March 12th

Draco sat at his computer, fingers hovering over the keyboard.

He had been working non-stop on a new project and had just finished. A French newsletter had recently come to his attention and he had latched on to the newsletter with much fervor. His French had been rusty and still rather was but he had gotten the letter translated. He had found himself getting absorbed in the articles.

The articles were extremely informative and Draco enjoyed the project. A representative from the particular press had recently contacted him to let him know that she appreciated his effort and would be taking over from there. He tried to remember her name. Gabrielle something. DeFlores? DeLiquer?

He put it out his mind for the time being and focused on the task at hand. To reward himself for another magazine online and out of his hair, he had decided to join an online chatroom. He had done a bit of research but finally picked this one. The chatroom specialized in single witches and wizards.

Draco sighed, knowing he was being nervous and that it wasn't an attractive quality in him.

He forced his fingers to descend on the keys. He quickly filled out the personal information, which he then chose to remain private, meaning only friends could see it. Because he knew the Malfoy name still carried some connotations, not all of which were pleasant, Draco deliberately chose a screen name that would imply who he was.

He executed the commands and sat back. He was still nervous, dreading the idea that no one would want to be his friend.

"Dad?"

Draco looked over at his son and smiled. "What's up, kiddo?"

"I thought we were going to the movies."

"Of course we are," Draco replied, a weight lifting from his chest. No matter what happened, he always had his son.

March 13th

Ginny laughed as Ron called out another toast. She obediently raised her Guiness, echoing the toast and downing half the bottle.

It was a small miracle that all seven Weasley children had managed to free up their schedules for this one night. Hermione and Andromeda were watching the children. It was nice.

Of course she was pretty shit faced by now and therefore probably more than a little biased. A good beer buzz always made her happy with the world in general.

"Ginny!"

Ginny held still as both Fred and George kissed her cheeks.

"You're my favorite sister," George drawled.

"I'm your only sister," Ginny replied pragmatically after her beer soaked mind tabulated her siblings.

"But you're still my favs!" George returned.

Ginny giggled, a mite drunkenly.

"Ginny?" Fred muttered into her hair.

"Yeah, Fredders?"

George found this nickname hilarious and disappeared under the table where all that could be heard were his snorts of laughter. Fred on the other hand, looked moderately serious.

"I'm glad you broke Harry."

"You mean you're glad I broke up with Harry."

"That too."

Ginny's drunken mind was begging her for the chance to use her mouth and say exactly what she felt about her ex but instead she just grinned and took another swig of the beer. She wasn't that drunk…yet.

March 14th

"You did what?" Ginny demanded through the telephone.

Hermione hesitated a moment then decided Ginny's headache obviously wasn't that bad and so trudged on.

"You gave me permission, Ginny."

"I gave you permission to sign me up for an internet dating site?"

Hermione smiled into the receiver but did her best to keep her jubilation out of her tone when she replied.

"It's not an internet dating site, Ginny. It's just a chat room."

"For singles," Ginny replied drolly.

"Yes, for singles. And what's so wrong with that? Look, all you have to do is chat to them. Hell, if you want to troll for commissions, I'm fine with that. I don't care. Just give it a shot, okay? If you don't like it, fine."

There was silence on the other end then came Ginny's deep, exaggerated sigh. "Fine. Just email me the stuff. I'll give it two months."

March 16th

She sprints down the hall, fast but not as fast as he is. He flings an arm around her neck, pulling her back into his chest.

"Where are you going, Weasley?" he purrs.

He can hear her smile. "Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I said EGGS OVER EASY!!!"

Pansy shrieked and threw her plate at Blaise's head. Blaise grabbed Draco and pulled him down until they were both hidden by the kitchen island. The plate, full of bacon and scrambled eggs shattered against the wall behind Draco as he slipped out of the memory.

Across the room, Scorpius clapped his hands in delight. "Do it again!" he demanded.

Pansy immediately went pale at the realization of what she had just done.

"Blaise? Honey? Are you all right? I am so sorry, love!"

Blaise bounced to his feet and leaned over the counter to kiss his hormonal, pregnant wife.

"Don't worry, darling. We all have those types of days."

"What about me?" Draco demanded. "Don't I get an apology?"

Pansy just smiled at him. Draco's attention, however, was drawn to his son, who was eying his own plate of breakfast. Draco did not like that look.

"I believe we should get going."

Pansy followed his gaze and grinned. "Good call. Oh, before you go, I was wondering if you could do me a favor."

Draco looked at her with suspicion. "What sort of favor?"

"Go on a date with the sister of a colleague."

Draco bit his lip. He didn't really want to go on a date, not yet. Blaise and Pansy were his friends and if he tried to explain it to them, they would probably understand but he also knew they agreed with his mother. They thought he needed to get out more.

So instead of refusing, Draco found himself asking, "Who is it?"

Pansy beamed at him and Draco felt lighter somehow. Like something heavy had been taken from him.

March 20th

Draco's computer chimed even as he began to shrug on his jacket. He hesitated then looked down at Aggie. Aggie heaved a great sigh and took a seat, knowing his walk would have to wait.

Draco moved to his computer and pulled up the page in question. His internet provider was telling him he had a new message. The sender line told him that it was from the chatroom he had signed up for. He had received several emails like this recently, requests for friends. He didn't have a ridiculous amount of friends but everyone seemed courteous so far, even those that had guessed his real identity.

He opened the email for a second, glancing at the username. BrighterBlood. He didn't recognize the username but he shrugged and clicked the button to allow the request. After all, what could it hurt?

888

Hermione leaned back with a smile. It hadn't taken her long to track down Draco Malfoy and even less time to hack onto the account she had made Ginny on the same chatroom. Ginny had changed her password and Hermione had had a little bit of trouble figuring the new one out but that hadn't lasted long.

Hermione logged off Ginny's account, pleased with herself and the world in general.

March 23rd

Tracey Davies played nervously with her handkerchief as she waited. Her date was running a little late but her own shyness and lack of self assurance were playing against her today. She was certain he was standing her up.

She looked up as a waiter approached.

"Your party is this way," he announced to someone behind him then stepped away.

At first Tracey assumed there was a mistake. For coming towards her was not one man, but two. The first was aristocratically tall and very good looking and she immediately recognized him as Draco Malfoy. The second was shorter but no less attractive, at least to Tracey. He too was blonde though his looked much more natural. In fact he reminded her of a surfer.

"Draco, there are only two seats here," the surfer boy announced, looking down at the table they had just reached. He smiled politely at Tracey and she smiled back tentatively.

"Yes, Creevey, because, as I was trying to tell you, this is a date. Between me and a woman," Draco drawled.

Creevey looked at Tracey then back to Draco. "What are you talking about? You said we were going to hang."

"For the last time, Creevey, I said I'll see you later. As in much later."

Meanwhile a waiter had brought a new chair and placesetting. "I do wish you had told us your party had changed to three," the waiter commented to Tracey who blushed.

"See?" Creevey pointed to the new setting. "I'm totally welcome."

Tracey giggled and Creevey winked at her.

Draco glared at him but said nothing, merely taking his place.

"I apologize for the leech here," Draco said.

"Leech?" Creevey protested. "I have a name, you know."

"Fascinating, Dennis," Draco snapped as the other took a seat.

Dennis smiled at Tracey. "Aren't you going to introduce us?"

Draco sighed a long suffering sigh. "I have a plan. You stop screwing up the basic website formats and I will gladly introduce you."

"Websites?" Tracey repeated, her interest peaked. "You're into the Web?"

"You could say that," Dennis replied. "This guy here created the whole thing."

Tracey eyed Draco with appreciation. "And what do you do, Dennis?" she asked.

"I'm one of the specialists for the Ministry. Draco here has been teaching me the ropes."

"Wait, so you make websites too?" Tracey asked, her mind putting two and two together.

Dennis grinned. "That I do."

"You wouldn't happen to be the DC who created that awesome Star Trek site, would you?"

Dennis' eyes lit up and they were off. Draco leaned back and signaled a waiter. He was going to need a lot of wine if he was going to make it through tonight.

March 24th

Draco threw his son over his shoulder and picked up the phone. "Hello?" he asked above his son's raucous laughter.

"Draco? It's Tracey."

"Oh, hi Tracey. Did you have a good time last night?"

"Uh, yes. It was very nice. Um…I was wondering actually…I don't want to seem like a bitch, but could you give me Dennis' number."

Draco breathed a sigh of relief. "Thank God, Tracey. I mean that in the best possible way, too. Creevey cannot stop talking about you. I want to strangle him. Please, date the poor sap."

Tracey giggled. "I'm glad there are no hard feelings then."

"Not even a little. You're a great girl, Trace, but I can tell you like Creevey more. Go for it."

He gave her Creevey's number then hung up.

"Daddy?"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"Is Miss Ginny gonna marry that man?"

Draco frowned and turned around to see what his son was looking at. It was the front page of Witch Weekly. Ginny was on the front page in full color with Artaz. Artaz was apparently trying to hit on her and as Draco watched, Ginny punched him in the face. Draco smiled slightly as blood ran down Artaz's face but he was worried too. WW was calling them the perfect pair.

April 3rd

"What?" Ginny snarled into the phone as she snatched it off the hook.

"Is this a bad time?" asked the voice on the other end, laughter apparent in that recognizable voice.

Ginny sighed. "No, Silver. Sorry about that."

"Not a problem. Any reason you answer the phone like that?"

"Not one I want to go into. What brings you to my phone?"

"My son wants to know if you're planning on marrying Artaz."

"I'm going to kill who ever the fuck wrote that god damn article. I'm going to rip out her throat and her heart and curbstomp them into the fucking foundation of the Ministry," Ginny snapped irritably.

Draco chuckled. "So, that's a no?"

"That's a hell fucking no."

Draco was silent for a moment. Then, "How would you like to get back at him?"

Ginny pulled back on her automatic response and tried to remember how sixth year was. But with Draco so close and offering the chance to magnify their bond…all the bad of sixth year disappeared.

"Tell me more," she replied.

"I'd love to. Meet me for dinner, tomorrow night."

April 4th

Ginny glanced at her watch. She had just enough time to check her email before her dinner…meeting with Draco.

She signed on quickly. Seven new messages awaited her. Two were confirmations of orders she had placed earlier in the day. She had bought Bill a new pair of dragon hide gloves for his birthday which was fast approaching as well as a hard to find book on Magical painting. Ginny was considering taking up the art and so had started gobbling up as many of the books as she could find.

She deleted the three pieces of junk mail, which only left her with two emails. One was from Madame Malkin, thanking her for the commission and wondering if Ginny would be open to another one. Ginny checked her work load before replying that, yes, she would be able to squeeze another commission in.

The final email was from the chatroom Hermione had signed her up for.

Miss Weasley,

MalificentDragon has sent you a private message:

Hello…

To respond to this message, please click on the link below.

Curious, Ginny did so. She didn't remember friending MalificentDragon but she had accepted a lot of friends in the past few weeks. She was running low on time so her reply was short.

Hello to you.

Satisfied, Ginny signed off and grabbed her purse, though she knew she wouldn't be paying for anything.

888

She walks down the corridor, a vision of loveliness. He wants her and she knows it. She smiles at him, coming closer and closer.

"Will you protect me, Silver?" she asks as he reaches for her.

He buries his head in her abundant hair. "Until hell freezes over," he replies.

Draco watched Ginny enter the restaurant. She was still lovely and he still wanted her. Watching her, he knew at once why he was doing this. He was protecting her. Again.

Only this time, it wasn't some deep demon he was protecting her from. And it wasn't himself. Though God knew she needed protection from him.

He rose as she approached, smiling.

Despite herself, she smiled back.

"Glad you found the place," Draco commented as Ginny took a seat.

"It wasn't too hard," Ginny replied. She paused as a waiter handed them each menus. Draco ordered a bottle of wine that Ginny was sure cost more than the past five commissions put together.

Ginny bit down on her lip to keep from saying anything.

"What did you want to talk about?" Ginny asked.

"Don't you want to look at your menu?" Draco asked. "There will be plenty of time for chat later."

Ginny glanced at the menu, intent on ordering the cheapest thing. Everything on the menu sounded delicious but she noticed one problem.

"Draco, there are no prices on this menu."

Draco paused as though he too were looking up this fact. "Why, so you're right."

"Draco…"

"I'm paying. Get over it."

Ginny opened her mouth to voice another objection but thought better of it. Instead she chose an appetizer. In her defense, she assumed that scallop spoons were an entire meal.

The waiter returned with the bottle of whatever Draco had ordered and poured it into each of their glasses. Ginny took a sip. At first she was caught by surprise by how alcoholic the drink tasted. Then her tongue got a hold of the actual taste of the drink. It tasted slightly woody, a taste Ginny had never had in a wine before and she liked it.

"What can I get you two for an appetizer?" the waiter asked.

Ginny opened her mouth but Draco beat her to it. "I think we'd like to start with a plate of scallop spoons to share."

Ginny closed her mouth again. It suddenly occurred to her that she was expected to order one of each course.

"Excellent choice. Madam? What would you like for your soup?"

Ginny glanced down at her menu, trying to translate the Italian in which it was written. Draco muttered something from across the table and suddenly the menu was in English. Ginny made a mental note to thank him and ordered the duck soup. The waiter quickly took the rest of the orders then bowed himself off.

"Thank you," Ginny said once the waiter was gone.

Draco waved his hand. "That's what I'm here for. Now then, let's talk strategy, shall we?"

"Okay," Ginny replied, taking another sip of the wine.

"Let's say we both don't like Artaz. Is that about true?"

Ginny smiled. "Something of an understatement, but yes."

"He seems to think you're going to marry him someday."

Ginny made a face and Draco chuckled. "Now that you've made your intentions clear, let's see. The easiest way would be to take you off the market. Get you dating Creevey senior or Longbottom. Unfortunately, that won't work with Artaz. He'd see that as a competition and try harder. So that's a no on a boyfriend for now."

"What about you?" Ginny asked, half jokingly. Draco stared at her in silence as the scallop spoons came. Ginny was just starting to feel awkward when Draco put three of the six scallops on a plate for her.

"Interesting idea, but that one's not going to work either. I'd be able to hold my own against Artaz but he covets everything of mine."

Ginny rose to her feet in indignation.

"What ever happened to protecting me, you silver bastard?" she hissed.

Draco stared up at her. He was silent for a moment, chewing his scallop. Finally he swallowed. "Fine. First thing tomorrow, I'll go by the daily prophet and announce our engagement."

"That's not what I meant and you know it."

"Then what did you mean, Ginny? I'm doing the best damn job I can to keep you safe but that's not fucking enough for you, is it?"

"I want…" Ginny began then crumpled back into the chair. "I'm a princess in a fucking tower," she groaned. "Artaz is prowling below, scaring off all my knights. My brothers all think I'm involved with him. Half of them are estatic and the others are appalled. There's a rift in my family and it's all my fault. All because I can't convince everyone that I'm not into Artaz."

Draco watched her then signaled a waiter. After a hushed conversation, a glass of sherry appeared at the table. Draco crossed to Ginny and handed it to her then knelt beside her as she took a sip.

She shuddered then gave a weak smile. "Thanks. I needed that." She took a longer drag. "What is this?" she asked.

"Amontillado."

"I'd ask if you're joking, but frankly, I'm afraid of the answer."

"Ginny, this is as much my fault as Artaz. In trying to keep you safe, I've screwed up royally. He's not the only one guarding that tower of yours. But I'm going to make this up to you."

"How?" she asked.

He smiled. "Leave that to me. It's gonna take a couple of months but we're gonna make this work."

April 11th

Ginny's stylus flew over the tablet as she focused her attention on the new project. She had gotten herself the tablet as a present for making her first wizarding painting. The commission had come in not long after her meeting with Draco, who she hadn't heard back from.

She dwelled briefly on that night. After her outburst, they had talked about more neutral subjects. Dinner had been fantastic and Draco had been a gentleman even when the Amontillado started making her a little…happy.

Ginny shook her head and focused on the picture she was working on. This wasn't a commission, but rather something she just wanted to do. She had been reading a lot and she wanted to try her hand at drawing Arwen from the Lord of the Rings books. The biggest challenge so far had been making Arwen look original and not like Liv Tyler.

Her computer beeped and she frowned. She minimized Photoshop and pulled up the internet. She had forgotten she was still logged onto the chatroom.

A brief message told her MalificentDragon had just signed on. Ginny hesitated then clicked the link that would let her send him a message.

BrighterBlood: Hey.

After a few moments a reply came up.

MalificentDragon: Hey back.

BrighterBlood: So, have we met before?

MalificentDragon: Doubt it. Unless you go to a lot of Man-U games.

BrighterBlood: Haven't been to one in a few years.

MalificentDragon: No kidding? You actually know who they are?

BrighterBlood: Who the hell doesn't? Really.

April 13th

Artaz looked up as the doors to his study burst open. Artaz leaned back, mildly alarmed.

Draco smirked at him and pocketed his wand. Never let it be said that Draco Malfoy didn't know how to make an entrance.

He stalked quickly across the room. "Artaz, we need to talk."

"Before you destroy another of my priceless custom built doors, yes, I agree."

"Priceless? Hardly. Do you know why I'm here?"

"Any chance it's about the lovely Miss Weasley?"

"How astute you are, Artaz. It is my understanding that you endeavor to court Miss Weasley."

"You know damn well that she's going to be mine," Artaz snapped, the mask slipping.

"And you know damn well that I cannot allow it," Draco purred.

"Why the hell not?" Artaz snarled. "Because you fancy that little gutter slut?"

A muscle ticked in Draco's cheek but his tone was cordial when he replied. "No. Because she's damaged goods."

"Are you talking about Potter? Malfoy, the whole damn world knows about that."

"No. I'm talking about Tom Riddle."

"What the fuck does Voldemort have to do with this?" Artaz snapped.

"Oh? Then you didn't know?"

"Talk English, you fucking wanker."

"Flattery will get you nowhere. In her first year Ginny Weasley released the spirit of the Dark Lord."

Draco let that sink in. He hoped to God he was playing his cards right. There was the possibility that he was miss judging Artaz but he hoped not. He needed Artaz to be afraid of courting Ginny, even if only for a few years.

Hopefully that would be enough.

Artaz shrank back. Like most well to do wizards, his family had vanished during the war years and now the idea of bringing that name back into association with his own made him cringe.

"Perhaps…perhaps I can let her be for a while."

Draco nodded. What Artaz failed to see, however, was that while association with Ginny would tarnish his reputation, Draco had no such problems. The Malfoys were Dark supporters. Everyone knew that. But Draco didn't give a shit. Right now he had to do what was best for himself. And his son.

April 25th

"I don't believe you!" Ginny shrieked at Draco.

Draco winced, glad his son was away again. "Look, I got rid of Artaz, didn't I?"

"And how? By telling him I had Dark affiliations. That was bloody genius, you fucking prat!"

"I never said it was an idea solution."

"You're unbelievable, you know that, don't you?"

"I'm doing the best I can, Ginny."

"Don't call me that."

Draco shrank back and stared at her. The anger in her eyes was echoed sharply by her pain. Draco reached for her then stopped himself. "Whatever you say, Red," he whispered.

Tears blossomed in Ginny's eyes and she tore out of the room.

(A/N: Two flashbacks? What!? Hope you all liked it! Artaz will be back as well as PreggersPansy. FYI: this chapter was over 4k words long. So don't complain about the length or the next time I update, it will be seven words. :p