Ginny whipped her head around at the loud crashing noise from the back of the garden. She muttered a choice profanity as the tips of her fiery red hair flicked her in the face. Someone was muddled in a heap on the long blades of grass no one seemed to get around to cutting. She strode the few paces between her and the mass of robes. The blond hair poking out at odd angles was unmistakable. "Malfoy?" Ginny yelped incredulously. What would the pureblood git be doing at the Burrow?

"Bloody hell," Draco managed, spitting grass out of his mouth.

"Had a little trouble Apparating, Malfoy?" Ginny goaded, a smile playing on her lips, fire burning in her hazel eyes. But she had the decency to help him up, as he seemed to have no implication to do so on his own. "You see what I did there?" Ginny jeered. "It's called courtesy. Most people have achieved it by age four."

Draco merely grimaced and run his fingers through his hair. "Don't touch me, Weasley."

Ginny raised an eyebrow at his arrogance. "Fine, Malfoy. I'll remember that next time you crash right outside my house. Which reminds me, what in the name of Merlin are you doing here?" Ginny added with contempt.

"It's none of your business," Draco chided. She lives here? he thought, looking up at the towering, mismatched jumble of a house.

"Well, since you're at my house, I do believe it is," Ginny reproached a sarcastic smile on her face. Draco noticed the dimples on each of her cheeks.

"Never thought I'd live to see the Weasley dump. Do you all sleep in the same room, then?" Draco retaliated. He was trying desperately to remind himself that even though she had a pretty, freckle sprinkled face, she was still a blood traitor.

"Never thought I'd live to see a Malfoy at my house. Which brings us back to... why the bloody hell are you here?"

Draco looked away for a moment, mulling things over in his head. He sighed, and smacked himself in his head for what he was about to ask. "Listen, Weasley, do you think I could just spend the night? I... I'm tired of the way things are going, ever since my mother and father went to Azkaban, so I just... left."

Ginny bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Do you- Are you serious?" she said with a laugh. How dense was this bloke?

"Wha- What? Yes I'm serious!" he retorted, trying to maintain some dignity. "Why else would I ask?"

"Okay, tell me this, why the Weasley house?" Ginny posed.

"I didn't know it was your filthy blood traitor house. I wouldn't have come if I did. I Apparated to someplace far away from my home, which just happened to be the hill over there," he motioned toward it with a fluid motion of his hand, "and this was the first building I saw. Not that you could really call it a building, it looks like it's about to fall over."

"Let me get this straight. You insulted my family and my house, and you expect me to let you stay here?!" Ginny was baffled. Just how did his brain work? Unless it didn't work at all, yes, that definitely seemed more likely to her.

"Just- Ginny, please? Can I just sleep on the floor or something?" Draco pleaded. Imagine him sleeping on the floor! Ha! He must be desperate...Wait a minute, did he just call me Ginny? She couldn't help but wonder why he'd chosen to say once he saw who lived at the house.

"Well... okay, just this night. We'll have to sneak in and you can sleep on the floor of my room. But we can't let my mum catch us, ever, you got that?"

"And you can't tell anyone," Draco added.

"Not like I would want to, Malfoy."

"Then let's go, Ginny. It's already dark." Ginny looked away from Draco and saw that it had gotten darker in just the past few minutes.

"Alright, Malfoy, be very quiet for a moment..." Ginny whispered as they neared the door. "I'm gonna go in first and see if anyone's in the kitchen, you wait here."

"Ginny, can't I just Apparate into your room?" Draco murmured.

"Yes, but where's the fun in that?" she hissed with a grin. Draco rolled his eyes, unwillingly attracted to her free spirit. "But let's do it your way, it should be safer."

Draco gently grabbed her elbow, turned, and soon enough they were in Ginny's slightly messy room. Her face leaked with red as she saw the pile of clothes on the ground, the reams of parchment scattered on her desk. She immediately started putting things away. Draco pressed his lips tight as he tried not to laugh at her franticness. "Ginny, you can stop now."

Ginny sighed and flopped down on her bed. "Catch!" she shout-whispered as she threw him a pillow. He had been staring at the posters on her walls, and just barely caught it. Ginny giggled and went into her closet to look for a blanket he could use. "Aha!" she called in a teasing voice. "Perrrfect." She tossed him a flowery old quilt with a rather large hole at the bottom.

"Yeah... perfect," Draco managed, knowing she gave him the oldest blanket on purpose. Ginny watched contentedly as he laid out the blanket on the floor, on the side of her bed invisible from the door. "So have you had dinner yet?" he asked, his empty stomach purring at the thought of food.

"Yup," Ginny baited, a happy grin on her face. Draco cursed in his head. "You know, I've never done Side-Along Apparition before."

"Brilliant, brilliant... so do you think you could get me some food?" Draco muttered.

"Nope. Definitely not an option," she teased. Draco scowled. Ginny laughed and made her way to the door. Draco looked around her room some more while she was gone. He pulled open a dresser drawer, surprised to find her lingerie. He blushed, and quickly closed the drawer. The image of her lace panties was imprinted in his mind as he went and lay down on her bed. It smelled like her; flowery, but with some sort of spice mixed in. Ginny walked in holding a bowl of stew.

He ate his stew quickly, though it burned his tongue a bit. She sat next to him and watched, looking rather antsy. He finished and set the bowl on her bedside table. They sat silently, staring at each other. Ginny slowly leaned in, and their lips brushed, meeting for the first time. They kissed again, a mysterious kiss full of potential. Draco's arms were around her waist, Ginny's around his neck. Their eyes lingered on each other before quickly turning away.

--

Draco couldn't fall asleep; he was too fascinated watching Ginny breathe, her eyes closed tight, her mouth in a... smile? Was she really smiling in her sleep? Did she really kiss him before? And why did he have this feeling that he wanted her to do it again? How could Draco feel so happy? His parents were in Azkaban! That's why he'd come here (or, rather, he'd gone anywhere). It didn't feel right for him to be here, he finally thought. He was just going to have to leave. He tossed the rag of a quilt to the side and stood up. He'd just go back home. He had the house elf, Mimi, to take care of him. But as he started to make his way to the door, the creaking from the floor stopped him midstep. How was he going to make it all the way down stairs without waking anyone up? He could just Apparate, but the crack would wake Ginny.... Warring with himself, he finally decided to go back to his spot on the floor.

--

Ginny awoke that morning to find Draco sitting on the edge of her bed, watching her.

"Bloody hell," she yawned. She rubbed one eye and sat up. "That wasn't a dream?"

"'Morning," Draco muttered, smiling. Ginny smiled back, still partially asleep. He kissed her on the lips, and she kissed back. "Bye, Ginny," he breathed in her ear.

"You're leaving?" Ginny was fully awake now.

"Of course. I'm just going to go back home... it doesn't feel right being here."

"Oh. Will you write to me once I'm at school?" There was a soft look in her eyes, like she really meant it.

"What? You want me to write you?" He was baffled.

"Please?" Ginny begged. She wanted to get to know this Mal- Draco, the soft Draco.