Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter or Red and Black, from the musical Les Miserables :)

Romance101

Had you been there tonight
You might know how it feels
To be struck to the bone
In a moment of breathless delight
Had you been there tonight
You might also have known
How your world may be changed
In just one burst of light
And what was right seems wrong
And what was wrong seems right
-- Red and Black, from Les Miserables

Draco was still wondering why he gave that rose to Ginny when he returned to Charlene's side. For the rest of the night, he was lost in his own thoughts, simply nodding yes or no to whatever Charlene was saying.

He kept thinking of Ginny. She was so different from all the girls he usually dated that he just didn't know what to expect. Charlene, on the other hand, was predictable. She was ambitious, smart, and utterly gorgeous, like Blaise had said to him earlier that night, the perfect trophy wife. But did he want a trophy wife?

He hadn't even told Charlene of his mother's illness. It just didn't fit with all of the things they usually talked about. He didn't feel comfortable telling her. Yet he had told Ginny within the first hour. It was so she could help me find a wife, he told himself, but he had trouble believing it now.

And why did he feel so different around Ginny? At times, it felt wonderful just to be around her, other times, awkward, like he had to learn how to breathe again.

He was contemplating that thought when Charlene dragged him over to the dance floor again. He didn't even know why she wanted to dance, she didn't like it much. As they danced, Draco's thoughts drifted to the night in the club. He remembered how Ginny had felt in his arms, so different from Charlene. Ginny felt real, so much more real. She had danced like she knew where he was going to step next and what he wanted to do. Like she had read his mind. It was like she danced with all she had.

Why am I thinking about it? What does it mean?

Memories swept over him, a conversation he had with Blaise at Hogwarts, after Blaise had been cheated on by a girl he truly had feelings for.

"I just thought she was the one." Blaise was saying.

"Well, she wasn't." Draco said curtly. He didn't have time for lovesick boys. "Just get over her. Ask out another girl." He sneered and his lip curled.

He half expected Blaise to be angry, or at least throw something at him. Instead, Blaise threw him a pitying glance that Draco couldn't interpret. "You know, Draco. I feel sorry for you."

Draco's eyebrows rose. "Why? Because I'm not going to moan over some girl that's already forgotten my name?"

"No, because you've never been in love."

"Like I need it."

"You'll know when you're falling for someone. It's wonderful." Blaise's voice turned wistful. "Like really falling, only there's someone to catch you. There's confusion and uncertainty at first, but it passes, and then it's really something. You know what, it's indescribable."

Draco smirked. "Boy, you're really whipped. Not even married and you're talking like you are."

Blaise shrugged, half in earnest, half in embarrassment. "What can you say, I'm a hopeless romantic." He laughed and threw a pillow at Draco.

Was he falling for Ginny? That's impossible, he scoffed inwardly, I'm looking for a nice woman to marry so I can have lots of little blonde haired children for my mother.

Over Charlene's shoulder, he saw Ginny. She was arguing with another red-haired person, Bob, or whatever Fleur's husband was called. He looked down at the blonde he was holding. Charlene noticed his gaze and smiled up at him.

So was he?

Charlene was good. She would make a good wife. But who wanted good when they could have great?

His eyes went to Ginny again and caught hers.

Ginny couldn't move from the spot Draco left her for a long time. Memories ran through her head so fast she couldn't think of anything else.

Of him catching her as she fell.

Of him giving her that orange rose.

Of him with his arms around her.

Of him dipping her after their dance.

And now of him giving her the pink rose she now held.

What did it all mean?

"Ginny?"

Bill came through the archway toward her. "Come on, you have to do something here."

"What?"

"Have fun! Fleur and I wondered where you were."

Ginny was now aware of the situation. She groaned. "Bill, I didn't want to come in the first place. What makes you think I want to go 'have fun'?"

Bill ignored her protests and, placing an arm around her shoulders, steered her back inside.

The first thing Ginny saw was Draco. Actually he was all she saw. He was there, with his arms around a blonde woman she supposed was Charlene. Then he looked up at her, as if he had known the minute she had stepped inside the room.

It was nearing the end of the ball and Draco was exhausted, both physically and mentally. All through the night he kept his eye on Ginny, trying to figure out what he felt for her. Was he actually falling for her? Ridiculous, I'm not even dating her.

He kept trying to push away those thoughts but they kept creeping in.

He was so uncertain. Ginny was still healing from Seamus' unfaithfulness. Yet he had glimpsed a side of her that he was sure stayed hidden for years. And it made him wonder what it would be like if she was his.

No! Bad thoughts, bad thoughts, he scolded himself.

"Draco darling? It's time to go."

He looked down at Charlene, who was clutching his arm like she would never let go. Funny, she reminded him of that time when he went to the Yule Ball with Parkinson in his fourth year. A bit annoying, really. But it was how all Pureblooded girls of their class were trained. It would be only proper to marry a woman like Charlene. It would be a smart match. It would be good for him.

Then he saw Ginny again. She was laughing this time, walking out of the front doors, with Fleur and Bill. The wind played with her hair, making it sway this way and that. All the colors shone in the moonlight.

Who wanted good when they could have great?

And Ginny was great.

The next morning Draco woke up and thought, I have to do it today. There was no point in leading a girl on. He dressed causally, in a pair of jeans and a collared shirt. No point in impressing a girl he didn't want. He didn't bother to gel his hair for her. No point in doing something I don't want to do.

Or did he?

It was interesting how wizarding fashion changed. Draco had returned to the wizarding world in muggle clothes, since he had hid in the muggle world during part of the war from his father and Voldemort, and Witch Weekly loved it. They made him pose for pictures in one of their issues, making him Bachelor of the Year for the first time. Now most wizards and witches were wearing muggle clothing, whether it was underneath their robes or not.

Draco went through his daily morning routine and ended up at Charlene's flat around ten. He knocked on the door and it opened immediately.

"Draco?" Charlene looked surprised. She was looking him up and down, wondering why he had dressed so informally. He usually dressed with such sophistication. His hair wasn't even gelled back like it usually was when they went out, so nice and neat. She had told him the first time they went out that she preferred to have his hair gelled back, and he'd done it since then. But she wondered what he wanted. A surprise visit? How sweet.

"Would you like to come in?"

Draco hesitated. Would it mean anything if he went in? But he said, "Sure." He went in and sat on a sofa that was made more for decoration than comfort, but Draco didn't pay much attention to his surroundings. He was thinking, should I really break up with her for being who she was trained to be?

Before he could utter a word though, Charlene asked, "Do you want something to drink?"

Draco shook his head. He opened his mouth to say something when he was interrupted again. "I'm sure you're hungry then. Here, let me get something for you to eat." She disappeared into a kitchen that was several sizes larger than his own.

When she came back with a plate of biscuits and tea, he attempted to take a bite that stuck in his mouth. Washing it down with some tea, he cleared his throat. "Charlene, I'm sorry, but this isn't working for me."

She stared at him. "What?"

"It's not working," he repeated. "I don't think we have what it takes for a relationship. Together, of course. You're a great person, but we just don't fit."

She looked more angry than confused or sad. "No," she said. "No. According to the Four Steps to Love you are already nearing Infatuation!"

What the hell was she talking about? "What are you talking about?"

Stomping over toe her bookshelf, she pulled out a book and threw it at him. Luckily he caught it before it gave him a concussion. He read the title: Four Steps to Love – a Scientific Study. He looked at her, flabbergasted, "Are you serious?"

She laughed, and it was almost manic. As she proceeded to explain why they were perfect for each other, Draco put his head in his hands and sighed.

Draco was exhausted. What was this stupid Four Step thing anyway Charlene was trying to prove? It wasn't like he had actually listened – by the end she had thrown so many of her trifles and baubles at him her apartment was nearly empty of decorations.

He was trudging up the stairs when he stopped on the second floor.

Ginny.

Of course, she would know what Charlene was trying to follow, that Four Step to Mature Love theory. She took some classes in both the muggle and wizarding world, hadn't she?

He knocked on her door, almost viciously. She opened the door.

"Draco?" She looked at him strangely. He looked upset about something, and his hair was mussed, as if he'd run his hands through it one too many times.

He sighed. "Hey Ginevra. Can I talk to you?"

She looked at him. He was acting oddly, even for him. "Um, sure." She stepped aside to let him in and closed the door behind him.

As soon as he was seated, he blurted out, "What is the Four Step to Mature Love theory?"

Ginny was perplexed. Wasn't this the guy who didn't believe in any sort of theory for love and relationships? "Why do you want to know?"

He sighed. "Just humor me. Tell all."

Ginny sensed a sort of desperation in his voice. "Okay. Basically, it is believed, according to this theory, that there are four steps to a love that is considered 'mature' or unconditional, true, you get the picture?" When Draco nodded, she continued. "So the first step is assumption – basically what you want in a woman, whether subconsciously or not. If you pass this first stage and start liking her, then you're attracted."

"So that's the second step. Attraction."

"Right." Ginny was in full lecture mode by now, sounding quite like Hermione. It would have been funny if the situation weren't so grave. "This is the time when you look for more evidence that she's the one – whether you like her for who she is, what your friends think of her, stuff like that. Infatuation supposedly takes a long time, because the hard part is moving on to the mature love stage, because infatuation is conditional and so it doesn't last. But mature love is."

"They know this stuff for sure?"

"I haven't read about the recent research, but I heard that they actually have scientific proof for some things, like hormones and stuff."

She directed her attention back to Draco. "So why do you want to know? You come busting in here demanding, so what happened?"

"I tried to break up with Charlene and she tried to use the book as an excuse to break up with me." Now that he thought about it, it was almost laughable.

Ginny's jaw dropped. "No way."

Draco did start laughing now. "Yeah, pretty ridiculous, right?" Ginny looked lost in thought. Draco didn't notice that her attention had strayed and spoke again. "It was just so ridiculous."

Ginny asked, "You wanted to break up with her?"

"Uhhh yeah," he asked suspiciously. "Why?"

She didn't answer, just stood there and stared at him.

Author's Notes: I'm sorry, I meant to tell you guys about the whole pink rose thing, and I just forgot. A pink rose means many things, a secret love, grace and sweetness, happiness, and indecision. I suppose Draco would be feeling all of those things at that moment, whether he knew it or not. The blood he shed to pick the flower is more of my wonderful symbolism. Read it again and see if you can figure it out!

Also notice the characters' hair in this fic. It's kinda absurb, but it gives clues to what they are feeling and how they are changing.

The 4 Steps to Mature Love theory is from Bet Me, by Jennifer Crusie. I DON'T OWN THE BOOK.

One reviewer said that Draco was nicer that she expected, and I think that in the five or six years that he's left Hogwarts, he's changed, and I will explain later why or how he changed so much, though some of you who read closely may notice...

zan189, Blaise's behavior IS very weird, and you WILL find out what's eating him.

wingedcinner, that's a good thought, I suppose she has anti-stealing charms on them? HAHAHAHA

Wizzabee, she's out of the picture now, and Draco's getting the idea...

jbean, OF COURSE the song lyrics are related to the story, I'm glad that you noticed it...but I don't think that it was in reference to Charlene because she doesn't really prefer money over love. The song was just to capture the feel that Draco and Ginny in that scene are among thesepeople (the Purebloods) who believe that being rich is extremely important and they actually value stuff (like diamonds). I'm sorry if that confused you.

AND TO ALL THE PEOPLE WHO THINK I'M GOING TO STOP WRITING, I'm not. It's just that a reviewer asked if the fic was finished, and it wasn't so I wasn't just answering her/his question. sorry.

love, falling into you