Chapter 24

So far lunch had been a disaster, Ginny decided as she stirred her drink with her straw, twirling it around the ice cubes inside. First there had been arguments on where to go to eat.

Naturally, Draco desired an expensive restaurant with only the best French cuisine money could buy. One couldn't help but be amazed at the way Draco Malfoy could make a person feel so lowly and idiotic with only a few sentences about food made by people who spoke a different language.

Meanwhile, Harry wanted to go to The Three Broomsticks -for old time's sake, he had said with a lighthearted smile and a hand on Ginny's shoulder. Draco had taken one look at the offending hand and immediately reverted back to being thirteen. He was throwing insults left and right, which Harry happily met par for par.

It hadn't taken long for Ginny to decide she had had enough.

It also didn't take very long for her temper to reach the same conclusion. If one was amazed by Draco's eloquence, one would be astounded by the effect that Ginevra Weasley's temper could have on two grown men.

A few shouted words later and they were off to the restaurant of her choice, a lovely little fish and chips shop. They served the best chips in all of England, with just the right amount of vinegar and salt sprinkled on top. At least she knew the food would be delicious, but right now, even great food wasn't enough to make her glad to be there.

The table was round which Ginny guessed to be some type of perverted poetic justice. Because of the table's shape, and with the circumstances being as they were, Ginny found herself on a crescent shaped booth seat seated between Draco Malfoy and Harry Potter. She hoped it wasn't her Karma, because she must have been really terrible in her past lives to be made to endure such torture.

To her left sat Harry, who was slouching forward, and currently playing with the salt and pepper shakers. To her right sat Draco, who was leaning back, his legs crossed at the knees and one arm stretched behind her back. He looked distinctly bored and stoic, while Harry seemed to fidget a lot and even grumbled quietly every once in a while.

She sobbed out a sigh of relief when the food arrived, but her relief was short lived.

It started when Harry just had to be considerate—and say something. "How is it, Gin?" he asked just as Ginny had stuffed two fairly large chips into her mouth. She attempted to swallow quickly and nod at him to say 'Good', but instead she began choking.

Harry began wildly beating on her back, trying to dislodge the small piece of potato currently making its home in her throat. Her eyes were watering and Harry was panicking. She looked desperately towards her partner, gesturing wildly at her throat.

Draco shook his head, a small smile gracing his lips. He raised a single finger to the side of her neck. A quick, electric flick of a finger tip along her pulse point and suddenly Ginny sat up straight and gulped, swallowing the piece of chip.

She blushed and Harry laughed, thinking that he had been the one to save the day. His laughter quickly died on his lips at Draco's next words.

"Leave it to Potter to ask a question so dumb that it brings a person to near death," he drawled, a finger now winding around a long lock of Ginny's hair, twirling it just out of Harry's line of sight.

The dark haired man tensed. "What was that?"

"Another dumb question. First you ask her how her meal is, when you are obviously eating the same thing," Draco said, disengaging his hand from her hair and gesturing towards Harry's plate. "Then you ask a question to which you already know the answer, because you heard me"

Ginny leaned back against the cushions of the booth and watched as the two men argued. This was tiresome. She looked around, finding her exits, and wondered if she could somehow slip under the table and escape without either of them noticing. Just as she was deciding to give her plan a go, the waitress came by and dropped their check on the table before quickly walking away.

Draco grabbed Ginny's wrist and turned her magical watch towards him, glancing at the time. "Shit. We need to go," he said, sliding from the booth and grabbing the check. "I'll pay."

Ginny could see Harry turning red with anger out of the corner of her eyes and decided that it was up to her to defuse the situation. "Thanks for the idea to eat lunch out today, Harry. Usually I just use a Warming Charm on some leftovers and eat in the office," she said.

Harry's color faded back to normal, a pleased grin plastered on his face. "You're welcome, Gin," he said as he stood and helped her to clean up their trash. When they had thrown it away, he placed a hand very gently on her arm. "I was hoping that we could be alone for lunch—catch up," he admitted. Ginny nodded, glancing over to see that Draco was now done paying the bill and standing by the door. "…I guess we'll have to catch up tomorrow night," Harry continued

"What?" she asked in confusion

"Don't tell me you forgot about the Weasley family dinner?" he teased, wagging a finger at her.

Ginny blushed brightly and murmured that she had, making Harry chuckle loudly. After a moment, he calmed and gave her an assessing look. "I've missed you, Ginny." She opened her mouth to speak, but he cut her off by placing a finger against her lips.

"I made a mistake by being gone for so long. But I'm back now. I came back for you," he whispered.

His words left Ginny frozen and slightly breathless. With a shy smile, Harry leaned forward and brushed his lips gently against her cheek before whispering a short goodbye in her ear and turning towards the door. She watched as he walked away and saw the look he gave Draco as he pushed the door open and stepped outside to be lost in the midday crowd.

Draco was leaning against the wall by the door, one foot propped against the wall and his arms crossed over his chest. His eyes rose up to meet hers from across the room. If Harry's words had left her frozen, Draco's look burned her to the core.

She straightened her shoulders and made her way towards him. When she reached his side, she stopped and stared him down, trying to read the expression on his angular face.

His mouth lifted just the slightest bit on the right side, in a half-sneer, half-smile as he looked at her. His eyes searched hers in a long, penetrating—and slightly intimidating gaze.

"Must be nice to have lover boy back in town," he spat.

Her hackles raised and she visibly straightened as Draco continued.

"Your dreams can finally come true. You and St. Potter can settle down and pop out tons of scar headed prats. It's what you've always wanted."

Her eyes grew wide and she pushed a finger into his chest, hard. "Don't you ever think you know anything about what I want, Draco Malfoy," she snarled.

His head bowed, his chin touching his chest in a submissive way that was only betrayed by the cocky, self assured way he was leaning against the wall.

With a loud, aggravated huff, Ginny turned and walked out of the restaurant, leaving Draco behind. He watched her go under hooded lashes, a sneaky smile spreading across his lips and lighting his silver eyes.

'She defended herself', he thought. 'She defended herself, but not Potter.' That could only be a good sign. He hadn't lost yet.

A/N: Sorry this chapter was so short but the beta has chapter 25 and I should have it back from her as soon as she can get to it and then you guys will be able to read it, yay!

I'm sick today cough cough my boss sent me home early-which is a good thing since I finally got a chance to post this chapter!

Thanks to all my wonderful recent reviewers! dementorchic,SilverUnicorn66, jasmine, Amor, Ori, Dracoginnylover24, Dumbledore's Troop, Bella118, kasey07, ISAPISA, harrypotterchick4ever, Robin, dragoncharmer79, AuntAnnie, mell8, babi-gurl-chels, jhaycita, CanYouLovetheImaginary, fannficsrock, HyperSquishy, Jem90

I havent felt very motivated to do much of anything lately and this story is getting harder and harder as I get closer to the end of the story-(there are just so many loose ends that need to be tied up in a pretty little bow, lol) Your reviews mean a lot to me, they motivate me, inspire me, and make me feel all warm and fuzzy on the inside! You all have my sincere thanks!

Ok, now it is time for Aimsaru to curl up with a blanket and a cup of hot tea and perhaps write another chapter ;o)