The Hospital Wing and the Astronomy Tower

Ginny left the library, and for the first time in her life, she felt as though she fit in, although she had never thought she'd want to fit in with Slytherins. She was so happy, in fact, that when she entered the Gryffindor common room, she joined in with the other fifth year girls' conversation. Today, they were discussing who had the best robes the night before.

"Blaise Zabini's were way nicer than Lavender's and you know it Danni," Vienna was saying.

"But she's a Slytherin!"

"So? Makes no difference, she was with Terry Boot."

"What the Hell's that got to do with anything?"

"I think Blaise's robes were definitely the best," Ginny put in.

"Thank you!" said Kiera.

Ginny smiled and nodded, as if to say 'no problem.'

Quite soon, the common room began emptying, and the fifth year girls decided to head off to their dormitory. When Ginny was halfway up the stairs, she heard someone call her name and turned to see who it was.

Seamus was standing at the foot of the stairs. "I saw you with Blaise Zabini earlier," he said.

"So?" Ginny shrugged.

"Well, it's just, well, I think you should be careful, I mean to say, the Slytherins can be an odd lot, and they aren't always what they seem, and you seem to trust them."

"What's wrong with that?" Ginny asked.

"Nothing, it's only, well, why do you hang about with them?" Seamus said.

"They're my friends, that's why. Did Ron put you up to this? Or was it Harry?" Ginny said, her voice shaking.

"No, no, it wasn't them at all. I just thought, that... Well, they aren't your friends Ginny, they aren't friendly people, those Slytherins," Seamus replied.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "Why do you bother? Why do you pretend to care?"

"I really do care, I care a lot more than those Slytherins will ever care. Why can't you stand being cared about by your friends?"

"You aren't my friend!" Ginny screamed. "And don't you ever try to tell me who I can and cannot be friends with again, Seamus Finnigan!" and with that, she ran up the stairs and slammed the door to the girls' dormitory as hard as she could.

"Well, that went well," Seamus said to himself. "Maybe next time I should hex her to show her how much I really care."

"Seamus, are you hallucinating?" said Lavender, sounding worried.

***

Pansy Parkinson entered the Slytherin common room. The first thing she saw was Blaise Zabini, sitting alone by the window, writing something. Pansy strode over to Blaise. "What's that you're writing?" she said into Blaise's ear.

Blaise didn't show even the slightest sign of shock at the sound of Pansy's voice. She looked up and said, "Why do you want to know?"

"Are you still plotting the murder of Harry Potter? Why do you think you will be able to kill him, when the Dark Lord has failed so many times to rid the world of the boy who lived?"

"I don't think I'll kill him, I know I will. And can't you just say Voldemort?"

"You're using the Weasley girl in your plan, aren't you? At first, I thought you really were her friend, but it appears not; she's just a little part of your evil plan, like the rest of us."

"Please, you flatter yourself Parkinson. They are my pawns, you are shit on the bottom of my shoe, don't go confusing the two. And since when does my plan concern you?"

"I just want to know what you plan to do with the Weasley girl."

"Why is she any concern of yours?"

"She isn't, I just want to know."

"Is it because of your Drakey poo? Because he seems to care about her?"

"NO! Draco does not care about the Weasley girl!"

"It's Ginny. Stop calling her the Weasley girl."

"Why should I?"

"Because I'm telling you to. And do you know how I treat shit at the bottom of my shoe when it defies me?"

Pansy shuddered. "I don't have time for you. I'm going to bed."

Blaise sneered. "As though I should care."

***

It was Christmas Eve when Ginny saw Harry sitting with his head in his hands in front of the common room fire. Dammit, what's happened now? Ginny wondered. And where the Hell's Ron when his best friend needs him?

"Er, Harry?"Â she finally said.

He looked up, his face flushed.

"Are you sick?" Ginny inquired. "Do you need to go to the hospital wing?"

Harry shook his head. "I doubt Madam Promfrey can heal a broken heart."

Damn, thought Ginny.

As if on cue, Ron came trudging down the boys' stairs. His face was red, and his hair was a mess. Hermione followed him, looking much the same. Ginny headed out of the common room when she was sure Ron and Hermione could help Harry.

It wasn't long before Ginny found the person she was looking for. Blaise was loitering just outside Myrtle's bathroom.

"What have you done?" Ginny asked.

Blaise looked politely confused. "What are you talking about?"

"Harry, he's just had his heart broken."

"So? Cho is his girlfriend, not me."Â

"I'm certain you have something to do with it nonetheless."

"Okay! Okay!" said Blaise. "I did do something." She pushed open the door of Myrtle's bathroom. "Come in here, I'll tell you all about it."

The two girls entered the lavatory.

"POLYJUICE POTION!" Blaise shrieked excitedly. Ginny decided that excitement didn't suit Blaise at all. "I turned into Cho! Who knew Polyjuice Potion could be so much fun?"

Ginny eyed Blaise suspiciously. She'd heard about Polyjuice Potion from Snape, but the book in which the recipe was found was in the restricted section.

"Do you know what it is?" Blaise asked.

"Yeah, I know exactly what it is. And I also know that the recipe is found in Moste Potente Potions, and the only copy of that book is in the Restricted Section of the Hogwarts Library."

"Yeah! So why aren't you excited?" Blaise asked, her enthusiasm dying down.

"How did you get it? You didn't do anything illegal?"

Blaise rolled her eyes. "You've been spending far too much time with the Mudblood, her stupidity's rubbed off on you."

Ginny took a deep breath. She hated when people insulted her fellow Gryffindors, with the exception of Colin. "So what did you do? Tell me everything," said Ginny.

Blaise squealed, another gesture that just didn't suit her. "I changed into Cho Chang, and then I waited until Potter came, and I said a whole bunch of stupid stuff, and then I kissed Terry, but Potter wasn't supposed to be there and that part was an accident, but I think that's what got Potter so upset; he must have seen, and he ran off crying or something... But I did all that in only one hour! Can you believe it?"

Blaise said all of this very quickly and it took a while for it to all sink in. When it finally did, Ginny gasped.

"No, Terry didn't know I was Blaise, he thought I was Cho Chang, so I won't get the blame for that," said Blaise, quickly.

 Ginny burst out laughing. She didn't know why. Blaise didn't know why. All they knew was that laughter was contagious, and not long after, they were rolling about the floor, overcome with laughter.