This story was written as a part of a contest kinda deal through the DG Forum which you should check out if you're a huge fan of Draco/Ginny.

This was written for scuburang's second prompt.

Chapter one. Of Embarrassing Situations and Old Friends

X

I hate doing this.

I know I look ridiculous, yet this is the second time this week that I have gone to the currency exchange in Diagon Alley. It is utterly embarrassing for these people to know that I, Draco Malfoy, am going into the muggle world - for any reason. I hold onto the hope that maybe they just think that I'm going on some kind of important business meeting or something of the sort; I think I would die if they knew the real reason I needed to exchange my money.

Truth be told, my ventures into the muggle world are not even business related, they are purely personal trips taken for . . . wait for it, here comes the scandal . . . entertainment. I know, I know, how insane that the richest, most eligible young bachelor in the wizarding world is spending his time alone with popcorn and a coke in a scarcely populated theater watching moving pictures made by muggles.

I know that what most people think when they see my picture on the cover of a magazine (yet again), they think I live the lavish lifestyle that the interviewers project that I live. Yes, I do own several estates and, yes, I host many parties and charity balls and, yes, its true that I own half of wizarding London; but rather than allowing me to live the life of constant partying and "living it up" as many of my other high society friends, all this does is inhibits me from having any life at all.

While my young friends inherited their money just as I did from old money, they are content with letting their Gringott's account remain stagnant. The system of our class of people is very traditional and most do not break from it: you inherit money, you spend the money, but the money never runs out because there is a steady source of income from the businesses that have been in the family for hundreds of years.

However, I am an ambitious sort and I was not content with this stagnant account. So, instead of sitting back and letting all of my affairs be handled by lawyers and accountants and the like, I threw myself into the mix, learning everything about everything I had inherited. Then I started investing. As a result, I now own over half of London and was crowned, by Witch Weekly, the most eligible bachelor in Britain. I'm handling it all very well, I like to think. I mean, if you don't count alienating all of my friends for four years and not having a girlfriend last longer than two dates in four years.

It is a combination of the both of these two that cause me to be found walking from the park where I apparate to the muggle theater a few blocks down. For four years I was working on making money and I didn't have much time for my friends. Now that I've got the situation under control, I find that many of my friends are completely different people than they were back in Hogwarts. I can't say as I didn't expect it, I mean, I'm rather different as well, but I do find myself getting rather nostalgic about all the fun times we used to have together.

That is not to say that I never see them anymore, in fact, I just attended a party on Blaise's yacht about . . . oh, wow . . . now that I think about it, that was over a month ago. Sigh. I suppose that is why, yet again, I am hanging my head in shame as I tell the high school girl behind the counter that, yes, I only need one ticket and yes, I am aware that it is a Friday night and no, I will not be joining anyone.

For christ's sake what's with these people?

I stand in line for-fucking-ever to get my regular sized popcorn with extra butter and extra salt and a large Coke. The cashier asks me if I would like any candy and as I ponder this, a group of high school kids walk by. The girls all look at me and giggle and whisper; the guys glare at me meaningfully. I politely tell the cashier that I would forgo the scrumptious looking candy in favor of a larger size of popcorn and raise an eyebrow at the group.

The girls all blush and the boys are starting to sneer. Jesus. What is this?! I'm twenty two and here I am, alone on a Friday night playing games with a group of kids five years younger than I. Good Merlin, I am pathetic at times. I shake my head and pay for my snacks and head into the theater of the movie that I don't even know the name of.

I usually sit in the back. Its a bit darker back there and I can sit and hide and pretend that it is not ridiculously pathetic to be all alone on a Friday night. The movies I had watched so far had been alright; I only saw one that was worth mentioning (and I definitely wasn't going to mention that I go watch muggle movies to anyone) but I still give any movie I go to see the benefit of the doubt. Seeing as how I didn't even know the name of the movie I was currently about to watch, I had no feelings about it whatsoever, it was just another way to pass the time.

The movie began with a song that I could have sworn was by the Weird Sisters but I was immediately distracted by a laughing group of kids entering the theater late. I scowled in their general direction and, as my luck would have it, it was the same group of kids that had been staring me down in the lobby. I rolled my eyes and then they were headed up to the row right in front of me. Fuck. Now I was going to have to listen to them talking and being obnoxious. And oh how right I was. I honestly don't understand muggle teenagers. Why come to a movie and talk the entire way through it? Couldn't they see that there were others in the theater, trying to watch it?

But there was hardly anything I could do as I couldn't threaten them or take out my wand, so I resigned myself to glowering at them and "accidentally" casting tongue twister spells on them. Childish, I know, but what can I say. It wasn't until one of them made a comment about the gorgeous girl on screen that I actually started watching the movie.

"Holy shit. Look at the girl in the back ground," one of the kids said to another one.

"The blonde?"

"No! The other girl, the one playing with a pencil," the same guy said in the most obnoxious voice imaginable. However annoying his voice was, his comment engaged my curiosity and I directed my attention to the girl he was talking about.

"The redhead?"

"Yeah, that one."

I looked at the red head and my mouth fell open in shock. There, on the screen, was the last and only girl I had ever had a relationship that lasted longer than a month with. There, on the screen, was Ginevra Weasley.

My mouth fell open in shock and I could hardly breathe. The girl was still as gorgeous as ever, same emerald eyes, thick, dark, red hair halfway down her back . . . I would have bet my entire fortune that she still smelled like flowers and bed. Don't ask how one smells like bed, she just . . . did. And it was amazing.

In a second, I found myself being swept back into memories of the days that we had shared together. The glorious year that we had spent in each other's arms. It had been my last year of school, the Golden Trio were gone and in their absence, the littlest Weasley was in need of new company. Not that she didn't have friends, Ginevra was never without a small group of people who adored her, but I believe with the absence of the excitement of the adventures that the Trio and herself often found themselves in, she became bored. I was the solution to such boredom. Gods I missed that girl like no one would believe. She was, in part, most of the reason that I had thrown myself so thoroughly into work as soon as I earned my NEWTS; I had wanted to be distracted.

The movie was better than most; as it turned out, Gin was the main character. She fell in love with a guy and then towards the end she gave herself to him. The scene had been incredibly erotic, she had been nearly completely unclothed and he had touched her, and kissed her. I have to admit, I got a little aroused (much to my embarrassment) but the feeling that controlled most of my mind was anger. Angry that some man, probably a no good muggle, was touching her in ways that I still dreamed of; angry that she was letting him; angry that she was touching him in the same way.

I wanted to leave. I wanted to walk out of that theater and never look at her again, but I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I sighed to myself then. By lack of all mercy from any god that might exist, I still loved the god damned vixen that broke my heart when I was 18.

–

"No. I absolutely refuse."

"Oh, come on! You said you wanted to start hanging out again, what would it hurt to hang out with a girl on your arm?"

I had contacted my best friend (well, he had been my best friend years before) Blaise the day after I saw the movie with her in it. I was in desperate need of distraction and it could not be found in work anymore, now that I did it so easily. We were currently out for lunch at some club he belonged to eating very creative creations that I am quite certain came from a caterer that I own.

"I just don't want a relationship right now," I said.

Blaise raised an eyebrow at me over his glass of champagne. "Who said anything about a relationship? Look, one of the girls I'm dating has a friend who's looking for a good time. She doesn't want anything serious and she's hot. Just one night. Look at it as payment for all these years you've ignored me," Blaise said suavely. I had to admit, the boy had charm and a way with words; a talent we had shared since before we had gone to Hogwarts.

I glared at Blaise. He was right; I had ignored him for several years and our friendship had not been the cheap fake kind that one finds between most people in our high society. Our friendship was rare and I had royally screwed up. "Fine," I said sulkily.

Blaise grinned and downed the rest of his champagne. "Excellent! We're going to meet at my place at eleven and apparate together because we're going to some new club that's opening tonight." Blaise stood and so I followed suit. "It's good to have you back, Draco," Blaise said sincerely.

I smiled and we shook hands in the incredibly juvenile way that we had invented first year with two focus movements and a flourish. Then Blaise grinned and dissapparated. Hopefully this would work as a distraction, because for the third time in the two days that I had seen that movie, I had to quickly go home and er . . . "relieve" myself of all these thoughts of her lying nearly naked on a bed . . .