In Which These Two Smiles Meet

Part II

“Oops!” Alicia had pulled Ginny’s hair a little too hard. “Sorry about that.”

“No problem,” Ginny said, coming back to the present. “It’s the price we pay for beauty, right?”

“I’m afraid so,” Alicia answered. “There, how do you like that?”

Ginny turned toward the mirror. Alicia had manipulated her hair into an elegant twist which, along with the low neckline of her dress robes, made her neck look particularly graceful.

“It’s beautiful,” Ginny said with a smile. She could almost believe her daydream would come true if she looked like this. After a moment, she looked anxiously at Alicia and asked, “Are you sure I don’t need an invitation?”

“Of course,” Alicia said briskly. “Mr. Elliot is a huge Quidditch fanatic—the biggest one I’ve ever met. He loves everything and everyone who has anything at all to do with the game. He’ll be thrilled to meet you!”

“I hope so,” Ginny said tentatively.

“I know so,” Alicia said with a smile. “And once people see you there tonight, you’re sure to be invited to the Bertrams’ ball next week, and all the rest after that.”

“There’s another ball next week?” Ginny asked, startled. She wasn’t sure she would have enough money to keep buying new dress robes every week, even once she started getting paid. And even worse, she had absolutely no idea how to behave at a society ball.

“Yes, of course,” Alicia said. She paused and then added, “You shouldn’t worry about it, you know. The first couple of balls are always awkward, but you get used to it. In a month it will be old hat. And it will all end up paying for itself in the end, so don’t go thinking about money!”

“But I don’t have very much.”

“You will,” Alicia said, “especially with the way you fly. And Isabella and I will happily lend you anything you need until your savings start to grow.”

“You’d do that for me?” Ginny asked, tears welling up in her eyes.

“What are friends for?” Alicia said. “Now, we’re already verging on being unfashionably late. Are you ready to go?”

“As ready as I’ll ever be, I guess,” Ginny said dubiously.

“Good,” Alicia responded, taking Ginny’s arm and Apparating them both.

They stopped to greet their hostess Mrs. Elliot in the entrance hall, then set off to find Mr. Elliot. “He never greets people as he should,” Alicia said. “He finds it utterly boring. He’s lucky everyone likes him, or he’d never be able to get away with it.”

As Alicia led her through the Elliots’ mansion, Ginny was amazed by the sheer number of rooms. They passed through seven or eight before they reached the salon where the formidable Mr. Elliot was holding court.

“My dear Miss Spinnet!” boomed a voice from across the room. “How lovely to see you!” Ginny and Alicia made their way through the masses to reach a portly gentleman with a monocle and a walrus mustache, wearing what appeared to be old Quidditch robes that had faded almost to gray. “How is your training progressing?”

“Hello, Mr. Elliot,” Alicia said. “We’ve only been training for a week, but I think it’s been going quite well, especially now that we have Ginny here.”

Mr. Elliot seemed to notice Ginny for the first time. He turned towards her, looking her up and down.

“Mr. Elliot,” Alicia said formally, “may I present Miss Ginevra Weasley, newly signed to the Harpies’ reserve team. Ginny, this is Mr. Elliot, our host tonight, and one of our greatest supporters.”

“How do you do?” Ginny asked demurely.

“I do quite well, if I do say so myself,” Mr. Elliot responded with a great belly laugh which set some of Ginny’s fears to rest. “So you’re new to Quidditch, are you?”

“I’m new to professional Quidditch,” Ginny answered, looking him in the eye, “but I did play at Hogwarts.”

“Gryffindor, I suppose, considering your family history?” he asked. Ginny nodded. “Which position do you play?”

“Chaser,” Ginny said, and then she smiled slightly and added, “but I did fill in as Seeker a few times when Harry Potter couldn’t play.”

“Oh ho!” Mr. Elliot said. “Filled in for Potter, did you? Those are awfully big shoes to fill. How’d you do?”

“I never missed the Snitch,” Ginny answered.

Mr. Elliot raised an eyebrow. “Never?”

“Well, I only played a few games as Seeker.”

“Still, with a record like that, why switch to Chaser?”

Ginny shrugged. “Playing Seeker is so boring!” she said.

“B-boring?” Mr. Elliot asked.

“Sure,” Ginny said. “You spend most of the game flying around by yourself, looking for the Snitch. When you do spot it, you generally end up having fifteen seconds of true excitement, then it’s all over. I’d much rather be doing something.”

“I see,” Mr. Elliot said, his eyes lit with amusement. He turned to Alicia. “Thank you for bringing Miss Weasley, Miss Spinnet. I quite like her, I think.” He paused for a moment, looking off into the distance. “Isn’t that your young man, dear?” he asked.

Alicia looked in the same direction as Mr. Elliot and nodded. She had turned slightly pink.

“Well, off with you, then!” Mr. Elliot said. “Miss Weasley and I will manage without you.”

Alicia looked at Ginny, who nodded. “If you don’t mind, I think I will.”

“Of course!” Mr. Elliot said. In a moment, Alicia was gone.

“So, Miss Weasley,” Mr. Elliot said after a moment, “what do you think of the Harpies’ prospects this year?”

“They’re not too bad,” Ginny answered thoughtfully. “Puddlemere and the Arrows will pose a challenge, but we may be able to take them.” She paused. “Of course, our prospects would be much better if they took me out of the reserves and played me on the regular team!”

Mr. Elliot looked startled for a moment, then burst into laughter. “Oh yes, I do like you,” he said. “You have spirit!” He paused for a moment, looking around him. “I suppose you would like to dance, wouldn’t you?”

Ginny was a bit startled by the question. When she had considered dancing at the ball, she had assumed she would dance with men more her age, but she didn’t want to insult her host. “Yes, that would be lovely,” she said quietly.

“Of course you would,” Mr. Elliot said as he grabbed the arm of a young man who was passing. “Ah, yes. Mr. Malfoy,” he said to the young man. “My new friend here would like to dance, but she doesn’t know anyone. Would you do the honors?”

Ginny froze. Malfoy? He had tormented her and her friends at Hogwarts, and had even caused injuries to two of her brothers. She didn’t want to dance with him. Even worse, there was no way he would dance with her; it was common knowledge that he looked down on her family. And then she would be disgraced before the evening had really even begun. Ginny stiffened in anticipation of Draco’s rejection.

“Of course, sir,” Draco answered. He turned to her with a polite expression on his face.

“Ah! Very good, very good,” Mr. Elliot said. “Mr. Malfoy, this is Miss Weasley. Miss Weasley, Mr. Malfoy.”

“We are already acquainted, Mr. Elliot,” Draco said evenly. “We were at Hogwarts together.”

“Of course you were!” Mr. Elliot boomed. “You must have all sorts of news to catch up on!”

“Indeed,” Draco said with a small smile. Ginny had trouble keeping her shock from showing as Draco turned to her, offering his arm, and asking, “Shall we?”

***

Ginny was silent as Draco led her onto the dance floor. What was there for her to say anyway? She would just wait for the music to end so she could make her escape.

“It is conventional to converse while dancing, you know,” Draco said dryly after a minute or two.

Ginny looked up at him. “It is?” she asked. “But whatever would we have to talk about?”

“We could catch up with each other, as Mr. Elliot suggested,” Draco offered.

Ginny pursed her lips. “That would presuppose that we had ever spoken to each other before, except to hurl curses at one another.”

“That’s not entirely true,” Draco said with amusement. “I remember taunting you mercilessly about your silly crush on Potter more than once.”

“So do I!” Ginny said indignantly. “Can you blame me for being dubious about our chances for conversation now?”

“Perhaps not,” Draco said. “But we aren’t at Hogwarts anymore. We are at one of the premier events of the social season. It would be the height of rudeness to make a scene.”

“All right,” Ginny said. “For the sake of appearances, I will attempt to make polite conversation with you, as long as you are polite in return.”

“Very well,” Draco said. He led Ginny effortlessly into a complicated spin. When she was facing him once more, Draco’s expression had become serious again.

“So, Miss Weasley,” Draco asked, “what have you been doing since leaving Hogwarts? Something to do with Quidditch, I presume?”

Ginny’s jaw dropped. “How did you know?”

Draco raised one eyebrow. “It wasn’t that difficult to deduce,” he said. “Old Elliot is completely single-minded about the sport. If he took a fancy to you, you must be connected somehow.”

“Oh,” Ginny said, feeling overwhelmed. There must be millions of facts like that which those born to high society knew automatically. How long would it take her to learn enough to fit in?

Draco spoke again, distracting Ginny from her thoughts. “Are you still playing Quidditch?”

“I just joined the Harpies’ reserve team,” Ginny answered.

“Impressive,” Draco said, raising his eyebrows. “Gwenog Jones can be extremely picky when it comes to recruiting. Still playing Chaser?”

Ginny nodded. “Why didn’t you think I was a Seeker?” she asked. “Everyone else does.”

“You were a pretty good Seeker, but you were an even better Chaser.”

“And you knew this because…?”

“You don’t think I wouldn’t keep track of all the opposing players? Know thine enemy, Weasley. It’s good advice, in Quidditch, business, or any other situation.”

“In what situations do you use it now, Malfoy?” Ginny asked.

Draco didn’t respond.

“Now you know what I do all day; how about you?” Ginny prompted.

“I work with my father, running our family business.”

Ginny frowned. “But what do you do?”

“Our company imports and sells magical objects, develops new products, and invests in promising new businesses. My father and I oversee it all, which means lots of meetings with owners of other business, writing contracts, and things like that.”

“It sounds dreadfully boring,” Ginny said forcefully.

“It can be,” Draco said with a nod. “We can’t all be professional Quidditch players, I’m afraid. But I find other things to enjoy in life.”

“Like these balls?” Ginny asked.

“After a while, all the parties feel almost like work as well. Occasionally something different happens to make them interesting, though.” A small smile had returned to Draco’s face. “This is your first society event, is it not?”

“Is it that obvious?” Ginny asked, worried.

“Your arrival created quite a sensation indeed,” Draco said. “Everyone is horribly curious about how a Weasley will fare in high society.”

“Including you?”

“I was,” Draco said, “but not anymore.”

“I believe I will take that as a compliment, whether you meant it that way or not,” Ginny said with a smile. She looked curiously around her at the other couples. “Will they be watching my every move?”

“Of course,” Draco answered matter-of-factly. “But they won’t be anything other than polite to you. It just isn’t done.”

“No,” Ginny said wryly. “They’ll just talk cattily about me behind my back!”

“I do believe you are catching on!” Draco said with a genuine smile, bringing them to a halt.

Ginny was surprised to notice that the music had ended. The dance had felt much shorter than she had expected.

Draco led Ginny from the dance floor. “Thank you for the dance, Miss Weasley. I quite enjoyed it.”

“It was my pleasure,” Ginny answered with a slight blush.

Draco bowed slightly and was gone.

Ginny, alone again, looked around at the unfamiliar faces. Couples were pairing up for the next dance. Not having a partner, Ginny left the ballroom, hoping to find Alicia or Isabella. She made her way to the salon where she had first met Mr. Elliot. Neither of her teammates were there, but there was someone else that she knew.

“Kingsley!” Ginny called out, hurrying to his side. “It’s so good to see you! It’s been ages!” Kingsley Shacklebolt had always been one of her favorite members of the Order of the Phoenix; he had made a point of treating her as an adult.

“Why, if it isn’t Ginny Weasley!” Kingsley said with a wide smile. “What brings you here tonight?”

“I just started playing on the Harpies’ reserve team. Some of my teammates told me I had to come to meet people who will be able to help my career in the future.”

“Your friends advised you well,” Kingsley said with a nod. “It can never hurt you to have contacts. But more importantly, congratulations! How has training gone so far?”

Kingsley listened attentively as Ginny plunged into the details of her first week as a Harpy. She was recounting her struggles with the Porskoff Ploy when she felt a prickling in the back of her neck, as if someone was staring at her. She stopped talking and looked about her.

“What is it?” Kingsley asked.

“Oh, it’s probably nothing,” Ginny said with a sigh. “I just thought I could feel someone staring at me. I’ve been feeling that way all night, but this just seemed really intense.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if people were staring at you,” Kingsley said.

Thinking of Draco’s comments, Ginny asked, “Have I done something to embarrass myself?”

“No, not at all!” Kingsley said. “It’s just that you look very nice tonight, so I’m sure all the young men are watching you, hoping for a dance.”

Ginny blushed. Before she could thank Kingsley, a young man approached them. “Excuse me, Minister,” he said. “I’m sorry to interrupt you, but Mr. Weston has arrived, and you said you wanted to speak to him tonight.”

“Quite right,” Kinsley said. “You must excuse me, Ginny. Duty calls!”

“Of course,” Ginny said, suddenly remembering that Kingsley was the Minister of Magic now, and she had just monopolized a good half hour of his time. She was mortified.

As Kingsley walked away, Ginny looked around and realized once again how few people she knew at the ball. She resumed her search for one of her friends. Along the way, she saw a few people she knew—Cho Chang dancing with a tall, dark-skinned man, Blaise Zabini sitting on a sofa with Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy deep in conversation with his father—but she didn’t feel comfortable approaching any of them.

After she had wandered aimlessly for what felt like forever, Ginny felt a tap on her shoulder. She turned to see a powerfully built man with piercing blue eyes.

“You’re Ginny Weasley, aye?” he asked.

Ginny nodded.

“I’m Oliver Wood,” the man said. “We were in Gryffindor together for a couple of years, and I was friends with your brothers.”

“Of course!” Ginny said with a smile. “It’s good to see you again.”

“You too,” Oliver said. “Would you like to dance?”

“I’d love to,” Ginny said.

Ginny enjoyed her dance with Oliver. They unsurprisingly spoke mostly of Quidditch, but also discovered that they both had a love of the history of magic as well. She was surprised at how quickly the time passed.

Soon, it was time for supper. Ginny sat at a table with Alicia, her boyfriend Reggie Macmillan, and several other young people. The conversation was lively, and two of the men asked her to dance with them after dinner.

By the end of the evening, Ginny was happy but exhausted. When she finally crawled into bed that night, however, she was disturbed to find that her thoughts didn’t stray to any of pleasant young men she had danced with, but to Draco Malfoy instead.