Disclaimer still holds.... Lol!
Alright, most of this story, probably all of it, is gonna be in Ginny's POV, so I'm not gonna write that at the beginning of each chapter.
Chapter 2: The Restaurant
When I got home to my apartment at mid afternoon, Hermione was in my room. This wasn't unusual, seeing as how she's one of my close friends. She was rifling through my closet, searching for cute clothing.
She turned around as I came in.
"I have a date with Ron tonight, and there is nothing in my closet!" She was frantic.
"Ok, calm down, we'll find something. But why is it such a big deal? You've gone on plenty of dates with him before," I said.
"But this is different! He's taking me somewhere really nice, but he won't tell me where!" her voice dropped a notch. "I think he might propose!"
"Oh my gosh! That's so sweet! We have to go shopping and get you a new dress!" She looked shocked.
"I forgot about that..." She said thoughtfully.
"Well, let's go!" I said, somewhat impatiently. She smiled sheepishly, grabbed her purse, and we raced out the door.
We spent the afternoon shopping for her dress. We finally found it in a tiny shop squeezed between two large muggle department stores. It was dark green with spaghetti straps and a dipping neckline. Hermione fell in love with it on sight and we quickly returned to her house for make up and accessories. By the time we were done, she was gorgeous.
When Ron came, she was in the front room, and I was hiding in the kitchen. He was sweet and they left quickly. Being bored, I decided to go to Diagon Alley for dinner. I went to the Little Kitchen, a cute Italian restaurant. I know the owner, and after being seated and ordering my usual, I settled down to people watch. After about 5 minutes, a man with silver blonde hair walked by, looking at the restaurants. He saw me and grinned.
'Of course,' I thought. ' Of course Malfoy would walk by the restaurant I'm at and stop to come in. Of course that's my luck.'
Malfoy walked in the door, strolled to my table, and grinned at me.
"May I take this seat?" He motioned to the seat across from me.
"Why, of course, sir." Inwardly, I groaned. The note to self hadn't worked. He sat down.
"I was just searching for a place to eat. I'm so pleased that I found this one with you in it." Was this some sort of dream, or nightmare? Why was he being so nice? I decided to find out.
"Drop the act, Malfoy. Why did you decide to join me?"
"Do I need to have a reason to eat dinner with a beautiful redhead?"
"Malfoy...." I said warningly.
Just then, the waiter came up.
"Madame, I did not know you were waiting for someone," he said, in reference to Malfoy.
"Neither did I," I said. Malfoy smiled winningly at the waiter.
"I'll have the spaghetti with meatballs, please, with a cup of wine." Malfoy ordered my usual. This scared me.
"Malfoy." He looked at me. "That's what I usually get."
"Well, it looks like we were made for each other." I glared at him. Thankfully the waiter had left. Argh! Malfoys are SO annoying!!
"I'm going to the bathroom," I announced.
"How pleasant. Thank you for informing me," he said mockingly.
I glared at him, got up, and stalked to the bathroom. Once there, I leaned over the sink and scrutinized my face in the mirror. Sighing, I pulled out my wand, fixed my hair and make up, washed my hands, and put my wand away. The bathroom was all just to get away from Malfoy and collect myself. Feeling composed, I returned to my seat.
"Welcome back," Malfoy said.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smirked. "What have you been doing these past 6 years, other than dating Potty?"
"Still the same childish insults? You really must grow out of those. They're not good for your health. To answer your question, I opened my shop and some games of Quidditch."
"What happened between you and Potter?"
"We broke up.....?" Was the boy slow?
"Why?"
"Different interests. What about you and Parkinson?"
"We broke up."
I decided not to take that bait. "Or you broke up with her."
"Yes. She became annoying. I realized she was only after the Malfoy name and money."
"Took you long enough. That was clear back at school."
Our food arrived. The same thing.
I took a sip of wine and tried to daintily gather up some spaghetti. I saw that Malfoy was smirking at me from across the table.
"What?
"Nothing." He turned to his food.
We ate in silence for a while. Thoughts were racing through my head, mostly along the lines of why was he eating with me and such. I decided to ask him.
"Why are you eating with me?"
"Because I was hungry."
"No, really, why are you eating with me?"
"Because I like Italian, and you're pleasant enough company on a lonely night."
I took some time absorbing this.
"What made you decide to open a bookstore?" he asked.
"I enjoy reading and I enjoy business."
"Interesting," was his response.
"What are you doing these days?" I asked in return.
He smirked again. "Ever heard of High Quality Brooms, Inc.? That's me."
"Oh, Harry gets his brooms there!" I blurted out stupidly.
His face darkened. "I know." He returned to eating.
It seemed he was done talking. For some odd reason, I felt disappointed. Maybe it was because talking was preferable to eating a lonely dinner. Yes that must be it.
"Excuse me," he said, and stood up.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Must you know everything?" He smirked and walked away.
'How infuriating,' I thought. 'Argh! He still has the exact same smirk! Maybe he won't come back...' Disappointment filtered through me again. 'Ugh! What is wrong with me?' At that, I looked up and saw Malfoy striding back.
"Miss me?" he asked, smirk in place.
"Not much," was my tart reply.
He sat back down.
"So, you and Potter are no longer an item."
"Is that you're only topic of conversation?"
"No. But what do you expect? It's the biggest news item in the last month."
"Well, so is the 'Parkinson-Malfoy Scandal.'"
"That's actually the 'Malfoy-Parkinson Scandal.'"
"Whatever." I flicked it off with a wave of my hand.
"Pick a new topic," I stated.
"Hmm. What are Granger and the Weasel doing? Married yet?"
"Malfoy, that's my brother you're discussing..." I said warningly. "And my close friend."
"Well? What are they doing?"
I let some of my excitement shine through.
"Well, hopefully Ron is asking her tonight!" I was more that a little happy for Hermione and Ron.
Malfoy raised one eyebrow at my obvious excitement, keeping his cold mask impeccably in place, and smirked.
"Well, isn't that an interesting tidbit?"
I nodded, my smile wide in anticipation of their eventual marriage. His smirk grew.
"Weasel and Mudblood children running all around. What a disgusting concept."
I felt my temper flare at his words, and my happiness completely dissolved. His smirk only grew, and I wondered if the rest of the evening had just been an act. Most likely. It only made my anger grow. My smile now gone, my glare took its place. I said in my lowest, most dangerous whisper (because I knew it had more effect than yelling), "Get. Out."
His smirk widened. "But, Fire Goddess, this is a public restaurant."
Again, in my low dangerous whisper, I said, "WHAT did you just call me?"
He looked at me across the table, his eyes hooded.
"Fire Goddess. It suits you."
He took a sip of wine, his hooded eyes on me from across the table. I wondered if perhaps his new nickname was a compliment wrapped inside an insult. It was possible. I felt my anger fading, and I realized this was also his fault. My anger came back. I didn't want him to have that effect on me.
I hooded my own eyes. Time to show him I was no longer the silly girl from school. My skills had grown since then, and doing business had taught me how to keep my own mask in place. A useful skill.
"Hmm. I could get used to it, Bleached Ferret." I smirked.
His mask flickered an instant. Anger. Then he was a calm cool exterior.
"Touché, Fire." He raised his glass, smirk still in place. I nodded my head and sipped from my own glass, considering him across the table.
"Well, I must depart at this moment, Fire. Maybe you'll join me again sometime?" Not waiting for a reply, he swept from the restaurant, my eyes following him out the door to the street. My eyes dropped to the table. I saw that he had left enough money to pay for both of our dinners. I sighed, left the tip, and headed out. I decided to tell only Hermione about this evening, knowing that my family would flip if they knew. Thinking of her and Ron brought a smile to my face. Wandering through Diagon Alley, I stopped for some ice cream, and headed back to my lonely apartment.
Well, hope you enjoyed! I know, two chapters in one day, but I'm just so excited about my first fic! Hope you liked and please leave a review... my self-esteem about this endeavor could use some boosting! Lol! Luv ya!
Alright, most of this story, probably all of it, is gonna be in Ginny's POV, so I'm not gonna write that at the beginning of each chapter.
Chapter 2: The Restaurant
When I got home to my apartment at mid afternoon, Hermione was in my room. This wasn't unusual, seeing as how she's one of my close friends. She was rifling through my closet, searching for cute clothing.
She turned around as I came in.
"I have a date with Ron tonight, and there is nothing in my closet!" She was frantic.
"Ok, calm down, we'll find something. But why is it such a big deal? You've gone on plenty of dates with him before," I said.
"But this is different! He's taking me somewhere really nice, but he won't tell me where!" her voice dropped a notch. "I think he might propose!"
"Oh my gosh! That's so sweet! We have to go shopping and get you a new dress!" She looked shocked.
"I forgot about that..." She said thoughtfully.
"Well, let's go!" I said, somewhat impatiently. She smiled sheepishly, grabbed her purse, and we raced out the door.
We spent the afternoon shopping for her dress. We finally found it in a tiny shop squeezed between two large muggle department stores. It was dark green with spaghetti straps and a dipping neckline. Hermione fell in love with it on sight and we quickly returned to her house for make up and accessories. By the time we were done, she was gorgeous.
When Ron came, she was in the front room, and I was hiding in the kitchen. He was sweet and they left quickly. Being bored, I decided to go to Diagon Alley for dinner. I went to the Little Kitchen, a cute Italian restaurant. I know the owner, and after being seated and ordering my usual, I settled down to people watch. After about 5 minutes, a man with silver blonde hair walked by, looking at the restaurants. He saw me and grinned.
'Of course,' I thought. ' Of course Malfoy would walk by the restaurant I'm at and stop to come in. Of course that's my luck.'
Malfoy walked in the door, strolled to my table, and grinned at me.
"May I take this seat?" He motioned to the seat across from me.
"Why, of course, sir." Inwardly, I groaned. The note to self hadn't worked. He sat down.
"I was just searching for a place to eat. I'm so pleased that I found this one with you in it." Was this some sort of dream, or nightmare? Why was he being so nice? I decided to find out.
"Drop the act, Malfoy. Why did you decide to join me?"
"Do I need to have a reason to eat dinner with a beautiful redhead?"
"Malfoy...." I said warningly.
Just then, the waiter came up.
"Madame, I did not know you were waiting for someone," he said, in reference to Malfoy.
"Neither did I," I said. Malfoy smiled winningly at the waiter.
"I'll have the spaghetti with meatballs, please, with a cup of wine." Malfoy ordered my usual. This scared me.
"Malfoy." He looked at me. "That's what I usually get."
"Well, it looks like we were made for each other." I glared at him. Thankfully the waiter had left. Argh! Malfoys are SO annoying!!
"I'm going to the bathroom," I announced.
"How pleasant. Thank you for informing me," he said mockingly.
I glared at him, got up, and stalked to the bathroom. Once there, I leaned over the sink and scrutinized my face in the mirror. Sighing, I pulled out my wand, fixed my hair and make up, washed my hands, and put my wand away. The bathroom was all just to get away from Malfoy and collect myself. Feeling composed, I returned to my seat.
"Welcome back," Malfoy said.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome." He smirked. "What have you been doing these past 6 years, other than dating Potty?"
"Still the same childish insults? You really must grow out of those. They're not good for your health. To answer your question, I opened my shop and some games of Quidditch."
"What happened between you and Potter?"
"We broke up.....?" Was the boy slow?
"Why?"
"Different interests. What about you and Parkinson?"
"We broke up."
I decided not to take that bait. "Or you broke up with her."
"Yes. She became annoying. I realized she was only after the Malfoy name and money."
"Took you long enough. That was clear back at school."
Our food arrived. The same thing.
I took a sip of wine and tried to daintily gather up some spaghetti. I saw that Malfoy was smirking at me from across the table.
"What?
"Nothing." He turned to his food.
We ate in silence for a while. Thoughts were racing through my head, mostly along the lines of why was he eating with me and such. I decided to ask him.
"Why are you eating with me?"
"Because I was hungry."
"No, really, why are you eating with me?"
"Because I like Italian, and you're pleasant enough company on a lonely night."
I took some time absorbing this.
"What made you decide to open a bookstore?" he asked.
"I enjoy reading and I enjoy business."
"Interesting," was his response.
"What are you doing these days?" I asked in return.
He smirked again. "Ever heard of High Quality Brooms, Inc.? That's me."
"Oh, Harry gets his brooms there!" I blurted out stupidly.
His face darkened. "I know." He returned to eating.
It seemed he was done talking. For some odd reason, I felt disappointed. Maybe it was because talking was preferable to eating a lonely dinner. Yes that must be it.
"Excuse me," he said, and stood up.
"Where are you going?" I asked.
"Must you know everything?" He smirked and walked away.
'How infuriating,' I thought. 'Argh! He still has the exact same smirk! Maybe he won't come back...' Disappointment filtered through me again. 'Ugh! What is wrong with me?' At that, I looked up and saw Malfoy striding back.
"Miss me?" he asked, smirk in place.
"Not much," was my tart reply.
He sat back down.
"So, you and Potter are no longer an item."
"Is that you're only topic of conversation?"
"No. But what do you expect? It's the biggest news item in the last month."
"Well, so is the 'Parkinson-Malfoy Scandal.'"
"That's actually the 'Malfoy-Parkinson Scandal.'"
"Whatever." I flicked it off with a wave of my hand.
"Pick a new topic," I stated.
"Hmm. What are Granger and the Weasel doing? Married yet?"
"Malfoy, that's my brother you're discussing..." I said warningly. "And my close friend."
"Well? What are they doing?"
I let some of my excitement shine through.
"Well, hopefully Ron is asking her tonight!" I was more that a little happy for Hermione and Ron.
Malfoy raised one eyebrow at my obvious excitement, keeping his cold mask impeccably in place, and smirked.
"Well, isn't that an interesting tidbit?"
I nodded, my smile wide in anticipation of their eventual marriage. His smirk grew.
"Weasel and Mudblood children running all around. What a disgusting concept."
I felt my temper flare at his words, and my happiness completely dissolved. His smirk only grew, and I wondered if the rest of the evening had just been an act. Most likely. It only made my anger grow. My smile now gone, my glare took its place. I said in my lowest, most dangerous whisper (because I knew it had more effect than yelling), "Get. Out."
His smirk widened. "But, Fire Goddess, this is a public restaurant."
Again, in my low dangerous whisper, I said, "WHAT did you just call me?"
He looked at me across the table, his eyes hooded.
"Fire Goddess. It suits you."
He took a sip of wine, his hooded eyes on me from across the table. I wondered if perhaps his new nickname was a compliment wrapped inside an insult. It was possible. I felt my anger fading, and I realized this was also his fault. My anger came back. I didn't want him to have that effect on me.
I hooded my own eyes. Time to show him I was no longer the silly girl from school. My skills had grown since then, and doing business had taught me how to keep my own mask in place. A useful skill.
"Hmm. I could get used to it, Bleached Ferret." I smirked.
His mask flickered an instant. Anger. Then he was a calm cool exterior.
"Touché, Fire." He raised his glass, smirk still in place. I nodded my head and sipped from my own glass, considering him across the table.
"Well, I must depart at this moment, Fire. Maybe you'll join me again sometime?" Not waiting for a reply, he swept from the restaurant, my eyes following him out the door to the street. My eyes dropped to the table. I saw that he had left enough money to pay for both of our dinners. I sighed, left the tip, and headed out. I decided to tell only Hermione about this evening, knowing that my family would flip if they knew. Thinking of her and Ron brought a smile to my face. Wandering through Diagon Alley, I stopped for some ice cream, and headed back to my lonely apartment.
Well, hope you enjoyed! I know, two chapters in one day, but I'm just so excited about my first fic! Hope you liked and please leave a review... my self-esteem about this endeavor could use some boosting! Lol! Luv ya!