Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter. I am not getting anything out of this except the joy of sharing in this world with like-minded people.

A/N: This started out as a series of drabbles that I wrote for the writing game on LiveJournal. I've edited them in order to flow a little easier as a one-shot story. This is a one-shot, but I could be persuaded to write a companion piece.

Secret Lovers

Ginny pulled her robes back over her head, straightening them. She knew her hair was a mess and tried to steady her breathing as she looked at the man lying on the bed, looking smug and satisfied.

"We can't keep doing this, Draco," she said softly.

He merely raised a knowing eyebrow at her."I'm married to Harry. This needs to stop."

They had this conversation every time, yet she always came back. He knew she would always come back. Because, as much as she loved Harry, he could never compare to what she felt for Draco.

Slipping her hands in her pockets, her fingers brushed her wedding band, bile rising to her throat. Hating herself, she swallowed the bile back down and left.

Ginny Apparated to the home she and Harry had made together, a tear slipping from her eye. She slipped her wedding band back onto her finger, trying to ignore the disgust rolling in her stomach. She took the wards down silently and opened the door, shutting it quietly behind her.

The silence was unnerving.

It was dark and cold and she thought that she deserved no better. She stood just inside the door as the night stretched on, vaguely wondering where Harry was. But how could she face her husband when another man's seed was inside her?

Tears fell down her cheeks, but she wiped them away in frustration. Flicking her wand at the grate, she lit a fire. She turned to head upstairs for a shower when the light fell onto the man sitting in an armchair, watching her.

"Harry," she gasped out. He didn't say anything, just continued to stare at her, as though he knew precisely from where she had just come.

"Harry, please say something." Her heart was pounding and her stomach was in knots. He remained silent. The fire popped ominously. The seconds ticked away into minutes.Finally, he spoke, his voice softly carrying through the silence of their home. "Where were you?"

"I—" His bright green eyes stared accusingly at her, at the lie that had been ready to leave her lips. Choking back her tears, she took a deep breath. "I can't keep lying to you."

Another deep breath, more tears. "I was with another man."

Saying the words, getting the truth out, did not make her heart feel light, it didn't relieve the growing knots in her stomach, and it didn't remove the taste of bile on her tongue. If anything, she hated herself more for it, and knew that he would hate her now that he knew.

That unnerving silence filled the room at her words and she shuddered as it tried to strangle her.

"Was it worth it?" he asked simply, the words echoing in her head. "Was he worth losing everything we had together?"

That was it; her marriage was over with that one question. The pain of her heart shattering was excruciating, but she had no one but herself to blame. Oh, she knew she could try to blame Harry, but it wouldn't ease her guilt. She could blame Draco; but she knew that it had always been her choice to go to him.

"Why?" he asked fiercely. "Damn it, Ginny, why?"

"He's passionate, you're loving; he's wild, you're tame; he's rough, you're gentle." She spoke the words she hadn't even known she'd felt, but as soon as they left her lips, she knew them to be true.

He stood and walked slowly toward her. His hands curled into her robes and she winced when he slammed her against the door. "You want wild, rough, passionate? All you had to do was ask." She smelled the firewhisky on his breath; saw the uncontrolled anger in his eyes, as his lips crushed against her own.

Ginny pushed Harry away, watching as he stumbled back against a chair. "Damn it, Harry, you're drunk again." He was drunk and angry and Ginny knew that they wouldn't get anywhere in the state they were in.

Sighing, Ginny said, "You're an alcoholic and I'm having an affair. We've all got problems. I can't talk to you when you're drunk."

She turned and opened the door. "Don't you dare walk away from me, Ginevra." His voice was deadly calm and she closed her eyes to the pain in her heart as she walked out the door, walked away from their home, away from the life they had tried to build together.

She found herself at the old cottage that she and Draco always met at. She walked through the lightly furnished living room to the only bedroom. The sheets were still a tangled mess, the fire still in the grate.

It was a never-ending cycle. Harry had started drinking because—well, she didn't really know why he had started drinking, but once he did, they started fighting. Then she'd run into Draco and he'd issued an invitation. One night, she'd been so frustrated with Harry, she'd decided to seek Draco out and accept the invitation.

Ever since that first night, the cycle had begun. Harry drank, they fought, Ginny escaped to get from Draco what she couldn't get from Harry.

The bathroom door opened and Draco stepped out, a towel draped low over his waist, water dripping over his toned chest. A smirk slid onto his face when he noticed her.

"Couldn't stay away, hmm?"

The never-bloody-ending cycle, she thought.

His words echoed in her head. She couldn't stay away. He knew it, she knew it, and before long, Harry would know it, too. She hated herself for it, but it didn't change the facts. Even while she stood there, tear stains on her face, the memory of Harry's brutal kiss on her lips, she couldn't help the stirrings of desire filling her at the sight of her lover.

"How astute of you," she said sarcastically. "Damn you, Draco, do you always have to be right?"

He crossed to her, his hand pulling her hair to tip her head back. A soft sigh escaped her lips as she thought that this was precisely what she needed. His lips descended on hers, his kiss demanding all of her. Ginny poured herself into it, trying to block out the memories and feelings of guilt. What was done was done and there was no turning back.

Ginny looked up into Draco's eyes as he pulled away, wondering why he was stopping. He never stopped; he always took, and in taking, gave Ginny what she needed. The look in his eyes was curious.

"Why are you back so soon?"

"Harry and I had another fight," she said simply.

"Care to be more specific?" he asked when she didn't elaborate.

"I told him the truth."

Draco raised an eyebrow. "About us?"

"Well, not that it was you, but that I've been having an affair." Ginny was confused at the look of relief on Draco's face. He'd never seemed as though he'd be afraid of Harry finding out.

After a few moments, Draco said, "Tell me what happened," and led her to the bed.

"He was drunk; I couldn't keep lying to him. I love him, but damn it, it's so hard to even be in the same room as him anymore." She let out a frustrated breath as tears started falling down her cheeks again.

"Hmmm, I think you're tired and should sleep and deal with it in the morning," was his absurdly simple solution. She had never seen this side of Draco before.

Ginny fell asleep and Draco pulled his robes back on and was currently pacing in the small living room. If Harry and Ginny found out the whole truth, everything would fall apart. He'd been working toward his goal for far too long for it to fall apart now.

Pound.Pound.Pound. Draco jumped at the sound of furious knocking on the front door of his cottage. He knew who it would be, but that didn't make it any easier to face him when the door opened to reveal Harry Potter.

Great, now I get to play host to both my lovers at the same time.

Draco stumbled back as Harry flung himself on him, kissing him fiercely. Draco pushed Harry back forcefully, slapping him hard enough to have Harry blink back stars.

"Snap yourself out of it, Potter. What the bloody hell are you doing here?" he hissed, hoping that Harry's arrival hadn't woken Ginny.Draco watched as Harry shook his head to try to find some balance after being slapped. He had to find a way to get rid of Harry before Ginny found out, or before Harry found out about him and Ginny. It was all getting so bloody confusing.

"Ginny...fight...need you..." Harry muttered before trying to kiss Draco again. Draco pushed him away once more. "Damn it, Malfoy, I need you."

"No, what you need is to go home and sleep the alcohol off," Draco said, a slight note of amusement in his voice. When had he become so concerned over the sleeping needs of his lovers?

"Home?" Harry looked blankly at Draco.

"Yes, home, you know that place you live..." he said as though speaking to a young child.

"No, I don't need to go home, damn it, I need to be with you!" Harry very nearly yelled.Draco tried to shush Harry, but it was too late, he could hear Ginny walking out of the bedroom.

"What's going on, Draco? Why don't you—" She stopped and gasped as her eyes landed on Harry.

Draco's eyes rose to the ceiling as he cursed his luck. It was only a matter of time before curses started flying—literally or figuratively—and he would be right in the crossfire. He was between them and he knew there was no way he would leave this situation unscathed. Harry and Ginny looked confused, and Draco was praying to the fates that he could find a way to twist this to his advantage.

"Harry," Ginny said his name slowly. "What are you doing here?"

"What am I doing here?" he repeated in disbelief. "What the bloody hell are you doing here?"

Draco grabbed both of their hands and led them to the couch. "Sit," he ordered, pushing them onto the cushions.

"You're both here to see me," Draco told them, a smirk on his lips. Their expressions were classic as they absorbed this new information.

"What?" the married couple asked together.

With a long-suffering sigh, Draco reiterated the point for them. "You guys fought and both came to me for comfort, because you both know that I'm the third that makes you complete. Let's face it, you love each other, we all know that."

Draco thanked the fates for giving him this handy reasoning. He continued, "But you both need something that you can't get from one another. Now, when you realized that, you both found that something in me.

"Draco nearly laughed at the look of shocked understanding slowly forming on each of their faces, but resisted the urge. He was fervently hoping that things wouldn't completely fall apart on him.

Ginny looked from one man to the other. "You mean, Harry has been cheating on me with you? And, I've been cheating on Harry with you, too?" she asked slowly. "And you decided to be with both of us because...?"

Great, now I've got to tell them all about Draco or face losing them both. Draco sighed at his mental suffering.

"Because, believe or not, being with both of you has brought me something I never thought I could have," he said simply.

"Frankly," Draco continued, "I'm relieved you both know now. I was getting tired of all the near-misses and tiptoeing around you catching one another. And, you know, now there's no reason not to put this behind us and be together, right?" he asked hopefully.

"Don't be a moron, Draco, it doesn't suit you," Ginny said in frustration. "Really, I think that Harry and I need to figure out where we stand together first, before we can decide what to do with you."

"I thought we'd already worked that out," Draco said, his momentary relief disappearing. "You two love each other, there's no reason to lose that because you both wanted something more. You both found that in me.

"So, really, if you two allow this to break you guys up, you'll still be missing what you guys need in each other, that you can't get with me." Draco slipped his hand into his robe and nervously rubbed the small hematite stone he kept there.

Harry looked between his wife and his lover, laughter suddenly bubbling out of him. It was absurd, really, that both he and Ginny had fallen for the same guy, but he couldn't find fault in Draco's logic.

"He's right, Ginny," Harry managed through his laughter.

Slowly an understanding arose among the three. Even though things had changed, they realized that they could still be together.

"Food," Ginny suggested as she headed toward the kitchen. She needed to keep her hands busy if they were going to try to work this out.

"Coffee," Draco decided, "and some sober-up for Potter."

Draco got the coffee beans out, Ginny filled the pot with water, and Harry got out the mugs and add-ins. They were enchanting, the way they moved together, as though they did this all the time. It was as though each could sense precisely what the other two would do.

When the coffee was ready, they sat at the table, Ginny pouring the hot drink into the multicolored mugs, grinning and raising an eyebrow at Draco at the swirling patterns. Draco merely shrugged and added some sugar to his.

"So, what now?" Ginny asked as she sat down.

"Well, we could retire to the bedroom and see how well we work together," Draco suggested with a smirk.

"Ha, ha, ha," Ginny said sarcastically. "You're such a comedian." She rolled her eyes as Draco tried to look charming, even more irritated that he succeeded.

"Honestly, though," Draco tried to placate the witch, "you love Harry, Harry loves you. You and Harry both love me, and I love both of you. Since that much is obvious, what's the point in pretending that there's a problem there?"

"Because it's not that black and white. Harry and I lied to each other and that doesn't just go away because we happened to have the same lie."

"Ginny," Harry broke in softly. "I understand why you'd turn to Draco, he is the opposite of me and I know how," he paused, glancing at the blond, "persuasive he can be."

"That's all good and fine, but I don't understand why you turned to Draco!" she exclaimed.

Harry blushed crimson. "Well, actually, I didn't exactly turn to Draco. We've kind of... How do I put this? We've been..."

"What Harry is having such a hard time saying is that he and I have had our thing for a long time, longer than you two have been together, really."

The seconds ticked by before the explosion sounded through the small cottage.

"What?!" Ginny stood up suddenly, knocking over her mug, coffee flowing down the table unnoticed. The boys had the decency to flinch at the murderous look in their witch's eyes.

"You mean to tell me that you," she carried the note out, pointing accusingly at Harry, "have been sleeping with Draco longer than you've been sleeping with me?"

"I—Ginny, no," he managed to choke out. He took a steadying breath. "No, it's not how it sounds, I swear. We had a thing... Kind of a flirtation, I guess... We didn't give in until about eight months ago."

Ginny processed this and something clicked. "That's around the time you started drinking," she pointed out.

"Yeah, I felt so guilty for sleeping with Draco, I couldn't deal with it."

"But, Harry, that's why I sought Draco out, because you were drinking and we were fighting and I couldn't handle it," she explained.

Things were spiraling away from him and Draco had to put a stop to it. "Wait a bloody minute. You both need me and don't you dare forget it!"

He sounded like a petulant child and she couldn't help, she started giggling. It was contagious and soon Harry was joining her.The giggles subsided, and Ginny walked around the table and sat in Draco's lap, her hands framing his face. His heart jumped as he looked into her laughing eyes. Could everything possibly work out so that they could all have one another? It was everything he had hoped and planned for.

Then Harry came and knelt beside the chair and Draco's breath caught in his throat.

"We love you, Draco," Ginny said softly, her lips capturing his in a kiss as wonderful as any other that they had shared, yet completely different.

Harry cleared his throat and Ginny pulled back to let him take over Draco's mouth. As Harry kissed him, Ginny nibbled down the side of his neck.

When they broke apart, Draco's eyes were cloudy and he barely managed to say, "Love you, too," before standing and pulling them to the bedroom.

•E•N•D•