Harry Potter 1. Chapter 1

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter One**

Mrs. Weasley stood back and watched her daughter, deeply distressed at the events that had led to this current situation. Ginny was asleep in the Hospital Wing, Harry only a few beds away also sleeping. Mrs. Weasley didn't know how this had happened. Why hadn't someone noticed the diary sooner? Why hadn't Ginny talked to someone?

What concerned Mrs. Weasley the most at the current point point in time was the fact that Ginny had been in the Hospital Wing for three days and never spoken a word about the whole incident. They knew, thanks to Madam Pomfrey's examination of the girl, that she had been abused, but Ginny refused to speak on the topic.

"It can't be healthy to keep all that bottled up." Mrs. Weasley said to her husband as he stood next to her.

"What do you expect Molly, she grew up with six older brothers, she's not the talking type," Arthur told his wife simply.

"She needs to talk to someone," Molly relented, looking worriedly at her husband.

Author took a deep breath before speaking again. "There is always Dumbledore's suggestion," Arthur proposed.

"No, absolutely not!" Molly objected, looking back at her daughter protectively.

"When will you trust him Molly?" Arthur asked her. "If Dumbledore trusts him, then so do I," Arthur told her.

"I don't want to test that trust with our only daughter," Molly told him strongly.

Arthur placed a comforting hand on her back, rubbing it soothingly. "What other choice is there?"

---

Ginny walked down the halls to the dungeons, not sure what to expect of this meeting. At first she turned the idea down, but seeing how much it had meant to her parents made her think otherwise.

If she ever told Ron about what she was doing he would freak out. Ginny actually wondered why _she_ wasn't freaking out.

She reached the door, took a deep breath for courage, and knocked loudly.

"Enter," came the bored drawl from inside. Ginny opened the door she had gone through so many times, but for once was a little apprehensive of what would happen on the other side. "Good Morning Miss Weasley."

"Good Morning Professor Snape," Ginny greeted politely as she stood awkwardly by the closed door.

Snape motioned for her to come in further as he stood from sitting behind his desk and walked around to lean on it so he could face Ginny. He motioned for her to take a seat in front of him.

"If it's all the same to you sir, I'd rather not talk about what happened," Ginny told the Professor with great courage.

Snape smiled a little at her comment, surprised she'd voiced her opinion without needing to be prodded for it. "I'm not here to force you to talk Miss Weasley," he informed her, smiling comfortingly.

Ginny was shocked to see a smile grace his lips, it looked so much better than the usual grimace that resided there.

"Then what are you here to do?" Ginny asked suspiciously.

"To help you," he told her simply. Before she could ask her next question Snape started to answer it. "Dumbledore believes that I am the person who can be of the most help to you in your situation. I have dealt with a previous one like it before, that I will not talk about, as I'm sure you will understand," he told her and she nodded in response. "Now, I noticed this year you are quite adept at Potions," he mentioned.

"Um...yes, I quite like Potions," Ginny admitted sheepishly.

"Why?" Snape asker her, interested in her answer.

Ginny smiled as she began to speak, the first smile that had reached her lips in a very long time. "It's just like this great big puzzle just waiting to be solved, and if I work hard enough I can work it out. It's not just that," she added, grinning as she thought. "It's not just about how smart you are either, in order to make a great potion you need creativity, you need patience and... and you need to care about what you're doing,' she told him.

Snape smiled at her. "That is a very good answer Miss Weasley."

---

Ginny sat quietly at the Gryffindor table at breakfast eating her toast. She sat next to Collin Creevey, her best friend, who babbled on about photography of some sort as she pretended to listen. Across from her sat her other best friend, Beth Cornick, who was hanging on Collin's every word as if it were the sweetest poetry ever written.

Truth was, Beth was in love with Collin, and Collin, as usual, was clueless.

"You see when the light captures the bird at the right angle..." Collin continued enthusiastically exaggerating with his hands as he explained.

Ginny was denying the inevitable, Potions. It's not that she didn't enjoy Potions, quite the opposite really, she was so good she'd been accelerated to Seventh year Potions. It was the fact that her Potions partner was Blaise Zabini. He was nice enough, but that was the problem really. Ginny had seen a bit of him the year before thanks to Slughorn but never really spoken to him until the beginning of this year. If she had of she would have realised that Blaise loved to talk, and Ginny really didn't. Ginny was a bottle up your feelings and then stomp them in for good measure, sort of girl. Blaise was a let everything out to anyone who will listen and even to those who won't, king of guy.

Ginny couldn't complain too much, as far as Slytherins go Blaise wasn't too bad. He was much better than the cruel, sadistic, heartless Draco Malfoy who took a shot at her every chance he got.

The strangest thing was that Blaise was Draco's best friend, Draco even seemed to smile, well a small up-turn of the mouth, when he was around Blaise. Ginny didn't think she'd ever understand, nor would she want to, in her opinion.

"Hey Gin," Hermione said, smiling as she stood behind Ginny. "Want to walk to Potions together?" she asked kindly. Ginny turned, smiling and nodding at Hermione.

Ron had not gotten the grade to be in the Advanced Potions class. He looked like he could have ripped apart a small one bedroom apartment when Ginny told him who she'd been partnered with. He didn't seem to care that Hermione had gotten Pansy Parkinson or that Harry was stuck with the Slytherin Prince himself. Ginny had gotten used to Ron's overprotectiveness over the years, she was well aware that it had accelerated after her first year, but she forgave him for it.

Consequently Ron had begged Harry and Hermione to keep tabs on her and Blaise. They had both tenaciously refused, which Ginny was happy for, there was only so much of Ron's overprotectiveness that she could take before punching him in the face.

Ginny and Hermione walked silently through the halls down to the dungeons. Ginny could tell Hermione was mentally preparing herself for an hour with Pansy Parkinson. If Ginny were in her situation she'd be spending a lot of time in detention as a result, something that Professor Snape surely considered when assigning partners.

They arrived at the room and walked into the open door to find only a handful of students already there. Ginny looked over at her desk to find Draco Malfoy in her seat talking to Blaise, Ginny was not surprised to see the slight up-turn of his lips, it was hard for her to originally get over the shock of Draco Malfoy actually being a real person.

"Wish me luck," Hermione said sarcastically as she set off for her seat. Just as she said this Malfoy turned to see Ginny standing in the doorway. He said something to Blaise before heading off to his own seat. As Ginny walked down to her designated seating arrangement she could feel Malfoy's eyes on her. When she sat down she thought for sure he'd look away, but she still had to same feeling. She turned to look at him to find that he was indeed staring at her, but not in the sinister way she had imagined, but in an interesting manner, as if he was trying to figure her out. He looked away after she made eye contact.

Ginny turned back around and prepared herself for Blaise's onslaught. "What are you doing on Friday night?" Blaise asked her as soon as she had turned back.

"Sleeping," she answered him dryly.

"You're hilarious, you know that," Blaise told her grinning. "So you have no plans?"

"I'll have to double check my schedule but I'm _pretty_ sure I'm free," she told him, looking at him, now interested in where this was going.

"Well, you are in luck," he told her, giving her an extra big grin and a little nudge. "We're having a party in the Slytherin Dungeons and you are invited. You can bring your friends if you want. I'd really love it if you bought Granger, I'd love to see her sloshed," he whispered to Ginny as he looked over at Hermione who was currently sitting up straight as if she had the help of a pole up her rectum with a sour look on her face to match.

"So would I," Ginny admitted. "I'll see what I can do," she assured Blaise as Snape stepped up the front of the room to begin the class.

---

Later that night while Harry and Ron were talking tactics for the Quidditch game, that was still a few weeks away, in their room, Ginny sat next to Hermione in the common room. Hermione had in her lap her Defence Against the Dark Arts text book as she researched for an essay that was due in two weeks.

"What are you doing on Friday night?" Ginny asked Hermione innocently as she played with the quill in her hand.

"Studying, why?" Hermione answered without looking up from her riveting reading.

"Well... Blaise invited me to a party at Slytherin Dungeons and said you were invited too," she informed her, leaving out the reason for the invite.

At this Hermione stopped reading and looked up at Ginny, shocked. "Really?" Ginny nodded in response. "Are you going?" she asked.

"Yes, I'm bringing Collin and Beth with me," Ginny told her.

Hermione's eyebrows scrunched as she thought about the proposition. "No thank you, I'll stay," she finally said, returning to her book.

"Come on Hermione, it will be fun," Ginny encouraged.

"Studying is fun, besides, who else will keep Ron and Harry occupied so you can go," Hermione told her smiling.

"You're a genius, Hermione," Ginny informed her as she went back to the homework in her lap, smiling to herself as she thought about Friday.

---

Ginny, Beth and Collin managed to easily get by Harry and Ron in the common room on Friday night thanks to Hermione berating them for not having started their essays that were due on Monday. They were both too busy hanging their heads and wishing they could be somewhere else to notice the three people sneaking out of the portrait hole.

They ran excitedly through the halls down to the dungeons, slowing to a walking pace when they got to the hallway the Slytherin Dungeon was located on, as not to seem too eager. They walked up to the portrait and knocked loudly. They could easily hear the music that was playing inside through the door, which only made them more excited.

The door was answered by Blaise Zabini who smiled when he saw Ginny, he looked at Beth and Collin then turned back to Ginny, disappointment evident in his face.

"Sorry, she's studying," Ginny told him smirking.

"Figures," Blaise said, dismay evident on his face. "Well, drinks are over there," he said pointing in the direction of a small crowd, "and bathrooms are over there," he added, pointing in another direction. "Want to dance?" he asked Ginny.

Ginny screwed up her face. "With you?" she asked, shaking her head jokingly. Blaise rolled his eyes and took her by the arm, leading her to the dance floor.

Ginny was having a great time dance with Blaise, they were both making up funny dance moves to songs when Pansy Parkinson appeared next to Ginny.

"Hello Weasley," Pansy said eerily, shocking Ginny who hadn't seen her there.

"Parkinson," Ginny said simply.

"I didn't think you'd willingly spend time with Slytherins, especially after what happened the last time you did," Pansy told Ginny spitefully.

"Piss off Pansy," Blaise told her.

"I have a question for you Weasley," Pansy said, and Ginny raised her eyebrow in response. "Tom Riddle, what was he like?" she asked before Ginny pulled back her arm and punched Pansy square on the nose.

Pansy's squeals could be heard across the common room, and those that had not already been looking at them now were staring at Pansy's bleeding crooked nose. Behind Ginny, Blaise was doubled over with laughter at the sight if an indignant Pansy Parkinson trying to stop the bleeding.

"I suggest you clean yourself up Pansy, you'll stain the carpet," Ginny heard someone say from behind her, she turned to see Draco Malfoy smirking down at Ginny. Draco gave one final smirk before walking away, and Ginny had to force herself to look in the other direction.

Pansy walked off in a huff, glaring at Ginny as she went. Ginny couldn't help but join Blaise, doubling over at the hilarity of the situation.

"After that Ginny, you deserve a drink, my shout," Blaise joked, leading Ginny over to where the drinks all were.

"Oh, how nice of you," she smiled, fluttering her eyelashes at him. "Next thing I'll be melting in your arms," she grinned.

"I could deal with that," Blaise told her, smirking, as grabbed her arm and spun her to the music as they walked.

Two hours later Ginny had lost track how much she'd actually had to drink and was dancing with some 7th year from Ravenclaw. She now understood why people got drunk, she was having more fun than ever. She didn't care if what she did embarrassed her or had the risk of causing her bodily harm, but these were also the reasons not to get drunk.

Pansy Parkinson, finally seeing her opportunity, came behind Ginny and tapped her on the shoulder. Ginny turned, clueless of what was about to happen. Pansy pushed Ginny forcefully; making her hit her dance partner. Before Pansy could feel proud of herself, Ginny had stood herself up and lunged for Pansy. Pansy started to squeal as Ginny continued to hit her.

As quickly as it had begun it was stopped as Ginny felt two very strong arms take her around the waist and pull her off of Pansy. Had the person have been any weaker she would have escaped and gone for Pansy a second time, but alas, the arms would not let her.

"Go lock Pansy in her room," the voice that belonged to the strong arms told Blaise, who was currently holding back a very battered and bruised Pansy. Ginny turned slightly to see Draco Malfoy looking at Pansy, amusement clearly evident in his eyes.

Ginny turned to see Blaise pulling Pansy behind him as he went in the direction of what Ginny assumed was the dormitories, while Pansy struggled with him, glaring at Ginny.

Draco slowly let go of the angry girl in his arms, but soon realised his mistake as she went to take a step forward and her legs gave way under her. Draco caught her with ease and helped/carried her over to the nearest couch. He glared at the people currently sitting there, who vacated their seats as soon as possible.

"You're smashed Weasley," he commented as he placed her gently on the couch.

"No I'm not," she answered intelligently, making Draco laugh as he crouched before her so he was at eye level.

"Well your inability to walk and the fact you just ripped Pansy a new one, both suggest otherwise," Draco informed her simply as he brushed the hair from her face.

"Serves her bloody right for starting a fight with a girl who grew up with six brothers," Ginny said offhandedly, swaying slightly in her seat.

"Yeah well, Pansy never was too bright," Draco grinned.

"Not too bright? It's like she has air... or her brain not working..." Ginny said, unable to find the correct words for what she wanted to say. She was now seeing the major downsides to being drunk.

"Very well put, I can see that your intelligence far outreaches hers," he joked.

"Shut up," was all Ginny could come up with.

"Again your wit astounds me," Draco told her smirking.

Ginny chose to just glare at him this time and tried to stand up in order to get away, which worked as good as it did the last time. Draco caught her again and placed her back down on the couch. Blaise walked up behind Draco and inspected Ginny who was now leaning back on the couch, hand over her face.

"She needs to sleep it off before going but up to the tower, she can't manage flat surfaces let alone all those stairs," Blaise told Draco who nodded and looked at Blaise.

"I'm fine!" Ginny insisted. "I can walk just fine!" she persisted as she went to stand again. Her attempt went a little better this time, she managed one step before her head hurt. "Ow," she complained, her hand holding her head in an attempt to make the head ache go away. Draco caught her before she collapsed to the ground, but this time didn't place her on the couch, instead he put one arm under her arms and the other under her knees to carry her. Ginny buried her face into his neck.

Ginny could feel him moving through through the crowded common room but could not bring herself to pull up her head to see where they were going. Draco stopped and opened the Portrait hole door and carried Ginny out into the Dungeon hallway. Ginny could here Draco speaking an inaudible word which had probably been for the Portrait hole they were now walking through.

"Where are we?" Ginny asked, groggily.

"My dormitory," Draco answered as he sat her gently on his bed before going off to the bathroom, empty bottle in hand which he must have grabbed before they left. He returned with the bottle full of water and handed it to her.

"But, don't you enter from the Slytherin Dormitories?" she asked, taking the bottle but not drinking it.

"You can, but then I would have had to carry you up the stairs, it was quicker this way," he said, pushing the bottle gently towards her lips.

She resisted, wanting to know more. "But-" she started but was cut off by Draco.

"If you drink I'll answer your questions," he told her simply. She lifted the bottle to her lips and drunk as fast as she could, she was really thirsty. "There are advantages to being a Malfoy, this is one of them. No, not everyone has a Dormitory to themselves, up until fifth year you have to share with other people, then in 6th year you either get your own room or share with one person, same goes with 7th year. Blaise has his own room as well," he informed her simply and Ginny rolled her eyes at the fact that Slytherins got their own rooms.

She finished the bottle and held it out for him. Draco took it and went back into the bathroom, he returned with the bottle full with water again. Ginny started to drink the bottle of water as she inspected the blonde boy before her. He had his hair loose, as Ginny had noticed he usually wore it, which caused his beautiful blonde locks to fall gracefully on his face, making him look completely irresistible in Ginny's opinion.

"I was quite sad Granger didn't come, I would have loved to see her throw back a few," Draco joked as he looked at Ginny. "Though, seeing you drunk isn't the most boring thing, I must say," he told her smirking. Ginny pouted in response. "Oh don't worry Weasley, you're a very cute drunk," he assured her.

"I don't get you Malfoy, one minute you're teasing me about my family, the next you're being nice and helping me sober up," Ginny said, lifting the bottle as she spoke, using it to gesture.

"You don't usually talk this much," Draco stated curiously.

"How would you know?" Ginny asked as she drank more water.

Draco took the empty bottle and went to refill it. "Blaise told me, he said you're both complete opposites," he told her as he bought the bottle back.

Ginny started laughing as she took the bottle and drank more water. "I'm more of a bury it then burn the map and hope it never comes back again kind of girl," she explained, drinking some more of her water. "Blaise is the let it all out to anyone who can't run away fast enough kind of guy," she drank again. "We get along like a house on fire," Ginny joked.

"I don't think you're too quiet now," Draco told her as he moved his chair so it was facing her and sat down.

"Well, if I was I wouldn't say that I like the colour of your eyes, or that I think you have a cute butt, or that I like your hair. I definitely wouldn't say any of that," Ginny said firmly as she drank some more.

"If you remember any of this tomorrow, you'll never drink again," Draco told her, smirking.

"I don't doubt that," Ginny told him, smiling cheerily.


	2. Chapter 2

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Two**

Ginny woke up a few hours later, confused and disorientated. She opened her eyes and instantly regretted it as the light in the room made her head throb. She groaned is pain as she rubbed her temples in an attempt to make the migraine go away.

"I didn't expect to see you up for another six hours at least," Ginny heard a male voice say to her right. She opened her eyes, shocked at the fact that there was a boy in her room. She instantly realised that she was not in her own room at all and was in fact in a room she didn't recognise, in a bed that wasn't hers. She looked to her right to find Draco Malfoy sitting at a desk next to the bed.

"Um...why am I here?" she asked, confused about everything.

Draco smirked at her as he stood, picking up a glass of green liquid and handed it to her. "You want to drink this, it will take away the hang over," Draco told her simply, standing back to watch her drink it.

Ginny drank the liquid as fast as she could, blocking her nose for good measure in order to prevent the full taste. "Hung over?" she asked, shocked at she handed the cup back to Draco. Her headache was disappearing instantly.

Draco laughed as he took the glass and placed it back on the desk. "You had too much to drink at the party last night, you could barely walk one step let along going all the was up to Gryffindor Tower," Draco told her as he sat down facing her.

Ginny winced as she started to remember some of what had happened. "Did I have a fight with Pansy?" Ginny asked fearfully.

"That was one of the highlights, yes," he told her smirking.

"'_One_ of the highlights'?" she asked, scared of the truth.

"Oh, I don't think you want to know," Draco assured her.

"Oh, I realise that," Ginny said as she started to stand up, but stumbling as she attempted to put weight on her legs. Luckily Draco was only just next to her and was able to catch her and help her sit down.

"Well, I've been doing that a lot," Draco told her as he stood back again.

"What time is it," she asked as she searched for a window in order to gauge the time but found none.

"About 4-am, you're been asleep for about 2 hours," Draco explained to her simply.

Ginny just shrugged. "I don't sleep much," she admitted.

Draco smiled, as if laughing at a joke. "You see, I still don't believe you," he told her and she looked at him, puzzled. "You admitted last night to not talking much, but you talked a lot last night," he told her grinning.

"What did I say?" she asked, nervous about the answer.

"I'm going to let you remember that one on your own," he told her, smirking at her before standing up and holding out his hand. "I should probably get you back to Gryffindor Tower," he told her.

"I can walk," Ginny persisted as she stood up without the help of his hand. A few seconds later Ginny was back in Draco's arms as he supported her weight.

"Come twinkle toes," Draco joked as he wrapped an arm around her waist and placed her arm around his shoulders before walking out of the room.

---

Ginny lay in her bed, thinking about what had passed not too long ago. Draco had essentially carried her to the Gryffindor Tower, not once complaining about it, as she had expected him to. They talked the whole time, which shocked Ginny the most, the fact that they could have an actual conversation without him making some crack about her family being blood traitors.

The sun was soon up and shining through the window of the dorm room, waking up a very grumpy Beth who seemed to be worse for wear after the previous night. Too bad for her friend Ginny didn't have any of the potion that Draco had given her earlier that morning.

"How can you be so chirpy?" Beth asked as her and Ginny sat down in the common room later that day. "You were so drunk last night," Beth informed her as she shielded her eyes from the sun entering through the window nearby,

"And apparently so were you," Ginny told her smiling, now extremely grateful to Draco Malfoy for enabling her to escape the pain that should follow such drinking. Ginny looked around for any sign of her brother or his friends, it would shock Ron to find out what she'd done at the party the night before, let alone who had helped her recover. Ginny scooted closer to Beth before speaking. "I had a little help," she whispered. "Draco Malfoy helped me sober up, giving me a potion that did wonders before helping back up here," she informed her now curious friend.

"What!" Beth exclaimed loudly, causing those around them in the common room to look at the two girls curiously before turning back to what they had been doing. "You let me moan and complain about a stupid hang over while you had some actual news? You should have stopped me," Beth told her forcefully.

"Well Beth, when you get started you're kind of hard to stop," Ginny told her, smiling sweetly.

"Stop trying to be funny, tell me exactly what happened," Beth told her, moving in closer to her best friend.

They were not joined by Collin for another two hours, by which time Ginny had told Beth the whole story, in explicit detail, not even leaving out the fabric of Draco's sheets, and had moved on to what they were doing for christmas which was only a few weeks away.

They headed down to lunch, their conversation having changed to what photo's Collin was planning on taking that day. Beth, as always, hung off his every word while Ginny died a little inside with every passing second. Ginny sat eating her food in silence as Collin talked and Beth listened.

Ginny continues to glance up at the Slytherin table, catching glances of the blonde haired Slytherin Prince. Next to him Blaise was eating his lunch, talking non stop to the silent boy next to him; while on the other side Pansy Parkinson looked like she was about to mount him. Ginny shivered at the thought.

"What's wrong?" Collin asked, finally coming out of his reverie. Beth and Colin both looked at Ginny concerned.

"I'm fine," she assured them with a smile. "Let's go," she said as she saw Malfoy get up from his table and leave the Great Hall, Blaise now talking happily to the distraught looking Pansy.

Ginny rushed out of the Great Hall and looked for the blonde boy, seeing him walk out of the doors to the front of the castle. She followed him out, and in turn she was followed by the curious Beth and Collin.

"Draco," Ginny called as she got closer. She saw Malfoy stop, but he didn't turn to face her. "I just wanted-"

"Just wanted to what? Blood traitor," Malfoy spat as he finally turned to look at her, his face filled with disgust. "How dare you speak to me," he told her forcefully.

Ginny's smile disappeared as soon as Malfoy began to speak, the disdain in his voice evident in the first syllable. Had she just dreamt the night before? She was sure it had been real, her lack of a hangover that morning was evidence of that. Ginny studied the boy before her carefully, she noted that he looked quite different to last night. He was the same boy, but his face, then having been relaxed and content, almost happy, was not contorted in disgust and loathing towards her.

"What would make you think that you could speak to me? You filthy Mudblood lover," Draco asked her as he walked closer to her in order to make his point.

"You're an asshole," Ginny told him before slapping him harshly across his left cheek. She was very happy with herself when a red mark was left where her hand had made contact.

She turned and walked away, being followed by a confused Beth and Collin. "You see, you can't even use magic. You might as well be a Mud-" he mocked but was cut off by Ginny's bat-bogey hex.

Ginny walked quickly into the Entrance Hall and continued on her way to the Gryffindor Tower.

"What was that all about?" Collin asked as they reached the stairs.

"That's what you get for sleeping in Col," Beth told him simply as the two of them followed the fast paced Ginny up to the Gryffindor Tower.

---

Ginny sat at dinner the next day, studiously looking down at the plate in front of her. Every so often her eyes would stray up and she would find herself scanning the Slytherin table for a certain blonde haired boy. All day she had been attempting to ignore the Slytherin Prince, it was clear to her now that he must have been drunk, or something, at the party. But Ginny just couldn't help herself, she found herself always looking for his blonde hair, disappointed when she couldn't find it. What was she doing?

Ginny even found herself at breakfast the next morning trying to listen to Collin's stodgy story the next morning that was about something to do with a bird and catching a fish or something. No matter how hard Ginny tried, her eyes continued to wander towards the Slytherin table, searching for a glance of his platinum blonde hair.

"We should head to class," Beth suggested after Collin finished with one of his benign stories.

"Crap!" Ginny exclaimed, dropping her head into her hands on the table in front of her. She felt like moving her hands away and banging her head on the table a few times, going up to the Hospital Wing, and missing out on Potions like the coward she truly was.

"What?" Collin asked, perplexed.

"She has potions next Collin," Beth told him clearly. "Is your brain just one giant sieve?" she asked him, inspecting his head carefully.

"I've always suspected," Collin joked, shaking his head a little to prove a point. Beth laughed loudly, not forgetting about her friends dilemma, until Ginny pinched her on the bum.

"Ow!" Beth squeaked, turning to face the distraught Ginny. Ginny made a pouting face up at her best friend. "It'll be fine, just don't turn up right on time, preferably after most people are in, that way all you have to do is just go and sit net to Blaise, don't even have to look at him if you don't want to," Beth told her encouragingly. Ginny winced, that was the problem, she did want to look at him, she would stare at his beautiful face all day if she could. Beth just patted Ginny on the shoulder comfortingly, understanding her dilemma. "It'll be okay, you'll be so distracted by Blaise's endless blabber that you won't think to look up," Beth told her enthusiastically.

Ginny nodded hopefully as she stared back down at her empty plate. She filled it again, hoping that by the time she ate it all, she could leave for potions in order to get there just before the class started.

---

Ginny ran into the dungeon just as class was about to start, she breathed a sigh of relief as she sat next to Blaise.

"You're late," Blaise said, the shock clear in his voice.

"I can be late to class," Ginny told, almost insulted at his tone.

Blaise chuckled as Professor Snape began to write something on the black board. "Sure you can Weasley, I'm just yet to see it," he told her, smirking, and Ginny glared at him in return.

Not even Blaise's happy chatting could cheer Ginny up today, she tried to laugh at his stories, but couldn't find it in her. Blaise knew something was wrong when Ginny didn't laugh at his story about how Pansy's pants had fallen off the other night in the Slytherin common room in front of everyone.

"What's wrong with you?" Blaise asked her, genuinely concerned for his lab partner.

Ginny just looked at him incredulously. "Do you honestly expect me to answer that?" she asked him simply.

"No, not really, just thought I should ask," he told her as he continued to make the potion, a smirk brewing on his face but Ginny ignored it.

Ginny was distant for the most part, she just sat and listened to Blaise as she put in the ingredients that were listed on the board. As a result of this, she did not notice Blaise add in some extra bat wings, or the puce colour that the potion was turning when it was supposed to be a pale blue. She did not object when Blaise offered to take the potion to be bottled up the front, she did not notice that Blaise sat the potion directly next to Pansy, who was putting her potion in a bottle, before sneakily adding Murtlap Essence to the cauldron and quickly stepping away, using Pansy's body as a shield from the cauldron.

Ginny did notice how ever when the potion exploded in Pansy's face, causing her to scream while Blaise stood behind her doubled over in laughter. Pansy turned and Ginny could see the puce potion all over the girl, and big blotchy spots appearing beneath the potion. She looked over to Blaise who was potion free, unable to control his amusement.

Before she could stop it she began to laugh with the boy, as did the rest of the class as Pansy ran out of the room, presumably to the Hospital Wing. Ginny, and the rest of the class, stopped laughing however when Snape turned to glare at Blaise, who stood up and looked the Professor in the eye.

"You wouldn't have anything to do with this, would you Mr. Zabini?" Snape asked the boy, the annoyed expression clear on his face.

"As a matter of fact I do sir, I had _everything_ to do with it," Blaise told the Professor calmly smiling.

"Ten points from Slytherin and Gryffindor," Snape told the class bitterly.

"What?" Ginny asked in shock. "Professor I-" Ginny tried to protest but was cut off.

"And detention for you both tomorrow night," he continued as if Ginny hadn't have spoken.

Ginny turned to glare at Blaise who just smiled at her.


	3. Chapter 3

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Three**

Ginny blatantly ignored Blaise for the rest of the lesson, while Blaise, in turn, tried to get her attention in order to apologise. If Ginny was truthful, she didn't actually care about the detention, it was about the fact that Snape had treated her like anyone else, as just another student whom he looked down at. It was a very different experience to what Ginny was used to, to being treated by the Professor as an equal.

Ginny packed up her things slowly, waiting for everyone to leave in order to talk to Snape and make her case. Everyone slowly piled out of the room and Ginny counted the seconds for them all to leave. Snape closed the door after the last student left, obviously expecting her appeal.

"I had nothing to do with that," she told him forcefully as soon as the door was closed. Ginny stood next to her desk, her packed bag on her stool next to her. "It was all Blaise," Ginny added desperately.

Snape didn't say anything until he had walked back to the front of the classroom to lean against the front of his desk. "I realise that, Ginevra," Snape told her softly as he crossed his arms. Ginny did not miss the fact that he had referred to her in a familiar was, as opposed to the 'Miss Weasley' she had expected.

"Then why did you deduct ten points and give me a detention?" Ginny asked, confused, her forceful tone now gone as she moved her bag and sat down.

"Ginevra, why do you think I paired you with Blaise in the first place?" he asked, letting her ponder on that point before continuing. "He is notorious for causing trouble in class, particularly the sort of trouble that distracts the whole class by causing something to blow up. He is in this class because, as you might have realised, he is very talented at potions, which means he knows exactly what to do to them in order to cause a fiasco," Snape told her kindly.

"What do I have to do with that?" Ginny asked him, blankly.

"Last year a situation like that occurred at least once a week, if not more," he informed her.

Ginny thought about this for a moment. "So you put me with Blaise to calm him down," Ginny concluded.

Snape nodded. "But also to _watch_ him," Snape added.

Ginny's annoyance returned. "So I'm getting a detention because I wasn't watching his every step?" Ginny asked, exasperated.

"If you had been paying any attention you would have noticed in a second what he was doing," Snape told her, his tone still soft and calm. "But that's not all, or the main reason. I realise that Blaise only did this in order to cheer you up, and getting you a detention is the opposite," Snape told her simply.

Ginny nodded, still a little vexed. "So you're hoping it will also make him think twice next time," she posed and Snape nodded. "Right," Ginny said as she grabbed her bag and stood to leave.

"What is wrong with you, Ginevra?" Snape asked her as she turned to leave. "I haven't seen you so out of it in a very long time," Snape told her as he stood.

Ginny took a deep breath before turning to face Snape again. "It's nothing," she told him, trying to sound nonchalant about it all.

"It doesn't sound, or look, like nothing to me," Snape informed her, crossing his arms as he examined the girl before him carefully. Ginny looked away from his gaze, as if it would stop his from seeing what was really wrong.

"It's nothing of any importance," she told him, as she chewed her lip nervously.

"It's obviously important enough to distract you," Snape told her gently.

It's just..." Ginny started as she stood up, starting to pace. "I'm _such_ an idiot," Ginny said, not able to think of what to say next.

"I'm assuming you're not talking about you're actual intelligence," Snape murmured as the girl in front of him continued to speak.

"It's just..." she said, lost for words again, stopping her pacing and covering her eyes, as if she could in some way hide from what she was about to say, the embarrassment it would bring. "I went to the party in Slytherin on Friday night," Ginny did not even pretend to think that Snape had been unaware of such a party, he knew everything that happened in the Slytherin dungeon. "Pansy annoyed me and...and I may have gone a little over board with the fire whiskey," Ginny admitted sadly.

"I assume by a little, you actually mean a lot," Snape added.

Ginny nodded despondently. "Maybe a bit more than a little," she admitted sheepishly. "Pansy started to annoy me again so...so I hit, a few times," Ginny admitted, not able to keep the little smile from her face when she remembered the look on Pansy's face. "Which obviously caught everyone's attention, and Blaise and... and _Malfoy_ had to pull us apart," she said Malfoy's name as if it were a deadly disease that had killed all her family.

"I should have guessed Draco had something to do with this," Snape said under his breath, motioning for Ginny to continue with her story.

"Blaise and...they decided I couldn't make it up to Gryffindor on my own so...so _he_ took me to his room and let me sleep for a few hours, then gave me a potion that made my head a lot better, before taking me back to my room," Ginny concluded.

"Am I to believe that is all that happened?" Snape asked her disbelievingly.

Ginny looked at him, wincing. "I may of told him he had a cute butt... I don't think anything else happened though," Ginny concluded, sitting down again.

Snape shook his head in disbelief. "You are upset because Draco was nice to you?" he asked her finally.

"No, that's only the first part of the story, the second part is much quicker," she told the professor as she crossed her arms on the bench before her, dropping her head there. She stayed there for another minute before lifting her head to speak again, as Snape sat there patiently. "The next day I went to thank him for being so nice, but he was... he was different... well actually I suppose he was the same as he always is. Called me a Mudblood trader, then I bat-bogey hexed him," she told him simply. "I just feel so stupid. I had actually thought that he was a decent human being," Ginny added, returning her head to rest on her arms.

Snape took a deep breath, inspecting the girl before him before he decided to speak. "What do you think most students think of me, Ginevra?" he asked kindly.

Ginny looked up at him, confused. "I'd rather not say," she told him, not wanting to repeat the vile things people had said about the Professor who had always been so caring towards her.

"And how many people do you think get to see the other side of myself?" he asked her again. Ginny didn't answer, she didn't need to. "Give it time," he assured her.

Ginny nodded sadly as she stood to leave the room. "Thank you," she said before opening the door and leaving.

---

Ginny sat at breakfast the next morning, still angry with Blaise for getting her a detention. She was also partly angry with herself for letting herself get into the situation, Snape had been right, if she hadn't have been so distracted she would have stopped Blaise before he could even think of doing anything.

Ginny studiously looked down at her breakfast, determined not to look over at the Slytherin table, not wanting to set eyes on both the blonde and the black haired Slytherin boys that had caused her so much trouble. Ginny was happy ignoring everything around her when she could have sworn someone was looking at her. Her head shot up as she searched the Great Hall for the person. Instead she found the _persons_ looking at her, both sitting next to each other at the Slytherin table.

Blaise looked at her apologetically. When her eyes hit his he smile and waved, Ginny glared in return, causing the boy to look even more upset. Malfoy on the other hand looked at her with intrigue, a small smirk playing at his lips. Ginny returned her gaze down, completely discombobulated about why Malfoy was staring at her in such a way.

Ginny walked in to Potions with Harry and Hermione and was not surprised to find Blaise already sitting at their bench talking to Malfoy, who was currently presiding in her seat. She saw Blaise look up at her and say something to Malfoy, who in turn turned to see Ginny standing a safe distance away, waiting for him to leave before walking any closer. Draco smirked at her, continuing to stare at her as he walked to take his seat next to Harry.

Ginny walked to her seat and sat down, the whole time refusing to meet Blaise's anticipating stare. Ginny sat, setting up her book and quills, making sure they were all set out before her perfectly. She did feel rather mean for ignoring the boy next to her, but she knew it was for his own good.

"Come on Ginny!" Blaise complained, but before he could continue to get her attention Snape walked into the room and began telling them what the potion they were making was. Ginny jumped up as soon as Snape had finished and started to collect the ingredients, Blaise hot on her tail. "Don't be like that!" Blaise complained. Ginny only paid attention to him when she began to hand him the ingredients, packing him up like a mule.

Blaise followed Ginny back to their bench quietly, his head down in disappointment.

---

At lunch Blaise sat next to Draco, his mood still seriously hindered by the way Ginny had acted towards him in Potions. She hadn't spoken once, not even to ask him to pass anything or to help make the potion, she continued as if he wasn't there.

"I don't get it," Blaise told his friend, looking over at the red head in confusion. "She's had detention before, why does she have her bloody panties in a twist over this one?" Blaise asked, turning to face his friend, finding that he too was staring at the red head, only not in confusion, but in utter intrigue. Blaise snapped his fingers in front of his friends face in order to get his attention. "Stop _bloody_ perving on her, put your eyes back in their sockets, and _help_ me!" Blaise demanded.

Draco rolled his eyes and turned to face his best friend. "Isn't it obvious?" he asked simply, getting a blank face in return. "She's never gotten a detention from _Snape," _Draco pointed out before he turned back to stare at the girl again.

"Why would she care about _Snape_?" Blaise asked in confusion, turning to look at Ginny. "Only Slytherin's like him," he concluded.

Draco smirked at his friend. "Haven't you noticed, Weasley is Snape's Golden Child, she can do no wrong in his eyes," Draco said, thinking that Ginny couldn't do any wrong in _his _eyes either. "How many people have been accelerated into advanced potions?" Draco asked, and Blaise began to count them off in his head. "Let me specify, how many of them _weren't_ from Slytherin?" Draco asked again.

Blaise was stumped, he searched and searched his perfect memory bank and came up with nothing. "Then why Ginny? I mean, don't get me wrong, she's better than Granger at Potions, but...why?" Blaise asked, staring at the red head in amazement.

"Fucked if I know mate," Draco admitted, staring at the girl who so intensely ignored his and Blaise's gaze, though clearly knowing they were there. "But after class yesterday she stayed behind to talk to Snape, didn't you notice?" Draco asked, finally turning to look back at the boy next to him.

"No," Blaise shook his head. "I was too preoccupied with getting out of there," he admitted sheepishly. He turned and looked back at his friend with interest. "Why did she stay?" Blaise asked.

Draco just shrugged. "No idea, Snape _closed_ _the_ _door_ so I couldn't listen in," Draco told him, disappointed.

"Maybe that's why he closed it mate," Blaise told his friend, smirking.


	4. Chapter 4

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Four**

Ginny walked into the Potions Classroom later that night for detention, not surprised at all that Blaise was already there. Snape had not yet arrived, leaving Ginny no way to escape from the persistence that was Blaise Zabini.

"I'm really sorry Gin, I shouldn't have done it," Blaise told Ginny desperately as soon as she walked in the door. "It ill never happen again, I promise!" Blaise smiled sheepishly. "Okay, maybe it will... but I'll make sure it's not in Potions," he told her truthfully.

Ginny looked at him carefully, trying to see whether what he was saying was the truth. The big smile and the previous guilty expression told her that Blaise was telling the truth.

"You owe me _big_," she told him, after leaving him in suspense for another minute, there was no need to shorten his punishment just because he was good at apologising.

Blaise grinned as Snape at her just as entered the room. Snape looked at the two students before him, not showing any emotion, leaving them in suspense. Ginny and Blaise stood nervously, wanting to know what their task would be.

"You are to clean the cauldrons over there," Snape told them, motioning towards a corner in the room, "and alphabetise all the contents on those six shelves," he added, pointing towards the opposite corner. Just after he had given them their assignment Draco Malfoy walked into the room, looking as smug as ever. "Ah, you're late," Snape told him dryly.

Ginny looked at Malfoy in shock and horror, while Blaise smirked at his friend knowingly. "I'm sorry sir, I was held up," Draco told Snape sincerely as he walked to stand in line with Blaise and Ginny in front of the professor.

Snape nodded at him before turning back to Blaise and Ginny, who both still had their eyes on the blonde boy next to them.

"I will be in my office marking papers, Mr. Malfoy will oversee the work and make sure it's done," Snape told them candidly before he turned and walked out of the room and in the direction of his office.

All three of them knew exactly what he was doing, Snape knew full well that within seconds the two Slytherin boys would have cleaned the pots and alphabetised the shelves, leaving them to do whatever they please for the rest of the night until they could leave the room. Ginny shook her head, understanding an aspect of the situation that the two boys didn't, Snape was forcing Ginny and Malfoy into the same room together, almost alone, where they had to talk or ignore one another. Ginny was more inclined to ignoring to blonde Slytherin.

"I'm going to go grab some food from the kitchens, want me to bring you back something?" Blaise asked the other two occupants in the room.

Ginny shook her head and walked over to the bookshelves, picking out a text book she had not yet read. She sat down at her usual desk as Blaise left the room, leaving Ginny alone with Malfoy. Ginny focused on the book in front of her but was having a hard time, she read through the first sentence six times before it sunk in. Ginny was onto the second sentence when she heard Malfoy move over and fill the seat next to her. This time it took eleven tries before the sentence made sense.

"Are you going to ignore me all night?" Draco asked, rather amused at how Ginny was acting.

Ginny took a deep breath in before speaking, making sure her voice was level. "That's the plan," she told him simply, continuing to stare at the page in front of her, having given up on actually _reading_ any of it.

Draco reached over and shut the book, forcing Ginny to look up at him angrily as she tried to push his hand away so she could start reading again. "I was reading that!" she told him heatedly, not able to move his hand from on top of the book.

"What was it about?" Draco asked her, smirking.

Ginny hit a blank, unable to remember what even the first two sentences had said. "Potions," she finally told him weakly. She stared at Draco's smirk, which grew with her answer before standing and walking as far away from him as she could.

She soon heard him slowly stand from his seat and follow her from a distance.

"You can't avoid me this whole time," Draco told her simply.

Ginny spun around, glaring at him. "Watch me," she said before she turned and continued to walk away, before reaching the wall.

"You don't need to avoid me," Draco told her, stopping his chase and leaning back on one of the benches casually.

Ginny turned to him and rolled her eyes at him. "I have _every_ need to avoid you," she told him acidly as she thought of the other afternoon when she had meant to thank him.

Draco took a deep breath, folding his arms across his chest casually, before speaking again. "Do not tell me that you act different in public than you do in private," Draco told her simply.

"No, I won't begin to, but my public attitude isn't a cold hearted bastard," she told him angrily, walking away from the wall to lean only a few benches away from Draco.

"It's the was it needs to be," Draco said sadly. Ginny looked at him curiously, his head now down, eyes closed in remorse, shaking his head. "I thought you of all people would understand the need to put on an act in order to please people, in order to not raise suspicion," Draco added, looking up at her again, the smirk gone from his beautiful lips, replaced with a sad smile.

"What would make you think that?" she asked him, standing from her spot and moving closer again, now leaning on the bench opposite Draco, only one meter away from him.

He smirked. "You act as if you hadn't a care in the world, yet when no one is paying attention you get this look on your face..." he told her, reaching up as if to stroke her cheek from far away. "It's the most heartbreaking thing I've ever seen," he told her.

"Why do you think that is?" she asked him, very interested in his theories, also just wanting to hear him talk to her this way some more.

He smiled at her sweetly. "Now I don't think I need to mention that, we both know the exact cause," he told her, standing so that he was right in front of her. "Though, there are not many who notice what affect it plays on you," he told her, reaching out and stroking her cheek just as he had motioned to before.

"You notice," she said, moving closer to him, moving into his touch.

"You intrigue me Ginevra Weasley," Draco told her, a sweet smile playing on his graceful lips, and Ginny fought the urge to reach out and touch them. Ginny felt a surge of warmth through her at the use of her name, she looked up from him lips and into his eyes, lifting her hand to cup his cheek.

"You confuse me, Draco Malfoy," she told him softly, a small smile reaching her lips.

"I really do like it when you smile," Draco told her as he leaned down towards her, gently pulling her face to his. "It really is quite a beautiful sight," he informed her and Ginny closed her eyes as she leaned forward to meet his lips.

The door slammed open and in walked Blaise Zabini carrying a bag full of food from the House Elves. "I bought everything I could carry!" he yelled as he turned to close the door, not yet having seen how close the two were.

Ginny and Draco jumped from one another as if the other had the plague. Ginny quickly walked back to her seat, while Draco stood in his spot glaring at his best friend.

"What?" Blaise asked innocently as he placed the food on the nearest bench.

"You really do have brilliant timing Blaise," Draco told him, trying to hide his obvious emotion. Blaise looked from Draco to the now retreating and embarrassed Ginny who had her back to them.

"Sorry," Blaise whispered softly so only Draco could hear.

---

The next morning Ginny went down to breakfast with her brother, Harry and Hermione. She told herself it just happened to be a coincidence that they were walking out of the common room at the same time, nothing more to it. If Ginny was truthful with herself she would know that she wanted to know if Malfoy had reverted back to being a cruel, and she was guaranteed to find out if she was with Ron and Harry, who couldn't resist taking a pull at the blonde Slytherin.

They were in the Entrance Hall before she spotted him, standing outside the Great Hall talking to Blaise in a hushed voice. Their conversation ceased as the group got nearer and Blaise walked in to the Great Hall. Before Malfoy could follow Ron made some comment about hi mother that Hermione hit him over the back of the head for. Malfoy turned and glared at the group.

"I'd watch your mouth, _blood traitor_, the Mudblood won't be there to protect you all the time," Malfoy snarled, referring to Hermione's great ability with Charms, and Ron's lack of skill. Ron was about to lunge forward before three sets of hands all reached out and stopped him.

"Calm down Ron," Harry told him quietly as Malfoy stalked off into the Great Hall.

"You bought that on yourself you know," Hermione told him knowingly.

The three of them walked into the Great Hall, but this time Ginny didn't follow, she was too confused to think straight. She had understood what Draco had said the night before, but what she had trouble dealing with was which of his personalities was an act. Was it the kind and charming one that appeared mostly at night and in private, or the arrogantly cruel boy that appeared during the day. Ginny really hoped that it was the latter.

Ginny walked into Potions an hour later, not surprised to find Blaise already sitting at hi seat with Draco next to him talking. Draco stood as soon as she entered the room, looking at her with interest as she took her seat next to Blaise. After she sat down she could still feel his eyes on the back of her neck, she turned to check that he was still looking, and was winked at by the blonde Slytherin. Ginny turned and tried to hide the smile that tugged at her lips as Blaise began talking. Ginny only half listened to Blaise's endless chatter, that was until she heard the name of a certain Blonde Slytherin mentioned.

"Pardon?" she said, waking from her stupor.

"I just said I was glad Draco got assigned to our detention last night," Blaise told her smirking, not missing her change in attitude at the mention of his name. "Weren't you?"

"I suppose," Ginny attempted to say impassively, trying to ignore the heat on her cheeks.

"Don't pretend you don't care," Blaise told her smirking, playfully punching her shoulder. Ginny looked down at her book before her, attempting to ignore the boy next to her. "What?" he asked carefully, his smile starting to fade slightly. "I saw how you two were before I oh-so rudely interrupted," Blaise encouraged her, leaning into her, giving her a playful nudge.

"It's just..." Ginny started, but was stopped as Snape walked in the room and started class, Ginny had never been so happy to see the Potions Professor.

"This isn't over," Blaise told her quietly, not missing Ginny's relief. Ginny shook her head and put all her energy and thought into making the potion at hand.

Ginny walked out of the Potions classroom an hour later and was pulled to the side out of the flow of traffic.

"Seriously, you couldn't have just asked to speak to me after class?" Ginny asked Blaise sarcastically as she allowed herself to be pulled into the empty classroom.

"Would you have come?" Blaise asked her as he closed the door, smirking.

Ginny shrugged, pulling a face at the boy. "Probably dragging me here was your best option," she told him, scrunching her nose.

"Are you going to talk or would you like me to ask embarrassing questions to get you started?" Blaise asked Ginny as he leant against the table next to where she was standing.

Ginny leant back to lean on the desk next to Blaise, rubbing her face with her right hand before talking. "It's just..." she started but couldn't seem to continue.

"Yup, that's where you got up to before," Blaise joked, trying to lighten and make her feel better about talking.

Yeah," Ginny admitted softly. "I'm not real good at the whole..." she tried to action with her hands. "I'm not so good at the whole talking thing," she admitted finally.

"Really?" Blaise asked, grinning as he nudged her jokingly. "I'm shocked, I never would have known," he added. Ginny rolled her eyes at him before putting her face in her hands in despair, not sure how she was going to say what she wanted. Blaise placed an encouraging arm around her shoulders and gave her a quick squeeze. "Just...just say anything and everything that you want to, I'll listen to it all," Blaise told her encouragingly.

Ginny nodded. "It's just," she started for the third time. "It's just, I don't get him," Ginny told Blaise. "One minute he's sweet and charming and...and _perfect. _But then the next minute he's... he's an arrogant arse who is the cruelest person I've ever met," Ginny tried to explain. "The two personality thing confuses me, I mean, which is the real Draco? Is it the conceited bastard who comes out in public, or the endearing guy who takes my breath away?" she asked Blaise as she leaned forward again into her hands.

Blaise nodded knowingly before standing and pacing in front of Ginny. After a few laps he stopped, hands on hip and looked at Ginny meaningfully, Ginny who was now looking up at Blaise with interest.

"What?" she finally asked, for once unable to stand the silence.

Blaise nodded and stepped forward so he was standing directly in front of Ginny. "You cannot tell _anyone_," Blaise told her seriously, Ginny nodded in response. Blaise took a deep breath before continuing. "Have you ever thought that Draco's cruelness is just an act?" he asked and Ginny nodded slowly, she had considered that, but she didn't know why. "There are reasons for it Ginny," Blaise told her.

"What reasons?" she asked him.

Blaise went to stay, raising his hand before letting it fall. "I can't tell you that," Blaise told her sadly. "But...I can tell you that it's something big. If Draco isn't seen to act in such a way, the safety of himself as well as others will be at stake," Blaise told her and Ginny nodded, knowing not to push him any further. "Don't think for a second that the Draco that you... that you care about is the act, because that Draco is my best friend, and he deserves a little happiness," Blaise told Ginny seriously.


	5. Chapter 5

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Five**

Ginny sat in Potions the next day, contemplating what Blaise had told her the day before. It had been all she could think about. Even Harry and Ron's conversation about the Quidditch game on Saturday had not sparked her interest. Blaise seemed to understand Ginny's need to grasp what he had said, what was happening, because he didn't flatten her with his normal endless chatter.

The class finished and Ginny was not surprised to find herself being one of the last students leaving the classroom. She crossed the threshold of the door and instantly felt someone gently take hold of her arm and wordlessly lead her in the same direction that Blaise had the day before. He took her into the same room that Blaise had the day before. Ginny had no idea what she thought about everything, she was no where near ready to talk to _anyone_ about it, let alone the boy who was causing her such confusion.

"What is it with you Slytherins?" Ginny asked angrily as Draco started to close the door. "Can't you just go up to a girl and ask her to talk to you, why do you all have to be so _bloody _secretive?" she asked him as she attempted to get out of the room.

"Ginny," Draco said, his eyes begging her to stay, but Ginny didn't know how or what to say to him.

"No," she told him angrily. "You want to talk, you find me like a civilised person and ask to-" she started to tell him but was cut off by his lips on hers.

His kiss was so gentle and soft, but Ginny could feel the passion and want from Draco through the kiss. Draco cupped her cheek gently with one hand while the other arm was wrapped around her waist. Ginny reached up, wrapping one arm around his neck while her other hand intwined into his hair. The kiss became more intense as Draco turned them and leant Ginny against the door that was now behind her. Draco finally pulled back, looking at Ginny intensely as he stroked her cheek lovingly.

"I...I have to get to class," Ginny told him hurriedly, reaching behind herself and opening the door, this time Draco didn't stop her.

---

After his last class Draco knew he had to find Ginny. All he could think about all day was her and that kiss. No girl had ever affected him as much as Ginny had in just one kiss, in those few seconds Ginny had become all he could fathom thinking about. Draco searched the Library, a place he knew Ginny spent a lot of her time, then he went to the Gryffindor common room and bribed a fourth year to see if she was there. He checked the kitchen, out the front of the castle, and finally the Quidditch pitch and change rooms. It was like Ginny had disappeared from the castle.

Draco decided to find her at dinner later that night as he headed back to the Slytherin common room. As he walked through the dungeon hallway he noticed the lights in the Potions classroom were still on, the doorway open slightly. Draco would have kept walking, if it weren't for the fact that he recognised a certain voice from within the room, and it wasn't Snape's.

"Wouldn't it be best to add half the bat wings, stir it three times clockwise before adding the rest and stirring twice anticlockwise?" he heard Ginny ask Snape from behind the cauldron.

"Very good Ginevra," Snape told her proudly. Ginny smiled happily as she added half the bat wings that were in front of her.

From what Draco could say the potion she was brewing was not an easy one, he wasn't even sure if he could have made it without Snape's constant guidance, and yet, here was this girl, not only making it with ease, but suggesting ways of improving it.

Draco stood by the door, waiting for Ginny, but also listening to what was being said. Ginny and the Potions Professor discussed everything from the Potion they were making to how Ginny was feeling that day. Draco was shocked at how the Professor acted around the girl, Draco had only seen him at such ease with only a select few, himself being one of them.

---

Ginny packed up the remnants of the ingredients she had used to make the potion, having just placed it in a vial that was at the end of the bench. Snape walked up to the bench and picked up the vial, holding it up at eye level as he inspected the colour of it. He nodded before opening it to smell the contents, he close the vial and nodded again at Ginny.

"Very good Ginevra, I could not have done better myself," he told her as he took the vial and put it in his stores.

"Thank you," Ginny said proudly as she packed up the last of her bench. "I'll see you tomorrow," she called as she picked up her bag and exited to room. She was swept with Déjà Vu as she felt someone gently take her arm and lead her in the opposite direction that she had been heading and further into the Dungeons. She did not have to look up to realise who were captor, of sorts, was, the gentle hold on her arm and his unmistakable scent told Ginny that Draco Malfoy was leading her somewhere.

What worried her the most was that she had no idea what to say to him, she had still not managed to get her head wrapped around what was happening. He led her down the hallway and stopped in front of a portrait of three almost naked women feeding each other fruit. They smiled at him as he told them the password and the portrait swung open to reveal his bedroom. The walked in the Draco gently let go of her arm as the door swung shut behind them.

Draco reached forward and relieved Ginny of her bag, placing it on a hook by the door. Ginny stood looking at him, hands on hips as Draco turned to look at her. She looked at the very irresistible boy before her, his hair was half up, held by a thin black band, in a way that he usually wore, his school uniform, which looked geeky on everyone else, made him look like a male model, and his eyes just continued to draw her in.

"Again with the secretive manoeuvre, still haven't mastered the art of being polite and _asking_ them to talk?" Ginny asked. She really had no idea why she was angry, she had wanted to see him all day after the kiss that morning, but also _hadn't_ wanted to see him for fear of making a total fool of herself or not knowing what to say to him.

Draco smirked as he walked towards her, cupping her cheek as he got close enough. "Do you mind if we talk?" he asked softly, as his thumb stroked her skin.

Ginny was breathless, she struggled to remember how to talk or even how to breathe as he continued to stare down at her. She just nodded dumbly, unable to take her eyes off of his lips.

"Good," he said before kissing her forehead softly and stepping back, and offering Ginny the chair by the desk to sit on. Ginny just nodded and sat down, hoping her intelligence would return when she sat and was further from the blonde boy.

"I haven't been able to stop thinking about you all day," he told her as he stood a few feet in front of her, hands in pockets, head down as if he was confessing his deepest darkest secret. He looked up at Ginny, who just stared at him, intrigued by what he had just said. "No one has _ever_ made me feel that way before, and the girl who does is..." he stopped himself and turned from Ginny.

"What? What am I Draco that makes it so _horrible_?" she asked, as she stood up and stepped closer to him.

She saw Draco's shoulder's rise slowly and fall, showing him taking a deep breath before speaking. "You're a Weasley," he said softly, sounding as though he was in pain.

Ginny was dumbstruck, he had bought her in here to insult her. She could not believe how wrong she had been, she had started to believe what Blaise had said, started to believe what she truly wanted to, but now it was all shattered by those three words. Tears began to form in Ginny's eyes as her typical Weasley temper emerged.

"And what's wrong with that? At least we are who we say we are. At least I'm not the child of a Death Eater!" she yelled at him as he turned to look at her in a pained expression.

Draco stepped forward and attempted to place his hands on either side of Ginny but she fought him to get free.

"Don't you understand?" he asked in a tone that was much lower that Ginny's but still loud enough for her to stop her struggle. "_I _don't care that you're a Weasley," he told her softly. "But my Death Eater _father_ does," he told her as she stopped to struggle so he could get closer to her. "If I...if he finds out that I so much as have feelings for you...for a _Weasley_, then it isn't just my safety that I will be worried about," he told her softly as he got close enough to her to cup her cheek. Ginny leaned into the touch unconsciously. He looked at her sadly as he stroked her cheek. "If anything happened to you...I would be to blame," he told her softly. "And I can't lose you after I only just found you," he told her painfully as he looked down at her in a way that made Ginny's heart break in two.

Ginny stood on her toes so that she was closer to him before lifting both her hands to frame his beautiful face. "I'm right here," she told him, smiling up at him as she leant her forehead against his.

Draco gently pulled Ginny's face closer to his and kissed her. The kiss was similar to the one they had had that morning, it was soft and gentle but communicated more feelings than could have been expressed through words. Draco moved Ginny backwards to the desk as lifted her up so that she was sitting on it with him between her legs. Draco waited for Ginny to stop him, to slow him down, but was surprised by the feeling of Ginny's hands at the hem of his shirt, tugging it up.

---

They lay later in Draco's bed, Ginny halfway over Draco as he stroked her back. What had surprised Draco the most had not been Ginny not stopping him, it had been the fact that she was not a virgin. She was inexperienced, that Draco could tell easily, but it had been obvious that it had not been her first experience. Draco lay there wondering whether it had been done by one of the boys she had briefly dated, or by someone else a little longer ago. Draco shuddered at the latter thought, part of him not wanting to know the answer to his question.

Draco looked over at Ginny and smiled slightly at the sight of her. He did not miss that on her wrist she had a thin black band that she had pulled out of his hair, which now hung over his face as a result.

Eventually they both got up and dressed, Draco did not miss the way that Ginny refused to look at him as they did. This only confirmed Draco's suspicions of her inexperience. Before Draco could say anything Ginny was dressed and out the door, heading to dinner in the Great Hall. He slowly followed, deciding that she needed some space, and he would give it to her.

---

Ginny had been shocked, angry at herself for what she had let herself do. She wished that for once in her life she had been able to show some self control. But she had been so caught up in the moment as she kissed Draco, as she felt how he felt right up against her.

The act itself had left Ginny the most out of place. It had been wonderful, unknown, sublime, and yet left her so confused. She didn't know whether to talk to Draco about it, or whether he would laugh at her insecurities.

Ginny did not miss that Draco had started to keep his distance. At dinner after, she kept feeling his eyes on her, but every time she would look up at him they were gone. Even in Potions he didn't stare at her in that intrigued way as he had before, didn't smirk at her, nothing.

Ginny resumed to live as though nothing had happened, she ignored him just as he ignored her, but still at the back of her mind she continued to wonder what he was doing at that moment, was he thinking about her?

Ginny hoped that she had not just imagined the words that Draco had said to her, that they had been real.


	6. Chapter 6

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Six**

Ginny sat in the Potions classroom late Friday afternoon in her normal appointment with Snape. She was currently halfway through making a potion that Snape had assigned her, but today she lacked her normal want to please the Potions Professor, she lacked the need to do better and improve the potion.

Snape, who had previously sat at his desk at the front of the room marking essays for his third years, now stood opposite Ginny, looking down at her potion. Ginny was so caught up in her thoughts that she didn't notice him standing there until he took the cauldron away.

"There's something wrong," Snape said, not really needing to ask the question, the fact was plain to see.

"With the potion?" Ginny asked, confused having just been bought back to reality.

"It's exactly what I would expect out of any my Seventh year Potions students," he told her as he inspected the cauldron carefully. "It's not quite up to your normal standard, Ginevra," he told her as he placed the cauldron back in front of her.

Ginny looked at the potion in despair, she hated that Malfoy was affecting her so. It had been two nights since the act that had left her confused and detached from the world around her. Ginny was angry at him for affecting her ability at Potions, not once but twice. Ginny dropped her head to the bench before her as she groaned, annoyed at what was happening.

"I'm going to _kill_ him!" she proclaimed loudly as she sat up again to see Snape looking at her with interest. She shook her head as she stood and started to pace, not wanting to stay still for too long as the anger in her built up.

"I'm going to go out on a limb here and say you're talking about Mr. Malfoy," Snape said as he watched the agitated girl before him.

"He's just so...Ah!" she yelled in frustration when she couldn't find a word for it. "Insufferable!" she yelled in delight when she could find a word to describe how Malfoy was making her feel.

"What, I dare to ask, has he done to you _this_ time?" Snape asked carefully, not wanting to anger the girl any further.

Ginny stopped her pacing and turned to look at the professor, obviously deciding what her next words would be. She took a deep breath before she spoke. "We may have kissed," she told the Professor, shrugging and helplessly motioning with her hands as she scrunched up her nose.

"I'm going to assume that I believe you, and that that's all that happened," Snape told her simply.

Ginny nodded. "Assume away," she told her as she leant against a near by bench. "So we... we kissed a few night ago and since then... since then he's _ignored_ me, no smirk, no _nothing_. It's as if to him I no longer exist, except for the few passing comments about my family," she told Snape. " mean, I get the whole needing to ignore me thing but...but this has gone to whole new level," Ginny told the Professor helplessly.

Snape nodded, showing that he was processing what he had just heard. "How are you acting towards him?" Snape asked, already knowing the answer. He watched the girl carefully as she winced at his question.

"I'm ignoring him," she admitted quietly. "But _he_ started it," she added quickly, knowing full well she sounded like a five year old.

"Have you considered that he is not _ignoring_ you, but giving you space to process. From what I can see you still are unsure about the whole situation," Snape told her simply.

Ginny nodded as she sat down at a near by bench. She rested her head on her hand, deep in thought. "I didn't even know what to think before and now... now I'm just even more confused," she admitted as she sat up properly.

Snape nodded knowingly. "I think you need to talk to Draco about this, he may be just as confused as you," Snape told her.

Ginny nodded slightly as she stood. She collected her belongings and hung her bag over her shoulder. "Thanks," she said to the professor before she walked out of the room.

---

Ginny sat between Harry and Ron the next afternoon in the stands at the Quidditch game. She tried as hard as she could to focus on the game and the strategy that Ron and Harry were talking about either side of her, but her thoughts continued to make their way to one blonde Slytherin. It did not help that the game they were watching was Slytherin versus Hufflepuff. She would try to focus her efforts on watching and studying the Slytherin Chasers, finding their strengths and weaknesses, but then she would catch a glimpse of his blonder hair and be lost again.

His hair was half up, half down, just as he always wore when he played Quidditch so he could keep his hair from his face. He made the Quidditch uniform look like a fashion statement and all Ginny could seem to think about was how he looked without the uniform. Ginny played unconsciously with the thin back band that was still on her wrist, not having been removed since the few nights before when it got there.

Ginny sat, feeling as though she was in pain until Malfoy caught the Snitch after one hour and thirty-two unbearable minutes. Ginny escaped as quickly as she could, not wanting to have to avoid looking at the blonde Slytherin Prince any longer. Ron and Harry followed her closely as they continued to pull the game apart behind her in excited voices. She knew that Collin would still be taking photo's of the after game celebrations, and Beth would be with him, so she would not see wither of her friends for at least half an hour.

When they arrived at the Common Room Harry and Ron sat at the couch next to the fire, not noticing as Ginny escaped to her room. Ginny walked in and pulled out her Potions essay that was due in two weeks. She lay on her stomach on her bed, the essay before her. She struggled to keep her eyes open as she reached the three inch mark. She fought with her tiredness, knowing that if she slept she would dream of the Slytherin Prince.

---

Ginny was woken by soft tapping on the window near her bed. She sat up quickly, shocked by the sudden noise. She looked down at the scrunched parchment before her sadly before attempted to straighten it out. She gave up after a few attempts and rolled it up to put away again. She looked over to the window to find a large black school owl tapping on the window with a small piece of parchment attached to his ankle. Ginny carefully opened the window and let the owl in.

The owl flew in and perched itself on Ginny's Trunk at the end of her bed. Ginny took the parchment off of it's leg and walked over to the draws next to her bed to get an owl treat. she fed the owl before sitting on her bed and unravelling the rolled parchment.

_Don't Go to Hogsmeade tomorrow._

Ginny turned to parchment over to see if there was anything written on the back of it, but it was blank. Ginny lay back on her bed as she continued to study the parchment in her hands.

Ginny had already considered not going to Hogsmeade the next day, she didn't want to have to face Draco Malfoy until she was sure what to do. She knew Snape was right, she needed to talk to him, but her mind was still so fuzzy over everything to do with the blonde boy that she wanted to have her thoughts in orders first.

---

Ginny sat the next day in the library, it being completely empty apart from the odd second or first year. Beth and Collin that morning had tried to convince her to join them on the trip, though if truth be told, Beth didn't try too hard. The thought of spending a whole day alone with Collin was too good for the girl to pass up. Ginny easily persuaded Collin to go without her before coming down to the library with her Potions essay.

She had decided the night before that she needed some of the text books located in the library to complete it, though she knew Snape would have easily lent them to her, but she wasn't too keen on venturing down to the Dungeons at odd times when she did not know the whereabouts of a certain Slytherin.

Ginny was down to the fifth inch of the twelve inch essay when someone pulled out the seat opposite her and sat. She did not need to look up to see who it was. She continued to ignore them, hoping they would leave, as she continued to write her essay.

"That's mine," Draco told her, amused, pointing to the thin black hair tie that was currently holding her hair up and out of her face.

Ginny huffed before reaching back and pulling out the tie. She held it out to Draco, finally looking up o see his beautiful smirking face. He had his hair down today, meaning his hair carelessly hung over his face in a way that made him totally irresistible. Ginny ignored the feeling at the pit of her stomach as she held out the hair tie, no expression gracing her features.

"I don't want it back," Draco told her as he softly pushed her hand back towards her. "I just wanted to see you with your hair out," he told her, smirking again.

Ginny rolled her eyes as she placed the tie around her wrist and returned to her essay. Ginny knew full well that she could have put her hair up, and she hated that she didn't.

"I hate you," she informed the boy, not looking up from her page.

"No you don't," he told her simply, not seeming troubled by her proclamation. "You're just angry with me," he told her sadly.

"Really?" Ginny asked sarcastically, still not looking up at him.

Draco took a deep breath before talking again. "Ginny will you _please_ say something?" he begged. Ginny went to make a retort but Draco cut her off. "Something of substance," he confirmed.

Ginny slammed her quill on the desk and finally looked up at him angrily. "You want me to say something?" she asked indignantly. Draco nodded, not seeming fazed by her anger. "Yes, I am angry with you. Do you know why?" she asked but Draco remained silent, letting her continue. "You ignored me...you...you _ignored_ me after we," she tried to say before her voice broke and prevented her from going further. She picked up her things and placed them in her bag before standing and walking in the direction of the exit. Draco made no attempt to stop her, he simply watched sadly and followed her quietly out of the library.

Once they were a few hallways away from the library Draco gently took Ginny's arm and led her into an empty classroom. He silently performed a silencing spell on the room as Ginny slammed her bag down on one of the desks.

"How could you ignore me after _that_?" she asked angrily as tears formed in her eyes and threatened to fall.

"Aren't you the one who said that all you have to do is go up and ask someone to talk?" Draco asked her calmly. "It went _both_ ways you know," Draco informed her simply.

Ginny was angry at the fact that he was right. "Why couldn't you have come up and talked to me?" she asked, annoyed that he was right.

Draco shook his head slowly. "I wanted to give you space after what happened, so you could process what happened," he told her simply. "And I needed to think about what had happened also so..." he told her.

"But...you didn't even _look_ at me, I had _no_ hint that you didn't hate me, that all you had wanted..." she broke off as the tears fell down her pale cheeks and her throat closed, preventing her from speaking.

She helplessly leant back against the table that had her bag on it, closing her eyes in despair. She felt a pair of strong arms wrap comfortingly around her. She began to fight them, but gave up when she realised how safe she felt in them.

"I still hate you," she told him again as she buried her head further into his chest.

Draco chuckled softly before he gently placed a curled finger under Ginny's chin and lifted it so she was looking at him. "Really?" he asked her, smirking. Ginny just glared at the boy. Draco grinned before leaning down and kissing her softly on the lips. "Are you sure?" Draco asked her, smirking into her lips.

"Yes," Ginny replied feebly as she waited for his lips to return.

Draco chuckled again before kissing her. Ginny attempted to hold back the moan that escaped her as she felt his lips against hers. This caused Draco's smirk to widen as he continued to kiss Ginny softly.


	7. Chapter 7

**Tittle: Verità**

**Disclaimer: **no way in hell am I good enough to ownHarry Potter, it all belongs to J.K. Rowling, but the plot and a select few character are mine. Cheers!

**Summary: **Ginny has been hiding the truth for most of her life. When she is drawn to a certain blonde haired Slytherin she realises she is not alone, but is it true, or just another well spun lie?

**Chapter Seven**

Ginny sat at breakfast the next morning glaring over at the Slytherin table, in particular the handsome blond boy who was sitting rather close to a blonde fifth year girl. Ginny watch, annoyed as the girl fed Draco grapes and played carelessly with his hair. She was beginning to regret the proposition that she had made to Draco the day before. Why had she said it would have been better if they were friends?

_Draco could not hide his shock; having been pushed away from Ginny whom had only moments before been kissing him rather eagerly. Ginny shook her head in confusion as she walked away from the boy. _

"_I don't think..." she started but was unable to finish, shaking her head in confusion. Draco stood back, leaning carelessly against the table that seconds before Ginny had been against. Ginny tried to ignore the little smirk that played on his face as he watched her pace._

"_It seems to be the opposite problem, maybe you're thinking too much," he told her confidently, his confidence infuriating her. He leaned back in complete ease, while Ginny's head was spinning as she tried to figure out how to react, how to think about him._

_He reached out, grabbing her wrist to stop her pacing, pulling her to stand in front of him. She purposefully looked at their feet, so close but not quite touching. She felt his hand gently pull her face up to look at him. She found it hard to meet his usually serious eyes; missing the usual mischievous look he gave her. _

"_Just talk," he told her, as if it was the simplest thing in the world. She shook her head, aghast at the fact that it seemed so simple to him, though the feeling in her stomach told her otherwise._

_She shook her head, meeting his serious gaze with one of her own. "I think we should just be friends," she told him, taking a deep breath to calm her nerves. "It was only a few weeks ago that I hated you, you were my sworn enemy, and now we…" she told him, pulling her hand way from him, taking a step away from him. _

_He looked at her, his face turning to stone, hiding his shock. It did not escape her attention that Draco's attitude had changed from his previous teasing demeanour to the cold one that she usually saw in public. She realised her mistake and tried to step back in front of Draco, grabbing his hand to get his attention, but was met with a cold reception as he pulled away his hand, as if he'd burned himself. "You don't want to get so close to the enemy Weasel," he told her disdainfully._

"_Do you ever listen?" Ginny asked angrily, stepping closer so he'd have to pay attention to her. "You _used_ to be the enemy, not any more! I'm just not sure about what to think about all of this," she told him clearly. _

_Draco leaned down, looking her in the eye. "I do not give up easily, I always get what I want," he told her before walking out of the classroom._

Ginny's friends, though, were oblivious to the fact that her head was somewhere else. Colin was vividly explaining the affect that rain could have on a photograph as Beth sat, unable to tear her eyes away from the boy.

Ginny, determined to get her mind off of Draco Malfoy and the girl that was currently in his lap, turned to her two best friends. She attempted to listen to Colin's explanation but her concentration was quickly fading.

"Rain adds an extra dimension into a photograph that cannot otherwise be achieved through..." Colin explained excitedly to the two girls in sitting next to him.

Ginny found his excitement hilarious, Colin never seemed to get as excited as when he was talking about photography. She saw his eyes light up at the mere mention of it, his excitement hard to miss. She was amazed that such a thing as taking pictures in the rain had made him so animated in his explanation.

"How was Hogsmeade?" Ginny asked clearly and loudly so she could get the attention of her two friends, both caught up in Colin's explanation of the affects of rain.

"It was wonderful, have I shown you the pictures I took?" Colin asked as he reached excitedly into his bag, and Ginny didn't have the heart to remind him he showed her the pictures four times the previous night and twice that morning before breakfast. Colin had a habit of forgetting minor details when he was excited about things.

"How was your day?" Beth asked as Colin searched his bag for the photo's that weren't there, Beth had removed them that morning, not wanting him to pull them out at every opportunity. There was only so much a girl could take.

"It was fine," Ginny told her friend, forcing a smile as she ignored the two Slytherin's who were leaving the Great Hall, Ginny wondered how it was possible to walk while you were so entangled with another person. "Oh, Colin," Ginny said in fake sadness as she turned to her other best friend. "Don't you have the pictures?" she asked him sadly, as Beth attempted to hide her laughter behind her hand, practicing some deep breathing to calm herself.

Colin looked up at the two girls, the sadness on his face completely genuine. "No, I don't know where they could be," he told them, Ginny and Beth hadn't seen him so upset since second year when he over exposed photo's of a Slytherin falling off his broom in a Quidditch game.

"Oh, that's too bad," Ginny told him, trying not to look at Beth who was continuing to take deep breaths in an attempt to calm down as she purposefully looked away from Colin. Ginny reached out and squeezed her hand in what would have looked like a comforting manner, but was indeed a way for Ginny to hold in her own fits of giggles.

"You must have left them in the Common Room after you showed them to Harry and Ron before breakfast," Beth told him sincerely, finally having calmed down.

"I could have sworn I put them in here," Colin mumbled to himself, confused as he stuck his head back in his bag.

Ginny and Beth grabbed each other as they shared in silent laughter while Colin searched in his bag, not noticing his two friends amusement.

Ginny walked into Potions, and for the first time that year did not see the blond Slytherin sitting at her seat, talking to his best friend. Instead, Ginny saw from the corner of her eye that Draco was at Padma Patil's bench. Padma sat facing Malfoy, who had himself situated between her legs, his hands on her hips as he leant far closer than necessary in order to talk to her.

Ginny walked to her bench and sat next to Blaise, studiously ignoring the Public Display of Affection that was going on two benches over from hers. She carefully placed her bag on the desk and started to get our what she needed for the day, her facial expressions remaining neutral.

"Hi Gin!" Blaise said, a little too enthusiastically. "Did you have a good weekend?" he asked her hopefully.

Ginny smiled at Blaise, realising what he was doing. Not even Blaise's feeble attempts to distract her could draw attention away from the couple to their right. "Wonderful," she told him dryly.

"Really? Too bad," he told her sadly before he went into a great description of his weekend, not missing a single thing. He told her everything from what he had to breakfast on Saturday morning to making out with a cute 6th year Ravenclaw girl at Hogsmeade.

Ginny breathed a sigh of relief when Snape walked into the room and ceased Blaise's verbal assault, of sorts. Ginny appreciated the effort he put in, but sometimes she'd rather if he just didn't.

Ginny's friends didn't miss her strange behaviour, the next day, or the next, or the next. Thursday morning Beth was watching Ginny out of the corner of her eye while she listened to the clueless Colin. Ginny wasn't even pretending to be interested in what Colin was telling them, as she usually did, instead she was attempting to ignore everything around her, not lifting her head for anything. Beth suspected that someone could shout an Unforgivable Curse and Ginny wouldn't blink.

"When you develop the photos with a mixture of..." Colin continued as Ginny glared down at her cereal, having resigned the day before not to look up at Draco and the girl that would undoubtedly be hanging off of him.

"Are you okay, Gin?" Harry asked quietly from the other side of Ginny. Beth pretended not to be listening in, only slightly moving closer to her best friend.

"I'm fine," Ginny answered quickly. She sat straight up and picked up her bag quickly. "I need to go to the library before class, I'll see you in class, Harry," Ginny told the boy as she all but ran from the room.

Beth watched her best friends retreating back sadly, while Colin didn't seem to notice that he no longer had an audience as he continued with his explanation. Beth wondered how the boy could be so clueless to what was happening around him.

Harry moved closer to Beth. "Do you know what's wrong with her?" Harry asked. Beth looked over to see him watching Ginny walk out of the Great Hall, the look reminded her of her older brother when he was worried about her, it was sweet.

Beth shook her head, sadly. "I have my suspicions but I don't know for sure," she told him, turning to watch Ginny walk through the doorway and into the Entrance Hall before turning back around, her eyes glued to the empty plate before her, not wanting to look Harry in eye. "Hey, Harry, thanks for...thanks for hanging out with me at Hogsmeade," Beth told the boy, looking up at him, finding him looking at her.

Harry smiled at her, the older brother look gone now. "Anytime Bethany," he told her, bowing his head a little.

Beth nodded embarrassed as she thought of what had happened. She and Colin had gone to Honey Dukes, but one minute he was there, the next he was running around Hogsmeade taking photos, not seeming to realise that he'd left his friend behind and by herself. Beth was left alone with nothing to do. Harry had found her looking lost and upset in Honey Dukes, he instantly appointed himself her entertainment for the day.

"Colin can get a bit... a bit caught up sometimes," Beth tried to explain, as she felt her face get warm from the way Harry was looking at her. She remembered how sweet he had been, not seeming to mind that Beth had ruined his previous plans for the day.

Harry laughed. "I've noticed," he told her, amused as he looked back at the babbling boy, who was still yet to notice Ginny had left and Beth was no longer listening. " I just don't understand how he can manage to pay attention to anything when he's with such a pretty girl," Harry told her then winced. "Wow, that was corny!" he admitted, laughing at himself.

Beth laughed too, and blushed at the same time, not caring about how corny his comment had been as he looked down at her.

Ginny stormed into Potions, glaring at anyone who got in her way. For the fourth time that week Draco Malfoy was not sitting in her seat, talking to his best friend, this time he was in fact in his own seat, but he was sharing it with Pansy Parkinson.

She sat violently next to Blaise, who for once did not instantly start talking the minute she touched the seat. Ginny looked over at Blaise to see him staring back at her in curiosity. She was shocked to find him quiet, and missed his nonsensical chatter that usually greeted her once she entered the room, not that she would ever admit it. Ginny sat calmly, staring at her books set out in front of her, trying not to pay attention to the unusually silent boy beside her.

"You started it, you know," Blaise said, pulling Ginny out of her thoughts, they mostly included a beaters bat and Draco Malfoy's head.

"Started what?" Ginny asked, looking up at the boy next to her, noting his very serious expression as he studied her.

"Don't act dumb Ginny, it doesn't suit you," Blaise told her and Ginny's shoulders visibly sunk in defeat, Blaise took this as his cue to continue. "You shouldn't have told him you wanted just to be friends," Blaise told her.

"I know," Ginny, told him sadly, she had realised her mistake of words almost instantly, though she didn't regret the meaning behind them. "That doesn't mean he has to act like this," Ginny told Blaise, as she sent a quick glare over at the canoodling couple.

Blaise laughed a little, causing Ginny to look up at him, shocked that he would laugh when she was in so much obvious pain. "Yes he does, Gin. Would you be rethinking the friends thing if he hadn't?" Blaise asked her, smiling simply. "He was really hurt when I got back from Hogsmeade. Part of him was sure that you really only wanted to be friends with him," Blaise told her, studying her closely for her reaction.

Ginny shook her head. "I'm still angry at him," Ginny told Blaise.

"Good, he needs someone else to stand up to him and tell him when he's being a jackass," Blaise told her smirking.

Ginny angrily walked into breakfast on Saturday, refusing to look over at the Slytherin table as she took her seat next to Beth. Ginny watched in awe as Beth was turned to her other side, talking to Harry, as Colin sat across the table talking as though nothing was any different.

"The new film I brought at Hogsmeade last weekend is really going to improve the depth..." Colin continued talking; while Ginny looked on in shocked as her other best friend flirted with Harry.

"No, stop it!" Beth giggled as she swatted away the cereal Harry was throwing at her.

Ginny chose to ignore the couple, rather than throwing up. She faced Ron and Hermione in front of her, both of whom were paying full attention to their meals. Hermione was delicately peeling and cutting a banana into her cereal, while Ron didn't waste time with such things. His aim was to get the food from his plate into his mouth as soon as possible, no time was taken for preparation, except to maybe pour milk on his cereal or put jam on his toast. Ginny did remember one morning when Ron was running late and such luxuries were not afforded, she giggled at the memory of Hermione's disgust as Ron shovelled cereal into his mouth before pouring in some milk.

"So... what are you doing today dear brother?" Ginny asked him as she slowing began to butter her toast.

"Uh..." he said, or rather grunted as he chewed his food. He drank some pumpkin juice to wash down his mixture of foods before speaking again, and even then he continued to eat, though slower than before, as he answered her. "Um, I don't know, probably practice some Quidditch with Harry, we've got our first big game in two weeks. Want to come too? It would be a lot easier to practice with a Chaser," Ron offered hopefully. Ginny took a sly look next to her at Beth and Harry as they played some game that involved slapping each others hands and deduced that Harry might have other ideas for his free time.

"What?" Hermione asked angrily as she heard Ron's answer. She turned to look at Ron and Harry in rage, and finally Harry looked away from the girl next to him, a feat that Ginny didn't think was possible. "We have a Defence Against the Dark Arts essay due on Monday, it's meant to be 10 inches. Have either of you even started?" she asked, glaring at the two of them.

"I finished yesterday," Harry told her, raising his hand as though he was answering one of McGonagall's questions before turning back to Beth.

"And you?" Hermione asked accusingly, and Ron looked halfway between a frightened Hippogriff and an angry one.

"You can't just boss me around," he started, bad move. Ginny rolled her eyes as realisation of his mistake hit Ron's face, before he started taking the defensive again.

Ginny stood, toast in hand and walked out of the Dinning Hall, not in the mood to laugh at Ron and Hermione fighting.


End file.

Harry Potter, Angst, Romance