A/N: I am really sorry for the wait, this took a really long time and I hope it was worth the wait. review!!!!

Chapter Nine: The Talking Raven

Ginny was more than busy, she was active to the point of hysteria. Answering letters left and right, sending memos, reading them, talking to co-workers…oh and avoiding one Draco Malfoy. Ginny was actually (for once) thankful for the workload she had gotten from Jason, especially since she had called in sick yesterday.

As the young red head was looking over a letter from Snapshot Inc. she ran right into the man she had been strategically avoiding all day.

"Oh…I'm sorry Mr. Malfoy," she said automatically.

"Back to Mister now is it?" he asked looking her dead in the eye.

The eye contact made Ginny feel uncomfortable, but she made quite sure not to let it show in her face as she looked back into his silver eyes with equal intensity.

"We need to talk Ginerva Weasley. You can't hide forever," he said huskily. His voice sent Ginny's heart beating. She wanted him to say it again in that way of his: Ginerva Weasley.

"Who said I was hiding?" she continued to keep her cool. It was, though, getting quite difficult to maintain.

"What do you call taking long routes to Jason's office?"

Ouch.

Score for Malfoy.

Defeated, Ginny inhaled through her nose and slapped the letter from Snapshot Inc. on a random secretary's inbox. To the mousy looking woman she said, "Please send this to Dennis Creevey."

She turned on her heel and walked to her office, Malfoy right behind her. Once they were inside, Ginny closed her door.

"So?"

"Ginny, you can't do this; you can't deny you're raging passion for me. You just can't do it."

"Oh really?" she challenged him cocking an eyebrow, "I think I've been doing a fine job."

"So you admit, you have a raging passion for me," the look on Malfoy's face made her think of their school days when he got that malicious twinkle in his eye.

"I never said that."

Ginny sat in her desk searching for some kind of paperwork that needed attention. When she looked up from her desk Malfoy was right in her face, their noses barely an inch apart. He put a loving hand to her cheek and said in that husky voice, "Ginny."

"Yes," she replied ever so quietly.

"You want me. You do."

She nodded, completely drunken on their closeness. She wanted them to be closer. Why couldn't they be closer?

Then he cupped her face with both hands and brought his lips down to meet hers. He kissed her with a passion Ginny never knew existed. Her hands found their way to the back of his head as she deepened the kiss.

She cursed the existence of oxygen when he pulled away breathing hard. Ginny took both of Malfoy's hands in hers, pulling them away from her face.

"Malfoy…"

"Draco."

"Draco…"

His name lingered in the air while Ginny caught her breath. She had to close her eyes for a minute to fully imprint the memory in her brain, but she would definitely have no trouble remembering the feel of his lips on hers.

The aftermath of the kiss was a blur. Ginny was sitting in her chair and Draco was sitting on her desk and he was talking to her. Explaining was more like it. He was explaining why he had been such an arse all these years but Ginny didn't really give a shit she wanted to kiss him until she couldn't kiss him anymore.

"Draco," she said interrupting him.

"..Yes?"

"Let's go to The Talking Raven tonight. A date. It's just around the corner from here," her heart pumped like it was going out of style. Ba-boom, ba-boom.

"Seven-thirty."

Ginny smiled and nodded. It was a date.

-:-

"It's about time," Dennis Creevey said from behind Ginny. She gave him a glare. "I'm just saying. It was so obvious that you two were wooing for each other."

Dennis, Luna and Hermione were sitting on her bed supporting her as she put on outfit after outfit. She felt like she was fifteen; getting ready for a date, seeking friends' advice, emptying the closet.

"Well, Dennis does have a point."

"Luna!" Ginny exclaimed. She had definitely not expected that. Was it obvious that she desperately loved Malfoy to everybody?

Luna shrugged, her radish earrings hitting against her shoulders.

Ginny turned to look at Hermione.

"Well? Was it obvious to you too?" she put her hands on her hips, her pale sweater rising up her stomach.

"I was kind of surprised. I mean…God; I just guess I can't get over what happened at Hogwarts."

Ginny sighed and turned back to her full length mirror. For some people this would be hard to digest. Oh God and Harry would probably murder Draco. She shook the thought of Harry out of her head and turned her attention back to the night's events. The outfit she wore now was way too dressy for a tavern like the Talking Raven. She changed into a pair of dark, snug-fit jeans and a pink camisole under a soft cream sweater and slipped into a pair of cream clogs.

"That," Dennis said, "is the outfit. You're wearing that."

"Yeah?"

"Absolutely," Luna replied looking her up and down.

"Hermione, could you hand me my comb. It's on the dresser."

Hermione reached over and grabbed a purple comb off of Ginny's dresser. She handed it to her and she tried her best to comb out all of the kinks and knots. When Ginny was satisfied she looked over at the clock on her nightstand and saw that it was 7:34.

"Well, it looks like I'll be going now," Ginny announced.

"Have fun, Gin," Hermione smiled. And with her blessing Ginny grabbed her purse, turned on the spot and Disapparated from her apartment and found herself in front of The Talking Raven. With a deep breath she pushed open the door and went inside. She looked around the tavern for a tall blonde man. And then like a magnet her eyes landed on a smirking Draco Malfoy.

She walked over to him with a smirk of her own and sat opposite him.

"Late, Ginny."

"Though fashionably, wouldn't you say?"

Draco laughed. Music to Ginny's ears.

A waitress came over then and asked what they would like to drink. Draco ordered a butterbeer and Ginny ordered a cherry float.

"So," Draco started.

"So."

"We have a lot to talk about don't we?"

Ginny lifted her right brow wanting the butterflies in her stomach to cease and desist. No matter how hard she begged they wouldn't stop flittering around. But she couldn't lie. Here she was before this beautiful god whom she very possibly loved. He was different. Straightforward and confident. So much different from Harry. But Harry was not going to ruin her night so she sunk in and let herself enjoy every bit of her and Draco's time.

"I suppose we do," she replied.

"You know, I don't even know much about plants. I just read a few books. But I read your articles every month. And then I just couldn't take it anymore, I had to see you and what better way than to intern at your job."

Yes, very straightforward.

"Well, you had me fooled. I thought you actually cared about plant life." The part about him needing to see her every day she ignored, she had no idea how to respond.

"And that first day when I came into that meeting and I saw you I thought, she's even more stunning than she was when she went to Hogwarts. God, at school you were beautiful but now you're….gorgeous."

Jesus.

"At school you we're a complete toe rag but you were still," dead sexy, "good looking," Ginny said.

"All I get is a good looking? I thought I was pretty sexy."

"A bit too big for your britches too, don't you think?"

Then, the waitress brought out their drinks and took their orders. Ginny ordered a Caesar salad and Draco fish and chips.

The night wore on with talks of the past, the future, the present. It all seemed so unreal to Ginny. Not too long ago she was kissing this beautiful creature in her office. As she listened to him speak (animatedly) she couldn't help but smile. He was so different now and for a person who wasn't really into change, she liked this one.

When their plates had been cleared away and they were sipping evening coffee, Ginny had expected for them to run out of things to say but they continued conversation. She loved it. She soaked it up like a sponge.

"Ginny," a familiar voice behind her said.

The look on Draco's face turned from sweet to sour in a matter of seconds.

"What are you doing here Potter?"

Ginny sucked her lips into her mouth and closed her eyes for a second. She took a deep, deep breath and turned around.

"Harry."

"What are you doing with Malfoy? What the hell is going on?"

"What business is it of yours? You don't own me!" Ginny said flaring up.

"If you would move on…" Draco said.

"Shut up, Malfoy."

Ginny could tell he was about to pounce but she gave him a look that said, I'll handle this.

"What do you want Harry?" Ginny asked turning back to the raven haired man in front of her.

"I want to know why you're on a goddamn date with Malfoy. What did he do, manipulate you?"

Rising from her seat, Ginny said, "I, for your information, asked him on a date. And seeing as how we are not together it is ok for me to do that. So if you wouldn't mind…"

"I do mind Ginny! I love you."

"Harry, how can you say that? How can you honestly say that after eleven years? Do you realize how long that is?"

"Do you realize that Malfoy is a Death Eater?"

People had started to eavesdrop now; they didn't even bother to hide it. Everyone was staring at them. Ginny though, was completely oblivious, this had to be settled and if everyone knew about it, then so be it.

"No, he is not, Harry. Let the past go, honestly. Hermione was able to!"

"She knew?"

"Yes! She did know," Ginny and Harry were nose to nose now. Harry leaned forward a little but Ginny backed away. "She knew, because I can trust her. Because I felt comfortable talking to her about it and we all know you hold your grudges but Harry it is over! It is all over!"

"I thought you loved me, Ginny. You said it, you said you loved me."

"What did I know at fifteen? I was obsessed with you. I had been ever since I was old enough to know your story. Maybe I never did love you. A girl can get quite silly when it comes to boys."

Harry looked taken aback, but more so he looked extremely hurt.

His emerald eyes traveled from Draco and back to Ginny. He nodded and said, "Right. I hope you remember that when you tell Malfoy you love him." And with that he turned and Apparated out of the tavern.

Ginny hung her head. She didn't like to hurt Harry but it was over. Everything. It was time for a new beginning, something that apparently Harry didn't want to accept. She looked to Draco with tears in her eyes. Not being able to contain herself she briskly walked out of the tavern.

Outside the temperature had gotten a lot colder. She had to hug herself to keep warm. Tears had started to leak from her eyes and slide down her cheeks. It was all so complicated and though she knew that things couldn't always be easy she wished so hard that they could.

She felt arms wrap around her then. By the heavenly smell she knew that it was Draco.

"I'm sorry," she whispered almost inaudibly.

"You don't have to be Ginny. It's okay."

She leaned into him, feeling as though maybe it was going to be okay.