Title: The Lucky One

Author: Sneezy Mouse

Rating: PG-13 due to implied naughtiness and slight cursing.

Disclaimer: All recognized characters; places and references to events and the aforementioned belong to the wonderful mind of J.K. Rowling.

Author's Note: Here is the chapter showcasing one of my favorite 'ships that I am working on writing. Also, for you fans out there who have wanted a continuation on 'Unbroken,' I am currently re-writing it. I am not sure when I'll have the revised chapter one up, but hopefully soon. Also, the next installment of "In the Rising Consciousness of a Prankster" is about half-done, so watch for that as well. Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter Four
Meddling in the Affairs of Dragons is Not Smart Revenge

"Dammit," Ginny muttered under her breath as Hermione headed into yet another clothing store.

"What?" Hermione asked.

"Nothing," Ginny replied, refraining herself from sighing.

Hermione eyed Ginny for a moment and said, "if you really are so pained with joining me on this shopping trip, why did you come?"

"Hermione," Ginny responded, "it's not the shopping I hate. It's the fact that we have been in nearly thirty clothing stores and you have yet to buy anything. I just feel that it's a bit pointless is all."

"I don't know, Ginny," Hermione said. "Nothing… feels right. I can't imagine myself in any of the clothing."

"Why not?"

"I don't know," she said. "Oh, how about this?"

Ginny looked over at Hermione who was holding a deep red lace teddy. It was very short and very see-through. Ginny was almost afraid to ask, but she did anyways.

"And why would you need that?"

Hermione got pink in the cheeks and said shyly, "to give the Honeymoon a bit of a kick. Like a wedding present for Percy."

Ginny's body curled and her face turned into a very pained expression.

"Ew!" she said. "That was a thought I did not need in my head."

"Oh, come on, Ginny," Hermione said, frustrated. "Stop acting like Percy and I having sex is such a horrid thought. You know very well that we've already shagged."

Ginny, if possible, cringed even more.

"But it's Percy!" Ginny said, pained. "It'd be different if it were Charlie or even Fred and George."

"Well, now that you mention it there was this one time in sixth year – "

"SHUT UP!" Ginny yelled. "Never mind, it is just as bad with any of my other brothers."

Hermione smiled smugly and went back to looking at the nightgowns. Ginny started perusing the pajama pants rack; the sensible pajama pants rack.

"What do you think of a pale yellow for the bridesmaids gowns?" Hermione said suddenly, looking at a pale yellow nightgown.

Ginny's nose upturned and she said, "I don't look good in yellow."

"Well you, as my maid-of-honor, will not be wearing the same as everyone else," Hermione said. "I am hoping to have you in a different dress and Oliver in a different suit which matches your dress."

Ginny nodded impassively. "Whatever. What else needs to be done today?"

"Oh, I don't know. It's quite hard to determine what needs to be done for the wedding. We have yet to even send out invitations yet, so it's not like we can plan place settings or anything."

"Yes, because place settings are so fascinating!" Ginny said sarcastically.

Hermione frowned and said, "I know it's not, but we really have to get going on preparations. The wedding is in September and it's almost April. That only gives Percy and I five months to plan a wedding!"

"Hermione," Ginny said calmly, "you need to breathe. You already have a good idea of what you want, do you not? You've spent practically the last three weeks calling and making arrangements, then canceling. You're taking initiative and that's the first step towards success. Plus, this wedding is planned by you and Percy, of all people. If ever there was a couple to have everything perfect and on time, it's you two."

Hermione smiled gratefully and said, "thank you Ginny. That really means a lot to me. You are already a fabulous maid-of-honor."

"I know," Ginny said, a smile playing on her lips. "I really am just that good."

Hermione laughed and gave Ginny a small shove. Ginny, unprepared for this, proceeded to fall into a young man who was happening by. He caught her, thankfully.

"Oh," Ginny said, blushing, "I am so sorry. My friend and I were just – "

Ginny stopped mid-sentence and gaped at the man who had caught her. Hermione, not noticing anything, continued Ginny's apology.

"We really weren't paying much attention and I am truly sorry for, well, pushing her into you."

"That's quite all right," said a very familiar drawl; one that caused Hermione to physically tense up and automatically hiss,

"Malfoy."

Draco Malfoy smirked in response and said, "it's nice to see you, too, Granger. And you," he said, rounding onto Ginny, "Weasley. It's good to know that, even to this day, you still retain the imbecilic nature passed down from your parents."

"Shove off, Malfoy," Ginny replied angrily.

"Yeah," Hermione added. "Grow up. We're twenty three now. Give the stupid school boy grudge a rest. It never came off well from Professor Snape and it certainly does not come well off on you."

"Shut up, Mud Blood," was Draco's response.

Instead of getting angry, as was the accustomed response to that word, Ginny asked the well placed question of, "so, Malfoy, how is your father?"

Draco's eyes narrowed maliciously and Ginny continued.

"Still in Azkaban, is he? It's a shock that you're not in the cell next door. How did you manage to weasel – or should I say, ferret – your way out of a prison sentence?"

"That is not of your concern, Weasley," Draco responded. "What I did is between Dumbledore and I."

Hermione snorted.

"Like Dumbledore would resort to making deals with Death Eaters."

"And who was our Potions teacher, Granger?" Malfoy countered. "Severus Snape, former Death Eater, perhaps?"

Satisfied the expressions on both girls' faces, Draco made a show of billowing his cloak and saying haughtily, "Well, I think I should be leaving. I have Weasley to wash out of my cloak."

Draco then walked and soon Disapperated from sight. Ginny laughed.

"Ah, memories," she said, wistfully sarcastic. "It's nice to know that there are still people in the world that say the name 'Weasley' as if it's poison."

Hermione laughed.

"I must say, however, that seeing Malfoy was quite an unexpected occurrence," she said.

"Indeed," Ginny agreed. "I do not think we should tell Ron about our run-in with him. Knowing him, Ron would probably seek him out and murder him."

"Definetly," Hermione agreed. "So… how are things with Oliver?"

Ginny choked on the breath she was inhaling and sputtered, "what?"

Hermione looked at her weirdly and said, "well, you set him up on a date, did you not? Did it work out for him?"

"Oh," Ginny said, feeling relieved. "No. Persephone, the girl I set him up with, turned out to be, in Oliver's words, 'a bloody psycho.'"

"That's unfortunate," Hermione said.

"Because that sounded like you meant it," Ginny observed.

"Well, I just feel that maybe you and Oliver should have a go."

"But why?" Ginny asked. "Why can't I just choose who I want to go out with. I don't need you, Percy, Mum, Dad, anyone to try to fix me up with people. I quite capable of it myself, thank you."

"But you two seemed to get off so well together."

Ginny knew that the comment was not intended to have such a suggestive manner, but she still felt her body clench and her face get a bit warm.

"Ginny, are you all right?" Hermione asked. "Because every time I mention Oliver, you seem to get, well, a bit flustered."

Ginny didn't meet Hermione's eyes which prompted Hermione's face to develop a sickeningly superior grin.

"You fancy Oliver, don't you? Oh, I knew sending him out to have a chat with you was a good idea. I mean, it's absolutely perfect. And when you get together, you can tell people that it was because of my wedding that you two got together."

"Oh, do shut up!" Ginny cried. "Stop being so daft. I do not fancy Oliver. I spent twenty minutes with him, at most, chatting at the party. You cannot develop fanciful feelings in that amount of time."

"Then why," Hermione continued, "are you getting so defensive and all over nothing?" When Ginny stayed silent, Hermione's eyes widened and she whispered, "did you two have sex?"

Ginny's face squashed in annoyance at Hermione's acute perception and this caused Hermione to emit a small squeal.

"That is great!" she cried.

Ginny's jaw dropped. "How is having a drunken one night stand with my older brother's best friend, future best man at your wedding and International Quidditch Superstar a great thing?"

"Because those reasons – well, not the last one because it means absolutely nothing except for the whole press thing – are what will cause a beautiful relationship to blossom!" Hermione explained excitedly.

"You," Ginny began, "are almost as deluded about Oliver and I's non-existent relationship as Harry was about my crush I used to have on him… and that's saying something."

Hermione scoffed.

"Nonsense!" Hermione said. "I know exactly where this is going because – "

"I swear to God that if you relate this situation back to how you and Percy first got together, I will have to kill you," Ginny said warningly.

"Fine," Hermione said snottily. "But it is Oliver Wood. You could do a lot worse as far as relationships go. I mean, you could be going out with, er… Malfoy instead."

"Ginny Weasley," the sing-song voice of The Conservation of Magical Creatures Department's secretary called, "you have a visitor at the front desk."

"Send them in," Ginny called back. The door to her office opened up and in walked – swaggered in would be a better-fitting adjective, actually – Draco Malfoy.

"Oh, dear Lord," Ginny said, annoyed. "What the Hell could you possibly want from me."

"Since you asked," Draco said, "a date."

Ginny's eyebrow raised and her lipped twitched.

"What?" she said.

"A date," Draco explained. "You know, a thing in which two people with mutual feelings for one another go out to dinner. But you are a Weasley. You probably haven't been asked on many."

"I do think, Malfoy," Ginny responded, "that if you were wanting a date with me, insulting me isn't the way to make it happen. Please, remove yourself from my presence. I am very busy and important."

"Is that a yes?" Draco asked, smirking.

"You, if possible, are even more unbearable that you were in school," Ginny said. "Go to hell."

"All in good time, Weasley," was all Draco's infuriatingly unaffected response. "Besides, you know you can't resist me."

"Oh yes," Ginny said sarcastically, strongly reminding her of her conversation with Oliver before they slept together.

Oliver.

Oliver had a date with Persephone and it drove Ginny mad. Would a date with Malfoy have the same affect?

But wait, why would Ginny care if a date with Malfoy made Oliver insane?

Quite simply, she didn't.

Sort of.

Not really.

A little.

"So, Friday night at eight?" Draco said, interrupting Ginny's inner argument.

Jealous Oliver equals that they both had the same feelings which would then into turn negate all the feelings making Ginny and Oliver's relationship unequivocally neutral and it would make Hermione shut up about any possible future romances.

Plus, Malfoy was inarguably attractive.

"Sure," Ginny said with a saccharine smile. "I'd love to."

It was seven fifty and Ginny's flat bell rang and Ginny wasn't ready. She didn't even have her dress zipped the whole way up and Malfoy was here already?

Ginny grasped the zipper on the back of the dress and gave a pull. She let out a frustrated groan when the zipper caught in the smooth blue material. Changing her dress was not an option, as this was the nicest dress Ginny owned and Draco had said to dress nicely. And now, the zipper was stuck and she couldn't find her wand and –

And the flat bell rang again.

With yet another frustrated groan, Ginny walked to the door an answered it, knowing she must look a sight with her dress practically falling off. And, as fate would have, Draco just had to notice.

"Getting undressed comes later, Weasley," he said dryly. "We have reservations to uphold."

Ginny's nose scrunched.

"Could you give me a hand?" she asked breathlessly. "The zipper is stuck and – "

"Say no more," Draco said, sweeping into her flat and grasping the zipper pull. "I have a talent for zippers."

"Why does that not surprise me?" Ginny asked.

Ginny could practically hear the smile on Draco's lips when he said, "Because I am well known for my exploits with the fairer sex. Now please hold still."

He gave it a soft tug and lost grip causing his fingers to graze over Ginny's bare back. She didn't know why she was so surprised, but Draco's hands were very warm. She always envisioned that Draco's touch would be cold… not that she dwelled on what having Draco touch her would feel like.

"Did you know that when you blush," Draco said evenly, "It spreads over your back as well?"

Ginny cringed and blushed some more. She was about to tell him to hurry up, but Draco appeared to have fixed the zipper. However, neither of them moved and Draco once again grazed his fingers up Ginny's back.

Ginny shivered.

"Reservations," she managed to say.

Quite aware of his affect on her, Draco smiled and said, "Of course, Weasley. Should I fetch your coat?"

"…the difference between our belief structures, Weasley, is that we had different parents. At the time, you believed what you were taught, as did I."

"And now?" Ginny asked.

"Now," Draco repeated. "The chances of the Dark Lord rising again after Potter snuffed him are none."

"Humor me," Ginny said.

"All right," Draco said, wary and suspicious and bothered all at once. "I would probably have strong feelings towards the Dark Lord and would, out of old habits, want to follow him as I used to. After Dumbledore's talk and pardon, however, I would probably be on the Order side of things. I'd probably be one of the first to die for betrayal, actually."

"The Dark Lord," Ginny echoed. "That in itself is a bit disconcerting."

"Old habits die hard," Draco replied simply as he signaled the waiter for the check since the pair had finished dinner.

"What did Professor Dumbledore do for you, if you don't mind me asking?" Ginny said.

"Told the ministry I was a mixed-up child, only doing what I believed was right. Blame the parents as long as I own up to it and take responsibility for my actions…" Draco responded simply, deciding it was best not to hold anything back at this point. "Though he said it in a more eloquent way, as is Dumbledore's style."

"I see." Ginny nodded. "Well, thank you for being honest, I suppose."

Once again, Draco fetched Ginny her coat and helped her into it before throwing down some Galleons on the table to pay for dinner, completely ignoring Ginny's attempts to pay for a portion as well. As they walked out onto the street, Draco ventured, "So now that I've shared my past. Let's hear yours."

"What about my past?" Ginny said, eyeing the man carefully.

Draco shrugged.

"Well, I was the little sister to Harry Potter's best friend. I was involved in some way with half of Harry's misadventures with You-Know-Who," Ginny answered. "And I have a very strong feeling that you don't want to hear those stories again, as most of them involve some sort of embarrassment on your part."

Draco let a small laugh escape, causing Ginny to grin.

Her date with Draco was an oddly enjoyable event. Despite a number of numerous little spats about nothing in particular, they had very nice conversations about anything and everything under the sun. There was not a single awkward silence between the two – something Ginny could not help but compare to Oliver.

Of course, all the awkward pauses they encountered were immediately after they had slept with one another.

"Is there anything else you want to do tonight?" Draco asked, pulling Ginny away from her thoughts… thoughts that had drifted back to the night she spent with Oliver; namely his very nice chest area.

Ginny shook her head slightly, both to rid the image of shirtless Oliver out of her mind and to indicate and answer to Draco's question.

"So should I just walk you home, then?"

"That would be nice, thanks," Ginny said, smiling. She smiled even more when she felt Draco's hand slowly move down and lace fingers with Ginny. She blushed and flinched a bit, surprised. Draco jerked his hand away.

They reached Ginny's flat soon thereafter, stopping at the front stoop.

"This is a nice place," Draco said.

Ginny said, pointing to the darkened window, "That's my balcony there with the small table and lawn chairs."

"And pink flamingos." Draco laughed.

"They're from Fred and George," Ginny said, feigning offense. "They went to the States for business and saw them in a store window. I had just purchased my own place and they thought the flamingos would add some color to it."

"I'm sure."

"Do you want to come up?" Ginny asked. Draco looked mildly surprised and Ginny realized what she said. "No! No, I wasn't meaning to imply that I wanted you to come up and have a shag! Just so you could see my place. Never mind. Forget what I said."

"No," Draco said as if he didn't believe Ginny's rationale. "I would like to come up – I would really like to come up," he added cheekily, "but I have work early in the morning tomorrow."

Ginny narrowed her eyes, but a she smiled nonetheless.

"All right then," Ginny said.

"Maybe some other time," Draco offered.

"There's going to be another time?" Ginny asked.

"I am hoping there will be," Draco said.

Ginny laughed and had a fleeting thought of the flirtatious repartee she and Oliver shared; this conversation was like something she and Oliver would say to one another. Needless to say, she pushed that thought out of her mind and focused on the man standing in front of her.

"Good night, Draco," Ginny said, finally using his first name.

"Good night, Ginny" Draco said giving Ginny the same courtesy. He then leaned in to give Ginny a kiss on the cheek. At the last minute, Ginny decided on a bold move and moved her head so the kiss landed squarely on her lips. Draco did not complain. Instead, he pulled his arms up and around her lower back.

Far too soon for both Ginny and Draco, there kiss ended – but not by their choice. A gruff cough had interrupted their very nice snog.

"Oh, blast it," Ginny groaned, seeing the one and only Oliver Wood surveying Ginny and Draco with muddled emotions crossing over his face.

Author's Note: I would really love to get some feedback of my Draco/Ginny. I know it was brief, but if you could tell me what was good about it and what was bad I would really appreciate it. Thanks so much!

Thanks to my absolutely fabulous chapter three reviewers which include: ayumi-dono, green smurf, son gomay vidal goku (what may I ask, inspired the name?), George's Brother Fred, Riley, Spordelia Chase (I would love to still be your beta!), lil'doxy, Branmuffinpower, caitlin (AHH! We have the same name, spelled the same too. Awesome!), lady patronus, Superkid, and jewelbaby88.

See you in Chapter Five: Into Madness There Is Truth.