Ginny's heart pounded incessantly against her ribs, as a passion she had never felt before rose up inside of her. Theo's cold lips parted slightly, and she could taste the whisky he had been drinking on his tongue as it slid over hers. She wrapped her arms tighter around his neck, pulling him as close as physically possible, as one of his hands remained tangled in her hair, while the other found its way down to the small of her back.

She had no idea how long they stayed like that – it could have been hours, or mere seconds. Time had no meaning to Ginny anymore. She could gladly stay like this for the rest of her life… and then, a sudden burst of applause and cheers quickly brought her back to reality.

Ginny and Theo quickly dislodged themselves from one another, as they turned their heads trying to see who was cheering them on. With a sigh of relief, Ginny realized that they were still alone on the balcony; the noise was coming from inside the house, the applause was for someone else. Which makes sense, she reasoned to herself, seeing as how a kiss between her and Theodore Nott would not be well received by everyone at the party.

Turning back to face Theo, she smiled at him, unsure of what to do next. Part of her wanted to kiss him again, but she didn't see how she could voice that without sounding embarrassing herself. After an awkward pause, Theo suggested they go back inside to see what the cheering was about and Ginny hastily agreed.

They walked back into the drawing room and Ginny looked around to see what was going on. The guests were all talking happily but nothing was noticeably different.

Astoria appeared at her side and gave her arm a small squeeze. "Wasn't that beautiful?" she asked, grinning.

"Er—I didn't see anything, actually," Ginny admitted. "I was out on the balcony and …"

"You missed the proposal?"

"What proposal?"

"Adrian proposed to Daphne! Just after midnight… he got down on one knee and everything!"

"Wow," Ginny said in surprise, as she looked around the room and spotted Daphne speaking to a group of women. Daphne seemed very happy, but Ginny found it hard to believe that this girl, who was only a year older than her, would be planning a wedding soon. She had only finished school six months ago. Did that mean that a year from now, Astoria would be engaged too?

"So, what were you doing on the balcony?" Astoria asked. "And where did you get that cloak?"

"Oh… the cloak is Theo's… I er—I was cold, and he gave it to me…" She could feel the blush working its way up to her cheeks as Astoria smiled knowingly at her.

"I told you he fancied you!" she replied with a small laugh.

Ginny just smiled in response. A wave of dizziness came over her, as her mind replayed the kiss that she shared with Theo. A mixture of emotions was running through her and she knew she had to get away for a few minutes, to calm herself down. She removed the cloak she was wearing and held it out to Astoria.

"I need to use the washroom," she informed Astoria. "Would you mind passing this back to Theo? I won't be gone long."

Astoria agreed and Ginny left the room as quickly as she could manage without attracting attention to herself. There was a small powder room off of the foyer and when she reached it, she was glad to find it vacant. She quickly closed the door and bolted it behind her, then leaned back against the door taking a few deep breaths to steady herself.

Ginny tried to process what had happened on the balcony with Theo. The kiss had been a spontaneous decision on her part. He had tried to keep it friendly, just a simple kiss on the cheek between acquaintances, and she had turned it into more. She knew he wouldn't object; his desire for her was plainly written on his face, and she used that to her advantage.

But she hadn't planned any further ahead. She hadn't considered the repercussions of what would happen after. Would Theo be expecting another kiss? And, eventually, more than that? She had known that it would take more than friendship to infiltrate the Death Eaters, but she hadn't anticipated reaching that point so quickly.

Another obstacle she hadn't foreseen in her impulsiveness was that she would actually enjoy the kiss. It was unlike anything she had experienced before; in ways she couldn't explain. She had felt a spark with Theo, there was no point denying it. It was deep yearning that hadn't existed before their lips touched, but it consumed her since. It was quite different than her feelings for Harry, whom she still loved with all her heart.

Tears clouded Ginny's vision and ran in streaks down her face. The heavy weight of guilt came over her, adding to the whirlwind of emotions already circling within her. Had she betrayed Harry by kissing Theo? And not only because she had kissed someone else, but because that someone was the enemy. Ginny had no doubt, despite his kindness toward her, which side of the war Theo had fought on. His father was Death Eater and it was only a matter of time before he became one too.

"Which is why I'm doing this," Ginny whispered to herself. "I need to get close to the Death Eaters to get to him." She stared at her reflection in the mirror, taking in her styled hair and flawless makeup, that hadn't been affected at all by her tears. The gown she wore was gorgeous and made her feel much older than seventeen. She needed to be this person – the perfect, proud, Pureblood who enjoyed this new world. It was important to stay in character, to act her part accordingly. Any feelings of confusion and guilt would have to wait – she had a job to do.

When Ginny left the powder room, she was feeling much more in control of her emotions. She headed back toward the drawing room, but as she turned a corner, she stopped short at the sight in front of her. Draco Malfoy and Pansy Parkinson were standing close together in the hallway, having a hushed conversation. Ginny slowly drew nearer to the pair and, at the sound of her footsteps, they turned to look at her.

Pansy glared at her for a moment, then grabbed Draco and kissed him. Ginny felt her jaw drop in disbelief. Draco Malfoy was not her favourite person by a long shot, but he seemed to sincerely care for Astoria. Yet, here he was, in Astoria's home, kissing Pansy Parkinson.

With a desire to get far away from both of them, Ginny walked past them, shaking her head in disgust. At the same time, Draco roughly pushed Pansy away from him and reached out to grab Ginny's arm.

"Wait!" Draco said, turning Ginny to face him.

"Let go of me," Ginny snarled, as she pulled out her wand and pointed it in Draco's heart. He quickly relinquished his grip on her arm and held his hands up in surrender.

"This isn't what it looks like," he said, in a pleading voice.

"No?" Ginny asked. "So, you aren't out here snogging Parkinson, while Astoria is just in the other room – probably looking for you?"

"No! Pansy kissed me – I didn't know she was going to! I swear, Weas—I mean, Ginny – I would never do anything to hurt Astoria. I love her."

Pansy scoffed in disbelief. "Astoria is nothing more than some fling you needed to get out of your system before marriage."

"You're wrong," Draco interrupted, shaking his head. "She's not…"

"The new marriage law has been put in place," Pansy continued, speaking over Draco, "and my father has already been in contact with yours to set up a betrothal between us."

"I don't care!" Draco exclaimed. "I would not marry you if you were the last witch on Earth, Pansy. If I have to break some foolish contract our fathers worked out, then I will. Neither your father, nor mine, gets to decide who I spend my life with."

"And you think that will be Astoria? Who are you trying to fool, Draco? With her illness, Astoria is not likely to bare you any children and your father won't permit you to marry anyone who cannot carry on the family line."

"I don't care about… wait! How do you know about her illness?" Malfoy asked suspiciously.

"I overheard Daphne and Astoria talking about it a couple years ago," Pansy said with an impatient wave of her hand. "And, I think it's unfair that your parents aren't aware that a potential marriage between their only heir and Astoria could result in an end the Malfoy line. I really think someone needs to inform them of the risk you are taking."

"You wouldn't dare," Draco growled at her.

"End this farce with Astoria, and I won't have to," Pansy replied. She shot Ginny another contemptuous look, then turned on her heel and strolled back toward the party.

Draco, too, turned and walked in the other direction, leaving the house and slamming the door behind him.

Ginny returned to the drawing room and quickly located Astoria and Theo next to each other, their eyes looking through the crowded room. When Theo saw Ginny, his eyes lit up and the fluttering of butterflies filled Ginny's stomach.

"Have you seen Draco?" Astoria asked her when she approached them.

"Er—yes, actually," Ginny said. "I saw him in the hallway when I was coming back from the washroom."

Ginny spent the remainder of the night in the company of Theo and Astoria, the latter looking anxious as more time passed without Draco returning. Ginny considered telling her friend about the argument Draco had with Pansy and his leaving the house. Before she could decide how best to deliver the news, he entered the room and, for the first time in her life, Ginny was relieved to see Draco Malfoy. He walked up to Astoria, wrapping his arms around her and placing a kiss on her temple.

"Hello, you," Astoria said in an amused tone, looking back at him. "You're being awfully friendly all of a sudden. How much have you had to drink?"

"Hardly any," he replied. "I have no reason to hide my feelings toward you."

Draco looked up and made eye contact with Ginny, who looked back at him for a moment, before giving him a short nod to let him know what she saw would stay between them.

Guests started leaving by three in the morning and she knew her time with Theo was almost up. She wondered if she would have another opportunity to continue their kiss before he left. Which would be purely for strategic purposes, she lied to herself, as the thought crossed her mind.

As the crowd thinned out, leaving only a couple dozen people in the room, Ginny spotted Pansy Parkinson standing alone, a glass of wine in her hand, staring in their direction. Her glare was centred on Draco and Astoria, who were standing very close together, his arm around her waist.

Ginny watched with dread as Pansy pushed herself away from the wall, and made her way across the room, stumbling as she did. Glancing at the wineglass still clutched in Pansy's hand, Ginny wondered how much the other girl had to drink since their encounter in the hallway earlier.

Ginny wanted to warn Draco, without tipping Astoria off, but she was too late. Pansy had had already reached the place where they were standing. Tripping over her own feet, Pansy stumbled, and Draco instinctively reached his arm out to catch her from falling on the floor. Straightening up, Pansy grinned at him and placed her hand delicately on his cheek.

"Thank you, Draco, you're always looking out for me," Pansy said, slurring her words slightly. Letting go of Draco, Pany started to clumsily climb up onto a nearby table.

"Pansy, what are you doing?" hissed Astoria. "Get down this instant!"

Pansy ignored her and reached down to pick up a spoon from the table. She banged it loudly against her glass, so hard that it shattered the crystal. The room had suddenly become quiet as all eyes looked at Pansy.

"Oops," Pansy giggled, as she looked down at the glass chards on the floor. "Sorry about that, Mrs. Greengrass! Don't worry, I can fix it." She pulled out her wand and pointed it unsteadily at the stem in her hand.

"REPRARO!" Nothing happened.

"I mean, PRERARO! … never mind, I will mend it later." Pansy looked around at the crowd watching her. "Before anyone else leaves, I just want to offer a toast to my best friend Daphne and her fiancé, Adrian. Congratulations, both of you!"

She held up the crystal stem, and remaining guests around the room copied her, toasting their glasses to Daphne and Adrian.

"Thank you, Pansy," Daphne called over. "Now please get down from there!"

Pansy waved her off and continued.

"It was a beautiful proposal and I hope you took notes, Draco, because I'm sure that darling Astoria will be expecting the same from you very soon."

Around the room, everything laughed good-heartedly, except for Draco whose face had turned red as he glared at Pansy. Astoria smiled slightly but glanced at Draco in confusion. Ginny hoped Pansy would stop there, but the other girl continued her speech.

"I think we should offer another toast to the Malfoy family," Pansy said, speaking again to the room at large. "Most of you probably don't realize it, but Lucius and Narcissa Malfoy love their son so much that they will allow him to put their family line in jeopardy, just so he can be with the one he loves."

Pansy spat that last few words with venom before raising her broken glass again. This time, no one joined in on the toast. Everyone was confused, wondering what Pansy was talking about.

"We have to stop her," Ginny whispered to Theo. "She's going to tell everyone about…" she trailed off, unsure how to finish the sentence.

"About what?" Theo asked in bewilderment. "What's she talking about?"

"You're making an absolute fool of yourself," Draco said, in a low voice, as he approached the table. "Get down now!"

"But, Draco, I just wanted everyone to know how noble you are, by willing to end one of the oldest family lines just for Astoria."

"What is she talking about, Draco?" Narcissa Malfoy demanded, as she and her husband came over to figure out what was going on, closely followed by Astoria's anxious-looking parents.

"You mean Draco tell you, Mrs. Malfoy?" Pansy gasped, placing her hand to her mouth, to feign a look of surprise. "You don't you know about Astoria's blood malediction? Her blood is poisonous, and I doubt she will ever be able to have children, or at least not normal children, with Draco."

This remark was followed by a beat of silence, then everything erupted. Many people were shouting at once.

"How dare you!" Daphne screamed at Pansy. She reached up and grabbed Pansy roughly by the arm, causing her to fall to the floor.

"They had a right to know!" Pansy shot back at her, as she struggled to her feet, facing her angry friend. "It isn't right for your family to keep a secret like that from them!"

"What is the meaning of this, Merrick?" Lucius Malfoy asked loudly. "Is your daughter ill?"

"How dare you say such nonsense!" Mrs. Greengrass said, though her apprehensive expression seemed to give away the truth.

"Then answer the question, Adelaide," Narcissa Malfoy insisted. "Is there something we need to know about Astoria? Can she not have children?"

"Do you know anything about this?" Mr. Malfoy asked, rounding on Draco, who seemed to falter under his father's angry gaze.

While the Greengrass and Malfoy families were yelling at one another, everyone else in the room decided that this would be a good time to leave, and many started heading for the door, all whispering excitedly about the latest scandal. Pansy's mother, who resembled an angry-looking pug, hastily escorted her daughter out of the room, shouting about the embarrassment that Pansy had caused.

Ginny looked around the room for Astoria, but she seemed to have disappeared. She started to walk away but felt a hand on hers. She looked back at Theo, who was regarding her curiously. Part of her felt saddened by the fact that their night together was over, while another part thought it might be for the best. She needed to get her head straightened out before she saw him again – if she saw him again.

"I have to make sure Astoria is okay," Ginny told him. "But thank you for keeping me company. I have a really good night."

"I did too," he replied with a smile. "Goodnight, Ginny." He placed a kiss on her cheek and for a moment, the commotion in the room seemed to disappear as a buzzing sound filled her ears.

"Goodnight, Theo," she whispered, as the noise of the room came back, like a volume dial being turned.

Once upstairs, Ginny knocked on Astoria's door but there was no answer. She knocked again and heard a mumbled "go away" from the other side.

"Um... it's me. Ginny."

A moment later she heard the lock click. Ginny opened the door and closed it quietly behind her. Astoria was sitting on the floor in the middle of her room, sobbing.

"I can't believe Pansy did that! In front of everyone!"

"She's an absolute horror," Ginny replied, sitting down next to her. Astoria leaned over and rested her head on Ginny's shoulder, while Ginny slowly stroked her hair, hoping it would calm her.

"I knew she was angry about me seeing Draco, but I never imagined she would…" Astoria trailed off.

"Don't worry about her," Ginny said, reassuringly. "All she did was make herself look like an ass."

"It's not her I'm worried about," Astoria said. "Did you see the way everyone looked at me when they found out? By tomorrow morning, everyone will know about me. My mother is already ashamed of me. She will probably want to disown me for embarrassing her in front of everyone."

"You didn't do anything wrong," Ginny reminded her. "You are who you are, you can't change that. And I'm sure your mother understands that, even if she doesn't always show it."

"You know what Pansy said was true though, right? I can't have children… well, maybe I can, but it wouldn't be fair to risk passing on this curse to someone else."

"Having children isn't everything, you know," Ginny said.

"It is for the Malfoy family and Draco will not be permitted to marry someone who can't have children."

"Draco is an adult. He can make his own decisions. He loves you, he told me so."

"But does he love me enough to defy his parents' wishes?"

Ginny thought of the look of anguish on Draco's face when Pansy let the secret out, and about how easily Draco was coerced into doing whatever he was told to do, by his parents, the Death Eaters, Voldemort…

"I don't know," Ginny admitted.