He was staring at her again. Ginny could feel it. It was his eyes – always and only his – burning into her skin.

Ginny was used to being stared at, whether the cause was her stay in the chamber of secrets, her presence at the Yule Ball with Neville Longbottom, or lest anyone forget, her brief stint as Harry Potter's girlfriend. The staring was nothing new, but the person staring, well that was entirely new.

He stared all the time, his eyes causing her skin to prickle, her shoulders to stiffen, her body to shudder. She could not say it was unpleasant, the sensation of his eyes, but that ambiguity only made his stare all the more distressing.

It unnerved her. He unnerved her.

Perhaps it was the color of his eyes, Ginny mused to herself as she sat rigidly in her Dark Arts class. Despite the two months that those eyes had continued to stare at her every day at every chance, she had been unable to find a color that described them fully. Most called them gray but that was inadequate. His eyes were pure silver, as cold as his father's heart. The rumors whispered that his heart was even colder. What was that Luna called him, an icy snake?

A sudden errant giggle escaped Ginny's mouth, and her hand flew up to clamp over the noise but she was too late. As though she had shouted something obscene silence blanketed outward through the classroom with her desk in the dead center.

"Ginevra Weasley," the voice slid over the silent crowd in nasally excellence, as slimy as the man behind it. "Is something funny?"

Ginny almost sighed as she met the eyes of Amycus Carrow. Though his beady eyes were trained on her now, with all the gleeful malice he reserved for Gryffindors alone, she barely flinched. It was becoming tiresome, standing up to the Carrow dimwits, the dungeon trips almost not worth it, but Ginny could still remember the look of hope in the younger students whenever she spoke up. She could see clearly in her mind the courage of the other older students as they stood beside her day after day.

So she stuck on a charming smile, aware of the gray eyes still burning into her shoulder, and sweetly replied, "You mean other than your attempts at teaching?"

The requisite laughter split the classroom, nervous sounding but still there and gratitude swelled in Ginny's breast. It had been two months but they were still kicking, still alive under these monsters.

Amycus, however, was not nearly as amused. A nasty grin split his face as he fingered his wand, and Ginny briefly wondered with a small pit of fear in her gut whether she would receive her punishment here, in front of everyone. It would not be the first time she had been Crucio'd this year, but to do it in front of the entire class, that could demoralize them. The students needed to stand strong. What would happen to Hogwarts if they all just gave up? It was bleak enough these days.

Carrow raised his wand and the class fell silent as though he had already cast a curse. Ginny refused to flinch but instead straightened her back, inching further forward on her seat, body tensed but ready. She was powerless to truly fight back, but her blood called her forward as though she could.

Amycus considered her in the silence for a moment and then slowly, lowered his wand slightly. Ginny wanted to deflate, but she made sure to retain her stance, even as he spoke.

"Hilarious Miss Weasley," his lips pulled up into a snarl, "Funny enough to earn you and your traitorous blood two hours of detention. Tonight."

It was not the worst punishment Ginny had received. Not by far. But two hours in the dungeons was hardly what she would call a good time. Even if Filch was in charge again this time, what with his soft spot for her, Ginny would not enjoy it.

So she said nothing but continued to stare blankly at Amycus. She could handle two hours, of course she could. She was Ginny Weasley, and, along with Neville and Luna, the school was relying on her. Flexing her fists to still the shaking of her hands only came naturally to Ginny as she continued to meet Amycus's eyes.

Amycus's mouth turned down as she continued to not react, clearly off put by her blank stare, and Ginny felt like cheering because of it.

That was until his eyes slide three feet over and a few feet back.

No no no no no no, Ginny chanted in her mind, hands suddenly gripping the desk's edges as her heart beat a staccato rhythm. She knew who sat in the desk behind her shoulder – the person who continuously stared at her these days. And apparently Ginny was not the only one to notice.

"Mister Malfoy will oversee your detention." Amycus's grin was the echo of Voldemort's as he turned to see Ginny's reaction, and despite herself, Ginny could barely hide the tremor rocking through her. Satisfied, Amycus returned to the board and continued his lecture.

But Ginny did not move a muscle, ignoring the sympathetic looks being shot her way.

Of course he would be the one assigned to her. Of course Amycus had noticed his staring, nearly everyone had. Of course, this would be her torture. And Ginny could not lie, she was frightened.

She had heard the rumors about him, of course. The rumors flew all over school. He was the worst to oversee a detention, the easiest to snap, the quickest to Crucio. And it was entirely believable. After all, Draco Malfoy was the one who had let the Death Eaters into this school.

His gray eyes were still focused on her shoulder, having given no acknowledgement that he had even heard Carrow. But he would be there tonight, staring. Ginny almost wanted to turn around and shout at him, demand to know why he stared, as she had wanted to do for the past two months. But she refused, as she had refused for the past two months.

Whatever Malfoy intended with his stare – the one Ginny could recognize almost quicker than his face these days – he would get nothing from her. Not a look, not a flinch, not even a turn. Even if she was afraid, she would never give him the satisfaction.

Ginny would be damned if Malfoy intimidated her, and tonight, she would finally confront him.

As though hearing the absolutism in her thoughts, Malfoy's eyes turned away and the pressure of his stare finally left. Ginny relaxed, but she did not forget. She would deal with this tonight.

(A/N: Hello again! Yes I am writing a new story, but I make no promises with this one. I usually am good at updating regularly, but I'm at college now and I don't write nearly so much. So yes, it will be completed, but I have no schedule for the updates. Bear with me, and thanks for reading!)