For AMBER!
Prompts: DracoGinny, "Do you want to know why? Are you sure you really want to know?". "You think you're so clever."/"Actually, I know I am.", lonely.
Thank you to CupCakeyyy, DinoDina, and V. Grahams for the fantastic betaing!
Draco Malfoy had always been a proud individual; he knew who he was and what he wanted. A pureblood wife and a pureblood heir — that's what was expected of him. Though the war broke down his barriers and blurred the right and wrong lines, being brought up on the wrong side of the war had confused him even while he was still a boy.
Was everything he had learnt a lie?
His whole upbringing?
How was he supposed to work out what values he should keep, and which ones he should ditch?
He knew he wanted a proper education — he was smart enough to know that that was an essential thing in life. Though, it appeared his opinion of Weasley and Potter was spot on when they decided not to return to take their exams — it looked like they would be living off their fame. They had never called the Boy-Who-Lived intelligent.
As the year came to an end and he took his N.E.W.T's, Draco was confident that he had scored high and was now anticipating responses from his applications. While working in the Ministry of Magic wasn't his passion, it would do for now. At least until he had worked out what he was passionate about.
However, having only a few days left at Hogwarts came with complications, and that was a series of articles about the heavy divide between 'good' and 'evil'. Anybody who might have been related to a Death Eater or had been sorted into Slytherin had been deemed evil. Draco noticed that this belief had started to impact those around him, and he knew it caused even more turmoil outside of Hogwarts.
What made it even more confusing for him, though, was that it wasn't anybody's particular action that was causing issues, it was the idea of a 'divide' between the two sides. He didn't feel this divide, but, then again, he kept his head down.
It was lonely to not communicate with others often, but it was for the best. Draco could deal with his loneliness for a few months.
He stood up from the Slytherin table with a sigh and started to walk towards his common room when he heard a commotion.
"Tell us, Miss Weasley, how does it feel to be at school with former death eaters?"
Malfoy groaned as he rolled his eyes. Of course, she'd be the one getting interviewed inside the castle. How those reporters managed to get onto school grounds repeatedly was beyond him.
"We are all trying to have an education. Leave me alone."
That made the Slytherin stop. She didn't sound pleased.
"Tell me - do you feel safe at Hogwarts?"
"Just let me pass."
Draco could hear the anger in the girls' voice that was ready to explode. He wasn't sure if he was intrigued to see her anger or if he wanted to annoy the reporter by appearing, so he continued his route past them. "Greetings," he said off-handedly, his head held high.
What he didn't expect, but didn't allow it to show, was Ginny to announce, "Draco! Wait for me."
He watched her push past a group of students and catch up to him. "Please just…" she started, but he interrupted her, slinging an arm over her shoulders and leading her off.
"Who let reporters in?"
"They were sent by Minister Shacklebolt. He was hoping to create some good publicity about Hogwarts after a drop in admissions this year. He wants Hogwarts to be the trusted school for everybody's children again," she explained with a high level of annoyance.
Draco scoffed. "And that is their line of questioning? Don't they have more important things to ask?" The second they rounded the corner, he removed his arm. "I guess it's better, storywise… to keep us in fear of war instead of in the solace of peace."
Weasley looked up at him with a look he couldn't quite place. "We should do something about that!"
Looking down at her, as he stood many inches taller, he gave her a sceptical look. "Good luck with that."
Without hesitation, he walked off - there were still two N.E.W.T exams he needed to revise for, and he didn't have time for distractions.
Draco continued to avoid the crowds after graduating from Hogwarts, especially with the amount of rumours that had gone around following that interview;
Malfoy and Weasley Dating!
Has Malfoy corrupted the hero?
Secret Relationship!
It was different publicity but not what he wanted. At his very core, he wanted to call it embarrassing and ludicrous that anybody would believe he would stoop that low to even being friends with a blood-traitor — those were his families' values, but were they his, too? After all, she was a pureblood too, surely that would be acceptable?
If he was still under the control of his family, he would definitely not even consider looking twice at a Weasley, however, now? Maybe things were different.
Shaking his thoughts away, he adjusted his tie before walking into his office — the one he shared with two other people. Not quite as glamourous as he had dreamt of when he was younger, but good enough for him now.
"Hey, Malfoy," Burte greeted as he walked in, seconds before their shift started, and dropped a magazine onto his desk. "Hear there's a secret wedding."
Another rumour. Malfoy opened the paper to find that what Burte said to be true, he could read about his 'secret wedding' to G. Weasley. "Who gets married in the woods?" he questioned, igniting laughter from his colleagues. "You'd think they'd at least try to make it half reasonable."
Burte grabbed a pile of paperwork to get started on. "Did you read about her brother being your best man?"
A disgusted look naturally made it to his face. "Which one?"
Kimman chipped in, even though he hadn't read the news, "All of them."
"It'd be a chorus of gingers," Burte laughed.
Draco smiled to himself as the three of them settled down to get some work done. He was extremely thankful for his work colleagues; they treated him fairly, like any other individual. Both were a few years older than him and had also gone to Hogwarts. However, one had been a Ravenclaw and the other a Hufflepuff. They accepted him and relished gossip to joke around — even though sometimes they weren't sensitive or kind jokes, they all knew there wasn't any cruelty behind their words.
This had helped Draco to understand his feelings on the matter. He didn't talk it out, but making jokes and listening to them guided his own thoughts on what was a joke and what he believed in.
"I think I'm going to talk to Weasley," he said randomly, as he looked between the two men. "Maybe we should have a joint statement that it's all lies; that's the sensible thing to do."
They both nodded and gave small opinions. It might not work, but until you try, you never know.
With his head held high, Draco located Miss Weasley in a small cafe; she had to be waiting for somebody. He doubted he'd get this opportunity to talk to her unless he went to her work or home, and both of those options could cause even more rumors.
He walked up to her and sat down without requesting permission. "I think we need to talk."
Weasley looked up at him with a surprised expression. "Yes. I'm getting rather annoyed with everybody asking me when we're getting married."
Draco held back a smile; random people hadn't questioned him for the most part; however, he could understand what she must be going through. "Should we make a statement then?"
She let out a heavy sigh. "I've tried!"
"Not you. We."
"Do you think that would work?" she asked. He noticed how tired she looked. "Because anything to stop the owls pecking at my window throughout the night will be worth it."
"Why don't you put on a silencing charm?"
The two of them locked eyes, and he was sure that if glares could kill, he'd be maimed by now. "You think you're so clever."
"Actually, I know I am," he replied while maintaining their eye contact. "But that's not the point. Stopping these lies is the point."
Her eyes narrowed. "Oh, of course, you want to stop the lies. How dare they insinuate that you'd lower your standards to somebody like me."
Rolling his eyes, he broke eye-contact. "That's nothing to do with it." Why were women so dramatic?
"Whatever you say."
"Do you want to know why? Are you sure you really want to know? Why I hate lies spread in the newspapers? Why do I find it ridiculous that they still get away with destroying people's lives just to get a story? Do you?"
He could tell by her eyes that she was backing down slightly. "Sure, tell me why."
Draco resisted from scoffing. "You were on the 'good side' of the war, you, your family, and all of your friends. The heroes. The saviours." He paused. "I wasn't. My family wasn't. None of my friends were. Do you know how many lies I've had to ignore? Draco Malfoy is the new dark lord. Draco Malfoy is Voldemort's heir. Draco Malfoy has poisoned Harry Potter. Draco Malfoy can't have children. Draco Malfoy left at the altar. Draco Malfoy failed all of his classes. Draco Malfoy is dating Ginny Weasley. Draco Malfoy has murdered eighteen house-elves. Draco Malfoy's feud with Harry Potter grows."
"You've made your point." Her expression was unreadable, though, he could tell that she was sympathetically annoyed.
"Have I?" Draco took a deep breath. "It's endless. Though, this fake relationship with you has been going on too long. I'm not saying it would make a huge difference, but if nobody holds them accountable, then they'll continue with those lies. And next time, it might not be about somebody who doesn't care."
Ginny took a sip of water. Her lips parted slightly. "We'll make a statement. One that ensures it's clear we were never together and never plan on getting together."
Draco nodded as the thoughts went through his mind. "Let's focus on their lies without giving them any indication of the future." At her glance, he elaborated. "Less for them to make lies about. If we say we'll never get together, they'll spin it that we broke up."
"I guess that's true." Ginny glanced towards the door of the cafe before looking back at him. "Maybe we'd say that if they bombard us again instead."
A laugh escaped Draco's lips before he managed to stop it. He blamed Burte and Kimman for that. "If you want. It seems your mind is made up about me in that regard." He stood to leave. "Thank you for your time."
Weasley shot up, making it feel like they were now closer. "What do you mean by that comment?" she demanded.
Draco stood a step towards the door. "Just saying, if you don't want to date me, that's fine. Message received loud and clear."
"No! You wouldn't want to date me. I'm a blood traitor."
He visibly froze for a second at her statement. "You're a Pureblood who fought for good. I've never discounted you as a potential date."
With a shrug, he walked out, leaving a very stunned Weasley behind.