This is being cross-posted from Ao3. It was originally posted on 15 June 2022.
First of all this was written for the ever wonderful FaeOrabel. I do hope you enjoy this! Second, this was a Pinch Hit so I did not have the time to research what Uni life is like over in the UK. I used my tiny bit of background knowledge from reading other post-Hogwarts style stories and what I've heard from friends. Please be kind if there are bits that are untrue/not like a UK university experience. Remember this is fanfiction and I have taken creative liberty with this to fit the prompt I had. Anyway, I love this pairing and had fun! Happy reading! xxDustNight88
Thank you to starrnobella for beta/alpha reading and to GaeilgeRua for allowing me to use her Grammarly! Any other mistakes are definitely my own.
Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JK Rowling, Bloomsbury, and Warner Bros. No copyright infringement is intended.
Prompt: It's the last day of the first year of Uni/College, and the floor of Character A's dorm is having a party on the quad to celebrate. The year was good, challenging, but good. It was also somehow nothing like what Character A expected. When Character A meets/re-meets Older-Student-Character-B at the party, they wonder if they're exactly what they'd been missing all year.
Ginny wandered across the crowded quad, sipping her third cup of party punch. The party was starting to get into full swing, but already she wanted to head back to her dormitory. It was the night before graduation for the older students, and she had her entire room to pack still. After her exams, Ginny had walked around the busy campus trying to figure out if she was meant to be here after all.
With three years under her belt in Magical Journalism, Ginny wondered if she'd made the right choice. Initially, she'd chosen Stirling University for Witchcraft & Wizardry because they offered her a scholarship to play Quidditch for them. However, it wasn't until after she arrived that she fell in love with the Scotland countryside and campus. It was beautiful here, and the Quidditch team was also quite good.
Unsure what to major in, Ginny had chosen something she had always enjoyed as a pastime. Writing. So many hours were spent writing in journals in her room at the Burrow and Hogwarts. Even after the whole Tom Riddle's diary debacle. She was here more as a stepping stone to play professional Quidditch anyway… Her major didn't matter to her initially, but as her final year approached. Ginny was starting to worry.
What if she didn't get picked up to play on any of the pro Quidditch teams? Who would want her to join their paper or magazine? Of course, writing for The Daily Prophet or Witch Weekly would be ideal, but she'd never pushed herself to get top marks, so there was no telling if they would even take a look at her resume. Ginny had put all her galleons into one cauldron, and now she wasn't even sure that it had a bottom.
Ginny hurriedly pushed through the crowd of merry students, sipping her drink some more. They all seemed to know what they were doing with their lives. Tonight was either a party celebrating the start of summer tomorrow or the beginning of the rest of their lives. Dancing and drinking all their cares away while Ginny felt the walls of expectations close in around her more and more.
Reaching the edge of the quad, Ginny sighed in relief and leaned against one of the old buildings. From here, she could see just how many students had shown up for this party. Most of the Quidditch team was there, and her roommate too. She had friends to hang out with, but because of her unsettled mind, Ginny just wanted to be left alone. She just thought she'd return to her dorm and pack and pass out when her solitude was suddenly shattered.
"Not your kind of party either, Weasley?" said someone from the shadows next to her.
The party punch sprayed from her mouth as the person surprised Ginny. Still sputtering, Ginny whirled about to see who had spoken. "Malfoy!?" she gasped in surprise before wiping her mouth with the back of her hand.
The blond slid from the shadows and moved to lean against the stone building next to her. "The one and only. Well, the only one that matters anyway…." His trademark smirk slipped for the briefest of seconds but returned just as quickly.
"I didn't realize you were here tonight," Ginny muttered, still shocked that he was standing there and she hadn't noticed.
It wasn't as if she didn't know he went here too. She'd seen him around campus through the years, but they'd never fallen into the same crowd. With so many witches and wizards from all over the world at Stirling, one did not typically run into people unless you sought them out. Until tonight it appeared…
"My roommate thought I should come out for one last party before leaving this place," Draco explained, nodding his head toward the people in the quad. "He decided to do shots in addition to the party punch, and we got separated. It's fine, though. I was getting bored and wanted to get an early start home tomorrow."
"You're not staying for graduation?" Ginny asked, her brows coming together.
"There's no point. My father is still in Azkaban, and my mother never leaves the Manor," Draco said and crossed his arms. "Enough about me. What brings you over here?"
Ginny thought about lying, but she felt compelled to tell Draco the truth for some reason. Perhaps it was the two and a half drinks or the fact that Draco seemed so normal for once. Whatever the case, Ginny sighed, took another sip, and shrugged.
"I'm ready to go home too, and I don't know if I'll be back next term or not," she said slowly, her eyes lifting to examine the old building around them. "I feel like maybe I'm too small for the dreams that I once had."
"You want to play Quidditch, right?" Draco asked, causing Ginny to look at him with surprise. "What? I've been to the games. You're one of the best players on that team."
Vanishing her empty cup, Ginny now crossed her arms and glared at Draco. "Come off it, Malfoy. Why are you messing with me?" she demanded, eyes narrowed.
"I get why you think that," Draco began slowly, taking a step toward her, "but I'm serious."
"You've never had a nice thing to say about my family or me, so why would I believe you now," Ginny asked, refusing to back down until he gave her a proper reply.
Draco sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, Weasley, I've done and said some shitty things in my life, and I can't take them back, but I can try and make it right. Being here without anyone from my past has taught me more about myself than I expected."
Ginny wanted so badly to say something in retaliation for the hurt he caused, but her heart wouldn't allow it. Despite the past, Ginny could see the truth on his face and hear the compassion in his words. "What have you learned?" she asked quietly instead.
"You can't be afraid of tomorrow," Draco said, his grey eyes staring at her. "If you do that, then there's no point in living. So whether I'm ready for it or not, tomorrow is a new start for me. I will go on to work at Gringotts and hopefully make my name mean something that can replace the tarnish of the past."
Ginny looked down at her hands. He had a point, and though some of her hated admitting that, she knew he was right. Everyone told her how great at Quidditch she was… And her professors seemed to love her writing, so what was she apprehensive about in the end? No, Draco was right. She couldn't be afraid of tomorrow, or she surely would fail.
Instead of telling him he was right; she held out her hand. "Will you walk me back to my dorm?"
Draco smirked but nodded and took her hand. "Sure. Lead the way."
They walked to her dormitory in silence, the music and chatter from the party following behind them until all was quiet. When they reached her building, Ginny realized that Draco had never let go of her hand. She was the one to separate them, and then she took a deep breath and looked into his eyes, a feeling of anticipation racing through her veins… It felt like she was on the precipice of something far more daunting, but she was excited rather than frightened.
Draco stared down at her, and Ginny thought he might kiss her for a moment. And the crazy part? She would have let him. Clearly, he was no longer the irritating, ferrety Slytherin that tormented her and so many others. That was obvious in more ways than one. In the end, Draco backed away, and she let go of the breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"I'll see ya around," Draco said quietly and began to walk away from Ginny. "Good luck next year."
"Hey, Malfoy!" Ginny called to his back before he could get too far. When he turned around, she said, "If you do end up at the ceremony tomorrow, you won't be alone." She slid her hand into her pocket to fish out her key as she waited for his reply.
Draco smiled genuinely, which was a nice change from his usual smirk. "Thanks, Wealsey. I'll definitely think about it. Goodnight." He waved and then hurried on his way back to his dorm.
Ginny stood there a moment longer before unlocking the door and heading inside to the safety of her dorm. There was a part of her that felt slightly disappointed Draco hadn't kissed her, but the future was wide open for the both of them. Smiling, she went to her closet, intent on picking out something nice to wear for tomorrow. He didn't have to spend the day alone.
After all, tomorrow was the start of something exciting for Draco, and she knew if he could be unafraid in the face of the future, then Ginny would do the same.