Okay guys, I didn't like this chapter, but I changed a few minor things, and added a scene. It's now the last chapter.
I must say this was a fun story to write, and I've started a new one, but I don't know if I'll post it, because I don't have much time to write.
Thank you to every one who ever reviewed, or just read my story. I love you guys and all those positive reviews are what kept me writing! I'm kind of sad that it's over, but I feel like adding more would only draw it out. But if you want to contact me, it's all in my profile, and if you wanna review, let me know what pairing you want to see and just maybe I'll feel inclined to write it :)
Thanks again!
o.O.o.O.o
Monday morning at work, Drew came to Ginny's office and sat down, looking around the room at pictures of Mindy and little Blaise, all of Ginny's family, Kaida at Christmas, and Ginny and Harry making snow angels. The last picture ended with Ginny's face no more than an inch from Harry's. Colin had taken it from around the corner.
"So Miss Ginny," Drew said in a very refined tone, "would you like to take a vacation?"
"Huh?" Ginny asked, looking up from the letter she was writing to her mother ('…of course I'll be there for Christmas!').
"I'd really like you to expand your columns, because you've really been boosting our number of readers," he explained, "and the Quidditch World Cup is starting tomorrow, and I'd really like for you to cover it.."
Ginny was surprised, but a smile overtook her face. "I'd love to do it… what time is the starting? I'm guessing I should get there and get a tent early, so I can beat the crowd."
"Great!" Drew's voice boomed, "It's starting at 3 tomorrow, but if you get there early, maybe you can get an interview with the captains."
It was December 14th, and in a week from Wednesday the office would be closing until January 1st. The weather was cold as Ginny got all of her belongings together, and walked into the snow outside her building, and two blocks back to her flat.
When she got inside she went into her closet in the hallway and pulled out a mid-sized black suitcase, with 'Ginevra' embroidered in beautiful red thread on the pocket. She tossed in a few pairs of underwear, along with flannel pajama bottoms and two soft cotton t-shirts, which clung to her body.
Ginny picked up some dressy pants, some casual pants, a few semi-dressy shirts and some other random clothes.
As she was about to leave a dress caught her eye. A white dress, tight on the top, loose below the chest, with emerald green beading and embroidery. Ginny wondered if she would still fit into it, and without thinking twice she yanked it off the hanger and slipped out of her work clothes, and into the dress.
There was no problem getting the dress on, as Ginny had not changed much since she had been in school – only her face has changed, and her body slightly more filled out, but the dress, being mostly loose, accommodated her delicate frame nicely.
She decided to take the dress a long, just in case she would need one, a took a matching pair of emerald green shoes, with an open toe and two straps just behind her toes, and one around her ankle.
Ginny took a shower and let her hair dry naturally, waving elegantly around her shoulders, while she applied her make-up and dressed in black pants with white pinstripes and a cream-white sweater. She pulled her robe around her body and folded two daily outfits into her suitcase, shutting it with ease.
Finally she was ready to go, and apparated into a bathroom outside the campground where thousands of wizards were gathering for the famous Quidditch World Cup. As she reached the box where you pay, she realized it was empty and there was a sign on the window reading 'No Vacancies'.
"Oh bugger," Ginny mumbled under her breath. She walked around for nearly an hour, searching for another lot or somewhere else to say, because she really needed to be close.
She finally decided to stop looking at that time, and try to find the team captains, who would be meeting with their teams at the time.
Ginny went first to the Harpie's team locker room, where the captain was waiting for his team to arrive. She moved forward quickly, reaching out a hand to the dark-haired man, who looked German.
"Hi, I'm Ginevra Weasley from the Daily Prophet," Ginny said with a bright smile, "and I was wondering if perhaps I could ask you a few questions?"
The German Captain, Hugh Kaiser, shook her hand, "Sure."
Ginny took a seat and took a pad of paper and a quill out of her bag, crossing one leg over the other. "How long have you been captain of the Harpies?"
"Two years," he responded, "and I've loved every minute of it."
"So, I assume you're pretty tight with your team? Do you think that's important to the game?"
Hugh nodded, "Absolutely. You have to keep a good personal relationship with all of the players, so you can understand everything about them and make the game more fun for everyone."
The interview continued for another thirty minutes, and when Ginny was finally satisfied, all of the team members were sitting near-by, bored and waiting for her to leave.
"Thank you for your time," Ginny smiled as she stood to leave, "and Good luck at the game tomorrow."
Hugh nodded and turned to his team as Ginny turned and left. When she reached the other side of the field, she saw somewhere around 10 members of the Ireland team were leaving the locker room. Ginny wasn't sure who the captain was, as he had been recently appointed, so she stopped a tall moving past her.
"Hi, sorry to bother you… Is your captain around?" Ginny asked, re-situating the strap of her bag on her right shoulder.
The nodded, "He's still in there," he said, jerking a thumb at the locker room. Ginny nodded and hurried to the door after hearing the sky rumble and a few raindrops hitting the ground.
Ginny shut the door behind her, and looked around, spotting a blond man bending over a desk with a dim light on, drawing on play sheets for the upcoming game. He hadn't heard her come in.
She cleared her throat, "Excuse me… My name is Ginevra Weasley, from the Daily Prophet, and I was wondering if I could ask a few questions…"
His head snapped up, but she could barely see his face because the lighting was so dim. "What did you say your name is?" he asked in a husky, deep, manly voice that she seemed to recognize from somewhere.
"Ginevra Weasley," she said, speaking up a little more, "I'm from the Daily…"
The blond man stood up and walked a little closer, the light hitting his face so she could see more of his features. Pale skin. High cheekbones. Icy eyes.
Ginny's voice dropped, "Draco?" she whispered.
Neither of them knew what to say, not having seen each other for over five years.
"You…you look good," Draco said.
Ginny smiled and ran her fingers through the ends of her hair. "Thanks… you look good too. How have you been?"
"I've been all right," he told her, "I mean, getting this job was great so I guess I'm doing pretty well."
"I'm happy for you," Ginny said with a smile.
He nodded. "Thanks. How about you? How's everything been?"
"Great," Ginny smiled, "I've got a good job with the Daily Prophet writing letters."
"You were always good at that." Ginny blushed and looked away for a moment.
"I should get going," she said finally. "I've got to find somewhere to stay tonight. I'm here to report on the game."
Draco hesitated a moment and then spoke up as she was turning toward the door. "You could stay with me tonight, if you want… so you don't have to go out in the rain for hours."
Ginny smiled, "You wouldn't mind?"
"Of course not," he said. "It's no big deal."
"Thank you."
Ginny took her bag of clothes and head toward the door, Draco following her. As they were about to walk outside, he stepped in front of her and held out his hand.
"Let me carry that for you," he offered. Ginny gave up the bag and followed him outside, in the rain.
"It's not far," he explained, "but we'll want to hurry so we aren't soaking when we get there."
Ginny nodded, but of course that didn't happen. They ran for about a half a mile and came around to a large brown tent at the edge of the others, and when they stepped inside they were both soaked to the bone.
Draco had the tent enchanted with a kitchen, bedroom, and living room, fireplace included. He motioned toward the couch before the blazing fire.
"Sit down, I'll get some blankets and let you get changed in a minute."
Ginny nodded and sat down, "Okay."
Draco disappeared into the 'bedroom' and erupted moments later with a handful of blankets and a pillow.
"If you wanna take your stuff in there, you can change into warmer clothes," he told her, jerking a thumb toward the 'bedroom'.
"Thanks," she said, walking into the room and locating her bag, which had been laid on the bed. She took a pair of clean underwear, a clean t-shirt, and a pair of flannel pants out and changed quickly, the cold of the night biting at her. She mentally smacked herself as she realized she had forgotten to pack any socks.
When she walked out from the room, Draco was zipping up his jacket. "Where are you going?" she asked him, setting her wet clothes on the floor.
"I was gonna go get some dinner," he said, "Are you hungry?"
She nodded. "Do you have anything here?" Without waiting for him to answer, she moved into the kitchen and opened his little pantry. He stood behind her as she listed the contents aloud. "Flour, sugar, chocolate bars, pumpkin juice, fire whiskey, protein bars, and bread. That's extremely nutritious…"
"There's milk and eggs in the fridge too," he told her, "I usually eat out so keeping food in this tent isn't really necessary…"
Ginny stood up, turned, and faced him with a grin. "Let me cook for you. Since you're letting me stay here, it's the least I can do."
"You don't have to…" she stopped him.
"I want to."
Draco shrugged, "Alright then, but I don't know what you can make with any of that."
Ginny grinned, "One can make pancakes out of anything."
She began to gather what she needed, mixing it in a bowl lying around. He watched her as she did so; realizing nothing of what he had felt for her five years ago had changed. He knew he was still in love with this woman, though he wasn't quite sure what to do.
As she cooked, they talked about everything. He told her about how he had worked with his team for a few years before being made captain and how Rose had gotten married. She told him about her job with the paper, and Mindy and Blaise. Draco was particularly interested, and suddenly had the urge to go see Blaise's child.
"Are they doing okay?" he asked as she brought two plates of food to the table and sat down across from him.
She nodded with a smile, "They're doing great. You should stop by and see them sometime… you know, if you get the time."
He smiled and nodded, and they continued to talk about everything. Draco watched Ginny as she ate, and was amazed at how comfortable she was. She intimidated him with her beauty and confidence. She talked incessantly, but Draco didn't mind. The sound of her voice was comforting after so many years apart.
At last things got quiet, and conversation died down between them. Draco was staring at his plate to avoid awkwardness, and Ginny was staring at Draco. She began to contemplate the last time they had seen each other, and what they had through that year at Hogwarts.
Suddenly she lost control of her mouth. "Why didn't you write me?" she blurted out, staring him in the eye.
"What?" he asked dumbly, her eyes burning into his.
"You never wrote me one single letter, in 5 and a half years. Not one. Why?" she demanded.
Draco's words faltered, "I didn't think you would… want to talk to me again."
Ginny's eyes began to tear up and she didn't respond.
"You have to understand, Ginny, leaving you was the hardest thing I ever did," he told her honestly. "Leaving you behind broke my heart."
"What happened to us?" she asked softly.
He pushed his chair back a little, hurting inside seeing her cry. "We were young… I said stupid things… It was all the way my father brought me up. He always told me not to love. Not to let people to close. Never to trust anyone. Never feel inferior to anyone. Never laugh. Never cry. Never live," he said. "I kept you at arms length because I was scared I'd get hurt. You have to understand that I never meant to hurt you."
Ginny didn't know what to say. She pushed her chair back and stood, reaching for the plates, "You should get to bed… early day tomorrow."
He stopped her hand and pulled himself up, stumbling over to her. They watched each other for a few moments, and as if nothing in the past 5 and a half years had happened, they kissed, with the same passion they had as 16 year olds.
When they pulled away neither of them knew what to say. Draco was the first to open his mouth. "You can…" he stopped. "I'll get this…" He picked up the plates on the table and turned away. Ginny didn't move for a few seconds, but soon she was in the living area, sitting on the couch, staring into the dancing flames.
Draco joined her when he was through in the other room. The sat together in silence for what seemed like an eternity, before slowly drifting off to sleep.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
Two years later, on a warm May evening, Ginny sat in a dimly lit restaurant, wearing the dress she had worn to her Masquerade so many years ago.
For a few moments she was alone, sipping red wine elegantly and listening to the soft music playing, but she wasn't sure where it was coming from.. Soon, however, Draco joined her, cheeks still red from Quidditch practice, which had ended an hour before. He kissed her softly on the cheek and sat down.
"So," he said, "Let's get straight down to business."
Ginny grinned at him amusedly, "What do you mean 'businesses? I thought tonight was about no work."
"Well, I don't think this can wait any longer," he said. "So I'll come right out and say it, and then we can enjoy or dinner, okay?"
Ginny nodded and waited for him to continue.
"I've done a lot of thinking, and I've decided that we," he said, waving a finger from her direction to his, "meaning you and I, are getting married."
"And I have no say in this?" Ginny asked with a giggle.
Draco smirked, but not in the usual Malfoy arrogance, "You can say yes," he suggested. "You can say you want to spend forever with me."
Ginny was glowing. "Yes," she said, "I never want to be without you."
He stood and offered her his hand, "May I have this dance?"
"Forever," she said, slipping into his arms.
o.O.o.O.o.O.o
So now that it's over, I'm going back and editing my older chapters which are still written in first person. And any other chapters I want to hack at…
I really hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's been about a year and a half, and I'm sad it's over, but happy too. Thanks guy!
With much love,
Bambiky
OH! I did change the sock thing : ) It now never says she packed socks. And I have no idea who is on what team, it's just the only one I could remember.