The morning after a night full of unbelievable realizations always felt like waking from a dream to Draco. In this new morning reality, Astoria kept to herself. Maybe she toyed with the idea of coming on to Harry, but she never acted on anything. In fact, when he tried to kiss her one night while Draco was away, she was shocked and angry with him. She no longer spent too much time alone with the black haired man. In this morning reality, Draco was lying in bed next to his faithful and loving fiancée. Her arm was thrown over him in a possessive manner and he could hear the elves making breakfast in the distance.
Unfortunately, she was far from faithful. For all he knew, she was cheating on him right then.
He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly. The room smelled of vanilla and violet, a very unfamiliar scent. He peeked his eyes open and surveyed the woman resting her head on his chest. It was the first time he had slept in the same bed as a woman who was not Astoria in, if he counted correctly, a little over five years.
He couldn't help but study the girl on him. Her skin was quite tanned in some places, presumably from training. Everything about her was so different from Astoria. Astoria's hair was white blonde, just like his own. Her skin was pale and free from any markings, unlike the redhead's ridiculous amount of freckles. Astoria was thin and slender, having never done any sort of physical activity in her life. He could feel the muscles underneath Ginny's skin as she slept. His hand skimmed over her bare back, causing her to sigh deeply.
Her breathing remained slow and steady, which he hoped meant she was still asleep. He needed time to come up with a plan of escape. Obviously rash behavior was not helping him any. How did one get out of a girl's flat after spending the night with her? Not that he slept with her. Well, he had slept in the bed with her, but as far as he remembered he never took his pants off, just his trousers. A quick look under the sheet that was covering them confirmed that he was still wearing his shorts. Ginny, however, was only wearing the grey Hogwarts thigh highs. That matched his memory from the night before. There had been a bit of snogging, some friendly almost-naked wrestling, a bit of his head between her legs, and then off to sleep.
He had to get out of her flat before she woke up. Glancing around the immediate area, he couldn't figure out where his wand was. He was going to escape the old fashioned way, using no magic, just slow movements. It looked like he might make it out from underneath her, when he heard a tapping on the window.
Her owl arrived, clutching a large stack of mail and looking flustered. It tapped again, this time louder and longer. Draco was ready to explain himself when Ginny's sleeping form raised an arm, releasing Draco from his restraints. The window opened in response to her motion and she curled back up, this time alone. He couldn't even do wandless magic when he was completely awake and she seemed to have perfected performing while asleep. Though amazed, he needed to leave as fast as he could, not wanting to test his luck.
He grabbed his trousers and shirt, quickly shoving his arms through his shirt and buttoning it up at top speed. His trousers, which had his wand in their pocket, gave him a bit more trouble, almost knocking him over before he grabbed her desk to help him balance. Buttoning them up, he looked at the pile of mail the bird set down before it retired to a perch in the corner by a window. On top was a large manila envelope from the Quiberon Quafflepunchers. Frowning, he looked at the sleeping girl once more before turning on the spot, returning to his flat.
"Where the fuck have you been?" Blaise yelled as soon as Draco appeared. "I looked for you everywhere. I spent an hour in the Auror travel office trying to see if you left the country!" His friend was irate and running his fingers through his dark hair. He collapsed with a loud groan onto the couch.
Draco's decision to Apparate into his flat's office had obviously been a bad one. "I just spent the night at a friend's." Draco headed over to his desk and rummaged through his mail.
"A friend's? What friend? I spent the night looking for you. Surely you don't have any friends I don't know about," Blaise spat, his eyes red from lack of sleep.
Draco shrugged in response, opening a bill from the tailors. "You tell someone your Gringotts account number, and they still send you a bill."
"Draco!" Blaise yelled, throwing a pillow at his friend's head. "Where were you? Hopefully not sleeping with some random girl off the street."
"Not random, and I didn't sleep with her. We merely fooled around and what have you," Draco explained, sitting down at his desk chair. "I am an adult, and can make decisions for myself."
Blaise sighed as if he was comforted by some of the blond's ramblings. "As long as you didn't kill anyone, or have sex with Harry's girlfriend or something, then I suppose it's okay." Blaise rubbed his eyes and stretched his arms over his head. "I should go home and get some sleep, floo me later if you—Draco? Merlin, you did kill someone, didn't you?"
Draco held his head in his hands and took a breath before looking up. "I didn't kill anyone, Blaise."
His friend stood suddenly, crossing the room until he stood in front of the desk. "You slept with his girl? You had sex with Ginny Weasley?" He stopped suddenly, pondering something. "You shagged the best female chaser in the league…" Blaise looked as if he would compliment the rash actions before snapping out of it. "You did exactly what he did to you! An eye for an eye makes the whole world blind, Draco."
"Oh calm down, he has been fucking my fiancée for months. He planned fake work trips, and she lied about seeing her mum just so they could fuck. All I did was go down on his girlfriend once, and now I'm the bad guy?" Draco asked rhetorically, shoving the rest of his mail into a waste bin for effect.
"What did you say to her this morning?" Blaise asked, backing up and sitting on the arm of the black leather sofa.
"I didn't. I left before she woke up," Draco answered, shoveling papers around on his desk so he didn't have to make eye contact.
"You're an arsehole! Can you put yourself in her shoes for a moment, you great big pillock? How could you be so stupid?" Blaise practically yelled once more.
Draco looked up at his friend and rolled his eyes. After a moment, he imagined being Ginny. She probably felt guiltier than ever, cheating on her supposed saint of a boyfriend. Most likely she was kicking herself for allowing someone as awful as Draco Malfoy to touch her. She probably called him a 'bloody death eater' in her head. "Bitch," Draco mumbled.
"What?"
"Nothing, just that she should thank me. Now she will probably feel so guilty she'll break up with Harry. He deserves to suffer," Draco hissed, leaning back in his chair and attempting to fix his hair.
"So you acknowledge that you made her feel guilty?"
Draco sat up suddenly, raising an eyebrow at Blaise. "I didn't make her do anything," defending himself.
"Fine, then go see her and apologise for the part you played in the demolition of her relationship with Harry." Blaise smiled sweetly after his comment, reaching forward and taking Draco's itinerary for the day. "I'll give you the morning off because I am just that lovely of a friend."
"Okay, I will go see her. But just so we get this clear. Harry is solely responsible for the end of their relationship. The only role I played was having a fiancée who he wanted to fuck." Draco Apparated as soon as he finished speaking, angry about the guilt Blaise was making him feel.
Standing in front of her building made his heart begin to beat quickly. He was nervous for some odd reason he could not explain. Opening the bottom door he climbed the stairs once more. If he continued making appearances at her flat, maybe he could quit his gym membership.
He groaned and knocked on the door, instantly regretting that he listened to Blaise. Writing a card could have been just as effective and would not have involved making any appearances.
The door opened suddenly, a young blond girl staring up at him with questioning blue eyes.
"Who are you?" the blonde girl asked, surveying his disheveled appearance. "Are you asking for money? I don't have any, sorry. I would give you some if I did, though."
"I'm not a beggar, but thank you. Is Ginny here?" he asked the young girl, unamused with her assumption of his social status.
"She's in the loo. Why are you here?" she questioned, scrunching up her nose as she scrutinized him once more.
"To see Ginny," he answered flatly. He had never thought of himself as one who was good with children, but this interaction was proving he was worse than he believed. "Why are you here?"
"It's my monthly sleepover with Aunt Ginny. My mum just dropped me off," she told him, turning when she heard a door close behind her.
"Vee, what are you doing?" Ginny asked, coming up behind the blonde girl. "Draco," Ginny stated, meeting his eyes for a moment before looking down at the girl. "Victoire, can you go sit on the sofa for a moment?"
Victoire made a noise of disappointment and then stomped over to the sofa, out of Draco's eye line.
Draco sighed before beginning. "Look, I didn't mean to cause any problems, I—"
"Aunt Ginny!"
"Oh, you didn't want to cause any problems?" Ginny repeated sarcastically. "Is that why you came to my flat late at night with a bottle of Merlin knows what and then made a move on me?"
"Aunt Ginny!"
"I'm sorry? I didn't make a move on you! You asked me to kiss you," he reminded her, with a pointed look. There was no way she was going to pin this all on him.
"Right, because you didn't say you just came over to see me," she shook her head, crossing her arms. Suddenly a look of utter confusion passed over her features. "Why did you come over?"
"To see you," he answered truthfully.
"Aunt Ginny!" Victoire yelled a final time.
Ginny turned around, making her hair fly like a mane of fire. "What Victoire? I'm trying to have a conversation."
"I know, I just thought we should invite him in," the girl suggested with a shrug. "Grandmum says it's rude to not give a guest a cup of tea."
"He's not technically a guest, but Grandmum does say that," Ginny sighed. She turned back to Draco and pursed her lips before speaking. "Would you like to come in for a cup of tea?"
He almost said no, but something about her expression told him she was sure he would say no. Draco never liked to be expectable. "Yes, thank you, I would." He stepped in past her, ignoring the way her eyes widened.
"Oh, well, I guess I'll start the kettle," Ginny said politely, still a bit shocked. She closed the door behind him and headed into the kitchen.
Draco took a seat in the same chair he sat in the night before. "I suppose I should thank you for inviting me in. I'm Draco," he introduced himself and held out his hand.
"I'm Victoire." She took his hand and shook it once before letting go.
"I like that photo of you on the mantle," Draco commented, pointing to the picture he had laughed at the night before.
"Thanks," she nodded, glancing at it. "I still don't care much for Uncle Ron."
"I like you," Draco chuckled. He admired the blonde girl's honesty.
She smiled, her nose in the air. "Are you Aunt Ginny's new boyfriend?"
"Victoire!" Ginny reprimanded, her eyes wide and panicking as she came from the kitchen. "Draco is just Uncle Harry's friend." Ginny shoved a teacup in Draco's face and sat on the couch next to Victoire.
"It's just that I never see Harry anymore. I thought maybe you wanted a new boyfriend," Victoire reasoned and shrugged. "What are we doing today? Will I see Gwen?"
"I do have to go in today to see Coach, but I don't think Gwenog will be there," Ginny told the girl. They sat in silence for a moment, before Ginny gave Draco a pointed look.
"Oh, thank you for the tea," he smiled, taking a sip and trying to hide his distaste. He had been expecting simple black tea, but was surprised with Darjeeling.
"Not brewed to your liking?" she asked, an eyebrow raised. "Beggars can't be choosers, Draco."
He shook his head and took another sip. "It's perfect." And after a few sips, it really was good.
Draco watched as Victoire leaned close to Ginny and whispered something in her ear. Ginny's eyes flicked to Draco's for a second before she looked to the ground. It was clear the girl was whispering about him, but he only hoped it was positive and not something else he would be forced to apologise for. Ah, he had almost forgotten! He was just supposed to say an apology and leave. He didn't have to hang around drinking tea, however good the tea (and company) was. He opened his mouth to excuse himself, and finally say a sincere apology when Ginny turned to face him.
"Do you want to come with us to the pitch?" Ginny asked with a sigh. "Victoire wants to throw the quaffle around and I have to talk to the coach for a bit. I have some papers to sign." Her eyes were glossy and her bottom lip was quivering just the slightest bit.
"I got a broom two months ago," Victoire told him with big eyes, getting up to retrieve the broom. She picked up a Pegasus 200 from the wall and smiled, facing Draco.
"Wow, a Pegasus," Draco gasped, somewhat for show and somewhat honestly. "Those are top of the line!"
Victoire spun in a circle and set her broom back against the wall, admiring it herself. She seemed enthralled with the broom. "I'm going to be a professional Quidditch player when I'm older," she stated, not bothering to turn and look away from the broom.
"The Harpies are sponsored by Pegasus," Ginny explained quietly, leaning over to Draco. "We go through brooms like crazy. It's the one I used for part of last season."
Draco stared at her lips as she whispered, her eyes trained on Victoire. He exhaled slowly before looking up at her eyes. "Ginny, I'm sorry about last night," Draco began, his voice a bit shaky.
Ginny held up her hand, a small smile on her lips. "Vee, can you go put on your boots? They're in my room," Ginny told her niece. She watched the blonde girl leave and waited before speaking again. "You can make it up to me. Victoire thinks she fancies you. Spend the day with her and make her feel special; she's been having a hard time."
Draco thought about it for a second before nodding. "Sure."
