Ginny bit her lip and shot another nervous glance at Draco. She shifted her legs so she was sitting in a way that better faced him, while still remaining subtle (she hoped). Draco looked down at her for a moment, his Daily Prophet lowering slightly in his grasp. Ginny quickly looked back at her Witch Weekly and glued her eyes to words she was too agitated to read. But he seemed to sense something was off, and slowly, his Daily Prophet was placed onto the glass coffee table. In her nervousness, Ginny absentmindedly began picking at her thumb cuticle with her forefinger on one hand. But she beat him to the punch, before he could even ask if something was on her mind.

"Draco?" she whispered, half hoping he wouldn't hear her.

"Mm?" he replied, still watching her, as she tossed her magazine onto the table, so its glossy pages overlapped those of the flat black and white newspaper.

"Um, I was just wondering..." she began, but as she stared into the swirling ashen depths of Draco's eyes, she couldn't bring herself to say anything. "Oh, it's nothing." She flashed a smile, obviously fake and very muted. She looked out the window on the other side of Draco's apartment.

"Why, is Ginny Weasley being... demure?" Draco goaded with a quirk of his eyebrow. She didn't dare look, for she knew he was smirking by his sarcastic tone.

She sighed. Now that he was teasing, she didn't think she could bring herself to tell him what she had to say. Yes, it was important, and yes, it was what she really wanted. But was it worth it to spoil this solitary moment of tranquility? Her mind whirred and buzzed. She looked back at Draco and could feel the faint twist of a smile her lips always made when she saw him. He was still watching her, his eyes surveying her. He could tell she was trying to be serious.

Oh, perhaps now wasn't a good time. She could ask another night- heck, she'd waited this long to ask and it wouldn't kill her to wait another couple of days or so. Or would it, now that she'd gotten some certain information? Perhaps not literally, but she didn't want to try her luck. And she damn well knew it would break her heart if he declined. She took in a deep breath, released it much too quickly, and looked Draco straight into those piercing eyes.

"Draco." She bit her lip again in hesitation. But no, she would continue now. She had to, if not for his sake, for her own.

"Draco, have you... have you ever thought about... getting married?" She could feel the blood rushing into her cheeks. Now she felt no better than those women in Witch Weekly, whose only goals in life are to marry a wealthy man. No, she thought, that's not right. Because I have a reason for wanting to get married. Or rather, I have two.

Draco's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Why ruin a good thing?" he said, a corner of his perfect mouth tugged up ever so slightly.

"Oh, please. You're parents raised you better than that," she reprimanded, smiling at her boyfriend, her best friend, and maybe one day her husband. She rested her head against his shoulder.

He grinned at her amusedly. "And since when do you want to get married? As I was told by a fiery redhead not so long ago, marriage is a last resort."

"Well, that fiery redhead realized she wants to get married before she gives- before her mother starts sending her howlers about how dirty it is for an unmarried woman to sleep with a man." Ginny was glad she had caught herself before she had delivered some news she could only imagine would be good. The only problem was, her mother actually knew nothing of Ginny's personal life right now.

"Oh, and she knows we've been sleeping together?"

"Well, it would never occur to her that we wouldn't be."

They gazed at each other silently for a moment, smiling. But as Ginny brushed a stray piece of hair out of her eyes, she remembered the task at hand.

"But seriously, Draco. I want to marry you so our- so I know that you're serious about us. So I know that you want to be with me, forever." She hated herself for making it so God damned romantic.

"That was rather poetic, wasn't it?" he teased, his eyes traitorously revealing his befuddlement. "And haven't I already showed you I love you? Isn't this-" he gestured around the room, at the magazine and newspaper on the table- "enough for now?" But Ginny couldn't be satisfied so easily.

"Draco, we don't even live together and-"

"So you want to move in? That's fine with me. Actually, that sounds like a great idea. Easier access, if you ask m-"

"And I've never even met your paren-"

"So I'll introduce you to my parents! And then I'll never see you again, because Mother'll have me tied to a chair on blind dates! Yes! Brilliant idea, Gin-"

"Ugh!" Ginny interrupted loudly and crossed her arms. "What I'm saying, Draco," she said, standing up and collecting her things into her purse, "is that I want to get married because," she found her shoes in the tidy closet, slipped them on, and went back into the living room area of the flat, "I'm pregnant." And with that, she Disapparated. Draco stood up abruptly.

"Ginny, wait!"

Draco groaned and fell back onto the couch. Ginny was pregnant? Considering the many, er, nights in, it made sense, though Draco wasn't sure he was willing to accept this any time soon. But he thought they'd had an agreement about marriage! It wasn't something they were rushing to do. Hadn't they gone over this? His parents would most likely never see past her blood-traitor status and red hair, and his mother would think she had somehow failed as a parent. She didn't have to live with him- she practically did already. They spent most of their evenings eating dinner at Draco's flat, most of their mornings on Draco's couch, mumbling their salutations and reminiscing about the night before. And marriage? What did they need marriage for? They spent all their free time with each other already!

Then again, she was pregnant. And it would be nice to make things official, too. He couldn't wait to see Mother's face when he told her he was engaged to a Weasley. But first, he had to go make up with his future fiancé.

Ginny sat on her bed, crying softly into her pillow. He hadn't even wanted to marry her, even before he knew she was pregnant. And she didn't want him to marry her just because she was knocked up. But really, what did he have against marriage? Why couldn't he just say, "I do," and be done with it? It wasn't like it would change anything, except they would probably live together, which would be nice. But then their parents would find out. Her parents would probably never forgive her- her mother was still under the impression that Ginny and Harry would get back together any day now, and then get married and shipped off to Happy Sappy Land, where mothers' dreams come true. Then again, it would be a nice wake up call to what she and Draco had actually been doing for the path year and a half- dating, that is.

She wiped her eye roughly. The pillow had a couple faint black smudges from the last traces of mascara she wore. Finally, she mustered up enough strength (not to mention self respect) to get some water from the kitchen. Perhaps it would have made more sense just to get it by magic, or at least use the Aguamenti charm directly over her mouth or something. But the physical activity soothed her clouded mind, and she felt her blood begin to circulate faster, fixing her lightheadedness. Her senses went into hyper-focus at the task at hand; she felt the coolness and smoothness of the glass as she pulled it out of the cupboard; she listened to the water falling fast out of the pitcher; she felt the satisfying flow of water trickling down her throat. She gasped in air after she put the glass down. Crying always left her feeling out of breath.

Now, all she wanted was to go to sleep. Yes, sleep sounded like the perfect thing to do right now... hopefully, she wouldn't start barfing as she had yesterday, the first clue that she was pregnant. The balls of her feet slapped the wooden floor of her flat as she began to trudge back to her bedroom. But fatigue soon seized her, and it took all of her remaining energy to get herself to the lumpy couch in her living room before falling asleep. The last thing she heard was a soft crack from somewhere close by, but her eyelids drooped heavy from her former tears, and she was soon fast asleep.

Ginny awoke wrapped in strong, warm arms.

"'Morning," Draco whispered, as Ginny's eyelids fluttered open.

"'Morning," she replied sleepily. She still wasn't conscious enough to remember that when she had fallen asleep, she had been alone.

"I'm sorry."

Ginny looked up at him, confused. "What for?"

But the apologetic look on Draco's face made her remember. "Oh yeah. I'm pregnant."

Draco smiled slightly and held her tighter. "Ginevra Molly Weasley," he began rather formally. "I love you, and I'll love our baby. Would you do me the honor of marrying me?"

Ginny smiled.

"Now that's what I like to wake up to."