Chapter 6: You Won't Be Seventeen Forever
Ginny sat on the living room floor, her back propped up against the armchair and her legs outstretched before her. The Seventh Year Charms textbook lay open on her lap, and the tantalizing smells of her mum's cooking wafted in from the kitchen.
"This should be against some sort of statute," she said grumpily.
Draco, who was lying on his stomach a foot away and reading a book about the inner workings of the wizarding banking system, didn't respond.
Miffed, Ginny prodded his side with her toe.
He raised his eyebrows at her, keeping his gaze firmly on the text before him. "Are you complaining again?" he sighed.
"But I just finished all my Sixth Year stuff a month and a half ago…shouldn't I get more of a break before I'm beat over the head with all of this," she huffed, defiantly shutting the textbook with a snap. "And anyway, it's my birthday!"
Draco glanced at her and she took the opportunity to make her most displeased face. He rolled his eyes, but she saw the corners of his lips struggling against a grin. "Hard to believe you're an adult," he muttered.
"Hey!" She prodded him harder in the side. "I'll Bat Bogey you, you know! I'm allowed to do that now!"
"Look, just finish that chapter, will you?" he said, reaching over and flipping her book back open. He tapped a finger to the page.
"Ugh," she groaned, but she sighed theatrically and returned to reading, biting distractedly at the tip of her note-taking quill.
"You're an awful student," Draco commented, flipping over onto his back and holding his book above him.
Ginny made a face at him and settled her legs comfortably across his stomach.
She had struggled over the past year through her Sixth Year material. Her mother kept her on a strict schedule, insisting that just because a war was on didn't mean she could neglect her education and lounge around the house all day. There had still been no news about Harry, Ron, and Hermione, and by now Ginny had really ceased to hope for it. She knew that Fred and George had been right – if Voldemort had succeeded in hurting Harry, the news would have been plastered over every newspaper and announced on every street corner. No, as long as there was silence, she knew they must be safe, and that had become enough.
Fifteen minutes later, Ginny was mercifully released from her schoolwork by her mother's call from the kitchen. "Ginny, dear, I see Charlie coming up the lane!"
Gleefully, Ginny thrust her book away and bounded up, meeting Charlie at the door.
"There's the birthday girl," he cried happily, enveloping her in one of the bear hugs she'd always loved when they were little. "How does it feel to be a bona fide adult, hm, Ginniekins?"
"Lovely," she smiled, taking his coat and settling onto the coat rack. "Hope the Apparition Point went all right?" she added.
"Naw, some tough questions about where I was going and what for," Charlie said, waving off the question, "But they don't give Purebloods too much trouble."
Things had gotten much worse in the world outside the Burrow's confines over the past year. The Order, which sometimes held meetings in the living room, suspected that Voldemort was becoming desperate, frustrated with his unsuccessful attempts to locate the trio. Security had been tightened, and Apparition was now restricted and tracked out of a few central locations in each city which were patrolled by Death Eaters.
The Burrow had been left mostly to its own devices. A group of Death Eaters had come on two different occasions to question "Ron" more closely, but Draco's performances consistently seemed to convince them not to resort to the maiming of a valuable Pureblood line. Ginny suspected that he knew precisely how to play them because he had been in proximity to them for so many years. Her family was incredibly grateful, and Draco had settled more and more comfortably into life with the Weasleys.
Ginny was dragged from her musings when Charlie cheerfully proferred a long, narrow package, wrapped in brown paper with a ribbon that featured incredibly lifelike moving dragons. She beamed and stood on her toes to kiss Charlie on the cheek. "Thank you," she said, bringing the package into the living room. She stepped over Draco to set it on the coffee table.
"Your first piece of loot?" he said, grinning up at her.
"First of many," she said happily, patting him on the stomach with the sole of her foot. "Are you going to say hello to Charlie?"
"Hi, Charlie," Draco said dutifully as the second-eldest Weasley came into the room and flopped onto the end of the couch. Ginny settled herself into the armchair and crossed her legs.
Just then, flames burst in the grate and Bill and Fleur stepped through.
"Hello!" Charlie said, standing and clapping Bill on the back. "How are you, Fleur?"
"Happy to be home," Bill said, tossing Ginny another package.
"Bill! Be careful with it!" Fleur exclaimed, but Ginny caught it easily in her Chaser's hands and set in the table beside Charlie's gift. "Happy birthday, Ginny!" she added.
"Here, let me make room for you," Draco said, setting his book aside and standing so that Bill and Fleur could maneuver onto the couch beside Charlie. He made a scooting gesture to Ginny, who moved a bit to let him sit down beside her in the armchair.
Mr. Weasley appeared from upstairs. "Percy just Owled…he can't make it tonight, they're making them stay late at the Ministry. But he says he's sorry, Gin. And the twins are on their way down…they just want to finish up a few orders."
"How's that going anyway?" Charlie asked.
"They're making a tidy little sum off it, I think," Ginny said. About seven months prior, the twins had gotten tired of sitting around, and since they had had to close down their shop in Diagon Alley, they decided to re-start their business in mail-order format, at least for the time being.
"Any law suits, yet?" Bill asked, grinning.
"Nope!" exclaimed Fred, bounding down the stairs, "There's a liability release at the bottom of our order form."
He grinned at George, who nodded vigorously. "That's saved our sorry bums quite a few times, let me tell you."
Ginny laughed along with the rest of the family.
"Is that Lipnis's book on the WBS?" Bill commented, once individual conversations began to spring up around the room. He gestured to Draco's book.
"Yeah," Draco nodded confirmation.
Bill looked surprised and vaguely impressed. "Are you interested in his stuff?"
"He makes some interesting points," Draco said diplomatically.
Ginny rolled her eyes. "He thinks his theory's rubbish though," she cut in, and Draco kicked her foot.
Bill laughed, "So do most of the wizard's working at Gringott's, but he was so integral in passing the Personal Gold Statute in '64 that we all have to keep reading his work."
Draco was nodding wisely and Ginny smiled and nudged him serreptitiously. Though Bill's cursebreaking work kept him largely out of his office at Gringotts, he still stayed up to date on the state of economic affairs. Since finishing his Seventh Year studies, Draco had taken a particular interest in the banking system, and Ginny had been goading him into thinking about a job at Gringotts after the war. "It's only fitting that a rich prat like you go into the business of money," she had teased him.
Several minutes later, Mr. Weasley excused himself from the room to help Mrs. Weasley finish up dinner, and within the hour they were all seated around the huge kitchen table over Ginny's favorite birthday meal.
Ginny pulled her broomstick up above tree level, then allowed herself to hover there for a moment, taking in the beautiful sight of the sun setting on the horizon. The breeze dusted across her cheek and she sighed contentedly.
Charlie, Bill, and Fleur had headed back to their respective homes. Over the past several months, it had become increasingly unwise to travel after dark, and Charlie had a ways to walk to get home from the Apparition Point in London. Bill and Fleur had followed suit.
"So what did you think of your presents?" Draco said, gliding up beside her on Charlie's old broom.
"They were great," Ginny said, smiling at the thought of her family surrounding her and forcing gifts into her hands after dinner. Her parents had given her a beautiful new quilt. They had incorporated photographs of the family into some of the fabric patches so that their smiling faces waved out at her. She'd received an exquisite set of gilt hairclips from Bill and Fleur, who had gotten them sent from France by Fleur's family. Charlie had, with the help of a few fellow dragon tamers with connections, gotten Ginny an advance copy of the latest biography of Gwenog Jones, signed by Jones herself. And Fred and George had, true to form, teasingly entrusted her with what they promised would be the next last word in Love Potions.
Ginny turned back to Draco. "Thanks for yours, by the way," she said, playfully tossing him the inscribed quaffle she held under her arm. He veered a bit to catch it and Ginny grinned. "Maybe we should have you practice with it tomorrow," she teased. "How'd you get it, anyway?"
"Remember three weeks ago when I offered to help your mum bring home groceries?" he said, winking cheekily at her.
"Ah, brilliant," Ginny said, tapping her forehead.
"I certainly thought so," Draco quipped back, winking cheekily at her. "Took the Polyjuice, of course," he added.
Ginny nodded sagely. Draco had been unable to leave the confines of the Burrow as himself for over a year now, and though he never mentioned feeling pent up, Ginny knew it was taking its toll. He could go out as Ron, of course, but Ginny had a feeling that wasn't going to be enough for long.
"I actually have your second gift, if you want it," Draco said.
Ginny turned to him, surprised. "A second gift?" she said.
He tossed the quaffle back at her and she caught it nimbly with one arm.
"Yeah, remember last summer when you asked for two gifts this year?"
Ginny looked blankly at him. "Well I didn't actually expect you to get two gifts, you ruddy show-off!" she said. "I was only teasing!"
Draco sighed theatrically, but he was grinning. "I guess I'll just keep it then," he said, turning away and floating higher into the sky.
"Aw, I didn't mean it," Ginny pouted, coasting up after him.
Smiling widely now, Draco produced a small silver-colored box from his pocket. "Well, come closer, then," he said, gesturing her nearer. "I'm not tossing this over, it's fragile."
Interest peaked, Ginny maneuvered her broom parallel to his, and he dropped the box into her outstretched hand. She opened it carefully. Inside, displayed on a velvet cushion, was a delicate gold chain that ended in a beautiful locket. Ginny inhaled sharply.
"It's beautiful, Draco," she said, glancing over at Malfoy. He was regarding her with a curious expression. "But I really can't accept this. You already got me something, and I thought this second gift would be some kind of gag thing…but this is…it's really too nice."
"Oh, don't be ridiculous, Weasley," Draco scoffed. "I can't send it back, anyway. It's custom-made. Open it."
Ginny carefully touched the side of the locket, and it opened to reveal a tiny photograph displayed across the two inner ovals.
"It's the pond," Draco said. "And there," he continued, reaching over and pointing to the two figures discernable at the water's edge, "we are."
Ginny bent her head to look more closely. In the picture, she was sitting with her legs dangling in the pond, and Draco had swum up next to her. He had obviously just said or done something extremely funny, because Ginny's head was thrown back in a full-bodied laugh.
"Where in the world did you get this photograph?" she asked, smiling broadly.
"That was about two months ago," he replied. "Fred and George were testing out their new walking cameras, remember?"
Ginny nodded, grinning at the memory. "What a nightmare! Those things were everywhere, taking pictures of people in the loo and all…Mum almost murdered them."
"Well, they were useful for this, anyway," Draco laughed. "I found this one when I was helping the twins go through the negatives. I guess a few of those buggers wandered all the way out to the pond. I sent it off to this jewelry shop my mum goes to sometimes, and they fit it to the locket."
Ginny leaned over and gave Draco a quick kiss on the cheek. "It's really lovely, thank you," she said earnestly.
Draco shrugged. "I figured you ought to get at least one good memory out of this whole mess," he said.
Ginny smiled, watching photograph-Ginny splash Draco full in the face with a kick of her leg in the water. She looked up, only to catch Draco staring at her again with that curious expression. It was something like surprise, she decided.
She felt herself blush self-consciously and decided to call him out on that strange look. "Do I have something on my face?" she asked.
"Well," Draco said, narrowing his eyes at her, "I've been trying to figure out for the longest time what all of those little brown dots are across your nose. Bloody dreadful, really."
"Hey!" Ginny cried, throwing the Quaffle at his head. He laughed, and it just barely missed him, plummeting toward the ground below.
"You really do need to practice more," Ginny called out, accelerating her broom into a quick dive to catch the falling ball just before it reached the grass. She heard Draco land just behind her.
"Not everyone has a whole gaggle of brothers to practice with all the time," he countered, jogging up easily to walk beside her to the shed.
"Excuses, excuses," Ginny muttered, shoving him playfully on the shoulder.
The sun had all but set on the horizon as they came up to the small wooden building. "Lumos," Ginny said, and the end of her wand brightened to reveal the clutter of broomsticks, old Prophets, and knick knacks inside. Her father's collection of Muggle appliances filled the shelves of one wall, and the disassembled parts of his latest project were strewn across the big table in the center of the room.
Ginny set her broomstick in its place along the wall then swung herself up on the table so Draco could put his away. She patted the wood next to her and he settled himself beside her.
"Put this on for me," Ginny said, handing him the locket and swinging her long hair around her shoulder.
"Have I ever told you you're incredibly bossy?" Draco replied, taking the chain and deftly clasping it on.
"More than once," she answered. "But it's part of my charm." The locket felt cool against her skin, and Ginny shivered a little as Draco's hand brushed against the back of her neck.
Thoughtfully outlining the engraved pattern on the locket face with her fingertip, Ginny turned to look at him. In the soft pool of light emanating from her wand, Ginny's eyes could trace the profile of his now completely familiar face, and she realized with surprise that he was actually quite handsome. Not rugged or athletic, but definitely handsome. His eyes were an incredibly piercing gray, and his nose was tall and – Ginny stopped short. She realized, heart suddenly pounding hard in her chest, what the looks he had been giving her earlier had meant, because they mirrored the one she was wearing at that very moment. It was attraction.
Under her scrutiny, Draco's brow had creased in slight confusion, but he flashed her his trademark smirk as he spoke. "Do I have something on my -..., "
And on impulse, without any explanation, without even letting herself think, Ginny leaned forward and pressed her lips hard against his. Ginny's stomach dropped sharply in the next terrifying moment when his lips lay shocked and immobile against hers and a million confused thoughts rushed into her head. She began to pull away, an apology already in her throat, but quite suddenly she realized that Draco was kissing her back fiercely, and her fingers pressed against his back as his hands came up to cup either side of her face. Even in the midst of it all, Ginny knew with certainty that she had been kissed like this before, and she tried to fix every moment of it into her memory.
But just as quickly as it had begun, Draco was pulling away from her. He swung down off the table and stood before her, leaning on the table with his arms on either side of her so that their eyes were level. "What in the bloody hell was that?" he said, the words rushing out of him.
"Well," she said, catching her breath, "I think it was a kiss, but I really can't be sure."
Draco rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on, Weasley, you know what I mean. You practically attacked me!"
"I didn't hear you complaining," she countered. "Is that a blush I see?"
"Of course not," Draco said defiantly.
Ginny considered him for a moment. "Are you angry?" she said.
"Of course not," he said again. "You just caught me off guard, that's all." He paused, looking searchingly into her face. Ginny stared back at him. She realized with mild surprise that she didn't feel nervous or guilty or awkward. She felt bold and fearless and...happy.
"So," he said finally, raising his eyebrows at her archly. "Is that sort of thing going to become a regular occurrence from now on?"
Ginny smiled. "If you want," she replied, shrugging cheekily.
"Because if it is, I'm going to need a guarantee of protection from your brothers. They'd hex me to bits if word got out."
Feeling daring, Ginny leaned forward and kissed him again, softly this time, her lips brushing lightly against his and lingering just a moment longer than necessary.
She leaned back and smiled at him. "Sod 'em."
Author's Note: And there it is! They finally got together! Sorry this chapter took a while, I've been on vacation, but I've been writing in every spare moment to get this chapter to you. I want to take a moment to thank everyone who has reviewed thus far – you guys are fantastic! Let me know what you thought of this one – I hope it wasn't too stilted. Look for the next chapter in a few days. I'm excited…just one more chapter to go before Harry returns and the drama really starts. Much love, mugglehugger.