“Congratulations Ginny!” Ron lifted her into his arms and twirled her around. Once he set her back on her feet, Ginny could see the rest of the Weasley clan hurrying towards them. Mrs. Weasley was blowing her nose in her handkerchief and wiping her red eyes. Bill and Fleur were following, pushing baby Charlotte in her stroller. Percy was scowling at something. Seeing the twins, Fred and George, doubled over with laughter, Ginny thought they were probably the cause of Percy’s irritation. Charlie grinned as he and Mr. Weasley each grabbed a twin by the collar and kept them moving along. Harry Potter and Hermione Granger, Ron’s best friends and honorary members of the Weasley family, were hanging back to let the red-haired brood have a few moments without them.
Ginny hugged each of them in turn as they congratulated her and told her how proud they were of her accomplishments. She had graduated at the top of her class. As happy as Ginny was to see them all, her eyes kept wandering, looking for the one person whose presence she had been most anticipating. Suddenly, strong arms snaked around her waist and a low voice whispered in her ear.
“Happy graduation, Darling,” the familiar voice said.
“Draco!” Ginny cried as she turned to embrace him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a kiss. “I’ve missed you,” she sighed.
The rest of the day was a blur of family and friends, food and drink. When late in the evening people began to leave, Ginny let Draco walk her back to the Gryffindor common room. They settled on a couch near the fire and Ginny leaned back against her handsome blonde beau.
“I can’t believe this is my last night at Hogwarts,” she said. “I’m going to miss it.”
Draco lightly kissed her hair. “I know. I felt the same way when I graduated. Of course, I was leaving you as well as school.”
Ginny looked up at the young man she had been dating for the past two years and smiled. “I know it’s been difficult, with you in London for your Auror training and me here at school. Now that I’ve graduated, we’ll be able to see each other a lot more often.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.” Draco fidgeted with the chain he was wearing. Was he nervous, she wondered? “Look, Ginny,” he gently turned her so that she faced him, “I’ve missed you like crazy, it’s lonely in that big house all by myself.” He paused.
Ginny wondered where this was going. She knew that Draco lived in the house that had belonged to his parents before his father went to Azkaban and his mother became a permanent resident of St. Mungo’s. She had visited him there once, it was a beautiful palatial estate just outside London, but she knew it held some very painful memories for him. He often spoke of remodeling it so that it would no longer be recognizable as the home of his parents.
“Draco, what are…,” she started to ask but he cut her off.
“I want you to move in with me,” he blurted out. “I know you want to wait until you’re married to make love, and that’s fine – I respect your decision – you could have your own bedroom. I just need to be near you.” He took a deep breath and looked at her expectantly.
“It’s a lovely offer but I can’t move into Malfoy Manor, Draco,” Ginny said quietly. “I’ve already rented a flat.”
“I’m sure we could talk to the landlord and get you out of the lease. I can reimburse you if he keeps your deposit.” Draco was trying valiantly not to look crushed.
“I couldn’t leave Colin in the lurch like that,” she started, but he broke in again.
“What’s Creevey got to do with this?” he asked, sounding a bit miffed.
“Well, I, er, that is to say, oh hell. Colin and I are renting the flat together.” Ginny immediately regretted the way that had come out.
Jumping up off the couch, Draco shouted, “You’re what!” He began pacing in front of the fire, his face contorted with anger and pain. “You’re moving in with Creevey?”
“No, no! You don’t understand!” She tried to take hold of his hands but he pulled away.
“You’ve got that God damned right! I’ve spent the past year waiting for the day we could be together again. Three trips to Hogsmeade to see you and one visit over the holidays were all that kept me from going insane missing you. Now you’re telling me you’d rather be with Creevey than with me. No, I don’t understand at all!”
Ginny looked at him pleadingly. “Please sit down and let me explain, Draco. It’s not what you think.”
Reluctantly, he allowed her to pull him back onto the couch.
“You remember when I told you that I wanted to take a year off after graduation, right?”
“Yes, but I can’t seem to recall the part where you mentioned living with a man that isn’t me.”
Ginny sighed, “I know. When I spoke to you none of this was planned. Once everything sort of fell into place, I didn’t know how to tell you. I knew you’d be upset.”
“Imagine that,” he mumbled sarcastically as he stared at the floor.
“Just hear me out, would you Draco? This isn’t coming out right at all. You know that Colin and I have never been anything other than friends. That’s all he and I will ever be.” Ginny lifted her hand to his chin and forced him to look her in the eye. “Colin and I were talking about our plans after graduation and he was telling me how he planned to go back and live a Muggle lifestyle for a little while. He’s Muggle-born and he just wants to make sure he knows what he wants before he commits to a life in the wizarding world. As much as he’s loved his experience at Hogwarts, there are things he misses from home.”
“Fine, so Creevey wants to pretend he’s a Muggle. What’s that got to do with you?” Draco was becoming impatient for her to get to the point.
“I’m getting to that,” Ginny said soothingly. “While he was telling me about all this, I started thinking that it might be interesting to live so differently than I have up till now. I’m not torn about it the way Colin is, but I thought it would be fun – an adventure. There is a lot that I don’t know though, so Colin is teaching me all about Muggle money and clothes and customs and all sorts of things. It just made sense to rent a flat together so that he could help me get acclimated and well, frankly, so that it would be less expensive. Hogwarts doesn’t offer the kind of education that would get us high paying Muggle jobs, even though it’s well respected in magical circles, so we’ll probably be stretched a bit thin.”
Draco was looking at her as if she had three heads. “So you want to go live as a Muggle, and a poor one at that? If you came to live with me you’d never have to worry about money, Ginny, I could give you anything you’d ever want.”
“It’s not about the money, Draco. You know well enough that my family has never been well off. I’m not afraid of being poor. It’s about doing something daring and seeing if I could make it on my own. Besides, you had never mentioned that you wanted me to move in with you before and I’ve already made a commitment to Colin.”
“But living without magic? I scrubbed enough cauldrons in detention to no that that sort of thing is no fun.”
Colin came down the stairs from the boys’ dorm and smirked at Draco. “I imagine Ginny’s not quite as intimidated by manual labor as you, Malfoy.”
Draco turned and glared at the intruder, “What’s that supposed to mean, Creevey? You don’t think I’m as tough enough to handle the big, bad Muggle world?”
“Come on, Malfoy. You’re a good guy and all, but you’re not exactly the domestic type. You wouldn’t last a day, much less a year.” Ginny turned away so Draco wouldn’t see her struggling not to laugh. She loved him but Colin was right, he had been pampered for most of his life.
“Is that so?” Draco hated to be told he couldn’t do anything. He looked over at Ginny, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you over there snickering.”
“Right then Malfoy, how about we make a little wager? You move in with the two of us and live a Muggle lifestyle, outside of your schooling of course. You’ll be expected to do your fair share of the housework and to get a part-time Muggle job to pay your part of the rent. You will not be allowed to use your inheritance for your Muggle expenses. I understand that you have a house to maintain, so you can continue to pay any expenses related to your life as a wizard from those coffers. If you can manage like that for an entire year, I’ll be your personal assistant for a month. A human house elf, if you will. If you back out, you reimburse Ginny and me for the entire year’s rent.”
“You’re on, Creevey!”
Ginny waved her hand between the two young men. “Um, hello, does anyone want to ask what I think of this idea?”
Colin and Draco turned towards her quickly. Neither had stopped to consider that she might not be pleased with this turn of events. Draco tried not to look stricken, she really didn’t want to live with him – not in his home or her apartment.
“I’m sorry, Gin,” Colin looked sheepish. “I should have talked to you first. I take it you aren’t keen on our friendly little bet?”
“I love it. Anything that gets me more time with Draco is a great idea as far as I’m concerned. You seem to have forgotten that we only have two bedrooms though.”
Colin chuckled and sent a sly look towards Draco. “Aw, don’t worry about that Gin. Malfoy’s not too soft to share a room. Are you, mate? The larger bedroom could fit two beds… or one large one. I’ll leave it to you two to determine the sleeping arrangements.”
Ginny blushed, “I suppose we could work it out. It is a large bedroom.”
“Well, if that’s all settled, I think I’ll head on up to bed. Goodnight roomies.” Colin waved and started back up the stairs to the boys’ dormitory.
Ginny and Draco said good night to Colin and sat back down on the couch. Looking pensive, Draco took her hand.
“Darling, are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asked softly.
“Draco, this is the only chance I’ll have to do something wild. Next year I’ll go to school to get my master healer degree and,” she looked down shyly, “I’m rather hoping to be married before too long.”
With his eyes twinkling, Draco smiled and pressed her hand to his mouth. “Anyone in mind,” he asked.
“Well, there is this sexy blonde I’ll be rooming with.”
Ginny hugged each of them in turn as they congratulated her and told her how proud they were of her accomplishments. She had graduated at the top of her class. As happy as Ginny was to see them all, her eyes kept wandering, looking for the one person whose presence she had been most anticipating. Suddenly, strong arms snaked around her waist and a low voice whispered in her ear.
“Happy graduation, Darling,” the familiar voice said.
“Draco!” Ginny cried as she turned to embrace him. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she pulled him into a kiss. “I’ve missed you,” she sighed.
The rest of the day was a blur of family and friends, food and drink. When late in the evening people began to leave, Ginny let Draco walk her back to the Gryffindor common room. They settled on a couch near the fire and Ginny leaned back against her handsome blonde beau.
“I can’t believe this is my last night at Hogwarts,” she said. “I’m going to miss it.”
Draco lightly kissed her hair. “I know. I felt the same way when I graduated. Of course, I was leaving you as well as school.”
Ginny looked up at the young man she had been dating for the past two years and smiled. “I know it’s been difficult, with you in London for your Auror training and me here at school. Now that I’ve graduated, we’ll be able to see each other a lot more often.”
“That’s what I’m counting on.” Draco fidgeted with the chain he was wearing. Was he nervous, she wondered? “Look, Ginny,” he gently turned her so that she faced him, “I’ve missed you like crazy, it’s lonely in that big house all by myself.” He paused.
Ginny wondered where this was going. She knew that Draco lived in the house that had belonged to his parents before his father went to Azkaban and his mother became a permanent resident of St. Mungo’s. She had visited him there once, it was a beautiful palatial estate just outside London, but she knew it held some very painful memories for him. He often spoke of remodeling it so that it would no longer be recognizable as the home of his parents.
“Draco, what are…,” she started to ask but he cut her off.
“I want you to move in with me,” he blurted out. “I know you want to wait until you’re married to make love, and that’s fine – I respect your decision – you could have your own bedroom. I just need to be near you.” He took a deep breath and looked at her expectantly.
“It’s a lovely offer but I can’t move into Malfoy Manor, Draco,” Ginny said quietly. “I’ve already rented a flat.”
“I’m sure we could talk to the landlord and get you out of the lease. I can reimburse you if he keeps your deposit.” Draco was trying valiantly not to look crushed.
“I couldn’t leave Colin in the lurch like that,” she started, but he broke in again.
“What’s Creevey got to do with this?” he asked, sounding a bit miffed.
“Well, I, er, that is to say, oh hell. Colin and I are renting the flat together.” Ginny immediately regretted the way that had come out.
Jumping up off the couch, Draco shouted, “You’re what!” He began pacing in front of the fire, his face contorted with anger and pain. “You’re moving in with Creevey?”
“No, no! You don’t understand!” She tried to take hold of his hands but he pulled away.
“You’ve got that God damned right! I’ve spent the past year waiting for the day we could be together again. Three trips to Hogsmeade to see you and one visit over the holidays were all that kept me from going insane missing you. Now you’re telling me you’d rather be with Creevey than with me. No, I don’t understand at all!”
Ginny looked at him pleadingly. “Please sit down and let me explain, Draco. It’s not what you think.”
Reluctantly, he allowed her to pull him back onto the couch.
“You remember when I told you that I wanted to take a year off after graduation, right?”
“Yes, but I can’t seem to recall the part where you mentioned living with a man that isn’t me.”
Ginny sighed, “I know. When I spoke to you none of this was planned. Once everything sort of fell into place, I didn’t know how to tell you. I knew you’d be upset.”
“Imagine that,” he mumbled sarcastically as he stared at the floor.
“Just hear me out, would you Draco? This isn’t coming out right at all. You know that Colin and I have never been anything other than friends. That’s all he and I will ever be.” Ginny lifted her hand to his chin and forced him to look her in the eye. “Colin and I were talking about our plans after graduation and he was telling me how he planned to go back and live a Muggle lifestyle for a little while. He’s Muggle-born and he just wants to make sure he knows what he wants before he commits to a life in the wizarding world. As much as he’s loved his experience at Hogwarts, there are things he misses from home.”
“Fine, so Creevey wants to pretend he’s a Muggle. What’s that got to do with you?” Draco was becoming impatient for her to get to the point.
“I’m getting to that,” Ginny said soothingly. “While he was telling me about all this, I started thinking that it might be interesting to live so differently than I have up till now. I’m not torn about it the way Colin is, but I thought it would be fun – an adventure. There is a lot that I don’t know though, so Colin is teaching me all about Muggle money and clothes and customs and all sorts of things. It just made sense to rent a flat together so that he could help me get acclimated and well, frankly, so that it would be less expensive. Hogwarts doesn’t offer the kind of education that would get us high paying Muggle jobs, even though it’s well respected in magical circles, so we’ll probably be stretched a bit thin.”
Draco was looking at her as if she had three heads. “So you want to go live as a Muggle, and a poor one at that? If you came to live with me you’d never have to worry about money, Ginny, I could give you anything you’d ever want.”
“It’s not about the money, Draco. You know well enough that my family has never been well off. I’m not afraid of being poor. It’s about doing something daring and seeing if I could make it on my own. Besides, you had never mentioned that you wanted me to move in with you before and I’ve already made a commitment to Colin.”
“But living without magic? I scrubbed enough cauldrons in detention to no that that sort of thing is no fun.”
Colin came down the stairs from the boys’ dorm and smirked at Draco. “I imagine Ginny’s not quite as intimidated by manual labor as you, Malfoy.”
Draco turned and glared at the intruder, “What’s that supposed to mean, Creevey? You don’t think I’m as tough enough to handle the big, bad Muggle world?”
“Come on, Malfoy. You’re a good guy and all, but you’re not exactly the domestic type. You wouldn’t last a day, much less a year.” Ginny turned away so Draco wouldn’t see her struggling not to laugh. She loved him but Colin was right, he had been pampered for most of his life.
“Is that so?” Draco hated to be told he couldn’t do anything. He looked over at Ginny, “Don’t think I haven’t noticed you over there snickering.”
“Right then Malfoy, how about we make a little wager? You move in with the two of us and live a Muggle lifestyle, outside of your schooling of course. You’ll be expected to do your fair share of the housework and to get a part-time Muggle job to pay your part of the rent. You will not be allowed to use your inheritance for your Muggle expenses. I understand that you have a house to maintain, so you can continue to pay any expenses related to your life as a wizard from those coffers. If you can manage like that for an entire year, I’ll be your personal assistant for a month. A human house elf, if you will. If you back out, you reimburse Ginny and me for the entire year’s rent.”
“You’re on, Creevey!”
Ginny waved her hand between the two young men. “Um, hello, does anyone want to ask what I think of this idea?”
Colin and Draco turned towards her quickly. Neither had stopped to consider that she might not be pleased with this turn of events. Draco tried not to look stricken, she really didn’t want to live with him – not in his home or her apartment.
“I’m sorry, Gin,” Colin looked sheepish. “I should have talked to you first. I take it you aren’t keen on our friendly little bet?”
“I love it. Anything that gets me more time with Draco is a great idea as far as I’m concerned. You seem to have forgotten that we only have two bedrooms though.”
Colin chuckled and sent a sly look towards Draco. “Aw, don’t worry about that Gin. Malfoy’s not too soft to share a room. Are you, mate? The larger bedroom could fit two beds… or one large one. I’ll leave it to you two to determine the sleeping arrangements.”
Ginny blushed, “I suppose we could work it out. It is a large bedroom.”
“Well, if that’s all settled, I think I’ll head on up to bed. Goodnight roomies.” Colin waved and started back up the stairs to the boys’ dormitory.
Ginny and Draco said good night to Colin and sat back down on the couch. Looking pensive, Draco took her hand.
“Darling, are you sure this is what you want to do?” he asked softly.
“Draco, this is the only chance I’ll have to do something wild. Next year I’ll go to school to get my master healer degree and,” she looked down shyly, “I’m rather hoping to be married before too long.”
With his eyes twinkling, Draco smiled and pressed her hand to his mouth. “Anyone in mind,” he asked.
“Well, there is this sexy blonde I’ll be rooming with.”
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