♥ "The Waiting Game" for the dgficexchange ♥
Title: The Waiting Game
Author: solookup
Rating: PG
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: HPDH (Adult-Fic)
Author's Notes: Thank you for the beta!
Summary: Ginny thought Draco was still the same boy from Hogwarts, but Draco thought otherwise.
The Waiting Game
“I love you Draco, but I really don’t like you right now.”
Ginny Weasley looked away from the tempting glass of water and stood up. She took one last look at him before turning around and exiting the restaurant.
(The other patrons stopped their hushed conversation and eating their dinner as they watched the couple’s conversation escalating to such a loud volume that it drowned out even the raucous noise coming from the kitchen.)
Draco Malfoy kept his temper in check even when Ginny continued her rant during their quiet and enjoyable dinner. But now, with every eye staring right at him with silent judgment, his cheeks tinted pink. Instead of rushing out like those mad Weasel clan, he stood up gracefully, placed his napkin onto the chair’s armrest and left the restaurant with his head still held up high. Whatever he left on the table should cover the dinner and the tip with a lot leftover for the hassle Ginny caused the restaurant.
In place of the sunshine that greeted him before he and Ginny entered the restaurant, Draco was met with thunder and lightning. Cursing at the weather and the damn rain, Draco pulled out his wand from his cloak and muttered a rain repellant spell.
Thanks to some brilliant wizard who thought witches needed umbrellas as a fashion statement (which now even wizards were joining the trend), it meant Draco looked like an imbecile as he walked into the rain without one. Wizards didn’t need anymore Muggle inventions. That was what spells were for.
Ginny could be anywhere by now. Again, he wondered why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut and keep those opinions to himself like he had done so many times before. The black velvet box in his slacks’ pocket suddenly seemed to weigh a ton, dragging him down to the ground as he let the golden opportunity slid away.
Draco failed at stopping the scene from the restaurant replaying over and over again in his mind as he pulled out his wand and Disapparated home alone.
Shedding his cloak and flinging at one of the Manor’s random house elves, he went into the parlor to find his parents. He had failed and he was not in the mood for prodding from his mother. He snapped his fingers and immediately a house elf appeared next to him.
“Where’s Master and Mistress?” Draco asked as his eyes scanned the other rooms.
“Master Draco, Master and Mistress went on holiday. They left Master a note!” Milly the house elf replied happily, then she vanished silently. Draco rolled his eyes. He had legs; he could have gotten the letter himself if the stupid elf told him where it was, or heck, he had a wand in his disposal too.
“Here you go, Master Draco,” Milly bowed and held the envelope out to Draco.
Draco snatched it from the shriveled hands and pulled out the letter as he walked towards his bedroom.
“Dearest Draco,
Your father and I will be away for the next few weeks. Do take care of yourself and come home every now and then to see if it’s still around.
Stay Safe.
Your mother,
Narcissa”
Draco stopped in this track as he reread the letter again and once more to make sure he wasn’t going crazy. He tried to understand how his parents could take off like that. They weren’t the type of people to be spontaneous and leave without any long-term notice.
Nonetheless, Draco retreated back into his room. He sank into the comfort of his bed and pulled out the cubed box for the engagement ring. He was going to ask Ginny tonight but things went sour before he had the chance the salvage the mess. Sometimes things just slipped and before he knew what was happening, Ginny jumped on it immediately without thought. He couldn’t help it, per say. But Ginny needed to know that he was trying, because he really was, for her sake, and his too.
He stood up and walked over to his dresser. Placing the box on the table, his eyes caught his own reflection from the mirror. He needed a good night sleep and then would wait for Ginny’s temper to subside before trying to talk to her again.
*
Ginny woke up from her deep slumber and warm bed to find the horrendous weather from last night continued. She was in no mood to get up for work, especially with whatever happened last night with Draco was still unresolved.
It had been a year and a half almost, as Ginny recalled, and Draco still was acting the way he always had. It was frustrating to see that she made no impact in his life. Molly reminded Ginny that these things took time; especially with how extreme Draco’s prejudice against everything was. In her darkest moments, sometimes Ginny wondered if the only reason Draco dated her was because she was the only pureblood around, especially one with a squeaky clean reputation and one he could stand that weren’t spoiled since birth.
But immediately after she felt guilty and regretted judging Draco in such a negative light. After all, Draco was dating the daughter of a Muggle-loving father. So that couldn’t have been the reason he stayed with her.
Frustrated and embarrassed at her foolishness, Ginny kicked off the covers and forced herself out of bed. She took her time getting ready, as for once in a purple? (or was it orange?) moon, she woke up much earlier before her alarm clock screamed bloody murder.
Taking one last look at herself in front of the full length mirror, she grabbed her purse with one hand and the wand with the other. She walked down the stairs from her apartment so she could Apparate to work. Sometimes those anti-Apparation spells were quite inconvenient.
When she reached the Apparation point at her workplace, she was genuinely surprised that there were only a few people around. Usually by the time she arrived, it was overcrowded with everyone trying to make room and find the right lift to get to his or her respective floor. Maybe she should get to work a little earlier from now.
As she walked into the available lift, she could hear dozens of light popping noises echoing from the Apparation point. She smiled to herself as the door to the lift slid to a close and moved upward and glad to not be in that hoard of people.
With a genuine smile on her face, Ginny entered her floor surprisingly looking forward to her work day and all the gloomy thoughts about last night disappeared and forgotten for the time being. She walked into her office and got down to business right away. Her morning filled with phone calls of prospective clients.
Ginny worked at the Ads-Sales department of the Daily Prophet. She stumbled onto the job by accident when she found herself answering to any employment ads that would hire her. She quitted three other jobs before taking on this one as an entry level ads salesperson. She thought she would hate this job like the previous ones. They all were just so... boring and repetitive, and nothing like she dreamt back in Hogwarts.
(It disappointed Ginny and her parents that even after the War, the Weasley last name didn’t mean much to employers.)
But it surprised Ginny when she actually got down to work, she actually liked this job much more than the job description. She had the opportunity to talk to new people over the Floo. And once in a while, she left behind the stuffy office and plain deskwork to travel to the clients’ offices. Even though selling ads couldn’t be compared to the glamorous Marketing team upstairs - her department was responsible for selling the advertising space. If there were no clients, there was no point to the Marketing team.
Eventually she slowly moved up and was promoted from that entry-level small-client position (classified ads) to a post that held more responsibility of more well-known clients and held a bigger role in the department. She finally got the office when her old supervisor recommended her for the job, even though she was still one of the younger employees, compared to the old coots that had been here years much longer than her. Her old supervisor reassured her that her work ethic definitely prepared her for a much better role in the department.
She missed the short travels and meeting the smaller clients, but now she had her own office and met with big-named clients. It was a trade-off she gladly made. A knock on her door broke Ginny’s concentration as she began writing up a proposal. The door swung open and a head poked in. “Ginny! Ginny!” It called.
Ginny frowned at the excitement, ignoring the flailing arms as the gap for the door widened. “What is it?”
“There’s a bouquet of roses for you!”
Shit.Ginny gave her secretary Monica a lacklustre smile before getting from her comfortable office chair. This fanfare was not what she needed in her office. What was he trying to pull?
There was a crowd (or whatever five people and her secretary in her department meant) surrounding a nervous looking man with a boyish face holding the flower. Even Ginny had to admit the bouquet was impressive. But the only problem was that no one in the office knew she was dating, or that it was with the one and only Draco Malfoy. And this display might have well... what was that Muggle saying? Letting the cat out of the sock? Something like that.
Ginny scribbled something resembling to her signature with a quill she had tucked above her ear on the piece of paper and handed it back to the delivery man. She was not going back to her office to get her wand to sign the delivery note. She took hold of the large bouquet and could feel the six pairs of eyes gawking at her.
“Ginny! Who is it from? It’s gorgeous! It must have cost a fortune.” Linda asked, still staring at the red roses. The others bobbed their heads in agreement.
Ginny shrugged, not sure how to answer without giving away her long-kept secret. Instead, she chose not to answer the question. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?” Ginny offered, still grinning at her co-workers, though her jaw ached from the forced expression.
The crowd scattered at her obvious command and Ginny quickly stepped into her office, now with a large bouquet in tote. After closing the door behind her, she took one long look at the flowers, and then tossed it onto one of the chairs reserved for clients.
When Ginny saw the extravagant display, it only brought her back to the anger she pushed down from last night, even though she knew it was supposed to be a gesture of apology Instead of dwelling on it, she dove into her work, letting Monica know not to bother her until noon. She decided she would send an owl to Draco at lunch time and scribbled a note to remind herself to do so. In the mean time, he would have to wait and see while Ginny busied herself.
*
As the clock hit five o’ clock, she got out of her office for the first time in hours to bid farewell to her co-workers. Her desk still held piles of paperwork for her to clean up before she headed home, then to the Burrow.
“You have to tell us who those flowers are from soon,” Monica commented and winked at her supervisor.
Ginny just shook and shooed them out for the weekend. She spent a little more than half an hour at her desk before finally tearing herself away from the mountainous paperwork.
She took the bouquet with her and luckily by now most of the employees fled home. She enjoyed the quietness much like this morning and there was no one to question about the flowers. She brought the flowers home and found a nice vase to put them in. She hurried, shedding her work clothes and tossing them into the laundry basket as she made her way to the bathroom. After working herself so hard today, she deserved a nice long shower before bracing herself for her family dinner at the Burrow.
Usually the Weasley family dinner occurred on a Saturday night - which Ginny preferred, but due to “conflicting schedules”, her mum insisted them to have it on Friday night instead of cancelling it. At least the change in schedule gave Ginny an excuse for not bringing Draco to the Burrow - again “conflicting schedule” here would be a good enough excuse.
Despite the more than handful times Draco visited the Burrow, there was still an air of animosity between Draco and her family. Ginny found that Draco still carried that air of arrogance when visiting her childhood home, and her brothers (or just the youngest one and the almost-adopted one plus Hermione) all glare and whisper to each other during Draco’s stay. It was like Hogwarts all over again, even after all these years.
It had been almost ten years. But Ginny couldn’t blame Draco for his dislike for the Burrow. But with everything that happened of the past she couldn’t mention, she couldn’t justify Draco’s reason for his malice.
She picked out the comfiest yet still presentable outfit she could find and grabbed her wand. She hadn’t Flooed in so long that she preferred Apprating to the Burrow even if there was the risk of splinching herself.
With a quiet pop, Ginny Apparated and found herself in a clearing near the Burrow. She never understood why the Apparation Point was so far away from their house. It was a hassle especially during the rainy seasons when the mud caked on the soles of her shoes. But the rain from last night and this morning held off and the mud hardened after the sun’s heat dried up all the rain it soaked up.
But when she entered her childhood house, the warmness and familiarity hit her instant, despite the fact that she visited twice a month at least for the biweekly Weasley gathering. She spotted her mum out of the kitchen with her grandchildren, which was a rarity considering how much she knew her mum loved to cook.
“Ginny! Ginny!” One of the redheads screamed and jumped off the sofa when he spotted his aunt by the door. With the speed he ran towards her, Ginny barely caught the boy in time and lifted him up.
“Fred!” Ginny replied with the enthusiasm. She shifted so her spare hand could pick up the small pieces of paper in his hair. She gave a wave at her mother and tried to head towards her direction but she found herself covered with nephews and nieces.
“Children, children,” Molly stood up from the sofa, “let your Aunt Ginny at least take off her coat before you suffocate her.” She walked over and took Bill from Ginny’s arms so her daughter had her hands free. “Where’s Draco? I made his favourite!”
“He won’t be coming tonight, mum. He has to stay in for work since it’s a Friday night,” Ginny lied while giving her mom a reassuring grin.
“That’s too bad,” a voice behind her said. But Ginny knew he didn’t really mean it considering it was Ron’s voice. “I was looking forward to his company too.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and gave Hermione, who came downstairs right behind Ron, a hug. Her eyes darted left and right b ut Harry was nowhere to be found. Hermione seemed to have noticed Ginny’s train of thought and said, “Harry is on some secret mission that he’s not supposed to tell us. He won’t be here either.”
Ginny nodded and was surprised Ron looked away when Hermione talked and kept his mouth shut at the same time. She had begun to open her mouth and was ready to ask about it when she looked down to see who was tugging at her skirt. It turned out to not be one but two of her nieces who grinned foolishly at her with mischief in their eyes. “Fine, fine,” Ginny laughed, “I’ll come with.”
“Don’t let them exhausted you too much,” Hermione quipped. “They took me out already right when we came already.”
Ginny nodded appreciatively at her friend even if the advice never worked out because the kids always won out in the end. As the other child who still didn’t have kids (the only was Charlie, he shouldn’t anyway), she usually took over as the babysitting role during these dinners and gave her brothers and sisters-in-law a rest.
“Where’s Dra-a-co?” Molly and Lucy asked after each other. Ginny ruffled their hair and they led her away from the adults. “He has white hair!”
Ginny snorted at that and took a seat on the sofa while the two girls stayed standing in front of her. “He has very silver hair, not white. He’s not an old man yet.”
“He’s not old, but he has white hair?” Molly asked and scratched her head in confusion.
“I want white hair! Stupid red hair,” Lucy whined.
Ginny shook her head. “Sorry, Lucy, we’re all stuck with the red hair. It’s the Weasley signature hair colour.”
Lucy tilted her head. “Sig-na-ture? What’s that?”
“I’m here to inform you that dinner is ready,” Audrey, Percy’s wife, winked at Ginny while Ginny reminded herself to use smaller words with the kids next time. “C’mon you little rascals. Go wash your hands for dinner.”
Ginny stayed seated in the sofa as she took in the scene in front of her. Suddenly she wished Draco was here with her as she watched the kitchen and dining table busied with activity of kids and adults together got dinner ready, while she was out of place in this part of the house.
“Ginny, dinner’s ready,” Arthur said, standing in between the kitchen and the sofa. He frowned at her daughter’s silence and took a seat next to her. “What’s wrong?”
Ginny shook her head, lips thinned. She didn’t think she can explain it even if she wanted to. “It’s nothing, Dad. Let’s just go eat.”
He looked at his daughter carefully with watchful eyes and gave her knee a squeeze. “If you want to talk, you know I’m always here,” he added and pushed himself up. He stood and extended his hand, for which Ginny gladly took.
“Thanks, Dad,” Ginny murmured and together they walked to the dining table.
*
Draco sent that bouquet of flower to Ginny in the morning and it had been more than several hours since she should have received it. He paced back and forth in his room troubled that he still hadn’t heard back from Ginny. It gave her plenty of time to calm down and thought about it rationally, without the Weasley temper muddling everything.
He Flooed her again at her apartment just now but still there was no answer. He even sent his owl to her apartment but his trusty owl flew back looking dejected with the note still attached to his feet. He tried her office too but there was no answer. He racked this brain to see where else she could be on a Friday night, which usually was spent with him and not away from him.
Draco knew he should put a tracing spell on Ginny but he stopped himself with the wand in hand. It was to make sure that she was safe, but from Ginny’s point of view, she would have told him that the excuse didn’t justify breaking her trust.
It was hard to stay in line with Ginny’s rules. Unexpectedly Draco realized he forgot to try the Weasley’s house since it was the second most visited house for Ginny, other than her own apartment (and sadly not the Malfoy Manor).
He tossed a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace. “The Burrow,” he called out before sticking his head in the filthy fireplace. He made a mental note to have someone clean this thing out. He craned his neck to the left and saw the Weasley dining table full of the red-headed clan, including one long-curly haired woman. Even from her backside, Draco could tell it was Ginny.
Which begged the question - what the hell was going on and why did Ginny not tell him of this? He remembered to clear his schedule for tomorrow night for the Weasley family dinner, which despite his unwillingness to interact with some of Ginny’s family members, the food Molly cooked, and the rest of the lot were acceptable.
It clicked right away in Draco’s head as he pulled his head back and blinked twice to clear the soot from his eyes. Supposedly the Weasleys moved up the dinner to tonight and Ginny never informed him of the change, or that the entire Weasley clan hated him so they purposely changed it so he would not attend. Somehow the former rather than the latter seemed possible with the way Molly always treated him whenever he was over at the Burrow.
Draco thought Ginny went too far in insulting him with this. She probably made up some lame excuse that he had to work - which seemed fine to the Weasley clan, but to him, it was insulting to the host and hostess that he, Draco Malfoy, would rather work than attend a dinner he was invited to.
He laughed to himself bitterly as he imagined what excuse Ginny would come up with tomorrow to let him know that they weren’t going to the Weasley gathering because it was cancelled or something lame.
Draco sighed and thought about how ridiculous this was. He was going to marry the woman and she still played these stupid games with him - not that she knew he was going to ask, but she would have if she didn’t lose her temper at him last night!
“Milly!” Draco called out and the elf popped into his bedroom. “Draw me a warm bath.” Milly nodded and bounced her way into Draco’s bathroom instead of popping in.
Draco shed the rest of his outfit and left them on his bed. If Ginny was going to insult him like this, he should just let it slid and be the bigger person in these petty arguments.
*
Ginny reluctantly pulled the kids off her by 9 ‘o clock as their families got ready to all head home. It was too early for her to leave the house but she rather not be the last one to leave. It would give her mother an opportunity have her mother fuss over her just because Draco wasn’t here with her.
She waved goodbye to her nephews and nieces along with her brothers and their wives. The whole lot of mostly red-hairs gathered in the family room with Molly holding the bowl of Floo powder. She patted each of her grandkids before they tossed a pinch of the powder into the fireplace.
Ginny stayed back and watched with her father by her side. “Are you heading out now?” Arthur asked, face full of concern.
“Thanks for the dinner,” Ginny nodded and replied. “Don’t look at me like that, Dad. I’m fine, really.”
“Good to hear you say that, Gin. You didn’t look well during dinner either,” Arthur scowled. “But as long as you think you’re okay, then there’s not much left for me to do. Go say goodbye to your mother then. I’ll see you soon.”
Ginny kissed her father’s cheek and headed to where her mother stood. “Mum, I’m heading out now.”
Molly beamed and pulled Ginny to her side. “Don’t let the boy work too hard. He is too thin for his size. Are you sure you don’t want any leftovers? We have plenty and your father won’t eat all of it. I’m sure Draco wants some of his favourites.”
“Thanks, Mum, but I’ll be fine. I’ll let Draco know and make sure he comes by next week to make up for today,” Ginny rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “You’ll see me again soon. I promise!”
“Okay, dear. Be safe,” Molly patted her daughter’s head the same way she had done with her grandchildren. Ginny smiled at her mother again and headed to the door. Arthur opened the door and held it open for his daughter and he too waved to her with Molly as they watched their youngest walk to the Apparation point.
Ginny appeared again on the street in front of her apartment. The warm summer night allowed people to stay out later into the night as the sun still shone on its last legs. She entered her rented apartment with the scent of the roses covering every inch of space that would take it in.
She left her wand on the kitchen counter and draped her light jacket one of the chairs. She moved to her fireplace and tossed a bit of Floo powder and asked for Malfoy Manor - Draco’s room.
She stuck her head into the fireplace, something she still found troubling, but looked left and right into Draco’s room with no sign of him anyway.
Milly appeared out of nowhere in front of Ginny’s face and Ginny grazed the head along the top of the fireplace out of shock. “Miss Ginny!”
“Milly, where’s Draco?”
Milly lowered her head so she and Ginny were both eye-to-eye. “Master Draco is in his office. Would you like Milly to get him?”
Ginny bit her tongue from cringing from Milly’s closeness. “It is fine, Milly. I’ll talk to Draco tomorrow. Don’t let him know that I Flooed him. Um,” Ginny paused. “I want to keep it a surprise.”
Milly’s face brightened up at the mention of a surprise. “Of course, Miss Ginny Milly won’t say anything at all. Nothing!”
Ginny grinned a little too forcefully. “Thank you... I’ll talk to you later then, Milly.” She left the note, that she was supposed to send during her lunch break but forgot, as far out as she could reach before the Floo pulled her back. Hopefully Draco would catch it before he went to bed. She pulled her head back and thankfully didn’t have to stare into Milly’s eyes anymore, even if she was a nice and helpful elf.
*
Draco found a random piece of paper next to his fireplace and bent over to pick it up. He knew right away it was from Ginny by looking at the writing. His eyes scanned the note and he frowned right away.
“Draco,
Thanks for the flower, but didn’t appreciate the fanfare it caused at work. The dinner for tomorrow is cancelled since not everyone could make it. I’ll talk to you later. Mum wants us to visit.
Love,
Ginny.”
Not only did she brush aside the flower, she actually thought the gesture was inappropriate? If she was going to become Mrs. Malfoy, then Draco would appreciate it if she actually introduced him to her co-workers. They dated for a year and a half and never once did she let him visit her workplace, for reasons she often brushed off and Draco let it past time after time. At least she signed it with love, Draco sneered.
He supposed he could only take so much of Ginny’s brushing aside and general backhand insults before he broke. Draco crumbled the note and tossed it into the fireplace. He pointed his wand at the logs and yelled Incendio. The fire shot out of his wand immediately and Draco surprised himself with his own strength sometimes, especially in anger. The fire simmered and burned the note up quiet nicely. If Ginny Weasley was going to play this way, then Draco Malfoy would use this own tricks against the stubborn woman.
Draco stomped his way down the corridor and down the stairs to the parlour. “Where’s my breakfast?” He shouted.
Binky, the elf who usually took care of the food, popped and appeared in front of Draco. “Master, what can Binky cook for Master? Binky wants to cook for Master!”
“Anything, whatever, make it quick. I’m hungry.” He paced again, seeming to do that a lot when it came to anything Ginny, then an idea hit him.
Draco Malfoy wasn’t going to petty. He would do everything by the book, and somehow it slipped his mind that the engagement ring was in his pocket this entire time. After breakfast, he would head to The Burrow and apologise his absence from last night, then talk to Arthur for his blessing. How that could slip his mind was a question Draco failed to answer but at least he realized his mistake before he popped the question.
“Is that damn breakfast ready yet?” He called out as he took quick strides into the large kitchen. Stupid elves.
Draco Malfoy dressed in his best weekend clothes, leaving the flashiness behind, and Disapparated from his Manor and found himself outside of the Burrow. He wouldn’t be caught dead Flooing anywhere that would dirty up his clothes with soot and whatever else in those tubes.
He knocked on The Burrow’s twice and took a step back away from the door with a nice bottle of Muggle wine in one hand. He counted to ten before the door opened to a very jolly Molly Weasley.
“Draco! It’s a surprise to see you! Come in, come in!” Molly ushered the man into her home.
“Molly, I apologize for my absence from last night. I was caught up with work and by the time I finished, I would just be intruding in the middle of your dinner,” Draco handed the bottle of wine to Molly. “I think Arthur will enjoy this. I don’t know much other than it is Muggle wine.”
“Nonsense, work is very important to a young man like you. Next time you’re always welcome to come by any time. We always have room for one more. But thank you for the bottle, though I think Arthur should cut back with these things at his age,” Molly smiled and took the bottle.
“Is Arthur around? There’s something I need to inquire him about,” Draco asked with a smile much quite as bright as Molly’s. “It’s just some business that I’d like his opinion on.”
“If I’m not mistaken, my husband should be in the back of the house with his Muggle toys. It’s just down the hall to the right,” she pointed to their left.
Draco thanked the woman and swallowed to face his next challenge.
*
Ginny woke up to another Monday morning and wondering what happened to her weekend especially since the Weasley gathering occurred on Friday night, meaning Saturday and Sunday were free for Draco-time. She frowned at the fact that Draco hadn’t bothered to reply to her (rather late and short) note. On the other hand, she failed to keep her word to Milly that she would talk to Draco on Saturday.
As she walked out to the open space of her tiny apartment consisted of the family room kitchen and whatever space left all merged into one, she spotted the large bouquet of roses from Friday. The flower remained in the same shape as on the day she received it. Someone probably charmed the flowers to extend their lifespan. Every time she passed by the flowers, her mouth curved upward into a smile despite the fact that she thought the flowers were a cheesy way into a girl’s heart or that it probably cost a fortune too.
She wasted no time in that as she hurried to work for a meeting with a potential big client. Rushing out, despite the extra fifteen minutes she had, Ginny almost forgot her wand and ran back upstairs and into her apartment. She spotted a familiar looking owl banging against her door, but since now she lost another five minutes of her forgetfulness, she ignored the animal and rushed out again.
Ginny greeted some of her co-workers who arrived before she did as she made her way into the office. She looked out from the slits of the blinds and found that her secretary still hadn’t arrived, with only five minutes until the work day began. They needed to prepare the files and move themselves and their paperwork upstairs to be with the actual marketing team.
As the clock struck eight-thirty, Monica was still a no-show. Ginny begrudgingly carried all the folders as she exited her office. “If Monica ever shows up, tell her I need to see her after the meeting with La Seiné,” she announced before heading to the lift.
Ginny hit her part of the presentation perfectly, and it should, as her team worked hard along with the Marketing team for weeks on this project. She stood up and shook hands with the now-Daily Prophet clients. She, along side with the Marketing Director, walked out with the clients and bid them farewell.
Together, the Daily Prophet staff all breathed out a sigh of relief. The Marketing Director, Samuel, clapped everyone’s backs, including Ginny’s. “We’re celebrating tonight! The company’s treat of course,” Sam started. “Chutt’s tonight - 7. I’ll have someone do the booking. They can’t say no to the Daily Prophet.”
Sam walked over to Ginny, who went to collect her things in the meeting room. “You’re coming too, Ginny? Invite whatever staff that worked on this project too. They put a lot of effort in the project, I could tell,” he smiled at Ginny, who stopped the shuffling of papers.
Ginny smiled back at the man. “I’ll let them know and send you the final number by noon?”
Sam lingered his hand on her arm a little too long to be considered to be co-worker etiquette. “Definitely. I’ll see you tonight then, Ginny.”
Ginny quickly threw on a pleased smile but inside she rolled her eyes. She probably over thought the situation, but slimy gits were the worst gits.
*
Ginny Weasley only realized she was in trouble four days into the week. It had been an entire four days, six including the weekend, that Draco contacted her. She promised her mum that she and Draco would visit by the end of the week, but Ginny made no contact with her boyfriend for almost a week.
She scribbled a note: Draco, I need to see you. - Ginny. The note was short but there weren’t anything else to say. She got out of her office chair and took the lift to get to the Owlery. She spotted Quabble lazing on one of the owl stands. She was Ginny’s favourite out of all of them so when Ginny headed towards the female owl, immediately Quabble flew over and perched on her shoulder.
“How are you doing, Quabs? I have something for you to deliver,” she said to the animal. “Let me attach this to your leg first.” She pulled out the piece of rope and tied it with a tight knot. After, she pulled out some treats for her favourite owl, which gobbled them up immediately and squawked happily. Ginny continued. “Draco Malfoy. You know where Draco works, right?”
The owl nodded, or to Ginny she did, and pushed against her shoulder and flew out the large opening.
She retreated down to the office again and impatiently waited for Draco’s reply. She fidgeted while finishing up the odds and ends from the La Seiné project. At least the Monica issue was dealt with; the girl came down with the flu which she had to be quarantined. What were the chances of that happening right when Ginny needed the girl?
After lunch, the post boy made his second round of the day to deliver new posts. Ginny shot out of the chair when she spotted the boy but composed herself before she exited her office. “Is there anything for me?” Ginny asked the boy, whose name escaped her mind in that moment.
The boy shook his head as he handed the only two posts - one to Monica and the other to Edward. “Not this round, Ginny. We have one more before the day ends, maybe it’ll come then.”
“Thanks,” Ginny said despite the frown on her face and sulked visibility as she walked back into her office.
Her mood worsened when the post boy made his third and final round for the day and he still shook his head with no post in hand as he walked by Ginny’s department. She racked her brain to figure out what she did to warrant this cold shoulder. Okay, so she made a scene at the restaurant last week. She didn’t mean to; he just said those damn words that touched a nerve in Ginny’s many sensitive nerves.
And then Ginny purposely didn’t mention that the dinner moved up to an earlier night - which Draco still might not have known, but he probably would with his networks and sources.
So yes, Ginny wronged more than her boyfriend did, but still, there was no reason to ignore her post. It made sense for her to panic when by the end of the day she still hadn’t heard or seen Draco. She even Flooed into his office, but no one was in it either apparently.
Ginny did what any sensible girl would do - run to her mum and ask her why. Molly probably knew how to handle boys much better than she did. She usually talked to Hermione about these things, but with the way Ron still treated Draco and Hermione silently went along with it, Ginny wasn’t going to try her luck with a Draco problem.
She knocked on The Burrow’s door instead of just entering. Molly answered the door with open arms awaiting her daughter. Ginny fell into her embrace and sighed audibly.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Molly asked once they were apart again.
Ginny shook her head. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
“I’m your mother. Of course I don’t mind, dear,” Molly scolded. “I’ll just set up another place for you. It’s nice to have more than just your father and I eating dinner all the time.” She hustled into the kitchen. “In the mean time, tell me what’s wrong, Ginny.”
“I don’t know!” Ginny blurted. “Well, I do know why, but I don’t know what to do. Something’s happening between Draco and I and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Let’s start at the beginning then, shall we? It’s always the best place to start,” Molly placed a plate across from her usual spot. She sat at the dinner table and pulled a chair back for Ginny to sit on.
Ginny slumped into her chair and told her mother what she thought was going on and blushed when she mentioned the part where Draco didn’t attend the dinner because she offhandedly uninvited him, rather than his absence was due to work. “What’s happening with me? I feel so stupid now and it wasn’t even me who started it!”
Molly placed her assuring hand on her daughter’s. “Hmm, from the way you’re telling me the problem, I think that maybe the problem isn’t with Draco,” she paused, wheels in her brain chirring. “It might be you who needs to be more understanding. I can see that Draco tries hard to be the man you want him to be. But he’s grown up in an environment that taught him to look down upon people like us. The fact that he can come in this hostile environment with Ron and bit his tongue is saying a lot. Sometimes I wish Ron had the restrain on his temper like Draco does.”
Ginny nodded along to her mom’s reasoning. She knew all of this already; everyone knew what the deal was with the Malfoys. So why did she still feel like this wasn’t clicking with her own views on Draco? In her eyes, Draco still acted the way like he did in Hogwarts other than biting his sharp tongue in front of the elders.
“What I think you should do,” Molly said, breaking Ginny’s train of thought, “is talk to him. There’s no reason to be guessing by this point, at this stage of the relationship.”
“But he’s not replying to my owls!” Ginny complained.
“Maybe you need to go see him at the Manor instead of waiting for him to come to you,” Molly suggested. “Let’s put that aside, dinner is ready.”
Molly got up from the chair and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “Arthur! Dinner’s ready.”
Arthur muttered as he walked down the stairs. His eyes lit up when he saw his daughter at the dining table. “Ginny! What are you doing here? Not that I don’t want you to be here. Well, you know what I mean. ”
Ginny rose to her feet and gave her father a hug. “I just thought I should drop by and have dinner with you two. Mom says she’s bored of you!”
“I guess I need to un-bored myself then,” Arthur laughed heartily. “Where’s Draco?”
Ginny’s grin immediately turned south at the mention of the ferret. “It’s only me here today, Dad.”
“Ah,” Arthur said, nodding with a slight smile. “Then it’s just going to be the three of us, that’s fine with me.” He ushered his daughter back down to her chair and took a seat in his. Molly pulled the hot lasagne from the oven and placed it on the table.
The three of them ate with quiet conversations as Ginny’s mind drifted away to the Draco situation again. After dinner, she thanked her mum for the home-cooked meal and for all of her help today.
Arthur walked his daughter out to the Apparation point. “Don’t worry about Draco. He’s a good boy.”
Ginny sighed. ”Dad, I know. I just, I guess I just need to rethink about everything before I talk to him.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Arthur added. Ginny looked at him like he was going to continue that sentence but didn’t. She half-hugged her father again before Disapparating back to the outside of her apartment.
*
Maybe this plan wasn’t working, Draco thought as he held the very creased note in his hand. He waited for almost a week, ignored her note, but still Ginny had not reached out the way he wanted. Maybe he needed to stay put for one more day and see what happens because there was no point in risking it all at this point. He came so close to wait for her to come to him that one more day out of a week wouldn’t make a difference.
*
Ginny waited until Friday until she freaked out about her lack of recent communication with Draco. After the talk with her mum and what her dad told her before she left, she thought she might get the courage to go to Malfoy Manor and ring up Draco. Even though they dated for so long, the times she visited that place was only a handful. Despite it was no longer the headquarter for the Death Eaters and Voldemort, Ginny felt the presence of him and everything he had done. And there was so much history and hatred in that place that made Ginny wanting to run out of that place as fast as possible.
Despite all her hesitations, Ginny made her way out to Malfoy Manor after work. She needed to walk down the unpaved lane before she reached the extravagant front gate. By this point, she thought she should have Flooed instead, and it would have been a better surprise than letting the house elves know Miss Ginny was here.
The gate swung open as she approached the vicinity of the Manor. She guessed someone knew she was coming with the amount of protective charms left on the Manor, despite the Ministry of Magic making sure that every spell left in the Malfoy property had no components of Dark Magic.
Ginny walked to the front door and instantly Milly opened the door for her entrance. “Is Draco here?” Ginny asked the house elf.
The elf bobbed her head up and down quickly. “Master Draco is in the drawing room. Come this way, Miss Ginny!”
Ginny followed Milly into the drawing room, where a seated Draco read today’s Daily Prophet. He lowered his newspaper from the noise and smiled when he saw Ginny.
“Hi,” Ginny said softly, hands fidgeting; she really despised this place. Draco stood up and folded up the newspaper, placing it on the small side table, but staying silent at the same time.
“Um,” she tried again. “I know I’ve been a major git for the past week. But I really want to apologize for everything, really. Not just about last Thursday, but everything.”
Draco nodded cautiously, unmoving from his spot, so Ginny continued. “I thought it was you who I had a problem with, but really, it was me mostly. For the past few days, I thought about everything - from the beginning and up to now and everything we’ve done together. I thought that after all these times we’ve been together, I haven’t affected you in one bit and you were still the same boy from Hogwarts, the same boy that came out of the War. I thought you were still that cruel and judgemental boy hiding in your father’s shadow. Every time you said something, my mind jumped back to that and maybe that’s why last week during dinner I exploded. It just hit a nerve.”
Ginny took a deep breath and continued, “I know I wasn’t the best girlfriend in the world. Heck, my department still didn’t know I was dating until you sent that bouquet of flower - which was really, really nice and it’s still in my house in a vase. But when I got that bouquet, I thought you were mad that I never took you to any work functions like you do with yours and you wanted everyone to know that I’m taken. But I realized the reason why I never told them or went together was because I was scared that you were still that boy from Hogwarts and you were going to scrutinize my co-workers because they weren’t pureblood or rich. Yet you have been nothing but the best boyfriend in the world and said nothing when I mentioned I was going to this and that.”
Her hands shook and she swallowed visibly. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I just keep finding excuses of my behaviours and it kept piling up. I guess you knew by now that the family dinner didn’t get cancelled. I could tell when my parents kept saying nothing but nice things about you. That’s what you do, isn’t it?
“I’m sorry, Draco,” Ginny said, lips trembling and tears ready to fall.
Draco caught her as she began to slump to the ground. “I got you, Ginny.” He held her and together they made it to the parlour chairs. He kneeled in front of his girlfriend who looked as red as her signature red-hair.
“You don’t know how many times I almost broke and ran to your apartment. But I knew I had to stick out and wait for you to come to me. I’m not angry at you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Draco gently kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “I love you, Ginny Weasley. Nothing you can do can make me think you’re the worst girlfriend in the world - other than if you leave me of course, but then you wouldn’t be my girlfriend anymore. But that’s not the point here.”
“Would you like some tea? I can get Milly to make you some,” Draco asked. Ginny shook her head, instead, entwined her fingers to Draco’s.
Ginny sensed that Draco too had a lot to say and slid down to the ground so Draco’s knees wouldn’t crumble from the strain. This turned out to be a lot more romantic as Ginny forgot about where she was and instead focused on the man in front of him.
“Ginny, I don’t know about you, but I’m deeply in love with you. I was going to do this last week but you foiled my plan, so I’m going to try this again. Ginevra Weasley, I think you’re the best woman in the world and stand being with me despite my faults and my past. I can’t think of anyone else who I rather spend the rest of my life with than you. I don’t care that you think you’re the worst girlfriend in the world because you’re going to be the best wife in the world. In my eyes, there is no one else,” Draco dug into his pocket and pulled out the black box he had been carrying for the past month. Finally it got to do its original purpose other than a throw thing for a frustrated Draco.
He pulled back the cover and revealed the silver ring he designed (with help). “Ginevra Weasley, will you marry me?”
Ginny stared at Draco with wide eyes and shock written all over her face. This was the last thing she thought would happen when she stepped foot on Malfoy Manor. It took her an extra second to realize what he was asking her when she went over the words that came out of Draco’s mouth. “Yes! Of course I will,” she yelled with excitement. Draco wasted no time taking out the ring and slipping it on her ring finger. She threw herself on him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, almost tackling him to the ground.
“I’m getting married!” Ginny yelled out to the incoming Milly before disentangling herself from her now-fiancé.
“Milly has gift from Master and Mistress!” She snapped her fingers and a large box, gift-wrapped with a large bow appeared in front of the couple. She ran over and excitedly shook Ginny’s hands, then moved onto Draco’s.
Ginny turned to Draco and held his hands. “Is this why my father told me not to wait too long to reach out to you?”
Draco smirked. “I did ask his permission beforehand, so yes, that could be why. But you do realize that you’re going to be marrying that boy from Hogwarts.”
Ginny let him pull her up as they walked over and stood in front of the large box from Draco’s parents that went up to their waists. “Then I hope that boy has grown up in the past ten years because I couldn’t stand that git; though he turned out to be a very cute ferret, if I may say so.”
Together they opened up their first post-engagement present to find a fancy-looking baby carriage in front of them.
“Damn Muggle inventions,” Draco muttered, while Ginny laughed at the appropriateness of the gift. She made a mental note to thank Lucius and Narcissa later. “I guess that’s our cue to start the baby making process,” he winked and pulled in his fiancée. Draco leaned in and kissed the future Ginerva Malfoy, finally.
Author: solookup
Rating: PG
Possible Spoilers/Warnings: HPDH (Adult-Fic)
Author's Notes: Thank you for the beta!
Summary: Ginny thought Draco was still the same boy from Hogwarts, but Draco thought otherwise.
The Waiting Game
“I love you Draco, but I really don’t like you right now.”
Ginny Weasley looked away from the tempting glass of water and stood up. She took one last look at him before turning around and exiting the restaurant.
(The other patrons stopped their hushed conversation and eating their dinner as they watched the couple’s conversation escalating to such a loud volume that it drowned out even the raucous noise coming from the kitchen.)
Draco Malfoy kept his temper in check even when Ginny continued her rant during their quiet and enjoyable dinner. But now, with every eye staring right at him with silent judgment, his cheeks tinted pink. Instead of rushing out like those mad Weasel clan, he stood up gracefully, placed his napkin onto the chair’s armrest and left the restaurant with his head still held up high. Whatever he left on the table should cover the dinner and the tip with a lot leftover for the hassle Ginny caused the restaurant.
In place of the sunshine that greeted him before he and Ginny entered the restaurant, Draco was met with thunder and lightning. Cursing at the weather and the damn rain, Draco pulled out his wand from his cloak and muttered a rain repellant spell.
Thanks to some brilliant wizard who thought witches needed umbrellas as a fashion statement (which now even wizards were joining the trend), it meant Draco looked like an imbecile as he walked into the rain without one. Wizards didn’t need anymore Muggle inventions. That was what spells were for.
Ginny could be anywhere by now. Again, he wondered why couldn’t he keep his mouth shut and keep those opinions to himself like he had done so many times before. The black velvet box in his slacks’ pocket suddenly seemed to weigh a ton, dragging him down to the ground as he let the golden opportunity slid away.
Draco failed at stopping the scene from the restaurant replaying over and over again in his mind as he pulled out his wand and Disapparated home alone.
Shedding his cloak and flinging at one of the Manor’s random house elves, he went into the parlor to find his parents. He had failed and he was not in the mood for prodding from his mother. He snapped his fingers and immediately a house elf appeared next to him.
“Where’s Master and Mistress?” Draco asked as his eyes scanned the other rooms.
“Master Draco, Master and Mistress went on holiday. They left Master a note!” Milly the house elf replied happily, then she vanished silently. Draco rolled his eyes. He had legs; he could have gotten the letter himself if the stupid elf told him where it was, or heck, he had a wand in his disposal too.
“Here you go, Master Draco,” Milly bowed and held the envelope out to Draco.
Draco snatched it from the shriveled hands and pulled out the letter as he walked towards his bedroom.
“Dearest Draco,
Your father and I will be away for the next few weeks. Do take care of yourself and come home every now and then to see if it’s still around.
Stay Safe.
Your mother,
Narcissa”
Draco stopped in this track as he reread the letter again and once more to make sure he wasn’t going crazy. He tried to understand how his parents could take off like that. They weren’t the type of people to be spontaneous and leave without any long-term notice.
Nonetheless, Draco retreated back into his room. He sank into the comfort of his bed and pulled out the cubed box for the engagement ring. He was going to ask Ginny tonight but things went sour before he had the chance the salvage the mess. Sometimes things just slipped and before he knew what was happening, Ginny jumped on it immediately without thought. He couldn’t help it, per say. But Ginny needed to know that he was trying, because he really was, for her sake, and his too.
He stood up and walked over to his dresser. Placing the box on the table, his eyes caught his own reflection from the mirror. He needed a good night sleep and then would wait for Ginny’s temper to subside before trying to talk to her again.
*
Ginny woke up from her deep slumber and warm bed to find the horrendous weather from last night continued. She was in no mood to get up for work, especially with whatever happened last night with Draco was still unresolved.
It had been a year and a half almost, as Ginny recalled, and Draco still was acting the way he always had. It was frustrating to see that she made no impact in his life. Molly reminded Ginny that these things took time; especially with how extreme Draco’s prejudice against everything was. In her darkest moments, sometimes Ginny wondered if the only reason Draco dated her was because she was the only pureblood around, especially one with a squeaky clean reputation and one he could stand that weren’t spoiled since birth.
But immediately after she felt guilty and regretted judging Draco in such a negative light. After all, Draco was dating the daughter of a Muggle-loving father. So that couldn’t have been the reason he stayed with her.
Frustrated and embarrassed at her foolishness, Ginny kicked off the covers and forced herself out of bed. She took her time getting ready, as for once in a purple? (or was it orange?) moon, she woke up much earlier before her alarm clock screamed bloody murder.
Taking one last look at herself in front of the full length mirror, she grabbed her purse with one hand and the wand with the other. She walked down the stairs from her apartment so she could Apparate to work. Sometimes those anti-Apparation spells were quite inconvenient.
When she reached the Apparation point at her workplace, she was genuinely surprised that there were only a few people around. Usually by the time she arrived, it was overcrowded with everyone trying to make room and find the right lift to get to his or her respective floor. Maybe she should get to work a little earlier from now.
As she walked into the available lift, she could hear dozens of light popping noises echoing from the Apparation point. She smiled to herself as the door to the lift slid to a close and moved upward and glad to not be in that hoard of people.
With a genuine smile on her face, Ginny entered her floor surprisingly looking forward to her work day and all the gloomy thoughts about last night disappeared and forgotten for the time being. She walked into her office and got down to business right away. Her morning filled with phone calls of prospective clients.
Ginny worked at the Ads-Sales department of the Daily Prophet. She stumbled onto the job by accident when she found herself answering to any employment ads that would hire her. She quitted three other jobs before taking on this one as an entry level ads salesperson. She thought she would hate this job like the previous ones. They all were just so... boring and repetitive, and nothing like she dreamt back in Hogwarts.
(It disappointed Ginny and her parents that even after the War, the Weasley last name didn’t mean much to employers.)
But it surprised Ginny when she actually got down to work, she actually liked this job much more than the job description. She had the opportunity to talk to new people over the Floo. And once in a while, she left behind the stuffy office and plain deskwork to travel to the clients’ offices. Even though selling ads couldn’t be compared to the glamorous Marketing team upstairs - her department was responsible for selling the advertising space. If there were no clients, there was no point to the Marketing team.
Eventually she slowly moved up and was promoted from that entry-level small-client position (classified ads) to a post that held more responsibility of more well-known clients and held a bigger role in the department. She finally got the office when her old supervisor recommended her for the job, even though she was still one of the younger employees, compared to the old coots that had been here years much longer than her. Her old supervisor reassured her that her work ethic definitely prepared her for a much better role in the department.
She missed the short travels and meeting the smaller clients, but now she had her own office and met with big-named clients. It was a trade-off she gladly made. A knock on her door broke Ginny’s concentration as she began writing up a proposal. The door swung open and a head poked in. “Ginny! Ginny!” It called.
Ginny frowned at the excitement, ignoring the flailing arms as the gap for the door widened. “What is it?”
“There’s a bouquet of roses for you!”
Shit.Ginny gave her secretary Monica a lacklustre smile before getting from her comfortable office chair. This fanfare was not what she needed in her office. What was he trying to pull?
There was a crowd (or whatever five people and her secretary in her department meant) surrounding a nervous looking man with a boyish face holding the flower. Even Ginny had to admit the bouquet was impressive. But the only problem was that no one in the office knew she was dating, or that it was with the one and only Draco Malfoy. And this display might have well... what was that Muggle saying? Letting the cat out of the sock? Something like that.
Ginny scribbled something resembling to her signature with a quill she had tucked above her ear on the piece of paper and handed it back to the delivery man. She was not going back to her office to get her wand to sign the delivery note. She took hold of the large bouquet and could feel the six pairs of eyes gawking at her.
“Ginny! Who is it from? It’s gorgeous! It must have cost a fortune.” Linda asked, still staring at the red roses. The others bobbed their heads in agreement.
Ginny shrugged, not sure how to answer without giving away her long-kept secret. Instead, she chose not to answer the question. “Let’s get back to work, shall we?” Ginny offered, still grinning at her co-workers, though her jaw ached from the forced expression.
The crowd scattered at her obvious command and Ginny quickly stepped into her office, now with a large bouquet in tote. After closing the door behind her, she took one long look at the flowers, and then tossed it onto one of the chairs reserved for clients.
When Ginny saw the extravagant display, it only brought her back to the anger she pushed down from last night, even though she knew it was supposed to be a gesture of apology Instead of dwelling on it, she dove into her work, letting Monica know not to bother her until noon. She decided she would send an owl to Draco at lunch time and scribbled a note to remind herself to do so. In the mean time, he would have to wait and see while Ginny busied herself.
*
As the clock hit five o’ clock, she got out of her office for the first time in hours to bid farewell to her co-workers. Her desk still held piles of paperwork for her to clean up before she headed home, then to the Burrow.
“You have to tell us who those flowers are from soon,” Monica commented and winked at her supervisor.
Ginny just shook and shooed them out for the weekend. She spent a little more than half an hour at her desk before finally tearing herself away from the mountainous paperwork.
She took the bouquet with her and luckily by now most of the employees fled home. She enjoyed the quietness much like this morning and there was no one to question about the flowers. She brought the flowers home and found a nice vase to put them in. She hurried, shedding her work clothes and tossing them into the laundry basket as she made her way to the bathroom. After working herself so hard today, she deserved a nice long shower before bracing herself for her family dinner at the Burrow.
Usually the Weasley family dinner occurred on a Saturday night - which Ginny preferred, but due to “conflicting schedules”, her mum insisted them to have it on Friday night instead of cancelling it. At least the change in schedule gave Ginny an excuse for not bringing Draco to the Burrow - again “conflicting schedule” here would be a good enough excuse.
Despite the more than handful times Draco visited the Burrow, there was still an air of animosity between Draco and her family. Ginny found that Draco still carried that air of arrogance when visiting her childhood home, and her brothers (or just the youngest one and the almost-adopted one plus Hermione) all glare and whisper to each other during Draco’s stay. It was like Hogwarts all over again, even after all these years.
It had been almost ten years. But Ginny couldn’t blame Draco for his dislike for the Burrow. But with everything that happened of the past she couldn’t mention, she couldn’t justify Draco’s reason for his malice.
She picked out the comfiest yet still presentable outfit she could find and grabbed her wand. She hadn’t Flooed in so long that she preferred Apprating to the Burrow even if there was the risk of splinching herself.
With a quiet pop, Ginny Apparated and found herself in a clearing near the Burrow. She never understood why the Apparation Point was so far away from their house. It was a hassle especially during the rainy seasons when the mud caked on the soles of her shoes. But the rain from last night and this morning held off and the mud hardened after the sun’s heat dried up all the rain it soaked up.
But when she entered her childhood house, the warmness and familiarity hit her instant, despite the fact that she visited twice a month at least for the biweekly Weasley gathering. She spotted her mum out of the kitchen with her grandchildren, which was a rarity considering how much she knew her mum loved to cook.
“Ginny! Ginny!” One of the redheads screamed and jumped off the sofa when he spotted his aunt by the door. With the speed he ran towards her, Ginny barely caught the boy in time and lifted him up.
“Fred!” Ginny replied with the enthusiasm. She shifted so her spare hand could pick up the small pieces of paper in his hair. She gave a wave at her mother and tried to head towards her direction but she found herself covered with nephews and nieces.
“Children, children,” Molly stood up from the sofa, “let your Aunt Ginny at least take off her coat before you suffocate her.” She walked over and took Bill from Ginny’s arms so her daughter had her hands free. “Where’s Draco? I made his favourite!”
“He won’t be coming tonight, mum. He has to stay in for work since it’s a Friday night,” Ginny lied while giving her mom a reassuring grin.
“That’s too bad,” a voice behind her said. But Ginny knew he didn’t really mean it considering it was Ron’s voice. “I was looking forward to his company too.”
Ginny rolled her eyes and gave Hermione, who came downstairs right behind Ron, a hug. Her eyes darted left and right b ut Harry was nowhere to be found. Hermione seemed to have noticed Ginny’s train of thought and said, “Harry is on some secret mission that he’s not supposed to tell us. He won’t be here either.”
Ginny nodded and was surprised Ron looked away when Hermione talked and kept his mouth shut at the same time. She had begun to open her mouth and was ready to ask about it when she looked down to see who was tugging at her skirt. It turned out to not be one but two of her nieces who grinned foolishly at her with mischief in their eyes. “Fine, fine,” Ginny laughed, “I’ll come with.”
“Don’t let them exhausted you too much,” Hermione quipped. “They took me out already right when we came already.”
Ginny nodded appreciatively at her friend even if the advice never worked out because the kids always won out in the end. As the other child who still didn’t have kids (the only was Charlie, he shouldn’t anyway), she usually took over as the babysitting role during these dinners and gave her brothers and sisters-in-law a rest.
“Where’s Dra-a-co?” Molly and Lucy asked after each other. Ginny ruffled their hair and they led her away from the adults. “He has white hair!”
Ginny snorted at that and took a seat on the sofa while the two girls stayed standing in front of her. “He has very silver hair, not white. He’s not an old man yet.”
“He’s not old, but he has white hair?” Molly asked and scratched her head in confusion.
“I want white hair! Stupid red hair,” Lucy whined.
Ginny shook her head. “Sorry, Lucy, we’re all stuck with the red hair. It’s the Weasley signature hair colour.”
Lucy tilted her head. “Sig-na-ture? What’s that?”
“I’m here to inform you that dinner is ready,” Audrey, Percy’s wife, winked at Ginny while Ginny reminded herself to use smaller words with the kids next time. “C’mon you little rascals. Go wash your hands for dinner.”
Ginny stayed seated in the sofa as she took in the scene in front of her. Suddenly she wished Draco was here with her as she watched the kitchen and dining table busied with activity of kids and adults together got dinner ready, while she was out of place in this part of the house.
“Ginny, dinner’s ready,” Arthur said, standing in between the kitchen and the sofa. He frowned at her daughter’s silence and took a seat next to her. “What’s wrong?”
Ginny shook her head, lips thinned. She didn’t think she can explain it even if she wanted to. “It’s nothing, Dad. Let’s just go eat.”
He looked at his daughter carefully with watchful eyes and gave her knee a squeeze. “If you want to talk, you know I’m always here,” he added and pushed himself up. He stood and extended his hand, for which Ginny gladly took.
“Thanks, Dad,” Ginny murmured and together they walked to the dining table.
*
Draco sent that bouquet of flower to Ginny in the morning and it had been more than several hours since she should have received it. He paced back and forth in his room troubled that he still hadn’t heard back from Ginny. It gave her plenty of time to calm down and thought about it rationally, without the Weasley temper muddling everything.
He Flooed her again at her apartment just now but still there was no answer. He even sent his owl to her apartment but his trusty owl flew back looking dejected with the note still attached to his feet. He tried her office too but there was no answer. He racked this brain to see where else she could be on a Friday night, which usually was spent with him and not away from him.
Draco knew he should put a tracing spell on Ginny but he stopped himself with the wand in hand. It was to make sure that she was safe, but from Ginny’s point of view, she would have told him that the excuse didn’t justify breaking her trust.
It was hard to stay in line with Ginny’s rules. Unexpectedly Draco realized he forgot to try the Weasley’s house since it was the second most visited house for Ginny, other than her own apartment (and sadly not the Malfoy Manor).
He tossed a handful of Floo powder into his fireplace. “The Burrow,” he called out before sticking his head in the filthy fireplace. He made a mental note to have someone clean this thing out. He craned his neck to the left and saw the Weasley dining table full of the red-headed clan, including one long-curly haired woman. Even from her backside, Draco could tell it was Ginny.
Which begged the question - what the hell was going on and why did Ginny not tell him of this? He remembered to clear his schedule for tomorrow night for the Weasley family dinner, which despite his unwillingness to interact with some of Ginny’s family members, the food Molly cooked, and the rest of the lot were acceptable.
It clicked right away in Draco’s head as he pulled his head back and blinked twice to clear the soot from his eyes. Supposedly the Weasleys moved up the dinner to tonight and Ginny never informed him of the change, or that the entire Weasley clan hated him so they purposely changed it so he would not attend. Somehow the former rather than the latter seemed possible with the way Molly always treated him whenever he was over at the Burrow.
Draco thought Ginny went too far in insulting him with this. She probably made up some lame excuse that he had to work - which seemed fine to the Weasley clan, but to him, it was insulting to the host and hostess that he, Draco Malfoy, would rather work than attend a dinner he was invited to.
He laughed to himself bitterly as he imagined what excuse Ginny would come up with tomorrow to let him know that they weren’t going to the Weasley gathering because it was cancelled or something lame.
Draco sighed and thought about how ridiculous this was. He was going to marry the woman and she still played these stupid games with him - not that she knew he was going to ask, but she would have if she didn’t lose her temper at him last night!
“Milly!” Draco called out and the elf popped into his bedroom. “Draw me a warm bath.” Milly nodded and bounced her way into Draco’s bathroom instead of popping in.
Draco shed the rest of his outfit and left them on his bed. If Ginny was going to insult him like this, he should just let it slid and be the bigger person in these petty arguments.
*
Ginny reluctantly pulled the kids off her by 9 ‘o clock as their families got ready to all head home. It was too early for her to leave the house but she rather not be the last one to leave. It would give her mother an opportunity have her mother fuss over her just because Draco wasn’t here with her.
She waved goodbye to her nephews and nieces along with her brothers and their wives. The whole lot of mostly red-hairs gathered in the family room with Molly holding the bowl of Floo powder. She patted each of her grandkids before they tossed a pinch of the powder into the fireplace.
Ginny stayed back and watched with her father by her side. “Are you heading out now?” Arthur asked, face full of concern.
“Thanks for the dinner,” Ginny nodded and replied. “Don’t look at me like that, Dad. I’m fine, really.”
“Good to hear you say that, Gin. You didn’t look well during dinner either,” Arthur scowled. “But as long as you think you’re okay, then there’s not much left for me to do. Go say goodbye to your mother then. I’ll see you soon.”
Ginny kissed her father’s cheek and headed to where her mother stood. “Mum, I’m heading out now.”
Molly beamed and pulled Ginny to her side. “Don’t let the boy work too hard. He is too thin for his size. Are you sure you don’t want any leftovers? We have plenty and your father won’t eat all of it. I’m sure Draco wants some of his favourites.”
“Thanks, Mum, but I’ll be fine. I’ll let Draco know and make sure he comes by next week to make up for today,” Ginny rested her head on her mother’s shoulder. “You’ll see me again soon. I promise!”
“Okay, dear. Be safe,” Molly patted her daughter’s head the same way she had done with her grandchildren. Ginny smiled at her mother again and headed to the door. Arthur opened the door and held it open for his daughter and he too waved to her with Molly as they watched their youngest walk to the Apparation point.
Ginny appeared again on the street in front of her apartment. The warm summer night allowed people to stay out later into the night as the sun still shone on its last legs. She entered her rented apartment with the scent of the roses covering every inch of space that would take it in.
She left her wand on the kitchen counter and draped her light jacket one of the chairs. She moved to her fireplace and tossed a bit of Floo powder and asked for Malfoy Manor - Draco’s room.
She stuck her head into the fireplace, something she still found troubling, but looked left and right into Draco’s room with no sign of him anyway.
Milly appeared out of nowhere in front of Ginny’s face and Ginny grazed the head along the top of the fireplace out of shock. “Miss Ginny!”
“Milly, where’s Draco?”
Milly lowered her head so she and Ginny were both eye-to-eye. “Master Draco is in his office. Would you like Milly to get him?”
Ginny bit her tongue from cringing from Milly’s closeness. “It is fine, Milly. I’ll talk to Draco tomorrow. Don’t let him know that I Flooed him. Um,” Ginny paused. “I want to keep it a surprise.”
Milly’s face brightened up at the mention of a surprise. “Of course, Miss Ginny Milly won’t say anything at all. Nothing!”
Ginny grinned a little too forcefully. “Thank you... I’ll talk to you later then, Milly.” She left the note, that she was supposed to send during her lunch break but forgot, as far out as she could reach before the Floo pulled her back. Hopefully Draco would catch it before he went to bed. She pulled her head back and thankfully didn’t have to stare into Milly’s eyes anymore, even if she was a nice and helpful elf.
*
Draco found a random piece of paper next to his fireplace and bent over to pick it up. He knew right away it was from Ginny by looking at the writing. His eyes scanned the note and he frowned right away.
“Draco,
Thanks for the flower, but didn’t appreciate the fanfare it caused at work. The dinner for tomorrow is cancelled since not everyone could make it. I’ll talk to you later. Mum wants us to visit.
Love,
Ginny.”
Not only did she brush aside the flower, she actually thought the gesture was inappropriate? If she was going to become Mrs. Malfoy, then Draco would appreciate it if she actually introduced him to her co-workers. They dated for a year and a half and never once did she let him visit her workplace, for reasons she often brushed off and Draco let it past time after time. At least she signed it with love, Draco sneered.
He supposed he could only take so much of Ginny’s brushing aside and general backhand insults before he broke. Draco crumbled the note and tossed it into the fireplace. He pointed his wand at the logs and yelled Incendio. The fire shot out of his wand immediately and Draco surprised himself with his own strength sometimes, especially in anger. The fire simmered and burned the note up quiet nicely. If Ginny Weasley was going to play this way, then Draco Malfoy would use this own tricks against the stubborn woman.
Draco stomped his way down the corridor and down the stairs to the parlour. “Where’s my breakfast?” He shouted.
Binky, the elf who usually took care of the food, popped and appeared in front of Draco. “Master, what can Binky cook for Master? Binky wants to cook for Master!”
“Anything, whatever, make it quick. I’m hungry.” He paced again, seeming to do that a lot when it came to anything Ginny, then an idea hit him.
Draco Malfoy wasn’t going to petty. He would do everything by the book, and somehow it slipped his mind that the engagement ring was in his pocket this entire time. After breakfast, he would head to The Burrow and apologise his absence from last night, then talk to Arthur for his blessing. How that could slip his mind was a question Draco failed to answer but at least he realized his mistake before he popped the question.
“Is that damn breakfast ready yet?” He called out as he took quick strides into the large kitchen. Stupid elves.
Draco Malfoy dressed in his best weekend clothes, leaving the flashiness behind, and Disapparated from his Manor and found himself outside of the Burrow. He wouldn’t be caught dead Flooing anywhere that would dirty up his clothes with soot and whatever else in those tubes.
He knocked on The Burrow’s twice and took a step back away from the door with a nice bottle of Muggle wine in one hand. He counted to ten before the door opened to a very jolly Molly Weasley.
“Draco! It’s a surprise to see you! Come in, come in!” Molly ushered the man into her home.
“Molly, I apologize for my absence from last night. I was caught up with work and by the time I finished, I would just be intruding in the middle of your dinner,” Draco handed the bottle of wine to Molly. “I think Arthur will enjoy this. I don’t know much other than it is Muggle wine.”
“Nonsense, work is very important to a young man like you. Next time you’re always welcome to come by any time. We always have room for one more. But thank you for the bottle, though I think Arthur should cut back with these things at his age,” Molly smiled and took the bottle.
“Is Arthur around? There’s something I need to inquire him about,” Draco asked with a smile much quite as bright as Molly’s. “It’s just some business that I’d like his opinion on.”
“If I’m not mistaken, my husband should be in the back of the house with his Muggle toys. It’s just down the hall to the right,” she pointed to their left.
Draco thanked the woman and swallowed to face his next challenge.
*
Ginny woke up to another Monday morning and wondering what happened to her weekend especially since the Weasley gathering occurred on Friday night, meaning Saturday and Sunday were free for Draco-time. She frowned at the fact that Draco hadn’t bothered to reply to her (rather late and short) note. On the other hand, she failed to keep her word to Milly that she would talk to Draco on Saturday.
As she walked out to the open space of her tiny apartment consisted of the family room kitchen and whatever space left all merged into one, she spotted the large bouquet of roses from Friday. The flower remained in the same shape as on the day she received it. Someone probably charmed the flowers to extend their lifespan. Every time she passed by the flowers, her mouth curved upward into a smile despite the fact that she thought the flowers were a cheesy way into a girl’s heart or that it probably cost a fortune too.
She wasted no time in that as she hurried to work for a meeting with a potential big client. Rushing out, despite the extra fifteen minutes she had, Ginny almost forgot her wand and ran back upstairs and into her apartment. She spotted a familiar looking owl banging against her door, but since now she lost another five minutes of her forgetfulness, she ignored the animal and rushed out again.
Ginny greeted some of her co-workers who arrived before she did as she made her way into the office. She looked out from the slits of the blinds and found that her secretary still hadn’t arrived, with only five minutes until the work day began. They needed to prepare the files and move themselves and their paperwork upstairs to be with the actual marketing team.
As the clock struck eight-thirty, Monica was still a no-show. Ginny begrudgingly carried all the folders as she exited her office. “If Monica ever shows up, tell her I need to see her after the meeting with La Seiné,” she announced before heading to the lift.
Ginny hit her part of the presentation perfectly, and it should, as her team worked hard along with the Marketing team for weeks on this project. She stood up and shook hands with the now-Daily Prophet clients. She, along side with the Marketing Director, walked out with the clients and bid them farewell.
Together, the Daily Prophet staff all breathed out a sigh of relief. The Marketing Director, Samuel, clapped everyone’s backs, including Ginny’s. “We’re celebrating tonight! The company’s treat of course,” Sam started. “Chutt’s tonight - 7. I’ll have someone do the booking. They can’t say no to the Daily Prophet.”
Sam walked over to Ginny, who went to collect her things in the meeting room. “You’re coming too, Ginny? Invite whatever staff that worked on this project too. They put a lot of effort in the project, I could tell,” he smiled at Ginny, who stopped the shuffling of papers.
Ginny smiled back at the man. “I’ll let them know and send you the final number by noon?”
Sam lingered his hand on her arm a little too long to be considered to be co-worker etiquette. “Definitely. I’ll see you tonight then, Ginny.”
Ginny quickly threw on a pleased smile but inside she rolled her eyes. She probably over thought the situation, but slimy gits were the worst gits.
*
Ginny Weasley only realized she was in trouble four days into the week. It had been an entire four days, six including the weekend, that Draco contacted her. She promised her mum that she and Draco would visit by the end of the week, but Ginny made no contact with her boyfriend for almost a week.
She scribbled a note: Draco, I need to see you. - Ginny. The note was short but there weren’t anything else to say. She got out of her office chair and took the lift to get to the Owlery. She spotted Quabble lazing on one of the owl stands. She was Ginny’s favourite out of all of them so when Ginny headed towards the female owl, immediately Quabble flew over and perched on her shoulder.
“How are you doing, Quabs? I have something for you to deliver,” she said to the animal. “Let me attach this to your leg first.” She pulled out the piece of rope and tied it with a tight knot. After, she pulled out some treats for her favourite owl, which gobbled them up immediately and squawked happily. Ginny continued. “Draco Malfoy. You know where Draco works, right?”
The owl nodded, or to Ginny she did, and pushed against her shoulder and flew out the large opening.
She retreated down to the office again and impatiently waited for Draco’s reply. She fidgeted while finishing up the odds and ends from the La Seiné project. At least the Monica issue was dealt with; the girl came down with the flu which she had to be quarantined. What were the chances of that happening right when Ginny needed the girl?
After lunch, the post boy made his second round of the day to deliver new posts. Ginny shot out of the chair when she spotted the boy but composed herself before she exited her office. “Is there anything for me?” Ginny asked the boy, whose name escaped her mind in that moment.
The boy shook his head as he handed the only two posts - one to Monica and the other to Edward. “Not this round, Ginny. We have one more before the day ends, maybe it’ll come then.”
“Thanks,” Ginny said despite the frown on her face and sulked visibility as she walked back into her office.
Her mood worsened when the post boy made his third and final round for the day and he still shook his head with no post in hand as he walked by Ginny’s department. She racked her brain to figure out what she did to warrant this cold shoulder. Okay, so she made a scene at the restaurant last week. She didn’t mean to; he just said those damn words that touched a nerve in Ginny’s many sensitive nerves.
And then Ginny purposely didn’t mention that the dinner moved up to an earlier night - which Draco still might not have known, but he probably would with his networks and sources.
So yes, Ginny wronged more than her boyfriend did, but still, there was no reason to ignore her post. It made sense for her to panic when by the end of the day she still hadn’t heard or seen Draco. She even Flooed into his office, but no one was in it either apparently.
Ginny did what any sensible girl would do - run to her mum and ask her why. Molly probably knew how to handle boys much better than she did. She usually talked to Hermione about these things, but with the way Ron still treated Draco and Hermione silently went along with it, Ginny wasn’t going to try her luck with a Draco problem.
She knocked on The Burrow’s door instead of just entering. Molly answered the door with open arms awaiting her daughter. Ginny fell into her embrace and sighed audibly.
“Have you had dinner yet?” Molly asked once they were apart again.
Ginny shook her head. “If you don’t mind, of course.”
“I’m your mother. Of course I don’t mind, dear,” Molly scolded. “I’ll just set up another place for you. It’s nice to have more than just your father and I eating dinner all the time.” She hustled into the kitchen. “In the mean time, tell me what’s wrong, Ginny.”
“I don’t know!” Ginny blurted. “Well, I do know why, but I don’t know what to do. Something’s happening between Draco and I and I don’t know how to fix it.”
“Let’s start at the beginning then, shall we? It’s always the best place to start,” Molly placed a plate across from her usual spot. She sat at the dinner table and pulled a chair back for Ginny to sit on.
Ginny slumped into her chair and told her mother what she thought was going on and blushed when she mentioned the part where Draco didn’t attend the dinner because she offhandedly uninvited him, rather than his absence was due to work. “What’s happening with me? I feel so stupid now and it wasn’t even me who started it!”
Molly placed her assuring hand on her daughter’s. “Hmm, from the way you’re telling me the problem, I think that maybe the problem isn’t with Draco,” she paused, wheels in her brain chirring. “It might be you who needs to be more understanding. I can see that Draco tries hard to be the man you want him to be. But he’s grown up in an environment that taught him to look down upon people like us. The fact that he can come in this hostile environment with Ron and bit his tongue is saying a lot. Sometimes I wish Ron had the restrain on his temper like Draco does.”
Ginny nodded along to her mom’s reasoning. She knew all of this already; everyone knew what the deal was with the Malfoys. So why did she still feel like this wasn’t clicking with her own views on Draco? In her eyes, Draco still acted the way like he did in Hogwarts other than biting his sharp tongue in front of the elders.
“What I think you should do,” Molly said, breaking Ginny’s train of thought, “is talk to him. There’s no reason to be guessing by this point, at this stage of the relationship.”
“But he’s not replying to my owls!” Ginny complained.
“Maybe you need to go see him at the Manor instead of waiting for him to come to you,” Molly suggested. “Let’s put that aside, dinner is ready.”
Molly got up from the chair and walked to the bottom of the stairs. “Arthur! Dinner’s ready.”
Arthur muttered as he walked down the stairs. His eyes lit up when he saw his daughter at the dining table. “Ginny! What are you doing here? Not that I don’t want you to be here. Well, you know what I mean. ”
Ginny rose to her feet and gave her father a hug. “I just thought I should drop by and have dinner with you two. Mom says she’s bored of you!”
“I guess I need to un-bored myself then,” Arthur laughed heartily. “Where’s Draco?”
Ginny’s grin immediately turned south at the mention of the ferret. “It’s only me here today, Dad.”
“Ah,” Arthur said, nodding with a slight smile. “Then it’s just going to be the three of us, that’s fine with me.” He ushered his daughter back down to her chair and took a seat in his. Molly pulled the hot lasagne from the oven and placed it on the table.
The three of them ate with quiet conversations as Ginny’s mind drifted away to the Draco situation again. After dinner, she thanked her mum for the home-cooked meal and for all of her help today.
Arthur walked his daughter out to the Apparation point. “Don’t worry about Draco. He’s a good boy.”
Ginny sighed. ”Dad, I know. I just, I guess I just need to rethink about everything before I talk to him.”
“Don’t wait too long,” Arthur added. Ginny looked at him like he was going to continue that sentence but didn’t. She half-hugged her father again before Disapparating back to the outside of her apartment.
*
Maybe this plan wasn’t working, Draco thought as he held the very creased note in his hand. He waited for almost a week, ignored her note, but still Ginny had not reached out the way he wanted. Maybe he needed to stay put for one more day and see what happens because there was no point in risking it all at this point. He came so close to wait for her to come to him that one more day out of a week wouldn’t make a difference.
*
Ginny waited until Friday until she freaked out about her lack of recent communication with Draco. After the talk with her mum and what her dad told her before she left, she thought she might get the courage to go to Malfoy Manor and ring up Draco. Even though they dated for so long, the times she visited that place was only a handful. Despite it was no longer the headquarter for the Death Eaters and Voldemort, Ginny felt the presence of him and everything he had done. And there was so much history and hatred in that place that made Ginny wanting to run out of that place as fast as possible.
Despite all her hesitations, Ginny made her way out to Malfoy Manor after work. She needed to walk down the unpaved lane before she reached the extravagant front gate. By this point, she thought she should have Flooed instead, and it would have been a better surprise than letting the house elves know Miss Ginny was here.
The gate swung open as she approached the vicinity of the Manor. She guessed someone knew she was coming with the amount of protective charms left on the Manor, despite the Ministry of Magic making sure that every spell left in the Malfoy property had no components of Dark Magic.
Ginny walked to the front door and instantly Milly opened the door for her entrance. “Is Draco here?” Ginny asked the house elf.
The elf bobbed her head up and down quickly. “Master Draco is in the drawing room. Come this way, Miss Ginny!”
Ginny followed Milly into the drawing room, where a seated Draco read today’s Daily Prophet. He lowered his newspaper from the noise and smiled when he saw Ginny.
“Hi,” Ginny said softly, hands fidgeting; she really despised this place. Draco stood up and folded up the newspaper, placing it on the small side table, but staying silent at the same time.
“Um,” she tried again. “I know I’ve been a major git for the past week. But I really want to apologize for everything, really. Not just about last Thursday, but everything.”
Draco nodded cautiously, unmoving from his spot, so Ginny continued. “I thought it was you who I had a problem with, but really, it was me mostly. For the past few days, I thought about everything - from the beginning and up to now and everything we’ve done together. I thought that after all these times we’ve been together, I haven’t affected you in one bit and you were still the same boy from Hogwarts, the same boy that came out of the War. I thought you were still that cruel and judgemental boy hiding in your father’s shadow. Every time you said something, my mind jumped back to that and maybe that’s why last week during dinner I exploded. It just hit a nerve.”
Ginny took a deep breath and continued, “I know I wasn’t the best girlfriend in the world. Heck, my department still didn’t know I was dating until you sent that bouquet of flower - which was really, really nice and it’s still in my house in a vase. But when I got that bouquet, I thought you were mad that I never took you to any work functions like you do with yours and you wanted everyone to know that I’m taken. But I realized the reason why I never told them or went together was because I was scared that you were still that boy from Hogwarts and you were going to scrutinize my co-workers because they weren’t pureblood or rich. Yet you have been nothing but the best boyfriend in the world and said nothing when I mentioned I was going to this and that.”
Her hands shook and she swallowed visibly. “I don’t know what’s happening to me. I just keep finding excuses of my behaviours and it kept piling up. I guess you knew by now that the family dinner didn’t get cancelled. I could tell when my parents kept saying nothing but nice things about you. That’s what you do, isn’t it?
“I’m sorry, Draco,” Ginny said, lips trembling and tears ready to fall.
Draco caught her as she began to slump to the ground. “I got you, Ginny.” He held her and together they made it to the parlour chairs. He kneeled in front of his girlfriend who looked as red as her signature red-hair.
“You don’t know how many times I almost broke and ran to your apartment. But I knew I had to stick out and wait for you to come to me. I’m not angry at you if that’s what you’re thinking,” Draco gently kissed her forehead and stroked her hair. “I love you, Ginny Weasley. Nothing you can do can make me think you’re the worst girlfriend in the world - other than if you leave me of course, but then you wouldn’t be my girlfriend anymore. But that’s not the point here.”
“Would you like some tea? I can get Milly to make you some,” Draco asked. Ginny shook her head, instead, entwined her fingers to Draco’s.
Ginny sensed that Draco too had a lot to say and slid down to the ground so Draco’s knees wouldn’t crumble from the strain. This turned out to be a lot more romantic as Ginny forgot about where she was and instead focused on the man in front of him.
“Ginny, I don’t know about you, but I’m deeply in love with you. I was going to do this last week but you foiled my plan, so I’m going to try this again. Ginevra Weasley, I think you’re the best woman in the world and stand being with me despite my faults and my past. I can’t think of anyone else who I rather spend the rest of my life with than you. I don’t care that you think you’re the worst girlfriend in the world because you’re going to be the best wife in the world. In my eyes, there is no one else,” Draco dug into his pocket and pulled out the black box he had been carrying for the past month. Finally it got to do its original purpose other than a throw thing for a frustrated Draco.
He pulled back the cover and revealed the silver ring he designed (with help). “Ginevra Weasley, will you marry me?”
Ginny stared at Draco with wide eyes and shock written all over her face. This was the last thing she thought would happen when she stepped foot on Malfoy Manor. It took her an extra second to realize what he was asking her when she went over the words that came out of Draco’s mouth. “Yes! Of course I will,” she yelled with excitement. Draco wasted no time taking out the ring and slipping it on her ring finger. She threw herself on him and wrapped her arms around him tightly, almost tackling him to the ground.
“I’m getting married!” Ginny yelled out to the incoming Milly before disentangling herself from her now-fiancé.
“Milly has gift from Master and Mistress!” She snapped her fingers and a large box, gift-wrapped with a large bow appeared in front of the couple. She ran over and excitedly shook Ginny’s hands, then moved onto Draco’s.
Ginny turned to Draco and held his hands. “Is this why my father told me not to wait too long to reach out to you?”
Draco smirked. “I did ask his permission beforehand, so yes, that could be why. But you do realize that you’re going to be marrying that boy from Hogwarts.”
Ginny let him pull her up as they walked over and stood in front of the large box from Draco’s parents that went up to their waists. “Then I hope that boy has grown up in the past ten years because I couldn’t stand that git; though he turned out to be a very cute ferret, if I may say so.”
Together they opened up their first post-engagement present to find a fancy-looking baby carriage in front of them.
“Damn Muggle inventions,” Draco muttered, while Ginny laughed at the appropriateness of the gift. She made a mental note to thank Lucius and Narcissa later. “I guess that’s our cue to start the baby making process,” he winked and pulled in his fiancée. Draco leaned in and kissed the future Ginerva Malfoy, finally.