Before the pair realized it, it was almost mid-February, and at breakfast one morning, Professor McGonagall made an announcement.
"Students, I would like to let you all know that since Hogsmeade visits are impossible for Valentine's Day this year due to the current events, the staff has decided to host a dinner and dance." The Hall broke into hurried whispers, mostly by the girls, as the guys looked bewildered.
Ginny snorted into her pumpkin juice as Professor McGonagall announced the dance. After carefully wiping the juice off of her chin under the careful inspection of Draco with a smirk on his face, Ginny said, "That is the most worthless holiday ever invented." She raised her eyebrows as if to challenge him.
"Ahh. Are you bitter, Miss Weasley? Been crossed in love one time too many on Valentine's Day?"
Ginny just glared at him. "Perhaps it is because I think that it is an excuse for girls to get all mopey because either they don't have a boyfriend, or he forgot about it, or her friend got a better gift than her. You don't have to deal with it. I have been stuck in a dorm full of girls for the last five of them. It's torture."
Draco smiled playfully at her. "Is that your way of guilting me into asking you to the dance? You think if I pity you, I won't leave you alone to their torment?"
Ginny sputtered, "What? No. I don't even want to go to-"
"Very well, you've twisted my arm. Will you go to the dance with me? You can be my Valentine," at this he wagged his eyebrows suggestively.
She hit him and said, "Oh shut up. Fine, you can be my Valentine." Inwardly she was smiling. What a ridiculous way to ask me to the dance. He could have just asked. I would have said yes even though the whole holiday is for the nutters. I think we could have quite a good time poking fun at the puppy-eyed girls. She also secretly admitted to herself that Draco would make a very handsome Valentine. Much better than her previous ones.
"Are you daydreaming about how wonderful and charming I am, and how lucky you are to be going to the dance with me?" he asked, breaking her from her thought.
"Yes, of course I am. Come on, we had better not be late to potions." Draco narrowed his eyes at her as if wondering if she was telling the truth or playing along. Finally he stood and assumed that she had just being messing with him, and they walked to class.
Valentine's Day dawned bright and much too cheery for Ginny. She really did not like the holiday and found that the only reason that it would be bearable was that she would have Draco at her side in joint mockery of the day. Since it was a Saturday and she was not required to wear her school uniform, Ginny pulled on a charcoal sweater and black pants before making her way down to breakfast.
Draco caught her eye as she entered and took in her choice of clothing with a smirk. Girls wearing lurid shades of pink and red surrounded him. Ginny would not fit in well with the other girls at all.
As she sat next to him, he said, "My don't you look cheery this morning. And so festive. It's a shame. I was so looking forward to seeing you in some awful, I mean beautiful, shade of magenta. I think it would compliment you skin tone so well."
Ginny finally cracked a smile. "You think so?" and with that she pulled out her wand and charmed her shirt, which immediately changed into a bright shade of magenta that clashed horribly with her red hair. Draco let out a cry of mirth before breaking into loud and painful fits of laughter. He was holding his side, and his eyes began to tear up. Ginny nodded, satisfied, and turned back to her breakfast, still donning the ridiculous sweater.
Students and Professors alike watched the pair in interest. They had never seen Draco Malfoy act like that. He was always so quiet and stoic during meals, yet here he was laughing as if his life depended on it as Ginny tried to hide the grin on her face.
Finally Draco calmed enough to breathe again. "That sweater-" he began, "is the most amazing color for your complexion. Just as I anticipated. But you need to complete the look." She eyed him suspiciously, but he waved his wand and she found herself clad in a short red skirt and white boots with a large pink bonnet on her head.
When she saw herself she cried out in shock, then laughed a little. Then she charmed the skirt to be a bit longer while looking pointedly at Draco who just shrugged and tried to look innocent, then continued eating her breakfast. Draco's shoulders shook in silent laughter for the rest of the meal.
That night, Ginny was trying to get ready for the dance and found that for some reason she actually cared how she looked. She didn't really care about the dance or anyone else, but she felt that she should look good if she was supposed to be Draco's date. Finally, she donned a deep emerald, cocktail length dress, and her long red hair moved in smooth waves down her back. Satisfied, she made her way down to the entrance hall where she was supposed to meet Draco.
As she opened the portrait hole, however, she found him standing outside it with a white rose. "What are you doing here? We were supposed to meet downstairs," she said, taking in Draco's appearance and the rose in his hand.
"I thought it only proper to pick up my date. None of this meeting there business," and he handed her the rose, avoiding her eyes.
"Thank you," she said somewhat breathlessly. Oh, get a hold of yourself, she thought, this is Valentine's Day, and you hate it. Draco was just being a polite date. He held out his arm for her, and she took hold of it as they moved in silence toward the Great Hall.
As the music grew louder and closer, he finally said, "I like that color on you. Very Slytherin. Also so much better with your hair color than that pink you wore all day. What were you thinking?" he asked teasingly.
The Great Hall had been arranged with several smaller, circular tables and Ginny and Draco took a table in the corner away from all of the others. Something about this seems a lot like a date, Ginny thought to herself eyeing the little table where they sat. It was set with fine china, and Draco looked pleased.
At the center of the table was a vase with some cheap-looking flowers, and Draco eyed them disdainfully before vanishing them and placing Ginny's rose into it. She smiled in gratitude.
Throughout dinner, awkward silences kept creeping into their conversation. See, Ginny thought, this is why I hate Valentine's Day. You can't even talk to you friends without it being awkward. Ginny noticed Draco looking out at the couples spattered around the room. Most were holding hands or gazing longingly at the other.
"Draco," she simpered batting her eyelashes, "You could hold my hand," and let out a high, false girlish giggle that immediately set him smiling again, and broke the silence. He reached out and took her hand across the table, and both stared at their hands for a moment before Draco pulled back again and let out a little cough.
He reached under the table and pulled out a box. "Here. Happy Valentine's Day."
"Wait. What? You did not get me a gift!" she scolded while eyeing the box.
"Of course I did. You are my Valentine, and I am a gentleman," he responded cheekily.
"You really shouldn't have done that."
"I wanted to. Consider it a gift between friends. Pretend like it isn't Valentine's Day."
Ginny looked contemplative before answering, "Okay, fine, but no more gifts for me. I didn't even get you anything."
"I don't mind," he answered truthfully and pushed the box toward her.
She looked at him again and then grabbed the box. On top was written, "For my Valentine," and she was reminded of her bracelet, which said, "For my Friend." She pulled the paper off it to find a small white box, and she looked up at him questioningly before opening it and finding a pair of earrings- each with an emerald and a ruby.
"Draco!" she cried. "You can't give me these!" She never looked away from them, and he smiled knowing that she loved them.
"Of course I can. I noticed that you seem to like the bracelet, and I thought you would like some earrings to match." She looked up her him, her eyes wide. Her hand had instinctively gone to her wrist where she fingered her bracelet.
"I do love the bracelet, but this is too much. They are beautiful."
"Then they are yours," he smiled cheekily. "You can't give them back, because I don't have my ears pierced so they won't do me any good."
Ginny let out a breathy laugh before starting to fasten them to her ears. Draco thought she had never looked so beautiful. She looked so unsure of herself as she placed them on, but their sparkle complimented the sparkle in her eyes, and he could not help but stare.
Finally she noticed him and said, "Admiring your good taste?"
"Of course. As a Malfoy, I have impeccable taste. Would you like to dance?"
Ginny blinked and said, "Yes," slowly. He stood and held out his hand for her. She took it, and he led her a few feet away so that they could dance in the relative privacy of their corner.
"So was this Valentine's Day as dreadful as the last?" he asked finally, as he held her hand in one hand and her lower back in the other. She was smaller than he was, and from his position above her, he could smell the vanilla scent of her shampoo.
Ginny had been eyeing her hand in his. His hand is so big, she thought, and he is taller than I thought. "No, it was better. I think that outfit helped, because I couldn't help but laugh at myself most of the day."
His arm pulled her a bit closer, and she looked up at him, to see him looking intently down at her. They froze, their faces inches apart. She saw him swallow. The look in his eyes was unreadable, but his grey eyes were glowing with an intensity that she had never seen.
Draco leaned down and his lips brushed lightly against hers. She stiffened, and then briefly kissed him back. He pulled away with confusion on his face. "Shall we finish our dessert?" and he led Ginny back to the table. Did he just kiss me? Did I kiss back? Why did he pull away? What in the name o Merlin is going on? He doesn't like me. We're just friends. What just happened? She thought frantically to herself as she sat down as pulled her dessert toward her.
They ate in silence. Draco was wondering what had possessed him to kiss her and if she had really kissed him back or he had imagined that. Wondering if she would be angry with him for so boldly kissing her when they were not on a real date. Ginny was wondering why he had kissed her and if she had kissed him back or imagined it. Wondering if he was disgusted with her and that was why he pulled away. Wondering if he was thinking that it was a moment of insanity.
As the music wound down and students started to leave, Ginny gathered her rose, and she and Draco made their way to the door in awkward silence. She started to wish him a goodnight when he said, "I will walk you to your tower."
"Thank you."
The pair walked through the quiet, darkened corridors of the castle, every now and then glancing at the other out of the corner of their eye. Finally, they reached her portrait hole, and Ginny said quietly, "Goodnight, Draco. Thank you for my gift."
He shifted uncomfortably. "You're welcome. Thanks for coming to dinner with me."
She smiled slightly, "As if I don't go to dinner with you every night, anyway."
He smiled too. "Right. Goodnight, then."
"Goodnight," and Ginny disappeared into the portrait hole. Draco narrowed his eyes in thought and shook his head. Letting out a small sigh, he turned and made his way toward the dungeons.
As he neared the entrance hall, however, he heard a voice that made him stop dead in his tracks.
"Yes, Minerva. They have completed the task," he heard a small cry somewhere between triumph and disbelief.
"Are you sure, Severus?"
"I am sure. Lupin told me that they had returned and were asking about returning to school." Draco sunk into the shadows as he heard the voices and footsteps draw nearer.
As they passed, Draco saw someone that he had hoped never to see again. His godfather's face looked gaunt and pale, his eyes dark and shrunken, and his hair stringier than usual. Draco swallowed and sunk to the floor, his own face so drained of color that he could have been mistaken for a ghost.
Almost an hour had passed before he finally stood. He carefully made his way out of the shadows and toward the stairs, though he did not go in the direction of his common room. He needed to think. His heart was racing, and he knew that he would not get to sleep that night. He had too much to think about.
As he slowly but determinately made his way up the astronomy tower, he was lost in thought. As he reached the top, he did not realize that he was not alone. He sat and stared blankly out at the sky and shuddered under the cold breeze until he heard a soft, sweet voice.
"Draco?"
He turned his head so quickly that he heard it pop, but he was busy staring at the redhead who was looking curiously at him.
"Are you okay?" she asked, moving closer.
"No," he replied in defeat.
It was not the response that she had expected. He always denied it when he was upset or frustrated. To hear the defeat in his voice made her heart break. She sat down in front of him on the cold stone, conjured a blanket that she wrapped around him, and with her hand on his shoulder, looked questioningly at him. "What happened?"
"Snape is here." It was all he could say. The look of horror on Ginny's face told him that at least he was not alone in the pain of the revelation.
"Oh Draco, I am so sorry," and she leaned her forehead to his, and they sat in silence, each contemplating the meaning of the news. Draco blamed Snape for his parents' death. Dumbledore had offered him and his mother protection, but Snape had killed Dumbledore and the protection was lost. Ginny knew that Snape was Draco's godfather and that Draco had disappeared from his care after his parents were killed, because he could not bear to be around him. He only brought it up once, and she didn't blame him.
All thoughts of their earlier discomfort after their dance were forgotten.