The week after Christmas was relatively peaceful for Ginny. The days passed relatively Malfoy-free, and she was glad of it. Apparently, the prat had gone off to visit his parents for a few days, and Ginny was able to finally feel as if her life was returning to normal.
With the Christmas rush at the joke shop finally over, Ginny had made firm plans to enjoy a day off, and her primary objective was to lie about the house doing as little as possible.
Making herself a nice cup of hot chocolate, she settled down in her favorite chair and opened up a trashy romance novel that she'd been looking forward to reading. It was an almost a perfect day. Almost. That was, until Ron entered the room. “Please, Ginny...” he whined. Again.
She'd been attempting to ignore him for the entire morning, but it seemed that Ron had taken it upon himself to annoy the living daylights out of her.
Keeping her nose firmly planted in her book, she responded firmly, “I said 'No,' Ronald! Now, leave me be or I will petrify you and leave you out in the garden with the gnomes.”
She was at her wit's end. The day after Christmas, he'd gone out with Malfoy and, ever since, had been going on about some blonde girl that he'd met. Apparently, she was still a student at Hogwarts and was friendly with stupid Malfoy.
“Everybody goes out to celebrate New Year's Eve,” he informed her, totally ignoring her threat and attempting to sound persuasive.
Snapping her book shut, she looked at him fully. “Well, I don't! And even if I wanted to, I would prefer company other than Malfoy and his friends.”
The problem was that Esteria, or whatever her name was, would be going back to school after the holidays were over. Apparently, going out on New Year's Eve was Ron's perfect opportunity to see the girl again. It was positively sickening.
In an attempt to bring her brother back to sanity, Ginny had resorted to bringing up the subject of Hermione, but at the mere mention of the book-loving brunette, Ron had looked positively downtrodden. Hermione's first, and utmost, love was her books. She'd hardly taken the time to even write to Ron after she'd gone to university. It was one of the reasons that her poor brother had turned to new friends, and now, he'd taken interest in this new girl.
“But, Ginny,” he whined. “It would just be weird if it was just Malfoy and me. If he and I go with Astoria and her sister and it would look like a double date, or a set up, or something.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ron, it is a set up. You asked Malfoy to invite her so you could chat her up.”
Ron plopped down on the ottoman in front of Ginny's comfortable chair, giving Ginny every reason to believe that she'd never get to curl up with her book if she didn't give in to her brother's request. She sighed.
He looked at her with big, puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Gin. Daphne is a friend of his. If you go too, then it will be more like a group just going out.”
“If you really like this girl, Asteria...”
“Astoria,” Ron corrected.
“Ast-or-ia,” Ginny repeated, with emphasis on the second syllable. “Then just ask her to dinner. Alone.”
He looked at her as if she'd said something completely mental. He stammered, “I ... I couldn't do that!”
She dropped her head into her hands. Her brother was completely hopeless with women. He always had been, as his years of frustration with Hermione had proven. Not moving her head from her hands, she asked, “Good heavens, Ronald, why not?”
“She's still in school! I mean, seventh year and all, so she's of age, but I'd look like some sort of a perv!”
Still keeping her hands over her face to hide her exasperation, she lifted her head slightly and peered at her brother through her fingers. “You have got to be kidding me.”
He just looked so very lost. Here he was, besotted with a girl, which was probably a good thing because at least it might distract him from spending so much time with Malfoy, and Ginny felt like she'd be a horrible sister if she didn't at least try to go and help him out.
She groaned.
X – x - X
On New Year's Eve, the group of five entered the Purple Raven well before the majority of revelers, mostly because Ron was so eager to start the evening as early as possible, and Malfoy seemed to find that amusing. The official excuse for starting obscenely early was that Astoria needed to get home so that she could prepare for her return to school.
The two sisters, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, had been longtime friends of Malfoy and seemed pleasant enough during the introductions. Ron, upon seeing the younger sister, managed to drop his mouth open and take on the expression of a lovesick Niffler. Ginny, being the loyal sibling, smiled politely to each of the girls, trying to keep Astoria distracted so that Ron could compose himself appropriately. However, she did catch the older sister, Daphne, giving Ron an amused smile during the interaction.
Ginny had to admit that Ron had rather good taste. Astoria was short, on the slightly plump side, although quite curvy, with honey blond hair and china blue eyes, reminding Ginny of a porcelain doll. She had a pleasant smile and seemed to be somewhat quiet in nature. Ginny found that she rather liked the girl, although she would not mention to Ron that Astoria's body type was eerily similar to their mother's.
Her sister Daphne, in contrast, was tall, with a perfect figure and far more confident and talkative than her younger sister. She was obviously very knowledgeable about the most current of fashion trends, based on her perfectly coordinated attire but, most notably, her eyes showed a level of openness and blunt honesty that Ginny hadn't expected.
The tall, blonde witch was easily the most attractive woman in the room, and it came to no surprise to learn that she was doing modeling and was soon going to be seen in several ads in popular periodicals. Still, she was rather likeable, especially when, almost immediately after the initial salutations had been made, the girl turned to Draco and chastised him in much the same way Ginny might speak to any of her brothers.
“Honestly, Draco, where have your manners gone? We've been here a full five minutes and you haven't asked any of us what we'd like to drink.”
Ginny bit back a small smile at Malfoy's reaction. He first looked surprised, then a bit abashed, before straightening himself up and giving Daphne a look of annoyance. Before he could respond, however, she continued to speak, obviously accustomed to putting him in his place. “I'd love a gin and tonic,” she instructed with absolute authority. Then, she turned back to Ginny with a smug grin. “Ginny, Astoria, would either of you like something?”
Malfoy pouted at being commanded in such a way, but obediently complied. Then, having gotten the orders, he turned toward the bar, Ron following him. Ginny bit back a smile, deciding that, if Daphne was going to continue to harass Malfoy in such a blatant manner, the evening might be a bit more fun than she'd initially anticipated.
After watching the wizards retreat, Ginny turned to the blonde. “So, are you and Malfoy …?” she began to ask, implying that Daphne and he might be an item.
Daphne looked taken aback, then she and Astoria laughed together at the insinuation. “Me and Dray? Oh, Merlin, no! Astoria, on the other hand ...” she said, winking devilishly at her little sister.
The younger girl blushed furiously, appearing a bit panicked. “Daphne! No! You promised not to bring that up!” Astoria looked at Ginny rather sheepishly. “She never fails to embarrass me with the fact that I had a crush on him when I was about eleven.”
Ginny had to smile at that. She decided to try to put the younger girl at ease, despite the fact that she clearly had questionable tastes, and wondering if that would bode badly for Ron's attempts at wooing her. “I can say I completely understand having a childhood crush. You can't fault yourself for what you think when you're that young,” she said kindly, recalling her own embarrassing memories concerning Harry. However, she couldn't imagine anyone seeing Malfoy in a similar way, especially remembering how he'd ridiculed Ginny over her note to Harry all those years ago.
But she was distracted from those unkind thoughts when Daphne grinned at her sister, an affectionate gleam in her eye. “We've been friends with Dray since I was five, and I can't blame Tori for adoring him. He always looked out for her."
Astoria nodded, still seeming nervous and shy, and Ginny began to understand her brother's attraction to the girl.
The boys returned at that moment with the drinks, although when Draco handed one to Daphne he had a bit of a sour look on his face. “Remind me again why we're friends?” he asked the tall blonde.
“Because, if it weren't for me putting you in your place, you'd be an insufferable prat,” she responded, quite seriously.
Unfortunately, Ginny had just taken a sip of her own beverage, and nearly spat it out because of an uncontrollable laugh.
After that, the small group seemed to get along well enough, and Ron eventually worked up enough nerve to get into a conversation with Astoria. Ginny found she was having an enjoyable time, although she did credit the drinks for helping her ease into the conversation more readily.
Most of the topics were neutral enough, although somehow, Malfoy managed to bring up Ginny's incident in the joke shop and, worse, he also colorfully embellished it to make the group laugh. Ginny simply glowered, knowing that she couldn't hex him in full public view. Ron and Daphne managed to chide her about having a secret attraction, causing her to furiously glare at Malfoy for mentioning the story. The annoying prat winked at her in response to the comment, causing her blush to deepen and she glared at him with no small amount of irritation.
Annoyingly, Malfoy continued to wink at her as the evening progressed, repeatedly making her blush, although with less fury than before. Every so often, Ron would catch him doing it and would laugh heartily. "Mate, you gotta quit flirting with my sister."
Draco just laughed in return. "Yeah, but it's so much fun." Then, he looked at Ron with mock-seriousness, saying in a stage whisper, "You aren't going to be the over-protective big brother and hit me, are you?"
Ron snorted. "Ha! You wish! It's not me you need to be worried about, mate. It's her. The girl will hex you into next week if you don't watch it."
Ginny crossed her arms and stared fiercely at her brother, tapping her foot.
"Careful, sis, you look like Mum when you stand like that."
She stopped, looked down at herself and realized, with no small amount of horror, that she was in the exact pose their mother always used when she was annoyed with any of them. The others broke into laughter and she gave up, throwing her hands into the air in defeat, which made them all laugh even harder, and she felt a small smile come to her lips. The humor was good-natured and she couldn't help but join in, even if Malfoy had been the person to initiate it. He'd been quite tolerable for the entire evening and, she had to admit, she could see that he was good company for her brother. His two female friends were acceptable also. Looking down at her drink on the shelf next to her, she decided that the alcohol probably was a factor in her evaluation, but she didn't let that stop her good mood.
Perhaps joining them for the evening hadn't been such a horrible idea after all.
With the men both seeming to be in a light discussion with Astoria, Ginny turned toward Daphne and their conversation focused on mostly trivial subjects, although she did find out that Daphne had been secretly dating Timothy Spinnet, a chaser for the Chudley Cannons. Apparently, Daphne's closest friends seemed to strongly dislike the Cannons, hence why she hadn't had the nerve to bring her new relationship out in the open just yet.
"You do know that Ron's favorite team has always been the Cannons, don't you?" Ginny said conspiratorially.
Daphne's eyes widened. "Oh, please don't say anything! If Ron finds out he'll tell Draco and then I'll never hear the end of it."
Ginny laughed, realizing that she was honestly beginning to like the pretty blonde. "I promise, but I suppose that they'll eventually find out if you keep seeing him."
"I suppose, but I'd just rather wait until I've determined how serious this might be. After all, it could just be a fling, and I'd hate to have to listen to Dray complain if it's just going to be over and done in a few months."
"Draco's that bad?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing in the direction of the blond. Not that Draco being a bother was the least bit surprising, but Ginny was curious about any negative details.
"Oh goodness, yes!” Daphne replied. “But I think he's just trying to be protective sometimes. He always has been very loyal to the people he loves."
Ginny gave a small snort, but tried to hide it by taking another sip of her drink. "I never pictured him as loyal."
The other girl looked at her with some speculation and Ginny suddenly realized that she might have offended Daphne by openly implying how much she disliked the girl's friend. After a moment of looking at Ginny sternly, Daphne finally said, "I like you, Ginny, and I can see that your brother has been a good friend to Dray, so I'll tell you something that I wouldn't normally share. Draco has never had many friends."
Somehow, that statement didn't surprise Ginny in the least.
Daphne looked at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking, and she continued, "He is an only child and his family has power and money. A lot of people look to exploit that. They do it with false pleasantries, outright lies and treachery. Even Voldemort used him and his family in the worst possible ways and they nearly died because of it. Draco does not trust easily, and with good reason, but when he does care for someone, he'll do anything to protect them, which was why, when Voldemort threatened to murder his mother and leave his father in Azkaban, he was willing to try to kill Dumbledore, even though he honestly thought he'd die in the process."
Ginny sucked in a breath. Professor Dumbledore's death was something that she tried to avoid talking about, yet this girl defended the prat who had been instrumental in it. She bit her lip. Daphne had suddenly given her a lot to think about.
Daphne ignored Ginny's reaction and finished her drink, then looked back up, giving Ginny a bright smile. "Now, you know where I stand," she said. "But we are here to have a good time, so let's get the boys to refill our drinks and enjoy ourselves, yeah?"
In that instant, Ginny fully knew that she liked Daphne. She still didn't care much for Malfoy, but she could totally appreciate the girl's upfront honesty.
An hour before midnight, Ginny was thinking of leaving. She'd had a good time, but staying for the actual midnight celebration was something that couples tended to do, and she was getting tired. The evening had turned out better than she'd expected and Ron seemed to be happily chatting with Astoria, so she really had no reason to remain.
She was just about to bid a goodnight to everyone, when she saw Draco suddenly freeze in place, staring at the door for several seconds, before throwing back the remains of his drink in one quick gulp.
"I'm going to the bar," he said angrily, and departed without any acknowledgment from the others.
"Oi, what happened there. Did I say something wrong?" Ron asked, half-jokingly, but clearly confused.
Then, Daphne looked in the direction that had caught the blond man's attention, and her mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh, no," she said with concern.
"What?" Ron asked, and they all followed her gaze.
Near the entrance, Pansy Parkinson, dressed in a scandalous, and obviously expensive outfit, was making an entrance, hanging off the arm of a tall, dark-haired, older wizard.
"What?" Ginny asked, obviously not impressed with the witch. "Parkinson?"
Daphne narrowed her eyes at the woman for a second, then looked away. "Don't pay her too much attention. That's what she wants."
They all looked away quickly, each trying to appear inconspicuous about it, although, as a group, it probably was more than obvious. Ginny spared a glance over at the bar to see Draco downing a shot of whiskey and ordering two more.
"She and Draco were an item back in school," Ron informed Ginny, although Ginny had been well-aware of that. They had been one of the more obvious couples back then, usually because Pansy had always been dressed so garishly that it was impossible not to notice her, and she had always been attached to Draco as if she was a magnet.
"I take it you don't like her," Ginny said, and she heard Ron snort. She was quite certain that her brother hated the witch with his entire being.
Daphne tried to look cool, but Ginny could see anger in the older girl's eyes. "She took his heart and ripped it to pieces. I thought he was over it, but I guess not."
Astoria, trying to sound helpful, added, "She cheated on him behind his back the whole time they were together. Then, she goaded Crabbe into using FiendFyre during the final battle. I hear that's why he died ..."
"Enough!" Daphne said sharply to interrupt her sister, making the younger girl jump. "This isn't the time or the place to talk about that."
So, Ginny thought, that explained why he was joking with Ron about remaining single. Malfoy and Parkinson had always looked like the perfect, evil couple, although it didn't surprise Ginny in the least to hear that Parkinson had been a tramp.
They looked over at the bar and Draco was retuning with two drinks, one of which he finished before reaching them. He had already been drinking all evening with the rest of them, and it didn't take an expert to see that he was going to be very drunk, very soon.
"Forget about her, Draco," Daphne said, with concern. "She was never worth your time."
"I know that," he replied quickly, although his words were becoming slurred from the alcohol. "I'm just having a hard time accepting that I was so blind and stupid for so long."
He gulped down the other shot in his hand and Daphne snatched the glass from his fingers. "Stop drinking, you idiot. You'll only call attention to yourself and you know that no good will come of it."
He looked contrite for a moment, then the familiar scowl that Ginny remembered from his younger days came to his face. "I'm fine, Daph, quit fussing like a mother hen."
The blonde witch ignored his comment. "Somebody must have told her that you were here."
"Yeah," Ron agreed, looking over the crowded bar. "This doesn't seem like the kind of place her date would find interesting."
Draco interrupted. "Would you two mind not talking as if I'm not here?"
Both looked at him skeptically.
"Well, isn't it interesting to run into you all here?" a thin, rather annoying voice said from behind the group. At that moment, Ginny was quite certain that Pansy Parkinson had indeed arrived at the club for the sole purpose of haunting her ex-boyfriend.
In that instant, Draco's demeanor changed completely. He stood up straight, his expression became closed, almost calm and disinterested. He turned to smile coldly at Pansy. "Nice to see you again, Parkinson."
"If your definition of nice is bottling Bubotuber Pus ..." Ron muttered quietly.
"Doing charity work tonight, Draco, dear?" she asked cattily, ignoring everyone except Draco.
"What do you want, Pansy?" Daphne interrupted, sharply.
The raven-haired witch looked around at the group, noting that Astoria was standing next to Ron, then looked snootily at Ginny. "Can't a girl just stop by and check on her old flame?" She sidled up to Draco, wrapping her arm around his, although her gaze wandered to Ron. "Especially now that he's reduced to keeping such...” she paused for a moment, lifting her pug-like nose slightly, and sneered, “... interesting company these days."
Ginny realized that the catty little bitch was truly trying to humiliate her ex-boyfriend, and a strong protective urge overcame her. The blond man was still standing tall, albeit a bit stiffly, and his eyes looked angry, but a bit unfocussed, due the excessive amount of alcohol that he'd just consumed.
"C'mon Draco, admit that you miss me. Here you are, all alone, and you know you'll never find someone who will entertain you like I did," she spoke huskily into his ear.
“More like she misses his money,” Astoria whispered in Ginny's ear.
Ginny nodded in agreement, her eyes fixated on the pair. The sight was almost pathetic. As much as she disliked Malfoy, he was her brother's friend, and nobody deserved to be harassed the way Parkinson was doing at that moment. While he was hiding his emotions well, it had been obvious from his initial reaction that his heart had been stabbed by this wench and, now, Parkinson was there to twist the knife.
He looked down at the witch with disdain, looking as if he was ready to speak. With the amount of alcohol in his system, it was highly likely that it wouldn't be good. Making a quick decision to interrupt before the situation became worse, Ginny stepped up, pushing her way between them, facing Pansy.
"I think you should go. Now," she commanded firmly. "Your date over there is looking impatient, and I assume that he's probably paying you by the hour for services." To make her point, Ginny looked the girl up and down as if she'd seen something distasteful.
Pansy stepped back, her face scrunching in a rather unattractive display of shock and fury. "How dare you, you little..."
Smiling at the girl's reaction, Ginny lifted her hand to her mouth in a gesture of mock-surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I make an incorrect assumption? I thought you were for hire, because you're dressed like a Muggle prostitute. Or, at least that's the story that I can get published, if you don't back off.”
At that moment, a hand wrapped around Ginny's waist and Malfoy pulled her close, then whispered rather sloppily in her ear, "I think I'm in love with you right now, Weasley." She might have pulled away to give him a sound dressing down, but she was too preoccupied with watching Parkinson turn her nose up and march away in a huff.
"We're getting out of here," Daphne said as soon as Pansy had left the area to go slobber over the older man who had arrived with her.
Ginny tried to pull away from Malfoy, but he continued to hold her waist in a rather firm grip. “Let go of me, Malfoy!”
Seeming to realize that he was, indeed, holding onto her rather tightly, he responded with a slurred, “Sure,” but as soon as he let go, he wobbled unsteadily.
Ginny, being nearest, quickly stepped back to his side to keep him from falling. "You're inebriated," she stated with irritation.
"Crap," Ron said, peering rather closely at his blond friend. "He's going to pass out. We've got to get out of here. If he makes a fool of himself, you can bet that Parkinson will never let him hear the end of it."
"I'm fine," Malfoy responded with an unnatural slowness. "It's just that pretending I'm drunk gives me a good reason to hang onto little Weasley here," he said, wrapping his arm more securely around the little red head and giving Ron a bit of a cavalier smirk, which might have been humorous under different circumstances. "Your sister really is kind of cute, even if she does hate me."
Ron lifted an eyebrow and looked at Draco as if the blond had just said the most ludicrous thing imaginable. "Not now, mate,” he said, apparently deciding that his friend was so drunk he was talking nonsense. Then, he turned to the girls. "I'll get the cloaks. Ginny, can you get him to the door?"
"I think so," she responded. "Maybe if Daphne walks on the other side of him, just in case."
"Sounds good," he replied. "I'll meet you at the door." He waited until the group nodded in response, then, he moved off into the crowd.
Their journey was slow, but surprisingly smooth. Ginny walked beside Malfoy, her arm wrapped around his waist and his arm draped heavily across her shoulders. Daphne was on the opposite side, and Astoria walked behind, hoping to block any missteps from obvious view. Malfoy, although completely intoxicated, managed to walk almost normally when he put his mind to it. He appeared casually relaxed, although Ginny could tell that he was relying heavily on her to keep him steady. To the outside observer, it just looked like he was just holding his girl a bit close.
Nearing the door, he turned to her. "I think I'm going to kiss you now, Weasley."
Before she could fully process what he'd just said and protest, his lips descended upon hers in a rather wet, sloppy manner. She thought about pulling away in disgust, but she was fully aware of the fact that Parkinson had her hawk-like gaze on them. It was like a bizarre nightmare, but she somehow managed to endure it for several seconds before pulling away, faking a sweet smile. "Not here, Draco."
"Yeah," he muttered, looking like a sad puppy. "So true. No public displays of affection. Malfoys don't do that."
She looked past him at Daphne with a confused look on her face, wondering what he might mean by that and the blonde girl just shook her head.
Fortunately, Ron had their cloaks ready and proceeded to help Astoria into hers first while Ginny and Daphne moved Draco out of sight to help him into his.
Almost immediately after they stepped into the cool night air, Draco turned to Ron. "I'm not doing so good, mate."
Eyes widening, Ron realized what his friend meant by that, and pushed Ginny away, taking her place by his side. "C'mon man. Let's get you out of here."
With little warning, Draco's legs seemed to crumple beneath him and he turned to the side, promptly emptying the contents of his stomach into the street, fortunately missing his companions with the violent upheaval. Ron looked sadly at his friend, then, giving a deep sigh, turned to the three girls and said with resignation, "Go home, ladies. I'll take care of him."
Ginny looked at her brother with irritation. "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone. You're going to need help. He's a mess."
Daphne and Astoria nodded in agreement.
"His flat is just a few blocks from here," Daphne said. "Why don't we walk him that far? I don't think he'll handle Apparition very well in his condition.”
“Agreed,” Ron said, hauling his friend up and wrapping his arm around to steady him.
Silently, the group plodded in the direction of Malfoy's home.
X
Ginny had never been to Malfoy's house and, as she entered the front door, she was pleasantly surprised. She'd been expecting to be assaulted by obnoxious Slytherin greens and perhaps an excessive display of trashy wealth, something akin to the troll-leg umbrella stand and elf heads at Grimmauld Place. What she found instead was a home that was tasteful, simple, and slightly masculine.
Malfoy stumbled alongside Ron, mumbling things about moving the party to his place, and Ron rolled his eyes, agreeing with him, making the girls giggle amongst themselves.
“C'mon mate,” Ron said, hauling the blond up the stairs. “Almost there.”
“That's good,” Malfoy responded slowly, his words slurred. Then, he looked over at the three girls and gave a dopey grin. “Three beautiful women with us, too, right mate?”
“Oh, knock it off, Dray,” Daphne replied, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in exasperation. “You got us to haul you home, you don't need to lay it on so thick.”
Ginny looked over at Astoria, and both girls shared an amused smile.
Without much fanfare, Ron proceeded to half carry, half drag his friend up the stairs to his bedroom, all girls following along dutifully. Once in the bedroom, Ron and Daphne shared responsibility of peeling back the covers, and tugging off Draco's shoes and tie.
“Should we take off his pants too?” Daphne asked.
Ron looked a bit frightened at the thought, then shook his head. “I'm not taking off another bloke's pants.”
The lovely blonde laughed, reaching for Draco's belt buckle. “Well, he'll be more comfortable if we do,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Ron merely backed away further. “The git deserves it for getting that pissed. Can't believe he let Parkinson get to him like that.”
Daphne turned to her sister, beckoning the other girl to give her a hand as she unbuttoned her friend's trousers. Ginny stepped forward as well, joining in with their amused laughter, grabbed a pant leg and tugged with the other girl.
In a way, the sight was endearing. Poor Malfoy was unconscious, wearing only shirt, socks and underwear. A soft snore emitted from the man, and Daphne chuckled as she pulled the blanket up over him.
“He's going to feel awful in the morning,” Daphne stated, looking at her sleeping friend with concern. The other three made various remarks in agreement. “One of us should stay with him, to make sure he's all right.”
“I'll stay. He's done the same for me,” Ron volunteered.
“We do have to get going,” Daphne said. “I promised Mum that I'd have Tori home at a decent hour.”
Ron's smile faltered, just a bit, until Astoria looked up at him with her big, china blue eyes. “Would you write to me?”
Ginny thought her brother was going to burst with joy as he nodded in return.
Unfortunately, with the Greengrass sisters leaving, Ginny suddenly realized that it would be inconsiderate of her to leave her brother to watch-duty alone.
“I suppose I'll keep you company, then,” Ginny said to Ron, with a touch of resignation. “Though I should go home and change first. This,” she said, looking down at her dress. “This isn't the most comfortable thing.”
“Oh, poo,” Daphne stated. Then, with total disregard for the owner of the house, she went to the closet and started to rummage around. Pulling out a Falcons Quidditch jersey, she gave a satisfied smile and offered the item to Ginny. “He won't mind. I promise. And if he does, I'll hex him. You're doing him a favor. At the very least, you should make yourself comfortable.”
Ginny chuckled and accepted the item, rather amused at the idea of irritating Malfoy by borrowing his shirt. Ron turned to Astoria, giving her a shy smile, which Astoria returned.
Daphne and Ginny shared a knowing glance. Apparently, at least for Ron, the evening had been a success.
They saw the sisters out and headed to the lounge. Ginny changed into the Quidditch jersey, which was big enough to hang down to her mid-thigh, almost like a pyjama shirt, and curled up on the surprising comfortable sofa, transfiguring a light blanket to cover her legs.
Ron came in a few minutes later and sat on the chair across from her, propping his shoeless feet up on an ottoman. He gave a weary sigh, but was smiling.
“So, things went well with Astoria, I take it,” Ginny prompted, an impish grin coming to her lips.
“Oy, yeah,” he said, his grin growing just a bit wider. “She's asked me to write to her. Maybe I'll even meet her at Hogsmeade in a few weeks. It couldn't have worked out better.”
Ginny smiled affectionately at her brother. “She's very nice. I'm glad I met her tonight, even if the evening turned out to be a bit strange,” she said waving a hand in the direction of Malfoy's bedroom. “Is he going to be all right?”
“Yeah,” Ron replied. “Though, I've never seen him this bad. I figure I owe him one. Usually, he's the one hauling me home. More than once he's brought me back and I've spent a few nights on that couch,” he said, pointing at where Ginny was sitting. “Fortunately, it's pretty comfortable.”
She nodded in response, snuggling further into the cushions.
They were silent for a moment, then Ron spoke again. “Thanks for coming tonight, Gin. I know it wasn't what you wanted to do, but …” He paused. “Just thanks.”
She chuckled. “It was all right. I had fun.”
Ron smiled, apparently unsure of what to say. Then, he looked over at a rather expensive-looking marble chess board. “Fancy a game of chess?”
X
The next morning, she stood in front of the stove, cauldron happily bubbling away as she added the last of the ingredients, muttering softly to herself that Malfoy most certainly did not deserve a hangover remedy of any sort. She was still clad in the comfortable shirt that Daphne had dug out of Malfoy's closet, not caring that she was wearing only that over her underwear. Ron, after all, was still asleep and, besides, he had seen her in worse. And, she presumed, Malfoy was likely not going to get up any time soon, and when he did get up, she was quite certain that he was really going to need that hangover remedy.
She wondered how she might be able to blackmail something out of him or, at the very least, torture him for a bit before turning the concoction over to him.
She'd had some time that morning to recount the evening and, after some thought, she realized that she was grateful to the blond pain-in-the-arse. Despite the scene he'd nearly made at the bar, he'd provided a wonderful opportunity for Ginny to stay up half the night with her brother just talking. They'd reminisced about childhood, friends, family, Quidditch, and almost everything else that made their relationship special. It had turned out to be one of the best New Year's Eves ever.
She hummed to herself as she quietly stirred the potion, noting that the color was nearly perfect. Just as she turned off the heat, she heard a scuffling noise behind her.
“Oh, sweet Merlin, no!” she heard Malfoy say, in a most pathetic tone, as if his world had just ended.
She turned, looking at the man with irritation. “Good heavens, Malfoy, it's just a hangover.”
He clearly did not look his best. He was still wearing only his shirt from the previous evening, over his underwear, and socks. His hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions, his eyes were red, and his face was even more pale than usual.
He looked her over and rubbed his hands over face, mussing his hair further, as if it was painful to look at her, and groaned. “Please tell me I didn't...”
Rolling her eyes and waving the spoon she'd been using to stir the potion at him, she answered, “Yes, of course you did and you made an utter fool of yourself.”
He moaned. “Ron's going to kill me, and I'd deserve it.”
She gave a deep sigh. “Oh, quit being such a drama queen. It will be all right,” she said, turning to dig through the cupboards for a cup.
“I'm never going to be able to face him,” Draco whined, plopping down heavily at the small breakfast table, looking completely miserable.
She took pity on him. She really would have loved to torment him just a bit longer about his drinking binge, but he just looked so forlorn. Beating him up further about the incident would have only made her feel as if she was kicking a puppy. She took the cup, filled it with the hangover potion and placed it in front of him.
“It's not that big a deal, Malfoy.”
He looked up at her, his red-rimmed eyes close to panic. “Are you crazy, Weasley? This could totally ruin the best friendship I've ever had! I know you'd probably prefer I didn't hang around with him, but I happen to like your brother very much.”
Ron's voice interrupted at that moment. “So what of it, Malfoy? Most everyone makes mistakes. Even you, you wanker.”
Draco jumped out of his seat as if he'd been jolted by an electric shock. He turned to Ron, looking more than a bit panicked. “I'm so, so sorry mate,” he stammered. He looked toward Ginny. “I don't even remember any of it, I swear!”
“I'd be surprised if you did,” Ron said with a chuckle. “It took all of us to pour you into bed. And you're lucky you didn't toss your stomach on my shoes, or there'd be hell to pay.”
Malfoy's jaw dropped open, as if in shock, not quite comprehending what Ron was saying. He looked over at Ginny again, the pain of his headache making his expression seem slightly crazed, then back to Ron. “Would one of you care to fill me in, then? Because, I'm not liking the conclusions that I'm making right now.”
The demand was so Malfoy-like.
Both siblings exchanged a glance, unsure of what the confusion was about. Then, Ron looked over at his sister and his eyebrows then raised in understanding. He motioned to her legs. She looked down at her bare feet and remembered that she was standing around wearing little more than the man's shirt. Granted, it was long enough to cover her thighs, but still...
Suddenly, it dawned on her.
She laughed, and Ron started to chuckle as well. “Oh my Lord, Malfoy...” she said, laughing. “You don't think... You didn't think that you and I...”
“We didn't sleep together?” he asked, almost hopefully.
She clutched her stomach, laughing harder, tears coming to her eyes. “Of course not! You could barely walk. Ron tossed you into bed and we took your trousers. He and I stayed in the lounge to make sure you would be all right. Daphne pulled this,” she explained, motioning to the shirt she was wearing, “...out of your closet so I'd be more comfortable.”
He stared at her, his bloodshot eyes wide with understanding, his mouth dropped open slightly as if saying, “Oh.” Then, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Drink the potion, man,” Ron commanded firmly. “Ginny's got a great recipe there. It'll fix you right up,” he said, giving his sister a wink. “I'll run out and get us some breakfast.”
Then, he stopped, turned back to Ginny and scowled. “And, Ginny,” he said, motioning to her manner of undress with strong disapproval. “Get some clothes on. You shouldn't be running around like that.” He gave a dramatic shudder, then marched out.
She placed a hand over her eyes and took a deep breath. Normally, such a remark from her brother would have sparked her temper, but, at the moment, the whole situation was just a bit too ridiculous.
Draco sat down heavily and eagerly downed the contents of the cup she'd provided then looked up at her apologetically. “I guess I ruined everyone's night.”
She dropped down in the seat across from the blond, shaking her head. “Parkinson ruined the night. Up until then, it was rather fun.”
He grunted in reply, looking down at the cup in his hands.
In that moment, Ginny could no longer harbor animosity toward the man. He'd bared part of himself last night, and then again this morning, when he was so obviously distraught at the thought of upsetting Ron. “I'm sorry that she showed up. Astoria let slip what she'd done to you.”
He shrugged, still not looking up from his cup. “I don't love her, if that's what you are thinking. Hell, I don't even like her and I certainly have been much happier without her.” He looked up at Ginny, and she could see the simple honesty in his eyes. “It's the fact that I was stupid enough to not see what she was doing. I was a fool, and a laughingstock, and she played me, and she enjoyed every minute of it.”
She truly did feel sorry for him. “Nobody deserves to be treated that way, Draco. But, you aren't the first person to be taken in by someone like that, and you won't be the last. There's no use beating yourself up over it.”
“Your brother and Daphne are my best friends, Weasley. I truly mean that, and I hope you can accept it.”
Having let go some of her dislike of the man, Ginny found she couldn't say no. Her family had seen this and accepted it long ago, and she supposed it was her turn to let go of her old grudge. In a way, it made her feel liberated. She nodded and held out her hand. “I do. Truce then?”
“Truce,” he replied, reaching his hand out in return and, rather than a simple handshake as she had been expecting, he took her hand, lifted it to his lips and laid a gentlemanly kiss on the knuckles. “And thank you for being so understanding.”
She pulled her hand back, blushing slightly. “Well, I better get dressed before Ron gets back, or he'll have a right fit.”
He nodded in agreement. “I could probably use a shower, myself. If you like, you can use the guest bedroom,” he said, motioning down the hall.
X
She left for home before Ron returned with breakfast, figuring that the two friends would have their own things to discuss. Besides, the newly minted truce between herself and Malfoy had left her feeling just a bit uneasy. She wasn't sure she could continue a longer conversation with the man without reverting back to her habitual scowls and insults. It was quite disconcerting to think of the blond as a normal person.
“Oh, there you are, young lady,” her mother said in lieu of a greeting.
“Hey, Mum. I hope you didn't worry. Ron and I fell asleep in the lounge at Draco's house.” Ginny paused, realizing that she'd said, “Draco,” not “Malfoy.” It was odd.
“Well, knowing you were together, I figured it was something like that. It wouldn't be the first time Ron's stayed over there.”
She smiled at her mother. “Ron mentioned that.”
Ginny thought about saying more, but elected instead to go upstairs and sleep for a few more hours in her own bed.
With the Christmas rush at the joke shop finally over, Ginny had made firm plans to enjoy a day off, and her primary objective was to lie about the house doing as little as possible.
Making herself a nice cup of hot chocolate, she settled down in her favorite chair and opened up a trashy romance novel that she'd been looking forward to reading. It was an almost a perfect day. Almost. That was, until Ron entered the room. “Please, Ginny...” he whined. Again.
She'd been attempting to ignore him for the entire morning, but it seemed that Ron had taken it upon himself to annoy the living daylights out of her.
Keeping her nose firmly planted in her book, she responded firmly, “I said 'No,' Ronald! Now, leave me be or I will petrify you and leave you out in the garden with the gnomes.”
She was at her wit's end. The day after Christmas, he'd gone out with Malfoy and, ever since, had been going on about some blonde girl that he'd met. Apparently, she was still a student at Hogwarts and was friendly with stupid Malfoy.
“Everybody goes out to celebrate New Year's Eve,” he informed her, totally ignoring her threat and attempting to sound persuasive.
Snapping her book shut, she looked at him fully. “Well, I don't! And even if I wanted to, I would prefer company other than Malfoy and his friends.”
The problem was that Esteria, or whatever her name was, would be going back to school after the holidays were over. Apparently, going out on New Year's Eve was Ron's perfect opportunity to see the girl again. It was positively sickening.
In an attempt to bring her brother back to sanity, Ginny had resorted to bringing up the subject of Hermione, but at the mere mention of the book-loving brunette, Ron had looked positively downtrodden. Hermione's first, and utmost, love was her books. She'd hardly taken the time to even write to Ron after she'd gone to university. It was one of the reasons that her poor brother had turned to new friends, and now, he'd taken interest in this new girl.
“But, Ginny,” he whined. “It would just be weird if it was just Malfoy and me. If he and I go with Astoria and her sister and it would look like a double date, or a set up, or something.”
She rolled her eyes. “Ron, it is a set up. You asked Malfoy to invite her so you could chat her up.”
Ron plopped down on the ottoman in front of Ginny's comfortable chair, giving Ginny every reason to believe that she'd never get to curl up with her book if she didn't give in to her brother's request. She sighed.
He looked at her with big, puppy-dog eyes. “Please, Gin. Daphne is a friend of his. If you go too, then it will be more like a group just going out.”
“If you really like this girl, Asteria...”
“Astoria,” Ron corrected.
“Ast-or-ia,” Ginny repeated, with emphasis on the second syllable. “Then just ask her to dinner. Alone.”
He looked at her as if she'd said something completely mental. He stammered, “I ... I couldn't do that!”
She dropped her head into her hands. Her brother was completely hopeless with women. He always had been, as his years of frustration with Hermione had proven. Not moving her head from her hands, she asked, “Good heavens, Ronald, why not?”
“She's still in school! I mean, seventh year and all, so she's of age, but I'd look like some sort of a perv!”
Still keeping her hands over her face to hide her exasperation, she lifted her head slightly and peered at her brother through her fingers. “You have got to be kidding me.”
He just looked so very lost. Here he was, besotted with a girl, which was probably a good thing because at least it might distract him from spending so much time with Malfoy, and Ginny felt like she'd be a horrible sister if she didn't at least try to go and help him out.
She groaned.
X – x - X
On New Year's Eve, the group of five entered the Purple Raven well before the majority of revelers, mostly because Ron was so eager to start the evening as early as possible, and Malfoy seemed to find that amusing. The official excuse for starting obscenely early was that Astoria needed to get home so that she could prepare for her return to school.
The two sisters, Daphne and Astoria Greengrass, had been longtime friends of Malfoy and seemed pleasant enough during the introductions. Ron, upon seeing the younger sister, managed to drop his mouth open and take on the expression of a lovesick Niffler. Ginny, being the loyal sibling, smiled politely to each of the girls, trying to keep Astoria distracted so that Ron could compose himself appropriately. However, she did catch the older sister, Daphne, giving Ron an amused smile during the interaction.
Ginny had to admit that Ron had rather good taste. Astoria was short, on the slightly plump side, although quite curvy, with honey blond hair and china blue eyes, reminding Ginny of a porcelain doll. She had a pleasant smile and seemed to be somewhat quiet in nature. Ginny found that she rather liked the girl, although she would not mention to Ron that Astoria's body type was eerily similar to their mother's.
Her sister Daphne, in contrast, was tall, with a perfect figure and far more confident and talkative than her younger sister. She was obviously very knowledgeable about the most current of fashion trends, based on her perfectly coordinated attire but, most notably, her eyes showed a level of openness and blunt honesty that Ginny hadn't expected.
The tall, blonde witch was easily the most attractive woman in the room, and it came to no surprise to learn that she was doing modeling and was soon going to be seen in several ads in popular periodicals. Still, she was rather likeable, especially when, almost immediately after the initial salutations had been made, the girl turned to Draco and chastised him in much the same way Ginny might speak to any of her brothers.
“Honestly, Draco, where have your manners gone? We've been here a full five minutes and you haven't asked any of us what we'd like to drink.”
Ginny bit back a small smile at Malfoy's reaction. He first looked surprised, then a bit abashed, before straightening himself up and giving Daphne a look of annoyance. Before he could respond, however, she continued to speak, obviously accustomed to putting him in his place. “I'd love a gin and tonic,” she instructed with absolute authority. Then, she turned back to Ginny with a smug grin. “Ginny, Astoria, would either of you like something?”
Malfoy pouted at being commanded in such a way, but obediently complied. Then, having gotten the orders, he turned toward the bar, Ron following him. Ginny bit back a smile, deciding that, if Daphne was going to continue to harass Malfoy in such a blatant manner, the evening might be a bit more fun than she'd initially anticipated.
After watching the wizards retreat, Ginny turned to the blonde. “So, are you and Malfoy …?” she began to ask, implying that Daphne and he might be an item.
Daphne looked taken aback, then she and Astoria laughed together at the insinuation. “Me and Dray? Oh, Merlin, no! Astoria, on the other hand ...” she said, winking devilishly at her little sister.
The younger girl blushed furiously, appearing a bit panicked. “Daphne! No! You promised not to bring that up!” Astoria looked at Ginny rather sheepishly. “She never fails to embarrass me with the fact that I had a crush on him when I was about eleven.”
Ginny had to smile at that. She decided to try to put the younger girl at ease, despite the fact that she clearly had questionable tastes, and wondering if that would bode badly for Ron's attempts at wooing her. “I can say I completely understand having a childhood crush. You can't fault yourself for what you think when you're that young,” she said kindly, recalling her own embarrassing memories concerning Harry. However, she couldn't imagine anyone seeing Malfoy in a similar way, especially remembering how he'd ridiculed Ginny over her note to Harry all those years ago.
But she was distracted from those unkind thoughts when Daphne grinned at her sister, an affectionate gleam in her eye. “We've been friends with Dray since I was five, and I can't blame Tori for adoring him. He always looked out for her."
Astoria nodded, still seeming nervous and shy, and Ginny began to understand her brother's attraction to the girl.
The boys returned at that moment with the drinks, although when Draco handed one to Daphne he had a bit of a sour look on his face. “Remind me again why we're friends?” he asked the tall blonde.
“Because, if it weren't for me putting you in your place, you'd be an insufferable prat,” she responded, quite seriously.
Unfortunately, Ginny had just taken a sip of her own beverage, and nearly spat it out because of an uncontrollable laugh.
After that, the small group seemed to get along well enough, and Ron eventually worked up enough nerve to get into a conversation with Astoria. Ginny found she was having an enjoyable time, although she did credit the drinks for helping her ease into the conversation more readily.
Most of the topics were neutral enough, although somehow, Malfoy managed to bring up Ginny's incident in the joke shop and, worse, he also colorfully embellished it to make the group laugh. Ginny simply glowered, knowing that she couldn't hex him in full public view. Ron and Daphne managed to chide her about having a secret attraction, causing her to furiously glare at Malfoy for mentioning the story. The annoying prat winked at her in response to the comment, causing her blush to deepen and she glared at him with no small amount of irritation.
Annoyingly, Malfoy continued to wink at her as the evening progressed, repeatedly making her blush, although with less fury than before. Every so often, Ron would catch him doing it and would laugh heartily. "Mate, you gotta quit flirting with my sister."
Draco just laughed in return. "Yeah, but it's so much fun." Then, he looked at Ron with mock-seriousness, saying in a stage whisper, "You aren't going to be the over-protective big brother and hit me, are you?"
Ron snorted. "Ha! You wish! It's not me you need to be worried about, mate. It's her. The girl will hex you into next week if you don't watch it."
Ginny crossed her arms and stared fiercely at her brother, tapping her foot.
"Careful, sis, you look like Mum when you stand like that."
She stopped, looked down at herself and realized, with no small amount of horror, that she was in the exact pose their mother always used when she was annoyed with any of them. The others broke into laughter and she gave up, throwing her hands into the air in defeat, which made them all laugh even harder, and she felt a small smile come to her lips. The humor was good-natured and she couldn't help but join in, even if Malfoy had been the person to initiate it. He'd been quite tolerable for the entire evening and, she had to admit, she could see that he was good company for her brother. His two female friends were acceptable also. Looking down at her drink on the shelf next to her, she decided that the alcohol probably was a factor in her evaluation, but she didn't let that stop her good mood.
Perhaps joining them for the evening hadn't been such a horrible idea after all.
With the men both seeming to be in a light discussion with Astoria, Ginny turned toward Daphne and their conversation focused on mostly trivial subjects, although she did find out that Daphne had been secretly dating Timothy Spinnet, a chaser for the Chudley Cannons. Apparently, Daphne's closest friends seemed to strongly dislike the Cannons, hence why she hadn't had the nerve to bring her new relationship out in the open just yet.
"You do know that Ron's favorite team has always been the Cannons, don't you?" Ginny said conspiratorially.
Daphne's eyes widened. "Oh, please don't say anything! If Ron finds out he'll tell Draco and then I'll never hear the end of it."
Ginny laughed, realizing that she was honestly beginning to like the pretty blonde. "I promise, but I suppose that they'll eventually find out if you keep seeing him."
"I suppose, but I'd just rather wait until I've determined how serious this might be. After all, it could just be a fling, and I'd hate to have to listen to Dray complain if it's just going to be over and done in a few months."
"Draco's that bad?" Ginny asked, her eyes narrowing in the direction of the blond. Not that Draco being a bother was the least bit surprising, but Ginny was curious about any negative details.
"Oh goodness, yes!” Daphne replied. “But I think he's just trying to be protective sometimes. He always has been very loyal to the people he loves."
Ginny gave a small snort, but tried to hide it by taking another sip of her drink. "I never pictured him as loyal."
The other girl looked at her with some speculation and Ginny suddenly realized that she might have offended Daphne by openly implying how much she disliked the girl's friend. After a moment of looking at Ginny sternly, Daphne finally said, "I like you, Ginny, and I can see that your brother has been a good friend to Dray, so I'll tell you something that I wouldn't normally share. Draco has never had many friends."
Somehow, that statement didn't surprise Ginny in the least.
Daphne looked at her and seemed to understand what she was thinking, and she continued, "He is an only child and his family has power and money. A lot of people look to exploit that. They do it with false pleasantries, outright lies and treachery. Even Voldemort used him and his family in the worst possible ways and they nearly died because of it. Draco does not trust easily, and with good reason, but when he does care for someone, he'll do anything to protect them, which was why, when Voldemort threatened to murder his mother and leave his father in Azkaban, he was willing to try to kill Dumbledore, even though he honestly thought he'd die in the process."
Ginny sucked in a breath. Professor Dumbledore's death was something that she tried to avoid talking about, yet this girl defended the prat who had been instrumental in it. She bit her lip. Daphne had suddenly given her a lot to think about.
Daphne ignored Ginny's reaction and finished her drink, then looked back up, giving Ginny a bright smile. "Now, you know where I stand," she said. "But we are here to have a good time, so let's get the boys to refill our drinks and enjoy ourselves, yeah?"
In that instant, Ginny fully knew that she liked Daphne. She still didn't care much for Malfoy, but she could totally appreciate the girl's upfront honesty.
An hour before midnight, Ginny was thinking of leaving. She'd had a good time, but staying for the actual midnight celebration was something that couples tended to do, and she was getting tired. The evening had turned out better than she'd expected and Ron seemed to be happily chatting with Astoria, so she really had no reason to remain.
She was just about to bid a goodnight to everyone, when she saw Draco suddenly freeze in place, staring at the door for several seconds, before throwing back the remains of his drink in one quick gulp.
"I'm going to the bar," he said angrily, and departed without any acknowledgment from the others.
"Oi, what happened there. Did I say something wrong?" Ron asked, half-jokingly, but clearly confused.
Then, Daphne looked in the direction that had caught the blond man's attention, and her mouth dropped open slightly. "Oh, no," she said with concern.
"What?" Ron asked, and they all followed her gaze.
Near the entrance, Pansy Parkinson, dressed in a scandalous, and obviously expensive outfit, was making an entrance, hanging off the arm of a tall, dark-haired, older wizard.
"What?" Ginny asked, obviously not impressed with the witch. "Parkinson?"
Daphne narrowed her eyes at the woman for a second, then looked away. "Don't pay her too much attention. That's what she wants."
They all looked away quickly, each trying to appear inconspicuous about it, although, as a group, it probably was more than obvious. Ginny spared a glance over at the bar to see Draco downing a shot of whiskey and ordering two more.
"She and Draco were an item back in school," Ron informed Ginny, although Ginny had been well-aware of that. They had been one of the more obvious couples back then, usually because Pansy had always been dressed so garishly that it was impossible not to notice her, and she had always been attached to Draco as if she was a magnet.
"I take it you don't like her," Ginny said, and she heard Ron snort. She was quite certain that her brother hated the witch with his entire being.
Daphne tried to look cool, but Ginny could see anger in the older girl's eyes. "She took his heart and ripped it to pieces. I thought he was over it, but I guess not."
Astoria, trying to sound helpful, added, "She cheated on him behind his back the whole time they were together. Then, she goaded Crabbe into using FiendFyre during the final battle. I hear that's why he died ..."
"Enough!" Daphne said sharply to interrupt her sister, making the younger girl jump. "This isn't the time or the place to talk about that."
So, Ginny thought, that explained why he was joking with Ron about remaining single. Malfoy and Parkinson had always looked like the perfect, evil couple, although it didn't surprise Ginny in the least to hear that Parkinson had been a tramp.
They looked over at the bar and Draco was retuning with two drinks, one of which he finished before reaching them. He had already been drinking all evening with the rest of them, and it didn't take an expert to see that he was going to be very drunk, very soon.
"Forget about her, Draco," Daphne said, with concern. "She was never worth your time."
"I know that," he replied quickly, although his words were becoming slurred from the alcohol. "I'm just having a hard time accepting that I was so blind and stupid for so long."
He gulped down the other shot in his hand and Daphne snatched the glass from his fingers. "Stop drinking, you idiot. You'll only call attention to yourself and you know that no good will come of it."
He looked contrite for a moment, then the familiar scowl that Ginny remembered from his younger days came to his face. "I'm fine, Daph, quit fussing like a mother hen."
The blonde witch ignored his comment. "Somebody must have told her that you were here."
"Yeah," Ron agreed, looking over the crowded bar. "This doesn't seem like the kind of place her date would find interesting."
Draco interrupted. "Would you two mind not talking as if I'm not here?"
Both looked at him skeptically.
"Well, isn't it interesting to run into you all here?" a thin, rather annoying voice said from behind the group. At that moment, Ginny was quite certain that Pansy Parkinson had indeed arrived at the club for the sole purpose of haunting her ex-boyfriend.
In that instant, Draco's demeanor changed completely. He stood up straight, his expression became closed, almost calm and disinterested. He turned to smile coldly at Pansy. "Nice to see you again, Parkinson."
"If your definition of nice is bottling Bubotuber Pus ..." Ron muttered quietly.
"Doing charity work tonight, Draco, dear?" she asked cattily, ignoring everyone except Draco.
"What do you want, Pansy?" Daphne interrupted, sharply.
The raven-haired witch looked around at the group, noting that Astoria was standing next to Ron, then looked snootily at Ginny. "Can't a girl just stop by and check on her old flame?" She sidled up to Draco, wrapping her arm around his, although her gaze wandered to Ron. "Especially now that he's reduced to keeping such...” she paused for a moment, lifting her pug-like nose slightly, and sneered, “... interesting company these days."
Ginny realized that the catty little bitch was truly trying to humiliate her ex-boyfriend, and a strong protective urge overcame her. The blond man was still standing tall, albeit a bit stiffly, and his eyes looked angry, but a bit unfocussed, due the excessive amount of alcohol that he'd just consumed.
"C'mon Draco, admit that you miss me. Here you are, all alone, and you know you'll never find someone who will entertain you like I did," she spoke huskily into his ear.
“More like she misses his money,” Astoria whispered in Ginny's ear.
Ginny nodded in agreement, her eyes fixated on the pair. The sight was almost pathetic. As much as she disliked Malfoy, he was her brother's friend, and nobody deserved to be harassed the way Parkinson was doing at that moment. While he was hiding his emotions well, it had been obvious from his initial reaction that his heart had been stabbed by this wench and, now, Parkinson was there to twist the knife.
He looked down at the witch with disdain, looking as if he was ready to speak. With the amount of alcohol in his system, it was highly likely that it wouldn't be good. Making a quick decision to interrupt before the situation became worse, Ginny stepped up, pushing her way between them, facing Pansy.
"I think you should go. Now," she commanded firmly. "Your date over there is looking impatient, and I assume that he's probably paying you by the hour for services." To make her point, Ginny looked the girl up and down as if she'd seen something distasteful.
Pansy stepped back, her face scrunching in a rather unattractive display of shock and fury. "How dare you, you little..."
Smiling at the girl's reaction, Ginny lifted her hand to her mouth in a gesture of mock-surprise. "Oh, I'm sorry, did I make an incorrect assumption? I thought you were for hire, because you're dressed like a Muggle prostitute. Or, at least that's the story that I can get published, if you don't back off.”
At that moment, a hand wrapped around Ginny's waist and Malfoy pulled her close, then whispered rather sloppily in her ear, "I think I'm in love with you right now, Weasley." She might have pulled away to give him a sound dressing down, but she was too preoccupied with watching Parkinson turn her nose up and march away in a huff.
"We're getting out of here," Daphne said as soon as Pansy had left the area to go slobber over the older man who had arrived with her.
Ginny tried to pull away from Malfoy, but he continued to hold her waist in a rather firm grip. “Let go of me, Malfoy!”
Seeming to realize that he was, indeed, holding onto her rather tightly, he responded with a slurred, “Sure,” but as soon as he let go, he wobbled unsteadily.
Ginny, being nearest, quickly stepped back to his side to keep him from falling. "You're inebriated," she stated with irritation.
"Crap," Ron said, peering rather closely at his blond friend. "He's going to pass out. We've got to get out of here. If he makes a fool of himself, you can bet that Parkinson will never let him hear the end of it."
"I'm fine," Malfoy responded with an unnatural slowness. "It's just that pretending I'm drunk gives me a good reason to hang onto little Weasley here," he said, wrapping his arm more securely around the little red head and giving Ron a bit of a cavalier smirk, which might have been humorous under different circumstances. "Your sister really is kind of cute, even if she does hate me."
Ron lifted an eyebrow and looked at Draco as if the blond had just said the most ludicrous thing imaginable. "Not now, mate,” he said, apparently deciding that his friend was so drunk he was talking nonsense. Then, he turned to the girls. "I'll get the cloaks. Ginny, can you get him to the door?"
"I think so," she responded. "Maybe if Daphne walks on the other side of him, just in case."
"Sounds good," he replied. "I'll meet you at the door." He waited until the group nodded in response, then, he moved off into the crowd.
Their journey was slow, but surprisingly smooth. Ginny walked beside Malfoy, her arm wrapped around his waist and his arm draped heavily across her shoulders. Daphne was on the opposite side, and Astoria walked behind, hoping to block any missteps from obvious view. Malfoy, although completely intoxicated, managed to walk almost normally when he put his mind to it. He appeared casually relaxed, although Ginny could tell that he was relying heavily on her to keep him steady. To the outside observer, it just looked like he was just holding his girl a bit close.
Nearing the door, he turned to her. "I think I'm going to kiss you now, Weasley."
Before she could fully process what he'd just said and protest, his lips descended upon hers in a rather wet, sloppy manner. She thought about pulling away in disgust, but she was fully aware of the fact that Parkinson had her hawk-like gaze on them. It was like a bizarre nightmare, but she somehow managed to endure it for several seconds before pulling away, faking a sweet smile. "Not here, Draco."
"Yeah," he muttered, looking like a sad puppy. "So true. No public displays of affection. Malfoys don't do that."
She looked past him at Daphne with a confused look on her face, wondering what he might mean by that and the blonde girl just shook her head.
Fortunately, Ron had their cloaks ready and proceeded to help Astoria into hers first while Ginny and Daphne moved Draco out of sight to help him into his.
Almost immediately after they stepped into the cool night air, Draco turned to Ron. "I'm not doing so good, mate."
Eyes widening, Ron realized what his friend meant by that, and pushed Ginny away, taking her place by his side. "C'mon man. Let's get you out of here."
With little warning, Draco's legs seemed to crumple beneath him and he turned to the side, promptly emptying the contents of his stomach into the street, fortunately missing his companions with the violent upheaval. Ron looked sadly at his friend, then, giving a deep sigh, turned to the three girls and said with resignation, "Go home, ladies. I'll take care of him."
Ginny looked at her brother with irritation. "Absolutely not. I'm not leaving you to deal with this alone. You're going to need help. He's a mess."
Daphne and Astoria nodded in agreement.
"His flat is just a few blocks from here," Daphne said. "Why don't we walk him that far? I don't think he'll handle Apparition very well in his condition.”
“Agreed,” Ron said, hauling his friend up and wrapping his arm around to steady him.
Silently, the group plodded in the direction of Malfoy's home.
X
Ginny had never been to Malfoy's house and, as she entered the front door, she was pleasantly surprised. She'd been expecting to be assaulted by obnoxious Slytherin greens and perhaps an excessive display of trashy wealth, something akin to the troll-leg umbrella stand and elf heads at Grimmauld Place. What she found instead was a home that was tasteful, simple, and slightly masculine.
Malfoy stumbled alongside Ron, mumbling things about moving the party to his place, and Ron rolled his eyes, agreeing with him, making the girls giggle amongst themselves.
“C'mon mate,” Ron said, hauling the blond up the stairs. “Almost there.”
“That's good,” Malfoy responded slowly, his words slurred. Then, he looked over at the three girls and gave a dopey grin. “Three beautiful women with us, too, right mate?”
“Oh, knock it off, Dray,” Daphne replied, rolling her eyes and shaking her head in exasperation. “You got us to haul you home, you don't need to lay it on so thick.”
Ginny looked over at Astoria, and both girls shared an amused smile.
Without much fanfare, Ron proceeded to half carry, half drag his friend up the stairs to his bedroom, all girls following along dutifully. Once in the bedroom, Ron and Daphne shared responsibility of peeling back the covers, and tugging off Draco's shoes and tie.
“Should we take off his pants too?” Daphne asked.
Ron looked a bit frightened at the thought, then shook his head. “I'm not taking off another bloke's pants.”
The lovely blonde laughed, reaching for Draco's belt buckle. “Well, he'll be more comfortable if we do,” she said, her eyes twinkling with mischief.
Ron merely backed away further. “The git deserves it for getting that pissed. Can't believe he let Parkinson get to him like that.”
Daphne turned to her sister, beckoning the other girl to give her a hand as she unbuttoned her friend's trousers. Ginny stepped forward as well, joining in with their amused laughter, grabbed a pant leg and tugged with the other girl.
In a way, the sight was endearing. Poor Malfoy was unconscious, wearing only shirt, socks and underwear. A soft snore emitted from the man, and Daphne chuckled as she pulled the blanket up over him.
“He's going to feel awful in the morning,” Daphne stated, looking at her sleeping friend with concern. The other three made various remarks in agreement. “One of us should stay with him, to make sure he's all right.”
“I'll stay. He's done the same for me,” Ron volunteered.
“We do have to get going,” Daphne said. “I promised Mum that I'd have Tori home at a decent hour.”
Ron's smile faltered, just a bit, until Astoria looked up at him with her big, china blue eyes. “Would you write to me?”
Ginny thought her brother was going to burst with joy as he nodded in return.
Unfortunately, with the Greengrass sisters leaving, Ginny suddenly realized that it would be inconsiderate of her to leave her brother to watch-duty alone.
“I suppose I'll keep you company, then,” Ginny said to Ron, with a touch of resignation. “Though I should go home and change first. This,” she said, looking down at her dress. “This isn't the most comfortable thing.”
“Oh, poo,” Daphne stated. Then, with total disregard for the owner of the house, she went to the closet and started to rummage around. Pulling out a Falcons Quidditch jersey, she gave a satisfied smile and offered the item to Ginny. “He won't mind. I promise. And if he does, I'll hex him. You're doing him a favor. At the very least, you should make yourself comfortable.”
Ginny chuckled and accepted the item, rather amused at the idea of irritating Malfoy by borrowing his shirt. Ron turned to Astoria, giving her a shy smile, which Astoria returned.
Daphne and Ginny shared a knowing glance. Apparently, at least for Ron, the evening had been a success.
They saw the sisters out and headed to the lounge. Ginny changed into the Quidditch jersey, which was big enough to hang down to her mid-thigh, almost like a pyjama shirt, and curled up on the surprising comfortable sofa, transfiguring a light blanket to cover her legs.
Ron came in a few minutes later and sat on the chair across from her, propping his shoeless feet up on an ottoman. He gave a weary sigh, but was smiling.
“So, things went well with Astoria, I take it,” Ginny prompted, an impish grin coming to her lips.
“Oy, yeah,” he said, his grin growing just a bit wider. “She's asked me to write to her. Maybe I'll even meet her at Hogsmeade in a few weeks. It couldn't have worked out better.”
Ginny smiled affectionately at her brother. “She's very nice. I'm glad I met her tonight, even if the evening turned out to be a bit strange,” she said waving a hand in the direction of Malfoy's bedroom. “Is he going to be all right?”
“Yeah,” Ron replied. “Though, I've never seen him this bad. I figure I owe him one. Usually, he's the one hauling me home. More than once he's brought me back and I've spent a few nights on that couch,” he said, pointing at where Ginny was sitting. “Fortunately, it's pretty comfortable.”
She nodded in response, snuggling further into the cushions.
They were silent for a moment, then Ron spoke again. “Thanks for coming tonight, Gin. I know it wasn't what you wanted to do, but …” He paused. “Just thanks.”
She chuckled. “It was all right. I had fun.”
Ron smiled, apparently unsure of what to say. Then, he looked over at a rather expensive-looking marble chess board. “Fancy a game of chess?”
X
The next morning, she stood in front of the stove, cauldron happily bubbling away as she added the last of the ingredients, muttering softly to herself that Malfoy most certainly did not deserve a hangover remedy of any sort. She was still clad in the comfortable shirt that Daphne had dug out of Malfoy's closet, not caring that she was wearing only that over her underwear. Ron, after all, was still asleep and, besides, he had seen her in worse. And, she presumed, Malfoy was likely not going to get up any time soon, and when he did get up, she was quite certain that he was really going to need that hangover remedy.
She wondered how she might be able to blackmail something out of him or, at the very least, torture him for a bit before turning the concoction over to him.
She'd had some time that morning to recount the evening and, after some thought, she realized that she was grateful to the blond pain-in-the-arse. Despite the scene he'd nearly made at the bar, he'd provided a wonderful opportunity for Ginny to stay up half the night with her brother just talking. They'd reminisced about childhood, friends, family, Quidditch, and almost everything else that made their relationship special. It had turned out to be one of the best New Year's Eves ever.
She hummed to herself as she quietly stirred the potion, noting that the color was nearly perfect. Just as she turned off the heat, she heard a scuffling noise behind her.
“Oh, sweet Merlin, no!” she heard Malfoy say, in a most pathetic tone, as if his world had just ended.
She turned, looking at the man with irritation. “Good heavens, Malfoy, it's just a hangover.”
He clearly did not look his best. He was still wearing only his shirt from the previous evening, over his underwear, and socks. His hair was a mess, sticking up in all directions, his eyes were red, and his face was even more pale than usual.
He looked her over and rubbed his hands over face, mussing his hair further, as if it was painful to look at her, and groaned. “Please tell me I didn't...”
Rolling her eyes and waving the spoon she'd been using to stir the potion at him, she answered, “Yes, of course you did and you made an utter fool of yourself.”
He moaned. “Ron's going to kill me, and I'd deserve it.”
She gave a deep sigh. “Oh, quit being such a drama queen. It will be all right,” she said, turning to dig through the cupboards for a cup.
“I'm never going to be able to face him,” Draco whined, plopping down heavily at the small breakfast table, looking completely miserable.
She took pity on him. She really would have loved to torment him just a bit longer about his drinking binge, but he just looked so forlorn. Beating him up further about the incident would have only made her feel as if she was kicking a puppy. She took the cup, filled it with the hangover potion and placed it in front of him.
“It's not that big a deal, Malfoy.”
He looked up at her, his red-rimmed eyes close to panic. “Are you crazy, Weasley? This could totally ruin the best friendship I've ever had! I know you'd probably prefer I didn't hang around with him, but I happen to like your brother very much.”
Ron's voice interrupted at that moment. “So what of it, Malfoy? Most everyone makes mistakes. Even you, you wanker.”
Draco jumped out of his seat as if he'd been jolted by an electric shock. He turned to Ron, looking more than a bit panicked. “I'm so, so sorry mate,” he stammered. He looked toward Ginny. “I don't even remember any of it, I swear!”
“I'd be surprised if you did,” Ron said with a chuckle. “It took all of us to pour you into bed. And you're lucky you didn't toss your stomach on my shoes, or there'd be hell to pay.”
Malfoy's jaw dropped open, as if in shock, not quite comprehending what Ron was saying. He looked over at Ginny again, the pain of his headache making his expression seem slightly crazed, then back to Ron. “Would one of you care to fill me in, then? Because, I'm not liking the conclusions that I'm making right now.”
The demand was so Malfoy-like.
Both siblings exchanged a glance, unsure of what the confusion was about. Then, Ron looked over at his sister and his eyebrows then raised in understanding. He motioned to her legs. She looked down at her bare feet and remembered that she was standing around wearing little more than the man's shirt. Granted, it was long enough to cover her thighs, but still...
Suddenly, it dawned on her.
She laughed, and Ron started to chuckle as well. “Oh my Lord, Malfoy...” she said, laughing. “You don't think... You didn't think that you and I...”
“We didn't sleep together?” he asked, almost hopefully.
She clutched her stomach, laughing harder, tears coming to her eyes. “Of course not! You could barely walk. Ron tossed you into bed and we took your trousers. He and I stayed in the lounge to make sure you would be all right. Daphne pulled this,” she explained, motioning to the shirt she was wearing, “...out of your closet so I'd be more comfortable.”
He stared at her, his bloodshot eyes wide with understanding, his mouth dropped open slightly as if saying, “Oh.” Then, he breathed a deep sigh of relief.
“Drink the potion, man,” Ron commanded firmly. “Ginny's got a great recipe there. It'll fix you right up,” he said, giving his sister a wink. “I'll run out and get us some breakfast.”
Then, he stopped, turned back to Ginny and scowled. “And, Ginny,” he said, motioning to her manner of undress with strong disapproval. “Get some clothes on. You shouldn't be running around like that.” He gave a dramatic shudder, then marched out.
She placed a hand over her eyes and took a deep breath. Normally, such a remark from her brother would have sparked her temper, but, at the moment, the whole situation was just a bit too ridiculous.
Draco sat down heavily and eagerly downed the contents of the cup she'd provided then looked up at her apologetically. “I guess I ruined everyone's night.”
She dropped down in the seat across from the blond, shaking her head. “Parkinson ruined the night. Up until then, it was rather fun.”
He grunted in reply, looking down at the cup in his hands.
In that moment, Ginny could no longer harbor animosity toward the man. He'd bared part of himself last night, and then again this morning, when he was so obviously distraught at the thought of upsetting Ron. “I'm sorry that she showed up. Astoria let slip what she'd done to you.”
He shrugged, still not looking up from his cup. “I don't love her, if that's what you are thinking. Hell, I don't even like her and I certainly have been much happier without her.” He looked up at Ginny, and she could see the simple honesty in his eyes. “It's the fact that I was stupid enough to not see what she was doing. I was a fool, and a laughingstock, and she played me, and she enjoyed every minute of it.”
She truly did feel sorry for him. “Nobody deserves to be treated that way, Draco. But, you aren't the first person to be taken in by someone like that, and you won't be the last. There's no use beating yourself up over it.”
“Your brother and Daphne are my best friends, Weasley. I truly mean that, and I hope you can accept it.”
Having let go some of her dislike of the man, Ginny found she couldn't say no. Her family had seen this and accepted it long ago, and she supposed it was her turn to let go of her old grudge. In a way, it made her feel liberated. She nodded and held out her hand. “I do. Truce then?”
“Truce,” he replied, reaching his hand out in return and, rather than a simple handshake as she had been expecting, he took her hand, lifted it to his lips and laid a gentlemanly kiss on the knuckles. “And thank you for being so understanding.”
She pulled her hand back, blushing slightly. “Well, I better get dressed before Ron gets back, or he'll have a right fit.”
He nodded in agreement. “I could probably use a shower, myself. If you like, you can use the guest bedroom,” he said, motioning down the hall.
X
She left for home before Ron returned with breakfast, figuring that the two friends would have their own things to discuss. Besides, the newly minted truce between herself and Malfoy had left her feeling just a bit uneasy. She wasn't sure she could continue a longer conversation with the man without reverting back to her habitual scowls and insults. It was quite disconcerting to think of the blond as a normal person.
“Oh, there you are, young lady,” her mother said in lieu of a greeting.
“Hey, Mum. I hope you didn't worry. Ron and I fell asleep in the lounge at Draco's house.” Ginny paused, realizing that she'd said, “Draco,” not “Malfoy.” It was odd.
“Well, knowing you were together, I figured it was something like that. It wouldn't be the first time Ron's stayed over there.”
She smiled at her mother. “Ron mentioned that.”
Ginny thought about saying more, but elected instead to go upstairs and sleep for a few more hours in her own bed.
Author notes:
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