Trademark smirks and Temperamental redheads

Chapter 16 - Confessions and Making Up (Fifth Year)

The two of them made their way to the center of the Quidditch pitch, lying down on the grass. Ginny looked up at the sky, watching as the stars slowly appeared in contrast to the fading sunlight.

"Sometimes when I'm with him, he makes me feel so naïve and ignorant. Like there's so much in the world that I could never understand. I hate that, I hate the way he knows me so well and yet to me, he is this huge mystery. It's like I could spend my whole life trying to see what he sees and in the end I could never catch up to him. I don't know how to reach out to him." She breathed in eeply, waiting for Harry's reaction.

"Of course you can't. This is Malfoy we're talking about," he paused as Ginny opened her mouth to protest. "I just mean that you two are from completely different backgrounds, it's only natural for him to see things differently from you. It's like me, I grew up in the muggle world oblivious to the fact there's a magical wizarding community, and all of a sudden on my eleventh birthday, Hagrid shows up on my doorstep and tells me I'm a wizard. Even now, after five years I'm still trying to get used to wizarding life. There's so much I don't know and so much that I can't see. People gasp when I say 'Voldemort' and I scratch my head wondering what the big deal is." He turned to her; she was looking at him with a raised eyebrow. He grinned.

"Okay fine, so not the best example. I'm hopeless at this stuff, but you get my drift," he said. The two lay in the grass silently for a few more moments, enjoying the moonlight shining down on their serene faces.

"Ever since that night in the Hospital Wing, I've been thinking about what Malfoy said. Usually, anything that comes out of Malfoy's mouth is total rubbish, but I guess he was right this time. We've neglected you and overlooked your feelings, excusing ourselves by saying you're too young and it's too dangerous. I know it's too late for this now, but I'm sorry," he said quietly. When Ginny didn't reply, he continued.

"Ron is the first friend I ever had. He's like the brother I never had and because of that I treat his family as my family, his sister as my sister. I never really gave you a chance Ginny, because from the moment I saw you on my first visit to The Burrow, you automatically became my sister. And since sisters don't usually develop crushes on their brothers, I didn't really know how to respond to you. So I guarded myself from you, I couldn't get close, incase you got the wrong idea," he paused here, covering his eyes with his hand. "I know, I'm an idiot. I've been telling myself that every day lately."

"You're not, I guess I can understand how you felt," Ginny said, giving him an assuring smile.

"But then you know, after the Valentine's incident, when everything came out into the open, it was a huge relief for me. That's when I began to open myself up to you, to really get to know you as Ginny and not as Ron's sister. And the more I found out about you, the more I realized that I liked you."

Ginny looked sharply at Harry, had she just heard that? Harry smiled a self-mocking smile at the surprised look on her face.

"I don't want you to do anything, and I promise you I don't intend to do anything. I just wanted to tell you, I think you have the right to know the truth. After ignoring you for all these years, it's time to treat you as a mature person right? Just, if Malfoy gives you any trouble, promise me you'll tell me," he said, looking hard into her eyes.

She nodded slightly, though she didn't feel very sincere. She was too busy wondering why her mind kept going to Malfoy even though Harry, her life's focus for the past five years, was clearly pouring his heart out to her.

"I stink," he declared suddenly, jumping to his feet. "I'm going to take a shower and go to dinner. I'll see you later," he told her, feeling slightly embarrassed with himself. For some reason, he had expected a bit more of a reaction from her, and was somewhat disappointed with her lack of commitment.

"I'm sorry," she called to him; he paused a bit, before continuing towards the changing rooms, taking long swift strides.

Soon she was left in the grass alone, the night breeze sending chills through her body, but still she lay there. An absurd notion crossed her mind, hoping the chill breeze would somehow sober her, to give her an answer she knew was not there. She raised herself on one arm as she heard footsteps in the grass.

"Had a nice chat with Potter?" Malfoy asked her coldly. He stood before her, his eyes fixed on a point beyond her shoulder. The corner of his mouth twitched, as the night breeze freed a few strands of pale blond hair. She looked at him for a long while, feeling for the first time in the past few days, a composed tranquility. She stood up slowly, brushing herself off and making eye contact with him, forcing him to look into her eyes. She could see a frown begin to form on his face. Before he could say anything, she stepped forward, resting her head on his shoulder, wrapping her arms around his waist.

His body tensed in surprise at her unexpected action, his arms stood by his side, making no effort to return her embrace. When she began to shiver from the cold, he finally returned to his senses, his arms automatically holding her close, protecting her from the chill.

"It feels so good to be in your arms," she whispered.

He held her tighter in silent agreement. They held onto each other for a long time, before Ginny broke the silence.

"Why do you love me?" she asked him.

"I don't know," he replied, looking down at her and catching the scent of her hair in the gentle night breeze. He looked at her a moment before continuing. "You remember that night you had the little outburst after you found out about what Ron and Harry were planning to do for Valentines?"

Ginny nodded her head, remembering all too well, it had been quite an embarrassing scene now that she thought back on it.

"What you said, about wanting to just be you instead of Ron's little sister or the youngest Weasley. I felt a connection to you then. I know how it feels to force yourself to try to be someone. To want to stand out and let people notice you for you...although what I wanted was for people to know I was a Malfoy. So I guess it's a bit different," he frowned a little as he said this, and Ginny squeezed his hand slightly, it was an oddly comforting gesture. He briefly wondered if she had learnt that from her mother.

"It's one of those things I want to help you with. You can be someone; you just have to stop putting such a conscious effort into it. Take it naturally and your true self will show through, but you guard yourself too well. After what happened in your first year I can understand why, but that's exactly the reason why it doesn't work. When you begin to put an effort into creating an image for yourself, then it becomes a pretense.

"It may be you are trying to be the Ginny Weasley you view as perfect, or maybe you are trying to be other people's idea of the perfect Ginny. But the true Ginny in here inside of you, although she may not be perfect, she is genuine and the only Ginny that will be remembered by others long after your façade is dropped."

Ginny's eyes were shining as she looked up at him, a small smile on her lips. "All my life I've tried to be someone without relying on my brothers," she laughed slightly as if remembering something. "I used to tell my mother that, and she'd reply 'But Ginny, you are special! You're the only female child the Weasley family has in this generation!' whenever she'd say that to me I'd have to duck my head to hide my grimace. My mother is so sweet, but she just doesn't have a clue," she sighed lightly, leaning into Draco's shoulder.

"You know, you're a great confidence booster," she said, smiling. He laughed at this.

"How much more of a statement could you have made? You're here in the arms of the biggest meanest Slytherin of them all. On top of that, I'm a wonderful Quidditch player and I have all the money and power anyone could wish for due to my Malfoy inheritance. And I haven't even mentioned my astounding good looks, sexy body and my talents in the bedroom yet," he raised his eyebrow at her suggestively, grinning slyly. She smacked his arm, but laughed all the same.

~~~

That night at dinner, the Slytherins were surprised to see Ginny back at their table after a long absence. She tried her best to ignore them, concentrating instead on the happy thought that she had made up with Malfoy. She looked over at the Gryffindor table occasionally, making sure Harry was alright, she was satisfied when she saw him laughing with Ron and Hermione at one of the Twins' jokes. As a couple of people began to leave the Hall, Dumbledore suddenly rose and asked for everybody's attention. Curious, the people who were standing quickly hurried back to their seats.

"I know you are all in a hurry to go back to your common rooms and hit the books," at this, the corners of the Headmaster's mouth twitched into a small grin. "I have a small announcement to make and I promise it will not take too much time.

"As you all remember, last year's Triwizard Tournament was quite successful in its goal of bringing the three wizardry schools closer together. In an attempt to continue this tradition, the Heads of each wizardry school have decided on an exchange program. Since the head of Durmstrang Institute: Professor Karkaroff, has been out of touch with us, Madame Maxime and I have decided on a joint project together. Next year, each school will send out two students from the fourth grade upward each to go on an exchange with another pair of students from the other school. Our goal is for students to study and mingle with other wizards and witches from different schools, in hopes of closer bonds between the two academies. In a time such as this, with Voldemort once again rising to power, both Madame Maxime and I agree that it is best for us to unite together to face this danger.

"For those who are worried about the language barrier, successful candidates will be attending a special language course held during the summer break. I assure you, it will be a fun experience, and I hear that Beauxbatons Academy is even grander than our own humble school grounds. You have two months before the end of school, if you are interested in participating in this exchange program, please contact your head of house and they will arrange an interview for you. That will be all, I bid you all a good night."

As Dumbledore finished his announcement, loud murmurs swept through the Hall, as students began talking excitedly with each other. Many were exclaiming loudly that they would be signing up for the interview. Even some of the Slytherins managed to look a little stirred at this news.

"Why would anyone want to go on an exchange program? Waste of time if you ask me, I heard Durmstrang is horribly cold and half the time, students have to walk the corridors holding lamps due to the short sunrise hours. Beauxbatons isn't much better, if you think us Slytherins are bad, just wait till you see a whole school of us in action." Draco stopped talking as he noticed Ginny staring into space; she quite obviously hadn't heard a word of what he had been saying. "Did you know all the girls at Beauxbatons wear bikinis as a part of their school uniform all year long?"

"W-what!" Ginny exclaimed, snapping to attention. "...Wouldn't they be cold?" she asked curiously. Draco rolled his eyes, giving an exasperated sigh.

"Weasley, did you leave your head out on the Quidditch pitch?" he asked in a serious tone.

"What? ... Oh, oh I see. Sorry, I was just thinking about something," she replied sheepishly as she realized that he was joking.

"Obviously," he stated dryly. "So now that you've stopped thinking, can I grab your attention? After all, I am a notorious attention-seeker, I get very put off when I'm ignored," he said in a hurt voice, Ginny laughed.

After dinner, Ginny followed Malfoy back to his room. They settled themselves on the rug in the middle of the room, each focused on their homework. Ginny soon found out Malfoy was an excellent tutor in Potions, as he helped her with most of her essay on Swelling Solutions. After an hour of study, they decided to take a rest, toasting marshmallows in front of the fireplace.

"You know, Dumbledore's announcement tonight reminded me," Draco began. "We've only got two more months left of school, which means only two more months before our O.W.L.s," he grimaced as he said this.

"What are you worried about? You're second in your year, I'm sure you'll get an incredible number of O.W.L.s," Ginny assured him.

"Mmm," Draco replied noncommittally. "I'm not really sure I want this year to end so quickly," he said, thinking about what awaited him when he went back home in June. The thought of his Death Eater initiation was beginning to torment him again as it loomed ever nearer.

"Why? Aren't you looking forward to our summer break? I bet you've already planned out your whole summer," she said, looking at him expectantly.

"Er, no not really. So what are you planning for this summer?" he asked, quickly changing the topic of conversation. Somehow he did not think it wise to inform her of his plans for this summer.

"Well, Harry will probably come over to stay, and Hermione as well. Bill and Charlie are trying to take time off work to come home, so it'll be a big family reunion of sorts I suppose," she looked up at him, smiling. "It'd be nice if you could come over too," she said, looking very sincere.

"Ginny, somehow I don't think I'm the type of boy you bring home to show mother. That's more Potter's alley," he said with a smirk.

"Well if you insist," she replied seriously. He looked at her dubiously.

"You wouldn't," he said, eyeing her suspiciously.

"Try me," she replied. They looked at each other for a moment, both trying not to laugh.

"Well that's it then," he said suddenly.

"What's it?"

"I'll just have to kidnap you and chain you up to my bedroom at Malfoy Manor for the summer break," he said grinning.

Ginny glared at him, although her lips were forming a reluctant smile.

~~~

Draco sat in front of his fireplace, an annoyed expression on his face, as he tried unsuccessfully to study for his O.W.L.s. He had received a letter from his family's eagle owl earlier that day, in the letter his father had written specific instructions for Draco to wait by his fireplace tonight at nine o'clock sharp. So here he was, in his black silk pajamas, suffering the unbearable heat of the fireplace in spring. His father's fireplace visits had become more and more frequent as his initiation drew near, each time bringing with him a task for Draco to complete.

Lucius Malfoy's head appeared in the fireplace, much to Draco's displeasure.

"Father," he greeted him.

"Draco, I bring good news from the Dark Lord. Your initiation has been planned for this summer break. I will inform you of the details closer to the date," his father said, looking at him sternly.

"Father, do you think it wise for me to be initiated so soon? There is much more I need to be educated in before I can truly be of use to the Dark Lord," he argued.

"It is an honor for the Dark Lord to demand you join us, Draco. The master has taken particular notice of you; it is not in your interest to refuse him. Do not disappoint me," his father admonished.

"Yes, Father," he said, hunching slightly into his seat.

"Oh, and your O.W.L.s are commencing soon, are they not?" his father inquired.

"Yes, I'm studying hard for them. It should be a straightforward matter, you have no need to be concerned," Draco replied.

"Very well," his father said, before disappearing from the fire.

Author Notes: Notice how the Quidditch pitch scene is like cold and chilly? Haha, it's winter over here where I live and I'm trying to write this set in spring and summer. It's pretty hard, I keep wanting to put in scenes with snow and chilly breezes and then I go, wait a sec, it's summer! It's supposed to be sunny with colorful flowers everywhere! Haha

I did a word count the other day and realised that my fic is REALLY long! I swear that I honestly hadn't planned for this fic to be so long! But once again, blame the story, I'm just a humble writer putting pen to paper - well actually in this case, word to processor ^-^ Anyway, I can see the end in sight...I think, hope you readers will enjoy the ending. I'm still planning how I'm going to write it...

Hehe, it's really strange how you all thought I made Harry talk with Ginny because of the break-up with Draco. I'm a d/g shipper!! Which part of that did you guys miss? Of course I'm not going to have Ginny turning to Harry. Silly people, I just wanted to set a scene where we can understand how Ginny feels and to have someone speak out for Draco. Funny how I chose Harry to speak out for him huh? Anyway, all those people who reckon I'm gonna kill one of them off or have a sad ending where they don't get together, haha HA! As if. I'm a sucker for happy endings. But that is all I will say. =P And shame on all those readers who thought Draco was going to eavesdrop on their conversation!! He's a gentleman, give him some credit please.

Next chapter: Next chapter will be the last chapter for fifth year, from chapter 18 onwards we will be moving forward to sixth year =) So relax, all those who thought we were going to be stuck in the fifth year forever lol. Ginny has a little chat with Draco. There are O.W.Ls to be studied for and Death Eater initiations to plan. It's going to be a VERY busy chapter folks. =) Seeyahs then!