Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, thanks I wish.
Chapter 1: Not All Fairy Tales Have Happy Endings
Draco was ready to walk the walk and talk the talk. He was in his finest wizard robes, his hair slicked back. He looked as ravishing as he could look with a mask strapped onto his face. Tonight was a charity masquerade for the hospital or witch's center, or something. He could never keep track.
He was only going because it was expected of him and he had been asked. Lydia Cartwright was tonight's screw of choice. He was sure that as soon as they got back from the party his clothes would end up strewn around the room as would hers. At least he would get something out of the evening, even if it were just another mindless fuck.
The trick though was getting through the party without turning his wand on himself. The various parties and balls and charity auctions were always filled with the same shallow people, who were there for the same reason. To be a pretty person. And they always turned into the same contest. Who looked the best. Who had the hottest date. Who gave the most to the charity.
It was all always a contest. And Draco always won. He was the most attractive, and he always had the most attractive date. And he was, without a trace of a doubt, the most generous donator to charities. He might not care about them at all, but he would win the contests that went on unspoken. It was the only way he could truly hide, by being the best. No one would look too closely to him as long as he kept up the facade.
He readied himself for another night of fake smiles and fake people while he waited for Lydia to show up. They had decided that she would pick him up since they would probably end up at his apartment at the end of the night.
He stared at the clock on his wall almost angrily. She was late and he hated that. Being late was one of the rudest things possible. It was like saying that her time was more important then his. And no one's time was more important then his.
Finally, after being half an hour late she arrived. He looked at her with a hint of disdain as he said hello and she picked up on it. She blushed slightly under his gaze as she sheepishly explained her reasons for being late.
Her hair.
Draco sighed loudly as he escorted her outside so that they could apparate. They arrived on a red carpet with cameras flashing all around them. Lydia instantly turned on her smile. Posing and laughing for the cameras. She tugged Draco around to each set of cameras and he let her. This was the easiest part of the night. This was expected.
Draco slowly started dragging Lydia into the party where cameras weren't allowed. Later when they left the cameras would still be there, to take pictures of them without the masks. That's when the true judging would start.
Inside it was loud and everyone was having a good time. Draco however was already getting a headache. He made the rounds with his date. Saying hello to everyone who mattered, which at parties like this was everyone. He was bored by the third hello, and generally annoyed by the tenth.
Finally Lydia got pulled onto the dance floor by a wizard from Bulgaria and Draco was able to retreat to a back corner. He watched the charity ball from a distance, enjoying the solitude.
His quiet, however, was disturbed by a young witch throwing her arms around his neck.
"Look, I know you do not know me, and I do not know you." she whispered quickly in his ear as she hugged him. "But for the past fifteen minutes I have had the same guy following me around and asking me to dance. I need you to pretend you know me and dance with me so that he won't think I was lying about my boyfriend just being in the bathroom."
Draco peered at her as she backed off of him slightly, her arms still around his neck. "Would you like to dance?"
She smiled at him and quietly hissed, "You are a life saver. Thank you so much."
Draco offered her his arm and she quickly slipped her hand in the crook of his arm. Together they walked to the dance floor and he directed her into his arms how he wanted her. The music was a slow waltz and he knew every step.
"Have you ever thought of being direct with a guy and just telling him the truth?" Draco asked.
The girl looked up at Draco and smiled, "Of course, but some guys don't take rejection well."
"So instead you throw yourself in the arms of someone you don't know?"
"It isn't like you were doing anything." she pointed out to him. "Plus this is a charity masquerade. What better charity is there then helping out a damsel in distress?"
"Something makes me think that in any other situation had I called you a damsel in distress I would have been told I wasn't being politically correct."
She laughed quietly, "I agree. However I'm using this very instance to my advantage."
Draco nodded, "Smart."
"Why weren't you dancing?"
"My date deserted me for someone else." Draco told her.
"Seriously?"
Draco shrugged, "Possibly. She is dancing with someone else right now. However she may, or may not come find me when she is done."
"Don't you care?"
"Why would I? I'm not in love with her. She's just an accessory on my arm."
The girl shrugged, "Awfully cynical don't you think?"
"I like to think of it as self preservation."
"Oh really?"
"Yes, really."
She tilted her head to the side, as if studying him. "Self preservation from falling in love? From getting hurt?"
"Both, neither." Draco replied. "Love is a game I would rather not play."
She chuckled, "You've had your heart broken. Sort of shocking considering your reputation."
"You think you know who I am?" Draco asked her.
"Why yes, I do." she told him. "Because the minute we got out on the dance floor all attention turned to us. And there is really only one guy in the wizarding world who can instantly command that kind of attention."
"How do you know that their attention isn't focused on you?"
She shrugged, "That very well could be it, except I am getting some nasty glares from the females in this room." She smirked at him, "And since girls only like bad boys, you must be Mr. Malfoy. The man known through out the world as a heart breaker."
"Well, you think you have everything all figured out don't you?" Draco asked her.
She nodded, "Yes, I do. Am I right?"
"From what I understand at midnight we are suppose to take off our masks. I suppose you will find out then."
"I can't stay that late."
"Why not?"
She smiled, "I'm pulling a Cinderella tonight."
Draco frowned, "A what?"
"You don't know?" she asked him, playing shocked. She stopped dancing, as the music had stopped. "Well, I suppose you will just have to do some research."
"How would I go about doing that?" Draco asked her.
"Well, just for giggles, I'll give you another clue." she told him, slipping off a shoe. "You keep this and go to a muggle library."
"Why do I need your shoe?"
"Trust me, just go there and you'll figure it out." she told him with a smile. "Goodnight Mr. Malfoy."
She turned from him and walked away. Draco stared after her, her shoe in his hand and for the first time since she had started talking to him he noticed that her hair was a very vivid shade of red that had only ever belonged to one girl that he knew.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
Ginny sighed quietly to herself as she washed her face off. The end of the night was always her favorite time to herself. There was something almost poetic about taking off make up. It's like you are erasing who you were for the day. And she was ready to become sleepy Ginny.
She took her time flossing her teeth, her favorite ritual of the night before brushing her teeth. Then, lastly, she started to unpin her hair. It had been done up so tight, in many spirals and twirls. She counted the pins as she took them out. Fifty in all.
Finally she changed into her pajamas . Simple, but comfortable, pajama pants and a tank top. She turned off her over head light and climbed under her covers.
She didn't sleep though, instead she thought over her evening. At the beginning of the night she had been having a great time. She was laughing and joking and dancing with her friends. Then the skeeze had appeared. For all she knew he could have been a gorgeous prince, but she wasn't interested and he hadn't understood that.
She had quickly devised a story of how her boyfriend was in the bathroom but he hadn't listened. He just kept following her and trying to join in all her conversations. No matter what anyone was saying he had something to say about it. If anyone had done something he had done it better.
Ginny hated guys like that. So she had quickly scanned the room, found a guy alone and went for it. She had never in her life ever hugged a complete stranger, much less thrown herself in a stranger's arms. But, desperate times call for desperate measures.
Thankfully she had chosen a nice young man who had agreed to dance with her. Imagine her shock when after pulling him into the light it had turned out to be the amazing bouncing ferret himself, Draco Malfoy.
At first she had been panicking in her head. After all, she and Draco had never gotten along back in school. In fact, saying they were enemies would be quite close to the truth. But, he had been nice, and he had been polite. It didn't hurt that he didn't seem to recall who she was.
She also noticed that he was quite the wonderful dancer. Which didn't really shock her considering the fact that he was a Malfoy. It was common knowledge that most pure blooded witches and wizards were expected to know many skills that didn't have anything to do with magic but had everything to do with social standing.
He had intrigued her with his view on his date. He didn't seem heartless as she had pegged him previously from reading the papers. Instead he just seemed disheartened. He seemed more broken then anything and it bothered her.
In school Draco Malfoy was anything but broken. He was pretentious and snobby. He knew what he wanted and he got it. He may have had wrong views but he believed them whole heartedly. He had heart, even if it was in the wrong place. Now, he just seemed like a robot. A coin operated boy. Someone who just had given up on people.
Ginny rolled over on her side. Who knew though? She was always quick to judge a person's character. Sure, she was never wrong, but there was a first time for everything. Maybe she was wrong about him. Maybe he was still a snob, an ass. Maybe he was still the pretentious wizard she knew back in school.
Or maybe he was different. Maybe he had learned to open his mind up and allow new ideas to form. She supposed she would find out one way or another. If he actually looked up what Cinderella was, she knew he would want to get her shoe back to her. That's how Draco was, and had always been. You give him a challenge and he will complete it.
She laughed quietly to herself as she thought over what she had done. What was she thinking giving Draco Malfoy a used shoe? He probably thought her crazy if he had recognized her at all. Which, she was almost sure he hadn't. She hoped he hadn't.
Please, sweet Merlin, let him have not recognized her.