Every Little Thing

A/N: Many thanks to the wonderful Rainpuddle for the beta - I'm not sure where this one is going. It's up to Ginny, I think. For the title... it was originally inspired by, Anything but Mine from Kenny Chesney, then by Let Me Go by 3 Doors Down. Neither of the titles fit, so I looked elsewhere and found a great little 3 Doors Down song called It's Not Me. It seemed to fit Draco's state of mind in the first part.

Standard disclaimer: I don't own them, please don't sue me.

The thing about Ginny Weasley that bothered him the most was how well he knew her. It seemed odd to him, even years later, the things he could remember about his relationship with the girl. For instance – the shade of copper her hair turned in the sun or how she took milk instead of sugar in her tea. Draco Malfoy could easily recall small details about her without even really thinking about it. Memory was funny like that – he could barely remember the Prime Minister's name (who he dealt with fairly regularly), yet he could easily recall the cut of the dress robes Ginny wore at his last Yule Ball.

He was also bothered by how she seemed to show up in his every day life. Not physically, since he hadn't seen her in years, but he was always reminded of her. It could be something like the right shade of red or hearing her bell-like laughter. Draco was always baffled by the reminders of her; after ten years one would think he'd closed the door on Ginny Weasley. Not to mention the cruel way she'd run off with Potter after Hogwarts. It should have been easy to put her behind him after that.

After tonight, however, he was sure that the days of thinking of her were over. He was just returning from a dinner party celebrating his impending nuptials. To his mother's great delight, Draco was finally ready to take a wife. One she'd deemed acceptable, which he knew Ginny Weasley would never be.

What his mother could never know, however, was how close she came to having Ginny as a daughter-in-law. The war ended in March of his seventh year, Harry Potter valiantly defeating Voldemort during an epic battle, and life seemed to go on as normal. At that time Draco was having thoughts of asking Ginny to marry him, but he convinced himself it was just relief from winning the war. Besides, whatever it was between them wasn't serious. They were just fooling around. He bid her farewell, promising to owl, but didn't. A year later, Draco found himself back at Hogwarts, only to receive the surprise of his life. After the finishing ceremony Ginny was greeted by a very happy Potter, who apparently bought a ring for the occasion.

Draco considered interrupting, but then he saw how happy she was. During his absence it seemed that Potter realized what was standing in front of him all of those years and she fell for the git. The blond merely Apparated away, and it was the last time he'd seen her.

The next day, like all young Malfoy men, Draco left for the continent. It was customary for all heirs to spend a year or so exploring the different Malfoy properties. Draco would spend the next five years doing that. At some point in time he crossed paths with Gabrielle Delacour, who was still in school at the time. He'd only met her once before, briefly, during the Triwizard Tournament. She'd been eight at the time and hadn't made much of an impression on him. Their next meeting proved to be more memorable. At seventeen, Draco found Gabrielle to be even more beautiful than Fleur and was almost immediately enamored with her. She was also the exact opposite of Ginny Weasley, which attracted him even more.

He'd never meant to become engaged to her, as he was never certain if he loved her or not. Draco knew it was what his mother, her mother, and Gabrielle wanted more than anything. They'd been together for nearly four years by her twenty-first birthday and it seemed that the time was right. He knew she would be the perfect society wife and would likely be faithful to him. Besides, there didn't seem to be any other options on the horizon. Narcissa Malfoy had cried the day he requested the Malfoy family engagement ring. It was then Draco knew there was no backing out of the engagement. Three days later, all of wizarding Britain knew.

When he proposed, he thought he might be able to put the actual marriage off for a bit. He soon learned that Gabrielle could be quite persistent and their mothers would plan the wedding with or without his cooperation. About six months ago, Draco found out he would be married June 28, 2008. His mother only expected him to show up at various events and he would be left out of the rest of it. Narcissa told him she never expected him to participate in the planning.

His pending nuptials were the reason he was out tonight. Gabrielle's parents had hosted a dinner in their honor in downtown London. Draco spent four hours on his feet beside Gabrielle, accepting congratulations and saying thank you. The worst part of it all was that Fleur was there with Bill Weasley. After the first hour Draco checked out mentally and began to imagine what his wedding might be like he were marrying Ginny instead. It wasn't a road he allowed himself to go down often, as the results were nearly disastrous.

He was the last one to leave the restaurant, sending Gabrielle back to her parents' townhouse. Draco opted to walk back to his flat. It would give him time to clear his head. It was nearly midnight now and he'd been walking almost an hour now, trying to push Ginny Weasley out of his head. He'd long ago given up on getting her completely out of his heart. As he turned the street corner, Draco could see someone sitting on the steps in front of his building. It seemed as if Gabrielle had come over after all. The blond sighed heavily and locked all thoughts of the redhead away. There was no need for his fiancé to know about his past relationship with her.

"Gabrielle," he called. "Why didn't you go up?"

The woman looked up and Draco stopped immediately. It wasn't Gabrielle at all. "Hello, Draco."

His heart was suddenly hammering in his chest and he wasn't sure he could speak. After nearly a decade, she was sitting on his front steps like they'd seen each other yesterday. "Gin," he finally managed.

She smiled up at him and Draco felt his stomach flutter. "How've you been?"

"I'm—" he stuttered. "I'm doing well. What're you doing here?"

"I've been well, too. Very busy." Ginny stood and straightened the black coat she was wearing. "Aren't you going to ask me inside?"

"No."

This made her smile again. "Surprised to see me, then? You had to know I would come for you."

Bloody hell, what was she going on about? "How would I know that," Draco asked through clenched teeth, "when it's been nearly a decade since I've spoken to you?"

The redhead held up a folded Prophet and Draco recognized it as the one announcing his engagement to Gabrielle. "I wanted to offer you congratulations."

He went up the stairs, careful not to touch her. "Try a Hallmark card and an owl next time. If you'll excuse me."

Ginny came up the stairs after him and put a hand on his arm. "Draco, it doesn't have to be like this."

"Like what?" the blond asked. "Gin, now isn't the time nor the place for this. I'm getting married in a month. You and I… We're ancient history. Just go back to Potter, Weasley."

She recoiled, almost like he'd struck her. "You… You don't know? How can you not know?"

"Know what?"

"Harry and I split two years after I finished Hogwarts. I didn't marry him."

"Is that supposed to matter to me?" he asked. Draco pulled his keys from his pocket and opened the lock. "I don't have time for this."

Ginny stepped forward, gently touching his arm and stopping his movement. "Draco, I know I hurt you. I just—"

"You just?" the blond interrupted. He looked at her, hard lines etched across his face. "What, Gin? You thought you could show up and we'd pick up where we left off? I've moved on."

"Have you?" she questioned. "Have you really?"

"I'm getting married in a month."

"That doesn't mean anything," Ginny challenged. "I know you, Draco – you aren't marrying her because you want to."

Draco shook her hand from his arm and pushed the building door open. "You don't know a damn thing about me, Ginevra, so don't pretend that you do. I'm sure you know your way home. Goodbye."

The door slammed loudly behind him and the redhead was left standing on the porch, alone.

* * *

"Fuck." Draco kicked the trash bin and sent it flying across the kitchen. "Fuck, fuck, fuckity fuck!"

It wasn't as if he hadn't dreamed it a thousand times. For some time he'd actually hoped her marriage to Potter would fail. He'd wanted her to want him again, so he could push her aside as she'd done to him. But those were just fantasies – ways he used to amuse himself when Ginny Weasley would cross his mind. The redhead downstairs was very real, just as he remembered. She also seemed to know him like he knew her. He wasn't marrying Gabrielle because he loved her, or even wanted to marry her, but because it was expected.

He was a Malfoy and it was his duty to carry on the family name. Draco knew that once an heir was produced their marriage would be in name only. He'd seen it with his parents, even though they did share some affection for each other. If he was honest with himself, he knew he wanted something more than that. Gabrielle was a sweet girl and he did feel something for her.

It just didn't measure up to what he once felt for Ginny.

Fuck. What was he going to do? He was fine with marrying Gabrielle as long as Ginny was out of the picture. She was supposed to be happily married to fucking Potter by now, not sitting outside his building. In his mind there were several Potter-Weasley children running around… and Ginny looked a lot like her mother. And she'd just blown that all to hell.

He was screwed. The right thing to do would be to go on as if he'd never seen her – it shouldn't matter that he had. He'd made a commitment to Gabrielle, and he did care for her. The only problem was that she wasn't Ginny. Draco knew if he was going forward with the wedding to Gabrielle he needed to close the Ginny part of his life, once and for all. He withdrew his wand from his pocket, closing his eyes and thinking of the front of his building. The familiar sense of Apparation came over him at once.

The redhead was sitting exactly where he'd left her, almost as if she'd known he would come back. It only served to infuriate him even further. "What are you doing here?" he demanded.

She trained her brown eyes on him and Draco knew she could see right through him. "I wanted to see you. I… You've been on my mind a lot lately."

"How nice. I can't say the same about you."

"Draco," she sighed. She looked away from him then. "It just seems that after all of this time there's something unfinished between us."

"Like what?" he questioned. "We shared something over a decade ago at Hogwarts, but it ended. After I left I considered the subject of us to be closed."

"Then why did you come back?" Ginny asked softly. "Why were you at my finishing ceremony?"

This caused him to pause. He'd never know she knew he was there. "How do you know that?"

"I saw you there. Or at least I thought I saw you there, but you disappeared pretty quickly. It wasn't until I read about it in the Prophet until I was sure."

"I wanted to see you, for what reason I don't know. For that year I couldn't get you out of my mind. I had no idea you were seeing Potter, though. I never would have gone if I had." Draco could still clearly remember the shock he felt when Ginny went to Potter and he saw their shared kiss. The sharp pain in his heart was a feeling he didn't like and didn't ever want to feel again.

"Harry and I happened so suddenly that summer. I was still reeling from us, and he was there to help me through. You never tried to contact me… it was only a year, Draco, we could have managed."

"And then what?" he questioned. "I bring my poor Muggle-loving girlfriend home for my mother to meet? Announce the world that I wanted to marry her? It worked out better this way, Gin. You had Potter and I had a reason to get on with my life."

"You—" she stumbled, "You wanted to marry me?"

"It doesn't matter anymore. The point is Potter was there for you when I wasn't. You moved on and I'm not about to take over his sloppy seconds."

Her eyes narrowed and she glared at him. "Sloppy seconds? You arsehole. I'm the one who left him."

Draco hadn't known that. "Why? He was always the one you wanted."

"When I was thirteen, yes. Even little girls grow up, Draco. It took me a while to figure it out, but Harry was no longer my fantasy. You were."

"Gin, it's been ten years. Sometimes we have to let the past die."

"And sometimes you have to fight for what you want, Draco."

The Malfoy heir looked down at her, unable to say what was in his heart. Yes, he'd missed her and yes, he still wanted her, but it was too late for him. It was too late for them. He would be marrying another woman in just over a month. "You don't want me."

"Don't tell me what I want," she replied quickly. "As you're so quick to remind me, it's been ten years. You don't know me anymore."

"Maybe you're right. My life is with Gabrielle now."

"Okay." Ginny stood up. Because she was still on the steps, they stood at eye-level to each other. "Then kiss me."

"Wh—what?"

"Kiss me," she repeated. "Kiss me once for old-times sake. If it's not there, then I'll leave you alone. You can forget about tonight and I'll even send you a wedding gift."

"Ginny."

"Draco. The number one reason you keep telling me that we can't be together is Gabrielle. I want to prove to you that you and I share more than just a past."

"This is silly. I don't play games like this. Gabrielle is a good girl and I won't hurt her."

"When did you get so noble?" the redhead asked. "When we were at Hogwarts, you certainly had no such qualms about committed relationships and kissing other people."

Draco pinched the bridge of his nose in frustration. "We all grow up sometime, Gin."

"Kiss me," she asked him again.

"Gin—"

"If you do it, I'll walk away. I'll leave if you tell me to. You're completely in control here."

He was never in control when it came to her, Draco commented silently. She was the one with all the power in their relationship because he needed her so badly. "You'll leave?" he questioned. "You won't go selling this to the tabloids?"

"Would I really do that?"

"No."

"You do still know me just a little, then." She smiled at him, the streetlights illuminating her red hair and freckles. "If you tell me to go, then I will."

Draco nodded. Since she asked him to kiss her minutes before, he knew eventually he would. The slight woman in front of him could always get just what she wanted. Taking a step forward, he lifted his hand to her face. Her skin was as soft as he remembered.

Ginny turned her cheek into his palm. "I've missed this."

He took another step, their bodies barely touching. He leaned his head forward and brushed his lips against hers. Draco felt light and heavy at one time and his brain was shouting at him to pull back. Not listening, he took another step toward her, his tongue sweeping across her lips. She opened for him as her arms wrapped around his neck. Draco lifted her off the ground as he plundered her mouth.

Moments later, they pulled apart and Draco took several steps backward. He couldn't look at her – her kiss-swollen lips were too tempted. "There, are you happy?"

She pressed her fingers to her lips. It was just like she remembered. "This isn't about me."

He looked at her then. "It certainly isn't about me. This is what you wanted."

"If that were true, you wouldn't have kissed me like that," she told him softly.

What was he supposed to say? That she crossed his mind frequently and he was glad to see her? That he felt more in one kiss with her than he did with thousands with Gabrielle? He couldn't say any of that. "Will you leave me alone now?"

Ginny repeated his action from earlier, pressing her hand to his cheek. "That's not what either of us want."

"Yes it is," he insisted. "I want you to go on with your life. I've moved on with mine."

"No, you haven't." She looked at him before letting her hand drop back to her side. "I wonder if you even realize it."

"Ginny," Draco sighed.

She reached down and picked up her purse and the newspaper. "I'll see you again, Draco."

"Gin—"

"When did you say you're getting married?"

"In a month, you know that already."

"Okay, then. I have a month to convince you not to go through with it. You still want me as much as I want you. Eventually you'll stop fighting it. Just remember, all's fair in love and war."

With that, she walked past him and down the sidewalk. He tried calling after her once or twice, but she didn't look back. Draco watched her until she Disapparated at the end of the sidewalk and only then did he go back inside his building.

He was completely fucked.