Harry Potter 1. Water Balloons

**1. Water Balloons**

Ginny walked into the deserted entrance hall, her heeled footsteps echoing through the vast space, she checked her watch, she was late for dinner again, all the extra time she was spending down on the quidditch pitch was ruining her time keeping. As she made her way towards the double doors that led to the Great Hall she heard other footsteps coming from the opposite end of the entrance hall, she lifted her bowed head to see that Draco Malfoy was also late for dinner. He obviously saw her but made no attempt to insult her which surprised her to say the least, she continued towards the Great Hall but suddenly stopped dead; "look out!" she screamed at Draco, he looked at her in shock before looking up at what her eyes were fixed on. But it was too late, the balloon hit him and he was soaked it water, he spluttered and shook his blonde head, sending water spraying everywhere. Ginny's eyes widened, worried about how he would react to his soaking, he looked up at her through the strands of hair that had fallen in front of his eyes and opened his mouth to say something. Before he could say whatever it was a water balloon burst over Ginny's head and she gasped as the freezing water drenched her hair and her shirt. She suddenly wished that she had put her cloak on over her school uniform as her white shirt had become completely transparent, clinging to her pale pink bra. "Peeves!" she screamed at the pesky poltergeist who was floating several feet above both her and Draco cackling. He threw another water balloon in her direction but she was ready for him, she whipped out her wand at lightening speed and sent the balloon flying back to an unprepared Peeves. The balloon hit him in the face and he cursed incoherently as he choked on the water, he looked furious, Draco was bewildered but Ginny just smirked. Draco was even more shocked at this, he had always thought that the youngest Weasley was a shy little mouse, apparently he was wrong - he wasn't used to being wrong. "I suggest you disappear Peeves", he said, recovering his voice, "unless you want another taste of your own medicine", he finished raising his own wand menacingly. Peeves glared murderously between the two of them before gesturing rudely at them both and bobbing away.

Draco ran his hand through his soaking wet hair, trying to smooth it back down as he turned to look at Ginny, her cheeks were slightly flushed and her breathing had quickened slightly, his eyes were drawn to her heaving chest which was on display thanks to the soaking she had received. His eyes widened even more at this - where the hell had they come from?! He cleared his throat; "Uhm, thanks Weasley", he said, forcing himself to be polite. She looked a little shocked at his use of manners, her eyebrows raising slightly before she composed herself; "no problem", she answered, "sorry I didn't warn you quickly enough"

"It's fine, I didn't even get my warning out", he said with a smile. She smiled back. She looked pretty when she smiled he noticed, wait what? Did he really just think that? Was he really stood there engaging in polite conversation with the littlest Weasley? He was clearly loosing his marbles. "Did you want me to dry you?" he asked before he could stop himself, "I know the spell", he added with a shrug, trying to sound nonchalant.

"Oh, yes please, that would be great if you would", she said. She watched as he pointed his wand at her, she never thought that she would willingly let a Malfoy point a wand at her, she wondered for a split second if he was going to curse her, but she didn't think he would. She was right, suddenly her sopping clothes were dry and warm, she smiled again, "thank you so much" she said, relieved, as he pointed the wand at himself and performed the spell again. "No problem", he said walking towards the Great Hall again, he hesitated as he reached the doors, "erm, after you", he said, gesturing for Ginny to go first. Again, she was shocked by his manners, "thank you", she said, giving him a puzzled look as she walking through the doors and towards the Gryffindor table.

"I'm telling you Malfoy is up to something!" Harry said as Ginny slid onto the bench next to Hermione who rolled her eyes at his declaration, apparently Hermione did not agree, and from the bored look on Ron's face, he had been going on at them non stop. Ginny glanced up and saw Malfoy settling himself next to Blaise Zabini at the Slytherin table, he looked up and caught her eye momentarily and she thought she saw the ghost of a smile before he turned his face away to talk to Blaise. "What do you think Ginny?" asked Harry.

"Oh for heaven's sake Harry! She hasn't a clue what you're even asking about!" said Hermione.

"I think Malfoy's up to something", Harry persisted.

"Oh, I don't know. I haven't heard about him doing anything he shouldn't", said Ginny piling some roast potatoes onto her plate and avoiding Harry's eyes. For some reason she felt like what had just happened in the entrance hall should stay between her and Draco. "Exactly!" said Harry, "don't you think it's strange? He's usually terrorising first years!"

"I don't know Harry, and honestly I couldn't care less", said Ginny before turning back to her dinner. "You see", said Hermione, "now can't you just drop it"

Harry shook his head and muttered something under his breath, Ginny was sure she heard the words 'Malfoy', 'bastard' and 'death eater'. She rolled her eyes, sometimes she was sure that Harry just went out of his way to find reasons to hate Malfoy, it was ridiculous, you'd think they were six, not sixteen. "Hey". Ginny looked up and saw that Dean was standing above her with a smile on his face. She swallowed her mouthful before smiling back at him, "Hi", she greeted as he sat down beside her, she heard Ron muttering darkly behind her and swivelled so she had her back to him before kissing Dean in greeting.

Draco looked over at the Gryffindor table and saw that Ginny was kissing Dean, the sight annoyed him for some reason, he supposed it was because he couldn't stand Dean, he couldn't comprehend how he had managed to talk a woman into dating him. "What's wrong with you?" asked Blaise frowning slightly at him. "Nothing", said Draco, averting his eyes away from the red head and her boyfriend. "The Weasley girl", Blaise said in a low voice, Draco shrugged, "I must admit she is good looking", he continued, "I wouldn't say no, but you have to remember she's a blood traitor Draco … my family are not so heavily involved in certain _things _as yours, but even they would be intolerable of such a choice". Blaise spoke softly but Draco could hear the underlying warning in his hushed tones, Blaise was never a man of many words but he saw everything. Draco scowled, "so, she's a good looking girl", he said, "doesn't mean I want to do anything about it". Blaise nodded slowly and let his eyes wander around the Great Hall, Potter looked bothered about something, Longbottom seemed to have lost something, Brown appeared to be looking at Weasley intently. Blaise smirked, he could already see who the next Gryffindor couple would be.

"Why won't you just hear me out?" asked Harry as they walked out of the Great Hall after dinner. "Because you're being ridiculous", sighed Hermione, "you seem to go out of your way to find reasons to hate Malfoy, can't you just accept the fact that he's not bothering us and leave it alone"

"Couldn't have said it better myself Granger", said a drawling voice from behind them. The group swivelled round to see Draco leaning against the banister at the bottom of the stairs. "If you really miss me bothering you that much Potter you should have said something", he said, his voice dripping in sarcasm, Harry looked confused, Ginny smirked a little, she could almost hear his mind working on a retort. Draco caught her eye for a second and smirked himself, he was surprised and amused that the Weasley girl found Potter's discomfort funny. "I know you're up to something Malfoy", Harry spat.

"Oh well done Potter, did you come up with that all by yourself?"

"I've got my eye on you"

"I never knew you had those kinds of feelings for me! Well, as flattered as I am, I'll have to let you down, I'm afraid I don't swing that way"

Ginny actually snorted at that comment and struggled to compose herself, Draco swore he even saw the corners of Granger's mouth twitch, only Weasley remained stony faced, although Draco suspected that that was how he looked most of the time. Harry glared at Ginny and she tried to cover up her betrayal with a cough. "Shut it Malfoy"

"Bravo, stunning comeback, where do you get your material?"

"I know you're up to something, I'd watch your back if I were you"

"Yes I heard that part the first time. Now, as much as I'd love to stand here and listen to your pathetic attempts at threats, I have places to be", said Draco inclining his head slightly at Ginny as he walked towards the entrance to the dungeons. Ginny twitched her lips slightly in response. "Did you just smile at Malfoy?" Harry demanded, disgusted.

"Oh for God's sake Harry, how paranoid can you be?!" she retorted before marching up the stairs and towards the common room.

* * *

"For heaven's sake Ron would you stop staring!" Ginny exclaimed, she had been steadily ignoring Ron for the last hour but she had finally had enough. She was sat on an armchair with Dean, not doing anything particularly risqué, but Ron was looking at her as though she was having sex with Dean right there in the common room. "I wasn't!" Ron protested.

"Oh, whatever!" Ginny said, turning her head away from him again, her relationship with Dean was doomed to failure, she knew it, as soon as Ron found out that was it. It had been the same with Michael, she may have told people that it was because he was a sore loser but the real reason was that he couldn't handle the death glares he constantly received from Ron and Harry. "Uhm Ginny", said Dean, "can we talk? Outside?" Ginny sighed, she knew what was coming. "Yes of course", she said leading the way out of the portrait hole.

"Look Ginny", Dean began once they were outside, "you know I really like you …"

"It's OK", she said, "I know what you're going to say"

"You do?"

"You want us to break up because Ron is driving you mad"

"Uhm … well yeah …"

"It's OK, I get it, it's driving me mad as well, I can't imagine how you feel"

"Thanks for understanding Gin … we can still be friends right?"

"Of course", she said with a smile hugging him.

"Thanks … uhm, do you want to come back in?"

"No, I just need a minute if you don't mind, I think I'd kill Ron if I went in now"

"Sure, I'll see you around", he said before climbing back into the common room.

Ginny took a deep breath, she was surprised that she didn't feel upset, mostly she felt irritated that Ron had dictated her personal life again. But she was more annoyed over that than the fact that Dean had wanted to end their relationship - he was clearly not the one for her, her heart was still very much intact. She couldn't face going back into the common room and facing all their inquisitive faces just yet, she would go for a walk and hopefully once she got back they would have gone to bed. She wandered through the silent corridors, not even thinking about what would happen if she was caught out of bed, she was too caught up in her own thoughts. Suddenly she heard footsteps and her heart hammered against her chest, she looked wildly round for somewhere to hide but she couldn't see anywhere, she pressed herself against the wall and prayed that she would be hidden by the shadows as she inched towards a suit of armour. Hands grabbed her out of nowhere and pulled her into an alcove, a hand covered her mouth and her assailant whispered for her to be quiet, his warm breath tickling her ear. She did as she was told, holding her breath as the footsteps drew nearer to their hiding place, as she listened she noticed that whoever had saved her was tall and muscular, his body was pressed closely against her and her head only came up to his broad chest. She noticed that her hands were clasped around his forearms and his were at her waist holding her so she didn't topple backwards out of the alcove - there was barely enough room for one person to stand in there comfortably, let alone two, she never would have thought of using it as a hiding place. The footsteps were getting drawing level with them now and Ginny held her breath, praying that her hammering heart wouldn't give them away. "What is it my sweet?" came the raspy voice of Filch, Ginny shuddered, she didn't fancy being caught be him, the hands on her waist tightened their grip slightly. "Are there students out of bed?" Ginny could almost feel Filch's eyes roaming around the area, she knew Mrs Norris' lamp like eyes would be intent on finding them too, she couldn't imagine that she would get out of this one. "Mr Filch?" a new voice came through the darkness, "is something wrong?"

"I'm not sure Professor, Mrs Norris alerted me, I thought students may be out of bed"

"Well I cannot imagine that they would be able to hind anywhere around here"

"Perhaps not Professor"

"All these classrooms are locked, I assure you there are no students here"

"Right you are Professor, I'll continue on with my rounds"

"Thank you Mr Filch"

Two sets of footsteps then set off in opposite directions and Ginny let out a sigh of relief before looking up to her saviour, opening her mouth to thank him, before she could get the words out though, his mouth covered hers and she was being kissed like she had never been kissed before. She didn't even think about pulling away, kissing her mystery man was heaven, her arms snaked up around his broad shoulders and her fingers tangled themselves in his soft hair, his arms pulled her even closer, encircling her waist. "Ginny!" a voice suddenly hissed nearby. She broke the kiss immediately, bewildered, had someone seen her? "Ginny!" the voice said again, it was Hermione, "Ginny come on … we have to go!" Ginny looked up and squinted trying to see the face of her hero, but she could only see his silhouette, she sighed, mouthing 'thank you' and smiling at him, hoping he would understand before hopping down from the alcove. "Hermione, I'm here", she whispered. Hermione ignited her wand and smiled, "oh thank God, where were you? I was beginning to think I'd never find you!"

"I was hiding from Filch", she said, it wasn't a total lie.

"Well c'mon, we have to get back to the common room before he comes back"

Ginny nodded and her and Hermione turned to walk towards the Gryffindor tower, Ginny looked back to the alcove and in the faint light of Hermione's wand she saw her mystery man hop down from the alcove, his pale blonde hair illuminated slightly by the ghostly light. A jolt of recognition zapped through her as she stared after his retreating back - she had just been kissing Draco Malfoy!


	2. Close Encounters

**2. Close Encounters**

Over the next few weeks Ginny felt herself being snatched into various alcoves, disused classrooms, the room of requirement and even, on one occasion, the prefects bathroom. Kissing Draco was just as heavenly as the first time, he was certainly skilled in that department. The encounters left her breathless and dishevelled, she was amazed that no one had noticed her messed up hair and skewed up clothes. Neither of said anything, they just kissed one another, clinging to each other as though their lives depended on it, only letting go when they had to go to class. She vaguely wondered how he always found her, and why he even wanted to kiss her, sure, she got plenty of attention from guys, but they were from her own house, with the occasional Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw showing an interest - but no Slytherin, especially one such as Malfoy, had ever even given her a second glance. She knew she should talk to him, ask him what the hell was going on but she was worried that if she did he would stop seeking her out and she wasn't sure if she could handle him not being in her life. "Hello?! Ginny, are you even listening to me?" Hermione's voice broke into her thoughts and she turned to look at her.

"Sorry Hermione, I was miles away, what is it?"

"I said Malfoy keeps staring over here and Harry's starting to get edgy"

"What because he's looking?" said Ginny, slightly impatiently.

"Yes I know, it's ridiculous, but I think we might head back to the common room"

Ginny sighed, she would love to confide in Hermione, but she just wasn't one hundred percent sure that she wouldn't just go running straight to Harry and Ron - and there was no way that they would be OK with whatever it was that was going on between Ginny and Draco. Ginny looked over at him and he caught her eye, he held her gaze and twitched his head towards the doors of the Great Hall ever so slightly. She understood. She nodded her head a fraction, her heart hammering as she watched him get up from the Slytherin table and walk towards the exit, he had never actually _asked _her to meet him before. "I wouldn't worry about it Hermione, he's just left, but I'm going to head off to the library"

"OK, do you want any company, I could come with you?"

"No stay, finish your dinner"

"Alright, but I might join you later"

"Sure, I'll see you", said Ginny hurrying down the table before anyone else could say anything. As soon as she was in the entrance hall she scanned the area looking for any sign of Draco, she couldn't see him, her heart hammered even faster, had she missed him? Had she taken too long? Had she misunderstood his sign?

Arms snaked around her waist, she jumped but relaxed immediately when his voice sounded in her ear; "you look beautiful today", he whispered, his breath making her shiver, "come on, let's get out of here", he said taking her hand and dragging her quickly towards the main doors. They walked in silence, him leading the way around the other side of the lake, she had no idea where they were going and she wasn't about to ask, she didn't even think she could talk at that moment, she was just so stunned that he had actually spoken to her. She was so caught up in her own thoughts again that she barely noticed when they stopped; "we're here", he said softly, she looked up at him through her long eyelashes and saw that he looked slightly uncomfortable, nervous even. He walked over to her and slid himself behind her, putting his hands over her eyes, she didn't question him as he told her to walk forwards slowly. Then he removed his hands from her eyes and she gasped.

He moved to the side so he could take in her reaction, she was stood there, utter shock etched onto her face. Had he done the wrong thing? He knew it was stupid, knew he shouldn't have assumed that she would want any fancy, romantic gestures, hell he hadn't spoken a word to her since he had started this stupid _thing_, whatever it was - even he couldn't explain. All he knew is that he liked how he felt when he was with her, when she was in his arms, he liked watching her, seeing her smile. He liked _her_. He just wanted to show her, why he didn't know, the feelings he was feeling were alien to him. This gesture was so unlike him he even wondered if he hadn't been placed under the imperious curse. He looked away from her to what he had done; he had set a thick picnic blanket down in a secluded corner of the grounds by the lake that was hidden from view from the rest of the castle by a big leafed tree and he had stolen a bottle of elf made champagne from the kitchens and scattered the area with rose petals. Now he felt like an idiot, she clearly didn't like it, he just wished she'd say something. He then felt her small, warm hand in his and he looked down at her, she was smiling, smiling like he had never seen her smile before. "You did this for me?" she asked, her voice soft as she gazed up at him. His face cracked into a grin, "that depends, do you like it?" he asked. She stood on her tiptoes then so she could kiss him, he kissed her back enthusiastically lifting her off her feet, she giggled against his lips and he set her back down, leading her to the picnic blanket.

Draco laid her down softly and lay on his side next to her pulling her lips into another kiss, the hand that wasn't propping him up wandering over her stomach. It felt like fire where he touched her and she reached up to cup his face in her hand. He sighed and pulled away with a smile, pushing himself up into a sitting position, she followed suit, looking at him expectantly. "Champagne?" he asked her. She nodded and watched him as he poured two glasses and handed one to her. She took it. "Cheers", he said raising his own glass and clinking it to hers. She smiled and took a sip and he did the same. "Draco?" she said after a few moments of silence.

"Hmm", he said, playing with a lock of her hair.

"What is all this about?" she asked, frowning slightly. He sighed.

"I don't know, I just wanted to … I don't know, spend time with you"

"I didn't think you felt that way about me"

"Any man who spends any amount of time with you would be mad not to feel like this"

Ginny blushed, she didn't know what to say to that so she just settled for taking another sip of her drink. Draco smiled at her, she didn't even realise how stunning she was and that just added to the appeal, she was so innocent, so special, she didn't deserve to be overshadowed by her brothers, she deserved to be in the spotlight. "So what are we?" asked Ginny quietly.

"Well, we're us"

"But what exactly is that"

"I don't know, I guess we're together but it's probably best if we don't …"

"Tell anyone?"

"Yeah"

"Then it's our little secret"

"You're OK with that?"

"So long as we're exclusive"

"Of course, I don't want or need anything else"

"Me neither", she breathed as his lips brushed across hers again. She could happily kiss him forever and not get bored, it felt like fireworks each time their lips came together. No one had ever done anything so romantic for her, been so thoughtful and so honest, she felt like finally she had found someone who could withstand Ron's insane over protectiveness - that was of course if Ron found out.

"Ginny?!"

They had got to be kidding her. She snapped her eyes open immediately and stared at Draco fearfully, he jumped up and waved his wand, vanishing the evidence that they had been there, "I'll handle it", he whispered as the group called her name again, he kissed her before she could protest. "Go", he urged, "go, I'll handle it, get out of here, I'll find you tomorrow!"

"OK", she said giving him one last kiss before hurrying into the darkness in the opposite direction to the trio. "Ginny?!" she heard Harry call again. She crept further away but she wanted to know what Draco was going to say, she wanted to make sure that he was OK, she was sure he could handle himself, but if the trio thought he'd done something to her they might try and hurt him. "What have you done with my sister Malfoy?!" she heard Ron's voice demand.

"I assure you Weasel I haven't touched your little sister", drawled Draco.

"We know she was here! With you!" Harry bellowed, "where is she?!"

"I expect she's back in the castle, I admit I did see her, but blood traitors don't interest me, I have no idea where she's gone"

"Don't you talk about her like that! If you've hurt her I'll -"

"Don't make threats you can't keep Weasel, I haven't touched her, she's of no interest to me, perhaps if she was I'd have asked what she was doing out after dark …"

"Where did she go?" Harry demanded

"Gee, I don't know", said Draco in a mocking tone.

"Oh this is ridiculous!" said Hermione, "she clearly isn't here, come on, let's go back to the castle, she's probably gone back to the common room"

* * *

"See, I told you she was fine", Ginny heard Hermione say as the trio entered the common room.

"What were you doing with Malfoy Ginny?!" Harry demanded immediately.

"Sorry?" said Ginny, she thought it would be best to feign ignorance.

"I saw you on the map - what were you doing with him?!"

"Shagging him", said Ginny sarcastically. Ron gasped and Hermione suppressed a giggle. "Seriously Harry what the hell do you think I was doing?"

"You could have been hurt! What did you think you were playing at?!" he exploded.

"Oh fuck this, I'm fifteen not five, I can take care of myself!"

"Where are you going?!"

"To bed! I suppose I'm allowed am I?!" she shouted, marching towards her dormitory stairs.

"What is her problem?" asked Harry bewildered as he watched Ginny out of sight.

"You actually have to ask?" said Hermione rolling her eyes.

"You don't think she was actually shagging Malfoy do you?" asked Ron.

"No of course not! Don't be so ridiculous Ron!"

"She smiled at him the other day", said Harry.

"Oh for heaven's sake, I give up!"

"Where are you going?"

"Bed!"

* * *

Ginny ignored Harry the next day at breakfast, she could feel his eyes boring into her as she chewed on her toast, if she wasn't worried about getting detention she would quite happily throw a plate at him. What business was it of his if she wanted to go for a walk around the lake? And so what if his stupid map showed that she had been with Draco? He treated her like a child and she was so sick of it, she couldn't even believed that this was the boy that she had fancied herself in love with for the past four years. It was pathetic, she had concluded, the way that she used to blush in his presence and hang on to his every word as though he was some kind of God. His eyes were still on her, she knew it, if he wanted to apologise that was fine, but he would have to man up and talk to her not just hope that she would turn and look at him. She would not break first, she refused.

Draco looked over at the Gryffindor table to see that prick Potter staring at _his _girlfriend, he scowled and stabbed his egg rather violently with his fork. What was Potter doing staring at her? If he thought he stood a chance with her he was sadly mistaken, Ginny was his and there was no way that he was letting her go, especially not to that prat. To be fair to her she was ignoring his intense stare incredibly, he knew that she would know that he was looking at her, the fact that she wasn't looking back meant that she was pissed off with him. That thought cheered him up immensely, and he smirked before turning back to his breakfast.

"What's he looking so happy about?" Ginny heard Harry say, she fought not to look.

"Who?" said Hermione, she sounded incredibly bored.

"Malfoy!" Harry hissed.

"Oh for heaven's sake Harry, not again!"

Ginny silently thanked God for Hermione, she had said exactly what Ginny was thinking, albeit in politer terms. "What was he doing?" asked Ron. Ginny rolled her eyes.

"He was smirking", said Harry, sounding scandalised. Ginny almost laughed, it was pathetic.

"Is that it?" asked Ron, even he, who agreed with Harry on almost everything was finding this one hard to believe.

"For heaven's sake, Malfoy always smirks!" said Hermione, "now can you drop it?"

"Maybe Ginny knows why he's so happy, seeing as she spends so much time with him", said Harry scathingly. That was it, there was no way that Ginny was just going to sit there and take that. She stood up immediately and walked to where Harry was sat, stopping just behind him she bent her head to hiss into his ear; "firstly, you're an arrogant bastard who has no right to talk about me like I'm some sort of whore, and secondly, I'm beginning to think that you're the one who wants to spend some quality time with dear Draco, you seem to be developing quite the infatuation". Before she straightened up she reached out to the table and pushed Harry's pumpkin juice into his lap. She left swiftly before she could hear his shouts of protest, walking into the entrance hall she stopped and took a few calming breaths before turning to head down to potions. She almost shrieked as she walked straight into him, he did not looking happy, grabbing her upper arms he pulled her into an empty classroom; "What are you doing? Ow, let go you're hurting me!" He slammed the door shut and looked at her, he looked murderous, "what's wrong?" she asked, "what's happened?"

"What the hell were you doing with Potter?!" he demanded. She almost laughed, almost.

"What just then?"

"Yes just then! Don't play dumb with me!"

"Draco calm down! I was pouring a drink over him!"

"What?"

"He said some … things, so I thought I'd have a little _chat _with him"

"What kind of things?"

"Just things, about you and me, look it's fine, he's just clutching at straws"

"You're sure?"

"Of course, he has no proof, and Ron and Hermione think he's lost it"

"I'm sorry I got mad", he said rubbing her arms where he had grabbed her and resting his forehead against hers, "I just can't stand the thought of you with anyone else, especially him"

"You have nothing to worry about, I don't want to be with anyone else", she said kissing him. He kissed her back for a moment before pulling away and sighing in satisfaction. "I have to get to class", she said regrettably.

"Me too - wait though! How did he find us yesterday?" asked Draco

"What?"

"Potter, how did he know you were with me yesterday?"

"Oh shit!"

"What?"

"We have to get moving, if he's got it on him he'll know -"

"What are you rambling about?!"

"The map! It shows everything, everyone, wherever they are in the castle!"

"Are you saying what I think you're saying?"

"Yes, we have to go, in case he looks!"

"I can't not see you! How will we know when he has it on him?"

"We won't", she said chewing her lip

"So what do we do?"

"We steal it"

"We … wow, are you sure you weren't supposed to be in Slytherin?"


	3. In Enemy Hands

**A/N: **Sorry I haven't updated in about a billion years. I've had a mountain of work to do! Hope you enjoy this chapter xD

**3. In Enemy Hands**

Ginny pondered all day about the best way to steal the Marauder's Map from Harry, there was no way she could ask to borrow it not after her actions earlier - not that he hadn't deserved it, and she wasn't in his good books so there was no way she could get close enough to grab it. She didn't even know whether he carried it around with him at all times or whether he kept it in his dormitory. She would have to find out somehow, but for now she was going to get on with her homework, "damn", she said, the end of her quill snapping off as she stabbed it too sharply against the parchment in frustration. "Hermione, can I borrow a quill?" she asked, looking pleadingly in her direction. Hermione sighed and smiled at her, "you should be more careful", she said picking up her bag and rummaging around in it, "damn I think they're all at the bottom", she muttered, throwing various books and pieces of parchment out of the bag onto the floor. Ginny shook her head wondering how she could possibly fit all that stuff into a fairly medium sized bag, it must weigh a tonne. As she stared one piece of parchment caught her eye, she couldn't believe her eyes, Hermione had forgotten to wipe it and it was lying right in front of her, well within reach. She glanced at Hermione who practically had her head stuck in her bag and then at the rest of the room to see if anyone was paying attention - they weren't. She leant forwards and snatched the parchment off the floor and stuffed it behind her back just as Hermione looked up triumphant with a quill in her hand. "Here you go", she said happily handing it to Ginny who muttered her thanks and tried not to look too shifty.

As the evening wore on Ginny managed to transfer the map from behind her back to her pocket, she just prayed that Harry wouldn't find out it was missing for a while, she wasn't sure that she could remain calm under pressure, mind you, he was unlikely to be talking to her after what had happened earlier, not that she minded, she was still utterly furious with him as well. "Ginny?" Oh God, the dreaded voice sounded just above her head.

"What?" she asked icily.

"I just wanted to apologise for what I said earlier", Harry said, sounding sheepish.

"Really?" she asked, suspiciously.

"Yeah, I was being stupid, I know you don't really have anything to do with Malfoy, and I totally deserved what you said and did to me"

"Really?" she asked again.

"Yeah, I really am, I'm sorry Gin, are we OK?"

"Yeah", she said with a smile, "we're OK"

"Good", he said smiling back at her, "hey Hermione, what homework are you doing?"

"Transfiguration and before you ask, no you cannot 'have a look' at it"

"Aww, 'Mione!"

"No, no way, you're not getting your hands on it"

"Fine, can I at least look at your notes?"

"Fine", she said half exasperated, half amused as she handed them over, "Ron, what are you staring at?" she asked, giving him a suspicious look.

"What?! Oh. Nothing", he said turning back to his homework and trying not to look shifty. Ginny looked in the direction that he had been looking curiously before smirking, it wasn't hard to guess that Ron had been staring intently at Lavender Brown, she wondered if her brother would be man enough to do anything about it.

Half an hour later Ginny feigned a yawn and declared that she was going up to bed. "It's a bit early isn't it Gin?" said Ron, looking at his watch, it was only quarter past eight.

"I was up early this morning", she lied, "goodnight", she said before hurrying up to her dorm before any of them could say anything else. Once she was sure that no one else was in the room she pulled out the map and searched for him on there, he wasn't in the Slytherin common room and he wasn't in the library. Her eyes swept over the grounds and the quidditch pitch but her wasn't there either. She frowned slightly, but then she spotted him, he was alone in the prefects bathroom, only one floor below her, she could get to him in a few minutes of she hurried. She bit her lip and thought for a second before making her mind up, she wiped the map and shoved it into her pocket before grabbing a random book off her bedside table and hurrying back down to the common room. "I thought you were going to bed", said Hermione, looking up from her homework. "I was", said Ginny, "but I just remembered I have to return this book to the library", she said holding it up, "I won't be long", she said with a smile before exiting through the portrait hole and hurrying down the staircase and along the corridor to the prefects bathroom. She knew the password as Hermione had shared it with her, however, before she uttered it she consulted the map again just to make sure he was alone. She was in luck, barely suppressing a grin she muttered the password and stepped into the bathroom.

He was stood with his back to her, a towel wrapped around his hips drying his platinum hair with another towel, she coughed and he spun around in surprise, his muscles tensing. She smiled at him and he instantly relaxed. "Didn't mean to sneak up on you", she said mischievously. He smirked at her, sure she hadn't, he thought. "How did you get it here?" he asked. She raised her eyebrows and walked over to him placing her hands on his chest, she had no idea where this confidence was coming from but she liked it, "is that really what you want to talk about?" she asked, sliding her hands down his toned chest and stomach until she reached his towel. She heard him inhale sharply and smirked, his hands reached out to grab her waist and he bent his head to kiss her neck gently, "aren't you worried Potter and co will find us?" he whispered, his breath tickling her skin. "Not at all", she said snaking her hands back up his chest to wrap around his neck before she pulled his head down to her so she could kiss him. After a few moments he broke the kiss and she sighed in frustration, "what now?" she asked irritably, he smirked and raised and eyebrow. "I was just wondering why you weren't worried", he said. She sighed again, "because I have this", she said pulling the Marauder's map out of her pocket. "A piece of parchment?" said Draco, staring at her as though she had gone absolutely mad. "No, not a piece of parchment", she said impatiently, "it's the map". Draco's eyes widened slightly as he stared from her to the map, she rolled her eyes at how slow he was being. "You mean", he whispered, "that you've got Potter's map?" he asked, she nodded, glad that he was finally catching on, "and he can't find us?" he asked, his eyes gleaming. She opened his mouth to berate him for being so slow but he had already captured her lips in an incredibly passionate kiss. When the pulled away for air her lips were still tingling. "So how does it work?" he asked, gazing at the supposedly blank piece of parchment. He watched as Ginny unfolded it and muttered something that he couldn't hear, then ink spread over the parchment forming a perfect map of Hogwarts and the grounds, and then even more astonishing, little black dots moving around on it, all labelled with a different name.

"Wow", he said, taking the parchment from Ginny, "so we're here", he said pointing at the two dots that were him and Ginny in the prefects bathroom. "Yep", she said, watching his amazed expression with amusement, his eyes sliding over the map. She looked down at the map again and her heart froze, a small black dot was travelling down the corridor that they were on, undoubtedly their destination was the bathroom, there was nothing else down there. "Draco someone's coming!" she hissed. His eyes snapped to the bathroom on the map and saw the dot dangerously close, he was hardly surprised at it's label. Harry Potter. "Hide!" he hissed, grabbing Ginny by her upper arm and dragging her behind one of the screens that were used for changing, "don't make a sound", he warned. She nodded fearfully at him before he stepped out from behind the screen just as the door opened and closed. "Well, well, if it isn't Potter", he drawled, Ginny was amazed at how different his voice was when he spoke to her. "What do you want Malfoy?" asked Harry, his voice dripping with contempt.

"I could ask you the same question seeing as it's you who's interrupting my bath"

"So sorry to disturb you", said Harry sarcastically.

"Not at all Potter", said Draco, in exactly the same tone. Ginny imagined that Harry was scowling but neither of the boys said anything else.

After a few moments Draco reappeared behind the screen grabbing his clothes and motioning for Ginny to follow him, she did as she was instructed and the pair of them hurried to the door of the bathroom, Draco opened it as quickly and quietly as possible, and shoved Ginny out first, he followed her out, closing the door behind them. Both of them let out deep sighs of relief and Ginny immediately checked the map, there was no one else on the floor and Harry was safely in the bathroom. "We need to find somewhere for you to get dressed", she whispered, before walking a short way down the corridor, Draco followed her, glancing around nervously, he didn't fancy being caught half naked in the corridors. Ginny finally found an unlocked classroom and gestured for Draco to go in, he did as he was told and Ginny waited outside her eyes still fixed on the map. After a few minutes Draco opened the door and pulled her inside, kissing her immediately with the same passion that he had shown in the bathroom. Ginny felt goosebumps spreading along her arms, no one had ever had this much effect on her before. She pulled away regretfully and looked Draco in the eye, "we can't keep doing this", she said.

"What do you mean?!" he asked, "I can't stop seeing you!"

"I know that! But we can't keep sneaking around in places that are public enough that we'll get caught!", she said, staring at him intensely, "you know I'm right"

"I know", said Draco with a sigh, "just let me think for a minute", he pulled away from her and started pacing up and down, clearly concentrating hard. Not wanting to break his concentration Ginny pulled herself up onto a desk and waited, thinking hard herself. And then it came to her, she couldn't believe she hadn't thought about it earlier. "Draco!", she said.

"What?", he asked, stopping dead and staring at her.

"I know where we can go, and we won't ever be disturbed!", she exclaimed.

"Where?"

"The Room of Requirement! If we're in there no one will be able to get in, and we don't have to worry about being found because it doesn't show up on the map!"

Draco stared at her for a second before closing the gap between them and kissing her again, "you are a genius", he stated.

Ten minutes later Draco and Ginny stood outside the Gryffindor portrait hole, "you'd better go before someone sees you", said Ginny leaning up to kiss him goodnight. He agreed regretfully and let her go. Just as he was walking away she remembered something. "Wait Draco", he turned and looked at her expectantly. "Can you take this?" she asked, "just for now, it's my alibi", she said tossing him the book that she had supposedly returned to the library. "No problem", he said with a wink before turning and disappearing round the corner. With a smile Ginny turned and uttered the password to the Fat Lady who swung open with a wink, Ginny was sure her secret was safe with her. "Hey, you took your time", said Hermione when she walked back into the common room. "Yeah, I bumped into Luna", she lied easily, "oh, by the way, I think one of you might have left this in the library", she said handing the map to Hermione, her and Draco had agreed that Harry would be more suspicious than usual if his map went missing. "Oh God Ginny thank you!", said Hermione, "I was so worried that I had lost, Harry would've killed me. Thank God you found it!"

"Yeah, you'd better be careful, when I found it, it hadn't been wiped"

"Thank you so much Ginny"

"No problem, anyway, Goodnight"

"Goodnight", said Hermione, with a grateful smile. Ginny felt a small stab of guilt but she dismissed it, what she was doing was worth telling a few white lies for.


End file.
