As You Wish - Chapter 16

"Margaret, darling, be a dear and make sure that no one disturbs my little chat with Draco," Blaise said, peeking out of his friend's office door before closing it.

Draco's secretary sighed. There were only two reasons why Mr. Zabini needed a private moment with her boss. He was either trying to convince his friend to go home after work, or he was trying to stop him from making a possibly terrible decision. She sighed once more. Either way, she got paid well and it was easier working for Draco Malfoy than she had anticipated.

The middle-aged woman looked back at the closed office door and winced. Mr. Malfoy had been spending most of his nights at home over the past few months. Mr. Zabini must be in there for the latter.

"Good luck, Mr. Malfoy," she whispered in a sing-song way before going back to her paperwork.

Draco was seated behind his desk, Blaise in the chair in front of him. Neither man was speaking, but they were making pointed eye contact with one another. It was stupid and childish, but this staring contest was how they had always been. Whoever looked away first lost.

The blond man leaned back in his seat and crossed his arms behind his head. If Blaise didn't want to talk, that just meant more time away from them working, which was fine by him. Margaret had dumped a stack of project updates on his desk that morning and he was trying to find every reason to not go through them. And if he didn't get through the urgent ones today? Oh, well; he would just pass them on to the next in the chain: Blaise.

"Fucking hell, I can't do this all day or else I'll end up doing your work ad nauseam." Blaise stood up from his chair and started pacing the room. When he paused, he turned to his friend. hands clasped, with only his pointer fingers sticking out and pressed together. He brought his fingers to his lips, trying to think of how to begin. "So when did the whole you liking Ginny enough to wank to her thing begin?" he asked, bringing his hands down so his fingers were now pointed at Draco.

"Woah, woah, language and volume, mate!" Draco exclaimed, sitting forward in his chair again.

Blaise sat back down, brought it closer to his friend's desk, and leaned forward. "Fine, I'll ask again: when did you like Ginny enough to think about her while wanking in your shower?" he whispered, but it felt like he was shouting his whispered question.

"What does it matter who I think about while getting off in my own damn shower?" Draco leaned in, adopting the same shout-whisper.

"Do you need a fucking list? Because I have a lovely one in mind! Number one, you're in a magical contract with her. Number two, she's been considered missing for almost eight years now. Number three, it's a damn miracle that no one's figured out who the fuck Crystal really is. And number four; did I mention that you're in a magical fucking contract with her?" Blaise finally leaned back, rubbing his temples. He had almost really shouted that last bit.

Draco laced his fingers together as he brought his elbows onto his desk. He sighed, placing his forehead against them. "I'm out of my goddamn mind, aren't I?" he said just loud enough for the pair of them to hear.

"I get it, man. She's not my type, but I get it. It's actually been a lot of fun getting to know her as an adult. To the point where I'm now legitimately even more mad at our friends' parents for trying to drag us into their eugenics bullshit. She would've been a blast to hang out with during those stupid Slug Club meetings." Back at a normal volume.

"You know, now that you put it like that, how could they not see the irony of following a guy who wasn't even the kind of blood they were looking for?"

"You're not changing the topic."

Draco sighed. "I mean, I don't know what else to say besides the fact that I was obviously not planning on becoming attracted to her. I know that I'm in a weird contract with her. It's why I don't plan on saying anything. I don't need to complicate things more than they already are. Besides, being seen with me would only be a burden."

Blaise stood up and leaned his bum against the side of Draco's desk, then turned his head to face his friend. "You're not a burden, mate. Plus, Daphne's ridiculous plan is working, if The Daily Prophet's to be believed." He paused for a moment. He had a feeling that his friend was planning on doing this, but he needed to hear it with his own ears. "You're planning on using your last wish to free her, aren't you?"

The blond's eyes widened. He could feel the tips of his ears turning pink. Once he got over the shock, he looked down. He began fidgeting his fingers and had to clasp his hands together in order to stop. He settled for tapping his feet. "I realized at some point during all of this that the best way I could show her how I felt and also show her how much I want to be better for her was to wish for that. I don't care if she doesn't reciprocate those feelings. It's still the right thing to do."

Blaise placed a hand on Draco's shoulder and squeezed. "The fact that your mother would be thrilled hearing that and your father would pass out from anger means that you're on the right path."

Draco chuckled, leaning back in his chair. "It feel like almost a decade of my life now has been a work in progress. I selfishly want my last wish to be the thing that gets people to leave me alone for good; even if it means losing Ginny."

"You never know, mate. She may surprise you."

"I mean, she very well could since her showing up as a genie was already a surprise. But I don't like the idea of getting my hopes up. Harry Potter is still single, after all."

Dearest Crystal,

Just wanted to confirm that we're still okay for this weekend. I did run into the tiniest bit of trouble, though, because my sister found out. You know how Astoria is; she'd harass the both of us until she was involved.

So she'll be joining us, but no need to worry. I've told her that you're my party planner, which is true in a sense. Hopefully that helps you come up with something before you see me.

I figured Sunday around 10:30 in the morning would work best since I want to see if I can set up something with Draco on Saturday. My flat is actually a couple blocks down from his, so it shouldn't be too far of a walk. If you leave his home and make a right, go down five blocks and I'm the green building on the corner.

See you soon, darling!

Kisses,

Daphne Greengrass

Ginny felt bad about leaving Draco with just a note informing him of her whereabouts instead of eating breakfast with him. But it was for the best. True to her word, Daphne did organize a date with Ginny's master that Saturday; something the genie was now reading about in the Sunday edition of The Daily Prophet.

If Pansy Parkinson's words were to be believed, the "couple" had another "private" dinner in some fancy restaurant on Diagon Alley before they went back to Daphne's place; chased down by photographers on their walk back. There were photos of them in the restaurant since, of course, Daphne made sure the table was "secluded" and, to the casual onlooker, they played their roles perfectly. There were images of Daphne giggling, of Draco taking one of her hands and gently kissing it, of the pair of them walking back to Daphne's home hand in hand, and of Draco using his fall coat to shield her as they got closer to her home.

It took all of Ginny to not just crumble up the paper and leave it with his breakfast, but that wouldn't be fair to Draco. He had legitimately dated Daphne at one point, so it was entirely possible that through all of this, he may have found himself falling for his ex-girlfriend again. And after seeing them together, coupled with Daphne's question…

Ginny stopped walking and shook her head. That train of thought was not good for her current situation and feelings. Daphne had otherwise done nothing to warrant any kind of animosity from her. Plus, her question may have been coming from a place of worry that Crystal was going to ruin her relationship. A totally valid concern.

She stopped in front of the entranceway mirror, giving herself the once over again. This time, Ginny said to hell with it and dressed down. If Daphne wanted to have a spa day after planning, it didn't matter what she wore since today was all about comfort. Crystal's raven colored hair was in a half-up, half-down style, with the top half in a high ponytail and pieces of long bangs framing her face. Over one of the loungewear bras she liked to sleep in was an oversized powder blue anorak hoodie, cinched in at the waist to not look completely shapeless. She wore high-waisted black leggings, the kind Muggles liked to exercise in, and fleece-lined leather sandals, with the leather matching the color of her hoodie.

It's presentable, she thought, turning to look at her butt in the mirror. Why didn't more witches wear these? Would Draco say something about her butt if her saw her in these?

That thought forced her out the door before he could come downstairs to see for himself.

Ginny left the front door of his home, trying to remember which direction Daphne said to go. She stood on his front steps, focused on the letter the other woman sent, when she heard a voice to her right.

"I see we've run into each other again."

Shit, Ginny thought, eyes going wide before calming herself down. "Harry, was it?" She forced a smile on her face.

"Yes, and you're Crystal, right?" He started walking toward the bottom of the stairs.

Ginny nodded, still trying not to panic.

"Is this where you live?" Harry leaned his side against the entrance gate.

"Oh, no; I'm staying with a friend of mine."

"Really? Is it someone I know?"

Ginny smirked, knowing that there were a couple of different reactions Harry might give her once he found out. "I think so, but from what I've been told, you didn't like them very much while you were at school."

"Aw, that's given me too much already," he replied with a laugh. "This must be Draco Malfoy's home."

"Fine, that was too easy of a hint." Ginny smiled, this time genuinely. Hearing Draco's name gave her the calm she needed in the moment, which was yet another emotion she needed to unpack, but she could always save that for later.

"How do you know Malfoy?" Harry decided to take a seat on the second to last step.

Ginny walked down to his spot on the stairs and sat next to him. "Well, he's a friend of mine from before my parents and I moved to the U.S."

"Then I'm sure you heard all about his escapades while you were away." His tone hardened at the word 'escapades,' but still tried to remain playful.

"Ah, yes, I'm very familiar with what his time in school was like. Even regarding how he was to you and your friends."

"Then you know that he was a right piece of —"

Ginny held up a hand. "Shit; I know." She paused when she noticed Harry's eyes widen in shock. She smiled before continuing. "I'm sure it's a surprise to hear a friend of his say that he was a little shit, but I can't argue with that. What I can argue for, though, is for people to stop and think about his actions since his father went to prison. In the time that I've been back, there's been quite a few moments where we talked about his life at school. And I think if you were to talk to him about it now, he'd acknowledge his wrong-doings."

She was surprised by her rush to defend her master, someone who also did things that greatly hurt her in the past. He had never apologized to her yet, but she realized that she wasn't in a rush to discuss those things with him. Like she told Harry, who he was now showed more as to the kind of person he had become than any words he could say to her. Ginny knew it had to happen eventually; she had even thought about how to broach the topic multiple times with him, but the timing never felt right.

"I'm sorry; I shouldn't have assumed your feelings for your friend." Harry looked down at his hands.

His words roused Ginny from her thoughts. "We're living in a new world, Harry," she said as she placed a hand on his shoulder. "People may surprise you." She stood up, brushed her hands on her leggings, and made her way to the right of the steps. "Maybe I'll see you around," she called back, waving a hand with her back turned.

"Huh." Harry sighed, leaning back until his elbows rested on the steps behind him. After finally speaking with her more and really getting to see her up-close, Crystal Summers did actually remind him of someone. But that's impossible; Ginny Weasley wouldn't hide like that in front of him and she most certainly would not be caught dead going into, much less living in, Draco Malfoy's home. Crystal's response to him trying to disparage Draco made sure of that.

He stood up and kept walking toward Diagon Alley proper. Maybe Crystal was right. It was a new world for them. And maybe it was time he finally made his way into it.

"Sorry I'm late. I ran into someone on my way here."

Luna Lovegood looked up from her book, a newly updated version of Fantastic Beasts thanks to the efforts of Rolf Scamander, to see Harry sitting down in front of her.

"If you ran into someone, there must have been a reason why." She closed her book and the notebook she had next to it. As time went on, Luna found she had more in common with her mother than she realized. She began to inherit her mother's quest for knowledge through experimentation and was constantly on the hunt for new projects to work on.

"You know, I think you might be right this time." Harry's look grew pensive. It wasn't that he didn't think that Luna was prophetic in any way, but he finally came to realize that sometimes her cryptic manner of speaking held a deeper meaning than most liked to recognize.

"Who was it?" Luna cocked her head to the side. It was rare to see Harry so engrossed in thought during their meetings. They mostly met up to discuss what her next experiment was going to be and how he could help fund it. She appreciated Harry's Muggle upbringing and his understanding of the scientific process, even if it was rather limited.

"You know that woman that's been in the papers with Astoria Greengrass?"

"Oh, I think so. There was even a photo of you with her, wasn't there?"

"Yes! That woman. Her name is Crystal Summers." He clasped his hands together and leaned forward in his seat. He felt his nervous energy take over and was finding it hard to look at Luna.

"It looks like she might have said something to you if you're reacting like this."

Harry finally looked up at those words to see the former Ravenclaw smiling the same smile she always did: closed mouth, with warm, but somewhat sad eyes. Did she really always smile like this?

"Luna, do you think I'm stuck in the past?" He looked at her desperately, knowing that she would give him a more honest opinion that Ron or Hermione could.

The question caused the blonde witch to put a hand over her mouth, hiding a real smile as she chuckled. "I think you might be, in a sense."

"Ugh," Harry sighed, leaning back in his chair. "Why am I like this?"

She placed an elbow on the table before leaning her face against her hand. "Have you ever thought about who you really are?"

The raven-haired wizard tilted his head forward. "What do you mean?"

"Well, have you thought about who you are?"

"I don't understand what you're trying to say."

"I know who you are. You're Harry Potter, the Boy Who Lived," Luna said with her typical smile.

"But you know that I'm not just— oh."

"Now do you understand what Crystal was trying to say? I'm curious, Harry: have you thought about who you would be if you hadn't been fighting for your life since you were eleven?"

Well, shit. That caused him to sit back up in his chair. "I can't say that I have, Lu."

"One of the things I love about science is that experiments are meant to be repeated. Did I really come to the correct conclusion the first time? Did I really prove my hypothesis? What if someone else conducted my experiment? Would they come to the same conclusions? There's always so much information to be gleaned each time. And that repetition helps to remind me of what I've already experienced, but it also forces me to confirm if my point of view was the most accurate one."

This slight change in topic was nothing new for Harry. He was used to it by now. "So what you're trying to say is —"

Luna began to stand up, placing her books and writing supplies in her crossbody bag. She sighed. "I'm not saying anything that you haven't already figured out, Harry. However, I do think it's time for my patron to see the efforts of one of the experiments I've been working on."

"Do you have to call me your patron? It sounds like I own you or something."

"Oh, how does benefactor sound?" Luna asked, clasping her hands together.

"That might be worse," Harry replied with a laugh.

"I'm sure we'll think of something more aligned with your tastes." She held out a hand, grasping her wand in the other.

Knowing what was about to happen next, Harry grabbed ahold of Luna's free hand. With a crack!, the pair Apparated out of the cafe.

A/N - Thank you for reading, as well as y'all's continued support through reviews!