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The ride from the Burrow to Malfoy Manor was awfully long, and Ginny suspected that Draco deliberately had avoided the use of magic to keep her in that small compartment alone with him for some time. In fact, the first comment he made after their little quarrel was

"Well... since we do have a lot of time alone together, what do you say we do something... fun?"

His one eyebrow was raised in that Malfoy manner that could be so seductive. Ginny, still angered by his entrée at the Burrow, turned her head slowly and sent him a look filled with daggers. He gave her a rare amused smile, and half shrugged.

"Can't blame me for trying," he said.

It didn't take long before Ginny realized that sitting with her back against the way they were going had been a mistake. She fought the nausea for as long as she could, but about half an hour into their ride she had to ask Draco if they could switch places. He looked at her, his grey eyes unreadable, but the beginning of a smirk was playing around his lips.

"I don't think so," he said. "I might get sick sitting there. But you are more than welcome to join me here."

The smirk was fully evident now, the tone of his voice mocking.

"I thought people of old 'noble' families were supposed to be polite and honorable," she said, emphasizing the word noble in a sarcastic tone. "Do the noble thing and give your seat up."

"Eh," he said and shrugged, "we're also quite selfish."

He gave her a dazzling smile and patted the seat beside himself.

"Come, sit here and we'll both be happy," he said.

"One more than the other, perhaps," Ginny murmured grudgingly, but eventually she did change her seat.

They sat in silence, side by side, for a few minutes. Ginny was a little uncomfortable because of how close he was to her. The cold of the window on the other side of her made the warmth coming from him very clear. Their sides were touching; shoulder to shoulder and hip to hip, and as they hit a bump in the road she felt his hand sliding off his lap, coming to a rest between their thighs, touching her.

However innocent this small movement was, Ginny was made uneasy by the fact that Draco seemed in no rush to remove it. In fact, after a little while she could feel him turning it so his entire palm was placed on her outer thigh. She involuntarily made a small gasp, and gave him a quick glance. His face was expressionless, and showed no hint that he had neither heard her gasp, nor knew what his hand was doing.

The fact that he knew became clear very soon, though, because just as she turned back to her window, she felt the hand trailing circles on her thigh. She held her tongue, as she was rather enjoying his touch, but as Draco let his hand wander over her leg towards her inner thigh, she turned sharply meaning to say something harsh.

As she turned she noticed that he was already watching her. His cold, grey eyes with the characteristically lifted eyebrow in addition to the smirk she had become so accustomed to made her speechless, as she had been too many times this fall. She took a sharp breath, and felt her body quickly react to his eyes on her, becoming excited and flushed. Like in a dream, she felt his hand finish its journey towards her inner thigh, still doing it's very seductive circling motion. He turned his upper body entirely towards her, and leaned in and whispered something in her ear.

"We're here," he said.

She didn't quite get his words at once, and she saw his smirk widening as she struggled to focus. When her head finally cleared, and she understood his words, she was quite embarrassed. She tried to hide it by looking out the window, and saw that they were indeed riding up a quite grand gravel road lined with trees on either side. Up ahead she could see a stone building rising several stories high and bigger than any house she had set her foot in before

She suddenly noticed that Draco was still looking at her with that unnerving, exciting look, and that his hand was still trailing circles on her leg. She quickly slapped his hand away, straightening her back. Draco moved his hand and slowly turned his head, but kept his smirk, clearly pleased with himself.

This time she did take the hand Draco offered her as she stepped out of the carriage. She tried not to be awed by the sight before her, but it was hard. Malfoy Manor was bigger and grander than any home she's ever seen. In grandeur it almost battled the Hogwarts castle.

Big windows were placed along the first floor, showing off large rooms decorated with expensive carpets, pictures and chandeliers. The curtains were of red velvet, and hung heavy held up by carefully ornamented gold hangers. Ginny wanted to make an exclamation, but was very aware of Draco watching her, his smirk still not wiped off his face, and made no remark whatsoever. Letting go of Draco's hand she let him lead her through the gates of the magnificent building. They went through several rooms and hallways, and up two sets of stairways, and as they approached a final set of doors, Ginny no longer knew where the exit was.

"This will be your room for the day," Draco said, opening the doors. "And the night, if you don't run screaming from the ball halfway through."

He gave her a little wink, and she raised her nose, and huffed at him. They walked into the room, which was every bit as splendid as the ones they'd walked through so far. Her bed was a huge four-poster made of dark wood with intricate snake carvings on all four posts. The sheets were presumably satin, and were of a deep red color - the same color, Ginny noticed, as her dress. The same dark wood was also what the rest of the furniture - a desk in the corner and a rather large closet on the far wall - was made of. There was also a chair by the bed, matching the dark red fabric of the bed sheets. An open door led to a well lit bathroom that was surely bigger than her room at the Burrow. She saw the extravagant mirror that covered almost an entire wall, and looked forward to getting ready there.

"Like it?" Draco asked, leaning on the frame of the door. He didn't wait for an answer, but turned and stepped outside.

"I'll just get us some lunch," he said.

Ginny walked slowly around the room, not daring to touch anything. Any single ornament in there seemed to be worth more than everything she owned. Well, except the dress, that was. As she thought this, she remembered that she should probably unpack it from its snug compartment. She took it out and hung it on the door of the closet. It was really rather marvelous, and she wondered how much Draco had actually spent on her, especially if you included the necklace. As she stood there, she heard Draco entering the room again.

"So you do like it," he said.

"As if you ever thought I wouldn't," she said, not taking her eyes off the dress.

Draco had two of his house elves bring up a warm lunch, and the two of them ate in relative silence, with only a snide remark falling here and there. As she ate, Ginny realized she had become almost comfortable in Draco's presence, a thought which both eased her, because of the upcoming ball, and unnerved her. After all, they did not like each other. A few months ago she would have gone as far as saying they despised each other. Now as he looked at her she felt an odd fluttering in her stomach, and any insults thrown were without the sting and malice they had before and were almost becoming mere affectionate taunting.

When they finished their lunch it was already past three, and Draco left Ginny to get ready, saying he'd be up again at six. Even with three hours to spare Ginny felt slightly rushed. Her stomach was churning both with excitement and with nervousness. At times she could hear people and elves passing in the hallways, and once she thought she could hear the click of expensive shoes and the swish of a long robe, one such as the one she imagined Narcissa Malfoy would be wearing that night.

She did her make up partly finished before carefully putting on the gown. As she looked at herself in the tall mirror in the bedroom she heard a soft "ooh," from the mirror. Hearing a mirror in Malfoy Manor giving her such praise gave her confidence, and she finished putting on her makeup and doing her hair with a lighter heart.

When Draco came back, at precisely six, she was sitting in the chair with the jewelry box open in her lap. As he entered she looked up, and saw him stop in the doorway. Ginny hoped it was a stop that marked him being taken aback by her appearance, but as always his eyes were unreadable.

He looked at her for a second more, before walking over and taking the necklace. He bent over and clasped it around her neck before taking a step back to consider her look. She felt herself going weak as he bent over, but fought the urge to shiver.

"You'll do, I guess," he said after a long look, giving her a malicious smile. She merely looked at him coldly.

"Shall we go?" she asked.

"Oh no," he said amused. "This is when the ball starts. We want to make an entrance; we can't go until everyone else is there already. It will be another hour at least."

She smiled at him.

"And I suppose you'll suggest doing something... fun to pass the time?" she said slyly.

"The dress is too expensive," he said with a shrug, "although I appreciate the offer."

"It wasn't..." Ginny started, but trailed off noticing the softness of the mocking in his voice.

Draco went to stand leisurely over by the closet, and Ginny had the time to get a good look at him. He was impeccably dressed, as always, but even more stunning tonight than usually. He had obviously dressed to impress. The black of his robe, which should really make him look too pale but really merely made his mysterious grey eyes stand out, accentuated the green edge on the hem.

A silver clasp was fastened at the neck of the robe, and the buttons on his chest underneath were also silver. He looked like a mix between an angel and a devil where he stood, with his silver hair and fair complexion in contrast with his icy grey eyes, and Ginny couldn't really decide which of the two he looked more like. Then again, she thought, he could be both. After all, Lucifer himself had been both angel and devil, though not both at once, like Draco looked at this moment.

She only realized she had been staring mesmerized as she saw Draco raise his one eyebrow playfully.

"No drool on the chair, please," he said teasingly. "It is antique, after all. Would you like me to fetch you some paper?"

"No, thank you," Ginny said, recovering quickly, "but please fetch some for yourself to wipe the smirk off your mouth."

Draco smiled approvingly. He was really rather stunning, Ginny thought. She had always known, of course, but still this realization hit her as something new and also as something weird. After all, this was Draco Malfoy, she had never really thought of him in terms of attractive or not.

"So, how ready are you to meet my father and all the wicked Slytherins?" he asked in a more serious tone. "Nervous?"

"I don't know," she said. "Yes, I guess I am."

"Don't show them that," he said gravely. "They can smell fear, and thrive on it."

Ginny looked at him surprised. He seemed to notice his grave tone, and quickly masked it behind the cold amusement he so often used.

"Act like a Slytherin," he said with more life to his voice. "It's the only thing they understand. Your precious Gryffindor pride and fierce courage will only get you kicked out of here within ten minutes."

He looked at her with the icy glance she had seen so many times throughout the years.

"Hide your feelings, conceal your soul," he continued cynically, "and they'll have no choice but to treat you the same way. No choice but to hide their anger to keep their appearance up."

Ginny thought she could detect some bitterness in his voice, but she was aware that when Draco wanted to mask his feelings there was no way she could be sure of any emotion she thought might lie beneath. He was, unlike her, damned good at concealing his true feelings.

The rest of the hour spent in Ginny's room went by too fast for her liking. Time was consumed easily as Draco continued to give her tips on how to unsettle his dad and the rest of the "wicked Slytherins", as he had so eloquently put it. She grew more nervous as the clock edged its way to the time of their entry to the party, but at the same time she felt calmer. Draco's advice made her calmer, but more so his mere presence and the fact that he gave her this advice calmed her down. He actually wanted her to do well. One could of course say that this was only because having his date look and act well would reflect well on himself. Ginny didn't think so though. She had a belief - or a hope more likely - that he was doing it for her, and not just for himself. She knew any Slytherin would have laughed at this - Draco himself too, probably, had she told him. Still, it calmed her down, and so she allowed herself to hope.

Finally Draco stood up from his seat on the bed and cast a quick look at the clock on the wall.

"Let's go," he said with a gleam in his eye.

Ginny stood up and smoothed her dress. She drew one quick steadying breath before smiling up at him.

"Great," she said, taking the arm he was offering her.

The ballroom was already full at six thirty, which was when Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy had descended the stairs. Pansy Parkinson had already asked both them and her own parents if they had seen Draco about ten times before the doors leading into the hall opened again some time past seven. The others in the ballroom had also noticed the absence of one of the hosts, but none were as fierce in their search as Pansy. The Slytherins in the room all knew Draco's preference for making an entrance, and figured they would see him sooner or later. Some of the girls from other houses at Hogwarts were, after a while, pouting a little. They had hoped to see him sooner, perhaps even sneak a dance or a conversation. Draco Malfoy might be one of the best looking guys at Hogwarts, after all, and any chance to see him in dressing robes had to be exploited to its fullest.

There were still rumors about his date, and it wasn't only the crushing girls that were wondering. None could figure out who it could be, as all the people rumored to go with him were already in the ballroom. Even Lucius, who had seen the carriage carrying Draco and a mysterious woman clad in black travelling robes come to the estate, was somewhat curious. His curiosity was, however, insignificant in the face of the annoyance he felt due to his son being late. Although the hosts were always to make an entrance a little late, Draco was now too late. Besides, he should not make more of an entrance than his parents, who really were the true hosts of the ball.