Ginny's vision was beyond blurry as she downed her tenth double shot of Ogden's. She sounded slurred even to herself as she ordered another. The barkeep looked at her concernedly.
"I think you've had enough for tonight, Gin."
"Nonsense. Just let me have one more."
The barkeep sighed and poured her another shot. She didn't drink it immediately, just staring at it for a minute. She couldn't remember what it was she had started drinking to forget, which she took as a good sign. She picked up the glass, ready to drink it when a voice she never thought she would hear again spoke to her.
"Virginia." He sounded breathless and it took her a moment to realize who it was talking. She looked at him slowly, afraid of swift movements. When she finally saw him she nearly dropped the glass.
She could tell, even through the blurry vision, that he was more perfect than he had been when he graduated Hogwarts five years earlier. "Draco?" She didn't trust her mind at the moment, and wanted to make sure it was really him.
Draco nodded slowly as he looked at her more closely. "Are you…drunk?"
Ginny looked back at her glass and studied it for a minute before it sank in what he had asked. She looked back at him before answering, very slowly and deliberately, "Yes."
He looked concerned, which made her giggle. "How many of those have you had?" he asked, pointing to the drink in her hand.
She looked back at her drink and downed it before answering, "Eleven."
"Eleven? That was a double!"
She looked back at him, smiling. "And your point?" She couldn't stop herself from laughing, and almost fell off of her seat. Draco caught her, and she sobered for a moment as she felt his arms around her. She looked up into his eyes, still the same smoky gray eyes that had haunted her dreams. They stared at each other before the liquor hit her again and she laughed once more, leaning heavily on Draco.
"I think you've had enough, Virginia," he said pushing her back up into a sitting position and took the seat next to her, hand still on her arm.
The barkeep looked over and said, "I've been trying to tell her that since her sixth. She won't listen. I'd like to know what that lady said to her that made her drink like that."
Ginny looked at Draco and tried to think. Charlotte…she had said that Draco still loved her. And now here he was. "She said that you still loved me Draco." She looked him in the eye, trying to find something in them while swaying slightly.
He looked away from her gaze though, looking down. "Yeah, I know. She told me."
Ginny thought for another moment. "Draco, why are you here?"
She tried to look into his eyes again, but almost fell out of her seat instead. "Somehow I think that this is a conversation best had while you are sober. Come on."
He paid the tab and went to help Ginny up. She stood on her own, albeit very unsteadily. "I can walk on my own, thank you very much." She looked towards the door. That doesn't look too far off, she thought to herself. As she started walking towards it, however, it seemed to move away from her. She felt Draco grab her arm again as she swayed while taking a step. She shook him off, determined to get there on her own. She took three more steps and felt herself falling.
"Shit!" She heard Draco curse as he caught her. "Alright, Virginia, you're not going to make it out of here on your own."
"Yes, I am!" She tried to get out of his grip, but he wouldn't let go. Instead he picked her up, making her scream. "Put me down, Draco Malfoy!"
He laughed at her as he carried her out the door.
* * *
She was as light as a feather, even while she was kicking and screaming. Well, he figured she thought she was kicking. I can't even drink five double shots of Ogden's. This girl is beyond drunk, she's plastered. I hope she doesn't puke here, he thought to himself as he stepped out the door. He realized that he had no idea where her flat was. "Hey, Gin, settle down. Where's your flat?"
She stopped moving and looked at him, concentrating very hard on his eyes it seemed. She's still beautiful, he thought looking at her. "Flat?"
He laughed slightly, setting her down. "Yes, Virginia, your flat. Home. Where you sleep at night."
"Oh! I'm still living at the Burrow." He could hardly understand what she said as she spoke, but he caught the idea.
"Something tells me your parents don't want to see you like this at," he looked at his watch, "one in the morning."
"Oh shit." Ginny sat heavily on the curb, putting her hands on her forehead.
Draco thought for a moment that she was going to be sick. He knelt next to her and brushed some hair away from her face. "Don't worry about it, Gin. You can come back to my place. I have a spare bedroom you can stay in."
She looked over at him, an angry look in her eyes. "I don't think my parents would like it very much if I spent the night at Draco Malfoy's flat."
"Well, you know your choices," he said, standing. He prayed to whatever God was out there that she would come stay with him. He needed to talk to her again, when she wasn't so…shit-faced. He looked down at her again. She hadn't moved. He wanted nothing more than to run his hands through the hair that had haunted his dreams for years. Instead he dug them into the pockets of his robe, and waited for her to decide. He almost didn't hear her when she spoke.
"Ok, I'll go to your flat. That's easier to explain than this."
Draco smiled at no one in particular. "Very well."
* * *
Ginny woke late the next morning. She thought for a frantic moment that she had overslept and would be late to work before remembering that it was Saturday. She relaxed for a moment, then she realized that she wasn't in her own bed. She sat up and looked around. The red satin sheets were definitely not something she would ever own, as she was more of a cotton girl. The bed was also very soft, and the room sparsely decorated and neat, instead of the cheerful organized chaos of her own bedroom. She thought for a minute before the memories of the previous night came rushing over her.
She groaned as she lay back down in the bed. I can't believe I did that. She closed her eyes and remembered everything, from Charlotte to the Ogden's to Draco carrying her to the bed she was in. "Draco." It was more of a whisper than anything, but to her surprise he answered.
"Yes?"
She jerked at the sound of his voice, opening her eyes and looking up at him. He was holding a tray that held what looked like breakfast, complete with two aspirin. She sat up and looked at him as he set the tray down.
"Here, take these, you'll feel better." He offered her the aspirin.
"No thanks, I don't need them. But I am starving." She eyed the eggs and toast hungrily.
"You don't need them? You drank the equivalent of a bottle of Ogden's last night."
She looked up at him, indignant. "And your point is? I don't get hangovers. If I did, I wouldn't drink. Trust me, I've cleaned up after my brothers enough." He looked slightly impressed for a moment and withdrew the hand holding the pills. "Though, I must admit, I've never had that much to drink before. I'm sorry that I was so…gone."
He raised an impressed eyebrow again. "You remember last night?"
"Of course I do. And I finally remember what I was trying to forget last night." She stared into his eyes again, wanting to kiss him so bad she could taste it.
He leaned forward slightly and asked, "And what was that?"
She couldn't stop herself. She put her hands on either side of his face and kissed him with a gentle passion. He kissed her back, putting one hand on her cheek. When they broke apart a few moments later she answered, "That. You."
He looked amazed, as if he had never seen anything like her before. "You…miss me?"
She took a deep breath and let it out slowly. What the hell, she thought to herself, before speaking. "I love you Draco."
She watched as his eyes got wide, and he looked disbelievingly at her. "You…what?"
"You heard me Draco Malfoy." She was starting to get frustrated. This wasn't at all what she had wanted to happen. "I love you."
She waited for his reply for a moment, before he kissed her. It was a kiss full of love and life and everything that she hadn't gotten from the kisses of other men since Draco. "I love you too, Virginia," he said quietly as he broke the kiss, trailing them down her neck. She gasped as he kissed right on the spot he had found all those years ago.
"We can do this, Draco. We can do it now. We can make this work." He looked at her, pain in his eyes.
"I'm not sure we can, Virginia."
She grew angry, quickly, her Weasley temper getting the best of her. "And why not? Your father can't stop us anymore, and my family will understand. Or is it that you don't want to be seen in public with a Weasley on your arm."
Draco looked away from her. "I must do what is expected of me, Gin. I have to…"
She put a finger on his chin and turned his head, forcing him to look at her. "No, you don't Draco. And besides, I'm not the poor little Weasley that you fell in love with at Hogwarts." His face went from pained to confused. "The Joke shop, Ron plays for the Canons, I'm at the ministry, and dad got a huge promotion, in case you missed that."
Draco shook his head, remembering the day Arthur Weasley had been appointed the Minister of Magic. He had smiled to himself as he read the article, and had kept it in a box, along with his other Weasley memorabilia.
"I suppose daughter of the minister is not good enough for you." She said jokingly. She looked him in the eye, speaking softly. "Draco, I love you, and I will never be happy without you. Please, can we try?"
He looked up at her and she saw tears in his eyes. "I love you, Virginia." It was a mere whisper, but it seemed to echo around the bare bedroom.
She waited, holding her breath for a moment. Surely he was going to say something else. When he didn't, she looked down at her hands, then back up at him before saying, "…But?"
"But this." He kissed her again, making her head swim.
When they broke apart she was more confused than ever. "So, what does that mean? Are we going to give it a go again?"
He nodded, kissing her again and again. They spent the day in each others arms, reveling in the happiness that they had finally found in each other.