Chapter Four

It was a new day, and I was seated in Theo's office at Malfoy Enterprises once again, casually tilting my chair back so that I could examine the foot traffic as people made their way up and down the corridor.

"You seem distracted." Theo's voice startled me, and I had to catch myself on the edge of his desk to stop myself from falling backwards.

"Do I?" I replied in what I thought was a very casual manner, but Theo's expression told me otherwise.

"We've been here an hour already, and you haven't blurted a statistic at me yet. You're scheming."

I wondered if I was really that transparent or if Theo was trying to call my bluff. Likely the latter, but I really wasn't bothered with beating around the bush today. "I was thinking," I said as I shuffled through some papers on the desk so I wouldn't have to make eye contact. "Well. I was thinking we might need some help with my public image."

Theo slid me a cautious look, as though he didn't want to say the name out loud in case he incurred my wrath. "Do you have anyone in mind?"

"Draco," I told him, the name tasting as unpleasant as it sounded coming from my own mouth. "Obviously."

An expression of relief flittered over Theo's face before he carefully schooled his features again, and I felt a little guilty that he'd clearly been struggling with my presence in the media so much on his own. "Excellent. I'll see if he's free right now."

I nodded, leaning back in my chair, feeling a little more relaxed now that I'd bit the bollocks - as Dad would say.

I picked up where I'd left off the previous day, picking up one of the many reports I'd collated covering domestic relationship issues over the decades. Fortunately my background in sports was a real strength when it came to statistics, and the raw data I'd been collecting painted a pretty damning portrait of the reality we were facing. The papers could twist my words however they wanted, but facts were facts and statistics didn't lie.

"Do you know any economists?" I asked when I heard the sharp click of the door closing behind me, as I scanned through the numbers comparing the decrease in births with increase of women in the workforce and domestic wealth. "I'm pretty sure a lot of people would be interested to know where their welfare money will be coming from when the number of witches working dramatically decreases because they're constantly pregnant, at home, caring for their children and not paying taxes."

"I thought that was the kind of role the Weasley women aspired to?" a voice said behind me, and I felt my eye twitch.

"Draco," I acknowledged coolly, turning in my seat to look at him. He was standing just inside the doorway, in neatly pressed charcoal trousers and a crisp, white shirt; the sleeves folded up his strong-looking forearms, slightly open collar and hair coming loose from where it was bundled at the nape of his neck gave him a decidedly dishevelled appearance. I narrowed my eyes at him - at how strangely normal he looked - and tamped down a bitchy remark about his appearance being a result of having it off with his secretary. Instead, I attempted to disguise my dislike with sarcasm. "Didn't you hear my interview the other week? I hate children."

"Yes, of course I heard it." Draco nodded, with that infuriating bloody smirk of his, and I wondered if my comment had amused him. "Which is why you need me."

My eye twitched. "I'm not here to play the damsel in distress, so if you're here to lord yourself over me you can forget about it."

"Don't be ridiculous," Draco said, then came further into the room to sit in the chair next to mine and look me in the eye. His expression was earnest and I sat up a little straighter, my curiosity piqued. "You don't like me."

I shrugged at his statement, thinking I could perhaps have attempted to be a little more subtle with my feelings since our meeting the other week. "Honestly? No."

Draco blinked, then smirked at me again. "I wouldn't expect you to be anything but honest," he conceded. I waited for the condescending follow-up remark, but his serious expression returned instead. "If we're going to work together we need to at least be civil toward each other. I'm not willing to subject myself to a verbal beating every time I give you feedback on something."

I crossed my arms, wondering if he had any idea what an asshole he was. "I will if you will."

He contemplated me a moment, as though he were about to comment on my - admittedly childish - retort, but he continued. "I'm not going to help you if you're going to fight me on all my advice, either." He leant back in his chair and crossed his arm, and when I opened my mouth to argue he interjected. "See? You're more stubborn than a hippogriff." I couldn't help my grin at his comparison, thinking back to the story Ron had told me about Draco's encounter with a hippogriff in third year, and after a moment he made the connection and smirked at me. "Don't go getting any ideas."

"I wouldn't dream of it," I replied innocently. "But I would have paid to have been there."

"I'd show you the memory in my Pensieve, but I'm afraid I made sure to repress it."

I had to stifle a laugh, to my chagrin, and Draco looked at me like he'd received the Order of Merlin. "Draco Malfoy has a sense of humour. Who knew?"

"You would have known, if you'd acted in a more civilised manner," he quipped, and I felt a flare of anger rise until I caught his expression - it was that same smirk he always wore, but I suddenly saw that he was trying to make light of the situation with more of his dry humour.

Instead of instigating another fight, as I normally would, I dropped the subject. "So what do we do now?"

Draco sat up straight, as though he were going into 'business' mode, and I tried not to smile - it was like flicking a switch. "I have a meeting this afternoon, but I'd like to sit down with Theo to see what progress you've made and what he has been planning so far. And I'll give you fair warning: I'm sure that some of my methods will be of a far more superficial nature than any he had planned. If you're free tonight we can discuss some short-term patch fixes before we get into finding long-term solutions. Unfortunately time isn't on our side at the moment."

I nodded - the sooner we could get this all out of the way, the better. "I don't have any plans - I'll come back after supper."

"I should have everything wrapped up by six-thirty or so," Draco said, standing to leave with a brief glance at his pocket watch. "Come in around then and I'll have dinner brought up."

"Sure," I said as he left, wondering which parallel universe I'd stumbled into where I was making dinner plans with Draco Malfoy. "I'll see you then."

xxxxx

By late afternoon, I'd successfully distracted myself from my impending meeting with Draco by making the final edits on an article for next week's edition of the Quibbler. I bundled up my papers and put them in my backpack, then went to say goodbye to Theo.

"I'm off to drop these with Luna," I told him as I made for the door. "I'll see you tomorrow."

"I'll come along," Theo said, rising from his desk and heading for the coat stand across the room where his suit jacket hung. At my questioning look he gave me a casual shrug. "She's going out on such a limb for us, I should at least say thank you in person."

In fairness to Luna, she wasn't going that far out of her way to help us. The Quibbler was already on a fierce campaign against the impending marriage laws, and the article I'd been writing as a contribution was like a gentle breeze giving fuel to an inferno. That said, we did have to be thankful that Luna was willing to publish my work despite my lack of experience as a writer - under a penname, of course. "Are you sure you have time before your meeting with Draco?" I asked.

"I doubt we'll be long at the Quibbler," Theo said casually, then opened the door for me to leave. "Let's go by Floo."

We made our way through the main offices to the kitchen, where a great, marble fireplace dominated the dividing wall. As we entered, I spotted Draco and another woman. Probably his secretary - she was every bit as stunning and coiffed as my sister-in-law Fleur, though the woman's porcelain skin was complemented by straight, black hair and piercing, blue eyes. I narrowed my eyes at the pair of them, thinking how perfect they looked together as they shared a smile over whatever it was they were talking about. All of a sudden I was annoyed with myself that I hadn't made the comment about him having it off with his secretary, and when Draco's gaze snapped away from the woman's and locked onto mine, I could feel my cheeks heating with a blush.

He smirked at me in that knowing way of his, and nodded to Theo and me as we made our way past. I tried to hide my embarrassment and hastily Flooed to the Quibbler, and within minutes Theo and I had taken a seat in the reception's waiting area. If Theo had noticed my unusual behaviour, he didn't comment, and I took the opportunity to monopolise the conversation in case he was planning on it.

"So what are you really thanking Luna for?" I asked him, my curiosity having been piqued since Hermione had questioned Theo's involvement in my cause yesterday.

Theo gave me a measured look, as though he were debating whether or not to give me an honest answer. "She's helping us campaign against the marriage law."

The ember of curiosity that Hermione had sparked yesterday suddenly flared into life at his evasive answer. "Luna wouldn't do any of this unless she wanted to," I pointed out, watching as Theo's expression grew passive. "She's not giving anyone any special treatment here."

"Thanking her is the polite thing to do," Theo replied, just as Luna emerged from the back room, her hands smudged with ink and a quill poking out from the haphazard bun she'd looped her hair into.

"Hello," she greeted us, with that airy way she had of talking that made people think she was a little ditsy.

"Hi," I greeted her with a hug. "Luna, you remember Theo? He's been helping me with my research and interviews."

"Yes, I remember," Luna stated, smiling. "What have you got for me today?"

I retrieved my papers from my backpack, handing two separate bundles. "One for publishing and a second for you to edit."

Luna glanced over the packages briefly, before tapping the article that was ready to be printed. "We'll change the by-line of this one," she said, thoughtfully. "Your article will get more public interest if we focus on the fact Squibs are exempt from the law."

I nodded. "Good idea. Next thing you know, they'll be banned from Diagon Alley and forced to sit in a separate area in the Leaky Cauldron to us."

"We'll save the second one for next week's edition. I'll have this ready for you to do the second edit by Friday." Luna nodded. "Watch out for the Nargles on your way out, Virginia Wazlib." My friend fondly used my new pen name with a laugh and a wave of her hand, then wandered back into her domain.

"Thanks, Luna," I called after her.

Theo looked taken aback. "That was rather… abrupt."

"You get used to it." I shrugged, opening the door to exit the building, and holding it for him. "I'll see you tomorrow, after I finish training?"

Theo smiled at this. "We'll see."

"Oh, do you have a meeting?"

"No, but from what Draco tells me I think you will," Theo said with a laugh, then Apparated away with a crack.

I huffed out a breath at those ominous words, wondering what on earth Draco had in store for me, then Apparated home myself. I didn't need to meet the man in question for another few hours, and I figured I might as well work up an appetite in the meantime.

xxxxx

After a gruelling weight session, I ached to the bone, and I probably looked as awful as I felt. Somehow my focus had been off and everything I'd lifted that afternoon had felt wrong, and the uncomfortable strain on my muscles was putting me in a foul mood.

Recalling my agreement with Draco, that I'd attempt to be civil towards him, I figured I should probably try to fix my attitude - and quickly. Merlin knew I needed all the help I could get when it came to that infuriating man.

Instead of my usual economical shower, I opted for a bath in the hope that soaking my muscles would relax me a little. The water was practically boiling once my claw-foot tub was filled, and I breathed a sigh of pleasure when I lowered myself in.

As I scrubbed my washcloth over my body and inhaled a deep breath of lightly scented steam, I felt myself begin to relax. Even my looming meeting with Draco didn't seem so daunting right now - after all, how hard could it be? Considering his comments about his superficial methods, I imagined he'd probably want to take me shopping to give myself a more polished appearance. I ordinarily despised shopping - not because I hated clothes, but because I found little enjoyment in the actual activity - so if he was willing to do all of the drudging about and the 'this-goes-with-that' himself, I could honestly imagine myself having a fun time dressing up.

I wondered exactly the extent he'd have to go to for my transformation - the thought of having Draco uncomfortably examine knickers and bras for my wardrobe left me with a smirk. But then, Draco wasn't ruffled by many things, and somehow I didn't imagine that women's lingerie would be one of them. In fact, I was sure he'd have great joy in trying to make me feel uncomfortable by putting me in all manner of lace and ruffles.

My fingertips grazed across my hardened nipples, and I felt my breath catch at the thought of Draco seeing me in such an outfit. They travelled lower, brushing against my stomach and then rubbed along my sensitive clit as I wondered what it would feel like having him help me out of them. I imagined grasping those strong forearms of his as he explored my body, liberating me of the scraps of fabric to see me bare - the sly expression on his face as he knelt before me and parted my legs, placing his mouth against my core…

My fingers slicked along my folds and pushed inside me, deftly touching where I ached, as I imagined he'd touch me. He'd want to watch me give myself to him, taking everything I had, and I'd relish in the thought that I could bring this man to his knees before me as his thumb rubbed against my clit, harder and harder, bringing me to a hot, wet, uncontrollable climax-

"Draco," I sighed as my body shuddered, my toes curling as I revelled in my release, my muscles now blissfully aching for an entirely different reason than hard exercise. I allowed myself a small smile as I lay in my bath, feeling delicious and sexy.

I blinked once the heat of my orgasm fled, leaving me chilled in my now-cold bath water. What had I-? Had I really just-?

Fuck.

xxxxx

I pulled at the sleeves of my blouse and then the hem of my skirt uncomfortably as I stood in the lift at Malfoy Enterprises. After the bathtub incident I had been sorely tempted to cancel on Draco, but I was not the kind of girl to avoid confrontation - not that there was really a confrontation to be had. I was the only one that knew what I'd done - thank Merlin - and it was going to stay that way. Armed in my most official-looking outfit, I was going to behave like a mature adult and pretend nothing had happened.

The only problem with that was… well, something had happened - I just wasn't entirely sure what that something was.

The lift dinged as I reached my floor, and I bumped directly into the woman Draco had been talking to earlier that afternoon as I stepped through the doors. "Oh, I'm sorry," I said as we stumbled apart.

The woman gave me a measured look, as though she knew exactly what I was up to - whatever that was - then stepped to one side to let me pass. "I'm sorry, I was in a rush," she allowed, then once I was clear vanished inside the lift.

I headed to the empty reception desk, wondering if I should just go straight to Draco's office, but he promptly emerged from the conference room nearby as though he'd been waiting for me.

"You're not trying to get me sacked, are you?" he asked as he waved me into the room.

"Sacked?" I repeated, wondering how on earth he could have gotten that idea.

He smirked at me, and I wondered why I'd never noticed the way he squinted his eyes a touch when he was teasing me before now. "You just ran over my boss."

I blinked at him, dumbly - though the fact that I'd just caught a whiff of his quite delicious cologne as I brushed past him could have had something to do with it. "She's your boss?"

"Of course. She became a partner when my father stepped down."

"Oh," I said slowly, feeling daft thanks to the fact I'd seen her with Draco and promptly assumed she was his secretary - and, now that I thought about it, I'd felt jealous when I'd seen them together. "What is wrong with me?" I mumbled under my breath.

"Pardon?"

I coughed, loudly, as I took off my backpack and sat down next to Draco. "Nothing. So, how did you go with Theo?"

"Well enough," Draco said with a shrug. "We can do better, though."

I was on the verge of calling him 'cocky', but I couldn't bring myself to say the word 'cock' to Draco Malfoy, given my recent trauma. "Sure," I allowed instead. "Whatever you say."

He looked at me curiously, then moved on. "I was going to have the office assistant order dinner for us, but as you can see she isn't here. I figured we could go to a restaurant and kill two birds with one stone instead."

Being seen alone in public with Draco Malfoy wouldn't kill me. Probably. "Okay, sounds good," I told him, then went to pick up my backpack.

"Could you leave that?" he asked, and I saw his expression was slightly pained.

"Leave my bag?" I asked him, incredulously. "How am I supposed to carry my things?"

"In a purse?" he suggested.

I snorted, my earlier unease vanishing. "Sure, and you can pay for my St Mungo's bill when I eventually injure my back and ruin my career."

Draco smirked at me, amused. "You can't possibly need all of the things you're lugging around in there," he countered. "I highly doubt you're carrying makeup around for a touch up, and you won't need any of your notes for dinner."

"How do you expect me to remember our plan if you won't let me write it down?" I asked him, shouldering my bag. "Besides, I need my wallet."

"You don't need your wallet; I'm taking you to dinner." Draco's hand curled around the bag and he deftly plucked it out of my reach. "And do not give the papers ammunition."

"And how, may I ask, would wearing a backpack about do that?"

He brought out his wand and vanished my bag altogether. "That is staying in my office until we're finished. We aren't just doing a little bit of damage control here, Ginny," he told me, taking my arm and leading me from the room. "We're cultivating your whole persona. If you want the media to take you seriously, you need to sell your image to them. You need to eat, sleep and breathe whatever character you're presenting to them; you need to believe that's who you really are, or no one else is going to buy it."

I pulled my arm from his grip and sighed, grudgingly ceding his point. "Does this mean we're going shopping?"

"You're probably smarter than I ever gave you credit for," he said in answer, smirk in place, and I could barely suppress the blush that flooded hot across my cheeks as I recalled my earlier fantasy. I sullenly followed him to the lift, and when it arrived he lifted his arm to hold the door. "After you."

"Oh, why thank you, kind sir," I said with a mock curtsey, boarding the lift and firmly ignoring the way my stomach twisted when he let out a close-lipped laugh.

xxxxx

"The Marina Room is just through here, sir," a very aloof waiter said as he lead us past the central dining room and up a wide, lavishly carpeted staircase. "Everything is as you requested," he told Draco as he held the door at the top of the stairs open for us to pass through.

The room we entered was clearly a function space - probably large enough to seat my entire year at Hogwarts - with large, industrial looking windows overlooking the Thames. White, gauzy fabric hung from the centre of the ceiling over a rustic chandelier, then draped across to each corner of the room where it hung over pale, exposed brick. It looked elegant, but not at all the type of elegance I would have expected from Draco Malfoy, and I briefly wondered if he'd chosen something less flashy for my benefit.

The sprawling parquetry floor was barren, except for a solitary table by the far window. It was covered with a white tablecloth and set for two people, a small bundle of freesias and two candles completing the setting. I almost felt like I'd been conned into an absurdly extravagant date, and I was suddenly grateful that I'd decided to wear business attire instead of jeans.

The waiter went to the far end of the table and pulled out the chair, looking at me expectantly. "Madam?"

I reluctantly went to sit in the seat, not wanting to embarrass myself in front of a stranger by making a big deal of the pretence. Judging from the awful screech the feet of the chair made as I dropped my weight and they dragged across the floor, I must have looked as awkward as I felt.

Draco, more intelligent than I was willing to admit, made no comment and sat down once I was settled and the waiter had placed my napkin in my lap. He then requested a bottle of something French-sounding and therefore, I assumed, expensive, which the waiter promptly presented for Draco to taste before he poured us both a glass and vanished.

"Theo mentioned you enjoyed a Merlot," Draco told me - Theo presumably having gathered this information from our first meeting, weeks ago in that Muggle bar - and I didn't bother to correct him that I enjoyed cheap, so he continued. "We could, of course, have done this at Malfoy Manor, but I assumed you'd rather not have to deal with the Master and Mistress."

I shuddered at the thought of dealing with not one, but three Malfoys, giving Draco a silent blessing for his consideration. "If I'd known you were going to book out a whole restaurant for us, I never would have agreed to this," I told Draco as I sipped my wine.

"Hold your glass by the stem," Draco corrected me, picking up his own glass to demonstrate, and I adjusted my grip to match his with a sigh. "And I didn't book the whole restaurant - this is merely a private room. You have a tendency to exaggerate unlike anyone else I've ever known, Ms Weasley." His lips pinched together infinitesimally, as though he was fighting a smile. "I requested the set menu when we arrived; it's a good starting point, since you won't always have the option to choose what you're eating at functions."

"Great," I responded, glancing at the narrow menu in curling script in front of me which I hadn't even bothered to examine. Draco was clearly driving me to distraction; I ordinarily went over a menu in detail and decided which meal to have before even arriving at a restaurant. "I can't pronounce half of these words."

"When in doubt, let your date order for you," Draco instructed.

I rolled my eyes, already unsure that I would be taking anything away from Draco's tutelage tonight, then looked at the daunting array of cutlery before me. "So, are you going to talk me through this, or are you going to wait until the food arrives and I start using my fingers?"

"It's rather straight-forward; start from the outside and move your way in. A good waiter will remove any unnecessary cutlery, so you shouldn't need to worry too much about that."

Two waiters returned and, as if on Draco's queue, began removing certain pieces of cutlery with a deftness that made me pity them for their knowledge in something so useless.

"So, what now?" I asked Draco, once the waiters had left.

"We start from the beginning," Draco said as he stood, then walked around the table to stand behind me. I turned in my seat to look at him, confusion apparent in my expression even while I was acutely aware of his hands as he placed them on the back of my chair and his fingers barely grazed my shoulders. "Turn around," he commanded, and when he raised his brow and gave me a pointed look, I acquiesced. "You look like a merfolk out of water when you ogle the staff."

"Hey-" I said, turning around again, but he placed his hands on my shoulders and firmly pulled me back into my seat. The heat of his fingers through my blouse was electric.

"Now, the trick to this is putting all your weight on your legs - think of it like doing a squat. Tuck your legs under the seat, and slowly push up," I sighed and reluctantly followed his instructions, and Draco managed to glide the chair backwards as I straightened fully, feeling like a twit all the while. "Good. Now, sitting down is the hard part. Keep your legs tense as you lower yourself, and don't drop your weight until you feel the edge of the chair on the back of your thigh."

I did as he instructed, wondering how on earth he had managed to goad a blush out of me, and the chair only made a small noise as I jarringly ended up seated again. "Better. You need to take this slowly and trust that I'm doing what I'm supposed to, or you'll never get this right," I turned to look at him again, brow furrowed at his wording, and he smirked. "Yes, alright - we'll work on that another time."

First course arrived then, and Draco resumed his seat again as we began eating. I didn't receive much further instruction from Draco after that - only the odd reminder to hold my glass how he'd shown me, or to straighten my posture - and he spent much of the evening outlining his plans for me. His plan was fairly straightforward, and quite honestly consisted of things I should have thought of myself beyond practicing interviews and campaigning: attending charity benefits, volunteering time at St Mungo's and sign autographs at Florish and Blotts.

They were all things that were run-of-the-mill for many of my peers, but I'd never indulged myself because I found myself strangely uncomfortable with fame in my own right. I'd shared too much of Harry's limelight over the years and experienced too much negative backlash to willingingly subject myself to more than I had to... But that was before the marriage law.

Instead of arguing, I sighed and agreed to Draco's plan, thinking of Mum all the while and the fact that even she believed that Draco wasn't a wholly unworthy person. I didn't miss that his plan for me was remarkably similar to his own return to grace over the years, which is why I should have figured out the last stage of Draco's plan by third course.

Dessert arrived, the waiters left, and Draco and I began to eat our last course of the evening. I wasn't sure how much wine I'd had, but I was feeling significantly more relaxed about my situation and I had even - Merlin forgive me - enjoyed myself.

"The last thing we need, to really reinforce this with The Prophet," Draco began, "is a love interest."

I frowned at him as I swirled my wine like a professional, before taking another sip. "Love interest?"

"Yes. A boyfriend."

I dropped my fork and stared at him, stunned. "No. No way."

He calmly enjoyed a bite of his dish, then slid me a look. "You agreed not to argue."

"I don't care; I'm drawing a line," I folded my arms and slumped down in my chair, all etiquette lessons forgotten. "I am not whoring myself out for anything."

"Think about this, Ginny," he began, and I scowled at him even more for using my first name - never mind I'd allowed him to use it two courses ago. "Your name is dirt with every major journalist right now. If you're attached to someone with a reputable reputation, someone they refuse to slander, that severely restricts their ability to target you."

"So, who then?" I snapped at him. "Harry?"

"No, of course not. The papers change their mind about their opinion of Potter every other day, and he's not active enough in society to give you any real benefit." He took a moment to straighten the cuffs of his shirt under his suit jacket, and if I didn't know any better I would have thought he was uncomfortable. "You need someone current and dense enough to go along with our plan. I'm more than happy for you to select your own candidates, but I'll advise you on which choice is best."

"I don't need anyone, and I especially don't need you to 'advise' me on who I should or should not be dating. Not to mention that it's wrong to use people like that, Draco."

"Do you know what else is wrong, Ginny?" Draco asked me, and I could tell from the flat line of his mouth and the way he narrowed his eyes at me that he was getting irritated; the prospect of having any kind of effect on Draco Malfoy almost made me giddy. "Forcing people into a loveless union, against their will, is about as wrong as you can get. I'm not going to fight you on this, but you will see this my way, sooner or later."

I scowled. "Is that a threat?"

"Don't be ridiculous," Draco said as he removed his napkin from his lap and placed it on the table. "If I was threatening you, you wouldn't need me to clarify. But trust me when I say that one of these days - after the press has ravaged you and the Ministry finally gets its way - you'll wake up next to a stranger, the noise of more screaming children than your parents ever aspired to and a permanent ache in your back from the strain of pregnancy, and you'll wonder what life would have been like if you hadn't been robbed of your career and your free will. That's the day that you'll realise you didn't do everything you could have."

I dropped my head, silent, unable to stop myself from imagining the picture he'd painted of my future. I knew he was right, but I was angry - not necessarily at Draco, but he was the closest thing I had to an outlet right now, and I couldn't form the words.

"Let's agree to disagree, for now," he said calmly, as he stood and came over to me, stopping behind my chair once again. "We have something far more pressing to practice."

I let out a shuddery sigh, composing myself. "Not more standing and sitting? How about I add box squats to my training instead." I joked, trying to lighten the mood.

"No," Draco's tone was lighter, like he could have been smiling, as he helped me stand, and the chair barely made a noise this time. "How well can you dance?"

I turned to face him, brows raised. "Please don't tell me I need to know how to dance. I have two left feet."

"Nonsense," Draco said, walking to the middle of the room. "You've merely had inferior partners."

I couldn't help rolling my eyes as I followed him. "And I suppose you're a spectacular dancer?"

"I've had lessons, yes." He stood in front of me, and I winced when he held my hand, then placed his other on my waist. Despite the fact our bodies weren't even touching, it felt strangely intimate, and I couldn't help my blush. "Follow my lead."

I did as he asked, staring at our feet the entire time as we got into a haphazard rhythm. I only stepped on his toes a handful of times and was feeling comfortable, until he caught me off guard and spun me in a circle and I almost fell over. The only thing that stopped me was Draco's firm chest, which I'd landed against and splayed the fingers of one hand across in an attempt to catch myself. I tried to move away, but he held me there, using a hand to tilt my chin upwards so I could meet his gaze. "Relax. You're overthinking this."

"That's easy for you to say," I quipped, and he let me right myself and start again. I tried to do as he asked, but I found myself tilting my head every-so-often to check my feet were going where they were supposed to. The feeling of my hand in his, and the fact I couldn't stop wondering what his shoulder felt like beneath his suit, wasn't helping matters.

Draco's hand left my waist, and he tilted my head again so I was forced to look into his eyes. They were darker than I'd ever realised, as hypnotic as clouds crashing together during a thunderstorm. "Watch me," he commanded as we swayed together, and I did, as though under a spell.

I wasn't sure how long we danced together - our bodies almost chastely entwined and gazes locked, with only our thoughts for music - but eventually the waiters returned to clear the dishes, and I snapped out of whatever enchantment I'd been under when they entered the room. I pulled away from Draco guiltily, as though I'd been caught doing something forbidden, and after a beat he released me as well.

Draco cleared his throat, taking a moment to straighten his cuffs. "I think that's enough for tonight."

"Yes," I agreed, then checked the time on my watch because I didn't know what else to do. "It's late."

"It is," he replied. I could feel his eyes on me, and when I met his gaze I found his expression was unreadable. "We'll pick up where we left off tomorrow."

I suppressed a shudder as visions of my day dream emerged again, merely nodding when I realised I wasn't capable of words.

Draco walked me out of the restaurant and to the secluded laneway next door, then summoned my backpack and returned it to me. Then he took my hand again, lowering his head so he could brush his lips across my knuckle in a movement I wasn't quite sure was designed for etiquette lessons. "Until tomorrow."

His cryptic expression was the last thing I saw, before I Apparated home and was left alone with a storm of tumultuous thoughts.

xxxxx

AN: As always, thank you for Hannah Askance and idreamofdraco for their continued beta services!

I think I am officially the worst author at updating fics, but… better twenty-one months late than never, amiright?

My last update received (and still does!) some amazing feedback, and I'm sorry to those who reviewed if I never replied to thank you for your supportive comments. I tried to reply to everyone - even months later - I promise. A special thank you to everyone who happened to review since the end of October 2015 at FFN and FIA; you actually spurred me into finishing this chapter.

I hope that six thousand words is enough to make it up to all of you! And I will endeavour to update before my new twenty-one month benchmark. ;)