Disclaimer: Nothing's mine! And 'Out of Reach' is a (brilliant) song by (the brilliant) Gabrielle, as I so cleverly put in ;)

Memory – A Blessing

Suspicions

He wanted to have a 'talk'. Well, that had never meant anything good in the Weasley household. It was what Molly had used to say to Fred and George, before, if words had been knives, making mince meat out of them. On the other hand, Arthur had never done that.

Ginny sat down carefully on the sofa and met her father's eyes with something she hoped resembled innocence. Arthur rubbed his palm over his scalp, brushing over the increasingly thinning ginger hair. He sighed.

"I'm worried, Ginny. You haven't been yourself lately. You don't like your work anymore, and more often than not you go out with this man you've only just met instead of coming straight home... Sometimes you even have dinner with him! Merlin... You know there are still dangers in being out late, Ginny, and –"

"I – I know, Dad," she interrupted. "And I can promise you that I am not and will not do anything – anything stupid. You always used to say that I'm good with getting the real character of people, didn't you? Well, I think Tom's ok. And I – Well, it's almost like I've met him before. He's from Hogwarts, but I just can't quite..."

Without realising it, Ginny's face had taken on a strained expression, as if she was trying to remember something important. Arthur frowned, and then a deep, impossible suspicion came to him, along with a cold dread. He took a deep, calming breath. What he was telling himself was surely, surely impossible, but there would be no harm in making sure, just in case, would there?

"Well, I would quite like to meet this Tom. That's not too much to ask, is it?"

Ginny shook her head silently, dismayed. Arthur had never liked any of her boyfriends, and over the last few years had all but driven them away. He was nodding now and abruptly left the small bed-sit they had decided to share after the Burrow had to be sold. Ginny didn't mind that so much, he spent more time in the office anyway, and even in the weekends he usually disappeared like he just had, or she went out herself, but he was just too over-protective of her.

After he had left, a small weight seemed to life of her chest. With a jolt she realised that her own father, with his quirks that had seemed so comical when they had been a part of a large family, now made her feel crowded. But as soon as that thought came, she suddenly smiled at something else. She thought of Tom as a boyfriend now, then.

"And Ginny..."

She jumped as Arthur stepped back into the room with a tight smile.

"Yeah, dad?"

"If you ever need to talk to someone, you know I'm always here. I know I'm busy too much of the time, and I know I'll never be a replacement for your mother –"

"No, don't," said Ginny firmly. "You're not a replacement. You're someone different, and someone I've always needed just as much as mum. And I love you, dad, but please... I can control my own life now, ok?"

She hadn't meant to word the sentence like that, and could have kicked herself when Arthur nodded, looking crestfallen, and left again. She knew he had been terribly affected by the deaths of all her brothers, and Molly, affected even more than she had been. She remember being devastated, but she hadn't changed the way her father seemed to have done...

Arthur entered the room yet again.

"If this Tom does anything to you, you know you can tell me –"

"Dad, just stop!"

Ginny looked just as shocked at her own outburst as Arthur. For some reason, a strange anger had fired up inside her when her father had openly said something against Tom. Upset, she took a deep breath and Disapparated.

When she Apparated into Tom's living room, he was not there. He wasn't in any of the other downstairs rooms either, or the garden. Ginny went back inside and started up the carpeted marble staircase.

"Tom? Are you up here?"

She knocked on the nearest door and pushed it open when there was no answer. It was a large bedroom, with a four-poster and dark wood furniture. Dust covered most of the room, and she knew that this had been the bedroom of Tom's parents. Feeling another stab of sorrow for Tom's losses and her own, she closed the door silently. She rested her hand on the doorknob of the next door.

"Tom –"

"Ginny!"

She turned sharply, but smiled when she saw that the man she knew as Tom was coming up the stairs behind her, carrying a Nimbus 2001 over his shoulder.

"Where have you been?"

"Oh – Out." He indicated the broomstick. "Just flying."

"Flying! But the Muggles –"

He shook his head. "There's this crazy field that's more of a wood nearby. The Muggles hardly ever go in there, and there aren't any neighbours around for about two miles."

Ginny had not moved her hand from the doorknob, and when Draco saw it there, his eyes widened.

"Have you been in there?"

"Oh –" she dropped her hand. "Sorry, I was looking for you."

"Did you go in there?"

Something in his eyes made Ginny feel ever so slightly nervous.

"N – No, I didn't." She paused. "Is that your bedroom, Tom?"

"Yeah, um, would you just – can you go downstairs? Go to the parlour or something... I'll be down in a second."

Ginny was confused, but did as he asked. A few minutes later, Draco joined her with two small bottles of Butterbeer. He opened them and handed one to her, still trying to calm himself down. She had been so close to going into his room and seeing the photographs of the two of them in happier times. If that had happened... He didn't even want to think about it. When Ginny had taken a few sips of the Butterbeer, he cocked his head slightly.

"So, I'm guessing you came here for a reason."

She shrugged, embarrassed. "I had a stupid argument with my dad, I just needed some company. Actually, it wasn't even much of an argument, but I think I upset both of us... I – If I'm disturbing you..."

"You're not."

He smiled at her, and she smiled back. Draco felt himself wanting, needing her so much that it was a physical pain deep in his chest. It was hard to believe that, after all they had shared, she didn't remember anything. More to break their eye contact than anything, he set down his bottle and crossed the room to the old gramophone. Ginny looked enthralled.

"That's a Muggle music thing, isn't it?"

He grinned. "Not quite."

Leaning down, he spoke clearly. "Muggle. Out of Reach, Gabrielle."

The song immediately began to play, without any sign of a disc. Ginny looked delighted as Draco straightened up, still grinning.

"Wow. Hey, how come that isn't in the Misuse of –"

"Dance with me, Ginny."

She opened her mouth, but no words came. Instead, she got up and walked towards him slowly as the soft melodies surrounded the room. And when they danced, it felt so natural, as though they had done it a hundred times before. Draco knew that they had, because –

"This is one of my favourite songs."

Was I ever loved by you...?

Draco just smiled, fighting back the urge to tell her that he knew, to tell her the whole truth. The dance felt perfect to Ginny, but it was bittersweet for him.

Out of reach...

As the song soared into the last chorus, Ginny tentatively leaned her head against Draco's chest. They fit perfectly, her soft hair just tickling his chin. He closed his eyes, savouring the moment, holding her close. And when the gramophone crackled slightly on the last note and fell silently, they did not part. Ginny raised her head. His heart thumping wildly, he lowered his head...

Abruptly, she looked away. "I should get home now, Tom."

Draco stopped, kicking himself mentally, and nodded, but it was a while before they composed themselves enough to manage Disapparating. And when they were at the door of Flourish and Blotts and Ginny asked him in, he shook his head. She looked a little upset.

"Why can't you come in? My gross room is nothing compared to your place, but I'll introduce you to my dad, he wants to meet you."

Draco shook his head again. Was it Ginny's imagination, or had there just been a slight grimace of anger just behind his apologetic expression? It must have been her imagination. She grinned at him coyly.

"Come on, Tom."

His voice was tight. "I can't, Ginny."

"Why? I go to your place way too much. You haven't even been here yet. Just come in for a bit."

"I can't. I – I'm sorry, I have to go."

And Ginny watched in confusion as he almost ran away from her, and then Disapparated. Something very strange was going on here. Both her father and Tom were acting very strangely, and she was going to find out why.