Ginny woke up the next morning with last night's events still on her mind as she dragged herself all the way down to the kitchen. Her hair was one giant knotted mess and she was still rubbing her eyes and yawning as she plopped herself down at the table. She saw her mother, as always, bustling about the kitchen baking away, making Ginny take note of a basket on the table full of fresh muffins.

"Oooo, banana nut, my favourite," she said, stretching her hand out to grab one.

"No, no, no." Molly quickly said, slapping Ginny's hand away from the freshly baked goods.

"Ouch, why can't I have one?" Ginny whined, rubbing her hand.

"Those are for the Malfoy family as a thank you for dinner last night."

"A thank you? They should be thanking us for even showing up." Ginny snorted.

"As horrid as it was..... and it was, it's still a nice gesture and we need to remain civil towards each other."

"I guess," Ginny mumbled.

"Oh, dear, I suppose I'll have to cancel my lunch date with your father today. I need to drop this basket off and I won't be able to meet him in time for his break." Molly sighed.

Ginny watched her mother for a few more moments in silence as she contemplated something in her head. "Uh..... I could always drop it off," she finally said.

"What? Oh no, Ginny, dear, you don't have to do that. Besides, I rather you don't go alone there."

"Mum, please, it's not like they're going to murder me, I mean we are trying to be civilized towards each other so I highly doubt taking out the youngest Weasley will give them any credibility points," she said sarcastically.

Molly turned to look at her and debated the idea for a moment before finally agreeing. "Alright, but please be careful....... they are not friendly people."

"Yeah, I've noticed," she mumbled before getting up from the table and heading upstairs to get ready.

_______________________________________________

Ginny landed with a stumble just outside of Malfoy Manor; her hair once again flying all over the place. She noticed one of the muffins fall out of the basket and onto the ground and fought the urge to pick it up and place it back inside. Instead, she finally decided to cast a simple spell on it that made it disintegrate completely, leaving a burning banana smell around her.

"Yuck," she mumbled, waving her hand to clear the air.

She used her hands to smooth her long hair out and proceeded through the wards and to the front door. She paused for a moment to look at her wardrobe choice and gave a quick shrug; there was no way she was throwing on a dress and doing her hair just to deliver muffins to the Malfoys. She rang the doorbell and was surprised by the elegant chime sound it gave off, which tempted her to press it again, but she refrained from doing so. The large door slowly opened and a small house elf appeared in the doorway gesturing for her to come in.

"Oh, hello.....uh Tilly right?" Ginny softly spoke to the small elf.

Just as Tilly was about to speak, Narcissa's voice rang out. "Miss Weasley? What are you doing here?" she demanded, quickly making her way over and taking in Ginny's poor choice of apparel making her face twist into a look of disgust as she looked over the faded ripped jeans she wore.

"Oh, hi, Mrs. Malfoy, my mum sent this over as a thank you for-"

"No, no, that's quite alright," she quickly cut her off.

"Excuse me?" Ginny asked confused.

"You can take those back with you, we both know your family needs it more and we would just haaaaate to take away from you," she said in a snide tone.

"But-"

"You can go now," Narcissa said, waving her hand for her to leave as she started walking away.

Ginny fought with everything in her not to pick up a muffin and chuck it right at the back of her head, but instead, she continued with the real reason of why she came.

"Is Draco here?" she asked suddenly, placing the basket down on the floor in case her hands decided to throw the whole thing at the blonde across the room.

Narcissa stopped and turned around again, taking a few steps closer to her. "What business do you have with my son?"

"Uh... Business?" Ginny asked; a look of confusion on her face. "There is no "business" I was just wondering-"

"I can assure you, Draco has no interest in seeing you or any other Weasley, now I'm sure you can see yourself out," she snapped coldly before turning and storming down the hall.

Ginny's lips trembled with anger and a bit of shock at just how cold Narcissa Malfoy could be. Staring at the back of Narcissa until she was out of sight, Ginny turned to leave before stopping and looking at the staircase in front of her. She bit her lip in deep thought before she finally decided to grab the basket of muffins and sprint up the stairs. The thought of getting caught sneaking around the Malfoy house brought an adrenaline like none other as Ginny cautiously made her way towards Draco's room.

She started opening doors again and soon came to the same guest bedroom she entered last night, which confirmed she was going in the right direction. She came to the door that she was sure belonged to Draco's room and followed the angle to the bathroom down the hall. Realizing it was the same door where she ran into him the previous night, she lightly knocked on it. There was no answer so she knocked a bit harder this time, which still went unnoticed. She placed her ear against the door to see if she could hear him in there and then she slowly turned the knob and opened the door.

Ginny was met with complete darkness; the only light in the room was the few rays of sunlight shining through the curtains and the light from the hall. From what she could make out the room seemed to be a mess and somewhat trashed, she could hear pieces of glass beneath her shoes crunching as she stepped further into the room.

"Looks like the house elves have been neglecting your room," she teased into the darkness.

The sound of Ginny's voice made Draco's eyes snap open and jump up out of bed.

"WHAT THE BLOODY HELL ARE YOU DOING HERE, WEASLEY?" he yelled.

"Oh relax, your mother said I could come up and say hello," she said casually, setting the basket of muffins down on a small clear area on a nearby table.

He just stared at her, his eyes wide and a look of disbelief on his face that Ginny could barely make out.

"Go ask her if you don't believe me," Ginny continued, placing a hand on her hip.

"Why are you here?" he snapped, still trying to process why a Weasley was standing in his bedroom.

"Oh, my mum wanted to send-"

"NO! I mean, why are you in my room?" he demanded, anger rising in his voice.

"I don't know, I just wanted to say hello....... I brought muffins...... banana nut," she said with a smile.

"I hate banana nut," he snapped.

"Oh please, stop lying, who doesn't like banana nut? There are some chocolate chip ones too, or do you hate those as well?" Ginny challenged him.

He just stared at her with a surprised and somewhat horrified look etched on his face that quickly turned into an angry sneer. "You need to get out......NOW!" he yelled, grabbing her by the arm and dragging her to the door.

"Alright, alright, calm down, I'm sure you need to get back to those studies and all," she giggled as he pushed her out into the hall.

She turned to face him and saw him open and close his mouth a few times in an attempt to say something to her, but nothing came out.

"You ok?" she asked with some amusement in her voice as she looked at the unreadable expression on his face.

"Get the hell out of here, Weasley," he snapped before slamming the door in her face.

Ginny smiled to herself at how riled up Draco got over the weird encounter with her in his bedroom as she made her way back through the halls and downstairs. Why she was so determined to talk to Draco was still a mystery to her, but she sure enjoyed the rush of adrenaline and feelings it brought on. She was so wrapped up in what just happened that she wasn't even keeping watch to make sure she didn't get caught when she suddenly came face to face with Lucius Malfoy.

They were both surprised to see the other standing in front of one another and then there was silence for a moment or so before Lucius finally spoke. "Miss Weasley, may I ask why you are wandering the halls of the Manor?"

"I was just........ uh dropping off a thank you basket from my Mum and had to uh..... use the bathroom," she quickly thought, cursing herself for making the lie she just told sound clear as day.

He just stared at her for a moment before looking away. "Under the circumstances of which both our families seem to find ourselves in, perhaps it's best I turn the other cheek on this and you leave immediately," he drawled, before resting his eyes on her again.

She quickly nodded and sprinted for the door as fast as she could and then stopped when she heard him speak again.

"And, Miss Weasley,.... I'd better not catch you sneaking around again," he warned in such a sinister tone that Ginny felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up.

She couldn't help but glare at him for a moment before turning back around and quickly made her way towards the door, letting out a sigh of relief when she made it out of the Manor and through the wards. Biting her lip with a slight smile growing on her face, she waved her wand and with a small pop Apparated back to the Burrow.

___________________________________________________

Draco was pacing back and forth in his room going over what just happened, why would a Weasley willingly make a trip up to his bedroom? Why was she so bubbly and giddy....... were these muffins poisoned? Was his mother right all along? He ate the pie last night and nothing happened. He walked over to the basket sitting on the table and grabbed one of the banana nut ones and sniffed it; god it smelled heavenly.

"Nah, they are too nice to off any of us," he whispered to himself before taking a bite out of the muffin.

He sighed and slumped down onto the couch enjoying the delicious muffin that attacked every taste bud with such flavor and moist goodness. The only thing he could think of was how the Weaslette was right......... how could anyone not like banana nut muffins.
_________________________________________________

Later that evening, Draco made his way down to dinner after his mother's insisting nagging that he join them. His parents looked like they wanted to tell him something, but he already had a pretty good idea of what that was. Taking a seat at the table, he saw his mother's eyes fall on him and he locked eyes with her, a bit of a sneer on his face.

"You know one of these days I'd like you to be to dinner on time instead of having to send a house elf up to get you," she simply said, taking a sip from her wine glass.

"Wouldn't be the first time you sent people to my room without asking," he snapped back.

She looked at him with a bit of confusion. "What are you talking about, Draco? You know I never let anyone up to your room unless it's a house elf."

"You mean you didn't send W-.......never mind, I guess it was a dream," Draco mumbled, quickly dismissing it.

He couldn't help the smirk that tugged at his lips as he realized how the Weaslette got one over on him and then saw his father looking at him questioningly.

"You need to do something with yourself, Draco, your father and I are trying to decide if maybe it's time we put the Manor behind us and move away from here," Narcissa quickly spoke, avoiding eye contact with him.

Draco just shook his head in annoyance. "So you're not going to accept the Weasley's invitation to their shack of a house?" he asked casually, slumping back against his chair.

"You seem disappointed, son," Lucius spoke up.

"Not disappointed, just....... what's going to be different if we move? Nothing, that's what....... instead of actually trying to get along with the Weasl-"

"They aren't like us, Draco, that will never work," Narcissa said sternly.

"Why?"

"BECAUSE IT JUST WON'T!" she yelled, looking at him fiercely.

The whole room stayed quiet for what seemed like an eternity. Draco just shook his head and stood up from the table.

"You know......... I'd rather rot away in my bedroom than keep running away from my problems....... my life would just end up being one big lie," he said before storming out of the room.

Draco was halfway up the stairs when Lucius grabbed him by the arm and turned him around to face him.

"Why was the Weasley girl in your room today?" he asked firmly, but quiet enough so Narcissa wouldn't hear them from the dining room.

Draco just stared at him for a moment. "I don't know what you're talking about," he spat, ripping his arm from his grasp and continuing up the steps.

"I know she was in there because I ran into her on her way out."

Draco stopped and let out a long sigh before turning back around to face his father. "I don't know why she was in there; she was....... dropping off muffins or whatever."

"Muffins?"

"Yes, muffins," Draco snapped.

"Are you sure that was all?"

"Yes......... and to say hi, apparently...... I don't know; the whole thing was weird."

"What could she be up to?" Lucius whispered more to himself than anything.

Draco just shook his head and continued up the steps.

"Maybe she's actually making an effort," he yelled sarcastically as he turned the corner.

Draco slammed his bedroom door shut and threw himself on his bed; why the hell was he defending the Weasley family? He really couldn't stand the whole lot of them, but he was willing to play the part if it meant he could actually be welcomed back into the Wizarding World. He would be happy with just being able to run an errand without being stalked or attacked and threatened.

He got up from his bed and walked over to the basket of muffins again and picked one of them up. He thought back to his reaction to seeing her in his bedroom and then he thought about her reaction. She was completely calm about the entire thing and found it amusing........... why though?

"Just what are you really up to Weaslette?"
___________________________________________________

It had been a few days since Ginny's encounter with Draco in his bedroom and every day since she found her thoughts only on that. She even forced herself to help George and Percy out at the joke shop for a few days to keep her mind off the whole thing. She was just thankful it was finally the weekend because she was meeting Harry for lunch and didn't feel like tagging along with her parents to Ron and Hermione's place to talk about the wedding.

She heard a tap on the window and saw a white and gray owl waiting patiently for her to accept the letter. She was already sighing when she recognized the handwriting on the envelope knowing exactly what it probably said.

Gin,

Something came up, need to reschedule our lunch date......sorry.

Harry

She crumpled the letter up into a ball and threw it as hard she could against the wall.

"UGH! YOU'RE A REAL BLOODY GIT HARRY POTTER!" she shouted at the ceiling before throwing herself back on her bed.

She was already dressed and ready to meet him and now she was stuck in this house with nothing to do and nobody to do it with. She was so sick of feeling alone all the time, she couldn't even hang out with her own family because they were always busy or asking too many questions.

She suddenly sat up and had a thought, and without hesitation, she grabbed her wand and Apparated to Malfoy Manor.
___________________________________________

Ginny knocked on the large door before her that she seemed to find herself in front of a lot these days. She waited for a minute or so before Tilly popped her head out to greet her and invited her to come inside.

"Hi, Tilly, is Mr. and Mrs. Malfoy here?" she asked, looking around for them.

"No, Miss Weasley, they are visiting with the Zabini fam-"

"Oh great," she cut the house elf off before making her way up the stairs. "Oh, Draco is here, though?" she stopped to ask the elf.

Tilly nodded.

"Thanks," she smiled at her before running the rest of the way up the stairs.

She had the way to Draco's room memorized now and wasted no time making her way up to it.
_____________________________________________

Draco had been trying to read the same page of his book at least ten times before he just started flipping past each page absent-mindedly. It wasn't very often that his parents left the Manor and he didn't much care to accompany them on this particular outing. All he heard was the crackling of the fresh fire burning and the sound of each page turning before a quick light knock was heard. He completely froze in place for a moment before jumping to his feet and grabbing his wand.

He neared the door slowly with his wand tightly gripped and a lump forming in his throat as he feared the worst was waiting for him behind that door. He heard the knock again and then the doorknob began to turn before the door was pushed open and the last person he expected to see stood before him.

"Weasley? What the- Don't you know how to wait for a response before you open a closed door?" he spat, as he lowered his wand and sighed in relief.

"Don't you know how to answer when someone knocks?" she shot back.

"Why are you here? AGAIN?" he demanded.

Ginny entered the messy room and took in Draco's appearance right away. "Wow, cut back on the shaving I see," she teased.

Draco brought a hand up to the scruff growing on his face and cleared his throat to avoid the embarrassment of the Weaslette seeing him in such a state.

"AGAIN, WHY ARE YOU HERE?" he repeated, this time much louder and angry.

"You really need to clean your room," she continued on, picking up a dirty sock from the armchair she was about to sit in. Ginny noticed Draco getting ready to lose his temper which made her smirk and quickly answered his question before he could go off on her. "I was wondering if you want to grab some lunch with me," she simply said, folding her arms and looking at him expectantly.

He just stood there staring at her as the words tried to sink in and he desperately tried to think of what to say.

"What?"

"I said, I was wondering if you want-"

"No, I know what you said I mean........why? Why are you even wasting your time coming here and talking to me?"

"Because my plans got canceled and I've got nothing else to do and technically we are supposed to be acting civil towards each other so.....why not?"

Again Draco just stood there and thought about everything she said, he felt like the whole thing was moving way too fast. He hadn't seen this girl in almost five years and now here she was suddenly in his bedroom asking him to join her for lunch...... him, the guy who tormented her and her family and friends all through school. The same man who bore the Dark Mark and stood on the same side as Voldemort..... the side responsible for killing her brother.

He then started to think how great it would be to get out of the Manor, but the vivid nightmares that haunted his sleep made him realize it wasn't a good idea. "Hell no, leave me alone, Weasley, and stop showing up uninvited," he snapped, walking over to the door and holding it open for her to leave.

"Come on, Draco, why not?"

"BECAUSE, WEASLEY! I'm not very welcomed out there....... it's better this way, plus I don't want to be seen in public with your freckled face, NOW LEAVE."

"First off, I barely have any freckles anymore and second, that's just it, you'll be with me if hanging out with a Weasley in public doesn't show that you've changed, then what else will?" she pointed out.

"And how do you know I've changed?" he asked, locking eyes with her intensely.

She got up and walked over to him until she was about a foot away. "I don't," she smiled and then walked out into the hall.

Draco had a million thoughts running through his head, one of which was "is this a chance he really wanted to take?" But he figured if he was seen with a Weasley then nobody would bother him....well he hoped not.

"FINE!" he yelled at the retreating form of the redhead down the hall.

She turned around with this giant satisfied smile on her face and ran back into his room. "YES! Now go shave, you look horrid and take a bloody shower!" she teased as a bright smile covered her face.

He just shook his head and headed into the bathroom, slamming the door behind him. The whole situation with the Weaslette was a shock to his brain for sure, but he figured he'd just go along with it for now. He opened the bathroom door slightly and peeked out to see what she was up to and saw her slowly pacing around his room and looking at a few books he had lying around. Deciding that she didn't seem to be up to anything devious, he closed the door and finished getting ready.

Almost a half hour later, Ginny found herself lying on the couch going through a pile of letters she had found scattered throughout the room.

"YOU ALMOST DONE?" she shouted. She heard the bathroom door open and turned to look at him. "Finally," she said before turning back to the letter in her hand. "Wow, someone really doesn't like you."

She jumped in surprise when Draco quickly snatched the pile from her and the one in her hand. "WHY THE HELL ARE YOU GOING THROUGH MY THINGS?!" he hissed at her.

"Relax, they were all about the room practically on display, I didn't have to go through anything," she snapped back, standing up from the couch. "What are those anyway....... they almost sound like death threats."

Draco froze for a moment before stuffing the pile of papers in a nearby drawer. "That's because they are," he mumbled.

"Oh," was all Ginny could say. "From who?"

Draco shrugged. "I don't know, probably numerous people...... it doesn't matter, let's get this over with already," he said, quickly dismissing the letters.

"Alright," she responded, holding out her hand for him to take.

He just looked at her outstretched hand and then at her. "What are you doing?"

"Well, you're the only one who can Apparate from inside the wards."

He shook his head in annoyance and instead of grabbing her hand, he grabbed her upper arm a bit more roughly than he could have avoided and Apparated to Diagon Alley.
______________________________________________

As soon as Draco's feet hit the ground his head was in a whirlwind of emotions, he suddenly became very aware that he was outside of the Manor for the first time in almost three years. Sure, he had been out here and there to visit the Zabini family or some other errand that his father would drag him along on, but out in public like this was something he was a lot less prepared for then he thought. He heard the muffled sound of Ginny going on about her arm and his rough handling of her. He quickly looked from left to right before backing up against the brick wall of the back alley they were in as the sounds of the people out on the street ahead clouded his mind.

"Draco.......DRACO!"

He looked up at the Weaslette; her honey brown eyes locking with his as she looked at him with some concern.

"Are you ok?"

"I'm fine, Weasley," he snapped, desperately trying to shake off the nervous feeling he had. "Now where are we going?"

"Well, there's this new place that just opened and it's amazing, but it's always so crowded so we might have to wait for-"

"NO!" he yelled, swallowing the lump that formed in his throat.

"Alright, alright, I get it........ not ready to mingle yet. Let's just head to this small pub down this way....... there's hardly ever anyone there," she said leading the way.

They didn't pass many people on the way to the tiny pub, but the few they did pass stopped and stared at the unlikely duo. Ginny didn't notice, but Draco sure did, he could only imagine what was going through people's minds, not that he cared. What he did care about, were the ones who chose to act on those hateful thoughts.

He was quickly pulled from his thoughts when Ginny opened the door to the pub and went inside. Draco looked around the small bar and saw that it was indeed deserted with just one or two drunks sitting in the corner. Draco led the way to the very back of the pub and plopped down in a chair across from Ginny.

"Secluded enough for you?" she sarcastically mumbled as she sat down.

"I suppose..... if I remember correctly the food here is trash."

"Yeah, well you wanted privacy so this is what you get and looks like we're having fries for lunch, I mean, how badly can they mess those up," she said jumping up and walking over to the counter to order.

Ginny told the man her order and waited patiently at the counter for it. She turned to look at Draco, whose eyes were darting all around as if someone was going to suddenly attack him. Her thoughts traveled back to the letters she found scattered about his bedroom and how he was so quick to drop the subject.

"Miss Weasley, you do know that's Draco Malfoy you're sitting with?" said the man behind the counter, pulling Ginny from her thoughts.

She looked at the man with a raised eyebrow. "Yeah...... and?"

The man leaned closer to her and whispered. "If you need help just blink or nod and I'll..."

"What? We're here for lunch," she snapped angrily.

He just looked at her funny and then placed her order on the counter for her to take. She reached up for it and he quickly grabbed her wrist and pulled her towards him. "I would be careful if I were you....... being seen with a Death Eater won't look good on your part."

"Ex-Death Eater," Ginny corrected him, narrowing her eyes.

She ripped her arm from the man's grasp and took her order over to the table.

"Guess people really do hate you," she said, glaring back over at the man behind the bar.

"No surprise there," Draco drawled, following Ginny's glare and sneering at the man.

"Anyway, so....... why aren't you with Blaise today instead?"

"What?" Draco quickly asked, a bit taken aback by the sudden question.

"Blaise? Zabini? Tilly said your parents were visiting them, why didn't you go? Thought you guys were pretty good friends," she casually said, dipping a French fry in the massive mound of ketchup she squirted onto the plate.

"Oh, uh........ yeah, I just didn't feel like going I guess....... and stop being nosy."

"Nosy? I'm making conversation," she giggled.

"Alright then....... what plans did you have that ‘miraculously’ got canceled that made you come to your best friend Draco Malfoy instead?" he asked with a quirked eyebrow.

"I had plans to meet Harry for lunch, but he canceled," she simply said, digging through the fries to find the perfect one to eat next. "Not that I'm surprised."

Draco watched her and looked at the pile of fries before him questioningly. He opened his mouth to say something when Ginny cut him off.

"And before you make a snide remark about Harry and me, just know that we aren't together....... that was over a while ago."

Draco looked at her for a moment, she was definitely different then he had remembered, she just seemed too carefree, although if he looked deeper he could see that wasn't the case... something was off.

"What happened?" he finally asked.

Ginny shrugged, "I don't know...... just wasn't meant to be I guess....... we were too different I suppose or just wanted different things. Apparently, though, we can't seem to hold a friendship since he is always busy or canceling plans or.........let's just drop it," she said, becoming annoyed by her own response.

He looked at her for a few moments noticing how she avoided eye contact with him while she spoke of her relationship with Harry. He could tell there was more to the story and she was indeed holding back but was undecided if he should press her on it. He decided that he certainly didn't want to discuss anything about himself or what the last five years have been like for him so he went for it.

"You sure seem riled up at the fact that Potter has plans that don't include you," he stated, deciding to go in for a french fry.

Ginny stopped shuffling through fries for a moment to glance up at him, watching him decide against the greasy fry in his hand and place it back down on the plate.

"Well, we are still friends... well, I thought so anyway," she said more to herself as she focused her eyes back on the plate before her.

"Hmm"

"What does that mean?" she snapped suddenly.

"It doesn't mean anything... just hmm."

"Listen, you-"

"Miss Weasley?"

Ginny and Draco both turned to see the Pub owner standing before them.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you both to leave?"

"Why?" Ginny snapped.

"Well, it may come as no surprise, but his kind is not welcomed here and neither is anyone who associates with him," the man said firmly. "Now please go before we have a problem."

Ginny jumped up from her seat. "HOW DARE YOU! ARE YOU INSINUATING THAT-"

"STOP!" Draco shouted, cutting her off from saying anything more. "Let's just get out of here," he said, quickly making his way towards the exit.

Ginny glared at the man once more and went to leave before she turned around to speak. "And by the way, these fries tasted like crap," she spat before storming out of the pub.

She got outside and looked around for Draco and finally found him in one of the back alleys. He seemed panicked and lost in thought as he frantically looked all around him to make sure nobody was around.

"Hey, are you ok? What's wrong?" she asked him and received no answer from him. "DRACO?" she called out to him, placing a hand on his arm.

He looked at her hand and then at her before he quickly moved away from her and started walking. "This was a bad idea....... we need to leave."

"Damn and those fries were so good too," Ginny groaned.
Draco looked at her and shook his head. "Let's go," he said, getting ready to grab her arm and Apparate.

She quickly pulled her arm back and looked at him.

"You're just going to leave? What's wrong with you? When did you become so spineless? The Draco Malfoy I know would have told that man-"

"JUST STOP IT!" He yelled at her, making her look at him with even more confusion. "Things are different now Weasley........ being a Malfoy now means nothing more than having to watch your back. The sooner you realize that the better."

"Just because someone sends you a few death threats and a man throws you out of his pub doesn't mean the whole Wizarding World is after you," Ginny teased.

"IT'S MORE COMPLICATED THAN THAT!" he shouted, growing angrier at her lack of knowledge of the situation, even though he knew it wasn't her fault.

"Well then why don't you explain it?" she said through clenched teeth as she also grew angry at the way he was speaking to her.

He looked at her, his mouth wanting to say something, but all he could do was look away. "I can't....... not now anyway," he finally whispered.

They were both quiet; neither of them said or looked at each other, then a voice made them both look up.

"What's going on back here?" said a man walking towards them.

Ginny recognized him from the Ministry when she was on her way to visit Harry for their many canceled lunches. She figured he must be an Auror since that's where she always saw him about the office. She saw his eyes immediately take in the situation and fall on Draco and then back to her.

"Mr. Malfoy........ been a while since you were in Diagon Alley....... any special reason why you're here today?"

Draco sneered at the man. "Didn't know socializing was a crime now," he drawled, attempting to walk past the man.

The man roughly grabbed him and pushed him up against the wall before pulling out his wand and pointing it at Draco. "Not so fast......... and in your case, socializing can mean many things."

"Excuse me, but you have no right to use such force on him for no reason," Ginny snapped angrily, pushing the man's arm away from Draco that was holding him against the wall.

"Miss Weasley, I must strongly urge you not to put your hands on a Ministry official again and to keep your nose out of this."

Draco noticed Ginny's grip tightening around the wand in her pocket. "I was just leaving," Draco quickly said.

"Perhaps that's wise and since you seem to have an accomplice, be sure to take her with you."

"ACCOMPL-" Ginny was cut off by Draco grabbing her arm and Apparating back to Malfoy Manor.
________________________________________

"HOW DARE HE! WHO DOES HE THINK HE IS! MY FATHER IS GOING TO HEAR ABOUT THIS-"

"NO! You're not telling anyone, Weasley.......... And you're starting to sound like me," Draco smirked, plopping down on the couch in his room.

"But, Draco, you didn't do anything........ are you not allowed to just have a casual outing?"

"JUST DROP IT!"

She just stared at him with her arms folded and shook her head with annoyance. "FINE," she finally mumbled. "Well, let's go make our own lunch then," she said, making her way out of the room.

Draco sluggishly got up and followed her downstairs. "You know we could just have the house elves make it."

"Yuck, sorry, but they don't do a very good job; now lead the way to the kitchen."

Draco wasn't sure why his legs automatically took him towards the kitchen; he didn't even know why he hadn't kicked the Weaslette out of his house by now. Perhaps it was the company, someone new to finally talk to after being stuck in this prison he called home. Yes, he hated her, he couldn't stand her upbeat attitude and wanted to just slap the smile right off her face. She had absolutely no clue about anything in his life and the fact that she tried to make it seem like she possibly could just made him angry.

Just as they got downstairs, a loud pop was heard and Lucius and Narcissa appeared. Draco grabbed Ginny and flung her behind the side of the stairs against the wall so his parents wouldn't see her. She went to yell something insulting out he was sure, but he firmly covered her mouth with his hand.

"Shh, my parents would flip out if they knew you were here........ especially since my father already thinks you're up to no good. Just stay here, I'll be right b-EWWW!" he yelled, moving his hand away from her mouth when he felt her tongue licking his palm. "THAT'S DISGUSTING YOU-"

"Draco?"

Draco's eyes grew wide and then shot Ginny's silent giggling body a deadly glare.

"Mother...... Father....... Didn't realize you were home," he said, casually walking out from around the staircase.

"Who are you talking to?" Narcissa asked, stretching her neck to try and see around the corner.

"Oh, nobody, just myself...... I would go mad in this place if I didn't really."

"Hmm," was all she said, looking him over.

Everything got silent suddenly and before they could question him further he kept the conversation going. "So how was lunch?"

"My my, Draco, you're certainly very vocal today and out of your room, which in itself is shocking," Lucius drawled; receiving a casual shrug from his son.

"Lunch was fine dear, Mrs. Zabini asked about you and why you didn't come along, but she understood....... she's still struggling with-"

"You know what, I'm not feeling too well, I think I'm just going to go lie down," he quickly cut her off and started heading back up the stairs.

"Alright, dear, DINNER'S AT SIX!" Narcissa called up to him before following Lucius down the hall.

Draco quickly ran back downstairs to where he left Ginny and saw she wasn't there anymore. He heard the front door open and he ran after her and out into the front of the house.

"HEY!" he called out to her, watching her stop and turn around to face him.

She took a few steps towards him and a slight smile spread across her face. "Aren't you worried your parents will see me?" she teased.

"Listen, Weaslette; don't say anything to your father about what happened.....I'm serious about this."

"Why not?"

"Because, if my parents knew I was in Diagon Alley today....... and especially with you....... JUST keep your mouth shut."

Ginny shook her head in disagreement but eventually muttered a small "fine."

"Are we going to try this again sometime?" she asked him.

"Hell no."

"Why not?"

He just stared at her for a moment. "You're completely mental, Weasley," he said before turning and walking back into the house.

Ginny just rolled her eyes in frustration and stormed through the ward and Apparated back to the Burrow.

Draco was just about to make his way upstairs when his father's voice made him stop dead in his tracks.

"Draco, I'd like a word with you," he said firmly.

Already knowing what it was about he closed his eyes and let out a hard sigh before turning around and joining his father at the bottom of the steps.

"Yes, Father?"

"Why was the Weasley girl here again? Was she here the whole time we were gone?" he asked in an angry tone.

"What? No, of course not, don't be absurd Father," he said, turning to go back upstairs.

Lucius grabbed him roughly by the arm and pulled him back around. "Do you take me for some kind of fool, Draco?"

"Well-"

"Stop while you're ahead, I don't want to see her here again unless there is an invite, do I make myself clear?"

"Crystal," Draco drawled through the angry sneer on his face.

He ripped his arm from his father's grasp and finished heading upstairs, feeling his father's eyes on him the entire time. Once he was in his room, he let his mind go to the very odd and unexpected afternoon he had with the Weaslette. He still couldn't wrap his mind around why she kept wandering over here, but then again, he also couldn't wrap his mind around why he even agreed to go out to lunch with her in the first place. Out of all her friends and family how was there not someone else who could fill in for her canceled plans....... it just didn't make sense.

Draco sprawled out on the couch with a heavy sigh and rubbed his face as today's events replayed in his head. Suddenly remembering how the Weaslette's tongue was all over his hand that was now rubbing his eyes, he quickly jumped up with a look of disgust and headed towards the bathroom to wash his hands.
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