DISCLAIMER: Anything familiar isn't mine, its J.K. Rowling's.

twelve. home.

The next morning, Ginny yanked the first few garments she saw off of the wardrobe hangers and her pajamas from the dresser drawers. Her arms filled to the brim with a jumble of clothes, she threw them onto the enormous bed. She gathered together her essentials and stuffed them into an overnight bag. Eventually she felt like she had collected just about everything she absolutely needed. Ginny paused for a moment, tapping a finger on her chin as her narrowed auburn eyes scanned the room to see if there was anything missing.

Her eyes lit up in realization upon realizing one item was missing: her lecture notes. Ginny reached over to the nightstand to grab the notebook in which all of her class notes were compiled. Just as she was about to throw it into her bag, she squinted at one of the objects sitting primly on the nightstand. It was the exquisite roses that Draco had given her the night of the Cotillion. She had placed them in a glass she transfigured into a vase for safe keeping and it was a pleasant image to see when she got out of bed every morning. While they still looked as fresh as ever, as she was sure they had been enchanted, they looked peculiar. Dropping her notebook into the bag that was bloated from the ball of clothing inside, she walked around to the foot of the bed.

"Say, weren't these pink yesterday?" Ginny asked her roommate. Lena was on her own large bed on the other side of the room, lounging on her stomach, while her head was propped up by arm as she lazily scanned the pages of Witch Weekly.

Casually looking up through her dark lashes, she sat up onto her knees, casting the magazine aside. "I suppose so," Lena replied nonchalantly.

Ginny eyed the vase behind her once again. The roses, though they looked very much alive, had darkened from their vibrant pink, to a deep red. Walking back to the nightstand, she reached out to feel one of the petals. They were very much alive like she had suspected, feeling the velvet soft texture of the petal between her fingers instead of a dried flower that would threaten to crumble by her touch.

"But, this is odd. It's not like they're wilting or anything," Ginny frowned, unconsciously placing a hand on her hip.

It was then that it seemed as if something had clicked in Lena's mind as her eyes lit up in acknowledgement. She laughed, giving way to a sly grin. "Oh, I know what those are."

"What are they?"

"Honestly, Ginny, didn't you pay attention in Herbology?"

"Why does everybody keep saying that to me?" Ginny scowled crossly. "Suddenly, everyone is some kind of Herbology aficionado!"

Easily ignoring Ginny's nonsensical rant, Lena shifted and stood up from the bed. She walked around and sat upright on the bench in front of her own bed. "They're Everlasting Florals," She explained eagerly. "Under the enchantment, their colors change depending on the person's affections for the recipient. The person being Draco and recipient being you. And you know what red roses mean."

"This is probably some accident," Ginny alleged hurriedly, unwilling to believe what Lena was saying. "I highly doubt Draco knew what he was buying."

Lena shrugged. "Believe what you want to believe." She reached behind her to grab the magazine she had been perusing earlier. Opening it again, Lena paused, eyeing Ginny from head to toe, "And, please don't wear those ratty jeans to your date with Malfoy next week."

Ginny looked down at the jeans she was wearing. They were faded and very worn in. And there was most definitely a hole in the left knee in addition to the fraying bottom hems that had been dragged in the dirt. That didn't mean they were necessarily ratty.

Crossing her arms under her chest, Ginny cried, "For the umpteenth time, it's not a date!"

Lena looked up at Ginny, making the redhead feel as if she was a naïve young girl. "Since when do blokes actually ask us out on dates? This isn't some romance novel. You have to read between the lines. "

"There's nothing to read in between! We're just not going to study for once when we usually do. Not that outlandish."

Lena didn't utter in response, though she smirked into her magazine. Ginny threw her hands up in frustration and went back to trying to zip up the bag that was threatening to implode from bursting at the seams.

The flowers simply had to be a mistake. The florist that Draco had purchased them from must have mixed up the orders. Maybe they just happened to be the last bouquet in stock and he simply bought them. Though, in her heart of hearts, Ginny knew that Draco never did anything haphazardly. Anything he did had a purpose and a motive. She just wasn't sure if she was ready to come to terms with his reasons just yet.

Ginny ran up the stairs of the Burrow, the steps wheezing and creaking under her sudden movements and weight. She swiftly turned into the first landing, brushing back her messy braid. It was strange entering her tiny pink room after being away in a faraway land, though she was in the same country. More than ever, her childhood room looked about the size of a matchbox in comparison to the luxurious space she shared with Lena back at Malfoy Manor. She grabbed the indigo cotton sundress she had picked up earlier that morning in Diagon Alley before coming back to the Burrow. Once Narcissa had pointed out how unflattering her clothes could be, she couldn't very well go back to wearing the same ill-fitting dresses. Ginny chalked it up to a good investment in buying the discounted dress. Waving her wand to snatch the curtains shut around her nook, she stopped in front of the small full length mirror leaning against one of her walls.

Her hair was sticking out in every direction and beginning to frizz from the sweat and hard labor she had just endured, strands of hair sticking to her sweaty forehead and temples. Though Molly Weasley was ecstatic to have her youngest child and only daughter back home, even for the weekend, she had promptly put her to work, making sure that her daughter hadn't gotten soft during her time away at the Malfoy Resort, as Molly called it. Ginny sighed as she rolled her sleeves to assist in cleaning up the house, though she wondered why, as the function was to be taking place outside. She had just put the cake in the oven when her mother had shooed her out to go get ready.

Ginny eyed the clock sitting on her little nightstand. Her eyes widened as she saw she barely had twenty minutes to get ready in time. She quickly peeled off her shirt and jeans and replaced it with the sundress. Several spells later, her hair looked straight and sleek and most importantly, presentable. She applied a few simple cosmetics charms before slipping into her sandals to head back with assisting. Grabbing her earrings off of her desk, Ginny quickly shot back downstairs.

Just as she the left earring clasped shut, she heard voices flooding in from the back door. She recognized the jumble of male voices as her brothers'. Ginny grinned as she turned the knob to throw the back door open. She stepped out to see a bunch of flaming heads dotting the green garden amongst the other guests. The long wooden picnic table had been set with fresh flowers from the garden and delicate, floating candles. The sun had just begun to set, creating a lovely sight with the sky painted in a gradient of blues, purples, pinks, and oranges. After going through the line of greeting her family and friends, she finally got to Ron.

Many of the women were crowding around Hermione, excitedly talking about the couple's impending wedding and plans for the future. Ginny saw Ron standing slightly to the side, holding a pint in his hand and taking in the scene. He looked happy in his dark biege jumper and dark blue jeans. Ron grinned at her and wrapped her into a big hug. Though they were only a year apart, sometimes it felt like he was much older as he easily towered over her.

"So, you finally popped the question, brother?" She smirked, once they had separated.

"Yeah, but it didn't go exactly has planned," Ron chuckled with a twinkle in his blue eyes.

"Oh, no. What happened?" She grimaced, suddenly wondering if she wanted to hear this story.

"Well, I had planned to give it after I had brought home a really nice dinner," Ron started, launching into his story. "But, she was so heated discussing some new clause in a law that was deterring her from getting more Creature Equality Rights laws passed that she didn't even notice that I was behind her with the box, kneeling down. And then when she finally did notice, I guess I startled her and she knocked the box out of my hand. And then the ring fell down the sink."

"No!" Ginny cried, horrified. She clapped a hand over her open mouth. How did Ron get into these messes?

"By then Hermione realized what it was and we tried to fish it out and summon it but it was lodged into the pipe somehow. So then we had to burst open the pipes," Ron explained, motioning with his hands. "It finally flew out, nearly leaving a cut on my head since it flew right into my forehead. By the time I properly proposed to her, we were in the middle of a rising flood."

"I will never know how you get into these situations," Ginny commented after her shocked laughter subsided.

"I guess she didn't care since here we are," Ron replied, happily looking over at his now-fiancé.

Ginny smiled knowingly at the couple. Ron and Hermione always seemed to be at odds about something or another during their school days, but Ginny had always known they had both cared for each other deeply. Especially when she knew Hermione had had feelings for Ron and Ron was obviously blind to it for far too long. Though they were often ridiculous with their misadventures, underneath it all Ginny knew Ron and Hermione loved and completed one another.

"Ginny! I'm so happy you made it!" a voice exclaimed from behind her. Ginny turned to see Hermione beaming at her. Her incredibly bushy brown hair had been tamed for the occasion, falling in loose waves to her shoulders. Her almost-sister-in-law was practically glowing in her light blue dress. She came up to embrace Ginny and when they let go, Ginny swiftly grabbed her hand to eye the specimen that was sitting on her ring finger.

"It's nothing fancy or anything since we're saving up, but I still love it," Hermione added happily as Ginny examined the ring. It was a simple platinum band with a single, small round diamond set in the center.

"It's lovely," Ginny replied sincerely. And she meant it. It didn't matter how big or small the ring was; all it mattered was that they were together and that they were happy.

They talked some more for a few minutes until Hermione startled her by interrupting. "Oh!" She cried. "I almost forgot. I brought someone I wanted you to meet, Gin."

Ginny tried her hardest to smile but instead it looked like a constipated grimace. Hermione looked over her shoulder and Ginny saw a man standing with Harry and a brunette woman that must have been Harry's date, judging by their body language. She recognized the woman as someone from the Ministry, having seen her at some function in the past. Initially, it did bother her that Harry had moved on first, since she had vainly expected to be the first to move on. But, now for the first time, she barely batted an eyelash at him being with another woman. She seemed pleasant, and if Harry was happy than she was happy, Ginny decided.

However, she focused her gaze on the man with dark blond hair that was chatting with Harry and his date and decided that Neil looked nice enough. Keyword being enough. His blond hair wasn't light and silvery enough. He was tall, but not tall enough. While he seemed to be in relatively good shape, he wasn't lean enough. It was then that she realized she was actually comparing a potential date to Draco Malfoy. She quickly looked away to stop thinking about her former adversary.

"Um, Hermione," Ginny addressed gently. "You aren't trying to set me up, are you?"

"Oh, no!" Hermione assured quickly, her cheeks lightly coloring. "I just thought that since everyone else came with someone, you might enjoy some new company, such as Neil's."

Ginny simply nodded with pursed lips. It was all she could do to prevent from groaning. For some reason, her family and friends had gotten it into their heads that Ginny needed to be set up. Every so often, one of her brothers or a friend would suggest she go out on a date with some bloke or other. These few dates were often disastrous. It was true that pickings were often slim, but she could do this herself without everyone getting into her business. Besides, she had been wrapped up with her studies that it made it difficult to have a serious relationship. That was probably why everyone felt like they needed to lend her a hand, the reasonable side of her thought.

"After George set me up with that store clerk from the store, I don't think I need to, er, make new friends," Ginny said as tactfully as she could. The bloke was a year younger than her but looked like he had barely gotten out of his fifth year. And he acted like it too. Ginny still shuddered at the thought of their disastrous date. She still hadn't decided if George simply was a horrible judge of character or he had tried to play a practical joke.

"Alright," Hermione sighed in defeat. "But I do hope you'll give him a chance."

Just as Ginny's shoulders began to relax, Hermione decided to ask her another question which made her shift uncomfortably. "So, how is the house elf situation over at Malfoy Manor? I do hope they've been implementing the Ministry's new regulations, such as giving their elves holiday leave. "

"I'd love to talk about house elves with you, Hermione, but on second thought, I'm going to go introduce myself to Neil."

Dinner had gone as well as it could have. Everyone jovially dug into Molly Weasley's incredible meal of a hearty roast paired with far too many side dishes in true Molly fashion. As much as Ginny enjoyed and devoured all of the decadent food at Malfoy Manor, there was just nothing like her mother's cooking. Being surrounded by her loved ones was so pleasant and comforting after her hectic – and painful – week.

She did, in fact, go and introduce herself to Neil. Over dinner, he attempted to make small talk with her. She learned that he also worked in the same office as Hermione, at the Department for the Regulation and Control of Magical Creatures. Try as she did to be polite, her eyes kept glazing over when he babbled on about various miniscule laws and clauses they were currently working on passing and how much progress their department had made. It was worse than hearing Hermione talk about it in her textbook didactic tone, if that was possible.

She was happy now to be nursing her boredom with another glass of champagne and a generous slab of chocolate cake while Neil was caught up in a conversation with Percy. They both looked incredibly riveted while they spouted off minute details about broomsticks, she noticed with a smirk. As she dug into the dessert, Ron asked, "So, how's it being forced to work with the Ferret?"

She thoughtfully chewed on the thankfully large bite in her mouth, contemplating on how to answer this question. Everyone else who was standing around with them – namely Harry, Hermione, Luna, Neville, and George – looked back and forth at the two of them warily. No one had dared broach the topic fearing Ginny would go on one of her endless rants, and here was Ron bluntly laying out the question that had been on the tip of everyone's tongue when they asked her how her time was at the Conservatory. Swallowing, she said, "Well, first off, it's Draco, and it's going just fine, thank you very much."

"You're on first name basis with that snake?" Ron cried incredulously.

"Look, he's really not that bad when you get to know him," Ginny defended fervently. "He may be a bit pompous, occasionally self-centered, and utterly sarcastic, but he has his moments." More than a few moments, Ginny thought to herself. She realized that her testimonial weren't exactly helping her cause.

"You really got stuck with a winner there, Gin," George chimed in with a snigger. Looking up at her older brother, Ginny quickly stunned him into silence with a withering glare.

"Well, you better be careful with that smarmy git," Ron muttered darkly.

"Draco's been nothing but a gentleman," she protested, enjoying how using Draco's given name made Ron squirm. She was tempted to blurt out that Draco had snogged her once, but felt it wase to leave that out. After all, it was Ron and Hermione's night.

"Besides, what does he even do in his spare time? Count Daddy's gold coins while he imagines the ways he can spend them?" Ron challenged. "Or does he swim laps in his Gringotts vault?" Everyone but Ginny laughed at his joke.

"He has a job!"

"Since when?"

"Since always," Ginny retorted. "Maybe if you cracked open a newspaper once in a while," she muttered under her breath.

"What was that?" Ron asked, his eyes narrowing at her.

"I said he manages his family's estates and holdings."

"Like that's hard."

"I'd like to see you try, Ron," Ginny snapped.

The rest of them continued to throw out barbs about Draco and his snobbish ways. Each word made her itch for her wand more and more to hex all of them. While Hermione did try to defend Draco, she didn't try very hard, much to Ginny's irritation. She knew everyone was just having a bit of fun but it was at Draco's expense but it was irritating her to no end.

Abruptly excusing herself from the impromptu Draco Malfoy roast, she took her dessert to the steps of the back door. Night had long fallen and she looked up into the sky to see a shining blanket of stars. She welcomed the cool air after feeling uncomfortable around her family and friends. Ginny took to scanning the heavens and quickly found Ursa Major. From there, her eyes fell on Draco, the constellation that Draco was named for. In the gray-blue atmosphere, she was reminded of Draco's smoldering mercurial eyes, wondering what the owner of those unique eyes was doing at that moment. She was also getting annoyed that her mind kept going back to him.

"Mind if I have a seat?" a dreamy voice interrupted her thoughts.

She looked up to see Luna Lovegood smiling down at her with her own flute in hand. Her usually unkempt blonde hair was brushed thoroughly and gleamed under the moonlight as it fell to her waist. Though she had retired the lion hat that she had created in support of Gryffindor back at Hogwarts, she was wearing maroon dress robes covered with a pattern of printed lions. From her ears hung what looked like tassel earrings, but upon examining closer were broomstick bristles. By Luna's standards, this was a rather tame outfit.

"So, they sent you to check up on me?" Ginny said with a smile, though she scooted over to make room for her friend.

"They're still arguing over who should come over," Luna indicated, her head nodding in the direction of her brothers and friends. "I slipped away just as they started."

They sat in peace for several moments, enjoying each other's company in the pleasant, comfortable silence.

"Ginny," Luna broke in, turning to look at her. "You seem different lately."

"Do I? I haven't noticed." Her eyebrows raised as she turned to see Luna looking at her with a small smile and her clear blue eyes gazed at her knowingly. Sometimes it felt like Luna's piercing stare was staring straight into her soul, Ginny believed uneasily.

"You seem more relaxed," Luna commented, turning to look back at the party.

"Oh, thanks."

"It's probably the Snarfblatts," Luna said seriously, which elicited a snort from Ginny.

"I'm actually quite serious, Ginny. It's likely that you were stung by a Snarfblatt, though they are rare," Luna explained. Ginny knew Luna was often on expeditions as a bourgeoning naturalist, but she still sometimes doubted the creatures the former Ravenclaw spoke of. "Did you know they're native to the Wiltshire countryside?"

"I had no idea," Ginny admitted. She took another sip of her drink as she wondered where in the world Luna was going with this impromptu Care of Magical Creatures lesson.

"There's a forty percent chance it secreted serotonin and pheromones inside of you, and thus you're feeling those pleasant side effects," said Luna, sounding more informational than ever, though it was an odd combination with her faraway tone.

"Sure..."

"Or, you know," Luna added, dropping her instructive speech. "There is the off chance that you happen to fancy Draco Malfoy."

"W-what?!" Ginny stammered. The hand that was holding the flute began to tremble. Luckily most of the liquid had been consumed and wasn't sloshing out of the glass.

"Well, I mean, he's one of the only other people you refer to in your letters, and I assume you still like men. So that could be another possible explanation," Luna said nonchalantly. "But, my bets are on the Snarfblatts."

As if the conversation had never happened, Luna abruptly stood up. With a wistful smile, she quietly floated away back to the party. Russet eyes narrowed at the young blonde woman rejoining the crowd. There was no way Luna could be right… Right? Ginny brought the flute to her lips and quickly drained it of its contents. Looking up again into the night, she saw the dragon constellation twinkling back at her. Ginny Weasley sighed resignedly.

Just as she had when she first came to Malfoy Manor, Ginny found herself riding once again in a horse drawn carriage up to the estate. She had originally planned to be back early afternoon, but decided to lounge around a bit after breakfast with her brothers. It wasn't often that Charlie was also in town, and the siblings took advantage of the rare weekend with everyone present. Another part was because it was much more difficult to leave the nice getaway that her childhood home had suddenly become. But the largest part was because she wasn't sure she was ready to face what was to come later that week.

Ron had apologized for making her upset that night, partially at his mother's and Hermione's behest. Though he did seem like he was walking on eggshells around her for the rest of the weekend. Ginny felt a bit bad about that now that she thought about it. She wasn't really mad at Ron so much as she was shocked at her own feelings when she found herself staunchly defending Draco Malfoy. Ron would eventually come around once he understood her feelings for Draco. Eventually. Like he always did.

But what were those feelings?

The conversation with Luna kept replaying in her mind for the latter part of the weekend. Had she told anyone else what they had talked about (which she wouldn't dare at this point – because everyone would think both she and Luna were insane), they would have simply told Ginny to brush it off. It was just another one of Luna's imaginary creatures. However, she knew Luna well enough at this point to know when her comments were real. And Luna was quite serious with her statements.

It was just so odd. She resolutely abhorred him upon setting foot into the house the very first day. Though Ginny had reluctantly admitted that Draco was rather handsome, that didn't mean his personality was. Until they were forced to actually talk to each other outside of throwing petty barbs at one another. And it was then that hatred went from tolerance to friendship and perhaps now something more.

Draco and Ginny had fallen into an easy rhythm once they got over their rivalry. She smiled as she looked outside the carriage window. Though it was a cloudy day, her smile wasn't about the landscape passing by her. She thought back to breakfast every morning. They would always argue over the Quidditch section of the paper first thing; usually she won that battle. Or how she knew how much sugar Draco liked in his tea: one and two-thirds of a spoon because a full other spoonful would be too much but one and a half was simply too little.

And of course, there were those moments where they just strangely felt right. Those moments when his slate eyes would light up, as if the shadows had cleared from his orbs. When his smirk would slowly turn into a hesitant smile, truly illuminating each of his features. The feeling of his resilient arm around her waist. His strong hand in hers – how they just simply fit, as if it was meant to be. That brought her back to thinking of his lips on hers. Ginny shivered.

Maybe she did like him, after all. The images of the roses flashed in her head. And maybe he liked her back too? That fluttering sensation returned to her stomach from the night of the Cotillion. Forget about fairies flitting around in her stomach, there were full-sized hippogriffs galloping around at this point. Ginny suddenly felt anxious and excitedly nervous for their supposed date later that week. It was an exhilarating adrenaline rush.

But what did all of what was unfolding really mean? Did it mean she was now seeing Draco Malfoy? What would her family say? What would his family say? What would the public at large say? Ginny took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, willing all of her anxieties to leave her body with the large breath. There was nothing to get concerned over at this point. There was nothing to tell anyone, for that matter. She would just have to wait and see what would happen at their date.

"Great, now even I'm calling it a date," Ginny muttered, though a small smile was dancing on her face. Mostly because she began to realize that she was the last one to comprehend what was happening. Lena kept hitting her over the head with it. Which meant Blaise most likely knew too. Hell, Luna could tell just from several letters. Where had she been all of this time?

The carriage passed through the gate as the Manor began to grow larger and larger as the carriage drew closer. The lush, green Wiltshire countryside was a welcoming vision rather than the daunting arena it had once been to her. A flutter of wind wound its way through the lawns of the estate. Though the clouds were clashing against each other, murky and grey, much like a certain someone's eyes, it felt like sunshine inside the carriage.

Ginny's small smile broke out into a full blown grin. Another thought occurred to her: she would have to invite Draco as her escort and guest to her formal "coming out" ball for her birthday. Though the antiquated idea of coming out to society still made her cringe, it would be much more fun with a tall, snarky, blond man at her side.

A/N: Yes, there was a Ducktales reference in the Ginny/Ron argument. And "Snarfblatt" is a reference from The Little Mermaid. I was so proud thinking I had made that word up on my own. Le sigh. Apologies for the long wait between updates. I was trying very hard to get 2 chapters done before I went out of town again but I also didn't want to rush it, which is why this chapter is a little short. I was having trouble putting it together, so I hope it turned out okay. But, I did write a silly Valentine's Day one shot "My Unlucky Valentine" that you can check out in the meantime! Thank you all so much for your reviews – I can't believe I even got 50! And for the follows as well! They honestly make my day and I do go back more than once to read them. :) Hope to have some more to read!