Ginny laughed. She set down her muffin and when the sound had escaped through her chest and into the air she found herself sitting down, enjoying a moment with Draco Malfoy, of all people. If it was any consolation, he looked as confused as she felt. This was brand new territory - one might say forbidden, though not with words. As anyone knew, anything named forbidden instantly gains a sort of desirability. Ginny felt as if she were floating, flirting with an open door of possibilities. Then at once, they were back on solid ground.

"I suppose a congratulations are in order." Draco sipped his coffee, hiding what Ginny supposed was a small smirk.

"Well yes, I do say they are," Ginny huffed. Draco raised an eyebrow slowly, and Ginny could almost see the eleven-year-old boy she'd hated almost as long as she'd loved Harry Potter. "I'd blame my irritability on the pregnancy, but you're the more obvious target." She muttered half-formed jinxes into her muffin and resisted the urge to do something childish. She'd been working on her wandless magic, before; it wouldn't break the healers' rules that much, just bend them a little…

Draco smiled thinly. "Take a number. Things have changed, and the names of certain Noble Houses are not what they used to be."

There should have been a victory there, something to cheer about, now that the Malfoys were, if not poor, less rich and less powerful but there really wasn't, just a sense of sadness, almost disappointment, as if it was less ok to hate them now. It was almost a sense of pity.

Draco wasn't really talking to her as he sipped his coffee and justified his life. "Of course, House Malfoy will always get back up where we ought to be, we always do. There's just so much work – if the world is changing, and it is… People will always respect power, no matter what the system, and we'll adapt – I'll adapt. I don't want my son to-"

"To what – be a snooty little twerp like yourself?"

"To feel like the name of a famous House is the only connection he'll ever have to his father." Draco stared into Ginevra Potter's plain brown eyes. He'd have to remember this honesty thing. It seemed to work fairly well on the weak-minded. "Don't bother apologizing, that's not even close to the worst thing that's been said to me this week."

Ginny Potter nee Weasley was offering him a piece of her muffin. Draco didn't know whether to laugh or cry or be incredibly insulted that it had come to this, that he was this close to accepting a Weasley's pity.

"Let it be known that I am only taking this as a favor to your figure." But he smiled as he said it, a real smile this time.

Ginny giggled again. It was less annoying, second time around. "Oh please. I suppose Pansy's thin as a stick still."

"What?"

"Parkinson. Brown hair, laughs at Muggle jokes..?" Ginny's attempt at an eyebrow raise just made her look constipated.

"Oh Merlin. You think I married Pansy. This is it, the death toll of my social influence." Draco felt like disapparating, but it seemed like he already had. It was true, nobody cared. He better relish those muggle-loving vigilantes while he could, revel in his remaining relevance.

Ginny felt like an idiot. Now it was painfully obvious she hadn't been out of the house in months. She'd just wanted some time to herself, time to figure out who she was before becoming what everyone else wanted her to be, to see if there was even the slightest chance she could try to like Lily Potter like everyone wanted her to be. And now she didn't even know whom Draco Malfoy had married. That was just plain stupid. It was like being the manager of the Chudley Cannons and not caring to find out who had signed to Puddlemere United. "Well then, who-?"

"Astoria Greengrass!"

"Oh." The name sounded familiar… "Oh! Daphne's sister."

Draco nodded furiously.

Ginny smiled, "Of course you wouldn't have married Pansy, Parkinson's not a Noble House, is it. But Daphne's mum has loads of land in Wales, and – why are you looking at me like that?"

"I married Astoria because she's a good person. I wouldn't touch Pansy with a broomstick because she's horrible, has no ideas of her own. She wasn't even a very good sycophant." He could see her trying not to narrow her eyes at him. "Really."

"Ok, it's settled then."

"What's settled?"

"I'm officially inviting you to the party I'm throwing next week. It'll be the old crowd mostly, DA and all of that, and some of Harry's new ministry friends, so I don't mind if you say no, I'm almost hoping you're going to say no anyways… It'll be… fun, maybe."

"Very well, Ginevra Potter, I accept your invitation." Maybe it would be fun. Maybe it would be like old times, and it would be no fun at all. Draco couldn't tell if she was messing with him. He'd never trusted Ginny Weasley, and this chubbier, married-to-his-ex-arch-nemesis version wasn't any better.

Ginny nodded sagaciously. "Expect an official owl. Don't worry, it should be just like old times." She shoved her things into her muggle purse. "Got to be going now, it was nice seeing you."

Draco smiled and waved goodbye. "Nice, indeed." He was sure now, that she was messing with him. He just needed to figure out what her next move would be. Just like old times. Maybe this party would be fun after all.