A/N: This is just ato let you know that I have revised the first 7 chapters of this story with help from my beta at Checkmated, Amber. I have deleted the last few chapters and the Epilogue because more is going to be added in and the ending will be altered. It's much better written this time around. Thanks a lot and I hope you enjoy the changes!
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Chapter 5: Fallout
Harry had seen Malfoy lean in to kiss Ginny and had spit his butterbeer across the table. He stood automatically and began to walk towards them before he knew what he was doing. He saw Ginny run off out of the corner of his eye, but it was Draco Malfoy he was focused on.
He watched as Malfoy raised his hand to his forehead and heard him swear. Harry was suddenly in front of him.
"Oh great! Well I guess you--" Malfoy began. Then Harry's fist connected with his nose. There were several gasps and shrieks and Harry looked around stunned.
Ron shouted, "Yeah, Harry!"
Embarrassed by what he had done, Harry ran off after Ginny. He caught up with her on the other side of the house. She was curled up behind a tree, not crying just sitting.
Harry approached her cautiously. She glared at him.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
"Ginny--" he began, but didn't know what to say.
"I guess you were right about him. Using me just to get to you! Why else would he--" Ginny paused. He could see the tears were beginning to fall.
Harry dropped to the ground in front of her, completely stumped. Ron and Hermione hurried towards them. Ron was fuming, and Hermione looked utterly disgusted.
"That foul prat!" Hermione cried as she dropped to her knees and flung her arms around Ginny.
"Harry showed him though! What were you doing dancing with him anyway?" Ron asked.
"Harry did what?" Ginny wiped at her tears and looked up at Ron.
"Harry practically broke Malfoy's nose! It was fantastic!" Ron grinned and slapped Harry on the back in a congratulatory gesture.
Ginny just stared back and forth between the three of her friends. "I'd really like to be alone. I've already done enough to ruin the wedding reception! I'll be inside in my room and I do not want to be disturbed!" She ran into the house.
xxxxxxx
Draco looked sheepishly around him. He felt blood running down his face, grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and proceeded to walk slowly inside, trying to act as natural as possible.
Mrs. Weasley ran over to him. "Come along, then, let's get this cleaned up," she said, escorting him inside.
The band resumed playing and the party slowly drifted back to life. Mrs. Weasley sat Malfoy in a chair in the kitchen and went to work on his nose.
"I'm sorr--" he began, but she shushed him.
"It's ok, dear. Please don't talk."
Malfoy winced as she put something that stung on his nose and wiped the blood from his face. She gave a quick flick of her wand. "There we go. All better."
"Thanks. Er, I think I'll have a lie down," he said heading for the stairs.
"Good idea," Mrs. Weasley said, eyes wide and she headed back outside.
xxx
As Malfoy entered his room, he heard a door slam and footsteps running up the stairs. He knew who it was. He walked back up the hall and down a flight of stairs to her room and waited outside the door.
Ginny paid attention only to the stairs as she ran to her room, nearly knocking him over as she barreled through.
"Ginny!" Malfoy blurted, as he reached out a hand to steady her.
"You!" she snarled. She opened her door and entered the room, trying to slam the door shut. Malfoy stuck his foot in and held it open.
"Wait… I want to explain!"
"No need. You just embarrassed me in front of everyone at my brother's wedding! What the heck were you thinking? Even if we… if I," she stopped, catching her breath.
"Even if what? Even if I meant it?" he demanded, reaching for her hand.
Ginny pulled it away immediately. Her eyes widened, and then she scowled.
"Oh, come off it! You're doing this to wind up Harry, aren't you? All this 'let's be friends, let's play games, let's talk and share our deepest secrets!' It's all just a dumb plan!" She kicked Malfoy's foot out of the way and slammed the door in his face.
xxx
Malfoy sighed and leaned back against the wall. What was he supposed to do? No one, especially Ginny Weasley, was going to believe that he had kissed her because, at the moment, he had actually wanted to. It was then he realized that the impossible was happening: He was falling for Ginny Weasley.
Malfoy laughed slightly to himself, shaking his head and walking back to his room. He didn't bother changing out of his dress robes; instead, he flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know what to do.
It wasn't long before he heard a knock on his door. "Yes?" Malfoy called, still stunned at the dilemma in which he found himself.
Ron entered the room and Malfoy was suddenly afraid--well, more afraid of the Weasel than he'd ever been, at least. He didn't know what it was like to be a big brother with a really gorgeous, kind, loving younger sister, but the look on Ron's face told him all he needed to know.
Ron moved swiftly to the bed and Malfoy sat up.
"What do you mean kissing Ginny in front of everyone? Trying to really play up this 'Oh I'm so good now!' act? It's not working. We all see through you! Ginny sees through you!"
Malfoy shrugged and waved off the fear. "Whatever, Weasley. You don't know a thing! But, you'll believe what you want to believe, and that's fine. I will believe what I know."
Ron scoffed. "And just what is it that you 'know'?"
"That people change, Weasel," Malfoy replied, a challenge in his tone.
"Uh huh. And I'm Father Christmas, aren't I? I ought to punch your lights out, but you're not even worth it! You're not worth my breath!" Ron was trying to keep up the menacing pace he'd started with, but ended up standing with his arms crossed at the other end of the room.
"So, why you're still here then?"
"I want to know why you kissed her! Why are you hanging out with her? What's the big plan?"
"All right Weasley," Malfoy pushed off the bed, forgetting about his still slightly swollen, sore knee. "For once in my life, I DON'T KNOW!" Now, he was the one pacing back and forth across the room.
"All of a sudden, I am living with people I would have never considered being friends with, I find out everything I was brought up to believe is rubbish, and, on top of it, I'm having these… these feelings! Someone is showing me more kindness and friendship and grace than anyone I've ever known. I know she could never care for me the way that I--" he stopped abruptly, hoping Weasley didn't notice his slip up. He'd almost admitted that he…cared… for Ginny. He tore around and picked up the closest thing to him--a hardback book he'd been reading at night--and chucked it across the room, where it slammed soundly into the wall.
But, from the look on Ron's face, he'd understood quite clearly. "You care for Ginny?"
Malfoy turned away and looked out the window. He wasn't going to finish this conversation. It was pointless. Ginny would never believe him. She'd go back to Potter, always the hero.
Malfoy turned back around and strode past Ron, not stopping until he was so far out on the property to be out of the reception's earshot.
For what seemed like ages, he walked the Weasley's property. He was angry with everyone, but he was even more angry with himself. His father had always told him this was what happened when you let people in, when you cared for them. That's why he'd never done it before.
Girls had always taken an active interest in him, and he did enjoy the attention. However, the Slytherin girls bored him, and he'd been too snobbish to bother with girls from other houses. No one had ever presented him a challenge, therefore he'd just kept to himself. But Ginny was different. It wasn't just her beauty that caused her to stand out far beyond any other girl at Hogwarts, it was her spirit--her aura.
When he finally headed back to the house, the reception was over and most of the house lights were out. But, in the garden, he could see a figure swaying back and forth on an abandoned swing. He knew that silhouette all to well, the fiery hair glimmering in the moonlight.
He drew nearer to the figure and paused, realizing his heart was pounding so loud he swore it was echoing with the crickets. He took a few quick, deep breaths and stepped into the faint moonlight. He would stand there until Ginny realized he was there, however long that took.
xxx
Ginny thought she heard footsteps in the dewy, night grass. She slowed her absent-minded swinging and looked around, quickly spotting a gleaming head of white-blond hair. She jumped from the swing and headed quickly towards the house.
She heard footsteps approaching quickly behind her and felt a gentle hand grasp her arm. She whirled around. Malfoy immediately grabbed her other arm and drew her into him. "Shhh," he whispered before leaning in and kissing her.
She stiffened momentarily, but her feelings for him, though unintended, quickly overwhelmed her. She felt his tongue prodding her lips and parted them. They explored each other's mouths until they had to gasp for air.
He leaned his forehead to hers. "Was that real enough for you? Or should I do it again?"
Ginny's eyes were wide and her mouth gaping. She shook her head. "There are so many reasons why, even if you were sincere, this would never work!" she whispered as she slid from his grip and turned away from him.
"How do you know that? I bet a month ago you would've said there were so many reasons why I would never be here, why we would never be friends! And look, now here we--"
"You're just… confused. You think that you like me because I've been nice to you and helped you, and you've just gone through all this stuff with your family, and I don't think you really--"
Draco cut her off, holding his finger to her lips.
"First of all, you're a beautiful girl. Even I, Draco Malfoy, slimy Slytherin git am going to notice that. Second, you are a lovely person. You're nice to nearly everyone, and you just… you just make me feel good about myself. After all that's happened, I should feel like crap, but when I'm with you…"
Ginny didn't know what else to say or to do. There was this huge part of her that really wanted to believe the words coming from Draco Malfoy's mouth--that he thought she was beautiful, that she had helped him feel good about himself--but it just seemed too good to be true.
Malfoy stood watching her intensely.
"Ginny, I… when you are with me I feel good. I want more of that. I don't want to just be your friend anymore."
"Malfoy, you don't know what you want," she cried. "A few months ago you wanted to kill Dumbledore, didn't you?"
"I thought we'd been through this, Ginny! I was doing the things I thought I had to do. My life was on the line; my parents' lives were on the line! What would you do? I know you'd do anything to save anyone in your family. Don't you stand there and judge me!"
Ginny dropped her head, ashamed. They had been through this before, and she was appalled that she'd verbally slapped him with the Dumbledore comment.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I want to be with you. I think you're terrified because you want to be with me, too, and I'm the furthest thing from your perfect little Potter."
Ginny gasped.
"You heard me! You're too caught up in what people will think. Well, Ginny, I've played that game nearly all my life, and do you know what? It doesn't matter what other people think! Suddenly, you find the one person whose thoughts about you do matter. I've spent far too long without someone like you in my life and I refuse to let--"
Ginny had tears streaming down her face, and so when her hand grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips down to hers, they both tasted the salt. The kiss deepened quickly and was even more fervent and desperate than the last. Draco had to gently push Ginny from him to break the kiss. He kept her close though, and rested his chin on the top of her head, one of his hands moving up to thread through her hair, sending chills down her spine.
Her hands moved gently up and down his back. "I don't know how you do it, Ginevra Weasely," he said in a low growl. "You have this way about you. You make everyone fall in love with you."
She couldn't speak at first. Draco pulled his head away and looked into her teary eyes, stroking her cheek. She could tell that she was blushing fiercely.
"I told you not to fall in love with me," she whispered, raising her lips to his once more.
xxx
Ginny and Draco spent the next few hours in the garden talking and, mostly, not talking. It was nearing dawn, and they could see the gleam of the sunrise just over the horizon.
"We should get in bed," Ginny smiled as she stroked Malfoy's silky blond hair. He raised his eyebrow. "Separately, Malfoy!"
"Ginny, we've been down here for the last four hours, and I now know the inside of your mouth better than a dentist. Couldn't you call me Draco?"
Ginny laughed out loud and, with a swat at his arm, nodded in agreement.
"I suppose if we have to go inside," he grunted and helped Ginny up. "Ginny, wait."
He took her hand as she started towards the house that was not yet abuzz with people. "I don't know… what's going to happen. And to be fair, I can't promise you much of anything right now."
"I know," Ginny responded softly, without looking at him.
"There is one thing I have to know though."
"Yes?" she eyed him, curiously.
"It's just, well, what I want to know is," he grabbed the back of his neck and looked up into the sky, obviously at a loss of how to phrase his question. "Potter. Do I…"
Ginny could see it coming and headed him off.
"Draco," they both smiled as his first name crossed her lips. "Harry was my first love." He began to roll his eyes and back away. "No! No--wait," she reassured. "It was like a puppy love thing, okay? He was the first boy I really ever knew and who paid attention to me besides my brothers. But once it actually happened, Harry and I, it wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be."
Draco perked up at this and waved his hand for her to continue.
"So, if you are asking if there is any chance me getting back with him, I'd have to say… after tonight… absolutely not," she smiled. He pulled her in to him for one last hug and kiss. "But I don't expect this to go down very easy with anyone."
"Oh, I know. It'll certainly piss off all the right people," he gazed. She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I meant that is just one of the many pluses of our little… what would you call it… affair?"
"Oh, absolutely, Draco," she laughed, taking his hand and dragging him back into the house.
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Chapter 5: Fallout
Harry had seen Malfoy lean in to kiss Ginny and had spit his butterbeer across the table. He stood automatically and began to walk towards them before he knew what he was doing. He saw Ginny run off out of the corner of his eye, but it was Draco Malfoy he was focused on.
He watched as Malfoy raised his hand to his forehead and heard him swear. Harry was suddenly in front of him.
"Oh great! Well I guess you--" Malfoy began. Then Harry's fist connected with his nose. There were several gasps and shrieks and Harry looked around stunned.
Ron shouted, "Yeah, Harry!"
Embarrassed by what he had done, Harry ran off after Ginny. He caught up with her on the other side of the house. She was curled up behind a tree, not crying just sitting.
Harry approached her cautiously. She glared at him.
"What do you want?" she snapped.
"Ginny--" he began, but didn't know what to say.
"I guess you were right about him. Using me just to get to you! Why else would he--" Ginny paused. He could see the tears were beginning to fall.
Harry dropped to the ground in front of her, completely stumped. Ron and Hermione hurried towards them. Ron was fuming, and Hermione looked utterly disgusted.
"That foul prat!" Hermione cried as she dropped to her knees and flung her arms around Ginny.
"Harry showed him though! What were you doing dancing with him anyway?" Ron asked.
"Harry did what?" Ginny wiped at her tears and looked up at Ron.
"Harry practically broke Malfoy's nose! It was fantastic!" Ron grinned and slapped Harry on the back in a congratulatory gesture.
Ginny just stared back and forth between the three of her friends. "I'd really like to be alone. I've already done enough to ruin the wedding reception! I'll be inside in my room and I do not want to be disturbed!" She ran into the house.
xxxxxxx
Draco looked sheepishly around him. He felt blood running down his face, grabbed a handkerchief out of his pocket and proceeded to walk slowly inside, trying to act as natural as possible.
Mrs. Weasley ran over to him. "Come along, then, let's get this cleaned up," she said, escorting him inside.
The band resumed playing and the party slowly drifted back to life. Mrs. Weasley sat Malfoy in a chair in the kitchen and went to work on his nose.
"I'm sorr--" he began, but she shushed him.
"It's ok, dear. Please don't talk."
Malfoy winced as she put something that stung on his nose and wiped the blood from his face. She gave a quick flick of her wand. "There we go. All better."
"Thanks. Er, I think I'll have a lie down," he said heading for the stairs.
"Good idea," Mrs. Weasley said, eyes wide and she headed back outside.
xxx
As Malfoy entered his room, he heard a door slam and footsteps running up the stairs. He knew who it was. He walked back up the hall and down a flight of stairs to her room and waited outside the door.
Ginny paid attention only to the stairs as she ran to her room, nearly knocking him over as she barreled through.
"Ginny!" Malfoy blurted, as he reached out a hand to steady her.
"You!" she snarled. She opened her door and entered the room, trying to slam the door shut. Malfoy stuck his foot in and held it open.
"Wait… I want to explain!"
"No need. You just embarrassed me in front of everyone at my brother's wedding! What the heck were you thinking? Even if we… if I," she stopped, catching her breath.
"Even if what? Even if I meant it?" he demanded, reaching for her hand.
Ginny pulled it away immediately. Her eyes widened, and then she scowled.
"Oh, come off it! You're doing this to wind up Harry, aren't you? All this 'let's be friends, let's play games, let's talk and share our deepest secrets!' It's all just a dumb plan!" She kicked Malfoy's foot out of the way and slammed the door in his face.
xxx
Malfoy sighed and leaned back against the wall. What was he supposed to do? No one, especially Ginny Weasley, was going to believe that he had kissed her because, at the moment, he had actually wanted to. It was then he realized that the impossible was happening: He was falling for Ginny Weasley.
Malfoy laughed slightly to himself, shaking his head and walking back to his room. He didn't bother changing out of his dress robes; instead, he flopped down on the bed and stared at the ceiling. He didn't know what to do.
It wasn't long before he heard a knock on his door. "Yes?" Malfoy called, still stunned at the dilemma in which he found himself.
Ron entered the room and Malfoy was suddenly afraid--well, more afraid of the Weasel than he'd ever been, at least. He didn't know what it was like to be a big brother with a really gorgeous, kind, loving younger sister, but the look on Ron's face told him all he needed to know.
Ron moved swiftly to the bed and Malfoy sat up.
"What do you mean kissing Ginny in front of everyone? Trying to really play up this 'Oh I'm so good now!' act? It's not working. We all see through you! Ginny sees through you!"
Malfoy shrugged and waved off the fear. "Whatever, Weasley. You don't know a thing! But, you'll believe what you want to believe, and that's fine. I will believe what I know."
Ron scoffed. "And just what is it that you 'know'?"
"That people change, Weasel," Malfoy replied, a challenge in his tone.
"Uh huh. And I'm Father Christmas, aren't I? I ought to punch your lights out, but you're not even worth it! You're not worth my breath!" Ron was trying to keep up the menacing pace he'd started with, but ended up standing with his arms crossed at the other end of the room.
"So, why you're still here then?"
"I want to know why you kissed her! Why are you hanging out with her? What's the big plan?"
"All right Weasley," Malfoy pushed off the bed, forgetting about his still slightly swollen, sore knee. "For once in my life, I DON'T KNOW!" Now, he was the one pacing back and forth across the room.
"All of a sudden, I am living with people I would have never considered being friends with, I find out everything I was brought up to believe is rubbish, and, on top of it, I'm having these… these feelings! Someone is showing me more kindness and friendship and grace than anyone I've ever known. I know she could never care for me the way that I--" he stopped abruptly, hoping Weasley didn't notice his slip up. He'd almost admitted that he…cared… for Ginny. He tore around and picked up the closest thing to him--a hardback book he'd been reading at night--and chucked it across the room, where it slammed soundly into the wall.
But, from the look on Ron's face, he'd understood quite clearly. "You care for Ginny?"
Malfoy turned away and looked out the window. He wasn't going to finish this conversation. It was pointless. Ginny would never believe him. She'd go back to Potter, always the hero.
Malfoy turned back around and strode past Ron, not stopping until he was so far out on the property to be out of the reception's earshot.
For what seemed like ages, he walked the Weasley's property. He was angry with everyone, but he was even more angry with himself. His father had always told him this was what happened when you let people in, when you cared for them. That's why he'd never done it before.
Girls had always taken an active interest in him, and he did enjoy the attention. However, the Slytherin girls bored him, and he'd been too snobbish to bother with girls from other houses. No one had ever presented him a challenge, therefore he'd just kept to himself. But Ginny was different. It wasn't just her beauty that caused her to stand out far beyond any other girl at Hogwarts, it was her spirit--her aura.
When he finally headed back to the house, the reception was over and most of the house lights were out. But, in the garden, he could see a figure swaying back and forth on an abandoned swing. He knew that silhouette all to well, the fiery hair glimmering in the moonlight.
He drew nearer to the figure and paused, realizing his heart was pounding so loud he swore it was echoing with the crickets. He took a few quick, deep breaths and stepped into the faint moonlight. He would stand there until Ginny realized he was there, however long that took.
xxx
Ginny thought she heard footsteps in the dewy, night grass. She slowed her absent-minded swinging and looked around, quickly spotting a gleaming head of white-blond hair. She jumped from the swing and headed quickly towards the house.
She heard footsteps approaching quickly behind her and felt a gentle hand grasp her arm. She whirled around. Malfoy immediately grabbed her other arm and drew her into him. "Shhh," he whispered before leaning in and kissing her.
She stiffened momentarily, but her feelings for him, though unintended, quickly overwhelmed her. She felt his tongue prodding her lips and parted them. They explored each other's mouths until they had to gasp for air.
He leaned his forehead to hers. "Was that real enough for you? Or should I do it again?"
Ginny's eyes were wide and her mouth gaping. She shook her head. "There are so many reasons why, even if you were sincere, this would never work!" she whispered as she slid from his grip and turned away from him.
"How do you know that? I bet a month ago you would've said there were so many reasons why I would never be here, why we would never be friends! And look, now here we--"
"You're just… confused. You think that you like me because I've been nice to you and helped you, and you've just gone through all this stuff with your family, and I don't think you really--"
Draco cut her off, holding his finger to her lips.
"First of all, you're a beautiful girl. Even I, Draco Malfoy, slimy Slytherin git am going to notice that. Second, you are a lovely person. You're nice to nearly everyone, and you just… you just make me feel good about myself. After all that's happened, I should feel like crap, but when I'm with you…"
Ginny didn't know what else to say or to do. There was this huge part of her that really wanted to believe the words coming from Draco Malfoy's mouth--that he thought she was beautiful, that she had helped him feel good about himself--but it just seemed too good to be true.
Malfoy stood watching her intensely.
"Ginny, I… when you are with me I feel good. I want more of that. I don't want to just be your friend anymore."
"Malfoy, you don't know what you want," she cried. "A few months ago you wanted to kill Dumbledore, didn't you?"
"I thought we'd been through this, Ginny! I was doing the things I thought I had to do. My life was on the line; my parents' lives were on the line! What would you do? I know you'd do anything to save anyone in your family. Don't you stand there and judge me!"
Ginny dropped her head, ashamed. They had been through this before, and she was appalled that she'd verbally slapped him with the Dumbledore comment.
Malfoy rolled his eyes. "I want to be with you. I think you're terrified because you want to be with me, too, and I'm the furthest thing from your perfect little Potter."
Ginny gasped.
"You heard me! You're too caught up in what people will think. Well, Ginny, I've played that game nearly all my life, and do you know what? It doesn't matter what other people think! Suddenly, you find the one person whose thoughts about you do matter. I've spent far too long without someone like you in my life and I refuse to let--"
Ginny had tears streaming down her face, and so when her hand grabbed the back of his neck and pulled his lips down to hers, they both tasted the salt. The kiss deepened quickly and was even more fervent and desperate than the last. Draco had to gently push Ginny from him to break the kiss. He kept her close though, and rested his chin on the top of her head, one of his hands moving up to thread through her hair, sending chills down her spine.
Her hands moved gently up and down his back. "I don't know how you do it, Ginevra Weasely," he said in a low growl. "You have this way about you. You make everyone fall in love with you."
She couldn't speak at first. Draco pulled his head away and looked into her teary eyes, stroking her cheek. She could tell that she was blushing fiercely.
"I told you not to fall in love with me," she whispered, raising her lips to his once more.
xxx
Ginny and Draco spent the next few hours in the garden talking and, mostly, not talking. It was nearing dawn, and they could see the gleam of the sunrise just over the horizon.
"We should get in bed," Ginny smiled as she stroked Malfoy's silky blond hair. He raised his eyebrow. "Separately, Malfoy!"
"Ginny, we've been down here for the last four hours, and I now know the inside of your mouth better than a dentist. Couldn't you call me Draco?"
Ginny laughed out loud and, with a swat at his arm, nodded in agreement.
"I suppose if we have to go inside," he grunted and helped Ginny up. "Ginny, wait."
He took her hand as she started towards the house that was not yet abuzz with people. "I don't know… what's going to happen. And to be fair, I can't promise you much of anything right now."
"I know," Ginny responded softly, without looking at him.
"There is one thing I have to know though."
"Yes?" she eyed him, curiously.
"It's just, well, what I want to know is," he grabbed the back of his neck and looked up into the sky, obviously at a loss of how to phrase his question. "Potter. Do I…"
Ginny could see it coming and headed him off.
"Draco," they both smiled as his first name crossed her lips. "Harry was my first love." He began to roll his eyes and back away. "No! No--wait," she reassured. "It was like a puppy love thing, okay? He was the first boy I really ever knew and who paid attention to me besides my brothers. But once it actually happened, Harry and I, it wasn't as powerful as I thought it would be."
Draco perked up at this and waved his hand for her to continue.
"So, if you are asking if there is any chance me getting back with him, I'd have to say… after tonight… absolutely not," she smiled. He pulled her in to him for one last hug and kiss. "But I don't expect this to go down very easy with anyone."
"Oh, I know. It'll certainly piss off all the right people," he gazed. She rolled her eyes dramatically. "I meant that is just one of the many pluses of our little… what would you call it… affair?"
"Oh, absolutely, Draco," she laughed, taking his hand and dragging him back into the house.
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