Chapter 2: Dinner and a Decision

The silence of the night at the Burrow was interrupted by Ginny's announcement

"I'll kill him," Ron declared, slamming his fist down on the table. "He's supposed to be my best mate!"

"Ron, take a deep breath and let your sister finish," Hermione insisted.

"Harry and I did break up," Ginny tried again. "But it was mutual. We both agreed that we are better off as friends; that we were trying way too hard to force this connection we had into a serious relationship when it is best if we just stay close friends."

"Did he get you pregnant and run?" Ron wondered.

"Ronald," Molly scolded.

"It is really hard to get pregnant if you aren't having sex Ron," Ginny informed him.

"That is probably at the top of the list of things I didn't need to hear about my sister," George mused, the rest of the Weasley men shaking their heads in agreement.

Ginny walked up to her brother and put her hands on his shoulders. "Ron, I love you but even if our break up wasn't mutual it still isn't your business to protect me. I am a big girl, I can handle myself."

Ron just nodded and gave his sister a hug.

Ginny turned back to her family. "I'm sorry that Harry and I couldn't make it work. I know how thrilled everyone would have been for him to be officially part of the family."

"As long as he didn't hurt you, Harry will always be a part of this family," Arthur assured his daughter. "Just because he isn't going to marry into it doesn't change a thing."

Ginny smiled; when things didn't go as planned she still could count on her family no matter what. The rest of the evening passed without incident. The Weasley family dinner was over and everyone left, Bill and Fleur back to France, Charlie and Percy back to the flat that they had gotten together, Ron and Hermione went over to Grimmald place to check on Harry and Ginny and George settled into their own rooms at the Burrow. When she was finally laying in bed Ginny let out a sigh, maybe now her life could move in the direction she wanted it to.

DGDGDGDGDGDGDGDG

It had been almost three weeks since Draco had told Harry Potter and Ron Weasley that the Death Eaters were trying to recruit him for another Pure-Blood supremacy campaign. He had owled Potter and Weasley telling them he still wasn't sure if he wanted to be a spy and so far they had been very understanding. It had also been almost three weeks since his encounter with Ginny Weasley and the latter of the two was what Draco couldn't stop thinking about. Draco knew his father had probably been rolling around in his grave for almost three weeks between the informing on Death Eaters to Aurors and being attracted to Ginny Weasley.

Draco stopped and looked up from his work, was he really attracted to Ginny Weasley? He didn't really have to think about that for long, of course he was. Most of Hogwarts had been attracted to Ginny Weasley but between Harry and Ron very few males were willing to own to it. Just as he was musing over his feelings an owl appeared at his window. Draco let it in and took its letter, the owl ruffled it's feathers proudly and waited.

Draco opened the letter to find a single ticket to the next Holyhead Harpies game and a small message from Ginny Weasley.

Draco,

I wanted to repay you for helping heal my shoulder so I thought I would give you a special ticket to my next game this Friday. Don't worry my family can't make it to this one so you won't have to worry about anyone seeing you. If you can't make it just send my owl back with the ticket and I'll understand but I hope to see you there.

Ginny

Draco smiled to himself and replied with a simple note telling her that he would be there. Now Draco had something to look forward to. Still he couldn't get his mind off the idea of spying on his Uncle and the other Death Eaters, not because it was wrong but because of his mother, because of getting trapped in the clutches of those insane men again. Still Draco knew that he could be the only person to help eliminate the Death Eater problem for once and for all. With a wave of his wand he conjured his patronus and spoke to it.

"Take this message straight to Harry Potter and Ron Weasley. 'I'm in, owl me with the details and a time we can meet to talk about this further.'"

Draco took a deep breath as his message was sent; for once he knew he was doing the right thing.

DGDGDGDGDGDGDGDGDGDG

That Friday Draco slide into his seat in the Holyhead Harpies arena, he kept looking around as if he was going to see someone he knew at any moment. Not that he was doing anything wrong, but it was so ingrained in Draco to worry about the way people around him reacted to his presence. He still got the sneers that came with the Death Eater title, even if he didn't have the Mark. Draco was thankful with the lights dimmed a little and the match started. The Harpies were playing Puddlemere United, and Draco couldn't help but smile when Ginny got a few amazing goals in against another former Gryffindor, Oliver Wood. After a few hours of very competitive play the Harpies Seeker caught the snitch and the all female team won by just 10 points.

As the rest of the crowd began to trickle out of the arena Draco hung back near where the tunnels leading to the changing rooms were. He nervously mulled around trying not to make eye contact with anyone. A few minutes later he saw Ginny coming toward him.

"Great game," he smiled at her as she reached him.

"Thanks," she smiled back, blushing a little.

"How's your shoulder?" he asked, knowing that he should check to make sure everything was alright.

She rolled it around a little bit. "It's perfect. You did such a great job it's as if the fall never happened."

"I'm glad," he smiled again all of a sudden nervous. "So I was wondering if you wanted to grab something to eat? I didn't know if you had plans with the team or Potter."

The redhead shook her head. "Nope, I was just going to head home."

Draco was a little surprised. "I thought your boyfriend would be here at least."

Ginny couldn't help but think that Draco was slightly jealous, which meant that he was interested in her.

"Harry and I aren't together anymore," she told him. "We realized that we don't actually like each other in a romantic or sexual way."

"So it wasn't some messy, nasty fight where you hexed him and he cried?" Draco smirked.

Ginny couldn't help but laugh. "No, it was mutual. Both of us realized that we didn't want to keep dating each other let alone anything else."

"Well how about that bite to eat?" Draco asked again.

"I'd love to."

"Hey Gin!" a voice behind her called.

She turned around to see Oliver Wood coming toward her.

"Hey Oliver, great game," she told him giving him a hug.

"Thanks, same to you. I was glad to get a chance to play you, Harry and your brothers always told me you were a great player I can see now that was an understatement."

"Thanks, I appreciate hearing that since the boys never let me play when I was younger," she shifted her bag from one shoulder to the other. "You remember Draco Malfoy?"

The older man turned to the blond and gave him a nod. "Nice to see you again Malfoy."

Draco reached out to shake his hand. "Still as good a Keeper as ever Wood."

"Thanks mate. Anyway Gin I just wanted to tell you it was a pleasure to lose to you."

"Well get used to it," Ginny laughed. "I'll see you around Oliver, Draco and I were just going out to get dinner."

"Oh," Draco was pleased to see that he looked a little disappointed. "Well cheers then."

"Bye Oliver."

With another nod he turned and walked off the pitch.

"Well I'm glad I can be your excuse to avoid a date with Oliver Wood," Draco joked with her as they started to walk off in the opposite direction.

Ginny laughed again. "Please, he has already slept with half my teammates, and pretty much anything attractive that walks past him. I would much rather go out with you."

"But I thought that is what women said about me behind my back; that I am attracted to anything that is female," Draco tried to sound unaffected by what she had said.

The young woman slipped her arm through Draco's as they walked. "Back in your Hogwarts days I believed that rumor, but now….I think there might be more to you than that."

Draco felt his insides warm at her initiation of contact. "Well don't tell anyone, you'll ruin my reputation."

"Your secret is safe with me, I promise."

The two apparated from outside the stadium to a small restaurant Draco knew of in Hogsmeade.

"You're not taking me to Madam Puddifoot's are you?" Ginny teased him. "Because I'm just not ready for that Draco."

Draco scoffed. "The only men who take women there are the ones who have no idea what they are doing."

Ginny laughed as she remembered meeting Harry there for coffee more than a few times. "That explains so much."

The two sat down to dinner and began to talk pleasantly about their lives. Draco told Ginny all about his training as a Healer and Ginny told Draco about being approached by the Harpies and the Montrose Magpies.

"So how did you decide?" Draco asked her. "Those are both really great teams."

"Well the Magpies are one of the most successful teams in history and I was worried about extra pressure to add more to the team and keep it thriving. Plus with the Harpies I would not only be on an amazing team but an amazing team that searches for the best female players. I think after growing up with my brothers and always being left out by them I wanted to carve my own path and it would be easier to do in an all female team."

Draco nodded. "I understand what you mean. My mother wasn't happy when I said I wanted to sell the apothecary but I wanted to start over and she knew that we both needed that clean slate."

"So what happened to your family's business?" Ginny wondered.

"I sold it to a trusted family friend, one of the few I still have, and he has been taking good care of it since then. He kept my mother and I on as consultants but we have really distanced ourselves from it in general."

"So I guess we've both found our way," Ginny smiled at him.

"I'm still stumbling a bit but yes, I think we did."

A moment of silence passed between the two and both were surprised at how comfortable it was. Ginny remembered that any silence with Harry was awkward and tense as if one of them needed to start taking again or something was going to go wrong. Ginny felt like if she chose not to say anything else for the rest of the night Draco wouldn't mind, as if nothing had to be said by either of them. However there was something that Ginny wanted to say to the young man.

"I don't think I ever did thank you for what you did for me," Ginny spoke softly avoiding his eyes because the subject was one that was sensitive to both of them.

At first Draco didn't understand. "I thought that was why you sent me the ticket to the game."

"Not my shoulder," she finally looked up. "What you did for me the year Ron, Harry and Hermione were away."

"Oh, that," Draco murmured.

"Don't say 'oh that' like it was something small and insignificant Draco. That year would have been so much worse if you hadn't helped us…helped me."

"Well it wasn't easy for any of you," Draco looked at her. "The Carrow's had targets painted on the backs of anyone's back who they didn't like."

"Including yours," Ginny reminded him. "Your idea saved so many students from the hospital wing or worse."

"I did it to help myself," Draco told her. "I couldn't cast an unforgivable at all and if I didn't cast it I would have been punished twice as bad."

"Whether you meant to or not you helped us all, I'll never forget it." Ginny mused. "The Carrow's had given half of Gryffindor house detention including most of the first years. Right before detention you found me and told me that you knew what we were going to be forced to do. All of the older students like you and I were going to have to Crucio the younger ones and any who refused would be Crucioed themselves. You told me to tell the ones casting the curses to say replace the first letter with something that sounded similar and for the ones being cursed to thrash, and scream, and just react as if they were being tortured. We said things like 'Rucio' and 'Grucio' quickly so the Carrow's wouldn't hear and the younger students convulsed on the floor knowing that if they didn't make it look convincing they would feel the curse twice as badly from those sick sibling's wands."

"I had seen enough of the Cruciatus Curse at my own house, I couldn't take anymore," Draco told her honestly. "After everything I went through I didn't want anyone to get hurt."

"Well there are a lot of people who never knew you were the one who came up with that brilliant plan and I just wanted to thank you."

"I might have done it for a few other reasons as well," he looked at her with a smile.

"Really?"

"Well, I couldn't let anything happen to you," he replied. "I was always afraid to let anyone know during school but I always thought you were beautiful."

Ginny blushed a little. "Well underneath the lick layer of arsehole, I always thought you were handsome."

"Well I'm glad we have a mutual attraction or else this dinner would have been a waste of time," he joked.

The rest of dinner passed and not long after the two were walking down the main road of the small village making small talk, not wanting the night to end.

"So," Draco turned to Ginny. "Can I apparate you to your door?"

Ginny smiled at him. "That is very sweet of you but I'm still living at home right now and my family is very nosy when it comes to my life. Also I would rather tell them that I'm seeing you first."

"You want to keep seeing me?"

The redhead smiled again. "Yea, I think I do."

The young Malfoy leaned in and gently pressed his lips to hers, "I'll owl you tomorrow then."

"Thanks for tonight Draco," she leaned in to kiss him again. "Who knew what would come of me falling onto my shoulder."

He laughed. "Just don't do it again."

They kissed one last time before each of them raised their wands and apparated home. Both Draco and Ginny went to sleep with smiled on their faces that night.

DGDGDGDGDGDG

Thanks for reading. Sorry this is a little short. I wanted to get this one up before I started my next chapter. Sorry I've been MIA, I have been working on my own novel trying to get it ready for edits and things. Hopefully I'll have more time to devote to my fanfics now. Chapter 3 of Darkness Rising will include some original characters, everyone who reads my stories should know that I love making OC's. So enjoy and leave me a review if you would like. Love to all my readers and followers.