miss Silver," he snapped. "And I will continue to command you until this team is whipped into shape."

"Team, what team?" she asked, looking confused.

"I wouldn't do that," Draco advised. "Your face might stick like that, and then no one will want you." He ignored the furious look on her face, and continued. "I'm talking, of course, about the Quidditch team, of which you are now a member. You're playing a Chaser, and I expect you to come to training tomorrow morning at six."

"What?" Keira's mouth dropped open, but she quickly shut it after Draco raised his eyebrow. "You can't just order me to play."

"Of course I can. Don't you know who I am? If you don't play, I'll take House points off you." He wagged his finger at her. "Don't think I won't take points off my own House. Quidditch is more important than that, and you're going to play. Take it as a compliment that I went out of my way to ask you."

Keira glared at him, and Draco matched it. Finally, he sighed, and ran his hands through his hair. "Look, Slytherin hasn't won the Quidditch Cup for years, all because of Potter. If we have you on the team, we can win it this year. Do you really want to let your House down?"

Keira's expression softened. "I suppose not. All right, I'll be there. Although, does it have to be that early?"

Draco crossed his arms in front of his chest and didn't answer. "I guess it does," she said glumly. "I'll see you then, then." She walked slowly back up the hill.

I am so good, Draco smirked. Today was looking up. He decided to head to the library to finish his homework. He wanted to access some books from the Restricted Section, and despite being a Malfoy, Madam Pince wouldn't let him leave the library with them, which meant he had to sit at the tables with the rest of the studious types in the school.

Draco shuddered involuntarily as he thought he might see the Mudblood, Granger. Although, perhaps not. She has been making googly-eyes at Potter recently. He grinned. I wonder how long they'll be able to keep that secret from the Weasel. Now there's an interesting piece of information. Draco's eyes glittered as he entered his room to get his school stuff. Very interesting indeed.

*****

Ginny:

Ginny checked around the corner. There was no one there. She ran as quick as she could and stood flat against the wall, making sure that the suit of armour had her completely hidden.

This is ridiculous! she thought angrily. I should not have to hide from my friends!

She closed her eyes, leaning her head against the wall, trying to ignore the small voice that was reminding her she had brought the whole thing on herself. She really needed to watch what she was saying. What was more disturbing was that she was not only thinking of Malfoy as Draco, no, the most disturbing thought was that she was thinking of Malfoy at all!

What I have to do is just make sure that the only time I see him is when we're on the Quidditch pitch and even then, I'll be concentrating on the Quaffle. In fact, she rationalised. I'm not even playing this week, that gives me the perfect opportunity to just sit back and study Draco. No! Harry, not Draco! Ugh, Malfoy!

Ginny turned and hit her head off the wall, hoping to knock some sense into herself, but it had no effect other than giving her a headache. Sighing, she decided to forget about her friends chasing her, about her current obsession with Draco Malfoy and turned towards the library.

She had grabbed her homework as she made her quick getaway from Gryffindor Tower and she was thankful. Her Arithmancy homework was enough to scramble her brains so that she wouldn't think about anything or anyone. Even if his gorgeous grey eyes were currently staring right at her.

Crap! Crap! Crap! She wanted to turn and run. Why can't Malfoy have his own library! He's rich enough! Dumbledore could make it for him and oh, my God! I'm staring at him. Blatantly staring at him!

Panic in her eyes, she hastily sat down at the nearest available chair, which was opposite, but three closer to the door than Malfoy's was. It was a Saturday and she couldn't understand why the library was so busy, until she remembered that the seventh years had a special project to hand in for Professor McGonagall on Monday, and no one wanted to fail.

Ginny suddenly realised that she was staring again. His hair was looking mussed up, as if he had been running his hands through it and Ginny smiled, wanting nothing more than to run her hands through his hair. She remembered when he was younger that he used to slick his hair back, but she definitely preferred it the way he had it now; it was sexier and Draco was staring at her!

"Hey, Ginny, do you have your Defence Against the Dark Arts homework with you?"

Startled to find someone seeking her attention, Ginny jumped and turned to face Jerry Smith, the Ravenclaw boy who sat next to her whenever possible.

"Yes, I do, but I am not giving it to you. Do your own," she replied with a scowl. Not only was she irritated with herself for blatantly drooling all over Draco Malfoy, but she was fed up of Jerry's advances. He wasn't ugly exactly, just smug, and he didn't have the Malfoy good looks to pull it off, not that she didn't often want to smack the smirk off Draco Malfoy's face.

"Oh, come on, Gin, I'll take you for dinner at the next Hogsmeade trip as a thank you."

Ginny looked away from Jerry, suppressing a shudder. She frowned as she realised that Draco was smirking at her, but for once he seemed to be sharing a joke with her, as if he was teasing her for Jerry's advances.

"Ginny?" Jerry's voice broke her gaze with Malfoy as she turned to look at the Ravenclaw, suddenly remembering that he had just asked her out. Again. Spending any time with Jerry was bad enough, but the thought of spending a prolonged period of time with him by choice was just disturbing.

"I'll pass, thanks," Ginny said and turned back to her books. When Jerry finally took the hint and left her alone, she chanced another look at Draco and found him still staring at her, a slight smile playing on his lips. That in itself was something of an oddity. Draco Malfoy did not smile. Ever. Especially at a Gryffindor, and definitely not at a Weasley. He smirked, he glared, he scowled and he was mean, but he didn't smile. And yet, there he was, smiling at her. It wasn't a big smile; it wasn't even a noticeable smile unless you were looking for it. But she was definitely looking.

She spent the next two hours trying to get through her homework and not look at Draco Malfoy, but she didn't succeed. She had only managed to write three foot out of the eight that was due for her Arithmancy essay, and by dinnertime she was seriously beginning to hate spell construction.

She glanced at her watch and then began to pack up her things. Looking around the room, she realised that it had slowly emptied and she was left with only Madame Pince and Malfoy. She tried to control the blush in her cheeks as she looked him up and down when he stood up, but it didn't work. In fact, when it came to her control around Malfoy, nothing seemed to work.

Realising that she was likely to get caught staring at him again, she hurriedly picked up her bag and swung it around her shoulder, hurrying out the door. She was about half way down the hall when she was stopped by a voice. His voice.

"Ginny."

She turned around, not sure whether she should be more shocked by the fact that he had used her first name, or the fact that he was willingly talking to her in the first place.

"Draco," she said, hating the way her voice seemed to shudder when she spoke his name. She kept her chin up and her eyes focussed on his, hoping that he wouldn't comment on it. He didn't and instead, he held up a dark green notebook that she had scrawled her name on in silver ink.

*****

Draco:

"You certainly have good taste in colours," he added, raising an eyebrow when Ginny made no move to take the notebook.

Ginny swallowed. "Thanks," she finally managed to say, snatching it out of his hand as though it was a dragon's claw. "I'll just be going now," she said quickly, and turned away.

Draco watched her leave, a smirk on his face. He was beginning to enjoy winding the youngest Weasley up. She blushed very easily, he'd noticed. He was just about to turn away himself, when he heard her stop and say, "Don't think just because my notebook's green I have any inclination to liking Slytherins."

Draco smirked. "The thought never crossed my mind, Weasley." He turned then, and strode away, leaving Ginny to stare after him, and scowl in his direction.

He walked down the corridor happily. Today had been a good day. He'd got a Quidditch team together and practise was scheduled for tomorrow morning. He had interesting information about Potter and Granger to use against them, and he discovered that teasing Ginny Weasley was very rewarding. And, a little voice in his head added, it does help that she's pretty fit, and since staring at her seems to aggravate her, I'm not bothered.

As he entered the Common Room, Draco spotted Blaise, who waved him over. He changed direction and sat beside her on the two person green leather settee. "How's Quidditch going?" she asked.

Draco raised an eyebrow. Blaise had never been interested in Quidditch before. He decided to humour her. "I've managed to get a team together, that, if they work hard enough, will be able to play a decent match."

"I'm sure you'll have them fit as fiddles in no time," Blaise commented.

Draco glanced at her, his eyes narrowing and glittering coldly. Blaise shrank away slightly, but to her credit, didn't flinch. "Yes, no doubt I will," Draco finally said. He added quietly, "What's wrong with you?"

Blaise looked at him nervously. "I don't know what you mean."

"Don't act all innocent with me, Blaise," Draco warned.

Blaise looked round carefully, and leaned in closer. "I need to talk to you."

Draco merely looked back at her. "So talk."

Blaise's jaw muscles twitched. "Not here," she hissed.

Draco sighed dramatically. "Fine, let's go to my room." Everyone thinks we're shagging, anyway.

He stood up and Blaise followed him gracefully. Draco noticed that all the senior boys were discretely glaring after him, but he ignored them as he led Blaise up the staircase to his room. He dropped his bag on the floor beside his desk, and turned to watch Blaise close the door behind her. He noticed that her clothes were not quite as tidy as usual, and her hair was somewhat messy. This was not the usual, composed Blaise standing in front of him.

"Draco," she started, making her way forward to stand in the centre of the room. "I..." She wrung her hands.

Draco leaned back against the desk, crossing his legs and putting his hands in his pockets. He studied Blaise, noting the bitten fingernails.

"My father wants to us marry," she finally said.

Draco shrugged. "That's hardly new news, Blaise."

"I know, but did you know that he wants us to marry at the end of the school year?" Blaise added. "And that your father approved it?"

"Yes, of course I did. My father told me before I left," Draco said.

"You knew and you didn't tell me?" Blaise asked, shocked.

Draco shrugged again. "I thought you knew."

"And you're okay with it?"

"No, but that's not the point. I wasn't going to tell my father that," Draco said.

"So what are we going to do?" Blaise demanded.

"I know what I'm going to do. What you do is your choice." Draco moved to pick up his bag and unpack it, thereby ending the conversation.

"Draco," Blaise said, her voice trembling slightly. "Are you going to turn away..." She didn't finish her sentence, but Draco knew what she was going to say. Are you going to turn away from the Dark Lord?

Draco turned slowly, and met Blaise's nervous eyes. "Are you?"

She faltered slightly, and then drew herself up and met his gaze square on. "I'll do whatever I believe necessary."

"As will I, Blaise." He turned away again and continued sorting out his notes.

"I'll see you later, then," Blaise said, and exited his room, not waiting for an answer, knowing that he wouldn't give one.

Once she'd left, Draco breathed a sigh of relief and sat down on his bed. This year was turning into a nightmare. Not only did he have to worry about the whole poxy Quidditch team, and the fact that Ginny Weasley was occupying more of his thoughts, but now he had Blaise to seriously worry about.

She had confirmed his suspicions, but he still didn't know whether she was actually considering changing her allegiances, and whether she was merely sounding him out. At least he didn't have to worry about passing his NEWTs. He knew he could easily get all fourteen of them without much work.

Sighing, Draco turned to look out the window high up in the wall. All he could see was sky, as his room was situated above the dungeons. Narrowing his eyes against the stream of light, Draco thought he saw a blur sweep past. Potter, he thought to himself. At least he didn't have to worry about him. Draco grinned. He was going to have fun teasing Potter about Granger.

*****

Harry:

Harry laughed and swivelled the broomstick around. He loved the feel of the wind in his hair and the rush of the air as it flew past his ears and he was glad he had suggested that they spend the afternoon flying. He loved Quidditch and he loved practice, but there was something altogether different about flying for fun.

"Harry, I really don't think this was such a good idea."

He smiled as Hermione wobbled about on the school broomstick they had borrowed for her as she made her way towards him. He flew in a direct line towards her and reached out to steady her as she looked about ready to fall down into the lake.

"Did I ever tell you how much I hate flying?" she said with a slight glare and Harry laughed.

"You might have mentioned it once or twice." He smirked at her and she smiled.

"Oi, Harry," Ron said, pulling his broomstick to hover alongside them. "Parvati's not half bad, think we should invite her to join the team?"

"No!" Parvati laughed as she joined them. "For a start there's no point because I leave at the end of this year as well, and for another thing, I'd get too nervous."

Harry was sure that Ron had the same thought as he had, because he really couldn't see Parvati Patil being nervous about being the centre of attention. Ron rolled his eyes and turned to dive towards the lake as Parvati followed after him, skimming across the top of the water, soaking him in the process. Hermione laughed and turned to look at him and Harry couldn't help that his breath hitched in his throat.

"I don't think I've seen Parvati laugh in a long time."

Harry nodded but didn't comment as he looked at Ron chasing Parvati, trying to get her soaked in retaliation. Ron was right; she was a very good flier. He had to be honest and admit that he never really paid much attention to the other girl. The memories he retained of Parvati were of the flighty, giggly girl that he had met when he started Hogwarts, and aside from the blazing row she had had with Lavender (which the whole of Gryffindor tower had been privy to), he hadn't really paid attention to her since.

Harry looked at Hermione again and smiled. She was watching the chase on the lake with great amusement, a slight twinkle in her eyes, and Harry couldn't help himself; he reached out and gently stroked his thumb over her cheek.

She looked up at him, startled and he instantly tried to pull his hand away, but she caught it and smiled tentatively back at him. Harry let his hand rest on her face again, cupping her chin as he moved his broomstick closer to her, without even realising what he was doing.

Hermione leaned into his touch and her eyes fluttered closed as his thumb traced her jaw. He had wanted to kiss her before, but never as much as he wanted to at that precise moment. As if reading his thoughts, her eyes opened. Harry moved closer to her and her eyes widened as his lips almost touched hers. He kept his eyes open, wanting to make sure that she really wanted this before he actually kissed her, but not sure what he would do if she didn't.

"Hey, Harry, I think it's about to rain, we should head back to the castle!"

Harry and Hermione both jumped apart and he made a quick move to catch her as her surprise resulted in her falling from her broom. Her robes slipped through his fingers and she screamed as she fell towards the water. Harry dove and within seconds she was in his arms, clutching tightly to his shoulders with a death grip.

He was going to kill Ron.

*****

Hermione:

Oh my God! Oh my God! Her thoughts raced as she clung to Harry's broad shoulders.

"Are you okay?" he asked her, his voice shaking slightly.

Hermione took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, thanks. I'm going to kill Ron, though."

Harry chuckled and Hermione could feel it rumbling through his chest. It brought her thoughts back to what had been about to happen just before Ron had untimely interrupted them. They had been about to kiss. She knew it would have been the most intense kiss of her life, and that only increased her bitterness towards Ron. He had better not come near me for a good few hours, she thought to herself as she scowled at her red-headed friend.

Ron and Parvati flew up to them, and Ron's face was whiter than usual. "Are you all right, Hermione?"

"Yes, I'm fine," she snapped. "No thanks to you."

Ron looked puzzled. "What are you talking about?"

"Well, you did kind of surprise us," Harry said.

"Sorry," Ron apologised. "But, didn't you hear me mentioning the storm clouds heading our way?"

Hermione could see Harry's eyes widened, and quickly jumped in. "No, Harry was giving me tips on how to fly and I was concentrating on staying on my broom. You know I hate flying." Although, she added to herself, it isn't nearly as bad when I'm sitting with Harry on his broom. She wrinkled up her nose at the innuendo and shook her head. She was clearly spending too much time around Ginny.

"I caught Hermione's broom," Parvati said, holding the broom, which, to Hermione, looked as though it was glaring angrily at her for letting it fall into the lake.

"Thanks, Parvati," Ron said, smiling. "It'd be pretty bad if we had to replace it." He turned to Hermione. "We'd should be getting back, so you'd probably be best getting back onto your broom."

Hermione's eyes widened. "You must be joking! I'm staying right here, thank you very much. There's no way I'm getting back on that vindictive thing."

Harry chuckled. "All right then. I think my trusty Firebolt can take us both back. Ron, you keep hold of the vicious broom until we can lock it away."

Ron grinned at him and nodded. "I'll put a Stupefy curse on it, too, shall I?"

Hermione glared at Ron, and hit Harry gently. "Stop it, both of you, and get me back onto solid ground."

"Yes, boss." Harry led the way and gently landed on the Quidditch pitch, holding onto Hermione for what was much longer than the normally appropriate time.

Hermione didn't mind, though. In fact, she loved the feel of Harry's strong arm wrapped around her small waist in a protective manner. He squeezed her briefly before letting go and moving to unlock the broom shed. All the Quidditch Captains had keys to the shed, along with Madam Hooch.

"Get in there, you beast!" Ron shouted, pretending to struggle with the broom as he placed it back on the rack.

Hermione and Parvati shared a grin, although Hermione quickly smothered hers when the boys reappeared, instead glaring at them. Unfortunately, both of them could see through her disguise and she could see Harry's eyes twinkling merrily.

"Come on, let's go, I'm starving!" Ron said, leading the way up to the castle.

"What's new?" Harry muttered to Hermione.

"He's right, though, all the excitement's made me hungry," Hermione countered.

"So, you thought it was exciting?" Harry asked, leaning closer and his voice becoming huskier.

"Well, some of it," Hermione whispered, her eyes focusing on Harry's lips, her tongue licking her own.

"Really?" Harry smirked, and, whilst Hermione thought he looked incredibly sexy smirking, she desperately wanted to kiss that smirk right off.

"Umm, I'm getting hungrier by the minute," she answered breathlessly.

"Well, in that case, I'd better get you to the Great Hall before you faint from hunger," Harry said, grinning, and picking her up.

Hermione shrieked and smacked him, but he didn't put her down, instead running up to Ron. "Help me, Ron, Hermione's about to die of starvation!"

Ron laughed and opened the castle doors to let Harry through.

"You're such an idiot!" Hermione said through her laughter. She was infuriated that Harry had not taken the opportunity to kiss her outside, but she was smart enough to realise that it would have been incredibly stupid.

Harry put her down, and Ron grabbed her hand. "Come on, Hermione, I'm hungry too."

He dragged Hermione into the Great Hall. She could feel Harry's eyes on her as he and Parvati followed them in, and tried not to blush when he sat opposite her at the table.

That boy is just too handsome for his own good, Hermione thought to herself. And now he knows how he effects you, and will torment you forever, another voice said. Shut up! At least I know I can retaliate. I just wish we could be open about it. Still, I guess sneaking around is something Harry and I have a lot of experience in. Her thoughts drifted back over the previous years to all of their adventures, although she couldn't but help notice that every single one of them included Ron. It's a pity we're an odd number. Things would be much simpler if there were four of us! Then again, she added, looking at Ron talking animatedly to Parvati, maybe there are four of us now.

*****

Parvati:

Parvati listened to Ron energetically discussing the last Cannons game, his hands flying all over the place in an attempt to clearly show exactly how every play had contributed to their eventual win and she couldn't help but grin. She had had more fun in the last few hours than she could remember having in the last few years.

It's no wonder they spend all their time together, she thought. They really are the best of friends.

"And then Kerr swept in, did the best Turner spin since Turner himself and scored the last goal just as O'Connor caught the Snitch. It was bloody lucky too. If Kerr hadn't scored, O'Connor would have won it for the Wombats." He shook his head.

"Well, maybe if the Cannons invested in a half decent Seeker then they might have a chance." Ron was looking at her as if she had just committed blasphemy and she smiled. "Seriously Ron, Smythe was never meant to be a Seeker, she's built for a Chaser, but she just doesn't have the agility and speed to play Seeker."

Ron nodded rather grudgingly. "I guess you're right."

Parvati took another small helping of mashed potatoes, laughing as Ron took the dish from her and emptied the rest onto his plate. "Where do you put it all?" she asked as he took his second helping of chicken.

He shrugged. "I work it off doing many manly things that are...well, manly," he said with a cheeky grin.

Parvati tried to stop her cheeks from reddening at the thought of just how manly Ron was. She heard a chuckle and looked up at Harry who was sitting next to Ron, looking right at her. She did her best to glare, but it didn't work and instead she found herself smiling at him.

She couldn't believe just how easily she had fallen into a friendly rapport with The Trio. She and Lavender had always thought that they were such an exclusive group, and she had to admit that she never would have got along with them so easily all those years ago. She knew she was flighty, but she was just so happy to have found a good friend in Lavender that she didn't care.

If she was honest, she was more like her mother than Padma was. Where Padma had inherited her father's good sense and brains, Parvati seemed to have her mother's way with people. She had always been the more fickle twin, but it had never bothered her before, at least, not until Terry had assumed that she was a complete airhead.

She knew that the way she had always worshipped Professor Trelawney had earned her the reputation for being less intelligent than her sister, but Parvati was by no means stupid. She knew something that no one else was privy to. Her mother had gone to school with their somewhat melodramatic teacher and Parvati knew that Trelawney was not a fake; at least not always. She may have made up most of her predictions, but Parvati knew that there was at least one real one, a real one that was so important that not many people even knew it existed.

She glanced at the Ravenclaw table and her eyes found her sister. She knew that she should feel bitter that Padma had not really been around for her lately, but she also knew that her sister found it difficult to talk about Terry without using the phrase "I told you so". A phrase that Parvati hated with a flaming passion, as it was one that her sister had always used while they were growing up. She knew that she wasn't as intelligent as Padma, but that didn't mean she appreciated her sister rubbing it in.

Padma had warned her about Terry, she had warned her that he was not really interested in Parvati for anything more than someone to hang on his arm. Parvati should have listened, but she knew it was futile. She accepted that her one failing was how easily she gave her heart to people. Not necessarily always in the romantic sense, but in general as well. When she opened up to someone, she let them in with a blind eye and she would give them her heart. And Terry had broken it.

"Parvati?"

She looked up as Ron said her name. She realised that her cheeks were damp and quickly brushed her hands across them, wiping them dry. She tried not to look embarrassed, but she knew that her face was bright red.

"I'm sorry," she said, not looking any of them in the eye. Good one, Parvati. You finally have someone to talk to and you screw it up by crying on them. Oh God, what must Ron think? One moment you're talking Quidditch, the next you're crying a river into your mashed potatoes. Nice impression.

"What's wrong?" Hermione asked gently.

She turned to the girl, knowing that Harry and Ron were uncomfortable but that Hermione was really asking for all three of them. Because that was the way they worked; you didn't just get one, you got all three.

"I'm all right," Parvati said, trying to keep smiling. "I'm fine, I just got a little too lost in my thoughts, that's all." None of them looked to convinced, but she forced herself to smile, no matter what she was feeling (another thing she had got from her mother). "Really, I'm okay."

She glanced momentarily at Ron, hating the way her heart contracted at the thought that he would be uncomfortable around her now. She had only really started talking to him earlier that day, but she had soon found that she liked him. And she was suddenly wondering if that was such a good thing. Because she was beginning to wonder if her heart had just found the next person it wanted to be given to, and she wasn't sure she wanted to trust anyone with it again, even someone as seemingly wonderful as Ron Weasley.

*****

Ron:

Ron watched the emotions run over Parvati's face and frowned. This was one strange girl. Firstly she was talking to him about Quidditch, and he thought she was the best girl in the world, aside from Hermione, of course, and then she burst into tears. Tears were not something he could handle. He could see Harry shifting uncomfortably beside him and knew he was thinking the same thing.

When Hermione asked Parvati if she was all right and Parvati smiled, Ron felt much better. He noticed how her smile usually reached her eyes, and this time didn't, but didn't comment, thinking that it wouldn't be appropriate.

Bloody hell, Ron, since when do consider other people's feelings? he asked himself. Since those other people are smart and pretty, another voice said.

That Parvati was pretty went without saying. Everyone in Gryffindor knew that she was one of the prettiest girls in the senior classes, along with Hermione and Ginny. Although, of course, if anyone went near Ginny, he'd knock their heads off. Ron knew that some people thought Parvati was a bit dizzy, but having got to know her, he realised that wasn't the case, at least not any more.

Parvati's mood seemed to have lightened and she and Hermione were talking light-heartedly about Charms whilst they ate their dessert. Ron turned to Harry and caught him looking at the two girls.

"She's gorgeous, isn't she?" Ron whispered.

Harry jumped and his eyes widened as he stared at Ron. "Wh-what?"

"Parvati? She's gorgeous," Ron explained.

"Yeah, she is," Harry said, smiling slightly and glancing at her out of the corner of his eye.

"Hey, hands off," Ron said jokingly. "She's mine. I don't want you putting your Boy-Who-Lived mojo on her."

Harry's eyebrows rose. "Boy-Who-Lived mojo? What is this thing? I've never heard of it. Are you telling me I've had a weapon to attract the opposite sex that you been holding back from me?"

Ron grinned. "Oh, come on, you've got the whole handsome, hero thing going for you."

Harry snorted. "Yeah, see me beating off all the girls rushing to be by my side."

Ron shrugged. "Personally, I think Hermione scares them all off. At least, that's my excuse."

This time it was Harry's turn grin. "I don't know, in your case, it's probably Ginny as well. She's just as protective of you as you are of her! You don't stand a chance, man."

Ron pouted. "I think she'd approve of Parvati, though."

"So, does that mean you might make a move?"

"I don't know. I don't know how she'd react." Ron shrugged.

Harry glanced at the girl in question. "Personally, I think she'd react quite well. But, I would take it slow. I think it's a little early, what with the whole Terry mess."

"He was a bit of a git, wasn't he?"

Harry nodded. "From what I gathered, he just took her for a ride. And, I don't mean that literally," Harry added, off Ron's look. "Honestly, at least I know where Ginny gets her dirty mind from."

"Ginny's dirty mind?" Ron asked, aghast, quite upset that his innocent little sister could possibly be having distasteful thoughts. A small voice in his mind refused to be quietened, telling him that Ginny was now sixteen and in no way was she either little or innocent. "Speaking of her, where is she?"

*****

Ginny:

Ginny glanced at her brother. He had been talking quite animatedly to Parvati Patil and, although the girl seemed to have been upset for a little while (Leave it to Ron to upset her!), she could tell by the look on his face that he and Harry were discussing her.

She smiled and shook her head. She didn't know Parvati very well, but she had noticed that the girl had seemed out of sorts lately and Ginny was glad to see her smiling again. However if she hurt Ron, Ginny would dig her heart out with a spoon. A wooden one.

She found herself staring at the Slytherin table again and instantly berated herself. After the humiliating debacle in the hallway, she was determined to ignore Draco Malfoy, however her determination and her eyes didn't seem to be cooperating.

Grr! What is it about Draco Malfoy that makes my entire body contradict my brain? I don't care if he's gorgeous, he's evil! Lets say it again Ginny, evil.

"What was that, Gin?"

She turned to Stephanie with a frown. "Huh?"

"What's evil?" Stephanie asked. "You just muttered evil under your breath about five times."

"Did I?" Ginny asked, trying to keep her voice neutral. "I didn't notice."

"Whatever." Stephanie and Cara exchanged a glance, but didn't ask anything else of her, instead getting back into a conversation about their Astronomy homework.

Oh, yeah, that wasn't suspicious at all.

She shifted in her seat as her gaze was suddenly drawn to a movement at the Slytherin table. She had been watching him on and off through out the meal, but there was something different. Blaise Zabini kept looking at him strangely and she couldn't help the flash of jealousy that coursed through her at that thought. But what had her attention was that Draco was currently disengaging himself from the grasp of Pansy Parkinson before he stalked out of the door.

She wasn't quite sure what had possessed her, but before she knew it, she was following him out of the Great Hall. The hallways were deserted and she wasn't even sure where she was going, but she could hear the gentle patter of his footsteps ahead of her and she couldn't seem to stop herself from following.

Five minutes later, Ginny found herself in a part of the castle that she had never been in before. Not that that really surprised her, they were always finding strange corridors and doors that seemed to materialise from nowhere. Yet there was something that made her think that this wasn't a random hallway. There was something that made her think that Draco knew exactly where he was going.

What are you doing, you stupid girl? What do you think he's going to do when he realises you've been following him? Profess his undying love? I don't think so!

Ginny shook her head and sighed.

Turn back. There's no reason to keep going, she told herself. But he looked so angry. There had to be a reason, another part of her rationalised.

She had reached a corner in the hallway and was just about to turn back when she realised something. She couldn't hear Draco's footsteps anymore. She stopped and frowned before taking the few final steps to the corner, almost squealing in surprise when she came face to face with Draco Malfoy.

*****

Draco:

Draco studied Weasley's face as she realised he was standing there. "What are you doing, Weasley?"

"Uh, um, um," Ginny stuttered, and her face flushed.

Draco smirked, enjoying making her squirm. "Very eloquent, Weasley."

Ginny's face got even redder, but she met his eyes. Draco could see the fire behind her brown eyes. "If you must know, I was going for a walk."

Draco raised his right eyebrow. "A walk? To where, exactly?"

"Uh, to, uh, to nowhere," Ginny finally managed to say.

"Nowhere? How interesting," Draco drawled, smiling slightly as he watched Ginny shift uncomfortably under his gaze.

"Yes, nowhere, I just needed a walk."

"Weasley, you are perhaps the worst liar I have ever seen," Draco declared. He paused for effect. "Why were you following me? And don't think about denying it," he added as Ginny opened her mouth.

Her eyes flashed. "I wasn't going to," she answered hotly. Then her shoulders sagged slightly. "I don't know why, if you must know."

"If I must know? I would think that were the situations reversed, you would want to know why I was stalking you," Draco interjected.

Ginny flushed again, but stood up straighter. "You're right, I would. And I still don't know why. I guess I was just wondering why you looked so angry."

Draco's eyes narrowed. "Do you really want to know?" he asked, his voice softening and getting deeper. He moved closer to Ginny, and she edged back until she felt the castle wall at her back. Draco was only inches from her now, and he bent down so she was looking right into his cold grey eyes.

"Only if you want to tell me," Ginny countered, her voice steady despite the rapid beat of heart.

"There would be no point, Weasley, as you couldn't possibly understand the reasons," Draco said quietly, with a dangerous glint in his eyes. He did his best not to notice how his breath blew the tendrils of red hair away from her face. Being so close gave him the opportunity to study her brown eyes. He noticed that they weren't a regular brown colour, as they looked from a distance, but that they had a black ring round the outside, and there were black flecks scattered throughout the dark brown iris. He could get lost in those eyes. He shook himself out of those traitorous thoughts, realising that Ginny was looking back at him with a curious look on her face.

It would do her no good to become interested in him. It would only increase his problems tenfold if she actually began to think about him as much as his subconscious thought about her. It's not only your subconscious, an inner voice corrected, but Draco managed to ignore it, along with the heat he could feel radiating off Ginny's lithe body.

"As for where I was going, that is also my business," he added. "I would suggest that you run back to your little Gryffindor friends, and stay away from this part of the castle. It isn't safe for you." He turned away then, but not before he noticed the darkening of her eyes.

"Fine," Ginny said, her voice shaking slightly. "But, if you ever need someone to talk to, you know, even if I wouldn't understand, then, you know where to find me."

"Yeah, and I also know I'd have to wear a suit of armour, should the Weasel or Potter find me within ten feet of you," Draco muttered.

Ginny chuckled. "Don't worry about that, I can handle them. Well, I guess I'll be seeing you around."

She paused for a moment, obviously expecting an answer, but Draco didn't reply, instead remaining faced away from her. He didn't want her to see his face, for he knew that at that moment it would betray him. No one had ever offered just to listen to him before. When she received no comment, he heard her sigh, and walk away, back the way they had come.

Once he was sure she had disappeared, Draco took a deep breath and closed his eyes. He could still smell the combination of cinnamon and chocolate that now defined Ginny in his mind, and could see her huge eyes staring up at him in his mind. Her lips were as sweet and tempting as he remembered, and he knew that had she stayed a minute longer, he would have pinned her against the wall and damn the consequences.

Oh no, there is no way I'm going to talk to her again. It could get too dangerous. He managed to convince himself that he was thinking it would be dangerous for him, should his father find out he was associating with a Weasley - and it certainly would be - however, he also knew he was thinking about Gin...no, Weasley. If it should get out that her prejudices were softening when it came to him - not just a Slytherin, but a Malfoy to boot - she would find herself many enemies, and not all of them in Slytherin. Many of the Gryffindors would ostracise her too.

Sighing, Draco shook his head, and remembered why he'd left the Great Hall in the first place. Blaise had kept looking at him, as though she expected him to burst into flames, although why he wasn't quite sure. He knew it had had to do with their conversation they'd had before dinner, but he knew he hadn't given anything away. Perhaps she was trying to size him up, trying to determine whether he was having doubts about his allegiance.

Draco knew she would have no luck. Although she knew him well, he was an expert at hiding his feelings from the person who knew him best, his father. The only person who cracked his composure had decided to stalk him - Ginny Weasley. Not what he needed at the moment. Draco finally dragged his thoughts away from the redhead as he reached his destination.

He stopped outside a tapestry depicting a hunting party and pushed it aside, revealing a small door. Getting out his wand, he said quietly, "Aperire". The door opened soundlessly and he stepped inside. A spell activated and a soft light diffused through the small room, in the middle of which was a black, boudoir grand piano, which was polished so that it gleamed.

Draco walked up to it, gently drawing a hand over it's smooth top. He sat down on the stool and ran his fingers over the ivory keys. A smile graced his face as the notes filled the room, and soon he was working out his anger and frustration at his life. Anyone watching would have been entranced, and certainly wouldn't have recognised him as the Draco Malfoy that everyone knew. His face lacked its trademark smirk or sneer, and instead sported a true smile. His eyes were not their regular cold grey, instead they shimmered a warm silver.

Draco, of course, didn't know this; all he knew was that the only time he was truly at peace was when he was playing the piano, or flying his broom. The only problem with that was that flying generally led his thoughts on to Quidditch, and he didn't want to think about Quidditch, as he would then have to worry about beating Potter. At least when he was playing the piano, music was all that occupied his thoughts.

He conveniently forgot that there was one other instance that he had truly smiled, and that it had been earlier that day, in the library. When Ginny Weasley had politely told that prat to shove off, Draco had been amused, and had been admiring the play of light of her red hair and her pale skin. She had looked like an autumn day - his favourite time of year.

What had possessed him to call after her, he didn't know. As for why her first name had slipped out, Draco didn't want to analyse either. It did, however, convince him that he should definitely stop thinking about her.

At the moment, though, the only thing on his thoughts was how the music flowed like a river around him as his long fingers flew over the keys. He didn't notice that the small window, which overlooked the small rose garden, was still open from his last visit, although subconsciously he smelt the scent of the flowers and thought of Ginny.

*****

Parvati:

She smiled as the music drifted around her, weaving itself alongside the smell of the roses. The twilight was gently dimming, becoming closer to the night sky that would signal she was to return to the castle, but for that moment, everything was perfect.

Wow, she thought as the strong chords seemed to reverberate inside her, making her heart thump loudly in her chest. Whoever that is should play for a living.

There was something about the music and the playing in general that made her thoughts drift back to a time she seldom let herself think of, mostly because she didn't tend to dwell on the past, but also because it was a time that reminded her of her Papa.

She smiled as she remembered his soft grey hair and twinkling green eyes. He was truly the most wonderful man in the world; or so she had always thought. She knew that Padma believed he was truly the most despicable person that had ever lived - aside from You Know Who - because she had listened to their father's opinions. Her sister seemed to have forgotten all the wonderful times they had spent with him as children. Then again, Padma believed that she had as well.

She sighed and leaned her head back against the stone wall. She was sitting in a small cocoon of rose bushes, her back against the castle wall. She knew that her spot was somewhere outside the dungeon they had Potions in, but she rarely let that occupy her thoughts. Her Papa had loved roses and the smell reminded her of him.

She sighed, fingering the letter that had led her to her sanctuary; to the place that reminded her of her favourite person. They had been about to leave the Great Hall (she smiled as she realised that she had belonged to a they again, even if only for one day), when a large Bonelli Eagle had swooped into the hall and dropped a letter into her hands.

The whole school, or at least the people that had still been in the Hall, had been staring at her with a curious fascination, but all she could think about was what it meant. She had searched out her sister amongst the crowd of Ravenclaws by the doorway, but Padma had simply narrowed her eyes and turned around, storming out of the Great Hall amidst her housemates' confusion.

Parvati had quickly excused herself from Ron and the others, saying that she had something to attend to, leaving before they had had the chance to question her. She had found herself at the rose bush without even thinking about her destination, and crawled in, reading the letter with growing concern.

The threat of the war, although always heavy in the air, especially in the presence of Harry Potter, had been something she had always shoved to the back of her mind. It wasn't that she wasn't sensitive to what was going on, no, it was quite the contrary. She was too sensitive to what was going on.

The letter, although expected to a certain extent, had come as a shock. Her Papa had been gone for a long time, but that did not mean that everything he stood for was no longer there, despite the fact that her father and sister pretended it had and her mother was too weak to stand up against their prejudices; even for her own father.

She quelled the anger that was welling inside her at the way her family had shunned her Papa. The one person that had made Parvati feel like she was actually worth something more than growing up to become a fashion designer or something equally as frivolous. He had always believed in her, and she had always believed in him, despite the fact that his allegiances were somewhat questionable. And she had loved him, still loved him and it was that love that was making her consider the choices that were staring at her, the beautiful form of the swirling letters almost enchanting her to say yes.

"Parvati?"

She jumped and looked up at him, still so shocked that she didn't protest him sitting next to her. He glanced at the letter in her hands and she quickly folded it up again, praying that he couldn't read French.

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Ron," she said, forcing that same smile back onto her face. "I just needed a little time to myself."

He frowned and she could tell that he didn't seem to be about to let the matter drop this time. "Who's the letter from?"

She felt a sudden surge of anger that frightened her and she couldn't seem to control her reaction. "None of your business!" she snapped, causing him to pull away in alarm. As quickly as it came, it abated. The look in his eyes had been enough for her to return to her senses. "I'm sorry."

"It, eh, it's okay," he said, somewhat shakily. "We all have our moments." She smiled. "But are you sure you're not really a redhead?"

She giggled as the smile returned to his face. "My Nana was a redhead, does that count?"

"It would seem so." He smirked and Parvati was glad that they seemed to have slipped into the same camaraderie that they had earlier. She held back her disappointment that it was only camaraderie and nothing else. She knew that the last thing she needed was more complications to her life, Terry had treated her so badly, she had lost her only friend and now with the letter, she knew that Padma and her father would be put out with her as well. Besides, what would Ron think when he found out what she was being asked to do? She wasn't sure, but she had a feeling that it would involve her watching his back as he ran away from her full pelt.

"You okay?" She jerked up to look at him and he frowned in concern. "You looked a million miles away."

"Just thinking, that's all." She smiled at him and jumped to her feet, not giving him the chance to ask her what she was thinking about, and extended her hand. He raised an eyebrow and smirked, but took her hand all the same.

"Why, thank you," he said in a falsetto voice and she giggled.

"You're welcome." She couldn't help laughing at her attempt at a bass tone and shook her head as he led her out of the rose bush, still holding her hand.

She glanced at him in her peripheral vision, hearing the last strains of Liszt trailing behind her, as he led the way back into the school and up to the tower. She knew she shouldn't even be entertaining the thought, but she couldn't help that she was beginning to like having Ron around, and despite the nagging voice shouting at her to forget about him, she knew her heart had already made its decision.

*****

Ron:

Ron felt as though his stomach was doing little somersaults when Parvati held his hand. He squeezed her hand slightly, and was pleased when she squeezed back. Glancing down at her, Ron saw her smile back at him. He was glad, because she seemed to have been upset when she had left them, and when he found her, she was somewhat subdued.

When she had snapped at him, Ron knew that something was definitely bothering her, for Parvati was normally a very friendly person - in fact, he remembered her being over-friendly. But, he reflected, that had been a couple of years ago, and he suddenly realised that in the past few years, she had become quieter, even more so now that she wasn't talking to Lavender.

Ron's natural desire to make people laugh had kicked in, and fortunately, it had worked. Parvati was infinitely more beautiful when she was laughing. Whoa there, Ron, did you just think that she was beautiful? Yeah, sure, everyone knows she's one of the hottest girls in school, but your thoughts are going in an entirely different direction, buddy. Ron grimaced to himself, and stamped on the little voice. He knew exactly where his thoughts were going, and frankly, he approved. Parvati was a nice girl, and was clearly saddened about something. He saw it as a duty as a Weasley to cheer her up - she was going to become his mission.

Ron blocked all traitorous thoughts that were whispering in the back of his mind, saying that his intentions were certainly not that honourable, and began to talk nonsense about their lessons and how horrid life was and whether Snape and McGonagall were having an illicit affair. Parvati was in hysterics by the time they were entering the Common Room.

Harry looked up as they came in. "We were wondering where you two had got to." He had clearly dragged Hermione away from work and was busy beating her at chess.

Hermione looked up from the chessboard, her brow furrowed in concentration. "Are you all right, Parvati?" she asked quietly.

Parvati nodded slightly, and smiled softly. "Yes, thank you, Hermione."

"We haven't been that long," Ron retorted to Harry. "Why were you worried about us, anyway? You seem to be occupying yourself well here," he added, lowering his voice slightly to inject innuendo into it. He was beginning to become convinced that Harry and Hermione had feelings for each other that went beyond normal friendship, and was testing the waters. If they gave the appropriate response, that was it, they were going to get a dose of Ron, Matchmaker Extraordinaire TM.

Harry flushed slightly, and Hermione coughed. Ron smirked inside, but kept his face innocent - all those years being teased by the Twins had honed his acting skills, although he generally did not have enough control to put them to good use. It looked as though the clueless couple were going to need some help.

*****

Harry:

Harry cleared his throat and shifted his gaze back to the chessboard, quickly moving his knight to King's four, despite the fact that Hermione's queen was in the perfect position to now take it and move into checkmate. Not that Hermione was likely to see that. He hoped Ron didn't notice they'd cleared away the game Ron had been thrashing him at and damn Ron and his little comments anyway.

He risked a glance at Hermione and saw that she was blushing as she flustered over which piece to move, before looking up at Ron. His ginger-haired friend seemed to find the whole thing amusing. Ron was one of the main reasons Harry hadn't jumped Hermione yet and here he was teasing them and laughing at them.

As Ron and Parvati sat beside them (Harry kicked Ron under the table to stop him from telling Hermione about the checkmate), Harry thought back to the conversation they had had at the dinner table. It seemed that Ron was rather keen on Parvati, and he noticed that they were holding hands, neither one making a move to let go. Perhaps Ron wasn't at all interested in Hermione. But did that mean that Ron would be okay that he was?

"Harry?"

He jumped out of his thoughts and looked back at Hermione. "Sorry, got a little lost in my thoughts."

She smiled, and his stomach did a little flip. "It's your move."

"Oh." It seemed that Hermione had missed the opportunity for checkmate, and as Ron tutted, she seemed to realise this, cussing under her breath. "Hermione!" he said in mock surprise.

"Oh, shut up," she said with a smile. "It's not as if you and Ron don't use worse on a daily basis."

"But we, my dear Hermione, are not you."

"How long did it take you to work that one out?" Parvati said, with a smirk.

They laughed and Harry kicked Hermione under the table, causing her to yelp, jump and knock the chessboard and its pieces flying off the table. The four of them started laughing hysterically as the chess pieces complained rather loudly at being disrupted.

"Can you be quiet? Some of us are trying to study."

"Sorry, Ginny," Hermione replied, but Ginny only closed her book and stalked out of the Common Room.

Harry frowned and Ron shrugged. Ginny had entered the Common Room about half an hour before Ron and Parvati had returned, looking flushed and in none too happy a mood, as Dean and Seamus had discovered when trying to ask her if she wanted to play Exploding Snap with them. She had all but bit their heads off before stalking up to her dorm to get her homework. Harry assumed she had only returned to the Common Room because Stephanie, Cara, Teresa, and Lena were there.

"What's up with her?" Ron asked, looking at Hermione.

"I have no idea."

"Hey, Ron, your sister been playing with dragons lately?"

Ron laughed, as Harry and Hermione frowned. "All her life, Seamus!" He turned to his friends. "It's just an expression. Means she's in a bad mood, all fired up. Dragons. Get it?"

Harry shook her head and Hermione rolled her eyes. Ginny playing with dragons? Now there was a bizarre image.

"Want to play doubles?" Ron asked, indicating the rather disgruntled chess pieces.

Harry shrugged and Hermione smiled. "Only if I'm on your team, Ron."

"I think I'm insulted." Harry raised his eyebrows, trying to hide his smile. He knew that he was nowhere near Ron's league when it came to chess, and to be honest, he liked playing against Hermione. It meant he got to look at her. He could spend ages staring into her eyes and not have to think of a reason for doing it.

"That's okay, Harry," Parvati said, dropping Ron's hand and moving to sit beside him. "I think we can handle them."

"Fine," Ron said with a smirk, moving to sit by Hermione, helping her set up the chessboard. "Prepare to lose, Miss Patil."

Harry raised his eyebrows. "You're not going to let us lose, right? You've seen him play? You know what he's like?"

Parvati smirked and leaned to whisper in his ear. Harry noticed Ron's eyes narrowing and that Hermione seemed upset at the act. "You should see my sister play, she uses a different name." Harry frowned and Parvati smiled. "She's the national chess champion, but I don't like competitions, that's the only reason I'm not. Trust me, we'll win."

Harry smirked and turned to the game, aware that Ron was glaring at him and that Hermione looked more suspicious than anything else now. They spent the next two hours playing, and Harry had begun to doubt Parvati's statements until she turned table and wiped Ron and Hermione's pieces clean off the board, leaving them in checkmate, with only a pawn, a knight, and the king left.

"I can't believe you beat me!"

Harry laughed as Parvati raised her eyebrows. "Why?" she asked, sitting back and folding her arms across her chest. "Because I'm a girl?"

Ron frowned. "No, because you've never played me before and I've beat everyone here!"

She smiled and Harry exchanged an amused look with Hermione as their friends started arguing. He had beat Ron at chess. Okay, so Hermione had been playing as well, and only Parvati and Ron had really done anything, but it still counted!

Harry jumped and looked at Hermione wide-eyed. She was staring at Ron and Parvati, but could he see a smirk? Yes, there was a smirk. That meant the foot he just felt running up his thigh definitely belonged to her. Then again, if it hadn't, seeing as Parvati was sitting next to him, the only other person it could have been was Ron and that was just disturbing and wrong.

Hermione's smirk widened a little. That meant that she knew he was looking at her. Well, two could play at that game. He moved his foot forward and Ron jumped.

"Oi, Harry, watch where you're putting your big feet, mate."

"Oh, eh, yeah, I was just...stretching my legs." He could feel the heat rising in his cheeks and it was only made worse by the fact that Hermione's shoulders were shaking in silent laughter.

Why didn't the floor ever open up and swallow you when you needed it to?

*****

Hermione:

Hermione glanced up through her lashes at Harry. He looked so cute when he blushed. She dragged her thoughts away from him, since they made her blush too, and Ron was clearly already suspicious about them.

She stopped herself from growling at the whole situation. All she wanted to do was grab Harry's tie and drag him upstairs to her room. Hmm, maybe I could think of some excuse to get him up there,Hermione mused, twirling a strand of hair around her finger.

She looked askance at Ron, who seemed to be eying up Parvati. Parvati also seemed to be reciprocating the look. Finally, Hermione gave in. She stood up and took a deep breath.

"Harry, since we're not playing any more, why don't I show you that Arithmancy problem I was telling you about?" she said, not making full eye contact with him.

A puzzled look flitted across Harry's face, followed by realisation. "Oh right. I'd completely forgotten about that." He stood up, and explained to Ron and Parvati, who were looking at them questioningly, "You know that homework that got set for Defense? Well, Hermione's done an Arithmancy problem which might be able to help me with my project."

Ron frowned. "Why can't she bring it down?"

"It's bound to my room. If I move it without untying all the binding spells, which would take hours, it'll be destroyed," Hermione explained, her hands becoming animated as she got into the swing of her explanation. "You see, it involves the spatial relationship between..."

"Okay, okay, I get it," Ron said, holding his hands up. "Just go."

Hermione smiled and winked at Harry when Ron wasn't looking. Sometimes it was too easy being clever. All she had to do was launch into a complex explanation, which was actually a load of rubbish, and Ron would zone out immediately. She could have told him that she was descended from a cucumber and he wouldn't have blinked an eye.

Hermione walked in front of Harry up to her room, thankful that her stairs weren't Charmed against boys like the stairs to the girls' dorms were. She swayed her hips, knowing that he was getting a very pleasant view of her behind. By the time they had reached the top, and Hermione leant against the door, Harry was flushed, and she really didn't think that it had merely been the stairs.

Hermione smirked and winked at him again as she opened the door. She let Harry in first, and locked the door behind her. She couldn't help but think that she was being very forward, but something about Harry, with his sparkling green eyes, and his bright smile, and his hot body made her act completely differently. At the moment, she didn't care how wanton she was being.

When she turned around, she saw that Harry was now leaning back against her desk, and looking incredibly edible. Hermione walked towards him, taking off her cardigan as she did. Harry's eyes widened, and he swallowed nervously.

"Hermione, do you really think this is a good idea?"

Hermione put a finger on his lips. "Ssh. And yes, I do, because I swear, if I don't kiss you within the next ten seconds, I'm going to spontaneously combust, and then you'll be left to explain how you blew me up."

Harry chuckled, and wrapped an arm around her waist, pulling her against him. "Well, if that's the way it's going to be..." he mumbled, before drawing her into a breath-taking kiss.

"Mmmm," Hermione said as she pulled away. "As lovely as this is, can we move somewhere more comfortable? There's a gale coming from that window."

Harry grinned. "Of course, where would you suggest?"

Hermione looked at him, and then looked towards the bed. "How about the bed?"

Harry choked. "The bed?"

"Look, all I'm saying is that it's more comfortable, that's all," Hermione said quickly, getting flustered.

Harry smiled reassuringly, and took her hand to lead her to the bed. "Now, about this Arithmancy problem?"

"If you're serious about that, I would go and see Ginny, she's better at actually building spells than I am," Hermione said. "Now, stop talking about homework and kiss me."

"Yes, boss."

*****

Ginny:

Arithmancy was as far from Ginny's mind as it was from Hermione's. She stared in wide-eyed shock at the same hard body she had already been distracted by for the millionth time that day. There was something keeping her eyes from looking at his face, and that something was the rest of his completely gorgeous body.

She had had no idea what was wrong with her, but all she knew was that if she had stayed in the Common Room, she was likely to behead Dean and Seamus. She had been in one hell of a mood since her last encounter with Draco and had hoped that a walk (or rather a storm) around the castle might clear her head enough to actually forget about Draco and relax her enough to get some sleep. He had frustrated her, in more ways than one, and he was right, it was dangerous, and she needed to forget about him. But given that she had just bumped into him again (literally), she didn't see that happening.

"Are you stalking me, Weasley?"

She meant to reply, she really did, but he looked... he was... and she couldn't answer. He looked rather ruffled. In a very sexyway. He looked as if he had just spent hours working out.

Ooh, there's a nice image, Ginny thought, unable to stop herself from licking her lips. His hair was definitely more mussed than it had been before and he was no longer wearing his robes (which were hanging over his arm), instead sporting a pair of nice black trousers and a rather tight black t-shirt. He looked like sex on legs.

"See something you like, Weasley?"

His drawling voice brought her attention back to the present and she glared at him. She instantly softened her expression when her eyes met his. He was teasing her, but not in the malicious way she was used to, instead, he had a playful glint in his eyes. He seemed very relaxed, as if his defences were down slightly. She wished she knew what it was that could make him feel like that, but she was more content to just enjoy it at that moment.

"Maybe," she replied, raising her eyebrows.

He obviously hadn't expected her to reply in the same manner he had started the conversation; he even seemed a little surprised. Well, as surprised as a Malfoy could ever look, which Ginny admitted wasn't much.

"What brings you out so late, Malfoy?" she asked, hoping that he would talk to her and not run off. Well, stalk off. She wasn't sure she had ever seen Malfoy running. Ooh, Draco running. Hmmm, nice butt.

He frowned a little. "What are you thinking about, Ginny?"

He seemed to be teasing her again and she refused to spoil it by pointing out his slip. He had called her Ginny once that day. Twice now. Not that I'm going to keep count, or anything...

"Why do you want to know?"

He quirked his left eyebrow a little (How does he do that? And how does he manage to make it look so sexy?). "Just wondering why you look like you're undressing me with your eyes." He smirked. "If you really want to see me naked, Weasley, you only have to ask."

You will not blush, you WILL NOT blush! "Well, if I'd known that, Malfoy..." she trailed off and smirked. He seemed amused that she was copying his demeanour and she leaned against the wall, facing him. She knew she should turn around and head back to the Common Room. She knew she should just leave him and never make eye contact again, let alone talk with him. But she couldn't make herself leave, and she didn't want to. She wanted to see where this was heading, and what's more, she was sure she liked the direction they were veering in.

*****

Draco:

Draco smirked and raised his eyebrow again. Apparently this Weasley had balls. At least, metaphorically. Blatantly scanning her body with his eyes, Draco was completely confident that all her body parts were distinctly feminine. When his eyes clashed with her brown ones, Draco felt his stomach churn, and he suddenly realised where he was and who exactly he was flirting with. Evidently, playing the piano had relaxed him so much that his senses had taken leave of him.

He swore under his breath, and cast his mind about for a reasonable way to salvage the situation. Finally, he came upon something, and a truly evil smirk spread across his face. Draco sauntered across to stand directly in front of Ginny, who was beginning to look uneasy. "I'll bear that in mind, Weasley," he whispered in her ear, his mouth literally centimetres away from her. He could sense her shiver, and moved his face to look into her eyes.

Draco watched as Ginny unconsciously licked her lips and glanced down at his lips. He winked then, and turned away suddenly, striding down the corridor. He could have sworn that he heard her growl in frustration, and smirked to himself. He knew that if anyone had been watching, they would have thought that he had been threatening her, instead of what had actually happened. He couldn't believe that he'd actually been drawn into flirting with her! So much for avoiding her. It seemed as though the youngest Weasley was determined to mess up his life.

I need a cold shower, and a good night's sleep, Draco told himself. Everything will be normal in the morning. He massaged his long fingers, sore from hours of playing, attempting to distract his mind from images of Ginny stretched out languorously on his bed. As he climbed into bed, the only good thing that Draco could visualise coming out of the situation was pleasant dreams.