CHAPTER THREE

The next day, Ginny woke up, disorientated and confused by her unfamiliar surroundings. This room was too big to be her room back in The Burrow, and the room she had had at Harry's had a single bed, not a double. Casting her eye warily around the room, she spotted an old photo of a younger Blaise waving and winking cheekily at the camera.

Oh. She recalled, relaxing at the thought that she was in Blaise's flat. No wait, she corrected herself, Blaise and Draco's flat. Ginny grimaced, remembering the way she had humiliated herself in front of Draco by completely losing her head at the insult he had thrown her way last night.

She looked around for a bathroom. If she was going to apologise to Malfoy, she might as well look presentable. There really was no point in giving him more opportunities to insult her; with her wand so readily by her side she didn't know if she could restrain herself to just a heated exchange this time, and she wasn't warming up to the thought of having to live with someone with a bedpost for a head.

At least that'll shut him up, she giggled to herself.

Half an hour later, Ginny emerged from the bathroom, humming softly to herself while drying her hair. Throwing on a pair of faded jeans and dark green t-shirt, she sighed heavily, and walked out of her bedroom like a convict walking to the gallows.

Ginny heaved a sigh of relief when she saw Blaise reading the Daily Prophet at the kitchen table – alone.

"Has he come down with something? Perhaps he needs to stay in bed for the rest of the day? Or maybe even the rest of the week?" she asked hopefully.

Blaise chuckled and set aside the newspaper, shaking his head, "No such luck. That guy hardly ever gets ill."

A door opened and Ginny and Blaise both turned their heads at the sound. Draco walked out casually scratching his head, further mussing up his white-blond hair, and not noticing he was just in his boxers.

Blaise amusedly cleared his throat. "Attractive as you may be in all your half-naked glory, we do have a lady living with us now, and while she may secretly be enjoying the view... Let's leave some to the imaginati- Ouch!"

Ginny had elbowed Blaise in mid-speech and he was now rubbing his side, glaring at her offending elbow.

"You really should stop doing that."

"Doing what?" Ginny asked innocently, a smile playing on her lips as she sipped from her teacup.

Draco narrowed his eyes and turned to go back into his bedroom, emerging five minutes later with an old t-shirt and a pair of pyjama bottoms on. He stretched out his arms and turned slowly on the spot.

"Happy?"

"Mm… Ecstatic," Blaise replied dryly, without lifting his head up from the Daily Prophet.

Ginny had gone back to biting her lip and was suddenly very absorbed in her teacup.

Fight or flight, Ginny… Although I suppose it was the fight option that had led to this situation in the first place… So maybe this doesn't really apply now… And it's not really fighting, is it? No punches or slaps or anything... It's probably more like facing-the-consequences or flight…

Fantastic. I'm rambling. To myself. In my head. Maybe I could plead insanity.

Sneering, Draco took a seat across Ginny at the round table and reached for a piece of toast, paying no attention to her.

Ginny looked up and said, unnaturally cheerfully, "Morning, Malfoy." Fight it is then.

The sound of his knife scraping the surface of the piece of toast stopped momentarily, and Ginny was about to celebrate silently when Draco resumed buttering his toast as if nothing had happened.

You can't ignore me forever, Malfoy. Ginny chirped up again, "Coffee, Malfoy?"

Draco raised an eyebrow and glanced at Blaise. Blaise had his eyes fixed resolutely to the newspaper in front of him, but there was no denying the slight smirk on his face.

He awkwardly cleared his throat. "Er... Yes. ...Thanks."

Blaise's smirk grew wider behind his newspaper at hearing Draco thank Ginny. Either Draco was still half-asleep and didn't realise his slip, or he had actually listened to Blaise last night and was trying to act civil.

Ginny's chipper tone now faltered. "Erm, Malfoy. I just wanted to... apologise... for what I had said last night. I admit I overreacted and... I'm sorry."

Instinctively, Draco snorted. "You think?" He then gasped in pain as Blaise 'accidentally' stepped on his foot – hard.

Blaise widened his eyes and had a look of mock surprise came over his face. "Oh, was that your foot?"

Glowering, Draco hissed a "yes" before gritting out to Ginny, "Apology accepted."

Ginny's eyes had been flying back and forth at the exchange between the two Slytherins and they snapped back to Draco now.

"Oh! Oh that's... That's great!" she said, visibly relieved.

Setting down his newspaper, Blaise surveyed the scene from behind his coffee cup. Draco appeared disgruntled, and was attacking his breakfast like it had been the one that had trodden on his foot. Ginny was still perched on the edge of her chair, apparently still bothered by something. Blaise mimicked turning a door handle and Ginny nodded slightly.

He grinned and leant forward with anticipation. I don't think Draco has had enough fun yet.

"Erm... One more thing, Malfoy," she began, "About the door handle-"

"Actually, I think Draco would be more than happy to take care of that for you. He's always complaining about what a mess the roof is in so it'll be like killing two birds with one stone. No trouble at all, right Draco?" Blaise cut in smoothly; hardly flinching at the dangerous look Draco was giving him.

This was definitely the time for Blaise to get that pounding, Draco thought, picturing a very, very hurt Blaise writhing on the ground. Now that would be no trouble at all.

There was a pause as Ginny looked apprehensively at Draco. "It's quite all right, really. I can fix the door handle myself. And all the other stuff I broke too."

"No. I'll do it. No trouble at all," Draco mumbled reluctantly, his stormy grey eyes catching Ginny's light brown ones for a second before turning back to glare at Blaise.

Blaise smirked before leaning back in his chair. "Right then, now that that's settled, where are we off to this lovely day?"

. . . . . . . . . .

"You really didn't have to come, you know." Ginny said as Blaise yawned for the second time.

He had been shocked when he heard that Ginny was willingly going to work on a weekend and had insisted on accompanying her. Draco had, not surprisingly, refused to tag along. Now they were in a large glittering shop in Diagon Alley, filled from floor to ceiling with spacious cages and tanks containing hundreds of magical creatures, some of which Blaise had never even heard of before.

"Ah yes, well I figured having an insanely attractive man to talk to was better than talking to all these animals." Blaise flashed her his most charming smile after turning away in disgust at a hairy Porlock – a horse guardian.

"An insanely attractive man? Where?" Ginny made a show of looking everywhere but Blaise, and even peered into a cage of squeaking Puffskeins.

Blaise pretended to look hurt. "I'm insulted! After all that we've been through, Red!" He cried theatrically, clutching his chest and staggering back. "I bared my soul to you! I even told you I loved you! And this is how you repay me? My heart is broken. Never again will I love!"

Ginny tried to speak but was overcome with a fit of giggles that she could only gasp and point in Blaise's direction.

"No, don't speak! It's... it's too late. I have found another!" He proclaimed passionately as he took another step back.

Blaise dramatically turned his head away from Ginny only to give a horrified yell and leapt back in fright at the large furry face that was pressed up against the glass, a second ago only an inch away from his face.

Ginny gave a scream of laughter and collapsed behind the counter, tears streaming down her face.

"Oh, don't stop now!" said a familiar voice.

"Just as it was getting fun," agreed an equally familiar voice.

"Twenty Galleons to see that smashing performance again!"

"Thirty to see Ginny fall on her arse again!"

"But the look on Zabini's face..."

"Priceless!"

Both voices seemed to blend into one as they both erupted into loud guffaws.

"Fred? George?" Ginny poked her head out to see two identically freckly redheads leaning on either side of the doorway, a wicked twinkle in their dark brown eyes. "Fred! George!" She shrieked as she ran into their open arms. "I've missed you!"

"It hasn't been that long since we last met, Gin!" Fred said, messing up her hair.

"Only a month," George remarked.

"Maybe a week," Fred mused.

"Yesterday," George grinned, messing up her hair just as she had finished patting it down again.

Ginny beamed happily back. So much had happened within the space of one day that she felt like she had been away from her family for ages. She broke away from the hug as she heard Blaise clearing his throat.

She hurried to him and offered a hand. "Oh Blaise, I tried to warn you!" She laughed as he tugged at her hand playfully before hoisting himself up.

He dusted himself off and grinned good-naturedly at the Weasley twins, nodding an acknowledgement, before looking carefully at the furry head that was sticking out of a large mound of dirt behind the glass.

"Uh... Ginny? What is this thing?" He asked, taking a tentative step closer to the furry thing.

"Your new lover apparently, Zabini," Fred quipped as Ginny started laughing again. Blaise scowled at the Weasley twin before turning back to the glass enclosure.

George peered over one shoulder. "That there is a Jarvey. Looks a bit like an overgrown ferret, doesn't it?"

Fred appeared over Blaise's other shoulder. "That it does, George. Sounds a bit like the ferret too, if you know what I mean."

"They're just being silly. Jarveys are able to talk, and are slightly mischievous as they come out with really rude phrases and the like," Ginny explained.

"How does that sound like… Oh." Blaise smirked as he finally saw the connection.

"Anyway, how about we all go down to the Three Broomsticks and our dear little sister can tell us why this Slytherin is proclaiming his love for her?" George said briskly, gesturing towards the door.

"Not to her, mate, " Fred said seriously as they were walking out. He furtively glanced around before saying in a stage whisper, "To the Jarvey!" as they all cracked up again.

. . . . . . . . . .

Ginny sat by her window, staring at the apartment blocks opposite. One of the square windows of light in the flat opposite went out. There's another one out for the count, she thought.

Without warning, an image of Malfoy flashed in her mind. Is he up on the roof, alone again? She wondered. She quietly picked up her dressing gown and creaked open her door gently; the rest of the flat was dark and shadowy. Outside the flat, a dim light flickered weakly above her head.

Instinctively, she made her way to the stairs that led to the roof. At the foot of the steps, she paused, wondering if Malfoy would be furious to see her again. Then, as her brother's words came floating back to her, she climbed the stairs with increasing resolve until she could feel a faint wind blowing through the mesh net of the door. Ginny noted that the door handle had been fixed.

She meekly pushed the door open, and saw, as she expected, a lone figure sitting on the low ledge, white-blond hair blowing in the breeze. Draco looked up, surprised to see Ginny standing by the door again, but this time without a broken door handle in her hand.

"Wha-" He started to say, but was cut off by Ginny's raised hand.

She plonked herself down on the opposite end of the ledge. "Here. At this distance, I can't possibly be bothering you." Ginny quirked a small smile and turned away. Draco continued to gape at Ginny. After a while, he shifted his eye to a fixed point on the street below and soon forgot that she was there altogether. After five minutes of blessed silence, she piped up again. "So, why do you come up here all the time?"

Draco rolled his eyes. So much for not bothering me.

"I'd rather not say, Weasley. Stop asking me questions that you have no business in knowing. Now, either sit there and be silent like the good little weasel you are, or leave me alone." He said in a cold, even voice. Draco had expected her to become enraged again and leave. To his surprise, she just glared at him, but fell silent. Unknown to him, his curt reply had sparked Ginny's interest. It wasn't that she cared – why would she care about Malfoy's sleeping habits? It was just pure curiosity that led her to question what would cause a Malfoy to lose sleep. The time passed quickly and he eventually heard a rustling as she got up to go back to bed without another word. He was left alone with nothing else but his own thoughts.

. . . . . . . . . .

Most nights passed like this. He would be sitting by himself, usually on the far side of the ledge, when he would hear the stairs creak and know that Ginny was on her way up. She would sit at the other end of the ledge and a peaceful silence would fall until one of them, usually Ginny first, would leave.

A week had passed since that day she had first stayed and sat with him.

Draco looked up to see Ginny at her end of the ledge, knees drawn up to her chest, thin dressing gown pulled over her shoulders, eyes staring darkly out at the glittering city.

Her body was no longer tense, the way it was when she had first thought she was going to have to fight a resisting Malfoy. Her red hair hung over one shoulder in a messy braid as she rested her chin on her upraised knee. She looked peaceful. And sleepy. Then she looked up and Draco stiffened, having being caught staring. The corners of her mouth lifted slightly and she nodded, getting up to go.

"Weasley, wait."

Ginny stopped and slowly turned, an inquisitive look etched on her face as she saw Draco standing up.

"Why do you come up here?" He asked bluntly.

He hesitated and continued. "It's just too tempting to rid myself of you and push your bothersome self over the ledge when you're not looking. Then the world would be one Weasley less, and a happier place." He finished, a bit too harshly, as if making up for his un-Malfoy-like behaviour.

Draco ran his hand through his hair. He didn't mean it of course. He just didn't want her thinking that he cared. He had noticed that she looked dead tired half the time she came up and knew that, unlike him, she wasn't there to think. He just wanted to know why she came up, why she had stayed.

Ginny stood looking thoughtfully at him for a moment.

. . . . . . . . . .

Last week at the Three Broomsticks…

"...and he says to me the next day, he says, 'Great Merlin boy! How fast does your hair grow!'" Fred slapped the table as he delivered the punch line of his story. Ginny and Blaise were howling with laughter and George was wiping away tears of mirth.

"He never gets tired of telling that one!" George managed to stop laughing for long enough to say.

The quartet had been at a small table at the back of the Three Broomsticks, bonding over the same cheeky sense of humour they all shared. Ginny was pleased that her brothers had taken the news of her moving in with two Slytherin guys so well; she knew that Ron would've had a fit had he just known of her close friendship with Blaise.

"Oh that was a good story, Fred!" Ginny said appreciatively. "I just wish I could stay longer, but I have to be getting back to the shop. Trust you guys to come and steal me away when I specifically told you that I wanted to be left alone." She pouted in mock annoyance.

"Ah poor simple-minded Ginny," Fred sighed.

"Nobody really wants to be alone..." George waggled his finger at her.

"Despite what they say," Fred winked.

. . . . . . . . . .

"Weasley?" Draco asked quietly, "I was just wondering why." He had confused himself, realising that he was actually concerned that he may have offended her.

Ginny tossed her thick braid across her shoulder and turned to walk down the steps. "Nobody should really be alone, Malfoy. Not even you," Ginny said softly over her shoulder.

Draco was left standing there, the wind whipping blond strands into his face, rendered speechless for once.

Author's note: This was my very first attempt at fanfiction, but I had never gotten the nerve to publish it here. After publishing my second story, The One Who Was Always There, and seeing the positive reviews it got, I decided to add this story to the collection. The story will end here as I just wanted to give one of my versions of how "Draco/Ginny" first began. Hope you will like it!