Surely You're Joking

Ginny hurried down the corridor, cursing softly under her breath. Her bag hung uncomfortably over her left shoulder, while the other hand was trying to keep track of the big stack of books she carried. She never had time to go back to the common room between Potions and Transfiguration on Thursdays. For the third time this week she'd managed to be late to the first class of the day, because she had stayed up too late the night before. As she practically ran down the corridor, she was already running excuses through her head blaming everyone but herself, from her teachers overwhelming her with homework to her roommates not waking her up in time. Just as she rounded the corner to the Potions corridor, she bumped into something hard, and as she bounced backwards her books and parchment scattered all over the hallway.

"Watch where you're going," an angry voice snapped. She looked up and saw a familiar blonde head looking down at her with contempt.

"Same to you, Malfoy," she replied, getting to her feet.

"I can hardly be blamed for your incompetence," Draco started, brushing off his robes. "You were obviously in too much of a hurry to pay attention to your surroundings. Of course, one couldn't expect a Weasley to be able to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. I'm surprised you can walk and breathe at the same time. Then again, I guess neither of those actions requires much thinking. If they did you'd probably stay in bed all day thinking 'breathe in... breathe out... in... out'."

"Shut it, jerk," Ginny grumbled while gathering up her belongings. Draco arched an eyebrow in a lazy way.

"Ouch," he said sarcastically. "Such a cunning retort." He crossed his arms, and made absolutely no attempt to help Ginny. Although, she thought to herself, I'd be an idiot if I'd expected that. Instead he leaned against the wall and watched her.

"Don't you have someplace to be?" she asked irritated.

"Not really," he replied, smirking. Ginny wondered if he ever really did smile. If he did, she'd never seen it.

She gathered up the rest of the parchment and stood up, just as Draco said, "Come to the ball with me."

The words were uttered very nonchalantly, as though he was asking her where the nearest bathroom was, but it caught Ginny completely off guard.

"What?" she spluttered, and managed to drop everything in her hands once more. Draco's smirk grew even wider.

"You know a dance... a gathering where you socialize with others," he said with a fake patience, as though he was talking to a child. "We're having a ball at Malfoy Manor over Christmas."

"I know about it," she snapped, glaring at him. She was sure he knew she'd heard of the ball, it had been talked about for weeks all over Hogwarts. Not as much in Gryffindor as in the other houses, as no one from Gryffindor were going, but they still knew all about it.

"Good," he answered, nodding his head. "I want you to be my date."

It wasn't really as much of a question as a statement, just as the first mention of it had been. It was quite obvious that Draco was accustomed to getting his way when it came to girls, and wasn't expecting a refusal. Well, Ginny wasn't going to be that easy. She didn't care that he was rather good looking. He was one of the most obnoxious people she had ever met, and she definitely didn't want to go to any ball with him.

"No," she said, bending down to pick up her books again. He still made no move to help her, just stood there and smirked.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a jerk and an idiot, and I have no interest in you whatsoever."

She turned to leave, quite pleased with her answer. Draco snorted.

"I'll see you around, Weasley," he called after her.

***

"He asked you to the ball?"

Ron had stopped in his motion of bringing his fork to his mouth, and didn't seem to notice his hand being halfway up. He was staring at Ginny in utter disbelief.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked. She was not looking entirely convinced either.

"'Come to the ball with me.' He said it as simple as that. Not much room for misunderstanding there," Ginny told them, although it didn't seem to convince any of her audience.

"Must be some sort of trick," Harry said, looking over at the Slytherin table.

"Yeah, probably," Ginny agreed, finishing her lunch. "Well, I'm off."

She rose from the table and joined the tidal wave of students making it out if the Great Hall. She was just about to start climbing the staircase that would lead her to the second floor when she heard someone speaking behind her.

"So, I was thinking," the familiar voice said to her, "you'd need a dress, wouldn't you?"

She turned around and found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"What?" she asked confused.

"For the ball," he explained. "With your family's earnings I'm betting you don't have anything that would be suitable. Nor, I suppose, would you be able to afford anything new."

"I'm not going to the ball with you," Ginny informed him, exasperated. "I said no. Can't you get that into your inflated head?"

"Which means," Draco continued, as though he hadn't heard her, "that we'll need to get you something. There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, isn't there?"

"Get lost," Ginny muttered and turned to ascend the staircase, but found herself obstructed by Draco grabbing her wrist.

"I'll meet you here at eleven on Saturday then," he decided.

"What?" Ginny asked, now getting thoroughly annoyed.

"You like that word, do you?" Draco said, and added with the usual malice in his voice, "Of course, I guess I should excuse you, what with your limited brainpower and all."

Ginny glared at him trying to get as much hate into the look as she could manage.

"Meet me here Saturday at eleven, and we'll go into Hogsmeade and get you a dress for the ball," Draco told her, and let go of Ginny's wrist. Ginny was too perplexed to think of anything to say, and by the time she had gathered herself enough to think of a good and rejecting reply Draco had already left.

***

"Draco Malfoy asked you to the ball?" Melissa squealed. "And he asked you to Hogsmeade?" She flopped herself down on the bed with a dreamy look.

"Well, yes, but that isn't really the point," Ginny informed her.

"Yes it is," her friend replied. "It's the only point. Malfoy is gorgeous, and he wants to date you."

"Malfoy does not want to date me," Ginny sighed. "Malfoy wants to lure me into some trick that he finds amusing."

"Well, still. Draco Malfoy asked you to the ball!"

"What was that?" asked the blonde-haired girl who had just entered the dorm room.

"Oh! June!" Melissa exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy asked Ginny to the ball! And he wants to go to Hogsmeade with her on Saturday!"

"Are you joking?" June said, looking at Ginny. Ginny gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God," June squealed, and started doing a small dance with Melissa. Ginny rolled her eyes and sat down heavily, wondering if the whole world had gone mad.

***

It was only a matter of hours before practically all of Gryffindor "knew" that Ginny Weasley was going out with Draco Malfoy. At first this made Ginny even more determined not to meet Draco on Saturday, but after enduring several awkward conversations about what kind of kisser he was, she decided to meet with him and explain thoroughly that she did not wish to have anything to do with him ever again. She was especially intent on doing so after noticing that he had taken to winking at her whenever he came within view, something which only enhanced the rumours. By the end of Friday, the rumours said that she and Draco had a steaming affair which had lasted for several months, and they had just decided to come out into the open with it. Even Ron, her own flesh and blood, was suspicious of the falseness of the rumours, and decided to use all of dinner on Friday for an interview.

"So you're sure you're not going out with him?"

"Yes!"

"And you never did agree to anything?"

"No!"

"And you would tell me if you did, right? You know you can tell me anything?"

"Yes!" Ginny sighed and threw her head back. "Would you lay off it?"

She bowed her head down and continued eating, ignoring the constant stream of questions still coming. She had answered all of them at least twice before anyway.

***

Draco was standing by the staircase looking utterly relaxed when Ginny came down on Saturday. She had been sure to be ten minutes late, just to punctuate the exaggarated idea that no one would ever stand Draco Malfoy up. Draco did not look at all worried, though, and when she came all he did was give her a scrutinizing look before saying, "Let's go." His look was not very forgiving, and she became very aware that she was wearing an old and slightly tattered robe, but decided she didn't care what he thought.

"No," she said. He looked at her sternly, as if she was a little child having a temper tantrum.

"Weasley..." he started. Ginny merely crossed her arms.

"Fine," he said, regaining his smirk. "Just remember, I did ask nicely."

Before Ginny could react, Draco had his wand out and was pointing it at her. He never said anything, but Ginny felt as if some sort of spell hit her. However, when Draco put his wand away she could only assume he had changed his mind, because he merely turned and walked away and Ginny felt nothing. She stood there staring dumbly after Draco.

When he was about fifteen feet away he turned around, his lips curled into a wicked smile and his eyes narrowed. Just as he took one step forward, Ginny felt a pull and a push in his direction, and felt herself being moved about a foot forward. Draco's smile grew even wider, and as he took two more steps, she felt herself being nearly dragged two more steps forward. Satisfied, Draco started walking again, and Ginny had enough trouble keeping on her feet, let alone to try to fight it.

"Malfoy! What did you do?" Ginny cried out in frustration. Draco stopped, and as he did so did the pulling and pushing. Ginny tried to use the pause to get away from Draco, but it seemed as though she was tied to him by some invisible string that stopped her going further away from him than fifteen feet.

"Neat little trick, isn't it?" he bragged, obviously very pleased with himself. "It's much more comfortable if you walk here by my side, you know."

Ginny mumbled something inaudible, but walked closer to him as he started to walk. She still made sure to walk behind him, but figured she'd have more time to think of ways to break the spell if she wasn't being dragged the whole way.

***

By the time they got to Hogsmeade Ginny had thought of nothing that would free her, and had settled on merely looking as unpleased as she could be in Draco's presence. She didn't want anyone to think she was at all happy to be there with him. She had debated very early on during the walk whether or not to hex him, but since McGonagall and Hagrid were only a few feet behind them she decided against it. There was no evidence Draco had done anything to her, so she would have had to take full blame for it. She figured it was less pleasant to be cleaning the trophy room than to be in Hogsmeade a few feet behind Draco Malfoy.

Draco, however, seemed perfectly content with their arrangement; he even seemed to enjoy it. Whenever someone passed giving the two of them strange looks, he would lift his shoulders and say things like 'lover's spat' or 'you know how girls are. If they don't get the gold necklace they mope around for the next day'.

When Draco finally stopped outside the robe shop, Ginny was so deep in her own misery that she almost walked into him. On the way she had thought of maybe closing the door between them in hope of cutting whatever tied them together, but after she imagined herself slamming into the door again and again as Draco tried to walk forward, she gave the idea up.

As it turned out she wouldn't have been able to do so anyway, because Draco slipped his hand around her waist and practically pushed her inside before she even had time to realize where they were. When the bell over the door rang the two girls who were just finishing their robe shopping looked up. Ginny realized at once how it might look, her and Draco coming in together, him with his hand around her waist, and freed herself from him immediately. Not before the two girls, who unfortunately were the two Gryffindor girls Lavender and Parvati, could witness the scene, however. They walked out of the shop giggling, while Ginny turned a very unflattering shade of red.

"You know, shame doesn't really suit you," Draco commented casually. "The blush clashes with your hair. Perhaps we'll go for something that isn't red"

She drew a sharp intake of breath, annoyed at his persistency to go on with the charade.

"Look," she started. "I don't know how to put this to you so you'll understand, but I do not want to go anywhere with you! I don't want to be here with you, and you are not-"

She meant to finish, but just then Draco caught sight of the shopkeeper, and had put a hand over her mouth. She realized he hadn't been listening anyway, a thought which made her even angrier.

"Can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked, while casting an unforgiving glance at Ginny, just as Draco had. Again she felt very aware of her choice of clothing, especially standing next to the impeccably dressed and perfectly groomed Draco Malfoy.

"Yes, thank you," Draco said, and put on his fakest smile. "This young lady needs a little help - as you may see - to put together an outfit for the ball at Malfoy Manor."

The shopkeeper looked at the two of them with an arched eyebrow, as though she did not quite believe Ginny would be good enough for the ball at the Malfoy Manor. Ginny felt like running away, but as she was trying to take a step back she felt Draco's hand pushing her determinately forward.

"She needs something quite stunning, she's going with me. As one of the hosts I need my date to have as much elegance as me."

"I am not your date," Ginny tried feebly, but saw that even the shopkeeper was ignoring her and had already started discussing colour with Draco. Instead she felt the feeble tug of the line connecting her with Draco, and realized she had to keep moving with them deeper inside the store if she wanted to stay on her feet.

Fine, she thought. He wants to give me a dress, fine. I don't have to accept it, and even if I do, he can't force me to go anywhere with him. Well, not anywhere closer than fifteen feet, at least.

***

By the end of the day Ginny found out that Draco was quite capable of forcing her to go places. After endless measurements at the robe shop, and after Ginny had quite lost track of which colour or style they were going with - for all she knew they might have ended up with a clown suit - Draco decided it was time for a drink. Ginny managed to make it seem like she was entering the Three Broomsticks because she wanted to herself - not tailing behind Draco like a dog - but although she saw several friends sitting in there, none were close enough to where Draco sat down. In the end she had to sit down with a bunch of seventh year Ravenclaws whom she only knew slightly, something which amused Draco to no end.

In addition he had fun with getting up to get drinks for everyone as often as he could, and seeing how she also had to get up and pretend she was busy with something around fifteen feet away from where he was. The most awkward episode, however, was when he got up to go to the bathroom, and she had to stand right outside the bathroom door getting weird looks from the guys going in and out. When Draco finally came out she was furious, and managed to catch him by surprise, slamming him against the wall. He only looked amused, which infuriated her even more.

"Look, Weasley," he said. "I'm all about the rough sex, but perhaps we should find somewhere more private?" This comment baffled her so much she almost lost her train of thought.

"What? No!" she exclaimed. "Malfoy, lift the spell now!"

He looked at her and although she saw some mischief in his expression, he said, "Okay."

He raised his wand again and then put it down, but this time she did feel something. It was as if something being lifted off her. The relief made her so grateful she said nothing but a small "Arse," to Draco as she turned and left, a comment which was rewarded with the Malfoy trademark smirk.

***

The night after the day spent in Draco Malfoy's company Ginny spent trying to fend off her

excited girlfriends' questions. She tried to explain that she had indeed not been in Hogsmeade with Draco, but Lavender had a big mouth, and the rumour of Ginny and Draco entering the robe shop as a couple had gone all over Gryffindor tower in a few hours.

The next few days had also gone to answering questions, especially from her brother and his two best friends. Ron was furious with Draco, Harry was furious with Ginny, and Hermione was just frustrated, but they all asked the same questions over and over. After a few days however, the buzz had settled. Although she still heard people whispering as she passed, they were mainly more focused on Millicent Bulstrode's recent accident in Potions, where she managed to turn Gregory Goyle green. Ginny spent the following week jumping out of sight every time she saw blonde hair, taking routes to classes that would most likely not lead her anywhere near Draco.

When two weeks had passed she had not heard anything further from Draco. She had passed him in the hallways a few times, and he would smirk and tip his hat to her, but he had not talked to her since the Hogsmeade weekend. Ginny figured he had either let it go, or had just meant it as a fun game from the start and never meant to take her anywhere, except perhaps to Hogsmeade against her will.

When the weekend came, she had almost begun thinking that she had imagined the whole thing. To her surprise she realized she was kind of disappointed. It wasn't that she really wanted to date Draco Malfoy, but it had felt kind of good to have one of the school's best looking guys wooing her.

***

That Sunday she was awakened early by a tapping on her window. She opened her eyes and saw a beautiful snowy owl carrying a rather large package. She understood at once that it had to be from her mother, but didn't understand why it came to her room so early; they usually got all the mail at breakfast.

She got up and let the owl in with its package. The owl dropped its weight and waited patiently for Ginny to remove the letter it was carrying before it took off. The letter was sealed with a seal she didn't recognize. She couldn't remember the owl either, but then again there was a post office not too far from their house, and Ginny supposed her mother could have used their services instead of making poor Errol carry the heavy package.

As she opened the package she started to realize that it might not be from her mother after all. When the brown wrapping paper had come off she could see it was gift wrapped in a silver box, and when she opened it extravagant silk paper lay on top of whatever she was sent. She picked off the silk paper on top, and saw a very expensive looking red fabric underneath. She picked it up, and a gorgeous dress unfolded before her. Flabbergasted she dropped the dress and tore open the letter. It said in careful handwriting:

Weasley

I went for red after all, so be careful not to blush.

And wear your hair up.

Draco Malfoy

***

Ginny found Draco as he was on his way to breakfast with his two cronies Crabbe and Goyle.

"Malfoy," she called sharply. He turned around and saw her. With a smile he motioned for Crabbe and Goyle to go on without him.

"You got the dress, I presume," he said smugly as he strolled over to her. "Was it to your liking?"

The dress was indeed very much to her liking. She had managed to keep herself from trying it on, but had held it up in front of the mirror for a long time before leaving to find Draco. At the moment it was stored very carefully in the box under her bed. She did not tell Draco any of this. Instead she started on the speech she felt she had done too many times already.

"I am not going anywhere with you! Can't you understand that I really don't want to go to the ball with you?" She was working herself up to what would be a long and rejecting speech, but Draco interrupted her.

"Look, Weasley, this is getting kind of boring," he said.

"What do you mean?" Ginny said tiredly.

"Well, I understand that you need to put on a show of not wanting to go. Pride and all. I get it," he said. "But really, it's getting boring now. I've heard it before. You can drop it."

Ginny just looked at him, completely surprised that anyone could ever be so self-confident.

"Has it ever occurred to you that I actually don't want to go?" she asked. Draco merely shrugged.

"Why did you ask me anyway?"

Draco looked at her with the overbearing, arrogant smirk he was so good at.

"Come on, Weaslette," he said arching an eyebrow. "Haven't you ever wanted to do something just to go against your usual ways? Do something just to oppose everyone who expects you to be this way and that way?"

Ginny merely stared at him. She didn't know what answer she had been expecting, but that was certainly not it.

"Does my reasoning stun you?" he asked; his smirk widening. "Just try on the dress and imagine my father's face when he sees you with me and I think you'll have reason enough to come."

He turned to leave, but turned again and added, "Oh, and if you want a third reason I can throw in a rumour that we slept together to upgrade your social status."

He winked at her and left before she managed to reply with more than a "bah!"

***

"So you're going to go?"

Ginny was standing in front of the mirror with a very excited Melissa, and a rather less enthusiastic Hermione. The dress fit her perfectly; it made her waist small and her curves bigger, and didn't clash with her hair in the least.

"I don't know," Ginny said. "It is awfully pretty."

She turned around and admired the way the back fell down into a v-shape. Hermione scoffed.

"You can't let him get his way just because he buys you pretty things!" she exclaimed. "Have you forgotten who we're talking about? Malfoy is horrible, he's scum, he's-"

"Lately he's been kind of sweet actually," Ginny interrupted. Hermione stared blankly at her.

"Ginny!" she cried outraged. "He cast a spell on you so that you were tied to him for an entire day and forced you to go wherever he wanted. And now he's trying to buy you off! And you think he's been sweet?"

Ginny looked down at her feet.

"Yes...?" she whispered hesitantly.

Hermione gave her a hard look, and walked out.

***

Ginny had not yet made her decision when Draco yet again cornered her the following day. He was leaning against a wall obviously waiting for her. How he managed to find her every time she was on her own in a deserted corridor she had no idea and she opened the conversation by asking him about it.

"I stalk you, obviously," he said casually. Ginny didn't know what to make of the comment, but decided to pass it off as a joke.

"So? How's the dress?" he asked as he pushed himself off the wall and faced her.

Ginny sighed and started, "Well, it's obviously very pretty, but-"

"Uh huh?" Draco said, and taking a step closer.

"-but it's way too expensive for me to accept. Besides-"

"Mhm?" Draco said and had now come very close; close enough to place his hand on one side of her. She backed up against the wall and continued.

"-besides... uh, well, I don't really know if I'm-"

"Yes?" Draco said, and moved so close she could feel his breath on her neck. It made her break out in goosebumps, and she struggled to finish her sentence.

"-if I'm ... really... really going."

"Hmm," Draco said pensively, nodding. Then out of the blue, he leaned down and kissed her.

At first she was too surprised by this to do anything, but soon she started leaning into it without really thinking about it. She could feel him pressing her up against the wall; feel the muscles beneath his shirt. Just as the kiss was getting good he backed away. He arched an eyebrow and said, "Okay," with a shrug and a nod before he started walking away.

***

As she walked up to the Gryffindor common room she could still smell his scent on her shirt.

She had forgotten whatever it was she was doing, and had gotten a lot of new thoughts swirling around in her head.

Anyone at the school would verify that Draco Malfoy was handsome; even she had to admit it, as little as she liked him. Or maybe she should say as little as she used to like him. Did she like him now? She still thought he was a brat, and a spoiled one at that, but her mind kept going back to him kissing her and she got butterflies in her stomach every time. Every time she drew a sharp breath his scent would catch her off guard, and her heart skipped a little faster for a second.

She quickly got through the common room and climbed the stairs to her dormitory not wanting to face her friends downstairs just yet. She walked over to her closet without thinking, and absentmindedly took out the red dress. The fabric was so soft under her fingers, and was heavy as she picked up the hem of it. Before she knew it she was trying it on again. As she stood in front of the mirror she tried to imagine being at the ball with Draco. She imagined walking in, having all eyes on her, perhaps dancing with him. As that picture ran through her mind, her thoughts wandered again to the hallway, and to Draco pushing her up against the wall, his hands on her hips.

"Damn it," she said, flopping down on the bed.

When did things get so complicated?

She was still on the bed in her dress, merely staring at the roof when an owl rapped on her window ten minutes later. She recognized it as Malfoy's owl, and removed the letter it carried swiftly. There were only two words printed on it. In neat handwriting it said 'Transfiguration classroom'.

Ginny gave it only a second or two of consideration before deciding she had to go. She swiftly changed into something less extravagant; however she made sure to keep a little cleavage.

***

Draco was already there when she arrived. His eyes went straight to her cleavage, and he rewarded her with the raising of one eyebrow and an approving nod, something which sent colour to her cheeks immediately.

"I had of course forgotten," he started, strolling over to one of the desks, "this."

He held out a flat box for her, and she took it tentatively. He watched her with a smirk as she opened the box. Inside was a necklace in gold, with dark red stones set in - rubies as far as Ginny could see. Once again Draco had succeeded at making her speechless, and she was not happy with the increasing number of silences he had managed to get from her. Draco walked over to her and took it out of its box.

"Hold your hair up," he said, and she did.

He stood directly in front of her and fastened the clasp behind her neck. His arm stroked her sensitive skin once or twice, giving her back the goosebumps she'd had earlier in the day. When he had fastened it, he took a step back as if to admire his work, and for a second Ginny thought she saw a genuine smile. He stepped forward again to adjust it, and his body in such close proximity yet again was too much for Ginny. She felt his hand on her shoulder, his breath by her ear, his cologne, the warmth coming off his body, and before she knew what she was doing she had kissed him.

For once she had done something that caught him completely off guard, but within seconds he was kissing her back. This was nothing like the innocent kiss they had shared in the hallway; this time they were both kissing fiercely and passionately. He pushed her back against the wall, and slipped his hands beneath her cloak and around her waist. She felt a chill down her spine when his hands lightly touched her bare skin in the small gap between her top and her skirt. She had somehow managed to pull his shirt out from his pants, and was now slipping her hands under it without thinking. She felt him shiver as she touched the bare skin underneath, and savoured the feel of his firm muscles under her small hand. As they both stopped for a breath their hands stilled, although neither let go of the other.

"I guess this is a yes to going to the ball with me?" Draco asked after a small silence.

Ginny felt too shaky to risk saying anything, but gave a small nod.

***

Ginny didn't feel like talking to anyone as she came back to the common room, so she went straight up to her dormitory without even saying hi to anyone. She flopped herself down on her bed with a sigh, and Melissa, who was combing her hair by the mirror, turned immediately.

"Harry?" she asked, raising her eyebrows.

Ginny, too lost in thoughts realized what she was asking a minute too late, and therefore only answered her with a quizzical look. She regretted this, as it made Melissa instantly exclaim, "Malfoy!" excitedly.

Ginny sat up quickly and put one finger over her lips to silence her, something which only increased Melissa's glee.

"Oh holy mother of Dumbledore," she swore and went over to sit with Ginny on her bed. "Ginny, what have you done?"

"I said yes to go to the ball with him," she said, "but that has to be between us, ok?"

Melissa looked at her cynically.

"And that was of course all you did?" she asked with a smile.

"Fine," Ginny said, getting up, "we kissed."

"YOU-" Melissa started, but Ginny had anticipated it and covered her mouth quickly.

"Yes," she said. "But I am telling you this in complete confidence. No one must know, least of all Ron, Hermione or Harry. Do you understand?"

Melissa nodded. "But you have to tell me everything."

***

There was a whole month between that second kiss and the actual ball. Ginny didn't tell anyone, including her parents and Ron, but she worried about how she would explain leaving the day after Christmas day, as she would be home on Christmas break then. She concluded that she would say she was only going over to a friend's house, even though lying to her family was something she didn't like doing.

She had agreed with Draco's suggestion that he would send someone to pick her up around noon, so she could have time at Malfoy Manor to change and get ready. Aside from arranging this they had not had any contact the last few weeks. They weren't actually avoiding each other, but they didn't seek each other out either. And although Ginny felt her heart skip a beat every time she passed him in the hallways, she kept a straight face, and basically ignored him.

The fact that he did the same every time he passed her felt like a stone dropped down in her stomach each time she saw it, but she told herself it was for the sake of secrecy. He had, after all, stopped any cuddling with Pansy Parkinson, and rumour had it that she was frantic over the fact that he hadn't asked her to the ball.

The last week before school ended, Pansy had finally asked out Michael Davids from Hufflepuff. People said that she chose that house deliberately to provoke a reaction from Draco, one that never came. The gossipers of the school also had a field day trying to guess who Draco was taking, but Ginny was relieved to hear that all the gossip she heard was way off target. Apparently the school had forgotten about the trip to the robe shop - either that or they never expected Draco to be bold enough to bring a Gryffindor into his father's house.

The second to last day of classes was the only time she and Draco exchanged words between the meeting in the Transfiguration classroom and the break. She found herself as usual on her way from Potions - which she actually hadn't been late for since her first encounter with Draco - to Transfigurations with far too many books and papers in her arms. As she was hurrying the corridors, she came across Harry, Hermione and Ron who were heading the same way, and Harry graciously offered to take some of her books. She was very grateful, and didn't waste much time arguing with him. Just as she was handing the things to him, however, something hard bumped into her and her books and papers went scattered.

"My apologies, Weasley," an icy voice said, and her heart started racing as she looked up in the slightly amused face of Draco Malfoy.

"Yeah sure, you're really sorry," Ron said annoyed, but to everyone's surprise Draco bent down and picked up some of the stuff closest to him.

As he was getting up, he discretely placed the hand not holding her things on Ginny's leg, and ran it up her inner thigh. It was done very quickly, and Ginny didn't think any of the others were in a position where they could see the movement, but she still blushed instantly.

"Here," he said smirking widely.

"See you," he said before turning and walking away.

"What on earth was that about?" Ron asked flabbergasted.

"I have no idea," Ginny said quickly, her face now bright red she was sure, and bent down to pick up her books. Bending down also helped her to avoid the suspicious looks Hermione was sending her.