After a hearty breakfast, Ginny and Draco made their way out of the Great Hall and toward the path to Hogsmeade, but before they could begin their way down to the small town, they were stopped by none other than Hermione Granger. Hermione yanked Ginny aside, only letting the redhead pause long enough to shoot an apologetic glance and a weak smile in Draco's direction.
Being the gentleman that he was, Draco gave a smirk and continued down the hallway to wait outside for Ginny, making conversation with Blaise, who was waiting for Astoria to go and fetch something from her rooms in the dungeons.
"Ginevra Minerva! You didn't tell me you were interested in anyone, much less Malfoy!" the witch hissed. "You usually tell me everything, how did this happen? Are you going to Hogsmeade together? How long HAS this been going on? Your brother's about to blow a gasket…"
"Hermione," groaned Ginny. "We're not dating, we're just going to Hogsmeade. You're acting as if I'm engaged to the man. Now, if you'll excuse me…"
"Nonsense, Fred will want to meet him, formally. We're going to Rosmerta's, come along."
Ginny tried to tell the witch that the last place she wanted to be today was grabbing a butterbeer with one of her more overprotective" older brothers", much less with Draco in tow, but Hermione wouldn't have any of it.
"First of all, Fred's not really your brother; he is, however, your best friend's boyfriend and you will have to be in his company quite often. Now come on," Hermione grinned, dragging Ginny up to Draco, where he got a brief explanation of the change in plans, and then the three set off for the bar. The trio made polite conversation while they walked toward Hogsmeade, and met Fred at the entrance to the town. The jokester was a bit shocked to see the company his little sister had been keeping since her flight of the burrow, but he gave her the opportunity to explain most of the changes that had happened in such a short amount of time.
Draco and Fred actually got on well, once they put aside the whole Slytherin/Gryffindor rivalry. Fred, being the ever protective brother, had fired questions about Ginny at Draco for the first half hour, saying that he was concerned after her abrupt departure from the burrow at the beginning of the summer. Fred assured Ginny that she was still his little sister, no matter what his mother had to say about the matter. The group ordered their drinks and the conversation switched to Ginny's skipping a grade, to which her brother ruffled her hair and told her he was proud of her, even if she was a Slytherin.
About fourty five minutes into the conversation, Ginny slipped a note to Draco.
Trying to escape, give me a minute.
Unfortunately, it took an hour longer and a the longest conversation about Quidditch in the history of the Wizarding World for Hermione to wise up and steal her boyfriend's attention. It was then the Slytherins could finally make an escape. The meeting really wasn't that bad, but Ginny really wanted to get some new gloves and robes for practicing if she was going to play next year. She had given up the sport this year to get settled in Slytherin and get used to the new course load that came with skipping a year.
"I thought that would never end," Ginny groaned as they made their way out of the pub. "I'm so sorry, I had no idea that it would take that long. Hermione seemed so determined to not let us get out of her sight."
"She was probably on orders from Potty and the Weasel," Draco smirked. "I like Fred, however. He is quite easy to talk to."
"Fred was one of my favorite brothers growing up, he's really not that bad," the redhead giggled. "He was the one that encouraged my other brothers to actually let me have friends my first and second year."
The Slytherins stopped at the bookstore to pick up a potions book order for Draco. While they were waiting for the clerk to fetch the stack of books from the back, they spotted a giggling Cho, closely followed by Pansy, heading for the very back of the store. Ginny laughed, wondering how in the world everyone was so oblivious to the popular Ravenclaw's secret relationship. When the clerk returned with Draco's purchases, he shrunk them down and pocketed them, and the pair left the shop.
Ginny and Draco were entering the local Quidditch shop when Ginny's mark began to burn.
"Ugh, not now," Ginny groaned, and Draco looked at her questioningly. She just grabbed his hand and led them down a dark alley opposite of the store, making sure that nobody saw them.
"My mark," she explained, pulling up the sleeve of her robes to reveal the dark purple skull and snake tattoo when they were completely alone in the alley. Draco gave a nod, and then the pair turned and apparated to Malfoy Manor.
Upon their arrival, Draco took Ginny's waist and escorted her through the wards and through the door, as Narcissa called out a greeting to the teens from the entryway.
"Draco, and dear Ginevra! Lovely to see you both. How's school going," she inquired.
"Cissy, you look lovely. School is going well, I've adjusted rather quickly with the help of your darling son," Ginny grinned.
"Yes, mother, Ginny here has been quite the closet Slytherin all of these years. No wonder our Lord has kept her a secret for all of these years," Draco smiled. "Now, where are we to be this afternoon?"
"Everyone is meeting in the dining room," she grinned, taking note of how Draco hadn't let go of Ginny's waist since the pair walked through the entrance to the Manor. "You two should go on in, Lucius and a few others already have been seated."
"Thank you, Cissy," Ginny flashed the Malfoy matriarch a dazzling grin and let Draco lead her to the dining room.
"My mother adores you, you know," Draco mumbled in her ear.
"Well, at least one of your parents approve of me," Ginny chuckles, then composes herself for her entrance as Draco laughs and drops his arm to his side, moving to open the doors for her. Lucius looks up to see the pair enter, and his mouth turns into a half grin for just a second as he rises to seat Ginny next to the head of the table, beside Snape, and across from himself. She grins in thanks, then settles in for the meeting.
Within the next few minutes, Voldemort enters the room and his followers rise and bow their heads as he makes his way to the end of the table, and sit after the Dark Lord takes his own seat., and then the meeting is underway.