Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

_This is an old story I wrote for rowan-greenleaf some years ago for the DG Fic Exchange. I deleted it for several reasons and I'm now posting it again u_u Enjoy!_

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><p>Ginny ignored the roaring of the crowd at the packed Quidditch stadium as her broom swerved in an unsteady motion when the heavy, dull Bludger hit the wooden tail, leaving a new wound on its mahogany surface. But the redhead couldn't care less; her fine stability skills did wonders with her flight and, as soon as she was hit by the big, round object, she was back in the game safe and sound. Had it not been for the unpleasant mark on her broom, she probably wouldn't even remember the petty incident a couple of weeks later.<p>

Her mind was focused on another round-shaped object, though. The Quaffle, now in the hands of a fellow player, was the object of her utmost longing. Cameron Daley, a fellow Chaser, passed the ball to her without any hesitation or flaw while a dark-haired Chudley Cannons player approached her, subtly assaulting her personal space in one futile attempt to take the Quaffle from her hands. Too late, Ginny thought with joy; the ball had gone through the central hoop, barely slipping through the Keeper's leather gloves.

One half of the colossally crammed stadium gasped in horror and a few voiced their indignation through a series of unpleasant jeers and boos. The way in which Ginevra Weasley had deceived the Cannons' best and most famous Keeper, Cormac McLaggen, was atrocious. Horrid, to say the least. That was, at least, the opinion of the orange-robed supporters. On the other side of the stadium, the verdict was quite different; Ginny Weasley had done a great job by pretending to pass the Quaffle to Adrian but sending it directly to the hoop's heart. Only rarely did she manage to pull such a move, but she had, and the ten points were theirs.

Ginny Weasley yelled in happiness, throwing a fist up in the air and flying around the large pitch with delight. Overwhelmed, she flew to her starting point after an encouraging pat on the shoulder from her captain and waited for McLaggen to throw the ball back into the game.

The game started again and, in only a second, the Quaffle was being passed from Chaser to Chaser, only this time it was the opposing team who took possession of it. Ginny was intensely focused on the current owner of the ball, Annie Beale, and proceeded to approach the Chaser when, all of a sudden, the environment changed.

Multiple screams of victory made her forget about Annie. In the intermission of a second, Draco Malfoy, who was now holding the golden piece of success with both hands, had turned the stadium into something else. Not one member of the audience remained seated; they all seemed to find it a necessity to stand up, whether it was in order to sing victory chants, to shout at their rivals, or just to go home and find shelter after such a long, hot day.

Ginny sighed in relief, letting a tired smile into her sweaty face. But, within seconds, her shy smile turned into a beaming grin and she was joining the rest of her team with pride. It was over, she thought. The Appleby Arrows had defeated the Chudley Cannons by 420 over 180 points, respectively. The orange team was already on the ground and heading to their changing rooms in a lethargic pace after having exchanged a cordial shake of hands with their euphoric opponents.

Ginny's heart was pounding with thrill while she hugged Leah Emmet, the best Keeper she had ever met, and both comically struggled to maintain the balance on their brooms. The young woman in front of Ginny was flushed with heat, her jet black hair messed up with sweat and dirt, not unlike Ginny's, but the beautiful smile on her face and the look of satisfaction in her eyes concealed her exhaustion in an incredible way.

"We made it, Ginny!" Leah yelled, for although they were barely thirty centimetres away from one another, the crowds were starting to get noisier. "We did it, we did it, we did it!" the Keeper chanted as she danced hilariously on her broom.

"We did it!" Ginny agreed, proudly, "Just one more game and we'll win the cup!" she added with vigor while observing her captain shake hands with Malfoy and then embrace him in a manly hug.

In fact, she thought while looking at the blond, the one reason why she couldn't describe her life as completely amazing was the almost daily presence of Draco Malfoy in her life.

Ginny had joined the Arrows more than a year ago and by then Malfoy had already been on the team for a year and a half. He was well-known among the players for his peculiar concentration skills and the ability to control his movements even in the most unnerving situations.

He had an amazing swing on the broom, a talent acquired after more than a decade of strict, non-stop practice. At first, this sport had been just the result of his father's senseless whim, only interested in his son's excellence in every area, but, with the years, the annoying task had become an interesting hobby and, later, a passion, a way of escaping reality. That's how, during the hot summer of 1999, he realized he didn't want to succeed his father in the family business, but start living his own life instead. He had wanted so many things in life but none of them involved working closely with his father. And, while in his life he craved a lot of things, he had a hunger for Quidditch above all.

However, from Ginny's point of view, Draco Malfoy could be easily summarized in one simple word: bastard. Or, after thorough consideration, two simple words: arrogant bastard.

The match had finished with a loud, masculine and endless yell; this time the performer was Daniel Collingwood, an aristocratic Englishman with fine features and a royal legacy. He was also the Arrows' blind Beater.

"Stop it, Dan! You'll send our reputation to the rubbish!" said Ellie Fischer in a reprimanding tone while the team went through the dark tunnel that led to the changing rooms.

The stadium was almost empty now; Ginny took one glance back to contemplate the round source of light that was the beginning of the tunnel that led to the changing rooms, her broom on her shoulder and her clothes soaked with perspiration. It had been one of the hottest days of the summer, not to mention that the game had lasted four hours non-stop. Without a doubt, everyone was supposed to be soaked after a game like this, she considered.

Ginny noticed with amusement how her team had unconsciously split itself in three groups; Malfoy and Cameron were at the front, secretly discussing something; Ellie, Daniel and Adrian followed, the first two joking around while the latter silently stared at them with what could be described as disapproval, and she and Leah were a couple of steps behind, both immersed in utter silence.

"That's it!" Ginny shouted out of the blue, attracting Leah's concerned attention and Daniel's interested gaze, "I know what I need! A chocolate cake!" she continued, while the dark-haired Keeper slowly raised an eyebrow.

"Okaay…that solves the mystery of _what did Ginny need_," she half mocked. "Don't worry, dear, you'll eat as much cake as you want once you've packed all of your stuff and gone through Cameron's eternal speech. I'm sure he's got a lot of praising to do, especially to you and Draco," Leah uttered these last words with special emphasis. An annoying emphasis, in the redhead's opinion.

However, the Gryffindor was glad that the third round had ended; after five never-ending days at Bodmin Moor with her teammates as the only available form of social life, she just wanted to go back home and spend quality time with her family and friends. And her comfy bed.

The changing room was no more than a simple room with just enough lockers to fit their team and an adjacent showering room. No luxuries this time. Ginny melancholically remembered her last trip with her team; they had had to play against the Tutshill Tornados in Ilkley Moor, West Yorkshire. _That_ was something. The dormitories were exceptional and the attention they received even more. The place itself was incredible and, now, she sighed, it was all gone. Here in Cornwell, the walls were plain white, the light from the torches seemed boring and she had the suspicion that the water wouldn't be warm enough.

But then again, Ginny thought that the constant travelling could be spoiling her somehow. This was the second season she was playing for the Arrows—or for any team, for that matter—and she was thrilled about it. This tournament was, in fact, really brief. Just five matches to play with five days of stay at the chosen location. Nevertheless, it was the most important tournament in England, and the fact that Ginny's team was one of the six involved said a lot.

Ginny headed to her locker without even giving a glance of acknowledgement to the blond man next to her and proceeded to take her robes off without hesitation.

Draco eyed her briefly and continued to take his own clothes; once he got rid of his shirt and threw it in his locker, he stared at the redhead again.

"Aren't you going to congratulate me, Weasley?" he asked, a smirk running across his face. It was funny how Malfoy could get on her nerves so easily.

However, Ginny tried her best not to reply to him, but the egoistical prat next to her was staring at her without blinking.

"Congratulations, Malfoy, you managed to catch the Snitch!" she told him with fake excitement after turning to face him, "Just like _every_ Seeker should," she tapped his shoulder three times with pretended reassurance and faced her locker again.

"You don't have to be so angry about it; it's not my fault that you couldn't get my place," he replied, while throwing his footwear and pants in with the rest of his belongings.

"Oh, come _on_! I only applied for both places because I wanted to be sure I could enter!" her voice was starting to rise.

"Oh, _really_? I find that hard to believe," Draco said, with unconcealed superiority in his voice, "but if you say so…"

"I say so!" Ginny yelled with fury. Only clad in her underwear, she threw her blouse inside the locker and shut it as sonorously as she could. The rest of her partners were already in the showers, "And Seekers are a fucking lame excuse for players!"

"Watch your tongue, Weasley. It would be a shame if you only used it to talk nonsense. There are so many productive things you could do with it…" he slowly walked towards her and stood face to face with Ginny.

"You wouldn't be able to handle me."

She stood still and remained quietly defiant. His naked torso and athletic arms were appealing, yes, but she knew better than to surrender so easily.

Draco Malfoy only waited; he thought it was just a matter of seconds until the redhead surrendered to his intimidating self.

However, nobody won this time. In fact, their brief dispute ended abruptly when Leah came back to the room, drying her hair with a towel. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Draco and Ginny's little showdown.

"Not again! You guys should find something else to do; it's starting to creep me out," that said, the girl opened her locker and started to dress, ignoring the two individuals behind her.

Draco ignored the Keeper and kept staring at Ginny.

"Why don't we finish this in the showers?" he asked, feigning seriousness, only to trace a new smirk in his face seconds later.

"You fucking idiot! Haven't I told you I despise you enough times already? I _despise you!_" she yelled, red with rage. She threw her towel in his face with force and rushed off to the showers.

The Slytherin took the white piece of cloth from his face and smirked handsomely. One, two, three seconds later, and the redhead was back with an angry expression.

"Mine!" she took off the towel from his hands and directed one deadly glance to him before disappearing into the heated fog of the showers.

Angrily, Ginny entered an unoccupied shower and closed the curtains in one single motion, getting rid of her underclothes and placing herself under the warm, delicious water that surrounded her.

As soon as the water touched her pale skin, Ginny sighed in frustration. Her loathing towards Draco Malfoy was so big that her face always turned red with annoyance after their discussions. And what's worse, he was always calm! No matter how many nasty, insulting things she told him, he would never show his anger.

Ginny furiously rubbed her auburn hair in an attempt to scrub every trace of dirt away, but all the effort in the world wasn't enough. Her career as a Quidditch player at one of the most prestigious teams in England was starting to take off and she was about to move from her childhood home to a lovely flat in the heart of Wizarding London. That was great, yes. But, how could it be possible that, no matter how great her life was getting, there would always be Malfoy to ruin her day?

Ginny sighed helplessly, letting herself rest against the wall with the water running through her body and closed her eyes.

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><p>"But, how does it feel? Were you nervous? Thrilled?"<p>

"Dear Ron, I wish you could stop being so obnoxious for once," Ginny confessed before taking a sip of her butterbeer, "you've been asking me the same questions for about a year now!"

"Every time is different! Different places, different feelings …"

"Well, if you are so frantic about Quidditch why didn't you choose that over the Auror position?" Ginny asked, taking a glance through the window.

The sunset was almost gone, which gave the streets of Diagon Alley a mysterious light. Everything seemed more mysterious once the sun was gone, Ginny concluded.

They had gone to have dinner at Jarvis' Café, a big but cozy place that served everything from breakfasts to dinners, and that included coffee, of course, and doughnuts—the best chocolate-covered, chocolate-filled doughnuts in the entire Alley.

The redhead noticed that her brother hadn't replied to her question about his chosen career, so she diverted her gaze from the window and searched for his. He was staring blankly.

"Ron?" she asked. Harry looked concerned, as well, but not enough to stop himself from taking a big bite of his hamburger.

"I don't know," Ron muttered, "I don't know."

"You don't know?" Harry asked this time, "How come?"

"I _don't know_!" Ron was freaking out now, Ginny thought. The best plan of action would be to change subjects as soon as possible.

"Erhm, how's Cho, Harry?" she dared to ask, although her mind was still worrying about her brother.

"She's fine, thanks. She's just applied for that internship at the Department of Foreign Affairs I told you about," Harry informed in an excited tone.

"That's great! I hope she gets it," Ginny smiled while bringing a fork full of pasta to her mouth. Her mind wondered briefly and she concluded that, after the initial disgust, and even indignation, she had experienced when she was told about that relationship, she was happy for Harry and Cho.

"Malfoy was good. I saw some smashing pictures of him. Did you notice how he caught the Golden Snitch?" Ron began, after ten seconds of total silence. Ginny wondered who else in the world would call it the 'Golden Snitch' instead of just the 'Snitch'. It was not as if it came in multiple colours.

"No, Ron. I didn't, in fact. But we're not here to talk about bloody Malfoy, are we?" she sighed. Her brother was a lost cause.

"Well, if you want my opinion, I think McLaggen was hideous! He's a shame to the Chudleys!" Ron continued in his diatribe, "did you see the way he let the Quaffle slip? He doesn't deserve to be on such a team!"

"If he'll keep letting me score like that he does; he is making my job easier," she replied, taking one sip from Ron's drink after realising her own was empty, "although I really can't stand the way he looks at me,"

"I've never liked him. He's an ass," Ron hurried to add, putting his drink where it belonged: right in front of him.

"Well, in that case… I think I should ask him out some day," the redhead joked, "he's got a nicely shaped... body, in fact."

Ron kept silent. There were so many things he wanted to voice at the same time, but nothing escaped his pursed lips.

"She's just teasing you, Ron. Don't freak out," Harry laughed while patting his friend's shoulder, "now, who wants dessert?"

"Oh! I want a doughnut!"

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><p>Draco Malfoy stood by the window of a well-known bookstore, weighing his options. He could enter and waste a great deal of time looking for some good reading or he could just start on his errands and leave the bookstore for later. After some time of pondering—and looking like a lost kid in the middle of the street—he decided it wouldn't be so much of a crime to go and skim through some books.<p>

Exactly thirty minutes later, Draco left Flourish and Blotts with the rewarding feeling that it had been worth it, carrying a bag with a respectable sum of textbooks, including _A Study into the Possibility of Reversing the Actual and Metaphysical Effects of Natural Death, with Particular Regard to the Reintegration of Essence and Matter_, _Moste Potente Potions_ and _Long Lost Memories of a Disarmed Witch_.

What could he say? He loved to read.

"You've been a bad boy, Draco. No more treats for you before dinner," a familiar voice stated from behind him. Draco turned around, smirking.

"How so?" the blond inquired. Blaise Zabini was standing in front of him, a sneer on his vivacious face and his hands in his pockets. He and Draco shared meaningful gazes and, subsequently, proceeded to greet with a strong handshake.

"I heard that you stood Pansy up," Draco's friend informed him as they started walking towards Madam Malkin's.

"She was starting to bore me," confessed the blond after a second's hesitation. Blaise frowned. People hurried past the two Slytherins at a frantic pace, immersed in their own lives.

"Ok, I can see that, but if I were you, I'd have called the whatever-it-was off personally. What happened to you, man?" the dark-skinned man voiced with delicacy, as if making a deadly potion, "You know the saying about scorned women, don't you?"

"I didn't have time to tell her, Blaise," he said with calm, "my mind was on the game."

"Indeed. I hadn't seen you in ages, man," Blaise informed with a hint of accusation in his voice, "How's your feisty teammate? Last time I saw her she was about to hex you," he smirked.

"That hasn't changed, in fact. Weasley still loathes me and I still have fun seeing how she blushes and tries to think of a decent comeback," the blond smiled. That moment in the locker room earlier had been exactly like that, he thought. "She's pretty damn easy to annoy."

Draco entered the clothing shop and headed straight to the counter while Blaise waited at the door. The store seemed bigger once you entered it. With customers everywhere, it could almost be the clothing equivalent for Gringotts, had it not been for the lighthearted air that Malkin's shop provided.

A good-looking, short witch appeared from an unfamiliar place in the second storey and approached Draco with the best of her smiles.

"Mr. Malfoy, such a pleasure! What can I do for you today?" the middle-aged woman asked with sincere curiosity, wandering around the Slytherin and taking in everything she could about his delectable body. "Perhaps some new underwear to amaze your witch? I'd be honoured to help you find some." Draco Malfoy secretly shuddered but gave the saleswoman a polite smile, anyway. This was why he hated coming in here.

"No, thanks. I just wanted to pick up the robes I asked for last week. Are they ready?" he asked in haste, wondering why on Earth he didn't go to Twilfitt and Tatting's.

"Oh! Yes, of course, Mr. Malfoy! I happen to have them right… here!" she said happily while grabbing a bunch of bags from behind the lonely counter, "Six Galleons and thirty four Sickles, it should be," she added, her gaze resting in the blond's strong legs.

"Keep the change," he thanked and turned around to leave, without a second glance towards the agitated woman.

"Don't forget to come back if you need some underwear, Mr. Malfoy! I'll be waiting for you!" she yelled.

"You won't get rid of her if you give her more money than necessary," Blaise smirked once his friend reached him.

"Oh, well," he sighed exaggeratedly, "I forgot about that detail; she was driving me nuts."

They continued walking until Draco was over with his errands and went to an office post to send his acquisitions home. Once done with that, he sighed.

"Leaky Cauldron? Bet Theo will be there already," Blaise suggested after ogling a voluptuous witch on the other side of the street.

"Fine. But I'll disappoint you by leaving early. I've got practice tomorrow." Draco uttered. The night had already settled above their shoulders and there were less people in the streets by now.

"No problem. We'll get drunk and find fine ladies another day," he smirked while passing by Florean Fortescue's Parlour.

"Draco Malfoy?" said an alarmed voice a few metres ahead from the pair. Draco recognised his bothersome teammate and her brother, the one who had called him. Next to him was Harry bloody Potter. Ron came running to his place and the rest followed him, hesitatingly.

"What a coincidence! We were just speaking of fine ladies," Blaise began, directing his gaze to the redhead girl in front of him, "Don't you find it a lovely coincidence, Ginevra?" he smirked.

"Oh, yeah. A _lovely_ one, Zabini. We were just speaking of overrated prats, in fact. What could _that_ mean?" she answered dryly. Her gaze locked with Draco's for a second. Although he had never had a high regard for her, Draco found it amazing that she could be so ruthless with people she barely knew.

"Although I love seeing you act so harshly, that was uncalled for," he pretended to sigh. "I guess we'll have to teach you how to behave, won't we?"

"Don't bother, Blaise, she's untameable. I've tried to teach her myself—it's worthless."

In that instant of awkwardness, with Harry Potter trying to kill the Slytherins with his gaze but saying nothing, Ginny holding her wand inside her pocket just in case, and Malfoy simply staring at her with a deep, handsome smirk, Ron spoke again:

"How did you do that flip with the broom, Malfoy?" he asked out of the blue with a funny expression, although his face was really serious.

"_Excuse_ me?" Draco uttered, taken aback, "are you serious?"

"No, he's not. He is teasing you because he hates you, like everyone else does," Ginny hurried to answer before his brother. What was wrong with him?

"You say so, but you don't mean it," he replied back with a slight sneer, "after all the nights of pleasure we have shared, the least emotion you'd feel for me is hatred," Blaise glanced at his friend and smiled mischievously at the comment. Harry jumped, taking his own wand threateningly.

"Sod off, Malfoy, or prepare to suffer the consequences!"

Draco smirked mockingly at Harry's clichéd line.

"Take that back, Malfoy. You know it's not true. I wouldn't do such a hideous thing even if you were to pay me." Ginny spitted. Her cheeks grew red, angry at the blond's statement.

"I'd pay you," joked the dark-haired Slytherin, "and you wouldn't regret it afterwards."

"You-you touched my little sister?" Ron asked when he realised the events taking place, "My _little_ sister? Answer, Malfoy!" he shouted, suddenly forgetting that he worshipped the blond.

"Oh, my. We have to get out of here. Big bad Weasley is about to explode," Draco mocked, taking one step forward. That family was very easy to annoy, indeed, "what if I did, Weasel?"

"You're dead!" he took his wand and pointed at Draco, waving it furiously. In a matter of seconds, Ginny hold Ron by the wrist and took his wand. Ron stared at her, flabbergasted.

"We're out of here!" she yelled, pushing past Draco with force and taking her brother by the wrist, "Fuck off, Malfoy!"

"I love you too, _darling_!" he turned around to see the siblings go away with anger and Harry Potter trying to catch them up, and he smiled, pleased, "See you tomorrow!"


	2. Chapter 2

"Yes!" Ginny yelled when the Quaffle crossed through the perfect circle of the central hoop. For some unknown reason, she still felt utterly pleased whenever she managed to score. One would think it was something players got used to, but the thrill she experienced every single time had been the same since her first encounter with a Quaffle back in her childhood.

Ginny flew down in a hurry to catch the ball just before it hit the ground, and then went back to her position on the left side of the pitch, throwing the Quaffle to Leah. It was half past nine and the sun was burning with force already.

"Ok, try passing it to me next time; I want to try something," Ginny heard Adrian mutter to her in the split second he flew next to her. Ginny only nodded to him, still smiling goofily due to her last move.

They had been practicing some Chaser strategies, offensive and defensive, for the last two hours. It was one of those days when they all played the same role to strengthen everyone's abilities. Velocity, audacity, potency, precision, and shrewdness; it all mattered when playing, and nothing was to be overlooked, said Cameron, who always bragged about his neat practicing techniques. It was not as if he was lying; everyone on the team was trained enough to play _any_ position, even if they would never need to.

Ginny was on the team with Adrian and Draco, leaving Ellie, Cameron and Daniel as the opposing team. Leah, not surprisingly, was protecting the hoops. It was annoyingly difficult to get her out of that position, but, as she claimed, it was a critical position with skills that only she needed, and it was a waste to share it with everyone. And Cameron couldn't deny it, as a matter of fact.

Draco flew to the centre of the pitch, so he was facing Ellie, and waited for his cue. As soon as the tall Keeper threw the Quaffle towards the blonde girl in front of him, Draco intercepted the pass and caught the flying object with a steady hand. He flew to the end of the pitch in no more than three seconds while Ginny stayed close to the Keeper with the intention of scoring from there. Soon enough, though, Daniel guarded her and she could do nothing but try to get rid of him. Draco noticed her situation and, instead of throwing the Quaffle to her as originally planned, he flew back to the centre point, avoiding a crash into Ellie's speedy body and passing the Quaffle to Adrian, who seemed more than pleased to catch it.

However, his delight didn't last long. Cameron stole the ball from him, turned around and headed to the scoring area so easily that Adrian was left shocked for a second. Next thing, Adrian went back to get revenge on the Captain while Draco approached him as well. What followed happened so quickly that more than one of the onlookers would have missed the sequence: Draco stole the red ball and let it slip from his hands knowingly. In less than one second of free fall, Ginny, who was just below the Slytherin, caught the Quaffle and threw it directly through the right hoop. Leah cursed and everyone stared at her.

"What? Never saw a woman swearing? I was this close to catching it. This close!"

Ginny smiled, exhausted. However, she couldn't get the feeling of adrenaline out of her body. She wanted to keep playing.

"Petrova would be rolling over in her grave," she told Draco jokingly when she found herself face to face with him.

"I think she would be jealous, in fact. Or proud, at least," the blond confessed, smirking, "I would have never thought you could actually pull off a Porskoff," he said, smirking once again, this time at Ginny's frown.

Ginny didn't answer; she was too busy wondering why she had spoken to him in the first place. And why he had sort of complimented her.

Oh, that's right! The adrenaline! That tricky substance could do miracles to people…

"Alright, people! This is it for today. Tomorrow we have regular practice and a bit of penalty exercises. Good job!" Cameron said before returning to the ground. The rest of the team followed suit.

It was ten o'clock and they had been practicing for four hours. A well deserved warm shower was waiting for Ginny.

"Ah. I could make my living from this…" her friend told Ginny when they were heading to the changing rooms. Ginny looked at her incredulously, and Leah winked.

"One can never know if you're being serious or not," said the redhead. Ellie and Daniel were plotting against the world again, she noticed.

"Hey, how did you like your new flat? Is it big?" Leah jumped in, remembering the conversation they'd had the day before.

"It is, indeed!" Ginny exclaimed, her eyes wide open, "I was about to tell you about it. I need your help with the move. I can't do it all by myself in one single day!" she confessed, her voice rising in the process. When they reached the changing rooms, the redhead sat on the centre bench while her friend started to change.

"You want _my_ help? Pft." Leah waved her hand dismissively, "I won't be of much help; my spells are as awful as Ellie's lying skills," she admitted, sighing, "but I can go and morally support you. Maybe I can even ask some of the guys to help us," she rushed to add, trying not to disappoint the Gryffindor.

"Guys?" Ginny repeated, wary of her friend's implications.

"Yeah, guys! Like Cameron. And Daniel." she hurried to say, but failed to sound nonchalant to Ginny's ears.

"Okay…guys, huh?" Ginny said, considering the option carefully, "It should be easier, then."

"It _will_."

"Ok. I'm planning to move tomorrow. We'll arrange the time later; right now I'm in _dire _need of a shower." The redhead headed to her own locker, where Draco was already in his towel and about to leave.

Draco stared at Ginny for a second while she opened her locker and took her blouse off. He doubted having ever actually looked at her carefully in the past, regardless of the proximity of their lockers or of their usual arguments, which always included an intense clash of gazes. The blond took in a couple of things about her in a mere two seconds of staring, like the sweaty, thick hair that failed to go unnoticed and, he discovered, trapped one's attention like a hypnotic fire. Her freckled cheeks gave her face an air of naivety and her still irregular breathing from practice danced in a discordant rhythm with his.

Ginny took her pants off and instinctively looked at Draco's direction, but he was already heading to the showers.

* * *

><p>It was ten past two and Ginny had managed to pack all her clothes in some bags and rid herself of all the unnecessary things she had stored in her room after many, many years of senseless untidiness. Leah and the <em>guys<em> should be arriving at The Burrow in no time.

Three _cracks_,—one sonorous and two barely audible—were heard from the outside. Ginny heard them and went downstairs, running barefoot as fast as she could and opening the kitchen door hurriedly.

"Hel-lo…" was all she could utter after seeing Draco Malfoy right in front of her with a calm expression. Her level of shock went through the roof in a second and her mouth was paralyzed.

Draco, standing ahead of Leah and Daniel, smirked, aware of her surprise. The other two teammates had been quietly fighting, trying not to be obvious. Leah whispered with anger to the Beater and he barked back at her defensively.

"Hello yourself, _Ginevra_," Draco said, looking at her with a sneer on his face, "Aren't you going to let us in?"

Ginny just nodded, her eyes slightly wider than usual, and stepped aside, letting the three of them enter her childhood home. She thanked Merlin none of her family was there; otherwise, there would have been blood. Maybe there would be anyway, she thought.

"Well?" Draco asked after inspecting the room for a couple of seconds. He took a seat in one of the kitchen chairs and looked at Ginny expectantly, "Are we helping little Weasley with her doll-house or what?"

Leah, having finished her discussion with Daniel with a punch to his gut, approached her astounded friend and led her as far away as she could from the two men.

"I'm sorry, Ginny. I'm sorry, sorry, sorry, sorry! I'm deeply sorry!" she started, looking at her friend in the eye, "I didn't plan this! Cameron couldn't reach me and told Daniel he wouldn't be able to make it," she excused herself, muttering the Beater's name with disgust, "You can figure out the rest."

"It's okay, Leah. Don't be so harsh on yourself," Ginny inhaled deeply in order to maintain her composure and took her friend by the shoulders to calm her down, "I can handle it," she smiled against her will, "We'll take advantage of the bastard as much as possible!"

"Seriously? Are you okay with it?" Leah's voice started to calm down, regaining its usual alluring tone.

"I repeat: I can deal with it. Come on!"

Ginny approached the blond man with purpose and stood still, staring down at his head. He raised his chin and found her eyes with his.

"Yes?" He asked, innocently.

"Are you going to help us or not?" Ginny spat, her brown eyes trying to murder his pewter ones.

"_Yes_, Weasley. It's not like I only came here to annoy you_._"He stood up, closing the distance between their faces. Ginny took a step back in surprise. "Or, perhaps, that's the main reason I'm here. Don't you agree?" he sneered, trying to exasperate her.

"For once, I do. I think you just want to get on my nerves, as usual," she answered furiously, "But we are lacking one person and Cameron has sent _you_ as his replacement, so it's up to you to decide what you're going to do next."

Draco looked around with fake indecision, pretending to be making one of the most difficult choices of his life, and stared back at Ginny. "I'll stay."

"Okay, then," she sighed in frustration, "we'll start charming the heavier and bigger stuff first. Then we'll go back and keep on moving smaller things. It's not that difficult for your clumsy mind to understand, is it?" she asked, more to Draco than to the rest of her team. "Do you think you can handle it?"

"For you, _love_, I can," he smirked, sounding more mocking than he was and making the redhead confused. He glanced at Leah and Daniel, who were arguing about the whole situation again, and headed upstairs with resolution. Ginny followed him with hesitation.

Once on the second storey, Draco stopped still and Ginny nearly bumped into him as a result. He looked back questioningly, and she pointed the direction to him with her gaze. The silence in the hall was unnerving.

Despite the fact that he was leading the way and that consequently, he reached her door first, Draco didn't enter the room; he waited next to the wooden door for her to reach him.

"Oh, please!" she shouted, intentionally too loud, and entered her dormitory, angry that Draco had the nerve to show up at her house and act polite yet still insult her with his every glance. Draco just raised an eyebrow in amusement.

"How are we going to get to your place?" asked Daniel as he entered the room, looking at the piles of bags and furniture with hesitancy. He took one bag and mentally weighed it.

"Um… Apparating?" the redhead suggested with uncertainty. That little detail hadn't crossed her mind.

"Apparating? I can barely Apparate myself! It would be suicide to carry all these bags with me in the act!" jumped the Beater, unaware of his loud tone.

"There aren't _loads_ of it, Dan. We can make several trips, anyway," Ginny replied, annoyed at the way Draco was examining every centimetre of her room.

"We can Floo…" Leah suggested, "Have you connected the Floo access already?"

"No… not yet. They told me they were coming 'in a few days'," she answered, even more annoyed at the way Draco looked at the fields of Ottery St. Catchpole through the window. He had already ruined her thrilling 'moving day,' she thought.

"Why didn't you hire a moving agency to spare yourself all this hassle in the first place, Weasley?" Draco finally said, turning around to face his teammates.

"I don't like those agencies, _Malfoy_. There's always something that gets lost in the process. But you can leave, if you think it's a _hassle_," she said, fighting the urge to hit him. She wouldn't stoop that low, she thought.

Malfoy didn't even delight her with an answer. He just looked at her, silently. That _bastard_.

After a couple of seconds of silence, Ginny spoke again, this time with more reassurance _and_ annoyance.

"Ok. Here's what we'll do: I'll give you the coordinates of the flat and Leah and Daniel can Apparate there. Leah: since your spells are so _awful_, I guess you won't be coming with me. Instead, _you_ and Daniel will wait in the house and arrange the furniture and stuff that Malfoy and I will carry. It will take longer, but it's the only way I can think of," she instructed and paused, waiting for someone to complain. When nobody said a word, she continued, "Also, I need to go to buy some more things from a bunch of stores and take them to the flat. It won't take so long," she sighed, not believing what she was about to say, "if Malfoy goes with me."

Draco looked at her with wonder and raised his eyebrows.

This was going to be more difficult than she thought.

* * *

><p>Three hours later, Ginny sat on a bench in a green area in Wizarding London. Worn out, she sighed for the third time in the last minute and readjusted herself in the seat, lying down on it like a homeless person taking a nap under the shining sun. They had been working incessantly and all she wanted was to rest for a while. And to eat, more than anything.<p>

"You don't want to ruin your graceful reputation by lying like that, Weasley." She heard Draco tease her as he walked up. She had closed her eyes to, um, reach a deeper contact with her inner self, but that didn't last long, it seemed.

Ginny sat down and looked at Draco; he was standing next to her, carrying two bottles of butterbeer and a brown package. He handed one of the bottles to her. Ginny frowned suspiciously and opened her mouth to speak.

"It's not poisoned, Weasley. There are certainly plenty of more fashionable ways to kill you than a simple poisoned beverage," the blond said before she could utter anything. She accepted his offering warily and learned that the mysterious package contained vegetarian sandwiches when he took one to eat.

"I'm sure there are," she answered dryly, "but none of your attempts would be fruitful; I won't die at the hands of a Malfoy." Draco snickered.

They had visited five different places to get everything Ginny needed and carried them to her new home with a reducing charm. But, no matter how much they reduced the objects, Apparating with them proved to be an exhausting task regardless of how much advanced magic the wizard knew.

In the process of moving, however, neither Draco nor Ginny had forgotten who they were working with. There were those instants when Ginny would simply tease him lightly about the first thing that crossed her mind or they would mock each other with no hard feelings. But then, in the following instant, they were back to sneering and staring defiantly at each other. Just like a normal Malfoy and Weasley, but with the added tension of different genders.

Ginny's stomach growled when she took another glimpse of Draco's food. She tried to cover the sound with a miserable cough, but it made things worse, for it raised the blond's suspicions about her state of health. Draco stared at her and she avoided his gaze by looking the other way.

"You're starving, Weasley," he said, resembling Hermione with such obvious comment.

"I'm not. I already told you I wasn't; I'd have bought my _own_ food if I was," the redhead said hurriedly, "and there wasn't any need to buy me a butterbeer when I didn't ask for one!" she finished stubbornly. Draco raised an eyebrow after confirming Ginny's glass was, indeed, empty.

"You are hungry _now_, according to your stomach," he teased her, but obtained no more response than a roll of eyes. "Look, I'm not going to eat more, Weasley. If you don't want to eat, I'll throw the food in the trash!" Draco exclaimed, exasperated.

"You should keep the food, Malfoy. For next time you're hungry, that is," Ginny replied stubbornly, not knowing what to think of the blond's proposal. All this interested behaviour was extremely odd.

"I'll throw it away."

"You can give it to the birds. Or to the dogs! I saw one ten minutes ago,"

"I'll throw it away," he inhaled, "It's either you or the trash. Choose, because I won't stand your foolishness for long," he finished, extending his hand with the package of sandwiches.

"You mean you'd give it to Zabini? I'm sure he'd appreciate it," she suggested. However, Draco's face was devoid of any expression, staring intensely at her, his hand outstretched over the bin, waiting to let go of the food. Ginny sighed, "I'm not willingly accepting your food, Malfoy. Just so you know." She took the package from his delicate hands and grabbed one sandwich, trying not to appear too anxious.

"Of course you're not. You just surrendered to my obvious charm," Draco smirked at Ginny's comical eye roll while biting a piece of food. He observed the few birds surrounding them in search for bread and, not very far away, some kids playing Quidditch in a small pitch; their contagious laughter reaching his ears and taking him back to his own childhood.

"We need to get going," the Gryffindor announced suddenly while she stood up. She hadn't even finished the sandwich in her hands, but she was already waiting for her blond companion to stand up as well.

"Aren't we done yet?" Draco inquired with boredom. He didn't seem very eager to move from his position and Ginny could swear having seen his grey eyes soften for a second, as if asking her something _else_.

"Nobody's making you go, Malfoy," she told him, looking at the package in her hands.

"Okay," Draco's body was relaxed, nonchalant, as well as his eyes, which rested on Ginny's with calm.

"You have done your good deed of the day already," she added, as an afterthought.

"Okay."

Silence. They shared a meaningful silence that meant nothing and something at the same time; nothing was being said but nothing was kept in secret because there was nothing worth saying. The only thing that mattered in that exchange of silences was the equally important exchange of gazes.

But, apart from that, nothing happened.

"Why did you accept Dan's invitation, Malfoy?" Ginny asked, breaking the spell. Draco smirked.

"I already told you, Weasley" the blond answered. Ginny waited for him to expand on his reason but he didn't answer, and after a couple of seconds, she gave up.

The redhead disappeared from Draco's sight with a quiet _pop_. Nevertheless, Draco stayed there, sitting, watching how the birds fought against each other over some crumbs from Ginny's sandwich.

* * *

><p>Ginny's doorbell rang once, the disturbing noise making her jump from her seat. She still hadn't got used to that sound, not after all those years in a house with no fancy devices for doors whatsoever.<p>

She approached the door unenthusiastically and opened it. What she saw made her jump again; Hermione Granger was standing in front of her, a broad smile on her face and her eyes shining in excitement.

"Mione?" Ginny asked, incredulously. As a response, her brown-haired friend embraced Ginny in an emotional hug, one that felt extremely short when they pulled apart, "What are you doing here? How did you find me?" she asked, overwhelmed, letting Hermione into her new home.

"Okay, okay. One question at a time!" Hermione smiled at Ginny before entering the room. "I'm here because I wanted to see an old friend, of course."

"You know that's not what I meant," the redhead informed, heading to the kitchen only to return ten seconds later with a prepared cup of tea in her hands, "Here."

Hermione smiled thankfully. "Well, I came back this morning. You know we were planning to get back in August, but Charlie was required to stay and couldn't say no. I wouldn't stop him from doing his job, anyway," she sighed with resignation while letting herself fall on Ginny's newly bought couch. "However, I'm planning to go back to Romania as soon as I can. To live."

"What?" Ginny shouted without warning. Her eyes and mouth widened as she stared at Hermione, dumbfounded.

"What is so strange about it? We've been talking about this for months, Ginny," she said, sipping her tea, "You and I will see each other frequently, also. The International Apparating points are being fixed so that travelers can reach their destination in less time." Hermione informed, matter-of-factly.

"I know, but it feels awkward to hear you talking about living with my brother. Abroad, nonetheless." Ginny sighed, fully aware that her words made no sense whatsoever. "Have you told Ron and Harry?" she asked, subtly changing the thread of the conversation.

"No, not yet. I'm going to. But I haven't arranged anything yet," Hermione replied, contemplating the place for the second time. Ginny felt an uncomfortable air of tension; Hermione didn't seem very eager to keep talking about this subject anymore, seeing that Ginny showed no approval of the decision she had taken. However, it was not disapproval the redhead felt, but astonishment and a feeling of powerlessness, but she didn't want to show that to her excited friend.

"I'm really glad you're moving in with Charlie. I seriously am, Mione," she grinned, trying to look at ease. "We'll have to adjust ourselves to that situation, but it's not that difficult, I guess." Hermione smiled back in appreciation.

"Hey, I love your place," she smiled, changing subjects. "It's really big…and that shade of green in these curtains is really nice! Where did you get them?" Hermione questioned, leaving the empty cup of tea on the coffee table.

"At Twilfitt and Tatting's, although I didn't know they sold those kinds of things there," she said, starting to sound excited, "Do you want a tour? I can't believe I didn't ask you before," offered Ginny, standing up.

"Of course I want a tour!" Hermione answered, suddenly more animated.

Ginny led Hermione from her small kitchen to her cozy room and her elegant bathroom while explaining all the details worth saying about her house. It wasn't an enormous flat, as a matter of fact, since it only had four rooms and a small terrace, but the dimensions of the living room made the place look even bigger than it actually was.

"When Ron told me you had moved today I didn't think that you were done already," the bushy-haired woman confessed once they were back to the living room. She approached the green curtains and drew them aside to look through the windows.

"Well, I'm not. Technically," Ginny started, "I still have to finish with the decorations and sort some other stuff out. But yeah, I've done a lot today, indeed," she nodded, remembering her long day.

"You sure did; you look really tired, Ginny," her friend affirmed, looking at the redhead carefully for the first time.

"In fact, I'd be dead had it not been for the help I received," Ginny started.

The Gryffindor told Hermione all that she had had to go through that day due to the moving, from the moment the moment she first saw Malfoy at the Burrow to the one she said goodbye to her teammates, including Leah and Daniel's endless discussions about where to place Ginny's furniture. As odd as it sounded, Dan had a stubborn fixation about some Chinese way of arrangement and had taken his role as '_designer_' too seriously. When Ginny mentioned that Malfoy had accompanied her to almost everywhere, the former Head Girl felt sorry for her.

"Yeah, the stupid git made me look like a moron every time I talked to the salespeople! He wouldn't let me utter three single words without correcting me!" Ginny exclaimed, upset.

Hermione laughed and sat down in the same spot she had been some minutes ago.

"You know, I saw him at the Ministry a few months ago," she informed to Ginny, "We were on the same elevator and he didn't even directed one Mudblood-related word to me."

"Yeah? What did he tell you, then?" Ginny asked with curiosity.

"Nothing. But that would have been really weird," she finished. Then, seeing the questioning look on the redhead's face, she added, "That is, if he actually told me something without insulting me."

"Oh. Yeah, of course," Ginny nodded.

The redhead exhaled loudly, remembering the events of that day once more. Her mind would go back and forth repeatedly, trying to decipher what was it that Malfoy had said to make Ginny feel amazingly different in his presence. And _different_ was definitely not good.

But why, oh why, hadn't she kicked him out of her house the moment she saw his arrogant face?

She knew that. She was too shocked to act normally.

But why hadn't she told him to sod off when she regained her composure instead of giving him the choice? Because she had thought she could punish him for being so rude as to come to her house without permission, of course! But the '_punishment'_ never came. Although, she thought, spending a whole afternoon with her would be a punishment for him.

Anyway, Ginny felt those answers didn't explain his strange actions or her strange feelings.

An hour had passed since the last ray of sun had left the horizon. From Ginny's window, she could see some clumsy pedestrians walking in haste, presumably in an attempt to get to their homes quickly. Hermione was skimming through the redhead's small book shelf, interested.

Ginny yawned.

"I think I'm going home to steal some food from Mum," she said lazily, "I don't feel like preparing anything by myself. Will you go with me?"

"Yes, sure. I was planning to go back there, anyway," Hermione said, while Ginny opened the door and they both disapparated once out.

Ginny shuddered. She reminded herself to owl those good-for-nothing people from the Floo service again and prepared herself to evade her mother's interrogation session about her moving. After all, how could she tell her all she had gone through that day?


	3. Chapter 3

Draco Apparated in a small town in Yorkshire to find Ginny Weasley sitting on a bench staring blankly ahead and clearly bored. But as soon as she saw him, her expression changed; her eyes widened and her reddish eyebrows rose. However, that only lasted one second before she realised it.

"Malfoy," she uttered in acknowledgement.

"I'll let you call me Draco if you are a good girl this weekend." The blond smirked, approaching her.

"Ok, _Malfoy_. I take it you're talking about the match." Ginny narrowed her eyes. "If you are, I'll have you know I _will_ be a good girl, hopefully like you," she suggested with laziness.

Draco sat on his bag, facing Ginny. "I'm certainly not here to ogle my opponents," the Slytherin replied, intending to annoy the Gryffindor somehow; he seemed unable to get a rise from her lately.

Ginny laughed exaggeratedly.

"It's high time you stopped eavesdropping on my conversations, Malfoy," she exclaimed, referring to her chats in the changing rooms. "Even more if you do it wrong." The redhead cursed herself for trying to make a boring exchange of words out of Draco's teasing for the umpteenth time in the last few days.

"So you weren't gushing desperately to Emmet about how you thought Fletchey had hot abs?" He smirked.

Ginny blushed. "But I _also_ said he had no brain! And _that_ puts everything under question!" she affirmed with eagerness. But she cleared her throat in an attempt to sound uninterested immediately afterwards.

"I see. Little Weaselette needs _both_," he mumbled, staring at Ginny's brown eyes. "Isn't it your place to tell me that that kind of man doesn't exist?" he joked.

"There's no need. That's obvious." Ginny smirked with fake calmness, looking the other way.

After that awkward incident at the park, and after several days of pondering, Ginny had concluded that she had to find herself a hobby to spare her thoughts, for she couldn't stop wondering about Malfoy's series of strange behaviours since then. And what was she trying to have with him now? A _polite _conversation? Ginny shuddered at the thought—she looked like an old lady discussing the weather. So mechanical. So boring.

To her surprise Ginny found herself missing her previous relationship with Malfoy, but restrained herself from going back there.

The blond noticed that her lazy smirk still remained on her mouth, completely forgotten. His teammate was distractedly staring blankly ahead again.

"Is the Golden Trio coming to see their beloved Arrow?" Draco cursed himself for resorting to such a lame insult, if he could call it that.

At the sound of his baritone voice, Ginny immediately looked at him.

"No. I don't know. Maybe," she answered, trying her best not to start new banter about how stupid his insulting skills were. Draco didn't answer, and Ginny tried to resume her inner rambling. The silence was utterly awkward, Ginny thought.

As if on cue, Ellie popped in from nowhere, looking dazed and sleepy. A second later, both Adrian and Daniel Apparated too, the latter with red eyes as a new accessory.

"Hey, guys," Ellie greeted, before taking a seat next to Ginny, "Am I late?" her blue eyes shone with worry.

"No, but close. We're going to start with the practice as soon as Leah and Cameron confirm our rooms," Ginny informed the blond girl and the rest of the newcomers. "Oh! You'd better keep all your gear with you and hand the rest of your things to the house-elves at the hotel, like I did," she added, remembering what Cameron had told her minutes before.

"Why's that?" Adrian asked, worriedly.

"Because we'll not be coming back until the evening, for whatever reason," Ginny's eyes rested on Draco's for an instant, but she broke the eye contact immediately after.

"What are we doing _here_, then?" Adrian asked again, annoyed at the redhead's forgetfulness.

Ginny only raised an eyebrow at him in defense and Adrian ignored her, proceeding to take his bag to the hotel without much excitement. Once he was gone, the rest of the team followed him, leaving Ginny alone with her thoughts while she waited for someone to let her know it was time to go.

A quarter of hour later, Leah approached her with her usual excitement and a bag at her back.

"Gin! We must get going! We are starting practice at six!" she yelled at her, although they were considerably close.

Ginny looked at her watch. It was a quarter to six in the morning. She sat up and took her own bag. "Are they all gone?"

"Yup," her friend nodded, "All gone. No one left. Not one person," she added, too excited for just an upcoming practice, Ginny observed.

"Ok. You take me; I don't want to lose my strength," the redhead said, taking advantage of her friend's happy mood.

Leah narrowed her eyes but took Ginny's arm and, subsequently, both disappeared at the same time, only to appear several metres farther, next to a colossal pitch in Yorkshire Moors.

Ginny barely remembered those fields from previous matches in the last year, but the overwhelming feeling of liberty swallowed her once again this time. A wave of happiness surrounded her for a moment like an ephemeral wind, touching her body and leaving back with the nature. Ginny smiled to herself.

After some hurried minutes in the changing rooms, Leah and Ginny had found the rest of the players running around the pitch. Malfoy had been leading.

"Come on, Weaselette. We don't have all day!" he said with a smirk dancing across his face. Ginny scowled, but joined her team and started running. Who had named him Captain, anyway?

Several hours had passed since then, and Ginny wanted nothing Quidditch-related anymore. To make things worse, she had just found out they would be _practicing_ the entire day until the evening.

"You're not serious!" Ginny had exclaimed when Ellie informed her during a small break.

"I am. Not kidding," The blonde had solemnly sworn, in jest, "_He_ says we need to practice as much as possible for our last match, yadda yadda yadda," she smiled.

"Cameron?"

"Draco."

Ginny frowned. Seriously: was he the Captain now?

No matter how she had complained, Cameron hadn't listened to Ginny, nor anyone else. He had his mind focused on the last game and, seemingly, Draco too. So, albeit some of them reluctantly, they resumed practice and everyone went to their positions once again.

Ginny sighed after practically handing the Quaffle to Leah. Another score missed, she thought with resignation. Her broom took her to her position without much eagerness and there she waited for the game to start over, distractedly contemplating the great amount of green leaves some trees showed.

She then looked at Draco with concealed interest. Her eyes stopped on his mercurial ones - which seemed to be looking for the Snitch with utter concentration - and rested there, trying to find the answer to her doubts about his recent strange behaviour.

He didn't look different, no. He looked like the same senseless guy that would mock everyone without remorse back at Hogwarts. He was the same, she repeated to herself.

However, she couldn't help feeling different in his company. Was _she_ any different now? She had asked herself this question several times, fearing the worst.

After having restrained herself from arguing with him with the sole purpose of finding the 'stability of mind' she believed he had stolen from her, Ginny had discovered with surprise that the last thing she wanted with Draco was a mundane conversation. She wanted to go back to being herself and voicing all her furious thoughts to him. She wanted to yell at him!

But she couldn't, Ginny sighed, since every time she did that, she would find herself one step closer to reaching the unthinkable: not hating Malfoy.

Ginny regretted with fury the day Draco had appeared at the Burrow with a suspicious eagerness to help. Suspicious, indeed.

Just then a voice shouted at her in the distance, brining her back to reality. Next thing, Cameron was flying towards her with a worried expression.

"Are you okay, Ginny?" he asked, a hand on her shoulder, "You haven't scored once today."

Ginny shrugged, "I'm just tired, that's all," the redhead lied nonchalantly.

"You didn't manage to catch the Quaffle Adrian threw you." His voice concealed reprimand.

Ginny looked down and there it was: the Quaffle, lying on the grass, about to be rescued from loneliness by Daniel.

That was weird.

"Oh. I didn't see it, Cameron," she confessed, feeling downhearted, "I'm sorry."

The Gryffindor looked past her captain and realized Leah and Ellie were staring at her. As well as Daniel, back on his broom again, and Adrian, his big, black eyebrows furrowed in a frown.

And _him_.

Draco wasn't sneering or smirking, as usual, but he was simply staring at her, his face devoid of any expression. Ginny wondered if he was actually looking at her or if he was lost in his thoughts without knowing where his eyes had landed.

"Ok, we'll continue tomorrow, people," Cameron sighed. "We can't practice like this. Go to rest as much as you need and clear your thoughts. And _don't_ drink," he ordered, staring intently at Daniel with reproach, who huffed. "I want to see you all tomorrow at five completely focused on the practice. It's our last opportunity."

Everyone nodded with resignation; Cameron always exhibited an extremist behaviour when an important date was close.

Ginny went back to the changing rooms all alone. She knew that at six in the afternoon and after having spent the whole day in the secondary pitch practicing under the burning sun, she should be soaked with sweat. But she wasn't, in fact. Her light blue robes were clean with no hint of dirt anywhere, her hands were almost soft from lack of contact with the ball, and her hair was tidy in the same ponytail she had put it in at five in the morning that day. The only thing that proved that she had actually been at practice was the slight sunburn on her pale skin, threatening to grow redder.

"Don't panic, Weasley," she heard a voice say once she reached the lockers. "Everyone is allowed to have cold feet. Especially if you know your flying skills need some polishing."

"Don't, Malfoy. Just shut it," Ginny ordered calmly, staring intently at the pair of shoes in her hand.

Draco snickered with mischief.

"It's ok, Weaselette. Some people have got it, some don't," the blond affirmed with fake seriousness. He was leaning on his closed locker nonchalantly, his arms crossed over his chest. He looked at her, waiting for a response.

The redhead only paused to give the Draco a deathly glare and continued taking her robes off, now with more haste. She wouldn't be able to take his taunting any longer.

Draco opened his locker and copied Ginny's ritual calmly. "I mean, it's high time some people found themselves another profession, seeing that their alleged _mojo_ has been found dead," he smirked with an air of pleasantry, listening as his neighbour inhaled deeply.

Ginny couldn't bring herself to think properly. The fury that this man provoked in her, the man that would always choose his locker adjacent to hers no matter what, was unbearable. She thought about yelling at him, one simple yell, but she opted against it; she knew she wouldn't be able to stop herself afterwards. It was like an addiction—once you fell, you fell deep down, and you were lucky if you found the way out.

Repeating a soothing mantra, Ginny grabbed her bathing toiletries and towel and closed her locker. When she turned around, Malfoy was facing her, clad only in a towel at his waist.

"I like you the best when you are angry, Weasley," he confessed with a smirk, taking advantage of his close proximity to Ginny's body.

Ginny shivered at his voice. This was not what she needed at the moment. Or ever.

"You don't," she bit, trying to sound calm. "Fuck you." Ginny looked at his lips for a second and left to the showers. Her mind was dizzy.

Anyway, her stupor was gone a few steps farther when the fog and heat welcomed her warmly. Ginny found her way to an empty shower and sighed in relief.

When she turned to close the curtains, however, she found that the Slytherin had followed her, and was invading her private space. He had taken a step closer and grabbed her by the waist, and the redhead shuddered again, her back clashing against the wall.

A smirk and one raised eyebrow from him made Ginny feel a growing tension and intrigue. She noticed, then, that his features were more handsome when closer. His square chin gave him the air of manhood needed to make any female sigh in his presence, and his slightly plump lips would make sure his chin didn't get all the attention, although Ginny wondered if they were graced with softness or not.

Ginny posed her eyes on his. The thick fog of the showers didn't let her appreciate them with the clarity she found herself wishing for, but they looked like a storm to come-calm but concealing an outburst. Getting lost in those pools of mercury, Ginny sighed.

A tantalizing desire to observe those eyes and the rest of his features from a closer distance started to grow on her, but she stopped herself and bit her lips with resignation. His grey eyes hadn't stopped looking at hers during that time, and Ginny felt self-conscious when she realized that he was staring at her. She had been standing still, arms at the sides of her body, not knowing what to do. Her common sense was rolling over on the floor in a coma and she couldn't act to change the situation. Her mind was blocked.

Without further ado, Draco drew his lips closer to Ginny's, only a few centimetres away. In another moment of stupor, the redhead stared at his lips again and, unconsciously, closed her eyes in wait, feeling goose bumps all over her body. When the awaited moment materialized as a subtle caress to her lips, Ginny felt a slight tingle running through her spine, but didn't act on it. It was only when Draco had placed his free hand on the nape of her neck and opened his mouth to taste hers that Ginny parted her lips and moved them in a slow rhythm.

It was all new, what she was facing. Not a kiss full of lust or a romantic one, but an experimental kiss in its unique way. How could it not be experimental if she was supposed to hate the guy she was kissing? Ginny's mind had stopped functioning the moment he had touched her waist and she would only be able to count on her faith to get her out of a situation like this. That is, if she had wanted to. Her body seemed to be enjoying this funny exchange, as well, since she drew herself closer to Draco just to feel his skin.

If the heat in that room was suffocating by its own, one could easily guess it was no less hot for them. Ginny's skin, ecstatic with his touch, was slightly moistened by the dense air that wrapped their bodies without remorse. She let out a low whimper just before Draco pulled his lips away, but they were still close enough to keep feeling each other's heavy breathing.

He smirked.

"Do you actually think some wild sex will help you get back the dignity you lost in practice?" he asked easily.

Ginny blinked and, next thing, she was back to her normal state.

That…bastard!

"Excuse me? Do _you_ think I would have sex with you without throwing up?" she yelled, taking his hand off her waist rudely, "I'd rather see Voldemort rise again from the dead, you stupid idiot!" her face was starting to grow red.

"Whatever you say, Weasley," he smirked handsomely, "I already achieved what I came to do," the blond confessed. "You look better all flushed, by the way."

"Out! Get! Out!" Ginny shouted, pushing him out of her shower and closing the curtains on his smirking face with annoyance. "Go and find someone fucking else to pester!" she yelled to the curtain.

After a few seconds of silence, Ginny took her underwear off and proceeded to rid herself from Malfoy's touch. But no matter how much soap she used or how much scrubbing she did, she couldn't forget the sensations it had provoked on her.

An involuntary sigh of relief escaped her lips.

**XxX**

That night, when Ginny arrived at the hotel, she instantly knew that her long day was over, and there was an exquisite room somewhere in that building waiting for her discovery.

Unfortunately, Ginny knew wrong—her day was not over.

The adverse series of events that would later lead her to curse herself for how stupid she had been were as follows:

Ginny had been idly sitting on a couch in the lobby, waiting for everybody to arrive from the pitch. Her now quenched rage had led her to try her best and leave the changing rooms quickly, before Draco could run into her again and do who knows what.

She was too upset with him—and herself—to talk to anyone, anyway.

Therefore, the redhead sat there, just thinking and waiting, examining her fingernails and the fabric of the couch, occasionally looking up to the ceiling and through the large windows that provided the sight of a quiet night outside.

Cameron was supposed to be dealing with the room assignments once he arrived, although it was always the same: Leah and she would share one, Draco and Cameron another, Ellie would be with Daniel, and Adrian all alone. That's how they always did it.

So, once Cameron appeared at the front door and headed to the reception to pick up the room keys, Ginny only expected to be given her key as soon as possible.

"Weasley," Draco started, startling Ginny. He had come just two seconds prior and was already standing in front of her, clearly intending to annoy her with that stupid voice that hinted at superiority. Ginny didn't look up; instead she stared at the denim pants that embraced the blond's inferior limbs, "Are you feeling better now? Last time I saw you, you were all flushed and sweaty."

The Gryffindor wondered for a second whether she had heard him right or not.

"I'm better, Malfoy, thanks for asking," Ginny looked at him, blinking innocently, "I think I had a virus or something. But I got rid of it, luckily," she barked, staring at him defiantly.

Draco smirked at Ginny's graceless reply.

It was all just like the beginning, he thought. Sort of.

"You know, viruses don't make people moan, now do they, Weaselette?"

Check mate.

Ginny couldn't believe his words. Was he actually talking about _that_, when she had decided to take their secret to her grave? When she wanted nothing more but to forget it?

The redhead murdered him with her glare. She killed him two, three times, but the bastard wouldn't die or, at least, show any sign of damage.

He had done it.

"If you can count that as a moan, then I feel sorry for you. I'm sorry that your manly prowess isn't fucking enough to have heard one bloody witch moaning for you with decency in your entire life!" Her voice started to rise dangerously.

Draco snickered, eyebrows rising, "Are you saying that your moan wasn't decent enough? Do you want _another_ go?"

"Don't twist my words, Malfoy!" Ginny stood up, starting to grow red, while some guests stopped to see the redhead's outburst, "You and I both know that it-was-not-a-moan!" she lied, yelling.

"I'm afraid it was, Weasley. Don't get so angry, though, it's nothing to be ashamed of," Draco said, seriously. If there was one person able to remain calm whenever he wanted, it was Draco Malfoy. And that was what bothered Ginny the most, even more than his words.

"I-did-not-enjoy-it! Take that back, Malfoy!"

"Take what back? I didn't recall mentioning how much you enjoyed it. But if you want to discuss that too…"

"I don't! I don't…know what you are so obsessed to talk about! Nothing happened!" she claimed and Draco smirked. Next thing, Ginny had taken one step closer to the blond and exclaimed with fury, "I hate your smirks!" After this, the redhead did the most childish thing one could have ever predicted: she stepped on his foot with all her force.

"Bloody hell!" Draco jumped, more in surprise than pain, and suddenly started laughing. A deep, manly laugh that wouldn't end. A laugh that would have carried on for a long time, had it not been for a second unfortunate clash of Ginny's foot with his.

"_What_ is so funny?" she cried, after seconds of staring at the blond.

"You really are so desperate for physical contact to resort to _that_?" he asked, when his laughter subsided.

"You are an idiot, you know that? A fucking idiot that can't find himself a real life and stop-"

"GINNY!"

"_What?_" Ginny asked, her eyes still fixed on Draco's. After a second, she caught a glance of her captain and her expression changed.

All of a sudden, she had realised that _everyone _in the lobby was staring at them, amazed. Even the bellboy! With a quick glance over the entire room, she made out the rest of her team standing in awe, as well.

Ginny took a step away from Draco, who couldn't care less about the spectators, and cleared her throat, wanting for the Earth to swallow her.

"You guys are making it harder for me _and_ the whole team!" Cameron began, sincerely annoyed. "We are supposed to be there for each other, to create a special bond between us! That's how it works!" the brown-eyed man looked at Draco, expecting an excuse for such awful, though however usual, behaviour.

Not only were they at a critical time in the season - and Cameron wouldn't stand anything to threaten the outcome of their final match - but he had also noticed that his Seeker and Chaser's clashes were reaching a dangerous level and that something must be done about it.

"Calm down, man. The team isn't in danger of falling apart, if that's your greatest fear," Draco affirmed with a notable maturity that Ginny couldn't have achieved herself if she were to say something.

The tension in the room was diminishing with time and the small audience started to mind their own business.

"That's something I cannot be sure of, Draco," he argued, showing disappointment. After a pause, he added, "I hate having to resort to this, but you two will have to fix your problems before Sunday or-"

"What do you mean?" Ginny interrupted, questioningly.

"_Or_, at least, be able to stand each other by that date. Two nights together should be enough," he finished.

Adrian snorted from behind.

"I'm sorry?" Draco rose an eyebrow, sincerely taken aback.

"_What?_" Ginny yelled at the top of her lungs, "Oh, no! Oh, no, no! That's not happening! Not in a million years!"

"It _is_ happening. Tonight. And tomorrow night," Cameron handed them their keys and, to the redhead's astonishment, Draco approached the Captain after a couple of seconds and took them.

After realising she had been gaping, Ginny approached him herself.

"Listen to me: I am _not_ sharing a room with that…wizard!" she collected the little calm she had remaining in her body, "I can assure you I'll completely ignore him if you give me the opportunity," she pleaded, trying to conceal her fury.

"I'm sure you'll try, but you two always end up the same. I'm sorry," Cameron turned around and started handing the remaining keys, leaving a perplexed redhead alone, "The rest of the pairings will remain the same, only Leah and I will be together this time."

Not surprisingly, a feeling of powerless took over Ginny's entire body; she knew nothing could be done to prevent this atrocity. She let herself fall on the red couch again, ignoring Draco until he left, silent.

Minutes later, everybody had gone without even trying to exchange one single word with her—it was better not to, anyway. By then, the redhead had decided she wouldn't set a foot in that sodding room if Draco was in it. She was determined.

However, minutes had passed and spending the whole night sitting on that couch didn't seem the best idea, not to mention that she was pretty sure she might not be allowed to do so. That's why, in order to think more clearly, Ginny finally opted to go and grab something to eat. It was dinner time, and she wondered if she should wait to see if Leah would want to go with her. The thought disappeared as she sat up, when her stomach told her with urgency to leave on her own.

What she was going to do and how she would achieve ignoring Draco after such a weird day was something she would have to figure out with a full stomach.

After leaving her bag with the receptionist with the promise she'd come back early, Ginny left the hotel with a mind overcharged with mixed emotions and questions.

* * *

><p><em>Thanks for the more-than-nice words! ^_^<em>


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Harry Potter, Humor, Romance