As soon as Ginny got home, she stumbled into her kitchen and found herself a bottle of Alcohol Antidote potion. She took a swig from the bottle and immediately felt her head begin to clear. Knowing that there was a temporary side affect of lightheadedness, she went and lay down on the couch, closing her eyes. As she rested, she thought moodily about how Malfoy certainly hadn’t changed since his days at school.

She drifted off…

“Ginny?”

Luna’s voice was awfully close to Ginny’s ear. Ginny opened one eye blearily and found Luna leaning over her.

“Are you feeling alright?”

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Ginny grunted, rubbing her eyes and then pushing herself up onto her elbows. “How’d the rest of the party go?”

“It was very nice,” Luna said, her eyes going dreamy.

“Really?” Ginny asked in surprise. “You’ve never like Lavender’s parties!”

“Yes, well, this one was a bit different. I’ve never been to one with Blaise Zabini before.”

Ginny looked at Luna carefully. She was examining a couch cushion with a smile.

“So Blaise is a nice guy, is he?”

“Oh, yes. He was so pleasant and gentlemanly… And did you know that he’s a healer? He just got a job working at St. Mungo’s. Isn’t that wonderful?”

“Um, yes… It is.” Ginny continued to watch Luna for another moment then finally said, “Luna, I hate to fling cold water all over this but… Well, he’s a Slytherin, Luna. From what I remember from my days in the Slug Club, he wasn’t the nicest guy.”

Luna turned and looked at Ginny. “Ginny, you shouldn’t jump to conclusions about people. I’m telling you what he was like as I saw him firsthand. Don’t you think that that if he wasn’t a nice person that he wouldn’t bother being nice to me? It’s not like people went out of their way to be nice to me at Hogwarts. He may not have been the most pleasant person at school, but if he wasn’t, then I guess he changed. He has no reason to put up a façade for me. Besides, not all Slytherins are evil, and you know it Ginny. It was Snape’s house and we all thought he was evil, and see how that turned out? There are bound to have been some decent people in his house.”

“Yeah, maybe one…” said Ginny reluctantly. “Lucky him that he managed to find someone like you who’s willing to look past the stereotypes.”

“Don’t you think there should be more like me?” Luna asked with a smile.

“Not unless there’s more than one Slytherin like Blaise, if your description of him turns out to be accurate.”

“You don’t believe me?”

“I didn’t say that. We just don’t know whether he’s just pretending or something. After all, how could a really nice person be friends with Malfoy?”

“Maybe Malfoy isn’t all that bad?” Luna said uncertainly.

Ginny looked at Luna, her face upset.

“What?” Luna asked, taken aback.

“You think Malfoy’s not so bad? Luna, you heard what he said about me tonight! But then, maybe you think he was just being honest when he said that I’m not good enough for someone like him because I’m a Weasley. Not that I’d want to be considered good enough – ”

“Of course I don’t think that, Ginny. You’re right; he wasn’t very nice tonight. And I won’t try and excuse him. But Blaise must have some reason that he’s friends with him and I don’t want to believe that it’s because Blaise isn’t nice.”

Ginny sighed and started to rub her temples. “Luna, I’m sorry. I don’t know Blaise and I have no right to criticize him.”

“Thank you Ginny,” Luna said quietly. “I’m going to bed now. Good night.”

“Yeah, me too,” Ginny said as she got up and started to head for her room. “Good night.”

Draco’s tall form was intimidating in its dark robes as he swept purposefully through Diagon Alley, and he knew it. He held back a smirk as people stepped out of his way with looks of apprehension on their faces. No longer did he have to repeat to himself that Draco Malfoy was better than everyone else. It was thoroughly engraved in his mind and he could honestly say that he didn’t care what people were thinking about him anymore.

He marched up Gringotts’ marble steps, through bronze doors, into the entrance chamber, and through the silver doors that led into the main banking room, not sparing a glance for the Goblins who had opened the doors for him.

Draco strode over to an empty counter where a young goblin was writing something in a ledger and cleared his throat. The goblin looked up and raised an eyebrow at him.

“Can I help you, sir?” the goblin said, looking as though he really couldn’t care less about helping anyone.

“I need to open a new account and transfer money from an old account into it.”

“Under whose name is the old account listed?” the goblin asked, bored.

“Mr. Lucius Malfoy,” answered Draco pointedly.

The goblin sat up straighter. This was a big account they were dealing with.

“Excuse me, sir, but will you be transferring all of the money out of that account?”

“Well, seeing as he’s dead and doesn’t need it anymore, I’d have to say yes,” Draco said impatiently.

“You have his key, sir?”

“Of course I do,” Draco said and, sticking his hand into an inner pocket in his robes, pulled the key out and handed it to the goblin.

The goblin looked at the key and then put it on what looked like a brass scale. After a few seconds, the scale spit out a piece of parchment. The goblin picked up the parchment and read it.

“Sir, I’m afraid that you’ll have to meet with our senior banking consultant for any transactions dealing with the Lucius Malfoy account,” the goblin said, looking up from the piece of parchment.

“Why’s that?” Draco snapped. “You don’t trust me, is that it? I’m Lucius Malfoy’s son; how else do you think I have his key? You think he’d just leave it lying around?”

“No sir, that’s not it,” the goblin said quickly, looking nervous for the first time in his entire banking career. “It’s just that any transactions involving a million galleons or more are dealt with by the senior banking consultant. It’s Gringotts’ policy.”

“Right,” Draco said, annoyed at the bureaucracy but cheered by the fact that it was due to the fact that he was an important client. “Well then, take me to the bloody man, will you?”

“Woman, actually,” the goblin said nervously. “Kenlock will show you the way,” he said, handing Draco’s key and the piece of parchment to a goblin who came forward from behind Draco.

Draco turned and followed Kenlock without bothering to thank the first goblin. He was led through the hall back toward the entrance. The silver entrance doors were on the right; Kenlock turned left towards a set of gold doors guarded by two goblins. He showed the key and the piece of parchment to one of the guards. The guard studied it for a moment, handed it back to Kenlock, and nodded to the other guard. They opened the doors and Draco followed Kenlock through into a long hall with dark wood paneling. Draco noted the gold moldings lining the ceiling and the gold doors leading off from the hallway with a smirk; it was obvious that only the rich were privileged enough to enter this hall.

Kenlock stopped in front of a gold door that had the words, “Senior Banking Consultant” engraved on it, and knocked.

“Come in,” a woman’s voice called out.

Kenlock opened the door and stepped inside, Draco right behind him. When Draco saw who was sitting behind the large mahogany desk, he stopped short.

“Special account to see you, Ms. Weasley,” Kenlock said, placing the key and piece of parchment on her desk.

Ginny looked up from the paperwork she’d been working on and saw Draco Malfoy standing next to her office door frozen with a look of shock on his face. She looked startled for a second, but recovered quickly.

“Won’t you sit down, Mr. Malfoy?” she said in a businesslike tone, standing up and gesturing elegantly to the maroon leather chairs in front of her desk.

Draco shook his head quickly to clear it and walked over to one of the chairs. He sat in it gracefully, determined not to let Weasley out-sophisticate him.

“I admit, Weasley,” he said with a sneer, “I never would have dreamed of finding one of you behind one of Gringotts’ gold doors.”

“I apologize for the shock,” Ginny said courteously, taking her seat again. “I assume that you’re here to open an account, Mr. Malfoy?”

She got right down to business, didn’t she?

“Obviously, Ms. Weasley,” Draco said, feeling slightly uncomfortable about calling her by just her last name when she was being so formal.

“Will the account be in your name or in your family name, Mr. Malfoy?” Weasley asked him as she opened a drawer in her desk and extracted some forms from it.

“My name,” answered Draco. “And I need to transfer the money from the Lucius Malfoy account into the new one.”

“Certainly, Mr. Malfoy,” she said, picking up an eagle-feather quill. She dipped it into a crystal ink-dish and was about to bring it to the form in front of her when she stopped and looked up at him.

“Perhaps it would be best if you filled out this form, Mr. Malfoy. It will be a lot more efficient than having to ask you dozens of questions because I don’t know your information. I can fill it out if you like, but – ”

“No, I’ll do it,” Draco said quickly. He’d finish it faster and be able to get out of this uncomfortable situation.

She slid the form across the desk towards him with manicured hands and handed him the quill. Draco started to fill it out. He ran out of ink and looked up just in time to see her picking up the crystal ink-dish carefully and placing it closer to him. Not bothering to thank her, he dipped the quill into the ink and continued with the form.

It was a long form; it took him ten minutes to fill it out. When he finally finished he laid the quill down and looked up at her. She was sitting with her left elbow resting on the armrest of her chair, her thumb and pointer finger supporting her chin as she gazed out of the large window that made up most of the wall on her right.

“I’ve never seen a window in Gringotts before,” Draco said. She jumped at his voice.

“Oh?” she said sitting up quickly, recovering from the surprise. “Yes, well, only the offices off of the gold hall have them. They’re not real windows, though; there’s no view like that in London,” she said, nodding toward the window.

Draco turned to look out the window and was surprised to see that the scenery outside of the window looked much like the scenery outside of his office in Scotland. It was very green, with mountains in the distance. He raised an eyebrow at it.

“It’s enchanted,” Weasley was saying. “The theory is that having such a view will put visitors into a good mood, which increases the chances that they’ll open an account with us.”

“And only the offices off of this hall have it?” Draco said with a smirk. “Gringotts works hard to please its rich clients, I see.”

The Weasley woman smiled. “But of course, Mr. Malfoy. Speaking of which, can I get you something to drink?” she asked, reaching for a cherry-wood wand resting on her desk.

“I’m already opening an account, Weasley,” Draco said, irritated. “No need to get me drunk.”

“I’m not trying to get you drunk,” she said indignantly. “I was going to offer you some tea or coffee, but if you’re sure that you don’t want me to get you any, I can wrap this up.”

“Please do.”

“Get you a drink or wrap this up?” she was, infuriatingly, smiling again.

“Wrap this up, Ms. Weasley. I have more important things to do than sit around here all day.” It wasn’t strictly true; opening a Gringotts account was the one of the more pressing things that he had to take care of.

“Indeed?” Weasley said, still smiling. She reached across the desk and picked up the form, turned it around, and began to study it. While she did, Draco studied her, wondering where a Weasley had picked up classy manners.

“All seems to be in order, Mr. Malfoy,” she said, reaching the bottom of the document. “I’ll have your account up and running with the money from the Lucius Malfoy account in it within the hour. Would you like me to close the Lucius Malfoy account?”

She looked up at him with raised eyebrows.

“There’s no point in keeping it open if there’s nothing in it.”

“I’ll take that as a yes, so I’ll be sure to take care of that as well. Is there anything else I can do for you today, Mr. Malfoy?”

Draco looked at her for a moment, then said, “No, that’s all for today, Ms. Weasley.”

“Very well then,” she said, standing up. She seemed to be hesitating for a split second, and then she stretched her hand out towards him. “It’s been good doing business with you, Mr. Malfoy.”

Draco looked at her hand. Was he supposed to shake a Weasley’s hand? Surely not… But then he’d look like the fool, wouldn’t he? With an inward sigh, Draco shook her hand. “Thank you Ms. Weasley.” Then he stood up and strolled out of the room, missing the grimly narrowed eyes that followed him all the way.

Draco arrived home that evening surprised to find the house was dark.

“Blaise?” he called out from the front hall. There was no answer. Draco frowned to himself. Blaise almost always got home before he did. With a small shrug, he walked to a door leading off from the hall on the left and went into the dining room. The house-elf had lit the lamps in the room and had set two places at the table, leaving a copy of that day’s Daily Prophet near Draco’s chair as he liked it. He picked up the paper as he sat down in his chair and began to read it, ignoring the food that had appeared on his plate as soon as he’d sat down. After a few minutes, he leaned the paper against a bottle of wine sitting in front of his place so that he could read as he ate.

When he finished, Draco took the paper into the drawing room and settled into one of the large black velvet chairs sitting near the lit fireplace. When he’d finished the paper, he glanced at his watch with a frown. Blaise was very late and, much as Draco hated to admit it, he had gotten used to having company and found the silence in the house a bit disconcerting.

“I wonder how Georgiana is doing…” he thought to himself vaguely. “I really should write to her.”

He heard the front door open. He quickly picked the Daily Prophet back up and pretended that he’d been reading it. There was no need for Blaise to know that he’d been sitting around dreaming.

“Hey Draco,” Blaise greeted him, walking into the drawing room. Draco looked up at him with what he hoped was a bored look. He was surprised to see a huge grin on Blaise’s shining face.

“What are you so cheerful about?” Draco asked, raising an eyebrow. “I wouldn’t be so cheerful if I was kept late after work.”

“Oh, I wasn’t kept late at work, Draco. I met a girl on the way home and took her out for a drink. Pretty nice, hey?”

“Fantastic,” Draco said dryly. He was feeling a bit put out that Blaise had been out having fun when he’d been all alone at home. Not that he needed anyone’s company, of course.

“I’m going off to change out of my work clothes,” Blaise said, and he walked out of the room whistling.

Draco watched him go in disgust. Blaise was acting way too cheerful for his taste.

Ginny had also spent the evening alone, though her time had been a bit busier than Draco’s since she didn’t have a house-elf to make dinner for her. She had whipped up a small pot of pasta and was now enjoying a bowl of it on the couch, opening a letter that Ragnok had given to her as she was leaving. He’d already told her that it was an invitation to the Ministry of Magic’s Charity Ball that was coming up in two weeks, informing her that as senior banking consultant, Gringotts wanted her to attend the ball so that she could meet potential rich clients in a more casual setting than at the bank. It was another marketing ploy, he’d explained. Once people knew her well, they would be more comfortable entrusting her, and Gringotts, with their money.

Ginny studied the invitation halfheartedly.

“I won’t know a single person there,” she sighed. “There certainly won’t be any other Weasleys at a Ministry charity ball. And it’s not likely that any of my friends will be there. Well, maybe Harry will be.”

The thought that Harry might be the only person at the ball that she’d know didn’t cheer her up. They’d dated for four years after the war, but over time, they just seemed to grow apart. They were still friendly with each other, but there was always an unsettling feeling in the air when they were together.

Ginny sighed again, feeling lonely. She wondered where Luna was. Her mind wandered back to her meeting with Malfoy that afternoon. He’d been relatively polite and businesslike, but Ginny had found that she couldn’t look at him without cringing inwardly. Oh, how she hated him…

Ginny finished up her dinner and went to clean up. When she was halfway through, she heard Luna come into the kitchen behind her.

“Everything alright, Luna?” she asked, not turning around.

“Yes, yes, everything is fine,” Luna said almost breathlessly. Ginny turned around.

“What’s up with you?”

Luna smiled broadly. “I met Blaise on the way home and he took me out for a drink. Isn’t that sweet?”

Ginny smiled back despite herself. “It’s very sweet Luna.”

“And he was wearing his St. Mungo’s robes…” Luna started dreamily.

“Ugh, those lime-green things? Must have looked awful.”

“Oh, no!” Luna said looking up in surprise. “He looked adorable in them. I told him that I had a pair of shoes the exact same color.”

“What are you trying to do, Luna? Scare the poor fellow away?” Ginny asked with a smirk.

Luna frowned. “Why would that scare him away? He asked if he could see them sometime.”

“A guy who appreciates your fashion sense is just too much to hope for, don’t you think?” Ginny laughed. Luna glared at her. “Just kidding! Hey, guess who came into my office today?” she said, trying to change the subject. “It was Malfoy – you should have seen the shocked look on his face when he saw me in my new office.” Ginny started laughing again.

“Bet he made some crack about how you had to work in a bank because it was the closest you’d get to money. Am I right?”

“No, he just said that he was surprised to see a Weasley behind one of Gringotts’ gold doors. But I was completely businesslike and that forced him to be as well.”

“Ah, you kept him in check, did you?” Luna asked with a small smile. “Did you enjoy it?”

Ginny looked puzzled at the question. “What do you mean ‘enjoy it’? I acted the same way as I act with all my clients. Well, maybe I was a bit more formal than usual. But it was a business meeting; it was no more enjoyable than any other business meetings I’ve had. Less so, if you really want to know.”

“Oh well,” Luna said. “I was hoping you might have enjoyed his company, and then you wouldn’t be so hard on Blaise any more.”

“Enjoyed his company, Luna? You must be joking. To paraphrase what he said at that party, he’s tolerable enough, but not nearly nice enough to tempt me. I can admit full-heartedly that I am not the least tempted to spend any more time in Malfoy’s company than is absolutely necessary.”

Luna sighed at Ginny’s reminder of what Malfoy had said about her at the party. “I’m sorry Ginny. It was a stupid thing for me to say. Of course you didn’t enjoy his company. I guess I just forgot what he’s like for a second because I was so caught up thinking about how nice Blaise was tonight. It wasn’t fair of me. Forgive me?”

“Sure I do,” Ginny answered. “Hey, you want some dinner?”

“Yes, I’m starving. That reminds me, by the way: Blaise asked me to go to dinner with him this weekend.” Her face was lit up.

“That’s wonderful Luna. I’m sure you’ll have a lovely time,” Ginny said with a warm smile, handing Luna a bowl of pasta.

Luna smiled appreciatively and went to sit down with her food, wishing Ginny had someone that she could go out to dinner with.