She stood outside his flat, glancing around to see if anyone had seen her Apparate into the dimly lit hallway. After looking around and seeing that no one coming, she knocked on his door. From inside the flat, she could hear the sound of rustling, and then a low hiss, followed by a few swear words that would make her mother frown. Abruptly, the door opened with a sharp sound of metal on metal, and he blinked at her.
“Hello,” he said, smiling faintly. “I hope my neighbors didn’t startled you.”
Ginny shook her head and walked past him, careful to brush his hand as she entered his home. With one swift movement, he stopped her and pulled her against him, wrapping his arms around her waist. Immediately, she felt tingles start in her toes and travel slowly up the rest of her body until she felt lightheaded.
He smiled, his gray eyes gleaming as he bent his head and brushed his lips against hers; once, twice, three times lightly before applying some pressure. His hands slid up her body, briefly catching her bare stomach as her shirt rose, until he had her face cradled in his hands.
Ginny felt her entire body explode, tiny little sparks making their way through her stomach, and she wrapped her arms around his neck and pulled him closer, moaning softly against his mouth.
Draco’s mouth twitched and he kissed her deeply, his tongue sliding past her teeth. His breath had become short and ragged. He picked her up, and her legs wrapped around his torso, squeezing lightly until he groaned.
No sooner had she been placed on her back did she sit up, looking around. “The sofa?” she muttered, staring at him.
He grinned slowly and leaned to kiss her again, his hand fisting in her hair. He pushed her down against the cushions and crawled on top of her, never letting his mouth leave hers for a second. He ground his hips into hers, growling softly, and holding her wrists above her head, so they dangled off the armrest.
Ginny squeaked as Draco’s lips found her neck and slowly sucked the flesh there. He marked her, claiming her as his own and ensuring no one else would try to steal her. His hands moved to undo the buttons on her blouse, but when her hand covered his, he paused.
“Are you okay?” he asked.
Ginny’s eyes widened and she shook her head. “I’m fine,” she whispered. “I’m just a little nervous.”
His smile made her stomach explode with tiny butterflies.
“That’s all right. We’ll take things slow,” he replied. “I’m sorry if I rushed you into things.”
Ginny’s smile wavered as she sat up and leaned against him.
“So, what happened?” Draco asked, half forgetting the other reason she was here. “You said you needed to get out of the Burrow.”
Ginny stared at him, then at the two glasses of wine on the table in front of her. She decided not to ask whom the other belonged to, but took the one that was half-full of bubbling liquid and drank it in one gulp. “Harry’s an arse, that’s what,” she said scathingly.
Draco watched her with interest as she put the glass down and fixed her shirt. “It’s nothing new,” he said with a sneer. “He’s always been that way.”
“I think you have him confused with you.”
He shot her a horrible look.
“I’m sorry,” she said quietly, slouching and sipping more champagne. “I didn’t mean-”
“It’s all right,” he said, nodding. “He’ll get what’s coming to him.”
“I punched him,” Ginny said with a smile.
“Did you?” Draco asked, looking mildly impressed. “Where?”
“I broke his nose.”
Draco burst out laughing and pushed his hair out of his face as he nearly fell over. “He bloody deserved it, did he? Oh, I would have loved to see Granger’s face during all of this.”
Ginny shook her head. “He just won’t stop being so jealous.”
“He’s protective,” he corrected her. “Even I can see that, Gin. He doesn’t like you being with someone else, because you’re like a sister to him.”
“We dated,” she reminded him.
“Yes, and he dumped you because he didn’t feel good about you getting hurt,” Draco said. He filled the second glass with champagne and sipped it. Ginny watched him suspiciously. “Don’t worry,” he said, noticing the look on her face. “Blaise stopped by before; this is his glass.”
“Blaise was here?” Ginny said as she exhaled.
“He was.” Draco nodded and sat back. “And, let me say this, he doesn’t think very highly of you as it is.”
She blinked at him. “Excuse me? What did I ever do to him?”
Draco shrugged. “He says I’m trying to get you into bed, too.”
“What?” Ginny shouted. “That’s ridiculous!” Suddenly, a horrible thought entered her head and she shuddered. “Draco,” she said softly. “Did you – did you use women at Hogwarts?” It was out of her mouth before she could stop it. She squeezed her eyes shut and waited. When he didn’t scream at her or grab her angrily, she cracked an eye open. He was staring at her, his mouth twitching slightly, his eyes growing dark.
“Where did you hear that?” he asked calmly.
“I…Harry said…” Ginny stopped, knowing that was not a name Draco wanted to hear right now, especially pertaining to the current situation.
“Of course, if the famous Harry Potter says so then it must be true.” He tilted his head. “Is that what you think, Ginny?”
“Of course not,” replied the redhead. “I thought you knew me better than that.”
Abruptly, Draco’s eye twitched. Not a good sign. “Do I really?” he said, moving closer. He clasped his fingers around her wrists and pulled her against him. “I know your first and last name, where you live, how many brothers you have.” He smiled thinly. “How many people you dated, who you considered friends, what your favorite color is, favorite types of movies, favorite ice cream-”
Ginny’s eyes widened and she smiled slowly. Gingerly, she lent over and kissed his cheek. “You’re not stalking me, are you, Malfoy?” she asked with a giggle.
“Oh, no,” said Draco with a cheeky grin. “I’ve just done a bit of studying the past few years.”
“That’s a whole books worth of things!”
As she settled against him, his arm around her and her head on his chest, she wondered if it was even worth going home today. She felt his lips brush the top of her head and she smiled, cuddling closer to him.
“Are you going home tonight?” he asked.
His question was not answered, but she tilted her head and kissed him rather aggressively, her fingers tugging at his hair. He only broke the contact to utter three words, and then all was silent again.
“What did you say?” Ginny asked, praying she had heard him wrong.
Draco glanced sheepishly at her and took a breath, letting it out slowly before saying, “I said I love you.”
Ginny suddenly felt as though a ton of bricks had been dropped into the pit of her stomach. She continued to stare at him, unable to think of anything to say.
All of this, all of what they had been through, had come down to one terrifying phrase.
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