Alright I'm back after a few days, I had a really busy week at school, projects and tests galore. Did I ever mention how much I dislike High School?? Plus I had a really hard time figuring out how to start this chapter but here it is, and as always prepackaged, free of preservatives and ready for your use!
Disclaimer- I do not, nor will I ever own Harry Potter or any of its settings or characters (Depressing eh?) I do, however own Lirit Ruana, Jackson, Tracy, Aidan, Tristian, and Seth!
Special thanks to Alane-Vera for ideas and to both her and her brother Joe for Zen Bowling.
Chapter 4
"Strike!" Ginny yelled. She and Seth suddenly stood next to each other and began bumping their hips together. The both of them began singing "A boom boom boom boom, A bang bang bang bang." Draco watched on in amusement as they spun each other around in circles before Aidan could clear a path to bowl his next turn.
"What was that?" He asked as Ginny sat down on Jackson's lap and began twisting one of his dreads in her long, slender fingers.
"Seth's and mine's Strike Dance, something you will never understand." She replied and grabbed a tootsie roll pop off the table and turned it over in her hands, getting ready to unwrap it
"Oh I understand, you make yourselves look like bigger fools than you already are, well you look like a bigger muggle loving fool." Draco snapped in reply and snatched the lollipop from her hand and unwrapped it himself and popped it in his mouth.
"Hey! No fair I was gonna eat that!" She said and tried to take it away from him. He rolled his eyes and pointed to the table where there was another one laying there. He snickered and she looked up, a steely glint in her eyes, she flipped him off. Draco cocked his head to one side and gave her a lopsided grin. "Fuck you" she muttered.
"Sorry babe I don't do free favors," He took a quick glance at her body and gave a look of reconsideration "Although for you, I might make an exception, after all, the only think you have is that muggle."
Aidan came back to his seat next to Jackson and Ginny. "Your turn Tristian." He said and Tristian got up and grinned.
"Crazy bowling anyone?" He asked and grinned recklessly. The entire group but Draco shared his grin and nodded.
"Left handed Zen!" Tracy shouted, from the next lane where he, Seth and Draco were bowling.
"Alright!" Tristian said and laughed.
"Left handed Zen? Just what in the bloody hell is that?" Draco asked to nobody in particular. Seth looked up from his seat on the ball return.
"Basically bowling left handed with your eyes closed." He informed the silvery haired man whom was grimacing at the thought of the smoky air and ugly shoes.
"There's more to the Zen aspect than just closing your eyes," Ginny began, getting the jittery feeling of Draco's attention suddenly snap to her. "It's the whole idea of 'be the ball, you are the ball' you know Zen teachings I guess."
"Well they didn't teach any of that crap where I'm from." He muttered to himself and earned a sharp look from Ginny.
"Watch if Malfoy, I went there too." Her voice was cold and dripping with venom.
He ran his fingers alluringly through his hair and grinned at her. "You say Malfoy with so much love Gin." She was getting ready to shoot back, but the moment he said 'Gin' her eyes flew open in shock.
"Well, Draco," She began with just as much venom as before. "I didn't know we were on such friendly terms." Laughing to himself he reached over and squeezed her knee.
"Only if you want to." He replied huskily. Draco leaned back, highly amused to see her blush up to the roots of her hair. Tristian returned with a smug look on his face, eyes boring into Draco's
"Watch it Draco, your moving in on the wrong lady." He tried to say jokingly but didn't come out so. Draco was also quick to notice the steely glint in Tristian's eyes, the same steely glint he himself wore so often.
Seth was up next. "Gin, Aidan, Jackson! Help me out here." He called out. The three band members jumped up and ran over to Jackson and stood in his path to the lane. Aidan bent over forwards , feet and hands on the floor. Ginny did a back bend right behind Aidan, and Jackson stood with his legs stretched apart. Between the three there was a clear path to the pins. Seth came at them and let the ball fly, it rolled right under them and straight down the lane. Aidan collapsed, Ginny lost her balance and tipped over onto him and Jackson just fell over both of them.
"Dog pile!" Seth yelled and jumped on top of the other three, he looked down the lane and grinned widely.
"Strike!" He yelled, he and Ginny disentangled themselves from the pile and began doing their 'Strike' dance. Draco watched on, next to Tracy in amusement.
"Okay Draco your up!" Seth said.
"What should you do then?" Jackson muttered out loud while leaning on Aidan's shoulder. "Oh backwards, left handed, Zen. Under the legs of course." Ginny cracked up and put two a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder.
"Jack, your going to kill him!" She said and smiled.
"Sorry GW, you have to admit though, it would be great to watch." Draco arched a single eyebrow and Ginny put her other hand on his other shoulder. His sense became very away of how very close she was behind him.
"Lets just train him in the ways of Zen bowling eh?" She grinned and chuckled to herself as she felt a shiver run down his back at the feeling of her breath on his neck. "Now come this way, that's right." She said pushing him towards the lane. "Close your eyes and breath deep, come on pansy boy I can't feel you breathing deep." She snapped and giggled at his scowl. "Okay now, think, while still breathing, that you are the ball, you are rolling down the lane, you are getting the strike, be the ball." She said and stepped back as he let it go. Well it wasn't a strike, but nobody's perfect on their first shot. The ball went slightly left and knocked out the front left side and most of the back.
"Alright!" Jackson said shoving the blonde by the shoulder. Ginny laughed and threw her arms around his neck.
"Smooth moving." She said and the noticed who she had just hugged. "Sorry Draco, er Malfoy." She replied. Her cheeks were red as she shuffled off to bowl her turn. Ginny was so distracted that the ball went straight into the gutter. The blush on her cheeks got deeper, then her cell phone rang.
"Gin catch!" Tristian said and threw the phone. She missed and began going to back to attempt to save it but bumped into someone behind her. A strong arm went around her waist to hold her upright, she looked at it, pale skin. Draco looked at her with slightly wide gray eyes and handed her saved cell phone, which was still ringing.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Hey Gin," Bill replied. Ginny smiled brightly and replied back.
"What's up? How were meetings?" She asked.
"About as exciting as boiling macaroni." He replied, with a long sigh. Ginny let a giggle escape her glossy lips.
"Well to people like dad, that would be pretty exciting, you know using the fire stove and all." That got a laugh out of the tired sounding Bill. "So we're having dinner at this nice place outside of town, wear a dress or skirt or something and not one of those blasted beanies I see lying everywhere in your place."
Ginny stuck her tongue out at the phone but sighed. "Okay Bill, I'll wear my red dress"
"Works for me, I'll be there to get you at six, it's a long drive."
"Alright bye Bill." She said and hung up. Taking a quick look at her watch she let out a long string of curse words.
"Colorful choice of language Weasley." Draco said, still trying to recover from the skittish feelings he got when he touched Ginny.
"Its already 4:45, it'll take fifteen minutes to get home, I gotta run boys see you all later." She took off her shoes, and slid her vans on and headed for the door, dropping a ten on the table to help pay for the games.
"Hey Ginny wait up." Draco called out to her as he slid on his other shoe and ran to catch up with her.
"Huh?" She asked turning sharply. Her hair swung around and framed her face so perfectly as it intertwined with her fingers. Her eyes were bright purple, by some form of muggle help, Draco thought to himself. Yet, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was standing before the most beautiful woman in the world.
"I'm headed to my apartment, I have some papers to write for work and might as well get them done now." He murmured and fell into step with her.
"So that's all the band then?" He asked her as she held the door open for him.
"Yeah, except for Timmie, the third DJ whose flying in next week. Tracy and Jackson are leaving for a while with Tristian to go do some American publicity and begin recording the DJ overlays for the album, which already has a few songs ready to go. My boyfriend may be a bit scatter brained but he's a friggin genius in the recording studio." She explained.
"How did you meet these guys?"
"I met Seth, Aidan, and Tristian my first day at the university. Its crazy because we're almost all opposites except for Aidan and I, and its almost frightening, how similar we are."
"Like opposite as in." Draco started for her, his voice dropping off in a low manner, in a way that made Ginny's pulse race.
"Like as in you and me, how we were raised. You came from a very affluent family, packed with more money than you needed and nasty views on the world. I came from well, nothing but a rich family life and a good hearted world. You see Tristian, is kind of like you almost. In the respect that your both from exceedingly rich families and you both had your life handed to you on a silver platter."
"With the exception of the fact that his family wasn't slap happy for you-know-who." Draco pointed out, brushing the snow from his face. It was beginning to really come down.
"Yeah, and Seth is from your middle class region, he had to work but he also had everything he needed. He got to college on a small scholarship, but his parents paid for the rest."
"Sort of like Potter and Granger?" Draco asked, trying to convert this class system into people he knew.
"Exactly, and Aidan, well, his father left him and his mother when he was two. He also left them in horrible debt and Aidan had to get to college on a full ride. He never took a break from school since second grade." She replied. "I guess it's the fact that Aidan and I had to work for everything we got and had to live with second best. We relate on a level unlike I could ever relate to the other boys. It's simply because of our backgrounds, with one huge exception, I had a family and he didn't."
After hearing Ginny say all that Draco suddenly felt like shit. All the years he had tormented her, made fun of her, and beat up on her, all because she was different from him, all because her family just couldn't afford what he could. What Draco didn't realize was that maybe he was jealous all these years because Ginny had such an excellent family life, he always wanted that, older siblings to rely and come to when he got in trouble. Instead he got the hollow shell of his mother and his abusive father. "Ginny, I had no idea." He began but she cut him off.
"Of course you didn't, you were taught all your life that people like me were bad just because we liked muggles and couldn't afford the best. You were taught that good is always bad and that people like me were weaklings and couldn't hold a candle to your flame. Yeah you were a bastard I'll admit that much, but part of it really isn't your fault. You were blind Draco, that's all, blinded by the teachings of a horrid man, blinded by the ambitions to be something you weren't made to be. It's alright, you don't need to say anything" She said and gave him an almost sad smile.
Suddenly everything felt better. "So does this mean that you and I, we're cool now? We're friends."
She laughed. "Yeah, we're cool now, only if I get to torment you a little." Her voice brushed past his ears lifting off what seemed like a burden to him. How could it be a burden though? He asked himself unsure of what to do next. Thankfully he didn't have to worry. They were at her doorstep already. "Thank your for listening." She whispered and kissed his cheek. Blushing slightly she disappeared behind the door and left Draco on the step, hand over the spot where her silky lips had brushed his skin. He could hardly believe it. Making amends with a Weasley?
"Three years ago I would have rather eaten dragon dung than make friends with her." He muttered to himself. "Come to think of it why am I making friends? It's only a mission for the ministry and I'm only here for the money." Draco stole a glance to the lit windows on Ginny's floor. He was here for the money right?
***
Ginny took a hurried shower and then she had to literally dig through her entire apartment to find her dress. Yet, after an hour Ginny was finally ready. She was wearing her red dress. Short and simple the sleeveless chiffon dress clung her to her waist and had a cowl neck that dipped low in the back. She wore her red five inch heels and pulled her hair up in a messy bun.
"Okay, ready to go, if only Bill were around." She muttered to herself. In the meanwhile she began cleaning up her room and stumbled upon a book. Her eyes widened, it wasn't just any book though, it was her Hogwarts scrapbook. During her seven years at Hogwarts Ginny made a scrapbook to keep her busy when she was lonely. She had very few friends because of the incidents in her first year. When she had made a friend it was very hard to keep her because Fred and George would annoy the hell out of them till they would leave her alone, or Ron would pester him about leaving his baby sister along until most gave up on her. Of course Ron, Harry and Hermione paid no mind to her, it was just the three of them, a group so tight, so meshed that nothing could break it.
So to keep her busy and happy she began making a scrapbook in the middle of her second year. It was full of a lot of interesting pictures, but also lots of different things. Colin Creevey had contributed quite a few pictures, including quidditch matches, dances, classmates and rather funny memories. He was one of her friends at Hogwarts and actually was quite popular after fourth year and he grew out of his Harry Potter worshiping stage. Ginny herself had gotten over Harry during her fourth year when he started dating Cho.
She opened the front cover and found the words Ginny Weasley written on it, the letters were gold that sparkled and glittered. Under it was a picture of her with her group of five friends, Colin, Jason, Kyle, Annie and Chloe. Kyle, Annie and Chloe were in Ravencalw and Colin and Jason were Gryffindors. Ginny always had a tendency to relate more to boys than girls, could have been the fact that she had six brothers. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the picture, it was of the group of them at their graduation ball, a tradition instated in Fred and George's year. They were wearing dress robes of their house colors, and wore pointed hats of their house colors with a gold tassel hanging from the top. All six of them were smiling and laughing in the picture, their arms around each other. The picture next to it was of her entire graduating class throwing their hats into the air. Dumbledore loved that part of the graduation ceremony so much he wore a new hat every year to throw it in the air.
She flipped through and found a page dedicated completely to her family. A tear slipped down her tanned cheek while looking at her family picture. It was one from their trip to visit Bill in Egypt. The entire family, including Charlie, was under the shade of a palm tree on a large balcony.
"I always liked that picture." Bill said behind her making Ginny jump off her bed and fall on the floor.
"Good Lord Bill you scared the crap out of me." She said clutching her chest. He laughed and offered a hand up.
"Nice to see you too Gin." He said and picked up the book. "There's you and Charlie five years ago. Gosh you look so young then, but Charlie, mum says he's only gotten more handsome. Of course she's still on my back to cut my hair too."
Ginny hid a giggle. "We're still going to dinner right?"
"Huh?" Bill asked, not tearing his eyes from the book, a small smile on his face. "Oh yeah dinner right. Come on lets go." He said and put the book down. "I want to see the rest of that when we get home."
"Alright Bill, but when we get home." She said as they left her building.
"Well then sis, your carriage awaits." Bill said stopping in front of a Cadillac Escalade.
"Bill when did you get one of those?" Ginny asked, nearly fainting on the pavement.
"Friend let me borrow it, you'd be surprised what kind of friends I have." He gave her a cheeky grin.
"When did you learn to drive a car?" She asked skeptically.
"Well I don't, but you can drive right?" Bill ran his fingers through his hair and tossed her the keys. She smiled at him and laughed evilly.
"Get in, I've been dying to drive one of these." Her voice took on a very sudden rushed and dark tone.
"Should I be scared?" He asked, putting his seatbelt on, (A/N: always buckle up!! :D)
"Oh yes, you should be very, very scared. Now tell me brother dearest where are we going?"
In half an hours time Ginny pulled the car to a screeching stop in front of a small Tai place. She smiled to herself, she had always liked Tai food since the first time Tracy had made her try it. Bill regained his composure and led her inside. The waitress sat them in a corner and left them to themselves.
"So what's been happening in the Wizard World."
"A lot, you've really missed a lot Gin, you-know-who, is still running around." Bill said punctuating his sentence with a long sigh. Her eyes clouded over.
"How bad has it been?" She asked biting her lip. Ginny had all but forgotten Voldemort existed in this world, but hearing about him again was like a giant slap to the face.
"Not too actually, he laid low for about two years before suddenly striking recently and killing the Goyle's, Parkinson's, Tell's and Malfoy's. The only innocent people we know that have been killed were the two elder Finnagins. I believe you knew their grandchild Seamus, well actually it was his father and grandfather."
Ginny's gaze averted quickly to the floor. Pain spread across her features and she bit back the tears, she and Seamus had dated in her sixth year. Someone like Seamus didn't deserve something like that. It wasn't fair. Bill saw the her fight the emotion that threatened to spill out. Well, if he was going to say it he'd best say it now.
"Ginny, I think its time you came home for a visit." Bill said. Her salad fork slammed into her salad bowl with a loud 'clink.'
"What are you on Bill? Go home are you nuts, have Fred and George been testing new products on you?" She asked in a slightly squeaky voice.
"No, I just think you've been gone lone enough, mum and dad miss you terribly and you've missed so much." He explained hoping she wouldn't start yelling.
"Look Bill," She began in a very rational tone. "The minute I walk through the door mum will be looking all around for a job for me and she'll have dad dust my room. They'll never understand how happy I am now,"
"All you have to do is tell them you're here for a visit and that's it. Ginny you and I both know you have to go back sometime and with the sudden rise of you-know-who God only knows what could happen tomorrow." He said, he knew that the guilt trip ling had a fifty-fifty shot of working.
She looked at the table, anything to keep her gaze from her brother's. He was trying to use that damned guilt trip idea. It always worked on her, but this time she knew she could withstand it. "I'll think about it alright?"
"Okay, you'll have about two weeks to decide, write the burrow and they'll send Fred or Charlie to come get you, depends on when you respond cause they'll be in the area at different times." Bill said, smiling to himself.
"You wont tell them right?" She asked, fearing that her brother would tell her family and have them crawling over each other to drag her home. The thought almost made her laugh.
"Of course not, but boy have you missed a lot," He smiled to himself, here came the kicker. "Ron and Percy are pretty mad at you, how could you miss two weddings? They even sent you invitations to the college the muggle way."
Ginny nearly fell out of her chair in shock. "They married?????? When Oh My GOD!" She said, drawing stares, she blushed and ducked her head.
"Percy married Penelope, you remember her right?" She nodded her head, "Well they married in August and Ron and Hermione tied the knot about a year and a half ago, and here's the kicker they're expecting their first child in about three months." Ginny's reaction wasn't exactly what Bill had expected. She looked rather sullen, like the pit of her stomach had just dropped out. "Mum and dad were really upset, they though you just didn't want to come. The owls we sent even came back."
"No, I would have come, of course I would have come, its just that I had already moved out of the university about a year after I started attending. That's why they got sent back, I'm sorry."
"Well Gin, there's just another reason why you should come home." She smield and shook her head.
"Anyways, what else has happened?"
"Well I actually got an owl from mum, Harry and his girlfriend are engaged."
"Harry has a girlfriend?" Ginny asked, she felt a weight of burden and guilt get heavier on her shoulders.
"Yeah, and Charlie has a really pretty new girlfriend who I think you'll love if you meet her, she's into this whole grunge rock thing you are, only this girl, Bryce is a Dragon Keeper like Charlie is." Bill continued to tell her about the latest events, shocking her more and more. They had finished dinner and Ginny drove back to her place. Bill retired to bed saying he had to get up early to go to meeting.
"I should go back," She murmured to herself as she let the Counting Crows drift through her room, "But I don't know, things would be so weird, I haven't actually done magic in about half a year and all of my school things are buried in my closet." She thought to herself as she turned down her bed. She looked out her window and saw Draco, pacing his living room, he appeared to be on the phone. "Well what do you know, he's finally gone muggle on me." She murmured and clicked off her light, falling asleep. Dreaming frighteningly of a silvery haired man holding his hand out to hers.
-Alright finally done, that has been the hardest chapter to write so far, I couldn't think of what to write but there you have it, not the best but hopefully enough D/G tidbits to tide you over, its not this upcoming chapter but perhaps the chapter after if you all are good and review. Anyways next chapter we say goodbye to Jackson, Tracy and Tristian for a while and say hello to someone new. Bill leaves and Ginny makes a decision. Also some mixed feelings and that should be all. So r/r! Ambrose-
Disclaimer- I do not, nor will I ever own Harry Potter or any of its settings or characters (Depressing eh?) I do, however own Lirit Ruana, Jackson, Tracy, Aidan, Tristian, and Seth!
Special thanks to Alane-Vera for ideas and to both her and her brother Joe for Zen Bowling.
Chapter 4
"Strike!" Ginny yelled. She and Seth suddenly stood next to each other and began bumping their hips together. The both of them began singing "A boom boom boom boom, A bang bang bang bang." Draco watched on in amusement as they spun each other around in circles before Aidan could clear a path to bowl his next turn.
"What was that?" He asked as Ginny sat down on Jackson's lap and began twisting one of his dreads in her long, slender fingers.
"Seth's and mine's Strike Dance, something you will never understand." She replied and grabbed a tootsie roll pop off the table and turned it over in her hands, getting ready to unwrap it
"Oh I understand, you make yourselves look like bigger fools than you already are, well you look like a bigger muggle loving fool." Draco snapped in reply and snatched the lollipop from her hand and unwrapped it himself and popped it in his mouth.
"Hey! No fair I was gonna eat that!" She said and tried to take it away from him. He rolled his eyes and pointed to the table where there was another one laying there. He snickered and she looked up, a steely glint in her eyes, she flipped him off. Draco cocked his head to one side and gave her a lopsided grin. "Fuck you" she muttered.
"Sorry babe I don't do free favors," He took a quick glance at her body and gave a look of reconsideration "Although for you, I might make an exception, after all, the only think you have is that muggle."
Aidan came back to his seat next to Jackson and Ginny. "Your turn Tristian." He said and Tristian got up and grinned.
"Crazy bowling anyone?" He asked and grinned recklessly. The entire group but Draco shared his grin and nodded.
"Left handed Zen!" Tracy shouted, from the next lane where he, Seth and Draco were bowling.
"Alright!" Tristian said and laughed.
"Left handed Zen? Just what in the bloody hell is that?" Draco asked to nobody in particular. Seth looked up from his seat on the ball return.
"Basically bowling left handed with your eyes closed." He informed the silvery haired man whom was grimacing at the thought of the smoky air and ugly shoes.
"There's more to the Zen aspect than just closing your eyes," Ginny began, getting the jittery feeling of Draco's attention suddenly snap to her. "It's the whole idea of 'be the ball, you are the ball' you know Zen teachings I guess."
"Well they didn't teach any of that crap where I'm from." He muttered to himself and earned a sharp look from Ginny.
"Watch if Malfoy, I went there too." Her voice was cold and dripping with venom.
He ran his fingers alluringly through his hair and grinned at her. "You say Malfoy with so much love Gin." She was getting ready to shoot back, but the moment he said 'Gin' her eyes flew open in shock.
"Well, Draco," She began with just as much venom as before. "I didn't know we were on such friendly terms." Laughing to himself he reached over and squeezed her knee.
"Only if you want to." He replied huskily. Draco leaned back, highly amused to see her blush up to the roots of her hair. Tristian returned with a smug look on his face, eyes boring into Draco's
"Watch it Draco, your moving in on the wrong lady." He tried to say jokingly but didn't come out so. Draco was also quick to notice the steely glint in Tristian's eyes, the same steely glint he himself wore so often.
Seth was up next. "Gin, Aidan, Jackson! Help me out here." He called out. The three band members jumped up and ran over to Jackson and stood in his path to the lane. Aidan bent over forwards , feet and hands on the floor. Ginny did a back bend right behind Aidan, and Jackson stood with his legs stretched apart. Between the three there was a clear path to the pins. Seth came at them and let the ball fly, it rolled right under them and straight down the lane. Aidan collapsed, Ginny lost her balance and tipped over onto him and Jackson just fell over both of them.
"Dog pile!" Seth yelled and jumped on top of the other three, he looked down the lane and grinned widely.
"Strike!" He yelled, he and Ginny disentangled themselves from the pile and began doing their 'Strike' dance. Draco watched on, next to Tracy in amusement.
"Okay Draco your up!" Seth said.
"What should you do then?" Jackson muttered out loud while leaning on Aidan's shoulder. "Oh backwards, left handed, Zen. Under the legs of course." Ginny cracked up and put two a comforting hand on Draco's shoulder.
"Jack, your going to kill him!" She said and smiled.
"Sorry GW, you have to admit though, it would be great to watch." Draco arched a single eyebrow and Ginny put her other hand on his other shoulder. His sense became very away of how very close she was behind him.
"Lets just train him in the ways of Zen bowling eh?" She grinned and chuckled to herself as she felt a shiver run down his back at the feeling of her breath on his neck. "Now come this way, that's right." She said pushing him towards the lane. "Close your eyes and breath deep, come on pansy boy I can't feel you breathing deep." She snapped and giggled at his scowl. "Okay now, think, while still breathing, that you are the ball, you are rolling down the lane, you are getting the strike, be the ball." She said and stepped back as he let it go. Well it wasn't a strike, but nobody's perfect on their first shot. The ball went slightly left and knocked out the front left side and most of the back.
"Alright!" Jackson said shoving the blonde by the shoulder. Ginny laughed and threw her arms around his neck.
"Smooth moving." She said and the noticed who she had just hugged. "Sorry Draco, er Malfoy." She replied. Her cheeks were red as she shuffled off to bowl her turn. Ginny was so distracted that the ball went straight into the gutter. The blush on her cheeks got deeper, then her cell phone rang.
"Gin catch!" Tristian said and threw the phone. She missed and began going to back to attempt to save it but bumped into someone behind her. A strong arm went around her waist to hold her upright, she looked at it, pale skin. Draco looked at her with slightly wide gray eyes and handed her saved cell phone, which was still ringing.
"Hello?" She asked.
"Hey Gin," Bill replied. Ginny smiled brightly and replied back.
"What's up? How were meetings?" She asked.
"About as exciting as boiling macaroni." He replied, with a long sigh. Ginny let a giggle escape her glossy lips.
"Well to people like dad, that would be pretty exciting, you know using the fire stove and all." That got a laugh out of the tired sounding Bill. "So we're having dinner at this nice place outside of town, wear a dress or skirt or something and not one of those blasted beanies I see lying everywhere in your place."
Ginny stuck her tongue out at the phone but sighed. "Okay Bill, I'll wear my red dress"
"Works for me, I'll be there to get you at six, it's a long drive."
"Alright bye Bill." She said and hung up. Taking a quick look at her watch she let out a long string of curse words.
"Colorful choice of language Weasley." Draco said, still trying to recover from the skittish feelings he got when he touched Ginny.
"Its already 4:45, it'll take fifteen minutes to get home, I gotta run boys see you all later." She took off her shoes, and slid her vans on and headed for the door, dropping a ten on the table to help pay for the games.
"Hey Ginny wait up." Draco called out to her as he slid on his other shoe and ran to catch up with her.
"Huh?" She asked turning sharply. Her hair swung around and framed her face so perfectly as it intertwined with her fingers. Her eyes were bright purple, by some form of muggle help, Draco thought to himself. Yet, as much as he didn't want to admit it, he was standing before the most beautiful woman in the world.
"I'm headed to my apartment, I have some papers to write for work and might as well get them done now." He murmured and fell into step with her.
"So that's all the band then?" He asked her as she held the door open for him.
"Yeah, except for Timmie, the third DJ whose flying in next week. Tracy and Jackson are leaving for a while with Tristian to go do some American publicity and begin recording the DJ overlays for the album, which already has a few songs ready to go. My boyfriend may be a bit scatter brained but he's a friggin genius in the recording studio." She explained.
"How did you meet these guys?"
"I met Seth, Aidan, and Tristian my first day at the university. Its crazy because we're almost all opposites except for Aidan and I, and its almost frightening, how similar we are."
"Like opposite as in." Draco started for her, his voice dropping off in a low manner, in a way that made Ginny's pulse race.
"Like as in you and me, how we were raised. You came from a very affluent family, packed with more money than you needed and nasty views on the world. I came from well, nothing but a rich family life and a good hearted world. You see Tristian, is kind of like you almost. In the respect that your both from exceedingly rich families and you both had your life handed to you on a silver platter."
"With the exception of the fact that his family wasn't slap happy for you-know-who." Draco pointed out, brushing the snow from his face. It was beginning to really come down.
"Yeah, and Seth is from your middle class region, he had to work but he also had everything he needed. He got to college on a small scholarship, but his parents paid for the rest."
"Sort of like Potter and Granger?" Draco asked, trying to convert this class system into people he knew.
"Exactly, and Aidan, well, his father left him and his mother when he was two. He also left them in horrible debt and Aidan had to get to college on a full ride. He never took a break from school since second grade." She replied. "I guess it's the fact that Aidan and I had to work for everything we got and had to live with second best. We relate on a level unlike I could ever relate to the other boys. It's simply because of our backgrounds, with one huge exception, I had a family and he didn't."
After hearing Ginny say all that Draco suddenly felt like shit. All the years he had tormented her, made fun of her, and beat up on her, all because she was different from him, all because her family just couldn't afford what he could. What Draco didn't realize was that maybe he was jealous all these years because Ginny had such an excellent family life, he always wanted that, older siblings to rely and come to when he got in trouble. Instead he got the hollow shell of his mother and his abusive father. "Ginny, I had no idea." He began but she cut him off.
"Of course you didn't, you were taught all your life that people like me were bad just because we liked muggles and couldn't afford the best. You were taught that good is always bad and that people like me were weaklings and couldn't hold a candle to your flame. Yeah you were a bastard I'll admit that much, but part of it really isn't your fault. You were blind Draco, that's all, blinded by the teachings of a horrid man, blinded by the ambitions to be something you weren't made to be. It's alright, you don't need to say anything" She said and gave him an almost sad smile.
Suddenly everything felt better. "So does this mean that you and I, we're cool now? We're friends."
She laughed. "Yeah, we're cool now, only if I get to torment you a little." Her voice brushed past his ears lifting off what seemed like a burden to him. How could it be a burden though? He asked himself unsure of what to do next. Thankfully he didn't have to worry. They were at her doorstep already. "Thank your for listening." She whispered and kissed his cheek. Blushing slightly she disappeared behind the door and left Draco on the step, hand over the spot where her silky lips had brushed his skin. He could hardly believe it. Making amends with a Weasley?
"Three years ago I would have rather eaten dragon dung than make friends with her." He muttered to himself. "Come to think of it why am I making friends? It's only a mission for the ministry and I'm only here for the money." Draco stole a glance to the lit windows on Ginny's floor. He was here for the money right?
***
Ginny took a hurried shower and then she had to literally dig through her entire apartment to find her dress. Yet, after an hour Ginny was finally ready. She was wearing her red dress. Short and simple the sleeveless chiffon dress clung her to her waist and had a cowl neck that dipped low in the back. She wore her red five inch heels and pulled her hair up in a messy bun.
"Okay, ready to go, if only Bill were around." She muttered to herself. In the meanwhile she began cleaning up her room and stumbled upon a book. Her eyes widened, it wasn't just any book though, it was her Hogwarts scrapbook. During her seven years at Hogwarts Ginny made a scrapbook to keep her busy when she was lonely. She had very few friends because of the incidents in her first year. When she had made a friend it was very hard to keep her because Fred and George would annoy the hell out of them till they would leave her alone, or Ron would pester him about leaving his baby sister along until most gave up on her. Of course Ron, Harry and Hermione paid no mind to her, it was just the three of them, a group so tight, so meshed that nothing could break it.
So to keep her busy and happy she began making a scrapbook in the middle of her second year. It was full of a lot of interesting pictures, but also lots of different things. Colin Creevey had contributed quite a few pictures, including quidditch matches, dances, classmates and rather funny memories. He was one of her friends at Hogwarts and actually was quite popular after fourth year and he grew out of his Harry Potter worshiping stage. Ginny herself had gotten over Harry during her fourth year when he started dating Cho.
She opened the front cover and found the words Ginny Weasley written on it, the letters were gold that sparkled and glittered. Under it was a picture of her with her group of five friends, Colin, Jason, Kyle, Annie and Chloe. Kyle, Annie and Chloe were in Ravencalw and Colin and Jason were Gryffindors. Ginny always had a tendency to relate more to boys than girls, could have been the fact that she had six brothers. She shook her head and turned her attention back to the picture, it was of the group of them at their graduation ball, a tradition instated in Fred and George's year. They were wearing dress robes of their house colors, and wore pointed hats of their house colors with a gold tassel hanging from the top. All six of them were smiling and laughing in the picture, their arms around each other. The picture next to it was of her entire graduating class throwing their hats into the air. Dumbledore loved that part of the graduation ceremony so much he wore a new hat every year to throw it in the air.
She flipped through and found a page dedicated completely to her family. A tear slipped down her tanned cheek while looking at her family picture. It was one from their trip to visit Bill in Egypt. The entire family, including Charlie, was under the shade of a palm tree on a large balcony.
"I always liked that picture." Bill said behind her making Ginny jump off her bed and fall on the floor.
"Good Lord Bill you scared the crap out of me." She said clutching her chest. He laughed and offered a hand up.
"Nice to see you too Gin." He said and picked up the book. "There's you and Charlie five years ago. Gosh you look so young then, but Charlie, mum says he's only gotten more handsome. Of course she's still on my back to cut my hair too."
Ginny hid a giggle. "We're still going to dinner right?"
"Huh?" Bill asked, not tearing his eyes from the book, a small smile on his face. "Oh yeah dinner right. Come on lets go." He said and put the book down. "I want to see the rest of that when we get home."
"Alright Bill, but when we get home." She said as they left her building.
"Well then sis, your carriage awaits." Bill said stopping in front of a Cadillac Escalade.
"Bill when did you get one of those?" Ginny asked, nearly fainting on the pavement.
"Friend let me borrow it, you'd be surprised what kind of friends I have." He gave her a cheeky grin.
"When did you learn to drive a car?" She asked skeptically.
"Well I don't, but you can drive right?" Bill ran his fingers through his hair and tossed her the keys. She smiled at him and laughed evilly.
"Get in, I've been dying to drive one of these." Her voice took on a very sudden rushed and dark tone.
"Should I be scared?" He asked, putting his seatbelt on, (A/N: always buckle up!! :D)
"Oh yes, you should be very, very scared. Now tell me brother dearest where are we going?"
In half an hours time Ginny pulled the car to a screeching stop in front of a small Tai place. She smiled to herself, she had always liked Tai food since the first time Tracy had made her try it. Bill regained his composure and led her inside. The waitress sat them in a corner and left them to themselves.
"So what's been happening in the Wizard World."
"A lot, you've really missed a lot Gin, you-know-who, is still running around." Bill said punctuating his sentence with a long sigh. Her eyes clouded over.
"How bad has it been?" She asked biting her lip. Ginny had all but forgotten Voldemort existed in this world, but hearing about him again was like a giant slap to the face.
"Not too actually, he laid low for about two years before suddenly striking recently and killing the Goyle's, Parkinson's, Tell's and Malfoy's. The only innocent people we know that have been killed were the two elder Finnagins. I believe you knew their grandchild Seamus, well actually it was his father and grandfather."
Ginny's gaze averted quickly to the floor. Pain spread across her features and she bit back the tears, she and Seamus had dated in her sixth year. Someone like Seamus didn't deserve something like that. It wasn't fair. Bill saw the her fight the emotion that threatened to spill out. Well, if he was going to say it he'd best say it now.
"Ginny, I think its time you came home for a visit." Bill said. Her salad fork slammed into her salad bowl with a loud 'clink.'
"What are you on Bill? Go home are you nuts, have Fred and George been testing new products on you?" She asked in a slightly squeaky voice.
"No, I just think you've been gone lone enough, mum and dad miss you terribly and you've missed so much." He explained hoping she wouldn't start yelling.
"Look Bill," She began in a very rational tone. "The minute I walk through the door mum will be looking all around for a job for me and she'll have dad dust my room. They'll never understand how happy I am now,"
"All you have to do is tell them you're here for a visit and that's it. Ginny you and I both know you have to go back sometime and with the sudden rise of you-know-who God only knows what could happen tomorrow." He said, he knew that the guilt trip ling had a fifty-fifty shot of working.
She looked at the table, anything to keep her gaze from her brother's. He was trying to use that damned guilt trip idea. It always worked on her, but this time she knew she could withstand it. "I'll think about it alright?"
"Okay, you'll have about two weeks to decide, write the burrow and they'll send Fred or Charlie to come get you, depends on when you respond cause they'll be in the area at different times." Bill said, smiling to himself.
"You wont tell them right?" She asked, fearing that her brother would tell her family and have them crawling over each other to drag her home. The thought almost made her laugh.
"Of course not, but boy have you missed a lot," He smiled to himself, here came the kicker. "Ron and Percy are pretty mad at you, how could you miss two weddings? They even sent you invitations to the college the muggle way."
Ginny nearly fell out of her chair in shock. "They married?????? When Oh My GOD!" She said, drawing stares, she blushed and ducked her head.
"Percy married Penelope, you remember her right?" She nodded her head, "Well they married in August and Ron and Hermione tied the knot about a year and a half ago, and here's the kicker they're expecting their first child in about three months." Ginny's reaction wasn't exactly what Bill had expected. She looked rather sullen, like the pit of her stomach had just dropped out. "Mum and dad were really upset, they though you just didn't want to come. The owls we sent even came back."
"No, I would have come, of course I would have come, its just that I had already moved out of the university about a year after I started attending. That's why they got sent back, I'm sorry."
"Well Gin, there's just another reason why you should come home." She smield and shook her head.
"Anyways, what else has happened?"
"Well I actually got an owl from mum, Harry and his girlfriend are engaged."
"Harry has a girlfriend?" Ginny asked, she felt a weight of burden and guilt get heavier on her shoulders.
"Yeah, and Charlie has a really pretty new girlfriend who I think you'll love if you meet her, she's into this whole grunge rock thing you are, only this girl, Bryce is a Dragon Keeper like Charlie is." Bill continued to tell her about the latest events, shocking her more and more. They had finished dinner and Ginny drove back to her place. Bill retired to bed saying he had to get up early to go to meeting.
"I should go back," She murmured to herself as she let the Counting Crows drift through her room, "But I don't know, things would be so weird, I haven't actually done magic in about half a year and all of my school things are buried in my closet." She thought to herself as she turned down her bed. She looked out her window and saw Draco, pacing his living room, he appeared to be on the phone. "Well what do you know, he's finally gone muggle on me." She murmured and clicked off her light, falling asleep. Dreaming frighteningly of a silvery haired man holding his hand out to hers.
-Alright finally done, that has been the hardest chapter to write so far, I couldn't think of what to write but there you have it, not the best but hopefully enough D/G tidbits to tide you over, its not this upcoming chapter but perhaps the chapter after if you all are good and review. Anyways next chapter we say goodbye to Jackson, Tracy and Tristian for a while and say hello to someone new. Bill leaves and Ginny makes a decision. Also some mixed feelings and that should be all. So r/r! Ambrose-