READY TO RUN

Hey, y'all knew I couldn't stay away from fanfiction for a long time, didn't you?  Well, this is my latest project, and I hope you like it.  Ginny is 29, and that's the only info I'll give you, because the story should speak for itself.  Anything in italics is a flashback!

CHAPTER ONE: MEMORABLE MEMORIES

            "Stop nagging, Mum, I'm fine," Ginny said to Molly.  Molly had invited her over for lunch no less that five times, and Ginny found she couldn't turn her poor mother down anymore.  So there she was, sipping tea and being nagged, just as she knew she would be.  She was twenty-nine, for goodness' sakes, she knew how to take care of herself.

            "I'm not nagging, Ginny dear.  I'm your mother, and I'm worried about you."

            "What's to be worried about?  I'm a reporter for the Daily Prophet, I have my own flat, and I make the rent and don't come begging for money.  Honestly Mum, what is the matter?"  Except that she knew what the matter was.  Her mother thought it was a crime that she was twenty-nine and not married.  Well, not married anymore, she corrected herself.  Those were two very different things.

            "It isn't any of that, dear.  It's just that Ron, Percy, Fred, George, Bill and Charlie are all settled down, but you're…"  Molly trailed off, at a loss for words.  How could she tell her daughter it was past time that she started dating again?  She'd been divorced for three years, what on earth was she waiting for?

            "I know Mum, I'm pathetic.  I mean, what is a woman who's divorced?"  Ginny asked sarcastically.  She hated to argue with her mother about such a stupid thing, but she had to understand that it was taking time to get over Draco.  She'd been Ginny Malfoy for eight years, married at eighteen.  When she divorced him, she took back her maiden name, erasing all visible ties, but even so, it wasn't something one got over quickly.

            "You know that's not what I meant," Molly snapped.  "It's just…well…I hate to see you alone all the time.  Are you even bringing a date to the cookout on Saturday?  Your father wanted to have a nice family event, and he's worked so hard planning it.  Ron even mentioned that Harry is going to be back in town, and he's coming," she slipped in, trying to be casual.

She never understood why her daughter married Draco instead of Harry.  She was sure there was a long, intricate story that explained the whole thing, but she never found out what it was.  All she knew was that after the defeat of the Dark Lord, it came out that Draco Malfoy was a spy, feeding information about Voldemort's inner circle to Professor Dumbledore.  Then Harry took off right after he got out of school to be an Auror, and Ron had started his own Quiddich Supply business.  Hermione spent some time furthering her education at Oxford, then taken up managing Ron's books at his shop.  And her baby, little Ginny, married Draco.

Molly was surprised at how pleasant Draco was to her.  He was the sweetest son-in-law, and Ginny seemed truly happy the first six years of her marriage.  Then something happened, another story that she wasn't privy to.  It was so hard letting her children solve their own problems.  It was all she could do not to nag.

"Harry's back in town?  I haven't seen him in…eleven years.  The last time I saw him was at my…wedding."

Harry was coming back?  It was all Ginny could do not to jump up and down.  She'd always carried a special place in her heart for him, but he'd shattered her when he took off after he finished school.  She spent her last year at school getting over him, and had met Draco in Hogsmeade on afternoon.  The rest was history.  He told her about his spying, and she helped him deal with the pain of losing his father when he was killed by Voldemort in his last days in power.

"Ginny?  Ginny Weasley?"  Draco tapped the young red head on the shoulder.  He was surprised that he remembered Ron's cute little sister.  When she turned around, he realized she wasn't so little anymore.

"Yes?"  Ginny turned to see a handsome blond boy, with robes of black velvet.  He wore a somber expression, and his hands stayed in his pockets when he addressed her.

"Do you remember me?  Draco Malfoy."  His cheeks were a rosy color, as he'd just stepped in out of the cold.  Her breath caught in her throat, and she remembered she saw his name in the paper when Voldemort was defeated earlier that year.

"Yes, I remember you.  You only got out of school last year," she explained.  God, he's cute, she thought.  I don't remember him being so dishy.

"Well, tell your brother and Harry hello for me then.  Pleasure running into you," he said.  He started to leave the shop, but Ginny touched his arm to stop him.

"Wait a second.  Do you want to have a butterbeer or something in the Three Broomsticks?"  She bit her lip, waiting for a response.

Draco though a second.  She was so pretty, such a beautiful girl.  But she was Ron Weasley's little sister, and how could he explain that to his—he stopped himself.  His father was dead; he had no one to answer to anymore.

"I'd love to, Miss Weasley," he answered, holding out his arm.

"Ginny, just call me Ginny."

They crossed the street to the Three Broomsticks and sat and talked for hours.  She always thought he was a nasty person, despicable even, at least from Ron's descriptions.  But he was sweet, and vulnerable.  And she was so attracted to him, it almost scared her.  She was only half listening at one point, finding herself staring at his lips, wondering how they would feel on hers.  And his light blond hair, gracing his collar.  She wanted to run her fingers through it, stroke his head.  And his eyes.  Oh, those smoky gray eyes.  She could just loose herself in them.

"So, how do you like seventh year?  Excited about graduating?"  He asked, pulling her out of her fantasies.

"What—oh, yes.  Excited, very excited."

"Do you know what you want to do for a living?"

"I think I want to get a job at the Prophet.  I really enjoy writing, and I think I'd enjoy the fast paced world of journalism," she replied.

"That's wonderful Miss Wea—Ginny.  I wish you the best of luck."

She was oddly touched.  "Thank you, Draco.  So—what are you up to?  Now that, well, You-Know-Who is gone?"

"I'm thinking about entering the Ministry.  Politics…runs in the family."  He looked away, and she knew he was missing his father.  She supposed that even if a parent was a no good scum bucket, their children could still love them.

"Well, you have every option in front of you," Ginny said, finishing up her drink.  "Oh my goodness, look at the time!  I'm so sorry, Draco, but I have to go.  I have to be back at school.  I—I had a lovely time."  She stood and threw her cloak over her shoulders.

"Let me walk you to the grounds.  It's the least I can do.  I always enjoy spending an evening with a beautiful girl—woman."  Draco rose as well, and held out his arm.

From that moment on, she was smitten.  Ginny took his arm, and they walked out in the cold, together.

"Ginny?  Ginny!"  Her mother yelled, pulling Ginny back to the present.

"Yes?  Right, right, you said Harry was coming to the picnic.  When…when did he get back to England?"

"Oh, I don't know dear.  Ron just told me the other day he got an owl from him, and he wanted to know that it was all right if he invited Harry.  I said well of course it's all right, Harry is practically family anyway."  Molly squinted across the table at her daughter.  "Are you sure you're okay, dear?  You sort of…spaced out for a minute."

"Yeah, I'm okay.  Tired.  Maybe just a little tired."  That was the truth, or part of it.  She was tired of the pangs of remembrance she constantly endured.  She'd be having a normal day, and all of a sudden, be taken over by intense memories.  And not all of them as pleasant as the time she and Draco met in Hogsmeade.  She recalled one unpleasant argument that happened near the end of their marriage.

It was nearing two a.m. when Ginny heard the front door creak open, and the familiar sound of her husband's footsteps.  She saw the thin ray of light grow as the door to their bedroom opened.  She couldn't stand it anymore.  She sat up and grabbed her wand off the nightstand.  "Lumos."

"Gin?  Are you still up?" he asked.

"Yes, I'm still up.  Where were you?  You didn't come home for dinner, and I owled your office, but no one answered.  Who were you with?"

"Are you accusing me of something here Gin?  I would never cheat on you.  I was at a meeting, and it ran late.  We went out for drinks afterward.  I'm sorry.  There, happy?  Jesus, nothing is ever good enough for you, is it?"  He ran a hand through his hair, agitated.

"What are you saying?  I don't ask a lot, Draco, just where you were until two in the goddamn morning!  It would be a big thing, but this happens too many times!  I don't know what to say…" she trailed off, so angry she couldn't finish.

"Maybe if you paid any attention to me, I wouldn't be out so late!"

"What?  What is that supposed to mean?"  She drew her robe tightly around her.

"You know what I mean, don't pull the naïve routine with me," he snarled.  "We haven't had sex in over a month.  I have needs, Ginny."  With that, he stalked away into the bathroom.

"You have needs?  That's no excuse for what you did, Draco, for what you said to me when we lost the—"

"Ginny!  There you go again, falling into space.  Try and stay focused."  Molly looked quizzically at her daughter.  Something was wrong with her baby, and it was killing her not knowing.

"I am focused.  Listen, I have to go.  I have a story I need to get started on.  I'll owl you."  She pushed out from the table, kissed her mother goodbye, and Apparated into thin air.  And left Molly shaking her head with worry.

When I started fanfiction, I swore I would never write Ginny/Draco.  But this was just itching to be written.  No worries, the famed Harry Potter will be coming into the mix.  R&R!  Oh, and this chapter goes out to Lizzie, who informed me that Draco is sexy!