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Envy and Manipulations	By : rrabbit Category: Harry Potter > Het - Male/Female > Draco/Ginny Views: 8376 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any characters from it.... therefore I do not receive any payment for this writing.

Chapter List
- 11
- 12
- 13
"Draco," I whisper as I lick my lips. "Did you kill that woman?" I ask uncomfortably. "That Dorothy Whitewater woman all the papers are talking about?"

"Would it change your opinion of me if I did?" he asks coldly with his hand between my knee and I run my lips over his cheek.

"That answers my question, I suppose," I say because I don't want him to come out and actually confirm my suspicion. Dorothy Whitewater was a bad person anyways... she deserved whatever happened to her I'm sure, but I don't want to think of Draco as a killer. He's my Draco and I love him... he can't kill people with the same hands he touches me with. "I saw her picture in your folder," I admit to him. "It had her address on the back...That's why I ask."

"You read through the whole thing?" he says sharply and I nod my head.

"I didn't understand any of it," I admit in a small voice.

"It was written in french," Draco confirms my suspicion as I lay my head on his shoulder. We're back in his room after a rather long and tedious day of classes. I'm sitting sideways on his lap with my arm wrapped around his shoulder and my lips against his neck like the annoyingly clingy girlfriend I've become.

I've been all over him like a pitiful thing after coming back to the castle a couple of days ago. I'm too shook up to let him go, to be honest. My encounter with Lord Voldemort had frightened me to the bone and I hate being alone now... no matter how brave I try to be. I'm so afraid that Tom Riddle will come in and swoop me away before I even know what hit me and I will have no way of stopping it. Draco is the only person who can make me feel safe here and I'm taking advantage of his constant invitations to be by him.

I like being by him anyways, so it's not too much of a chore.

"My family is french," he says softly and I nod my head as he taps his fingers against my thigh. I kiss his cheek and run my nose along his skin as I sift my hand through his hair. He smiles. "You are being awfully affectionate today," he says with a laugh in his voice as I put my hand on his chest and run my lips over his jaw. "Not that I mind," he adds with a playful smile. "You just seem to be touching me a lot lately."

"I'm just..." I trail off uncomfortably as I stop nuzzling him like a lost puppy. "I just like being close to you," I admit in a small voice. "I'm scared all the time."

I'm sure other people would feel the same way if the Dark Lord wanted to marry them and take their blood. Sometimes, when I'm walking to class by myself, I fear that he'll come and snatch me away when I least expect it. It makes me shudder to think of what I would have to do with him.

"Don't be," he says shortly as he turns his face down to look at me. "I fix things," he says and he gives me a small smile. "I can fix this."

I chew on the inside of my cheek and nod my head as I look away.

"Will you tell me about it?" I ask gently as I place a kiss against his neck again, letting my lips flutter around his skin. "Explain what was in that folder? What your Prometheus project is and why you had photos of those Death eaters?"

He pauses for a few moments before sighing loudly. I sit up straight so I can look into his stormy eyes. A long lingering sigh is never a good sign.

"What is it?" I ask carefully as I bring my hand up to his chest again, letting my fingers slip between the buttons so I can feel the softness of his undershirt.

I can feel his heart beat. It makes me feel better.

"I don't want you to think I don't trust you or value your intelligence," he says and I frown. That doesn't sound very good. "But I don't think it would be prudent to tell you anything right now."

His refusal hurts me and it makes me think of Ron and his friends. I always find myself in this situation, being pushed aside and guarded from key information. It ticks me off. I go to get up, but he holds me down on his lap.

"Don't," he says softly before pressing his lips to my temple. "Don't be angry," he says quickly as I clench my jaw.

He pulls back so he can study my face with his eyes shining against the candle light.

"I'm just trying to be honest with you. I thought you would be better at Occlumency by now, but I fear you may never master it," he says and my cheeks heat in embarrassment because I don't like not being good at something. "You're too emotional and you wear your heart on your sleeve," he says and I furrow my brows. "It would be dangerous for everyone involved if the wrong person got into your mind. You already hold so many of my secrets and I can't risk anyone finding out any more."

"I can try harder," I tell him because I want him to tell me everything. "I've been practicing blocking my mind and everything, Draco. I swear."

He nods and smiles sadly at me like I was a child. "I know, babe," he says and I frown even deeper. "But it's not good enough," he says and I feel disappointed in myself, so I look down and shake my head because I don't agree with him.

"You're unprepared and undisciplined in that area," he tells me and I feel like he's grading my performance in a very critical way. "And you're constantly wide open for anyone to have at," he says and I make a face at his wording. "I caught you thinking about what I said to you during breakfast this morning," he says and I snap my eyes to his. "You didn't even notice me reading your thoughts and you were too caught up in your emotions over me telling you my plans for the Dark Lord that you didn't even bother to throw up a weak shield just in case someone looked in."

"But..."

"I know you're trying," he says as he tucks some hair behind my ear. "If Rookwood or Umbridge read your thoughts this morning, I would be dead and branded a traitor," he says and I feel guilty, so I look away. "I can't risk it," he tells me like it would hurt my feelings. I guess it does in a way. "My plans are too important."

"I'm sorry. I didn't even know," I say as my cheeks heat again in shame.

"I know you didn't," he says softly. "You're being watched now," he says and I look at him in surprise. "The Dark Lord has taken a particular interest in you and because of that, everyone in his inner circle is interested as well," he says and I shiver a bit as I remember my encounter with the new and improved Dark Lord. "A lot of people will be trying to get into your head," he says and then he tightens his jaw. "I don't want to have to wipe your memory of our past encounters that show my treason," he says and I give him a worried look.

"Don't," I tell him pitifully and he squeezes my thigh. "I'll get better at blocking my mind. You don't have to do that."

"I won't," he says. "But with the limited information you have, you have to bury it deep and keep it protected," he tells me with a serious tilt on his lips and I nod my head. "Please refrain from thinking of me murdering the Dark Lord over your toast."

"I'm sorry," I say again because I don't know what else to say.

"When things calm down, I swear I will tell you everything. I can't now, and I'm sorry for it."

"It's alright," I say with a tired sigh as I put my head back on his shoulder and I press into him a bit more. "No one ever tells me anything anyways," I state bitterly as I think of Ron and my family. "It's nothing new to me. No one thinks I can handle things... and I guess that's true," I admit in a shameful whisper.

"I don't think that," he says and I give him a disbelieving look as he brings one of my hands up to his lips and he kisses my knuckles. "You're just up against something so much bigger than yourself that there is no choice. I don't think you're stupid, or too young, or too naïve to handle things," he says and I'm thankful for it. "I just have to cover all my bases."

"So you can't tell me anything," I say and he nods his head. "But you can tell Pansy and Blasie and everyone else in your little clique?" I say harshly and I try to tone down my defensiveness, but I honestly can't.

"In our society, we learned at a very young age how to survive in a world like this," he says and I make a face. "Life was always very complex and games were constantly being played," he says with a tight jaw. "But it was part of our upbringing and we all know how to maneuver things in our favor . All of them are bound to keep my secrets safe."

"What does that mean?" I ask and he gives me a look, like I should know he couldn't tell me. "If I work harder at Occlumency, will you tell me more?" I ask hopefully.

He sighs again.

"You can keep trying." he says. "But I honestly don't think you'll be able to achieve the kind of level I will need you at, especially against Voldemort," I blush again and look down. "There's nothing wrong with that," he tells me as he tilts my chin up. "In fact, it might even be a good thing," he tells me gently and then he places a sweet kiss against my lips. "You're just a simple little country girl," he says with a little smile.

I'm not sure if I should be offended or not.

"And everyone has greatly underestimated you," he tells me with a smile curling on the corner of his lips. "He will underestimate you," he says as he searches my eyes. "And we will all be the better for it."

I try to be understanding and I nod my head again, letting him kiss me once more. He lingers a bit longer this time and I lean into his chest with my arm pulling him closer. He brings his free hand up to my neck to hold me in place while he deepens the kiss with his tongue against my lips. He tastes like mint, he must have brushed his teeth when he went to the loo.

Then the compact vibrates.

I pull back and look at his writing desk were I had placed it. "Looks like your boyfriend is calling," he states bitterly and I give him a look before slipping off his lap and grabbing the compact.

I go to walk out of the room, but Draco's on me in a second, blocking my path. "What are you doing?" I ask as it shakes in my hands.

He raises a sharp eyebrow and glances down at the compact with disdain. "Is there anything you'll be talking about that you don't want me to hear?" he asks coolly and I furrow my brows.

"You have your secrets," I tell him softly and he tilts his chin up and stares me down. I sigh. "Fine," I say gently as I walk over to his bed and I sit down. "Just don't hover around me the whole time, please," I tell him sharply. He goes back to the loveseat and he takes out a book to read with an unhappy sneer on his face.

I eye him for a few more moments before sitting back by the headboard and clicking open the compact. I smile when I see Harry and then I send another look to Draco. He's watching me, and when we make eye contact, he raises his brows again. I let my smile fade and I turn back to Harry, trying not to seem too pleased to see him.

"How are you doing, Gin?" he asks with a small smile. He's pleased to see me as well.

"I'm fine," I tell him in a whisper and I look at Draco again. He's reading his book with his jaw ticking. I pull my knees closer to my chest and I rest the compact on top of them. "How are you?" I question.

"As good as I can be, I guess," he says and I nod my head.

I want to tell him about my meeting with Voldemort and about my blood, but I feel odd with Draco in the room listening.

A silence falls between us and Harry coughs awkwardly before trying to speak again. "So... he says uncomfortably and I bite my lip, painfully aware of Darco. "Is there anything new with you?" he asks seriously. "Have you gotten in trouble for the paintings?" he asks because I had told him about my artistic vandalizing ways.

I hear Draco make a noise and when I look at him, he's glaring at a page in his book.

"No," I say quickly as Draco shakes his head, letting me know he is listening to everything I'm saying. "No, but, um, Snape knows it was me," I admit. "He caught me out after hours and saw the paint on my hands. He just gave me a regular detention, though. I don't know why the punishment wasn't harder."

"That is strange," he says seriously. "I wonder why? I'm glad he didn't punish you further, though," he says gently. "Didn't you say the Carrows are using unforgivables?"

I nod my head.

"That's terrible," he says with a head shake and then he looks at me through the magic mirror. "I wish I could see you again," he says in a gentle voice. My cheeks flush and I avoid Draco's gaze. "I caught Ron and Hermione holding hands this afternoon after a close call. Someone recognized me," he admits in a sad voice. "We had to Apparate quickly... It's just them and me," he says with frown. "I feel..." he trails off awkwardly. "I'm very lonely," he admits like it was shameful and I give him a sympathetic smile. "I'm grateful for these talks."

"I'm glad," I tell him softly and I can practically feel Draco's heated gaze on me. "I understand why you feel lonely," I add because I have nothing else to say with my boyfriend in the room. "I hope everything works out."

"I'm sure it will," he says in a whisper. "I hope it will," he adds softly. He licks his lips. "I was wondering..." he trails off and I frown.

"What were you wondering?" I ask and he furrows his brows.

"I was wondering if..." he trails off like it was paining him to say it. "Hermione says I'm always such an idiot when it comes to this kind of thing," he says as he tugs on his hair. Draco stands, but I ignore him. "I want you to know something," he says as he looks into my eyes. "I need you to know something just in case something happens."

"What is it?" I ask uncomfortably because I'm pretty sure I know what it is. Hermione did tell me that he liked me.. he can't possibly be admitting it to me right now. Not with Draco in the room,

"Ginny... I'm...I..."

Draco takes the compact from me and snaps it shut. "Hey," I say as I get up on my knees to snatch it back from him, but he holds it out of my reach.

Damn him and his tallness.

"What do you suppose he had to tell you?" he questions lightly with a raised eyebrow.

"Give it back," I tell him hatefully as I stand up on the bed so I can get it from him. He dodges me and puts it in his pocket.

"No," he says as he starts walking backwards. I glare and jump off the bed to get it from him, my height putting me at a disadvantage. "What do you think Harry Potter was going to confess to you just now?"

"I don't know," I hiss and I lunge at him when I get close enough. He slides to the side and keeps walking around to avoid me. "You cut him off before he could say anything! That is so rude, Draco!"

"I think I know," he says hatefully. The compact starts to vibrate against his pocket and he narrows his eyes. "My patience can only be stretched so thin," he tells me harshly and I make a face.

"Give it back."

"Why?" he says harshly. "What do you have to say to him? Why do you have to talk to him? He was never your friend before."

"That's not true. We were always friends!" I yell in annoyance and he glares.

"That's a lie and you know it," he says as the compact shakes inside of his slacks.

I'm so mad that I go to tackle him, but he grabs my hands and I wrestle around with him until we both end up on the floor. The carpet burns the skin on my elbows, but I'm too angry to care. I grab for his pocket, but his strong hands hold me away and he actually starts laughing at me!

"Ginny," he says with a snicker in his voice as I try to fight with him. "I'm a lot larger than you, my love. You won't be winning this fight."

"Don't call me that when you're being a bastard."

"Bastard?" he says, still smiling in amusement as I try to get my hands out of his firm grasp. "I'm hardly a bastard. You're just trying to make me jealous," he says and then his voice drops to something more serious and dark. "And you know how jealous I get," he says sharply before rolling on top of me.

I try to struggle a few more times before I realize that I'm not actually fighting anymore... he's just holding me down and I'm struggling like a fish out of water. I sigh in defeat and level him with a hateful glare that I hope burns his soul as I relax my body.

"Let go," I tell him as I try to tug my hands from him again. He rolls off of me so I can breathe, but he doesn't let go of my hands.

He laughs as he throws his leg over mine to keep me trapped. My hair falls in front of my face and I blow some of it away in frustration.

"So you can try to tackle me again?" he says with a handsome smile. "I think not."

"You win," I grumble and he finally loosens his grip enough for me to move away.

"I usually do," he says smugly and, when my right arm is free, I take a swing at his arm.

"It's not funny that you're stronger than me," I tell him with a whine as my fist hits his bicep. I try to tug away from him again only to have him pull me closer.

"Hey now," he says with another laugh because my punch hardly hurt. I take a deep breath and lay my head against the carpet as I glare up at the ceiling. "Don't be hateful."

"You're hateful all the time," I tell him harshly. I look at him from the corner of my eyes as he relaxes and props himself up by his elbow so he can smirk down at me.

"That's not true," he says gently as he pushes the hair out of my face. "I'm kind of sweet to you," he tells me with a grin as he runs his thumb down my jaw and over my lips. I narrow my eyes.

"Why did you take that away from me?" I say as I nod to his pocket. "You know I like knowing what's going on with my brother and his friends."

"But Potter never tells you what they're actually doing, does he?" he says seriously, his eyes slightly narrowing. "Your brother never calls you. He doesn't care. Potter's only calling on you so he can have a back up if he survives the war," he says with a head shake as he places his hand on my stomach and starts playing with the hem of my shirt.

"What does that mean?"

"Look," he says as he slips his hand under my shirt. I suck in when his fingers skim across my midsection. It kind of tickles, but I don't want to laugh, so I put my hand over his and I use my other hand to prop up my head so I can see him better. "He's only now noticing you because he thinks he might die," he says and I shake my head. "It's true. He had no one else and you're here willing to comfort him. You're a sure thing to him, Gin."

"That's obviously not true," I tell him with an eye roll. "He knows you're my boyfriend."

"I'm sure he expects you to go running to him once he tells you he loves you and I'm sure the thought has crossed your mind," he says and my cheeks turn red as I turn my body towards his so his hand moves to the curve of my side. "Isn't that what Granger thought would happen when she told you he liked you?" he says and I frown.

I don't even bother to ask how he knew about that.

"Everyone expects you drop everything and go to him when he says, don't they?" he says and I bite my lower lip. "But you won't because you love me, right?"

"Of course," I whisper as I stare into his eyes as I lean closer to him. His breath ruffles my bangs and I prop my head up so I'm mirroring his stance.

He studies my face with his sharp silver eyes lingering on my lips.

"Then why do you want to talk to him?" he asks as he takes the compact out of his pocket and he hands it to me. I sit up Indian style on the carpet and put some hair behind my ears. He lounges in his spot like a spoiled cat.

"I guess..." I blink a few times... How did he turn the conversation in his favor? A part of me still likes Harry. I doubt that will ever go away, and when I was mad at Draco, I kind of toyed with the idea of being with Harry again, but it never felt right... I just wanted to keep the door open just in case. "I mean, he's my friend."

"But you know he likes you," he says as he lifts and eyebrow.

I nod my head and look down.

"So, you are either leading him on or you plan on leaving me for him when he saves the world. Is that it? Are you going to leave me?"

"No," I shake my head as he plays with his watch. "No, of course that's not it."

"Then you're leading him on."

"No, I'm not... I just..." I trail off. Damn, I don't know what to say. Am I leading him on by allowing him to talk so gently to me and not discouraging his compliments and smiles? I knew he liked me... was that wrong?

"Then you don't need to talk to him every night," he says seriously. "You can talk to me. I'm sure I'm just as interesting."

"But... I..." The compact starts vibrating in my hand and I look at Draco.

"Go ahead," he says with a sharp brow raised. "See what Potter wanted to tell you, but I think you know already," he says as he pushes himself up. He stands and walks towards his bed. "By all means, take your time," he says hatefully as he starts unbuttoning his shirt.

I stare at him for a few moments before carefully clicking the compact open. Harry looks panicked.

"Jesus, Gin!" he says with his breath heavy. "Are you okay? You left so abruptly I thought something terrible must have happened."

"No, I'm sorry, Harry," I say and I look over my shoulder once to see Draco taking off his watch and laying it on the nightstand. "I just... it was nothing." I lie.

"Good," he says with a sigh. "So, anyways... I wanted to tell you that I-"

"Harry, I have to go to bed," I cut him off quickly before he says what he has to say.

"I... what?" he says in confusion and I sigh loudly.

"I'm sorry, but I have to go to bed. We'll talk later, yeah?"

"Um... yeah... I guess that's okay," he says in disappointment and I give him one last apologetic look before closing the compact and cradling it against my chest.

"Come here," Draco says gently from behind. He pulls me to my feet and makes me face him. "You are a good girl," he says with a pleased smirk as he tilts my chin up and he places a kiss on my lips. "Now," he says with a sigh as he steps back to give me room. "Did you bring your potions essay? I can edit it before you turn it in tomorrow," he says as he starts unbuckling his belt.

"I left it in my room," I admit uncomfortably because I feel odd about the way I treated Harry.

Was that the right thing to do?

"Go get it," he says as he slips out of his button down, leaving him in his thin cotton undershirt. I hesitate a second as I think about walking down the hallways by myself and when he notices my pause, he raises an eyebrow. "What is it?"

"Will you walk me to my dorm?" I ask in an embarrassed whisper and he gives me a sympathetic look.

"Of course," he says as he buckles his pants back up and he slips into his shoes.

I put the compact in my bag, and I stare at it for a few moments. I hope I didn't hurt Harry's feelings. That would make me a terrible person.

We walk down the hallway and up the stairs together with Draco's firm hand planted on my waist. We pass by a group of re-educated students who are walking in single file from the library. I stare at their dead eyes for a few moments before looking away with a heavy feeling on my chest. I feel like I failed Neville.

I did fail Neville.

I'm a terrible person.

"What is troubling you?" Draco asks and when I glance up at him, he raises his brow. "You're frowning," he adds as he touches the corner of my mouth with his knuckle. "I'm sure you're not thinking of Harry Potter, are you?" he asks softly and I shake my head.

"It was nothing," I whisper before facing forward again.

When we get to my dorm room, Draco leans against the door frame with his arms crossed as I go to my trunk to retrieve my homework folder. Ivy Parkingson and Astoria Greengrass are sitting on their beds listening to music as I rummage through my things. When they notice Draco, they both sit up straight and Ivy turns off her record player.

I roll my eyes and shuffle some sweaters aside as I try to find my stupid red folder.

Where is the damn thing?

I stop when I see the maroon sweater my mother had knitted me last year. It has a golden G stitched to the front of if it.

For Gryffindor and Ginny, she had said when I opened it for Christmas. For George the Great my brother had added and everyone laughed. I blink a few times as I remember the time with my family and a sad feeling settles in my heart.

I miss them.

I'm dangerously close to crying, so I fold the sweater over my arm as I push things around so I can find my folder.

I jump when I feel a hand on my shoulder, and when I look up, I see Draco hovering over me with a concerned look on his face.

"Here," he says gently as he bends down. Of course, the folder was right on top of everything. How did I miss that? "I've got it. Now, let's go, yes?" he says softly and I nod my head.

I let him take my hand and stand me up and I trail slightly behind him as we leave the dorm room. I look over my shoulder once to see Ivy sit by Astoria and whisper something in her ear. Probably something unpleasant about me and I frown again before facing forward and looking down at my shoes as I use my free hand to fiddle with the necklace my mother gave me.

I hope they find me some day.

The stairway is quite small and I find myself even further behind Draco as he jogs down the stairs. When he stops abruptly, I run into his back and drop my sweater.

"Oh," I hear a female voice and I pick up my sweater with a sigh. "Oh, hi Draco."

Daphne.

My face snaps up and I look around Draco's strong body to see Daphne on the other side of us, looking nervous as she stares up at my boyfriend. He's a few steps above her, so his height is even more intimidating. He doesn't say anything and I put my hand on his shoulder so I can gently push him to the side so I can step around him.

"Hey," I say gently when I'm standing by Draco on the step. I feel guilty for the way I had treated Daphne and I haven't had a chance to tell her yet. "How's it going?" I ask as Draco snakes his arm around my waist, resting his hand on my hip in annoyingly possessive way. Unnecessary for the situation, to be be frank.

"Good, good," she says with a fake grin as her eyes flick to Draco again who has yet to move or make a facial expression. "Are you good?"

I don't say anything. I just take another step down. It makes Draco drop his hand. "I wanted to apologize to you, Daphne," I tell her seriously. I lick my lips nervously. "I shouldn't have taken advantage of your kindness and I am very sorry for using my wand to curse you," I tell her. I feel uncomfortable with apologies, but I'm trying my best. "I hope you can forgive me for my terrible behavior towards you."

I only have so many real friends and I fear Daphne might have been the only person I could talk to within Draco's circle.

She looks a little stunned, to be honest, and then she shakes out of it and lets her bright eyes slide to Draco again. She snaps her jaw shut and nods her head before leveling me with a large fake smile.

"Of course I forgive you," she says as she takes a few steps up until we're close and she pulls me into a hug. I awkwardly pat her back. "I can understand why you acted the way you did," she says against my hair and then she pulls back. "If my family was in jail I'm sure I'd go a little crazy too," she says with a nervous laugh and I give her a sad smile. "Just warn me before you stun me next time," she says with a laugh. "It hurts my back terribly."

I fake laugh.

"So, we're good?" I say and she nods her head.

"Good," she says with a smile and then she looks at Draco. "Now, I must go to my room. If you two will just excuse me," she says as she slides past us in the narrow stairway. I watch her walk the rest of the way up to the seventh year girl dorms and when I turn back to Draco, he's glaring at me.

Of course.

"What?" I ask as he grabs my arm and starts steering me away. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

"You shouldn't have apologized to her," he says flatly and I make a face.

"Why not? I cursed her when she was just trying to help me," I explain. "I owed it to her."

"You don't owe her anything," he says coldly. "We don't apologize to people, Ginny. They apologize to us and she fucking owes one to you." I raise my brows at how angry he is about this.

"But..."

"But nothing," he hisses and when we reach the hallway, he's practically dragging me. "She put you in a lot of danger."

"I put myself in danger. She was just helping me-"

"Fuck her," he says and I gasp at how mean he's sounding. "Do you realize what would have happened if the Dark Lord decided he wanted you that night?" he says and then he glares at me.

He glares at me a lot.

"Do you realize how hard it was for me to convince him to wait on you," he says and I stop walking.

"What do you mean?" I ask and he shakes his head before dragging me the rest of the way to his room.

He finally lets go when the door shuts behind us and I rub my arm.

"What do you mean you had to convince him to wait on me?" I say seriously and he sighs as he throws my folder onto his bed and he starts unbuckling his belt again.

"When he found out about your blood, he wanted to take you away right then and there," he says and I feel my hands shaking, so I stop them. "He's old," he admits. "In his time it was normal for girls to leave Hogwarts to marry older men, especially pureblooded girls," he adds and I shiver a bit. I even cross my arms. "My father and I convinced him to let you finish your education," he says seriously. "We told him an uneducated witch is hardly a witch at all, but the other night, at Folk Hills, he could have taken you then if he wanted and that would have been Daphne's fucking fault."

"When did he find out about my blood?" I ask seriously and Draco spares me a glance before pulling his slacks off, leaving him in his boxers. "How long have you all known?"

"It doesn't matter," he says and I make a face at his back. He crawls on the bed and rests against the head board as he pulls my folder to him.

"It does matter to me."

"We went over this earlier," he snaps as he shoots me a look. "I will tell you things when it is safe for me to do so. Until then, get ready for bed."

I make a face at him before stomping towards the bathroom. Freaking jerk. I take a long warm shower as I think it over. If Draco knew I had this weird magical blood for a while... is that why he was with me? Is that why he wanted me. I didn't like thinking about it, but I couldn't stop myself. After getting clean, I toweled off and slipped into a pair of clean knickers and the maroon and gold homemade sweater I had taken from my trunk. I bring the sleeve up to my nose and inhale. It smells like home... I know what Harry means when he said that now.

I miss my home.

With a sigh, I brush out my wet hair and put it in a braid before going back into the bed room where I find Draco two pages into my potions essay with his annoying red grading quill in his left hand as he marks things down with an agitated look on his face.

"You wrote defiantly like three times when you meant definitely," he says in annoyance as I sit down on the loveseat so I can put on a pair of gray wool socks. It's getting colder during the nights in the castle. Fall is coming. "It's irritating," he adds sharply and I shake my head.

"Hermione gave me auto correct quills for my birthday," I say honestly as I roll a sock onto my right foot. "They work really well, until they auto correct the wrong word I wanted to spell."

"Well, this is defiantly wrong," he says and I smirk at his joke before letting it fall. I forgot that I was worried about him.

I stare at him as he works through my paper and after a while, I bite my lip and walk towards the bed. "Draco," I say to get his attention. I start at the end of the bed and I begin crawling up his body.

He takes notice rather quickly and he watches me over the top of my paper as I make my way up his body. The sweater is loose enough to hang down, giving him a pretty good view of my breasts. "Yes?" he says with darkened eyes and he places my paper against his chest when I straddle his lap to sit.

"Do you love me?" I ask seriously as I place my hands on his chest for balance.

He smiles. "What a silly question to ask," he says as he puts a hand on my bare knee. "You know that I do."

"Is that the truth?" I say with a worried frown and he smirks before placing my paper on the nightstand by his watch.

"Of course it is, my darling," he says and it would have sounded so corny if it hadn't been Draco the one saying it. "Why do you ask such a question?"

"You aren't with me just because of my blood or anything like that, are you?" I ask in concern and he shakes his head as he places his hands on my thighs and he starts running upwards, pushing up my sweater as he goes.

"I'm with you because I love you," he says as he sits up a little bit. It makes my stomach turn wonderfully when he says things like that, and I smile at him. "And you're smart and sweet and as sexy as hell," he says before leaning up to kiss me. When he pulls back, he takes my sweater with him. Pulling it over my head like I was a child until I'm left in my knickers and socks. "And you smell amazing," he says as he attacks my neck with kisses and bites.

I place my hand in his hair to keep him there and then my eyes linger on my maroon and gold sweater that he threw on the floor.

"Draco?" I say as he runs his hands up and down my back.

"What?" he asks in a deep voice as he starts sucking on my ear. That's a sweet spot of mine and it goes right between my legs. I close my eyes and collect myself before slightly pushing him back. "What is it?" he asks with a frown.

"Will you take me to the Burrow?" I ask and he makes a face.

"What's the Burrow?" he asks in annoyance and I sigh.

"My home," I tell him and his face softens as he leans back. "Can you take me to see it? Please?" I add for good measure and I kiss his cheek. "I know they said the Death Eaters really did a number on it... but I would really like to see it again."

He slumps against the headboard and he stares at me for a few long moments.

"Please, babe," I say as I lean into him and wrap my arms around his neck so I can kiss him again. "I would really like to go there." I tell him gently to try to convince him to do as I want. I lick his lips and he smiles a bit. "I would be very inclined to make love to you more enthusiastically if you honor my request," I say as I grind myself against him more firmly. I can feel his arousal between my legs, so I know what he wants.

He laughs. "That was a mouthful," he says as he leans back his his hands on my hips. He runs his left hand up to cup the side of my breast as he studies my face.

"Will you?" I ask softly as I grab his hand and bring it up to my lips. I kiss his fingers. "You are the only person who can help me."

"When?" he asks. I put his hand back where it was and I lean down to kiss his lips so I can convince him.

I look at the sweater again.

"Now," I say, holding my breath for the answer. "Please?"

He puts his hand on my thigh again and taps his fingers against my skin before looking into my eyes.

"Please?" I whisper again as I bite my lower lip and settle myself right on top of his erection.

He looks into my eyes for an intense moment before bringing a hand up to my chin and studying every freckle on my face.

"Only for a little while," he says after a lifetime and I smile as I hug him tightly. "Get dressed," he says as I pull back to give him a grateful smile.

"Thank you, my love," I say to him and I smile because it sounded awkward coming from me, but I don't care.

I jump off of him and run over to my bag. I hook on a bra and throw on a dress quickly because I'm so excited I might burst. I sit down on the loveseat and bite my nails as I wait for Draco to get ready as well. All he has to do is put on pants and shoes, but he's taking bloody forever. I put my chin in my hand and tap my foot against the floor as he walks towards his dresser to pull out a pair of jeans. It takes him a few moments to sort through them and I roll my eyes as he picks a dark washed pair from the very back.

They fit him well, and I shake my sexy thoughts away because I'm going to see my home! He puts on a brown belt and grabs a pair of leather desert boots from his closet. He's taking forever to tie them and I stand up and slip on my shoes before I start pacing. He goes to his closet to pick out a shirt to throw over his undershirt and I frown at his back because he's taking forever.

"Just pick the blue one," I tell him harshly as he sorts through his closet, going back to a blue shirt and a green polo like he couldn't decide which to wear. "We're not going where anyone will see us anyways," I snap and he gives me a look before choosing the green one. Serves me right, I guess. "Thank goodness," I say as I run to the door and I wait there as he pockets his wand and puts his watch back on. "We're not having a fashion show, Draco. Come on."

"You know," he says as he walks towards me. "I don't have to do this for you at all. You should be a little more grateful."

I roll my eyes.

He makes the Slytherin boys leave the common room and when he opens the passageway, I nearly start skipping down the tunnel. That is, until he grabs me and forces me to walk beside me.

"Do not go anywhere out of my sight," he says firmly in my ear and I nod my head.

"I won't," I tell him because I'm too pleased to care.

When we get to my home, my knees nearly buckle when I see it.

The Burrow is half destroyed and I catch a sob in my throat as I stare at it from behind our gate. Windows are blasted through and the kitchen section in the front of the first floor had been burned to it's frame. I cover my mouth and my eyes sting with painful tear. I didn't realize this would effect me so and I just stare at it for a few long moments before opening the gate.

It falls over.

It makes me a cry a little harder.

I carefully walk towards my childhood home, barely believing what I'm seeing is real. The roof has a few large holes in it, curse holes, that show the guts within the house and there are scorch marks all over the yard. Why? Surely all this spell work wasn't used just against my mother...

"Are you alright?" Draco asks as I walk into the house.

The door was blasted off it's hinges and I shake my head because I am not alright at all.

Every good memory, every pleasant thought, and every new feeling that I ever had in this house just seem to be falling apart with the debris on the floor.

Most of the things are missing in our living room. The vases, the silver candle sticks, the painting over the fireplace that my great aunt made when she was a teenager... it's all gone. It looks like the house had been looted and anything of value was taken... everything that was left was turned over and destroyed. My heart is hammering in my chest and my ears are ringing as I walk around my house. It feels like a dead house now, a ghost house.

It doesn't feel like home anymore.

With tears freely falling down my face, I make my way up the dilapidated stairs. The photos that hung on the wall are still there, but most of the frames are off kilter and the glass is broken. I take one of the smaller family photos that was taken last summer and I take it out of the broken frame. I stare at the smiling faces of my entire family before rolling it up and holding it under my arm so I can take it with me.

The upstairs isn't in better shape. All the rooms are in disarray and there are holes in the floor. I'm shaking by the time I reach my bedroom, and I carefully push the door open.

My poor room.

My bed it split in two and the vanity mirror is broken into a thousand different pieces. My lower lip trembles as I walk further into the room and look around with a heavy feeling in my heart. This had been my bedroom since I was a baby, my own sanctuary no matter how shabby it was, and here it is now, totally ruined. There's a pink stuffed animal by my foot and I look down at it with tear blurred eyes. It's a stuffed cat toy that I had hid in my closet when Draco started coming over so I didn't look like a pathetic little girl.

I pick it up and then sit in the middle of the room, cradling it to my chest as I stare at the wall ahead of me.

I don't know how long I sat there, rocking back and forth like a crazy person, but eventually Draco did come to me and sit behind me, wrapping his arms around my middle. I cried for a while after that with him holding me until he said my name, snapping me out of my pity party.

"Gin," he says against my ear. "It's getting late," he says, nodding to the window with the broken panes of glass. "We have to head back."

"Where will I go when the school year is up?" I ask. It was a stupid question to ask. I knew there were a million other pressing matters I needed to sort through, but all I could think of was how I no longer had a home and once this madness was over... I didn't know where I would go.

"With me," he says simply as he kisses my ear and his left hands plays with the bracelet on my wrist. The bracelet he gave me... the bracelet that further cemented our bonding. "Always with me," he adds and I wipe the snot off with the back of my hand. I nod my head and let him pull me up. "When we get back, I'll make you feel better, yes?" he says before kissing my cheek.

I know he's talking about sex and I blink out a few more tears before following him out of my bedroom. Sex actually doesn't seem like a terrible thing right now... I need to feel close to someone. I need to feel connected with him and I pull him close as we walk down the stairs.

On the way out of the house, I pass my family's famous clock.

It's cracked down the center and the face looks like it had been burned by fire.

I glance at it in passing, realizing as Draco pulled me away that all the hands were missing but mine.

"I don't even know why Draco let you try out," Millicent says hatefully as she throws her broom in one of the lockers. "It's wasting everyone's time."

I glare as I take off my shin guards.

Hogwarts didn't have house Quidditch teams anymore, instead they were holding try outs for a school team that would play other magical schools in Europe. I guess the Dark Lord wanted to further his reach through sports before taking over the other empires. The thought pisses me off and I throw my shin guards in the bag after I get them off.

I just want to play Quidditch, to be honest. It's something I'm familiar with... something I'm good at that reminds me of my old life.

"You know you're not going to play, right?" she hisses by my side.

I try to ignore her. They had the try outs for the chasers today and I was stuck with Millicent in my group every time to the annoyance of both of us. She's not a very good flier, but she always did well on her house team in the past because she was always so big. Brute force can go a long way, but now she weighs less than I do, making her utterly pointless.

"You're just bitter," I tell her as I sit down to take off my riding boots. "I'm a better flier than you."

"It doesn't matter what you are. Draco isn't going to let you play," she says snootily and I glare at her.

"Draco doesn't have a say in my sports life, thank you."

"Draco has a say in everything you do," she tells me as she pulls her hair out of her pony tail and brushes it out with her fingers. "Don't kid yourself."

I shake my head and go back to ignoring her as I take off my chest protector and arm guards. I can't help myself thought, after a couple minutes of silence, I throw my gear down.

"You know what, Millicent," I hiss and she looks at me through narrowed eyes as I take off my goggles. "I don't like you very much," I tell her and she laughs.

"You think I care?" she says as she goes back to taking off her uniform.

"I just want you to know I think you're a terrible person."

"Oh, ouch, Weasley," she says with her hand on her heart. "Really, that hurt."

"I can give you something that will hurt," I tell her boldly, but she laughs again.

"Honestly," she says with a head shake as she goes back to her bag. "What has gotten into you? Draco loosen the leash a bit?"

"You know what I think," I put a hand on my hip. "I think you're such a bitch because Draco loves me and not you," I tell her and she raises an eyebrow. "Get over it. It's pathetic," I say and she gives me a cruel smile.

"I've never wanted Draco's love," she says in a bitter voice. "I wanted him, yes, but for other reasons. I would never want to be loved by a person like him."

"Yeah, right," I say as I pick up my heavy gear bag and I hike it over my shoulder. "Say what you want."

"You have no idea," she says with a head shake as she picks up her bag as well. "People like him treat the people they love like possessions," she says and I roll my eyes. "Like a toy that they play with until it breaks. You're that new shiny toy, Weasley," she says, taking a step closer to me. "And he's going to play with you until you break into a million pieces, but you can never get away from him like the rest of us. You're bonded for life."

I glare. Does she know about our bonding too?

It seems I was the last person to know.

"You'll just be another broken thing to add to his collection."

"I'm stronger than you think," I tell her in a cold voice and she smiles.

"No one's as strong as him," she says. "You're done, Weasley."

"Millie, shut up," Pansy hisses from over my shoulder and I glance at her in surprise.

We haven't spoken since I confessed that I snogged Zabini.

Millicent rolls her eyes before walking off, and once she's gone, I go to walk away too.

"Wait Ginny," she says and I stop and glance over my shoulder. She's still in her full riding gear and her goggles are on top of her head, pulling most of the hair out of her face. She's a pretty decent chaser, actually. "I wanted to talk to you."

"About what?" I ask callously and she narrows her eyes before taking a step closer to me.

"I don't know what you think of me now," she says as she levels me with a cold gaze. "But I want you to know that my friendship is always open if you want it," she says and then she inhales deeply. "And I want you to know what I do not hold any resentment over the kissing my boyfriend situation. I know that you did it to upset Draco, but in turn you had greatly upset me," she says and her hand tightens around her broom handle. "But... I know I must get over it because my problems do not match yours."

"Did he tell you to say that to me?" I ask with a brow raised.

"Who?"

"You know who," I say as I think of Draco.

"I'm not a mindless puppet," she says and then she narrows her eyes. "So there's that. I want to be friends again."

"Okay," I say slowly and she raises her brows.

"Okay? That's it?"

"I don't have anything else to say," I admit and she glares. "I have to take a shower."

With that I walk off, and Draco catches me outside as I'm walking back towards the castle. "You flew well," he says as he takes my bag and adds it to the large one he's carrying. I cross my arms, thankful that I don't have to carry the heavy gear anymore.

"You did well too," I tell him with a little smile. Draco was trying out for the seeker position and without Harry here to beat him, he was easily the best person on the pitch. "I think you're a shoo in," I tell him and he smirks at me.

His usually perfectly combed hair is wild from his workout and I smile fondly at him and his flushed cheeks. He's so good looking it's not fair.

"Of course," he says pompously as he takes a drink from his water bottle. He hands it to me and I take a drink as well. Arguing with Millicent has left me thirsty. "Where are you headed?" he asks once we reach the castle.

"I'm going to take a shower," I tell him seriously as I screw the lid on the bottle

Since I was made prefect after our test scores were released, I am able to use their amazing bathroom. That's one nice thing about it.

"I feel gross," I admit because it started raining halfway through our tryouts and now I smell like a wet dog. "Did you see Millicent try to push me off my broom?" I say in annoyance and he nods his head.

"I saw," he says darkly and I shake my head.

"I hate her," I say and he looks at me with a brow raised. "I haven't done anything to her and she's the biggest bitch to me," I hiss as I remember our conversation in the changing room.

"That's because she's jealous of you," he adds flatly and I shrug. "Pretty soon you are going to have everything she's ever wanted."

"I just think she's evil," I say and he laughs.

When we get to the stairways leading up to the prefect bathroom I want to use, I stop and make a motion to Draco to give me my bag.

"Why don't you take a shower in my room," he says with a sinful smile as he takes a step closer to me. "Take one with me," he adds as bends down to kiss me.

"I won't get clean if I take a shower with you," I tease and he smirks when he pulls back.

"But it is immensely more fun."

"I've been spending so much time in your room," I say as I put my hand on my neck. "What if one of these days we get caught? Girls aren't allowed in your private dorm."

He shrugs. "It hardly matters," he says. "I can talk my way out of anything. It's one of my many charms," he says with a smirk and I smile as I shake my head.

"Fine," I say with a long suffering sigh. "You talked me into it," I say with a laugh and he wiggles his brows.

"I always do."

"Don't be smug," I tell him as I take his arm so we can walk the opposite way to the Head Boy dorm.

On the way there, though, that old woman named Odette who took over the infirmary after Poppy quit calls my name and I turn around with a brow raised as she scurries over to me.

"Miss Weasley, you must go to Mr. Rookwood's office immediately."

"Why?" I ask as I send a nervous look to Draco.

"Your blood," she says. "You need to make a donation today."

"But..." I trail off. Didn't I just do that?

I swear I gave my blood a week ago.

"No, buts," she says. "Rookwood's office, now."

She walks away and I glance up at Draco. He's looking terribly serious now. "I'll walk you," he says and I nod as I start walking towards the old Death Eater's office on the second floor.

Draco and I walk in silence, but before I can open the door to Rookwood, Draco drops the bags he's holding and grabs my chin, forcing me to look at him.

"Keep your mind guarded," he says and I nod my head as he grips my chin so hard it hurts. He searches my eyes with an intense gaze and then he licks his teeth. "Ginny, as your head of house I forbid you to allow Rookwood to take your blood. You will be obedient to me," he says levelly and I feel something tickle in my brain. "Do you understand?"

"Yes," I say mindlessly and he nods his head before letting his hand drop.

I shake my head when he steps back. What was that all about and why do I feel so strange now?

"Now, go inside," he says and I nod my head before turning to the door and gently opening it.

Rookwood is sitting at his desk with a pair of glasses on the bridge of his nose. He has a syringe in his hand and he's staring at the needle. "Ah, there you," he says with a smile. "Take a seat."

I walk towards the chair and take a careful seat.

"I know we just made a donation a few days ago, but it seems that we need more blood," he says as he stands up and walks around his desk to get closer to me. "I know you don't mind."

Bastard.

He takes a cotton ball and dips it in some disinfectant stuff before pushing up my shirt sleeve and rubbing the substance over one of my veins.

"Wait," I say as I feel that prickling in my brain again. "Wait, don't."

"Don't be foolish," he snaps before lifting the needle to arm.

I smack it out of his hand and it goes flying across the room. "No!" I scream like a mad person as I jump up and plant myself against the wall. I don't know why it feels like life or death if I let him take my blood. I don't even feel in control of my own feelings right now. "No," I say again, blinking back tears.

Why am I acting like this?

"Now, Miss Weasly, you know you must do this," he says as he uses his wand to retrieve the needle. "You have a very important role and you must fulfill it. Now, stop being this way."

"No, you can not have my blood!" I yell and he cringes before lifting his wand to me.

"I am too old for this," he mutters before shooting a curse at me.

It's an unforgivable and I can feel my body hand over it's free will as I relax and slump against the wall. "Come here," he says flatly and I walk towards him like a zombie. "Sit down," he says as he slicks back his hair.

I take a heavy seat and stare ahead of me, trying to see through the fog in my mind.

"Give me your arm," he says and I throw out my arm towards him. "Good," is all he says as he walks towards me and he holds my forearm in his free hand. "Now, after this you can go back to your room and take a nap, yes?" he says and I nod my head.

"Good," he whispers as he puts the needle to my skin.

I feel it, and I wake up with a vengeance. "No!" I scream again as I jump up. "Stop it!"

"What in the hell has gotten into you?" he snaps in exasperation. I don't know the answer to that question either... I just know that I have to do as Draco says. "How did you break my curse?"

"You can't take my blood," I say as I cross my arms. "He said no."

"Who said no?" he asks and I clench my jaw shut.

"My husband," I say and he lifts his eyebrows.

I widen my eyes and clamp my hand over my mouth.

Why did I say that?

"Husband?" he says flatly and I nod my head.

Stop nodding your head, idiot!

He gives me a critical look before walking towards the fireplace and throwing some floo powder in. He sticks his head into the flames. I can't make out anything he's saying, but when he's done, he goes back to his desk and two second later someone comes through the fireplace in a flurry of black robes and crimson flames.

Him.

"Is it too hard for you to handle a teenage girl, Rookwood?" Tom says in a slithering voice as he lifts his wand to rid the floo powder from his body. He looks more human again, less like a monster and more like a man but when his red eyes fall on me, I realize he's not a man at all. This is like my worst nightmare, him coming back to Hogwarts to get me. Where's Draco now? "What is the problem here?" he asks as he walks towards me with his leather soled shoes tapping against the floor. I fall into myself and try to make myself as small as possible. "You know how much I detest being interrupted."

"My Lord, she has become hysterical and won't allow me to take her blood."

"Has she?" he says when he's standing right in front of me and he gives me a thoughtful look as he touches a strand of hair that has fallen in my face. "You smell bad," he says and my cheeks turn crimson.

"I had Quidditch try outs," I mumble out in embarrassment. Why do I care if he thinks I smell bad? What kind of person points that out anyways?

A terrible person, that's who.

"Hm," is all he says as he lets my hair drop and then he gives Rookwood a sharp look. "You have age, power, and size on your side. How is it possible that you needed to summon me for something so small," he says in annoyance and I shiver at his tone. "I have better things to do, believe me."

"She told me that her husband said she couldn't give her blood and then she broke my imperious curse," Rookwood says as he places his hands on the desk. "I thought you would like to know that considering everything that's happening with undesirable number one." Harry! "You know how close her family has been to him... and we found that picture of her at their last hide out."

They had a picture of me? That's kind of sweet.

Wait... do they think that Harry is my husband?

"Her husband," he says and then he looks back at me. He laughs. "Do you have a husband, little Ginny Weasley?" he asks but I don't say anything. "I hardly believe that," he says as he brings a hand up to my face and he grabs my chin. "But let's check, shall we?"

He starts sorting through my mind like he was reading a book and my eyes start watering as I attempt to bury a few memories that would incriminate Draco. He focuses mostly on my time with Harry and when he sees a memory of me using the compact to talk to him, he pulls out and smiles at me.

"Give it to me," he says and I shake my head. "Don't act that way towards me," he says sharply. "Because very soon, I will be your head of house for real and you will have to listen to me," he says and I nearly sigh in relief because he didn't see anything in my mind about Draco. "You always have it with you," he says looking down at my riding pants where there's a bulge in my pocket. "Give it to me now."

I shake my head and blink back tears as he glares at me.

He reaches into my pocket himself and pulls it out. For some reason it made me feel very violated and I step back and cross my arms over my chest protectively once he has it. He looks at the compact like it was the most fascinating thing in the world before smiling at me. "I could have you tortured for treason," he says and I gulp. "But I am in a forgiving mood today," he says and I sigh as I slump my shoulders. "I won't always be that way, mind you," he adds in a hiss and I shiver.

He takes a step back and opens the compact, staring at it from every angle with a curious tilt of his brow.

I take his preoccupation with the object to actually study his face. I've never seen a body built by magic and it is a wonder to behold, I suppose. Like something born form a nightmare that has no business actually being, he seems frightening for some reason. He looks more like Tom Riddle than I remember from before at Folk Hills, but everything just seems a little... off... I don't know how else to describe it.

He's like a picture slightly out of focus that hurts your eyes if you stare at it for to long. I furrow my brows as my eyes dance across the curve of his nose and the bow of his lips. He even has a five o'clock shadow on his face right now and I find that curious for some reason so I tilt my head to the side as he taps the compact with his fingers. He has longer fingernails than I do and I find that disgusting but they seem odd somehow, like they were made of glass instead of nail.

I look back at his face and I wonder if he ever shaves.

It seems ridiculous to imagine the Dark Lord shaving, to be honest.

When my eyes travel to his long pale fingers again, his eyes snap to mine and I look away quickly like he caught me doing something terrible.

"Your boyfriend is trying to kill me," he says and my throat goes dry at the thought of what he saw in my mind before.

Maybe I missed it, maybe he did see Draco. I close my eyes and shake my head. I know I shouldn't think such thing right now!

"But Harry Potter will never be able to hurt me," he says as he taps the compact and I sigh in relief again because Draco is safe. "He is merely a boy and I am the most powerful wizard in the world."

Modest too.

"And I will triumph in the end. It is true, my Ginny," he says as he brings a hand up to my hair and he pulls so hard it rips a few strands out. I whimper and bring my hand up to my scalp to deaden the pain as he places the hairs inside of the compact. He snaps it shut. "He has had limited success, but the closer he gets to destroying me, the stronger I get with your blood," he says as he takes my arm and he pulls it to him. "So, you understand why I must have it," he says and he snaps his fingers.

Rookwood appears beside us with the needle and he hands it to Voldemort before disappearing again.

"When the silly uprising is dead and I am secure in my power and leadership," he says as he places the needle to my skin. "It will be known all across the world how helpful you had been in squashing the resistance."

I let a tear slip out as he pushes the needle into my arm and he starts drawing blood.

"You'll be a Queen, Ginevra," he says and I shake my head. "Isn't that what every little girl dreams about?"

"It's not what I dream about," I whisper as I watch my blood fill up the vial.

"Hm, then what do you dream about?" he says and I cringe at the sweet way he's speaking to me.

Tom in the diary used to speak to me like that, right before he tried to kill me.

"I dream about dead bodies, and blood, and snakes," I admit as I think about my nightmares and he snaps his red eyes to mine.

Then he smiles. His teeth are still rimmed in black.

"I believe you and I are more alike then you know," he says and I shudder as he removes the needle. "Now, I am a busy man," he says as he hands the syringe to Rookwood and I put my hand over the wound. "And I will not be coming back here again to calm you if you decide to act up. So, Rookwood, you have my permission to use more creative curses if she tries to refuse her blood again," he says and a chill goes down my spine. "Is that understood, Ginevra?" he says leveling me with a cold gaze. I nod my head. "Good, then you know not to act this way again."

He walks towards the fireplace with his cloak swishing behind him and when he gets closer to the fire I can see the silver buttons from his waist coat shining against the light. I don't know why I noticed that, I guess it's just because I don't want to look at his face anymore. I watch him with dread in my heart as he grabs a handful of floo powder and turns his head slightly towards me, making his black hair fall over his brow.

"If I have to come back here," he says as he turns back to the flames. "Everyone in this room will be sorry," he says and Rookwood and I exchange a worried look. Good, I'm glad he's afraid too. "I want a closer eye watching her from now on," he says to Rookwood, who nods his head. "I would to hate to pull you out of school," he says as he looks at me again. I nod my head because I want him to leave. "But I will if you push me to it, and trust me, you will not find your living arrangements as comfortable with me as they are here."

He goes to leave and he gives Rookwood one last look before Rookwood bows his head. "My Lord," he says and then Tom's red eyes snap to mine.

I don't know what to say so I look away.

He doesn't move, he just keeps staring at me, and I glance at Rookwood whose head is still bowed. He snaps a glare at me like I was doing something wrong, so I panic and mimic his action with my hands folded in front of me.

"My Lord," I say awkwardly and I nearly choke on the words.

They make me want to vomit.

I glance up once to see Tom staring at me with a pleased smirk on his face and then he's gone with a flick of the flames.

Once out of the room, Rookwood and I both sigh out loud.

There's a moment of relieved silence before he speaks.

"You should have just given me your damn blood," Rookwood hisses with a clenched jaw and then he walks back towards his desk. "Get out of my sight."

I don't need to be told twice and when I leave his office, Draco is standing right outside of the door. The look on his face tells me he heard everything.

"Good girl," he says as he brings his hand up to my cheek and he kisses my forehead. "You blocked your mind so well."

"But he saw Harry," I admit as he pulls me away from the door. "He took my compact... and some of my hair. I think he's going to use a polyjuice potion to look like me and find out where Harry is," I say worriedly as I rub my scalp where he painfully pulled out my hair. That would be the only reason someone would take my hair, after all.

"It doesn't matter," Draco says and I frown at him. "Potter and his friends have been doing their job," he says with a smile and when I make a confused face he smirks at me.

"What?"

"I wondered why he needed some blood from you so soon after your last donation," he says as he brushes some hair away from my face. "He's dying, Ginny," he says in a soft voice so no one can overhear. "And very soon you will be the only thing keeping him alive and his body stable," he says and I make a face. "And you belong to me," he says and I look down.

He smiles again and tilts my chin up.

"That means the scales just shifted," he says. "I have something he wants...needs."

"I'm not a thing," I whisper softy and he kisses my lips.

"Of course you aren't," he says gently. "But you are the key to his success... and you're mine."

I don't know why, but I'm not comforted by that.

"Draco, when I was in there and Rookwood tried to take my blood, I was acting odd. Not like myself..." I trail off uncomfortably.

"Because I told you not to," he says flatly as we start walking back to his room again. I cuddle up beside him because I'm still shaking from my encounter with Voldemort.

"I know you did, but I felt like I wasn't in control of my actions. I was acting like a crazy person."

"Ginny," he says as he stops walking. I look up at him as he shifts our Quidditch bags. "The bonding spell we used was very old," he says and I furrow my brows. "Very old and very patriarchal. When I order you do something like that, you are obligated under magic to listen."

I hate that thought and I untangle myself away from him. It doesn't seem fair.

"Does that work both ways?" I ask softly and he glances at me.

"What do you think?" he asks and I shake my head angrily.

"But... what if he was going to curse me with something painful?" I say as I think of what Tom said about using more creative curses.

I don't like that Draco has that power over me. The Imperious curse is an unforgivable for a reason and it seems like that is pretty damn close.

"He couldn't at that time," he says like he knew all of this. "That's why he asked the Dark Lord to come. I got the information that I needed, so this worked. I wouldn't use it against you lightly," he adds like it would make me feel better. "I just needed to see if I could get more information than what I already had."

"What if he saw my thoughts about you, Draco?" I say with my brow furrowed in worry. "He went through my memories like they were nothing. If he chose to look for you, I wouldn't have been able to stop him."

"It was a chance I would take," he says as he brushes some hair away from my face. "But he wasn't looking for me, so this worked. I got what I needed."

"At my expense," I say bitterly and he glances at me again.

"Yes," he says flatly. "At your expense."

I glare at him, but I let him pull me to his room anyways, falling against him with a sigh as we take a shower together.

I don't want to be alone. I'm pathetic.

"I wouldn't actually let anyone hurt you," he whispers as he washes my shoulders.

I turn around and look at him as the water beats down on his back.

I'm not so sure I believe that and that worries me.

They tagged the list of names to the bulletin board outside of the Great Hall.

I stand in front of it and run my eyes down all the names. All the people who made the Quidditch team this year are written in a neat script with their position beside their name. I recognize a few names on his list...

Draco Malfoy- Seeker

Pansy Parkinson- Chaser

Blaise Zabini- Keeper

Cho Chang- Chaser

Millicent Bulstrode- Chaser

I frown when I read the other names on the list. Some of them from Ravenclaw, most of them from Slytherin, one or two of them from Gryffindor and Hufflepuff... all of the pureblooded.

I shake my head at the thought and go back to scanning the list.

I don't see my name.

I stand and stare at it for half an hour, reading and re-reading the names before I feel a fire in my veins. How could I not make the team! I was better than most of those kids out on the pitch that day! Especially freaking Millicent! It doesn't make sense. I glare as I hike up my bag and I head towards Snape's office. I have no idea who to talk to about this Quidditch business so I'm going to him.

I need Quidditch. It's the only thing familiar to me here.

When I get to his office, I bang on his door until he lets me in with an irritated scowl on his face.

"I hope there is an emergency of some kind to have to pound on my door such a way, Miss Weasley."

"I didn't make the Quidditch team," I say as I step into his office and he raises his brows.

"How unfortunate for you," he says. "You can leave now."

"Wait," I say before he can push me out. "I'm really good," I say and he rolls his eyes.

"Perhaps the other students were better. It's a bitter lesson we all must learn some time, I'm afraid," he says coldly as he walks back to his desk. I follow him and he raises his brows at me as he sits down.

"I'm an excellent flier and I'm a great chaser," I tell him fiercely. "I'm better than half the kids who made the team. It doesn't make any sense! It's not fair."

"Life is not fair. It's good for you to figure it out early."

I stomp my foot and he glares at me. "No, it doesn't make sense. Please Headmaster," I say, hoping to butter him up. "My family is in Azkaban. This is all I have," I say with my hand on my chest as I lean against his desk. "I need this."

He eyes me for a few long seconds before leaning back and pressing the tips of his fingers together.

"Have you thought, Miss Weasley, that you did not make the team because someone simply requested that you not play?"

Draco. No, he wouldn't do that. He knows how much I love Quidditch.

"I have it under good authority that you are already aware of who you are to be bonded with once you graduate," he says and when his eyes find mine, I gulp. "So you know the influence such person can have. It is my understanding that your benefactor would prefer you focus on academics instead of sports," he says and I open my mouth to protest, but he keeps going. "And it is preferred that you not get involved in anything that is so dangerous. Why put such a high priced commodity in harms way?" he says as he motions to me and I feel the color leave my cheeks. "You know as well as I do that there is no arguing with this decision and you will be compliant to your benefactors wishes."

"But..." I let my back slump to my elbow. "But that is not fair."

"A lot of things are not fair," he says seriously. "Now," he lifts a stack of papers to sort through. "Leave my office."

I stare at him for a while before turning around with stiff steps and walking away.

At least it wasn't Draco. Millicent had been wrong on that front. With a disappointed sigh, I walk towards the Great Hall for breakfast and I glance out one of the windows in passing. It leads to the courtyard and I see Dean sitting on one of the benches by himself. I stop and stare at how sad he looks and then I bite my lip before rerouting my steps.

I haven't talked to him forever.

When I reach the courtyard where he's sitting, he looks up quickly and when he sees that it's me, his shoulders relax and he looks back down.

"Hey, Dean," I say softly as I take a seat beside him on the bench, placing my bag on the ground. "How's it going?"

"Not very well," he says to his hands and I scoot a little closer to him.

"What's wrong?"

He sighs loudly before looking me in the eyes. "You aren't one of them, are you, Ginny?" he asks and I furrow my brows.

"One of who?" I ask seriously and he shakes his head.

"Malfoy, Parkinson, Zabini, and the rest of the Hitler youth in there," he says as he nods towards the castle.

Dean was raised by a muggle mother and I knew the reference from my muggle studies class. I knew who Hitler was and it hurts that he would ask me such a thing.

"Of course not," I whisper. "I want Harry to succeed."

"Then how can you hang out with them and act like nothing's wrong?"

"I know things are wrong," I say gently. "And maybe they're not as bad as they seem," I say as I think about Draco. "Even they know right and wrong," I add and he laughs a hollow laugh.

"Right," he says sarcastically and then he leans his elbows on his knees. "They took Seamus away," he says and I raise my brows.

"What?"

"Seamus kept on getting in trouble for talking back in class," he says as he sends me a look. "Of course, you wouldn't know anything about it because you're in your high end pureblooded classes," he adds bitterly and I frown again. "He kept on mouthing off to the Carrows and they gave him detentions where they actually used unforgivables against him," he says with a tight throat. I reach out and take his hand. I've always liked Dean and it hurt me to see him so upset. "They finally sent him for re-education this morning. He's going to come back a mindless shell like Neville and the rest of them," he says angrily as he grips my hand.

I'm surprised it doesn't burn, but I'm not actually touching him in any sexual way, so it's good.

"Isn't there anything we can do?" I ask because I realize I've been terrible and I haven't even thought about it. "I mean, to get them back to themselves or something?"

"Hell if I know," he says angrily as he brings a hand up to his forehead. "I didn't even try to stop them when they came for him this morning," he says and I look down because what was I doing this morning? I was all pissed off about not making a stupid Quidditch team.

It pales in comparison.

"I'm a coward," he says and I shake my head as I put my arm around his shoulder and I grip his hand with my left hand. "I didn't even move because I was afraid," he says. "Because I didn't want them to take me too."

"I'm sorry," I say and I seem to be saying that an awful lot. I kiss his temple to calm him just because I feel like I should and I rub his back. "Everything is so backwards," I admit with tears in my eyes when the weight of our situation sinks down on me.

"Yes," he says as he squeezes my hand again. "It is. I don't know what to do," he says softly. "If Harry doesn't succeed... I don't know what I'll do."

"He will," I say seriously, firmly. "And he's not alone," I say seriously as I think Draco again. "I think you'd be surprised who's on his side."

I don't know if you could label Draco and his friends as being on Harry's side... but they're both against Voldemort, so that's a start.

"Maybe," he whispers and then I hear footsteps approaching, so I look up.

"What are you doing?" It's Draco and I pull back quickly like I was doing something wrong and I mentally scold myself for it. I'm not doing anything that needs to be hidden. Draco just puts me on edge when he looks at me like that. "Am I interrupting something?" he asks coldly and I shake my head as I stand up.

"We were just talking," I say softly because he looks so angry.

I would roll my eyes if I wasn't desperate for his affection all the time.

"Talking about what?" he asks seriously and I glance at Dean.

He stands up. "I'll see you later, Gin," he says before squeezing my arm and walking off.

Once he's gone, I turn back to Draco. "Well, what were you two talking about?"

"Nothing really," I say with a shrug. "Just about life."

"Life?" He hisses and I nod my head. "Life is so rough that you had to hold him like that?"

"It wasn't like that, Draco," I say as I glance up at him. "And yes, life is rough."

"But you kissed him?"

"Yes," I say with a sigh. "But I was comforting him. You don't have to be so upset about it."

"Who says I'm upset?" he says and I give him a look. "My girlfriend was only out in the open, cuddling with a half-breed."

The way he said 'half-breed' makes me cringe.

"Some girl named Romilda Vane told me that you were out here flirting with Dean Thomas," he says with narrowed eyes. I glare too. Freaking Romilda. "She has one of the biggest mouths in the school and now everyone will know that you're stepping out on me."

"That's just ridiculous," I say with an eye roll as I put my hands on my hips. "I am obviously not cheating on you. You would have felt it."

"It doesn't matter, everyone else will assume you are because of the way you were acting and the fact that Thomas is an old boyfriend of yours. It makes me look like a fool, Ginny."

"I was just talking to him," I say as I motion to the bench where we were sitting. "Again, you would be able to feel it if I was doing anything inappropriate. I obviously wasn't and everyone else can go fly a kite for all I care if they choose to believe that I would cheat on you. My skin didn't start burning Draco, so I know that spell you put on me didn't even recognize it as cheating."

"The implication is enough," he says flatly and I narrow my eyes.

"You never even let me out of your sight, Draco! There is no way I could possibly cheat even if I wanted to."

"Shut up," he snaps and I clench my jaw shut. "I don't want to see you talking to him again."

I sigh loudly. "Draco, they took his best friend away," I say seriously as I take a step closer to him so I can win his sympathy for my friend."He's upset, if you can imagine."

"Well, I'm upset now too," he says and I glare at him. "Will you comfort me now?" he asks spitefully and I clench my fists. "You can't just talk to whoever the fuck you want now and I had better not see you touching him like that again," he snaps and I feel my heart thump.

"Or what?" I ask with a hand on my hip and he gives me a cold look.

"You don't even want to know," he says flatly and I repress a chill as I try to keep the glare on my face. I don't want him to 'order' me to do anything, so I keep quiet when I just want to smack him again. "We're going inside now," he says as he walks towards me and grabs my hand roughly. "This conversation is over."

"Are you upset that I was out here with Dean, or are you upset that other people told you before I did?" I say as I think about something Zabini had said to once when I was trying to get information out of him.

"A little of both, to be completely honest," he says as he pulls me into the castle. "I don't enjoy being the last to know."

"Join the club," I reply harshly and he gives me deadly look.

"We're not talking about this again," he says sharply and I roll my eyes.

"Whatever," I mutter under my breath because he can get ridiculous sometimes .

I have no intention of actually going to the Great Hall with him, not while I'm this angry, but I don't want to be by myself so when Daphne comes running up to me with a bright grin on her face, I see my chance to escape. Her eyes flick to Draco as I push myself away from him.

"I've been looking all over for you," she says and I give Draco a glare so he'll leave.

"Come into the hall when you're finished," he orders, glaring at Daphne and I roll my eyes.

He sneers and walks past us, leaving me with her with a angry tilt of his brows.

"Ginny!" she says and then she hugs me. It was awkward again because I wasn't ready for it and I watch Draco's back as he walks into the great hall. Stupid jerk face. "I'm so sorry that you didn't make the team," she says, giving me mock sympathy.

"So, everyone read the list?" I say and she nods her head. We're talking about Quidditch now, Quidditch is safe. Quidditch isn't scary.

Quidditch takes my mind off the fact that I just handed over one of the only contacts with Harry Potter to the Dark Lord.

I feel physically ill when I think about it, so I try to brush it off.

"I don't play either," she says as she links her arm with mine and starts walking me towards our table. "They're doing something new this year, though," she says with a pleased look on her face. "Because our team will be traveling on the weekends, they wanted cheerleaders too."

Oh, no.

"And of course I'm going to do it. Try outs are in a couple days. I was thinking we could do it together. I already saw the uniforms. They're the cutest green and black things I've ever seen and I think it would be terribly fun. You know, most schools have cheerleaders for their Quidditch teams. Hogwarts was one of the only places that never did."

"That's because cheerleaders are pointless. Especially for Quidditch where the stands are almost touching the clouds."

She bats away my logical comment as she takes a seat. I hesitate a second before sitting down next to Daphne, right across from Draco, who's having a discussion with Blaise. I'm still mad at him, of course, but I know if I'm by him the Dark Lord won't come and take me. That's weak... I know it is. I glance at Zabini before I sit and he quickly looks away with a scowl on his face.

Good riddance.

"It will be fun and you'll get to travel with the team," Daphne says from my side as she fills her plate with food. "And you're pretty. We can't exactly have trolls on our team," she says, sending a wary glance down to a rather overweight girl at the end of the table.

I glare at her because that wasn't necessary, but she ignores it.

"I'm just not into that kind of thing," I admit. I like dresses and make up and looking pretty, but I wasn't that kind of girl.

"Ginny," she says and I see Draco staring at me from the corner of my eyes as I pick a peach from the table. "You won't be doing anything else. It's not like you're playing the game."

My cheeks heat in embarrassment and I look down angrily when I catch Millicent staring at me with a gloating smirk on her face. I can feel Draco staring at me too, so I give him a nasty look that I hope hurts him.

He narrows his eyes and goes back to his meal.

"Draco," Daphne turns her attention to my boyfriend and he looks at her with an irritated sigh. "Since Ginny is no longer on the Quidditch team, I thought that she could try out for the cheer squad. Isn't that a lovely idea?"

"He doesn't control what I do," I state and when I look at him, he's giving me a bitter smile.

"I think you'd look wonderful in a short skirt," he says and I glare.

"I don't want to be a cheerleader," I say sourly. "I want to play."

"We don't always get what we want," Pansy says sharply from the other side of Daphne and I glare at her before going back to eating my peach.

"I think you should do it," Draco says seriously as he leans across the table, his bitterness momentarily gone. "That way you can travel with us so you won't be alone on the weekends," he says and I give him a worried look.

Yes, I suppose that is true.

I frown as I take a bite of the peach.

"Are you sure it's not too dangerous?" I ask sharply. "My benefactor might not appreciate it," I hiss and he gives me a look before going back to talking to Zabini with a shake of his head like I annoyed him.

Well, good, because he annoys me too.

No one says anything after that.

I eat the rest of my breakfast in silence and Draco walks me to my first class with out saying a word to me. I don't even care. I make it through the day with out much excitement, but Luna has seemed a little off in all of our classes together. To be honest, she's always a little odd, but she seemed a little more out of it today. When it's time for herbology, I've decided that I'm going to talk to her. We've stopped having things to talk about because she's changed so much from being with Theo, but I think now would be a good time to ask her a few things.

I hesitate a moment before walking into the greenhouse and when I see her sitting at her desk, I bite my lip and walk towards her.

"Hey Ginny," she says softly, sadly and I give her a look as I take my seat.

"Are you okay?" I ask carefully because she looks like she's been crying.

She nods her head and wipes her eyes.

I make a face and lean towards her.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask as I put my hand on her arm and she gives me a pitiful look.

"Theo broke up with me," she says and I give her a sympathetic look even though I'm actually quite pleased.

"Why?" I ask, trying not to sound too happy.

"Do you promise not to tell anyone?" she asks as she looks around at the other girls in the class.

I nod my head and she takes a deep breath before continuing.

"When we would fool around," she whispers and I make a disgusted face. I don't want to hear about his and I pull my hand back. "He wanted me to take a polyjuice potion to look like someone else, but I told him I didn't want to do it anymore."

"Oh, I'm sorry," I say as I blink a few times. I guess she did mention that once, but I was too horrified hearing about her sex life that I didn't bother to learn more. That's kind of fucked up. "Who did he want you to look like?" I ask uncomfortably and she gives me a look before looking away.

"I can't tell you," she whispers and I place my hand back on hers.

"Luna, you can tell me anything, you know that."

She shakes her head. "You'll tell Draco and he'll tell everyone and everyone will be mad at Theo and everyone always does what Draco says so if you're mad, then Draco will be mad, and then Theo will get hurt."

I sigh. "I promise not to tell Draco," I say as I make a cross over my heart. "I swear."

She doesn't say anything for a few seconds and then she licks her lips as she stares at the texts on the top of her desk.

"Blaise Zabini."

"What?" I say flatly and she gives me a sad look.

"Blaise Zabini," she says again and I make a disgusted face. "That's who he wanted me to turn into."

"What... but... I thought Theo was straight?" I finish uncomfortably and she nods her head.

"He likes women, he was just curious and Blaise is almost pretty like a girl," she finishes and I feel like I might vomit. "He gave me a potion that made me look like Pansy once so I know he's straight," she adds like it helps.

"If he's curious then he's not straight," I point out and she nods her head sadly. "And you actually... did it with Theo in Blaise's body?" I ask and she nods her head. I bring my hand up to my mouth and shake my head. "That is just wrong, Luna. Why would you do that?"

"I don't know," she says. "I thought it was a one time thing but he kept asking me to do it and I thought eventually he would just want me...you know?" she says but I have the disgusting visual of Blaise and Theo having sex in my head. "But the last time, when I refused to take the potion, we tried but he couldn't..." she trails off. "So he broke up with me. He said it didn't matter anymore anyways because he got what he wanted and no one would make him see me anymore."

Ugh.

"I'm very sorry that happened," I tell her seriously. "That is terrible."

"It's okay," she says and then she starts balling like a baby.

"Shh," I say as I pat her back and look around at all the kids who are staring. "It will be okay. You're better off."

"But," she blubbers as snot drips from her nose. "But I love him!"

"Sh," someone says from behind us and I glare at Romilda Vane before going back to my friend.

"I know," I tell her gently. "But one day you will realize how wrong he was for you. He's a creeper anyways."

"And my Dad is in Azkaban," she says and I know that so I nod my head. "And Theo never even cared. He said my Dad was crazy. My father is not crazy," she tells me as she looks into my eyes. "A little bit weird, but not crazy."

"I know," I tell her as I pat her back.

"Do you think, if I apologize he'll take me back?"

I make a horrified face. "Why would you want him back? He sounds terrible. Luna," I grab her hands. "You deserve better."

"And you deserve better than Draco," she says with a sob. "But that doesn't stop you."

I sigh. "That's different," I say and she shakes her head.

"Maybe it's worse," she says and I roll my eyes because I know that's not true. "He controls everything you do. He manipulates everyone around him and Theo said that he's just going to get worse. He has so much power over you, Ginny."

"That's not true," I say softly because she's confused. He has never made me change into someone else to get off... but... he is awfully stubborn when he wants to get his way.

I think about how angry I was with him this morning and the sharp way he was speaking to me after seeing me comfort Dean... I shake my head. No, it's totally different.

She nods her head anyways. "Yes, it is. He controls who you talk to, who you sit by, what you wear, how you speak..."

"No, he doesn't," I snap because that's not true.

"I've noticed, Ginny," she says seriously. "You've changed since you started dating him."

"No, I haven't," I hiss as I lean back. "You're the one who changed."

She shakes her head sadly, but before she can reply, Sprout comes into the green house and starts her lecture. I ignore her the rest of class, but when we get out, I see Theodore Nott in the hallway talking to Millicent and I glare at both of them before I decide I'm going to tell Zabini about what Luna told me.

I promised not to tell Draco, but I didn't say anything about Zabini.

A part of me does feel bad for betraying Luna's trust but I can't just let Theodore Nott do something that disgusting to my friend with out some retribution. He took advantage of her love and now she's heartbroken in the worst way.

Yes, I'm definitely telling Blaise.

I doubt he'd appreciate it.

I avoid Draco, who's waiting for me at the bottom of the stairs, and I turn down another corridor so I can speak to Blaise. I find him outside of his common room with a toothpick between his teeth and when he sees me he rolls his eyes before walking the opposite way.

"Wait," I say as I speed walk to catch up to him. "I have to talk to you."

"No, you don't," he says over his shoulder.

I make a face at his back before I start running to catch up to him. When I finally get close enough, I grab his arm and spin him around. He looks pissed, but I don't care.

"What do you want?" he hisses as he throws my hand off of him like a jerk. "You have already caused me enough trouble."

"I'm sorry," I say, not meaning it as I take a step closer to him and not caring if that was the truth. "I have to tell you something about Theodore Nott," I tell him and he raises an eyebrow.

"Tell Draco," he says flatly, before trying to walk away, but I slide in front of him.

"You'll want to know this," I say seriously. "He broke up with Luna," I say quickly because I know I will only have his attention for so long.

"Oh, how heartbreaking," he says sarcastically with his hand on his heart. "I'm glad you told me, now goodbye." He goes to walk away, but I grab his arm again and he throws me off like it burned him. "Stop touching me," he hisses. "Go tell your goddamn boyfriend and leave me alone. He lets you get away with so much," he adds like it was unfair.

I glare and ignore his hateful tirade.

"He broke up with her because she refused to take a polujuice potion anymore when they were having sex."

"As kinky as that is, I find no one in the equation attractive, so where is this going?" he snaps at me and I blink for a moment before shaking my head. I can't believe how mean he's being to me. Zabini has always been kind of jerk, but he was usually halfway decent. Now he's acting like something terrible will happen to him if he acts like a decent human being.

"Well," I lick my lips. He stares at my lips for a few moments before shaking his head and glaring at me. "He would have her take a potion to make her look like... you," I say and he narrows his eyes.

That got his attention.

"What?" he says flatly.

"He had her look like Pansy too I guess, but he wanted you a lot," I say softly. "I thought you would want to know that."

"Are you fucking kidding me?" he asks as he looks me over and I shake my head. "Why are you telling me this?" He asks suspiciously like he thought I was lying.

"Because I don't like him," I admit and he studies my face for a few moments before stepping back and giving me a thoughtful look. "And I want him to be in trouble for hurting my friend so badly," I say and he gives me a surveying look before curling his lip back.

"That's disgusting," he says and I agree with him. "Fuck," he says as he runs his hand over his face. "Why would someone do that? I just had a fucking talk with him a couple weeks ago about not falling in line and this is what he does?"

I shrug. It's nice that he thinks it's as wrong as I do. At least he has some morals after all.

"Just thought you'd like to know. God knows what else he's been doing with your likeness," I say and he gives me a look before I walk off.

That night when I come in for dinner, I see Theodore Nott sitting at the end of the table by himself with a black eye and busted lip.

I smirk when he looks at me.

Serves him right.

I sit by Draco just out of habit and I realize the moment that I sit down that I'm still angry with him so I sigh and eat my food with out a word to the boy to the right of me. I look towards Blaise when he walks in. He gives Theo a look that makes him shrink and then he sits across from me, by Pansy. She takes one look at his hands before shaking her head and taking out her wand to heal his knuckles.

Muggle fighting... how appropriate for the pure blood elite.

We make eye contact and he raises his brows in greeting. He even smiles a little bit before looking back at his hand.

I grin.

I like having control over other peoples actions by the words I use, I've decided. I feel kind of like Draco, to be honest. I stop smiling when I feel Draco's hand on my thigh, gently squeezing.

"Are you done being mad at me?" he asks flatly and I take a drink from my glass as he stares at Blaise like his life depended on it.

"I haven't decided yet," I say as I pick up my fork.

He licks his teeth and glance at me, squeezing my thigh again.

"Come with me," Draco says in a low voice and I give him a look.

"I haven't even had anything to eat," I say as he stands up and takes my hand.

"You can eat later," he says flatly before pulling me up.

I make a face as he pulls me out of the room. I figure he's going to take me somewhere to apologize to me because he doesn't want to do it in front of his friends, and I have a smug look on my face, until he pulls me into a bathroom. I have no idea why, but I let my face fall when I realize it's the empty girls bathroom on the third floor that holds the hidden entrance to the chamber of secrets.

"What are you doing?" I ask as he shuts the door behind me and he locks it with his wand.

I'm nervous now and I give him a troubled look as I cross my arms and back up, my heels tapping against the tiled floor, echoing off the walls.

"No one comes in here," he says and I watch his back fearfully. He's facing the door and unbuttoning his jacket so I can't see his face. "And it's closer than my room," he adds as he hangs his jacket on the door knob.

"Close for what?" I ask nervously.

I shouldn't be so nervous around Draco, but being in his this place again sets me on edge.

Yes, that's it. That's why I'm scared right now.

He turns around and eyes me for a few moments as he unbuttons his cuffs and rolls up his sleeves. Why is he doing that? When he walks towards me with short and purposeful steps, I shrink away from him.

"What are you doing?" I whisper when he brings his hands up to unbutton my jacket.

I just let him, because I don't know what else to do.

"I think you know what I'm doing," he says coolly. When the jacket is loose, he jerks it from my body and lets it fall to the ground before untucking my shirt.

"Draco, I don't know if this is such a good idea," I say as he takes off my tie and slips off my sweater. "I'm still mad at you," I say weakly and the corner of his mouth tilts up in a smile.

"We can remedy that, I assure you," he says as his fingers start to slide up my shirt.

Then he kisses me.

After a few moments, I turn away and still his hands from reaching their goal. He narrows his eyes before turning me around and making me face one of the sinks. The forcefulness of his movements makes my breath stop for a moments and it... makes other parts of my body come alive. Is that wrong to get turned on by the way he's looking at me right now? I look at his reflection in the mirror as he bends me over.

"Draco, what are you doing?"

I put my hands on the sink edge for balance as he leans over my body to whisper in my ear. "Shut up," he says and I clench my jaw shut angrily before closing my eyes when he gently bites my earlobe.

That is my sweet spot and he knows it.

But...I'm still angry with him, aren't I? His fingers slip in between my legs and I roll my head to the side in submission... Fuck, I guess it doesn't actually matter right now.

I could say no... I could tell him to stop... I could... he blows against my ear and sucks again, making my whole body shiver...I'm officially turned on now... I could tell him to stop... I could... but I'm not going to.

Weak.

I don't care.

I focus on how good that feels as his clever fingers work their way under my skirt again and I shiver when he pulls down my tights and knickers. I don't know why this is happening right now... but I'm not going to stop it when it feels this good. I glance at him from the mirror as he stands back and loosens his tie, unbuttoning the first few buttons of his shirt. His cheeks are flushed and his eyes are intense as I grip the edge of the sink so tightly that my knuckles turn white. I realize how sexy he looks right now and I lick my lips as his hands go to the fastenings on his pants.

I start breathing a little heavier when he steps behind me and when I hear him unbuckle his belt, I close my eyes. His zipper goes down and it sounds like an echo and it becomes very uncomfortable for me when I imagine his fingers doing sinful things to me. Even the noise of his zipper sounds sexy to me and I bite my lower lip as I try not to do anything embarrassing.

"Unbutton your shirt," he commands with his hands slowly reaching into his slacks as he watches my reflection in the mirror.

I nod my head and swallow as I stands up straight and with shaky hands I push every button through each hole at an aggravatingly slow pace because I'm nervous and turned on... and still impossibly in love with him even though he's impossible to deal with half the time.

Once the shirt is unbuttoned, I find Draco's silver eyes in the mirror again. I look at him shyly. I have a tank top on underneath, and he raises his eyebrow.

"You are taking too fucking long," he says as he slides the shirt down my arms and he throws it behind him quickly.

It's laying on a public bathroom floor and I don't even mind.

"This is time sensitive," he says as he presses his chest into my back. He reaches around my body and down the front of my tank top, pushing the fabric and my bra to the side so he can grab me there. I start breathing heavy again as I arch my back a little bit and he holds me a little more tightly against him. "I want to be back before dinner is over," he says against my ear and then he kisses my neck. "I'm hungry," he adds.

How romantic.

He pushes me down again, and he uses his sinful hands to get me ready for him. I don't even protest when he nudges my legs a little further apart. He grips his hand in my hair before sliding into me with his other hand on my hip. I arch my back and close my eyes again when he pushes all the way in at an infuriatingly slow pace. He doesn't move for a second and I open my eyes to look at his reflection again before I rock back into him, wanting him to move.

I look like a complete whore in my current position but Draco looks amazing and I eye him for a few pleading moments before he catches my gaze. He smirks darkly before tightening his hand in my hair and starting to move.

Thank God.

I close my eyes again and let him have his way with my body because it always ends up feeling so good. It helps me forget about everything. After he sets sow and steady pace for a while, his movements start to become more jerky and he makes a few noises when he slams into me so hard that I jump forward from the impact, just missing smashing my head on the mirror because of the grip he has in my hair.

I open my eyes again and look over my shoulder. His cheeks are flushed and there's sweat forming on his brow. When he notices me looking at him, he removes his hand from my hair and he pulls down the straps of my tank top so they fall down my arms, giving him more room to grab and fondle certain places. I face forward again as he bends over and starts sucking on my neck and shoulder.

The noises our bodies are making seem incredibly loud in this large empty room and I bite my lower lip as he leaves open mouthed kisses along my skin.

"Don't bite me too hard," I say in breathless voice as he kisses my neck and rocks into my body with such a force that I can barely get the words out. "Not too hard," I say gently.

I know that's what's coming next.

When Draco gets into the rough sex mode, he always ends up biting me and it leaves such a violent looking mark. I actually like the way it feels sometimes... but bite marks are always the hardest for me heal and they make me feel like a slag when someone notices.

I put my hand over his as he rests it on my stomach to get him to go easy on me. "I love you," I whisper as I turn my head to kiss him over my shoulder. He starts slamming harder and I grip the sink with so much force that I fear it might break under my fingers.

He bites me anyways.

I make a rather embarrassing whimpering noise that echos off the walls because it hurt but felt good at the same time and it caused everything inside of me to shiver and explode.

I lean my forehead against the mirror and whisper his name as my knees start to buckle from my own climax. Draco holds me up when I slump against the sink and he stays inside of me for a few moments before carefully slipping out and pulling up my tights and knickers again. I stay bent over so I can catch my breath as Draco runs his hand up my back, then he slips the straps of my tank top and bra back up and leans down again to kiss the mark he left of my neck.

"That is the last time you'll be talking to Blaise alone, yes?" he says flatly and I give him a look of surprise from the mirror. "And Dean Thomas?"

Was that why this happened?

I shake my head but answer the way he wants anyways. I don't even like Zabini so there's no point in starting a fight and I can always talk to him about Dean later... When I'm not in a such a lust fog.

"Yes," I say softly and when I stand up to right my skirt, I can feel his arousal running down my legs.

Ew.

"Good," he says as he hands me my shirt. I button it quickly and tuck it in with my tie hanging over my shoulder as Draco buckles his pants and cracks his neck. I slide my jacket on as he unrolls his sleeves and tightens his tie.

I stop moving for a second and I just stare at him. He notices and after a few moments, he walks over to me with a sigh. "You forgive me for being so short with you today?" he says as he places a gentle kiss against my lips. "I forgive you for hurting my feelings, yes?" he says and I furrow my brows.

The way he said that... I didn't know I actually hurt his feelings by talking to Dean and Zabini... I guess in a way it would... Pansy did say he has trust issues and I'm sure I don't help when I'm talking to other guys like that.

"Yes," I say weakly because I don't know what else to say. I kind of feel a little shell shocked for some reason.

"Good," he smiles. "Let's go eat, then."

"Okay," I say stupidly and I even wash my hands just because I feel like I should.

Something catches my eye above one of the stalls. I glance up at that stupid moaning myrtle ghost

staring at me with a grin on her face as she hovers over one of the lavatory doors. I narrow my eyes at her with my cheeks heating in embarrassment as Draco takes me by the arm and leads me to the door. I'm carrying my sweater and Draco's carrying his jacket and we look completely guilty when we pass by the other students in the hallways.

I bring the collar of my shirt to my nose and sniff it, wondering if it smells like sex. I'm not sure, but I do smell like Draco's cologne now more than ever and I sigh at the thought before shaking it off. When we get back to the great hall, I try to tame my wild hair and hide the bite mark on my neck as everyone stares at us.

Draco doesn't seem to care, but it seems pretty obvious to me what we just did because his hair is a little out of place and both of us have flushed cheeks.

I catch Millicent's dark eyes as we walk towards our spot and she gives me a knowing look with her eyes twinkling.

How embarrassing.

I put my forehead in my hand and I pick up my fork so I can eat my dinner in peace, but when I look up I see Luna watching me from one of the other tables with her eyebrow slightly raised.

I feel Draco's hand on my thigh again and I glance at his profile as he eats his dinner.

He squeezes gently and his fingers dance to the inside of my leg, gently tickling me there.

Control.

Yes, I suppose Draco does have control over me in a way... only if I let him, though.

Right?

After much deliberation, I finally decided that I would, in fact, try out for the cheerleading squad. Not because I wanted to, mind you. I just needed to get away from the castle, especially since that Odette woman has been following me around all the time when I'm not in class or in the dorms. I haven't been able to stay the night with Draco as much either because she is constantly there, constantly watching me, and I suspect she reports back to Lord Voldemort every time I sneeze because she as a notepad that she writes on every time I see her.

She's cut off my ties with the other students as well. I went to talk to Dean the other day to make sure he was okay, but she cut me off and ushered me back to my side of the castle. I want to curse her every time I see her stupid face.

She doesn't come to the practices, though, so it's a nice break from her and her old wrinkly form.

A rather large showing of girls, and a few boys, tried out for the squad to my surprise. Ten girls were chosen, one of them being me, most of them being Daphne and her little group, and to my surprise, Luna made the team as well. I was grateful that she showed up for tryouts after I told her about them. She was upset about what happened to Theo, but I told her I had kept my promise and not told Draco, so she got over it quickly... or she pretended to, at least. I wanted to be friends with her again and now that Theo was so far out of the picture, I thought now would be a good time to rekindle our friendship.

I suspect Daphne had something to do with it too, because I kept telling her how much I wanted Luna to make the team if I did. It's good to have connections.

All the boys who tried out made the team as well, heavens knows why. All they do is shout into a megaphone and clap their hands. Colin Creevey and his little brother are all over that though, and it makes me smile each time I see them jump and cheer.

It suits them somehow, I guess.

I look at myself in the mirror at my stupid cheer leading uniform with a hateful glare on my face. It's hunter green with a short pleated skirt and a sleeveless top with black pipping that shows my midriff. I make a face at is as I turn to the side and I suck in my stomach as I glance down at the white trainers we have to wear as well.

Tonight is our first game against Beaxbaton and I haven't actually worn the uniform yet.

The uniform doesn't say anything at all, it just has the dark mark stitched across the chest in white and black and I glare at it and the traitorous way it makes me feel as Daphne comes up behind me.

"Aren't they the cutest?" she says and I glance at her. Of course, she looks good in the outfit and she has her hair in actual pig tails with the ends curled.

She looks like a slutty toddler.

"I think they're terrible," I mutter and she makes a face as she comes up behind me with a brush so she can put my hair in a pony tail.

She pushes me down on the stool and puts my head forward. She already did my make up with pink lip gloss and fake eyelashes. All the girls had to do their make up like this and I glance at Luna on the stool next to me as she attempts to put up her long blond hair into some type of up do. Daphne yanks my head forward with the brush and I whine as I make a face. She glares at me and tells me to hold still. I feel like a doll getting dressed up by a demented girl.

"They could be worse," she points out and I shake my head as she pulls all my hair to the top of my head. "When it gets colder we'll have black turtlenecks to wear underneath," she adds as she ties the hair tie around the pony tail and then she combs out my bangs as I play with one of the stupid green and black pom poms. "So we won't freeze or anything."

"Joy," I say sarcastically as I cross my arms. "I don't know if I want to do this," I admit in a small voice. It doesn't feel right...

I look around at the other girls. Ivy Parkinson, Romilda Vane, Astoria Greengrass, and a few other girls that I don't know very well are gathered around the mirrors, applying lip gloss and glitter and eyeshadow that shines against the light.

I sigh. This is nothing like the locker rooms when you're actually on the Quidditch team.

It smells like roses and lavender in here.

I almost miss the sweaty smell of the locker rooms, as gross as that is.

"But we get to leave the school grounds," she says as she takes out her wand to curl my hair. She is all over this and, to the surprise of no one, was made head cheerleader. "And you'll be able to talk to people outside of Hogwarts," she says and I glance at her from the mirror. "You won't be so secluded here at the castle. That's a start, right?" she says and I nod my head.

After curling my pony tail she ties a green ribbon in my hair and steps back. "See, just perfect," she says and I look back at the mirror once again.

Traitor.

"We're all done," she says and then she pulls a camera out of her bag. "Come here, Ginny," she says and I reluctantly walk towards her. She puts her hand on my shoulder and holds the camera at arms length away from us as she tilts her head towards mine. "Smile."

She clicks the button and the camera flashes.

I blink a few times to get the spots out of my eyes as she turns it around to see how the picture turned out.

"Oh, Ginny," she scolds as she makes a face at me. "You didn't smile. We're taking another one," she says as she puts her arm back around my shoulder and holds the camera back up. "Smile this time," she says around a fake grin.

"I don't feel like smiling," I admit with my arms crossed and she glares at me from the corner of her eyes.

"This is for my scrapbook for graduation," she says. "I want good memories for my grandchildren to look at," she adds and I roll my eyes. "Smile goddamnit."

I sigh and then look at the camera, giving it one of my best fake Folk Hills smiles. The camera flashes and when she checks the picture, she smiles. "See, that wasn't so hard, now was it?"

She scurries off to take pictures with the other girls and I roll my eyes.

I shake my head and go to pick up my bag. I open it up to make sure I have everything. Pom poms, my wand, a sweat shirt and sweat pants, and extra lip gloss. Check. I zip it up and put it over my shoulder as I walk with the other girls out of the changing room. Luna walks by me with her hair in a bun and she gives me an uncomfortable smile as she tries to tie the green bow in her hair.

I take it from her and have her bend down so I can do it for her.

"Thanks," she says once she stands up straight. "These uniforms are awfully short," she says as she pulls on on the skirt. "I didn't realize we would be showing so much skin," she admits with a blush as my pony tail bounces annoyingly as we walk down the hall.

"I know," I say with a sigh. "But oh well," I say with a shrug. "At least we get to leave the castle."

I'm trying to be optimistic.

There's no Odette following me this time so I have to look on the bright side, right?

"Yeah," she says softly. "There is that. So, have you heard anything about Harry?" She asks in a whisper as she looks around to make sure no one is listening.

I've caught her up to speed on everything that's been happening with me. Voldemort, my blood, my marriage with Draco... Everything.

I shrug. "I figure you know who wasn't able to do anything. If Harry was hurt or captured it would be all over the papers. I would never forgive myself if it was my fault he was caught."

She squeezes my hand and gives me a sad look before we both face forward.

"Hey, Ginny, Lovegood," Daphne turns around with that damn camera again and lifts it. "Smile."

I go into autopilot and tilt my head towards Luna with a fake smile on my face. The camera goes off and I blink a few times before Daphne turns around and continues to walk.

"It feels weird to smile," Luna comments softly and I give her a troubled look before facing forward again.

When we get outside, the team is already by the carriages and when I see them in their cool black uniforms, I feel envy in my heart. It's not fair. Draco spots me when I walk towards the one of the carriages and he smiles as he approaches, raking his eyes down my body like he wanted to eat me.

"I like your uniform," he says with a sinful smirk as I cross my arms. When he gets close enough, he tugs on one of my curls. "Yes, I like this very much," he adds and I narrow my eyes at him.

"Shut up," I say with an eye roll. I look over his uniform. Of course, it is much cooler than my own. The entire thing is black, with black riding pants and boots, and a black jersey top. The only color is the hunter green lining of the cape and the stitching of the dark mark on his chest. They actually look pretty cool... If the stupid dark mark wasn't there.

.

"It pleases me knowing you'll be cheering for me all night," he says as he takes my bag and throws it in the back with the others. "You do want me to do well, don't you?"

"Of course," I say with an eye roll and then I look down at my chest. "I just hate wearing this symbol. It stands for everything I despise."

"Now," he says as he uses his finger tips to tilt my chin up. "None of that. You're supposed to be a perky cheerleader, remember?"

I narrow my eyes. "Hoorah," I say flatly and he laughs as he runs his hand up my bare arm. He leans against the carriage as he looks down at me with a warm look in his eyes.

When he looks at me like this I know he loves me and it makes my heart skip a beat. I can forgive him anything when he look sat me like that... I do forgive him everything if I was being completely honest with myself. I put my hand on his chest and run my fingers up to the clasp on his cloak. It seems a little twisted, so I undo it for him and try to fix it as he stares down at me with soft eyes.

"Thank you," he says gently as he puts his hand on my waist and he pulls me close. I haven't really been talking to anyone but him and my girlfriends, so things have steadied out again and gone back to normal. I'm grateful for it. Once I'm finished fixing the clasp I sigh and stare at his chest as I rest my hands against his shoulders.

"I wish I could play," I whine again. I am constantly whining about it. I don't care if everyone else finds me annoying.

"I know you do," he says as he runs his fingers along the skin exposed along my midriff.

He studies me for a few seconds, before smiling softly and bending down to kiss me. I meet him half way with my hands on his neck as I lift myself up on my toes to reach him. I'm so used to wearing the heels for class now that the flat trainers throw me off when I'm kissing my boyfriend.

"Hey, guys," I sigh against Draco's lips when I hear Daphne's voice and when we both turn towards her, she lifts her camera. "Smile," she says with a grin and I look up to Draco to see if he's going to actually smile.

He glances down at me and smirks.

That's when the camera goes off and she scurries off before I can ask her to retake it. I don't have a picture of Draco and I. I realize now that I actually might want one.

The Quidditch coach, a big burly man in his late forties steps out and blows a whistle. "Alright, team, get on the carriages," he looks at his watch. "We should be at Beaxbatons by the hour."

Draco winks at me and kisses my cheek one last time before walking to the rest of his Quidditch team. I feel Luna touch my arm, shaking me out of my daze.

"Let's get on," she says, nodding to the carriage I'm standing by.

I nod my head and climb onto the carriage, hyper aware of how short the skirt is and how easily it would be for someone to look up when I'm climbing stairs. Just great.

I thought that Beauxbatons was an all girl school, but I suppose I was wrong because there are boys walking about the place in powder blue uniforms along with the girls. Their Quidditch pitch is just outside of the gates of the large sparkling palace that is their school and their locker rooms are pure white with bright lights that hurt my eyes.

"Everything so clean in here," Ivy comments as she sets her bag down on one of the benches.

Someone agrees with her as I put my bag in my locker and I follow the others to the stadium. It's all blue and silver like Ravenclaw house and I grip my stupid pom poms as we climb the stairs to the platform so we can be stationed in front of our stands to cheer for our stupid team.

Hmf.

I don't even know what we are exactly. They're the Beauxbaton Hares and they even have a boy dressed up as a blue rabbit running around their side of the stands, getting everyone riled up. I guess we're the Hogwarts- run by a dictator who is way too obsessed with snakes- team. We don't have a mascot for that. It would probably scare the children. I laugh at my own thought, but snap out of it when Daphne pushes me into position.

"Pay attention," she says. "Our team is going to come out soon.

"Oh," I say because I don't care and I put my hands behind my back as I watch the Beauxbaton team fly out of their entrance to the roar of the crowd. They have cheerleaders too, I see and I crane my neck to see them jumping around and doing kicks and all that other crap Daphne taught me.

Hmf again.

"Ginny," Daphne hisses at me and I jump when I realize we're doing some kind of cheer and I start following the steps of the others. I forgot the words, because I'm a horrible cheerleader, and I try not to mess up too many times as we clap our hands and cheer and chant and all that other boring stuff.

Our team comes out and I sigh in envy as they fly out into the night sky.

It's not fair.

I glare at them all, until I catch Draco's head of blonde hair. He's hovering close to where we're stationed, and when he sees me, he smiles and winks again before lowering his goggles. I find myself clapping and cheering a little louder after that.

The game went on for hours and I found myself yelling at Millicent more than once because she kept messing up. I should be out there! She shouldn't have made the team and when I screamed that at her as she passed, she grabbed a bat from one of our beaters and tried to hit one of the blundgers at me. I dodged it at the last second, but I fell on my bottom and Luna had to help me up. I glared at her until I saw Draco fly past her and knock her off her broom with a sly elbow to her ribs.

I laughed as she fell and didn't feel the least bit bad when a ref had to blow the whistle to save her from death.

She deserved it, that stupid harpy.

The seeker for the other team was a thin brunette who was quite good on her broom and she was giving Draco a run for his money. They kept on running into each other in their attempts to get the snitch and once she even out flew him towards the stands, but got hit by a passing quaffle that left her stunned for a moment or two. Then I could hear them speaking to one another when ever they passed our station and I tried to catch their conversations, but it was in french so I couldn't understand it even if I could hear all of it over the roar of the crowd.

"Who is that girl?" I asked Daphne when we stopped cheering to get a drink of water.

"What girl?" she asks and I nod towards the French stands.

"The other seeker that keeps running into Draco."

"Oh," she says and then she gives me an uncomfortable smile. "That's Sophie," she says and I raise my brows.

"Do you know Sophie?" I ask as we start walking back towards the stands.

She nods her head. "Yeah, that is Draco's ex," she says and my heart makes an odd thump. "That French girl I told you about," she says before plastering a fake smile on her face and running back out to cheer.

His Ex? Why does that make me feel so uncomfortable.

Cho flies past me on my way out and I glare at her too. Why does Draco have so many freaking ex's? And why are they all better looking than me!

Ugh, I have decided that I hate cheerleading.

Go team... yeah right.

I spend the rest of the night glaring and doing my stupid cheers with only half a heart. I'm relieved when Draco finally beats out that french girl and catches the snitch and I cheer and shake my pom poms along with the rest of the cheerleaders as he carefully sets his broom to the ground with his team trailing behind.

I watch as the two teams shake hands and I smile when Draco looks up to me.

He looks so good right now.

I love him.

I sigh as I put my chin in my hand and I lean against the rail on the platform until Daphne pulls me again. "It's like dealing with a child with special needs with you," she says as she takes my arm so she can drag me to the changing rooms again. "Pay attention, Gin."

In a another ploy for school unity among Europe we were all ushered into their great hall to eat dinner. I frowned as we were placed at a marble topped table along one side of the room, while the other team and their cheerleaders were along the other. So much for unity.

"Sit by me, sweetheart," Draco says against my ear and I shiver because I didn't realize he was so close to me.

I nod my head and take his hand as I walk with him towards the rest of the team. I sit down carefully on the bench, trying my best to keep my skirt down. "You cheered well," Pansy says from across the table, and I think she's making fun of me, so I ignore her while I pick up a piece of bread.

"You flew really well," I say to Draco as I kiss his cheek. He smiles at me as Luna takes a seat on the on the other side of me.

Draco eyes her suspiciously for a few moments and I give him a look so he shakes out of it and smiles at me.

"And you look great in that outfit," he says with darkened eyes as he takes me in. "It doesn't even matter if you know all the moves or not," he says and I laugh because he obviously was watching me mess up every cheer we had. "I could watch you all day."

I blush and let him kiss me and when I turn back to my food I see Zabini watching me oddly. When I glance at him, he quickly looks away and I frown. Weird.

"I'll be right back," Draco says as he takes off his riding cloak and he hands it to me.

"Uh, okay," I say in confusion as I watch him walk over to the french team's table. He stands at the head and leans over to talk to that Sophie girl and I narrow my eyes as she laughs at the funny french thing he said.

Then he stands straight and starts talking to the rest of the table with a hand behind his back and the other moving as he speaks.

"What's he doing?" I ask to no one particular, but Pansy answers.

"He's networking," she says and I glance at her as she takes a drink from the silver goblet. "You should get used to it," she says.

He looks back at our table, but he's not looking for me and when he finds Blaise, he nods his head. Zabini wipes his mouth off with his napkin and stands up, walking to stand beside Draco. He puts on his best charming smile when he gets there and he leans down to talk to a pretty girl. He tucks some hair behind her ear and says something that I bet is naughty judging by the way the girl is blushing.

I look at Pansy again and she's clutching her silverware so tightly that her knuckles are turning white. "Just networking," I say and she looks at me. "Gotten used to it?" I ask and she glares before turning back to her food.

I wonder if Sophie is one of the two girls that Draco has slept with. I don't know why I'm even thinking about it, but I feel something heavy on my chest... jealousy. I try to shake it off as I watch him talk to her with his handsome smile and I slump my shoulders a bit as she smiles back. Why does she have to play Quidditch so well? I wonder if he's impressed with her flying. I can't impress anyone with mine because of the stupid Dark Lord and his stupid demand that I not play my favorite sport!

I take a deep breath and look down at the roll I was tearing apart with my fingers.

The roll did nothing to deserve my wrath so I brush it off in my napkin and grab a new one.

I hope Draco kills him soon so I can have a normal life again.

I feel someone looking at me and when I look back towards the French table I see Draco staring right at me. When we make eye contact, he raises his eyebrows and taps his temple.

Oh, right.

I can't think of such things so unguarded.

I nod my head and turn back to my food as I try to think of something a little less deadly.

I don't know what this porridge... stew... soup... thing is that they served us, but it's disgusting and I make a face at it as I sniff it. No, I'm not eating that. I push it away and go back to eating the bread. Carbohydrates are great for a cheerleader, right?

I eat three rolls by the time Draco comes back to the table with a smug smirk on his face. "How did it go?" I ask with jealousy making my voice bitter.

"It went quite well," he says as he takes one of the rolls out of my hand and he takes a bite from it. I glare at him.

He smiles.

"Is my lover jealous?" he asks against my ear and I shake my head.

"Of course not, I always like watching you flirt with a pretty girl. What's not to like?"

"I was hardly flirting, but I bet you don't like it when the tables are turned," he says as he picks up his spoon to eat the gray muck in the bowl. "At least I wasn't cuddling her and kissing her cheek, right?" he says and I furrow my brows as I think about Dean.

"Why even bring that up?" I say with a sigh and he shrugs.

"Because it pisses me off," he adds flatly and I shake my head. Didn't he prove his point by being a dominant sex beast? Why does he always have to bring stuff like that up? "Anyways, I have to be charming to get what I want."

"What do you want from them?" I ask seriously as he takes a sip from the soup porridge sewage looking thing.

"Connections," he says and then he nods to their table. "I had them when I was dating Sophie, but once we broke up the connection with their pureblooded class was severed because of how it ended. I needed to make amends."

"What do the pureblooded french people possibly have that you want?"

"Ginny," he says with a sigh as he tugs on my ponytail. "I have very big plans," he says and I frown. "You will know them soon enough so don't pout. Your outfit is too appealing for you to sulk," he adds with a glance down to my chest. I push him away before shaking my head and taking another roll from the bowl in the center. "I will have fun with you when we get back to the castle so don't eat too many of those."

I laugh as I take a bite and he kisses my cheek.

I hope Sophie sees it.

"Ginny," Luna whispers as she tugs on my arm. I look at her with my eyebrow raised. "That Odette woman is here," she says as she nods to the end of the hall.

I make a face when I see Odette there, watching me with her damn notebook in her hand, and her damn purple robes... I scowl.

"Oh, fuck it all," I say as I throw down my roll and everyone laughs.

I spend the rest of the dinner glaring at Odette and thinking of ways to push her off a cliff and make it look like an accident. I have a pretty clever idea that involves the girls tower at Hogwarts a strong gust of wind... but Draco snaps me out of my thoughts when he puts his napkin on the table.

"I'll be right back," he says and I nod as I go back to glaring at Odette.

Draco leaves the hall and I was figuring he was going to the loo or something boring like that until I spotted that Sophie girl get up and leave as well.

I narrow my eyes, but I try to calm myself down. I will not act like Draco. I am more secure in our relationship than that. I pick up my spoon and put it my mouth just so I have something to do with myself. As time passes, I glance at the clock. They've been gone ten minutes but it feels like five hours. I shake my head. I will not go and try to find Draco... I will not be that jealous possessive girlfriend everyone dreads.

I will not be like Draco.

I keep on telling myself that until I start feeling my body burn.

It burns, Pansy had said when I asked her about the bonding spell long before I even knew what it was. Love always burns, she had said. I look around me once as the burning becomes unbearable, heating my skin like it was setting on fire... slowly cooking me until there's nothing left. I'm not touching anyone, I'm not even sitting by another guy, and when I look back to the doors where Draco and Sophie both left, I narrow my eyes dangerously.

This isn't my fault this time.

That bastard is cheating on me.

I stand up and throw my spoon down on the table so it clatters against the marble. I can feel a sneer on my face as I stomp towards the door, ignoring everyone when they try to call me back.

I can't bloody believe him.
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Envy and Manipulations