"Dammit Potter... stop toying with me... you're testing my patience... what did you hear last night?" Draco asked Harry, determined to squeeze every bit of information out from him. "Relax Malfoy... i only heard both of you bickering alright? it was just odd that's all... coz i remember the last time i checked... both of you were lip-locked in the Burrow's basement..." Harry smirked when he said this. He hadn't seen Draco lose his cool before, and now that he had, he was going to make sure it wasn't the last time. "The only things i managed to actually make out were your goodbyes... i've never seen you lose your composure before Malfoy... i only wish i was right in front of you... your expression would have been priceless... " Harry said, not before he was cut short by Malfoy himself, muttering something to do with dunking Harry's head in a bowl of Bubotuber Pus. "Yeah, yeah... use a pensieve... it'll last longer..." with that he cut off the connection with Harry. 'The dimwit doesn't know what he's dealing with... ' Draco thought bitterly, relieved at the same time that the only real 'friend' he has ever had, hadn't found out the truth. He hated Potter but his trusting nature was what made Malfoy change his heart towards Pothead. Draco simply couldn't bring himself to break Harry's heart. He knew why Ginny had avoided Potter all this time and he hated himself for being part of the cause of her acting that way. Draco cursed under his breath as he swore once again that whoever had poured that potion into his Mai Tais would suffer severely for his/her actions. Draco stormed off to his dormitories feeling disgusted. He had let himself become vulnerable, and Malfoys were never vulnerable or susceptible to the effects of a curse of any kind. He heaved a deep sigh before he drank all of the contents of his flask by his bedside and plonked himself on his bed, willing himself to sleep and forget all that had happened.


The usual owl- post the following morning had arrived. Two of the school's express owls had landed just in front of Lodina and she was beginning to untie the parcel which was attached to their claws. Giving them each a knut, Lodina frantically tried to rip off the brown wrapping of the parcel. 'The book's arrived! Oh thank god...' Lodina thought as she held the book under her right arm and stood up to leave without having eaten any breakfast at all! 'Maybe if I hurry I can read up some stuff about the curse before Care for Magical Creatures...' thought Lodina as she hurried out of the hall.

"Hey, Dina!! Where are you going??! You haven't had any breakfast!" Ginny called out at her, half-exasperated, as she longed to know what made Lodina skip breakfast altogether, seeing that it was the only proper meal she had these days. Lodina seemed very distracted lately and Ginny could feel it. Ever since the start of term, she noticed Lodina get stiff everytime she mentioned anything to do with Slytherin. That was odd, since Lodina always remained calm and composed even when a Slytherin tried to pick on her. In fact, she was a bigger 'bully' than they were, seeing that her hexes were always well-placed and the same Slytherin never bullied her twice in a row. And then there was Malfoy. Why did he have to complicate things between Harry and her? She had been perfectly in love with Harry until the Welcome Feast when she started to develop new feelings for Malfoy as well. Harry had asked her out for the first Hogsmeade weekend and she had actually turned it down. She wasn't uncomfortable around Harry. She was more afraid. Afraid that her darkest secret might somehow escape and hurt Harry in the process. She had always loved him. Not the school-girl crush which half the population at Hoogwarts had over Harry. No. She had always loved him sincerely with all her heart. She loved the Harry Potter that no one saw. It was the quiet, shy and raw Harry that had stolen her heart, not the front-page news Harry Potter a.k.a the 'boy-who-lived'. And yet, amidst all the love she had for Harry, a new feeling of lust started breeding in her heart. A deep sense of longing, carnal lust even, for Draco Malfoy. Why she started feeling this, she had no idea. It all started with a simple kiss. She was sure that if Draco hadn't left her standing bewildered, she would have gone all the way with Malfoy and would live to regret every moment of it later. She was soo physically attracted to Malfoy that it started to scare her. Ginny shot a glance at the Slytherin table and saw Malfoy starting to leave the table. 'I must not look at that slimy git... I must not look at that slimy git...' Ginny tried to will herself to look away but alas, it was to no avail.

"Gin, are you alright? For that matter, are 'WE' alright Gin? I really don't know what you're feeling these days... you can talk to me you know... I'll be glad to listen to you... work things out... " Harry asked, looking downcast as he did. "Oh..." Ginny jumped with a start. She had not realised that Harry had sat next to her and was observing her through breakfast. "Harry... of course we're alright... I love you... i always will... I'm just feeling a lil' sick... must be all those chocolate frogs i had last night... perhaps I'll head over to Madam Pomfrey now... she'll know what to do..." Ginny said as she abruptly stood up. "Do you want me to come with you?" Harry asked, hoping that she'd say yes. "It's ok Harry. I can manage..." Ginny said as she turned to leave the Great Hall. Had she turned to look back, she would have seen a dejected Harry staring after her.


Draco saw Lodina hurry off after obtaining her owlpost. 'She must have got the book...' Draco thought as he stood up to follow Lodina to the Gryffindor Common Room. He was rather hoping he'd catch her before she entered the Gryffindor Common Room, seeing that it was broad daylight and his prescence might draw suspiscions from the Gryffindor camp. With that, he quickened his pace. He half expected Lodina to give him the cold shoulder as she has been successfully doing for quite some time now. 'Maybe she hates me now?' Draco thought meekly as he faltered in his step and nearly tripped over the moving staricase that led to the Gryffindor Tower. Draco couldn't control the lust he felt for Ginny. He knew the feeling was getting stronger by the minute. But like Ginny, he was scared of these new feelings. For the first time in his entire life, Draco Malfoy was scared of losing someone close to him. There were no words to describe the feeling of bliss he had with Lodina and similarly the light-heartedness he felt whenever he 'tormented' Potter. And now that he had found them, he was beginning to lose them all thanks to his 'vulnerability'.

Draco rounded the corridor bend that led to the Gryffindor Tower just in time to see Lodina enter it. 'Drats... ' he muttered under his breathe as he hid behind the bend for fear of being discovered 'lurking' around Gryffindor territory. Just then, he heard footsteps closing in behind him. It was too late for him to hide now, so he figured that he might as well cook up some excuse and scowl at whoever approached him. His scowl always worked, especially on the Gryffindors. Draco whipped round to face the person behind him. He took in a sharp breathe as he saw who it was in front of him.

"You... what are you doing here? You shouldn't make it a habit of following me around... your precious boyfriend would be wondering where you go off to everytime you try to find me...." Draco sneered at a wide-eyed Ginny Weasley. "I..." Ginny was lost for words. Under usual circumstances she would have a retort ready at hand for any Slytherin courageous enough to have a row with her. But she couldn't this time. She melted in those deep greyish-green eyes of his and was now lost for words. She was just inches from his face now, and if she reached just a bit further she could kiss him square on the lips. 'Wait.. why am I thinking this? What am i doing here? I'm in love with Harry... ' Ginny thought as she tried to think up of an excuse. "I know why you're here Ginny..." Draco said after a few seconds of silence. His silvery blonde hair was now covering his eyes and his expression was hard to read. Ginny felt a wave of animal lust sweep over her. 'Damn! He looks so sexy when he's serious...' Ginny thought as she bit her lip. "And why do you think I'm here then Malfoy?" Ginny said in a husky whisper, finally breaking her dumbfounded-streak whenever she was in the vicinity of Draco. "To do this..." Draco said as he reached forward, cupped her cheeks and gently placed his lips on hers. Draco devoured her mouth and tasted every bit of her palot. What started out as a gentle kiss, was now a heated display of passion, overwhelming both Draco and Ginny. Just before he pulled out of the kiss, Draco sucked on Ginny's lower lip, where it was bleeding just a few seconds ago when she bit it. Ginny moaned in pleasure. She curled her fingers in his soft hair and was now grinding him in a rhythmic fashion. Draco could feel himself get hot inside his pants, he wanted to be inside of Ginny at that moment. Sensing his arousal, Ginny bit his left earlobe. It was now Draco's turn to moan. But it was short-lived. Lodina had always loved to nibble on his left earlobe and when Ginny had done so, a pang of guilt jolted through his body as he stiffened abruptly."Lodina..." he whispered softly and straightened himself up. "What? What did you say? What's wrong Draco?" Ginny said as Draco pulled out of her embrace. "We can't do this Ginny... I have to go now... I need to be at Potions..." Draco said crisply before turning on his heel and heading off towards the Slytherin Dungeons. "What have I done?" Draco thought numbly as he fumbled through the Slytherin Portrait hole into the Slytherin Common room.


Lodina decided to call off sick for her first lesson of the day, Care for Magical Creatures. She was sure Hagrid would understand anyway. Without further adue, she picked up her father's book and began to read from cover to cover. 'Aphrodite's Curse... come on... where is it.... ' Lodina thought as the need for finding any information on the curse grew more urgent than ever. 'What if he falls out of love with me after we get the spell reversed?' thoughts were swirling in her head. She willed herself to remain focus on her task. Her hope and faith in their love were the only things which made her determined to find the cure. She did fear for the worse though. In the event that Draco had fallen out of love with her even after the spell was broken, what would she do? For spending so much time on dwelling on that particular possibility, it was rather ironic that she was certainly not giving two hoots about what she planned to do if it really were the case. She wanted her Draco back and she was going to do all it took to get him back.

Finally after much flipping she finally found the cure under the "Irreversible Curses" section. 'Irreversible??' Lodina thought shakily as she read out softly from the Ancient Book of Spells. "The Aphrodite's Curse also known as the Werewolves' Call for Love, is an irreversible spell if performed on a full moon..." Lodina read on skiming through the parts she already knew. "The Antidote to the spell requires an intricate potion which needs a fortnight to brew..." Lodina read through the ingredients needed for the potion and was surprised that it was fairly easy to make. The only 'unusual' ingredients she needed was a lock of hair from Draco and Ginny. That's fairly easy to obtain...i don't have much time though... the next full moon's in three weeks... ' Lodina said as she read on further. "The potion must be drunk by both parties on the eve of the next full moon, 3 hours shy from midnight... and must be ended with a kiss from both parties... " 'Oh, you've got to be joking... they've got to kiss? AGAIN?! Who thought of this antidote in the first place?! ' Lodina thought to herself as she pursed her lips in rage and frustration. 'But the next full moon's on the Halloween Ball... I guess I know who Draco will be taking with him to the ball... ' Lodina sulked as she resigned to her fate of a date-less night at the Halloween Ball. Just then, she heard a soft pecking noise from outside the window sill. It was Draco's huge Black owl. She had always loved his owl. His owl had a mysterious aura around him, needless to say, just like Draco himself. She opened the window and allowed the bird to stretch it's wings as she untied the note from the bottom of it's claws. With a friendly hoot and with a final regal poise, the owl took flight again. Lodina unfolded the note and read from it. The handwriting was all too familiar.

Dearest Lodina,

I know you're still mad at me for doing all that I did. But I just want to talk to you. Please meet me at the lake in 10 minutes. I'll be waiting. I will always love you, Lodina, for all eternity.

Love,
Draco

'Just what was he playing at?' Lodina thought as she re-read the letter once more. Down at the lake, she saw Draco walking alongside the lake with his huge black owl perched on his right shoulder. She couldn't help but stare for a moment or two. She loved the way he was deep in thought. With a huge sigh and a heavy heart, Lodina decided it was best she meet him anyway, seeing that she could probably use his help to brew the potion.


Lodina was now walking along the lake looking for Draco. 'He was just here 5 minutes ago... where has he gone to?' she wondered as she walked the perimeter of the lake. Just then, a large, strong hand pulled her waist and whipped her around. "There you are... I was wondering if you'd show up at all...." Lodina was shocked as she registered the face of the person standing in front of her... "You? I saw Draco over here 5 minutes ago... How did you...?" Lodina whimpered as he used his brute force and tightly held both her hands round her back so that she couldn't move. "Ahh... that... my little 'Gryffindor Princess' is Dark Magic you will never know... It works something like the muggle invention, Holograms. Where did you think the word 'Hologram' came from? I used the spell of deception, the Hologratis, to send a school barn owl up... Made it look like his owl didn't I? And when you saw me down at the lake... I made sure the Hologratis was cast on me first... you silly little whore... he can't hear you... he's almost passed out ... i made sure of that... by putting some elven wine in his flask, up in his dormitory... you have no where to run... no where to hide... no one to turn for help... don't bother screaming... coz' the Hologratis spell is cast right over us now... we look like a couple of lovebirds making out near the lake..." He paused as he saw the look of horror in Lodina's face and smirked. "But how could it be? There were no survivors... were there?" Lodina was now trembling in his arms and for the first time in her life, she felt helpless even with a wand by her side. She was still in too much shock to even react to anything that happened next. "Stillatus!" he bellowed and smiled at her now still body and sneered. "That's what you thought... you overconfident Gryffindor whore... but no matter... i can teach you how to obey... and instill some 'discipline' while we're at it... " he sniggered as he held her by her legs and threw her body over his shoulders, carrying her like a sling bag. He then walked through the darkness that engulfed the Forbidden Forest...