The next day Ginny couldn't wipe the smile on her face as she sat with Hermione eating breakfast. For once, everything was perfect. She was dating Draco –officially, she was on top of all her homework, and there was a Hogsmeade trip coming up, nothing could bring her down.

"Any news?" Harry asked, as he slipped into the bench beside Hermione and peered over her shoulder to look at the prophet.

"Just another report of suspicious death eater behaviour in Whiltshire," she sighed, handing off the paper to him without finishing.

"That's the second time the prophet mentioned Whiltshire," Ginny said, speaking up as she regarded the pair.

"So?" Ron asked through a mouthful of eggs.

"It's odd," Ginny commented, trying to remember where she had heard the place before.

"Well they did say suspicious death eater behaviour," Ron joked taking a swing of pumpkin juice.

"What're you thinking?" Hermione asked, looking over at her as she added sugar to Harry's coffee.

"It just sounds familiar," Ginny replied, biting into her toast in thought.

"Maybe you heard your new death eater Slytherin friends mentioning it," Harry responded coldly not looking up from the prophet.

Ginny opened her mouth to reply, but saw Hermione shake her head, and decided against it.

Ginny went through her morning classes, and still couldn't place why Whiltshire seemed so familiar.

It wasn't until Defence Against the Dark Arts, when she remembered something Blaise mentioned to Draco in class one day.

'Mate looks like I can come to Whiltshire for the holiday after all,'

"Draco?" Ginny whispered over Snape's monotone lecture.

"Hmm?" he responded trying not to draw Snape's attention towards them.

"What's in Whiltshire?" Ginny asked, doodling on the edge of her parchment with her quill.

"It's where I grew up," he responded.

When Ginny didn't respond Draco turned and looked as her a light smile on his face.

"It's where Malfoy Manor is," he clarified.

Ginny's heart sank.

'Maybe you heard your new death eater Slytherin friends mentioning it,'

Ginny was sitting cross-legged in the middle of Draco's bed after class working on the essay Snape had assigned at the end of his class. She was staring down at the parchment with a small frown as she bite her bottom lip, and ran the grey feathered end of her quill back and forth under her chin in thought.

"You know I can help you," Draco said from across the room at his desk as he watched Ginny struggling with her essay.

Ginny looked up and gave him a death glare that clearly told him no. She wanted to work on this by herself. Draco shrugged his shoulders and turned back to his transfiguration homework for the night.

After an hour Ginny sighed and closed her book pushing her homework away from her.

"Done?" Draco grinned, hoping this meant they could spend their free time making out rather than working on homework.

"Yes, but I'm meeting Hermione to practice for Charms," she grinned apologetically.

"You mean you made me waste my free time with you doing homework?" Draco groaned.

"Well did you finish it?" Ginny asked.

Draco looked down at the homework spread out in front of him on his desk, instead of the Transfiguration essay he was supposed to be writing there were number 3's scrawled all across his parchment.

"Yea, all done," Draco smiled, shoving the papers in his book.

"Well I should go meet Hermione," Ginny said, stretching before she climbed off the bed.

"I think you're forgetting something," Draco grinned, crossing the room and pulling her close to kiss her.

"That reminds me," Ginny grinned when they pulled away. "There's a Hogsmeade trip this weekend, did you want to go?"

"Yeah, in 3 days," Draco sighed, "Sure," he added grinning, kissing her once more before they walked into the small common room

Draco and Ginny walked into the common room in search of Hermione, and stopped at the sight of a furious Hermione and a smug looking Blaise.

Hermione stood looking at Blaise with her arms crossed, and her normally bushy brown hair twice its normal size.

"Well that's hardly my fault now is it," Hermione said.

"Trust me darling, I wouldn't be here if it wasn't," Blaise said with a smirk.

"I really can't handle this, or you right now," Hermione snapped, as she turned and saw both Draco and Ginny standing there staring at them.

"Good Ginny, ready to go?" Hermione asked as both her face and posture relaxed a little.

"Yeah, let's go," Ginny said throwing a confused look at Draco.

Hermione and Ginny both left through the portrait hole leaving Draco and Blaise alone.

"What was that about mate?" Draco said as he walked over to sit in a chair by the fire.

"I'm really not sure it's hard to tell with girls," Blaise said with a sigh as he sat down in an armchair across from Draco.

Draco raised his eyebrows, but said nothing.

"So three more days mate, do you know what you're going to do?" Blaise asked.

"My father is meeting me in Hogsmeade in three days to tell me I'm taking the mark, what do you think I'm doing," Draco responded defeated.

"What about Ginny?" Blaise asked.

Draco didn't say anything, both he and Blaise had been friends since they were little, the only person who knew Draco better than Blaise was his mother. Both his mother and Blaise knew that he didn't want to take the mark. But Draco much like Blaise was taking it because of his mother. Whereas Draco hated his father, Blaise never really had one. His mother constantly remarried, adding their already large fortune in Gringotts each time. For a long time the two boys had no one to protect but their mothers. But now, Ginny was in the picture, and Blaise had every right to ask that question.

"I really don't know," Draco sighed.

He never had to think about the effect all of this would have on Ginny, because he never really imagined he would ever be with Ginny.

"Why don't you just tell her?" Blaise said, making it seem like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

"Why? So that she can hate me?" Draco asked looking at Blaise with disgust.

"Well she'll hate you if you don't tell her," Blaise replied. "Explain it to her, make her understand why you have to do it," Blaise added.

"So I can ruin her life by making her worry about me constantly?" Draco sighed, standing up and pacing.

"Well then what are you going to do?" Blaise asked.

"I don't know, I could always break up with her? As much as it would kill me it would be better for her thinking I just don't want her, it would be safer," Draco added.

"Do you really think that would be better?" Blaise asked frustrated, had his friend learnt nothing from his scheming.

"Yeah, I can say hey Ginny I never loved you it was all a joke," Draco said laughing, even though it was far from funny. He just didn't know what to do.

"Bad time?" came a voice from behind the two boys, and they both whipped around to see Hermione and Ginny standing at the portrait hole.

Hermione was the one that spoke to get their attention and she stepped in front of Ginny almost as if she could block out what Draco had just said.

"Ginny forgot her wand," Hermione spoke, looking from Draco to Blaise and back again.

"Oh," Draco responded lamely, as he looked at Ginny, her expression blank.

"Well whatever you do mate, think of it quick," Blaise uttered, as he stood up from the chair. "I was right about the games before, I'm right about this," he whispered, giving Draco a reassuring pat on the back "Come on Granger, I need your help scratching an itch," he added winking as Hermione followed him out of the portrait hole.

Both Draco and Ginny stood across from each other, before Ginny crossed the room taking a seat on the couch.

Ginny looked up at him with her large brown eyes, and he couldn't do it. He couldn't break the heart of someone who would always have his. Blaise was right, he wouldn't be able to live with himself if he knew he hurt her.

Draco sat down beside her, and taking her hand in his, he started from the beginning.

He told her just how scared he was, how he was trying to hold it together, how worried he was. How he always knew he would join the death eaters since that day he walked in on his father.

"It's funny I used to want to be just like him," Draco spat. "Now it's coming true, and I'd wish for any other fate," he finished.

"Run away," Ginny said, squeezing his hand. "You're still in Hogwarts, you're not even of age!" Ginny protested.

"That doesn't matter to Voldemort, it never has," Draco sighed, pulling away and running his hand through his hair.

"But if he can't find you-"

"Then he'd kill my mother,"

"We'll figure something out Draco," Ginny said, reaching out for him and pulling him close.

And just like that, her lips were on his, and his hands were in her hair, and it was easy for them both to forget that in just three days Draco would receive the worst thing that could happen to him, and have to act like it was the best thing that ever happened to him.

In just three days…

In just two days…

Finally the day Draco had found so easy to push aside when Ginny was around, had arrived.

If Draco and Ginny would have had it their way they never would have left each other's side. But seeing as Hermione was head Girl she wouldn't let Ginny spend the night in Draco's bed even if she and Draco did nothing. So instead, Ginny slept on the couch, refusing to be apart from Draco for what little freedom he had left.

When Draco was dressed he slipped out into the common room expecting to find Ginny on the couch. But instead found Hermione and Harry arguing.

"You don't even see what you're turning her into!" Harry yelled, making Hermione cringe.

"No, you don't understand Harry. You can't play the hero when no one needs saving!" Hermione yelled back tears in her eyes.

"How can you say that?! Ron and I have been your best friends for a long time. And you repay him by letting his little sister turn into a scarlet woman!" Harry yelled.

Draco froze in his spot, as if Potter thought he knew anything about Ginny.

"Best friends?" Hermione asked slowly. "What Ginny does with Draco is none of your business, and the only one who has anything bad to say about her and Draco are you and Ron. Everyone else put their differences aside," Hermione said turning away. She stopped and turned back to face him, her face perfectly blank. "And it's good to know that the last month only meant we were best friends.I guess you snog Ron too then," Hermione added, as she turned to leave.

"I didn't just mean Draco, I saw her and Blaise sneaking off this morning on my way to see you," Harry responded, and then stopped realising what Hermione had just said. His face crumbled slowly as he took a step towards her and reached out to her. "Hermione, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that," He apologized.

But Hermione kept walking and stopped when she saw Draco standing there.

"What do you mean saw her sneaking out with Blaise?" Draco asked slowly, turning to Hermione for an explanation.

Hermione unlike Harry, had the decency to look embarrassed and mumbled something that made Harry snort.

"Why? What's wrong Malfoy, upset that your friend is using your play toy during your time slot? Weren't through with her yet?" Harry said smirking.

"Shut up Potter!" Draco retorted, pulling out his wand. "Are you really stupider than you look?"

"She figured you'd want to meet with your father alone," Hermione cut in, trying to stop a duel from occurring in the small common room. "She told me to tell you that she and Blaise would meet you later," Hermione added, looking at the ground.

Draco nodded and walked out through the portrait hole, his good mood disappearing, as he left Hermione and Harry to work out their problems.

Draco walked to the three broom sticks alone, and got a lot of suspicious looks from passersby. Probably gossipers that we're going off to tell all of Hogwarts that Draco Malfoy and Ginny Weasley had broken up. Had they? Draco wondered.

He and Ginny had already decided that they would walk to Hogsmeade together. And then he would come get her when he was done with his father. But Harry's words kept coming back to him.

'her and Blaise sneaking off this morning'

Draco pushed the thought from his mind. He loved Ginny, and Blaise was his best mate.

Draco nodded to Madam Rosmerta, as he passed her and continued into one of the private rooms at the back. Draco knocked once and then entered. He stopped when he saw his father sitting at the table. But he didn't stop because his father was already present. He had stopped with shock at the two people who were sitting with him.

Blaise gave Draco a look that said he really had no clue what was going on, he was just along for the ride.

However, it wasn't Blaise that Draco was focusing on. It was Ginny.

"Hello Draco," Lucius said as he gestured to the seat across from him.

Draco slowly walked across the room and sat down looking at Ginny, with masked confusion.

Ginny smirked as if she knew exactly what was going through his mind.

"Now Draco, I'm disappointed in you. From what I heard from Blaise, and young Ginevra, you've been holding back on me. I'm sure your mother and I would have loved to meet your girlfriend," He said smiling coldly.

Draco said nothing just sat in his chair in confusion, he really had no idea what was going on. He did know however that the pleasantries that he was putting on were for the benefit of Blaise and Ginny. That there was no way his father would love it if he brought home Ginny Weasley. His father was never shy about telling anyone how he felt about the Weasley family.

"Well since you seemed to have forgotten how to speak dear boy, I should tell you the excellent news. You've been invited to receive the dark mark," Lucius paused taking in Draco's small smile. "And Ginny, has asked to take it with you," Lucius said smirking more broadly.

Thank you for all the lovely reviews, for whatever reason fanfiction isn't letting me upload another chapter, so I've had to create a sequel.

The sequel Golden Threads and Silver Needles is up on my page now! so be sure to check it out! :)