†Girls/Boys Night Out. A stag/ette or bachelor/ette night, with
either Ginny or Malfoy. Of course the other can appear...
Required item: A broken wand.
Required phrase: ` Hmmm...I didn't think that was edible! '

(Okay, I cheated on this one. It's the planning of the party, not the party itself. I think it still counts.)

Draco Malfoy sat at his desk and attempted to work. He'd been doing fairly well, until he realized he could hear everything that was being said by the gaggle of Weasley women currently occupying the grand ballroom of Malfoy Manor. A smirk settled on his lips as he thought of what Lucius Malfoy's reaction would have been. Apoplexy would only have been the start. Who knows what kind of fits he would have had if he'd known what they were talking about and planning.

"Okay, pole or no pole?" Ginny's voice carried over the chattering of the other women.

He could practically see Granger's nose wrinkling as she said, "Tempting as it is to play up the phallic imagery, I think it'd be a little too..."

"Tacky?" That was Fred's wife, Angelina, always one to get to the point.

One unanimous vote later, and the idea of a pole was dispensed with. "Ginny? What are we going to do about Harry?" Trust Granger to always think of Potter. Draco had come a long way in his dealings with the Gryffindors he most loved to torture at school, but he didn't think he'd ever bring himself to fully like Harry "Perfect" Potter. Or to stop making Ron Weasley turn funny colors, because entertainment like that is priceless.

"Crap. I'd forgotten about him." Ginny sighed and Draco found himself sending out mental 'tell the prat to stay home' rays. "Ugh. I suppose I could do it, but that'd be damn awkward." Awkward? Awkward? Yes, Draco strangling Potter for ogling Ginny might be called 'awkward'.

"I think I have a solution." Thank heavens for George's wife, what's-her-name. "Harry couldn't tear his eyes away from Gabrielle all during the reception for Ron and Hermione."

Little Gabby Delacour? Potter was robbing the cradle? Draco did some mental calculations and realized little Gabby was well above the age of consent. Damn, he was getting old. Fleur was talking, saying, "Oui, and she would not stop telling me about 'ow 'andsome 'e grew up to be." Then again, if the mother of three Weasleys could giggle like that, maybe he wasn't all that old. "Poor Bill was ready to strangle ze girl if she did not stop talking of 'Arry Potter."

"Great! I love matchmaking." Ginny's voice sounded amused and all the women giggled. "Oh, Etoile, before I forget, I needed to talk to you about the menu. I couldn't read one of the appetizers."

There was some rustling of paper and Etoile said, "Oh! Zat says pickled sea urchins braised in white wine and served with Sudanese bile sauce." Draco's face twisted as he made a note to be extremely wary of the food at the wedding reception. Etoile, meanwhile, was responding to the chorus of gagging noises by saying, "No, no, it ees delicious! Ask Geeny, I gave 'er some for a gift."

"Hmmm...I didn't think that was edible! No wonder Snape looked at me oddly when I asked what potions it was used for."

There was some more general laughter and then the conversation turned to dresses and such, and he tuned it out until Etoile said, "I begin to understand why you and Ron eloped! So much to do!"

He barely heard Hermione say, "Well, there's only so much leeway you can get by saying a baby is premature."

Well, well, well. That should be good for turning Ron Weasley a nice maroon. But Hermione was speaking again. "Never underestimate the potency of Weasley men. I calculate I conceived that first time, on Snape's desk."

"Snape's DESK? SNAPE'S desk? SNAPE'S DESK?" Ginny was shrieking, the other women were laughing, and Draco had a look of unholy glee on his face as he thought of all the torture possibilities in that information.

"Well, it was the alumni night, you remember, Ginny... Everyone seemed to have run outside and, well, we were all alone..." Hermione couldn't seem to continue.

"You mean while I was cowering in a tree, you were banging my brother on Snape's desk?" Ginny sounded outraged.

"Er. Yes?" Draco hadn't known Granger was capable of sounding that squeaky.

"Well." There was silence for a minute, then Ginny snickered. "Good for you. Snape's desk. Good Lord. I think you win the prize for most unusual spot for a bit of how's-your-father."

Once again there was general snickering, which only ended when Charlie's wife said, "Blimey, I'd better dash. The twins'll have Mrs. Uttley in a complete taking by now."

Amidst the general commotion of leave taking, Ginny could be heard saying, "All right, ladies, back here tomorrow to go over choreography and rehearse. Oh, damn, Fleur's gone. Etoile, talk to Gabrielle tonight and bring her tomorrow if she agrees."

"Oui, oui. And sank you, Geeny, for doing zis." Draco tried to keep his eyes from rolling. With all the kissing and hugging going on, you'd think they were never seeing each other again, instead of being in-laws who were plotting together daily. He'd never understand women at all.

Pushing away from his desk, he decided to meander over to the ballroom and see if Ginny was up for a couple of rounds of King of Fighters. The plan was sidetracked when he reached the threshold and saw that she was currently engaged in wriggling around to music. "What on earth are you doing?"

Ginny shrieked and the wand she'd been holding flew at his head. The music stopped, the quill that had been transcribing what she said fell down, and he just barely managed to duck. The wand hit the wall behind him, hard, and shattered into splinters. Sparks shot out from the wreckage and Draco stomped on a carpet that had caught fire. "Good job, Weasel. Maybe for an encore you can make the ceiling collapse."

"It's all your fault, Malfoy," she hissed. "Don't even try to pretend like that would have happened if you hadn't startled me."

"That still doesn't explain what you were doing." He crossed his arms over his chest and gave her his best penetrating gaze. If she got the bit in her teeth about fault, he'd find himself buying her half the stock of Ollivander's. He wasn't sure how she did it. She'd start talking, and he'd try to reason with her, and then somewhere along the line logic got left behind and he found himself agreeing with whatever she said just so that the conversation would end.

She blushed fiercely and mumbled, "I was trying to work out a sexy dance."

"Ah." He knew he was risking life and limb, but he couldn't resist the sneer any more than iron filings can resist being drawn to a magnet. "A bit less flailing might be called for, then."

Ginny rolled her eyes and he was grateful she didn't have anything to throw. "I was flailing because I'd been trying to get the music sorted out and then you snuck up on me and made me break my wand."

He shook his head, then walked over to one of the chairs that had been there for the ladies' conference. Crossing his leg negligently, he said, "Okay, show me what you've got so far."

She sputtered, but before she could get too far into indignation, he said lazily, "Weasley, I have seen this sort of thing done before." He brought his own wand out and cast a charm to start playing music. "Let's see what you've got."

She started moving to the music, then stopped to pick up the quill and make some notes. At his snort, she said, "You could leave, you know. I'm still working everything out."

"What's to work out? You pop them onstage, they dance, their husbands club them over the head and drag them back to their caves." He flicked his wand and the quill flew out of her hands. "Just use a camera, or a pensieve. You won't get anything accomplished if you keep stopping to write."

"Fine," she said huffily. "But I'll need to borrow your wand for a minute."

He looked at her suspiciously, but handed it over. She pointed it at one of the chairs and transfigured it into a pretty three paneled screen, black with an enameled chinoserie pattern on it. She nodded, satisfied that it had worked correctly, then ducked behind it and started to transfigure her clothes.

"Do I get my wand back anytime soon, or is it going to get broken in revenge?" Draco was starting to think this had been a very bad idea.

"Here." She tossed the wand to him over the screen and he caught it easily. "Make the music follow this beat to start, and follow my lead as needed. Slow and smooth at first."

As he complied, she took a deep breath and composed herself. Was she really about to do a striptease in front of her best pal, Draco Malfoy? What if he got turned on? What if he didn't? And which one did she want? Steeling herself to just think of him as a piece of furniture and to concentrate on working out the dancing so she could teach the others, she started.

Definitely a very, very bad idea. Because the only clothing Ginny had removed thus far was an opera-length glove, and he felt like his body temperature had gone up ten degrees. He cleared his throat, then wished he hadn't, since it gave away some of the nervousness he was feeling. Trying to gather his scattered wits and pretend he was unaffected, he said, "You want to drop your shoulder a bit there, maybe flutter your eyelashes. And your hair should be down, not up in a bun."

"Hmm." Ginny dropped her shoulder, looking at him sultrily. "Like this?"

"Much better." He didn't notice that his voice was somewhat husky, but she did. The smile she gave him wasn't intended to look like it was promising cool sheets and warm kisses and long, slow, drugging caresses, but it took his breath away. With a flourish, the strapless, floor-length gown she was wearing came off, and she strutted towards him.

Her skin seemed to glow, the paleness of it seeming flawless in contrast with the black satin bra and panties she wore. She was still wearing black stockings and high heels, and she was inches away. "This is the point where the husbands will have recognized their strippers, I think."

She reached up and did something that released her hair to tumble around her shoulders and down her back, and any chance that he had had of keeping his hands to himself was gone. He couldn't even gather enough thoughts to form words, and if asked he wouldn't have been able to state with any surety what his own name was. All he was focused on was kissing the red haired temptress that he had pulled onto his lap.

Ginny had obviously been doing something very wrong for very many years. That was the only explanation for why she felt more electricity from straddling Malfoy's clothed lap and kissing him frantically than she had during the best sex she could remember having. His hands were on her back, moving lightly over her bare skin before pulling her even closer, crushing her against him. She whimpered and he released her just enough to move his kisses, along her cheekbone, down her jawline, his teeth nipping at her earlobe before sliding down her throat in a symphony of heat and wetness and breathlessness.

She was tugging at his clothes and he was going insane, completely out of his mind, because all he wanted to do was to help her tear his clothes off, but he couldn't stop himself from kissing her long enough to do so. Her skin seemed to burn under his hands, and he welcomed the fire, reveled in it and wished for it never to end. The noises she was making seemed to go straight to his nerve endings, taking his breath away completely. And, Merlin, if she didn't stop grinding herself against him, he was going to explode.

Draco's face was buried in her breasts when there was a sharp gasp that didn't originate from either of the two. "Malfoy! What the hell do you think you're doing to my sister?"

Before Draco could pull himself together enough to be capable of speech, Ginny had leapt off of his lap and pulled the shirt she had finally taken off of him around herself. "You leave him alone, Ron Weasley. This was all my fault for attacking him." She stared at Ron and then at Draco with an expression of horror and then mumbled, "I've got to go." Taking some floo powder from the bowl on the mantle, she shouted "home" and disappeared.

To say that Draco was angry would be like saying that Noah enjoyed boating and caring for animals; True enough as far as it goes, but definitely not the whole story. This is probably why, when Ron said, "You realize I still have to hit you," Draco stood up and punched him in the jaw, hard.

After a brief exchange of blows, the two combatants seemed to both realize at once that there was something stupid about the fight, and it stopped with as little ceremony as it had started. As he rubbed his jaw, Ron said curiously, "So when did you realize you're completely in love with my sister?"

"What the bloody hell are you nattering about?" Draco snarled, dabbing at his split lip with a handkerchief.

"Malfoy, you were trying to remove her brassiere with your teeth." Ron shuddered. "Much as I'd like to forget the image, it was fairly unmistakable."

The Malfoy sneer lost a little of its effect when executed with puffy and bleeding lips. "Weasley, I would have thought someone as old as you are would have learned by now what lust is."

"And everyone said /I/ was thick. At least I knew how I felt." Draco tried to stomp out while Ron was rolling his eyes, but Ron blocked his way. "Look, Malfoy, I don't like you all that much, and I don't think I ever will, but since Ginny can't be convinced you're not worth her time, I'm going to help you out."

Draco sputtered, but Ron succeeded in shoving the blonde into a chair. "You want to sleep with my sister, right? Why?"

"She happens to be an attractive woman and it's been a long time." Draco shrugged. "I can go into more detail, if you like."

"I can knock your teeth in, if you like." Despite the threat being very real, Ron grinned and shook his head. "Look here." He brought out his billfold photo album and flipped to the section with pictures of Ginny before handing it to Malfoy.

Draco gave it a cursory glance before scowling at Ron. "That's from seventh year at Hogwarts. So?"

"So, look at Ginny. Pretty, isn't she? But you didn't try to hit on her then." Ron took back the album and flipped through several more photos. "And then here she is at her wedding... And here she is at yours... And here's one from when she insisted you had to come along to the big Weasley reunion at the seaside... What do you see?"

Draco stared at the picture and remembered how he and Ginny had laughed and horsed around while building sandcastles. Somehow at the time he'd managed to completely overlook the way she filled out a bikini. Irritated for no particular reason he could name, he shoved the album back at Ron. "Too many freckles. What's your point?"

Ron shrugged. "Just think about it, Malfoy. What's love supposed to be all about, anyway?"

"Hearts and flowers and balloons and all sorts of mawkish, treacly sentimentality." Draco managed a creditable sneer this time. "Now, is there a reason why you're trespassing in my house, Weasley?"

"Hermione left her purse and didn't feel up to going through the floo again." Ron shrugged and picked up the neglected purse, then turned one last time to Draco. "Look, this might be a waste of breath, because you seem to be completely determined to be thicker than two short planks, but... Pay attention at the wedding. Listen to what's actually promised." He was gone before Draco could come up with a retort, and so Draco had to settle for kicking a chair across the room and cursing the day he'd first heard the name Weasley.

...

The day of the wedding was gorgeous. The groom and his brothers looked somewhat shell-shocked, in a pleased kind of way, while the bride and her sisters-in-law all looked somewhat smug. All the information anyone could get as to why, however, was that the bachelor party the night before had gone very well indeed. Ginny seemed to be everywhere at once, fielding questions and handling all of the last minute details, including keeping the rest of her brothers from tormenting the groom. Draco thought she'd never been more beautiful.

Her dress had obviously been custom-made for the occasion. The halter top mimicked the lines of a tuxedo, including the traditional lapels, but left her shoulders and upper back bare. The waistline was tailored like a double breasted suit, but flowed easily into a skirt which flared to a small train at the bottom. Her hair gleamed in the candlelight as she finally took her place at the altar, besides a flushed and excited-looking Percy.

The wedding march sounded and all eyes turned to watch as the bride came up the aisle. Etoile was the epitome of the perfect bride, her dress flawless and yet still seemingly modest and charming. The bridesmaids were all blushing and radiant, and one of them was looking Draco over with blatant admiration. He shook his head slightly, declining the invitation in her eyes, and wondered why it was that the beautiful girl didn't stir a single spark of interest in him. His hand tightened on the envelope he had been slipped before the ceremony started, and he twitched with impatience for the processional to be over so he could read it without seeming rude.

"Dearly beloved..." As soon as those words were said, he tore open the envelope and pulled out a short letter and another sealed envelope.

"Dear Ferret:

I have a dilemma I need my best friend for. You see, I think I might have screwed up one of the best and most constant things in my life by letting my instincts get out of control. He's one of the most important people in the world to me, and I'd hate to lose him over something like this, even if it felt incredibly good. I was so scared, I ran away, which, if I know him at all, and I do, probably bollocked things up even more.

I know what you're going to say. You're going to say I should talk to the git and see what he thinks. Well, I suppose I should. Maybe I'll send him a letter.

Weasel"

He smiled, just a lazy curve of the lips to indicate the release of some of the pressure inside his chest. Then something in the ceremony caught his attention and he listened intently.

"Do you take this woman to be your lawfully wedded wife, to love, honor and cherish her, to have and to hold, in sickness and in health, for richer or poorer, forsaking all others, as long as you both shall live?"

In sickness and in health... They'd certainly been through that. He remembered being in bed with the worst flu he'd ever had, and how she stayed with him through it all, babying him within an inch of his life. Or when she'd broken her leg and acted like a complete grouch when he insisted on carrying her around rather than letting her fool with crutches. Richer or poorer? His money didn't matter to her, and never had. And he'd liked her well before she had made herself considerably richer by starting a business and doing well with it. Forsaking all others? He'd been faithful to Tabitha, but he'd still looked at other women with desire. Only now his mind was so full of Ginny Weasley that he didn't feel a flicker of interest in anyone else. So what was the difference between the love that was promised in the vow and what he was feeling for Ginny?

"With this ring, I thee wed, with my body, I thee worship, and with all my worldly goods I thee endow." Ginny had taken a step back after presenting the minister with the rings, and Draco couldn't tear his eyes away from her. Tabitha had insisted on writing their own vows, and he had just recited something the wedding planner had come up with. When he married Ginny, they'd...

He jumped in his chair, thankfully not enough to attract a great deal of attention. Why had he just thought that? But he could see it, Ginny looking radiant with her family all around her, him holding her hand and slipping a ring on her finger as he promised to worship her with his body and she blushed. He could see them dancing together, laughing, frolicking on a beach while their children built sandcastles. And he wanted that, with a ferocity that burned through him, leaving behind the ashes of his old self. Now all he had to do was convince her.

He looked again at the letter in his hand and opened the second envelope.

"Dear Draco Malfoy:

You are cordially invited to sneak out of the reception and go on a small date with the best man. Meet me at the car park after the toast if you're interested.

Ginny Weasley"

He grinned. As a first step towards sweeping her off her feet, a date she initiated would do nicely.

Author's Note: At last, the promised D/G action! Next chapter's the last one. Please review if you like; I happen to like this fic, but it doesn't seem to get all that many comments... Even if it did net me a new buddy, the spiffy Thalia.