A/N: This story was rewritten in December 2021. If you started before then, please read from the beginning – a lot has changed!

Chapter 1

"Good morning, Mr. Malfoy." The voice of Draco's secretary exasperated the headache building between his eyes. Draco gently massaged the bridge of his nose as he walked in, wishing he had thought to take a hangover potion before he arrived. A wave of cool spring air followed him into the office as the door shut behind him. May weather had been exceedingly cold that year, and Draco hated it.

"Good morning, Jill," Draco muttered, handing her his rain-soaked cloak. "What's on my schedule this morning? And why is the building so bloody cold?"

"At 9 you have a meeting with a representative from Gringotts and at 11 a brunch with Mr. Zabini," Jill recited, hanging his cloak in the front closet. "The wizards in facilities are working on the heat right now. Apparently, there was an issue with the heating charms."

"Tell them to hurry up." Draco noticed his office door was open. "And who is in my office right now?"

"Press Management," Jill said quietly, "They're here to talk about this morning's headline."

Draco sighed, but slowly walked into his office. At 32 years old, he felt he shouldn't have to deal with things such as press management, but after both of his parents had unexpectedly died a few years earlier, he was the only one left to handle the family business. He wouldn't lie and say it was easy; being the CEO of a multi-national company did not grant him a lot of freedom.

As he walked into the office, two men and a woman stood up with a chorus of, "Good morning, Mr. Malfoy."

"Good morning." Draco was tired of people saying that. This was a morning far from good. "Please, sit," he said, setting his briefcase down and gesturing at the chairs in front of his desk.

As they sat, one of the men said, "Mr. Malfoy, we're here to discuss the article in the Prophet this morning about the incident last night."

"And what incident would that be?" Draco asked innocently, sitting behind his desk. He knew exactly what they were talking about.

The woman put a newspaper on his desk and said, "This one." The picture on the front of the Daily Prophet showed him in an extremely compromising position with a black-haired woman.

A woman that was not his blonde fiancé.

"Oh, yeah, that," Draco said off-handedly, trying not to smirk. "What about it?"

"Some of your investors have been a little wary of you recently and are threatening to withdraw their support of Malfoy Industries," the first man said. "Many feel that you are not representing the ethics and values one would expect from a man of your status. The board has elected us to speak with you about this matter."

Draco sighed; that was not good, "What does the board suggest I do?"

The second man finally spoke, "You need to be in a serious relationship with a nice, sensible woman."

"I don't know any nice, sensible women," Draco drawled, smiling crudely.

"We thought about that," the first man said knowingly.

The woman sat a file in front of him, "So we picked a woman for you."

—

Ginny Weasley ran into the staff lounge on the fourth floor at Saint Mungo's, apologizing profusely to Luna and grabbing a clean pair of lime green robes. After quickly changing she tossed her street clothes into her locker and slammed it shut before following the blonde woman out into the hall towards the main desk. "I'm so sorry Luna. Had a bit of a family emergency this morning. Thanks for covering for me."

"Anytime," Luna said smiling, "We we're happy to get out of the house early. Dad was being extra grumpy." She lovingly stroked her pregnant belly. Both women grabbed a chart from the stack. "Is everything ok?" Luna asked, glancing down at the chart and biting the end of her quill pensively.

"I guess," Ginny sighed, also leafing through the patient chart in her hands. "Mum went to visit Ron and Hermione and caught them shagging while the kids were down for a nap."

"Wow," Luna snorted, "She caught them in bed? How embarrassing."

"I think she was mostly upset that she caught them in the kitchen." Ginny rolled her eyes, "It's not the first time she's walked in on them. Merlin knows she barges in on us enough she is bound to catch us in questionable situations. I'm surprised she hasn't been rewarded with a show from you and George the way you two go at it."

"Oh, she has," Luna said off-handedly.

"Lovely."

"If you think she's difficult for your brothers, wait until you're in a serious relationship, she's going to drive you crazy," Luna said. "Always popping by for tea or just to say hi. It gets worse when you're pregnant."

"I was in a serious relationship," Ginny pointed out.

"Yeah, with Harry," Luna scoffed. "I'm sure your mum would have married Harry if she could have."

Ginny laughed before heading down the hall to her first patient and the start of a busy day. To her relief, it went by quickly and after twelve hours she changed back into her street clothes, pulled her hair into a long plait, and walked out into the rain. The droplets felt good on her skin, and she leaned her face up to take a deep breath of fresh night air.

At the end of a long day, the Apparition and Floo stations in the lobby of St. Mungo's were always a battle. Ginny preferred to walk the few short blocks to Diagon Alley to use the public Floo system to get home. After her rather public break up with Harry a few years earlier, Ginny had happily rented the spare bedroom in George and Luna's flat in Islington.

As she entered the Leaky Cauldron, Ginny waved at Hannah Abbott, who smiled and waved with a cup filled hand. "Can I sit?" Ginny called across the pub.

"Hey Ginny!" Hannah flashed her a smile. "Sit anywhere – the table over there is clean. I'll bring some tea and your usual over shortly."

"Thank you!" Ginny would hate to admit she spent too much time at the Leaky, but she was there enough to have a usual. She sat at one of the small tables by the front window and studied the passersby in Diagon Alley before her usual, a turkey wrap with cheese, was set in front of her.

Ginny had paid and started eating when a voice said, "Weasley?"

—

After all his meetings and phone calls, 8:00 pm found Draco staring down at the open file on his desk. He was trying to convince himself this was a bad idea, but he wasn't succeeding.

The file was basic:

-Age: 30

-Date of Birth: August 11th

-23 Cross St, Islington, London

-Workplace: St. Mungo's – Spell Damage

The file held no other details about her except for an issue of Witch Weekly from years earlier. Surprisingly she was on the cover. He hadn't seen the issue - he didn't read Witch Weekly. The picture was impressive: Ginny wearing a power suit and straddling a chair, showing an excessive amount of thigh and cleavage. It almost made his mouth water. He flipped open the magazine and quickly read the article. It was about her Quidditch career. She was leaving the Harpies to finish her studies and become a healer at St. Mungo's.

Draco looked back at the cover and let his eyes skim over her body. It wasn't that she wasn't pretty. Red hair framed a creamy freckled face adorned with caramel brown eyes. But she also wasn't breath-taking. She was slightly heavy set, short, and small busted. Her body was perfect for a Quidditch career, but she was just normal. Nothing amazing. That was why Draco had never given her attention, or even noticed her. Draco Malfoy didn't date normal women. His last three girlfriends: supermodel, actress, fashion designer. His fiancé had been an heiress.

Ginny Weasley was a healer who came from a poor family.

She wasn't exactly his type.

After another half an hour of staring at her picture, imagining her at a restaurant, at his favorite club, at his house, in his bed, naked and perched atop him, he finally grabbed his cloak with a sigh and grabbed a small bit of parchment Jill had given him before she left.

Leaky Cauldron 8:45pm.

—

Ginny turned quickly in her seat, immediately recognizing his voice. Draco Malfoy was sitting at the table behind her, long legs stretched out in front of him. She let her eyes skim over him. Same chiseled face, platinum blonde hair and piercing blue eyes. He was taller and more well-built than she remembered, dressed in an obviously expensive suit and tie. He looked primped.

Her mind wandered slightly, verging on thinking of him in a more intimate way, but she shook her head and almost snorted with laughter: he was too pretty to be her type. Finally, she said, "Good evening, Malfoy."

Surprisingly he exhaled sharply and snarled, "Why do people keep saying that? It is certainly not a good evening; it's raining and cold."

"Ok," she said evenly, trying not to show her surprise, "Have a bad evening for all I care," and she turned back to her food, ignoring him again.

To her distaste, he immediately moved to her table and sat across from her saying, "It's rude to be dismissive of people."

"It's rude to interrupt people while they're trying to eat," Ginny snapped back.

"It's rude not to offer to share," he said pointedly.

She slammed her fork down on the table, keenly aware that the other patrons were starting to notice their interaction. "What do you want Malfoy?" she hissed under her breath.

"Go out to dinner with me tomorrow night," he said.

Without a second thought she snorted with laughter. "No!"

"Why won't you?" he asked, looking slightly flustered.

"Why would I?" she retorted, sending a glare at him.

"Do you want a list of reasons? I'm rich, I'm attractive -," Ginny cut him off.

"No, I want you to go away." She stood up and walked out the door into Diagon Alley towards the public Floos, Draco following her closely. She hoped he would simply lose interest, but he easily kept pace with her. After a few blocks she finally acknowledged him again, "Seriously Malfoy, what do you want?"

"You," he said bluntly. Draco was proud of that – he had been practicing his response to that question all day, trying to make it believable. It was a logical question for her to ask. They hadn't seen each other in ears and here he was, practically begging her for a date.

"You're mental," she scoffed, not bothering to look at him.

"I'm serious."

Ginny finally stopped and turned to face him, "Then you need medical attention." She grabbed a handful of powder, and vanished into the public Floos, leaving Draco alone on the sidewalk. He growled angrily and stalked away, cursing the board for thinking she would be a good partner for him.

—

This was not going to be a good week. His Monday had already been ruined by that Weasley woman – he had tried to forget the previous night – and now Jill's voice rang out from the small magi-speaker on his desk. "Mr. Malfoy, Ms. Parkinson is here to see you."

Draco resisted the urge to send a curse at the speaker. He scrunched his nose and held his wand to his throat before growling, "Send her in." A moment later his doors banged open, and Pansy strode in, a cloud of cigarette smoke following her. Draco stood up politely and said, "Pansy, this is a surprise."

"Isa sent me to talk to you," Pansy said abruptly.

"Ah, Isabelle," Draco said fondly. Isabelle Babin was his fiancé, or ex-fiancé after the explosive argument they had after she learned of his affair with Kristin. "How is she doing?"

"Horribly," Pansy said perching on the edge of his desk beside him.

Draco slumped back into his chair and arched a groomed eyebrow at her. "Why?"

"She was willing to let go of your little escapade with that slag. What's her name?"

"Kristin," Draco answered. He tried to resist a smirk; Kristin was wonderful. He made a mental note to owl her.

"Yes, but now," Pansy gave him a look, "A Weasley? Seriously Draco, what's going on?"

Draco almost fell backwards in his chair. Luckily, he caught himself and tried to make it look like he was just spinning his chair before he asked, "How do you know about that?"

"You were in the Leaky. Obviously, someone saw you, bloody nitwit." Pansy rolled her eyes, "Don't be an idiot Draco. She's a Weasley, low class, muggle-loving, trash. Not nearly good enough for our standards."

"So, who is good enough our standards?" he asked, arching an eyebrow at her. "Isabelle? Wasn't she fucking her pool boy?"

Pansy crossed her legs, causing her already short dress to rise even higher up her long legs, "I wasn't referring to Isabelle."

Draco admired her legs and said, "The Weasley woman is just a pawn. I have no real interest in her. My investors believe I'm too wild. Press management suggested that I date a 'respectable' woman."

"So, what's your plan?"

"Pretend to have a relationship with her, make her fall in love with me and then have her do something scandalous." Pansy looked at him, an obvious question on her face. Draco sighed and answered the unspoken question, "Something horrible like sleep with another man. Then I'll look like the responsible one and I can date someone who is actually worth my time."

"Someone like?" Pansy prodded.

Draco shrugged, smirking. He glanced at the clock and said, "If you'll excuse me, I have a meeting in twenty minutes."

—

Ginny walked into work early the next day, waving a polite greeting to the security wizards before heading up to the fourth floor. Luna smiled at her when she stepped out of the elevator and said, "There's something waiting for you in the healers' lounge." Ginny gave her a puzzled look and quickly went to the lounge, Luna at her heels. Her jaw dropped at the sight of a gorgeous bouquet of red roses on the rickety table by the lockers. There was a note attached and to Ginny's surprise, it made her blush.

Ginny,

It was wonderful to see you again. You're even more beautiful than I remembered.

-Draco Malfoy

Luna read the note over Ginny's shoulder and gasped, "These are from Draco Malfoy? Why is he suddenly interested in you?"

"Don't ask me," Ginny said shrugging. "I ran into him last night after I got off work and he asked me out. Of course, I said no, but Merlin, he's such a prat."

"Wait, he asked you out?" Luna's eyebrows shot up.

"Yes, but I said no," Ginny reiterated, ripping up the note and tossing it in the bin.

"Why?" Luna exclaimed.

"Because," Ginny said rolling her eyes, "He's Draco Malfoy. He treated me and my family, not to mention you, terribly at Hogwarts. Why would I go out with him?"

"Because he's attractive, he's rich, and he has been publicly recognized as one of Witch Weekly's top ten best shags," Luna said bluntly. "You're a beautiful single woman who hasn't been on a date in months, let alone had sex in forever! Never mind dating him, it's about time you had a night of spontaneous, uninhibited sex, and who better?"

"Luna, drop it," Ginny stressed. "I'm not going out with him. You're just pregnant and hormonal." She threw the roses in the bin with the note and walked out of the room. Luna trailed along behind her, protesting, but Ginny ignored her. "What charts do you have for me?" she asked the healer-in-charge.

The older woman handed Ginny a chart, "There's a man in curtain one. Says he's not sure what's wrong, but he thinks you can help him. He requested you."

Ginny gave her a puzzled look but took the chart before walking to curtain one. Much to her dismay Draco Malfoy was draped on the bed trying to wrench his arm out of another healers' grasp.

"Finally," he drawled when Ginny came in, "I've been waiting here long enough. I could have died from such a long wait."

"You have a better chance of dying from a dented ego," Ginny said bluntly.

"Ginny, I can't figure out what's wrong," the younger healer said sounding panicked. "He refuses to see the healer-in-charge, and he'll only see you. He won't even let me take his vitals!"

"Don't worry Josephine," Ginny said, rolling her eyes, "You can go. I'll take care of him."

Josephine left on the brink of tears and Ginny turned on Draco. "What are you playing at Malfoy?"

"Go out with me," he said.

"No."

She turned to walk away, but Draco said, "You're just going to leave me here untreated? That's bad healer etiquette. You could get written up for it."

"I can't get written up, Malfoy, that isn't a thing," Ginny snapped.

"I can make it a thing," he said testily. "Now, you should probably give me a checkup. After all, we wouldn't want rumors to go around about how uncaring Healer Ginny is. And I could die from a broken heart. We wouldn't want that to happen, would we?"

Ginny glared at him and rolled her eyes, "Of course. The death of Draco Malfoy would be a truly tragic event." Sarcasm practically dripped from her words. She stomped back to the bed, whipped out her wand and said, "Hold out your arm." She quickly took his blood pressure and listened to his lungs. After a few other routine procedures she said, "You seem to be in perfect health Mr. Malfoy, now, if you'd excuse me, I have real patients to see to."

She walked out of the exam room, but immediately Draco was behind her, grabbing her arm. He pulled her close to him and she collided into his chest. It knocked the wind out of her, giving him the chance to say, "Go out with me, tomorrow night."

"W-what? No!" Ginny said angrily, trying to step away from him. The patients and healers in the hall were starting to look at them.

"Why not?!" he asked heatedly.

"Because I think you're a spoiled, rich little boy, who is just throwing a temper tantrum because he isn't getting his way," Ginny said bluntly. "Now if you could just let me go." She could feel the eyes of every healer on her and Draco. "I really need to get back to work."

"Ok, we've had our differences, but that doesn't mean you can't go out to dinner with me," said Draco, ignoring the stares from the people around them.

Ginny could see Luna gaping at them from over Draco's shoulder. Josephine, with tears still in her eyes, ogled them from the main desk. Even the healer-in-charge, usually stoic and humdrum, was peeking at them over a chart. Ginny's heart sank; she knew her only option was to say, "Ok Malfoy." She wrenched her arm out of his grasp, hissing, "Fine, dinner tomorrow, but don't think this is going to become a regular thing. One date."

"Great," he smirked down at her, "I'll pick you up at your place at eight tomorrow night. Dress nicely, we're going somewhere fancy."

"Fine," Ginny began to walk away from him.

"Oh, Weasley," he called.

"What?!" she exclaimed, turning to glare at him.

"Don't wear any knickers." She swung her chart at him, trying to hit him, but she missed. He dodged the file with a smirk before walking out of the clinic.