CHAPTER 15

Ginny stared after him, watching as his blond head turned the corner and the door to the flying room began to close, blocking her view of the outside hall.

What just happened?

She had wanted him to take her. Wanted to feel more than just his fingers, more than just his body pressed against hers. But, he had stopped.

Why had he stopped? Had she done something wrong? Turned him off somehow? Did he realize belatedly that he was touching a Weasley and was so disgusted that he had to leave?

Ginny huffed, making her hair fly around her face. She slid down the wall, taking a seat on the floor as she tried to figure everything out. She had always been the type to try to look at everything from every angle, something Tom Riddle had taken advantage of in her first year.

Draco had kissed her. He had kissed her, and not because of a mission, but because he had wanted to.

They had touched and he had made her come and then… and then he left.

Just one last kiss and he left.

She wrung her hands together, playing with her fingers as she stared at the opposite wall.

What did he mean when he had told her to 'cancel her date'? Was he jealous? Is that why he acted the way he had? Saying that Neville didn't deserve her and being so possessive?

Not that she minded but…

She sighed. This was getting her nowhere. Draco Malfoy was the most difficult and infuriating man she had ever encountered. He was difficult to read, harsh, crude, uncaring, selfish… sexy, handsome, witty, charming…

ARGH! What should she do? Should she go after him and ask… What should she ask?

Ginny didn't even know. He probably wouldn't give her a straight answer anyway. She sighed, letting her head fall back against the wall behind her. One thing was for certain. She couldn't go out tonight, not when she was so confused.

She needed to cancel her date with Neville.

The door to Neville's office was open a crack and Ginny rapped against it with her knuckles before pushing it open a few inches more. Neville looked up from some papers will a tired smile. "Hey, Gin! You look great. I just have some paper work to finish and then we can go"

She smiled gently at him, a guilty blush creeping up her cheeks. She gave his office a cursory glance and noticed that the other desk in the room was empty. "Where's Rosa?" she asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"She had a date tonight, so I let her leave a little early," he replied as he signed his name on another paper.

"Oh. That's nice," she said, biting her lip. She could see that Neville was nearly done with his work, and with a deep breath, she walked a few steps into his office, closing the door behind her. "Nev, we need to talk…" she admitted after a moment.

Neville let out a sharp laugh, looking up at her and leaning back in his chair. "You're going to move it back again, aren't you?"

Heat covered her face and she knew she was blushing all the way to the roots of her hair. She played with her fingers nervously. "Please don't be angry with me," she implored him, taking a seat at Rosa's desk.

Neville gave her a small grin. "I'm not mad at you, Gin." He reached across his desk, grabbing her hands much like he had weeks ago when they had gone to lunch.

Tears began to prick at her eyes. "Oh Neville, I'm such a terrible person and you're so wonderful and…" She wiped at a falling tear. "I'm just so confused…"

"You're not confused. Not about me. You're just not interested."

She opened her mouth to argue, but Neville cut her off with a brilliant white smile. "Admit it, Gin."

Ginny looked to the side and gave a slight nod of agreement.

"I'm not hurt, you know," he said, bringing her attention back to his round, boyish face. "We're great friends, we understand each other well, and I think we could be great together. I don't love you, Ginny, but I think I could. Over time, if we tried."

Relief filled her chest. "You're not hurt?"

"Not a bit."

She grinned at him. "We're still friends?"

"Of course we are!" he admonished.

Ginny looked at him, studying him for a long moment, her lips pressed tightly together, "You'll find someone great someday. Someone who loves you and you'll love her and that's just not us."

He nodded, rubbing his fingers over her hands. He met her eyes with his own, a mysterious, distinctly Dumbledore-esque smile gracing his lips. "So will you, Ginny. So will you."

0… o …0

Draco sat at the five-star restaurant, barely picking up any of the words his date was saying and wondering for the fifth time why he was there. He had wanted to leave after he had been… with Ginny. He just wanted to go home to his favorite leather chair and a well aged bottle of a very strong alcoholic drink.

His hands had been shaking as he walked down the halls and he hadn't even noticed Rosa at the other end until it was too late. She had jumped out at him, shocking him out of his thoughts, telling him that Neville had let her go early and asking where they would go. For some reason, he didn't brush her off. Instead, he had taken her here, to a well known French restaurant, to the same one he had taken Clara. He decided it would be better to be out with someone else than left alone to his thoughts. He wasn't sure he was willing to face himself yet, and Rosa was a lovely distraction.

He looked at her critically as she talked, nodding when the intonation of her voice told him he should. She was tan and slim. Her lips were thin, but well shaped, as was her nose. Her face was thankfully devoid of freckles, and her eyes were dark and exotic.

A very lovely distraction.

She was what he should want in a woman. She was beautiful, tall, willowy, and graceful. She was passable in intelligence and didn't seem to have many opinions, or even much of a temper. She was bubbly, but not overly so and he could tell that she would turn out to be loyal, but on the clingy side. She was lacking in self-confidence as a result of being a chubby child (if the pictures in her office were any indication), and she could be easily molded into a worthy girlfriend. One who didn't ask too many questions and did as she was told.

She reminded him of his mother in some ways.

His mother had seemed so weak to him when he was younger, always staying behind at the manor while his father went on business, always doing what was expected of her. Before her death, however, Draco had learned that she had always been incredibly strong, strong enough to stand up against the Death Eaters and risk her life for his.

Yes, Rosa was the perfect type of girl for him.

So why was he thinking of Ginny? Why was he wishing it was her sitting across from him, gabbing away?

He smiled slightly. A lot of the women he knew talked and talked for hours about nothing of importance, but Ginny—she made every story interesting. If she had been across from him, he would actually be listening, actually be enjoying himself.

Ginny. Was she angry at him for leaving? Was she alone right now? Was she out with Longbottom?

His fist clenched tightly around his knife and he cut into his chicken furiously.

Was she thinking about him like he was her, wishing that they were together?

He shook his head slightly and a gasp from across from him told him that it was the wrong time to do so. Damn. "I'm sorry, what did you say? I was miles away."

"I asked if you liked my hair like this," she answered with a shy smile.

He glanced at her complicated bun. "Yes, it's lovely," he replied charmingly.

She offered him a bright smile and his mind drifted off again. It was better this way. He was not the settling down type, he could never make Ginny happy. All he would be able to do is give her pleasure.

He suppressed a groan as he remembered the way she had moved against him, crying out his name as she came. No, it was no good at all. They were too different. He would only hurt her in the long run, once he realized that he didn't really want her.

Just like when he was younger.

When he was nine years old, he had wanted a dog because Greg Goyle had one. His father had immediately gotten him one, a pure bred something-or-other. Only the best for a Malfoy. The dog had been his new toy for the first few weeks and he was never without it. But after a while, the pet idea had lost its novelty. There were new things to be had: brooms, magical bicycles, and expensive potion making sets. He had gotten tired of the dog and they had ended up giving him away. Draco had barely noticed that he was gone.

After a while, fucking the daughter of his father's blood traitor enemy would get old. He would nip it in the bud.

Draco didn't even want to consider why he cared, why he didn't want to hurt Ginny. He just wanted to enjoy his dinner, and if he was lucky, maybe later he could enjoy the brunette sitting across from him.

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A/N: I'd like to encourage all of my readers to encourage me! Review!

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Thanks to my Beta Vickie and to my recent reviewers ( and some that have been reviewing since the first chapter!): luv2dance756, Pyro Symptoms Unleashed, jasmine, beckysue2, babi-gurl-chels, Dumbledore's Troop, YvettE Sorrow, fannficsrock, and harrypotterchick4ever