Regret and Betrayal

Chapter five

The Rules of Desire.

2. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on its own...when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want it to.

~*~~*~~*~

The sky outside was darkened from the eclipse today and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. The glorious blue that shone in eminence was hidden by the full glowing moon that stood out as an obstacle to the sun. Black filled the sky and the earth as a slight mist crept from the east like a slow train obscuring the view of the radiant sky. The night shone and the sun had been encircling the moon for what seemed like hours now and still it showed no signs of revealing itself.

In the house Ginny had taken to walking around quietly without any interruptions from anyone. After last night's fiasco the people in the house seemed to leave her alone and she quite liked it that way. It had given her time to think and some extra time to snoop around. Despite what she had experienced these past few days she could not let it get in the way of her work. She still had a job to do and the faster she completed it the faster she could get out of there. But to no prevail could she find his damned office. Where the hell does he hide it anyway, how far could it possibly be? She had searched everywhere she could think of but upon getting lost twice she decided to just give up and try again another time. That was when Malfoy had come home from work and given her something in a bag. It was a book.

She sat upstairs for a while contemplating once again where to start looking when her thoughts kept wondering off on strange tangents that were completely off the topic of work and her job completely. Well not completely, they had been about Malfoy. Someone she could not help but think about at all. She wondered if he had known who she was would he have saved her from his father. Would he have run up the stairs like he did to fight off the intruder last night? Then she thought he probably only did that because of the others in the house. The world, after all, did not revolve around her. She wondered why every person so far that had seen them together had thought they were a couple, say that to her a few weeks ago and she would probably have laughed or punched you in the face, whichever came first. But as of late the more she thought of it the more it seemed feasible, even pleasant.

It had come as a surprise when Malfoy had brought back a book for her. 'The Rules of Desire,' some Euro trash he had seen and had remembered that it was Gregory's favourite book. He said that Goyle had mentioned her and her love for any book she could read, seeing as they were in the same family he instantly thought of her when he saw it in the bookstore. Incidentally it was the same bookstore that she practically lived in when she wasn't at work. So far the book had been lying on her dressing table, her disturbing thoughts were driving her crazy so she had taken it up and began reading. She had become deeply engrossed in it until Altair came in to clean her room and she was vacated and relocated herself in front of the open fireplace in the living room downstairs. Chapter four was particularly entertaining. She was in the middle of wondering whether this book was the reason Goyle had so many children in the first place when Malfoy had come in with a pile of papers. He dropped them noisily on the glass table muttering something about 'maids and their incessant need to clean.'

She looked up at a said Slytherin that was fiddling with papers on the glass table. From behind her book she watched him. As if he had sensed her he looked up in her direction and her eyes darted back to the words on the page. She had been reading for about an hour now and she had not absorbed one word.

Ever since then she had tried to ignore him but his unconscious habits got the better of him when he worked and they were rather distracting in what Ginny began to realise was not that much of a bad thing...

***

The leaves parted and he saw pale eyes watching a woman as she stood at the ledge of an upstairs window. A wand was stretched toward her and the brick under her feet detached itself from the wall and crashed to the ground. She followed the broken cement as a silent scream escaped her throat. He blinked and when his eyes opened again he could see the window through her eyes as it distanced itself from her. The dark hair surrounding him as he fell engulfed him. He could feel what she was feeling and she was terrified. He closed his eyes once more to block it out, when he opened them again he wasn't seeing through her anymore but through the eyes of the stranger that watched her. She didn't hit the ground, she just disappeared. His stomach turned as the room he was in re-focused itself.

"Zacharin, what did you see?" Rebecca looked into his eyes waiting for them to refocus on her. He had zoned out for a while, it was longer than usual and she was beginning to get worried.

"I saw a man in black in some bushes outside," he said groggily. "He was looking at something high up, but I couldn't see it. Then there was a woman, she looked like Maleyna but it wasn't her. She - she looked younger somehow, the way she dressed - she fell from a window but she didn't hit the ground she just disappeared. I don't understand." He put his hand to his head once more as the dizziness overcame him again and he fell backwards. Slowly, he rolled over. When his eyes refocused she was the first thing he saw. He exhaled a breath as more pictures ran across his vision.

Red and black mixed and intertwined, but they didn't fuse to one colour, then they parted. A woman and a man stood before him laughing and - well, other things. He turned to hide his embarrassment. As he averted his gaze everything went dark, like a dismal day in autumn. He turned slowly watching a cloud fix itself above them all. He was now somewhere on the grounds of the house. It was raining and they weren't laughing anymore. She was covered in blood lying on the grounds of the garden some way off from the house. Then behind him there was an explosion. He shielded his ears from the noise and his eyes from the brightness of the fire. The blast blared in his ears and he squeezed his hands tighter around them hoping it would fade out. The room swam again and the crème walls came back into his vision. The noise from the explosion still rang in his ears and his hands were still there when Rebecca began to shake him.

"Zacharin? Zacharin! Are you alright? Answer me. They hppened twice in a row, they've never done that before."

He dug his finger in his ears to get rid of the ringing. "I know."

"What happened this time? Can you remember?" They must be really important if they were given to you twice.

"Um." He swallowed hard, his face set. But then his eyes softened and he smiled as he recalled the scene of the two people in his vision. "Well it's about time, I wondered if they'd keep denying it until they were forced to see." He laughed, but then his face became serious as another picture clouded his vision, he looked as if he'd seen a ghost. "Oh no," he said suddenly.

"What? What happened?"

"Nothing yet but," he said. He squinted as if the vision lay right in front of him but he couldn't see it properly. "There was a lot of blood from the same woman in the grounds of this house but she was different, she looked worn - weak maybe." Then it dawned on him. It was the only possible reason. The clouds, they were his trademark. "He - he got to her," he said in a weak voice. "He must have." His hands went into fists and slammed down hard on the ground. "Dammit."

Rebecca shook her head. "What, so all of this and he wins? That can't be right you must have seen it wrong." He gave her a scornful look. "No, don't look at me that way it's happened before. You must remember that day in the woods, you only saw Christian remember, but you didn't see the other guy that we had to kill. I'm not saying that the vision was wrong - just that you may not have seen everything-"

"I was there Rebecca."

"What?"

"I can still here the noises, the cries and the screams. There still in my head. I can't make them go away." His hands wrestled with the noises in his head. More than anything she wished she could hold him again.

"No, I can't believe it. We've come so far, there must be more to it there has to be."

"I hope so." He closed his eyes and rubbed his temples, visions had never hurt him before. "For both our sakes I hope so." He sighed and tried to get some sleep.

***

Ginny reluctantly found herself staring at him again. She was sitting with her feet on the leather couch, her back against the armrest facing him and had planted the book on her knees so that she was able to peer over the spine safely as he worked. He was mumbling again in that soft tone with his fingers by his mouth. She smiled. With what she did for a living paperwork was not a stranger to her and under the right amount of stress you could display the strangest behaviour when you weren't even aware.

Stop smiling damn you!

She shook her head violently and cemented her eyes back in the confines of the page trying once again to get immersed in the words.

He sat there teasing me as he worked. Of course, he wasn't aware of it, he never was. He never knew that every move he made ripped through the chords of my heart like a piece of music filled with the emotional notes of sadness and desire...

She looked up again, he was still working. Stray hair fell forward on his face just over his eyes as he scanned the page of the program he was reading. Oblivious to it, as if by habit, he brushed those back with his hands, only to have them fall again.

He licked the tip of his slender finger to turn the pages, those same fingers that he used to handle everything, everything except me. It felt like slow motion, torture. I catalogued every move - muscle that I could trace under his thin silk shirt.

Malfoy was wearing silk. Slowly he turned the page of the program he was reading. As if life imitated art she stared at his fingers, long, slender and perfectly masculine.

I couldn't explain what was happening to me, I was feeling things that were overwhelming me. I had never thought of Duncan that way because he had always been my best friend. Just someone I could always count on, the same reliance I had on him when he had saved me from Jack last night. I sighed remembering it; I don't recall ever seeing that hunger in Jack's eyes before it was truly frightening. I watched him again as I played with my hair, it's a nervous habit I can't help it. My eyes scanned along his arms, those same arms that had wrapped around me after he pulled Jack off of me.

Ginny remembered last night, when Malfoy had come back downstairs after getting rid of whatever it was that had haunted her, that had known her name. He had seen her sitting down on the chair with Altair in front of her trying to calm her down, not that it was doing anything much. He told Altair to leave and knelt in front of her. Then he raised her head and told her that it was gone, whoever it was, was gone. Ginny couldn't ever recall feeling as much relief that someone - anyone could help her. Then, he had held her.

The way he had held her, she had felt so calm and warm and... safe. It was that night when he had seen her to bed that she had thought about all the times she had gotten into trouble. In the Chamber of Secrets she had woken up on the stone cold floor covered in ink, covered in Tom. Harry was there, he had saved her, but he hadn't even held her. Granted, he was being consumed by the poison of the basilisk but - even afterwards no one had asked about her and she was just known as the girl that evil follows with an insatiable crush on the boy who lived. It was always about Harry, Ron or Hermione. They were the bloody fantastic trio that everyone loved or in the Slytherin's case, hated.

Now don't get me wrong, I have always prided myself on not feeling anything in any of my relationships. I had learnt that the hard way a long time ago but Duncan was all I thought about these days. Maybe it was the amount of time we were spending together I don't know, but he seems to be all I want now. It's more than sexual. I've talked to my girlfriends about it because, let's face it I can't exactly go to him now can I? They tried to convince me of something utterly ridiculous. However, these past couple of weeks the more I think about it the better it sounds. I smiled at the thought, could it be? 'Samantha Jenkins: World's most famous bachelorette', could it possibly be that I'm in l-

Ginny slammed the book shut forgetting that Malfoy was still within earshot. His eyes flickered in concern.

"Are you alright Claire?" she heard as she ripped her eyes off of the cover distracted, once again, to those silky gray eyes that she had been trying so hard to avoid.

"Pardon?" It was all she could manage.

"Are you alright? You've been reading for about an hour now and I haven't heard one page turn. Don't you like the book?"

"No, no - I mean yes it's erm... very interesting." Something tweaked in her stomach as she realised something, he had noticed her there. He had probably worked out that she wasn't reading at all, well, not the book anyway. That's why he kept looking over at her. Well wouldn't you if someone was staring at you? Of course she would, and I'd probably think he was extremely creepy. Oh Merlin, he thinks I'm creepy.

But wait a second, why should I care?

She suddenly found herself face to face with those same gray eyes, now a lot closer than they were before. He had moved when she had stopped talking and started screwing up her face into different expressions. His hand was on her forehead. Well she isn't hot, so she can't be sick, he thought.

As if the mere touch shocked her, she blinked now noticing he was there and her eyes went wide. She felt white-hot bolts of electricity course down her spine. Without warning she got up immediately and practically ran to her room throwing the book as far away as possible. She sighed as she hit the wall and slid down slowly. No. She banged her head numerous times on the wall before sobering up enough to realise it hurt. I cannot believe this, one of my only true friends, she thought.

Even books had turned against her.

***

He could understand why she would run away like that. After last night, who wouldn't run away from anything that got within a three-mile radius? There was something going on in this house and the fact that he had a clue but not a full understanding made him a little angry, especially if the reason for it all was sitting upstairs.

He packed away his papers and went upstairs being careful not to disturb Ginny with what he was about to do.

***

Lesley had spent so many days in the library she could have set up residence. So far she had found nothing to confirm her suspicions. All she had to go on was the fact a Malfoy had apparated into Ginny's apartment without force and Ginny had not been seen since.

I should never have left the room, she thought as she continued searching through the ministry's newspapers. She had now reached those from two years ago, a few months after the time Ginny got her job at the firm and went on her first trip away.

She had even been to visit the family, but they all continued on the same lie that Ginny had been telling her all these years. That she worked for a firm of some sort - incidentally none of them, not even Lesley herself, had thought about asking her what kind of firm it was - so she moved around all over the place and hardly visited anymore.

She kept flicking through them, one after the other they whizzed past. She read the head lines

Young Aurors solve the Deatheater's revival case.

I mean, it's not as if she works for some secret service is it? Though it would explain everything, at least then I'd feel some comfort knowing that the only reason she lied to me was because she was forced to.

All of a sudden there was a blinding light as she turned to the next front page of the newspapers. When it died again she blinked to get rid of the blind spots that now stood in front of her eyes. When she looked again at the previous front page, the words started twisting and the pictures moved all over the place. Lesley wondered what the hell was going on, but before she had a chance to ask for the librarian the contents stopped moving and she noticed four small words on the top right side of the page.

MINISTRY PAPER, VERSION: UNEDITED.

"What the..." She looked at the page, everything was different even the headline.

Young Hotshot Solves Mystery of Deatheater's Threats for return of Dark Lord

And below it she could see a picture of someone being interviewed, it was Ginny leaving a building being interviewed by numerous reporters flocking around her. She was walking beside someone, Lesley couldn't see his face but under the picture there was a caption.

Newest member to MBI solves case leaves for long awaited vacation accompanied by her partner Peter Thomas.

Pete? "What in Merlin's name?" She grabbed the librarian's attention behind her. "Excuse me, where did these come from?"

The librarian simply looked at the paper and read the headline. "Well, they were given to us by the ministry they always have been." She read the headline over Lesley's shoulder. "I know it was a shock wasn't it? Those Deatheater's didn't know what hit them when our very own hero came into the works did they. Lucky Mr. Potter was there wasn't it?" she said as if he were the son she never had. Lesley laughed to herself, in a way he was the son that nobody ever had. And he had done all his parents proud.

Lesley looked at her and at the paper, then she realised something. "What does this headline say?"

The librarian looked at her and then read the headline unsure of why she couldn't read it herself. "Young Aurors solve the Deatheater's revival case." She stood back from the screen and stood straight.

"And whose picture is this?" Lesley pointed at the picture of Ginny and Pete.

"Well, seeing there is no picture there, it isn't anyone's. Now here, if you look properly is Mr. Potter and Mr. Weasley's picture, they were so brave. It says here that the deatheaters were planning on coming back led by none other than a Mr. Nott. Oh they are all despicable people." She screwed up her face and walked back to her stack of books that she was packing away.

Lesley looked to the spot where the librarian had pointed to but there was no picture there, just words. Then she remembered, before the light came there was a picture there of Harry and Ron, as far as she knew they had solved the case of the deatheaters who planned to come back with some plan or another and even worse, the deatheaters had planned to come back with a friend. Lord Voldemort. But now, it was Ginny and Pete who had saved the day. Why hadn't Ginny told her, and why hadn't she been able to see this before? She knew where to get her answers; she picked up her bag and went outside into the darkness of the eclipse to catch a bus.

***

Her foot slipped as she stood out on the ledge of the window, it was quite funny actually that she was now standing here. Ginny Weasley on the brink of death at Malfoy's estate, she laughed nervously as a bird practically attacked her on its way down into the garden. The garden, why didn't she just go down to the garden? She always had to choose the hard way. All due to one idea that she could possibly apparate if she wasn't on the grounds of the house, so she climbed outside to get off the grounds hoping it would work once she was out there. Though she had become very scared at the fact she was now on the second floor of the house trying to apparate but looking like she was about to commit suicide.

Just then one of the concrete stones disintegrated under her feet and suddenly she found herself hanging on for dear life by her fingers alone. She blinked over and over to get the concrete out of her eyes, but it didn't work and they began to sting. The pain in her fingers grew as she tried hard not lose her grip. From below them she could see the tips turning white under the pressure and she began to lose feeling ever - so - slowly. Just then as if fate wanted to prove it hated her, a bird flew past her again missing her face by inches. The mere shock must have been what kept her from screaming as she lifted a hand to bat it away. Suddenly she felt her stomach turn as she found herself falling. It felt like slow motion, watching the window leave her from so high. It was now or never so she apparated. But somehow it didn't feel like it was working, realization hit and she screamed closing her eyes tight. She hit the ground, it was a lot softer than she thought it would be and she realised she was still screaming. Ergo, she couldn't be dead. When she opened her eyes she was looking at a ceiling, standing over her was Pete, and opposite him was Lesley.

***

Pete walked in through his door to start the rest of Ginny's progress report. It had become his duty now to report all that happened in the house seeing as Ginny refused to talk to anyone else so far. As he entered and muttered a spell for the lights he instantly wished he had forgotten it due to the current state of his home. Books, papers, chairs and other semi-important things lay sprawled across his floor. It the center of it was Lesley sitting down cross-legged next to a chest that she knew he always kept hidden in his closet. It contained many things that others, especially her, shouldn't see due to its supremely secret contents.

"What the hell is going on?" Pete looked at his living room, the mess trailed up the stairs and expectantly to his bedroom. It was now looking as if a bomb hit it. "Lesley what are you doing? And what have you done to my home?"

Lesley shot him a murderous look. "Where's Ginny?" she asked, daring him to lie.

"She's gone away on a business trip -," he began before she cut him off.

"Oh yes she said she went into Ireland, where was it again?" she said being vainly obvious at how sarcastic she could possibly sound. "I just want to contact her." She closed the chest and stood up walking over to him.

"Erm, I think she said Dublin, we have some really - important - clients - there," he said slowly, his words fading as he backed away slowly whilst Lesley approached him looking very frightening. He tried to see how transparent he actually was as it was evident she hadn't believed a word he was saying.

"Really and what hotel is she staying at?" she said pushing him back against the wall.

"I can't really remember right now, maybe I could get back to you later," he said and he apparated.

Lesley stood there and after a short time of silence she laughed, and then she went to sit on one of his chairs and waited. Seconds later he reappeared as if falling from the sky and landed on the floor face down. Slowly he stood up brushing himself off.

"Had a nice trip?" she asked mischievously. She leaned back in the chair and giggled.

"What did you do?" He backed away; this version of Lesley was obviously not one to be reckoned with.

She leaned forward in her chair, and began quietly, though the tone behind it made it deadly. "It's nothing compared to what I will do if you don't - start - telling me - the truth. Now, where - is - Ginny?" She spelled it out for him seeing as blatant speech didn't seem to be enough.

"I already told you -," be attempted.

"No you told me a lie, just like she has been telling me all these years. Where - is - she?" She sighed in annoyance when he wouldn't speak. "What do they train you to lie well to the enemy? Well guess what - I'm not the enemy all I want is the truth. You and Ginny are two of the best friends I have ever had because I felt I could tell you anything and you both told me the same thing. Now I feel like I don't know you anymore." She sat back in the chair again annoyed at his silence. "Where do you people get off lying to the public? Don't you know that we have a right to know? Not only that, but you lie to your friends and your family. Merlin what's next? Is it in the policy of that - that - What the hell is the MBI anyway?" she blurted out.

Pete's eyes went wide. "What - how did you know about that, who have you been talking to?" he asked.

"I haven't been talking to anyone, I've been reading. I've spent the last few days in the library wondering what it is Ginny has been hiding from me, going through all of the ministry's papers for the past few years trying to figure it out. Then I have some idea that changed everything on the page -."

"What did you think of?" he said interested in her answer.

She laughed bitterly before carrying on. "I was thinking what else she had lied to me about and then I suddenly came up with 'it's not as if she works for some secret service is it?' and then the whole front page changed around and instead of Harry and Ron on the front page solving some case of the Deatheater's return to society led by Thaddeus Nott. It was 'Peter Thomas and Newest Member of MBI going on long awaited vacation after solving the mysterious threats from Deatheater's saying they were to revive the Dark Lord.' All I want to know is why? Why couldn't you just tell me? No let me guess," she laughed again. "If you did, you'd have to kill me. Yeah she fed me that line every time she would tell me the truth only it sounded so far fetched I never actually believed her. That lying bitch! And you, you're no better. And here I am standing here talking to you when I should be hexing you to the ground!" She pulled out her wand and pointed it at him, shaking.

Pete watched the stern way she held her wand. Shaking or not, she was still angry so he decided to take it another way. "Lesley listen to me, it's our job we can't just tell everyone who we really are. Ginny has a lot to deal with right now so she isn't here, okay? She is actually doing her job right now while the rest of us are just sitting around waiting for her to get through it all. She was actually forced to do it so really she had no choice but to lie, even I lied to her."

"No honour amongst thieves, huh?" Lesley's hand loosened a little and she let her head hang with a silent laugher, when she looked up though, there was still anger in her eyes. "Has this got anything to do with Draco Malfoy?" she asked.

Once again, Pete wondered who she had been talking to. "How do you know this? That part of the paper hasn't come out yet." He sat down and looked up at her.

"He was at the apartment a few days ago; it's really what put the suspicion in my head. At first I thought it could have been possible they were going out, maybe even in love but you know me always with the 'Romeo and Juliet love conquers all thing,' but then I remembered who they were. Then I realised what she had told me about herself was true and what else had she told me to shut me up. So I moved into the library and began looking at the front pages. I even found the Deatheaters in Scotland thing she had told me." She laughed bitterly.

"Well, they're certainly not going out, and I think it's far past impossible for them both to be in love so..."

"Yeah she'd rather throw herself out of one of those high windows than admit it even if she was." They both laughed.

Just then Ginny appeared in the room falling from the ceiling screaming. They moved back as she fell to the floor.

Both of them looked up at the ceiling. "What the hell just happened?" Pete asked, looking at Lesley.

"You're asking me? Ha that's a change, in case you haven't noticed I'm still mad at you," she said pointing her wand at him again, and then she looked down. "And you, I can't believe either one of you anymore." She backed away, afraid of what she'd do with her wand if she held it any longer.

"Me? What did I do?" Ginny said as Pete bent over to help her up.

"You l-." She paused noticing something. "Ginny, do you have concrete in your hair?"

Ginny felt her head, indeed there was concrete in her hair and on her clothes. She quickly brushed herself off with the help of Pete. "Oh yeah, I fell."

"Off of what a building?" Pete inserted, he suddenly smiled at what he and Lesley had been talking about before, and when he looked over at Lesley she was smiling too. She was obviously thinking the same thing.

"Yes as a matter of fact, I did. I was standing on the second floor windowsill when birds attacked me and the concrete gave way, actually it more disappeared than gave way, but luckily I apparated before I hit the ground. I just hope nobody heard me scream." She looked at the other two; they seemed to be in shock. It was Pete who broke the silence.

"Okay then, so can you guess what? Lesley is angry at you." He went to sit down and think for a while.

"What? Oh yeah, I'm very angry at you why did you lie in such a truthful way, it was thoroughly confusing and now I can't trust you at all," she reeled, still a bit put off from what they had just discovered.

"What did I do?" Ginny asked.

"We both lied to her about where we worked." Pete just sat in his chair not looking at her because if he did he'd have more than just questions to ask her.

"But-."

"No, don't start with that I tried already it doesn't work. She already knows Ginny." Ginny looked at him, why wasn't he looking at her? She focused her thoughts on Lesley.

"I'm sorry, but I have been telling you the truth. You chose to take it as a lie."

"You were still being dishonest with me Ginny, I don't know if I could trust you anymore." She couldn't take it anymore she had to ask. "Do you like him?" she asked, she couldn't help it she had been wanting to ask this since she found out how Ginny had gotten there.

"Who?" Pete looked up at both of them, actually interested in her reply; he waited in vain for a negative answer.

"Malfoy - Draco - Malfoy, you know you're only staying in his house."

"Of course not." The voice was back again, the one she always used to deny anything utterly ridiculous but altogether true. Lesley looked curious yet kind of excited, Pete looked devastated. How on earth was he going to break this to the team, one of their best agents they have has fallen for their suspect. The investigation was surely screwed.

"Okay, so what's been happening there?" Pete said slowly, he sounded annoyed and he had a right to be. They had been planning this for months.

Where to begin? "Well," she started off slowly. "So far, every night I have been attacked."

"Malfoy attacked you?" Pete said getting up angrily.

"Yes - no, I mean the older one did, Draco saved me."

"Draco, is it a first name basis now? Okay, so Lucius Malfoy attacked you. Why, did he find out who you were?"

"No, if he did he wouldn't have attacked me." She sounded sensitive to this subject and retreated a little. "Not in that way anyway." She suddenly became rather quiet and sat down on a chair.

"That way? What do you mean, that way?" Pete pressed oblivious to it.

Ginny went quiet for a while, it was not exactly the kind of subject she wanted to talk about. It was frightening and it brought back so many things that she just didn't want to remember. She closed her eyes and when she opened them there were hints of tears.

Lesley noticed them immediately, and she recognized the way Ginny sat down and how she fidgeted. She definitely knew what was wrong when she saw how she curled herself up when Pete tried to hold her. Lesley was one of the few who were there for what Ginny had gone through, Pete wasn't so he had no idea why she wouldn't let him touch her.

"Oh Ginny, I'm so sorry." She went over to her and held her; Ginny opened her arms and welcomed Lesley's embrace.

"It's nothing really I'm over it now, it was last night that I can't forget."

Now the agitation set itself in. "What did you and Malfoy do last night?" Pete sat down on the sofa opposite them and stared at Ginny, hopefully it wasn't anything he would have to add to her progression report.

"Nothing has happened between me and Malfoy, alright? Merlin what is with everyone who meets us? Yesterday at the office-."

"The office?"

"Malfoy's office, we met some person he knew from school - though I don't recall ever meeting her - and she gives him a suggestive look when he tells her I'm staying in his home. I meet a café owner who has this crazy idea I can't do my job because I have feelings for him and-."

"You have feelings for him?" Lesley asked.

"No better yet, ow does she know you have a job to do?" Pete questioned.

"Well, her husband used to work for the sector, and they got weekly newspapers. When she found out who he was, really was, she started to see the unedited version of the ministry's paper that was charmed for the public not to see."

"Ooh, so that's how I could see it. Hmm." Then she asked what she really wanted to know. "So you do have feelings for him?"

"Lesley not now," Pete said.

"No it bloody will be now, I haven't seen her all week and I want at least one truthful answer. Do not lie to me I am putting this on our friendship. If you do lie I am out of here." Lesley's look alone told Ginny that she was serious. Ginny thought hard about what she should say.

"Will you lie so she can go?" Pete inserted.

Ginny looked from Pete to Lesley, how would she answer this, especially when she didn't have an answer for herself? In the end, she settled with the truth. "Okay then, yes. Yes I do have feelings for Malfoy." Lesley looked into her eyes to see anything she could. They stayed that way for a while, when suddenly Lesley broke contact.

"Okay then." She set down her bag and her coat and got up. "Who wants a cup of tea?"

***

Zacharin looked up from the high balcony of his post, the sky was wearing a sinister cloak for the battle, as it should. The rain showered the shame of the murder that had been created these past few weeks. The Earth shone a stoned crimson as bodies of men bled over the rocks of the battlefield. The dark force of light above him and the rest of his soldiers claimed the lives of King Azrael's army, those that it could not reach it was up to him and his men.

The death continued, but no hexes were thrown. No magic was used by anyone except for Aztarophe himself. He had made himself clear on that. Only weapons were to be used, something Zacharin had been trained in before but his men had to be thoroughly exercised in. Azrael's men were muggles, they had spent most of their life training with those sorts of weapons and Zacharin's men were at a great misfortune to have only a few short months.

It had all gone well, blood had spilled, poured and drained and Azrael's army was depleting. But with knowledge of Aztarophe's origins they had gotten a force of their own, something Zacharin had not seen, it was strange how he had not envisioned this and he held himself responsible for it. A wizard or witch they had managed to get a hold of somehow had opened a gap in the protective wards of the twelve-foot wall. The remainders of Azrael's army fought their way into Aztarophe's secluded lands with a new hope of success, including the King himself. As they crossed the threshold a blinding light came forward and all who were not used to light like this had to close their eyes. When the light died down Zacharin saw... Draco?

Huh?

"Would you care to give me an explanation of why there are men dressed in black trying to get in here?"

"What are you talking about?" Zacharin opened his eyes and looked around, Rebecca was gone. When he looked up Draco was watching him with scrutiny. Damn those visionary dreams, I can't even tell when they're happening now.

"Last night, there was a man trying to get in here. He scared us out of our minds and he could have hurt any of the people in my house! I have a six-year-old boy here for Merlin's sake. You could have told me that whoever is after you would try to get to the house."

"I thought that knowledge would have come from the fact that I also told you your uncle was after you too."

Draco sighed in frustration. The thought of that - hit man - being sent into his home was unnerving, if anyone was hurt - Altair, Sebastian. Ginny. "You could have warned me that he could send assassins after you. I have family here."

Zacharin sat up and spun around to face him. "Oh yes your wife, how is she?"

"What? - For the last time she is not my wife! What is wrong with you people! Dammit!" Draco yelled.

Zacharin just laughed a little under his breath.

"What?" Draco continued in his already agitated mood.

"Nothing, but there was a time if anyone ever said that about her you'd have them killed. Ask your butler, he'll tell you." Then his face was set and he looked Draco in the eye. "But you listen to me, last night was just the beginning, he hasn't started yet. Forget about me, he doesn't really want me anyway he only wants the contents of that box. I entrusted it to you. I assume you still have it do you not?"

"Of course I do."

"Good, find a way to protect it. Remember that you have to protect her also she is the key. If the stone is taken it isn't worth anything without her anyway. But if he takes her, destroy it."

"What the hell are you talking about?"

"If in doubt, do what you always did back then. Read about it, it'll calm you down a little and explain a hell of a lot." He turned once again and lay down. His temples were throbbing, he still couldn't figure out why his visions were hurting him now. He stared at the ceiling when one of the pictures from this morning flashed before his eyes. They did this sometimes, when the future suddenly became the present. Finally he understood why she hadn't hit the ground. He smiled, she was still safe. "You have to go now. She's gone," he said with a smile

It took Draco a while to register everything. When he left Zacharin alone, he sealed the entrance and walked past Ginny's room once more. Hold on, 'She's gone?' what the-. He knocked on Ginny's door. There was no response. After a second knock and no answer he opened the door slowly. A slight chill brushed past him and he realised the window was open. He walked over to it and looked outside. Nothing. Not that he expected her to be outside the window. He did a quick check along the windowsill before going back inside. He stopped, something wasn't right. He felt like he was missing something and stuck his head back outside but his time he looked down. Yes that's what he thought, there was concrete on the ground downstairs. Where did it come from? He looked to his side, there was a particularly large piece missing from the windowsill that he had missed in his attempt to get back inside. Too large to be caused from just erosion, whatever it was that had broken it off had either returned safely inside or slipped and fallen.

"What are you doing in here?" Draco turned to see Altair holding her usual instruments to clean Ginny's room.

"Have you seen Weasley?" He brought his head back inside and closed the window.

"No, should I have? Though I would have thought she'd be here instead of you. Why are you here?"

"Zacharin told me that-."

"Zacharin, you mean that lunatic that cost me over half of my supplies to clean up after?" she said angrily. "You realise he bleeds more than any other human?" She added sarcastically.

"Why didn't you just clean it with magic?" he asked.

"Hello, someone who can't do magic here! Thanks for rubbing it in."

"Then why didn't you get one of the elves to do it?"

"Draco, you know they're squeamish when it comes to anything blood related. One of them fainted the other day when I told them about the vampires that used to roam around Venezuela."

"You've never even been to Venezuela."

"No, but they don't have to know that do they all they know is that I speak the language."

Draco laughed, "I've spent too much time with you, there's a girl from school who'd hate you if you ever said anything to her."

"Who's that?"

"Some mudblood called Granger, she used to hang around with Potter united didn't she, the lovesick Weaslette in tow with all her little friends Loony Lovegood, Collin Creevey and Lesley -." He stopped and thought for a second and then he said, "Of course, where else could she go?" Then he remembered something, she was an artist. Yes...it could work. Hmm. He left the room quickly; he had some planning to do and a certain artist to get hold of.

Altair watched him leave following him with his eyes until he shut the door behind him, she shook her head. "Él está loco."

***

"What do you mean? 'Who wants a cup of tea?' I thought you were leaving?"

"I said I would leave if she told me another lie."

"And, I don't see you moving." Lesley looked at him with a look that said, 'I thought you were smarter than that.' Pete matched her stare and then broke contact with her and watched Ginny as realization hit. "Ginny, no - please tell me you don't."

"I don't."

"What!" Lesley exclaimed.

"Well, I don't know. He's definitely different and he's saved me so many times I don't think I can hate him anymore even if I tried. Really it's the rest of the family I'm not so keen on."

"So what are you trying to say?"

"That I don't hate him. It's as simple as that." She stretched out her legs because they were beginning to cramp.

Lesley and Pete looked at each other and sighed because they both knew what each other were thinking. As long as they had known Ginny she was not the kind of person to take things in just one way. If she said one thing, there was probably something inside of her saying something else too, and even if there were any ounce of truth in it at all she wouldn't let it out for the life of her. No, that was what they were there for and judging from her posture and the way she was speaking, especially in that over-reacting voice of hers they were in for a long night. They both sat down and faced her; nothing was ever that simple with Ginny.

She stared at them both as they watched her. "What?" she said agitated in that voice. They both smiled and sat back.

Let the interrogation begin.

***

How much longer could she be? What is she doing in there anyway?

Cyrus stood outside watching into the apartment of some friend Ginny had. He wasn't sure but it looked like a 'man-friend' and he didn't like that idea at all. I'll have to sort that out soon. He had been following her around ever since he found out what his father was planning. Everything was perfect because they had a great life, a good house and he had a job - well, no he didn't he just went out everyday. Most days he went to visit his cousin, the same one she was shacked up with now. Then she just disappeared some time ago and she hadn't even tried to get in touch with him. He had spent that time in a great depression and refused to go out at all. She had ruined his social habits causing his life to spiral out of control.

Bitch.

Well, he was doing what he promised. He was dealing with it in his own way. He even tried to kill her when she was standing out on the ledge of the window earlier, but no, she had to go and apparate before she hit the ground didn't she?

Bitch.

Maybe his father was able to put it all behind him for a greater cause but they both knew that he was nothing like his father. Rebecca always took care of that. But to think that he always thought his sister had more in common with their father than he, how laughable now that both generations have fallen for the same woman. He laughed out loud ignoring the fact that he was in the middle of the street. It subsided however when it started to rain.

Shit.

He apparated back to Dra- Malfoy, I am to call him Malfoy now. Back to Malfoy's house and waited for her there.

***

After a series of 'ifs', 'wheres', 'whens', 'whys' and 'how could you possibly' Ginny had well and completely been convinced that she most definitely and totally - did not hate Malfoy anymore. Both Pete and Lesley especially decided to leave it there, as it was not possible that Ginny would tell them anything else. The day had drawn long and Ginny suddenly looked at the clock on Pete's wall.

"Shit! Merlin, I have to get back. I've been gone for four hours, why didn't you tell me it was so late, he's going to notice I'm gone."

"Well look outside everything looks pretty late, Ginny." Ginny felt like kicking Pete at that moment. "Don't look at me that way I'm not the one in love with him."

"What has that got to with anything?" Ginny accused.

"Nothing," Lesley said smiling. "You need to go, right now before they miss you." Ginny nodded and apparated quickly before she punched Pete in the face.

As soon as she left Lesley could not contain her smile. She got up and picked up her bag and coat. "What's so funny?" Pete asked her.

"Hmm - oh, nothing." She fixed her clothes and stood preparing to apparate. "It's just that she never denied it." She almost laughed at Pete's expression when he understood what she meant and apparated immediately.

***

"Oh, home at last." Lesley kicked off her shoes in a corner and sank into her leather chair. She let her head hang backwards and let out a frustrated sigh. Sure they had lied to her, but they were still her friends. And with Ginny having feelings for someone who has long been a great enemy to her family, now was not the time to exclude herself from the group. She smiled and opened her eyes to the ceiling. It was then that she saw the shadow against the wall. Her head went up immediately to see who had broken into her home and her hand went straight for her wand.

It was Malfoy.

***

Ginny sat up in the large bush that she had landed in. Apparently if you apparate from the house you come back to the precise place you left. Seeing as she left in mid air it was not exactly a nice experience to encounter. She slowly lifted herself up, ignoring the pain in her shoulder. She looked up and saw that her window was closed. When she left she knew she had left it open, she didn't exactly have time to shut it falling from the window ledge and all. That could only mean that someone had been in her room.

"Shit, they know." She silently crept back into the house looking up at the sky behind her. It was still dark, granted it was past eight, but a day of no light was strange, she had never had one of those before, not since the war anyway. But that was a time long forgotten by all who lived to see it through. She motioned through the barely parted doors and slipped inside unaware of a pair of eyes watching her from behind a tree in the garden. They stayed for a while, before disappearing into the night.

***

"I need you to do me a favour." He sat down opposite her surveying her through piercing eyes. "A request if you want to put it that way."

"What is it that you need?" She didn't flinch under his gaze, after everything she had just heard about him it was quite hard to take anything seriously right now.

He glared at her, wondering why he did not have the same effect on her that he did on every other woman. When he realised he could not get any further with the silence he sat back defeated. "I am in need of a painting," he sighed. "Nothing special just plain looking."

She relaxed now. "I do not believe I have made any of those, if you want I can get in touch with some of my colleagues. Perhaps they have made-."

"No," he cut her off, "you don't seem to understand me you see I need you to construct a painting for me. It can be of anything but it must have a door."

"A door?" she asked confused.

"Yes, a door, do not put anything behind it leave that to me. I just need for you to paint it. Camouflage it if you want to, put in a desk or something but it must have a door."

"Well." She laughed weakly. "I suppose I can handle that. But why?"

"You do not need to know why, just believe I shall pay you handsomely for this request. It is not often that a famous artist draws upon demand I know, so I will accommodate you in any means possible for you to not waste any of your own money for reasons you do not understand."

"No, that will not be necessary of course I'll take the pay for the demand of a painting but I shall acquire my own supplies."

He shrugged. "Very well." He looked around. "I like what you have done with the place, it looks very... congenial."

"Thank you, however you have never seen it before it looked this way, it was G- Claire who always decorated for me, she was saying the other day-." She stopped realising what she was doing. She turned so that he could not see her face and how stupid she was feeling.

"Oh, she said what? Has she been in contact with you? I haven't missed any owls lately. Tell me- how did she do this?" he asked, knowing the answer would be a lie.

Lesley thought quickly. "This was long before she met you Mr. Malfoy; I doubt she has been able to leave the house since she got there." But then she got to thinking, why not? She'll have to face it sooner or later. Maybe this is how I can get my own back. "Not that she hasn't been enjoying your company, far from it." She smiled a devious smile and sat back on the chair, waiting for him to fix his attention on her. She knew he would if what Ginny had said about him was true.

Draco turned to be greeted by a cunning smile that could challenge his own. "So she has spoken to you? Pray tell what did she say?"

"Nothing much, I just asked her why she hasn't been complaining as much as she said she would. She simply told me that she 'doesn't hate you as much as she used to' so her tolerance levels have risen a little." It was more or less true; Ginny had definitely and completely made it obvious that she 'didn't hate Malfoy anymore.'

She surveyed the change in his face, from calm to almost happy at the news. Then she heard something, barely audible but there nonetheless.

"So the weasel doesn't hate me anymore, huh?" he thought.

"Excuse me?" Lesley said, not believing what she had just heard.

"Pardon?" he answered taken from his thoughts.

"What did you just say?" she laughed. She got up and looked at him, really looked at him. Oh Merlin it couldn't be.

"I didn't say anything." Did I?

"Yes, yes you did. You said 'So the weasel doesn't hate me anymore, huh'," she mimicked.

"No I didn't." It was better to deny it; maybe she'll think she was hearing things.

"Yes, I think you'll find that you did." She laughed. She narrowed her eyes at him. He hated when people did that, like they were trying to see through him and he was being so transparent right now. Finally she let out in a gasp. "You know who she is don't you?" She edged forward not daring to look away because if she did that look in his eyes could be hidden without a trace that it existed.

"Who?" he tried.

"Oh don't give me that I've become an expert on liars these past few days believe me I know you know more than you're letting on." She poked her finger in his chest as he backed up to the wall.

"I honestly have no idea what you're talking about, now if you'll excuse me I must be getting home." He prepared to walk away back to the door.

"Fine, I'm sure you're not interested in how much she knows about you." She turned on her heels and went back to sit down.

Draco stopped in his tracks to her door. When he turned she had an impenitent look on her face, he had sported it so many times that he knew what was hiding underneath. Triumph. Slowly he walked back to his seat, he took off his jacket. "Okay fine, you win. Spill."

***

It had been more than a week now since the eclipse and Ginny just sat in her room missing the darkness. Sure it was strange how the moon had blocked the sun for so long but the eerie light from the covered sun had shone a bizarre glow on the garden at the back of the house. She loved how it looked, a dark beauty that burnished the grass staining them the deepest green. The trees were so dark they were almost black and the house beside it almost invited them in. It was strange how it looked so serious it its majestic stature but totally lost amongst the darkness. All of it painted such a perfect picture of royalty lost in the fray of a dark night. Two weeks had now past since Ginny had been staying here and she had still not found that office of his. There was nowhere else to look. She had given up two days ago and was now just listening out whenever she heard anything and sending it out by owl. Malfoy never seemed to be noticing any of his owls flying backwards and forwards, in a way it didn't seem like he had noticed much of anything.

It had begun the morning after she had come back late from Pete's. No one had questioned her on anything, not even Altair who had told her she had cleaned her room the night before. It seemed she was actually allowed to leave the house. Malfoy had told her that she was just a guest, not a prisoner. Though it would be nice if she could tell him she was going out as there were very serious and deadly men out there searching for her husband. Accompanied with that was a slight smile and him walking off. She had thought it extremely out of his character.

Then there had come the staring. Every time she noticed him, which was a lot, he was looking at her. She had caught him so many times that he didn't bother looking away anymore.

She had tried to ignore it but in all honesty it was partly her fault as she seemed to fix her eyes on him just as much as soon as he would enter the room. Either one of them would sense the other or both would at the same time. It had now turned into staring contests for whoever couldn't stand to look anymore. So far both of them seemed to have tied.

She took a quick shower and got dressed preparing to read the rest of 'Rules of Desire.' It was then that she heard it, a beautiful sound that filled her bedroom. She got up immediately leaving the book on the bed and walked through the house turning corners hearing this beautiful music surrounding her like the warm cloak of summer. She was hearing a piano being played with an overwhelming surge of emotion as if their soul in those notes was gushing out of them, but she couldn't trace the location. Then she remembered the night of the party there was a piano in the far corner of the enormous room. She traced her steps to where she had come from, finding her way back to her room. She could find her way from there. Then she let the music guide her...

She continued down the stairs passing the entrance hall and into the same large room. There it was, the piano stood in great stature in the corner, its position hardly doing it justice. It hardly mattered. And sitting at the piano was Malfoy. The notes rose in volume, he was playing even harder. It sounded as if he was angry, why?

Ginny listened for what seemed like an eternity. Each chord wrenching at her heart and soul, her breathing seemed to be affected by the music as sometimes she would realise that she wasn't breathing at all. Then she'd have to pay attention to it before getting caught in the sound again. The piece ended and the last note lingered in the room. An echo that refused to leave unheard and then it died. Silence.

"That was beautiful," she said exhaling a breath.

He turned and stared at her in a way he had never done before. At first it surprised her, and then she noticed that she didn't seem to mind it. As different as it was, it was almost soft and inviting. She took the invitation.

"Do you play?" he asked as she sat down beside him.

"No I can't play, the notes confuse me. My friend tried to teach me once but they gave up on me because... well I don't know why exactly-" This was a lie; Harry had given up on her because Cho had once again come into the picture blubbering and wanting a shoulder to cry on. Of course he was all too happy to offer her this shoulder. Sooner rather than later he stopped showing up for lessons. But she was over that a long time ago. "- I guess it was because I was a hopeless case." She smiled at this as she really was hopeless when it came to any instrument, piano or triangle.

"You can't read the notes so you can't play anything at all?" He found this hard to believe.

"Well there is this one thing that I can play." She placed her hands on the piano and played a plain rendition of 'Doe, ray, me,' from The Sound of Music one note at a time with her index finger.

"You see you can play," he said playfully.

"I hardly call that being able to play the piano. I only know that one song and it isn't even the proper notes because I can't read the sheet music for the actual song. That's just what I can remember from hearing it in a movie."

"I'll pretend I know what you're talking about. Besides, it's okay that you can't read sheet music you can still play something. A lot of people can't read the sign that says 'TOILET' that doesn't mean that they don't know how to use one." Ginny laughed.

Draco smiled, it had come to pass that he had given up on Altair's pestering. The more he thought of it, the more it sounded... acceptable. He found himself not minding her company. Sure he knew who she was, and who she was of course that was obvious. Even though for most of the time he had been trying to avoid her - and she seemed to be doing the same thing which was something he had found rather hard to understand considering her job - she had always been there somewhere. However most of the time she had not asked to be there, someone else either forced it upon her or he had asked her. At first he had been angry snapping at everyone and anyone that he came into contact with including Altair herself. Something he was liable to pay for later. She had told him to go let it out somewhere in someway that didn't include making noise with his voice or wrecking the house. Some of it he would not dare translate even though he had an idea of what it meant. So he had wondered around a little and came to the piano which was something he hadn't touched for years. It was also something he had once considered the only thing that kept him sane. Whilst he was playing everything came out, anger, confusion, longing, love maybe. He had asked for a sign, anything that could tell him if this is what the fates had in store for him and when he had finished playing there she was. He had then wondered why they couldn't have sent a clearer sign, like making a large deposit in his name to a Swiss bank.

She was standing in a light-coloured dress, it seemed familiar to him but he couldn't place it. She looked beautiful. He stared at her for a while taking into account the last time he had seen her like this, confused and lost but still intrigued. At the party where it had all begun, the second she had set foot into his home, everything went out of control. He had begun to like her, which was clear from his first impressions of her - before he knew who she was - again, and even after he knew who she was with a little help from certain others he won't name. So had his father but that was something else. To some extent she was acting the same way he was lately, which was odd considering she definitely knew who he was. But that was obviously because she didn't want to get thrown out. She had not even noticed him calling her Weasley a number of times, she would just be looking at him wistfully but he had chosen to ignore it at the time. He had to admit some of the things she had gone through she really wouldn't want to be thrown out, especially taking into account his father's current mood and some of the other things that had gone on here. It was no safer out there than it was inside.

But she was here next to him actually interested in something he was saying and something he was able to do. And he liked the feeling of being seen, everyone knew that, that was why most of the time they ignored him. He looked at Ginny, she was subsiding from laughter. She looked even more beautiful when she laughed as if she hadn't done enough of it but was glad that she was able to again. He liked this too, that he could make her laugh.

"There's something I want to give to you." He stood up, and gave her his hand.

She took it, and followed him out. "What is it?" she asked as she followed suit, he was walking quite slow so she didn't have to jog along this time. She felt how her hand was in his, warm. As if made to fit there, it felt good and safe; she hadn't felt that way in a while.

"It's a surprise." He smiled to the corner of his mouth. She couldn't help but smile back, but she wondered why he would buy her things. He obviously didn't care that she was someone else's wife. He stopped at a door, Ebony wood, with sculptures of dragons surrounding a D, his office door. That same office door she had been trying to find all this time. But she didn't recognize the surroundings from the night Pete was here. The office moves from different locations that would explain everything, no wonder there was no-one lining up for this job, he is actually really smart. He opened them, that same exterior, the same broad-seat chair he had slept on when his father... well bad memories. He let go of her hand almost reluctantly and made his way over to his desk. He opened a draw and took out a box, intricately detailed with carvings in the mahogany wood. She had never seen anything like it before.

She had thought about asking if he got her a box but she thought better of it, after all it was very beautiful. She would've probably come across as shallow anyway. He opened the box and took out a necklace. It was silver, with a pendant at the end. It looked like glass and he gestured for her to come closer. It was a glass heart, round on one side and flat on the back. Engraved with a map of the world, she traced her finger over it and felt the brusqueness of the land against the cool smooth surface of the water. She turned it over to see the other side. The back was silver and it was engraved:

The world is waiting for you,

Here's a map to show you the way...

Draco

"Do you remember the conversation we had in Lyn's café a few weeks ago?" he said.

"Yes," Ginny answered, her voice choked because she had no idea what to say. No one had ever gotten her anything this beautiful before. "I told you that I had never been anywhere besides England and Ireland." She was on the verge of tears, tears she was trying very hard to hold back.

"Well I found that very wrong-."

"I can't believe you got this for me. No-one's ever bought me anything like this before." She was sill staring at it. "Thank you."

They looked at each other for a while, locked by eyes alone. "You're welcome."

"It is very beautiful. Would you mind?" She held it out for him.

"Oh not at all." He took it and undid the clasp for the necklace already around her neck. She held up her hair. It smelled so good. Restrain yourself Draco, in time, in time. He bit his lip as he brought the new chain over her head and around her neck and redid the clasp. He held his hand there before taking out his wand and muttering a barely audible spell and managed to pocket it seconds before she turned around in his arms. He smiled weakly, "There you go." He put the old one down on his desk and turned back to her.

"Thank you." He hadn't failed to notice his arms were still around her, neither did she. They looked into each other's eyes, before she finally closed the distance and kissed him. It had taken him by surprise but he got over it quickly and tightened his hold of her when she brought her hands up around his neck. Her lips parted at his touch, and he took the invitation. This time she responded immediately, pulling him closer and closer. But then there was a face that taunted her in the shadow of her mind as it flashed across her eyelids.

No, leave me alone.

He smiled evilly as his hand struck at her.

Suddenly she broke it off. Somehow she found her head somewhere near Draco's desk, as if it had been pushed there. Her face burned and stung. It felt as though she had been slapped. "How could you!" she yelled and ran off with her hand on her cheek leaving him standing there in silence and confused.

"What?" He sat down at his desk wondering what had just happened. I just kissed her? No she just kissed me. Oh well, I can work with that. He smiled and sat down at his desk.

***

She ran to her room panting as she closed the door. She took long deep breaths to slow down her heart. It wasn't working. It was beating faster than was possible. She even considered holding it, but that would surely kill her the rate she was going at. That face that she had seen, she knew who it was but she wouldn't let him get to her.

What the hell did I just do? Oh Merlin what the hell did I just do? I just kissed one of the most dangerous men to my family, oh no my family, what would they think of me? And Ron. She closed her eyes and all she could see was Malfoy. She had kissed him, not the other way around. She felt guilty for betraying her family, but she could not deny the butterflies that flitted in her stomach when he held her, how she blushed fervently when his hand brushed the back of her neck. How she was unable to breathe when she kissed him but didn't care.

"Well that's it then, I'm in love with him I have to be." She looked over into the corner of the room and saw Rules of Desire lying half open on the ground. She remembered throwing it there a few days ago. She read the back like she had done so many times but his time noticing the first three lines at the top.

The Rules of Desire.

1. Your heart decides whom it likes and whom it doesn't.
2. You can't tell your heart what to do. It does it on its own...when you least suspect it, or even when you don't want it to...

"Ha, ain't it the truth. Maybe I will be able to finish it after all," she mused as she picked it up and strolled over to her bed. As she passed the mirror she stole a glance at the necklace he had given her, it was remarkably beautiful. It was then that she noticed that something else was gone and she gasped. Not the gift Malfoy had just given her, but the charm that had coloured her hair.