As Pansy was showering from the horseback riding trip in the vineyard, Harry sat on the bed with a smile on his lips. He couldn't believe he had met such a wonderful girl. He absolutely loved spending time with her. He couldn't help but feel bad about Ginny, but he couldn't help himself. Ginny had always been part of his life and being with her was what was expected from him. He hadn't loved her in years. He was just keeping her around because he didn't want to ruin any ties he had with the Weasley's. And, besides, she looked good with him to the public. He couldn't disappoint anyone.

He knew that at some point, he was going to have to admit his feelings for Pansy to Ginny. He couldn't keep living like this knowing how wrong he was doing her. She had no idea of his wrong doings and he didn't want her or anyone to find out, but he needed to end it soon or else he would lose Pansy. Pansy had been waiting patiently for him to leave Ginny and come out in the open with her. Pansy wanted to be with Harry full time, not just in private. As he sat there pondering what to do about Ginny, he began to remember how he began this affair with Pansy.

Harry stepped forward at the meeting to find out who his new partner would be. He had been working with Ron, but because Ron would be getting married in six months, Hermione didn't want him doing field work anymore. Harry understood perfectly why Hermione would feel this way. Even though there weren't any high profile cases going on, there was always a chance that something big would come up and he would have to leave for long periods of time to do a stake out.

Harry sat down at the table across from Auror Kitsch, the head of the department. Harry straightened his tie and smoothed his hair from his face. His glasses were tilted and he reached up to fix them. He peeked at the door waiting on his new partner to enter. He was quite nervous because he didn't know what to expect. He always liked working with Ron and it made it so much easier dealing with Ginny since she knew he was with her family at all times. Ginny was always complaining that he worked too much, but shouldn't she be happy that he was with her brother and not some tart?

The door opened and in stepped Draco Malfoy with Pansy Parkinson tailing along. Draco Malfoy still looked to be the prat he was in school with his smug appearance. Pansy Parkinson glanced his way and gave him a shy smile. She reached up and tucked her short hair behind her perfectly round ears. Her little nose looked so cute the way she was smiling. Draco pulled her along and they sat in the two remaining chairs; Draco on one side of Harry and Pansy on the other.

"Draco Malfoy is your new partner, Harry. I fully expect you both to get along. Draco is one of our best, including you, and I think that you two could go far on this team." Kitsch told him.

"Sir, Malfoy and I haven't always had the best past. We didn't exactly get along in school." Harry confessed.

"I don't want to hear it. Invite him over for dinners, take lunches together, I don't care. Just get to know each other. I don't want to hear any complaints from either of you." Kitsch said and stood up. He glared at both Harry and Draco and then left the room.

"I'm just going to have a word with Kitsch." Draco said and then followed. Pansy and Harry were alone in the room now. There was a pregnant silence as both of them waited for someone to reenter the room or speak up. Harry decided to end the silence and greet Pansy.

"So…How have you been since Hogwarts?" He asked.

"Oh, um, I've been pretty busy. How about you? Are you still with Ginny Weasley?"She asked.

"I have been doing fairly well, thank you. Yes, Ginny and I are still together. Five years now, actually."He told her.

"That's quite a long time. Are you going to marry her? I'm sure she would be happy to accept."Pansy offered.

"Well, I'm not sure. I mean, I know that I should propose, but I just feel like it should hit you one day and you should do it. But it still hasn't hit me. I haven't felt the need to ask even though her mother is always mentioning it. It gets rather annoying to tell you the truth."

"If you aren't feeling it, then you aren't feeling it. You shouldn't be with someone you don't want to be with." Pansy mused.

"It's not that I don't want to be with her. I mean, I don't want to be with anyone else. I haven't met anyone else that has caught my interest."

"After five years, it seems that you aren't going to take the plunge. I would look for someone else if I were you. Start seeing what other options you have." She advised.

"Maybe I should. But any girl that I might be interested in is already taken. What do I do about that?" He hinted. He was really attracted to her and liked talking with her. It just seemed easy and like he could tell her anything.

"I suppose you should just man up and ask this girl you like if she would like to see you. You never know, maybe she is interested in you as well, Harry."

"I just might do that, Pansy." He told her with a smile. Draco reentered the room and told Pansy to grab her things and that they were leaving. Draco didn't seem too happy about the new work relationship, but he would have to deal with it.

"I guess the cat has found his mouse." Harry said to no one.

Pansy finished her shower and walked back into the room to start getting ready for the ball. She was so excited about it and had picked out the most gorgeous dress. She even picked out a matching tie for Harry. She slipped on her dress and charmed her hair into a perfect bun. She applied heavy makeup since it was an evening occasion. She placed her matching gloves onto each hand and then turned to a waiting Harry.

"I wish we could take pictures together. I feel like tonight is so special for us. Our first dance." She told him.

"Pansy, I love you. You know that. But, I'm scared to tell Ginny. I don't know what to say." He conceded.

"Harry, if you love me like you say you do, you wouldn't want me to be a secret anymore. This isn't fair to me. I'm tired of always hiding and lying about where I am going."

"I promise I will think of something soon." He lied. He honestly didn't know when he would say something to Ginny or even if he would. He did love Pansy, but Ginny was who everyone wanted him to be with. It wasn't fair to him, but what else was he supposed to do?

"If you don't do something soon, you are a going to lose me. I'm tired of being the other woman. I don't like to share. You know these things already. We have talked about this so many times."

"Can we just enjoy our evening? Things will get better soon. But, tonight, let's just have a blast. This is our last night in Italy. We leave tomorrow and I want to make the best of our trip. We have had such an amazing time so far." He soothed.

"Okay." She agreed. She smiled at him and then they headed down to the ballroom to enjoy themselves for their last night in Italy.

Draco was waiting on Ginny to finish getting ready so they could go to the ball. He was dressed in a black tux with a green vest. He coordinated with Ginny's dress. Her dress was a princess cut, deep green, v-neck, poofy-skirted thing. It was simple, but elegant. It came down in a V in the back to expose most of her creamy back. It couldn't be more beautiful. Draco thought it was exactly what a Malfoy woman should wear. A Malfoy woman? What the hell am I thinking? He pondered to himself.

Ginny exited the bathroom with her hair and makeup completely finished. She walked over to her dress wearing nothing but her lacy green knickers and matching bra. She slipped her dress on and walked over to the mirror. She chose her black peep toe shoes to match. Her hair was halfway atop her head with the rest of her curls hanging down her back. She placed a black choker around her neck and simple black studs in her ears. She glanced at her reflection and smiled. She thought she look amazing; especially since she got to relieve some pent up frustration on Draco.

Draco smirked. He thought she looked perfect. The dress accented her body in a glorious way. The dress formed to her hips and her hair topped off her appearance. He was proud that he would be accompanying Ginny to this ball. He was even more ecstatic that after tonight, she would be a free woman and he could claim her as his own. After their fiery love making session, he knew that no other woman would be able to please him. The simple things she did sent chills through his entire body and fire through his veins.

"Are you ready? Tonight, we make history." Ginny asked him.

"Are you going to expose him tonight? People in Italy don't really know him." Draco replied.

"Well, while you showered, I called the Daily Prophet. They are sending over a crew." Ginny admitted.

"You sly girl." He scolded her and smirked. She smiled in return. They disguised themselves as Adam and Evelyn once again, and for the final time. They made the descent on the elevator and walked into the ballroom.

Tonight, Ginny would become an independent woman. She would no longer fall prey to the lies Harry told her. She would finally expose him for all of his misdoings. She was tired of being walked over and ready to embrace herself. She knew that her family would be upset with the news of Harry's betrayal, but they would have to get used to it. This wasn't Ginny's fault; she couldn't think of anything she had done in the past to warrant this kind of behavior from Harry. Ginny felt confident in her decision to call the Daily Prophet and get Rita Skeeter to the ball. Harry needed to learn that he couldn't treat her this way and that he had really messed up.

Draco was proud of Ginny. She deserved better than Potter. She deserved someone that would do anything for her, be anything for her. She was a beautiful, smart, unique woman and he wanted her. Potter may be too stupid to see what a great girl she was, but Draco certainly wasn't. When Draco saw something he wanted, he always went after it. He only hoped that Ginny felt the same about him and would give him a chance after she left Harry. Maybe things would all work out for the better of everyone after tonight.

The past is the past. You can't go back and change mistakes. You have to live with what you do. You may think you are doing the right things when you take risks, but a lot of times, you only end up hurting yourself.