That maddening bloody redhead was driving him insane.
Draco's eyes were glued to the only female Weasley as she tossed her head back in unabashed laughter at something Potter said and not for the first time, he cursed himself for this weakness. It wasn't supposed to be this way. Girls were supposed to sit around staring at him with pathetic longing. Draco Malfoy was not accustomed to wanting for... well... anything. And he didn't like it at all.
How on earth did I let this happen?
Honestly, to begin with he had thought he hated her. Well and truly despised her, and not because of anything to do with blood status, that had always been his father's issue. It had taken him far too long to realize that the reason she set him so on edge was because he wanted her but knew he couldn't have her. She was well and truly off limits, much too full of light and purity to be tainted by his darkness. His type of girl was cold, calculating, and not likely to be hurt when he left in the morning.
Ginny Weasley was no one's idea of a one night stand.
She was the kind of girl you kept, and Draco knew he was not worthy of keeping her.
Not to mention the fact that back then, when all of these thoughts had started assaulting him, she had been with Potter. While normally Draco didn't feel any qualms about seducing another bloke's girlfriend, he and Potter had formed a sort of grudging respect during the war; and while he had contributed a bit to their victory he hadn't thought it was wise to piss off one of the only reasons people didn't either run from him in fear or try to spit on him in the streets. It was simple logic really.
Yes, he'd realized the value of not having Voldemort as the supreme ruler of the world and changed sides, but that didn't make him a good guy; and most people knew it.
Granger, Potter, Dumbledore and the entire flock of Weasley's didn't agree with most people. They seemed hell bent on insisting that he was a damned hero, and no one really had the stones to contradict them.
So he'd saved Dumbledore's life, but that hadn't exactly been a hard decision had it? And saving Severus had been purely by accident. Both times actually.
He'd gone with Potter, Weasley, and Granger to help find the Horcruxes because he figured the sooner that got done, the sooner it would all be over. Besides, he couldn't exactly go home after what he'd done now could he? It was either go along and help or stay out of sight, hidden and bored out of his mind.
Saving Granger had coincided nicely with a bit of revenge he owed his demented Aunt Bella so that didn't really count and just because killing her had also been what saved his godfather the second time didn't make it any more noble. Apparently when the members involved in creating an unbreakable vow are dead it no longer applies.
Yes, he'd pulled Potter out of the way of a killing curse during the final battle but that was necessary, not brave. Scarhead was the only one who could defeat Voldemort so they kind of needed him alive.
And Ginny...
Well that had been selfish too.
He simply didn't want to live in a world without her, even if he couldn't have her, so saving her from those damned snatchers had been necessary as well.
He shook himself from that memory before it could overtake him.
He still had nightmares about what they had done to her before he got there. The only thing that comforted him when he woke was the knowledge that after he had gotten her back to safety he had returned and killed every last one of them. So, no, he was not a good person, and Ginny Weasley was not for him.
No matter how much she was tempting him to wrap his fists in her hair and discover if she tasted as good as she looked.
Damn it get a bloody grip on yourself. The only thing his father had taught him that he was grateful for was the ability to completely mask his emotions. At least no one else will ever know how pathetic I've become.
She consumed his thoughts, both conscious and not. The dream he had the night she and Potter had broken it off still haunted him. She'd tied herself to his bed, the symbolism of trust not lost on him, and had been very very happy to be at his mercy. It was the most vivid dream he had ever had, as if he could feel her thoughts and emotions as well as his own. He hadn't been able to be with another girl since. Every time he'd tried, the way her face had looked as he took her would flash in his mind and make it impossible.
It was extremely inconvenient.
As was the way he found it impossible to say no to her. Hence the reason he was currently in the great hall, surrounded by bloody Gryffindors, to celebrate Granger's birthday.
His thoughts were interrupted by said birthday girl as she finally spotted him in the doorway and made a beeline for him. She was wearing a ridiculous sparkly hat that was decidedly not her style and a smile that even after two years, he was not used to having directed at him.
"Nice hat."
She blushed a bit sheepishly. "Ginny insisted. Have you noticed it's extremely hard to say no to her?"
Apparently it wasn't just him.
"Yes, actually, I have picked up on that." He handed her an elegantly wrapped package. "Happy Birthday." The look on her face was a warning. "Now don't get all teary eyed on me because it isn't that big of a deal."
She gave him a look that said she didn't believe him and tore into the wrapping paper. He knew he was in trouble when she stared in silent wonder for a moment before looking up at him with a smile so bright it hurt a bit to look at.
"Oh, Draco! Only you would label an early, signed for heaven's sake, copy of Romeo and Juliet 'not that big of a deal'."
His instincts predicting his impending hugging were proven correct as she flung her arms around him in one of those spontaneous bursts of friendly affection that made him uncomfortable at the same time that they warmed him a little inside, though he would never admit it.
"Thank you thank you thank you!"
"All right, that's enough Granger. I've had my fill of nauseating emotional displays for the day." She pulled away and continued smiling as if he hadn't spoken. "Our families crossed lines at some point in history. I have a ton of his old stuff in the library and I came across this the other day and thought you might like it is all. It isn't one of my favorites and since it was just sitting there collecting dust I stand firm on my appraisal of it not being a big deal. Besides, my parents would roll over in their graves if they knew who I was giving it to, which pleases me to no end, so it isn't entirely altruistic."
"Ok fine, you're horribly selfish and don't deserve any thanks." She laughed, "I'm going to go show Harry and Ginny!"
A hint of a smile broke through his mask as he watched her bound away, book clutched to her chest protectively.
XXX
Ginny was watching Draco intently as he gave Hermione her birthday present and she knew she was right. He cared.
Much more than anyone knew, and she thought probably much more than even he knew. He hid it very well; behind sarcasm, indifference, and that infuriating mask of his but she could see it. He valued their friendship. He always had a selfish explanation for everything he did but they were getting thinner and thinner as time passed. It was getting to the point where she couldn't tell if he was lying to them or himself. He shifted his gaze to hers and she immediately looked away. The last thing she needed was for him to catch her staring at him.
So yes, he cared, but in her case it wasn't the kind of caring she wanted. She had done everything she could think of to get him to look at her as a woman and not as someone to be looked after. Every once in a while she thought she saw something in his eyes that gave her hope, but after nearly a year of getting nowhere she was beginning to think she was fooling herself.
She saw the girls he normally dated, if you could even call it that, and she was nothing like them. The three B's as she and Hermione called them. Blonde, busty and brainless. Then again, she hadn't seen one of them in quite a while. Not since she and Harry had realized last year that they just weren't meant for each other. She was glad he'd seen it too, because she didn't know what she would do without his friendship. He'd become part of their family and losing him entirely would have killed her.
"Earth to Ginny."
She tore her gaze from Draco and turned back to where Harry was standing.
"Sorry," she forced her thoughts to return to the present, "I was just thinking."
"I noticed," Harry smirked a bit, reminding her of Draco's signature look, "I've been talking to you for over a minute. If you're not careful you'll give me a complex," he teased, "Is he really that much more interesting than me?"
"Oh come on, you know that's not fair." Ginny elbowed him playfully, "I felt awful when I realized what it would do to you to know how I felt about him. You don't need to rub it in now that you're ok with it."
His smile lost it's teasing edge and gentled. "I know, and honestly after I recovered from the shock I knew it would be a good thing, for both of you. That is, it will be when he figures it out."
Her smile faltered.
"I really don't think that's ever going to happen."
"Harry! Ginny! You have to see what Draco gave me!" Hermione popped up in front of them, holding reverently what looked to be a very old book and Ginny forced her smile to return. "It's a bloody signed copy of Romeo and Juliet! I can't even believe I'm in the same room as such a magnificent book, let alone that it belongs to me!" Hermione did a little dance and Ginny's amusement at her friend's happiness turned her fake expression into the real thing. She didn't even get a chance to respond as Hermione darted away as fast as she'd appeared. "I've got to show Ron and Neville and Luna!"
She caught the look that passed through Harry's eyes at the mention of joining the group across the room, who just so happened to be positioned right next to a certain Slytherin, and smiled inwardly as he started to follow. "Hey Hermione, wait up! I'll go with you." She gave him a smirk of her own before he disappeared into the crowd.
Her eyes searched the room for a head of white blond hair and when she didn't see him she had to stifle her disappointment. He'd probably left after giving Hermione her present. Gods she felt pathetic. She wasn't even really sure how this had happened to her.
She had loathed him when he'd shown up on her doorstep with Harry that summer two years ago. Just because he'd switched sides and saved Dumbledore's life didn't make him any less of a git to her and she'd been livid that her mother had invited him to stay with them. He antagonized her at every opportunity and had driven her positively crazy. And the worst of it was how her mother fussed over him, treating him like a damned prince and berating her anytime she caught them fighting.
"Ginevra Weasley you be nice to that boy! He's been through enough without you adding to his troubles."
Oh how she had hated that smirk then.
When he'd gone with Harry, Ron and Hermione to look for the Horcruxes she'd been surprised but mostly relieved that he wouldn't be around to torment her anymore.
The next time she'd seen him she knew she had never been happier to see anyone in her life.
She, Neville and Luna had been taking information from Hogwarts to the ministry when the snatchers had surprised them. They had been making the trip for months since it had become risky to use owls or the floo network to pass information, and had gotten a bit complacent. They'd managed to stun two of them and probably would have come out on top of the fight, but then Luna had been hit and Ginny knew the only way Neville would be able to get Luna away in time to save her was if she sacrificed herself. It was her they were really after anyway. She knew they wouldn't bother chasing the others if she gave up. Neville raged at her as she transported them away instead of protecting herself but he'd saved Luna, that was what mattered. She'd known she had to take the choice from him so he wouldn't hate himself later, but really, the girl you loved always came first in situations like that.
"Well, well boys," the tallest of the four, who seemed to be the leader, circled her after he had taken her wand and revived his friends, "Look what we've got here. Harry Potter's little girlfriend." His smile turned her stomach. "I bet he comes out of hiding real quick when he learns what's become of you, Red."
Ginny had known differently.
Harry had been forced by... well everyone, to make an unbreakable vow not to attempt a rescue of any of them if it would jeopardize the mission. No one's life was worth more than his and Dumbledore threatened to lock him up until the final battle if he didn't agree to it. So Harry was safe at least, and she'd only prayed they would kill her before anyone else got hurt trying to save her.
She had been extremely naïve.
She remembered the relief she felt when they'd finally figured out Harry wouldn't be coming had quickly turned to overwhelming terror. Death, it seemed, was not all they had planned for her now that she was no longer useful as bait.
The malevolent smile that crossed the leader's face still haunted her nightmares.
She'd fought them but they were too strong for her. Her frame couldn't withstand the force their fists had rained down on her and she soon found herself pinned to the ground as they began tearing at her clothes.
That was when Draco had shown up.
The rage that flashed in his eyes that day had been beautiful to her.
The force of his magic was awe inspiring as he knocked away her attackers so she was surprised by his gentleness as he held her and apparated them to Hogsmeade. He carried her all the way to the castle and he didn't let go even after they'd gotten inside. She remembered how she had clung to him, her feeling of safety completely attached to the strength of his arms around her, and he hadn't let anyone take her from him as he carried her to the hospital wing.
That was the beginning of her downfall. What happened next only sped the process.
She knew what he'd done after she had fallen asleep.
And she was glad for it.
Those men would never be able to do to another girl what they had tried to do to her. No one else would suffer at their hands. He had saved countless lives that day by taking those four. Some people didn't understand that but she did.
After that she hadn't been able to get him out of her head. He was gone again, not returning after he left her in the hospital wing, but his absence didn't make anything easier. She kept replaying every confrontation they'd had that summer, looking for a glimpse of the emotions she'd sworn she'd seen before his mask had reappeared as he knelt to pick her up that day. She really tried to go on as though everything were the same but she couldn't.
A lot of things changed after the final battle.
Harry had thankfully been the one to bring up their relationship and they were both relieved to find they felt the same way about ending it.
Draco amazed everyone with his actions in the aftermath. The biggest shock had come right at the beginning. He donated all of his parents' money to the rebuilding efforts.
"I don't want to live off my father's ill earned gains," he'd said nonchalantly as they'd all gaped at him, "and I don't need it. My grandmother left me her fortune which was considerably larger than my father's ever was. Besides, I want this to get done sometime this century and money will considerably speed up the process."
The next year was spent rebuilding the castle and her suspicions as she watched Draco grew along with her feelings for him. He hadn't changed, exactly, it was more that her perception of him had shifted. His acerbic comments were how he kept people at arm's length. She could only imagine the kind of childhood he must have had. The constant lack of affection causing him to convince himself he didn't need it, that it was better to push people away first before they could do it to him.
He obviously hadn't counted on Hermione.
She had decided that she wasn't going to be pushed. She was going to be his friend whether he liked it or not, and no matter what he did or said to her she refused to leave him alone. A more unlikely friendship Ginny really couldn't imagine, but it worked for them. He'd warmed up as much as he ever did to the rest of them eventually and even occasionally sought out their company without being coerced.
But with Ginny he was always cooly polite now. He didn't even antagonize her anymore. It was as if he had no emotion at all around her. She'd tried everything to break through his icy exterior but with no luck. The closest she'd come to getting a reaction from him was last week when she'd actually stooped to walking out of the prefect's bathroom in nothing but a towel when she'd known he was waiting outside. His eyes had flared for just a moment before he'd turned abruptly and walked away.
She was losing hope.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into coming to this ridiculous affair." Draco's voice broke into her thoughts and she spun to find him standing behind her.
She calmed her suddenly jumping pulse quickly. It had gotten easier to hide her reactions to him with practice.
"Oh, you know you wouldn't have missed Hermione's birthday. It just makes it easier for you to blame it on me so I oblige you."
His nod of acquiescence surprised her. "Perhaps."
They stood silently watching the crowd for a moment and she supposed with another person it might have been awkward but it felt comfortable with him. She didn't know if it was a residual effect from how he had saved her, and if it was she honestly didn't care, but she always felt comfortable in his presence.
"That's a ridiculous hat you know." He gestured toward where Hermione stood.
"It is not!" Ginny took heart at the fact that he had both started and continued the conversation. "It's festive, and she deserves to be silly every now and then. It's good for her."
Again he nodded. "Perhaps."
She ignored how she knew he hated to be studied and looked up into his eyes. She knew she was probably searching in vain, but this was the most he'd given her to work with in a long time and she needed to see if she could see something, anything, through the wall he'd put up.
The tension between them built as they stood locked in each other's gaze. His eyes swirled with a myriad of silver shades... and then began to darken. There it is.
He blinked and backed away, and just that fast it was gone. But it didn't matter. She'd seen what she needed to see. He could hide behind his mask all he wanted now.
He wanted her.
XXX
Severus Snape stood watching the revelry going on around him and wondered how he had been roped into attending this ridiculous affair.
He spied Albus doing a horrible muggle dance he'd been told was called "The Macarena" along with a group of what he assumed were the muggle born students.
Oh yes, he thought archly, our esteemed headmaster demanded it.
He was pretty sure his head would split in two if he was forced to listen to anymore of the rubbish they called music. Since he'd already accomplished hiding the box, he decided he'd been here long enough to fulfill his promise. He was about to make his way to the door when his gaze was drawn to the cause of all this madness.
Ridiculous sparkling hat and all, she was beautiful.
And he was a fool to allow such thoughts to plague him. She'd walked into his classroom three weeks ago and he'd been abruptly, unexpectedly, and very unsettlingly struck by the desire to mess up her very carefully pulled back hair in a decidedly unethical way.
It was completely unacceptable for him to have such thoughts about her.
He was her teacher for Merlin's sake, not to mention the fact that he was twice her age. But no matter what he did he couldn't reign in his wayward thoughts. It was ironic really. He, who was widely considered to have the greatest thought control of any wizard alive, could not dispel one slip of a girl from his mind.
As the days had passed he'd realized he was in even more trouble than he'd thought. Being physically attracted to Hermione Granger, unsettling as it was, did not begin to compare to the loop his mind had been thrown for when he discovered he was emotionally attracted to her as well.
He began noticing things he hadn't before. Like how perfectly suited she was to his needs. She would undoubtedly never bore him, or prattle on about mindless things as most females were wont to do. Her brilliance outstripped any witch he could recollect and she would never back down or be afraid to tell him what was on her mind. She was the only woman he could see himself being pleased to have in his chambers at the end of the day. These were the kinds of thoughts that had started beating at his mind. Complete and utter foolishness.
Just because he had suddenly realized she was his ideal idea of a partner did not mean she would ever reciprocate. Severus Snape was no one's idea of ideal.
Besides, she would undoubtedly be better off with someone her own age. Someone who hadn't been so damaged by the wars. The life he'd led did not lend itself to the softer emotions she deserved.
The worst part of this confounded condition he had found himself in was that Albus seemed to know of it. The meddling old man had actually winked at him when he demanded his presence tonight.
"You need to loosen up a bit, Severus," he'd said, "not everything has to be a disaster just because you weren't expecting it."
He really needed to figure out how the man always seemed to know every bloody thing.
At some point during his reverie the music had changed to a slow and not altogether awful song. Albus had apparently had enough dancing for the moment as he had sidled up next to him.
"You should ask her to dance." The headmaster said with a decidedly annoying twinkle in his eye.
"Are you finally going senile, Albus?" Snape arched an eyebrow. "Should I start brewing a potion for your obvious mental affliction?"
"Think what you like, Severus, but I promise you that your offer would not be turned away as she has turned away all the others tonight."
He had noticed that as the night wore on. She had very politely refused to dance with any of the rather large group of impertinent scamps that had asked her.
"While I concede the fact that you are normally eerily omniscient, Albus, even you can be wrong. There is absolutely no way you are going to convince me that Hermione Granger, Gryffindor's beloved know it all princess, has ever or will ever look at me as anything but her professor. Not, of course, that I am admitting to any desire for her to do so."
"Whatever you say, Severus."
That wink was really starting to bother him.
XXX
"So," Hermione smirked at Harry as they watched the guests filing from the great hall at the end of the party, "you and Astoria Greengrass huh? How long have you been hiding that from us?"
His cheeks reddened and he smiled a bit sheepishly, "How do you know it didn't just start tonight?"
"Well," Hermione replied, "although I know that was the image you were both trying to portray and you no doubt fooled everyone else except probably Ginny, to me it was quite obvious. You were much too familiar with her for that to have been your first encounter. Everyone else might buy the cavalier rouge persona the newspapers paint of you but I know how shy you are underneath. You would never kiss a girl you just connected with for the first time in front of a room full of people, especially not with that level of enthusiasm." He reddened further at her teasing. "So, I can only conclude that you have kissed her before, which would indicate a previous relationship, and since we certainly didn't know about it that unerringly points to the conclusion that you were hiding it. The only thing I couldn't figure out was for how long."
He sighed a bit through his smile. "I guess it was dumb to think I could fool you. Three months. Almost immediately after she came to help with the castle this summer. I can't even really explain how it happened but it's wonderful. One minute we were arguing; something about Malfoy actually, she made a remark about how thankful she was that he'd called off their arranged marriage and I got a bit bristly in his defense and then she called me an idiot for not seeing that it had been the arrangement she'd had a problem with and not Malfoy in particular, and then... we were kissing. We both thought it might be a good idea to try out the relationship thing before letting anyone else in on the news. It was so unexpected I think we both were sort of waiting for it all to fall apart. But it hasn't, and we decided tonight was the perfect opportunity to go public." The smile on his face showed Hermione how truly happy he was. "I'm so glad I can finally bring her around to meet you guys. She's really worried about how you're going to react so be nice to her okay?"
"Of course. I'm happy if you're happy Harry, and I'm sure if you like her that much there must be something good about her."
"Thanks, Mione." He hugged her before trotting over to help Neville levitate the house tables back into place. Within twenty minutes they almost had the place completely cleaned up and she was grateful that Harry, Ron, Neville, Luna, and Ginny had stayed to help her. It would have taken much longer by herself. All that was left to do now was to shrink her presents so they would be easier to carry up to her room so she waved everyone else on ahead of her, saying she would be along shortly.
"Goodnight guys. Thank you for everything!"
She walked over to the pile of presents and as she started to wave her wand a small box caught her eye that hadn't been there earlier. Curious, she reached for the box and inspected it. It wasn't signed. Her first instinct was to be suspicious but she didn't feel any dark or malicious intent from it. It was oddly compelling, reminding her abruptly of Snape, and somehow she just knew it wasn't dangerous. However, she also knew it would be a better idea to open it in the common room so that if she turned out to be wrong, at least her friends would be there to help her. Since the box was already small she tucked it into her pocket as she shrunk the rest of the presents and hurriedly made her way up to the Gryffindor tower.
XXX
"Ok, open it already!" Ginny prompted, "We've done every dark detecting spell we know. It's obviously from a secret admirer and the suspense is killing me."
"Or it could just be from someone who forgot to put their name on it." Hermione reasoned.
Ginny frowned at her from her spot on the floor, leaning against Harry's legs. He was sitting on the couch smiling at what he knew was coming. "Oh Hermione, why do you always have to be so logical?" Ginny responded, "Isn't it more fun my way?"
Hermione was pretty sure she had enough to deal with without adding a secret admirer to her list but she made a small noise of agreement as she reached out and opened the mysterious present.
Nothing exploded, no Weasley tricks jumped out at her, it was just a box.
A box that contained the most beautiful ring she had ever seen.
Her breath caught as she looked down at the creation in her hands. White gold was shaped into a delicate swirling form that resembled an off kilter butterfly and was set with dozens of tiny sparkling diamonds and emeralds. She was sure magic had to be involved in its creation and she was proven right as she slipped it on her finger and the wings fluttered prettily for a moment before settling back onto her finger.
"Oh Hermione. It's gorgeous!" Ginny's eyes met hers across the coffee table and she smiled smugly. "Still think it was a case of forgetfulness?"
XXX
