Unofficial Portkey Archive

Disclaimer: I don't own any of this but the plot. It all belongs to J.K. Rowling as we all know.

A/N: Thanks to my beta, Aliya.

Chapter 6

The rest of the Christmas holidays passed pleasantly but uneventfully for Ginny. She continued to do research for her History of Magic project, but didn't find anything interesting. All that she found was that, for hundreds of years, the Weasleys had been against all sorts of Dark Magic. There had even been one of two instances when some of her ancestors had disinherited their children who were into the Dark Arts. She wondered if that's what would happen to Percy for becoming a Death Eater.

Bill and Kiara had had to get back to Egypt two days after Christmas. Ginny had been sad to see them go, but was happy when she learned that Charlie was staying for the rest of their break. He had had left just last night after tucking his sister into bed for old times' sake.

This morning, however, they were going to board the Hogwarts Express to go back to school. Ginny was a little more nervous than she'd like to admit about seeing Draco again. Now that she knew what she did, she wasn't sure how to act toward him.

"Ginny, we have to go!" her mother shouted from the living room.

"Coming!" Ginny called back, grabbing her trunk and checking once more to make sure she had everything. At the last second, she grabbed a picture of her and Draco when they were little and ran downstairs.

When she arrived downstairs, her father took her trunk and put it next to Ron's in front of the fireplace. "Do you both have everything?" Arthur double-checked with his children.

They both nodded. "Alright let's go then."

Ron stepped into the fireplace first then Flooed to King's Cross Station. Soon after, Ginny, Molly, and Arthur, with the luggage, followed in suite. As Ron and Ginny said good-bye to their parents, Ginny spotted Draco out of the corner of her eye. Pulling away from her mother, she quickly boarded the Hogwarts Express before Draco spotted her. Ron rushed after her, not really understanding her haste.

Ginny found and empty compartment and pulled out a book to read. All she could hope was that she was left alone for the whole trip. She had a feeling that wasn't going to happen.

*~*~*~*

Draco woke up on the day he was to go back to Hogwarts, happy that he would be getting away from his dank, dark home. Being away from his mother wasn't all that bad either.

Draco quickly got ready to go to the train station. Once he was ready, he headed downstairs with his trunk. He looked around for his mother. "Mum!" he yelled. There was no reply. Shrugging, he wrote a quick note explaining that he couldn't find her, and that he had to leave in order to catch the train. He then put it on her bedroom door and headed to the fireplace. He dropped in some Floo powder into the flames and clearly stated, "King's Cross Station." he felt the familiar dizziness. It stopped after a few moments when he had arrived at his destination.

Draco stepped out of the fireplace and into the hustle and bustle of the train station. He made sure there were not Muggles in the direct vicinity and stepped onto Platform nine and three-quarters. The sight that greeted him was the crimson Hogwarts Express, puffing white smoke. He entered the train and found an empty compartment to sit in. He stashed his trunk and went exploring once the train had begun its journey towards Hogwarts.

Draco opened the door to one of the compartments and stepped in. There was a group of younger Hufflepuff students whom he didn't recognize. He opened the next compartment. This one contained one lone Gryffindor. Ginny Weasley. He wasn't quite sure what to say, and he even contemplated leaving until she looked up. He couldn't leave now, she would think he had gone nutters. "Nice cloak, Weasley. Did you have to steal it?" Draco sneered.

Ginny glared at him, but didn't respond. She usually had a clever insult to shoot back. What was wrong with her? He actually enjoyed sparring with her. She was so spirited.

"What's wrong, cat got your tongue?" he taunted. Still no response. "Do you mean to say that you did steal that cloak?"

"Of course I didn't," she snapped before turning back to her book. Sensing that she would ignore him if he said anything, he left her compartment. He then went back to his compartment and stared out the window. Why had he been so quick to insult her? He should have tried talking to her to see if she knew about their past. Shaking his head, Draco pulled a book out of his trunk and settled in for the long ride to Hogwarts.

*~*~*~*

When Draco had left her compartment, Ginny thought back to their conversation. It certainly didn't seem like he knew that they were once friends, but she could never be too sure.

For the rest of the train ride, Ginny was left alone. She read her book for part of the time. For the rest of the time, she merely stared out the window, thinking. When the train came to a stop, she grabbed her trunk and exited it. She then boarded one of the carriages that were waiting to take students to Hogwarts.

*~*~*~*

Days passed as Ginny got back into her school schedule. She had been tempted to approach Draco a few times, but had decided against it. What would be gained from telling him anyway? What did she expect would come from it? She knew they wouldn't be immediate friends, but if they were friends when they were little, they might still be friends if they gave it a chance. She knew all that, but she still chickened out every time she was going to talk to him.

Today, however, it was going to be different. Today, Ginny was going to talk to Draco. She wouldn't chicken out, and she wouldn't insult him. She would tell him what she knew and try to start a sort-of friendship. Before that, however, she had to get to History of Magic to present her project. Hers was so boring, and she had a feeling not many of her classmates' projects would be very interesting either. She was in for a boring History of Magic class, but it was always boring so that didn't change anything. It would probably be better than usual since her classmates wouldn't be as monotonous as Professor Binns. When she arrived in the classroom, she settled down for another boring class.

*~*~*~*

When the class was dismissed, Ginny headed toward the Great Hall for lunch. "That was almost worse than a regular class, wasn't it, Gin?" Colin groaned. They were back to being normal around each other.

"No kidding. You actually had to pay attention. Since Binns wasn't teaching, he made sure everyone was paying attention," Ginny agreed. She hesitated. She still hadn't told Colin about her findings over Christmas holidays. She wanted to tell him, but she never really saw an opportunity to tell him.

"Sickle for your thoughts," Colin said, breaking her out of her reverie. This was her chance.

"There's something I wanted to talk to you about. It's about something I found during the holidays," Ginny replied.

"What's up?" Colin asked, slightly concerned.

By this time, they had arrived at the Great Hall. They entered and sat down at the Gryffindor table. "Well, I was doing research, and I found a picture," she began. Then she told him everything she had learned. "So, in short, I used to be Draco Malfoy's best friend," she finished.

"Wow," Colin stated in shock. "That's pretty surprising."

"No kidding. I was pretty upset with my parents for not telling me," Ginny told him.

"I don't blame you," Colin replied. "So, what are you going to do about it? Anything?"

"I want to talk to him, just to see if he knows, and if he doesn't, I want to tell him. He deserves to know. Who knows, we might actually become friends," Ginny answered.

"Somehow I doubt it. You've been enemies for too long," Colin scoffed.

Ginny shrugged. "You never know," she reminded him.

"Why would you want to be friends with him anyway? All he'd ever been is nasty to you," Colin wanted to know.

"He was only nasty because he was supposed to hate me. I did the same thing. I don't really know him, the real him, all that well. All I ever see is his nasty facade, which I'm sure is just that, a facade," Ginny responded.

"If you insist," Colin said, clearly not convinced. "If you want to delude yourself, go right ahead."

"I'm not deluding myself. I honestly believe he's not really like that. Besides, if I was friends with him once, he can't be a bad person," Ginny countered.

"People change," Colin commented in response.

"Yes, but do they do an exact bout face?" Ginny shot back.

"Evidently they do," Colin muttered, more to himself than to Ginny. He didn't want to argue with her anymore. Neither one of them could prove they were right so they might as well end it.

Ginny took the hint and stayed silent. She finished her lunch and headed towards her next class, Charms. She took her seat in the classroom and waited for class to begin.

*~*~*~*

Draco had slowly gotten used to being back at school after the Christmas holidays. He had to say that it was bittersweet being back. He was glad to be away from the Manor, but he had needed that break. He was so busy these days. Between N.E.W.T. classes, homework, and being Quidditch Captain, he had no time to do anything else. He could see why some of the other students broke under the pressure. There was a lot of pressure to withstand, especially if you were like him and needed to get certain N.E.W.T.s to qualify for the job he wanted.

Being back at Hogwarts also meant that he saw Ginny everyday. He had almost talked to her a few times, but every time he backed out and insulted her instead. He wasn't sure, exactly, why he wanted to talk to her. Was it that he was curious if she knew about their past? Or was it that he hoped they could work towards what they'd had in the past? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure that he wanted to know the answer.

As Draco made his way to the Great Hall for dinner, Blaise confronted him. "Hey, Draco, have you heard the rumors going around?" he asked.

"Rumors?" Draco repeated curiously.

"Yeah. People are saying that there's a transfer student from Durmstrang who's going to be sorted tonight at dinner," Blaise answered.

"Really?" Draco inquired.

"Yeah. I don't know how much truth there is in these rumors but you never know they could be true. Since they're from Durmstrang, I bet they'll be in Slytherin," Blaise pointed out.

"Yeah, probably," Draco agreed. He wondered if the rumors were true. Who in their right mind would transfer from Durmstrang to Hogwarts?

*~*~*~*

Dumbledore made the announcement at dinner. "I have an announcement to make. Today, we are going to welcome a new student to Hogwarts. He had transferred here from Durmstrang for reasons he would rather not disclose. I would like you all to welcome Bryant Parkinson," Dumbledore finished as Bryant walked into the room.

Draco jaw dropped. Pansy's cousin was now going to Hogwarts? You have got to be kidding me, he thought. It was no joke, however. Professor McGonagall brought out the stool used in the Sorting Ceremony, along with the Sorting Hat. It was placed on Bryant's head. After a few seconds, it yelled, "SLYTHERIN!"

Draco sagged in defeat. He couldn't believe that he would have to put up with Bryant for the rest of the school year. He really didn't like that boy.

"Hey, Draco," Blaise said after the clapping had died down. "I guess the rumors were true. It's great, isn't it?"

"Oh, yeah, just wonderful," Draco replied sarcastically.

"You don't seem very happy about it," Blaise commented perceptively. "Why not?"

"I've met him, and I really don't like him," Draco snarled in response. "He's Pansy's cousin. He came to dinner at the Manor a few weeks ago."

"What's wrong with him?" Blaise asked curiously.

"I just don't like him," Draco answered with a shrug.

"Oh," was all Blaise said before turning back to his dinner.

Draco finished his dinner in silence, letting the others' conversations swirl around him. When he stood up to leave, he saw Bryant stand up also. Draco had no idea why Bryant would follow him, but he did know that he was being followed.

"Hello, Draco," Bryant called as he sidled up next to him.

"Bryant," Draco replied with a curt nod of his head.

"I have to admit, you had a point about the food, it is rather good," Bryant commented as they walked toward the dungeons.

"Why are you here?" Draco asked abruptly. Besides to ruin my life, he added mentally.

"Who's the necklace from?" Bryant retorted.

"What?" Draco sputtered.

"Who's the necklace you keep fingering from?" Bryant repeated. "I saw you fiddling with it all through dinner."

Draco's hands instinctively dropped the locket he hadn't realized he was holding. He hadn't even remember until then that he was wearing it. "One of my friends gave it to me a long time ago," Draco spat back. "Now, answer my question. Why are you here?"

"Voldemort led an attack on all the Durmstrang students without the Dark Mark over Christmas. It didn't seem very safe to go back, but Mum wasn't sure where to send me. She finally decided to send me here, despite my protests," Bryant replied before walking away.

Draco stopped for a minute. Durmstrang had been attacked? That certainly was a surprise.

*~*~*~*

As Ginny listened to Dumbledore's announcement, surprise began etching her face. In all of the years that her brothers and she had been at Hogwarts, there had never been a transfer student. It was a very rare occurrence, and Ginny was immediately curious and a little suspicious. Why would someone transfer from Durmstrang to Hogwarts?

Ginny clapped politely as the boy was sorted into Slytherin. He was nice-looking, but not overly handsome or anything. He had an aristocratic face, but that was the only thing vaguely special about him. Everything else was pretty average, light brown hair, brown eyes, slender, but muscular frame. There was nothing in his looks to suggest why he had to transfer, but she hadn't expected there to be.

"Hey, Colin, why do you think he transferred here?" Ginny asked curiously.

Colin shrugged. "I don't know. Maybe its because of Pansy," he answered.

"What does that have to do with anything?" Ginny wondered aloud.

"Well, they're cousins. I don't know," Colin replied.

Ginny hadn't known that, but she guessed it made sense. Now that she looked at them, she guessed they did kind of look alike. "That still doesn't explain why he transferred," Ginny pointed out.

"Maybe his parents wanted him near his family if Voldemort attacked," Colin explained.

Ginny raised her eyebrows skeptically. "Okay, maybe not. How should I know why he'd be here?"

"I just wanted to see what you thought," Ginny defended with a shrug. "I'm sure there will be millions of rumors by tomorrow anyway."

"You're right about that," Colin agreed.

News got around Hogwarts incredibly fast. No one ever knows who started most of the rumors, but they almost always accepted them as truth.

Once Ginny and Colin had finished their dinners, they headed back to the Gryffindor Common Room and played Exploding Snap for the rest of the evening.

*~*~*~*

The next morning, Ginny woke up with a start. Her alarm hadn't gone off! She was late for class. Once she'd jumped out of bed and saw a few of her dorm mates still sleeping, she realized that it was Saturday. They didn't have class today. Shaking her head at her stupidity, she climbed back into bed to get some more sleep.

After a few minutes of laying on her bed and tossing and turning, Ginny climbed out of bed once again. It was hopeless to try and sleep anymore. She made the decision that today she would talk to Draco. She had made that resolution as she was trying to fall back to sleep. She would walk right up to him and explain everything to him. After that, she wasn't sure what would happen, but she hoped Draco would give her something to work with.

Ginny got dressed and ready for the day. She then snuck out of her dormitory as not to wake up her roommates. When she arrived downstairs, she found Colin sitting on the couch, talking to a girl that Ginny know only by looks. She was a fourth year Gryffindor and a friend of Dennis.

"Hey, Colin," she greeted.

"Hey, Gin. What are you doing up?" he asked curiously.

"I woke up early and jumped out of bed because I thought I was late for class," Ginny admitted.

"Oh," Colin replied, biting back giggles. "By the way, this is Natalie McDonald. Natalie, this is Ginny Weasley."

"Hi," Ginny said.

"Hey," Natalie responded.

"Well, I think I'll head down to breakfast. See you," Ginny said before exiting the Common Room. She walked towards the Great Hall and sat down to breakfast.

*~*~*~*

Draco woke up on Saturday morning with the sunlight streaming in through the windows of the seventh year Slytherin dormitory. As he sat up and looked around, he saw that all of his roommates had already gotten up. He glanced at the clock and saw that he had almost missed lunch. He got dressed as quickly as he could and headed to the great Hall. He scanned the Slytherin table and sat down next to Blaise.

"Finally up, I see," Blaise commented.

"Yeah. I almost missed lunch," Draco replied. "I had to hurry down here."

"Is that why your hair isn't gelled back?" Blaise asked.

"What?" Draco asked, touching his head. Sure enough, no gel. "Bloody Hell, I forgot gel."

Blaise rolled his eyes. "It's really not that big a deal. Actually, I think it looks better like that anyway," he assured.

Draco glared at him. "What do you know?" he snapped.

"More than you," Blaise shot back.

This only caused Draco to glare harder. That's when Blaise decided that it would be best if he just shut up. He had experience the wrath of Draco before, and it wasn't very high on his to-do again list.

As Draco ate his lunch, he thought he felt someone's eyes on him, but every time he looked around, he didn't see anyone. He just amounted it to paranoia. For some reason, he always felt that his father was going to appear out of thin air one day. He knew it was unfounded and highly unlikely, but he couldn't help it. The thought always sent fear coursing through his veins.

Draco turned back to his lunch. He felt the eyes on him once again. As he raised his eyes, they collided with the chocolate brown gaze of Ginny Weasley. Why is she staring at me? Draco wondered. Did she know? He didn't know, and he wasn't sure he wanted to know. He quickly finished his lunch and stood up to leave the Great Hall. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Ginny stand up to follow him out. What did she want?

*~*~*~*

As soon as she saw Draco stand up at the Slytherin table, Ginny stood up also. She followed at a distance until they were outside the Great Hall. He began to walk away, but she stopped him. "Draco, wait," she called.

He turned around slowly, a smirk on his face, and Ginny couldn't help but notice how much better his hair looked without any gel in it. "Did you just call me Draco, Weasley?" Draco drawled mockingly.

"Yes, I did, and I have something to tell you," Ginny announced. "If you'll just listen to me."

"What is it?" Draco snapped. He had a feeling about what she was going to say, and he wasn't sure how to respond.

"Well, this may come as a shock to you, but we used to be friends when we were little," she blurted.

"I know," Draco answered a little colder than he had intended to.

"Oh," Ginny faltered. There went any hope of them ever being friends. He had already known and hadn't done anything.

When Draco saw her disappointed face, he continued, "I wanted to tell you, but never had a real chance. I just found out over Christmas holidays." He actually sounded nice. He would have to work on that.
"Really?" she asked, her voice hopeful.

"Really," he replied. He may not like it, but it was true.

There was an awkward pause. "So, I guess I'll see you around," Ginny said after a few minutes.

"Yeah, see you," Draco responded. They both went their separate ways. Neither knew what would come in the future, but they both had feelings that it would be good.

A/N: Thanks for reading and don't forget to review.

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