At least she doesn't look that different, he thought as he took in a deep breath. Her wide brown eyes looked surprised as she tightened her grip on the child in her arms.
"Long time no see." She gave the smallest hint of a smile as the child she was holding looked at the interaction curiously.
"Weasley girl." He ground out. "I see your life with Potter has been productive."
She blushed. For a second, he saw hints of the self-conscious little girl behind her sleek red hair and porcelain-clear skin. Suddenly, he thought about the half-forgotten train ride into his sixth year when Pansy informed him that she was beautiful.
Beautiful. That suited her. Five years into her marriage with Potter and holding a child to prove for it, she still manages to make the wizards in Diagon Alley give her third glances.
"I hear you got married." Ah, she was trying to make conversation.
"Yes." Monotone answers were all he gave to questions about his wife. She has flaxen locks and is a pureblood, but when he looks into her eyes, all he can see are Ginny's eyes. Brown, innocent, and pure.
"And you had a child too, didn't you?"
A hint of pride emanated off of his body. "Yes, Scorpius. We're all prepared to start the newest generation of Malfoy-Potter animosity."
She laughed. He didn't expect that reaction.
"This is Albus…" She smoothed down the child's messy black hair as he made impatient sounds in his mother's arms.
He snorted. "Figures. Potter was never much for creativity. Let me guess, his middle name is Sirius?"
She looked at him, but he was surprised to find there was no anger behind her stare. "His middle name is Severus."
Snape. He gave his life to protect the son of his childhood sweetheart. He was suddenly struck with the similarity between Lily Potter and the woman who stood before him now. They both had red hair, vivid eyes, and men ready to die for them.
She made a move to go. "I'll see you around, Malfoy."
Without thinking, he put out a hand to stop her. "Wait. Ginevra…"
She froze. Ginevra. He was the only one to call her that. Steeling her resolve, she started to go again.
This time, his hand found its way onto her shoulder. She stiffened. "Couldn't you have told me sooner?"
He looked into her brown orbs. "When? When I was being used by Voldemort to murder and torture? After the Freedom War when Potter asked you to marry him? Five years ago when you actually did marry him? Last year when you gave birth to the child you're holding now?"
"Yes. You should have told me. What use is it for you to tell me this now? What use does this give to the hours I spent by myself, wondering what you meant by those surreptitious glances?"
He wanted to tell her. He wanted her to know that every name he called her was borne out of a sheer fascination and admiration from afar.
He wanted her to know that he could not stop himself from thinking of her during the war.
They never exchanged more than insults at Hogwarts but they still both felt the tingle and the sparkle of each interaction they had.
He started a cordial relationship with her after the war but they had too much of a past to start anything real. Besides, Potter was basically predetermined to have her as a bride.
How could he have the heart to ruin her perfect little world now? He would rather stop everything than make her confused.
So he lied.
"I never told you anything during Hogwarts. And you know what the saddest thing is? Given the chance, I still wouldn't tell you. We're from different worlds. Maybe I desired you because half the boys in our school did. No, I think it's because I know that I can never have you. That's what makes me remember you after all these years. You're the one I can never have. That's why I'm here. It's not because I harbor any true feelings towards you."
This is it then. She will never give him a second thought again. He searched for that half-smile, the memory of which once gave him the strength to withstand the Dark Lord's "discipline" one more time.
Despite that hard tone of voice, the aloof body language, he could not stop himself from almost pleading with her his last request.
"Smile for me. I don't want anything more from you. But Ginevra, smile for me one last time."
She turned away sharply from him. He closed his eyes and could hear her heels clacking away on the cobbled street. The child in his mother's arms made satisfied gurgling sounds. When he opened his eyes, he saw her pausing in her resolute departure to slowly turn towards him.
He felt his breath hitch in his throat.
She smiled.