A/N: Just a sweet little one-shot inspired by Sara Bareilles' "Love Song, that I wrote in a little under fifteen minutes so sorry if it feels rushed. Compliant with everything but the EoD (Epilogue of Doom). A one-sided H/G that turns into D/G. Enjoy and please don't forget to leave a review! Who knows, if I get enough, I might make this a short string of song-inspired ficlets. Ginny and Draco might seem a bit OOC, but I think they're cute so whatev!
Ginny Weasley was bored. No, scratch that. She'd passed bored roughly, oh, three hours ago, had sailed into bloody well pissed, and was now nearly suicidal. And if she ate one more pumpkin pastie to fill the overwhelming void that was this night, she was fairly certain she'd explode. Or at least pop a few buttons on her cream-colored dress robes.
"Merlin, why the bloody hell did I come to this thing anyway?"
"Because watching that ponce you've been dating for five years being molested by legions of fan girls gives you some sort of sick pleasure?"
Whirling around at the unexpected intrusion on her private pity party (after all, who else would be trolling around the outskirts of the ballroom when all the "fun" was to be had in the center), Ginny came face-to-face with the last person she'd ever thought she'd see again.
"Malfoy?!"
He arched a perfect platinum blonde eyebrow at her and leaned casually against the wall. "Were you expecting someone else?"
"I—well, no, but what are you doing here?"
Once his family had (to the consternation of Arthur Weasley) finagled their way out of Azkaban, Draco Malfoy had disappeared from the United Kingdom. Every now and then, tabloids would drudge up some nonsense of him being turned into a vampire or attempting to revive the Death Eater movement in Eastern Europe, but for the most part his whereabouts were an utter mystery. Until now.
Who knew that of all the places he could resurface, he'd chose St. Mungo's annual charity ball?
He shrugged and tossed back the rest of what Ginny assumed to be Firewhiskey. "Contemplating whether or not it'd be overdramatic to Avada Blaise for convincing me to make an appearance at this utter waste of time."
Ginny snorted before catching herself (this was Malfoy!) and turning to face him completely, one hand resting on her cocked hip. "You know what I mean. And, actually, better yet, what are you doing talking to me?"
He shrugged again. "You looked bored. I figured if nothing else, at least we had something in common."
Ginny could feel her jaw drop and eyes bug out and, while she was sure she was quite the sight, she just couldn't help it. Was this the same Malfoy she knew from school? The one who'd called her Weaselette and made her family's life hell?
"Oh come on, Weasley, don't tell me you're still holding a grudge after half a decade? And, if you must know, I've been in Asia expanding Malfoy Inc., not sucking blood or building my own army, I assure you."
Ginny blushed, a bit embarrassed by her transparency. Oh fuck it all, she thought. Malfoy's right. It's been six years. What the hell?
"I'm surprised Potter hasn't tricked you into marry him by now," he continued, as if her silence was nothing out of the ordinary.
"What'd you mean by that?" she asked, more curious than upset.
"Please, any dolt with half a brain can tell you're not happy with him. Tainted Love? Get Over Yourself? The only person who doesn't know you're over Potter is Potter."
He was, of course, referring to Ginny's recently released songs. In a surprise move after Hogwarts, instead of taking up the offer of head chaser for the Holyhead Harpies, Ginny had left on a whim to pursue a singing career. And, through talent, hard work, and sheer luck, she'd hit it big, surpassing even the Weird Sisters in popularity and success. Her quirky, mostly eclectic style and heartfelt songs never ceased to win over the masses. And, apparently, Draco Malfoy as well.
"I didn't know you were a fan," she teased.
He smirked back and she found that it wasn't as obnoxious as she'd considered it in school. "I listen when it's on. You're stuff's way better than the rest of the crap out there now."
She blushed again, though why was beyond her. Ginny had heard hundreds of times how fantastic her voice was, so there was no logical reason for Malfoy's offhanded compliment to mean anything to her. And yet…
"You know, Malfoy, you've really changed."
"I should hope so. If I still looked like my seventeen year-old self, that'd be a bit disappointing."
Ginny giggled. "Oh, come off it. You were one of the cutest boys in school."
"Cuter than your boyfriend?" he asked slyly, a twinkle more than evident in his stormy grey eyes.
"Probably," she conceded playfully. "But Oliver Wood had you both beat by a mile."
"Ouch. Well, then I guess I was lucky he was gay."
"What?! Are you sure?"
Malfoy laughed. "Well I once caught him and Terrence Higgs sucking face in a broom closet, so I'd say I'm fairly certain."
"Luna's right. The good ones always are gay."
"I wouldn't say that," he replied, shifting slightly forward.
Ginny desperately tried to quell the frantic beating of her heart. "Are you dating anyone?" she blurted out.
Ugh. Nice, Ginny. Real smooth. It's not like you don't already have a boyfriend or anything.
Malfoy's lips quirked into a half smile. "Not yet. I'd never met someone who sparked my interest."
Ginny could almost hear the "until you" that hung in the air, left unsaid but certainly understood. She gulped and tugged nervously on her dress robes.
"You know Harry's not as oblivious as you think he is. He wants me to write him a love song."
"What?" he snorted. "He actually asked you to do that?"
"Well, told is more like it. Said he didn't think I was as dedicated to the relationship as he was and unless he got some proof…"
"I can't believe that tosser actually gave you an ultimatum like that."
Ginny shrugged. "I didn't really know what to say so I told him I'd think about it."
She couldn't place the strange look Malfoy was giving her, but she did happen to notice that it was nearly ten o'clock. Cursing, Ginny sat down her glass of champagne and shot the man next to her a look of apology.
"Bugger. I completely forgot I'd promised to sing tonight. I've got to go."
"No worries," he responded.
And before she could wish him a proper goodbye, Draco Malfoy had swept her up in his arms and was kissing her with such passion that Ginny though she might literally go weak at the knees. It was a feeling unlike anything she'd ever experienced before, but it was (quite unfortunately) short lived. Not even ten seconds into it, Malfoy had pulled away and smoothed back her hair before flashing her a promising smile.
"I'm going to have a drink at the Leaky Cauldron. If you're able to pluck up some of that courage you Gryffindors are so famous for, drop on by. And if not… well, it was nice to see you again Ginny Weasley."
He left before she could get a word in edge wise and, before she knew it, Ginny was standing just offstage and completely baffled at what to do. She couldn't just leave Harry, the saviour of the wizarding world, could she? He was a sweet man, gentle and loving. Honestly it wasn't his fault if he constantly forgot their anniversaries and never had figured out how to please her in bed. It wasn't his fault he wanted a little house crawling with lots of babies when all Ginny wanted adventure. It wasn't his fault he wasn't more interesting, more exciting, more like—
Oh Merlin, she thought. I have to end it with Harry. But how? I can't just dump the poor guy in the middle of the ball! He might be oblivious sometimes, but he doesn't deserve—
"Ginny?"
She whipped around, surprised to be torn from her private musings for the second time that evening. Except in this case, the intruder was far less welcome. "What is it, Harry? I'm about to go onstage."
"I know," he said. "I was just wondering if you'd thought at all about what I said?"
"You mean your demand that I write up a love song for you?" she snapped, more than slightly irritated at even the thought of something so ludicrous.
"Don't do that," he spat back. "Don't try to make this out to be all my fault. All I want is to be shown a little appreciation here. It's like you don't even care about our relationship!"
"I don't care," she hissed. "You're the one who's never on time for dinner because you have 'important Auror business.' What could possibly be so bloody important that you can't even send an owl to let me know you'll be late?"
"Ginny—"
"And you're the one who's always forgetting our anniversary. And my favorite foods. And that I can't stand yellow gold jewelry."
"Will you just shut up?!"
Her eyes flashed dangerously and she resisted the urge to hit the infuriating man in front of her with one of her infamous Bat Bogey hexes.
"Don't you dare tell me to shut up, Harry James—"
"And now, please welcome to the stage our very own Ginny Weasley!"
"This isn't over," he whispered furiously.
She glared at him once, a brief outline of an ingenious plan already forming in her head. "Oh, yes it is."
Quickly composing herself, she turned on her heal and gracefully made her way up the platform, smiling tightly at the waiting crowd. Sitting on the provided stool, she positioned her fingers on the piano in front of her and took a deep breath.
Gods above, here it goes!
"Um… hi. This is, uh, a new song of mine and I wanted all of you to be the first to hear it."
Noticing that a scowling Harry had made his way back to the front and was standing with her brother and Hermione (who'd been happily married for a little over a year now), Ginny felt a vindictive smile slide across her face.
"It's dedicated to a very special person in my life. You know who you are."
Without another moment's hesitation, Ginny cleared her throat and started to play, hoping she didn't blow it all to pot.
"Head under water
And you tell me to breathe easy for a while
The breathing gets harder, even I know that
Made room for me but it's too soon to see
If I'm happy in your hands
I'm unusually hard to hold on to
Blank stares at blank pages
No easy way to say this
You mean well, but you make this hard on me
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or break in this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today
I learned the hard way
That they all say things you want to hear
And my heavy heart sinks deep down under you and
Your twisted words,
Your help just hurts
You are not what I thought you were
Hello to high and dry
Convinced me to please you
Made me think that I need this too
I'm trying to let you hear me as I am
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's
Make or break in this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If all you have is leaving I'm gonna need a better
Reason to write you a love song today
Promise me that you'll leave the light on
To help me see with daylight, my guide, gone
'cause I believe there's a way you can love me
Because I say
I won't write you a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or break in this
Is that why you wanted a love song
'cause you asked for it
'cause you need one, you see
I'm not gonna write you a love song
'cause you tell me it's make or break in this
If you're on your way
I'm not gonna write you to stay
If your heart is nowhere in it
I don't want it for a minute
Babe, I'll walk the seven seas when I believe that
There's a reason to
Write you a love song today"
Pushing herself slightly away from the piano, Ginny smiled in satisfaction. She'd never once performed impromptu in front of a live audience. In the safety of her recording suite, sure, but not with people present. To be honest though, it felt fan-bloody-tastic. Never before had she been so breathless and filled with adrenaline.
Well, I wouldn't say never, she thought, resisting the urge to touch her still tingling lips.
There was a moment of silence from the crowd before a wave of applause exploded around the room. Camera bulbs were flashing and reporters were shouting questions at her (Was that for Harry Potter? Are you dating someone else?), but Ginny Weasley ignored all of them. Turning on her heel, she quickly apparated to the Leaky Cauldron and right into the arms of one Draco Malfoy.
He smiled down at her and she could feel her cheeks flood with color. "How'd it go?"
She grinned conspiratorially. "I finally wrote Harry a love song."
He quirked an eyebrow. "Oh? And?"
"I don't think he'll be asking for another one in the near future. Or ever, for that matter."
Malfoy (Draco, she thought to herself) laughed and wrapped an arm around her waist before heading towards the exit. "C'mon Weasley."
"Where are we going?" she asked, but followed him nonetheless.
Leaning down, he whispered suggestively in her ear, "To work on the rest of your new album. You're gonna need lots of inspiration, I think."
Despite her beet-red blush, Ginny smiled coyly back at him. "Sounds like a plan to me."
And it turns out, her new album had quite a few love songs indeed.
Reviews are, as always, appreciated. And would probably inspire more chapters. For that matter, if anyone has suggestions for D/G song-inspired one-shots, let me know and I'll see what I can do about writing one for you.