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Chapter 7: Dinner at the Malfoy's

"Are you telling me, sir, that you have never heard the story of your grandson's amazing reign as Hogwarts' one and only the Great Bouncing Ferret?"

Abraxas laughed out loud. "No I can't say that I have. Would you be so kind as to inform me of what I have missed?"

"She wouldn't dare." Draco hissed. He narrowed his eyes and scowled at Ginny in a clearly malicious way.

"It would be my pleasure." Ginny replied looking directly at Draco in an obvious challenge.

Abraxas let out a delighted little chuckle and hooked Ginny's arm through his own. "Tell me while we walk. Come along Draco."

Ginny smirked at the young blond man before focusing her attention completely on his grandfather. "Well the story begins back in my third year, which must have been Draco's fourth year. It all took place because of an incident with the then professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, Mad-Eye Moody. Draco mouthed off to Harry Potter at just the right moment and then to Moody himself in his special slimy way which I am sure you are familiar with."

"Oh my dear you have no idea."

"So after that happened Moody immediately turned the little Slytherin Prince, whipped out his wand and transfigured him into a white ferret right in the middle of the courtyard for everyone to see. Then he proceeded to fling the poor little creature around bouncing him of people and objects and even down his friend Goyle's trousers."

The party had to halt with the force of Abraxas's laughter at Ginny's story. "What happened then?"

"Well unfortunately, Professor McGonagall walked up just at that moment and forced Moody to transfigure the git back into his normal smarmy self. It ruined everyone's fun. All the non-Slytherin witnesses were most put out by the end of the show. In the end Draco was transfigured back into his lovely self and he and his little friends ran off."

"Well that's a new one." Abraxas said with a smirk. It seemed as if Draco came by his smirking ability naturally. "Thank for sharing your glorious insights into the life of teenage Draco." He chuckled again before reclaiming Ginny's arm and continuing on down a long hallway to his office.

Draco walked behind Ginny and his grandfather fuming.

How could she do that? He had spent years hiding that story from his bloody family and that woman had not been in his house more than 30 minutes before spilling the secret of one of his most embarrassing moments to his grandfather. Thank you so much Weasley.

Why was she here anyway? He didn't understand why all this was happening.

What the hell were they thinking? This was the stupidest plan he had ever heard. There was no way that anyone in the wizarding community would believe that a Malfoy and Weasley would put aside their differences long enough to fall in love and get hitched. These families had been feuding with each other for generations and no amount of money in the world could get them in the same room. Look at Ginny and Draco's fathers. They had been making a very public display of their hatred for as long as Draco could remember.

In fact his very first visit to the Ministry of Magic when he was no more than three or four the only clear part of his memory was a run in with Ginny's father. That was the first time he had heard such colorful expletives come out of someone's mouth, especially that of his father.

But even more unbelievable than a Weasley and a Malfoy getting married was the fact that it was Ginny and Draco.

They were complete and utter opposites. She was a successful healer and a national hero because of the war. She was beautiful and bubbly and loved by everyone who met her whilst he, on the other hand, was rich, lazy and arrogant, an image that he was quite proud of having spent years building up the perfect rich boy reputation. Marrying each other wouldn't be good for either of them. It would force him to be 'good' and she would lose some people's respect for marrying the ultimate party boy.

That wasn't even mentioning how her family would take it. Sure, they would know the truth that it was a business deal, but all her brothers and not to mention Saint Potter would freak out anyway the moment they heard causing a rift in the family. He almost felt bad for her because of that, then again she was going to get paid for her trouble.

Why did he even care? Ginny Weasley was nothing to him, just another bird on his long list of relationships. Not important.

At least she has a nice figure, if he was going to have to live like a bloody monk for a year at least he would have a nice mental picture to wank to.

He took in her tiny stature once again. Small and shapely just as she always has been, in fact if it weren't for the sophisticated attire he wouldn't have guess she had aged at all. Seeing her brought back so many memories that he had been forcing himself to keep repressed but despite his best efforts one still managed to creep up on him.

Draco walked quietly up the corridor and out of the dungeons, pausing momentarily to check and make sure the coast was clear in the entrance hall before he made his way down to the kitchens as he had hundreds of times before.

But tonight was no ordinary night, tonight he caught a glimpse of movement across the hall and watched as a small form quickly began to cross the entrance hall and was doing an amazing job keeping to the shadows. He wondered who it could possibly be. The size made him think it was a kid from one of the early years but the skill with which they glided through the shadows assured him that they were definitely upper classmen. Then he saw a flash of red in the moonlight and it all became clear. The Weaselette was out for a late night snack.

Well this could be interesting he thought to himself. Ever since the night she had cornered him in the bathroom he had found that he was simply fascinated by this girl. The little Weasel was beautiful, interesting, and because of her brothers and her wand incredibly dangerous to be around so naturally Draco was drawn to her. He had even gone so far as to be civil to her in public on two occasions, all accidental of course.

He waited until she was safely in the stairway leading down to the portrait of the fruit bowl before skulking over to the passageway himself.

Draco quickly and quietly headed down the stairs and into the long corridor that was connected to it. The passage was dimly lit but it was enough that he could clearly see Weasley about ten metres ahead of him.

He began to follow her, making sure he didn't make a sound while he walked a task that was made that much more difficult by how silently the girl in front of him padded down the hall. While they walked Draco couldn't help but notice how good the girl's arse looked in red pajama pants she was wearing.

After about a minute they reached the portrait of the giant fruit bowl and just as the Weasel was reaching up to tickle the pear and gain entrance into kitchens Draco stepped right up behind her and whispered into her ear, "Well what have we here?"

XXX

Ginny reacted. In a split second she has twisted around with her wand at the ready. Upon seeing it was only Malfoy she took a deep breath.

He smirked down at her in his sexy confident way. "Did I scare you little weasel?"

Ginny glared back up at him. No matter how gorgeous this guy was he was never going to get the best of her. She reached over and smacked him upside the head just as she would one of her brothers. "Of course you did you idiot! Who sneaks up on someone in the middle of the night like that? Don't you know that we're in the middle of a war?" Her reasoning was weak she knew but it was all she could come up with so she ran with it.

Malfoy just stood there staring at her for a few moments before bursting out laughing.

Ginny was taken aback. She didn't even know that Malfoy knew how to laugh.

"You know you're kinda cute sometimes Weasel." Malfoy said shaking his head in amusement. Then he reached behind her to tickle the pear which brought him so close to her that she could smell his cologne. If she was being honest with herself Ginny would have had to admit that the smell was intoxicating.

It took a great effort not to lean towards him when he backed away again. Wait had he called her cute?

"Shall we go in?"

XXX

Draco let Ginny enter the kitchens before him. Once they were both inside the portrait swung back into place and the duo was bombarded with no less than twelve houseelves offering to fetch them whatever they desired.

Suddenly one little voice stood out above the rest. "Ms Weezy!" and a small body came barreling at Ginny and attached itself to her legs.

Weasley let out a clear little laugh and patted the creature on the head. "Hey Dobby."

Dobby? Draco was taken aback. His old elf was called Dobby. Sure enough the big brown eyes and massive ears of his childhood companion flicked in his direction.

"Hello Little Master." Dobby said shyly as he slowly released Ginny's legs. "How can Dobby be serving you?"

"Dobby." Draco said with a stiff nod. "I would like a mug of hot chocolate and a tin of biscuits." He paused and looked at Ginny. She nodded her acceptance. "Make that two hot chocolates."

Dobby simply nodded and scurried off to fill their order while they went over to one of the long tables that were exact replicas of the ones directly above them in the Great Hall.

"So," Weasley began looking down at her hands.

"So." Draco mimicked with a smirk.

"Little Master?" she looked up at him.

"Oh, yes," the smirk had vanished. "Dobby used to be a Malfoy house elf, my house elf actually, up until umm, I think it was my second year then he just vanished. It wasn't until last year that I found out that Dumbledore had hired him to work here."

"Oh." Ginny said simply as Dobby walked over to them with their order.

He set it down in front of them and told them just to call if anything else was needed. He paused and looked straight at Draco with those big eyes and Draco couldn't help but give him a small smile before he scurried away grinning from one big ear to the other.

They both picked up their mugs and took a long drink from them. Then Draco set his back on the table and turned to Ginny and asked, "So why were you sneaking out of your house this late?"

Ginny began to answer but then glanced at Draco and stopped. Her lips began to twitch up into a smile as if she was trying not to laugh.

"What?" Draco asked incredulously.

"You have something on your nose." She giggled. She reached over to him and wiped a huge dollop of whipped cream from the tip of his nose and held it out for him to see.

Draco laughed nervously embarrassed. "Whoops. So much for being suave and debonair on this date." He smiled at her, a genuine smile not a smirk.

"This was a date?" Ginny asked raising her eyebrows.

"Well no, but you know what I mean." By this time Draco was ready to melt into the floor. Here he was sitting with the first girl he had ever been interested in as more than a fuck buddy and he was making a complete fool of himself. He felt like he was blushing so hard that his pale skin might actually have been tinged pink.

"That's too bad." Ginny replied as she placed her small hand over his larger one on the table. "I really wouldn't mind if it was a date."

They smiled at each other and continued their late night snack.

An hour or so later the pair walked side by side back to the Entrance Hall. They paused when they reached the top of the stairway, just before they had to part ways, and looked at each other.

Suddenly Ginny leaned forward and kissed Draco on the cheek. She whispered "Good night." And turned and disappeared into the shadows.

"Draco?"

His grandfather's voice jerked him back to the present.

"Hmm?" his eyes focused on the two people before him both of whom were already seated inside the office.

"Well we were just wondering if you wanted to come in and join us for this meeting since I am very sure you have at least some interest in what is going to be said."

"Of course grandfather, it would be my pleasure." He stepped inside the office and closed the door, completely embarrassed at being caught in his own little world but not letting any of it show.

At 6:50 on the dot the trio emerged from the office with all the details discussed and contracts signed.

In the end it was decided that Ginny would be paid a total of one million galleons, twenty five thousand quarterly, to be married to Draco exactly one year and one month before a divorce could be planned. In addition to her salary Ginny would also have at her disposal all the resources that a true Malfoy had at theirs including a tab and a monthly spending allowance. In return Ginny had to keep up all the correct appearances and attend all the functions that it was expected the Malfoys would attend unless of course there was some interference at the hospital.

Overall the meeting was a success; all that was left to do was pick a wedding day. That was for another day though, now all they needed to worry about was what was being served for dinner.

Upon entering the dining room Ginny was again breathless at the beauty of the room. The dining room was a bright coral pink color with ornate white and gold crown molding. The walls were decorated with a large assortment of art work and mirrors all in gold frames. Hanging from the ceiling was a magnificent three tear crystal chandelier with at least a hundred glittering candles that provided the light for the room. The main feature in the room though was the massive table that took up two thirds of the room. It was made of rose wood with a beautiful swirling inlay of a light oak. It had to seat at least thirty.

Tonight though it appeared as if only four would eat for that was how many settings there were. There was the three of them and then a fourth woman who was already seated at one of the two seats at the head of the table.

As they neared the head the woman rose and walked over to them.

She was absolutely beautiful. She had big blue eyes and silver hair that was pulled back into an elegant bun at the back of her neck and was a few inches taller than Ginny with a willowy build. Her face though wrinkled with the years was still perfect and full of life with a mischievous twist to her lips. This had to be Draco's grandmother.

"Hello loves." She said in a musical voice as both Abraxas and Draco both obediently bent over to kiss her on the cheek. "And you must be Ms. Weasley." She concluded as she turned to Ginny.

"Yes ma'am." Ginny replied dutifully.

"Oh no! What is this ma'am stuff? Please call me Salvia, after all you will be family in a few short weeks." She walked over to Ginny and pulled her into a hug which she was all to glad to return.

When they were finished she linked her arm through Ginny's and led her to the seat next to the one she had previously occupied. "Lucius and Cissa send their best regards and regret they could join us but someone had to go to the bloody ministry fund raiser. I'm just glad it's not me." She laughed.

"Here here!" Abraxas agreed as he sat down on the other side of Salvia and Draco took the seat opposite Ginny. "I'm sure they'll be here next time."

As soon as everyone was settled four houseelves appeared and set the first course in front of them commencing dinner.

"So loves, did we get everything settled?"

"Yes grandmother we did; everything but a wedding date." Draco answered her grimacing slightly at the thought.

"Well that's fantastic. I just cannot wait to have a granddaughter! So Ginny tell me about yourself."

And so the meal continued.

"So I suppose we had better come up with some kind of back story first." Ginny said as she sat at the long table in the Malfoy dining room across from Draco.

The elder Malfoys had already retired to the drawing room leaving Ginny and Draco to duke it out at the dining table. Abraxas hoped that if they attempted to kill each other now they would get it out of their systems and they might actually be able to get somewhere in the next few months. He then devised a plan to force them to come up with the method of how they would reveal their engagement to the world and he and his wife quickly left the room with a whispered warning to the houseelves to make sure Draco and Ginny didn't get any blood on the antique furniture.

"Hmmm… how bout we met at a club and that led to a one night stand which we decided not to end." Draco said. He was sitting in his chair with his head down on the table face first and his hands running through his bright blond hair.

Ginny snorted, "Dream on." She took a piece of the bread she had been fiddling with and tossed it so it bounced off his head.

"Hey," he said and lifted his head up to give her and incredulous look. "It's just as plausible as what you could have come up with. We met at a charity ball and you were dressed in white and I was smashing in a tux." He stood up as he spoke, his arms outstretched in a poor imitation of the picture he was trying to create. "Our eyes met across the room and at that moment we both knew there was no other in the world but each other. We met in the center of the dance floor and danced the night away." He twirled around in a circle and landed back in his chair with his head falling straight onto the table as if it had never left.

Ginny simply rolled her eyes and crossed her arms. She had seen Draco's melodrama before and she was still unimpressed. "Actually, you great flaming idiot, I was think something more along the lines of the truth."

Draco's head rolled to the side so he could see Ginny's face properly. "You mean tell them it's all a scam and that you're being paid to live with me?"

His sarcasm was reward by another chunk of bread binging off his forehead.

"No, stop being stupid. I mean tell the press that we secretly dated back in our Hogwarts years and lost touch because of the war. Then a few months ago we bumped into one another and the spark was instantly rekindled so we decided to give it another go but continue to keep it very hush hush and last week you asked me to marry you after dating for months and voila here we are."

"That could actually work. But what do we say about all the girls I was very publicly involved with." He asked sitting up in his chair like a normal human being.

"Well that's just it, I'm not sure if you noticed but you never really were very publicly involved with any of those whores."

"Hey!"

"Oh come on, they all were. I read Witch Weekly, you can't fool me. But back to what I was saying, if you actually look at the photographs you never ever have actually publicly kissed one or touched them inappropriately."

"Are you sure? Cause I remember touching all of them inappropriately." Draco raised one eyebrow suggestively.

Again Ginny simply rolled her eyes and continued. "That can all work in our favor. You can just claim that they were all old friends whom were more than happy to keep up appearances with you so that no one would find out about us."

"And you think these women will agree to that."

"When you threaten to ruin them or bribe them it will."

Draco was taken aback by her last statement. He never expected such debauchery to come out of the mouth of the Gryffindor Princess. Maybe some Sly had rubbed off on her all those years ago. "Well little weasel this might actually work. So who are we gonna use to interview us?"

"Actually I have an old friend who works at the Daily Prophet. Do you remember Colin Creevy?"

"Creevy's an actual reporter? Wow, all that photo stocking of me and Potter actually paid off, good for him."

Ginny smiled, "Yeah it did and he even bumped that horrid Rita Skeeter our of a job. I'll send him an owl tomorrow. When do you want to do this? Does Monday evening work for you?"

"No actually. I have a meeting that evening."

"Meeting? You?" now it was Ginny's turn to smirk in amusement.

Draco for his part was not longer amused. "Yes I do. What other evenings do you have free?"

"Wednesday?"

"That works for me. Owl me if he can make it and you should probably show up a bit before he does so we can go over the story one more time."

Now that all that was decided Ginny realized that she was absolutely exhausted, "Well I guess I had better be going home."

Draco gave her a small, albeit real, smile, "I guess this will be your home soon."

"Yeah it will." She smiled back at him before asking, "Do you think the rest of the family is still awake?"

Draco glanced up at the clock in the room. It was about quarter past eleven. "No I think they all will have turned in for the evening. But here, let me walk you to the door."

"Oh that's fine. I can find it."

"I insist and don't worry I'm not being nice I am only thinking of myself. If my mum or grandmother find out I didn't at least walk you to the door then this whole arrangement will be unnecessary because they will have my head."

Ginny giggled as she allowed him to lead her to the door.

He opened it wide and simply bid her goodnight, no insults or snide comments, just goodnight and waited until she had apperated to close the door.

Once Ginny was safely back up in her room, after many fervent promises to Hallie that she would recount the whole evening to her the next morning, she began to contemplate all the events that taken place.

On a whole the entire experience had been surreal but the part that puzzled her was not how did she end up in this situation but what had happened to Draco in those last moments of her visit. The entire evening he had been his normal smarmy self but right there at the end Ginny thought that maybe, just maybe, she caught a glimpse of the Draco that she had known, the one that she thought was lost but maybe was just hiding, afraid to be seen.

Draco closed the door behind Ginny and took a deep breath. This was going to be harder than he thought. Without realizing it he had fallen straight back into his habits of old. He was being chivalrous and polite and it was all her doing.

Without knowing it Abraxas had picked probably the one person in the whole world that brought out the best in Draco. Damn it! He had worked so hard to become the biggest pain in the ass possible and in one night she had to come in and remind him that he wasn't a complete jerk.

He decided that the best course of action was to go up to his rooms and go straight to bed. Sleep, that was all he needed to get himself back on track. He was over tired and that was why he had mistakenly been nice. If he were more rested than that bloody little witch wouldn't have been able to break his concentration with her pretty smile and fantastic arse.

When he finally reached his quarters and had entered he started to peel off layers of clothing so that by the time he had reached the large green bed he was down to just his Slytherin green boxers. He collapsed on the bed and buried himself under the covers. With a quick Knox all the light in the room vanished.

Unfortunately for him though, the dark that he thought would bring him rejuvenating sleep instead only made it easier for his mind to dwell on the evening. Even worse than that it allowed all the memories that he had worked so hard to keep at bay to come flooding back to him. Laying there in his bed he braced himself for the pain he would feel at the past resurfacing but was surprised to find that none came. Instead he felt a strange feeling deep in his chest that felt bizarrely like hope.

Hey Loves!

So yeah it's been a while but here is a REALLY long chapter. I hope everyone enjoys it.

Please Review!

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