The party was in full swing, the owner of the Holyhead Harpies going all out for the preseason reception.
Ginny was on her second glass of wine and laughing with some friends when she saw someone mingling who she never expected to see: Lucius Malfoy. She didn't know what exactly to think or feel. After everything that happened in her first year at Hogwarts and through the war she had feelings towards him that weren't exactly hate per se but were more along the lines of a healthy dose of dislike and distrust. She had no clue as to why he was at the party.
She did have to admit that he looked well, very fit and healthy as well as impeccably dressed, not at all like she had seen him last at the final battle of the war. And she also had to admit that if he had been a complete stranger to her that she would find him physically appealing and attractive, something that other witches at the party had apparently also noticed given the way women were flocking to him. Of course it could have something to do with the fact that his divorce had been splashed across the Daily Prophet a few months back and he was now an extremely wealthy, eligible bachelor if one could but overlook his Death Eater past.
A little while later the team's owner made the grand announcement that Lucius Malfoy was now the new half-owner of the Harpies. Ginny felt her stomach go into free-fall. She dragged her eyes away from the short pudgy bearer of bad news that was her boss to meet Malfoy's ice blue eyes across the room. They both stared for a long moment before he gave her a single subtle nod. The intense moment was broken when a teammate tapped Ginny on the shoulder and pulled her attention away. The room was completely abuzz with the news.
Throughout the evening she occasionally felt Malfoy's eyes on her and she bravely, almost defiantly, met his steely gaze each and every time. She almost felt as if he had bought into the team because of her, that his soul purpose here was because of her, perhaps to torment her and make her life miserable. Several times he looked as if he were going to approach her but didn't and in the end while he had made the polite rounds and engaged with most members of the team over the course of the party, he and Ginny never spoke or even came within a few feet of each other truth be told.
The majestic horned owl pecking at her window got Ginny's attention. She gave him a treat and took the card he was carrying. The regal bird sat patiently waiting as a reply was expected. She opened the envelope to see a thick note card embossed with the Malfoy crest. With a shake of her head she opened the card itself to see a handwritten invitation to dinner at a ridiculously expensive restaurant in a masculine scrawl, Lucius Malfoy's scrawl to be sure.
She had known this was coming eventually; he had invited every single member of the team out for a private dinner to "get to know them all better". Part of her had wondered if he was going to skip her altogether given their history, but it appeared that he had just saved her for last. Ginny wondered if that was significant.
Malfoy buying into the team had certainly been a surprise, but as it turned out his influx of galleons was allowing the team to update their equipment and bring even more competitive players on board. He seemed, at least outwardly, to be enjoying his role in half-owning the team.
Everyone, even the muggle-born team members, that had already had dinner with him had spoken positively about the encounters, saying he was nothing but charming and polite. As she scratched out a quick affirmative reply to his invitation she wondered if she was going to be able to say the same thing.
Lucius stood as the maitre d' showed her to the private table. He had had such a dinner with each member of the team, Ginevra was merely the last in line. He refused to admit that she was the last person he actually wanted to face alone, even though she was his entire reason for buying into the Harpies in the first place, for just this meeting, this singular opportunity to speak privately with her. It was a very Slytherin machination, but then again, he was a Slytherin to the core.
Outwardly he presented his normal unflappable, meticulous appearance, inwardly, however, he was nervous about this particular dinner and what he wanted to accomplish with it.
Ginevra was wearing a simple, but perfectly curve-hugging little black dress. Her hair was loose around her face, hanging long around her, far past her shoulders. She wore no jewelry save for the large heirloom engagement ring the Potter boy had given her a year ago. With an appreciative eye, for he had always enjoyed beautiful things, he noted that she had grown from a pretty child into a simply exquisite woman.
"Miss Weasley," he said cordially with a tight smile.
"Mr. Malfoy," she replied as she sat in the chair the maitre d' pulled out for her.
With a lifetime of practiced ease Lucius ordered a bottle of fine wine and tried to take a unnoticeable calming breath when he was finally alone with her.
Ginny had decided to swallow down her dislike for Lucius and to be polite and friendly during dinner. She really did not want her professional Quidditch career crashing and burning around her and, unfortunately, Lucius Malfoy now had the potential to do just that.
So she decided to be everything he was most likely not expecting. She would show him that she had grace and manners and was able to make polite dinner conversation. She only hoped he wouldn't be too provoking or condescending however, she had her limits for verbal abuse and Lucius Malfoy was known to have a razor tongue that could shred people to bits before they could blink.
Ginny looked around the restaurant with curious, appreciative eyes trying not to appear too awe-struck at the opulence.
"Beautiful, isn't it?" Lucius asked hesitantly, not quite knowing how to begin a conversation with her.
She turned towards him, the little smile that had formed as she looked around still on her face. She met his eyes and nodded. "It is."
"I've always thought so. The sunsets outside on the patio in the autumn are breathtaking."
Ginny reached for her water glass and sipped before asking, "I imagine that would be something to see. Is this restaurant a favorite of yours then, Mr. Malfoy?"
He nodded. "One of many. At least in this part of the country."
She surprised him when she said pleasantly, rather conversationally, "I imagine you've traveled quite a bit."
He sipped his own water, trying to sort out where this conversation was heading. "Probably more than most. A lot of it has been business related though, often without proper time to garner a true appreciation for a destination.
"I'm hoping to at least see a little of the places the team travels to this year."
"It is quite a full schedule this season. The away matches in Greece and Italy will probably be the most interesting for site seeing; I always throughly enjoy both countries no matter how short my visit."
They spoke quite congenially about traveling and exotic locations, Lucius sharing what he knew and liked about the places the team was scheduled to visit over the season. Amidst the pleasant conversation the wine steward brought the wine Lucius had requested and their waiter then took their order. She surprised Lucius by ordering something he had mentioned in passing was a particular favorite of his as they had perused the menu.
Lucius was, in all honestly, not only surprised only by her choice of entree but rather by her in general. He had expected someone a bit more uncouth and unsophisticated, and given their history perhaps angry and adversarial, but Ginevra was none of those things. Her manners were exquisite. And while she was young and hadn't yet had the opportunity to see the world, she appreciated it and asked interesting questions about the places he had been, things he would have actually asked had their positions been reversed and she the well-heeled traveler.
It made him think for just a moment that she would be an excellent traveling companion, someone whose interests matched his own. The sad reality of his now failed arranged marriage to Narcissa was that she had never been fun to travel with, they just enjoyed very different things on their holidays abroad. She preferred lounging around whichever luxurious resort they stayed at being pampered by spa treatments and room service, or visiting the lavish homes of their wealthy peers in the area. He, on the other hand, while of course enjoyed the finest hotels and restaurants also enjoyed thoroughly exploring the wizarding enclaves in other countries. He would never condescend to call himself a tourist but he had a genuine interest in the uniqueness of a place and the things he could only see or experience there. From their conversation he suspected Ginevra was a kindred soul in that regard.
For just the briefest of moments he felt like he was perhaps on a date with someone he wanted to know better, someone he wanted to know him and not just the facade he presented to the public. There was an itch of compatibility there that he almost longed to scratch. He mentally shrugged that thought off as quickly as it had bloomed chalking it up to feeling a bit out of sorts since Narcissa had divorced him and his being a bit lonely truth be told. Not to mention that Ginevra was well and truly trothed to Potter.
The waiter arriving with their food commanded his attention and steered Lucius' thoughts away from his internal musings.
To say that Ginny was surprised by Lucius and the genuine pleasantness of their conversation would be an understatement. She found herself glad that she had decided to not be adversarial with him. There was real enthusiasm and enjoyment in his stories of his travels. He also didn't seem to mind her insatiable questions about the places he had visited and quite willingly shared what he knew. Travel was something that had always been out of reach for her and her family save for that one trip to Egypt when she was a child. That trip, and all the exciting things her mother wouldn't let her do in Egypt, had actually been the spark that ignited her passion to travel as an adult.
Unfortunately it wasn't a passion that Harry shared. He was much more interested in putting down roots and having a home and family of his own than he was seeing the world. She hoped that her travels with the Harpies would be enough to satisfy her travel yen before they got married, otherwise it was unlikely that she would ever be able to once she became Mrs. Potter.
Ginny wondered what it would be like to travel like a Malfoy, to stay at the finest hotels and dine at gourmet restaurants, to never have to worry about what something cost. And she wondered for just a moment what it would be like to travel with Lucius and share in his excitement for exotic locations. She shoved that thought away hard and fast. She was engaged to Harry and was to be his wife and daydreams of traveling with other men had no place in her head, no matter how appealing they may be.
"So, have you given any thought to what you'd like to do after a hopefully long career playing Quidditch?" Lucius asked as he picked up his fork to start eating his entree after seeing Ginny take her first bite.
She chewed and swallowed her bite of the tender duck she had ordered on his suggestion before she answered. "Some, nothing definite."
He noticed that her eyes flashed to her engagement ring. He didn't see any particular excitement or enthusiasm in her expression as she did so, something he found odd really, most happily affianced young women in his experience got a bit dreamy eyed when contemplating their future nuptials. He filed her reaction away then said, "You're a natural team leader on the pitch. I can imagine that transitioning quite easily to coaching if you desired."
She chuckled, a deep rich sound that Lucius found sent a little flicker of interest to his groin. He quickly dispelled that notion in his mind, he wasn't here to seduce no matter how much his mind wanted to turn this into a date. His personal agenda, in reality, was far nobler, although his Slytherin side would probably damn him for that later. And the hard-to-miss engagement ring on her finger signaling to all and sundry that she was claimed by another man was something Lucius respected beyond measure.
"I don't know if I have the patience to coach. But I enjoy writing so maybe I could be a sports reporter for the Prophet or something. I'd like to stay involved with Quidditch somehow."
Lucius sipped his wine. "Now that could interesting. You could see the world, meet lots of influential people in Quidditch, write pieces that could make or break careers. You'd have them all eating out of the palm of your hand."
She nodded in agreement then asked politely, "While I am honestly enjoying our conversation… may I ask, is there is something else you really want to discuss with me? Call it intuition, but I get a sense that there is an actual purpose behind this dinner."
"You are very perceptive, Miss Weasley, and correct," he said, then paused, trying to remember the words he had rehearsed to himself ad nauseam since he formulated his plan to buy into the Harpies.
"Since the war I've been taking stock of many things, a little soul-searching if you will. And in light of that I have been attempting to make amends to those who were hurt directly by my own actions," he said quietly and not particularly confidently.
Ginny nodded but didn't say anything, so he continued, "No matter how many times I go over that list of people in my mind, I keep coming back to you first and foremost. What I did to you with that diary… you were just a child. You should have been enjoying your first year at Hogwarts and getting into mischief with your friends. It should have been a joyful time in your life and in your memories. Instead, through my actions, that innocence was stolen from you and you became a pawn of… darkness and as such were irreparably harmed. I know there is nothing I can ever do or say, no amends I can make that will ever atone for that, but I want you know that I am truly sorry for what I did and would take this opportunity to offer you my most sincere apology."
Ginny blinked and swallowed nervously. His words were not at all what she expected, not in the least.
She sipped her water with a shaking hand and cleared her throat gently before finally being able to respond. "That is not at all what I expected you to say. I haven't thought about that in a very long time," she said as she looked off to the side, unable to meet his eyes, "It's a little overwhelming."
Gently he replied, "I would have done this in private, but I did not think you would come."
"No, probably not."
They sat quietly for a few minutes allowing Ginny to collect herself. Finally she looked up and met his eyes. Eyes she was surprised to see looking at her with genuine concern. She took another sip of water and chose her words carefully, "I don't know if I can accept your apology, Mr. Malfoy. Not now anyway, maybe… maybe in the future. But right now I can say thank for you for it, I suspect that was not easy for you."
"It wasn't. But it was long overdue and your response is, quite honestly, far more positive than I expected or deserve."
"If we're being honest, you're very different than I expected. I wasn't just being polite before when I said I was enjoying our conversation, I meant it."
The corners of his mouth curled up a bit. "Perhaps with the air cleared between us, apology acceptance notwithstanding, we can begin anew? I, too, was enjoying our conversation and would very much like to continue it."
"I'd like that, too."
The waiter chose that moment to arrive at their table and inquire as to if they would care for dessert. Lucius looked to Ginny expectantly and asked, "What would like, Miss Weasley?"
With a hint of teasing she replied, "Surprise me, Mr. Malfoy."
Taking a chance he replied playfully, "I thought I already had."
She shook her head and chuckled.
Their return to lighthearted conversation over the decadent chocolate dessert Lucius had ordered without hesitation had been the perfect end to their evening. Ginny found herself loath for the evening to end, something that surprised her more than she could say. She hadn't expected to enjoy herself so much or to feel so at ease in Lucius' company. Yet she did on both accounts. He had been warm and friendly, his eyes lighting up as they talked about the amazing places he had been to. He was charming and attentive in a way that she had never had directed at her before, not even Harry had ever been so focused on her.
Then there had been his apology which had completely and utterly blindsided her. Tom Riddle and the war were things she tried to put behind her. She was building a life for herself, a career, a future, and dwelling on the past and the horrors there were not productive uses of her energy. She mulled his apology and the lengths to which he had gone to offer it. She hadn't asked, but was willing to bet that he had only bought into the team to get get close to her so he could apologize. It would be such Slytherin thing to do and he was nothing if not a cunning Slytherin.
All that aside, she believed him sincere, he had given her no reason not to. His actions since the war had all been above board and without reproach. She certainly wasn't ready to immediately forgive him, but his warm demeanor made her inclined to at least think about it and consider it honestly.
As Lucius walked Ginevra to the restaurant's apparation point his hand automatically found the small of her back as they went through the restaurant. It was a completely unconscious act borne out of gentlemanly manners and decades of marriage. Yet when he realized he was doing it with Ginevra he found himself not quite wishing to remove it although he did so subtly out of propriety.
He had enjoyed his evening with her more than he had in at least a dozen years with Narcissa. He wanted to damn the engagement ring on her finger and all it represented, for without it he would have not hesitated to ask Ginevra out on an actual date, taking her somewhere that would have made her eyes dance and her smile wide, somewhere he could have possibly swept the young witch completely off her feet and perhaps even into his bed. But never in his life, no matter how many vile things he did in service to his Slytherin nature or the Dark Lord himself, had he seduced a woman promised to another. It just wasn't in his nature.
Regretfully their evening was at a close as they had reached the apparation point. She smiled up at him and said, "Thank you for an absolutely lovely evening, Mr. Malfoy."
He took her hand in his and bent to brush his lips across her knuckles. He straightened and said with a grin. "It was undoubtedly one of the most enjoyable dinners I've had in years, Miss Weasley."
"Will I see you at the match on Saturday?" she asked.
"Of course. I wouldn't miss it."
"Good. I'll say goodnight then, practice comes early tomorrow."
"Goodnight, Miss Weasley. Until Saturday," he replied and released her hand that he didn't realize he was still holding gently.
She smiled at him a final time and apparated away a moment later.
Lucius followed suit and apparated, finding himself in the lonely penthouse apartment he had purchased to be near the team. He shucked his cloak and draped it neatly over a chair. He loosened his tie and went to the window overlooking the city. He wondered where Ginevra's flat was situated in relation to his penthouse, could he possibly see it from here? He made a mental note to find out.
He inhaled deeply and exhaled. The evening had gone so much better than he could ever had anticipated. There was no slap or wine thrown in his face, two scenarios that had played out in his head repeatedly when he had written her the invitation to dinner, instead there had been a most enjoyable conversation with a beautiful young woman with what he daresay was a genuine connection between them. Had it not been for her betrothal to Potter he would most assuredly be interested in pursuing that connection further.
He snorted indignantly and turned towards the dry bar along the wall. He could just imagine what people would say about that. He could envision the Rita Skeeter headlines now. There was a twenty-five year age difference between he and Ginevra, there was no getting around that, but it wasn't as if he were a bald, skeletal, wheezing old codger for Merlin's sake. He was a wizard in his prime and his new bachelor status had all manner of young, gold-digging witches coming out of the woodwork and onto him. It was sort of ironic that the one witch who had actually intrigued him since his divorce was, for all intents and purposes, unattainable. It was telling that he had to keep reminding himself so.
He poured himself a couple of fingers of firewhisky and chuckled. Above and beyond the age difference, which would alone set fire to the hair of a certain segment of the wizarding population, he could just imagine how well received it would be in general for a war heroine of Ginevra's fame to become involved romantically with a former Death Eater from the Dark Lord's inner circle. Her father would absolutely lose his mind, of that there was no question, he and Arthur Weasley had been adversaries far too long for him not to take great offense at Lucius having any sort of designs on his only daughter. Although, truth be told, Lucius was far more worried about Molly Weasley's reaction than Arthur's, that woman was utterly terrifying when protecting one of her children, anyone questioning it could just ask Bellatrix how well that worked out.
Narcissa would mock him. She had been so sure that he had bedded other witches throughout their marriage- younger, prettier witches. It had come as a shock to her that under Veritaserum at their divorce proceedings that those allegations were proven definitively false once and for all. He had never strayed, never broken either his betrothal commitment or his marriage vows to her. He had been faithful to the bitter end. Regardless, she would mock him for attaching himself to such a young, nubile witch. Narcissa's own insecurities and hate for him would come back out and her tongue would be cruel and most public.
His son would think his father had gone round the bend, Ginevra having long been a personal irritant in Draco's life. He could just imagine the scorn that would drip from Draco's mouth. He would be petulant as always, petulant was, after all, Draco's default mood when faced with things that challenged him.
His thoughts drifted from Draco to Harry Potter. Because if by some fluke of the fates the engagement between Potter and Ginevra ceased to be and Lucius pursued a relationship of any flavor with her, Potter was sure to be loitering in the background, either as the specter of a past love, or as a protective fiance turned friend. Potter would always have a presence. He didn't know whether to scoff at or groan about that.
Lucius uncouthly slugged back the rest of his drink and poured another. None of it mattered. Ginevra was happily engaged to Potter and Lucius would never, ever cross that line. He went back to the window to stare out at the busy little city.
Two more drinks later he felt he had purged all thought of Ginevra from his head and went to bed.
tbc...