"Ugly." said Ginny absent-mindedly, twirling a piece of hair through her fingers as she stared out of the window. "Even more ugly." An exasperated sigh made her turn guiltily to see Hermione stood in the entrance to the changing rooms, hands resting on hips that were clad in what was actually a very pretty pair of robes.
"Ginny!" Hermione strode over to the rack of robes hanging on the other side of the room and began to vehemently examine each one. "If you don't help me pick a set of robes soon I'm going to be going to this research dinner buck naked!"
Ginny smiled wickedly. "Well I'm sure some of the junior research assistants wouldn't mind."
"Ginny!" was Hermione's scandalised reply as she span to face Ginny, a faint blush colouring her cheeks.
"Sorry. Couldn't resist." Ginny looked Hermione up and down. "The set you have on now are really nice."
Hermione narrowed her eyes at her friend suspiciously. "You just said they were ugly."
Ginny flushed uncomfortably. "Well, they look better in this light."
"I'd like them to look good in all lighting conditions, thanks." Hermione replied keeping her eyes glued to Ginny.
"Well," stumbled Ginny, valiantly trying to seem as though she had been paying attention. "maybe if you walk back over there they'd look better now?"
"Uh-huh," grunted Hermione disbelievingly. "or maybe if I walk back over there you'll stop paying attention again and will resume your obviously very interesting appraisal of the window." Ginny stared at her open-mouthed for a minute, searching for something to say. "What the hell is so interesting out there anyway?"
With a swish of robes, Hermione was next to Ginny peering curiously through the glass. Finding nothing particularly interesting, Hermione turned back to Ginny, a curious frown on her face. "What's up with you, Ginny?" She placed a sisterly hand on her shoulder in concern, worried brown eyes meeting Ginny's. "You've been off since the Cauldron."
Ginny reached up to grasp Hermione's hand. "I'm fine, really. Just thinking about the story I'm working on right now."
Hermione's frown didn't lessen. "You sure." She seemed to hesitate for a moment and then she took a deep breath and started; "It isn't about Harry is it? Because you know the whole 'moving-in…"
"God, no!" Ginny irritably pushed Hermione's hand away and she stormed over to the other side of the room, arms clasped defensively in front of her. "Not everything is to do with Harry, you know."
Hermione took a deep, steadying breath, carefully watching her volatile friend. "Look, I wasn't saying that. I just know that you and him have had a couple of problems because of certain… issues that have arisen between you."
Ginny turned a pair of angry eyes on Hermione. "And I suppose he told you all about them, hey?"
Hermione raised her hands defensively at the angry look on Ginny's face. "No. Both you and him have told me about them." Ginny's arms dropped limply to her side, the anger draining from her.
Striding to retrieve her bag from next to Hermione she turned to her friend. "The robes look great. You should get them."
"Ginny," started Hermione, moving to grip her arm. Ginny stepped quickly away.
"I'm fine." she leaned in to deposit a quick peck on Hermione's cheek and then turned to leave yelling over her shoulder; "I'll owl you later!"
*
Five years. It had been five goddamn years. Ginny stamped her foot in frustration, gaining a few odd looks off the other people milling around the market in Lower Diagon Alley. Trying to concentrate on the platter of Swiss chocolate hedgehogs in front of her Ginny tried to rid her mind of images of tall, blonde men. Tall, blonde, stupid, stupid, men, she corrected mentally.
A small figure chose that moment to push in front of her, little hands eagerly reaching for the chocolates only to withdraw them almost instantly with a wail as the hedgehog pricked him. Glancing down Ginny rolled her eyes at the bright blonde hair that lay thickly on the small boy's head. "Typical." she muttered, briefly shutting her eyes.
The little boy's wails grew louder as he continued to try and grab one of the chocolate animals. Opening her eyes to see if someone responsible was coming to retrieve him, and seeing no-one that fit the description Ginny leaned down to grab one of his hands. "Hey, stop that." she murmured gently. "They'll just keep hurting you."
He hadn't turned around yet, still fiercely scowling at the chocolate, so Ginny was faced with his hair. She let her eyes wander off it, noticing how it was so fine but there was still so much of it. It was the exact same colour as Draco's. The child couldn't have been more than four, his slim wrist feeling as though she could break it in two. She found herself thinking that he looked just how Draco's children would have looked. Or will look. Ginny scowled, or maybe they already look like this.
Draco could have children this age, that sneered and insulted with the acidity that was typically Draco. Or maybe away from the crushing influence of Lucius Malfoy his children had turned out fun and sweet like the Weasley brood. Ginny couldn't really see it though. Ginny nearly laughed at the realisation that the child in front of her, in looks and age at least, could be the next Malfoy heir. And yet the part of her that she yelled at and tried to ignore most of the time still wanted to imagine that that child might have shocking red hair or dark brown eyes.
The spell was broken the instant the little boy turned round. A pair of bright blue eyes, at the moment occupied by barely unshed tears were framed by features, that while cute, held none of Draco's characteristic aristocracy. "But I want one." he sniffed. Ginny crouched down next to him just as a tall, blonde man came rushing forward to grab the boy from her arms.
"Simon!" he scolded, he was older than Draco, Ginny realised and the blue eyes that his son had inherited weren't as cold or as beautiful as Draco's silver. He turned to her. "I'm terribly sorry, he tends to run off."
"It's fine." Ginny smiled at him, trying to pay attention as her mind was substituting him for another tall, blonde man. The man who wasn't Draco smiled at her, and with his son in his arms he walked away. Ginny watched them go, her heart fluttering as she noticed that from a distance they could easily be a pair of Malfoys.
She was still staring after them when a pair of arms encircled her waist, a low and seductive voice whispering in her ear; "Guess who?" The timbre of his voice made Ginny's heart quicken, until she wriggled around and found herself looking up into a pair of emerald eyes.
"Harry." Ginny murmured, trying to keep the sudden flare of disappointment from her voice.
"Hey, Gin." he said jovially, giving her a quick kiss hello. "What are you doing here? Thought you were shopping with Hermione?"
Cursing herself for her meandering mind and insisting to herself that she was happy Harry was here Ginny slowly twined her arms around her boyfriend's waist. "I was. But there's only so long that a girl can go robe shopping before she's in danger of atrophying." The little white lie that slipped out made Ginny wince but not before she realised how easy it had come. It seemed that thinking of Draco made her act how she had when they had been together. Meaning that lies slid out far easier than they should have done.
"You? Got bored of robe shopping?" Harry grinned. "That doesn't sound like the girl I know and love."
Quickly latching back onto what Harry was saying Ginny offered her own grin. "You know me too well." It was true as well, she realised, a wave of guilt hitting her as she remembered what she been thinking about all afternoon. "But it's just not as much fun when you're not the one doing the robe buying."
"Ah, well that explains it then." Spinning so that their arms were linked, Harry steered Ginny away from the market. "Fancy a walk?"
Ginny raised an eyebrow. "And right now we're what?" She gestured down at their moving feet with a grin. "Dancing a jig?"
*
"…and then of course Neville decided that it would be a good idea if he leapt into the lake after Trevor, who I'm pretty sure was perfectly happy chatting with the squid." Harry's acerbic telling of the familiar story complete with the obligatory hand gestures had Ginny clutching his side as she giggled uncontrollably.
"Well," she gasped out between laughs, "It wouldn't have been so bad if Nev had remembered that he couldn't actually swim!" Wiping away tears of mirth she collapsed on a nearby bench, dragging Harry down with her.
Regaining her composure Ginny looked over at Harry who was watching her with a fond smile on his face. "God, we're terrible aren't we? I mean, Neville's a dear, really."
"And yet you always laugh at that story." Harry pointed out, playfully poking her in the ribs.
"Well, it's funny!" Ginny defended herself, grinning.
Harry smile grew larger as he shifted in his seat. "You know, that's one of the many things I love about you."
"What? My ability to mock one of my best friends?"
Harry gave her a searching look. "Look, I know things have been a bit rough with us lately."
"Harry…" Ginny started but he held up a hand to stall her.
"And I know a lot of it was because you don't want to move in with me." He saw the protest forming on her lips and went on. "Or at least you won't give me an answer."
"Harry…" he raised his hand again but she ploughed on regardless, "it's not that I don't want to move in, it's just that, well, I don't know." she stumbled over her words, inwardly annoyed at herself for once again not being able to offer an explanation for her reluctance.
"I know, Gin." said Harry, which Ginny found quite spectacular as she herself didn't really know anything. "It's just that we've been going out for over four years now and well, this has to go somewhere, you know?" Harry edged closer to her, watching her earnestly. "And I love you."
Ginny closed her eyes, knowing where this was going. "I'm going to ask you something. And I know it isn't easy but please could you just answer?" Opening her eyes, Ginny found herself looking into the green eyes of the man she had been dating for so long, of the man she shared her bed with. And the man she was in love with. And yet Ginny couldn't help but thing about a another man who she had never really dated though they'd certainly shared a bed. Another man who she had loved. And then that part of her was there again, another man that she still loved.
Ginny steeled herself for the question she was getting used to hearing and tried to prepare herself to finally give an answer. "Ginny Weasley, will you marry me?" Ginny's mouth fell open in shock.
Well, she hadn't been expecting that.