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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
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"Look at this dress," I say in excitement as I hand the catalogue over to Hermione, pointing out the red dress I circled with a blue ink pen. There's no way she could miss it, really. I even put stars all around it. "Isn't it lovely?"

"It is a cool dress," Hermione nods in agreement as I chew on the corner of my lip, leaning over her shoulder so I can look at it as well. "I like it."

"They have it on sale at Julie's," I say in excitement and she gives me a small smile. I know she doesn't really care, but I'm too excited about it to have her 'I don't care about clothes' thing damper my mood. "I have it on hold there and the woman said if my Mom picks it up by Friday then it will be forty percent off the sale price."

"That's a good deal," she says with a head nod and I make an agreeing sound. I've already tried it on and it fits perfectly…

"I told my Mom I want to wear it on my birthday," I smirk as I take the catalogue back so I can look at the dress again at a better angle. It's a more modern cut then what I'm used to with a shorter skirt and zippers along the pockets and the back of the dress for decorative detail. I think it will look great with the shoes Pansy had gifted to me. "I like it a lot."

"I think you'll look pretty in it," Hermione says and I smile to myself. "So…." She starts as we walk around my Mom's small garden.

The boys are playing wizarding chess inside so Hermione and I decided to go for a walk to avoid the cusses and glares they were throwing at each other. Since the whole kiss thing with Malfoy, I've been avoiding Pansy and that whole little group for the past week because I didn't want to be put into a situation like that again. I've taken to sticking around with Hermione to fill the void, no matter how frustrating I find it to be now that I've been away from it.

"Do you want to talk about anything?"

"Like what?" I ask with a shoulder shrug as I take a seat on one of the wooden benches my father had made when my parents were first married.

"Like what happened to you the other day," she says as she sits beside me. "You looked really out of it when you came back from that bike ride."

"Oh… that was…" Should I tell her about Malfoy? I glance at her from the corner of my eyes as she stares at me with a curious tilt of her head. What would she say? What would she think? I shake my head and look forward again, not wanting to be on the receiving end of her judgmental look. If I tell myself it wasn't a big deal, then that will make it not a big deal. "It was nothing," I answer.

"Are you sure?" she asks carefully and I fidget uncomfortably with my fingers as she pushes frizzy curls out of her eyes. She took the time to French braid her hair this morning, but some of her strands have decided to pop out to irritate her. "It didn't seem like nothing."

"It was nothing," I state again, wanting her to drop it, but of course she doesn't.

"Did those girls… Did Greengrass or Parkinson do something?" She says, making it sound like something dirty and unpleasant might have happened to me.

"No, they didn't," I snap, easily offended by the question because Ron has been hounding me ever since they came here. "Why does everyone think they're to blame?"

"Because they usually are," she mutters angrily and I glare at her.

"I like them."

"Why do you like them?"

"What do you mean why do I like them?" I question and she narrows her eyes and turns more towards me.

"They're terrible people. You know what they say about Ron and Harry… they call me the 'M' word."

"It's not like you guys are nice to them," I state, trying to sound fair and trying to ignore the bitterness the 'M' word makes me feel when I think about it. "You guys make fun of them all the time."

"But Ginny," she says tiredly as she itches her arm after a bug lands on it. "They're… they're so mean."

"They're not mean to me," I say honestly. "I thought you'd be more tolerant. I know you guys don't get along but I like them a lot."

"If you say so," she says seriously. "But be careful. I know you don't want to hear that… but you have to question why they want to be friends with you…" I open my mouth to protest, but she puts her hand up. "Remember how weird it was that Malfoy took such an interest in you?" I blush and look away as I think of the kiss. "And then all of his friends suddenly want to be friends with you? Ginny, it's weird," she says seriously. "You have to really rethink this. If you like them… okay, that's it… but don't be naïve about it. Be smart and really question whether their intentions are legit. You know who's out there and you know Malfoy's family is heavily involved with you-know-who… I just don't want you to put yourself into a dangerous situation."

"They never ask me anything about Harry or what you guys are doing," I say softly as I cross my arms. I don't like talking about this. "Not that I would know anything anyways…" I mumble bitterly and she gives me a sad smile.

"Just be careful… okay?"

"Yeah," I say and then I cough. "Well, do you want to go inside now? I'm getting kind of hot."

She nods her head and we both stand up so we can go inside but before we reach the back porch, she touches my arm. I look at her over my shoulder as the sun shines in my eyes.

"Just think on it," she whispers as I squint against the light. "For me?"

"Sure," I nod my head and when we get into the back room Ron and Harry are still bent over the chess board, staring intently at the marble pieces as they decide their next moves.

I put the dress catalogue on the ground and walk over to the couch, slipping off my shoes as I take a seat next to my brother. My bag is under the table, so I grab it and pull out my notebook and a pen.

"Who's winning?" Hermione asks as she takes a seat on the floor by Harry's side so she can watch the pieces move. Chess is boring. I don't care what anyone has to say on the matter.

"Ron," Harry mutters with his fingers up to his lips as he concentrates on the board. His hair is especially messy today… I suspect he's been tugging on it while playing this game with my brother. I need to stop looking at him."Who else?"

"It's nice to be better than you at something, mate," Ron says with a smirk as he instructs his knight to take one of Harry's bishops.

I put my feet up on the couch and place my notebook against my knees so I can start writing. They play well into the hour, hissing insults and cussing at one another until Harry finally loses. I ignore it the best I can as I try to weave my story on the page. My brother gets up after a few moments of gloating and stretches his back with that look on his face...He has that annoying smug smile he gets every time he wins something… which isn't that often.

"I think that calls for a victory sandwich," he says, smirking. Harry leans back into the chair and crosses his arms like a pouting child. "Would the loser like anything?"

"No, I'd rather not clog my arteries. We just had Lunch," Harry says bitterly and I laugh a little as I turn my page so I can start another paragraph.

"Your loss," Ron shrugs. "Does anyone else want anything?" he asks and when he passes me, he tugs on my pony tail. "Something to drink or something, Gin?"

"No, I'm fine, thanks," I say as I chew on the end of the pen. What's another word for creepy? I should find a thesaurus or something.

"What are you writing about anyways?" Ron asks as he tugs the notebook away from me.

"Ron!" I yell as I jump to my feet to retrieve it from him. He knows better than to touch that.

"I thought you learned better than to write in diaries," he says as he dangles it over my head. What a prick he is. Bringing up what happened first year is something out of bounds and he knows that.

"It's not a diary, you sod," I tell him as I stomp on his foot. He yelps and I feel satisfaction from the noise. "Now give it back."

"I just want to know what you're writing all the time," he says as he turns around and flips it open. I try to make a grab for it but he maneuvers his body so I can't quite get it. I continue to try to wrestle it away from him as he starts to read it out loud.

"I looked across the room and found him leaning against the wall with his head turned down and his arms crossed over his chest…" he starts and I fight harder to get it away from him as he continues to read from my most treasured possession. I'm sure Harry and Hermione are getting a pretty good show right about now and embarrassment seeds itself into my brain. "I wondered what he was thinking. Was he thinking of Mr. Greyson like everyone else? Did he realize that everyone in the room had some level of suspicion towards him and his connection to the murder of his uncle… Murder?" Ron stops reading and looks at me. "What is this, Ginny?"

"Just stories," I tell him. I take advantage of his slip up and I finally get a hold of my notebook. "Stories you had no business looking at!"

"Why are you writing weird stories about murder?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. "You think you'd write about something more pleasant."

"Well, living with you just brings me down," I tell him as I flip through the book to make sure he didn't damage it. A few pages fall out and I narrow my eyes. "Ron, you broke the spine," I tell him as I quickly pick up the pages that have scattered across the ground. "God, you're so annoying!" I yell to anyone who will listen as I stuff the pages back into the notebook and glare at my older brother.

"I'll get you a new one, Ginny. Jesus," he says as he starts walking towards the kitchen again. I look to the side and see a vase sitting on one of the tables. I would give up the world to find enough courage to throw it at his head right now.

"I hate him," I say, not really meaning it, but feeling it as I slump back into my seat, cradling my book to me like it was a child.

"He can be an idiot sometimes," Hermione says to me and I roll my eyes as I put my broken notebook back into my bag so no more harm will befall it. My ears are burning, but I try to ignore the embarrassment my brother just caused me because it will do me no good.

"Understatement of the year," I mutter as I zip up my bag. Once it's safe, I slump against the sofa and cross my arms, thinking of ways to get back at Ron for being such an annoying fool of a brother.

"So, do you have plans tonight, Ginny?" Hermione asks and I glance at her as her eyes slide to Harry who is playing with the discarded chess pieces. I let my bitterness towards my brother cool and I raise my eyebrows at her question.

"No," I answer honestly as I uncross my arms. "Why?"

She shrugs and then gives Harry a meaningful look that's lost on me. I look at him too just because she keeps on doing it and his eyes snap to mine for a brief second before his cheeks start to darken. Is he blushing?

"No reason," she says as she stands up and dusts off the back of her pants. "I think I am going to get something to eat." She says, giving Harry another significant look. "I need to talk to Ron about something anyways. It might be a while."

Why did she put so much into that last word? No one says anything for a few moments so I give her a funny look. "Uh, okay?" I say and then she leaves. She shuts the door behind her, leaving Harry and I alone.

"That was weird," I say and Harry laughs a little… or, I think it's a laugh. It kind of got stuck in his throat and turned into a cough. "I think I'm going to head up to my room," I tell him as he hacks into his hand. "I'll see you later, Harry," I tell him as I stand up and put my bag over my shoulder, wanting to get as far away from him as possible. His rejection of me is still fresh in my mind and I don't want to be awkward about it.

"No, wait," he says once he clears his throat. He stands up as well and I stop walking. "I was thinking maybe we could…" he puts his hand on the back of his neck. He's nervous and that makes me furrow my brows. "I thought we could talk for a little bit?"

"Oh," I say as I look at the couch. "Uh, yeah… sure," I say as I put my bag down and I resume my spot by the arm rest.

He sits on the opposite end of the couch and we both stare straight ahead of us for a while until the silence and weirdness of it becomes too much for me to bear.

"Are you having a good summer?" I close my eyes and inwardly scold myself. Stupid informal question, Ginny. He's practically been living at our house every summer since he was twelve. You would think I could come up with a better conversation starter.

"Yeah, I like it here," he answers. I nod my head and tap my fingers against my knees. "It's the closest thing to a home I've ever had." I nod my head again and look at the fireplace. I don't really want to look at him directly because it's embarrassing for me. "What did you and Hermione do outside?" he asks after a long bout of silence.

"Just walked around and talked," I say with a shoulder shrug as I bring my hands up to my hair to tighten my pony tail. I need something to do with my hands after all and I send a look towards the closed door, hoping Hermione will come back soon. "Did you have fun playing chess?" I ask uncomfortably. He nods his head and takes his glasses off, cleaning them with the end of his shirt before sliding them back onto his nose. That's another one of his nervous gestures. "That's good."

I look at him. He looks at me. When our eyes meet I face forward again and try to ignore the flush in my cheeks.

"I wanted to talk to you, you know," he says as he stares at my profile, burning a hole into the side of my head. I swallow hard and bite the inside of my cheek like a moron. "The other day… by the garden..."

"It's okay, Harry," I say as I spare him a little glance. I don't want him to feel guilty for not wanting to kiss me. That just makes me feel pathetic. "Let's not worry about it," I assure him, giving him the fake smile I give to the people at Folk Hills.

"No, you don't understand," he says and I widen my eyes a bit as he scoots closer to me. I have to stop myself from moving back just because I'm not sure what's going on "I'm sorry… it's just that… "He trails off. "Things are complicated right now."

"I know that," I tell him. I'm not stupid to the whole thing. I know that he has a lot on his shoulders right now and I don't want to make his stay here uncomfortable. "I don't want anything from you, Harry," I assure him. I don't want him to feel bad because he can't like me the way I like him. "I'm not that little girl anymore."

"That has come to my attention," he says softly as he looks into my eyes. What does that mean? I look down at my knees to get away from it. "It's just…" he exhales loudly and looks around the living room. "I had this planned out… what I was going to say to you," he whispers and then he looks at me again, like he was in pain. "I'm not very good at talking."

"I think you talk fine," I tell him with a little smile and he laughs a little before looking down at my hands that I'm currently knotting together. Whatever he's doing right now is obviously hard for him, so I scoot closer and put my hands over his. "You can tell me anything, Harry," I reassure him. Maybe he'll finally let me into the loop about what he, Hermione, and Ron have been doing.

"Yeah," he turns his hand to hold mine and a flutter starts in my stomach before I stamp it down quickly. No reason to get my hopes up again. He stares at our hands for a while before he looks at me. I had nearly forgotten how truly green his eyes are. "Ginny, I…" he trails off again and his neck snaps forward. The sudden rigidness surprises me and I gasp.

He's staring straight ahead with his eyes glazed over and his mouth lightly open, like it was beginning to form into a rather nasty looking scowl.

What?

"Harry?" He doesn't move. "Harry?" I say a little more panicked as I slip my hand from his and I place it on his shoulder. "Are you okay?"

He furrows his brows and snarls with his teeth showing like a rabid dog ready to find. I widen my eyes and sit back as he hisses and spits while his back arches and his muscles become tense. What's going on with him? "What are you doing?" I ask carefully as he starts to snap his neck from side to side and I stand up in surprise as he falls to the floor and starts convulsing.

"Oh, Harry!" Hermione comes running into the room and kneels by his side. "Not again."

"Not again?" I say in disbelief as I cover my mouth because what's happening to him looks so painful and so scary. "This has happened before? Is he having a seizure?"

"No, he's not," she answers quickly as her eyes tear up. She rolls him on his side and holds his hands down because they're flailing around.

"It looks like a seizure," I say worriedly. "Should I call St. Mungos?"

"Harry!" Ron comes rushing into the room, pushing me to the side. "Oh, not again, mate," he says as he puts his hand on Harry's shoulder.

"What's going on?" I ask because this all seems to have happen before and they're handling it with practiced ease. Hermione gets a cloth to put in-between his teeth and Ron rubs his back, saying encouraging things to him. "Why is he hissing like that?"

"Ginny, go away," Ron says and I narrow my eyes as he stands up. "Just go upstairs or something."

"No, what's going on?"

"Just go, Ginny," he snaps in a panic as he pushes me until I stumble back. He just pushed me! "You're not a part of this."

"Fine, you jerk," I snap as I rub my arm and stomp out of the room.

When the door is closed, I close my eyes and rest my head against the wall. What's going on in there? I rub my arm where my brother had pushed me and hot anger starts to boil my veins. Why does he think it's okay to treat me like that? I can handle things too, you know! I want to go back in and demand to know what's going on, but the thought of Harry in that condition scares me a little, so I head outside to cool my temper. Walking around does me no good because I just want to go back inside… so I decide to go a little further off our property.

I get my bike from the shed and I hop on, taking off down our little dirty road past the woods and fields. My heart is racing and my cheeks are flushed as I ride aimlessly around and after a while I feel wetness on my cheeks. I stop my bike by a large oak tree and I wipe my eyes, realizing with embarrassment that I'm crying. Partly because of the way my brother had dismissed me… but mostly because of how sad I am for Harry. How often does he get like that… and why? I wish people told me things! Anger courses through me again and I look down the dirt road, realizing I'm heading towards the posh side of the village where Pansy lives.

I think I'll go there, see if she's home. She is my friend after all. I kick up my bike and start pedaling again, hoping the wind will dry my tears and the blotches from my face. I want to get rid of any trace of crying. When I reach the front porch of Pansy's large yellow house, I carefully place my bike on the ground before ringing the door bell.

A house elf with large green eyes answers with a trembling lip and I raise my eyebrows at it before coughing. I have never actually seen a house-elf answer a door before.

"Um, hi," I saw awkwardly as it stares at me. It looks ancient, with crinkles around its large eyes and a drooping nose that reaches its chin. "Is Pansy in?"

"Yes, the Miss is in," it says with a raspy voice.

Nothing happens for a few moments so I try again. "Well… may I see her then? Please." I add for good measure and the elf pops away without a word.

I furrow my brow and look around me… for what… I have no idea. After a few moments of nothing I walk towards one of the windows and look in. There's a large white grand piano in their living room and black leather couches surrounding it. It looks so chic…

"The Miss will see you now."

I jump and put my hand over my heart as the elf stands beside me, looking nervous. "Geez, you frightened me," I say with a laugh. It doesn't laugh… it doesn't even crack a smile.

"Follow me."

"Okay…" I say slowly as I follow the pleasant beast into the house.

Of course the inside reflects the beauty of the outside. Most of the walls I'm seeing are painted a metallic blue, with black and white framed photos of beautiful and exotic looking flowers. We even pass a large marble statue of… something… I have no idea what it's supposed to be, actually. It just looks like a lot of black swirly things, but I think it's amazing. I shake my head because I'm getting behind and I jog to catch up with the elf as it starts going up the winding stair case.

There are pictures all over the place of two little girls with dark hair in various stages of childhood. Baby pictures, toddler pictures, that awkward stage between kid and teenager. I know they're of Pansy and her younger sister Ivy and it's just another thing that humanizes them to me and makes the warnings Hermione gave me brush off my shoulder. I stop and actually smile at one of Pansy when she was around five years old or so, holding up a fish and smiling a gap toothed smile at whoever is taking the picture. She's just like everyone else.

"This way, miss," the elf urges. I snap out of it again and follow the creature into the bedroom on the right of the stair case where I find Pansy standing in front of a large three way mirror. Three elves are hovering around her, making changes to the beautiful white dress she's wearing with sewing needles and magical snaps of their bony little fingers.

"Ginny," she says with a smile as I enter. The odd little elf that showed me the way leaves without a word and I frown in its direction before smiling at Pansy. "What a surprise."

"How are you doing?" I ask uncomfortably as I step into her large room and take a look around with my arms crossed.

"I'm fine, of course," she says dismissively with a smile and then she faces forward as she touches the lace on her bodice with elbow length white gloves covering her fingers. "Not that I'm not thrilled to see you or anything," she says as she tilts her neck to get a better look at the dress in one of the mirrors. "But why are you here?"

I open my mouth to tell her about Harry, but I stop myself. It just didn't feel right to tell her that just yet so I shrug my shoulders.

"I just was in the neighborhood," I say dismissively, not wanting her to know how upset I actually am.

"Fair enough," she says with a sigh and then she glares down at one of the elves that's sewing a seam into the hem of her dress. "Are you almost finished with that?" she asks sharply. "You've been working on that for ages."

"Sorry Miss," the poor creature whispers before going back to work and Pansy glances at me over her shoulder before giving me a beautiful smile.

"Have a seat, Gin," she says, nodding to two over stuffed white chairs on either side of a large bay window.

I carefully take a seat and try not to touch anything because it all looks so perfect. I'm so worried about Harry that my hands are shaking, so I hold them together to try to tame them as I look around again. Pansy's room is beautiful, the kind of room fit for a pampered princes… it's all pink, and white, and pearls, and lace. I'm completely in love with it, of course, and her bed looks like something you could fall asleep in for a year.

"What do you think about my dress?" she asks before turning back to the mirror and smoothing out the crinkles with her fingers. "I'm going to be wearing it for the debutant ball."

"I think it's lovely," I say and it's the truth. It's sleeveless with a tight bodice and a loose fitting skirt that reaches her feet. There's a large cluster of tiny crystals that gather right around her chest and they rain down through the rest of the fabric, making it look like some kind of shimmering diamond dress.

"I don't understand why we all have to wear white," she says as she starts peeling off the elbow length gloves and throwing them behind her for one of the elves to pick up. "Heaven knows none of us are pure by any means." I laugh at that and she smiles as her eyes find mine in the mirror. "I can't wait to be debuted, though," she says with a sigh. "I know it's old fashioned, but it will be nice to go to some of my father's parties. Girl's aren't allowed at certain functions unless they've been introduced into society of course," she explains and I nod my head even though I really don't know what she's talking about.

"When is the ball?" I ask curiously as she smacks away the elf that was trying to stick a pin by her stomach.

"A week before Hogwarts starts up again," she answers as she turns around and looks at herself over her shoulder so she can look at her back. "I want this seam straightened," she says to one of the elves as I pick up a magazine from the table beside my chair. It's one all about shoes and I think I'll find it a suitable distraction. "By the way," she starts and I glance at her as I place it on my knee so I can look through it. "We're going to go to a pub on Friday to watch the game if you want to come. I was going to write you an invite, but you're here so I might as well pass it along."

"What game?" I ask and she raises an eyebrow.

"The first Quidditch game of the season… " she says slowly, like I was an idiot for not knowing. "The Falcons versus the Cannons? Geez, Ginny, I thought you were into all that Quidditch stuff."

"Oh," I say, feeling stupid. I had forgotten all about it. "I don't think so…"

"If it's because you're hanging out with that Luna friend of yours, she can come too," she says and I make a face as I remember what happened last time we all hung out together.

"I don't know if that's a good idea," I whisper and she frowns.

"Listen, I know last time I wasn't exactly the most welcoming person to your friend. She said that thing about my nose and I thought she was being mean like your brother… so… anyways, I promise if you bring her, I'll be better. A friend of yours is a friend of mine," she says with one of her hands on her heart like it was a pledge. "It'll be fun."

"I don't know…." I say as I think about Harry.

"What else are you guys going to be doing?" she asks and I bite the corner of my lip as I think on my conversation with Hermione. "You may as well come and watch the game with us."

It's worth debating I guess, even though I know the answer is probably no... but then I think of Malfoy and my heart starts hammering. "Will…" I swallow the lump in my throat and I start fiddling with corner of the magazine, trying not to let on how much this next question is going to bother me. "Will… Draco be there?"

There's a moment's pause and when I look up, she's looking right at me with a sly smile on her face. "Would you like him to be?"

"No," I say quickly, too quickly, because that sly smile breaks out into a full grin.

"Really?" is all she says before turning back to the mirror and shooing the elves out of the room as she starts to take off the dress. I look away. "You know," she says as she tugs the dress over her head, leaving her in the white strapless bra and lace hemmed slip. "Draco is a very good boyfriend to have." I make a disbelieving sound and she narrows her eyes as she hangs her dress. "He is," she confirms and I shake my head.

"I doubt Cho would think so," I whisper as I cross my arms. He did cheat on her when he kissed me, after all. I don't think that's something a good boyfriend does.

"They aren't officially together," she states hotly as she goes to her closet and pulls out a dress to tug over her head. "I mean, they fool around and all that, but they aren't official. Chang collects famous boyfriends like it's her job and I don't think Draco takes her very seriously."

I don't say anything… I just stare at the magazine as she finishes getting dressed.

"But if he is in a relationship, he's fully committed." She sits at her vanity and starts taking the pins out of her hair while I stare at her back. "He's a real gentleman and he'll take care of you, if you know what I mean," she says and I furrow my brows as she starts brushing her hair. "And he's an excellent kisser," she adds and my eyes snap to the page again as she smiles into her mirror, not wanting to give anything away. "Of course," she starts as she glances at me over her shoulder and I look up to meet her gaze timidly. "You would know all about that. Wouldn't you, Ginny?"

"What?" I say like an idiot and she rolls her eyes as she sets her brush down.

"Don't be coy, now. I know."

"You saw?" I gulp. I had my suspicions whether Daphne and Pansy had seen the terrible thing that had happened between Malfoy and I… but actually knowing that they know makes me feel dirty.

She shrugs her small shoulders and turns back to the mirror. "He told me."

"He told you he kissed me?" I question with a tight throat and her smile becomes wolfish.

"He told me you kissed back."

I don't say anything for a while and she starts laughing.

"God, Ginny! You look like someone just smacked you. Is it so terrible to kiss a good looking boy?" I don't say anything as I try to look at everything besides her. "And Draco is good looking. Don't you think so?"

I feel my cheeks heating up and I shrug my shoulders. "I don't know."

"Come off it, Ginny," she says in annoyance and I spare her a surprised look as she stands up and walks towards me. "Draco may be a lot of things, but ugly isn't one of them. It's okay to think he's attractive, you know," she says as she grabs the magazine from my lap. "You do think he's handsome… right?"

"I guess so," I whisper, not willing to give any more away and she sighs as she slumps in the white arm chair across from my own. She starts flipping through the magazine as she crosses her legs.

"Did you like it?" she asks after a few quiet moments and I lift my eyebrows as she stares at me. "When he kissed you, I mean?"

"I don't want to talk about it," I say quickly as I stand up and cross my arms. "It was weird and out of nowhere and he just pulled my hair the whole time."

"Rough can be sexy," she says with that twinkle back in her eyes and I turn away from her and look out the window.

"He's not my type," I huff like a child because I don't want her to know how much I did enjoy that kiss while it was happening. That would just be mortifying.

She snorts as I walk towards her window. "What is your type, I wonder?"

I think of Harry… "I like athletic guys," I answer and she laughs.

"Draco plays sports and he's quite good at it."

"Well…" I falter for a second and then I think about my notebook. "I like well read boys."

"Draco is going to be head boy this year," she points out and I narrow my eyes at the lake view I'm staring at.

"I only like dark haired blokes," I snap and she laughs at me again like I was doing something adorable.

"Why limit yourself?" she jokes and I glare at her as she smiles. I think of Hermione and the terrible thing that happened with Harry this afternoon. It makes everything seem so different. "I think you'll find that…"

"Why are you friends with me?" I ask suspiciously and she snaps her mouth shut and raises her eyebrows.

"What?" she asks dryly and I swallow the lump in my throat before turning to face her fully.

"I mean…" I resume my seat and avoid looking her in the eyes. "I mean why are you friends with me? It doesn't make sense," I say as I think about what Hermione had said to me. "And why are you pushing Draco Malfoy on me so much?" I state with a little more bravado and I even dare to look into her eyes. "Is this some kind of trick or something? Are you doing this so you can make fun of me? Or are you trying to get to Harry?"

"Of course not," she hisses and I retract at the venom in her voice. "Why would you think that?"

"My brother…"

"You're brother," she cuts me off spitefully before I can finish. "It's sad that your brother is making you question your friendships. What? Just because we don't get along with him we're not allowed to like you? What kind of bullshit is that?"

"No… it's not…. I mean…" I start falling all over my words as I try to organize my thoughts around them. "I mean…. I don't know why you want to hang out with me all of a sudden."

"I like you, Ginny," she states angrily as she stands up. "I think you're funny and sweet and I think it's really shitty of your brother to make you feel bad about being my friend. This isn't a trick or anything like that and I'm not trying to push Draco on you… I just think he's a good guy who should be given the benefit of the doubt. People rarely ever do that for him and he's already done it for you."

For some reason I feel bad, like a child that just got scolded into place and I can't look at her.

"I like you, Ginny," she says as she kneels in front of me and takes my hand. Her voice sweeter than before."You believe that right? Just like you like me?"

"Yeah, sure," I say with a head nod and she smiles.

"And…." She pauses a second before licking her lips and squeezing my hand. "And maybe you shouldn't be so quick to judge Draco. You might even find that you like him if you give it chance. Just keep your options open, alright?"

"Does…." I stop, but push myself into speaking again. "Does he like me?" All clues point to yes, but it just seems so improbable.

"I don't really think it's my place to say," she says with a sly smirk. Right.

I nod my head and she smiles before standing up and going towards her closet. "I have the perfect thing for you to wear." She disappears and when she comes back out she's holding a blue mini skirt and a thin white t-shirt. "We're all Falcon's fans," she explains the colors as she walks towards me and sets them on my lap. "You should wear this."

"I have to see if Luna wants to go," I say because she does get to decide as well and Pansy sighs.

"I'm sure she'll say yes. Anyways, I have to meet Millicent for lunch," she says as she checks her watch. "Do you want to tag along?"

"No," I say quickly because I hate that Millicent girl. I stand up and put the clothes under my arm. "I have some stuff to do anyways," I say to soften my refusal. "I might see you later."

"Here," she says as she tears off a piece of paper and writes something down. "This is the address for the Pub. I really hope you come and remember what I said about your friend Luna. I promise to be more welcoming."

"We'll see, thanks for letting me hang out with you," I say and she smirks.

"Any time. See you around."

"Bye."

I get back on my bike, putting the clothes in the embarrassing white basket and heading home with my thoughts over lapping and crisscrossing together. Everything is so confusing now. When I finally get to my house, I put my bike back in the shed before heading in side. My mother is back from the store and she's standing over the stove, making dinner.

"Is Harry alright?" I ask as I walk past the table, eyeing her back. She should be more panicked then she is after that thing with Harry.

"Of course he is," she says, giving me an odd look over her shoulder. "Why wouldn't he be?"

"No reason," I say, figuring they were keeping it a secret from her as well and then I speed walk towards the back room to see if he's still in there.

He's not. None of them are. I take the stairs two at a time and when I reach Ron's bedroom I put my ear against the door. Nothing. With a defeated and worried sigh I go back to my own room to think it over. That's when I hear the voices.

"Do you need any more water?" That's Hermione's voice. Are they in my room? I shake my head and walk closer, careful to not make any noise. "Harry, we have to do something about this. You can't keep on having these episodes. You have no idea what they'll lead to."

"I know," Harry answers and his voice sounds odd and scratchy. "That's why we're leaving soon."

I hear Hermione sigh loudly and her cot makes that annoying squeaking sound it always makes when someone sits on it.

"Did you get a chance to talk to her at least?" He doesn't answer, or if he did, I can't hear it.

"Where did she go?" he asks and I have a feeling they may be talking about me. "Did I scare her?"

"I think the situation scared her and our reactions to it. She left because Ron was being his usual charming self and he pushed her out of the room."

They're silent for a long time until Harry speaks again. "Maybe it was a sign," he says and I hear Hermione sniff.

"What was a sign?"

"That thing happening earlier… I'm not normal, Hermione. I never will be and I was stupid to think I could be."

"Harry, that's not true."

"Yes it is," his voice cracks. I think he might be crying now. My heart aches a little at the realization and I lean against the wall as I turn my face towards the door so I can listen some more. I can hear him trying to catch his breath and the image I make in my head of what he looks like right now makes me want to cry myself. "It's not even worth it to try."

"Everyone deserves to have something normal in their life, Harry," Hermione whispers in her motherly voice that she always uses when she comforts someone. "This won't be forever… we'll find out what's happening to you and we'll fix it. We always do. We can win this."

"I'm glad you're so confident," he says in a hoarse voice.

"I just have faith in you," she says softly.

"Where did Ron go?" he asks, trying to make his voice steadier.

"He went for a walk," Hermione answers. "You know how upset he gets when he sees you like that."

"I'll make you a deal, Hermione," he says and the cot creaks again. "If you can get the courage to finally tell Ron how you feel, then I'll try again."

"He doesn't even like me," she whispers and I realize now how close Hermione and Harry truly are.

"Of course he does," Harry says with a little chuckle. "He just doesn't know it yet."

"Well, we'll see how it goes," she sighs and he laughs a little again. "She's going to ask me what happened to you, you realize that right?" she says after a small stretch of silence. "What do you want me to tell her?"

"I don't care," he says and I bite my lip. "I'm embarrassed enough as it is… I don't want her to ask me anything about it if you can help it."

I hear footsteps coming to the door so I turn on my heels and start walking towards the stairs. That night, when I ask Hermione what had happened to Harry in the darkness of my bedroom she tells me that he had eaten some bad fish that made him sick. I knew it was a lie…. But she said it so convincingly.

X

I stare at Luna in her blue shirt and braids as she rolls on her toes. I can't believe she wanted to actually go to this. To be honest, when Pasny invited us to that pub, I kind of knew Luna and I wouldn't go, but Luna came over a couple of hours ago, overly excited and asking what time we wanted to leave. I'm still a little perplexed by it.

"Are you sure you want to go, Luna? I mean, we don't have to."

"No, it's okay. I'm all for second chances." She says as she smiles and pulls something from her pocket. "Pansy wrote me an apology letter that I thought was quite lovely."

I take the paper and unfold it, skimming the smooth handwriting. "She sent this to you?" I say as I read it over and Luna nods her head.

"Yeah, I got it this morning," she says as I fold it back up with an odd look on my face. "I thought it was nice… people rarely ever send me apology letters, you know."

"I thought you were upset because of the whole alcohol thing," I say because Luna was convinced that Pansy tried to trick me when really it was my stupidity.

Luna makes a face and then shakes her head. "I may have been wrong about that."

"If you're sure…" I trail off before handing her the letter. It was kind of Pansy to do, perhaps she meant it all...maybe...

"I'm sure," she says with a head nod. "If it's weird we'll leave." I nod my head and she looks into my eyes as I start changing into the outfit Pansy had given me. The blue skirt and thin white t-shirt fit me like a glove and I give myself a once over in the mirror before facing her again. "If I want to leave, you have to promise me you'll listen."

I feel bad about that, and I nod my head as I tie my hair into a bun, letting my bangs hang down. "Yes, I promise. If you want to leave…. We'll leave."

"Good," she says with a lopsided smile. I pull out some of the blue jewelry I wear for work to pull the outfit together and then we go to the Apparation point outside of my house.

We apparate to the front of a two story sports bar somewhere in wizarding London and Luna steps right up to the door and opens it with confidence. I stay a few steps behind her. I hate walking in first to a place I'm not familiar with and I'm glad Luna's not as weird as I am about things. She's just weird about everything else.

"Can I see your ID's?" a large black man who's sitting on a stool just inside the pub stares at us and puts his foot out to keep us from going any further.

"Oh, yes…" Luna grabs her wallet and starts sorting through it. I open my purse to take out my own. We both hand them over at the same time and he takes one look at the date of birth before shaking his head.

"It's seventeen or older tonight, ladies," he says in a gruff monotone voice and I frown as he hands me my ID. "Sorry."

"Couldn't you just mark our hands or something?" I offer and he raises an eyebrow. "We won't drink or anything."

"Nothing I can do," he says with a head shake and more people come in behind me. I move aside so they can get in. All of them seem to be of age because he nods them along after checking their ID's. Well, shoot.

"I guess we should just go," I whisper to Luna and she nods her head as she follows me out. "It was worth a try," I say with a shrug as we hit the humid air on the sidewalk. I put my hands in the small pockets of Pansy's skirt and I stare at Luna as she looks around. "What do you want to do now?"

"We could always go back to your place," she says with a shrug.

"Let's walk around for a little bit." To be honest, I don't want to go home just yet because everyone there seems to be avoiding me since the whole 'Harry' thing. She nods her head and we start walking down the walk way side by side. I put my head down to watch my feet as we weave in and out of the crowd of people, thinking to myself about how it smells like rain.

"Are you leaving already?" I glance up in surprise. Of course there's Draco right there, with a hand in his jean pocket and a falcon's jersey on.

"What are you doing here?" I blurt out without thinking first and the corner of his lip turns up.

"I was talking to some friends," he says, nodding behind him to two suspicious looking people in black cloaks.

"Those are your friends?" I say disbelievingly. They look like drug pushers on the worst corner of knockturn alley to be honest.

"I have many friends," he says with a wink. I suddenly realize who I'm talking and what happened the last time I was around him and I look down.

"Oh," I hate that I blush so much around him. What is he doing out here anyways? The game is about to start.

"It's good to have friends," Luna says in her dreamy voice. I send a hesitant look towards Draco as he eyes her coolly."We're not of age yet," Luna explains, oblivious to his uncaring look."They won't let us in."

"We can't have that," he says and when I look up at him, he smiles. It's a charming smile and I don't know what to do with it. "I'm sure I can handle it." He says as he walks towards me and puts his hand around my waist, turning me with force until we're headed back to the pub.

"What are you doing?" I whisper fiercely. I don't want him to think he has claim to me whenever he wants just because I let him kiss me that one time. People are watching.

"I'm getting you into a pub you're too young to get into, so shut up," he says like the gentleman that he is as he squeezes his hand around my waist. I look over at Luna and she shrugs her shoulders before following us.

He's just so sweet, isn't he?

He looks over his shoulder once and smirks at Luna. She smiles at him, but I'm pulled away from that weirdness when Draco opens the door for me. He makes a motion for me to step in first and when I cross over the threshold his hand is back to my waist while Luna steps beside us. I give her a look and then glance down at the hand on my waist. She doesn't even seem to notice. The black guy seems to know Draco, because he smiles as we approach, and then his eyes slide to mine.

"They're underage, Malfoy. I can't let her in… I'm sorry. You know the Aurors busted all the pubs on this street last month for underage."

"I know, Carl," Malfoy replies. "And I understand," he says as he takes something from my pocket and hands it to the bouncer. "But she's my girl. I'm sure you can make an exception." My ears are on fire and for I'm completely embarrassed that he just said that. His girl? I look at Luna again so see if she's hearing the same thing I am… she's staring at her fingernails. Honestly.

"Wait… I'm not…" I don't want into this pub that damn badly. No one needs to think I'm in any way affiliated with Draco Malfoy. Benefit of the doubt be damned.

"Shut up," he snaps again and I narrow my eyes at him. He's always telling me to shut up!

"You shut up," I snap back and he looks down at me with a raised eyebrow as the bouncer eyes us curiously. Draco gives me another surveying look before shaking his head and looking back at that Carl guy like I didn't even speak.

"She's not going to drink anyways. They just want to watch the game."

The guy looks at Draco and then at Luna beside us before glancing down at the thing Draco had handed him. "Alright," he says as he tucks whatever it is into his jacket and Draco gives him a smug smile. "But don't let anyone know they're under age."

"I thought you'd see things my way," Draco says with a wink before pulling me into the crowed pub.

"Look, Luna and Ginny are here," I hear Daphne's voice as we walk into the crowed pub full of Falcons fans. She comes running over to us, her blonde hair in a high pony tail that bounces with each step and I can't help but smile at her. She just has one of those pleasant faces that you enjoy smiling at. She gives me a hug when she's close enough and then she turns to Luna with a large smile. "I'm glad you two could make it," she looks at Draco and the hand that's still around my waist. Oh, right. I push his hand off and he just gives me a look before shrugging it off. "And Draco…" she adds with a sly smile. "Come on, we saved you seats."

She starts tugging on my hand until we get to a large table that's surrounded by their usual gang of people all holding onto beer bottles and mixed drinks, talking loudly to one another over the roar of the pub.

"Hey, Gin," Pansy smirks as I sit beside her, winking at me as she takes in the blue and white outfit she had given me to wear. "Glad you came."

"Has the game started yet?" I ask as Luna takes a seat on the opposite side of me, by Theo Nott who spares her a little glance before turning and whispering something in Zabini's ear.

"Not yet," she says as she takes a drink from her beer bottle.

I go to lean towards Luna to ask her what she thought about what just happened, but Draco slides in-between us before I can. I sit straight and raise my eyebrows as he stands there, leaning against the table like he owned it.

"What do you want to drink?" He asks as he takes a few coins from his pocket, counting them as I stare at his profile in disbelief.

"You promised the bouncer I wasn't drinking," I remind him and he gives me an irritated look.

"You could always have water if you'd like, but when surrounded by drunk people watching Quidditch I find that it's always best to have some kind of alcohol in your system."

"Weren't you the one who ordered me never to drink," I say as I remember the conversation in Pansy's boat house last weekend. I bristle in annoyance as I remember the demand.

"I told you not to drink by yourself," he corrects as he puts his hand on the table to give me his full attention, totally blocking Luna from my view. "But I'm here right now so I can monitor what you're doing. There won't be puking on anyone's shoes tonight if I can help it. You don't have to drink like a fucking child to have fun."

I feel my lip curling back in a scowl. "You're not my father," I hiss and he raises his brows.

"Thank God for that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" I say in offence and he narrows his eyes.

"That means that I'm grateful I'm not the main patriarch to that large Weasley clan of yours."

I feel like hitting him. "You're a bastard," I say with fire in my veins and he gives me a malicious smile.

"How am I the bastard here?" he asks and I know everyone is staring at us right now. I can practically feel it, but I can't make myself look. … and I also can't figure out what to say to him. Realizing everyone was watching threw me off and I can't come up with a witty response right now. "No response?" Yeah, he noticed too. "Didn't think so."

"Shut up, Malfoy," I bite back, trying not to pout because I just lost this fight. I wonder if he likes being told to shut up as much as I do. He gives me an unpleasant smile before turning on his heels and walking towards the bar. I exhale slowly, not realizing I was holding my breath.

"Jesus, Ginny," I hear Pansy whisper from my side. She sounds like she's disappointed with my behavior. "He just wanted to buy you a drink. Benefit of the doubt, remember?"

I look at her before glancing at Luna. She seems to be having a pleasant conversation with that Theodore Nott kid and she even laughs at something he says. Benefit of the doubt, indeed. I lean towards her to try to hear their conversation, but Pansy pulls me back to her.

"He's trying so hard to be nice to you," Pansy continues to scold me like I was a child and eventually it does seep in and guilt starts to weed its way into my brain. "You don't have to like him, but at least be civil. You're being so gauche." She sniffs and turns her head from me.

I don't even know what the freaking word means, but it doesn't sound nice.

I don't say anything to that and I just stare at the table, conflicted with my thoughts and what I should do. Luna laughs loudly and I frown and give her a sideways look. I don't like Theodore Nott, to be honest. The last time I was around him all he did was stare at my breasts the whole time. Past Theo's shaggy head, I can see the bar. I spot Draco's head of blond hair as he stops to chat with some bloke in a falcons hat. I look down at the table again, feeling bad. He just wanted to buy me a drink… why did I have to start a fight like that? What is it about him that makes me so uncomfortable? I glance up and see Daphne giving me a sympathetic look and she leans over the table once she realizes I'm out of my table staring stupor.

"Maybe you should go apologize to him. You won't feel so bad then," she says softly and I furrow my brows.

"Who said I feel bad?" I answer. I know I sound like a bitch and that makes me feel bad too.

"It's written all over your face, Gin. You don't have a filter… that's what makes you so likable." She puts her hand on mine and smiles. "Go talk to him," she says and I bite the corner of my lip. "Just let him be good to you…. Draco can be very charming if you let him."

She nods her head and goes back to her seat. I turn towards Luna and I tap her shoulder. "Hey, do you think it's odd that…"

"Ginny, have you met Theo before?" she asks, totally cutting me off as she looks towards him. He's tall and thin with shaggy brown hair and a rather puppy dog eyed looking face.

"Yes," I say sharply because he's giving me a smug smirk… like he knew I was thinking about how uncomfortable he made me at Folk Hills.

"Did you know that he likes snorkel hunting?" she asks and I give him a suspicious look.

"I do," he says as he lifts his glass towards me. "I can't help it."

"Do you even know what a snorkel is?' I ask snidely and he raises his thick brows.

"Do you?" he counters.

I open and close my mouth a few times before realizing I actually don't know what a snorkel is, but Luna is right there with the answer.

"A snorkel is a puddle dwelling creature that only comes out during afternoon tea…." She starts droning on about it and I look past Theo's head again to see Draco. He's done talking to the guy and he's headed towards the bar now with his head down.

Guilt.

It feels thick in my throat.

"I'll be right back," I whisper to Luna once she's finished talking and she waves me off before turning to Theo the creep. I stand up and start taking the route towards the bar.

I hate feeling guilty and I hate it when people make me feel bad, but I guess they're right. Even though Draco can be quite rude and demanding, he hasn't really warranted the ill treatment I just gave him by starting that fight. I don't think I can properly apologize to him just yet, but maybe I can break the ice and make it not so unbearable.

I can see his strong back as I approach. His hair is more disheveled today, and his look is the most casual I think I've ever seen him wear. He is good looking, again I notice that in annoyance and he kissed me. I don't know why, but there's a little part of me that's proud about that… proud and profoundly confused.

"Draco," I say as I slide in beside him. It's terribly crowded at the bar and I'm pressed up right against him and some large man in a derby hat. "Hey," is all I can think of saying as he glances down at me.

"Have you followed me over here to instigate another fight?" he asks hatefully. I have nothing to say to that because being this close to him just reminds me of that kiss and how on fire my body was… "Alright," he says softly after a few moments. He turns his body more towards mine so his hips are pressed against my own. "What do you want?"

"What?" I whisper as I look up at him.

"To drink," he says as he flags down a bartender. "What would you like?"

"Oh," I shake my head because I thought he was asking something else and I open my purse to dig out a few coins. "I would just like a coke actually."

"Really?" he says sarcastically and after I have my money I look up at him. He rolls his eyes again before turning to the bartender. "Can I get two seven and seven's."

"What are seven and sevens?" I ask as I try to get the bartenders attention so I can order my drink because Draco didn't. He walks on past like I was invisible.

"It's kind of like a Whiskey sour," he says. I would ask him what a Whiskey Sour was… but he said it like it was something everyone should know and I didn't want to seem stupid, so I just nodded. "If you don't like it, I'll drink it. I'm not much a beer drinker," he admits. "And it's always good to start with liquor first."

"Here you are, Mr. Malfoy," the bartender says, sliding two high ball glasses towards us. "Do you want me to keep a tab open for you?"

"Yes," Draco nods his head as he hands one of the glasses to me. "And make sure someone comes to our table every once and a while to take orders. I don't want to have to come to the bar every time I want a drink." I sniff the drink and crinkle my nose. "Just try it." I hear him say and I figure he must see my hesitation.

I take a small sip as he watches and I make a face. "It kind of taste like 7-up," I answer. Kind of… if 7-up burned on the way down. "It's not too bad."

"Good." Is all he says as he takes a drink from his own glass.

"Um…" I say as I play with the coins in my hands. "How much was this?" I ask as show him my money. "I didn't bring much with me, but you can have what I brought…" he puts his hand on mine and closes my fist. I look into his eyes…. They look metallic.

"Girls don't pay," he says simply and I nod my head in acceptance before putting my money away. I'm not going to argue with that.

"Thanks," I whisper as I take another small sip from my drink.

"Can I ask you a question?" he asks and I glance up at him and nod my head. "Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't hate you," I kind of lie. I have no idea how I feel about him to be honest. I used to hate him… but now I just don't know.

"Is that true?" he asks.

I sigh and put the drink on the bar. "It's just… You're so mean," I tell him and he stares at me with an emotionless face. "I've seen the things you do and say to people… to my brother and Hermione… and I know they're mean to you too," I add as I think about my argument with Hermione. "But you can be plain cruel."

"I'm not cruel to you," he points out and I look at his throat.

"Not now…. But the things you say…. You told my brother that his family was just white trash. That's me. I'm his family. How am I supposed to like you when you say things like that?"

He brings his hand up and I furrow my brows as he runs his fingers over my cheek, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "It was falling in your eyes," he explains as he brings his hand back to take another drink from his seven and seven. "Are you even a falcons fan?" he asks suspiciously as he glances at the blue and white clothes I'm wearing. He's officially changing the subject, but I don't call him out on it.

"I'm a cannons fan, actually," I admit, and he smiles.

"Well, don't say that too loudly," he tells me and he leans in closer to me. "You're in falcon territory."

"Yes," I say as I glance around the pub. It's a sea of blue and white. "I see that."

"Are you going to be trying out for Quidditch this year?" he asks and I smile to myself. This is all safe waters. I'm almost proud of myself for being normal about it.

"Of course," I say and he smirks darkly at me.

"So you're going to be my competition then. You're looking at the new Slytherin team captain."

"You know that already?" I say seriously. "Don't you guys have try outs and stuff like that to decide that title?" Of course, Harry is a shoo in this year for the role, but there usually is some façade of a chance for other people.

"No, it came with my head boy letter," he says and I have the feeling he may be trying to show off.

"I can't believe you've gotten all of that stuff already. We haven't gotten our letters from Hogwarts yet."

"That's because Slytherin's are more efficient," he says smugly and I shake my head with a smile on my face.

"That or you're just assuming you're getting those titles. I wouldn't pass it by you to be that pompous."

"Oh, look at you making assumptions," he teases and then I feel his warm hand on my waist again. "Would you like to hear some assumptions I have about you."

"Not really," I tell him, half joking as I take another drink. It's strong and it burns my throat, but I ignore it.

"That's a lie," he says as he finishes his drink. The bartender is right there to replace it like he didn't have a line of people waving him down. He licks his teeth and looks me over. "I assume that you're uncomfortable that I'm touching you right now," he says as his hand slips underneath the material of my shirt so it's resting on my hip. I inhale deeply. "But, you haven't done anything to move me yet because deep down you know you like it."

"That's not true," I tell him as I remove his hand from under my shirt.

"Just an assumption," he says with a smile as my stomach flutters. Why is it doing that? Stop doing that! "I'm also assuming that you don't want to like me… but you did like the way I kissed you because it made your knickers wet."

"Draco!" I hiss. I can't believe he just said that and he laughs as I glare at him.

"It was just an assumption," he defends himself as he takes a drink from his newly filled glass. "But," he says as he leans down so his lips are right against my ear. "Closer to the truth than you would have liked, right?"

"That's just disgusting," I say and he laughs again as he pulls back.

"I'm just joking," he says and I nod my head as I pick up my drink.

"We should go back to the table," I tell him. I forgot I left Luna stranded there by herself. Again I'm reminded that I'm just a terrible friend.

"You're probably right," he says seriously as he takes the drink from my hand. "I'll carry these. You lead the way."

When we get there, people quickly move to free up two seats for Draco and I and I blush as I sit down because he takes his seat so close to mine, handing me my drink and putting his other arm across the back of my chair. He's acting overly familiar with me and I don't know if I like it. I look at his handsome profile again and the pride thing is back and I try to stamp it down.

I look around for Luna for some help and I see her standing at the far end of the table with that Theo Nott kid again, laughing and making hand movements likes she was telling him a story. I stare at her for a while, trying to judge her hand gestures and I widen my eyes when I realize she's telling him about how her and her father spend three house meditating each day… I glance at Theo… he looks interested and not in the least bit put off by it. This whole thing is just weird.

"Your friend and Nott seem to be getting on quite well," Draco points out and I nod my head with a furrowed brow as I take another drink. It goes right to my cheeks and I start to feel that buzzing feeling that the alcohol gave me the last time I drank.

"Yeah, it's a bit odd." I add as I watch them, waiting for him to say something mean or to make an annoyed face at her like I'm used to seeing.

"Why is it odd?" Draco asks by my side. I see Pansy out of the corner of my eye with her hand on Blaise's lap and Daphne is chatting up some older looking men who are buying her drinks. "Your friend is cute." That gets my attention and when I look at him he raises his eyebrows. "What? Do you not think your friend is good looking?"

"No, I know she is," I say… I actually don't know why I'm bothered, to be honest.

He smirks.

"Are you jealous?" he asks and I scoff at him before downing the rest of my glass. "You have nothing to worry about, you are much prettier than everyone here," he says and I know that's a lie so I give him a look. "You don't believe that?"

I look at Daphne with her blonde hair and slim body. "No," I say honestly and I feel his hand on the back of my neck, running his fingers up and down. My spine tingles.

"That's a shame. I enjoy the way you look," he says, getting closer to me again and when I look at him I know I want to say something… I just can't. "Pretty little Ginny," he says with his silver eyes twinkling and I stare at his lips as he leans towards me… and then he jumps back quickly, signaling a odd surge of disappointment through me.

"Sorry I'm late!" Cho Chang comes running up to the table and bitterness pools in my stomach as Draco sits back and removes his arm from the back of my chair. "It was a real bear to get here," she says as she puts her purse down on the chair next o mine. "Oh, hello Ginny," she smiles when she sees me and I give her an artificial smile back. "Do you mind trading me seats?"

"Oh," I look back at Draco. He gives me a challenging look and I sigh. I remember what he said to me… If I told him I wanted him he wouldn't be with Cho anymore. That arrogant jerk. "Yeah, sure," I say uncomfortably as I move to her seat as she sits in mine and turns to Draco with her eyes shining.

"Why did you move?" Daphne whispers to me once I take my new seat. "I thought you were going to kiss him just now."I give her a stern look. "You looked like you were going to jump his bones."

"No, I wasn't," I hiss as I finish off my drink. The pub starts cheering and I look at the wall as the Quidditch game starts playing. I'm thankful for the distraction and I sit with my arms crossed a majority of the time until Daphne taps my shoulder.

"Do you want another drink or anything?" she asks as a waitress makes the rounds at the table. I shake my head and send a sly look to Draco and Cho.

Oh, my god. She's kissing him.

"I'm going to get some fresh air," I say as I grab my purse and start heading for the back exit.

"Do you want me to come with you!" I hear Daphne call after me, but I shake my head and keep going until I reach that back door.

Fresh air is not what I find. It seems all of the smokers who are too polite to smoke inside are hanging out in this back alley and I make a face when I see it, but I'm too mad to go back inside so I cross my arms and lean against the brick wall with a sour look on my face. Maybe I can get Luna and we can leave… but she looks like she's having a good time and I've never seen her so caught up in a boy before…

"Hey there, Red," I look up and glare because of the annoying nickname. There's Blaise Zabini with a cigarette hanging from his perfect lips. He offers me one and I shake my head as he lights the end with his wand. "You hiding out here?" he asks after a few moments.

"I'm not hiding," I say as he blows smoke from the corner of his mouth. Being around Blaise Zabini just makes me uncomfortable because no boy should be that beautiful. It makes me self conscious. He even has longer eyelashes than I do.

"Then what are you doing?" he asks as he leans against the wall beside me. I take one look at his amber eyes before looking away quickly and deciding that it is in my best interest not to look at him again.

"Where's Pansy?" I ask to change the subject and he laughs a little as he flicks ashes on the ground.

"Inside," he says with a shrug. "Not that it matters right now. So, if you're not hiding and you don't smoke, then why are you out here?" He stares at me when I don't answer and then I can see a smile curling on his perfect pouty lips out of the corner of my eye. "Is it because Cho is all over Draco and you can't stand to watch it?"

I make a 'spft' sound with my lips. I'm not really sure what it meant, but I was going for a disbelieving sound. "I don't care about that," I say as I tug on my borrowed shirt.

"Of course not," he says after a few silent moments. He throws his cigarette down and I inwardly rejoice, thinking he's going to go back inside but inside he turns and props his hand against the wall, giving me his full attention and practically forcing me to look at him. "Do you want to know what I think?"

"I'm sure you will tell me no matter what I say," I answer and he smiles a bit.

"You're in way over your head," he says and I furrow my brows.

"What?"

"You're playing a wicked game," he says to my utter confusion. "And you're just a little bunny hopping along, totally oblivious." He smiles again and it looks positively sinful. "You act so young… you're miles behind us, little Ginny."

"What are you talking about?"

"Just don't make it complicated," he says and then he taps my forehead with his finger. I make a face and smack his hand away. "We always get what we want in the end."

"What are you talking about?" I repeat.

"Don't worry about it," he says with shrug. "I'm headed in. See you there, little one." Little one? He goes in and I frown at the door as it closes.

"Weird-o," I whisper as he walks inside. I cross my arms again and stare at the other smokers before deciding that I am going to ask Luna to go home with me after all.

On my way in I see a couple of familiar faces sitting at the bar. Seamus and Dean are at the end of the bar, watching the game and eating peanuts. I grin when I see them. "Dean?" I say as I walk towards them, thankful to see someone I know. "Seamus… what are you guys doing here?"

When Dean turns in his seat and sees me, he stands up and gives me a big bear hug that lifts me off the ground.

"We're falcons fans, you know that," Seamus says with a smirk after I give him a small side hug. I'm not as close with Seamus as I am with Dean, so it isn't as enthusiastic. "What are you doing in here? Your brother would be out for blood if he knew you were fraternizing with the enemy on game day."

I shrug one shoulder. "What Ron doesn't know won't hurt him." He'd probably just push me out of this place if he was here… that's the way he does things.

"Here, take a seat," Dean moves his jacket from one of the stools and I sit down. "Who are you here with?" he asks as I look towards my table.

"Luna and some friends…" I say and then I remember the whole benefit of the doubt thing. "Would you guys like to come and sit with us?"

"Um…" he looks over to the table I was staring at and he raises an eyebrow. "Is that Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson?" he asks and I nod my head. "You hang out with them now?"

"Yeah," I say, trying not to be embarrassed by it. "It's been fun."

"Is Theodore Nott hitting on Luna Lovegood?" he asks as he squints his eyes.

"Probably," I answer honestly and he shakes his head before turning back to me.

"I thought you hated those guys?"

"I changed my mind," I say seriously. I don't want to have to get into a fight about how naïve and stupid I am. I'd rather not fight with Dean and Seamus. Seamus shrugs his shoulders before taking a drink from his bottle and Dean smirks at me before shaking his head.

"You're the boss applesauce," Dean says and I smile fondly at it because he always said that when we were dating last year.

"So, how did you both get the day off?" I ask as I lean on the bar to hear them better. "Del said that the club was going to be busy tonight."

"We asked off for this day at the beginning of the summer," Seamus answers as they both look at the screen to watch the game.

"That was smart," I say with a head nod. I watch the screen as one of the Cannon chasers scores a goal. The whole pub boos but I smirk as I give Dean a playful punch to the arm. "That's how it's done," I say and he rubs his arms as he smiles at me.

"Says the girl wearing blue and white," he says and I smirk.

"Blue looks good on me," I joke and he smiles again. Dean always had such a beautiful smile. It's too bad that I never felt anything more than mild affection for him because we would have been a smashing long term couple.

"Everything looks good on you," he says and I laugh because he hasn't tried to hit on me in months but every once and a while it will slide out and it's always so awkward.

"Of course," I say with a snort and Seamus flags down the bartender.

"Eh, do you want anything to drink, Gin?" he asks as he gets the bartenders attention.

"Could I just have a water, actually?" I ask and he gives me a funny look before ordering one for me. Thank goodness. When the glass of water is placed before me I stir the ice with my straw before taking a sip. It is refreshing after having that seven and seven thing and I don't want to get drunk tonight. My one and only experience with alcohol had kind of ruined it for me.

"Ginny," I turn on the stool and see Pansy there with her brows furrowed and an irritated look on her face. "What are you doing?"

"I'm talking to Dean and Seamus," I say as I point to the boys beside. "You guys know Pansy right?"

They both look at her and give her nods of their heads in greeting. She gives them an uncomfortable smile. "Hi," she says shortly and then she takes my arm. "Let's get back to the table," she says as she goes to move me off the stool and I smile before putting her hand off of my arm.

"I'm talking to Dean and Seamus," I repeat. "I'll come back a little later."

"Ginny," she says with an unpleasant laugh. "Come back to the table."

"No," I say with a furrowed brow. I don't want to go back there, why is she trying to make me? "I said I'll come back later."

"Ginny," she says again, leveling her dark eyes at me.

"Pansy," I answer with an uncomfortable smile. I glance over at Dean and he's watching the exchange with raised brows. "What are you doing? I'll come back later."

She stares me down for a few moments, but I'm not going to back down just yet and then she sighs. "Fine," is all she says before walking back towards the table.

"That was weird," Dean mumbles and I nod my head in agreement.

I look over at the table again. Pansy is by Draco looking exasperated as she speaks to him and he glares at her as she makes hand movements…. and then she points at me. I look down quickly. Then I look up again. Oh, crap, why is he getting up? Maybe I should go back to the table. I bring my hand up and tug on a strand of my hair as he starts walking this way and I look at Dean and Seamus again, shyly tucking some hair behind my ears as I try to ignore Malfoy and his approach. I hold my breath as he passes by, but he doesn't even look at me. I watch him walk all the way to restrooms. I let my shoulders sag as I turn back to water. Why am I disappointed?

Luna comes up to me after a few moments with a smile on her face and a very uncharacteristic blush to her cheeks as I try not to worry about it.

"Oh, Ginny," she says as she says a hello to Dean and Seamus. "I am just having the best time!"

"I'm glad," I say honestly and then I glance at that Theo kid again. "Are you and that guy getting along?"

"Very well, indeed," she says with a grin and I look towards the bathroom. I tell myself that I'm not looking for him… but I guess I am. "He thinks I'm funny. Can you believe that?" I've never seen Luna act like this kind of girl and it was kind of throwing me off guard. "I don't think anyone has actually thought that. I mean, people thought I was funny as in weird funny, but not witty. You know?"

"Yeah, I know."

"I think I'm going to ask for his floo number. Would that be too bold do you think?"

"I think that is very brave," I tell her honestly as I look back at that Theo kid. He's in deep discussion with Pansy now and I make a face. "Are you sure you like him?" The last time I actually saw him was last was at Folk Hills where he was checking out my chest the whole time. "He seems a little creepy."

"I like creepy," she says with a shrug.

"Then I think it's an okay idea." I did snog Draco Malfoy… no judgments here, really.

"I want you to talk to him too. He's really smart, you'll like him."

She pulls me from the stool and I can barely get a farewell wave to Dean and Seamus before she tugs me along to the table full of Slytherins and Ravenclaws. On the way, I accidentally step on Millicent Bulstrode's shoe and she gives me a glare that could kill. I try to ignore it and Luna forces me in front of Theodore freaking Nott who has a hand on his slim hip and the other is holding a bottle of beer.

"Hey," I say awkwardly with a wave once he notices me.

"Hello," he answers back and then he smiles at Luna. Okay, then.

"Do you like Quidditch, Theo?" I ask just to say something and Luna gives me a goofy happy grin when he smirks at her.

"Yeah, I like it alright."

"Good."

"Good," he says back.

"Okay, well this was fun." I just can't stand to be this close to him anymore. He just freaks me out and the weird thing is… I have no idea why. "I'm going to talk to Daphne. Luna would you like to come?" Luna please come!

"No, Theo was just going to tell me about his father's company."

"Oh," I look at Theo as he laughs at something someone else says. "Well, if you need anything come get me." I say as I slide away from them. "I mean it," I whisper as I walk towards Daphne on the other side of the table.

I'm not letting her out of my sight.

"Ginny, come sit by me!" Daphne's cheeks are pink and I know she's getting drunk, because she stumbles as she tries to move one of the chairs out of the way.

"Are you alright?" I ask as I grab her arm to steady her. "You're kind of out of it."

"I met two of the cutest guys," she says as she looks behind her. "They're cousins."

"That's nice," I tell her with a laugh and she nods her head.

"Hey, Ginny," she says, leaning in to whisper to me. "Can I just tell you something?"

"I think you already are," I fake whisper back as she pulls on my arm so we're both sitting in the chairs. I glance up once and see Draco watching the game as Cho runs her fingers through his hair. My insides freeze and I look away quickly, feeling something unpleasant and dark in the pit of my stomach.

"I just… we're friends now, right?" she says and I nod my head. "I just wanted to tell you something…."

"Okay, what is it?" Now I'm worried…

"Come here," she whispers again, pulling me closer so that our heads are so close together that we're actually touching. "Don't make Draco jealous."

"What?"

"Sh," she says and she pulls me even closer against her so that her lips are right up against my ear. It makes me shiver and I try to pull back, but she puts her hand on my shoulder to keep me in place."Draco… I know that you didn't like seeing him with Cho, but going over and flirting with that other boy wasn't a good idea."

"Flirting? I wasn't flirting with Dean." Not that is should matter to anyone here if I was.

"Yes, you were. We all noticed that and so did he," she says and then she puts her hand on my arm again when I try to protest. "But don't do it again. Draco gets jealous very easily," she says, her breath warm on my ear. I furrow my brows and glance at him again. He's tapping his long fingers against the table and his jaw twitches when Cho says something into his ear. "And it's not good for anyone when he's upset."

"What do you mean?" I ask uncomfortably.

"Draco is intense," she says and then she scoots back and nods at me. "He's intense," she repeats as our eyes meet. "Don't go out of your way to make him mad even if it's something silly like trying to get his attention by flirting with someone else. You already have it and everything Draco does is very specific," she says. "He has a plan for everything and he doesn't like it when his plans get messed up if you know what I mean."

"No, I don't know what you mean."

"And I'll give you a little advice," she slurs as she leans against me again, ignoring what I said. "You'll need this for the future," she adds with a head nod and she glances at Draco... so do I. "Draco's cheeks only get flushed like that for two reasons," she says. I notice his face now, the splotches of red on his cheeks make him look so…. Sexy. Oh, Jesus Christ. Did I really just think that?

"What are those two reasons?" I ask as I look down at the table so I don't think anymore disgusting thoughts about him.

"Either he's really turned on," she says with a laugh. I look at him again and his silver eyes snap to mine. Fuck. I look away again, staring intently at Daphne so I won't look back. "Turned on…Or he's really pissed off."

"Okay..."

"Notice," she says as she nods towards him again. He's watching the game again I nearly sigh in relief. "How he's watching the game, but not really seeing anything? If he was turned on he would have just pulled you out of here to have his wicked way with you... no questions asked," she says as she looks at him. "Guess which one he is?"

"Pissed off," I whisper uncomfortably and she nods her head.

"Now, if you see him get that look on his face," she says, nodding her beer bottle towards him. "That cut off, stony look... avoid him at all..."

"Daphne," Pansy is over us in a second with an eyebrow arched, cutting Daphne's weird little speech off. "What are you two talking about?"

"Oh, nothing!" Daphne sings with a smile."I was just letting Ginny know that it isn't a good idea to try to make Draco jealous because you know how he gets."

"You're drunk, Daphne," Pansy says flatly as she grabs her arm and pulls her up. I stand up quickly to grab the chair because it's about ready to hit the floor. "Stop saying stupid drunk things to Ginny."

"But, Pans, you remember when he was dating that French girl last summer and she kissed that Spanish boy at your party. Do you remember what Draco did….Ow, you're hurting my arm."

"Come on, we're going to the bathroom. You're getting sloppy."

"Pansy, what does she mean?" I ask because I'm getting worried. Between this and what Blaise told me outside… I can't help but be suspicious. "What's all this talk about making people jealous? I don't understand."

"She's drunk, Gin, just ignore her. Come on, Daphne," she says as she forcefully pulls Daphne towards the bathrooms.

When they're gone, I turn towards Luna to make sure she's okay and I find her playing pool with Theodore Nott. That whole thing is just weird and I sit down in the chair and cross my arms like a child. I shouldn't have gone to this… it's just turning out to be a horrible day.

I look towards Draco and Cho again. She has her hand on his arm and he leans over to whisper something in her ear that makes her blush. That stinging sensation is back in my chest again and I clench my jaw as I turn away when she laughs. I keep to myself the rest of the night, only talking to Pansy and occasionally Luna when she pulls herself away from the creepy boy she keeps flirting with. Every once and a while I'd send a sly glance to Draco, only to find him touching or doing something cute and couple like with Cho and it made my insides freeze over. I guess he got over being 'pissed off' pretty quickly.

What was all that 'don't make him jealous' thing? He seems perfectly freaking fine.

God.

I think I'm the jealous one now.

By the time it was time to go home, I was in a terrible mood that even Luna caught onto because she didn't try to engage me in conversation as we walked to the Apparation point.

I learned something very important tonight.

I learned that Jealousy burns cold.

And I'm not even sure who won the game.

x

"I know you wanted to wear the dress on your birthday," my Mom says and I jump excitedly when I see her pull out a white gift box. "So I thought it wouldn't hurt to open one present before the big day."

"Oh, mom," I whisper as she hands me the box and I quickly pull off the red bow so I can take off the lid.

I'm so excited for my birthday now! The dress is going to look so good with those heels Pansy had given me. There's a bunch of tissue paper and I smile at my mother before pulling it aside to reveal a red dress…. a red dress with white polka dots on it. Oh… The dress I picked out didn't have polka dots and I try to hide my reaction as I start to pull it out of the box to get a better look. I must have made a face because my mom jumped in quickly.

"I know it's not the one you wanted," she says as I look it over. Its cut like every other dress my mother has ever made me. It's a typical cotton based sundress with cap sleeves and a loose fitting skirt. Only this one is bright red with white polka dots on the fabric and it has a zipper down the back and along the pockets in a cheap mockery of the dress I actually wanted. "I went to the store and had a look at that dress you picked out. I don't think you realized how short it was, sweetheart, and I looked at the materiel and I knew I could make something that was a little more… you."

I feel like crying.

"Do you like it?" she asks as I carefully put it back in the box. I look at her, trying to hide my disappointment because she's sitting on the edge of her seat, looking worried.

"Yes, of course," I say and then I give her a side hide. Any gift is better than none I suppose. "Thank you, Mom."

"And you'll wear it?" she says and I nod my head. "Why don't you go try it on, make sure it's perfect."

"Right," I say as I take the dress and walk towards the stairs with heavy steps.

"Come down when you have it on," she calls as I start walking up the stairs like it was a death march. "I want to see how it looks!"

"Alright," I say and when I reach my room I lock the door and run over to the mirror, holding the dress up against my body. It looks like something a toddler would wear. "Mom, what were you thinking?" I whisper as I take off my clothes and shimmy into the dress. Of course it fits perfectly. My Mom knows my body and how to fit it, but I feel anger boiling to the surface. I wanted that dress and I made sure it was affordable and I even had it on hold. I clench my fist and try to swallow my anger and disappointment. Any gift is better than none I tell myself again and I am not the kind of girl that would get upset about this.

I can't reach the zipper in the back, so it stays open as I go to my closet and I pull out the shoe box that's home to the heels Pansy had bought me. I think they may be the most expensive thing I own, honestly. I slip them on and go back to the mirror to see how it looks. I frown. The edgy heels with the studs don't mesh well with the cut and pattern of the dress and I cuss to myself before kicking them off and throwing on a pair of safe white sandals.

I grumpily open my bed room door and I pass Ron's bedroom where Hermione, Ron, and Harry are having one of their top secret no Ginny meetings again. I glare at his door as I pass before starting towards the stairs. My Mom stands up and grins when she sees me.

"What do you think?" She asks as I turn around and hold up my hair so she can zip it for me.

"I love it," I lie to spare her feelings and she kisses my cheek when I turn back around.

"I can't believe you're going to be sixteen," she says with a sigh as she looks me over. "You're growing up!"

"I know. It's crazy," I say, trying not to pout because I look like a child in this dress.

"So, what is the plan for tomorrow?" she asks as she takes a seat, and I sit beside her.

"Well, Luna works until five and then I think she's going to come over so we can all go out to eat somewhere."

"Have you decided where you wanted to go?" she asks as she picks up the scarf she's been knitting. I sigh when I see it but turn away as she starts knitting. "Your father would like to know if we can floo or Apparate."

"I don't know," I say with a shrug. "Nothing too fancy, I guess."

"I told your brothers what was happening. I think Bill and Fleur are going to come and George and Fred… I don't know if Charlie can make it, though." Of course, Charlie is my favorite sibling. "So, let us know by tomorrow morning where you want to eat so we can let the others know."

"I'll think on it," I tell her and then I give her a smile. "I think I'm going to take a shower, get ready for tomorrow."

"Alright, sweetie," she says. "Make sure you hang up the dress, you don't want to wrinkle it."

"No, I don't," I sigh as I make it back upstairs. I hang up my dress on the back of my closet door and I stare at it for a few sad moments before putting on my robe and walking towards the bathroom to run myself a bath.

I clean my body and shave my legs as I try not to think about that stupid dress in my room. My Mom can be so dense sometimes. I really wanted to look grown up and pretty on my birthday…now I'm just going to look like a kid who was trying too hard to be cool. I shake my head and get out of the bath, trying to let it go. Tomorrow is going to be a good day no matter what. I drain the tub as I throw on my robe so I can go to bed. I find Hermione sitting on her cot when I get to my room, going through a newspaper with her pj's on.

"Is the top secret meeting over?" I ask as I go to my closet so I can change into pj's. She doesn't say anything, and I really didn't think she would because my tone was so derisive.

"Is that dress new?" she asks when I come back into the room in sleep shorts and a tank top.

I look at the red polka dot dress hanging on the back of the door as I reach under my shirt to unhook my bra. I nod my head while I pull it out and put it in the hamper. "That's my Mom's birthday present," I say as I fall down onto the bed.

"I thought you wanted that dress you showed me," she says curiously.

"I did," I say with sigh. "But she made that one because she thought it was more 'me'" I answer, making air quotations.

"Oh," she says as she looks at the dress. "It is cute."

"If you're five, maybe," I say and she gives me a sad smile.

"So, I was thinking maybe you'd like to open your birthday present from me tonight," she says with a nervous smile as I sit up to face her.

"Why not just give it to me tomorrow?"

She stands up and reaches into one of her bags. "I just want to give it to you tonight," she says as she hands me a present wrapped in gold wrapping paper.

"Thank you, Hermione," I say honestly as I run my fingers over the paper. Hermione always gets me the best gifts.

"Open it," she says as she sits beside me.

I start tearing the paper and I smirk when I see the leather bound journal with my name in gold letters across the front.

"I thought you'd like a more professional place to put your writings," she says as I flip through the pages. I love the smell of new parchment. "And I noticed your other notebook was falling apart thanks to Ronald."

"Thanks," I tell her with an honest smile. "I love it."

"And," she says as she pulls three blue quills from behind her back. "I also got you auto correct quills. It's perfect when you're writing with ink," she says as I take the quills from her. Sometimes I forget how much I love her.

"Thanks Hermione. I really appreciate this."

"You're welcome. I hope you have a good birthday tomorrow."

"Me too."

We go to sleep after that and when I wake up, Hermione isn't on her cot. I shrug it off, figuring she's down stairs helping my Mom make the birthday pancakes. Everyone gets birthday pancakes on their birthday… it's a Weasley family tradition. I smile as I think on it and I put on that stupid polka dot dress before doing my makeup for the day. I braid my hair to the side so it falls in front of my shoulder and I smile at myself in the mirror, wondering if I look older. I want to look good on my birthday after all. I look at myself in the mirror for a while and I smooth down the skirt of the dress before zipping up the zipper as far as I can get it on my own. It doesn't look too bad today actually. I guess I'm in a good mood.

I skip down the stairs and wait for the song that usually greets me in the morning of my birthday, but I don't hear it. In fact, when I enter the kitchen it's uncommonly bear… no Mom or Ron or birthday pancakes. I take tentative steps around the house until I reach the back room, where I find my Mom crying as she reads a letter and my Dad is holding onto her shoulders.

"Hey?" I say when I enter the room, stopping in the doorway because I don't want to get closer. Nothing good can make my mother cry like that and it makes me nervous.

"Oh, Ginny dear," Mom tries to wipe her eyes as she stands up. "What a state we're in."

"What's wrong?"

"Your brother left last night," she says as she shakes the letter. My heart drops. "With Hermione and Harry and we have no idea where they are. Oh, Arthur, they know how dangerous it is out there."

"We're going to talk to Remus," My Dad says as he stands up and puts on his cloak. He gets one for my Mom as well and puts it over her shoulder. "This is important, Gin. Do you think you can stay here for me? We'll be back in a few hours. We just need to speak to the Order about this. They could be in danger."

"Yeah… sure…."

They start walking towards the front door and I follow them the whole way with a frown on my face. "Alright, Ginny," my Mom says as she kisses my forehead. "Be good."

"We'll be back soon," my Dad says as they start walking towards the Apparation point.

"Happy Birthday, Ginny," I say to their retreating backs. They pop away and then I slam the door shut as I go to make myself something to eat.

How could they leave on my birthday! Suddenly that whole 'giving you your present early' thing Hermione pulled last night makes me feel bitter because she knew! Ugh. I eat my toast and glare at the flowery curtains that are above the sink. Luna is at work and she won't be home until later, so I really have no one right now. I need more freaking friends. I call Fred and George on their floo line… no answer. I even try Charlie in the hopes of talking to someone I like, but he's not home either. They might be at that Order thing as well talking about Harry and Ron and Hermione. Everyone is always talking about them. It's my sixteenth birthday for Christ sakes!

After a ranting journal entry into my new notebook, I go towards the shed to get my bike so I can go see Pansy. I'm sure she's home and she can hang out with me so I don't sit for hours by self waiting for something to happen.

I pump my legs as fast as I can and I make it to Pansy's large house in record time. The same grumpy elf answers the door after I ring the door bell and when I ask for Pansy, the elf shakes its head. Of course, Pansy isn't freaking home and I don't know where Daphne lives so I get on my bike and try not to cry like a baby as I ride around the village for a while. I stop when I pass by Malfoy's large summer home and I shake my head before taking off again… only to turn right back around to stare at it again. I bite the corner of my lip before wheeling up to the gate and pressing the red button.

I have no idea why I'm doing this. It's just… I know he kind of might like me… and I don't want to be alone on my birthday.

"Malfoy residence," Some squeaky voice answers and I clear my throat before leaning towards the speaker.

"Hi," I say softly. "Is, um, is Draco home today?"

"Yes, the Master is home. Who is calling?"

"It's… It's Ginny," I say uncomfortably as the bike rests between my legs. "Ginny Weasley."

There's a quiet moment and then the gate starts to slowly creek open. Okay, then. I wheel my bike inside and rest it against the fountain as I approach the door. Before I can knock or ring the door bell, it creeps open as well. Right. I take a tentative step inside and look around the hallway with my hands behind my back awkwardly. What do I do now? The ceilings here are impossibly high and I glance up. There's some kind of painting of clouds and cherubs on the ceiling like this house was some kind of important building that deserved such a fresco. When I look at the furnishings and perfectly polished floors… I can't help but be envious as I think of my own home.

There are freshly cut flowers in a vase by the door and I step towards them so I can smell the fragrance. I lean forward and close my eyes as I inhale against the petals. Lilacs, they smell wonderful… I hear footsteps on the stairs and I jump back as Draco makes his way down, looking at me with a raised eyebrow. I feel like he caught me doing something bad, so I step away from the flowers and I bring my hand up to my neck nervously.

"Why are you here?" he asks with his hand on the railing.

I shrug my shoulders as I stare at him. He's wearing one of those well fitted suits again; only this one is a lighter gray color with a crimson dress shirt and black tie. "It's my birthday," I say softly as I look down at the marble floor, feeling foolish and childlike. "It's my birthday and no one cares but me it seems."

"So you came here?" he questions suspiciously and I cross my arms under my breasts. I'm very aware of this stupid dress now as he stares me down.

"No one else was home," I say honestly and when I look up, his lips are quirked in a barely there smile. "I'll leave now… if you want…" I start heading towards the door again.

"Stop." I look over my shoulder as he makes his way down the stairs."Your dress is halfway unzipped," he says and I blush as he walks towards me. "You left the house like this?"

"Yes," I say as he makes a motion for me to turn around. I do as he instructs and I put my head down. "I couldn't reach the zipper by myself this morning," I admit as he zips it up for me and then he lets his fingers linger along my shoulders before they drop.

"Are those the only shoes you brought?" he asks, nodding to my cheap flip flops and I give him an odd look before nodding my head and facing him again. "Alright, then…. Kara." He tilts his head to call for someone and I jump in surprise when a house-elf pops at my side. I even put my hand over my heart. "Have Linny bring out the bike and then find some decent riding shoes for Ginny," he tells the elf as he nods to me. "What size do you wear?" he questions with an eyebrow raised as he takes off his jacket and hands it to the elf.

"Oh… um… I wear a size eight…."

"You heard her, then," he says to the elf as he loosens his tie and hands that to the creature once it's undone. "Size eight."

The elf pops away and once it's gone, I give Draco a questioning look while he walks over to a cloak closet, unbuttoning the first few buttons on his dress shirt. "What's wrong with my shoes?" I ask as he takes out two leather high top boots from the closet and he puts them on after carefully slipping off the expensive looking leather loafers he was wearing.

"You need something to protect your feet," he says as he walks past me towards the front door.

"Why?"

"Because I said so," is all he says as he opens the front door and makes a motion for me to follow after him.

I refuse to move for a few seconds. He can come across as so rude and I automatically want to not do as he says just because he assumes I will. After a second of silence I huff and follow after him, following him around the house to a large three story garage where a small elf with sparse graying hair is wheeling out a magnificent looking motorbike.

"That's cool," I can't stop myself from saying as I get a good look at the chrome siding and black leather seats.

Draco smirks as the elf hands him a pair of sunglasses and he slides them on as another elf tugs on my hand. I look to my left at the little creature as it hands me a pair of close toed boots. I hesitate a moment before taking them from the elf as Draco hops on the bike.

He looks really good on it.

Oh, for fucks sake.

"Put them on," he says as he fidgets with the handle bars and he uses a key to turn it on until it comes to life. "You'll want your toes covered, trust me."

"You're going to give me a ride on your motorbike?" I ask as I walk closer to him and eye the machine with suspicion. He kicks the kick stand and revs the engine before handing me a helmet. Hagrid is the only other person I know who has a motorbike and his could fly. I didn't want any part of that...

My parents would hate this... Ron would hate this... Harry would... Alright, I am going to get on the bike.

"Wear this," he demands as I take the black helmet from him with a frown.

"Are you wearing one?" I question as I put it on and buckle the strap under my chin. I push the bangs out of my eyes and blink a few times. He rolls his sleeves up to his elbows and licks his lips. I look down because it makes me uncomfortable. Oh, dear.

"I don't need one," he answers pompously. "Once you're all in order, hop on behind me," he says as I take off my sandals so I can slip on the brown suede ankle boots.

"I don't want to wear this," I say because the helmet is too big and it keeps sliding over my eyes.

"You're going to. If we crash, your head is going to break and splatter into a million different pieces all over the ground." That's a great visual. Not the greatest thing to say to the person you want to ride with you, though. "You're wearing the helmet."

"Your head could break and splatter into a million different pieces," I point out with a frown and he smirks a little.

"My head isn't as pretty as yours," he says and I feel my cheeks heat up at the compliment. I don't know why I find myself pleased that he said that. "Get on the bike."

"I don't…." I stop. I stare at him as he checks the gears and the gages with his sunglasses halfway down his nose. His silver eyes flick to mine and my cheeks heat up. "I don't know if this is a good idea."

"Ginny," he says seriously after a long pause.

"Yes?" I answer when he doesn't continue right away.

He pushes his sunglasses up and sits straight. "Get on the damn bike."

I bite back my hateful comment before sliding on behind him, trying not to flash the world my knickers in the process. He is the only person willing to hang out with on my birthday… I should be a little more forgiving. And my parents would hate it… that's really what's driving most of this. Once seated securely behind him, I try various ways to scoot back so I don't have to touch him and so that my thighs aren't cradled around him, but it's not working very well for me and when he starts moving the bike forward with a hit of the gas, I panic and wrap my arms around his slim waist.

"Don't go so fast," I plead as he takes off, leaving his house and my sandals behind. I clench my eyes shut and tilt my chin down against his back as we zoom onto the dirt road.

"Relax," he says over his shoulder. I grip the front of his shirt as the wind whips us. "You're not going to die."

"Where are we going?"

"Stop talking," he demands and I bite my cheek to stop myself from snapping at him. He is driving after all and I don't want to make us crash.

I'm glad about the whole boot thing… the rocks are kicking up from the road as we pass them and even mud from the grass is splattering us as we went by. My feet would have been a mess in my sandals and I'm silently grateful that Draco made me wear them. He smells nice too and I'm glad that I'm behind him because he won't notice me inhaling against his shirt like a creep.

I try to keep track of where we're going as I squint against the wind and sunlight. We pass by the Village of Yellow Springs and we pass by another small town before I start seeing larger buildings and crowded streets…. Dirt roads give way to concrete pavement and kerosene lamps. I hold onto him a little tighter as he swerves in and out of the heavier traffic and I close my eyes when we pass over a bridge because it's scary.

When I finally open them, we're zooming into a parking garage and I furrow my brows again as he finds a parking spot.

"Where are we?" I question as he turns off the bike.

"You'll see," he says as I slide to the ground and take off that stupid helmet.

"That's rather vague." I tell him as I try to straighten out my hair and he smirks at me as he takes the helmet and puts it in the seat that flips up for storage.

"Follow me," he says in that deep voice of his as he puts one hand in his pocket and the other he uses to steer me forward.

I glance up at the large building we're approaching with a curious tilt of my head. It's an Aquarium and it has large posters of whales and other sea creatures plastering the front of it.

"An Aquarium?" I say curiously as we start walking up the stairs.

"It just opened last week," he explains as he opens the door for me to step inside. I'm not actually used to people doing that for me and it's throwing me off. "It's pretty wonderful."

"Oh," I say uncomfortably as I step inside and I look around the large welcoming lobby. "Draco, I didn't bring any money," I whisper as we make our way to one of the lines so we can pay for our tickets.

Draco makes a noise and when I glance up at him, he's shaking his head as he pushes his sunglasses to the top to his head. "You wouldn't pay even if you did," he says as he puts both hands in his pockets. "Not only is it your birthday, but you're the girl in this equation," he says and I frown as he walks towards front desk once the line starts moving. "That might not mean much where you come from, but in my world, ladies do not pay when a gentlemen is present so stop looking so surprised."

"There's a gentleman present?" I joke as I look around, trying to spot one and he smiles at me. It makes me pause for a second because I don't think I ever realized how beautiful his smile truly was.

"If I'm not a gentleman," he whispers against my hair as he slides coins over to the woman at the desk. "Than what kind of woman are you, I wonder?"

"A stupid one," I say and he glances down at me before ignoring the comment.

I've never been to an aquarium before, but it is beautiful. It's all inside and dark, with large fish tanks full of things I had never seen before and creatures I've only read about in books.

"What do you think?" he asks as we walk past a wall full of jelly fish that glow in the dark. The aquarium is pretty dead on this Tuesday afternoon, so Draco and I are couple of the only people here. It makes it kind of nice. Every museum or zoo I've ever been too has always been annoyingly crowded, but this was fun.

"This is wonderful," I say as I walk close to the glass as the jelly fish move around like ghosts in the water. "Thank you, Draco," I say honestly as I smile at him over my shoulder. He smirks, of course. It's his go to expression, I guess. "Have you been here before?" I ask. I know he said that it just opened, but how did he hear about this place?

"Yes, my mother was here for the opening," he says as we walk further in, seeing more exotic fish that glow and swim about in the black water. "She loves this kind of thing," he says with a sigh.

"This kind of thing?" I question with my hands in my pockets as we walk to another section. This seems to be smaller and brighter, with clown fish and other colorful sea life. "What does that mean?"

"Well, she's big into animal rights," he explains and I stare at his profile as he stares stoically ahead of him. "She started a charity for it a few years ago. When my parents made a donation to this Aquarium, it was with the agreement that ten percent of the ticket sales would be donated to the charity," he says and I look away thoughtfully. I couldn't see any Malfoy being charitable and loving animals, honestly. "It always makes her happy when she has a cause. It gives her something to do," he adds dryly.

"Has her cause always been animal rights?" I ask as we move towards the dolphin section. It's much brighter and I figure their section must be outside. I walk closer to the glass as two dolphins swim by and I smile at them.

"Not always," he says with a little smile as he looks down at me. "Before animals it was starving magical children in third world countries and before that I think it was cancer."

"Cancer?" I say and then I make a face that he laughs at. "So… you're mother was only worried about starving magical children?" I say, watching him from the corner of my eye. "Not the muggle ones as well?"

"Unfortunately my mother isn't that charitable," he says with an amused voice and I actually laugh.

"Alright," he says once we reach a fork in the hallway. "If we go to the right we'll see squid and sting rays… the bigger sea creatures," he says. "Or we could go to the left and see magical sea life. The place is like a big ring and it goes in one big circle so we'll see everything regardless… but the choice is up to you."

"What kind of magical things are here?" I ask curiously as I look down the left hallway.

"Well, they have some rare sea monsters and some mermaids, I know that," he says as he crosses his arms.

"Mermaids," I say happily and he nods his head.

"They don't look how you think they would," he warns and I nod my head as I start walking down the left hallway. "They're actually ugly," he says. He follows behind me as I speed walk towards the mermaids.

"I know," I say with a bounce to my step. "Harry told me they were gross, but I just would love to see one."

"Ginny, we don't have to run there," Draco says, trying to keep up with me. "They're still going to be there if we walk at a normal pace."

I ignore him until we get to the mermaid exhibit.

"There are three types," he says as we pass the first tank. "These are the fresh water kinds that are in the lake at Hogwarts. Merrows," he explains as I walk over to the glass and squint my eyes. The water is almost green like a dirty lake and when I finally see something in the water, I roll on my toes in excitement.

"Can mermaids speak English?" I ask curiously. It would be nice to talk to a mermaid I imagine.

"They have their own language," he says and then one swims by the glass. Draco was right, they aren't very pretty, but I was excited none the less. The creature that passed looked like it was a male, with a strong human looking chest and a fish tail. Its hair was long and green and it had sharp teeth that protruded from its mouth like some kind of monster. "And they're too stubborn to try to learn anything else," he says when the mermaid disappears.

"Oh," I say and then I feel his hand on my back again, pushing me towards the next exhibit. "This section holds the sirens," he says as we walk into a darker part. "They live in the darkest part of the ocean. All merpeople sing, but the sirens are supposed to have the most beautiful voices in the world."

I walk close to the glass because I can't see anything in the black water and I stand there for a few minutes, seeing nothing until suddenly something smacks against the glass and I jump back, right into Draco's chest. He laughs as the mermaid stares at us and I put my hand on my heart because it scared me. This one is a little better looking, but its whole body is silver and scaly, from its neck all the way down to its fish tail. This one is definitely a girl and I blush as I try not to look at her chest while she tilts her head to the side. Her hair is as black as the water and her eyes are glowing and yellow. It's an altogether frightening combination that makes the actual beauty of her face obsolete.

"What is she doing?" I ask uncomfortably as I slide behind Draco like a coward so she's not staring at me anymore. "Why's she looking at us?"

"She's not looking at us," Draco says as I peek at the mermaid from behind his shoulder while other people from the aquarium start gathering around to look at the mermaid as well. "This glass is a two way mirror," he says with a little smile, like he was amused by my stupid behavior. "She's looking at herself."

"Do mermaids like being in this aquarium?" I ask as the mermaid starts swimming from side to side in front of the glass as people take pictures with their cameras. "I thought they were similar to people… like centaurs."

"They don't know they're in here," Draco says. "They were transported magically and their habitat was replicated in perfect detail. If they knew, they'd probably try to kill us."

"That's pleasant," I say and he laughs as he turns to face me. "Let's go see the next one," he says as more people crowd around. "It's getting a little tight in here."

I nod my head.

"Do you know about these as well?" I ask as we walk into another section.

"They're selkies," he says. It's definitely brighter in here and it hurts my eyes at first before I see seal looking creatures swimming behind the glass.

"They don't look like merpeople," I say with my eyebrows raised.

"Just watch," Draco says from behind me and I stare at the creatures for a few moments before I see one of them change into a human and then flick right back into a seal.

"What was that?" I ask with a smile as another does the same thing.

"They're kind of like shape shifters," he says with a smug smile. "They can change into humans, but it never lasts very long."

I stare at the selkie mermaids for a little bit, smiling as they flicker back and forth between humans and seals. Then I notice Draco's reflection in the glass as he stands slightly behind me. He's not looking at the creatures in front of me… he's looking at me and then I see his hand reaching out and grabbing some fabric from the skirt of my dress. I barely feel it, but I can see him as he stares at it and runs his fingers over the materiel. He looks up at the back of my neck again before his eyes find mine in the glass.

I look away quickly and try to ignore the flutter in my stomach. Pansy said to give him the benefit of the doubt and he really hasn't done anything to me so far. Does he really like me? He's being perfectly pleasant and he's being kinder to me now on my birthday than my whole family has been. I look at his reflection again. He's not holding my dress anymore and his head is tilted towards the tank on the opposite wall that has a large manatee swimming around in it.

I look at him over my shoulder after I scrounge up the courage and he turns his head back to mine. I give him a grateful smile and he takes a step closer to me while bringing his hand up to my face, running his knuckles over my cheek. I inhale a shaky breath and my stomach tumbles around when he runs his thumb over my lips. I stop breathing all together.

"Are you pleased that I brought you here?" he asks quietly and I nod my head because I can't seem to find my voice "Even though I was the last choice."

"Yes," I say with a head nod as I look back at the mermaids. "This is one of the better birthdays I've had."

"I'm glad then," he says as he lets his hand drop. I stare at it for a few moments before gathering up the courage to grab it.

He raises an eyebrow at me as I intertwine our fingers, but he doesn't pull away as I give him a small smile.

He smiles back.

We hold hands the rest of the day as we check out the rest of the aquarium and we even grab lunch in a little restaurant across the street. It was surprisingly wonderful and I found that I was actually enjoying Draco's company. He's as smart as Hermione is, as good looking as Harry, and as funny as my brother… he was like the perfect combination of a person and he didn't even say one hateful thing to me. It was nice.

"It's getting late," he says comments after we leave the restaurant, headed back towards the parking garage. I look down at his hand, wondering if I should take it again, but I don't want to seem desperate, so I look away from it. But I can't help but smile when he puts his arm around my waist as we cross a busy street. "You can get your bike another day. I don't want you riding home in the dark," he says when we reach the garage and he takes out the key to his bike. I take out the helmet and put it on as he straddles the bike and starts it. "I'll just drop you off at your house."

"No, that's okay," I say quickly because I don't want him to see where I live. I slide behind him and put my arms around his waist as my legs cradle his body again. "I can just ride my bike."

"Ginny," he snaps as he starts wheeling us out of the parking garage."You're not riding home in the dark by yourself. That's it. Now stop talking."

I roll my eyes as we zoom into traffic and I put my chin against his shoulder as he swerves in and out of the cars. The whole snappy demand thing right now doesn't even seem as irritating to me for some reason. "Be careful, please," I whisper against his neck because he's speeding and he knows it. "Oh, Draco you have to stop at the red lights!" I scold because he just ran one.

"I don't need you screaming in my ear every second," he says when we reach a stop sign and he slows down the bike to a stop. "If you don't like the way I'm driving, then just close your eyes until we're home, alright?"

"But you're going too fast," I say seriously as he starts the bike again.

"If you keep talking, then we are going to crash. So just close your eyes until I say you can open them."

"Fine," I whisper as I close my eyes and press myself into his back.

After a while, I crack my eyes open, realizing we're on the road, headed towards my house and I panic. "Right here is fine," I say and he shakes his head and turns his face so I can hear him better.

"You don't live in the middle of a field, babe," he says and my heart swells at the nickname but I stamp it down. "Let me drop you off at your house."

"No, really, this is fine. If my parents see you pulling up on a motorbike they'll kill me."

He starts slowly down the bike and he stops in front of an old oak tree. I guess that was a good enough excuse. "You won't have far to walk?" he asks. I slide off the bike and I take off the helmet.

"Not too far," I assure him as I put the helmet in the case thing there. "I can give these boots back another time, yeah?" I say and he nods his head as he takes off his sunglasses and puts them in his shirt pocket. "Thank you for today, Draco," I say honestly as I stand beside him with my fingers intertwined in front of me. "I really do appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure," he says with a smug smile as he leans back on the bike looking all handsome and….off limits. He makes me uncomfortable.

"Okay, well… bye then," I say awkwardly and I start walking away.

"Hey, now," he says as he grabs my hand and pulls me back towards him. ""That's it? That's all I get?"

"What do you mean?" I ask as he runs his fingers over the skin of my wrist.

"Come here," he says as he pulls me closer to him and I laugh as I lose my balance, having to place my hands on his shoulders so I don't fall. "Are you going to explain this dress?" he asks with an amused smile and I look down with a laugh. "Not that I don't like it or anything…"

"I know it's terrible," I say with a sigh. "My mother made it for me. It's nothing like the dress I actually wanted."

"Why didn't she just get you the dress you wanted?" he asks as runs his fingers along the zipper lined pocket.

"You're asking the wrong person," I joke and the corner of his lip turns up in a little smile. "At least she tried."

"That is all we can hope for," he says as he brings a hand up to tilt my chin towards him. "Happy birthday, Gin."

We stare at each other for a few moments before I lean down. Oh, holy hell I'm going to kiss him. And of course it's amazing as soon as my lips press against his. So, it's my sixteenth birthday and here I am, making out with Draco Malfoy on an old dirt road. Who would have guessed it? He puts his hand on the back of my thigh and I think he's going to touch my bottom, so I freeze up, but he urges me to lift my leg and then I find myself straddling his bike with my dress hiked up so I can wrap my legs around his.

Making out like this on a motorbike out in the open where anyone can see seemed dangerous… and with Draco Malfoy no less. A thrill goes through me at the thought and I can tell that it's going to be a an addicting feeling. I start to tug down my dress the best I can in my straddling position as he holds me firmly against him, kissing me in a heated way that makes me almost dizzy. He tastes like the coffee he had at that little restaurant and I wonder if I taste like ice cream I indulged in. When he moves to my neck I nearly faint from the sensations. I fist his shirt like a desperate thing as one of his hands stays firmly on my waist. The other rubs the skin of my thigh as he places open mouthed kissed on my shoulder.

"You have such smooth skin," he mumbles as he bites my neck. I inhale and press my chest against his as he squeezes my leg. "And you always look so clean."

"What?" I say. Clean? What is that supposed to mean?

He pulls back to look at me. His eyes are catching the dying sun just right that make them look like steel. "Ginny, I'm going to be honest with you," he says and I swallow hard. This can't be good. "I think we could be great together."

Oh.

He starts kissing me again, running his tongue along my lips until I open for him again, tilting my head to the side with a small sigh. He's such a good kisser… Pansy was right…. Pansy was right because she had kissed him before… and so has Cho. In fact, I caught him and Cho doing something gross in a supply closet not too long ago… He's a whore… remember? But he kisses so well. Wait. This isn't right. I am not this girl.

"Wait." What is this? "Wait," I whisper again as I slightly push him back. His eyes are dark and his lips are pink... His cheeks are flushed... I'm pretty sure he's not angry right now so that can only mean that he's enjoying this. "I…" I was going to tell him that I needed to go home, but that's not what came out. "I don't want you to be with Cho."

He smiles smugly again, like he knew I would say that. That's just annoying. "Okay," is all he says.

"Okay?" I say back. "That's it?"

"That's it," he says as he kisses the corner of my mouth. "I didn't really like her that much anyways."

I force my eyebrows together at that. He's very nonchalant about hurting someone's feelings. His fingers come up and he runs them over my nose and the furrow of my brows.

"What's got you looking so worried all of a sudden," he asks in a husky whisper. I don't say anything because I can't exactly articulate what I'm thinking.

"What is this?" I ask as I look into his eyes. "Why is this happening?" I whisper and he cocks his head to the side.

"Why do we have to define it right now?" he asks with a shrug. That's really not what I wanted to hear… even though I'm not sure what would be. "We had a good day today and I know you enjoyed it. I'm not the monster you thought I was. Am I?"

I shake my head.

"Good," is all he says as he leans back a bit, with his arm behind him to keep balance. I try to pull down my dress again so he doesn't see anything he shouldn't. "Do you work tomorrow?" he asks as I start climbing off of the bike.

"In the morning," I say as I nod my head.

"I'll probably stop by and see you." I spare him a glance as he starts up his bike. I don't move for a few moments and he kisses my cheek one more time. "See you later, beautiful."

I don't think anyone has ever called me beautiful before…

"Can I ask you a question?" I say quickly before he can take off and he raises his eyebrows before pushing his sunglasses up to give me his full attention again.

"You can ask me anything."

"Daphne mentioned some French girl you dated last summer," I say as I start fiddling with the zipper lined pockets on my dress.

"Why would she say anything about that?" he asks, his voice sounding hard.

"She just mentioned it," I say with a shrug, not wanting to get her in trouble. "But she said you did something to some bloke who kissed her... What did you do?"

He's silent for a moment and then he puts his sunglasses back on. "I punched his teeth in," he says and I cringe. "She was my girlfriend and they kissed at a party at my house. I overreacted maybe, but at least I did something." I'm not sure if that's sound logic... "Why did Daphne feel the need to tell you that?" he asks stiffly.

"Will you punch her teeth in if I tell you?"I question and he tilts his head to the side. I don't like that I can't see his eyes, so I bring my hands up and slowly pull them off of his face.

"It wouldn't be a fair fight," he says seriously. "I don't hit girls… no matter how annoying they are," he adds. I think he could have left that bit off, actually.

"She was just drunk," I say with a shrug as I fold up his glasses. "I don't think she knew what she was saying." He stares at me for a while as I look down at my hands. "Will you... stop telling me to shut up all the time," I tell him. If I want to see him more, I can't have him constantly saying that to me when I say something he doesn't like. "It bothers me."

He places a gentle kiss against my lips. I'm taking that as his agreement so I slide his sunglasses back on his face. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"Okay," I whisper and I watch him take off down the road before turning the opposite way towards my house.

By the time I get home, the sun has officially set and the moon is out, lighting everything in an eerie glow. The lights are on in the kitchen, so I know my parents are home and when I open the front door I'm met with the upset voice of my mother.

"Ginevra Molly Weasley, where have you been?" She runs over to me and envelopes me in the tight hug before pulling back to glare. "Your brother goes missing and you just up and leave when we specifically told you to stay in the house. We were worried sick!"

"I'm sorry," I say as I try to pry myself away from her. My Dad, Fred, George, Bill, Luna, and Fleur are all sitting around the kitchen table. There's a birthday cake in the center of it.

"Where have you been?" My Dad asks as I slip out of the suede boots. My Mom notices them. "We're all ready to celebrate your sweet sixteen."

"Where did you get those?" she asks suspiciously, eyeing the boots.

"I was just out with a friend," I say and then I look at Luna as she raises her eyebrows. "I'm going upstairs to freshen up." I say, giving Luna a pointed look and she stands up as well to follow me up the stairs.

When we get to the room, I close the door and give Luna a smile. "I'm sorry I'm late," I tell her. "But I've had the best birthday."

"I heard that Harry, Ron, and Hermione left," she says as I fall onto my bed with a silly smile on my face as I touch my lips. "Who were you with? Pansy?"

"No," I say as I shake my head. "I was with Draco Malfoy."

"Really?" she says as I look over at Hermione's empty cot.

"Yes," I say with a head nod. Her empty cot makes me think of how she left, how Harry and Ron left…. How they left me with no one but Draco freaking Malfoy on my birthday. "Yes, I think we could be great together."

"Great together?" she repeats and I nod my head with a little smile as I remember the thrill of being on his bike.

"Great, indeed."
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Envy and Manipulations