Chapter 1- Cadence to Kaydence

Ginny rolled her neck and yawned, wanting nothing more than to stretch out on the seat and sleep. She had actually made up her mind to do just that when two other people climbed into the horseless carriage, and one very familiar one plopped down beside the exhausted redhead.

“Hey, Ginny. Why so tired?”

“Hi, Natasha. Harry and Ron were up all night celebrating the fact that they didn’t have to come back to school today, and they weren’t even trying to be quiet about it.”

Natasha grimaced, brushing her dark hair out of her face. “I know what you mean. I spent the summer at Zabini Manor, and last night Blaise flooed into my room literally every 15 minutes just to tell me that I had to go to school tomorrow.”

“What about you, Luna?” Ginny addressed the carriage’s third occupant, a blonde girl with protuberant blue eyes. “What did you do all summer?”

“Nothing very interesting,” Luna answered dreamily, still looking at her upside-down Quibbler. “I did develop some rather intriguing theories on the magical powers of Mistletoe. I plan to go talk to Professor Sprout about them first thing tomorrow morning. Would you like to come with me?”

Ginny started to answer, but Natasha cut her off. “She can’t, Luna; she has auditions.”

“I do?”

“Yes, you do. Patrick’s back again this year, and we’re doing Wicked.”

“Oh. Sweet!”

---

Ginny walked onto the stage with an air of polite confidence surrounding her. Exactly a year ago, she’d been auditioning for The Phantom of the Opera on this very stage and had walked away with the lead role. Today was the day she got her chance at Wicked, one of her favorite musicals of all time. She made it to the center of the stage and smiled down at Patrick, who was once again casting and directing the show.

“Hi Ginny,” he said, smiling back. “I’m assuming you’re trying out for one of the two leads?”

She nodded, tossing her thick red hair back over one shoulder. “I want to be Elphaba.”

Patrick shook his head, grinning. “Why doesn’t that surprise me? Alright, what are you singing?”

“I thought I’d just do one of my old Phantom songs.”

Patrick nodded his assent, and Ginny began to sing, working her way through the runs and jumps of Think of Me. As she sang, it occurred to her that this was the same thing she’d done for auditions last year. She supposed it didn’t really matter that much, and jumped to the double high B flat that ended the song without even thinking about it.

As that very high last note was met with thunderous applause from everyone else trying out, Patrick rolled his eyes and muttered “Gee, that one will be hard to cast.”

---

Ginny walked down to the Great Hall with Natasha the next day, already anticipating the large group surrounding the bulletin board. Sure enough, the people all vying for a look at the casting sheet spilled halfway down the corridor, pushing and shoving to see who was on the list. Natasha rolled her eyes and headed into the crowd, leading with a strong elbow to get people out of the way; the list soon came into view.

Elphaba- Ginevra Weasley

Galinda/Glinda- Kaydence Montespan

The crowd began to clear, and Ginny leaned back after reading the first two names, frowning. “Dang, I was hoping you’d be Glinda.”

Natasha shook her head, still reading. “I told Patrick I didn’t want to be. I liked having a smaller part last year, so I asked for another one this time. And,” she continued, pointing about halfway down the list. “He gave me the right one.”

Ginny followed her friend’s finger. “Nessa? But you don’t get to dance or anything; your character is in a wheelchair.”

“I get to sit down for the entire show, Ginny; it’s ideal.”

Ginny laughed and looked back to the top of the list.

“Who’s Kaydence Montespan?”

Natasha shook her head. “You got me. She must be new.”

“She is.” A new voice entered the conversation, and the girls turned to see Blaise grinning at them from behind.

“What are you doing here?” Ginny asked as she closed the distance between them to hug him. “I thought you’d never come back after graduation.”

“That’s what I thought, too,” he replied, looking disappointed with himself. “But, alas, Patrick convinced me to come back.” The girls looked at him in confusion, and Blaise grinned. “Ladies, you’re looking at the assistant director of Wicked!”

Natasha sighed heavily, memories of two nights before assailing her. “Joy of all joys. And here I thought I was rid of you.”

Blaise opened his mouth to reply, but Ginny overrode him. “What do you know about this,” she paused to consult the list. “Kaydence Montespan?”

“Not much- just that she’s new, a seventh year, and in Ravenclaw.”

Ginny nodded, mulling this over. “A Ravenclaw... hmm... well, it has to be better than co-starring with two Slytherins.”

Blaise narrowed his eyes and opened his mouth, but a loud cadence of heels interrupted him. He turned to the sound, and Ginny watched his jaw drop.

An impossibly beautiful young woman was walking toward them, placing one high-heeled foot confidently in front of the other. Her thick, white-blonde hair fell in deep curls to her mid back, and the light blue of her blouse complimented the light blue of her eyes. Her full lips were a pouty dark rose, and the shapely legs showing beneath her cream pencil skirt were like flawless alabaster.

This was what Blaise saw, of course. Ginny looked at the woman and felt that that perfect pixie nose was held just a tad higher than necessary. That pencil skirt, though just fine in length, was most definitely too tight, and her blouse was undone one or two buttons too many. Not to mention that the way she slung the cream jacket over her shoulder was far too sophisticated for any Hogwarts student.

The girl walked straight up to Blaise and stood just a bit too close, in Ginny’s opinion. “Do you happen to know where the cast list is posted?” Ugh, even her voice was beautiful.

Blaise, mouth still open slightly, pointed over his shoulder to the bulletin board.

“Thank you.” The woman looked at the list for a few moments, then turned on her heel and walked to the door of the Great Hall. She paused, however, before going inside.

“Do you happen to have a name, Mr. Articulate?”

Blaise shook his head slightly to clear his thoughts and resumed his usual charming smile. “Blaise. I’m Blaise Zabini.”

The girl smiled back, showing off a perfect set of dazzling white teeth. “So you’re my new Assistant Director.”

Blaise nodded, pleased that this angel knew who he was. “You wouldn’t happen to be one Kaydence Montespan, would you?”

“Call me Kaya.”

Chapter 2- A Peculiar Feeling

At practice that afternoon, Ginny leaned over to Natasha after spotting her boyfriend leaning against the wall of the practice room.

“What’s Draco doing here?”

Natasha shrugged, eyeing the cool blond with mild curiosity. “Maybe Patrick asked him to help out some.”

Ginny started to reply, but spotted something else of interest; a certain good friend of theirs couldn’t seem to take his eyes off Miss Kaydence Montespan.

“You think that Blaise could stare at her any harder?”

Natasha pretended to consider the possibility, weighing her cousin with an intense gaze. “I think his eyes are about to pop out of his head.”

Ginny nodded and sat up for a moment, looking around the room. “I don’t suppose he realizes that every other guy in the school between the ages of 11 and 19 seem to have found sudden business here, too. I mean, honestly, what possible reason could the Creevey brothers have for being here other than to stare at that girl?”

Natasha glanced around before fixing on Kaydence, her gaze moving between the beautiful blonde and her dark-skinned cousin. “To her credit, she seems to be ignoring it nobly. If I didn’t know better, I’d say she was feeling a certain attraction to Blaise. Look at how she glances at him all the time.”

Ginny snorted, belying the fact that she’d noticed the mutual awareness, too. “Oh, please! He’s just the first male she set eyes on inside Hogwarts. Girls like that aren’t the one-man type.”

Natasha smirked but didn’t reply.

---

Later in practice, Ginny found Draco talking with Patrick and Blaise by the piano. The latter noticed her standing there and nodded in her direction. The trio split apart a few moments later, and Blaise and Draco headed in her direction.

“Hey, Red!” Blaise swung an arm around her shoulders and gave her a squeeze. “What’s up?”

Ginny grinned and put her arm around Blaise’s waist, hugging him back. “Oh, nothing much. I just thought I’d say hello to my boyfriend.”

“And here I thought you had come to see me.” Blaise pulled away, looking dejected.

“Well, I figured that goes without saying.”

“Quite right- it does!” Blaise’s trademark grin popped back into place. “Everyone likes me!”

Draco snorted; Blaise glared at him. “Just because no one but Ginny likes you doesn’t mean you have to be jealous of my popularity. You’ve only brought it on yourself.”

Draco opened his mouth with a scathing reply, but the other man’s attention was already elsewhere.

“Now, if you two lovebirds will excuse me,” Blaise began, eyes on Kaya once again. “I have a certain young lady I’d like to talk to.” And he walked away.

Draco rolled his eyes and pulled Ginny into a hug. “Hello, stranger.”

Ginny smiled and stood on tip-toe to kiss him, quite content to forget all about Blaise and his current obsession to stay wrapped in Draco’s arms. Their relationship had come quite far over the summer, and wizarding society was finally beginning to accept them, albeit grudgingly. “Hello.”

“Surprised to see me?”

Ginny nodded, her face still inches from Draco’s. “Yeah, I figured you’d never come back after graduation.”

“That’s what I thought, too, but I can think of a few reasons to come visit every now and then.”

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but instead pulled away from her boyfriend to locate the source of the obnoxiously cute giggling coming from behind her.

Blaise stood just a few feet away, obviously in the middle of telling a very entertaining joke. Kaya was right next to him, one hand lying delicately on his dark arm. She had that bright, charming smile on again, and her light, tinkling laughter was unnervingly pretty.

Draco followed her gaze and his evil Slytherin smirk of old appeared for a moment. “Uh oh,” he said, pulling Ginny’s eyes back to him. “Do I sense a green monster surfacing?”

Ginny snorted derisively. “Why would I be jealous of her?”

“Oh, I don’t know.” Draco’s gray eyes were light but slightly mocking. “Maybe because you’re used to having all Blaise’s attention to yourself?”

“Puh-lease,” Ginny said, waving her hand dismissively. “I like Blaise and all, but if he wants to flirt he’s free to do it.”

“Then maybe because she’s so beautiful she’s attracted the attention of every male in the school?”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. “You think she’s beautiful?”

This is where Draco made his fatal mistake. He’d come a long way toward decency over the summer, he really had, but his old habits of bluntly assessing every woman in front of him were dying hard. “Look at her, Gin; she’s gorgeous.”

“I can’t believe you just said that!” Ginny’s voice leapt octaves in the middle of her sentence, and her ears began to turn a dull red. “Do you not understand women at all?”

Draco rolled his eyes long-sufferingly. “Did I say she’s prettier than you? No. Did I say I preferred her to you? No. If I did I’d be over there.”

“You’re not supposed to be looking at her at all!”

Draco just looked at her. “I’m a guy, Ginny. You can’t expect me not to notice her.”

“No, but you aren’t supposed to let on that you did, let alone that you think she’s freakin gorgeous!”

“People are starting to stare at you, honey.”

“I don’t care!”

Draco, seeing now how upset she actually was, reached to take his girlfriend’s hand; Ginny pulled away.

“No. Leave me alone.”

“Ginny-”

“I have to go rehearse some more. I’ll talk to you later. . .if I have time.”

Ginny stalked away just as Patrick decided what he wanted them to run through. She changed course to end up on the stage, and Kaya soon appeared beside her.

“Are you alright?” She asked, sounding extremely fake to Ginny’s angry ears. “I noticed you and Draco seemed to be fighting.”

“I’m fine,” Ginny replied shortly. Kaya's concern was most definitely put on. Luckily for both of them, the music started a moment later. Ginny just sang along mindlessly until the prelude part ended, then she began to warm up to her lyrics.

“What is this feeling, so sudden and new?

I felt the moment I laid eyes on you.

My pulse is rushing

My head is reeling

My face is flushing

What is this feeling?

Fervid as a flame

Does it have a name?

Yes”

Ginny fought back inexplicable anger as she realized that Kaya’s voice was just as good as her own.

“Loathing, unadulterated loathing

For your face

Your voice

Your clothing

Let’s just say I loathe it all

Every little trait however small

Makes my very flesh begin to crawl.

With simple utter loathing

There’s a strange exhilaration

In such total detestation

It’s so pure, so strong

Though, I do admit, it came on fast

Still I do believe that it can last

And I will be loathing, loathing you

My whole life long.”

Chapter 3- Songs Gone Unsung

Over the days following their fight, Draco was rather aloof when it came to his girlfriend, something that alarmed Ginny no end. She was forever trying to close the distance between them, and Draco was forever pushing her away. In an episode that hurt a lot upon later reflection, Ginny caught up to Draco in the practice room, where he was pounding out ‘The Phantom of the Opera’ on the piano. She waited for him to hit the ending chord before speaking.

“Hi.”

Draco continued to flip through the piano book, not looking at her. “Hi.”

“Draco, come on. I’m sorry I yelled at you,” Ginny tried, trying to catch his gaze. “I know I shouldn’t have, I was just really angry; you know I have the Weasley temper, and-”

“It’s not that.” Draco cut her off, finally looking up, and his gray eyes stared straight into her green ones. “I couldn’t care less that you yelled at me. You don’t trust me at all, Ginny.”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. “Of course I do!”

“No, sweetheart, you don’t. You didn’t think I’d be loyal to you. When Blaise started fawning all over Kaya, you bristled and made it quite clear that you expected me to do the same thing. Why didn’t you trust me?”

“I do trust you!”

Draco rose slowly from the piano bench, shaking his head. “No, Ginny, you don’t. And until you do, I see no point in continuing this relationship.”

“Draco, that’s not fair. You cannot put this all on me.”

“Maybe not.” Draco sighed, rolling his neck. “Maybe I shouldn’t have told you what I thought about Kaya, but you shouldn’t have overreacted like that. I need some time away to think.”

Ginny stared at her boyfriend with wide eyes, the blood draining from her face. “Wait… are you breaking up with me?”

He shrugged, and his gray eyes clouded over. “Call it what you like. You know I love you, Gin, but I need to cool off and you need to rein in your temper.”

And he walked away.

---

This particular scene was still running through Ginny’s head a week later as she sat with Natasha, who was waving a fork in front of the redhead’s face.

“Hello? Earth to Ginny! Ginny, come in Ginny! Do you copy?”

Ginny grunted and pushed Natasha’s hand out of her face, causing the scrambled eggs on the fork to fall into her coffee. She grimaced.

“Eww, Tasha. Now, look what you did.”

Natasha grinned cheekily. “She liiiiiivvvvvvvveeeeeeeessssssss!!!!!!!!!!!!”

When Ginny failed to find her Frankenstein impression humorous, Natasha dropped the now-empty fork and became serious.

“Come on, Gin, you’ve got to snap out of it. He’ll come to his senses sooner or later, but not if he catches sight of you looking like a corpse. You don’t eat, you don’t sleep, and I have to force you to do your homework. Me! About the only thing you do do is rehearse, and you’re not even doing that very well. Pull yourself together, woman!”

“What the point? He’s not worth it.”

Natasha made a sound of disgust. “You have more to live for than frickin’ Draco! God, I hate when girls base their entire lives around a guy!”

Ginny frowned. “You’re right. Gosh, I’ve never been one to mope around because of some guy. What’s gotten into me?”

Natasha grinned. “That’s the spirit! Go on, eat something!”

Ginny grinned back, amused at Natasha’s instant advice. “I’ll be back in a few, actually. I have something to do.”

Natasha looked curious but merely nodded. “I’ll be… sitting here all by my lonesome.”

Ginny left with a roll of her eyes. Natasha watched her friend stroll out of the Great Hall and automatically knew where she was headed. She thought for a moment, then caught Blaise’s eye and nodded to Ginny’s retreating back. Natasha watched as her cousin rose without question and left his ‘place of honor’ at the staff table. When Draco grasped his arm questioningly, Blaise just waved him away and left the room.

---

Ginny walked swiftly up the corridor, trying to calm herself down as she went. Natasha was right; she needed to get a grip and start living the rest of her life. It just wasn’t as easy as it sounded to do that. She was trying, she really was, but Draco had earned himself a big hold on her. She really just needed to get some stuff out of her system, then maybe she could get past this whole problem. That’s what Ginny told herself as she reached the practice room door, paused for a moment, then pushed it open.

---

Blaise peeked around the corner and watched that familiar red hair disappear into the practice room. The sound of enchanted violins floated up the corridor, and Blaise walked swiftly toward them, covering the distance in very little time. When he was still a few steps from the room, Ginny’s singing began permeating through the walls and into his ears. As he pushed the door open and walked inside, Blaise had to admit that that girl had one of the best voices he’d ever heard.

As he stepped into the room, Blaise’s breath caught at the way Ginny moved with the music, hips swaying in a way that was somehow simultaneously innocent and seductive. Her back was to him and the candlelight in the room reflected off the long shining hair that hung down her back. It was her voice, though, that was the most enticing at the moment. Ginny sang with enough emotion to pull you mindlessly into her words, pushing so strongly that her voice grew husky on the high notes.

“I hate you, then I love you

Then I love you, then I hate you

Then I love you, I love you more

For whatever you do

I never, never, never want to be in love with anyone but you”

The music fell into a verse, and Blaise found himself stepping farther into the room, voice rising as the male part of the song started. Ginny whipped around the moment the first word left his lips, alarmed, but her face softened as she saw who was there; she sang her echo softly, slightly breathlessly.

“You treat me wrong, you treat me right

You let me be, you make me fight with you

I could never live without you

You make me high, you bring me down

You set me free, you hold me bound to you”

Ginny took slow steps toward Blaise, moving in time with the music. Blaise watched the emotions of the song play across her face, and found himself inexplicably drawing closer to her, too.

“I hate you, then I love you

Then I love you, then I hate you

Then I love you more

For whatever you do, whatever you do

I never, never, never want to be in love with anyone but you”

Ginny took two steps closer to Blaise and knew that it was no longer her and Draco to whom the song was applying. The look in Blaise’s brown eyes was one of barely contained desire, and the same emotion was mirrored in her own green orbs. Blaise closed the distance between them in almost a trance, his hands on her arms and moving slowly to cup her face.

“I never, never, never

I never, never, never”

Ginny’s hands were suddenly on Blaise’s cheeks, and the music played on unsung as their lips met in a passionate kiss.

Chapter 4- Ain’t It Funny?

Natasha watched Ginny sit at the Gryffindor table and once again pick at her food instead of eating. She had hoped that singing yesterday morning would’ve flushed the ‘Draco-depression’ out of her friend’s system, but apparently it hadn’t worked that way. As a matter of fact, Natasha thought slowly, eyes darkening slightly, Ginny looked more upset than she had before she left; there was something very wrong with that.

With little thought, Natasha’s gaze went to the staff table. Her eyes found Draco quickly, that bleach blond hair making him easy to spot, but it was Blaise that she was interested in. He sat on the other side of Patrick rather than beside Draco, something that a certain cousin of his found very suspicious. They were best friends; why had they suddenly switched up their seating?

Natasha narrowed her eyes at Blaise, tipping her head sideways, considering. He looked very ill at ease, an unusual thing in itself for him. She glanced at Ginny again, then back up at her cousin. Actually, come to think of it, they were sporting the same uncomfortable expression, almost one of… guilt?

“No…” she said to herself, whispering. “They couldn’t have… they wouldn’t.”

Though, try as she might, Natasha found it impossible to convince herself of her own words’ truth. She had to talk to Blaise now.

---

Natasha pushed open the door of the practice room and was hit full-on by Blaise’s voice. Moving quietly so as not to alert him to her presence, she walked silently into the room, watching his back as he made his way through All I Ask of You. He’d said last year that had always been his favorite song of all the ones he sang in the show.

“Blaise.”

“Hey, cuz!”

Natasha grimaced. She could tell that Blaise was making a valiant effort at being his usual jovial self, but he was failing miserably. Noting that he was having a hard time covering whatever was bothering him, she decided to try the direct approach.

“I was watching you at lunch today.”

“I noticed.”

“What’s the matter?”

Blaise looked distinctly uncomfortable. “I’d rather you don’t know.”

“Somehow, I don’t think Ginny would want me to know either.”

Blaise’s head snapped up. “What did she tell you?”

“Relax, nothing. But I could tell that something was bothering her, too, and you were wearing identical guilty expressions. Is there a reason for that?”

“No!” Blaise spoke just a little too fast, and his voice was just a little too panicked.

“Blaise.” Natasha spoke softly, and her cousin’s dark eyes were drawn to her own. “What have you done?”

Blaise looked torn with indecision. “I… we… we… oh, Merlin, I can’t even tell you.”

“Blaise, tell me.” Her voice was more commanding this time, the ‘I'm a pureblood, hear me roar’ attitude coming out just a bit.

Blaise sighed. “Ginny and I, we…”

Natasha didn’t even need him to finish. “Oh, Blaise… how could you, Blaise? How could you?!”

“I don’t know! We were just singing along, and then all of a sudden it just… happened.”

“Blaise-”

“You were the one who told me to go after her!”

Natasha’s eyes flashed angrily. “Oh, no you don’t; don’t you dare pin this on me! You were supposed to go comfort her, not kiss her!”

“Well, can you really blame me?”

“Yes! Yes, I bloody well can! You imbecile, how could you?!”

“It wasn’t exactly all me, Natasha! It takes two to snog, you know!”

“I’m well aware of the number of people it takes to snog, Blaise! And don’t worry, a certain little redhead will be getting an earful from me, too, and you’ll both be lucky if I don’t go to Draco right now!”

---

It was late that night before Blaise could get Ginny alone, and even then it was by accident. He opened the door of the practice room to silence and walked in, thinking that it was empty. The moment he was inside, he spotted her squatting beside the piano, fishing through the crate of sheet music. She didn’t look up at the noise he made, so Blaise spoke.

“Hey.”

Ginny’s head snapped up as though burned, and her voice was breathless and nervous when she spoke. “Hey.”

“We need to talk.”

Ginny straightened, brushing stray hair out of her eyes. “Yes, we do.”

“Judging by the deer-in-the-headlights look you got on your face when I came in, Natasha got to you, too.”

“I convinced her not to go to Draco, but only by telling her I’d tell him myself later.” Ginny bit her lip. “She’s right, you know.”

“About what?”

“Everything- that we’re stupid, we were wrong, and that Draco has to know. She’s just terribly right.”

Blaise gave a very faint sigh of relief. “I thought so, too, though I’m more than a little worried about that last part.”

“I’ll tell him.”

Blaise shook his head. “We should both tell him.”

Ginny shook her head right back at him. “If we go to him together and tell him something like that, it’ll look like we’re… a couple or something. That’s just the way it always looks.”

“Then I’ll tell him; I’ve been his best friend for our whole lives.”

Ginny shook her head more slowly this time, but the motion was still made. “I should be the one to tell him. I don’t know when, but I will.”

Blaise acquiesced on this point, more than a little relieved. “Ginny… what happened yesterday… it can’t happen again.”

“I know.” Ginny met his gaze steadily. “It won’t happen again.”

“I think we should put some limitations on how much we’re alone together, just to be sure.”

Ginny shook her head. “It’s not necessary.”

“How do you figure?”

“Yesterday was just… the result of a lot of squirrelly emotions, intensified friendship, and music-heightened passion. There weren’t romantic feelings involved.”

Blaise was silent, and Ginny felt bile rising in her throat.

“Blaise? Were there?”

Blaise hesitated a long time before speaking. “Yes and no. I’m not going to lie, Ginny; I’ve thought you were beautiful for a few years now, and I’ve felt a certain amount of attraction to you since we became close last year. I know that you love Draco, so I’ve held back a lot of things I’ve wanted to say or do. I’m not going to tempt you to do things you’ll regret again, but you need to know that there were feelings involved for me.”

Ginny was stunned. “Blaise, I-”

“Don’t worry about it. You just needed to know. Okay?”

“O-okay.”

Blaise stood and walked from the room without a backward glance, and Ginny couldn’t help but smile slightly as she watched him go.

“Ain’t it funny how some feelings you just can’t deny

And you can’t move on even though you try

Ain’t it strange the way you’re feeling things you shouldn’t feel

Oh, I wish this could be real

Ain’t funny how a moment could just change your life

And you don’t want to face what’s wrong or right

Ain’t it strange how fate can play a part

In the story of your heart”

Chapter 5- Reconciliations and Muggle Movies

Ginny cracked open the door of the practice room and felt the butterflies in her stomach double in number as Draco’s voice floated out to her. She knew she had to go talk to him, but she really didn’t want to go in there. He was finally starting to warm back up to her; how much more distance would it put between them when she told him about Blaise? Still, Ginny knew she had no choice. Steeling her resolve, she stepped into the room… and nearly died when she heard the song he was singing.

“Lately, I have had the strangest feeling

With no vivid reasons here to find

But yet the thought of losing you has been hanging

‘Round my mind”

Draco, who had been singing in the direction of the piano, suddenly turned as though he sensed her presence. Locking gazes with Ginny, he continued to sing, gray eyes considering, weighing.

“Now, I’m a man of many wishes

Hope my premonition misses

But what I really feel

My eyes won’t let me hide

‘Cuz they always start to cry

‘Cuz this time could be goodbye”

Draco’s ending note rang in the stone room, and he waited for it to fade completely before speaking.

“Hi.”

“Hi.”

They just stood there and looked at each other for a while, the silence stretching. After a few moments, Draco spoke.

“Was there something you wanted?”

Ginny took a deep breath and nodded, moving farther into the room and sitting on the piano bench. “We need to talk.

Draco eyed her curiously, cautiously, for a moment before nodding. “Okay.

---

It was only 15 minutes before Ginny was finished, but it felt like a year. She stared at the floor ashamedly, choking on her tears as she waited for Draco to respond. She hadn’t been able to hold his gaze for longer than the first minute, so she hadn’t been able to gauge any reaction. And now he remained silent. Ginny chanced a glance at her estranged boyfriend and found his gaze on the floor as well.

“Draco, please say something.”

Draco was quiet for a few more minutes before he, too, lifted his eyes. “I’m proud of you, Gin.”

“I beg your pardon?” That was the absolute last thing Ginny had been expecting to hear.

“I know that was hard for you to say, and I’m glad you told me.”

When he didn’t continue, Ginny’s confusion grew. Why wasn’t he angry? “Is that all you have to say? No cold shoulder, no comments about ‘the irony of it all’?”

Draco shrugged, though his gray eyes were pained. “I already knew. Blaise paid me a little visit last night and couldn’t help spilling the story out of sheer guilt.”

Ginny hesitated. “How did you take it?”

“Let’s just say it’s a good thing he hid my wand the moment he arrived.”

“… and now?”

Draco closed his eyes momentarily, his expression obviously pained, and Ginny strangely took heart in this; he was being open with her again. “I can’t say that I’m not terribly disappointed and upset with you both, not to mention the huge amount of betrayal that happened here.” Draco paused to take a deep breath, obviously having as much trouble with his response as Ginny had with her confession. “We’re going to work through this, though.”

Ginny bit her lip, tears immediately rushing to her eyes. “Thank you.”

---

Blaise watched Draco and Ginny through the windows of the practice room, Ginny looking somewhat tentative but very happy, and he sighed. He knew he should be glad they’d worked things out, and he was to an extent, but part of him was having trouble calming the nagging attraction to that redhead. What was it about her that just made people stop in their tracks? Blaise appraised her for a second. She wasn’t gorgeous- pretty, yes, but not gorgeous. Her voice was amazing, but no one had known that before last year, and she’d been attracting attention far longer than that. What was it?

“Hey.”

Blaise started and sent at glare at his dark-haired cousin. “Don’t sneak up on me like that.”

“I wasn’t sneaking, I was walking. What’s the matter, Mr. Grumpy Gills?”

“What did you call me?”

“Muggle movie.”

“How-”

“Don’t ask.”

“… okay.”

“So, what’s wrong?”

Blaise nodded in the direction of Draco, who was watching Ginny sing something under Patrick’s direction. “They’re back together now.”

Natasha, oddly enough, grinned. “When life gets you down, know what you gotta do?”

“I’m dying to know,” Blaise said dryly.

Natasha answered in a sing-song voice. “Just keep swimming, just keep swimming. What do we do? We swim, swim.” Blaise reached out to push her, and Natasha danced out of his reach, switching to opera. “Ah, ah, ah, ah, ah. I love to sssswwwwwiiiiiimmmmmmmm! I lllloooooooovvvvveeeeee to swim, I love to swim-”

“Shut up.”

Natasha stopped singing and put a hand on her cousin’s shoulder. “There are other fish in the sea, Blaise. Set your sights on someone else and be happy for your friends.”

The music playing inside the room grew to a forte and floated out to where Blaise and Natasha were talking. The pair looked through the window again to see Ginny, eyes closed and face red, holding out a long note. As they watched, the song moved on.

“And I’ll stand there with the Wizard

Feeling things I’ve never felt

And though I’ll never show it

I’d be so happy I could melt

And so it will be for the rest of my life

And I’ll want nothing else ‘till I die

Held in such high esteem

When people see me they will scream

For half of Oz’s favorite team”

The music stopped completely, and Ginny’s eyes met Draco’s before she sang the last line of the song.

“The Wizard and I!”

Chapter 6- Touch

Ginny sat at the Gryffindor table, picking at her food, frown on her face. The Halloween feast (which was doubling as a masquerade party) was tonight, and she had no idea what she wanted to go as. She was utterly determined that no one would know who she was this time, but she couldn’t think of a costume that would hide her well enough. She glanced across the hall at Draco, who was sitting beside Blaise at the staff table once more, and he caught her eye and winked. Ginny gave him a smile in return and watched as he turned back to his conversation. She had no doubt that he’d have a perfect costume.

Sighing, Ginny turned to look at Natasha, similarly picking at her food at her house table. Neither of them had costumes, and they were both quite glum about it. As she watched the pretty Ravenclaw, an idea snuck unbidden into the redhead’s mind. She straightened, looking at her friend, considering. Could it work? It just might… A grin appeared full-bloom on Ginny’s face and she leapt up, heading determinedly to the Ravenclaw table.

Natasha, finally giving up on her food, rose and saw her friend striding purposefully toward her. She sighed. “Oh dear, here we go again…”

---

Ginny finished explaining her idea to her friend, nearly bubbling over with the excitement of it. “-And it’s so simple, but no one will even suspect it! It’s bloody brilliant, Tasha, just brilliant!”

Natasha just looked at her friend for a moment before speaking what was on her mind. “That’s dumb.”

Ginny deflated a bit. “What?”

“It’s so simple that everyone will get it the second we walk in the door. Who goes to a Halloween party as themselves?!”

“That’s why it’s so brilliant! Everyone will look at us and think, ‘Wow, that can’t be Ginny and Natasha; they’re not that dumb. I wonder who it is’.”

“No, they’ll say, ‘Wow, I didn’t know Ginny and Natasha were that dumb’.”

Ginny frowned and pouted just a bit. “Well, it’s still a good idea.”

“Wait a minute…” Natasha cocked her head to the side, obviously thinking. “What if… what if we made it look like we tried to be each other?”

“That’s exactly what I just said!”

“No, you said make us look like we succeeded. I want it to look like we tried and failed miserably.”

“Soooo… how do we do that?”

Natasha grinned. “I have a few ideas. Come on.”

---

Ginny and Natasha stopped outside the Great Hall that night grinning hugely. They gave each other the once-over again, just to make sure everything was right. Ginny’s hair, which was currently a hideous orange color, was cut about three inches shorter than it had been that morning. Her face was more freckly than usual, and the freckles themselves were larger and darker. Natasha was wearing a really obvious black wig, and her eyes were a color that normally belonged to Ginny. Hermione had been over about an hour ago at Ginny’s request, and she’d managed to shrink Natasha a couple of inches, putting her just above the redhead’s height.

“We look really good, Gin, I’m not gonna lie.”

Ginny smiled. “I think this fantastic idea of mine just might work.”

“Shall we go in?”

“Yes, let’s.”

The pair, still grinning hugely at their brilliance, pushed open the doors to the Great Hall and walked in. Massive jack-’o-lanterns were placed strategically in every corner, leaving the middle of the floor open for dancing. Students milled about, some rather pathetic in their traditional witch or ghost costumes, and others looking very creative. Ginny glanced at a swaggering Gilderoy Lockhart and grinned; that was a good one.

Their happy mood was somewhat ruined, however, when a couple of snotty Slytherin first years (who happened to be dressed as hookers) walked up to Natasha and sneered derisively. “You two are pathetic, Weasley. It’s so obvious who you are.”

Natasha raised her eyebrows at the pair and jerked her head in the redhead’s direction. “I don’t know what you’re talking about; that’s Ginny.”

“Of course, right.” The bolder of the two rolled her eyes obviously and began examining her nails, yawning hugely. “You’d think that you’d be a bit more creative, being seventh years and all.”

Ginny raised one eyebrow, looking the hookers up and down pointedly. “You’re one to talk. I thought this was a costume party, not a come-as-you-are.”

The girl’s mouth dropped open in a very un-hooker-ish way, and her friend hurriedly pulled her away before she got in any more trouble with the seventh years. Ginny and Natasha watched them go calmly, then squealed as soon as they were out of earshot. “It worked! They totally thought that I was trying to be you and you were trying to be me!”

“Mission: Accomplished.”

Ginny glanced around and saw that the Gilderoy Lockhart she’d noticed earlier was coming their way. “Tasha, who do you think that is?”

Natasha tipped her head sideways, considering. “I can really only think of one person clever enough to come up with that costume.”

Ginny grinned. “Me, too.”

The Gilderoy reached them and smiled charmingly. “Evening, ladies.”

“Hi, Blaise.”

Lockhart’s face fell. “How did you know it was me?”

“Meh, lucky guess.” Natasha reached out and raked a hand through her cousin’s hair, trying to accomplish Lockhart’s signature wave. Blaise pulled back from her touch. “Gin, I really don’t think-”

Natasha looked at Ginny, and they both burst out laughing. “Score!” The pair exchanged high-fives, even more amused at the confusion on Blaise’s face.

“You have been had, dear cousin.”

“You mean you’re… so you must be…” Blaise glanced back and forth, and the confusion on his face gradually gave way to understanding. “That’s good, guys, that’s really good.”

Ginny curtsied, waving to her nonexistent adoring fans. “Thank you, thank you. What’s that? Yes, we are very brilliant, you’re right.”

Blaise rolled his eyes and nudged her. “Very funny, Ginny. You’re a regular comedienne.”

Ginny just grinned cheekily. That grin faded quite quickly, however, when she caught sight of Draco walking toward her. He wasn’t in a costume, and his smile looked rather somber from her point of view. He reached the group and nodded somewhat stiffly. “Hello, ladies.”

“-and gentleman!”

Draco ignored Blaise’s interjection. “How’s the party?”

“Just great,” Natasha said, grinning. “We’re fooling everyone!”

Draco looked slowly from Natasha to Ginny and back again. “I don’t see how. You look terrible.”

Natasha narrowed her eyes and made a sound like an angry cat. Ginny stepped in quickly.

“I have a present for you, Draco.”

Draco looked surprised, and that’s when the conspiring pair knew that they’d fooled him and he just didn’t know it. “Why, Tasha?”

Ginny had a hard time holding back her grin; they’d so fooled him. “Oh, just because. Hold on, I’ll go get it.”

As Ginny moved away from the group and into the milling crowd of students, she sighed somewhat sadly. Knowing that she was about to reveal the truth behind she and Natasha’s perfect costumes was really depressing. ‘But,’ she thought as she climbed onto the stage and told the hired performing group that she was ready for the surprise they’d planned together. ‘I suppose getting back on Draco’s good side is more important than a silly joke.’

As the guitar started, Ginny caught Natasha’s eye and threw her an apologetic smile. Everyone would know the moment she opened her mouth who she was, and that’s what would ruin their ruse. Natasha just shook her head and shrugged slightly; she knew it was unavoidable.

With her friend’s blessing, Ginny started to sing, going through the entire first verse before she had everyone’s attention. By the time the chorus had finished, all the students were watching her with their usual attention, and Draco was looking at her with a wry smile that seemed to say, ‘Okay, you got me’.

Ginny started bopping to the beat a little, getting into her zone, as the suspended cymbal faded and the guitar started in with the second verse.

“Yes, I’ve been thinking about you
I’ve imagined the feel of your body and how it will be when we move
Darling, magic’s alive tonight in your arms
I want to drown in this moment
Get lost in your charms
Now that you’re here, don’t move too fast
Let’s make the moment last”

Ginny puckered her lips out playfully as she went back into the chorus, evoking laughter from the assembled students. Before she knew it, that was finished and the music was leading into the bridge. She caught Draco’s eye as she went on, singing directly to him.

“I don’t want nobody else
And you’ll see that my body is aching
I’m hopelessly taken by you”

Ginny swayed back and forth, looking right into Draco’s eyes, and she saw the slow rise of masculine interest.

“All I want is your touch
All I want is your Heaven right here by my side
Every night
All I want is your touch
All I want is your tenderness here in my life
Every morning and night
Boy, ‘cuz your touch is so right”

Chapter 7- Patrick’s Doing

Time passed, days came and went, and Ginny for the most part fell back into her old routine: go to classes, gape at amount of homework, go to rehearsal, hang with Draco instead of doing homework, go to bed, repeat. The routine was comforting in that life was finally getting back to normal. When she was singing her heart out, gossiping with Natasha, or playing pranks with Blaise, she felt like Hogwarts was home again. Still, there was this small needling aggravation that she couldn’t shake, like a mosquito that won’t stop buzzing around your ear. Something was wrong… or, to be exact, someone. Yes, you know who.

Ginny watched from across the room as Kaya flirted with Blaise, a mixture of disgust and jealousy on her face. Her head told her that she had no reason to hate Kaya like she did, but the stubborn Weasley in her said that Blaise deserved better.

“What does that look mean?”

Ginny jumped and whipped around, glaring up at the person who had surprised her. “Patrick, you’ve got to stop doing that! My gosh, one of these times I’m going to drop dead from heart failure.”

Patrick just grinned unrepentantly and nodded toward Kaya and Blaise. “What was that look for, Gin? You looked like you had to listen to Blaise’s rendition of ‘Man, I Feel like a Woman’ again.”

Ginny had to smile at the memory of last year’s cast party, but she shrugged and sighed at his question. “I don’t know... I guess I just really think Blaise could do better than her.”

A strange look flickered across Patrick’s face, but Ginny missed it. “Do you even know her, Gin?"

Ginny snorted. “I’ve seen all I need.”

Patrick straightened, frowning. “I thought you were better than that, Ginny. You made the same snap judgments about Draco last year, and it turned out you were all wrong. I’d have thought you learned your lesson.”

“But-” Ginny started to reply, but Patrick had already walked away. Feeling more than slightly hurt and confused, she turned back to watch Kaya flirt with Blaise. The pretty blonde didn’t seem to be doing anything more than playing with his emotions, but maybe she actually cared, who knew?

Heaving a sigh, Ginny rose from her bench and walked across the room to where the laughing pair sat.

“Blaise, I’m borrowing Kaya for a second,” she said, grabbing the other girl’s arm and pulling her away. They got out of hearing distance from Blaise, and Ginny suddenly found she didn’t have the words.

“Listen, I... um... ” Ginny struggled to get it out, but understanding filled Kaya’s blue eyes.

“Yeah-” Kaya stopped and smiled slightly, awkwardly. “Me, too.”

---

Blaise watched the two women walk away and his heart squeezed. Ginny was Draco’s and Draco was Ginny’s, and that was just the way things were. Why couldn’t he accept it? And what was this strange feeling? Was it possibly… need? This was a new completely foreign experience for Blaise. He’d grown up in a very prosperous, very privileged wizarding family; he’d never wanted for anything. So why did he suddenly feel like he was missing something?

“There are other fish in the sea, Blaise. Set your sights on someone else and be happy for your friends.”

Natasha’s words from the previous week rang in his head. Ginny was taken; he needed to put those feelings aside and move on. Unconsciously, Blaise’s gaze slid from the slightly curvy redhead’s form to Kaya’s voluptuous figure. He read the slight tension in her muscles as she and Ginny carried on a conversation that obviously awkward for both of them. He watched the light play off her shimmery golden hair as she shifted her weight from foot to foot.

“There are other fish in the sea, Blaise. Set your sights on someone else…”

Their interchange finished, Ginny and Kaya headed back to where Blaise was sitting. Kaya laughed at something the redhead said, and a moment later, her sparkling blue eyes met Blaise’s intense brown ones; she held his gaze for just a second longer than protocol dictated, and Blaise felt chills run down his back.

“Set your sights on someone else…”

---

Patrick watched Ginny and Kaya rehearse, their stage chemistry finally flowing, and he felt something akin to fatherly pride. Ginny was really growing into such a performer. Last year… she’d been good, but not great. This year, she was finally starting to understand what acting really was. It wasn’t pretending to be someone else; it was being someone else.

Actually… Ginny was growing up, period. She had matured so much over the last year that it was hard to even connect her to the person she’d been before. Sure, she had relapses every now and then, but all she really needed was a nudge in the right direction and she’d get back on track. Patrick shook his head and sighed. Draco didn’t know how lucky he was.

Just then, the music reached a crescendo and Patrick’s attention was drawn back to the stage, where Kaya was just pulling a calendar of famous leaders out of a suitcase.

“When I see depressing creatures
With unprepossessing features
I remind them on their own behalf to think of
Celebrated heads of state or especially great communicators
Did they have brains or knowledge?”


Kaya threw the calendar over her shoulder, amused incredulity on her face.

“Don’t make me laugh! They were popular
Please, it’s all about popular
It’s not about aptitude, it’s the way you’re viewed
So it’s very shrewd to be very very popular like me!”

The music slowed, and Kaya put a mirror in front of Ginny, sounding awed. “Why, Miss Elphaba—look at you. You’re beautiful.”

Ginny stared at herself, then rose and quickly left the room. “I—I have to go--”

“You’re welcome!” Kaya said in a huff, then she smiled and softened.

“And though you protest your disinterest
I know clandestinely you’re gonna grin and bear it
Your new-found popularity

La la la la
You’ll be popular
Just not quite as popular as me!”

Chapter 8- I’m OK

“K- Kaya?”

The pretty blonde looked up from where she was stretched out on the floor running lines with Ginny. “Yes?”

“P- Patrick asked me to give this to you.”

Kaya glanced over the note, then shot Patrick a death glare across the room. “Hold on a second, I’m going to write him back. Do you have a quill?” The boy pulled one out and handed it to her, and Kaya quickly scrawled a message, then scribbled Patrick’s out for good measure. She handed the quill back to its owner and gave him an impish grin and a wink. “Alrighty, then. Thanks, Babe.”

Ginny watched the boy walk away with slightly weak knees, and a slight frown spread across her face. “Why do you do that?”

“Do what?” Kaya’s blue eyes were innocent, her perfect smile still in place.

“That. Flirt with everyone like that?”

Kaya tossed her gold-spun hair over her shoulder with a laugh. “Why not?”

“Kaya.”

“Aw, lighten up,” Kaya said, pouting her dusky lips in a playful frown. “I was just playing around.”

“Well, I don’t find it amusing, and I don’t Blaise would, either.”

“Oh, come on, Ginny, Blaise and I aren’t even an official couple. It’s not like you never flirt. As a matter of fact, I don’t think Draco would appreciate the fact that you flirt with Blaise on a regular basis.”

Ginny’s cheeks went pink, but her gaze remained steady. “Kaya, you flirt with every guy in the school, but you don’t get close to any of them. Why?”

Kaya sighed and turned away, her brow furrowed in anger and . . .worry? “I don’t want to talk about it.”

Ginny sat up straighter, surprised to have hit a nerve in her new friend. “What is it, Kaya? Just tell me.”

“I said I don’t want to talk about it, Gin!”

“But, Kaya, I-”

Kaya flipped around, blue eyes shooting sparks. “Drop it.”

Ginny dropped it.

---

On a rare leisure day, Ginny, Blaise, and Draco sat eating lunch together under a tree beside the Lake.

“Where’s Kaya, Gin?”

Ginny shrugged, deep in thought, and Blaise answered for her. “She had a bunch of homework for this week that she hasn’t done yet, so she’s trying to catch up.”

“I’m worried about Kaya,” Ginny announced suddenly, looking up at her companions for the first time. “I think she’s hiding something.”

Draco raised an eyebrow at his girlfriend. “Like what?”

“I. . .don’t know,” Ginny admitted, frowning. “That’s what makes me so curious. But whatever it is, it keeps her from letting any guys get close to her.”

Blaise snorted. “That’s what you think.”

“I don’t mean physically, Blaise,” Ginny said impatiently, sighing at his one-track mind. “I mean emotionally. Haven’t you noticed how she flirts with everyone, but doesn’t let anyone see farther than her pretty face? I think she’s been seriously hurt in the past.”

Blaise shook his head, bewildered, but Draco looked thoughtful.

“I think I know what you mean. I’ve noticed, too, I guess, but didn’t bother to connect the dots.”

“Well I want to know,” Ginny said determinedly, throwing down her napkin and standing. “Come on, we’re going to go find a certain Kadence Montespan.”

---

“Once upon a time there was a girl
In her early years she had to learn
How to grow up living in a war that she called home
Never know just where to turn for shelter from the storm
Hurt me to see the pain across my mother's face
Every time my father's fist would put her in her place
Hearing all the yelling, I would cry up in my room
Hoping it would be over soon”

Ginny, Blaise, and Draco, having looked every possible other place, had poked their heads into the Practice Room to find Kaya sitting in the windowsill. She was quite oblivious to their presence, plucking the strings of a guitar and singing, her voice hoarse.

“Bruises fade, Father, but the pain remains the same
And I still remember how you kept me so afraid
Strength is my Mother, for all the love she gave
Every morning that I wake, I look back at yesterday
And I'm OK”

Ginny stepped hesitantly into the room, eyes on her friend, hoping against hope that what she was hearing was just a song.

“I often wonder why I carry all this guilt
When it's you that helped me put up all these walls I've built
Shadows stir at night through a crack in the door
The echo of a broken child screaming 'Please, no more'
Daddy, don't you understand the damage you have done?
To you it's just a memory, but for me it still lives on”

Draco stepped inside, sensing the pain flowing off Kaya; this was all too real to her.

“Bruises fade, Father, but the pain remains the same
And I still remember how you kept me so, so afraid
Strength is my Mother, for all the love she gave
Every morning that I wake I look back at yesterday”

Blaise was halfway across the room before Ginny could lay a hand on his arm, unable to just stand and watch any longer. Kaya strummed the guitar strings harder, her voice raw and emotive.

“It's not so easy to forget
All the lines you left along her neck
When I was thrown against cold stairs
And every day I'm afraid to come home
In fear of what I might see there”

Kaya threw her head back, tearing the words out of her throat, tears streaming down her face; this was her legacy.

“Bruises fade, Father, but the pain remains the same
And I still remember how you kept me so afraid
Strength is my Mother, for all the love you gave
Every morning that I wake, I look back at yesterday
And I'm OK
Oh, I'm OK”

The guitar dropped to the floor, and Kaya finally turned and saw the trio watching her. Blaise held out his hand, and Kaya threw herself at him, burying her face in his shoulder, trying to get away from the memories.

“Help me,” she choked out, crying harshly against him. “Please. . .I just want to forget.”

Blaise rubbed Kaya’s back slowly, fighting to keep his voice from cracking. “I know, sweetheart, I know.”

---

“He made me feel so. . . so weak. I was just a little girl; there was nothing I could ever do to stop him. I almost died once.” Kaya’s voice was soft and harsh, cracking from overuse and the constant effort of holding her emotions at bay. “He threw mom against a wall, and she cracked her head and went unconscious. I thought she was going to die, and I stood between her and dad, and he just went right on swinging.” Kaya stopped, unable to continue. She sucked in a deep, shaky breath through her nose and swallowed hard. “Eventually, he passed out, and when mom woke up she saw me.”

“I’ll kill him,” Blaise said quietly, dangerously. His hands had balled into fists. “What a bast-”

“Blaise,” Ginny breathed, looking at him sharply.

“It’s alright, Gin,” Kaya said, raising a hand to stay her friend. “Blaise, I don’t hate him like you think I must. I can remember better times from when I was really young, times before he became-” She stopped again, biting her lip. “He was a good man. It was the demon in the bottle that made him what he was.”

Blaise wasn’t convinced. “Still, to do what he did. . .”

“I don’t blame him, Blaise; I pity him.” Blaise looked unbelieving, and Kaya smiled very slightly. “I have to live with the pain; he has to live with the shame.”

“Does he. . .” Ginny hesitated, then decided there was no more delicate way of putting it. “Does he still drink?”

Kaya shook her head, stretching her aching legs. “Not since that night. The Healer at St. Mungo’s really lit into him, told him he was a terrible father and if he hadn’t passed out when he had, I’d be dead; she almost went to the Minister himself. Dad just sat down, put his head in his hands, and cried. He swore to never drink again, and as far as I know, he never has. Mom couldn’t handle seeing him anymore, though, so she left him. I haven’t seen him since.”

“How do you know he doesn’t still drink?”

“I get letters, the occasional visits from friends of his. I can tell he misses me, but he’s too trapped in guilt to really make an effort.” Kaya pushed herself up from the cold stone, wincing as her stiff muscles straightened. “I need to go sleep for a week, guys. Thanks for finding me.”

Chapter 9- Muggle Quizzes and Christmas Prep

Ginny shoved her Muggle Studies book across the table to Natasha and unnecessarily closed her eyes. “Alright, quiz me on this section.”

“The box that many muggles spend hours in front of, one that responds to your touch and allows you to enter information.”

“Computer.”

“Inventor of the modern computer?”

“Konrad Zuse.”

“Ear- and mouth-piece that nearly all muggles have in their homes to communicate with each other.”

“Telephone.”

“Inventor?”

“Alexander Graham Bell.”

“Another box that many muggles spend hours watching everyday that shows different pictures at different times.”

“Television.”

“Inventor?”

For the first time, Ginny paused. Then, very hesitantly, she said, “…John Logie Baird?”

Natasha made a buzzer sound, and Ginny groaned. “Who was it?”

“Philo Farnsworth.”

Natasha started to go on to the next bullet, but glanced at her watch and put down the book instead. “Sorry, Gin, but I’ve got to go do wheelchair training for the show. They’re going to teach me how to hide my legs and keep them that way until you give me the shoes.”

“So… they’re basically teaching you how to sit still?”

Natasha grinned broadly as she left the library. “Basically, yeah. It’s a concept I’ve never been able to grasp.”

Ginny laughed along with her friend and went back to studying. It wasn’t that she didn’t know most of this stuff- with a father like hers, it was hard not to- but she kept getting the names confused. Stupid quiz… like any witch or wizard besides her dad actually cared about muggle electronics and their inventors. Heck, the only reason she’d taken the class in the first place was to pacify Hermione.

Ginny’s stomach growled loudly, interrupting her mental rant, and she instinctively put a hand to her sweater front, trying to quiet the sound. She frowned when she felt the excess flesh there; the show had her so stressed that she’d been eating more than usual, and it was starting to catch up to her. The holiday season was coming, too… She needed to start being more careful; she wasn’t sure how Draco would feel about a heavy girlfriend.

---

Time passed quickly, and before they knew it, the Christmas holidays were soon approaching. The homework load, however, wasn’t lessening at all.
“I’m so bored,” Ginny moaned, throwing her quill down on her Defense Against the Dark Arts essay. “This is taking forever.”

Draco raised an eyebrow from across the table. “If you didn’t stop to whine about it every five minutes, you’d be done by now.”

Ginny shook her head unbelievingly. “Kaya’s not finished yet, and she hasn’t taken any breaks.”

“That’s because Kaya’s slow,” Blaise said, dismissing Ginny’s logic with a wave of his hand. “Each little letter has to be perfect.”

Kaya glowered at him. “So I like my work to be readable, sue me. I’ve seen your writing, and I’m surprised your professors let you get away with it.”

“Everyone liked me too much.” Blaise quirked a grin. “They couldn’t bear the thought of failing me.”

Ginny and Draco both snorted. “Riiiiight.”

“It’s true!”

“Uh huh.”

Blaise didn’t retaliate, and the group soon fell back into silence, Ginny and Kaya both working to get their essays finished. It wasn’t a big surprise, though, that Blaise broke the silence again a few minutes later.

“Soo. . . Christmas is only a couple weeks away; what are we doing this year?”

Draco rolled his neck a few times to get the kinks out. “I figured you were going to stay at Malfoy Manor like you always do and Kaya and Ginny would come for the party.”

Kaya looked up from her parchment, curiosity piqued. “What party?”

“The Malfoy’s annual by-invitation-only Christmas party, where you’ll find all the purebloods, except the blood traitors.”

“They made an exception to the blood traitor thing for me, though.” Ginny grinned, smug.

“I’m invited?”

Draco nodded, looking at Blaise in a slightly fatigued way. “Apparently.”

Kaya looked intrigued. “What does one wear to such a thing?”

“Formalwear,” Ginny said, smiling at the memory of the year before. “Beautiful dresses.”

“Sweetness.” Kaya grinned, mentally going through her closet.

Blaise looked at Ginny curiously, his forehead wrinkled. “Where did the dress you wore last year come from? You don’t. . . I mean, you couldn’t-”

“I couldn’t afford something that nice, right?”

“Right,” Blaise admitted hesitantly.

Ginny’s grin encompassed both Blaise and Draco. “You don’t know? Neither of you recognized it?”

The pair shook their heads, baffled, and Ginny’s eyes twinkled.

“It was the Think of Me dress.”

Blaise’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”

“Nope. Hermione altered it to make it more appropriate, then turned it back after the party.”

“Whoa.”

“Yeah.”

---

They got kicked out of the library for laughing too loudly. Strictly speaking, it was really Blaise’s fault- he had been the one putting quills up his nose- but Madame Pince hadn’t cared. Kaya had pulled a protesting Blaise out the door, and he was now escorting her to Ravenclaw’s Common Room. This left Draco and Ginny walking slowly up the Marble staircase in the direction of the Gryffindor Common Room.

“Are you going to come to the Christmas party?”

Ginny pursed her lips, pretending to think about it. “I don’t know. . . I’m not sure any of my 'Elphaba' costumes could be altered to be appropriate for the occasion.”

“I think you’re right.” Draco adjusted his arm on her waist, pulling her closer as they walked. “What’s wrong with your dress robes?”

Ginny sighed and shook her head, trying to make herself comfortable despite the fact she was sucking in her stomach. “I wore them at the Yule Ball; they weren’t grand enough there, and this is Malfoy Manor we’re talking about.”

“What are you going to do?”

“I don’t know. Natasha or Kaya might have something I could borrow.”

Draco just nodded, and the pair walked in silence for a while. After a few minutes, Ginny bit her lip and spoke, hesitant.

“Draco. . . do you maybe want to come to the Burrow for Christmas?”

Draco didn’t look at her, but she could sense his sudden discomfort.

“Not for the entire time,” she rushed on, hoping she hadn’t already lost him. “Just for the day sometime, maybe the last day of break. Then we could go back to Hogwarts together.”

Draco took a long time to come up with his carefully worded response. “Why do you want me to come to the Burrow?”

“Well, I want you to see it, and you’re going to have to get to know my mum and dad sometime, or at least talk to them.”

Draco pulled a deep breath in through his nose. “Alright.”

Ginny stopped dead, eyes wide, disbelieving. “Seriously?”

“Yes.”

---

Kaya, Blaise, Draco, and Ginny sat in the dressing room a few days later, trying to coordinate their Christmas plans.

“Okay, so let me get this straight,” Ginny was saying, her eyes closed in concentration. “I’m going to Kaya’s for the first four days of break, then I’m going on to my house. I’ll spend Christmas Eve with my family, then I’ll head back to Kaya’s house Christmas morning. The two of us will floo to Malfoy Manor around midday, attend the party, then spend the night there. Kaya and I will go home sometime the next day. Draco will spend the last day of break at my house, Kaya and Blaise will meet us there that night, then we’ll all go back to Hogwarts together. Did I get it right?”

Draco and Blaise nodded and headed off to work on something with Patrick; Kaya stayed behind.

“What are you wearing to the party, Ginny?”

“I hadn’t really thought about it,” Ginny lied, finding sudden interest in the ceiling.

“Well. . . if you don’t mind my asking, do you actually have anything suitable to wear to the party?”

Ginny sighed and shook her head, and, surprisingly, Kaya brightened.

“Good! We can go through my closet when you come to spend break with me!”

Ginny looked self-consciously at her own filled-out figure, then at Kaya’s model-worthy curves. “If you say so.”

Chapter 10- The Hogwarts Express

The two weeks before Holiday flew by and, before she knew it, Ginny found herself sitting in the last compartment of the Hogwarts Express, on her way back to Platform 9 ¾. Natasha was sprawled unceremoniously on the seat beside her, while Kaya was just walking in. She gracefully sat down on the empty bench, and Natasha let out a whoop.

“We’re finally free! I’m so freakin’ excited!”

Kaya delicately brushed a few blonde curls off her shoulder and straightened her silk cloak. “Are you going to attend the Malfoy’s Christmas party, Natasha?”

“I’m a pureblood, aren’t I?” Natasha made a face and sighed. “I have to go, it’s tradition.”

“I honestly don’t see why you’re dreading it so much. I find this whole idea very exciting.”

Natasha muttered something along the lines of ‘bully for you,’ but Ginny was saved the trouble of intervening by the compartment door sliding open. Blaise stuck his head inside, then the rest of him followed.

“Hello, ladies! Fancy some company?”

“No,” Natasha said, watching her cousin sit down beside Kaya without a second thought. “You can leave.”

“Blaise, I think we found someone who doesn’t like you.”

Natasha grinned at the new arrival and scooted over enough for Draco to sit down. “Are you two even supposed to be here? This is student transportation.”

“We’re fine.” Draco casually draped an arm around Ginny’s shoulders, twisting his fingers around the chain of her necklace. “Patrick asked for Dumbledore’s permission.”

“Special permission for the assistant director of Wicked and the new Fiyero!”

The look Draco gave Blaise should’ve frozen him to his seat. “If memory serves correct, that was supposed to be a secret until Patrick chose to announce it, Blaise.”

Ginny looked between the two, a slow smile growing on her face. “Wait a minute. . . we’ve got a new Fiyero?”

Draco pulled his gaze away from Blaise with an effort, and tamed his expression before he looked at his girlfriend. “The boy who had the part, Rob something-or-other, felt that he couldn’t handle the stress, and Patrick thinks it’s too late to have anyone else learn it.”

“Bull,” Natasha said bluntly, an uninterested expression on her face. “I don’t buy that for a second.”

“Well, that’s what he’s going to tell everyone.” Blaise just couldn’t help it; he couldn’t stand not being the center of attention. “The real reason is that Patrick doesn’t think there’s anyone else good enough to pull off Fiyero.”

Draco made a noise of disbelief. “He didn’t think Rob was good enough, he was just the best he had to work with. I think Patrick is rather relieved, to tell you the truth; Rob wasn’t coming along very well.”

Kaya shrugged unknowingly, but Ginny and Natasha both grimaced.

“I was in there the day they were doing As Long As You’re Mine,” Natasha said, distaste in her voice. “It was cringe-worthy.”

“Gee, thanks.”

Natasha jabbed Ginny playfully with her elbow. “You know what I mean.”

---

Ginny looked up as the compartment door opened, and burst out laughing. Natasha had a similar reaction, but managed to keep herself under somewhat more control. Kaya just ignored them and walked calmly back inside, sliding the door shut behind her. She’d gone to change out of her school robes, and her present attire was the source of amusement.

The suit really wasn’t very different from the one she’d worn her first day at Hogwarts: a very feminine white blouse, a light blue pencil skirt that reached her knees, and a close-cut jacket in the same shade as the skirt. A matching old-style hat was pinned at an angle in her golden curls, and Kaya stood at perfect ease in her white pumps.

“Laugh if you will,” she said primly, tugging a short, white dress glove onto one hand.

“Good, because I don’t think we’ll be able to stop,” Natasha choked, rolling sideways into Ginny.

“Laugh if you will,” Kaya began again, talking slightly louder than before. “But my mother is a stickler for sophistication.”

This sobered Ginny up right away. “Maybe I don’t want to come to your house after all.”

“Nonsense.” Kaya dismissed the idea with a wave of her hand. “I’m sure whatever you brought will be fine.”

Ginny raised her eyebrows. “Jeans and a t-shirt?”

Kaya grimaced. “Maybe she’ll be in a forgiving mood today.”

Natasha grinned and opened her mouth to say something snide when the door slid open yet again, and Draco stepped into the compartment. Ginny raised her eyebrows at her boyfriend’s attire.

“Wedding or funeral?”

Draco just narrowed his eyes at her and sat down, careful not to crease his black silk pants as he and Kaya shared a commiserating look. Ginny didn’t let it go so easily.

“What’s the occasion, baby?” She asked, straightening the collar of his white dress shirt.

“I’m going back to Malfoy Manor, that’s the occasion,” he said, ignoring her particular term of endearment as he grasped her hand to stop its fussing. “This is how it always is.”

Ginny started to say something more, but was interrupted.

“Lay off it, okay?” Blaise was just returning as well, dressed almost identically to Draco. “This isn’t exactly our idea of a good time, either.”

Ginny sat back, feeling slightly guilty, but Natasha wasn’t fazed. “Lighten up, Blaise, we were just having a bit of fun.” Her grin grew. “You know we think you’re absolutely ravishing, the three of you.”

Just then, the Hogwarts Express began to slow, and the cabin was suddenly a flurry of activity. Ginny dove to the floor and started searching for her missing trainer, whereas Natasha started digging in the seat cushions for the playing cards she’d been absent-mindedly shuffling. Draco bent to pull on his dress shoes, and Blaise yanked his trunk down from the luggage rack to try to locate his tie. Still calmly seated with her legs crossed, Kaya checked herself over in a compact mirror, freshly manicured nails catching the sunlight.