A/N-Goodness gracious! What a long break that was huh? In order to reward those of you that have waited so patiently for me to update this story...Tadah! I give you two new chapters...I might end it on the next update. I think we've exhausted all angles and plots. The well is dry my friends...I had plans for a sequel...Maybe I still do. Oh and I don't blame you if you have to go re-read a couple of chapters. It's been a while and I found myself referrring back a lot. I have this terrible feeling that I crossed stories there somewhere...You'll let me know I'm sure. Enjoy!

Chapter 42

Ginny was the first person in Potions that morning. Draco hadn't even entered the dungeons yet. She was twirling her hair between her fingers when an attractive Ravenclaw walked in and sat next to her. Ginny realized she had never even noticed him before. He was tall and blonde like Draco but with brown eyes. He was smiling at her as he crossed his arms. Ginny cleared her throat nervously. "Can I-Can I help you?"

The boy chuckled and shook his head. He spoke with a deep and strong Scottish accent. "Sorry, it's just that I've been meaning to speak to you for years and well….I just thought that I'd um…Well I wanted to meet you."

Ginny's cheeks turned pink and she looked away trying to hide a smile. She could only conjure a whisper. "You can't be serious."

The boy gave a gloomy look and hung his head. He also returned the whisper. "I am. I just never had anything interesting to say so I stayed away."

Ginny felt terrible as she had embarrassed him. "Oh I didn't mean….I'm Ginny, Ginny Weasley."

The boy perked up with a grin. "I'm David Mason. I'm in Ravenclaw." His cheeks flushed and the whisper returned. "But you could probably figure that out from my robes. Sorry."

Ginny put on the sweetest voice she could find and lied to him. "Oh, I didn't even notice. So you're in Ravenclaw. My best friend Luna is in your house."

He started to regain his strong deep voice back. "Yes I know. She's always been nice. A little different but nice."

Ginny nodded anxiously wanting to know why he was even speaking to her. "So David, why on earth did you want to meet me?"

He looked away and smiled. "Well, I've always enjoyed watching you play quidditch and I've seen you in the library on occasion."

Ginny smiled again realizing he still hadn't stated why he wanted to meet her. "So you've seen me around have you? Why didn't you just come introduce yourself years ago?"

David shrugged. "You've always been with Potter or your brother. I didn't feel like getting pounded on by them you know? I have a sister and I would pound on any bloke who fancied her….I mean who talked to her."

Ginny blushed but then scoffed at the thought of Ron. "My brother is a half-wit and doesn't know the first thing about manners. Harry on the other hand, he's really sweet and not as over protective as Ron. He seemed to always understand that what will happen, will happen you know?" David nodded. Suddenly Ginny started watching his mannerisms and how he had just described his sister. He was exactly like Ron. "You know David, your sister probably doesn't appreciate you being so protective. It's really embarrassing."

David laughed. "Well what do you girls expect? I'm a guy, I know what we're after! The least I can do is protect her from the wrong sort."

Ginny started laughing loudly. "So what you're telling me is, you would protect your sister from a guy like you?"

David started to nod but then sank in his seat. The infamous whisper returned again as students started pouring into the class. "Well not exactly. I'm not so bad really. Anyways Ginny, it was nice to meet you." He stood as Ginny's eyes were glued to his half embarrassed and half smiling face. "Maybe you could help me in potions some time? I mean since you've already been through it?" He reached for her hand and shook it gently. Unbeknownst to her, Draco had been watching from his office the entire time and had now walked out to greet the class.

Ginny couldn't help but blush again. She thought hard and then smiled assuringly. "Maybe David."

He sat down in his seat that just happened to be at a table next to hers. Ginny shook her head in confusion of what had just happened. If she didn't know better, she would have thought she had just been hit by Ron disguised as someone else. Thankfully, she knew he had his hands full with his new twins. She smiled as she realized that that was exactly how he must have made other girls feel when he (Ron) talked to them. She covered her mouth in utter embarrassment for her brother. She thought to herself. "Thank God Hermione would have him…What a git!"

Ginny looked up to the front and saw Draco staring at her with a raised eyebrow as he leaned against his desk. Without looking away he spoke loudly. "Mr. Mason. Would you be so kind as to explain to us the difference between Knotgrass and Lacewing flies?"

David looked horrified at his fellow Ravenclaw next to him and cleared his throat. "Um, yes sir. I think-Well I don't exactly know sir. I think well aren't they-"

"Your attempt at thinking has proven to fail you in the worst way. I wouldn't suggest trying it again or you may injure yourself. I want a foot of parchment on the differences and how they affect potions when added together tomorrow morning. Oh and ten points from Ravenclaw for your ignorance……Maybe Miss Weasley could enlighten us on a brief summary of the differences?" Draco had spoken extremely loud and harsh as he still had his gaze that now bore a satisfied smirk at Ginny.

Ginny glared at him angrily. "Of course I can professor…." Ginny explained the difference between the two ingredients with her arms crossed and staring furiously at Draco. Once finished she looked sweetly over at David who was utterly embarrassed. "And I would be happy to help him complete his essay if he would like. After all professor, I am your assistant am I not?"

Ginny was the one now who bore the satisfied smirk. Draco flashed one last glare and nodded with a forced smile. Ginny was upset at his obvious jealousy and tried to hurry out of class when they were excused but was stopped with someone's hand on her shoulder. It was David and he was beaming at her. "Thanks for that Ginny. I haven't got a clue about Lacewing Flies or Knotgrass. I wonder what I did to upset the professor. He gave me really good marks on my last essay. He's even said hello to me in the corridors before. I must have really done something terrible to-"

Ginny raised her hand to silence him. "The professor is just a complete prat. Ignore him when he's being a bully like that. He'll grow up someday….But not soon enough." Ginny was glaring at Draco as he was watching from his desk. He couldn't hear what they were saying due to the other student's noise but he was infuriated just the same. As soon as David turned his back, Ginny childishly stuck out her tongue at Draco just before exiting the classroom.

At lunch, Ginny was still fuming from Draco's stunt and decided to sit with Luna to explain what had happened. Ginny commented at how Draco's immaturity suddenly caused her to lose her appetite. Luna sighed and looked over at David. "I saw him speaking to you before class. He's really sweet Ginny. He must like you."

Ginny choked on her pumpkin juice that was the only thing she could stomach at the moment. "So what! It's not like I'm going to do anything about it. If you remember Luna, I'm sort of involved…."

Luna shrugged but then looked over at David again dreamily. "He's really sweet."

Ginny looked at him as well and then back at Luna. "Luna, do you think he's handsome?"

Luna shrugged again. "Yes. But what does that matter?"

Ginny smiled widely. "Well you said yourself that he's sweet didn't you? Why don't you talk to him?" Luna shook her head nervously and was making weird faces at Ginny. She kept shifting her eyes behind Ginny. "What are you doing? Come on, David is so gorgeous! Have you heard his sexy Scottish accent? I almost died when he talked to me. Why any girl would be lucky to have him Luna! You should-" Ginny finally stopped as Luna's eyes widened and she turned very pale.

Ginny turned around and saw David staring right at her and Draco standing behind her. She blushed and felt woozy as she looked down at her plate. Draco had been walking by on his way to the staff table and stopped when he heard what Ginny was saying. David had moved down a couple of seats to try and talk to Ginny and also heard everything. David noticed Draco standing behind Ginny. He began to speak in his normal deep voice. "Professor? I wanted to talk to you about what happened in class today. Do you have a minute?"

Draco smirked as he looked at David. "I do Mr. Mason. Follow me." Draco headed out of the Great Hall as David followed. Ginny gasped and started to leave too when Luna pulled her down.

"What are you going to do?" Luna asked nervously.

"Make sure that he doesn't hex David into next week." Ginny said and hurried out of the Great Hall. Luna reluctantly followed. They both peered out the doorway and found them talking near the stairs.

David started pacing as Draco watched with an amused expression. "I just don't know what to do now professor. I mean she's obviously interested in me. I'm sure you heard her talking to Luna Lovegood."

Draco nodded. "I did."

David continued to pace but now much quicker. "Well how does a guy like me ask a girl like her out? Do I just blurt it out? Should I send her flowers? Would her brother come and murder me?"

Draco laughed loudly. "Weasley is nothing…I mean her brother has his own life to worry about right now." Draco stepped forward which made David stop pacing. "He's the least of your problems." The sight of Draco staring David down made Ginny feel as if she may faint.

David stepped back warily. "What do you mean professor?"

Draco sighed casually. "Well, I've been told that she's sort of involved with someone." He spoke in a sinister way. "Someone you don't want to get on the wrong side of."

David gave a worried look. "Really? Do you think it's serious professor?"

Draco nodded happily. "Oh yes Mason, it's very serious. As a matter of fact, I've been told by an extremely reliable source that they are to be married."

David lowered his head and whispered. "Oh, that's too bad. I knew I should have spoken to her years ago. But a girl like her is so special that a bloke like me was sure to spoil it somehow. Well anyway professor, thanks for talking to me….I'll have the essay done by tomorrow." David began to walk away slowly when Draco stopped him.

He spoke gently. "Um Mason, it seems that you uh have been a bit preoccupied with this redhead so….Forget the essay. I'm sure you'll know the difference between the two ingredients by the end of the year."

David shot up in surprise. "Professor?"

Draco looked sternly. "Don't make me change my mind!"

David smiled widely. "Thank you professor." He walked away as Draco shook his head with a smile. He wasn't hungry anymore so he headed back to his classroom.

Ginny scoffed. "Can you believe him Luna? How could he treat David like that! I'm going to give him a piece of my mind right now!"

Luna placed her hand on Ginny's shoulder. "Ginny what did you expect him to say? All he heard was you talking crazy about David. He didn't know you were saying it for my benefit. I think he had a right to be jealous based on what he heard."

Ginny gasped. "Are you mental Luna? He's such a git." Ginny headed towards the dungeons and found him in his classroom leaning back in his chair and his feet on the desk. "You horrible prat!"

Draco smiled evilly. "Is this how you intend to break up with me Ginny? You've found yourself a new boyfriend?"

"What? I'm not breaking up with you, you git! I'm just….You were horrible to him in class today! How could you act that way? You're supposed to be the Professor! Not the jealous boyfriend!" Ginny's eyes were fiercely glued to his amused expression. "Why are you smiling?"

Draco stood and walked to her. "I know I've been extremely immature and I'm sorry. Can I make it up to you?" He easily swooned her with his gleaming eyes.

Ginny blushed. "What did you have in mind?"

Draco smiled and dragged her out of the classroom. He silently walked her outside and they headed towards Hogsmeade. After a few minutes Ginny spoke. "Draco, where are we going?"

He didn't answer until they reached a very large abandoned building (not the shrieking shack in case you were wondering!). "Let's go inside." He ushered her in.

They entered a large and almost empty dark room. The cavernous space was dark wood from the floor to the ceiling. As they walked deeper in and the floor boards creaked, Ginny caught sight of a tall desk in the back of the room and to the left of that, a long corridor. They walked down the pitch black corridor only a few steps when Ginny's mind was tugging at her harshly. The curiosity of their being in this strange place had almost escaped Ginny's thoughts.

Ginny shot her gaze at Draco. "What is this place? What are we doing here?"

Draco leaned against the wall with a smirk and crossed his arms. He spoke mischievously as if about to spout a riddle for Ginny to work out. "I was hoping you could answer those questions……What do you see this place as? What are we going to be doing here?"

Draco's playful expression was quickly misunderstood by Ginny. She had an irritation in her tone that only he would detect. "Do you mean to tell me that you have whisked me away from school only to shag me in some abandoned building? Are we in that much need of spicing up our relationship? Or is this simply your way of marking me as yours after seeing that poor boy fancying me?"

Draco burst out laughing and pulled her into a hug. "Leave to my clever little Gryffindor to sniff out when I am up to no good…..But actually Ginny, that is not even close to why I brought you here….Though the idea of it is quickly clouding my original intentions…..Oh yes, I brought you here because this is going to be the beginning of our new life together."

Ginny looked down the corridor which held numerous closed doors. "Our new life?" She whispered confusedly. "I thought we were sort of in the middle of it already."

Draco nodded in agreement. "We are but this will be a new chapter in it. I know that our relationship didn't blossom at the most convenient of times in your life. It has left you a wonderfully capable but young Mother. I fear that your final term at Hogwarts has been more strenuous than it should have been based on your long absence….." There was a tremendous amount of guilt in his eyes.

Draco stopped talking as if considering his next words. Ginny placed a hand on his cheek. "Draco, what is it? You're stalling about something. You can't possibly think I hold you solely responsible for the way things have turned out? Actually, you're the reason things have turned out so well. You're the reason I'm so happy all the time. You and the boys are the only things that matter in the world."

She stood on the tips of her toes to press her lips to his. Draco sighed happily. "I love you Ginny. More than anything in this entire world. I brought you here because this is going to be your place. I bought it for you. I want you to make it into something worthwhile. I want you to make it completely your own."

Ginny gasped at what he was saying. "You're giving this to me? Why? I never thought a Malfoy would ever let the woman he loves work."

Draco cocked an eyebrow. "So suspicious all the time? I'm not giving this to you so you can work. Well you can if you want to but that's not my intention. We've never spoke about your plans after Hogwarts so I thought that whatever you choose may require some sort of storefront or storage….Or something like that."

Ginny shook her head in confusion but then smiled as she looked around at the spacious possibilities. Her head became fuzzy due to what she thought was this new excitement. "I think I need to sit down." He smiled grasping her hand and walked her outside the building and onto the wooden porch that surrounded it. "This is coming out of nowhere. Thank you Draco. I'm speechless….Well not really, I'm already envisioning many things to do with this place. What made you bring me here tonight of all nights?" Ginny was frantically looking for a chair, a bench, anything to sit and sort out what was going on.

Draco smiled wolfishly as he fumbled her hands with his nervously. "Consider it an engagement present."

"Well thank y-what?" Ginny yelled as she stepped towards him temporarily forgetting her desire to sit.

Draco pressed his lips together trying with all his might to erase the smile that was eagerly forming on his face. He chuckled softly and got down on one knee. He looked adoringly up at Ginny who bore a shocked smile and tear-filled eyes. He removed a small velvet box from his pocket causing Ginny to grab at her chest and breathe deeply. Her face seemed rather pale but happy. The sight of her excitement made him chuckle again. He opened the box revealing a large princess cut diamond surround by many tiny baguette diamonds on the golden band. Ginny cupped her hand over her mouth and mumbled. "Blimey."

With another soft laugh Draco spoke confidently. "Ginny Weasley, the love of my life…..Will you marry me?"

Ginny let a small gasp escape before she yelled. "YES!" He slipped the perfectly fitting ring onto her finger causing Ginny to slump down with him on the ground crying happy tears and kissing him into oblivion. "I love you Draco!" She suddenly punched him in the arm.

He rubbed the spot she hit and looked baffled. "What in the heck was that for Red?"

She smiled pulling him into a tight squeeze. "For taking so bloody long you prat! But oh my was it worth the wait! I love you! I love this place! I love everything about tonight!"

Draco stood and extended his hand to help her up. Ginny started to see spots as she rose and slowly began to tumble backwards. Draco quickly caught her in his arms and gave a slight chuckle. "Too much excitement tonight? Ginny? Ginny?"

Ginny's eyes rolled into the back of her head and she went limp causing Draco to stumble at the sudden dead weight in his arms. He steadied himself against the doorway of their new building. "Ginny?" Her eyes fluttered open for only a moment and shut slowly. "GINNY!" Draco pushed away pieces of her hair that were covering her face and winced at how cold and clammy her face was. Without another thought he kicked her legs up into his arms and disapparated to the only place he trusted.