Draco Malfoy regretted leaving the way that he did, but also, he couldn't imagine having stayed one minute longer. It was simply too bizarre.

Life after the war… it was difficult for him, to say the least. His family name no longer carried the weight it once did. It had been especially hard, as, for a while, his entire family fortune – the mansion included – had been confiscated by the Ministry. But eventually, when the trials ended and the world moved on, as it did, most of the Malfoy's vast fortune was returned to them, their mansion still intact, and somewhere along the way, Draco had found out that Harry Potter was somewhat involved in this decision.

He never would've guessed that they would go from hating each other to friends to…

He felt himself blush, and shook his head, trying to get the thoughts out of his head. He unlocked the door and stepped into his bookshop.

Officially, he didn't own this bookshop. Pansy had helped him with paperwork and had somehow become the face of the business, which was good, because no matter how rare his selection, he had no doubt plenty of people would refuse to buy from one of the most famous ex-Death Eaters still residing in the British Isles. He essentially paid Pansy handsomely to screw around in the office all day, while he came once a week under the guise of visiting a friend at work, in practice balancing the books and making executive decisions. Not that he didn't actually need to talk to a friend on this particular afternoon.

He came in through the back entrance and climbed the stairs directly to the office, which was a spacey set of rooms at the end of the second floor, for anybody who didn't know about the back entrance (which was everybody except for him and Pansy – it was guarded by a set of simple but powerful spells). He began speaking the moment he opened the door: "Pansy, I need to – "

"We have a guest," Pansy said, interrupting him. And indeed, there was another person in the room with Pansy. The door slammed behind him, and he finally registered who the other person was.

"Hey," Ginny said, smiling wide. "Nice of you to join us."

Ginny couldn't help but smirk a little at the shocked expression on Draco's face. It was a distinct sort of pleasure, being able to cause such a strong reaction in the haughty and impenetrable (ha) Draco Malfoy. A privilege afforded to a very select few.

"He-hey," he stammered, and then, having composed himself, repeated: "Hello. Um – "

Pansy coughed, and Draco looked at her, expectantly. Ginny preferred to keep her gaze exactly where it was, but tore her eyes away from him, too.

"Right. So I'm going – for a late lunch. I'll be back in an hour, and we can talk then. Ginevra." Pansy got up, nodded in Ginny's direction, and left the office from the back door. Considering Ginny hadn't even noticed the back door until Draco walked through it, Ginny figured it was probably only meant for sneaking in and out.

Draco sat down on a two-seater couch across from Ginny. After a moment, he said: "Ginny, what are you – "

"I've come to talk you," she replied breezily. "I wanted to discuss something very important with you."

"How did you know to find me here?" Draco demanded.

She laughed; she couldn't help it. "My partner of seven years is Harry Potter. Come on."

Draco didn't know if that meant Harry had checked up on him, or if she'd used his influence to check up on him, or if they'd checked up on him together. He wasn't sure which option he preferred.

"That's actually what I've come to talk to you about," Ginny continued. "Harry."

"What do you mean?" Draco asked.

"Well…" Ginny sighed, and ran a hand through her hair, as if nervous, or unsure about what to say. He'd never seen Ginny as anything but completely confident, so this was… bizarre, to say the least. "I love him. I know you know that. And I know… you like him, a lot. But… You need to be careful."

"What? Why?!"

"Because he's vulnerable," Ginny said, exasperated. "You don't see it, because you jumped straight from teenager to adult, so you haven't seen the process he's been through but he wants – needs – stability. Not necessarily kids, or a family in a traditional sense – " Draco made a noise, but Ginny raised her hand. "Just let me finish. Harry's plenty strong on his own. But he's been through a lot in his life. You know that." She looked at him expectantly, and he nodded. He did. "We all have, of course. Merlin knows we all have. But when he approaches a relationship – he goes all in. Do you understand? He doesn't know how to tiptoe. So…" She looked down at her hands, and then raised her head to look directly at him. "Harry wants you in this. I want you in this. But I don't want you in this if you're not in it for the long haul. Not… not in the drawer-and-a-toothbrush way we've been discussing."

"I am, though," Draco said. His heart was beating so loudly he could hear it; could Ginny? "I am in this. In the way we've been discussing. The whole thing. I get that Harry is – " He broke off, unsure how to finish the sentence. "He's amazing. And if commitment is what he needs – if it's what you need – " he shrugged. "I don't have a problem giving it."

Ginny smiled brightly at him and came over to him. He got up just in time for his arms to wrap around her; she barreled straight into him with a bear hug. Despite her muscly build, Ginny was really rather small, and she fit in his arms quite nicely. She reached up and kissed him on the cheek, then unwrapped herself from him.

"I hope you know," she said slowly, "this means you've essentially committed yourself to the entire Weasley clan. You do know that, right? Harry's probably even more Weasley than I am."

He groaned. "Yes, I do. This wouldn't be limited just to holidays, would it?"

"Nope," she said cheerfully. "We're having brunch with Ron and Hermione next Sunday. Consider yourself invited both to that and to their wedding next month."

She kissed him quickly, and before he knew it, he was alone in the bookshop's office. I am fucked, he thought.

A/N: He's fucked because he, too, is in this for life.

Chapter title is a Tessa Violet song.

I've never written so much Ginny before. I hope y'all enjoyed it.