"Weasley!"
Ginny had zoned out once again during one of Snape's potions classes. "Y-y-es Professor." She stammered, dropping her quill so that it made a blotch on her notebook.
"What was more important this time?" Snape was breathing down her neck, which made her uncomfortable. "Were you too busy day dreaming about pretty flowers and butterflies to realize that your partner here has been doing all the work?"
"But sir..." The girl sitting next to Ginny tried to help her, but was cut short.
"You've done enough. Let the Weasley girl do something for a change." Snape walked back to his desk, but watched Ginny from there.
"I don't get it." Ginny said to her partner. "Why does he always pick on me?"
"Maybe he just doesn't like your family... not to be rude." She handed Ginny some wormwood to add to their mix. "I mean, I know your brothers get it from him too, my sister has seen it."
"You got a point there." Ginny stirred their caldron. "But that doesn't make it fair. The Slytherins never get any crud from him!"

Uh huh, life's like this
Uh huh, uh huh, that's the way it is
Cause life's like this
Uh huh, uh huh that's the way it is

"I'd whisper if I was you." Her friend advised. "Snape's still watching. Any way he favors them... duh!"
Ginny didn't look up to see if she was right. She knew Snape was still watching her, she also knew he couldn't read lips too well. "I know, but they, the Slytherins, can be pretty ignorant too."
"Do you know one? Personally?"
"No." Ginny was telling the truth, for the moment.

Ginny walked to her next class alone. Snape had pulled her aside after class to talk about her day dreaming problem. Well, at least Snape thought it was a problem. Ginny was on her way to Charms when she got caught in a large crowd of Slytherins going in the opposite direction. She had almost passed all of the students when one of them pushed her into the wall. He was one of the last to pass by.
"Move out of the way, mudblood!" He yelled as he passed, starting laughs from a group of Slytherins toward the end of the pack.
Ginny wasn't mad at the boy; she just wanted to get his facts straight, only so it wouldn't happen again. "Excuse me? What was that?" She called after them.
Only the boy who had pushed and yelled at her turned around to see if he had a chance to throw more insults at her. He had bright blonde hair and it was greased back. One of his hands was in his pocket, the other was holding his books. His robes were neat, and there was a smirk on his face.
"I'm pure. Thank you very much." Ginny turned on her heal, and walked in the direction in which she meant to be going to begin with.
"Oh yeah," The boy said slowly.
She turned again, giving him a good look at a pure witch.
"You're a Weasley."
Now she was mad, "And what's wrong with that? I don't think whatever you are makes you any better."
"Wellâ?¦ it does." the boy said lamely.
Ginny didn't want to be late, so she ended this as soon as she had a chance to. "If it makes you happy." she rolled her eyes, so that he could see, then turned and walked away once more.
"I'm a Malfoy!" He yelled after her.
"As if I care." she muttered to herself as she rounded the corner.

Chill out whatcha yelling' for?
Lay back it's all been done before
And if you could only let it be
you will see

At dinner that night Ginny sat by Hermione and somehow the subject of boyfriends popped up. It could have been the fact that the boys, Harry and Ron, weren't sitting with them tonight. They were at the other end of the table for a change, sitting with tow Gryffindor that must have been at least a year older than them.
"Do you like Harry?" Ginny asked Hermione as she starred at the end of the table where the boys were.
"I thought I'd let you have him." She responded sarcastically.
"So you do like him." Ginny teased.
"Not really. I haven't got time for boyfriends yet. I mean it'd only my fifth year..."
"Hermione! Get a life! You're fifteen, everyone is pairing up at our age, and you're going to be left out! What if there's an odd number of people in the world!"
Hermione looked at Ginny after she had said this and cracked up. She managed to ask, "So you have paired up too?"
Ginny went pink. "Not exactly." Hermione looked at her with interest. "Um... I like this guy, but he kinda doesn't know it yet." Hermione raised her brow waiting for a name. "I don't know his first name though." she went even pinker. "And I don't even know why I like him!"
"Tell him, and go from there." Hermione suggested as she took her first bite of her meal.
"Seriously?"
"Well, who is he?"
Ginny knew this would come up. "I'm pretty sure you'd know him. Please keep this a secret. Okay?" Hermione nodded impatiently. "Ron calls him a scum ball, sometimes even worse."
Ginny didn't have to continue. Hermione knew who she meant right away, her mouth dropped open. She managed to mouth, "Draco Malfoy." when she had gotten her voice back she did speck to Ginny about this. "You like him!"
"I don't know why though."
Eyes wide,Hermione changed the subject.

The next day Ginny walked slowly to charms hoping she'd run into the fifth year Slytherins going to potions. And sure enough, she got what she wanted.
"Move Gryffindor!"
"Ewe! She touched me! Do you think I'm infected?"
"Get out of the way."
"Weasley. ha."
The last remark was the one she'd been hoping to hear. She turned around to see the blonde haired boy she'd seen the day before. Quickly she stepped on the hem of his robe so that she crowd could pass, but he stayed behind. By the time he had noticed it wasn't another Slytherin who'd done it, it was too late.
"Hi Draco." she said shyly, playing with the inside of her sleeve.
"How'd the Weasley girl get my name? And get off my robe. It was expensive, you couldn't afford to get me a new one."
Ginny moved her foot. "I'm Ginny, Ron's sister."
"I know." Draco said looking around for Crabbe or Goyle to come to his rescue, but they were no where to be seen. "Now if you'd excuse me I have to get to class."
"You seem nicer than my brother said you are." Ginny stopped him in his tracks.
"Nice? Ha. I could never be nice. What dictionary do you use?" He started walking toward the dungeons again.
"Same one you do."
Draco thought that remark was lame, so he turned around to tell her just that, but he couldn't. Ginny, with her spare hand, had mad what stood for 'I love you' in sign language. She had done what she came to do, so she left so as not to be late for class.

I like you the way you are
When we're drivin' in your car
and you're talking to me one on one
but you've become

The next day Ginny wanted to avoid Draco, so she left with the other Gryffindor girls to go to her next class. But she didn't get too far. She, unfortunately, was in the front of the pack, in plane view of anyone going in the opposite direction. Right in front of her, only a few yards away, was just the person she wanted to avoid.
He just stood there, arms crossed with his books on the ground. Ginny had to stop or she'd run into him, so she did. He didn't even say anything. He handed her a note then picked up his books and left.

Somebody else round everyone else
You're watching your back like you can't relax
You're tryin' to be cool you look like a fool to me
Tell me
Why you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this you
And you fall and you crawl and you break
and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty
and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
no no no

Ginny opened the letter in her dorm alone that night. It was short, sweet, and had been used a zillion times before, but she still liked it. She was alone, and had nothing to be embarrassed about.
So she read it aloud, "Roses are read, violets are blue, I've had a secret crush on you. ~Draco. P. S. I don't even know what a violet is, I own man-eating plants."
Ginny had to giggle at that. It sounded truthful. This was the Malfoy she wanted so know, this was the boy who she loved, she didn't want to know the other Malfoy, the other Draco. This one was fine with her.
Ginny took out a piece of parchment and a good quill and quickly wrote something. She rolled it up, then gave it to Hermione when she walked in.
"Can you please give this to Draco for me? I know you see him first period in History of Magic, and in Second period, Potions." Ginny began to blush again, "Please don't tell anyone, and please don't read it."
Hermione agreed not to do either of them. "Did you memorize my schedule?"
"His." she corrected.

You come over unannounced
dressed up like you're somethin' else
where you are and where it's at you see
you're making me
laugh out when you strike your pose
take off all your preppy clothes
you know you're not fooling anyone
when you've become

The next afternoon at lunch Ron sat by her to her surprise. "Hey sis." he said as if she were an old friend.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "What do you want?"
Ron got straight to the point, "Rumors going around the school, no one knows if they're true, so I thought I should ask." Ginny rolled her eyes yet again. He most likely started it himself. "Are you and Draco going out?"
Ginny was about to answer "I wish.", but caught herself. "Where'd you hear that?" She was in disbelief. Only Hermione and Draco knew she liked him!
"Umm... okay, no rumors. He's failing potions, and I saw his test, your name was in all the answer slots." Ron tried to hold in a grin, but it came out anyway.
"Is that a good thing? I don't know a Draco." Ginny tried her best to sound innocent, only hoping her brother would believe her.
Ron leaned over and whispered to Hermione. It was most likely what he'd just asked his sister.
There was a shout from the Slytherin table that was directed toward Ron. It might have only been shouted because there weren't any teachers present. "You cheating on your sister? I see you over there kissing Granger!"
Everyone turned to look at Ron, Hermione, and Ginny, how could they believe what they had just heard?
"Malfoy." Ron muttered; slightly turning pink. He wanted to get him so bad for that, but McGonagall had just walked in.

Somebody else round everyone else
Watching your back, like you can't relax
Trying to be cool you look like a fool to me
Tell me

The next time Ginny had the chance, she wrote another letter to Draco telling him how upset she was about what he had said. She didn't sign it, he'd know who it was from. Instead the last words on the parchment were, "If you loved me you wouldn't be so two faced."
Ginny decided to give this one to him herself, in the usual place. And she did, the very next day too.
He didn't really react to it. He just kind of shrugged, gave it back to her and walked off.
Ginny didn't get it. Was she a player in love or was she being used? How could she be used? What would he want? What is love? How the heck could she be a player? All these questions were zooming around in her mind during Charms, so she totally failed her pop quiz.
"If I knew everything life would be so much easier to understand." She muttered to herself.
"If you knew everything you'd have aced that quiz." Her friend said from next to her.
"I know." Ginny said disappointed.

That night there was a letter under Ginny's pillow. She guessed Hermione had somehow gotten it form Draco. She opened it hoping to find good news. The letter read:
I'm sorry I was a bit of a jerk. Yes I do love you, it's just hard for me to show it without being me. You know what I mean, don't you? I'll admit to being two faced, that's not much of an insult, but I can't help it. I hope you'll still love me for being me. If you don't I'll understand. Malfoy, Draco.

Why you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this you
And you fall and you crawl and you break
and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty
and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
no no no

Ginny wrote to Draco on the back of his letter to her, she couldn't find anything else to write on.

How about we just be friends?
~Ginny

It was hard to write that one sentence, but it had to be done. If the Draco she wanted to know only existed sometimes, she didn't need to know him.

Draco was cool with the 'just be friends' idea. Maybe only because he knew it wasn't going to work to begin with. So sometimes they were friends, sometimes they were enemies, sometimes they were just there. But all in all, they still existed, separated, Slytherin form Gryffindor.

Chill out whatcha yelling for?
Lay back, it's all been done before
And if you could only let it be
You will see

"Ginny, I think I'm starting to like Goyle!" Hermione whispered to Ginny only as a joke.
"Goyle!" she was amazed. "At least Draco was cute!"
The two girls giggle through their dessert that night.
"So do you think I have a chance with Harry?" They asked at the same time. That only made their giggle fit worse.

Somebody else round everyone else
You're watching your back,
like you can't relax
You're trying to be cool,
you look like a fool to me
Tell me
Why you have to go and make things so complicated?
I see the way you're
acting like you're somebody else gets me frustrated
Life's like this you
And you fall and you crawl and you break
and you take what you get and you turn it into honesty
and promise me I'm never gonna find you fake it
no no no
(Avril Lavigne)

~Mione