This story is the squeal to Rings and Promises which can be found on this account as well. Please review!
Of every joyous occasion that'd occurred in her life, not one of them made her feel the way those big, black, block letters across the front page of the Daily Prophet did. She'd been there when Harry defeated Voldermolt, and she held Ron's hand when his son had been born, but neither could even compete with that morning's headline.
Malfoys to Divorce After Eight Years
The grin across her face had said it all as she read the title once more, and then again for good measure. She wanted to be sure she had gotten every possible good feeling out the headline before she bothered with the rest of the article. Finally when the words had sunk in deep enough to make her smile for the rest of the day, she read the article, rolling her eyes as she came across every lie.
"I thought you'd enjoy that." Harry commented as he ate his breakfast beside Ginny. He was of course seated in the center of the High Table as he was the Headmaster of Hogwarts, and Ginny was the quidditch coach.
"Very much," Ginny replied, then focused on the article. She couldn't believe half the things that vile woman had dared to say about Draco Malfoy, and the most of them were utter lies. Ginny had known for a fact that he did not have mistresses, though he would've had one, had she allowed such a scandal to occur. She had even commented that Draco had never truly wanted to enter marriage to begin with, but Ginny knew it was lie. He had always wanted to be married, just not to her.
"Ginny?" Harry spoke her name, and she finally turned to face him, unaware that he had been trying to get her attention for several minutes. "Ginny."
"Yes?" She asked.
"Did you hear me at all?" Harry asked as she folded the newspaper and set it on the table top. She meant to keep that headline just to flaunt that she had won the war. Andora may have won the battle, and forced him down the aisle, but Ginny had won his heart.
"No, what was it?" Ginny replied, but before Harry had the chance to tell her of Draco's soon arrival, one of the main doors opened, and Ginny turned to see who was entering the Great Hall halfway through breakfast. Her smile would've lit the entire Hall as she watched a head of blonde hair stride into the room.
He was clad in black robes over his muggle jeans, but Ginny saw the Gryffindor red color of his shirt. He hadn't enough time to even cross half way into the Great Hall, when all he saw was a flash of red flowing hair nearing him, probably too fast for them to maintain any sort of friends only façade. None of it mattered the moment he felt Ginny's arms wrap around his body, his robes falling around her as well as she buried her face in his chest.
His eyes shut as he wrapped his arms around Ginny as well, and lowered his head to take in the smell of her hair. He felt how soft her skin still was as his check touched her forehead, and for a moment nothing existed around them. All he knew was her in his arms for the first time after years of separation.
"Draco," A woman's voice drew Draco's eyes up, and he smiled at Hermione, holding one arm out to hug her as well. Ginny had been reluctant to let him go, but eventually let him slide away from her. Stepping of the side only slightly, she watched as Draco hugged Hermione and put a greeting kiss on her cheek. He patted her pregnant belly and inquired about the baby. Happily, Hermione answered his few questions before Harry and Ron came towards him.
"Why don't we move to the Professor's corridors?" Harry suggested as the students started to file out of the Great Hall, some of them offering their greetings to Professor Malfoy, newly arrived after a year sabbatical. Ron and Hermione agreed to the change in location, and followed Harry, leaving Ginny and Draco to follow behind much slower. Nearly as soon as they disappeared from the Great Hall, Ginny's hand reached for Draco's and was met halfway by his eager hand. Lacing their fingers, and squeezing tightly, the two followed behind her brother and sister-in-law, the two people Draco hoped would soon be his in-laws as well. If all went all, of course.
"It seems your chambers haven't been prepared yet." Harry's voice tore Draco's gaze away from the beautiful red-head beside him.
"That's alright," Draco replied, smiling in a way nobody had seen in years. In fact, he hadn't smiled like that after he had been forced to marry the crone everybody in that hallway hated. "I'm sure we can arrange other sleeping arrangements." He said, his eyes slowly drifting to Ginny who beamed up at him.
"I saved the paper." Ginny told him and he laughed as he continued to look in her eyes, amazed he'd gone so long without gazing into her brown pools of true emotion. "I'm going to frame it."
"I have no doubt." Draco replied, fighting the urge to kiss her that very moment, not able to bring himself to care that her closest friends were still standing there in the hallway with them watching the interaction.
"Perhaps we should go," Hermione finally spoke, and Ginny turned to look, but Draco was still studying the lines of her face. Years had gone since he'd last truly kissed her. He'd kissed her once a year prior to that moment, but it was a kiss of weakness during a time when neither was strong enough to overcome their passions that beckoned them together. Draco didn't want a moment of weakness; he wanted true romance and passion with the woman he so dearly loved, even after years without her.
Hermione and Ron were first to walk passed Draco and Ginny, and Harry followed shortly after. "I'll look into your chambers." Harry told Draco, before leaving the two alone.
"You look beautiful." Draco whispered as Ginny looked up at him again, her face still as flawless as it had been when he'd first fallen in love with her. Ginny didn't bother to respond, but instead, she lead him down the hallway a few steps before she pulled him into her chambers. Draco shut and locked the door behind him, before he wrapped a strong arm around her waist.
It was only a few seconds before their lips met in a powerful, passionate kiss that had meant more to them than anything else they'd ever done in their lives. Draco pulled her against his body as tightly as he could, desperate to feel her body as he had so long ago. One of her hands was tangles in his blonde locks, pushing his head downward, while her other hand was on his neck.
Ginny was fighting for breath, though she didn't dare pull away, even to breathe. Instead, she locked her lips to his even more forcefully, but gasped when she felt his hands move to her waist and forcefully push her back. She landed on her bed, legs still dangling over the edge as she stared up at him, only slightly confused as to what he wanted. She only watched as he pulled the strings of his robes and they fell to the ground around his feet. After, he peeled his shirt from his torso and dropped it behind him as well, leaving his upper body bare as he strode to the edge of the bed.
Putting one arm beneath her knees, he climbed onto the bed, and pulled her legs up with him, until he moved to be above her, slowly lowering his weight to her body. Both groaned at the full contact, and picked up immediately where they'd left off.
"Drake," Ginny moaned his name and he looked down into her dark eyes. She stared back up at him, lost in the clear blue color of his eyes. As she stared at him, she realized his eyes hadn't been such a beautiful color since they were engaged so long ago.
"Gin?" Draco asked.
"I love you." She told him what had only been implied for the last several years, but he found hearing the words was a far different feeling that simply knowing them to be true. All he could do was stare down into her perfect face, the words still ringing in his ears. Ever since he'd finished at Hogwarts, he'd been surrounded by women, the first of course being Ginny. And after all the times she'd told him that she loved him, he started to take it for granted until he found himself married to a woman he could not stand, even in the slightest, but who had constantly confessed her love for him. Now, hearing the words from the first, and the only, they meant something to him that they hadn't for a very long time.
"I love you too, Gin." He managed to say with what little breath was left in his lungs. Tenderly, he kissed her lips, and felt her body beneath his, both sensations feeling completely new to both. Slowly, he moved his kisses to her neck and sucked at the soft skin around her ear, listening to her moan after her breath caught in her throat. All the while, her fingers pulled in his hair, and her nails dug into his bare back, but he wouldn't have had it any other way.
After years of unyielding love, but separation, the hours they spent alone in her chambers felt like mere minutes. Tired, Draco shifted his position to lay closer to the beauty beside him. When he felt her body shiver, he pulled the covers over their cooling bodies, then wrapped his arms around her body.
"Drake," Ginny's voice was softly, but he could tell she was still awake.
"Yes?" He responded in her ear.
"My jewelry box." She replied, her eyes drifting shut, fighting sleep so she could savor the reunion.
"What about it?" Draco asked, slightly confused at what she wanted.
"The ring."
"Oh, Gin," Draco laughed as he put kisses on her neck. He continued to place several kisses on her soft skin before he spoke again. "Forget that old ring." He told her softly. "I'll buy you bigger one. One you'll love."
"I love that one."
"I bought that when I didn't have any money, love. Things are different now. You can have anything you want."
"I want that one." She yawned, and Draco laughed at her persistence.
"You want that ring? That same old ring from nearly ten years ago?" Draco questioned, and she nodded softly before she snuggled back so she could feel his chest behind her. "Why?"
"Because it's from the beginning." She answered, feeling more alert as they spoke.
"But then the ring won't be a surprise."
"Nothing's a surprise anymore, Drake." She replied, turning so she faced him. His hands were on her waist and she moved to put one hand on his cheek. He turned slightly, just to press his lips against the palm of her hand, before he faced her again. "We've done everything in this life, and more. Nothing can surprise us anymore."
"You can't know that." Draco replied. "One day we'll be surprised."
"Fine," Ginny conceded, still staring into his eyes. "Maybe one day we will be surprised, but I still want that ring." Draco took in a deep breath as he narrowed his eyes at her. Knowing it did no good to argue with her, he nodded softly before rolling out of the bed, leaving the sheets to fall around her curled body. Her eyes followed his naked form as he walked around the bed and stopped at her vanity table. After a moment of searching, he turned back to her, and crawled back into bed, on the other side of her this time, a small black jewelry box in his hand.
"Ginny Weasley," He said her full name as he slowly opened the box much like he had all those years ago. "Will you marry me?"
"Yes," She answered breathlessly as if she had no answer at all. He slipped the ring onto her finger and tossed the small black box behind him before he wrapped his arms around her body once more. Even after eight years, she marveled at perfectly that ring fit around her ring, but she was even more amazed at how perfectly she fit in his arms. She felt one of his hands reaching up to cup the back of her head and slowly stroke her hair the way he had so many years ago. In response, she finally let her eyes drift shut as she buried her face in his chest, taking in his smell.
"I love you," Draco whispered softly, hoping she was still awake to hear it. Though the only response he received was the slow steady beat of her sleeping heart, he smiled as he held her to his body, determined never to let her slip from his grasp again. "I love you, Ginny."
