Ginny growled sleepily as Harry grabbed her ankles and pulled her from her bed. It was the morning of their trip to Hogwarts via the Hogwarts Express and she didn’t want to wake up, but slowly her eyes peeled open and she flipped herself onto her back so her legs were twisted,

“Ok Harry! I’m getting up!” she muttered.

He dropped her legs and grinned, walking over to her bedside and kissing her nose,

“Good, we’ve already had breakfast, we have to leave in twenty minutes,” he said seriously, looking at her with his deep emerald eyes.

“Huh? Oh ok… Twenty minutes... Yeah – Wait! What the fuck?! Twenty minutes?”

She sat up quickly, almost pushing Harry over as she jumped out of bed and pulled some jeans and a t-shirt out of her wardrobe. Thank God she had packed her trunk last night.

She was about to remove her clothes before turning to see Harry was watching her intently,

“Um, Harry? I’m not that stupid,” she chuckled sleepily and pushed him out of the room before resuming getting dressed.

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It was a cold morning and Ginny woke up early to the scent of fresh rain at her window. She gave a small sigh and turned over silently, checking her clock. Six O’clock. She knew she wouldn’t be able to go back to sleep, so as quietly as she could she rolled out of bed, dressed and made for the Great Hall.

This is what she loved about Hogwarts and what she had missed over the summer. She could wake up in the morning and – however early – find something to do, whether it was searching for hidden passageways or looking at the old paintings and murals that lined the walls. She ran her hands over old tapestries, their fraying fabric delicate to the touch and stared up at the still sleeping portraits, not daring to wake them. She walked around the castle for an hour before realising everyone was stirring from their beds and decided to head down to breakfast.

She was one of the first people in the gigantic room (Followed by Parvati, Lavender and a few first years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw who she did not know) its magical ceiling displaying a bright sun and pink-orange clouds – the complete opposite of what was outside. She was utterly surprised to see the light haired Malfoy boy by the name of Draco sitting alone at the Slytherin table, a stack of pancakes before him on an exquisitely white plate and a glass of pumpkin juice beside it. He seemed to be reading an old charms book and was unconsciously stabbing his fork into the pancakes sending maple syrup flying everywhere.

She couldn’t help but suppress giggles to herself as she sat down, Parvati and Lavender sitting together on the other side of the table chatting happily together. She didn’t even really make a point of talking to them and gave them a brief but happy looking smile and a ‘hello’ as they passed her.

She looked up after a few chews of her toast and looked over at Malfoy again. He had stopped reading and had apparently not noticed the mess he had made of the table, but had oddly noticed there was a huge hole in his pancakes and was looking around for the culprit. This time she couldn’t help it and started to giggle out loud which earned her a stern look from Lavender and made Malfoy turn around and give her a sly smirk. He hadn’t thought it was her, had he?

Ginny quietened, her cheeks blazing red and nibbled her toast again, taking a gulp of milk and pulling out some scrap paper from her pocket (She always left notes in there) and tearing out one of the corners. She pulled out a quill and wrote – in very tiny letters – ‘Having fun, Malfoy?’ on it.

She took her wand from her pocket and cast a small shielding charm, making the paper completely invisible and levitated it into the air, across the table, over Draco’s head and plopped it on top of his pancakes.

Once again, she suppressed her giggles as he looked down, bewildered at the note that had now become visible again and pulled it from the gooey mess of maple syrup.

She hadn’t thought about that.

Shaking it free of the mess, he read it, apparently amused as he chuckled a little before pulling his quill out of his pocket and writing a reply.

Seemingly, he had casted the same spells as she had on the paper as a few seconds later, the note was on top of her toast.

She smiled and read the scrap of paper to herself:

“Very much so, Weaslette. Would you happen to know who made a dreadful hole in my pancakes? I plan on making them suffer excruciating pain.”

She laughed openly, Lavender looking over again and giving her a weird look and then burying herself in deep conversation with Parvati. Smiling still, she turned over the piece of paper and wrote:

“Yes Malfoy, I know who it was. It was you, you stupid git,”

She performed the spells and sent the note back over. What was she doing? Flirting with the enemy?

Judging by the blush that rose in his cheeks and the long note he was trying to fit onto the small piece of paper, he was trying to make a good comeback. Maybe he would have if Hermione, Ron and Harry hadn’t all appeared at that precise moment.

She greeted Harry with a small peck on the cheek and hugged Ron and Hermione like she always did, letting them sit next to her so Lavender could no longer look over at them. By this time, the Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw tables were nearly filled up and a couple dozen people had joined the Slytherin and Gryffindor tables so there was no way Draco could fly his note over to her without being noticed.

“So, what are you planning on doing today? It’s not everyday that we start back on a Saturday,” Hermione asked no one in particular.

Ginny hadn’t thought about this. It was Saturday, after all, so Malfoy was going to have plenty of time to give her the note later.

“Oh, you know, this and that,” Ginny shrugged along with her response, “Might pop into the library, I need to study for potions. Snape was really pushing me last year so this time I think I might wise up and knock him off his feet when he expects me to do bad,” she laughed at the thought of Snape looking dumbfounded.

The rest of them nodded and Harry snaked an arm around Ginny’s shoulders. Ron gave them both a disgusted look and Hermione tutted at Ron, who immediately became quiet.

Ginny laughed,

“What Ron, have a problem with me dating Harry?” she breathed.

“No, it’s just… You and him… Doing… Stuff,”

Harry and Ginny both laughed at this and Harry hugged her closer, tilting her chin up and planting a kiss firmly on her lips.

“What, stuff like that?” Harry winked and tickled Ginny’s ribs so she giggled happily.

“Yes stuff like that. Anyway…” he made an attempt to change the topic of conversation, “Have you heard about the Ministry’s Annual Masquerade Ball? They’re sending out invitations to lucky students today. Something about being pure-blood. I suppose you’ll be invited, Harry,”

Harry blinked and stopped tickling Ginny discreetly under the table.

“Why would I be invited? I’m not pure,” he said, cocking his head and taking a sip from his orange juice.

“Yeah, but you know, everyone at the Ministry fawns over you,” Ron laughed, “I’m not joking,” he added, as Harry began to chuckle.

Just at that moment, over a hundred owls surged forward out of nowhere and began dropping letters to the students from their family and friends.

“Three Galleons says I don’t get an invite,” Harry grinned over at Ron.

“Done!” he replied and they both stared up at the owls dropping letters, Ron hoping an invite would drop down into Harry’s glass of orange.

Ginny looked thoroughly bored. She never got mail, and when she did it was mostly from her mother asking if she needed any new socks of her father asking if she had spoken to Harry about ‘Plug Sockets’. She still had no idea what they were so she kept the subject out of conversation with Harry. She reached for the jam and pulled another piece of toast from the rack, avoiding eye contact with Malfoy. She was surprised as a small, black envelope fell directly next to her plate, an owl balancing on the orange pitcher.

“HA! I told you, Harry! I told you you’d get one!” Ron hooted and picked up the letter, a look of shock replacing his expression of delight, “…It’s for Ginny,”

Hermione blinked and dropped her toast, Ron sat holding the letter absolutely still and Harry snatched the letter out of Ron’s hand. It was black in colour with a small stamp in the corner which said ‘Ministry Of Magic’. Ginny’s name was plastered across the front in small letters. The owl that had dropped the letter clicked its beak impatiently and tapped its claws against the glass of the orange pitcher.

Ginny stared at it for a minute before coming back to reality and grabbing the envelope from Harry who had also gone completely silent. She ripped open the invite and saw the letter she never thought she’d receive, it’s writing neat and tidy and its paper decorated with wispy lines of green and blue:

‘Dear Ginevra Molly Weasley,
We are glad to inform you that the Ministry Of Magic will be holding its Annual Masquerade Ball on the thirteenth of September, and you have been invited. It will be help in the Ministry’s Grand Chamber at nine pm and will continue into the early hours of the morning. Due to time restrictions, we need immediate confirmation, so a short reply on the other side of this letter would be greatly appreciated,
Yours Sincerely,
Ministry Officials.’

She smiled and took out her quill, turning over the invite and replying in small yet readable letters:
‘Of course I’ll go.’

She didn’t realise Draco Malfoy doing exactly the same thing on the other side of the room…

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Wew! First chapter done. The title for this chapter {Siren at Sunrise} was inspired by a long look through a thesaurus. I was looking for other words that meant 'flirt' or 'tease' and siren popped up. I think it matches well with the whole Ginny/Draco thing as sirens are usually paired with the colour red, hense Ginny's hair etcetc. I think you get the point. Anyway, working on second chapter! Feel free to leave a review!

Ron, Hermione and Harry were all very excited for the rest of the morning. Ron kept complaining that he couldn’t believe he wasn’t invited as well and that he should been invited instead, but Hermione silenced him every time. In the end they quietened down and took off for a walk around the lake since the rain had subsided.

They walked around a few times before settling down onto the grass near the edge of the Forbidden Forest, Harry was cuddling Ginny into his arms and Ron, once again, was looking absolutely disgusted.

Finally Hermione brought up the point of the Ball and what she was going to wear. Ginny thought for a minute about this. She had already replied to the Ministry’s letter, and she had no idea what she was going to wear.

“I actually… don’t know…” Ginny blinked and Harry kissed the top of her ear, laughing.

“You don’t know? Ginny, the Ball is on the Thirteenth, today is the First. That means you only have twelve days to figure out what you’re wearing,”

Ron tilted his head, which accidentally bumped into Hermione’s shoulder and sat bolt upright, blushing,

“Yeah, and by the way, how exactly are you going to get there? Or get the clothes for that matter? It’s not like a sparkling gown is going to appear out of no where,”

Ron’s question was answered the following day in the Great Hall when Dumbledore stood up at breakfast announcing to all of the lucky students that they will report home on the tenth to give them time to get their clothes ready, and then come back to Hogwarts on the Fifteenth.

Ginny was helping herself to a blueberry muffin when he had said this, and found to her surprise a piece of paper stuck on top of it which she hadn’t noticed when she had picked it up. She had forgotten all about the notes she and Malfoy had been passing the day before and it all came flooding back when she opened up the paper:

‘So sorry Weasel, I thought it might’ve been you. I still wouldn’t mind causing you excruciating pain though. I heard you’ll be at the ball? How are you going to afford a dress with the money you have? I wouldn’t be surprised if you attended in a plastic bag. This should be fun. I’ll see you there’

She clenched her teeth with anger, and then read the note again ‘I’ll see you there’ wait... did that mean? Surely not… Malfoy couldn’t be going too, although it would make a lot of sense if he was... His father was in the Ministry after all…

Harry, Ron and Hermione were all too busy talking to see that she was reading anything, so she quickly took a mini-quill Fred and George had given her and wrote her reply:

‘So glad you could find something nice to say, Draco. And actually, I won’t be attending in a plastic bag, although I find it kind of amusing that’s the only thing you could think of as a plastic bag would not cover my whole body. Dirty boy.’

She laughed at her own response, quietly of course so Harry didn’t notice and read the note. She read over her reply. Yes, it did seem like she was flirting… Flirting with danger or so it might seem.

Sending the note over, one almost immediately was found hiding under her plate, its corner poking out so she could find it.

‘Weasley, I find it very admirable that you called me by my first name but that is not going to get you anywhere. Amusing? I was thinking more ‘sexy’ but ok, change my words. (PS: Oh no, you’ve found my hidden secret. After all, being dirty is what I do best)’

Unconsciously, she flushed red and looked over Hermione to see Draco, staring back at her with that adorably naughty smirk on his face. Was she, Ginny Weasley, falling for pretty-boy Malfoy? She scolded herself. She loved Harry. Yes she did… or maybe…

She picked up her quill again and Hermione looked at her as to say something, but Ginny shook her head fervently and gestured her to be quiet, so she resumed talking to Ron and Harry about Quidditch finals.

‘Maybe it would sound more dirty and less horrible if you were to compliment me more often Malfoy, when you said I was sexy I nearly dropped milk down my front. Wouldn’t want that now would we?’

She let the note float over to his table, rather surprised no one caught it out of the air half way through as her shielding charm wore off too early.

She saw Draco grin, then put his quill down to the paper and write a reply… Well, try to until Pansy tried to spy over his shoulder. She saw him bat her off him like she was some annoying spider and quickly made the note cross the room whilst he continued having a heated argument with Pansy about ‘her rights to know what he was doing’.

‘Milk down your front? Well I guess it would be such a pity if everyone could see through your shirt… Oh damn there I go again.’

She giggled and this time Harry noticed. He looked at her and tilted her head and she tried to crumple the paper into her cloak but before she could Harry reached out and grabbed it. A flush rose in her cheeks and Draco turned briefly from his table, a look of horror on his face.

“What’s this?” Harry said, quietly opening up the paper and reading it out loud, ‘God, you would’ve thought they could’ve shut up about Quidditch by now! – Hermione x.’

Ginny breathed out sharply. The writing had changed? Draco was a sly one…

“Yeah, H-h-ermione sent it to me,” she stared up at her friend and glowered. Hermione soon caught on.

She giggled nervously,

“Er, yeah… I was just trying to tell Ginny how boring it was listening to you two talk about Quidditch… Yeah…”

“Well you could’ve just told us,” Ron muttered, flush of red rising in his pale cheeks.

Hermione got into a heated discussion with Ron, and then turned to Ginny for support, but she just glanced over the top of Hermione’s head and looked at Malfoy who had gone paler than usual, obviously thanking himself for the ‘balatro’ charm he had performed on the paper before sending it over. Then he smiled.

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Later that day, they headed to the library upon Ginny’s orders. This was mostly because Ginny needed to tell someone about her and Malfoy. She couldn’t keep it inside any longer. She couldn’t bear it.

Ron and Harry, still acting like Quidditch obsessed frogs, headed straight for the sports section which left Hermione and Ginny with no awkward speeches to make to get the boys to go away.

Hermione waited until the boys, now talking of diving tactics, rounded the corner and then almost attacked Ginny from across the table. She was careful not to raise her voice above a whisper, of course. A very harsh whisper.

“Ginny, what the FUCK is going on?”

Ginny took a deep breath.

“Well… That day, yesterday in fact, when you couldn’t find me in the common room, I had been down in the Great Hall,” she paused, “I had woken up really early and I knew I wouldn’t be able to get back to sleep, so I went round Hogwarts and then headed down for breakfast around seven,”

Hermione nodded and urged her with hand gestures to go on.

“No one else was there, apart from Parvati and Lavender and then a few first years from Hufflepuff and Ravenclaw came in after me. So I was about to sit down and get myself a piece of toast when I saw Malfoy…” she began to giggle and cut off for a minute, remembering him attacking his pancakes with his fork, “and he was just… attacking his pancakes,” she giggled again. Hermione blinked, “with a fork, Hermione. Anyway, I was laughing and I sent him a note asking if he was having fun, and he sent one back saying yeah and asked me if I knew what had made the giant hole in his pancakes,” she paused again, “So I replied, again, saying that it was him and he was a stupid git,”

Hermione smirked, but said nothing.

“And then you came in and he stopped sending them over,” she fiddled with her hair, “until today, he started sending them again and then he asked me if I was going to accept the invite to the ball. I said I already had and he said see you th—“

“What?! Malfoy’s going?!”

“Supposedly. Anyway… he kind of… started flirting” she flushed red and Hermione smirked again.

“Ginevra Molly Weasley! It’s a sin to flirt with a Slytherin. Especially Draco…” Hermione said with a mock tone of anger, “Seriously though? He was flirting?”

Ginny smiled a little, devious look in her eyes.

“Well, if you count him saying being dirty was what he does best… And that he thought milk down my top would be ‘such a pity’, yes, indeed, Draco Malfoy was flirting with me”

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Over the next few days, Malfoy and Ginny continued sending notes to one another, but this time not limiting themselves to the Great Hall. Notes appeared in the pockets of her robes and tangled in her hair and they sent each other tantalizing smirks when passing each other in the corridors.

Hermione was the only one who knew out of the group, her precious secret hidden away. Yet really, what was there to tell? It was an innocent game of love and hate between two rival houses, so why did it feel like more?

Harry and Ron had both noticed Ginny being more upbeat, yet weirdly mysterious. Apparently Harry liked her like this as Ginny found herself being pushed against many of the walls throughout Hogwarts, every time squirming out of his grip as he lowered his mouth to hers…

“What’s wrong?” Harry breathed into her ear one night as he backed her up against the dungeon wall, cold stone against her back.

Ginny looked up at him. What was she doing? She was slowly falling out of love with Harry and in love with someone else who had very elegant handwriting and a delicious smirk. She closed her eyes briefly, trying to make up an excuse as his grip hugged her wrists.

“Nothing… It’s just…” she paused, biting her lip, “We’re right near Snape’s office, he might catch us,” she whispered, thankful she actually could think of something. Harry’s response however, was something different.

“Oh who cares about Snape? He’s a greasy git anyway, I doubt he’d care…” he leaned in and kissed her jaw line. Ginny felt nothing.

She sighed. Something was odd down here, the cold sensation of stone against her back sending shivers down her spine. It would be a rather naughty place to have fun… What with Snape in the room directly opposite, yet she didn’t feel anything. Nothing at all.

“Harry I can’t do this,” she said firmly. Harry’s grip loosened.

“Ginny, what’s with you? You were fine before we started back at school, always up for anything and now you’re pushing me away?” he dropped his arms to his sides, his face crumpled.

“No, Harry! It’s not like that; I’m not pushing you away! I just think it would be better to er… Wait! Yeah…” she blinked at what she said, yet it seemed to satisfy Harry’s eager mind. Mind you, his face still looked saddened and slightly shocked.

She shifted out from under him and trailed her fingers across the wall before turning and looking at him with watering eyes. Why was she crying?

“Maybe next time, Harry…” she managed a smile, “I’ll see you tomorrow,”

And with that, she flung herself as quickly as she could from the dungeons and even though Harry was in the same house as her, she didn’t want him near her. She didn’t want to hold him or kiss him, she wanted…

“Draco.”

“Yes, what about him?”

“Hermione I… I need him.”

Hermione blinked, shut the book she was fumbling through whilst listening to Ginny’s rambling conversation and stared up at her. Then, in the most un-supporting way, began to laugh.

“Gin, pull another one, this so isn’t funny.”

Ginny grabbed her shoulders and stared her in the eyes, her own welling up with tiny tears and her face going red,

“Hermione,” she paused and gulped back her tears, “do you think I want to be in love with him? Do you think I want to be like this? Does it even LOOK like I’m joking?”

Hermione stared at her for a few seconds… Maybe it was minutes, she wasn’t sure, and then she sighed deeply.

“Wow…” she said, almost at a whisper, “You really… Aren’t joking are you?”

Ginny dropped her arms from Hermione’s shoulders and gave her a piercing look,

“No, I’m bloody not and… and… this is so confusing! Fuck it!” she banged her fist down on the common room table, causing a bottle of ink to bounce haphazardly on top of it and then began to cry.

A rather shocked Hermione cuddled Ginny and smoothed her hair. She wouldn’t cry if she wasn’t telling the truth, but this was so hard to believe. Ginny Weasley was in love with Draco Malfoy…

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I need to talk to you, alone. Meet me by the library after hours. I’ll find a way there; you should be able to as well, if you look hard enough. This is urgent and very confidential, Mr. Malfoy, so please do not bring anyone with you. Gin is very upset.
H. Granger.

Hermione looked down at the letter again. It had been two hours since she had taken a sad and sobbing Ginny up to bed and after watching her sleep she had taken out her quill, lighted a candle and began to write the letter, starting over at least twelve times before making it short and to the point. She scrunched it up, making it look rather like a note and placed it in the drawer by her bed, intending to give it to him in the morning at breakfast.

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The next morning was warm and with only six days to go until the lucky students departed to their homes to get ready for the ball, the Hall was buzzing with excitement. Hermione had no problem carelessly throwing the note onto his plate as she passed and soon she found a reply tucked under her glass of orange juice.

Oh dear, the poor Weasel is upset? However, even though I am so utterly concerned, I’m not sure I could stand within a ten foot radius of a mudblood, though I will try.

Hermione had expected his answer to be harsher than that. Why hadn’t it been? If she had passed him a note like that a year ago he would’ve shot all the insults he could at her, and now he had resided to one?

Greatly appreciated, Malfoy.

She floated the note back over and looked over Harry’s head at him. Draco gave a brief nod, and then flew back into a conversation with the other Slytherins.

Ginny arrived at the table soon after and Harry stood up and leaned over the table to kiss her, but she ducked her head and sat down next to Hermione, not even saying hello. Her face was red and her eyes puffy. Tear stains could be easily seen against her freckled cheeks.

“Gin?” Harry leant over the table and grasped her hand lightly, but she pulled away, not even looking up.

Hermione looked down at her. Ginny was upset and confused and it was obvious to everyone around her that something wasn’t right, yet Hermione knew that Harry wouldn’t make it better.

“Gin? Are you ok?”

Once again, Ginny didn’t look up. She just sat there looking down at her plate as salty tears began to trickle down towards the table.

“Ginny?! Oh for God’s sake! What is with you lately?” Harry burst out, his face red and flustered, “You never talk to me anymore! You always push me away! You’ve chan—”

He was cut off by Ginny standing up and staring directly down at him, her eyes still puffed up but maintaining that almost famous Weasley anger.

“I’ll tell you what’s wrong, Harry. I’ll tell you what’s wrong! You’re always so bloody clingy!”

Nearly all of the students in the Hall had turned to look at them by now. Draco was staring at her as if he had never seen her before, his mouth open in shock, but a smirk still playing at his lips.

“You always want to do stuff with me! You never leave me alone! I need space, Harry; I need loads of space at the moment,” she continued, “I can’t fucking take you hanging on my every word all the time!”

Hermione was reaching for her hand as if to pull her back down, but Ginny pulled out of her reach and took off down the centre of the hall, her long red hair flying around her as she stormed out.

She swung open the door of the Great Hall and ran into the empty hallway. She couldn’t take it anymore. She had to do something. Her feelings had been eating away at her for many days now and she felt like if she kept crying she would faint. She stood there for a few minutes and then slowly crumpled down into a heap on the floor, sobbing quietly.

She was debating with herself in the back of her mind, asking herself how could she be so stupid and how could have happened so quickly. Maybe it hadn’t. Maybe it had been there for ages, sitting there just waiting for the most inappropriate moment to let itself out into the open.

She had a brilliant life with Harry, everything had been on track and then the fucking ferret had come into the picture and had blown it out of proportion. His eyes had such a hypnotizing effect on her, like no one else was around and his lips made her shiver at the thought of having them against her.

She let out another cry. He would never like her. He would never let her touch him. He would never—

A loud bang echoed throughout the large hallway and Ginny lifted her head briefly, her head swimming and eyes out of focus. She could just about see the blurred figure of Hermione, who was advancing on her with… Who was that? Harry?

“Ginny? Ginny are you ok?”

An arm laced itself around her shoulders and pulled her shaking body upwards. She turned briefly and through her watering eyes could see the very concerned looking Hermione.

“I… Oh God… Hermione I’m sorry… Is Harry over there?” she squeaked, cuddling against her best friend and sobbing onto the neck of her robes.

“Shh. Yes he’s over there. He’s very worried about you, Ginny…”

“But Hermione… I couldn’t help it… It’s all too much.”

Ginny was still crying and her head was pounding. Her heart was thumping in her throat rather uncomfortably and she felt sick. She clung onto Hermione as if it was the last thing she could do, her knees buckling.

“Ginny, I’m going to take you back to the common room ok?” Hermione said softly.

Ginny nodded her head feebly.

“Professor McGonagall has excused you and me from classes, so we’re going to go back to the common room and have a little chat ok?”

Ginny nodded her head again and closed her eyes, bursts of colour swimming before her lids before she passed out.