"It was my fault," Draco began. He crossed legs on Dumbledore's desk and leaned back in his chair, running his fingers through his platinum-blond hair. He glanced at Ginny, who stared back at him, her eyes wide. "I seduced her."

Mrs. Weasley gave a small whimper and hid her face in her hands. Mr. Weasley looked ready to kill.

"Is that so, Mr. Malfoy?" Dumbledore asked, his attention focused on unsticking two lemon drops. For some reason he looked highly amused.

"Yes sir," Malfoy agreed, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Ah," Dumbledore eyed Draco over the top of his half moon spectacles.

"A while ago, actually," Malfoy went on, getting a bit carried away, "About a year I should say. We've been going out ever since. And beyond that…" he paused for dramatic effect "…we're in love."

Ginny's eyes widened and her head snapped around to stare at Malfoy in bewilderment. She didn't even notice when her mother clattered to the floor again, lost in a dead faint. What was he playing at? He had nothing to lose. It really wasn't his fault that they were caught up in this mess. Why would he make up such an outrageous lie? Was it really for her sake? Well, if he was planning on cooperating so nicely, she might as well take advantage of it…

She gave Malfoy one last look before putting on a horrified expression.

"Draco," she began, her lips curved in a pout, "I thought we promised we'd keep this a secret."

Draco smirked, obviously enjoying the farce. Mr. Weasley revived his wife and helped her to her feet with a bit of trouble.

"But Ginny dearest," Draco tried to make his voice as convincing as possible, "we've hid our love from the world for much to long. It's time to shout it to the heavens! Come here, honey…"

Draco reached out and pulled Ginny out of her chair, settling her onto his own lap. After some hesitation, Ginny let her arms snake up to rest around his neck. She curled up into his lap, placing her head against his chest. She could hear his heart beating against her ear. He was warm and solid, but she was not in any state to think about that now. The same words flashed through her mind over and over – What in the hell are we doing?

"And I think that there's something else your parents should know – isn't there sweetie?"

Ginny's head shot up off Malfoy's chest. She flashed a warning look at him. He just smirked back, clearly enjoying every bit of the situation, paying no heed whatever to the consequences…

"We're getting married. When Ginny gets out of school, we'll get married."

McGonagall knocked a whirligig off one of the spindly tables. Mr. Weasley accidentally backed up into the roaring fire and had to stomp on the hem of his cloak to put out the blaze. Mrs. Weasley stared straight ahead, unmoving, unthinking, unfeeling…possibly unbreathing. Dumbledore just sat in his high-backed chair, completely composed, eyes twinkling as he sucked on a lemon drop. Ginny unconsciously grabbed a hold of Malfoy's wrist and proceeded to squeeze the life out of it. She looked positively stunned.

"Well," Dumbledore began, smiling around at them all, "I suppose that's that."

McGonagall spoke up first.

"That's that? That's that?" she was bordering on hysterics. "Dumbledore, these two irresponsible children have caused this school a world of trouble and all you have to say is that's that!"

"Well Minerva, according to Mr. Malfoy these two love each other very much…though perhaps we should get Miss Weasley's verification as well?"

Ginny was still staring at Malfoy, but she managed a stiff nod before releasing Draco's wrist and proceeding to place her head back down onto Malfoy's chest.

"You see Minerva? I see no reason to punish these two. There is no harm in love as I'm sure you know. It is our only power against Lord Voldemort and prosecuting it would be just about the stupidest thing we could do right now. You are all dismissed. Goodbye."

McGonagall huffed out of the room, followed closely by Mr. and Mrs. Weasley who seemed eager to get away from their traitorous daughter and her supposed fiancé.

To keep appearances up, Draco carried Ginny until they had reached the bottom of the moving staircase. When they were completely alone, he lowered her carefully to her feet. She didn't look as though she'd be able to speak for another millennium or so, so Draco did the talking.

"Meet me tonight at the back of the library. Nine o'clock…we really need to talk."

Ginny blinked and nodded.

Draco let his breath out in a whoosh and looked up at the ceiling, obviously agitated. "Okay." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I'll see you then."

Ginny walked back up to Gryffindor tower in a daze, her feet dragging along the flagged stone floor with each step she took. She didn't know how, exactly, but she made it to her room and sank down onto her crimson bed, raising a limp hand to pull the curtains shut. A new thought had been added to the rush of What in the hell are we doing? flashing through her head. In her opinion, the added thought summed up the whole situation:

Oh. Shit.

Draco got back to the dungeons as fast as he could. The world around him was a blur of colors. His mind faintly registered the orange smudge of torches and the colorful splotches that were moving paintings on the walls. He calmed down slightly once he reached the dungeons and the only color rushing by was black. To his relief he still remembered the password and the stretch of wall hiding the Slytherin House opened for him. The green glow of the common room flashed through the black calm in his mind, sending his heart racing again. He ran up the stairs to his room and slammed the door shut, leaning against the cool wood. His hands were clammy. He could feel his heart pounding against his chest and wondered vaguely if it might leave a scar. His father's face flashed through his head for the first time since he'd professed his 'love' for Ginny and he dropped to his knees, cradling his head in his hands. Lucius Malfoy would be furious.