It took Ginny a minute to register that Draco Malfoy had been stood in her doorway before she pushed past Hermione, whose mouth was still hanging open in shock, and raced out into the street.
Ignoring Hermione who she knew was close behind her, Ginny ran up to the hooded, striding figure and spun him around pushing his hood back a few inches as she did so. Draco merely smiled at her, and Ginny roughly tugged her hair behind her ears, suddenly realising how flushed she must have looked from her mad dash.
Scowling back at him, Ginny tried to concentrate on his smirking visage rather than Hermione's eyes which were boring holes in her back. "What the hell was that about?" She angrily snarled at him.
Draco continued to smile complacently. "It's just like I said, I've come back for you."
Ginny looked for any hint that he was joking and seeing none her anger slowly faded. "But why now?"
Draco's smile faded into a perfectly serious expression. "Because I was sat staring at a plane ticket that would take me away from every bad memory in my life and I still didn't want to leave." He leaned forward, his voice softening. "I didn't want to leave you."
Ginny ran a hand over her eyes in exasperation. "But what's the difference, Draco?" She said, tiredly. "They're still going to kill you." She looked up at him and sighed. "And I still don't want to leave my family."
The sudden grin that broke out on Draco's face startled her. "I'm not asking you to." The cheerful tone of his voice made Ginny narrow her eyes at him suspiciously.
"Draco, what are you planning?"
His grin grew even larger. "Well, I've got a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Draco, are these," Ginny made little quote marks in the air, "tricks illegal?"
"No."
"Draco."
"Just a little."
"Draco."
"Yes."
"Draco!" cried Ginny, her hands waving in the air around her. Draco reached forward gripping her wrists.
"I'm just going to drop a couple of dark objects in the homes of people who want to kill me and then let the aurors deal with them."
Ginny's eyes narrowed. "So no murder?"
Draco grinned. "Ginny, whatever do you think of me?" Disengaging her wrists from his hands, Ginny folded her arms in front of her.
"I think you're Draco Malfoy." He looked terribly insulted at this so she amended. "Who tends to do whatever he wants when he thinks it's right."
Draco looked away from her, staring at something only he could see. "What if I did kill them?" Ginny watched him and then placed her hand on his cheek.
"They want to kill you." She looked over her shoulder at Hermione, who was watching the proceedings with a scandalised expression. "So, I think I'd be okay with it." Draco let a small smile slip on his face but Ginny dropped her hand and wrapped her arms around her body. "I do love Harry you know." She said, not meeting Draco's eyes.
He winced, his eyes falling shut. "I know." He opened his eyes to look at her. "I just thought you needed to know that you had a choice."
"Draco." Ginny said tiredly, but he merely grinned at her as he tugged off the hood that was covering his platinum blonde hair. "Draco!" Ginny cried, unsuccessfully trying to pull it back on.
A witch walking by suddenly stumbled, noticing the man stood in the centre of the pavement. "Draco Malfoy." She said, her voice tinged with awe before Ginny sent her such a glare that she hurried along.
Ginny turned that glare to Draco. "What are you doing? Everyone will know you're back now!"
Draco just kept on grinning as he leaned in to kiss Ginny on the cheek. Pulling back he raised his wand to disapparate, his grin growing even wider as he said with a cold laugh, "Let them come."
*
"Draco Malfoy!" Hermione had been saying the same thing ever since Ginny had strode back to her and up to her flat. "Draco Malfoy!"
Ginny sighed as she walked into the living room, turning to face the furious witch. "Hermione, please."
"Draco Malfoy!"
"Hermione."
"Draco Malfoy!"
Ginny gave up and collapsed on the sofa. "Yep, that's his name."
"Draco Malfoy." Hermione seemed to run out of steam and fell on the sofa next to Ginny. "Draco Malfoy." She had the same sound of awe in her voice as the witch in the street had. Though Hermione's was tinged with a bit more hatred. Ginny watched Hermione raise her hand to her forehead, as though collecting her thoughts. "Ginny?" she asked, her voice polite as though asking the time. "What was Draco Malfoy doing here?"
Tired brown eyes met each other as Ginny hesitantly slipped off her silver ring and handed it to her friend. Hermione's eyes grew wide as the implication struck her even before Ginny whispered; "Malforium Manifesto," to reveal the Malfoy crest that rose up from the ring.
"Oh my God." muttered Hermione, staring in horrified fascination at the ring. "But you've had this years….oh my God." She looked up at Ginny, the pieces finally falling together. "Ginny….how long?" She stumbled out.
Ginny closed her eyes, reliving her time with him. "Around three years before he left," she ignored Hermione's shocked gasp, "I loved him." Ginny rubbed her eyes, tiredly. "Maybe I still do."
"Ginny!"
Quickly turning to her friend, Ginny grasped Hermione's hands. "Please don't tell Harry." Hermione leapt to her feet, tossing the ring back at Ginny as she did so.
"Harry is one of my best friends Ginny! I can't not tell him." Hermione eyes widened as another thought struck her. "Oh God, and Ron. When he finds out that you…"
Ginny followed Hermione up from the sofa, cutting her off. "You can't tell them." Seeing Hermione's mouth open again, she raised a hand. "Draco is trying to destroy the remaining Death Eaters, being eviscerated by my brother and," she choked on the word, "fiancée, won't really help his case."
Hermione closed her eyes, looking as though she was slowly coming to terms with everything she'd just heard. "Fine." She finally said, her voice tight. "Just don't expect me to lie for you." She grabbed her bag and headed for the door, pausing to regard Ginny over her shoulder. "Though from the sounds of things you have plenty of practice in the 'lying to the people you love' area."
Ginny fell back onto the sofa as she heard Hermione leave, staring at the ring in her hand, now embossed with the Malfoy crest. She grabbed a picture of her and Harry from the side table and held them up against each other.
"Ginny Potter." She mumbled. "Ginny Malfoy." She tried again, and sighed. Draco's words rang in her head. Just thought you needed to know that you had a choice. Ginny closed her eyes, tossing both objects to the floor. If this choice was so great then why had it been so much simpler when it hadn't been there?