A/N: Okay – this certainly isn't perfect and it's not nearly as long as I hoped it would be. I rounded out an ending to give you guys an update because I know it's been a while. Be forewarned I have finals until the 18th – so the chances of another update before then are very slim (law school exams zap all my energy and most of my creativity). I will try though! Also, no getting angry at typos – I didn't have time to proof this.
Update - I fixed some of the errors, especially the egregious ones. I'm sure there are still some in there. I also added a couple details so you may want to re-read.
Ginny woke up the next morning to an empty bed. Her head was pounding and she couldn't help but be thankful that the curtains were closed, leaving the room in only the glow of the candlelight. There was a knock on the door and she groaned, pulling the covers over her head.
"Mum? How come you're in dad's room?" Scorpius asked, entering the room without being summoned. Ginny groaned louder this time, not emerging from the sheets. She felt Scorpius climb into the bed. "Do you know where dad is?"
"No," Ginny replied, her voice hoarse. She pulled the covers down to her chin to look at the young boy. "Your father must have put me in here after the Ball."
"Oh," Scorpius replied. He frowned. "You didn't shag did you?"
"Scorpius!" a voice came from the doorway. Ginny pulled the covers back over her head, mortified as Narcissa walked into the room. "Where did you learn that word!"
"Heard Uncle Ron talking to Harry," Scorpius muttered, hopping off the bed. Narcissa was muttering to herself as she ushered Scorpius out of the room. She looked back over her shoulder at Ginny.
"I believe there are hangover potions in the bathroom, I'll have the elves find you some clothes," she said. Ginny noted the slight edge to the older woman's tone and felt her blush deepen. It was obvious Narcissa didn't approve. She wondered what time it was, it must have been nearly afternoon if Narcissa had brought Scorpius over.
When the door shut behind Narcissa, Ginny climbed out of bed. Her body ached from the activities of the night before and her head ached in a way that she swore it never had before. Dragging herself to the bathroom she was impressed by the swimming pool sized marble tub, something she hadn't taken notice of the night before. She started the taps, smelling the oils on the side of the tub until she found one she liked and pouring some in. Leaving the tap on she dug around in the cabinets until she found the drawer with Draco's potion kit. She pulled it out and went through the vials, quickly locating the hangover one. She frowned at the color. Not very potent then, she thought as she downed its entirety.
The potion worked quickly and at least dulled her pounding head. She stripped out of the shirt she had stolen from Draco the night before and climbed into the tub with a happy sigh, leaning her head back against the side.
The next thing Ginny knew the door to the bathroom was opening. She jumped, coming out of her reverie, remembering her days as a Chaser. Draco stood smirking at her when she whipped her head around.
"You could have knocked," she spat with a frown. Draco chuckled.
"Well I wasn't expecting to find you in my private bathroom," he replied his signature smirk still in place. Ginny felt like sticking her tongue out at him, instead she sank lower into the water, her loose hair sliding off the side and into the bubbles.
"You need better hangover potions," she stated before sliding completely under the water and wetting her hair. When she came up Draco was examining the potions kit on the counter.
"These are old, I'm surprised it still worked. I have newer ones in my study," he said when he turned back around. Ginny settled on glaring at him for disturbing her peace.
"Are you just going to stand there?"
"Nothing I haven't seen before," Draco replied. Ginny scowled. "I heard Scorpius found you."
"And your mother. Gods it was mortifying," Ginny said, groaning again at the memory. She could feel the blush flushing her cheeks.
"Mother seemed quite pleased with herself when I saw her," Draco replied thoughtfully. This only made Ginny blush more; he was creeping closer as they spoke.
"Probably because she had just finished chastising me without actually saying a word." Draco perched on the side of the tub. Ginny bit her bottom lip, looking away from him.
"You look irresistible when you blush," Draco said softly. He reached out to run a hand down her cheek but stopped before he actually touched her, drawing away quickly and standing up. He went into the cupboard near the tub to pull out several fluffy white towels. Placing on the side of the tub he offered her another smirk. "Lunch is in 30 minutes, I had the elves put your clothes on the bed."
Ginny found the jeans and emerald green sweater on the bed fit her perfectly. They still had the tags attached, as did the bra and underwear, also her size. She tried not to think about it too much as she pulled the clothing on quickly, trying to ignore the fact that the bra and panties were a matching black lace set. Draco had left a pair of riding boots next to the bed, her riding boots she noted, that were nicely broken in. She pulled on the worn boots with a happy smile and wandered through the manor to the dining room.
Draco was already seated at the head of the table but he stood to help Ginny into the chair at his right. Narcissa was already seated next to Scorpius on his left. Ginny found the seat on her right occupied by Blaise. Sylvia was nowhere in sight.
"Zabini," Ginny said evenly, lowering into the seat. Blaise's eyes glinted for a moment as he took in the redhead and then he offered her a tight smile.
"Ginerva, pleasant seeing you again," Draco had seated himself again as lunch was served and watched the interaction with some interest. He hadn't seen Ginny and Blaise interact before. They never seemed to come into contact at the balls, and other than Blaise's comment at the bar, his friend hadn't mentioned the red head. The more Draco thought about it, and ate his soup, the more this surprised him. Blaise was certainly not one to keep his thoughts to himself.
Ginny was quiet most of the meal, reflecting on one of the last times she had been around Blaise.
"I hope you're out of bed," she heard from the doorway and she frowned pulling the covers over her head. "I thought you had a meeting."
Ginny shot up at this and scrambled from the bed, then frowned when she realized she had nothing on. Sighing she grabbed a sheet to wrap around herself just as Pike strolled out of the bathroom. He was already in dress robes and was digging around the disheveled room for his shoes.
"Look, Red. Not that I haven't enjoyed having you here this last week. But you really need to start taking off the in the morning." Pike tossed her a vial of hangover potion that she downed gratefully.
"I'll…pick you some of this up," Ginny said from the bed.
"Make sure you get the good stuff," Pike said as he tied his shoes. "Its needs to be potent."
"Sure," Ginny replied as she made her way to the bathroom to shower.
"Just lock up when you're done. Maybe I'll see you at the pub tonight," Pike called as he left the bedroom.
Ginny felt the hangover potion working its, literal, magic as she stepped into the shower and contemplated the last two weeks. Harry had left the month before for an extended Auror operation on the continent, right after her graduation, but not before making it clear she didn't have to wait around for him. With trials over and a contract lined up to start for the Harpies, Ginny had been told to return in October to begin training. Until then she was on her own. She had been dragged to the Fae Lounge by one of her teammates after the last day of trials. Despite the number of Slytherins Ginny had spotted in the bar, she had not felt unwelcome there. But, her new status as a Chaser for the Harpies coupled with her father's political campaign made her a target for reporters, so she had taken drastic measures to cover her steps in the weeks that followed.
Ginny finally climbed out of the shower and grabbed a towel. The mirror cleared quickly and she was left staring at the changes she had made to her hair, eyes and face. The potion to get rid of her freckles had been relatively easy to brew, it left her skin a milky cream color. She had altered her eyes with a similar potion, that she took each morning, to a bright emerald green – similar to Harry actually. Her hair she had merely added gold streaks into, without magic, so that it would be undetectable. The result was a brilliant golden-auburn. Very few people recognized her when she'd entered the Blaise's pub. It was nice to be unknown.
After she was done toweling herself off she dug through Pike's clothing until she found a clean button down shirt and a pair of sweats. She pulled them on, hooked her fingers through her heels and stepped out into the hallway. Sealing the door with the ward he'd shown her after her third night there she apparated, for the first time that week, to her flat.
Sylvia knocked on the door to Weasley's flat sometime later that day, her face set in a smirk as the other red head opened the door. She showed the other woman a bottle of wine and Ginny stepped back to let her in.
"How did you know where I lived?" Ginny asked. Sylvia was going through her cabinets pulling out wine glasses.
"It wasn't that hard to figure out who you were Weasley. But I won't tell, you've taken Pike off my back for now and left me to focus on securing my own future," Sylvia replied with a smile. "And I heard you might not be coming out tonight, so I thought I'd pop in."
"Why are you acting as though you like me?" Ginny asked finally, taking a tentative sip of her wine only after she watched Sylvia down nearly a glass.
"You Gryffs always did think that you were the only ones that suffered in the war. You weren't you know," Sylvia said with a sigh as she collapsed onto Ginny's couch. "I lost my entire family to that bastard. We all have our wounds, some are just better at hiding them than that boyfriend of yours."
"I wouldn't call him that," Ginny said as she lowered herself into a chair. She closed her mouth quickly at Sylvia's smile.
"No I would expect not since you've been shacking up with Pike for some time now."
"How did you see through my disguise?" Ginny asked finally. She thought she'd done a pretty good job with the potions.
"Blaise figured it out, I just like to know things – so I bothered him until he gave me what I wanted. Don't worry, I won't let anyone else in on your secret, you're pretty fun so far."
Ginny contemplated this for a while, while Sylvia refilled their glasses. She'd only interacted with Blaise a couple times, although she vaguely remembered a heated fight about which Hogwarts Quidditch team was best – probably where she'd revealed herself.
"Look, I don't care who you are. You know how to have a good time, let's focus on that for now. And you just keep distracting Pike so I can finish with my plans."
"What exactly are those plans?" Ginny asked as she finished her glass of wine. Sylvia just chuckled, digging around in her purse until she pulled out a small vial.
"First, we have a little fun, it'll take more than half a bottle of wine to pry my secrets out of me."
"Catherine," Blaise said placing a chaste kiss on Ginny's hand as he gave her a mocking bow. Ginny laughed in return and swept him a small curtsy.
"Mr. Zabini, how splendid to see you again," Ginny replied, her face set in an easy smile despite her proximity to a number of Slytherins, though this probably had a lot more to do with the cocktail she and Sylvia had inhaled before leaving her apartment.
Zabini had already moved on to Slyvia, placing a kiss on her cheek and wrapping his arm around her waist. Ginny heard them talking in low tones as she sank on the couch in the VIP section. Pike wasn't there yet, Ginny noted – but for the first time that week Draco Malfoy was making an appearance.
"Callaghan," Draco said as he poured himself a glass of whiskey and took a seat near Sylvia.
"Malfoy," Ginny replied, raising her glass slightly and managing to hide a grimace at addressing him so easily by taking a drink of the whiskey. She had been thanking her lucky stars the entire week that Draco had avoided the crowd he had grown up with. It helped that there had been Ravenclaws flitting in and out of the VIP section in that time.
It wasn't long before Ginny found herself wrapped up in Blaise Zabini's embrace in a dark corner of the bar. They had left Sylvia in Draco Malfoy's lap sometime around eleven to go in search of another bottle of tequila. Along the way they had gotten lost.
"I know who you are," Blaise whispered in her ear as he ran kisses down her neck. Ginny laughed melodically.
"I know, Sylvia told me."
"That wench always steals my thunder," he growled as he nibbled the spot below her ear. Ginny found herself melting into him – where Pike was all about satisfying his baser desires he wasn't as concerned with pleasing the woman he was with.
"Why don't we go back to my flat," Ginny moaned right before he caught her lips again. Blaise gave her a mischievous smile as he pulled away and dragged her from the bar.
"So I heard you put off some orders for Mulpepper's Apothecary," Blaise said as they waited for the next course to come, drawing Ginny's attention out of her memories. She nodded, taking a sip of her wine.
"You what?" Draco asked, looking surprised.
"I was offered a temporary position as the Hogwart's Potion's Master. Minerva wants me to come in for a meeting before term starts again, I was thinking I'd arrange for that this week. She said it would be on an interim basis for the remainder of the school year and then we would reevaluate for the fall."
"Ah, yes…I heard that their current Potion's Master…Or Mistress, I suppose, went and got herself knocked up," Blaise replied. He was already tucking into the second course and only Narcissa noticed the look of pain that flitted across Ginny's face as she lowered her eyes to her plate. She wondered at this, and decided then that she would corner the younger woman as soon as possible…Or perhaps just her son. Draco was watching Ginny, now that her eyes were anywhere but on the others seated at the table, and Narcissa was privy to the number of emotions, little flickers of emotion that crossed his otherwise calm mask.
In that moment, Draco reminded her very much of Lucius – a man she had once loved. And she was determined that this time he would have the marriage he deserved. After that course, Ginerva excused herself before dessert.
"I'm going to go lay down for a bit if you don't mind," she said softly. Draco motioned for her to go.
"There's a guest room right next to my suite you can use," he said as Ginny reached the door. Ginny nodded without turning. Narcissa rose after she had left the dining area.
"I believe I will have a little bit of a nap myself."
"You're not sick again, are you Grandmother?" Scorpius asked from where his fork was poised near his mouth. Narcissa offered him a warm smile and shook her head.
"No darling. Why don't you come get me in an hour or two and we'll take a walk down to the stables."
Scorpius nodded happily, already shoving his fork in his mouth. Narcissa chuckled to herself as she exited, listening to Draco chastise the young boy for failing to abide by his table manners. The boy did eat in a very Weasley-esque fashion.