Over the Line

Ginny Weasley was seething as she moved through the library at Hogwarts. She was careful not to catch Madam Pince's attention as she weaved quickly in and around tall bookshelves, to the very back of the library; where no one went except her. She clutched a thick book to her chest, and with her free hand she reached up and swept her fiery red fringe out of her eyes. She sprinted the last few yards to her usual spot. The red, velvet window seat placed under a wide, wall length window that overlooked the lake and the forbidden forest.

She dropped her bag on the floor, pausing to wince at the loud sound that issued from the impact, and sat on the seat, opening the book and extracting a quill and ink bottle from an inside pocket of her robes. The book was a diary; a real one. One with a blue leather cover, gold lined pages, and no magic in it whatsoever. It was a gift from her twin brothers for her sixteenth birthday. It was already almost half filled in the few months that she'd owned it.

Right now she was angry. Well, more embarrassed than angry. But whenever Ginny felt upset or troubled she always came here; to work it out in the inviting blank pages waiting for her. The reason she was upset now was because of something that'd happened this afternoon. She began to write:

Earlier today I was on my way to Herbology; and I saw Malfoy kissing that cow Pancy Parkinson. He's so full of himself, so PROUD; so why on planet earth would he kiss...that? Well, anyways, that's not the point of this entry. What happened after lunch is the point. I was going up to Gryffindor tower and I thought I heard someone following me. I looked back; but no one was there. I felt nervous, so I backtracked as quietly as I could and looked around the corner. There he was, leaning against the wall like he had every right to. I asked him what he was doing. He just looked me up and down and said, point blank: "I'm following you. Is that a problem?"

As a matter of fact...

I yelled at him. I told him to stay away from me or I'd hex him into the next century. He pushed off the wall and came at me. I thought he was going to hex me himself, but he grabbed me and kissed me! And you know what? I kissed back. I'm so, so stupid. It was nice; great even...but Draco Malfoy? No way. Hell would have to freeze over twice. He's

"Devilishly charming?" a voice came from over her shoulder. She jumped; then she saw who it was. "What the hell, Malfoy?" The book tumbled off her lap as she shot to her feet, pulling her wand out.

He seemed unfazed. He bent and picked the book up off the floor. She took a step forward. "Don't."

"I see you've strayed back to cursed diaries again Weaslette. Will you ever learn?" He flipped through the pages. She darted out and tried to get it back, but he jumped back and held it above his head. "Wouldn't want you to get hurt now, would we? I'm just making sure we don't have any-"

She growled angrily and pointed her wand at him. He sidestepped the curse and grabbed her wrist. Damn, she thought. His seeker skills must be improving. He squeezed her wrist; making her drop her wand. It fell with a muffled clatter to the carpet.

"Damn it, Malfoy!" she tugged her wrist. His grip tightened; the smirk never leaving his face. "Shush, Weasley. We're in a library."

She could feel her face turning red as anger rose in her chest. He had no right to touch her. No right to take her things. He tipped his chin at her. "You won't want to keep all that anger bottled up." He whispered, quite close to her face. She jerked back. She wasn't going to let him win. But what could she do now?

She tried to control her breathing. He'd set the diary aside, she noticed, it lay on the edge of the window seat, golden pages reflecting the late afternoon sun. How ironic; that a book she confided in so often could be in the same place with her, and be more peaceful.

She looked up at Dra--Malfoy. He was quite a bit taller than she was. His pale blonde hair had grown long this year; it fell roughly above his shoulders. His gray-blue eyes danced. "That was quite an encounter we had earlier, wasn't it?" he said.

Quickly, while holding his gaze, she tried to twist away again; using her free hand to pry his fingers away. He grabbed her though; and ended up wrestling her into the wall. She stopped struggling and exhaled frustration in his face. But now she wasn't mad anymore. She was afraid. They were in a secluded area of the library; it had to be dinner time now; as she'd seen no one on her way back here except Madam Pince. And Madam Pince was all the way on the other side of the room. What did he want from her? What was he going to do?

Suddenly, as he looked down at her, his expression changed. His smirk disappeared and he released her. Confused; she frowned at him. He was backing away. "I'll see you around Weaslette-" he turned and strode out of sight.

Feeling nothing now but relief; Ginny rushed to gather her things. She took a different route than he had, and fled from the library. She'd have to find a different spot to write now. And she'd have to keep her eyes peeled for a strange Mr. Draco Malfoy. If she didn't; who knows what would happen?