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Ginny hurried down the corridor, cursing softly under her breath. Her bag hung uncomfortably over her left shoulder, while the other hand was trying to keep track of the big stack of books she carried. She never had time to go back to the common room between Potions and Transfiguration on Thursdays.

For the third time this week she'd managed to be late to the first class of the day, because she had stayed up too late the night before. As she practically ran down the corridor, she was already running excuses through her head blaming everyone but herself, from her teachers overwhelming her with homework to her roommates not waking her up in time.

Just as she rounded the corner to the Potions corridor, she bumped into something hard, and as she bounced backwards her books and parchment scattered all over the hallway.

"Watch where you're going," an angry voice snapped. She looked up and saw a familiar blonde head looking down at her with contempt.

"Same to you, Malfoy," she replied, getting to her feet.

"I can hardly be blamed for your incompetence," Draco started, brushing off his robes. "You were obviously in too much of a hurry to pay attention to your surroundings. Of course, one couldn't expect a Weasley to be able to pay attention to more than one thing at a time. I'm surprised you can walk and breathe at the same time. Then again, I guess neither of those actions requires much thinking. If they did you'd probably stay in bed all day thinking 'breathe in... breathe out... in... out'."

"Shut it, jerk," Ginny grumbled while gathering up her belongings. Draco arched an eyebrow in a lazy way.

"Ouch," he said sarcastically. "Such a cunning retort." He crossed his arms, and made absolutely no attempt to help Ginny. Although, she thought to herself, I'd be an idiot if I'd expected that. Instead he leaned against the wall and watched her.

"Don't you have someplace to be?" she asked irritated.

"Not really," he replied, smirking. Ginny wondered if he ever really did smile. If he did, she'd never seen it.

She gathered up the rest of the parchment and stood up, just as Draco said, "Come to the ball with me."

The words were uttered very nonchalantly, as though he was asking her where the nearest bathroom was, but it caught Ginny completely off guard.

"What?" she spluttered, and managed to drop everything in her hands once more. Draco's smirk grew even wider.

"You know a dance... a gathering where you socialize with others," he said with a fake patience, as though he was talking to a child. "We're having a ball at Malfoy Manor over Christmas."

"I know about it," she snapped, glaring at him. She was sure he knew she'd heard of the ball, it had been talked about for weeks all over Hogwarts. Not as much in Gryffindor as in the other houses, as no one from Gryffindor were going, but they still knew all about it.

"Good," he answered, nodding his head. "I want you to be my date."

It wasn't really as much of a question as a statement, just as the first mention of it had been. It was quite obvious that Draco was accustomed to getting his way when it came to girls, and wasn't expecting a refusal. Well, Ginny wasn't going to be that easy. She didn't care that he was rather good looking. He was one of the most obnoxious people she had ever met, and she definitely didn't want to go to any ball with him.

"No," she said, bending down to pick up her books again. He still made no move to help her, just stood there and smirked.

"Sorry?"

"I'm not going anywhere with you. You're a jerk and an idiot, and I have no interest in you whatsoever."

She turned to leave, quite pleased with her answer. Draco snorted.

"I'll see you around, Weasley," he called after her.

"He asked you to the ball?"

Ron had stopped in his motion of bringing his fork to his mouth, and didn't seem to notice his hand being halfway up. He was staring at Ginny in utter disbelief.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked. She was not looking entirely convinced either.

"'Come to the ball with me.' He said it as simple as that. Not much room for misunderstanding there," Ginny told them, although it didn't seem to convince any of her audience.

"Must be some sort of trick," Harry said, looking over at the Slytherin table.

"Yeah, probably," Ginny agreed, finishing her lunch. "Well, I'm off."

She rose from the table and joined the tidal wave of students making it out if the Great Hall. She was just about to start climbing the staircase that would lead her to the second floor when she heard someone speaking behind her.

"So, I was thinking," the familiar voice said to her, "you'd need a dress, wouldn't you?"

She turned around and found herself face to face with Draco Malfoy.

"What?" she asked confused.

"For the ball," he explained. "With your family's earnings I'm betting you don't have anything that would be suitable. Nor, I suppose, would you be able to afford anything new."

"I'm not going to the ball with you," Ginny informed him, exasperated. "I said no. Can't you get that into your inflated head?"

"Which means," Draco continued, as though he hadn't heard her, "that we'll need to get you something. There's a Hogsmeade weekend coming up, isn't there?"

"Get lost," Ginny muttered and turned to ascend the staircase, but found herself obstructed by Draco grabbing her wrist.

"I'll meet you here at eleven on Saturday then," he decided.

"What?" Ginny asked, now getting thoroughly annoyed.

"You like that word, do you?" Draco said, and added with the usual malice in his voice, "Of course, I guess I should excuse you, what with your limited brainpower and all."

Ginny glared at him trying to get as much hate into the look as she could manage.

"Meet me here Saturday at eleven, and we'll go into Hogsmeade and get you a dress for the ball," Draco told her, and let go of Ginny's wrist. Ginny was too perplexed to think of anything to say, and by the time she had gathered herself enough to think of a good and rejecting reply Draco had already left.

"Draco Malfoy asked you to the ball?" Melissa squealed. "And he asked you to Hogsmeade?" She flopped herself down on the bed with a dreamy look.

"Well, yes, but that isn't really the point," Ginny informed her.

"Yes it is," her friend replied. "It's the only point. Malfoy is gorgeous, and he wants to date you."

"Malfoy does not want to date me," Ginny sighed. "Malfoy wants to lure me into some trick that he finds amusing."

"Well, still. Draco Malfoy asked you to the ball!"

"What was that?" asked the blonde-haired girl who had just entered the dorm room.

"Oh! June!" Melissa exclaimed. "Draco Malfoy asked Ginny to the ball! And he wants to go to Hogsmeade with her on Saturday!"

"Are you joking?" June said, looking at Ginny. Ginny gave a noncommittal shrug.

"Oh my God oh my God oh my God," June squealed, and started doing a small dance with Melissa. Ginny rolled her eyes and sat down heavily, wondering if the whole world had gone mad.

It was only a matter of hours before practically all of Gryffindor "knew" that Ginny Weasley was going out with Draco Malfoy. At first this made Ginny even more determined not to meet Draco on Saturday, but after enduring several awkward conversations about what kind of kisser he was, she decided to meet with him and explain thoroughly that she did not wish to have anything to do with him ever again. She was especially intent on doing so after noticing that he had taken to winking at her whenever he came within view, something which only enhanced the rumors. By the end of Friday, the rumors said that she and Draco had a steaming affair which had lasted for several months, and they had just decided to come out into the open with it. Even Ron, her own flesh and blood, was suspicious of the falseness of the rumors, and decided to use all of dinner on Friday for an interview.

"So you're sure you're not going out with him?"

"Yes!"

"And you never did agree to anything?"

"No!"

"And you would tell me if you did, right? You know you can tell me anything?"

"Yes!" Ginny sighed and threw her head back. "Would you lay off it?"

She bowed her head down and continued eating, ignoring the constant stream of questions still coming. She had answered all of them at least twice before anyway.

Draco was standing by the staircase looking utterly relaxed when Ginny came down on Saturday. She had been sure to be ten minutes late, just to punctuate the exaggerated idea that no one would ever stand Draco Malfoy up. Draco did not look at all worried, though, and when she came all he did was give her a scrutinizing look before saying, "Let's go." His look was not very forgiving, and she became very aware that she was wearing an old and slightly tattered robe, but decided she didn't care what he thought.

"No," she said. He looked at her sternly, as if she was a little child having a temper tantrum.

"Weasley..." he started. Ginny merely crossed her arms.

"Fine," he said, regaining his smirk. "Just remember, I did ask nicely."

Before Ginny could react, Draco had his wand out and was pointing it at her. He never said anything, but Ginny felt as if some sort of spell hit her. However, when Draco put his wand away she could only assume he had changed his mind, because he merely turned and walked away and Ginny felt nothing. She stood there staring dumbly after Draco.

When he was about fifteen feet away he turned around, his lips curled into a wicked smile and his eyes narrowed. Just as he took one step forward, Ginny felt a pull and a push in his direction, and felt herself being moved about a foot forward. Draco's smile grew even wider, and as he took two more steps, she felt herself being nearly dragged two more steps forward. Satisfied, Draco started walking again, and Ginny had enough trouble keeping on her feet, let alone to try to fight it.

"Malfoy! What did you do?" Ginny cried out in frustration. Draco stopped, and as he did so did the pulling and pushing. Ginny tried to use the pause to get away from Draco, but it seemed as though she was tied to him by some invisible string that stopped her going further away from him than fifteen feet.

"Neat little trick, isn't it?" he bragged, obviously very pleased with himself. "It's much more comfortable if you walk here by my side, you know."

Ginny mumbled something inaudible, but walked closer to him as he started to walk. She still made sure to walk behind him, but figured she'd have more time to think of ways to break the spell if she wasn't being dragged the whole way.

By the time they got to Hogsmeade Ginny had thought of nothing that would free her, and had settled on merely looking as unpleased as she could be in Draco's presence. She didn't want anyone to think she was at all happy to be there with him. She had debated very early on during the walk whether or not to hex him, but since McGonagall and Hagrid were only a few feet behind them she decided against it. There was no evidence Draco had done anything to her, so she would have had to take full blame for it. She figured it was less pleasant to be cleaning the trophy room than to be in Hogsmeade a few feet behind Draco Malfoy.

Draco, however, seemed perfectly content with their arrangement; he even seemed to enjoy it. Whenever someone passed giving the two of them strange looks, he would lift his shoulders and say things like 'lover's spat' or 'you know how girls are. If they don't get the gold necklace they mope around for the next day'.

When Draco finally stopped outside the robe shop, Ginny was so deep in her own misery that she almost walked into him. On the way she had thought of maybe closing the door between them in hope of cutting whatever tied them together, but after she imagined herself slamming into the door again and again as Draco tried to walk forward, she gave the idea up.

As it turned out she wouldn't have been able to do so anyway, because Draco slipped his hand around her waist and practically pushed her inside before she even had time to realize where they were. When the bell over the door rang the two girls who were just finishing their robe shopping looked up. Ginny realized at once how it might look, her and Draco coming in together, him with his hand around her waist, and freed herself from him immediately. Not before the two girls, who unfortunately were the two Gryffindor girls Lavender and Parvati, could witness the scene, however. They walked out of the shop giggling, while Ginny turned a very unflattering shade of red.

"You know, shame doesn't really suit you," Draco commented casually. "The blush clashes with your hair. Perhaps we'll go for something that isn't red"

She drew a sharp intake of breath, annoyed at his persistency to go on with the charade.

"Look," she started. "I don't know how to put this to you so you'll understand, but I do not want to go anywhere with you! I don't want to be here with you, and you are not-"

She meant to finish, but just then Draco caught sight of the shopkeeper, and had put a hand over her mouth. She realized he hadn't been listening anyway, a thought which made her even angrier.

"Can I help you?" the shopkeeper asked, while casting an unforgiving glance at Ginny, just as Draco had. Again she felt very aware of her choice of clothing, especially standing next to the impeccably dressed and perfectly groomed Draco Malfoy.

"Yes, thank you," Draco said, and put on his fakest smile. "This young lady needs a little help - as you may see - to put together an outfit for the ball at Malfoy Manor."

The shopkeeper looked at the two of them with an arched eyebrow, as though she did not quite believe Ginny would be good enough for the ball at the Malfoy Manor. Ginny felt like running away, but as she was trying to take a step back, she felt Draco's hand pushing her determinately forward.

"She needs something quite stunning; she's going with me. As one of the hosts I need my date to have as much elegance as me."

"I am not your date," Ginny tried feebly, but saw that even the shopkeeper was ignoring her and had already started discussing color with Draco. Instead, she felt the feeble tug of the line connecting her with Draco, and realized she had to keep moving with them deeper inside the store if she wanted to stay on her feet.

Fine, she thought. He wants to give me a dress, fine. I don't have to accept it, and even if I do, he can't force me to go anywhere with him. Well, not anywhere closer than fifteen feet, at least.

By the end of the day Ginny found out that Draco was quite capable of forcing her to go places. After endless measurements at the robe shop, and after Ginny had quite lost track of which color or style they were going with - for all she knew they might have ended up with a clown suit - Draco decided it was time for a drink. Ginny managed to make it seem like she was entering the Three Broomsticks because she wanted to herself - not tailing behind Draco like a dog - but although she saw several friends sitting in there, none were close enough to where Draco sat down. In the end she had to sit down with a bunch of seventh year Ravenclaws whom she only knew slightly, something which amused Draco to no end.

In addition, he had fun with getting up to get drinks for everyone as often as he could, and seeing how she also had to get up and pretend she was busy with something around fifteen feet away from where he was. The most awkward episode, however, was when he got up to go to the bathroom, and she had to stand right outside the bathroom door getting weird looks from the guys going in and out. When Draco finally came out she was furious, and managed to catch him by surprise, slamming him against the wall. He only looked amused, which infuriated her even more.

"Look, Weasley," he said. "I'm all about the rough sex, but perhaps we should find somewhere more private?" This comment baffled her so much she almost lost her train of thought.

"What? No!" she exclaimed. "Malfoy, lift the spell now!"

He looked at her and although she saw some mischief in his expression, he said, "Okay."

He raised his wand again and then put it down, but this time she did feel something. It was as if something being lifted off her. The relief made her so grateful she said nothing but a small "Arse," to Draco as she turned and left, a comment which was rewarded with the Malfoy trademark smirk.

The night after the day spent in Draco Malfoy's company Ginny spent trying to fend off her

excited girlfriends' questions. She tried to explain that she had indeed not been in Hogsmeade with Draco, but Lavender had a big mouth, and the rumor of Ginny and Draco entering the robe shop as a couple had gone all over Gryffindor tower in a few hours.