This was written in response to Boogum's Challenge at The DG Forum. Prompt is below.
Usual disclaimers apply. Please review. :)
Never Judge A Book By Its Cover.
Their relationship was one that took a while for people to get used to, yet none could really understand. Two whom were once bitter enemies were now the best of friends. It seemed perfectly normal for Draco and Ginny - the two got along like a house on fire and could talk about anything for hours on end.
One lazy Saturday afternoon saw the pair sitting at Ginny's apartment discussing their plans for the evening. Ginny had a date with Theodore Nott and was having difficulty deciding what to wear.
"Show me what you were thinking" Draco instructed.
Ginny smiled and nodded in response and took off up the stairs two at a time to her bedroom. A few minutes later she returned to the sitting room.
"You're not wearing that are you!" Draco exclaimed, a look of horror cast upon his delicate features.
"Um, I was thinking of…" Ginny trailed off uncertainly.
"Upstairs. Now. We are fixing this. That colour looks horrid, makes you look all pasty."
"Okay," Ginny nodded meekly. She new better then to argue with Draco, he could be worse then her mother sometimes. She really had to hand it to him though; he was excellent in the outfit selection department.
Draco flung item after item out of her closest mumbling to himself.
"Next week I'm taking you shopping. You really don't have much in here that would actually flatter your figure or do you any justice. You're gorgeous Gin, you should be showing it off."
Ginny tried not to be offended as she responded with a comment about being the only girl amongst so many brothers and that it gave her a lack of experience in the matter. She knew her excuse would never stick but she had to try anyway. Draco just stood with his hand on his hip and raised an eyebrow.
"Okay, okay, I give in. The excuse is feeble at best. Shopping it is."
Draco grinned back at her. He loved getting his way.
The impeccably dressed duo – thanks to Draco of course – made their way through the Leaky Cauldron and what was known as the high end shopping district of Diagon Alley. Only the best for the best as Draco would often say. Secretly Ginny worried about the prices of all the items, sure she was paid well at her job but not that well. Really, what was the problem with Madam Malkins anyway?
The first shop had been fun, exciting even and she loved the dresses Draco had picked out. Unsurprisingly the dresses fitted perfectly and were, as much as Ginny hated to admit it, rather flattering. Whilst Ginny was changing back into her own clothes Draco sneakily put the purchases onto the Malfoy account and proceeded to ignore the errant protests from Ginny on the matter as they left the shop.
The second and third shops were much the same. Eight more dresses, several pairs of pants and about twelve different styles and colours of tops. Again Draco paid for all the items.
The fourth shop however held a bit of a surprise. Draco had Ginny trying on a stunning, floor length gown in a beautiful emerald green colour. Upon exiting the change room to show it off, Draco, for once, was lost for words. Ginny just grinned, Draco looked so cute.
Changing back into her robes Ginny let out a long sigh. Not only had she broken the cardinal rule of friendships with the opposite sex and fallen in love with her best friend, she had to deal with the embarrassment he was gay. It seemed to her that every decent man she met was either married or gay, it just wasn't fair.
For the fourth time that day Ginny found herself shrinking bags full of clothes and stuffing them into her pocket. Only this time she picked up on a change in Draco, he suddenly seemed really tense. She quirked her eyebrow at him but he must have missed the look and kept walking.
As they entered the fifth shop Draco had a quick look around and decided that there would be no appropriate attire found and promptly lead Ginny out and back to the Leaky Cauldron for lunch. After ordering they found a quiet booth in the corner and sat down to wait for their meal.
"Alright Blondie. Spill. What's got your knickers in a twist?" Ginny asked.
"I have a date tonight, Mother set it up." Draco said with a grimace.
"You do! Who's the lucky fellow?"
"Fellow?" He questioned, eyebrow raised, his ire rising as Ginny paled.
"You thought I was gay!"
Ginny just stared blankly at him, a bright red blush starting to creep up her neck.
"But… Oh shite. Draco, I'm sorry, you just... You know so much about fashion and… " she trailed off. Anything she said now would just dig herself a deeper hole. Suddenly the glass in her hands became very interesting.
"You never thought that I never looked at another witch because I've been madly in love with you the whole time?"
Ginny looked up at Draco, her eyes wide in disbelief. Did he really just say that?
Before she could gather her thoughts, let alone form a comprehendible response, Draco had thrown a few galleons on the table and was quickly out the door.
Ginny sat, frozen to her chair staring at the door. Surely this wasn't happening.
'Screw this' Ginny muttered to herself as she leapt to her feet and chased Draco out of the pub and down the street. He wasn't hard to spot with his immaculate platinum blonde hair.
"Draco! Stop! I'm sorry" Ginny cried out as she drew closer.
Thankfully Draco stopped and turned around. As she approached him she could see the confusion and hurt in his eyes. He then turned to move away again but Ginny was too quick for him and grabbed his arm.
"Please, don't go. Hear me out." She pleaded.
Draco merely looked down at her, a wordless prompt for her to continue.
"Draco... I... I made a mistake. I'm sorry. I shouldn't have judged you. I should have asked. It was wrong. Please forgive me."
"Yes, you should have" he replied rather stiffly.
"The thing is... You don't know how glad I am to hear you say that." Ginny confessed, for the second time that day she could feel that trademark blush creeping up.
"Oh really? So if I was to do this..." Draco trailed off as he pressed his lips to hers in a chaste kiss. "There would be no objections?"
"Only one. That you stopped." Ginny replied with a cheeky grin before kissing him again.
Prompt:
Basic outline: For whatever reason (be it his job, close friends with another guy, anal attention to his clothes, yadda yadda), Ginny thinks that Draco is gay and so behaves around him in very different way to that of other men who she might consider potential boyfriend material. You can interpret that however you like - maybe she's less conscious about her body (and the showing of it), maybe she just behaves more loosely around him, etc, etc. It's up to you. The point is she thinks he is gay and he most definitely is not, and eventually that is going to become obvious.
Must Haves: Draco demanding incredulously, "You thought I was gay?" Ginny being mortified when she realises her mistake.
No-No's: Ginny can't outrightly ask Draco if he is gay.
Bonus points: If Draco and Ginny are somewhat friends. They don't have to be super close, but I think the nature of this prompt calls for them to at least be able to interact regularly with each other anyway.