Envy and Manipulations: Rewrite 36

by rrabbit

Sixteen year old Ginny Weasley has her first summer job at the Folk Hills Country Club, the most prestigious high society club in the wizarding world. When Draco Malfoy comes home from his summer internship at the Ministry of Magic things get complicated, dark, and twisted. Rewrite.

5. Chapter 5

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A/n: You know, when I first started writing this story I wasn't that much older than the characters. High school was still fresh in my mind and all those bad decisions I made still made sense. Now that I consider myself an actual old person I have to say writing about teenagers doing some sexy things feels a bit weird. So, let me say that I am treating this as a WB or Euphoria situation where all the teenagers are actually played by sexy twenty-five year olds who just happen to seem youthful…. Even though we all know we were doing some bad shit when we were younger. Now we can all sleep easy knowing that and enjoy what's coming. I absolve you all and I absolve myself!

Happy Birthday, Yuval.

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I was talking to a serpent.

It was hissing at me, spitting black ink all over my white dress. I tried to wipe it off as quickly as I could but I knew… I just knew I would never be able to get the stains out.

"Ginny…"

The snake turned into Tom.

"Ginny…"

Tom turned into Draco.

"Ginny…."

I turned into the snake.

"Ginny!"

I wake and try desperately to catch my breath. I haven't seen Tom like that in years... so real and tangible... So close I could almost touch him... So close I could smell him… I lay back and clench my eyes shut, throwing an arm over my eyes as I try to still my beating heart. I feel like I just ran a marathon. My lungs burn and my muscles ache. I inhale a deep breath and then put my arm down, staring up at a high, wood beam ceiling.

Oh, no.

I sit up quickly and throw my feet over the side of white leather couch I find myself on. I look around, the dread pooling heavy in my stomach. I've never been in this room but it felt distinctly Malfoy…. From its fine furnishings to its large windows that face out to the lake. I know it has to be a room in Draco's summer mansion just by the style and scope. I'm in some sort of study, by the looks of it. With a big wooden desk and a few bookshelves full of old leather tomes that look complicated and hard to read.

"My father left." I look to the corner… sitting in one of the chairs is Draco. He leans forward and then stands up, walking over to me with long, languid steps. "We had a healer come," he says, sitting down on the coffee table in front of me and leaning forward to look over my face. "He said you may have been having some sort of anxiety attack."

"I know," I whisper so he'll stop talking about it. I am so embarrassed right now that I just want to disappear into the sofa. "Draco," I look at him. "I am so sorry. I can't believe that happened."

"Seeing my father upset you," he points out. He hands me a potion, some blue thing that he says is a calming draught.

Does he even know why? I'm not sure I have it in me to tell him if he doesn't.

"I think…" I say uncomfortably as I scratch my fingernails against my thigh, leaving white scrapes in their wake. He watches me, his eyes slightly narrowed. I down the draught and then hand the bottle back to him. "I think I should go home."

I start rubbing out the sting of the scratches to get rid of the evidence…but Draco puts his hands over mine, stopping my fingers. The potion makes my insides feel warm but it doesn't help my racing mind. I don't look at him right away and I exhale slowly before glancing up.

"Do you want to talk about it?" He asks seriously, staring deeply into my eyes like he was trying to read my thoughts.

I shake my head and look down again.

I hear him sigh. "What would you like to do?"

"I would like to go home," I whisper honestly. I'm not even mad at my parents anymore. I just need to go home and crawl into my bed and pretend like I don't exist for a while. I go to stand up, but he won't let go of my hands so I slump back again. "Let go."

"No," he says simply.

"Let go," I repeat, jerking my hands back in defense, but he holds tight. "Let go of me," I say, trying to keep the anger from my voice. I know I'm going to regret getting so mad at him, but this place isn't safe for me right now. Being with him isn't safe. "I want to go home."

"I'll take you home," he counters as he stands up.

"No." I stand up as well. "I can handle it."

"I'm taking you home," he lets out an unpleasant little laugh like he just couldn't believe how I was acting. "You just passed out, Ginny. I'm not letting you go out there alone."

"I'm fine."

"You are not."

"You don't know anything about me," I say cruelly and he raises his brows as I push past him so I can get my shoes… Where are my shoes? I look around and spot them by a fireplace. I glare at the elaborate thing before going over and shoving my feet into the sandals.

"Where the hell do you think you're going?" he says flatly, matching my tone with his own.

I'm humiliated by what just happened and my humiliation turns into defensiveness that makes me hateful.

"I told you I was going home. You," I say, rounding on him and leveling him with a glare. "Do not get to tell me what to do."

I don't even bother with a goodbye. It takes me a moment to figure out where I am in the house before finding my way downstairs to the main foyer with those strange double doors. My anger once again gives way to embarrassment and I feel my face heating up in a blush. I am so stupid. So stupid and such a freak. I can't believe I had an attack in front of him… in front of his father. I have issues- I know that- I just hate it when other people know it too.

"Ginny, slow down," Draco calls from the top of the stairs.

I ignore him.

I knew Draco's father was Lucius Malfoy. What was I expecting? Did I think I would never see him if I wanted a relationship with his son? Why did I think myself so bloody strong when it's clear I'm as weak as I was all those years ago?

Stupid stupid stupid Ginny.

I berate myself as I push open the doors and then I jog down the front stairs. I blame my parents. I blame Dr. Carroll. I was doing just fine until she started picking and prodding. Now Tom is out of his box and I'm right back to where I was when I was eleven.

"Ginny," Draco says sternly. He's using his daddy voice again- telling me what to do. I ignore him and speed walk down the winding stone path to the front gate. No sexy Slytherin is ever going to tell me what to do again. "Ginny, will you fucking stop a second?"

I stop because of the venom in his voice and I glance at him over my shoulder.

He holds up my purse.

"Forgetting something?"

I blush again and then go back to him to grab it. He holds it out of my reach and I give him an awful look.

"Give it to me."

"Get it, then," he says, holding it out of my reach with his height.

"Just keep the damn thing," I hiss in anger, not willing to humor him when I'm so upset. I turn around and walk down the curving path, clenching my fists so tightly that my fingers start to hurt.

He sighs loudly.

"Here," he falls into step beside me and hands me the purse.

I sling it over my shoulder and dig out my wand.

"Let me apparate you, at least," he says gently when he sees my shaking hands. "You'll splinch yourself."

"No thanks."

"Can you explain to me what's happening right now?" He says in confusion. "I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

The uncertainty in his voice makes me pause. I have never heard it coming from him and it surprised me.

"You didn't have to," I say, thinking of Tom Riddle and the diary that ruined my life.

"Ginny," he grabs my arm. "You are being ridiculous. You can't just run away from me."

"I guess I'll walk, then," I say, pulling my arm away.

I just need to get away from him. That's it. Forget about how handsome he is or how much I think I like him…I'm just an idiot. Who was I kidding? Being around him and this world is what brought back all those bad memories. I know it. The old Ginny would have never let Draco Malfoy eat her out on a boat. Old Ginny was an actual good girl… Not Draco Malfoy's good little whore. I wince at the thought. How could I do that with Lucius Malfoy's son? How could I let him touch me like that?

Dark magic lingers…

That's it. I was messed up. What kind of girl would let someone who was so mean to her brother… who hated her family… and who thought all of them were blood traitors… What kind of girl would want to be with a guy like that? With a guy who was mean and bossy and thought he owned everything- including her? Well, I'll tell you. It was a stupid one… and that stupid girl was me… because I was tainted and I was broken and I liked being hurt, apparently.

I know he's following me. I can hear it, but I will not give him the satisfaction of having him know I know… but it's just so fucking annoying and I find myself glaring.

"Stop it."

"I'm allowed to walk," he says casually from behind. Of course, he's so much taller than me that his legs give him an advantage.

Life is not fair.

"Go away."

He doesn't say anything to that, but he doesn't stop following me either and I remain stubbornly quiet as I walk with my hands clenched at my sides.

"You know," he says about twenty minutes into the walk. I ignore him. "This would be a lot easier if you would let me apparate you," he says. "It would take a couple seconds, tops."

I don't say anything. I bite the inside of my cheek and continue to ignore him… but a moment later I feel an arm around my middle and he pops us just outside of the woods by my house. I clench my jaw. Angry with him and angry with myself.

"See," he whispers against my ear. "So much easier."

"Will you stop doing that without my permission," I say, giving him an awful glare and pushing away from him. "It's really rude."

"I'm the rude one?"

I turn to look at him.

"Go home, Draco."

I still don't want him to see my house. That would just be another embarrassment for me today. Not only was I a fucking weirdo who fainted and had attacks– but I was a poor weirdo who lived in a stupid little house that wasn't even charming.

"What's the point?" he asks and he walks around until he's standing in front of me. He puts his hands in his pockets and raises an eyebrow as he walks backwards. God, he's attractive. Fuck him. "We're almost to your house, aren't we?"

"You wouldn't know." I tell him snidely. On top of the whole 'fainting' at his place thing, now I have a new anxiety of him seeing my house with its peeling paint and patched roof... No, that's not happening.

"I know where you live, Ginny," he tells me flatly like I was stupid and I guess I am. He has been making movements to take me home a few times… on his Everywhere Bike and when we came back from Yellow Springs earlier. It's not like I ever told him which way to go. "Let me see you home." He comes near and runs his hand up my arm. "Come on, beautiful. At least give me that."

"I don't have to give you anything."

Why was I being so mean? I'm just embarrassed but I need to get away from him. I turn and start running through the woods. My ears are ringing and I don't look back. When I get to the house, I put in the ward code and run to the side of the house so I can climb up to my room with my heart beating so painfully hard.

Once inside, I strip out of my clothes and then throw on a shirt, pulling out a pair of trusty white knickers that my mum bought me last year. I start pacing, replaying the events of the night in my head. What we did on his boat… his father… Tom… the attack…. How coldly I treated him.

I feel completely humiliated and I flop on my bed, burying my face into my pillow and wanting to scream. The attacks… the headaches… They have always shamed me. They used to happen often and for a while there it was hard for me to make friends because of it. Of course, the fact that I had opened the chamber became a known story after Harry had saved me… but that wasn't the end of it. Everyone moved on… Harry moved on… but I was a broken thing. A little girl all torn to pieces who had to sew herself together with little help or sympathy.

I had raging nightmares that would make me scream and powerful headaches that would send me reeling in the hospital wing. My bunk mates to this day haven't really forgiven me for all the restless nights. My parents made me see countless mental health professionals and healers who would tell me it would all be fine… just accept it and move on. But how could I move on? I had poured my heart and soul into a shadow of a person who turned around and tried to take everything away that ever made me worth being. They would never know what it was like having Tom Riddle move through you. The cold that made me shiver all over as he moved my hand to write in blood or when he moved my tongue to hiss like a snake.

They would never understand the cruel touch of a memory come to life to tear you apart.

The next year, my brother once again had moved on and was living his life in another story… in another adventure with his friends while I stayed still, frozen in my trauma. Everyone just seemed to brush off that an adult man had lived with us as a rat for years. For years. As a mother fucking rat. Peter Pettigrew was with us for as long as I had been alive… A man who turned out to be the traitor who had betrayed the Potters. The man who helped bring back the Dark Lord in the muggle cemetery while Harry had to watch on helplessly. A man I had held in my arms and stayed steady on Ron's shoulder all those years as we grew up. His beady eyes watched as I ate my breakfast and changed my clothes from his spot on the dresser where he liked to sit and stare at me.

Another trauma to add to the others. Another nightmare… but why did no one else seem to care about these things?

Why was I the only one who felt them so deeply?

My insistence on living in the past when so much was moving on around me was only hurting myself. It's why I had to put it all away… shove them all in those colorful boxes in the back of my mind… because what kind of person would I be if I let them linger? If I let myself drown in the fact that I had almost killed a few students… Hermione included… by helping Tom release the Basilisk because I had been so weak and pathetic. No one liked it when I talked about it. No one liked it when I mentioned it or whispered Tom's name because sometimes I couldn't help it. They just wanted me to forget.

So, I did…. Or I tried to, at least.

Harry never had panic attacks… no one I knew did. Not even Ron after he had been attacked and almost killed by all those giant spiders in the forest.

Why was I so weak?

If I let my scars show, I wasn't going to survive. I had to be Ron's fun little sister who was good at quidditch and let things slide easily because I was laid back and I was cool. Or at least… that's how I tried to present myself. A silly tomboy who cared nothing of clothes that I couldn't afford or boys who would never love me…It wasn't until Michael Corner asked me out that I finally felt eyes on me again. Only this time they weren't whispering about how stupid I was… How easily led and how I might not be a blood traitor after all if I was willing to help the Dark Lord return to power.

Michael liked the way I looked in my dress at the Yule ball and had no problems telling me that. He liked the way I rode a broom and the way I smiled and it didn't matter to him that I was Ron's little sister or the freak who had opened the chamber.

Suddenly I was a desirable girl who might even be good looking to some blokes… Not just to Neville Longbottom who's fumbling attempts at asking me out were… embarrassing for the both of us. And I wasn't even his first choice. Hermione had already turned him down. Isn't that just my life? Second… third… fourth… choice to other people who were so much better and more important than I would ever be. I can still remember how Ron yelled at me that I was going to go with Harry to the ball because they couldn't find dates. Just offering me up like I was nothing to no one… and being completely shocked when I had to shame face tell him I was already going with someone else. Like how dare I not fall at the chance to go when he told me to? How surprising someone else would want to be around me if he didn't order it.

As much as I appreciated Michael for seeing me and saving me from Neville's awkward arms…. I wasn't myself around him. I couldn't be. I played the part of the flippant, almost brash girl who laughed at bad jokes and hexed people who annoyed me. A girl who never cried even when I wanted to. I ribbed Michael about quidditch and was just as dismissive of his feelings because that was the part I was playing. There was nothing else to it. What happened my first year was like a deep dark secret that only myself and Harry truly knew the extent of… but even it didn't seem to bother him as much as it did me so who was I to even bring it up? Harry's life was a constantly moving machine, a thousand different gears and parts moving together and forward. He would never understand… no one would… I don't even understand it much myself…. But after Michael was Dean… and he got a different version of me too.

It was like I was trying on personalities like they were outfits… trying to see which one fit best because I knew no one would like my true self.

Dean was sweet, kind, and thoughtful. He tried to always be a gentleman but his kindness annoyed me for some reason. His insistence to always try to help me and his refusal to take a stand on anything riled something inside me and suddenly I was the bitchy girl. The girl who rowed with her boyfriend because he had tried to help me through the portrait hole or tried to carry my books to class. I would get on him for laughing at obviously ridiculous things that happened to Harry and my brother just because I could. He never said a damn thing back to me and I just ran my mouth because it felt good to let it out.

I could feel myself being mean… I wasn't the fun girl anymore. I had a shitty attitude and I hated that he made me kiss him first. That he made me walk ahead and lead. That he made me pick the drinks and the dates and the conversation. That he always apologized even when I was wrong. That he looked at me with such sappy love-sick eyes every time I talked to him because he only thought I was pretty… He didn't even know me. Everything about him annoyed me because I was annoyed by the person I was allowing myself to be around him.

But Draco had been different.

He came upon me so quickly that I had no time to decide who I wanted to be and I found myself stripped of all that armor. For once I could be who I truly was. A girl who did like pretty things, and soft touches, and smart conversation, and boys who knew what they wanted… especially if that meant they wanted me. Someone who didn't want to be so strong and assertive all the time. But with that vulnerability and truth of the actual girl I was… came the opening for Tom Riddle and those awful memories that now float around my head. So, when I see Lucius Malfoy… I am not the funny, bitchy, don't give a shit girl I had pretended I was… I am as I have always been… Shy and perhaps insecure and wanting to be loved and taken care of… and that is when the darkness comes.

I can't see Draco again.

With resolve I go to my closet and I pull out the red dress and the black boots Pansy had bought me. I pull the t-shirts, and jeans, the bras, the knickers, and the swimsuits…. I gather them all and put them carefully in a bag. I find Ivy's nice sandals and the heels Pansy bought me with Draco's money and the swimsuit I just wore. I piece together all the random clothes that I have that don't belong to me… the blue skirt, the pink top, the tiny crop top that caused me so much trouble… What else is there? I keep only the green bra and underwear because I wore them and it felt weird sending used underwear even if it was clean.

I stare at the overstuffed bag and then go to my desk to pull out a school book. I flip through the pages until I find the shrinking charm… The opposite, I realize, of what Pansy had used to make her clothes fit me… and my skirt longer. I lift my wand and shrink the bag until it is a manageable size and then I put it in a parcel box that I write Pansy's name and address on with Hermione's gift of auto correct quills.

What else am I missing?

The money.

I look under my bed and pull out my tip jar, unscrewing the lid. It was shameful of me to keep it as long as I did. I didn't earn this money. He shouldn't have given it to me and I shouldn't have kept it. I take out the golden galleons… counting out the fifty that were not mine and placing them in a bag. I grab another small parcel box and this one I address to Draco and his summer home. I'm not sure what his reaction will be… but I can't keep pretending this was okay.

I put on a pair of shorts and go to the attic to find our owls, grateful once again for Dad getting the ghoul to leave last summer.

It's a mess up here. I will have to help him clean it at some point. There's all kinds of discarded boxes and old, broken furniture. A random cursed toilet and boxes of old baby clothes. I look up at the rafters and see Errol and Pigwidgeon staring at me from above. I sigh. Neither of them are great options. Errol is an old dust mop who can't see straight and Pigwidgeon is Ron's little cotton ball of an owl who is too small and over eager to do much good.

"Come on down, Errol," I say with a frown.

The old barn owl lifts his wings to take off and then falls right in front of me. Landing on a covered armchair- sending dust into the air. He hoots and stands up straight, blinking his big eyes at me like it was my fault. Pigwidgeon bounces around from above, flapping his wings like he was trying to show me how much better he is.

"Alright, Errol," I say, tying the small parcel to his leg. "You only have a few hours before my spells wear off so you better get going."

He gets lost sometimes, bless him.

I go over to the window and open it up, inhaling the fresh air that is so much better than the dusty darkness. He hoots again and flies over to me, landing on the window sill.

"Take this to Pansy Parkinson," I tell him and then I say her address so he will understand. "Please don't embarrass me too much," I say with a sigh.

I watch him take off, his great big wings soaring over our yard and the trees nearby. I cross my arms as I watch him take off into the darkness, feeling something heavy on my chest. I wait a moment to let him get further along before whistling for Pigwidgeon. He flutters down to me, excited as he puts out his little leg for me to tie the parcel with all the gold.

"Bring this to Draco Malfoy," I tell him as he flits around the window. "His summer home," I stress, tapping the box. "And come right back."

He takes off into the night, for a second weighed down by the parcel and I cringe, wishing I would have shrunk his mail as well… but he finds his strength and then takes off over the trees. I wait a few moments, staring out at the night time sky… at the same stars I was staring at not too long ago when Draco Malfoy put his mouth on me and used his fingers to make me shake with pleasure.

I blush.

I don't move when I hear footsteps on the stairs and I look towards the attic door to find my mother, her wand out.

"Oh, Ginny," she says, her hand on her heart as she turns on the light. "You gave me a fright!"

I give her a tight smile before turning back to the open window.

"I thought that ghoul had returned."

"Sorry, Mum," I whisper. "I was just sending out a letter."

She wants to ask me who I'm sending letters to, but she stops herself. She watches me for a moment, her housecoat silly and her nightgown long.

"Are you alright?" she asks after a moment and I nod my head. "You know you promised your father you would help him sort through this attic," she says, looking around at all the junk with her hands on her hips. "It really is a mess up here."

"I will," I say, figuring now I will have all the time in the world.

She looks at me for a moment and then she sighs. "You know, you've been handling this all so well."

I glance at her.

"It's not easy staying here… I know that," she says, giving me a smile as she approaches me. "I remember being your age and wanting to know everything… It's frustrating. I get it."

I watch her face as she speaks.

"I understand," she says gently, patting my leg. "Who did you write to?" she asks curiously as she sits down on that old dusty armchair. "Luna?"

"No," I admit as I cross my arms. "She doesn't really answer my owls anymore."

Because of Theodore freaking Nott.

"That's a shame," she says. "Maybe to Harry, then?" she asks, giving me a weird kind of knowing look from the corner of her eyes.

"I don't even know where he is," I say, trying not to scoff. I leave out the bit that I would have nothing to say to him… His birthday is coming up soon. Maybe I'll just send him a stupid card with a stupid panda on it.

"Doesn't mean it isn't worth a shot," she says and I roll my eyes. "He'd probably like hearing from you, Ginny. Boys in his situation…." She looks at me seriously, trying to get me to understand something I'm not willing to understand. "You know boys who are in danger like he is… Well, they like knowing someone is at home thinking of them. Your uncle Fabian was still carrying around a letter from his Hogwarts girlfriend when he…" She stops herself and gives me a sad smile. I look away, feeling bad for her. "Anyways. I think he might like it."

I resist making a face. Now I feel bad that I'm not writing a letter to Harry that will never even reach him and that he probably doesn't even want.

"That would end the war before it even started, wouldn't it?" I joke, trying to end the conversation. "Let's just send an owl to you-know-who and with a bomb charm attached."

She laughs a little.

"Well, I suppose you're right. Even owls have their limits."

I can feel her staring at me… It's uncomfortable, but I just let her because… well… I don't know, really. I guess I don't want to be mean and call her out on it.

"You know… I have something I'd like to show you." I watch her as she stands up and moves to the back of the attic. She shuffles around a few big boxes and then walks towards me holding a small trunk made of leather and bronze. She sets it down on a nearby table that has a broken leg held up by old moldy books. She pops it open. "I didn't really keep much from when I was your age," she says as I look at her curiously. She plucks something from the roof of the trunk and she smiles as she looks down at it before handing it to me.

It's an old photograph of her and my father when they were both students at Hogwarts. They are in their Gryffindor uniforms standing by the lake.

"Dad was handsome," I say, looking down at the photo. Before he started balding and looking the part of an old married man with seven kids… He had been tall and lanky like Ron. His face was handsome… similar, in a way, to Bill. I could see why she loved him then… and I could see why he loved her.

My mum was beautiful. A short, shapely girl with long red hair and beautiful eyes.

"Anything of value left over…" she trails off for a moment. "Well, anyway. That's all gone now… but I did manage to hold onto this in the hopes of one day having a little girl of my own."

She pulls out a fantastic ivory dress.

I stand up. It glimmers and glitters under the attic lights and I can feel the magic in the threading. For a moment I think it's her wedding dress… but then I remember they didn't have a wedding. Not a real one, anyways. They had eloped when she was already pregnant with Bill.

"It was my coming out dress," she says gently when she sees me admiring it. "Silly as it is…" she smiles like she was lost in a memory. "I just couldn't seem to part with it."

She holds up the dress against her body so I can see it properly.

"It took months to design and make. My mother…" she trails off and shakes her head. "Anyways. It's made of silk taffeta and tulle," she says, running her fingers over the smooth ivory skirt that's embroidered with golden thread in a swirling design like the night time sky. "And antique lace imported from Belgium," she whispers, half in a dream as she runs her hands over the lace bodice and long sleeves of the beautiful gown. "My mother sewed the buttons on herself," she says, smiling at the pearls down the front and on the cuffs. "She was so proud of herself."

The dress is beautiful, but I can't stop looking at my mother. The wistful way her eyes glisten… how youthful she now looks.

"Do you miss it?" I whisper and her dark eyes flick to mine. She pauses for a moment, looking over my face. Of course, she must know what I'm asking. Did she miss society? Did she miss the money and station? Did she miss who she once was?

"No," she says, putting the dress back in the trunk. "Not at all."

She closes the lid and then hands it to me.

"For you," she says, smiling, back to being the mother I know so well. "You can change the color, of course, but maybe one day you will find a reason to wear it."

"Thank you, Mum," I say, giving her a grateful half smile. "This is so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you," she says, her hand on my cheek.

Why are there tears in my eyes?

I turn away quickly so she won't see and I shut the attic window to distract myself.

"I should go to bed," I say. "I am getting tired."

She nods and walks me to my room where she leaves me with a kiss to my cheek. I turn off my lights and slide into bed, staring at the wall. Maybe I should take a bath. I can still feel all the places Draco touched me… but that is totally eclipsed by what happened next and I turn into my pillow, hating everything about myself.

I do not sleep well and I'm still tired when I wake up around eight. My mum is already downstairs and my Dad is sitting, eating breakfast at the table when I come into the kitchen.

"Morning, Ginny Bean," he says, smiling at me.

I give him a tired smile and sit heavily down in one of the chairs. I tell my mum I'm not hungry, but she does get me a glass of juice anyways.

"Listen," I look up at my dad in surprise. "Your mother and I talked about it some more… and…" He flicks his eyes to Mum. "Anyways… We know you like making your own money. There is an opening at the Ministry. I'd like for you to interview for it."

"What?" I ask, blinking at him. "What do you mean?"

"The janitorial squad needs another opener," he says quickly. "I think it would be good. We could go to work together and you'd see Percy–"

"The janitorial squad?" I say in disgust. "Like cleaning toilets and all that?"

"Oh, Ginny, it isn't that bad. You clean at home all the time," Mum says, shaking her head like she thought I was being too proud about it.

"I thought we went over this already," I say hotly, putting my glass down. "You said I could stay at Folk Hills. You said if you brought me to and from then there would be no issues–"

"I know–"

"You said that," I say quickly, cutting him off. "That's not fair to change your mind now. I don't want to be a janitor."

"Your father is just trying to help," Mum says, sitting down beside me. "Some new information has come up and…" she stops herself. "Listen… I know you don't want to quit… but we will have to cut back your hours and you will have to tell your boss you can only work opening shifts from now on."

I snort and cross my arms. Like Delsia will appreciate me telling her that.

"It's not funny, Ginny. We don't want you out at night. We could make you quit entirely but we know you are saving up."

I glare at them and ask why but they do not answer.

"I want you to wear this," she says as she takes something from around her neck. It's a silver necklace with a sea shell charm dangling from the end and I sit up to get a better look. "If something happens, God willing, then we'll be able to find you."

I take it with a frown and hold it towards the light so I can see the charm. "It has a tracker on it?" I say, uncomfortable with the idea.

"It would really make us feel better." She nods her head. "Your brother and his friends… we don't know what's going on with them. They could be dead for all we know. Our clock isn't showing anything," she says, nodding to the grandfather clock. Ron's name is just kind of hovering in some gray area right now. "I just need to know that you'll be okay," she says and then she gives me a little smile as she kisses my forehead. "You're our baby, Ginny. We need you to be safe."

"Are you going to check this all the time?" I ask worriedly and she gives me an odd look before smiling.

"Not unless we're concerned," she says. "But you never go anywhere you shouldn't."

Right…

I look down at the necklace and then to her. "Okay," I tell her as I put it around my neck. "It's a deal."

"Good." She smiles gently. "Now let me get you something to eat."

She makes me some eggs and crispy bacon. My dad leaves for the day with a kiss to my cheek and a weirdly long lingering kiss to my mum's lips that makes me cringe.

"Gross," I whisper as he walks towards the front door while waving goodbye to his "best girls".

Mum sits down beside me with a cup of tea and a bowl of fruit. As we eat, we actually talk about things like we haven't done in a while. I tell her about work, she tells me about Mrs. Daniel's who lives down the road. She's one of my mother's only friends and they have this strange love-hate relationship. I can't tell if my mum actually likes her or not, honestly, but she would drop everything to help her if she asked.

"What else can we talk about?" she muses out loud after she gets done telling me the story about how Mrs. Daniel's started a new sunflower corner in her summer garden. Fascinating stuff, really. She looks at me after taking a drink from her tea and she smiles. "Are you crushing on anyone?"

"Not really," I lie as I pick at my napkin. This is something I don't feel like talking about right now. "Boys are overrated, anyways."

For some reason I think of Draco, glancing up at me from between my legs with my arousal on his lips.

Be a good girl.

"Even Harry?" she asks carefully and I narrow my eyes and shift uncomfortably in my chair. "I'm not blind, you know," she says, sniffing as she picks up a scone and a butter knife to put some jam on it. "I saw the way he was looking at you when he was here. I know that look."

I roll my eyes.

"Well, I don't think there was much to it," I say with a sigh. "He wasn't looking at me in any way."

Do you want to be mine?

I inhale a deep breath. Now Draco… Draco definitely looked at me in some sort of way….

She waits for me to look at her and then she smiles. I think she's reading my uneasiness at remembering Draco's attention as me reacting to the thought of Harry possibly looking at me in a weird way.

"It's nothing," I say flatly so she'll see I don't want to talk about it.

"Perhaps that's best," she says as she stands up and picks up my empty plate to put in the sink. "You're young. Now is the time to be single and have fun."

Right, even though I'm never allowed to do anything.

An idea hits me, and I glance at her.

"On that note," I say and she looks at me. "Can I go over to Luna's tonight?"

It would be nice to have a friend to talk to.

That light and wonderful mood we seemed to have settled in leaves us and she looks uneasy. The peace treaty is about to be broken…. I can practically feel it.

"I don't know, Ginny… you know her father doesn't have the best wards."

"How am I supposed to be single and have fun if I can't even leave the house?" I whisper dejectedly.

There's a long pause before she gives in.

"Oh, alright, then. But you have to be home by nine."

A real smile graces my face and I go to her and give her a hug around the waist. "Thanks."

"But you have to clean out the attic before your father gets home."

"Sure," I say, turning away to roll my eyes. There's always something.

She says something else, but I ignore it as I run upstairs. I go to get dressed for the day, glancing at the trunk with the beautiful white dress…. I can't resist.

I want to try it on.

I take off my clothes and take the dress out of the box. I hold it up to my body and wonder if it will fit. Of course, my mother wasn't always a bigger woman. She was quite petite when she was younger, but she did have a curvy figure, boarding on plump. I quickly unbutton the pearl buttons down the front and step into the dress. I pull it up and slip into the lace sleeves, looking at myself in the mirror. It really is beautiful.

I button the pearls at the cuffs and then up the front of the dress. It actually fits pretty well… It's a little loose around the waist and a little too short… but overall, it's not too bad.

I look into the box and see a lace and pearl headpiece. I pick it up. It isn't exactly a headband… and it's not really a diadem either… It's more like a combination of the two and I place it in my hair just to see what it will look like. I look like I'm getting married. For some reason I feel uncomfortable with that, so I take it all off and carefully place it back in the box. I stare at it for a moment before closing the lid and getting dressed again after stuffing it under my bed.

I put on my dungarees and a white t-shirt. I have no one here to make fun of me for wearing them now. I don't have anyone anymore. I try not to let myself get bothered by that as I braid my hair into two plaits on either side of my head. I slip on my trainers and go to the attic, tying a bandana on my head because I mean business. I put all the broken furniture against one wall to ask my mum what she wants me to do with it and then I organize all of our baby boxes. I gather up all the trash… all the old newspapers and unused cardboard boxes… and I place it all in a pile by the door for me to carry down later.

I use the broom to get everything else and then I wash the windows… falling into the task as I try not to think of anything that might bother me. When I'm on my knees, trying to decide whether or not to pitch some old moldy textbooks- something taps on the attic window. I look up and see a large orange eyed eagle owl staring at me with a letter tied to its leg.

I lick my lips nervously before standing up and opening the window to let it inside. It's a pompous thing and he kicks out his leg for me. I give the creature a look before untying the letter and running my fingers over my name written in such beautiful cursive.

"You must belong to Draco," I say, glancing at the owl.

I swallow hard before opening the letter.

There is only one line- two words. Nothing long or wordy… but straight and to the point. His handwriting is beautiful… slightly slanted and written in smooth green ink.

Absolutely not.

That's all it says and I find myself laughing a little. This was his response to me returning fifty golden galleons? I can't even pretend I know what that means but I have a few good guesses. None of which I'm going to entertain right now. I look at the owl as he blinks at me.

"I don't have any treats," I tell him, looking around like I'd be able to find something to give him in the attic. "I'm sorry."

Still he stares at me so I sigh and go downstairs. I dig into the owl treats under the sink and I go back up with a few nuts in my hands to offer him, petting his feathers as he pecks them out of my hand. He doesn't move when he's finished and I give him an irritated look.

"I'm not writing him back," I say flatly. "You can leave now."

He hoots at me before flapping his wings and then taking off into the air, settling himself on one of the rafters above.

"Did you eat Pigwidgeon?" I ask suspiciously as I glare up at him.

I go to close the window… but then I see Errol working his way home, doing zig zags in the sky. He's carrying a large parcel with him and I frown as he flies into the open window and slams against the opposite wall.

"You fuddy old thing," I say, going over to help him up. He hoots at me and offers me his leg. I untie the parcel.

Pansy's name and address is crossed out and she had written my name over it.

I sigh loudly again and open the box. Everything is exactly how I had packed it and I see a small note on the top.

Don't do this shit to me.

That's all it says. Draco and his friends really have a way with words- don't they? I make a face and then I go to get a quill. I scratch out my name and then I write Draco's. I write down his address on the only open spot and then I whistle for his proud owl who flutters down to me and offers his leg.

I don't even bother shrinking it. I tape up the box and tie the damn thing to his leg.

"Give it to Draco," I say sharply. "And I don't want it coming back."

I watch him fly out the window and disappear on the horizon. I stare for a while before Errol makes a noise and I glance over my shoulder. He's still laying on his back on the ground.

"Good God, Errol," I sigh as I walk over to him and help him up. "You are just about finished, aren't you?"

He hoots and closes his eyes.

I'm done up here. I don't want to be in this damn attic anymore. I jog downstairs and then spend the rest of the day in my room writing in my new notebook and trying not to think of anything else that's happening in the real world. I skip lunch but eat dinner with my parents. They speak to each other about stupid things… Like some ministry gossip and the weather. When I'm finished eating, I look over at my mum.

"Can you please turn on the floo?" I ask and she blinks at me. "Remember... Luna?"

"Oh yes," she says in annoyance.

I follow her to the den with my wand tucked in my back pocket.

"You have to be back by nine."

"That's in two hours," I say flatly and she gives me a look.

"Nine, Ginny. I don't like leaving the line open that long and Xenophilius has been making a lot of people angry with his paper. I shouldn't even let you go."

"Fine." I grab some floo powder and then turn around as I step into the grate. "Thanks, Mum," I say again before throwing down the powder and shouting Luna's address.

I suppose it is a bit rude to come over unannounced but Luna doesn't seem to care to talk to me anymore. The place is a wreck when I finally land in their fireplace and I stand there for a few moments, just taking it in before making myself known. Mr. Lovegood has taken to keeping a small printing press in his living room to print out the latest templates for the Quibbler magazine. He's in full printing press mode when I arrive, covered in ink as paper flies all around him like a tornado.

"Hello Mr. Lovegood," I announce myself before I step through the grate so I don't seem too intrusive. "Is it okay if I come in?"

"Oh, Ginny," Mr. Lovegood looks at me from behind the big wooden beast of a machine. He has printer ink in his white hair and smudges on his cheeks. "Of course, you can come in. How are you doing, my girl?"

"I'm doing well," I tell him as I step around the stacks of Quibblers he has bundled around his living room, held together by twine.

"That is good!" he laughs as he presses something down and a few more pages pop out of the machine. I catch one before it magically lands in one of the neat stacks and I glance at the front page.

Potter in Rome: Living at the Vatican.

"You think Harry is in Rome?" I ask carefully as I put the silly magazine on top of one of the neat stacks. I know to take everything in the Quibbler with a grain of salt, but I am worried about them… Harry, Ron, and Hermione. They could be in danger. Any news of them would be welcome.

"Think?" he repeats as he shuts his machine down and walks towards me as he wipes ink from his hands with a purple towel. "I know! I have an eye witness that says they spotted Potter having tea with the Pope."

"Why would Harry be having tea with the Pope?" I question and he smiles.

"That is a very good question," He says with a serious head nod. "These are dark times, indeed."

The Lovegoods are one of the only families that are outspoken about their belief in Harry and The Quibbler is one of the first major publications to support him when he said the Dark Lord was back… Of course, since it came from the Quibbler, it didn't exactly bring any reliable converts, but bless him for trying.

"...and as I recall the Pope is the president of a majority of muggles. He's probably trying to warn them of the impending war."

"The Pope isn't the president of muggles," I say and I almost laugh, actually. I took muggle studies last year so I know a thing or two about them. It's almost scary how uninformed most wizards and witches are on the subject. "He's the head of the Catholic…" I look at Mr. Lovegood as he stares at me with his wide eyes, curious and wrinkled around the edges. "Never mind," I say because this could turn into a long discussion. "Is Luna home?"

"Oh, yes, of course," he says, shaking his head like he was lost in a fog for a moment. "She's in her room."

"I'm going to go see her, if you don't mind," I say as I start towards the stairs, stepping over stacks of papers and around large boxes as I use my wand to clean myself of the floor powder.

"Not at all!" he calls after me as I put my hand on the railing and follow the cast iron stairs up to the second floor. "Tell her I said hello!"

I laugh a little to myself. When I reach Luna's room, I peek inside to make sure she's decent. It looks like she's repainted her walls already. Everything is bright orange with yellow dots of varying sizes. I almost wish I would have brought my sunglasses because it's so bright. I find Luna sitting on her bed reading from a sheet of parchment and I smile at her as I knock on the door frame.

"Hey there," I say when she sees me. "Your father says hi," I joke and she grins at me as I step inside.

"Tell him I said hi too," she answers and I snort in laughter as I close her door behind me.

"I think you can handle that," I say with a smile as I sit on her bed.

"Why are you here?" she asks, twirling her hair around her fingers and going back to the parchment.

"Just thought I'd drop in and see you," I tell her. She doesn't look up. "I feel like we haven't talked in a while... I have a lot to tell you."

"Hm," is all she says.

"I just thought we needed to talk since you know…" I start again. She nods her head but doesn't look up. "Since you were doing something with Theodore Nott in a closet at work."

"A closet… yes…" she trails off like she wasn't even listening to me.

"I have a lot to tell you," I tell her again, but she doesn't say anything. She's being so rude. "Luna, I'm talking to you," I say as I wave my hand in front of her face. She blinks a few times and finally glances up from the parchment. "I feel like you're not paying attention to me," I pout and she gives me a silly grin before folding the parchment up and placing it under her pillow. "What do you keep reading?"

"Just a love poem."

She said that so seriously I can hardly laugh at her for it.

"A love poem?" I repeat dryly.

"Yes," she says with a light head bob as she looks out into space with a stupid smile on her face. She doesn't elaborate further and I furrow my brows.

"Did Theo write you a love poem?" I ask flatly. I kind of feel like throwing up, actually. "He wrote you a poem?" I repeat again and I watch her back as she stands up and walks over to her window.

"Does Draco write you love poems?" she asks dreamily and I snort. She glances at me over her shoulder and raises her eyebrows. "Does he?"

"No," I say with a laugh. "Draco does not write me love poems." I couldn't even begin to imagine what he would even say if he did. I actually shudder to think.

Absolutely not.

"Would you like to read it?" she asks and she blinks her big eyes a few times.

"Would I like to read your love poem?" I ask and she presses her lips together.

"Why do you have to say it like that?" she asks as she walks back to her bed and pulls out the parchment from under the pillow. "You say 'love poem' like it's a terrible disease."

"Love poems are terrible diseases," I tell her as she unfolds it. "I have yet to read one that wasn't cringe worthy."

She looks hurt for a moment and she hesitates handing it to me. I feel guilty for my harsh words and I try to make up for it.

"I'm sure it's lovely," I say as I take the paper from her. "Theo probably has a way with words… and rhyming," I say tiredly as I look down at the well-worn page. No doubt Luna has read this a million times a day since she got it.

It's hand written in scratchy calligraphy on yellowing paper and I have to squint to read it because the handwriting is so bad. Nothing like Draco's beautifully neat handwriting.

"I've never had a poem written about me before," she says as she sighs wistfully. I frown deeper as I read each line. "He says I have hair spun of gold," she says as she takes a strand of her own hair and stares at it as she spins it around her finger…. Staring at it like she had never realized she had blond hair before. "And eyes as deep as the ocean."

"He wrote this?" I say skeptically. It's not the juvenile love fest I was expecting… it actually wasn't so bad considering I've read it before.

"Of course, he did. He tells me I'm his muse," she says. I fold the paper back up and I scratch my head as I try to decide my next course of action. I want to tell her that Theo didn't actually write this poem about her. It's a poem written by a madman about his dog from a book that came out a few years ago.

I'm not sure if Theo knew that, of course. He might have been looking up poems and thought this one was nice… perhaps he was trying to impress Luna, letting her think he wrote it. I look at Luna again as she rereads the poem that she thinks is about her. But then…. He could be a slimy creep that knows very well that it is a poem about a dog and he's having a laugh about it right now.

"You like Theo a lot?" I ask even though it's pretty damn obvious.

She has I heart Theo written on her wall over there in red paint.

"I do…" she says. "It is a good feeling, isn't it? I've never had a boyfriend before."

"I know," I sigh as I glance at the letter in her hands. Luna and I were a lot alike. Two weirdos starved for attention who just happened to find each other…. "Did you have sex with him?" I ask carefully and she pauses for a second before sitting down beside me.

"No," she says with a head shake. "But we're doing other stuff. I didn't know things could…" she trails off and then she smiles at me. "I like having a boyfriend."

"Do you think he's genuine in his feelings?" I ask, looking at the letter again and trying to imagine creepy Theodore writing it with good intentions.

"Do you believe Draco Malfoy is?" she counters back and I bite the corner of my lip.

"I don't know," I answer honestly

"And that's half the fun, isn't it?" she says dreamily and I shake my head.

"That's not fun at all," I mutter, but she doesn't hear me as she stands back up and walks over to her closet. "I wanted to talk to you..." I tell her as I think about the stupid thing that happened at Draco's house. "I made such a fool–"

"He's taking me out tonight," she interrupts and I snap my mouth shut in surprise as she grabs a yellow dress from its hanger. "To some kind of show at Willow Park. Doesn't that sound romantic?"

"Oh, I thought…" I stand up, disappointed. I let her rudeness slide and bite the corner of my lip. "I thought maybe we could hang out tonight or something. I thought we could talk. I could really use a friend."

"Oh," she says and then she looks at me like she was feeling guilty. "You should have written to me. I made plans."

"You're right," I say awkwardly. I never thought I'd see the day Luna would ditch me for a boy. It kind of hurts, to be honest. "What time is he coming?" She seems happy, I don't want to bring her down with me.

"Well," she says as she starts brushing out her hair. "In about…." She checks the clock on the table. "Now."

"Luna!" Her father calls from downstairs and I jump. "That Theodore gentleman is at the door for you."

Luna looks at me. "You can come with us, of course," she says as she slinks into the yellow dress. "It will be fun."

"No, that's okay," I say, giving her a tight smile. "I'd probably just get in the way."

"Yes," she says thoughtfully. "I imagine you would."

She's not even joking.

"So... I guess I'll just go then?" I say, hoping this isn't actually happening this way.

"Bye Ginny," she says as she starts out the door.

I follow behind her, resisting the urge to pull her hair as we walk down the stairs together. I can't believe this is happening.

Theo is standing awkwardly at the foot of the stairs and for some reason I can't help but glare at him. He notices and smirks.

"Daddy busy tonight, Weasley?" he says, his tone teasing and I narrow my eyes.

Jerk.

I don't bother responding and then they leave. They really leave together and I'm left standing in the living room with Luna's father.

"So, Ginny," he says and I give him an odd look because I'm still trying to process being dismissed so heartlessly. "Would you like some tea?"

"No," I say. "I do not want any tea."

I go back home, giving my mum a tense wave before going back to my room and falling back on my bed, punching my pillow back into position with a little more force than necessary, imagining it's Theodore Nott.

Daddy busy tonight?

What a fucking prick. I stand up and walk over to my window, glaring over to the hills at Yellow Springs and wondering if Draco is home.

They were being disrespectful- fix it…. I think of Pansy's words and wonder if I should bring it up to Draco how much I don't like Theodore Nott… but then that does kind of feel like I am running to Daddy to fix it, proving Theo's gross point. I make a face and then turn back to my room with my arms crossed tightly across my chest

In any case, that would be most inconvenient anyways since I have decided never to talk to Draco Malfoy ever again. So, I guess he won't be fixing much of anything for me anyways.

---

XXXXX

"…..and then she said that Stephan was only talking to her because he wanted to know more about Richard... But I'm not a hundred percent sure that Stephan is gay... He does really like the color pink, though," Daphne says thoughtfully as she sits on the counter of my little check out area, filing her nails. "But pink is a very in color for stylish men right now and Stephan is very in tune with fashion."

"Who's Stephan?" I ask as I try to keep up with the conversation while straightening the things around the lockers because, unlike Daphne Greengrass, I actually have a paying job.

"Stephan Stabler of course," she says with a scoff like I was an idiot. "If you ask me," she says as she hops off the counter and leans her elbows against the top so she's facing me. "I think she's just bitter that Stephan didn't want to sleep with her."

I don't know what girl we're talking about, to be honest. I stopped listening a while ago.

"I don't know who would want to, actually. After she got those lip injections, she looks like a duck."

I snort in laughter and shake my head as I walk back towards her. "Don't you have something better to do?" I ask her with a smile. "I am working, you know."

She shrugs a delicate shoulder and she gathers a section of her honey blond hair so she can twirl it around a well-manicured finger. "Pans went to Bermuda this week with her father and Millicent is a bitch, so I thought you could be my new bestie for the day."

"Joy for me," I say sarcastically and she rolls her eyes.

"Don't be a whore, Ginny. It's a good thing to be my best friend. You get the perks of my undivided attention and pleasurable company." She looks at me and then her eyes flick down my outfit. It's just a purple blouse and skirt… my Hogwarts skirt, actually… because I couldn't find any other clean clothes… but the skirt is too small. It was from a couple years ago and I've grown quite a bit since then.

I really wish Hermione was back to clean my room.

"Do you want me to lengthen your skirt?" She asks, taking out her wand. "I'm not as good as Pansy is- but it will get you through most of the day."

I look down and tug on the skirt.

"It's not that short." It was nowhere near the blue pleated one I wore to the pub that one time.

"No, but…" she trails off and smiles at me. "Oh, just let me do it."

"No," I say, moving away from her so she doesn't have a good view of it. "I'm fine."

She gives me a pouting look before pocketing her wand again.

"Well… okay," she says. "I guess it's okay."

"If you say so," I joke with a smile and she smirks at me before talking about gay Stephan and the girl he slighted.

"... And then she told me that she had tried to have sex with him at a party but he..." I tune her out as she keeps going and I play with the blue ribbon around my wrist, resisting the urge to chew on it.

I'm trying to be better about that.

She hasn't mentioned anything about Draco or the clothes I returned. She hasn't mentioned that I haven't talked to Draco in a week or anything about that whole fainting episode so I'm guessing he didn't tell anyone. A part of me is grateful for that. To be honest, I was a little nervous to come back to Folk Hills because I thought everyone would know what a freak I was and they'd all be talking about me, but that doesn't seem true.

I make a face as I think about other people knowing and Daphne catches it, thinking I'm listening to her story.

"Don't be bitter, Ginny. It's unflattering," she says and I smirk at her before straightening my spine when I see someone approach. When I realize that it's Roy, the manager of the pool, I let my shoulders slump a bit. He's not worth my fake niceness.

"Hello there, lovely ladies," he says with a cheesy grin.

Roy is over thirty with suntanned skin and shaggy brown hair that he wears in a surfer style that isn't appropriate for his age. He's wearing swim trunks and a white top, the usual lifeguard gear, and he's looking at Daphne like she was a dessert cake. Ew. I look at Daphne to see her reaction at being eyed by a loser like him. She's looking at him in the same disgusting way. I blink a few confused moments as he slithers up beside her and then I remember the night at Pansy's where we played Never Have I Ever and she admitted to having a certain kind of 'back door' sex with Roy the 'pool boy'.

I'm officially grossed out.

"You're looking nice today," she says as she reaches out and squeezes his bicep. "Muscles are looking good."

"I always look good," he flirts back with a grin as he flexes his arm. "Not as good as you, sexy."

I think I threw up a little in my mouth.

"I'm standing right here," I point out and when they both spare me a glance, I wave. "Take this somewhere else, please. I just ate lunch."

"Oh, Ginny, don't be silly," Daphne giggles like a school girl and I cringe at the sound. She is flirting so hardcore with him right now and he is just so damn old.

I feel like I should call the Auror department.

"Can I do something for you, Roy?" I ask with an eyebrow raised. He had to have come back to this little hallway for a reason other than Daphne.

"I was just taking a walk," he says as he takes the whistle from his pocket and swirls it around with his fingers. "They closed the pool, so I have some down time. Thought I'd come and find my favorite girl," he says with a wink towards Daphne.

Ugh.

"Why did they close the pool?" I ask. "It's noon on a Wednesday." The pool is always packed with rich people and their children, especially in the afternoon when the day is at its hottest.

He shrugs his shoulders. "I have no idea why they do half the stuff they do here," he says as Daphne takes the whistle from him and puts it over her head so the whistle part is nestled between her breasts. Of course, that's where his eyes stay and I make a face. "Rich people," he says with a head shake and Daphne raises an eyebrow.

"What does that mean?"

"I was just saying that you're all crazy, that's all," he adds with a smile and she pretends to be insulted.

"Well, if that's how you feel, then I don't know if we should be friends anymore," she coos as she bats her eyelashes at him.

"Who said we were friends?" he asks as he wiggles his brows.

Oh, dear lord.

"Not me," she jokes with a charming smile and she leans in closer. "In fact, I barely even like you."

He puts his hand on his chest. "Oh, you're breaking my heart, darling."

"She is seventeen," I say flatly and they both look at me. "How old are you, Roy?"

He sputters for a moment and I narrow my eyes.

"Ginevra," I turn quickly to see Delsia by the employee doors. When did she show up? Daphne and Roy part ways to let her through and she gives Roy a disdainful look before facing me again. "You can go home now."

"But my shift isn't over until three," I point out as I glance at the clock.

"Yes, I am aware," she says as she gives another sideways glance to Roy who is looking uncomfortable. "But Nadia is coming in, so I thought you would like the rest of the afternoon off."

"Um..." I'm a little confused and I send a look to Daphne as she raises her brows. "Am I in trouble?" I ask carefully and she shakes her head.

"Of course not," she says sharply in a way that makes me think that I actually am. "Now, go home and you," she gives Roy a stern look. "Go do something else."

Roy blushes and Daphne hides a smile as he scatters away. I furrow my brows as I start gathering my things to place in my bag. Delsia comes behind the counter, I guess to watch the place until Nadia gets here, and I send her another confused look before leaving with Daphne hot on my heels.

"That was odd," she points out as I hike my bag over my shoulder. I agree and I nod my head. "What are you doing now?"

"Going home, I guess," I say uncomfortably. My mum usually picks me up but she won't be here until three so I guess I'll just have to survive going home on my own.

"We could hang out for a little bit," she says, following me down the back hallways like a lost puppy dog. "There's still a lot I have to tell you about the Stephan and Richard scandal."

"Um, no, not today," I say because I don't care about that. "I should get home. My mum would freak out if she found out that I got off early and didn't come straight home."

"Oh, well..." she stops walking and trails off. "Oh, Ginny, please let me lengthen your skirt," she says, grabbing my arm. "It's just too short."

"It is not," I say, thinking she's being silly as I pull my arm from hers. "I'm going home, anyways. I'll talk to you later, okay?"

"I guess... I guess I'll go find something else to do then."

"See you," I say to her disappointed face as I continue walking down the back hallway towards the employee exit. I only feel a little bit bad about that because I'm still impossibly confused by what just happened with Delsia. Why did she send me home so early? She said I wasn't in trouble and if I was she would address it right away, right? Why do I feel like I did something wrong?

I squint against the sun as I open the back door and I start walking down the concrete sidewalk as I dig through my bag for my sunglasses. Today is impossibly humid and I can practically feel my hair frizzing up and my skin burning as the sun shines down from above. Stupid sun and my stupid pale skin.

Why can't I find those damn glasses? I'm so focused on getting my glasses that I don't even bother to acknowledge the other person on the sidewalk with me.

"You've been successfully avoiding me."

I gasp when Draco slides in front of me and blocks my path. I glance up at him and blink for a few panicked seconds. I drop my bag and pick it up quickly, hoping he doesn't notice how out of sorts I am from seeing him.

"What?" I manage to get out through my surprise. He's wearing thick, black rimmed sunglasses and a tight fitted polo shirt that's a nice shade of blue. I can see my reflection in his lenses and I look stupid squinting my face up like it is, so I try to smooth out my expression.

"You've been avoiding me and you've ignored my owls," he says. "I don't like that."

"I don't know what you're talking about," I say as I walk around him. I get to the arches that lead to the safe app zone under a canopy of flowering cherry trees. "You know where I work. I can't actually avoid you even if I wanted to."

"Obviously," he says, pushing me up against one of the brick pillars by the safe app zone, hidden under the shade of a nearby tree that is full of pink flowers.

I gasp at the force of it.

He leans down and instead of kissing my lips, he goes for my neck.

"What are you doing?" I say, pushing him back… but it's halfhearted because I do like when he kisses my neck like that. "My mum is going to show up any time now to take me home."

"You got off two hours early," he says, pulling back to look at me with darkened eyes as he lifts his glasses to the top of his head. "She's not coming any time soon."

"How do you know that?" I ask, my brows pressed together.

He smirks at me and then he dips his head to kiss me on the lips. I let him… falling into the feel of it because it feels so good but I stiffen when I feel his hand working its way up my skirt.

"What are you doing?" I ask breathlessly as he nudges my legs open with his knee. Another thing that I let him do.

"I think the question is what are you doing?" he asks sharply, his fingers moving aside the bit of fabric that covers my sex. I don't even try to stop him… I'm too shocked… I'm too excited. "Were you trying to break up with me? Was that what you thought you were doing?"

He sinks two fingers inside of me and I inhale a sharp breath. It was easy enough, of course. My body was ready as soon as I saw him standing in front of me in that tight polo shirt…. But my private area was supposed to be private and anyone could apparate behind him at any moment and see exactly what he was doing. I furrow my brows in worry and look up at him, wanting him to understand.

"You can't break up with me," he says against my ear as he works his fingers in and out…. Honestly, I am shocked that he's doing this… outside… unprotected… But why does it feel so amazing? Why is that thrilling feeling back, making my whole body tingle? I look at the app zone with the blue fire sign… My face feeling hot. "There's no good reason for it," he says as my body starts to react to his attention and I find myself gripping his upper arms. "So, as I told you with the first letter I sent- that you completely ignored- I would like to point out. Absolutely not."

I go to say something but nothing comes out. I bite the corner of my lip and dig my fingers in a little harder to his arms. His other hand comes up and goes under my shirt. I inhale another sharp breath when he moves down the cup of my bra to take my breast in his hand.

"You will not be ignoring me anymore. You will not be sending back shit that I bought you. You will not be acting like you don't want to be with me because I know that you do. Do you think I'm fucking stupid?"

"We are just two different people," I say breathlessly, my eyes clenched shut. "I think it's not a good idea…." I inhale a sharp breath as his fingers work that place in the front that feels so nice, his hand jerking so fast that I can't help but bite my lip again as he presses his face into my neck. "You being who you are and me being… "

He presses his lips to mine and deepens the kiss like he just wanted me to shut up. I welcome the kiss anyway because my body is positively alive at his touch and I want to feel as much of him as possible.

"I should go home," I whisper, not even meaning it anymore.

"This is what's going to happen," he says, glaring down at me and removing the hand that's under my shirt so he can place it by my head to hold himself up. His face is right in front of mine, his nose almost touching my own. "I'm going to make you cum on my fingers," he says and I feel the deep blush spread over my cheeks. "And then you are going to come back inside with me," he says, his voice sounding a little more strained. "Because I have a surprise for you and I'm tired of you ruining my fucking plans."

I don't have enough in me to even question what that means.

"We can talk about what happened… or we don't have to…but you will not be running away from me because of it. Do you understand?"

He waits for me to answer and then he cruelly stops his hand.

I open my eyes and look up at him. He raises his eyebrow. His cheeks are slightly flushed, making him look so attractive and judging by the hardness I feel pressed into my thigh- I know he's just as turned on as I am.

"I understand," I whisper pathetically, giving him what he wants so he'll give me what I want.

He smirks and then starts moving his fingers again. I find myself lightly lifting my leg up and out to give him more space and he smiles before kissing me again. He rubs that place so hard and so fast that I find the orgasm taking me by surprise. It comes so swiftly that there isn't much time to even think about what was even happening. I make a strange noise that I try to hide and I find myself moving my hips against his fingers to ride it out. He stares at me the whole time and when the feeling slowly goes away, I let my forehead drop to his chest.

"Now," he says, taking a step back. I let my foot rest on the ground and try to steady myself as I look up at him. He takes the two middle fingers that he used on me and I watch him with lidded eyes as he puts them in his mouth like he was cleaning them off. It is seriously the sexiest thing I have ever seen and I feel my heart skipping a beat. "I was going to be all nice and romantic about this," he explains, letting his hand drop to his side. "But you had to come out wearing this short fucking skirt that you knew would piss me off."

"I'm sorry," I whisper in a daze. I don't even mean it and I'm not sure why I said it but he sighs loudly, taking my head in his hands to give me a very sweet kiss on the mouth.

I don't even have it in me to defend myself and I let him take my hand. I'm still breathless as he walks us back inside, my legs feeling shaky and my body feeling warm. We walk through the maintenance hallway and into a section of the building I've never been to. The hall is wider and there are paintings on the walls. Oceanside landscapes with lighthouses and boats that move about in the water.

We walk through a courtyard with tall hedges and beautiful flowers and I keep my head down as we pass patrons who greet Draco with polite conversation and curt head nods. He stops a couple times to talk to a few of them and he places a possessive hand on my waist as he speaks. I don't even look up. I can't. I find myself embarrassed and out of sorts. I wonder for a moment if the people he was talking to noticed what had happened- like they could smell my arousal on his fingers.

We go inside and down another hallway and I realize we are headed towards the pool.

"What are we doing?" I ask as he opens the doors that lead to the rotunda.

The pool is magnificent. Well, it's technically three pools connected by small pulsing waterways. Half inside and half out and all of it secured from the weather under a large colorful dome made up of swirling glass in a thousand different colors. It faces the hills and the tile around it is a dark emerald green.

"Isn't the pool closed?" I ask as he walks towards the changing room doors. I look over at the far side pool with all the levels and swirling slides.

"Yes," he answers and that's all he says.

When we get inside one of the changing rooms, he hands me a red bag.

"Put this on."

He turns around and takes off his shirt. I watch him as he takes off his boat shoes and realize he was wearing his swim trunks this whole time.

"What is this?"

"I'm going to teach you how to swim," he says, turning around and placing his sunglasses on his perfectly folded up shirt. When he sees that I didn't even open the bag, he comes to me and lifts up my shirt to take it off. "Come on, now. Don't be difficult."

I step away from him and cross my arms over my chest once he gets it off. I can't quite look at him. He steps closer to me and tilts my face up with his fingers on my chin.

"I know you're afraid of my father."

"I'm not afraid of him," I say, pulling my face away from his hand. "It's just… what he did…."

"I know what he did," he says flatly.

I glance up at him.

"He didn't know what the book was. Not really," he says, his voice deep and without warmth. "If he would have known how powerful it was he wouldn't have done what he did."

"Why did he give it to me?"

His gray eyes dance over my face. I don't know the expression- I can't read it. I wish I had my shirt on and I feel really uncomfortable…. More vulnerable than I did when he was touching me outside.

"Aurors were doing raids," he says, his voice sounding so void of emotion. "Looking for dark artifacts in pureblooded homes. My father knew we were on the list. The Dark Lord had given the book to my family during the war. He didn't know what it was. I can swear to you he didn't or he never would have let it go."

"That doesn't answer the question."

He looks me over for a moment before walking to the wooden bench on the wall and sitting down heavily.

"My father knew that the object was dark so he needed to get rid of it. I know it's childish, but he thought if he gave it to your family, then your father would get in trouble for it because it was your father who reported him."

"He didn't give it to my father," I say. I want to yell but I don't have it in me right now. "It nearly killed me."

"He didn't know," he says firmly. "But that's his mistake, not mine. I'm not my father."

"It doesn't matter," I say with a head shake. "This whole thing is just a terrible idea."

"You didn't seem to mind when I was fingering outside," he spits out hatefully and my cheeks heat up in embarrassment. I can't believe he just said that. "In fact, you seemed to thoroughly enjoy my company at that particular time."

"You're a bastard," I tell him scornfully and he clenches a fist. I see it and narrow my eyes. "I'm going home now. Don't bother sending me any more owls," I tell him and I go to get my blouse, but he stands up to keep it out of my reach.

"Why are you being this way?" he asks. "I am not my father," he states seriously. "And your family doesn't define who you are either. If you can walk away from me now and claim that you'll never think of me, then fine, do it. But if you actually want see the potential in this like I do, then you should stay and let me fucking do what I planned to do today."

I don't say anything. I don't move as I process his words and he clenches his jaw.

"You're rejecting me, then?" he says, rolling the words around like it was something he wasn't used to. "That's it? You're just going to run away from this like a coward?"

Coward.

What a disgusting word.

"I'm not being a coward," I snap at him. "I'm being practical so give me my damn shirt."

"No, you're not," he says. "This is you just being fucking scared."

"I'm not scared!" I say as I stomp my foot. That's a lie, perhaps I am a bit afraid, but I won't let him know that.

"Tell me why you don't want to be with me again."

He says that like he already knows he's right and I make a face. I don't know what to say… so I don't say a word.

"I'm not doing this the way I wanted to," he admits softly and then he looks at me again. "I don't want to fight with you and I don't want to be with someone who doesn't want to be with me," he says. "Could you at least give it a try? We'll sort through all the heavy stuff later. We can talk about whatever you want and I swear I will listen… but for now… let's just keep it light, yeah? We can have fun," he smiles. The beautiful one that melts my heart. "You know we can have a good time together, right?"

When I don't say anything, he hands me the blouse. He goes to walk around me, pausing a moment to place a kiss on my forehead before leaving the changing room and closing the door behind him. I'm not sure where he went but I look down at my blouse and then I look down at the red bag. I hesitate a second, swallowing hard before taking the bag and pulling out a red swimsuit. It's different from the styles I returned to him… It's a two piece but still fairly modest in cut. The bottoms are high waisted and would cover most of my stomach and the top looks like it covers a lot too. I take off my skirt and knickers to slide them on. I unhook my bra and pull on the top that I have to tie in a bow around my neck to keep it up.

I like the way it fits and I run a hand down my stomach as I try to see how it looks without a mirror. You can see my cleavage though… and I suddenly find myself self-conscious about it. I grab one of the white fluffy towels hanging on the golden hooks along the wall and I crack open the door.

Draco is standing at the edge of the pool; his back is to me as he looks out over the water. His hair is sticking up in the back a bit- like he had run his hand through it and didn't bother to fix it like he usually does. I find that endearing. I like the shape of his body… I like the smoothness of his skin and the muscles I can clearly see on his back. I stop myself from sighing. Swooning, really. I open the door a little more and he looks over his shoulder, giving me a little smile when he sees that I put on the swim suit.

"I've always liked you in red," he says, turning around fully and offering me his hand.

I step out and look at him, my brows knitted together as I pull the towel around myself.

"Ginny," he says after a few moments. "You're making me look stupid. Take my damn hand or walk away."

I look at him, I really look at him and I'm struck by just how handsome he really is. If he wasn't Draco Malfoy with all his wealth and confidence… he would still be one of the best looking blokes I've ever seen. The sun shines in from the colored domes above, hitting his gray eyes just right making them shine like silver and his hair is falling casually over his brows in an unkept way he usually doesn't allow. He's just so damn attractive. Tom was attractive too... But there's something else in Draco's expression, an openness that Tom never had.

I've never had someone pursue me the way Draco has and I've never had someone seem to like me as much as he does. I wasted so much time liking someone who would never give me the time of day and maybe it's time to move past what's safe and take a chance. Maybe we can just have fun and not worry about all that terrible stuff for a while. Maybe I can be the girl that does that.

I take his hand.

A handsome smile breaks out across his face and I gasp as he yanks me against his chest, making the towel fall to our feet. I find myself laughing and he bends down to kiss my lips.

"That's my good girl," he whispers, tucking some hair behind my ear.

I smile for him. I hope he thinks it's beautiful too.

He leans down and kisses me again before he uses his speed and his strength to quickly lift me up and then he throws me into the pool.

"Draco!" I yell when I resurface, pushing hair out of my face and glaring at him as he smirks down at me from the pool ledge. "I thought you were going to teach me how to swim- not kill me."

"Don't be dramatic," he says, diving gracefully into the pool.

I start walking backwards, trying to get to the shallower end as he swims towards me, disappearing under the water and pulling me under again when he gets near.

"Stop doing that!" I say breathless when he comes up laughing at me and flicking wet hair out of his face as I blink the water out of my eyes. "You're not a very good teacher."

"Why do you have to hurt my feelings?" he says, swimming around me like a shark. "You say such mean things."

He comes up behind me and then stands to his full height, pressing his chest to my back.

"You are going to have to get out of the little kid area if you want me to teach you anything," he whispers with a smirk against my ear.

"Did you...Did you make them close the pool for this?" I ask carefully when the thought comes to me as I look around the empty pool deck.

"Yes," he says simply as he dives to my left and takes off swimming into the deep end.

I frown at him and then go closer to the ledge so I have something to hold onto while I follow him.

"How can you do those things?" I ask worriedly when he resurfaces.

"My grandfather owns the building," he says with a cocky tilt to his head. "I can do what I want," he says like the arrogant little rich boy that he is. "And, as my girlfriend, you get to reap those rewards."

Girlfriend.

I find my heart fluttering at that word and I give him a shy smile.

"I don't think it's normal for blokes to want to drown their girlfriends in fancy pools," I say teasingly as I make my way towards him, my hands gripping the ledge.

"Says who?" he asks as he slicks back his wet hair.

"All my other boyfriends," I tease.

"Boyfriends?" he questions. "How many do you have?"

"Wouldn't you like to know?"

"I would, actually," he says, sounding a bit more serious than he did before. I laugh it off until he swims towards me. I grip the edge a little tighter because I can't reach the bottom anymore and I don't want him to throw me in over here. "Alright now," he says when he gets right in front of me and he grabs the ledge so he's trapping me against the pool wall. "Stop trying to make me mad."

"That really isn't that hard to do," I point out, only half joking, but he smiles anyways.

"Well, that's your own fault," he says, running his nose along mine. "You drive me crazy."

"You're already crazy," I say, putting my hands gently on his shoulders before giving him a wolfish smile and pushing him down into the water.

I move quickly away from him, back to the shallow end where I can touch and I laugh when he resurfaces and gives me a dark look. He starts swimming towards me again and I laugh loudly, nearly screaming when he gets near as I try to kick my legs away from him. In the shallow end I find myself sitting down and I crawl backwards as he stands up and walks towards me with a dark smile on his face.

Do not look at his stomach.

Do not look at his stomach.

"Why are you looking at my stomach?" he asks and I flick my eyes to his because my whole 'not looking at his ab muscles like a creeper' thing didn't seem to work out.

"No," I say quickly as he looks down at his stomach like he might have something on it. "I mean, I'm not."

He smirks like he knew what I was doing and then he gets down to crawl towards me. I stop moving to let him reach me. I open my legs so he can settle between him and I lay back, my hair in the water as he lays his heavy body on top of mine in the beach entry where the little kids usually play.

"You are distracting me," he says, placing a kiss on my collar bone. "I really did want to teach you how to swim."

"Can't we just kind of... kick it?"

He laughs and moves some wet hair away from my face. "Kick it?" he asks with a smile. I like him like this. Maybe he was right. This could work. "What does that even mean?"

"Can't we just play around?"

To be honest, I really don't want to learn how to swim. The thought of a serious swim instruction in the deep end of the pool with an impatient Draco Malfoy doesn't seem like fun to me.

"Play?" he says. "I don't play."

I give him a look before pushing him back so I can get up.

"That's a shame," I tell him as I go to the edge of the pool, acting like I'm going to step out. "I guess I should just leave."

I scream when he grabs me around the waist and starts walking us backwards.

"Oh, don't throw me in again," I say as I try to wiggle out of his grasp. "Draco, don't throw me in!"

He does it anyway.

I sink under the water and then come right back up, glaring at him as I push hair out of my eyes.

He laughs at the look on my face.

I go over to him and try to dunk him, but of course that doesn't work and we wrestle around until I finally get him under the water with a triumphant smile. We spent the rest of the afternoon playing and joking around in the pool. It was really nice and I was having a lot of fun. I even went to the pool on the second floor and used the slide. I felt like a kid again. I even found myself liking him more as we horsed around because he was so different from the serious Draco Malfoy I had always known and imagined him to be.

It was nice seeing him laugh and have fun… I realized I didn't see that part of him all that much.

"You're killing me," he says after a while and I try to catch my breath by leaning against the edge of the pool with my arms resting against the emerald tiles. He swims up behind me and presses his body against mine so his chest is pressed to my back. "We've been messing around all this time and you haven't tried to kiss me once," he says against my ear.

I shiver but brush it off as I turn around to face him, letting his hips press against mine. That light mood is gone and something much more adult takes over the situation. I'm so attracted to him and when he's close like this... it makes me feel so much older than I am. I feel like I could do anything I want when he looks at me like that. I can forget who his father is, what I've been through, and what everyone else would think… I could make this work if it felt like this all the time.

"What makes you think I want to kiss you?" I question and he smirks as he puts his hands on either side of me, pinning me against the pool wall. "Do you..." I lick my lips because I'm about to say something serious and uncomfortable. "Do you think I'm crazy or something after what happened at your place... when I... you know."

He kisses the corner of my mouth. "If you're crazy- I'm crazy too."

"But do you think that?" I ask because a part of me really would hate it if he thought terrible things about me.

"No," he says seriously and the way he said it... I believe him. "No, I don't."

"Good," I say with a head nod. "That's good..."

"Besides," he says as he presses his hips into mine a little firmer. "My therapist says I have control issues and that I'm too narcissistic to be too empathetic towards other people and their problems, so I probably wouldn't notice anyways," he jokes and I smile.

"My psychiatrist says I'm too altruistic and not assertive enough," I admit that little part of myself in the guise of a joke.

"We just might be perfect for each other," he says and I smile again.

"I don't know about that," I reply and he smirks.

"Well..." he says, but he doesn't continue because I actually lean up and kiss him.

How brave I'm getting.

"Hmm..." I hear him say against my lips before he deepens the kiss with a vengeance, pushing his body into mine until it's almost painful, but his weight against mine feels too good to ask him to stop.

"Draco, can you…" I stop myself and I let my fingers skim the top of his swim suit. "Can you teach me how to touch you like you touch me?" He doesn't say anything for a moment. "I'd like to make you feel the way that you make me feel."

I let my hand slide inside his swim trunks and I'm the one who gasps when I grab him down there. He feels hard in my hand and I glance up at him, unsure of what to do next.

He smiles at me and gives me a gentle kiss.

He puts his hand over mine and shows me how to hold it and how he wants me to move. "I want to take your swimsuit off," he says in a husky whisper as he swallows hard. He places a kiss against my naked shoulder. "The top, at least."

This is dangerous. I look around as his hands come up to the bow at the back of my neck. We weren't at someone's house… we were at Folk Hills. A very popular, crowded country club in the middle of the day where I work. Anyone could just walk in at any time. What am I even thinking?

"People will see," I say as I stop stroking him and bring my hands up to stop him from untying my swimsuit.

"Let me see you, Ginny," he says seductively. "You have the most amazing body."

I blush. I surely didn't think that about myself and I found myself pleased that he would…. But I still can't bring myself to let him expose me like that… not here. Not right now. He pulls back in disappointment when he realizes I'm not going to give in as I look around just to make sure no one is watching.

"There is no one here," he says as he takes my hand and puts it back where it was. "Don't stop what you're doing."

"Uh, Ginny?" Draco snaps his head to that voice and so do I. My cheeks heat up in embarrassment when I notice Dean Thomas standing on the other side of the pool, looking uncomfortable in his regular life guard gear.

I pull my hand out of Draco's trunks like it was on fire and hold it to my chest.

"What do you want?" Draco hisses at him as I try to scoot away, but he puts his arm up to keep me caged against the pool wall.

"Uh, well..." Dean blinks a few times like he wasn't sure he was actually seeing what was happening just now. He scratches his head and the yellow ribbon showing his blood status is bright against his darker skin tone. "I mean, they sent me because... well... Ginny," he looks at me like he's never seen me before and I don't understand why he looks so hurt. It wasn't like we were together. "Your mum is waiting for you and they told me to come find you..."

"My mum?" I say with a dry throat. "Has it been two hours already?" I say in panic as I climb out of the pool and I grab my towel. "I need to get changed," I mumble to myself as I run to the pool house to get into my clothes.

I move fast and get dressed, throwing my bag over my shoulder as I run out of the changing room. Draco is out of the pool and he goes into the room to grab his stuff. Dean is gone and I feel guilty for half a second.

"Where did he go?" I ask as I start speed walking away from the pool, stuffing the wet swimsuit in my bag. Draco keeps up with my strides easily and he casually puts on his shirt like this wasn't a big deal.

"He left, obviously," he says like he was pissed off. I spare him an irritated glance.

"God, what if he tells my parents… or my brothers?"

"Tell them what?" he asks as we head down the hallways and around corners until we reach the courtyard.

"That I was freaking snogging you in a pool," I say in exasperation.

"You say that like it's a bad thing," he says with a smug voice and I glare at him. When we reach that garden, and those large doors, I stop and stare at him. "I'm your boyfriend, Ginny. They're going to find out at some point, aren't they?"

Well, I hadn't actually thought of that and I don't intend to right now.

"You stay here," I tell him because I have no idea where my mum will be waiting and heaven forbid she sees me with him.

"Why-"

I open the door and close it before he can get that sentence out.

Mum is waiting for me at my usual spot with one of the managers from the front desk and she looks impatient.

"Where have you been?" she asks as I approach. I glance over at the arches, blushing when I think of what Draco did to me there. "I've been waiting for twenty minutes... and why is your hair wet?"

I touch my hair and mentally scold myself for the slip. "Uh, I'm sorry. I was doing... something..."

That was the best line I could come up with and she accepts it because she doesn't question me further. When we get home, I go to my room and stare at myself in the mirror, trying to see what Draco sees when he looks at me. The most amazing body… I turn to the side. Did he really mean that?

My parents talk to me during dinner, urging me to go to more sessions with Dr. Carroll and I finally relent after my mother starts crying about 'her children and how she has failed to protect them'... blah blah blah. Emotional manipulation is what that is, really, but I agree to go anyway just to put her at ease.

After I take a shower for the night, I look at my unclothed self in my mirror again, trying to see myself through different eyes. The most amazing body… Why am I so hung up on those words? Maybe because I never thought of myself as having a body worth wanting. It was just kind of there. I started developing early and always felt fat in comparison to the girls around me because of it. I tried to stay in shape. I liked playing sports and exercising but I could never seem to shed the softness that clung to my hips and breasts… the fullness that refused to move no matter how many meals I missed or how many sit ups I did.

But Draco likes it. So maybe I like it too.

I smile to myself.

As soon as I close my eyes and fall asleep I wake in a dream.

I'm sitting at the head of a large, dark table in a large, dark hall… surrounded by corpses propped up on the chairs. I've been here before. When I was a girl it had been a nightmare, but things feel different now. I am older. I am more self-assured. I am no longer afraid...

I just keep eating my dinner in a beautiful red ball gown like I couldn't be happier. I cut into a piece of red meat, letting the juices gather all over the plate before popping a piece in my mouth and savoring the bite. Some of the blood trickles down my chin- but I don't bother wiping it off.

The bodies didn't seem to bother me at all, either. In fact, I seemed to welcome their company and I reveled in the silence they brought with them. Their skin was rotting… in varying stages of decay… and their mouths had been sewn shut with a thick black thread that crisscrossed over their lips in little x's. The men were wearing fancy tuxedos- the women extravagant dresses and fancy head gear. Their cloudy eyes open and staring dead eyed into space as the golden plates before them filled with putrid food that was infested with maggots, flies, and other foul things.

"My Love."

I look at the end of the table but instead of Tom being there like he usually is, it's Draco. He's wearing a well-tailored black suit and he has a handsome smirk on his face.

I smile at him.

He smiles at me and raises his wine glass full of dark red blood.

The corpse beside me slumps forward, his face landing in the pea green soup in front of him. It splashes and Draco and I laugh.

Like all dreams, things don't move the same as they do in real life and I find Draco standing in front of me, looking down at me with a hell fire in his eyes.

I hear a hissing noise and the slithering of a large snake moving through the hallways. I recognize that noise and I see the Basilisk move out of the corner of my eyes, coiling its large body around the room.

"My Ginny."

Draco grabs my hair and pulls me out of the chair. I am not afraid... in fact... I'm feeling something else altogether and I know this is going to turn into one of those dreams.

He starts at the hollow of my throat and licks the trail of blood all the way to my lips.

"Is Tom here?" I find myself asking. I don't know why I asked. I never know why I ask about him.

"No," is all Draco says. "You're not his anymore."

He picks me up and throws me on the table, with the rotting food and our rotting guests as witnesses. He crawls on top of me and hikes up the skirt of my dress so he can settle between my thighs. I smile at him because he is so impossibly beautiful. He bites my neck so hard it bleeds and I laugh.

Instead of asking him to stop like a sensible person, my dream self said one very bad word.

"Harder."

That seems to be the only word I could say as he tore my clothes and pressed harsh kisses against my lips.

"Harder."

He unbuckled his belt as our dead guests started moaning and he pulled my hair again to expose my neck.

"Harder."

He tears my knickers and throws them before pushing down his trousers. They land one of the corpses' heads and I laugh again.

"Harder."

He bites his way down to my breasts, leaving teeth marks and blood in his wake.

"Harder."

He finally slams inside of me and I scream.

"Harder!"

I wake with a start.

I'm breathing heavily and I wipe my forehead off as I glance at my clock that's glowing against the darkness of my room. It's three in the morning. I find myself shaking and I shift my legs uncomfortably because of the wetness between my thighs.

I've had that dream before… only it was Tom instead of Draco and there was no weird sex. When I had it as a girl it was a nightmare... A terrible nightmare that I never wanted to have ever again.

This was the first time that I had liked it.

I am going crazy.

I turn around and press my face into the pillow, letting out a silent scream.

---

XXXXX

I play with that stupid seashell necklace I promised my mother I'd wear. I'm not totally sure why I'm wearing it, to be honest. I did sneak out and if she chose to find me she easily could. She would know that I'm not currently in my room, writing and listening to music like I had made her believe and then I really would be in trouble… but there's a part of me that likes knowing she could find me if I ever went missing. Like if some creepy Death Eater just came up and grabbed me out of the blue… my parents could find me.

It's a silly thought.

I look at the group of people I'm here with and squint my eyes. I have such a terrible headache right now and I blink hard a few times before wincing and looking down at my sandals. Daphne, Millicent, Pansy, Draco, Blaise, and a few other Slytherin's from their friend group are standing outside of the Falcon's Quidditch stadium, waiting to go inside. I suppose a part of me still feels a little unsafe in this group and I find myself turning more into Draco's chest as he places his arm around my waist. I feel him kiss the top of my head and I look up to find Millicent staring.

Then she glares.

She especially makes me uncomfortable.

"What do you think, babe?" I glance up at Draco.

Is he really calling me that in front of everyone? It makes me blush but I can't be too embarrassed because my head hurts too fucking much.

"What?" I ask uncomfortably as I remember the messed up sex dream I had about him.

"Haven't you been listening?" he asks and when I shake my head, he sighs. Giving me a little glare like he was annoyed with me. "Do you want to go out after the game?"

"Go out where?" I ask. The longer I'm away from home, the higher the risk of my parents finding out that I'm gone.

"Hermes' of course," Pansy cuts in like I would know what that meant. She has a nice tan from her week in Bermuda and I'm envious of it. I didn't know she could get any darker. I don't tan no matter how long I roast in the sun. I just get burned, get some more freckles, and then go right back to being pale. "It's an 'everything goes but clothes' night."

"What does that mean?" I ask with a frown and they all laugh at me. That's annoying and I glare because of it.

"Looks like you're going to find out," Blaise says with a devilish smirk. I glare at him too. "Can't deny her that first experience, Malfoy." he says with a wink towards Draco like it was his choice whether I went or not.

"Yes, Draco," I say meanly. "Are you going to allow me to go, sir?"

He waits for me to look at him and then he squeezes my side like he was irritated with my attitude.

"We'll see," Draco says flatly, giving me a nasty little look. "I might just take you straight home instead."

The line finally moves and we make our way inside. Of course, we all get to sit in the Malfoy family box seats, surrounded by people of influence. People I don't give a shit about. Most of them are from the Ministry and I recognize some of the names from the papers. Draco knows them all and spends most of the opening ceremony shaking hands and talking to them about things going on with his family. I lean forward in my seat and place my hands on the bar in front of us… letting the sun hit the back of the Falcon's jersey that Daphne let me borrow.

I feel eyes on me so I look over my shoulder to find Zabini staring right at me. His face is serious and his amber eyes are shining. He's looking at me so strangely now… so seriously… I narrow my eyes and settle back in my seat, pretending like he's not even there.

The Falcons are playing the Warlocks. I know it's going to be a decent game so I try to just focus on that. Draco continues to speak to the wizard behind us about taxes and reforms and boring fucking things so I cross my arms and tilt my head with a loud sigh. When the game finally starts and the teams appear, I try to tune out the mindless chatter of Pansy and Daphne and focus on the game but they make it so damn hard.

"And instead, I bought the green dress..."

"Green would go good with your hair..."

"...I thought so..."

"Ivy said..."

"...I agree...What a bitch..."

Blah freaking blah.

"I'm going to get something to eat," I say as I stand up. I need to walk away from them before I tell them to shut up. I guess I'm in an edgy mood and the sun is just too damn bright.

"You can order up there," Draco says, nodding to the window that's by the top of the box we're sitting in. "You don't have to leave."

"I would prefer to get away from this box," I say and he gives me a look.

"What's wrong with you?"

"I'm sorry," I say, falling back into my seat." I have a bad headache."

"Oh! I have something for that!" Daphne fishes through her bag and then hands me a little vial of red liquid. "Here you go."

I give her a grateful smile. Before I can take it, Draco plucks it from my fingers and hands it back to her.

"That's not for headaches," he says sharply. "Try again."

She makes a face before digging through her bag again. "Oh, right. Sorry," she says, flicking nervous eyes to Draco before smiling at me and handing him a golden vial. "I get them mixed up."

"What was the other one for?" I ask as he checks it out and then hands it to me with a nod.

"It was pepper up potion," he answers, his eyes still on the game with his arms crossed. "You can tell by the color."

Sometimes I forget how smart he is. He reminds me of Hermione sometimes. She was also a snooty know it all with a bossy streak.

I uncork it and drink the potion, letting it settle for a moment before standing up.

"Where are you going?" He asks again as I move to walk in front of him.

"I told you I was getting food."

"Do you want me to go with you?" he asks, his eyes firmly planted on the match.

"I think I can handle it," I tell him as I start to walk past him so I can get to the aisle, but he grabs my wrist.

I give him an irritated look.

"Here," he says as he reaches into his pocket and then he hands me some money.

Really?

"I have money," I mutter because the others are looking at us now.

Instead of responding, he just waves me off and goes back to the game. I clench my jaw and narrow my eyes at him. He doesn't notice, but Blaise does and I catch him smirking at me from the corner of my eyes. I huff and leave the seating area, headed towards the concession stands on the lower level just to get away from them. I still have Draco's coins clutched in my hand and I glare down at them before stuffing them in my pocket.

Arrogant git.

There's quite a line for food and I plant myself at the end of it, waiting impatiently with my arms crossed and my toe tapping against the concrete floor as quidditch fans chatter and squawk around me. When the line moves forward, I tuck some hair behind my ear and take a step... but then something brushes against me.

I furrow my brows and look around to see who just touched me. No one was walking by and there's no one in line behind me. As I'm looking around, I see a set of feet walking away... just feet. No body.

Invisibility cloak.

You have got to be kidding me.

I only know one person who has one of those and I forget my attempt at getting food as I follow after the feet. The shoes are scuffed up black converse with a frayed shoe lace on the right foot.

I know those shoes.

Harry.

I pick up my pace and weave my way around people, trying to keep my eye on the shoes. Harry had gotten taller this past year and I guess he didn't really consider that his cloak wouldn't cover him half as well as it used to. What is he doing here? Why is he at a game when he's supposed to be off saving the world?

"Harry!" I call just to make him stop and possibly talk to me. Maybe he can tell me that my brother and Hermione are safe. Maybe he'll apologize for leaving on my birthday.

The shoes pick up pace and start moving faster... He's running... What a bastard! I start running too and I follow the feet all the way to the gate where I'm stopped by a burly security guard.

"If you leave, you can't get back in," the large man with a mustache says and I send him a glare before turning back to find Harry. I don't see the feet anymore... He must have left the stadium.

"So, what are you doing, miss?" the man asks as I crane my neck to try to spot the converse again, but I don't see them anywhere.

"I'm..." I send another suspicious look around before looking at the guard and coughing uncomfortably. "I'm going to go back."

He thinks I'm crazy, but I don't care. When I get back to my seat, I sit down with my arms firmly crossed.

"You didn't get anything?" Draco asks once he notices that I, in fact, have no food with me.

"I found I wasn't very hungry after all," I tell him angrily as I dig into my pocket to take out his money but he just waves me off again.

Stupid freaking Harry Potter. He constantly ruins my day. I stuff the coins back in my pocket and glare up at the sky. I glance at Draco, taking in his handsome profile and then I look down at his long and beautiful fingers, thinking for a moment how good they feel inside me.

Who cares about Harry when I have Draco Malfoy's fingers?

"Draco," I say gently to get his attention and when he tears his eyes away from the game to finally face me, I lean in to kiss him.

"What was that for?" He asks as he pulls back.

I kiss him again just for the hell of it and put my hand on his thigh. I realize how nice it is that he lets me touch him… That he wants to touch me in front of people… in front of his friends and out in public. It makes me feel good… like he was proud to be with me just like I was so proud to have his attention. He wasn't literally running away from me under a cloak like someone else I knew.

"Jesus, get a room," I hear Pansy joke behind us.

"Preferably one with a camera," Blaise adds, but I ignore him as I lean more into Draco who takes the hint and puts his arm around me.

He sits back to give me more room to fall against him and I keep pressing my fingers to my temple to deaden the pressure as the potion works its way slowly through my body. Draco notices and then he hands me his sunglasses. I slip them on and lick my lower lip as I try to focus on the game. I cross my legs and the denim skirt I borrowed rises up my thigh. I feel eyes on me and I glance at Draco to see him staring at the bit of exposed skin. I smile at him and adjust myself to pull it down for his benefit and he gives me a sweet kiss to the cheek.

The Falcons win the game which is mercifully short. It puts everyone in my present company in a good mood for the night and we stop at a restaurant in what Pansy calls the Green Light District to have dinner. Everyone is drinking and eating really gross looking pizza that has way too many vegetables on it and strange cheese from some weird animal I had never heard of. I end up just picking at mine and slowly sipping my water, lost in my own thoughts as Draco and his friends talk and joke around me.

I have to wonder what I'm even doing here. I don't know what they're talking about half the time… I don't like this food… I don't even like the quidditch team they all cheer for. I don't like the borrowed jersey I'm wearing that's bright blue and too tight because, apparently, I am the biggest person who has ever lived. I don't even like the music that is playing. I was younger and inexperienced and knew nothing of their world and I hated how cruel they could be like when Millicent called someone from school a half breed and when Blaise just now very casually referred to a man in the room as a blood traitor for dating a muggle.

"Am I a blood traitor too?" I ask sharply, making the conversation stop and Zabini looks at me in surprise.

"Are you dating a muggle?" he asks, amused as his eyes slide to Draco by my side. I don't say anything. I don't have a good reply. I am not witty or clever like he is but I don't like that he just gets away with saying whatever the hell he wants because he's so pretty. "Don't be cross, Gin," he says, leaning forward so I can hear him better. "We all forgive you for dating half-bloods. You eventually came to your senses."

I want to throw my drink in his face, but I resist. Instead I sit back and cross my arms, glaring at him and focusing all my hatred and rage on his stupidly beautiful face.

"Well," Daphne sighs loudly. "Those relationships weren't all that serious anyways. Were they, Ginny? I accidentally kissed a muggle once."

She looks at me, her big blue eyes blinking like she really thought she was helping. A wicked part of me wanted to lie and say that me and Dean were very seriously in love and wanted to get married and have half-blood kids… but I didn't want to do that to Draco when he wasn't even the reason I was so angry. I don't know what else to do or how to win this fight anymore.

"No," I say uncomfortably, giving in as I look down at the table. "But you still shouldn't say things like that," I say, giving Zabini a mean look. "It's not nice."

Someone laughs at what I said. I think it was Millicent but I can't be sure… I refuse to look that way. I've been doing a good job of pretending she wasn't even there.

"Forgive me," Zabini smirks. "For messing with your delicate sensibilities. I didn't realize how sensitive you were about mud–""

"Blaise," Draco warns, finally stepping into the conversation. "That's enough."

Zabini looks at Draco and sits back. "She started it."

"And I'm ending it. Talk about something else."

And that was that. Zabini turned to Pansy and Daphne turned to Tracy Davis who was a mousy looking girl with buck teeth and a bad attitude. I had no one to turn to but Draco and he looked down at me with an eyebrow raised like he wanted to scold me too but was holding back from it. I could feel the anger coming back to me… and the meanness… and the headache after the weak potion Daphne gave me finally wore off.

"I don't like this pizza," I say flatly, fully aware I sound ungrateful and bratty as I sit back and cross my legs, glaring at the walls of the nice Italian place they dragged me into. "I want to go somewhere else."

My mum would be horrified by my manners. That I would even think about complaining about a meal I wasn't even going to pay for would make her lose her mind… but then she would also go insane knowing who I was sitting with right now.

"Where would you like to go, my darling," Draco says. He was being sarcastic… the sweet name did not sound so sweet when he said it with so much venom.

"Somewhere with real food," I say, picking up my slice of gross looking pizza and throwing it back on my plate.

God, I was being such a bitch. I bring my hand back up to my temple, pressing at the muscle there and trying to will the headache to leave me.

"Oh no," I hear Blaise again and I look up to find him smiling. "Princess Ginevra is unhappy. We can't have that."

I ignore him and turn away even more, almost sitting sideways on my chair with my arms tightly crossed as I look out the window at the paved street outside with its burning green street lamps. Draco tells me he'll be right back and I don't even look at him as he stands up and disappears into the restaurant.

"You okay?" Pansy asks carefully, moving to take Draco's seat by my side to talk to me.

"I'm fine," I say shortly, not really meaning it. "I think I'm going to go home after this."

"Oh, no, Ginny!" Daphne turns to me. "Don't do that! We are going to have such a fun night!"

"Yeah, Ginny!" Blaise says, making fun of Daphne's voice and the way she bounces when she talks. "Please, don't leave us!"

"You are being pretty rude," Pansy whispers, making sure the others don't hear her as she grabs my arm so I'll look at her. "You might want to adjust your attitude."

"Why?" I give her a mean look. "Are you going to spank me?"

"Draco just might," she says with a smirk. "If you keep acting like a child."

"She might like that too much." I flick my eyes up at Blaise as he smirks at me and I feel a blush spread over my cheeks. He seems to notice that too and he tilts his head to the side with a pleased smile. "Don't give her any ideas."

Pansy snaps at him for listening to our conversation and then she goes back to me, giving me a tight smile.

"Do you want the rest of my drink?" She offers me her beer. "I'm sure he won't mind."

I roll my eyes and ignore her.

She moves when Draco comes back and the waitress returns a few seconds after, placing a plate in front of me that has two slices of normal looking pizza on top. It doesn't have any weird vegetables, or strange cheese at all…

"Better?" I glance at Draco as he looks down at me.

I feel my heart soften and I feel guilty for being so terrible.

"Thank you," I say in a small voice, suddenly embarrassed for the way I had acted. He puts his arm over the back of my chair and then leans down to get my attention.

"I would do anything for you," he says seriously and I feel my stomach doing the twisting thing again. "All you have to do is ask me. You don't have to act like a bitch to get your way when I am more than willing to give you what you want. Right?" I nod my head and then let him kiss me. "Good. Now, eat so we can leave."

They all have to wait on me while I finish my food and Draco keeps his arm around the back of my seat as he sips on some kind of amber colored drink in a small glass. When it's finally time to leave, I hear Millicent complain that she's tired that Draco just lets me walk all over him. I'm not even sure what she means by that but it earns her a glare from Daphne who tells her to be quiet.

"I think we can all go to mine to find something to wear," Pansy says once we reach the sidewalk. "Is that okay?"

I know who she's asking and I look up at Draco to see what he says.

"I have something I need to do first," he says as he takes my hand and brings it up to his lips. "I'll meet you there, yes?"

I nod my head, feeling a smile on my face when he kisses the back of my hand. He can be so irritating sometimes but then he has to go and do something so sweet that it makes me forget about how bossy he is.

I go with the girls to Pansy's house. I knew I was pushing my luck and I fingered the seashell charm as the other girls moved about the kitchen, trying to find something to wear. I didn't even really know what was going on but Daphne explained that 'everything goes but clothes' meant that you literally could wear anything that didn't count as normal clothing in everyday society.

Pansy wrapped herself in aluminum foil, turning it into some risqué looking mini dress with a matching headband. Daphne picked duct tape, and all she did was make a bra looking thing with it and a skirt that I don't think really counted as a skirt as it was so small... Millicent, who glared at me the whole entire time like I owed her a large sum of money, cut up a garbage bag and turned it into a sexy little black dress. I thought it was fitting that she was dressed in a trash bag considering her personality was garbage.

My own little joke made me smirk.

"Gin, what are you going to wear?" Pansy asks as she uses the toaster as a mirror while she applies more lip gloss.

"I don't know," I shrug as I glance around the room, halfheartedly looking for something.

"They won't let you in unless you follow the rules of the night," Daphne points out as she opens the pantry and starts rummaging through it, trying to find some material for me to wear.

"How about a cardboard box?" Millicent says bitterly from the other side of the room. I ignore her, and so does everyone else.

"Here," Daphne says as she pulls out a bin of newspapers that need to be recycled. "We can make you a quick dress out of this," she says as she pulls out her wand. "Strip down to your knickers, Ginny," she says as she starts pulling things out of the box.

I glance at Millicent. I actually don't want her to see my body and say bad things about me... but... oh, fuck her. She's mean and I'm not that bad anyways. I know Draco likes my body so who cares what she thinks. I strip out of my shirt and skirt. Pansy and Daphne use their wands to secure the newspaper around me like a dress as I put my heavy hair over my right shoulder. They keep it short and strapless so my black bra straps are showing. Pansy even lets me borrow a pair of Ivy's shoes before we leave. The dress is stiff and uncomfortable but more modest by far than the other girls. Just so Draco won't lose his ever-loving mind as Daphne put it when I questioned whether or not they really needed to add more material. I just accept it. It doesn't bother me because it's not like I prefer to wear slutty clothes anyways. Why fight it?

The club is situated in the middle of a row of pubs and restaurants off Knockturn Alley. It didn't look like much on the outside but once we passed the large yellow door- I let my eyes go wide. It was so much larger on the inside- all metal and futuristic looking with mirrored walls and floating tables that hovered in the air. People inside were dancing, dressed in all different kinds of materials as the floor moved and went up and down like a living, pulsing thing in time to the music. People were wearing bubble wrap, plastic toys, cups, wires, wood... I even saw a man in condom pants. It all looked so wild and I found myself smiling a little bit because it all looked so fun.

A couple of large cauldrons rest on a stage at the center of the dance floor brewing large colorful bubbles that float all around the room, changing colors every time the song changes.

I pop a green one when it floats past my face and a handful of glittering confetti bursts out all over Millicent's head.

She glares at me and I give her an uncomfortable smile in return.

I guess I did earn that look.

When we get upstairs and finally see the boys, I stop and put my hand on my hip. They are sitting in a roped off section that looks important and Draco smirks when he sees me. They're all dressed in their normal clothes and I narrow my eyes as Draco runs an appreciative glance down my body.

"Why did we have to dress up if you didn't?" I state sourly as I take a seat beside him when he motions for me to sit.

"You didn't have to," he points out and I glare at Pansy and Daphne as they smile at me.

"They said you could only get in if you..." They totally lied. I can tell by the way they're smiling at each other now. "Oh, never mind," I state as I slump against the back of the booth, my dress making annoying noises the whole time.

There are older guys sitting with us now… Guys I know from Hogwarts who have already graduated and I send a nervous look their way when I remember playing quidditch against some of them.

"It's fun, Ginny," Daphne says with a perky smile as she leans across the table, her boobs almost spilling out over the duct tape bra. Crabbe comes up beside her and I see him blatantly checking her out in a way that makes me feel dirty. "It's good to live a little every now and then."

"You give into peer pressure quite easily," Draco points out as he takes a drink from his glass. I take it from him, but he pulls it back. "You are in quite a mood today," he says with a laugh as I make a face. He puts his hand over the top of his drink and gives me a look. "And you're not drinking tonight."

I pout at him and then look up to find Theodore Nott smirking at me from behind a pint glass. I know exactly what he's thinking but I won't let it bother me. Daddy said no? I can hear his voice saying as he tilts his head to look at me. I scowl and turn away.

"Can you at least get me something that tastes good?" I say, glancing at Draco and trying to ignore Nott- who I hate. "I'm thirsty."

A waitress comes by and Draco orders a girly sounding drink for me- non alcoholic. It tastes like some kind of frozen strawberry concoction and I like it so I take my time drinking as Draco puts his hand on my knee. I can feel Nott staring at me and when I ask him where Luna is he just shrugs his shoulders like he didn't care.

So I tell him that his shirt is stupid.

He laughs at me, not in the least bit bothered but Draco does give me a look for it because it was so unnecessary.

I can feel myself being mean and I keep glaring at people. I glare at Millicent for breathing. I glare at Crabbe for touching Daphne when she clearly doesn't want him to. I glare at Pansy for giving me a look for being so bitchy. My headache from before… seeing Harry… Looking at Nott's squirrely face has put me in a right bad mood once again and I find myself turning away from Draco just because he's bossy and I wasn't in any sort of mood to deal with it.

"Let's go dance," Pansy tries to pull me towards the dance floor, but I shake my head.

"No," is all I say as I focus on my drink.

"But, Ginny..." Daphne tries to persuade me, but Draco cuts her off.

"She said no," he says sternly as he glances at them. "Go without her."

They both furrow their brows at him, but they don't question it as they head towards the dance floor. I watch them go… and I make a face when Crabbe follows behind- I'm sure to annoy Daphne some more when he clearly can't take a hint. Blaise and Draco are talking about the game and Millicent is on the other side of the booth, sitting next to Marcus Flint who looks just as terrible as I remember him looking when he was still in school… Only bigger, older, and somehow uglier.

Draco says something to me but I brush him off so he leans in close and grabs my chin so I'm forced to look at him.

"Knock it off," is all he says before turning back to Blaise and tapping the inside of my thigh to remind me to be nicer to him.

If he had been Dean he would have fallen all over himself to apologize to me whether I was right or not. I was always so short with Dean. A part of me regrets that now because he deserved someone to be kind to him. Draco wasn't going to let me get away with treating him like that and I guess that's part of why I like him.

I watch Millicent as she flirts with Flint, batting her eyelashes and throwing her hair over her shoulder. I remember what she used to look like before having all that work done and I snort into my glass. Blaise gets up to use the loo after a while and then Theo leaves as well but I do not care where he goes… because I hate him. With them gone- it leaves the four of us at the table in a terribly uncomfortable double date set up. Draco's fingers tickle the insides of my thigh as Millicent leans into Flint with her lips pouting in a sexy way. She sends a quick look to Draco before running her fingers through Flint's hair.

I narrow my eyes.

Bitch.

I look at Draco to see what he's doing. He has his wand out and he's tapping it against a napkin, seeing if he has any written messages. He can be so boring sometimes. I catch Millicent sending another sly glance to Draco and I turn back to him and lean more against his body. He glances at me before turning away again, but I'm not done yet.

"What are you doing?" I ask in a soft voice, but I know full well what he's doing.

"Checking to see if anyone wrote to me," he says, tapping through old messages on the napkin.

"Oh," I say and I look at Millicent as she whispers into Flint's ear. I scoot even closer. "Draco," I say to get him to look at me. When he does, I think he gets that I want his attention because he puts his wand away. "Do you like this dress?" I ask.

He smirks and looks down. "Very much," he admits. "I like that I can read about the crime rate in Diagon Alley and look at your chest all at the same time," he says and when I look down I realize that's true and I laugh.

"At least I'm informative," I tell him and I can feel Millicent's eyes on me as I smile at my boyfriend. Yes, he is my boyfriend, after all. She shouldn't be putting on a show for him. I put my hand over his under the table, and I move it up a little further on my thigh.

He raises an eyebrow and gives me an amused look.

"Quite a mood," he repeats as I lean over and kiss his cheek.

I can practically feel Millicent's bitter glare now and it makes me smile as I move my lips to his jaw and then to his neck. He squeezes my thigh and Millicent clenches her jaw.

"I'm going to be sick," she snaps and she stands from the table. "Let's dance."

Flint follows her as she stomps off and I pull away from Draco with a smirk on my face. Mission accomplished. I go to take a drink from my glass, but Draco takes it out of my hand and pulls me onto his lap.

"I don't think so," he says as I look at him in surprise. "You have to finish what you started now," he says darkly as he grabs the back of my head and presses his lips against mine.

"Well, this is always a good time."

"Go away," Draco says against my lips when Blaise comes back to the table. "Now," he demands as I bite his ear lobe just because I can. I don't even care that we are in public.

He must like that I did that because I feel his body respond underneath me. That power between his legs that I wanted to learn how to please presses against me and I pull back to give him what I hope is a sexy look. All my misplaced anger is now replaced with lust and my mood seems to shift dramatically at the possibility of him touching me so intimately again.

"Let's go back to my place," Draco whispers after a few moments. "Get you out of this ridiculous dress. I can unwrap you like a present again," he says with a pleased smirk.

There are so many things that could happen if I agreed to go back with him.

One of them being sex.

I definitely wanted to have sex with him, but I've never had sex and that was such a big move. My head knew it was a bad idea, but my body was all on board. He must see my hesitation as I try to figure it out and he leans back.

"On a scale of one to ten... how much do you like me?" he asks, tapping his fingers against my thigh.

"I would say a ten, I guess." unsure if that is the right answer or if I should have teased him.

"You guess?" he says as he gathers up my hair so he can expose my neck. I love it when he kisses my neck. He leaves open mouth kisses there that are nearly painful, but I like the feel of it.

"On a scale of one to ten how much do you like me?" I ask back, breathless.

"Fifteen," he says without missing a beat and I smile. "Come on," he says as he urges me off his lap so he can stand up. "Let's get out of here."

I take his hand and let him pull me to my feet, but as we're walking away from the booth, Daphne comes running up to us, looking panicked.

"Oh, my God," she says, halfway out of breath and looking terrified. "Ginny, your mum is here."

"What?" My voice falls flat and without humor. "That's not funny," I say seriously and she shakes her head as Pansy runs up beside her.

"No, we're fucking serious," Pansy says sharply. Her dress has started to come apart… you can see most of her bra. "She's talking to one of the bartenders now looking for you."

"How would she know you were here?" Draco asks and I grip the charm necklace again.

She tracked me.

Stupid Ginny.

"Here," I say as I quickly take off the necklace and I hand it to Pansy. It was so idiotic of me to wear it out. My childish fears of being kidnapped by Death Eaters is nothing compared to my mother's wrath. "Wear this. When she tracks it, tell her I let you borrow it for the day to go with your outfit or something. Tell her you work at Folk Hills," I say in a panic as I run over to the railing and look down at the bar. "Please, just tell her anything to get her to believe you."

My mother sticks out like a sore thumb in her housecoat and sensible shoes. That, and the fact that she's the only old person here. She's so embarrassing and I find myself angry at her for even coming here.

"Is there a back way out?" I ask because she's standing near the front door.

"Of course there is," Draco answers me as Pansy puts on my necklace. "Come with me," he says as he takes my hand and starts walking me towards a hidden door on the second level. Once it's opened, we run down the fire escape as he reaches for his wand.

"She is going to kill me," I say as he puts his arm around my waist. "She is going to murder me and I will never see the light of day again."

"Just lie successfully," Draco says before apparating us away.

Of course, he did know where I lived and we landed in the fields just across from The Burrow. It's raining and I would scream in frustration if I had the time.

Paper dress and rain make for a disaster and I try to hold it up as Draco looks down at me with an amused tilt to his lips.

I choose to ignore it.

I give him a grateful kiss before I put in the code, trying to hold the dress together as it starts to slip off of me.

I don't even bother to look over my shoulder as I run towards the house. Thunder sounds, lightning flashes, and I pray to anything out there that I won't get caught. My father has to be home… so I run towards my bedroom and stare up at the window. It looks so much farther up in the rain. I tear off the rest of the stupid dress, leaving me in my bra and knickers as I start to climb up, using the garden trellis and the drain pipe as leverage. When I get to my window I have to use all my strength to pry it open. Sometimes the humidity can make the wood swell and stick and of course it does it right fucking now. I cuss a few times before I can get it to go up far enough for me to slide though. Breathless and drenched from the rain, I fall back on my bed and try to still my heart.

After a moment, I realize my predicament, so I jump to get dressed in dry, comfy clothes. I try to dry my hair with a spell but I'm not very good at it so I end up grabbing a towel to wrap around my head instead. Twenty minutes later, I hear the front door open and I flip on my stomach and open the notebook with my heart hammering in my chest.

I listen to footsteps as they come up the stairs and down the hallway, and I take in a deep breath when they open my door.

"Where have you been?" My mother asks sharply- my father hot on her heels.

"What do you mean?" I ask as I sit up and put my notebook on my lap.

She holds up the necklace and I try to look confused. "I followed this to an adult club in the city," she says in anger and I furrow my brows.

"I let a friend borrow it," I lie through my teeth as she walks further into the room, trying to find evidence of my misdeeds as she moves clothes around and checks my closet. "I didn't think you would mind."

"I checked your room, Ginevra," she says as she glares at me. "You weren't here."

"I was in the attic." The next lie comes quickly enough. "I was trying to finish up cleaning," I tell them. "Then I decided to write a little before bed."

"See Molly. We didn't even think to check there," My father says, finally finding his voice as he steps around my mother. "A reasonable explanation. You know our Ginny wouldn't sneak out and go to a club. She's a good girl."

Good girl.

My poor father and all his hope in me... I almost feel bad.

Mum glares at me for a few moments and then she looks at my Dad. I can see the wheels turning in her head and her resolve melts a little.

"You were in the attic?" she asks and I nod my head like a good little liar. After a few moments she sighs and walks over to me, handing me the necklace. "Don't loan this out without telling me. You nearly gave me a heart attack."

"I'm sorry, Mum," I say as she steps back and watches me with her hands on her hips.

"Alright," she says with a head nod. "You should go to sleep now. It's after midnight."

"Yes, Mum," I say, like a good little girl.

"Night, Ginny Bean."

I roll my eyes as they walk out of my room. Dad shuts off my light and Mum closes my door.

Once they're gone, I let out a breath and lay back against my pillows with the necklace still clutched in my hand. I let the metal slide through my fingers for a few moments before I sit up and throw it against the wall. Stupid thing and stupid tracker on it! I'm never wearing that again after that embarrassing display from my mother.

I try to fall asleep, but I just can't. I end up staring at my ceiling for hours, but I jump when I hear something tapping against the window. I find it's just an owl. The beautiful eagle owl that belongs to Draco. I get up from my bed. It's not carrying a note and as soon the window is open, it flies off. I crane my neck to see where it's going and that's when I spot Draco standing on the other side of the fence. When the owl reaches him, it lands on one of the posts and Draco pets the bird's feathers before it flies off.

He looks up at me and I give him a wave to let him know that I see him. He makes a motion for me to come down to him, but I don't want to go outside and risk it, so I chew on my lower lip until a thought strikes me. I hold up my finger to signal for him to wait and he nods his head before I run out of my room.

My parents are asleep. I try to be quiet as I tiptoe into their room and sneak over to their dresser. I know this is only for emergencies, but I don't care. Not right now. My father snores loudly and turns in his sleep. I pause a panicked second before opening the top drawer and digging through their socks until I find the small piece of paper that I'm looking for.

I gently unfold it and see the password written by our secret keeper. I smile to myself before creeping out of their bedroom and running back towards my own room. I close my door and lock it before running over to the window. I whistle for our barn owl and the old sad thing comes stumbling to me like a drunk man from the attic window. When he lands on the window frame, I give him the bit of parchment and point to Draco.

"Give it to him," I tell him and then he flies off, nearly running into a tree before landing on the post by Draco and giving him the password. I watch as Draco reads it and then he smiles.

He goes to the gate to put in the passcode and I watch the magic shimmer when it accepts him. I smile as he hops the fence and jogs over to my window. He looks at the drain pipe and then up at me. It's still raining… not nearly as hard but his hair is slicked back and his face is wet with it.

"You have to climb," I say in a loud whisper and he makes a disagreeable face before doing just that.

He's better at it than me, actually, and he makes it to my window in two seconds with his long and agile body.

"That wasn't so hard," he mutters as he climbs through my window. He kisses me once he finds his footing, grabbing me by the waist and smiling. "Forgive me for the late night call, but I couldn't sleep."

"Me either," I admit, looking at his rain cloak and running my fingers over the smooth material.

"Are you in much trouble?" he asks seriously.

He steps back to remove the cloak and I turn on my bedside lamp.

"I convinced them that I was here the whole time," I say as I sit down on my bed.

"I'm proud of you," he says with a smirk as puts his cloak carefully over my desk chair. He holds onto the side of my vanity as he heels out of his shoes and then takes off his socks.

Why is he getting so comfortable?

I watch him as he cracks his neck and looks around as he unbuckles his belt.

"Uh, what are you doing?" I ask. The pants get folded up and placed on the chair.

"Getting ready for bed, obviously," he says like I was stupid as he pulls his shirt over his head.

"You can't actually sleep here," I point out, staring at him in his boxer briefs and feeling my pulse quicken as I take in his body. "My parents are home."

"Lock your door," he says with a shrug as he places his things on my dresser. He takes off his watch… he puts down his wallet… he sets down his wand… It all seems so natural and so grown up.

"They have wands. They can unlock doors," I whisper and he rolls his eyes.

"I have a wand too," he says as he picks it up again. He points it to the door and he swishes his wand a few times. The door glows yellow before settling back to its original color.

"What did you just do?" I ask and he glances at me as he puts his wand back on my nightstand.

"No wand but mine can unlock that door now, so we'll have plenty of time to fix things if your parents come knocking."

He goes and shuts the window before looking around with his hands on his hips. "Your room is messy," he says flatly and I blush because he's right.

"Not all of us have house elves."

"That's not an excuse," he says and I have a feeling he would keep a tidy room even if he didn't have servants to do it for him.

"Feel free to clean it," I tell him, annoyed.

"You're going to clean it tomorrow," he says as he motions for me to scoot over so he can get on the bed with me. "It'll be clean the next time I come here."

I make a face but say nothing. I lay back and move towards the wall as he turns off my light. As I scoot over to make room for him, I'm finally hit with the realization of the situation. He's in my bed, half naked, and I was pretty much all over him earlier. Is he expecting something?

"Hey, come here," he says as he pulls me down until I'm right beside him and he arranges the covers until we're both comfortably under them. "Your bed is small," he says as he kisses the side of my face.

"Anything else you'd like to point out?" I say flatly, embarrassed as I look at the peeling corner of the ceiling.

"Not yet," he says tiredly as he turns on his back and puts his arm behind his head. "But I'm sure I'll find something."

I can't help but laugh a little at that. I feel really strange with him in my room… in my bed… It feels so heavy so I turn my back on him to face the wall, picking at my lip because I am nervous. He turns as well and molds himself behind me. He fits against me like a puzzle piece and I have a panicked moment… thinking he's going to do something sexual… but he doesn't. He just places a sweet kiss on my shoulder before laying back with a sigh. I can feel his warm breath against my hair and I can feel the rise and fall of his strong chest. His fingers grip mine for a moment before he moves them so he's gently caressing the underside of my wrist with his thumb where the skin is the softest

After about half an hour of silence his breathing evens out and when I realize he's asleep I smile a little bit. Sleeping feels more intimate than the sexy stuff. The thought makes me feel giddy and I turn in his arms to look at him in the moonlight. God, he's so attractive. I can't help but bring a hand up to brush some hair from his forehead… It's still damp from the rain and his skin… His skin is just so beautiful. I doubt Draco Malfoy ever even had a blemish before and I let my fingers dance down to that one mole he has on his cheek. I try to keep my fingers feather light, but it wakes him up anyways. He raises his brows but doesn't open his eyes.

"Stop that," he says, his voice deep and full of sleep.

I smile a little to myself and pull my hand back. He leans forward to find me in the dark and I meet him halfway to kiss him. He settles back to fall back asleep and I tilt my chin down to try to sleep as well, happy and feeling content.

I have another dream. A vivid dream like when I was younger and didn't understand anything. I find myself in the forbidden forest with blood on my hands. Draco shows up, looking regal and handsome dressed in black dress robes. He smirks at me as I try to wash the blood off.

"I've always liked you in red," he says.

The blood won't wash out no matter how hard I scrub.

"Harder," he says and I look at him. "You have to go harder if you want the blood to come out."

I started crying, and then I was laughing, and then I was having sex with Draco again.

When I wake up, I feel a hand between my legs and I crack my eyes open as his fingers slip under my knickers.

"What are you doing?" I whisper in a voice thick with sleep, still in that foggy state between sleeping and waking as the sun falls across my bedroom wall.

He kisses my cheek and I feel him smile against my skin.

"Judging by this," he says as he moves his fingers against my arousal. "Someone had a good dream."

I don't know if good is what I would call it.

"But," he says as he leans up on his elbow with his free hand. "I can make it a whole lot better," he says before rolling on top of me.

His gray eyes are full of sleep and he's looking so handsome with tousled hair as he rolls his clothed hips against mine so I can feel how turned on he is.

"Okay," I say nervously, my voice sounding scratchy. "But I have to…" He raises his eyebrow. "I have to go to the bathroom."

He smiles and then he stands up. I can see his arousal… and I look away from him quickly as he raises his wand to the door and mutters a spell I do not know.

I go out to the hallway, closing the door tightly behind me and running to the loo. I really do have to pee, but then I start thinking about what he was doing… and how he was touching me and I know I should take a quick shower. I start the water and brush my teeth to get rid of the morning breath and then I strip, hopping in the shower intending for it to be quick. I turn up the heat and wash my hair first before turning my attention to my body, paying particular attention to the parts I think Draco wants to touch.

I freeze when the door opens.

"Mum?" I say when the door shuts again and I peek out to see Draco. "What are you doing?"

"I have to go too," he says with a shrug as he locks the door and then goes to the toilet. I shut the curtain and turn away, blinking because I can not believe Draco Malfoy is peeing in the same room as me.

"Is the white one yours?" he asks, his voice still thick with sleep.

"What?"

"The toothbrush?" he says. I peek out again to find him putting toothpaste on my toothbrush and using it to clean his teeth. He glances at me and smiles around the brush with little white paste at the corners of his mouth when he sees the look on my face. "You let me stuff my entire tongue in your mouth but suddenly sharing a toothbrush is gross?"

I close the curtain and turn away again. I make it even hotter and try to ignore the sick feeling in my stomach that tells me how dangerous this is. What would happen if my parents found Draco Malfoy here… like this? Halfway dressed and using my damn toothbrush? They would probably kill him. My father would go to Azkaban and my mum would die of a broken heart. Then I would be forced to live on the streets all because of Draco Malfoy. I hear some more rustling around and then the curtain opens. My jaw drops when Draco steps in behind me.

"What are you doing?" I hiss.

"Taking a shower," he says, reaching out to touch the water and then pulling his hand back. "Why is it so fucking hot?"

I cross my arms to cover my breasts, uncomfortable. He takes some water and flicks it over his face and hair.

"My parents are going to murder you," I tell him as he steps closer and reaches around my body to grab something from the shelf behind me. His face brushes mine and then he pauses to look into my eyes. Water droplets are on his face and some of his dark eyelashes are sticking together. "Then they will murder me."

"Is this why you smell so good?" he says, sniffing the bar of soap that he grabbed as he ignores me. "I like this scent."

He starts cleaning himself and I try not to look between his legs… I freeze when there is a knock on the door.

"Gin?"

It's my Mum and I feel my heart drop into my stomach. My eyes flick to Draco's… He's not panicked at all… In fact, he's smiling at me.

"Can I come in?"

"I'm taking a shower!"

"I just wanted to say something to you." She uses her wand and unlocks the door. I widen my eyes as Draco's smile gets even more devilish. My heart is positively bursting now and I look down, letting the water fall all over my head as she sighs loudly.

"I didn't like how we left things last night," she says tiredly. Draco picks up my shampoo and I watch him as he washes his hair. "I know you think I'm being unfair but I really just want you to be safe. I'm sorry I didn't believe you."

I can't even look at Draco anymore and then he drops the shampoo bottle.

I inhale a sharp breath and glare at him.

"You okay?"

"I just dropped something." I say tightly as he steps closer and bends down to pick it up right in front of me.

"It's just such a bad time," she sighs as Draco looks up at me, his cheeks dotted pink from the heat of the shower as the steam rises around us. "And I'm so sad that this all has to be happening now… when you are just coming into yourself but you understand, don't you Ginny?" I nod even though she can't see because Draco puts his hand on my leg and gently tickles his fingers up my calf as he stands. "You understand why I am doing what I am doing?" His fingers reach my hip and then my waist. "You're my only baby still at home and I can't control what the others do… but I can keep you safe."

My eyes flick to Draco again as he brings his hands up to uncross my arms. He's not smiling anymore but he is watching my face.

"I suppose I just wanted to apologize for not trusting you," she says gently as Draco leans down and kisses my shoulder. "For not believing you."

"It's okay," I say shortly, wanting her to leave..

"I'm going back to bed," she says with a yawn as Draco's hands come up to cup my breasts. "I have no idea how you're up so early."

With that she leaves and the door closes behind her. I don't even look at Draco as I step out and grab a towel, annoyed with him. I feel really guilty now and I wrap the towel around myself… feeling like a bad daughter. Draco says nothing as he steps out and I offer him one of the pink towels. He doesn't even comment on how itchy it is as he dries himself and then pulls his boxer briefs back on. I peek my head out as he grabs his wand and then I make a motion to him that the coast is clear as I run back to my room.

He just casually walks… to my utter annoyance.

I fall back on my bed and throw my arm over my face as he closes the door and locks it with his special spell.

"What were you thinking?" I say sharply, glaring at him. "We could have gotten caught."

"We didn't."

"But we could have."

"Why are you worried about things that didn't happen?"

"You shouldn't have been pawing at me while she was talking to me like that."

He sighs before grabbing his watch from my night stand. I watch him put it on and then watch him as he goes to my vanity to grab his trousers.

"What are you doing?" I ask.

"I'm going home," he says, glancing at me. "That's what you're wanting, isn't it?"

"No," I say because… well… I don't really know what I want.

He looks at me laying down on the bed and then his eyes go slowly over my body.

"Do you want me to stay?"

I hesitate a second so he starts putting on his pants.

"Wait," I say, sitting up on my knees and clutching the towel at my chest so it doesn't fall down. The sun is falling over me… I can feel it in my eyes, but I try not to let it bother me too much as I blink hard against it. "I…" I swallow hard. "I do want you to stay."

He smiles and then he walks over to me, gripping my chin as he looks down at me.

"You don't even look real sometimes, did you know that?" he says gently, his eyes flicking over my face. I don't think he's ever looked at me so sweetly before. "Lay back."

I do what he says and he lays beside me, undoing the towel. It was one thing to have him look at me in the darkness on the lake or halfway covered in the shower… but in the full sunshine, I felt really uncomfortable. It was like every imperfection would somehow jump out to him and he would see me for what I truly was. So, I stop his hand and his gray eyes flick to mine.

"Please, let me see you," he says gently. "All of you."

Well…. he did say please.

I let him open the towel and his eyes drink me in. I feel the bumps rise on my skin as he reaches out to run his fingers along my waist and hip.

"Do you still want to learn how to please me, Ginny?" he asks, his voice a dark whisper.

"Yes," I say before thinking just because of the sexy way he's looking at me. "I've never…"

"I know," he says gently. He rolls on his back and places a hand behind his head. "I know."

He takes my hand and places it where his hardness is and I feel my heart quicken.

"I want you to use your mouth," he says, bringing his hand up and running his thumb over my lower lip. I'm shaking a little bit and I feel cold all of a sudden. "And when you're done with that I'll do the same for you."

I swallow hard and then nod my head. He pulls his boxer briefs down and I look at him there. He doesn't try to hide like I did the first time he saw me and it looks impressive in the daylight … almost scary, actually, because it meant we weren't playing around anymore. It was one thing for him to touch me and for me to fumble around with him…. But if I touched him like this it would make it all seem so much more serious.

I flick a shy glance up at him and he smiles at me. I'm so nervous. Why am I so nervous? I've never seen this naked part of a man so close before and it was doing something weird to my body. A part of me wanted to run away from it, not totally ready to step into that next phase of being a woman but the other part wanted to make him feel just as good as he made me feel. He sits up slightly to look at my breasts before bringing his hands up to touch me there. He's gentle but the feeling makes me shake again because I'm so anxious. I'm trying not to shy away. I want to be brave for him.

"Only if you want to," he says patiently, his hand back on my face as he looks at my lips.

If I did this, I would officially be a girl who gave her boyfriend head. I'd be in that certain category that can't be undone and there's a part of me that can see Draco fighting with my brother back at school and throwing it in his face. He would smirk and tell him all about how I had put my mouth on him… and I imagine he would be crude about it. Telling Ron and Harry that I had sucked his dick and—

"Stop doing that," Draco pulls me out of my thoughts. He gives me a serious look. "Don't overthink it. If you don't want to, you don't have to. It's fine if you're not ready."

I could tell he was frustrated, but he was trying to be kind about it. Would it be really unsexy if I made him pinky promise not to tell anyone? Why would I even want to do anything with someone I didn't feel like I could trust? I'm just sitting naked on my bed with him and I've let him do so much other stuff to me but I won't even touch him now? What is wrong with me?

"I'm not going to force you to do something you don't want to do," he says, sitting up a little straighter. "Just give me a minute, yeah?"

He goes as if to cover himself but I stop his hands.

I remember how good his fingers feel… how good his mouth feels and I give him a timid smile. I look up at him… His hair is so messy from the shower and he smells like my soap.

"I do want to."

He smiles and leans back again. He eyes me for a moment, like he was trying to read my expression and then he runs his fingers through my hair. He gathers some of it at the nape of my neck, tugging me into a passionate kiss before pulling back and looking at me with eyes heavy with lust and something else I can't identify.

"Then put it in your mouth."

I feel an excited shiver run through me at his words and I do as he says. I can feel his hand on the back of my head, gently directing me as I try to please him. I don't know if I'm doing it right but he keeps saying nice, encouraging things to me and I start moving faster at his gentle urging. I use my hand when he tells me to and I try not to think about how compromising this position is. He tells me once to look up at him and I glance up with the tip of him still in my mouth and he smiles so beautifully at me that I feel it go right between my legs.

"Can you take the whole thing?" he asks in a husky whisper, almost breathless.

"I can try," I whisper, pulling back for a moment to get the hair out of my face.

He leans forward and kisses me before directing my head back down.

"You can do it," he whispers as I try to relax my throat to take the whole thing in my mouth as he slowly lifts his hips. "Come on, beautiful," he says gently. I can't do it. It's too big for that. I'll start gagging so I pull up. He doesn't seem to mind and then I get back to it until he warns me that he's almost ready. I'm honestly not sure what's going to happen next. I've heard whispers about other girls doing this with their boyfriends but I'm not sure how it ends…. "It will be so sexy if you swallow it," he whispers and I do just that when he cums in my mouth and I suddenly taste him on my tongue.

When it's finished, I look up at him again to see his eyes closed. His lips are slightly parted and his cheeks are flushed. I have never seen him so relaxed and I smile a little to myself that I could do that to him. After a few moments he cracks his eyes open and then raises his eyebrow when he sees me smiling at him.

"You liked that," I point out just like he did to me on the boat and then I bite my lip when I see the smirk grace his face.

"Your turn," he whispers, flipping us and then disappearing under the blankets, briskly pushing my legs apart.

"My god, it's soaked down here," he teases, peeking up from between my legs as I raise the blanket to see him. "Seems like you liked sucking me off almost as much as I did."

I laugh out loud and then cover my mouth as I look at the door. My smug smile vanishes pretty quickly when I feel his fingers and I arch my back, trying to bite back my moan as all my little girl stuffed animals watch Draco Malfoy work me up with his fingers and tongue.

I look up at the peeling ceiling and grab his hair, bucking my hips against his face in a way that makes him chuckle. I realize now how grateful I am that Ron and his friends are no longer here to ruin everything.

Thank God.

"I prefer to be called Draco," he says with a smirk against my thigh. I blush, not realizing I had said the thought out loud and I look down at him as he smiles up at me.

I can't help it. I smile back and I don't think I will ever stop smiling. Not if he keeps looking at me like that. He kisses his way up my body and he rests on top of me for a moment, brushing hair away from my face and looking at me in such a gentle way. He's so close to me now and I have a wicked second where I almost ask him to put it in because I felt so suddenly empty.

He looks so perfect in the morning light and I look over his face. Trying to file into memory every detail, tilt, and color.

"Merlin," he whispers, looking into my eyes. "Look how perfect you are." That's funny because I was thinking the same thing about him. I find myself smiling, unable to hold it back anymore and I look away, feeling shy about how intensely he's looking at me. "You're so perfect and you're mine."

… and you're mine.

I look at him again as he kisses his way back down my body and then he looks up at me again from between my thighs, giving me a wolfish grin.

"This is mine too," he whispers. "Just so you know," he adds before dipping his head down to finish the job.

I know it's wrong… but right now I can't help but agree with him and when I end up whispering his name I think it's pretty clear to the both of us how true those words are.