Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter and Life For Rent, sung by Dido

Shielded Hearts

While my heart is a shield and I won't let it down
While I am so afraid to fail so I won't even try
Well how can I say I'm alive
If my life is for rent and I don't learn to buy
Well I deserve nothing more than I get
Cause nothing I have is truly mine
-- Life For Rent, Dido

There was something going on, thought Draco. Something about that picture.

It was obviously Ginny and someone with her. The way they were sitting revealed that they were intimate with each other. He could sense it in the picture. Though he couldn't see the guy's face, the way Ginny had her cheek pressed against his…

But the way she had reacted. Why?

There was something going on with Ginny and that guy and he wanted to find out what it was.

But he didn't get a chance too.

After that night, Ginny seemed different. It was a week before she owled him to ask when and where they were going to meet. They when he had replied saying to meet in a park near Soul Mates, her answer surprised him:

Malfoy,

I think it's getting too cold to stay outside and the November wind will blow any papers that we bring away. Do you think we can just meet in my office at work? That would be better. Thanks.

Ginny

When Draco arrived at Soul Mates, he headed for Ginny's office. Grace saw him coming and ran out the door, muttering that she had to use the bathroom. He pushed open the door and there was Ginny, hair in the bun and buttoned up white blouse, the perfect picture of a businesswoman.

"Hey Malfoy."

Draco nodded in acknowledgment. "Weasley."

"So here you go," Ginny said, passing him more papers. "These are some girls that might be suitable."

That was all that happened that meeting. Ginny was all businesslike and proper. The feisty girl that had emerged the last time he met her had disappeared. Draco wondered if it was a façade or if it was real.

The next time he came with a rose, an orange one. He didn't know what possessed him to buy it for her, then to actually give it to her.

Ginny froze when she saw the rose. Her mouth nearly dropped in shock when he held it out to her. She blushed. "For me?"

"For you."

She still didn't take it. "Why?"

"I saw it and wanted to give it to you."

It was a lovely rose, not yet fully bloomed but beautiful in its entirety. Ginny remembered what Hermione had told her about roses.

Ginny was walking with Hermione when she saw a flower shop. She ran inside and got a yellow rose.

"Look Hermione, isn't it beautiful?" She breathed.

Hermione nodded, "Did you know that roses are over thirty five million years old?" When Ginny shook her head, she smiled. "They are also symbols for war and politics, but above all, love." This was when she started sounding like a textbook.

"Of course."

"In the muggle world, many kings and queens loved roses. The Tudor family – a royal line, like Purebloods – " she added, seeing Ginny's confusion, "used a red rose laid upon a white rose as their crest to symbolize the union of the two feuding families before them. There was even a War of the Roses according to legend. It's fascinating, isn't it?" seeing Ginny's astonished face.

She continued, "Even the color of roses or how fresh they are creates a different impression. There are many different interpretations. A yellow rose can mean love everlasting or friendship or joy or even jealousy. It just all depends on which one you want to believe."

Did Draco intentionally pick it out by color? What did an orange rose mean?

But she took the rose, telling herself that she just couldn't resist the rose.

"Hey Weasley."

"Yeah?"

"Why did you want to come here instead of at the park or something?"

"I told you, it's too cold."

Draco was going to say, 'bull' but the sight of Ginny's face stopped him. Her eyes were glimmering and she looked like she was about to cry.

So he said instead, "Don't you like autumn?"

Ginny thought, I love autumn, in fact, my wedding was supposed to be in November. "I love autumn."

Somehow Draco didn't fully believe her.

A few hours later Draco was reading through some girl's profile when he heard Ginny talking.

She was really just muttering to herself. "Hm. Ok, ok, ok. Good, she likes Quidditch." Then she looked up. "Malfoy, you don't want a girl who likes to eat onion and garlic sandwiches, right?"

"Are you INSANE?"

Ginny laughed, the first time she did in over a week. Then she crumpled up the woman's profile and threw it in the trash can, which was already full. She looked at the remaining profiles. There was still more than a hundred, if not two hundred, left.

"Better keep on reading."

The next time was worse. Ginny seemed upset. Very upset.

It was getting colder, nearing the beginning of December, but Draco didn't think that it should make Ginny mad like that.

But she wasn't mad…

Upon closer inspection, Draco saw her dark brown eyes were lined in red, sure signs of crying. He glanced in the trash can and saw an innumerable number of tissues as well as the tissue box itself.

"Weaslette?" Draco's voice was concerned.

"What?" Her voice was slightly nasal. "Oh, it's alright. I just have really bad – allergies, yes allergies."

"Of course, Weasley." But he didn't sound convinced.

As they sat and read, Draco didn't pay attention to what he was reading. Instead he was looking at Ginny. He had a feeling that it had to do with that guy. Did he dump Ginny?

Only two hours or so passed when Ginny couldn't take anymore.

Her voice rough, she said, "Hey Malfoy, can we cut today short? I'm not feeling well."

The moment he said sure she rushed out without even taking her bag with her.

Draco meandered out of Soul Mates once Ginny left. There was really no point, he decided, in staying to get bombarded by a bunch of hormonal woman.

Ginny had apparated home and started making dinner. Sometimes keeping her hands busy helped with her sorrow, but today it didn't work at all. All she could think about was him. And today was that day.

She was peeling potatoes and throwing them into lime water to keep them from turning brown.

"Ginny please say you won't do that again."

"It's not good for you."

"You do it every year, its time for you to stop and Harry and Ron and I are tired of bringing you back from there."

She began cutting the potatoes in half.

"Especially since that day we aren't going to be around."

"What if you get hurt?"

"Or if you can't get back home?"

Unsteady, she cut herself and cursed. Enough of this, she though. Enough. She left everything, put on her coat, and went out the door.

Draco wandered out of the Leaky Cauldron and out into muggle London. He couldn't keep his mind off Ginny. Where she was right now, and whether she was crying her eyes out.

There was nothing to do in London, so he apparated near his flat and walked around there instead. He lived in the outskirts of London, in a town that was separated for both muggles and wizards. Obviously he lived in the wizarding part, but he had to walk through the muggle part to get to it, if he didn't apparate directly.

He didn't mind. Draco loved autumn. It was his favorite season. Some people would call it miserable, a symbol of life ending. But to Draco, autumn had a beauty that no other season had. Leaves swirling around, the myriad of subtle colors others probably didn't notice. It was a fiery time, the period of transition.

Draco was walking by a bar whose nameplate was so chipped and torn that it was unreadable. But clearly, it was a bar. There were so many things on his mind that he decided to go in and have a couple of shots. Muggle alcohol was stronger than wizarding firewhiskey.

He sat down at a stool at the bar. The air was smoggy and barely breathable. Not that it matters to the people around here though, he thought, looking around at the drunk people around him.

The bartender was just coming to ask what he wanted when he heard a commotion next to him. Turning left, he saw a girl with a burly dirty man standing over her, hands on her waist. The girl was obviously trying to fight him off, but he just leered at her.

Draco would recognize that shade of red hair anywhere.

He jumped off his stool and hurried over to Ginny's side. She was just saying, "Leave me alone if you don't want to get hurt." She was slurring her words.

The guy just laughed. "And what would a pretty thing like you be able to do to me. Look at you, you're pretty pissed right now."

Draco grabbed the guy's shoulder. "The lady doesn't want you there. And I suggest you move away from my girl."

Author's Notes: OKAY. These next few chapters might be a little tedious, but it's essential for the plot. It deals with a lot of psychological development within the characters, especailly Draco and Ginny. You will find out whether Harry likes Ginny, if you haven't figured it out already. By now, I think Draco is getting to realize how much he is attracted to Ginny, but we'll see.

IndiaInk (I absoulutely LOVE your penname, btw) I'm glad you picked up on the hot and coldness attitude of Draco when he's around Ginny or just thinking about her. I did that purposely. He's not trying to charm her or be nice to her, but he's attracted to her, but he doesn't want to be. That's why he can be acting all cliche and nice for one second then snooty and mean for the next.

I hope I wasn't too metaphorical with the potatoes. If any of you guys needs an explanation on what they mean and/or you think I'm just plain crazy just tell me and I'll explain in next chapter's Author's Notes!

Zan189 thank you for informing me of the whole mariage d'amour thing. I did have my suspicious that the stupid Chinese translation wasn't correct, especially since I had always thought that mariage meant marriage. I looked it up later and found that it did mean 'love match'. I was surprised though, since this story is about Draco being matched up with Ginny, however unintentionally. I found that ironic. Anyways, you got to it before I did andI thank you for confirming it for me. :)

I know the rose part is entirely cliche. But I love roses so much that I just had to add them in there. And that isn't the end of it. There will be more symbolism concerning the roses for both Draco and Ginny. But for your information, an orange rose means desire. (there are many interpretations for different colored roses, as Hermione said above, but I decided to make the orange rose mean that) I think you can figure out what the rose as a whole means if it was BUDDING. And I made Draco pick it out unintentionally. That will come back later.

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANKYOU