-The Proposition-

Disclaimer: I own nothing affiliated with the Harry Potter series – it all belongs to the wonderful J.K Rowling. I wish it did but unfortunately it's not. So please don't sue.

Summary: Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy, both bitter from their previous break-ups, are both devastated when they find out that their exes are now getting married – to each other. What are they to do? Well team up, pretend they're together and are completely in love at the wedding of course. DracoGinny. This story takes place six years after Ginny and seven years after Draco have left Hogwarts.

Author's Note: I know, not another story. Though this one isn't going to be too long and should be finished fairly quickly. Please review!

Chapter 1:

Wallowing

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Draco Malfoy leaned back into his office chair at the Ministry of Magic. He closed his grey eyes momentarily. Today had been a tough one. As an auror his life often was and it was only in a few rare moments that he had the chance to relax. This all changed though when in burst through his office Blaise Zabini, fellow auror and pain-in-the-ass extraordinaire.

Malfoy mentally groaned. What did he want now? The answer to this he soon found out.

"Okay, that's it Malfoy. You must stop this moping business this instant. You're far too young to let yourself fall to pieces. And over Pansy Parkinson for Merlin's sake."

Malfoy cringed at the mention of his ex-fiancé, something that was noticed eagerly by the insistent Blaise. "There, you see what I mean! It's almost been a year now. You need to move on. She certainly has." Blaise's blue eyes flashed excitedly in his dark face.

It was true enough, Malfoy supposed. He'd only read a few months in the Daily Prophet after she broke off the engagement that she was engaged again – and to Harry Potter! What the hell happened there he had no idea. Really, it was one thing to get over childish rivalries, but then to do a complete turn around and fall for Scarface (in preference to a Malfoy too) was quite another.

Blaise waved a small white piece of paper in front of his face.

"Look, I know you got this and you're going. Alright?"

This time Malfoy did actually groan when he saw the piece of paper that he was referring to. True he had been given one; Pansy seemed to want to rub his loss in his face for some reason. Hadn't she already done enough? It was a wedding invitation, tastefully covered in gold writing.

Yes, he had been invited. And as of yet he hadn't replied. But still, the wedding was to be held in another month. Draco reminded his best friend of that fact.

"The wedding may be in a month, but the RSVP is today." Blaise groaned, exasperated. "And I know you know that."

Malfoy shrugged. "So?"

"So? So? So you've got to say yes today. No, now actually."

Malfoy leaned back further into his chair. What are the chances of Zabini suddenly disappearing and leaving me alone?

And he couldn't believe it when less than five minutes later, he sent out an owl carrying his reply.

He'd said yes.

"I'm going to get a drink." He muttered and stormed out the door, not caring about the tonne of work he had to get through.

Blaise raised his dark eyebrows in amusement. The wedding was certainly going to be very interesting.

Very.

A few hundred metres away Ginny Weasley was undergoing a similar turmoil. After all these years she'd finally heard from Harry again, and it was only to invite her to his wedding. And to Pansy Parkinson! What the hell was with that?

Ginny sat slumped in the local pub, a cold glass of whiskey in her hand. She must've looked quite a sight. Tears were rolling down her smooth pretty face and her lovely mass of red hair was all in disarray. She wanted to die. Or that could be the alcohol talking.

"Do you know, how much I loved him?" she sobbed to the poor bartender in front of her. He in turn prepared for her yet another whiskey.

"He clearly doesn't deserve yer." He said gruffly.

"We were going to get married and everything. But then he told me that he couldn't handle the commitment. It was too much pressure for him t-to handle." She hiccupped. It had only been two years but he suddenly seemed that he could now handle the commitment after all… but to somebody else.

And now she had to go to the wedding. Her whole family was (which explained why Ginny herself was invited) and they'd force her to go. They still saw Harry regularly even if Ginny constantly made excuses to avoid doing so. He was practically family to them – why should they immediately cut him off from them just because of a break-up?

Ginny downed another glass before stumbling off from her chair and asking if she could use the bar's owl.

Screw it. She'd show him. She wrote off her reply and sent it.

She'd said yes.

She plonked down onto her seat again, eager to continue wallowing in her misery when she felt someone sit down beside her.

"Make it a whiskey. Double." He had a deep voice that was strangely familiar and Ginny turned to face him, her large brown eyes widening in shock as she recognised who he was.

"Malfoy?"

"The one and only." He replied, barely glancing at her. He gazed seemingly disinterested at the wall, ignoring Ginny. But he then shocked her when he said the following. "And what's gotten you, Weaselette, into such a state?" He turned to her, raising one eyebrow and Ginny could see that he was still arrogant, yet something had changed about him.

But he's still just as handsome. A small voice said in the back of her mind.

"It's none of your business!" she snapped, and then winced at how childish she sounded. "Sorry, rough day."

"That makes two of us." He said into his drink. "So what's gotten you into such a bother?"

Ginny didn't know whether she should be more startled that he, Draco Malfoy (who had made her life a complete misery in her school days at Hogwarts), was actually now conversing with her, or that he wanted to know what was bothering her.

And then before she could stop herself, in blabbering drunken sentences she told him the whole story: about her, Harry, Pansy, everything.

If she'd been sober, she probably would have died from embarrassment.

Malfoy smirked slightly. So Weasley too. He downed his glass before studying the girl beside him.

She was really quite pretty in an innocent kind of way. And she too was going to the wedding. Both of them completely devastated and single by the looks of it. Both of them would get plenty of stares. It was no secret that Pansy and Draco had once been very involved and even he knew that Ginny and Harry had been close. He didn't think he could bear the humiliation. He didn't want Pansy to think that he was still pining for her too. He felt like showing both of them that he was fine, more than fine. In a way, he almost wanted payback.

Malfoy suddenly found himself opening his mouth. "Weaselette, I have a proposition for you."

"Oh really?" she slurred miserably.

"Come to the wedding with me." He told her.

Ginny blinked. Well that was certainly unexpected. She shook her head slightly, trying to clear it. She was starting to feel really drowsy. Maybe she had misheard him. Her eyes started to close.

And before she passed out, she managed to utter, "Malfoy, I'm not interested."

He frowned at the slumped mass before him and felt an unfamiliar feeling start to well up inside him. Pity.

He sighed and hoisted her up out the door.

"No, but I think you will be."