Ginny sat stunned in the pub. "What the hell just happened?" she said, out loud. The girl had come in and told her that Draco was still in love with her.
"Draco. That's someone I haven't thought about in a long time." Her mind began drifting back to her sixth year at Hogwarts, five years earlier.
* * *
Ginny walked out to the Quidditch pitch on a sunny spring afternoon to watch her brother and Harry practice. They only had one game left, against Slytherin. A series of circumstances had prevented it from being the first game in the fall, but Ginny felt it would be much more exciting to win the cup beating Slytherin. She looked around the thawing grounds, smiling at the green that was beginning to peek out from the grays and browns of winter. The last snow had melted just a few days ago, and Ginny couldn't wait for the grounds to be back to their normal beauty. Just then, she spotted something that made her stop. A figure in a black cloak was watching her walk. She could tell who it was, just by his pale blond hair, even though he was a fairly good distance from her. "Malfoy. What the bloody hell is he doing watching me?" She started walking again, not taking her eyes off of him.
She shook herself just before she walked onto the pitch, calling herself a fool for thinking about him. But she found that she wasn't able to concentrate on the practice that day. Her thoughts kept drifting back to Malfoy, standing there, looking very regal. A few times she thought of the few times she had seen him in the halls that year. He had certainly grown up, that was for sure. He was tall now, not as tall as Ron, but he had an inch or two on Harry. And Quidditch hadn't hurt his body, or what she could tell of his body from his robes, in any way. She also couldn't forget his icy gray eyes that always seemed to bore through her.
She didn't even notice that practice had ended until Ron called to her from the edge of the pitch. "Ginny! Come on! It's getting dark!" She grabbed her things and ran towards them. The Trio, as she called them in her mind, were as tight as ever. Ron and Hermione had started dating at the end of sixth year and Harry didn't seem to mind. He had had a short fling with Cho Chang before she graduated, but since then he had remained single, and seemed to enjoy it.
Ginny had long since given up on her crush on Harry and she was happy for him. She herself had only dated a few boys, including Colin and Seamus. Ron had surprised her by not blowing up when they told him, and she realized that even though he was her over-protective big brother he did want her to be happy. She also felt that Hermione had had something to do with it and had been sure to thank her.
Thoughts of the boys she had dated brought her mind back to Malfoy. "I'm going to have to find him and ask him what the hell he thinks he's doing, watching me," she thought to herself, laughing at a joke that Ron was telling.
As she slept that night Draco Malfoy haunted her dreams.
For the next week she caught Malfoy looking at her at least twice every day, if not more. She tried to fight her way through the crowds to talk to him, but he always disappeared before she reached him, frustrating her to no end. She began to think she would never get the chance to talk to him when she was pulled into an empty classroom on her way to the library on Friday.
"What the fu-" she was cut off by lips on hers, pressing hard. She struggled for a moment before realizing who it was. She had done this countless times in her dreams for the past week, and before she knew it she was wrapping her arms around his neck and kissing him back, just as hard.
He pulled back after a minute and smirked at her. "Weasley, I didn't know you had it in you."
She slapped him. Hard. "There are a lot of things you don't know about me, Malfoy." She spit his name out, as if it hurt her to even say it. "Now, I want to know why the hell you've been watching me." She gave him her meanest look, wishing she could kill him with it.
Malfoy still hadn't recovered from the slap and was fingering the bright pink mark on his cheek gingerly. He looked down at her, anger in his eyes. But there was something else there too. Something Ginny hadn't seen in his eyes, or any mans eyes, for that matter, but she couldn't place what it was. "What the bloody hell did I do to deserve that, Weasley?" He spit her name, just as she had done to his.
"You've been watching me for a week! And now, you pull me into a classroom and molest me, and you want to know what you did?"
Malfoy smirked. "I didn't see you complaining about the 'molestation', Weasley."
"And I notice you're avoiding my question. Why the hell have you been watching me?"
Malfoy's smirk wavered for a moment, but was soon back in place. He snorted indignantly and pushed past Ginny. Ginny wasn't slow, though. She'd been brought up playing Quidditch and other games with her brothers and growing up around Fred and George had certainly helped her reflexes. Before he could reach the door she had pulled out her wand and locked it.
"Oh, no you don't. I'm tired of you running away, Malfoy. I want some answers and neither of us are going anywhere until I get them."
He turned, giving her a look that would have made most wither, she was sure. She refused to back down to him though and just smiled at him. "You aren't serious." He gave her an even meaner look.
"Of course I am!" she replied glibly, turning. She found a desk and sat on it, looking at him. He hadn't moved from his stance by the door and was trying to murder her with his eyes she was sure. "You are aware that I am not afraid of you?"
He took a deep breath and cocked his eyebrow. "And what does scare you, Weasley? Money?"
"Ha-ha. Very funny. Nothing scares me, Malfoy. Nothing has, not since…" "Riddle." She thought to herself. She mentally berated herself for almost letting it slip. She didn't notice that he had moved until he was inches from her face.
"Since what, Weasley?" It was almost whispered and she could feel his hot breath on her lips. She noticed that it smelled cold. She looked him in the eye and saw amusement and the thing she had seen earlier.
"Since it's none of your damn business, Malfoy," she answered quietly but defiantly, never taking her eyes from his. She would be damned if she let him in on her past or her weaknesses.
"Well, we'll see about that." He closed the space between them, covering her lips again. This time she didn't fight it. She heard herself moan as she wrapped her arms around his neck again. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her flush to him, almost making her fall off the desk, and forcing her legs apart. She could feel him and groaned at the thought of what they could do in a locked empty classroom.
He broke the kiss and began trailing them down the side of her face and to her neck. She gasped as her reached a sensitive spot on her throat and she felt him smile as he ran his tongue lightly over it, making her moan. He kissed his way up to her ears, nipping them a bit before whispering, "I'll know your secrets soon enough, Virginia." He gave her a final kiss on the lips before turning and heading to the door.
Ginny recovered herself quickly and said "You still haven't answered my question, so where do you think you're going."
Malfoy turned back to her. She saw his eyes widen and she looked down at herself. Her legs were still spread and she could feel her lips beginning to swell, and she blushed, though she did nothing to correct either thing. She merely looked back up at him, smiling coyly. She decided right then that she was going to play this as far as it would go.
"So, little Weasley likes to be kissed." Malfoy smirked as he walked back to her.
"So, little Malfoy likes kissing me." She smirked back at him, not moving. He stopped just in front of her again, making her breath catch as he came centimeters from kissing her.
"What gives you that idea?" He cocked his eyebrow slightly.
Ginny laughed and put her hands on either side of his waist, pulling his pelvis to hers. She ground hers slightly to his, feeling his erection, and said "That's usually a dead giveaway."
He smirked at her again and said, "Well, we do have a whole classroom to ourselves," before kissing her again. She pulled away for a second and muttered a silencing charm on the room before going back to Malfoy.
* * *
Ginny smiled as she thought of the fun they had had the rest of that semester. They had written each other a few times during her seventh year, but the distance proved to be too much for them and they had decided mutually to see other people. She hadn't heard from him in two years, though she saw articles in the Daily Prophet about him occasionally. He had surprised everyone by becoming one of the most generous contributors to charities throughout the Wizarding world. He played Quidditch professionally for the Wimbourne Wasps, and most of his pay went to charity from what Ginny had heard. He and Harry had actually faced off in a few matches, Harry playing for the Canons, of course.
She had dated on and off through the years, but she always ended up comparing them all to Draco, and they simply couldn't compare. The more she thought about what Charlotte had said, the more she realized that the girl had been wrong. She did love Draco, still, after all these years. She had tried, in vain, to forget him, and had even left the wizarding world for a year once. It had not helped and she had missed her family so she had returned.
She was now working at the ministry, taking over her father's old position in the Misuse of Muggle Artifacts department, and she loved her job. That didn't stop her for going to the pub a few times a week and drowning her troubles. She had been blessed to be a good drinker, so she didn't have to worry about hangovers and the like, unlike her brothers. She never understood why they drank as they did, after she had taken care of them on more than one occasion.
Ginny's heart contracted as she thought about the best three months of her life, the ones spent with Draco. She had long given up hope that he felt anything for her anymore, or that she would ever even see him again. She ordered a shot of Ogden's as she thought about Draco. "Make it a double."
"He says my name in his sleep?" she thought to herself as she downed the hot liquid.