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He couldn't remember exactly how this had started.

Sure, he remembered thinking that the little Weasley sister had grown up in the few years since Hogwarts. He even remembered that he hadn't really felt alarmed at the thought of being team mates with the little spitfire. But he couldn't pinpoint the exact moment in time that he had fallen for her. And fallen he had, though only his innermost voice would speak openly about it. Of course, the voice that he'd listened to since he'd first joined the ranks of firsties at Hogwarts told the inner voice to shut up— it told him that he had no chance at the girl that had been haunting his dreams these last few weeks.

Draco tossed again on the lumpy mattress that they called a bed in this roach motel and grunted out his frustration.

"Mate, it's late and you need to do that in the shower. The last thing I need is to lose beauty sleep because you are entertaining fantasies about Ginevra."

Blaise's sleepy comment was a half-hearted attempt to taunt the blond, who ignored it in favour of throwing himself onto his stomach and grunting again as a barely-covered spring pushed itself into his ribs.

As Blaise's gentle snores once again filled the small room they shared, Draco did his best not to think about the sexy little redhead sleeping just across the hall. It was going to be a long night.

XxX

"Blaise, if you speak of your tortured soul and its lack of proper sleep one more time, I may have to take drastic measures. And they will not preclude the cutting of your gorgeous locks or the smearing of your already tarnished reputation."

Draco looked down in disgust at the now congealed blob of porridge which had gone cold as Zabini prattled on about his beauty rest. He was exhausted from lack of sleep and the restless dreams that left him feeling drained and hyperaware of just how empty his small and lumpy bed was. Now he had to listen to his best mate go on about his imaginary distress.

Chuckling, Blaise speared another sausage off the platter before him and smirked at his fair-skinned friend. He noticed that the blond was looking rather frazzled, but that didn't mean he couldn't (and wouldn't) pass up the opportunity to tease him.

The darker man recalled a time not long ago when their nights of debauchery on the town were a force to be reckoned with. He was the dark to Draco's light, and their opposite physical appearance, matching charm and devilishness had the ladies swooning as soon as they arrived at any night-time location.

There was never a lack of interested women and men with whom to occupy themselves, and Blaise had enjoyed these years of fun and frivolity after Hogwarts and the war. He wanted nothing more than to have fun and enjoy all the pleasures life had to offer.

He knew Draco, on the other hand, liked these nights out because they always reaffirmed his status as the most wanted wizard in Europe, according to his own calculations. The Daily Prophet had the lithe blond pegged as the Bachelor of the Year last year, but Blaise knew that his friend secretly, somewhere deep in the caverns of his scary Malfoy heart, was searching for a life partner. Over the last few months Draco had managed to become more focused in his search for companionship, while Blaise continued to seek out relationships of a more temporary nature.

Looking more closely at his best friend, he could see why they all wanted him. Draco was pale, with the beauty of a slim, Nordic god. His bright, platinum hair hung in his eyes with perfected care and pulled one into the grey and glassy depths. Pointy features suited his aristocratic bearing and only enhanced his graceful appearance. His milk white and perfectly smooth skin was marred only by a small scar that broke the perfect line of his dark honey left eyebrow.

Blaise remembered the pub fight that had caught them both in a Muggle brawl. Draco wore the small cut on his brow like a badge, and for weeks it had gotten him shagged time and time again. Someone had called Draco a pouf, and while Draco did enjoy the company of a beautiful man upon occasion, he balked at being called names for it—especially by a brainless Hufflepuff. So Draco had jumped from his stool and immediately made it clear to all that while he may play with the boys' team sometimes, he was all man.

Blaise could still picture Draco as he swung his right hook into Mc Millan's face. The muscles rippling under the blond's tight shirt made the darker man want to ravish him right there. But he rationalised that this might not help Draco prove how manly he was at that particular moment, so he made a mental note to file that image away for shower time activities when he was alone.

"Well, if my reputation is tarnished, then yours must be damaged beyond repair," Blaise responded.

Draco rolled his eyes at his best friend and quickly drank his juice. "Hurry it up, wanker, I want to get to the pitch before—"

Blaise quirked a perfectly trimmed dark chocolate brow at his team mate and smirked in dark satisfaction.

"Before what, exactly? Before your little minx gets there? Before she can show off her amazing Quidditch skills that leave you in the dust?" Blaise paused to see if Draco was listening and when he saw the blond scowling, he knew he was paying attention. "But perhaps you'd like to get there early to ensure that you can watch her for the maximum amount of time possible."

At his words, the taller boy rose sedately from the table, looked regally down his nose, and announced that he was leaving. As he left the room, he told Blaise to put the Quaffle somewhere that would be impossible without a lot of lubrication and a very strong silencing spell.

Laughter was the only thing Draco heard as he exited the kitchen and headed upstairs to gather his gear for practice. However, when he saw Ginevra starting down the stairs on a direct course headed towards him, he regretted not bringing his gear down before breakfast. The stairs were narrow and he knew he'd be in trouble when she passed. They couldn't come within ten meters of each other without breaking out in verbal abuse, and today he wasn't sure he could take it anymore. He was on edge with lack of sleep and this redheaded vixen taking up all his extra time.

When she was only a few steps away from him, he finally looked up, just to make sure he wouldn't run into her on the narrow stairs, of course, and saw that she was looking directly at him. She gave him a small smile with a twinkle in her eye as she simply turned sideways to squeeze by.

He caught her subtle scent as she lightly pressed against him, and he held back a small whimper. She smelled so soft and alluring, like she had just ran through the rain after rolling through a field of sun dried grass and wildflowers. Draco clenched his fists at his sides in order to keep himself from pushing her against the wall and having his way with her. This was torture, and the frustrated seeker lunged up the stairs to get out of there as quickly as possible.

The pitch was his only chance at sanity right now, and he needed to get there before he burst. Growling, he entered his room, grabbed the gear and Apparated to the pitch in order to avoid going back down stairs and taking the chance of running into her again.

XxX

The next evening found the normally overly confident blond sitting on the dingy couch in his quarters, questioning his sanity. Draco lifted his bleak gaze to the plain wall clock and groaned. In another ten minutes, she'd be downstairs in the gym starting her daily ritual of torturing his already battered heart. It was bad enough that he had found himself attracted to her as soon as she joined the team, but now she was becoming an obsession.

He recalled the first night he discovered her, almost three weeks ago, in the often neglected room. None of the other team members seemed to use the gym, since they were training almost twelve hours a day sometimes, and Draco had been using it as a sanctuary. Blaise tended to talk most of the time, and since the topic of discussion was rarely about Draco or his interests, it would quickly tire him. So he was in the gym, reading a book quietly in the corner, when she showed up.

That first day, Draco watched in awe as she swung into the room, her red hair sweeping around her as she turned to start up one of the treadmills. The buxom girl was wearing a small t-shirt that looked infant-sized. He told himself it was indecent and scoffed at himself for wanting such a wanton woman. His arrogant inner commentary on her substandard dressing habits was silenced as he watched the fit young woman lift her arms to tie up her long hair, exposing a strip of pale skin above the band of her sweat pants.

Draco felt himself lifting his hand towards the skin, but felt a bolt strike through him as he realised what he was doing. Quickly pulling his hand back to his lap where his open book lay, he sat as still as possible in hopes that she wouldn't see him there. He hoped to enjoy this special alone time for as long as possible. He calculated the whole situation as a win-win anyway, assuming that if she discovered him she would be livid, and nothing was hotter than an irate Ginevra Weasley.

Holding back a groan at his prattish attitude towards the scruffy looking girl, Draco again found himself transfixed as she bent down to pull at the bottom of her trousers. He marvelled at the perfection of her broom-hardened cheeks. She began rolling the legs of the pant up until there was a wide band of extra length encasing her at mid-thigh. Draco gulped as she began to do the same to the other leg, and he saw her exposed thigh muscles clench as she bent down to grip the hem. As she finished and straightened up he saw that her bum was firm and slightly rounded, and again he had to hold back from just reaching out and grabbing her. His object of fantasy for the last few weeks was right in front of him, and unknowingly giving him all kinds of naughty things to relive in the shower every night.

Draco noticed that she had some sort of plug in each ear, and she began humming as she bent down to tie the laces of her trainers. He knew he groaned aloud that time, and he froze, waiting for the feisty redhead to explode. But she didn't, instead breaking into song. She stood up and did a little jumping jig while singing at the top of her lungs. Draco didn't recognise the song, but it seemed to be something that required her to growl and roll her hips languidly about every twenty seconds. He decided that at any moment now she would find him and kill him, but he knew he would die a happy man.

Apparently the song ended after a few minutes, and she was ready to actually run on the machine and not just dance next to it. For the next forty-five minutes, he watched closely as she ran at a steady, even pace, and by the end of her workout he was thoroughly converted to her curves. No more stick figure women; after all, he would need something to hold onto when rocked her world.

He loved that with a simple flex, she went from soft and lovely to strong and sexy. He wanted to cover her in oil and map out her body, explore all the rounded and soft valleys and curves that covered her firm and tight muscles underneath.

Soon the sweaty redhead unrolled her pant legs, turned off the machine and left the room. Draco quickly gathered his book and headed out the door. He had an urgent need to shower, and whether it would be a cold or hot one he would decide when he got there. Right now he just didn't want to be caught with a very prominent erection.

As the steam gathered around him, Draco stepped into the stall. Soon he brought himself to a breath-taking climax as he remembered how she looked in those rolled up shorts and tiny top, and he knew he needed to see it again.

His new goal was to observe her habits in the Team House more closely. After a few days, the sneaky former Slytherin found that on nights when they didn't have extended practice, she went to the gym about an hour after dinner. He made it a point to be there first on those nights, and used a Disillusionment charm. After a few weeks of this, he noticed that things were changing, and he started to get nervous. He thought that Ginevra might be on to him, and suspected that his days of having a complete kit were numbered.

For the sake of an eventual Malfoy heir, he decided that he needed to talk to Blaise and get some advice. But before he did that, he had to come up with a cover story. Blaise and Ginevra had been chatting and eating together lately, and Draco suspected that they were becoming friends. If that was the case, then he had to play his cards very carefully with Blaise. The tosser wouldn't wait to rub it in his face that he was right all along about his accusations of being infatuated with the girl who was trying her hardest to take his place as the starting seeker.

XxX

"Oh, no, no. Let me make sure I understand this correctly, Mr. Malfoy." Draco restrained himself from striking his friend. He had expected this from Blaise, and he didn't want to do anything to encourage his shameless girl of a best mate. "Are you trying to tell me that you want to date Ginevra in order to ease the tension in the Team House? Could you come up with nothing better than that, you sop?"

Debating whether truth or lie would work out best for him, Draco chose honesty, knowing that Blaise would make it his newest life goal to suss out the truth anyway.

"Can you find out if she's open to it? A few sly questions here and there?"

"Draco Malfoy, Daily Prophet's Bachelor of the Year, Quidditch Seeker Extraordinaire, is asking me to get the dirt on Ginevra. This may be fodder for the headlines. In fact, I could make some profit off this if I time it right."

The blond took a deep and steadying breath, "I'm calling in that time I saved you and Daphne from McGonagall."

Blaise broke his shocked silence after a very long pause. "Okay mate, on one condition."

Closing his eyes in anticipation of the worst, Draco nodded his assent and his eyes spring open wide at Blaise's words of condition.

"Our first born girl? Have you gone mad? I simply want to shag the minx. Maybe spend the weekend locked together in a room, but babies? You're barking, and I take it all back. You're a danger to all and I want nothing to do with you. Thank you, Mr. Zabini, and have a pleasant afternoon."

Draco was getting used to hearing Blaise laugh at his expense when he left the room— a bad sign.

XxX

Three nights later, Draco was alone in his room. Blaise was downstairs at dinner, probably with the temptress, but Draco was too distraught to eat.

It was bad now. Between Blaise's constant comments and his own openly acknowledged lack of action towards the girl, and he had officially named himself the King of the Ponces.

He felt gutted and helpless, and he knew something had to give. But it wouldn't be him, and Draco knew he'd continue to suffer because of that.

Sighing loudly, he broke the rule, like he always did now, and looked at the clock. Another twenty minutes and it would be time for him to go and lie in wait. He didn't know if he could do this anymore, but he didn't think that he could give it up. It was the only thing he looked forward to other than Quidditch, and he couldn't imagine not going here on these nights and being with her in the only way possible.

Sure enough, eighteen minutes later Draco morosely applied the Disillusionment charm to himself and headed down the stairs towards the gym. Looking up, he saw that the door was open and the unusual occurrence made him suspicious. Moderating his pace and walking against the wall, he slowly approached the door and put his head into the room just enough to see if anyone was there. Seeing no one in the room, he went inside, shut the door quietly behind him, and turned and walked towards his usual perch from where he would see her every move with no obstructions while remaining well camouflaged against the wall behind him.

Draco arranged his long legs stretched out on the lounge, throwing his arms across the back of it and wedging himself into the soft cushions in the corner. Heaving another sigh, he leaned his head back, closed his tired eyes, and awaited the vixen's arrival.

His mind drifted back over the last three weeks of spying on her and the things he has seen her do, which for an unknown reason buried deep inside his warped psyche, made it entirely too clear to Draco that he liked everything about this woman. She had a driving force that was Slytherin-like in its intense ambition. She was ruthless on the pitch and did the extra to increase her strength and agility by coming here on her off nights. She knew what she wanted and was doing what she had to do to get there. Never mind that the mad bint thought she had a chance at his First String Seeker position; she was oblivious to obstacles.

And her exercise routines were always new and different, and most of the time exceedingly arousing. He found that his hand felt limp in the shower on the nights they didn't go to the gym. It wasn't the same without having her recently in his sight.

Often times she'd suddenly jump from the treadmill in order to dance, and usually sing, along with some song. Her voice was off-tune and frankly quite awful at an elevated volume, but her passion somehow tempered the nasal grate of her voice and made it almost haunting. Sometimes there were softer songs that she would sing while continuing to run. He watched and listened as her shapely and strong thighs rhythmically pumped up and down as she ran. Her tones might be melancholic, but the life she pumped out in waves as she ran kept it from being overly emotive. She was projecting a true piece of herself, and he wanted more.

All of these pieces brought him to this place, after over three weeks of obsessive stalking, pining and fantasising, he had arrived at a crossroads. Should he approach her and risk everything, or should he choose the other path and cut and run? Give up all hope, stop looking at her and find another team to trade to?

Draco felt a bit ill with the thought, since it all sounded so dramatic, but he did know that he definitely felt on the edge of madness. He was tight as a wire and she was there, ready to test his strength.

Draco heard a loud yelp and instantly realised it was his own voice. He felt a very sharp poke in his ribs and immediately leapt to his feet and reached for his wand.

"Don't bother, Draco. I've got it here with me."

The astounded blond continued to pat himself to make sure that she did, indeed, have his wand.

"Where are you? You'd best show yourself to me this instant."

A soft chuckle from the lounge where he had just been sitting clued him in to her position. He dramatically whirled towards her voice. "Why don't you reveal your appearance? Are you a coward?"

The low laugh came again, mocking him. "Oh, that's rich coming from the one who's been perving on me for the last three weeks under a charm. Which, by the way, I removed while you were taking your little ickle nap."

Suddenly he felt the air move and saw Ginny raising herself towards him, the invisibility cloak slipping off and pooling to her trainer-clad feet.

"You knew? All that time?"

Draco was in too much shock to deny her comment's verity; fear was starting to kick in and he looked around for an escape route.

"Yes, Draco, all that time." Her voice was a bit waspish and he dared to look at her face. "I've gotten tired of waiting. I kept asking Blaise to tell me what you were up to, but he kept his mouth shut. Sometimes he is an intelligent bloke; bit surprising, that. Look, I've done my best mating rituals for you, a la Weasley, and I just need to know if I should bother, or if you just need something to wank to every night."

Her frankness was appalling, and expected, but how to answer her? This bit of her putting his back to the wall had him feeling, well, trapped. He wanted everything she was offering, but it was supposed to be him doing the offering, her falling to her feet in abject adoration. This situation was turning ghastly and she was simply standing there, right in front of him, looking straight into his eyes. Draco shivered a little as he thought he felt her in his mind, reading all his dirty thoughts about her and the condemningly clean ones too.

"Now look here, I'm welcome to use this room just as you are. I was here first."

Petulance was his only weapon at this point; his doom was looming darkly overhead.

"Yes, but when I come here I'm fully exposed."

Now she was just being cruel; the wily little lioness.

"I was doing that because I came here in search of privacy. Why should I be forced to give that up just because you want to come here with all of your singing and dancing about?"

Oh. Merlin. Had he really just said that to her? After she had told him it was her mating dance? She would hate him. He might as well go off and offer himself to the merpeople at this rate, he thought.

Suddenly Draco's world tilted off axis. Her soft, warm and gorgeous lips pressed against his and he grasped at the edges of his reality, which was quickly crumbling. She ran her fingers through his hair and gave a slow and hard tug to the back of it.

Draco broke the kiss, gasping. "What's that for?"

"That's for making me do all the work, you daft bugger." Ginny's expression was both condemning and derisive; only the sly smirk at the corner of her lips let him know there was no real anger there. "I didn't realise how truthful Blaise was being when he warned me that you were a dumb blond when it came to caring for birds." Pressing her body fully against the hard planes of his, the sultry redhead gave her final blow to his wounded ego, "You're going to have to work extra hard to make up for all of this foolishness. This is your one do-over, so make it good. I expect you to pick me up Saturday night at eight and you will make the evening fabulous. If you live up to my highest expectations of you, then you will receive a very lovely parting gift at the end of the night."

"Now, just wait a minute here. Where do you get off pushing me about like some House Elf? I'm not here to do as you bid."

His words were sharp, but his delivery was weak. He was done for; the cat had played with the mouse long enough and his demise was imminent.

The petite woman looked up into his eyes and willed him to fall into their chocolaty depths, like a Siren calling to a sailor.

"Draco, you lost your chance when you forced my move. I'm granting you this last one. If you choose not to take me up on it, you will be the only one to lose."

With a pointed look, Ginny turned her back and took a number of steps away from him, leaving him to consider his all-important next move.

Meanwhile, Draco was in torment. His mind wandered and jumped about. Could he do this? Could he accept that she did the pursuing?

Suddenly, it was as if the clouds were lifted and the birds were singing. It had come to him— this was all okay. He could accept this because the fact was that she worked hard to put herself on display for him. She had approached him and made it so very clear exactly how much she liked him. She did indeed, worship the ground he walked upon and was not afraid to show it. The world had stopped spinning so crazily and all was right in Draco's mind.

"Well, it would seem that if you desire my presence so strongly, then who am I to deter you?" Draco bowed low and softly kissed the knuckles of her hand. He was sure he saw a hint of a blush on her cheeks, and he decided that he needed to let her know that he was somewhat willing to do as she wanted, but that he would decide how it would all play out. He remembered that his mother had always swooned a little when Lucius would play the gentleman.

"My lady Ginevra, I await your company this Saturday evening with baited breath. It will be my greatest honour to escort you for a stupendous evening gallivanting about Bristol."

The preening blond bent low over her hand again and with a quick movement of his hand, he produced a single, yellow rose. With dramatic flair, he plucked a few thorns from the stem, managed to stab himself, and inserted a finger in his mouth with a hiss. Ginny watched fascinated as he sucked on his wound, oblivious to her close observation.

Draco raised his head to find her looking directly at him; he stepped closer, tucked the rose behind her ear, and lightly brushed his fingers along her jaw as he withdrew his hand. As he tilted his chin down, Ginny lifted hers to meet him at the same time.

This time the kiss was warm, arms wrapping around each other it quickly progressed to passionate. Draco drew his head back reluctantly and looked to her eyes again.

"You planned this whole thing, didn't you? You were stringing me along this whole time. I did see you getting more and more seductive with your random dances during your workouts." It was a shock, but not unexpected, to find that she had manipulated almost all of this. He watched with concealed awe as a wicked grin spread across her face. "You played Blaise as well. Did you know he wants our first born daughter to be named after him? Merlin, then there would have to be a girl Blaise and a boy Blaise."

Draco lifted his head towards the manipulative former Gryffindor, "Planning all of this in secret doesn't seem a very noble act to me."

"Well, the Sorting Hat did want to put me in Slytherin as well. It was a toss-up, but I reminded about the Weasley legacy and he agreed to let me have Gryffindor. And I'm not sorry he did."

Draco found himself grinning on the inside, happy she hadn't ended up in Slytherin either. He never would have had a night's rest with her in the same house. He knew he was in for a hell of a ride with the little sprite, and he couldn't wait to get started.

Giving her another deep kiss, Draco nuzzled her ear and whispered huskily, "I'm glad you weren't in Slytherin, either. I would have had to spend a lot of time keeping all of those lecherous toads away from you. I don't have the time for these things now, so it must be strictly understood that you are not to entertain thoughts of others while we are together."

Smiling smugly, as though proud of herself, Ginny simply looked up at him through her eyelashes and spoke firmly, "I don't think we have anything to worry about, love." She patted his hand patronisingly, then dragged him back to the sofa so that they could continue to discuss the terms of merger more comfortably.

A/N: This was my entry in the DG Forum Fic Exchange - Spring 2010 for this prompt.

MidnightxRed's Prompt #1

Basic outline: Ginny or Draco finds out about the other ones secret hobby/ past time/ hide-out-place-thingy. (e.g Ginny likes to sit in the Great Forest for time to herself. OR Draco enjoys stargazing or watching clouds to reflect on who he is.) This prompt is quite loose so allows you to do whatever you want with it, within reason of course.

Must haves: I think there should be some interaction between the two. It could be them watching the other one and eventually making their presence known; using the knowledge to ambush the other and get into an argument; or it could add more to their slight attraction to each other etc. There must be some humour. I don't want it to be completely serious, but it can quite serious if you want.

No-no's: No Ginny/Harry. In fact, keep any Harry involvement to the minimum. No smut! There can be heated moments if you wish, but under no circumstances will there be smut!

Rating range: K-T

Bonus points:Some fluff. A bit of Snape thrown in there if possible.