Unofficial Portkey Archive

Blue-Eyed Angel

Chapter Twenty

"So who is it that you and Reamann have invited, dear? We have the room, but I haven't a clue who you could possibly bring that isn't already invited," Molly Weasley said, still bustling around the kitchen of the Burrow, preparing for a Christmas dinner for family friends. Christmas day had been spent with family and now the friends gathered to discuss the day, plans for the new year, and just relax and wind down.

"Well, Reamann has worked with him a few times on the case, and we figured we would invite him as to show our gratitude for all he has done," Ginny said awkwardly, not really wanting to admit that it was Draco Malfoy coming over for dinner. Her mother had seen the morning Prophet. It was Christmas, so she hadn't yelled… too loudly.

Ginny couldn't understand why everyone was making such a big deal out of it; it had just been a dance. Yes, well, it had been more than a dance... but no one else knew that!

Reamann was looking uncomfortable as he helped with the setting of the table, avoiding the topic as furiously as Ginny was. He did not know there was more to that dance Draco and Ginny had shared, so agreed with Ginny that everyone was blowing it way far out of proportion. Shouldn't he, of anyone, be the one bothered by them dancing? He had given Ginny and Draco his blessing to share a dance and the family needed to accept that.

"That's so nice of you, Reamann. Goodness, you are such a considerate person, and not just at Christmas," she beamed while pointing her wand at the stove and mixing the gravy.

Even with all the hullabaloo over Draco Malfoy, Mrs. Weasley could say no wrong in regards to Reamann. Reamann seemed to flush at Mrs. Weasley's remark, somehow able to do nothing wrong in that woman's eyes. Honestly, if Mrs. Weasley thought he was any more perfect he would be Harry Potter.

"Yeah," Ginny said uncomfortably, wondering how quickly her mother would change her tune once she saw who it was he had invited.

"Well, knowing the people Reamann is working with, I still can't quite figure it out," Neville said, limping around the table while setting it with Reamann, his bad leg and arm not hindering him too greatly. He didn't want to think Reamann would invite Sebastian, but it would explain why Reamann was refusing to say anything. Who else could he have invited that would be less welcome?

"Well, he isn't from the department," Reamann said quietly, looking like he wanted nothing more than to drop the subject. No one was talking about Draco Malfoy that day, not on purpose at least. It was like he had never showed up at the ball the night before, or no one had seen the Prophet. Surely he was on everyone's mind, everyone wanting to ask Ginny why she had danced with him, everyone wanting to ask Reamann why he had invited him, but they kept their lips tightly sealed on the matter.

"Oh, Gin and Ray want it to be a mystery to the end, so let's all stop pestering them over it. It will be a surprise," Molly said with a grin over her shoulder as she cooked. She was probably the most furious about the whole "Draco Malfoy situation," but was hiding it well by keeping herself busy with all the cooking and preparing.

Ginny swallowed hard her nerves thinking to herself, `It sure will be a surprise.'

By the time it was a quarter to nine, Draco was still a no-show. Ginny was not anxious, but she had thought he would have come by now if he were coming at all. She wanted him to come, even with all the grief she would get as a result.

Everyone gathered at the table, as they prepared to sit. There were three spots still left empty, waiting for the late arrivals. Draco was not the only guest yet to arrive. Harry, Hermione, Ginny, Reamann, Neville, Orla and Ron, all sat around the table talking. Ginny and Reamann, and Neville and Orla were the only couples there. Everyone else seemed content enough to be alone for Christmas.

There were some footsteps outside on the front porch and everyone looked up. Molly, who was up and still cooking, went to answer it.

"Oh, I hope this is our mystery guest," she laughed teasingly, opening the door while turning to it.

Standing just outside was Draco, looking a little apprehensive, wrapped up in his faded-black cloak and old Slytherin scarf. His hood was up and hair was hidden, but that failed to conceal his identity to those who knew his face so well.

Molly stood stiff, face frozen in mid-laugh and surprise, words failing her long enough to be noticed by those inside.

"Mum, what's wrong? Who is it?" Ron asked, unable to see around his mother to who was at the door. Ginny stood quickly, the closest, other than Hermione, to the door, and moved over to her mother to try and prevent a scene. She knew only Draco could have caused her mother, of all people, to be speechless.

"It's so good of you to come," Ginny said, looking at Draco, who seemed remarkably timid in the doorway. He had already expressed his concern in regards to his reception, and it looked like he was still a little weary. Ginny rested her hands on her mother's shoulder as though trying to assure her that it was alright and that Draco had been invited, but the woman hardly took comfort in her daughter's warm welcome and neither, it seemed, did Draco.

"Draco Malfoy?" Molly huffed, everyone at the table startled, not having heard or seen Draco yet. Molly's words were the first indication for them of who was at the door.

"What?" Ron grunted, standing from the table and bashing it with his knees. As he did so, the table rattled with cutlery on dishes.

"Why is he here?" Harry demanded, sounding as outraged as Ron but not standing.

"I invited him," Reamann answered quickly, Neville looking shocked silent and Hermione looking uncomfortable. The whole table looked at Reamann, flabbergasted.

"Ginny?" Molly asked her daughter, looking at her, needing to know that that was just not true. Reamann couldn't have invited Draco Malfoy… he couldn't have.

"I sense a chill in your hospitality..." Draco drawled and all attention was back on him. "It is much like the one I'm standing in now. Tell me, is it customary for you Weasleys to leave your guests standing out in the cold without invitation inside?" he questioned, looking quite cold. His shivering wasn't hard to notice, neither was his irritation.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Ginny said, stepping back and leading her mother by the shoulders to get her to do the same. "Do come in," she said, having forgotten that Draco utterly lacked body fat and he was always cold as a result, the frigid night air and freshly falling snow not helping.

Draco stepped in, pale face pink from the cold, and let his hood down, glancing over at the table with his long white hair now free. It was pulled back in a low ponytail at the nape of his neck to keep it out of his face, just like Ginny liked, long and perfectly straight. There wasn't a curl or wave to be found on his head, a sharp contrast to that of his children.

Everyone in the Burrow stared, nay, glared at him, and Draco gave Ginny a slightly disgruntled "I told you so," look. Ginny tried to convey her assurances that the situation was salvageable with her eyes, and Draco was in the middle of unwinding his scarf when there was more thumping at the front door.

There was a muffled laugh and a shuffle, and the door burst opened suddenly with another waft of cold, snowy air. The whole of the room turned their attention begrudgingly away from Draco to who was now arriving.

Tonks' head peeked in. "Oh, we're not that late then," she said upon seeing the table not fully seated, withdrawing her head to then walk in properly and stand beside Draco. Draco turned to her, suddenly smiling, his cloak and fingerless gloves still on.

"Nymphadora," he laughed, hugging her as she held out her arms.

"Hey there, Dre," she said, with a happy and surprised face, "What a surprise! You didn't tell me you were coming here," she laughed, hugging him back tight.

"You failed to mention it yourself," he answered just as warmly as she rubbed his back.

The room just stared.

"Well, Happy Christmas then," she said, Draco so relieved to have people there that would be on his side…people who were not his partner who he was double-crossing or the woman with whom he was having the affair. Granger didn't count because she was being rather unsupportive, and he hated her.

"Happy Christmas," he answered.

"Long time no see, chap," Lupin said with a smile as he limped in, Tonks turning from Draco to close the front door. Lupin held out his hand, shaking Draco's firmly before they pulled each other into a one armed hug where they slapped each other's backs, their hands still latched together between them.

"Oh yes, quite," Draco said back. That was their typical greeting, even when they hadn't just seen each other earlier that day. They saw each other frequently enough because of the full moon and always made reference to that when they met. It was an inside joke of sorts between them that was comforting, each mockingly pretending to not be werewolves and having not seen each other on the last full moon.

Draco's family was small. He was the last of the Malfoys, well, he and his children. All he had in the world now was his mother, his aunt Andromeda, who married the Muggle, Ted Tonks, and his cousin Nymphadora Tonks. Remus Lupin was her husband, but they had no children, so that left his family as the measly size of eight, including himself.

Since his aunt Andromeda got along with his mother Narcissa just a touch better than his mother got along with Ted, family get-togethers, like Michelangelo's birthday and Christmas, were even smaller than that. It was usually just him, his mother, the kids, Remus and Nymphadora.

Tonks and Lupin had been over earlier, part of his Christmas, but like they had said at the door while greeting each other with hugs and smiles, they had not mentioned to one another their plans for later. Otherwise, they would have known they were both attending the same dinner.

With all the Christmas cheer at the door, the shock at the table was in sharp contrast. Ginny seemed to recover more quickly than the others, maybe because she was the closest, and she gave her mother's arm a squeeze before stepping forward.

"Tonks, Remus, glad you two made it," she said, hoping to overpower the awkwardness of the situation.

"Oh, no problem. We made it on time, right?" she said, tugging on Draco's long ponytail as though ringing a bell, apparently approving of the change of style. As Lupin unwound his scarf, he looked at the table, where everyone was already seated, but no food had been served yet.

"Tonks was reviewing that horrid case all evening. Had to pull her away from it with a Retraxi Charm," Lupin said with an affectionate smile.

"That sounds like my cousin for you," Draco said, slipping his cloak off. He took Tonks' and Lupin's and asked Ginny where he should take them. He quickly excused himself to the living room to drop off the heap of cloaks, happy to take a deep breath away from all the stares, glares and nasty thoughts he had been fortunate enough to overhear.

That had gone better than he had expected it to. He hadn't been cursed, hexed, jinxed and/or punched in the face immediately upon arriving. He had honestly expected a verbal attack at the very least upon gracing the entryway, so he was pleasantly surprised to have been wrong. This being one of the few times in his life he didn't mind being wrong. It was rare for him to be. His welcome had been far from warm, however. Tonks and Lupin showing up had eased some of his apprehensions and delayed or inhibited the shouting, but he was still dreading going back into that room with those people.

`This is for Ginny,' he told himself as he pulled off his gloves and stuffed them in the pocket of his cloak. Reamann had asked him to come, but he came for Ginny.

He couldn't help but feel uncomfortable though, while in the home of the Weasleys, surrounded by people that hate and mistrust him, pretending to not be in a sordid affair with the girlfriend of his partner, with whom he would be sharing a meal. And that was without all the bad blood between him and just about everyone at the table. He hadn't exactly been a very nice boy to any of them.

The only way he knew how to combat such feelings of insecurity was to act harsh and condescending, but he doubted that would go over well or make a good impression in assuring them that he had grown up a little and seen the error of his ways, repented, or all that horseshit. In the end, it was a toss up: be a jerk and feel better but upset Ginny, or be reserved and make his discomfort apparent, but make everyone else feel like jerks if they were less than friendly to him.

Draco chose to make everyone else seem like jerks. Being uncomfortable made him grumpy, but being grumpy would ruin Ginny's Christmas, and he didn't want that. He had already ruined his children's Christmas. How many Christmases could he ruin? About eight, given the count of the people in the other room.

Draco paced for a moment in his green turtleneck and black jeans, rubbing his thin hands together to warm them before returning to find Lupin and Tonks seating themselves at the table, leaving only one seat open and that was at the corner, next to Ginny and Hermione. Neville, Ron, Lupin and Tonks sat opposite Harry, Reamann, Ginny and Draco. Orla sat at the end near Neville and Harry and Hermione sat at the opposite end near Tonks and Draco.

It was utterly silent at the table before Draco was even fully seated, tucking his chair under him with practiced ease, looking at his plate while able to feel all eyes on him. Yes, he was uncomfortable, and it took all his willpower not to make a biting remark, but he managed to smile politely.

Molly stood near the cupboard, like she was tending to the food, but was really just staring at the table, at Draco as he sat at the table.

"Well then," Ginny said, smiling around at everyone, "Isn't this nice?" she asked and Hermione gave her a look like she wanted a real explanation later as to why Draco Malfoy was there, later.

"Draco," Ron said, Draco looking over at him slowly, eyes narrowing only a touch.

"Yes?" he drawled smoothly. Draco had to remind himself to behave, saying `Be nice Draco, these people are Ginny's friends and family.' He wanted nothing more that to call them a bunch of sods and tell them to shove their wands up their… but, he refrained.

"What they bloody hell is going on? First you crash the ball and now Christmas Dinner at my house?" Ron demanded, clearly his end of the table all wanting to voice much the same indignation.

"I'm here on personal invite, you twit," he said in a manner as proper and upper crust as one would expect in reply to the question "one lump or two?" in regards to their afternoon tea. Draco managed to insult others with courteous tones, like it was not somehow poor manners to do so. Draco realized the insult came out only too late, and though his face gave nothing away, he was mentally cursing himself as Ginny looked at him, a little hurt, or maybe disappointed.

"Dre," Tonks warned, looking at him from directly across the table like she wanted to reprimand him for his poor manners, but was refraining in front of company. "Yeah, well…Draco isn't exactly close friends with any of you, but I expect everyone to be civil. It's Christmas," she said, addressing the whole table then, talking to them like a bunch of unruly children.

"You are not bothered?" Harry asked, Tonks hating Draco last he had asked… though that was years ago. The scene at the door had led him to believe things had obviously changed.

"Why would she be bothered?" Draco asked, looking a little heated. "She is my cousin."

"We reconciled," Tonks said, jumping in between the two of them, "twelve years ago."

Draco's and Harry's glares continued for a moment longer before they broke to look away in opposite directions and Tonks continued.

"When I heard from you, Harry, and from Ginny, your accounts of what happened that night on the rooftop, I went to him in Azkaban," she explained and Draco seemed to flush a little. He hated it that he was the topic of conversation. He had expected it, but that didn't make it any easier, and it certainly didn't mean he had to like it. He was his least favorite topic, followed closely by the events of the war. Talking about them both was most disconcerting.

"I didn't realize you and, um, Draco were so close," Hermione attempted, Molly levitating some food over to the table as a means of distraction and to ease the tension that was building. She almost called him Malfoy but opted for his first name, to try and keep things less contemptuous.

Hermione knew Ginny and Tonks had hit it off back before the war and had been close ever since, and she considered Tonks one of her own good close friends, but in all the times the three of them had hung out together, Tonks had never once mentioned Draco or their "reconciliation"?

Ginny looked over at Draco but he was very carefully studying his plate. He knew Tonks and Ginny were good friends and he knew Ginny was looking at him. He knew the fact that Tonks and he were on speaking terms, let alone on good terms, was news to her and that she was surprised. The whole table was.

"Yes, well," Tonks said, voice just as light and friendly as ever. "After the war, Draco and I stayed in touch. I would visit," she said with a nonchalant shrug.

"So would I," Lupin added.

"We just never mentioned it because, honestly, we did not think any of you cared about Draco Malfoy's business," Tonks said with a shrug, brushing her bright purple hair away from her eyes.

"Nymphadora and Remus respect my desire for privacy," Draco said coolly.

After that bit of diffusion, they were left with an awkwardness lingering over them all at the table like a bad stench that just would not dissipate. Everyone was cycling through either glaring at Draco, or looking between Remus, Tonks, Ginny or Reamann, all four seemingly in on this when they had not been.

Reamann's discomfort looked strong enough to rival what Draco was feeling, but Draco was better at making his face blank and unreadable. He actually found it quite easy to sit there if he converted it all into indignation that they would all be so unwelcoming. What kind of noble Gryffindors were they? Damn it, it was Christmas!

"I think this all started off on the wrong foot," Ginny announced suddenly, addressing the whole table. "I think we need proper introductions so we can all move beyond this...um...shock, and enjoy this dinner together," she said, clapping her hands together. Draco managed to only smirk rather than smile at her and her assertiveness.

"Fine," he said, tossing his ponytail over his shoulder and looking over at the rest of the table with cool pale eyes. "I have been helping Reamann here for a few weeks on the case and he invited me to the ball last night as means of showing his gratitude of sorts. At the ball he tempted me with an offer to come to dinner tonight. I was disinclined, but Ginny insisted, assuring me what lovely people you all were," he finished flatly, making it clear he did not believe that himself and making light of their poor behavior and reception of him thus far.

Tonks then spoke up. "Dre and I have been able to become quite close and have been for some years now. Past is past," she said.

"Draco and I have a lot in common," Lupin joked and Draco smiled while looking down at his plate again to try and hide it from the rest of the table, "so I see quite a lot of him, even without our Saturday suppers together as a family," he said.

Reamann then took his turn. "I did invite Draco here tonight, as well as last night to the ball, because I have worked with him on the case, as you all probably realize now, and I felt he deserved to be included in the festivities," he explained, being surprisingly brief.

The table's attention all seemed to shift to Ginny, who sat very stiffly as they waited for her explanation. "I think we all need to take Tonks' attitude towards things, the past is the past, and have a good night. It's Christmas after all," she said, like Draco, staring down at her plate, everyone really wanting to know why she danced with him last night, but clearly not about to get the answer.

"Thank you for welcoming me in and having me," Draco said begrudgingly.

"Yes, like my little cousin said, but with less resentment, thank you," Tonks said, inclining her head.

Draco knew his very presence was creating a rift, and the guilt that was milling about was almost a touchable thing, but he pressed on coolly. It did not matter to him if Harry or Hermione felt uncomfortable to the point of nausea in his presence, or that Ron was glaring himself cross-eyed at him, it was their fault they felt so bad since they are the ones that had wronged him…so really, it was their problem to deal with. He would certainly enjoy himself, just to spite them. The added satisfaction he felt at the discomfort he caused them only sweetened the payback.

Eventually, there was laughing around the table, and though Draco was no part of it, he was actually, surprisingly, enjoying himself. Tonks was being quite the entertainment, breaking the ice so that the rest could talk freely, joke, laugh, tease. Draco felt rather on the outside of all this, but just having been invited to be in its vicinity was nice.

They all laughed at the conclusion of a tale by Tonks.

"I never understood how you could manage such things with such ease, Nymphadora," Draco commented, trying to add to the busy conversation at the table.

"See, now, I don't get this, Tonks. You have insisted since the day any of us met you to call you by your last name," Harry said as Ron jumped in.

"Which isn't even your last name anymore," he said and Tonks and Lupin held each other's hand atop the table with warm smiles shared between them.

"But you let Draco here call you by your first name, I don't get it," Harry finished. Ginny spread her legs a little so that she could rub her right one up against Draco's in response to seeing Tonks' and Lupin's little show of hand-holding affection at the table. Draco dared a glance over at Ginny that she returned to no one's notice but Hermione, who was to their right and facing them as she sat at the end of the table. Hermione thought this was scandalous that Ginny was playing footsie under the table with Draco as she held Reamann's hand in her left for all the rest of the table to see.

"Oh, well, Draco calls me by my first name just to irritate me," Tonks said with a friendly leer at him.

"It's not as bad as my name," he said, pointing at her with his finger, his fork in hand still and elbow leaning on the table, that being a very rude thing to do if you were raised by his parents.

"I think it's a toss-up at best," she retorted while smiling.

"What's wrong with your name?" Ginny asked Draco and Ron snorted a laugh from down the table.

"Thank you, Ronald," Draco said dryly.

"It's not a terrible name," Lupin offered, though not going as far as to say it was a good name.

"Your mummy doesn't like your name, isn't that right, Angel?" Tonks jeered at Draco and he narrowed his eyes.

"Shut it, you. I will kick you and it will hurt," he warned as she just continued to grin at him, enjoying the opportunity to tease her baby cousin and to get him to flush, though making sure she scooted away from the table a little so as to be clear of his boots. She couldn't make him blush over his name in front of his mother or the children, as they were all accustomed to him being called "Angel." This was an all new opportunity to tease him and Draco was not happy that she could not pass it up.

"Angel?" Hermione asked, Ron and Harry exchanging amused glances, both having thought "Draco" was a bad enough name all their lives, and finding "Angel" to be positively pansy-assed.

"That's not all," Tonks continued excitedly. Draco dropped his fork on his plate with a clatter.

"Nymphadora, please," he begged, knowing it was of no use.

"His full name is Draconis Angelus Malfoy," she laughed.

"Remus, take control of your wife," Draco pleaded to the man who was hiding a smile behind his fork while chewing. He was not going to laugh at Draco's expense, he was not…he was not. He chuckled softly. He would apologize to Draco later, he really would.

"Literally translated," she explained over Draco's protests, "it means Angelic Dragon of Bad Faith," Tonks finished. Draco slumped down low in his seat, low enough it looked like he meant to slip under the table and crawl away to hide.

Ron started laughing with his drink halfway to his face and Harry tried to hide his behind his hand politely. Neville and Orla exchanged "looks," Lupin managed only a small smile while cutting at his turkey, and Hermione was holding her napkin up to her mouth like she wasn't silently cracking up behind it.

"Thank you, Nymphadora," Draco said dryly, everyone still laughing around the table. "It is always nice to be found so amusing," he scoffed bitterly in a very adorable pout, in Ginny's opinion of course.

"I think it's a lovely name," she said, smiling and fighting not to laugh while patting Draco on the arm. Her name was Ginevra, who was she to cast stones? Reamann looked a little purple, like he was either holding in a serious laugh, or he had a piece of turkey lodged in his throat. One could take a guess which Draco would have preferred.

"Right shame that it's not yours then now isn't it?" he said, pouting more fiercely.

Dinner continued on for a short while longer, Mrs. Weasley coming and going, putting more and more food on everyone's plates without asking, insisting that they eat up. She was taking particular interest in Draco's plate. She kept piling food on it, but it was not disappearing at any noticeable rate. She wanted to shovel more sweet potatoes onto his plate, but there was hardly room.

"Dear, you need to eat up," she urged, looming over him. Draco was looking at his plate, a little intimidated by it. Would he not be excused from the table until his plate was clear? He would be there for a week.

"Are you feeling alright?" Reamann asked, looking over at him while still eating off his own heaping plate.

"I'm fine, and your cooking, Mrs. Weasley, is topnotch. It's just...I ate earlier and I'm not terribly hungry is all," Draco mumbled.

"You ate before you came to a dinner?" Mrs. Weasley asked, sounding a little insulted and Draco felt uncomfortable.

"I meant earlier today," he clarified, shifting under the woman's glare.

"Surely you must be hungry by now, Draco, we ate at eleven-thirty this morning," Tonks said and Ron looked shocked. He had eaten a dozen times between that time and now.

Draco looked flustered. He loved food, but he was not accustomed to eating more than once a day and he did not like it that everyone was staring at him and his heaping plate of barely touched food. He had a nibble of a little of everything, it was all quite good, but he could not really eat more.

"It's alright, Mum," Ginny said, looking up at her mother. Mrs. Weasley was a woman that fussed over what people ate and their weight. The boys were always "too skinny" to her. She forced food upon Reamann and Harry all the time, both being tall, strapping, but lean built men. Draco, by far the thinnest one there, even with Lupin in company, had grabbed Molly's attention from the start and she was determined to be sure that he packed on five pounds before he left. She lived by the philosophy, "if it moves, feed it; if it doesn't move, next time feed it faster."

Ginny looked at Draco for a long moment and he glanced at her, whispering a meek but sincere "thank you" into her mind for rescuing him from her mother. She smiled back but Reamann squeezed her hand right then and she had to turn her attention away, to the conversation at the other end of the table.

Draco looked over and saw Hermione glaring at him and Draco was back to feeling uncomfortable again as he picked at his mashed potatoes with his fork.

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Dinner ended and everyone gathered in the living room to lounge about and digest as they talked more, now more privately between one another than at the table.

Harry and Reamann were sitting together by the fire.

"So, what did you get Ginny for Christmas," Harry asked, implying, like everyone else, once again, that he was expecting to hear of a marriage proposal.

Reamann suppressed a sigh and told Harry, "Jewelry and some really nice boots."

"That jewelry wouldn't be a sparkly ring, would it?" Harry asked again with a nudge with his elbow.

"No, just an earring and necklace set. Rubies, you know her..."

"Come-on, what is taking you so long? We all expected you two to be married by now."

"Yeah, I've noticed," he said, picking at the picture of a snowman on his glass of eggnog.

"You like her, right?"

"Of course, there isn't a better woman out there," he said.

"Now, don't make me feel bad," Harry said a little wistfully, having lost Ginny already himself.

"Harry, I know you still care about Ginny madly, and you want to see her happy…and I know it bothers you all this "ex-Mrs. Potter" crap they are always publishing, but Harry, you have to understand, Ginny marrying me won't erase the past and people won't forget that you two were married…no matter how much the both of you wish it," Reamann said, sounding tired.

"I want someone I trust, someone I know will take care of her every need and be her partner in everything, to be with her, to provide for her but understand that she is not a delicate flower that needs caring protection."

"I know."

"I think you really understand her, and I trust you to always mind her best interest."

"I know," Reamann said, sighing heavily then.

"I just don't want to see you lose her. We have become such friends in the years you two have dated and I don't want to see you hurt."

"Ginny going somewhere?" Reamann asked a little curtly.

"Ginny has a short attention span and loves excitement, you know that, you have dated the woman for three years, lived with her for the past one. I just don't want her to feel you are uninterested and become uninterested herself," Harry said, having been struck by that very problem in his past. Harry closed his eyes and chased away the vision of Draco and Ginny kissing, that night. He had chased Ginny away for the sake of the war and not wanting her to be hurt as a means of getting to him, but by protecting her he had pushed her right into the arms of another. He couldn't tell Reamann what he had seen, or talk to him about his fears that Ginny still felt something for Draco, but he thought it was important for Reamann to realize that Ginny wasn't a girl that waited around forever for her guy to realize he can't be without her.

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Draco snuck upstairs, not really feeling all that included in the one-on-ones happening below. He was not a shy person, but he was rather quiet, or had become so after ten years in Azkaban. Ginny was trying to avoid him a little, so as not to look conspicuous, which was understandable. Unfortunately, that left few there for him to talk to. Lupin and Tonks were in their own little world being all snuggly and cute, Neville and Orla were chatting with Ron, he would rather chat with Ron than Granger, (and that was saying something) and Reamann was talking to Harry by the fire. Mrs. Weasley was walking around, offering pie, and Draco knew that the heaping slice she was carrying around with the unnecessarily large dollop of whipped-cream on it was intended for him and he needed to get away before she cornered him and attempted to force him to eat it.

Looking around at all the Burrow and seeing what it was comprised of, Draco had to admit he was curious. He had never been there, and he was interested. He got to a landing, one of many, and peeked into the room there. `Eureka,' he thought as he knew he had found Ginny's room. It had the obvious touch of a young girl's adornment, even though it must have been over a decade since she had lived there. He could still smell the "girly-ness" of the room, of incense and perfume. He sniffed the air with a flare of his nostrils, in a way humans typically didn't, taking in scents humans were oblivious to, sometimes acting a little less human than he realized.

Draco walked in slowly, the voices from downstairs drifting up to meet his ears in the utter quiet stillness of the room.

Ginny appeared in the doorway at his back and leaned there, her arms crossed, dressed in red and gold - Gryffindor colors, but also, conveniently, Christmas colors as well. Her hair was up in an easy and almost careless bun that left strands hanging down to frame her face. She had noticed Draco slip away when no one else had. That was probably due to the fact that she was the only one in the room that had been checking out his bum at the time. He had a pleasant posterior to gander at when he climbed the stairs. If she weren't certain he wore tight jeans all the time already, she would have encouraged the idea. Little else would do him justice.

Draco turned slowly while still looking around, to see Ginny standing there, smiling at him. She had applied red lipstick since eating and she looked positively stunning to him. Her hair was just the perfect shade of red that was not too orange that it clashed with the red blouse she wore and it complemented her gold, knee-length pencil shirt.

He gave her a smirk in return.

"Why, Mr. Malfoy, is there a reason you are up here, in my little bedroom?" she asked.

"Just enjoying the opportunity to see into your world like you had into mine," he said, looking teasingly at her as he fingered a dusty journal of hers that was on the desk, his body language exuding sexuality as he acted all innocent and candid.

"I think your childhood dwelling is a little more impressive and vastly more interesting," she laughed.

"I'll grant that it is more impressive," he agreed in his characteristic nonchalant tone, Ginny leering at his smugness, "but I wouldn't say `more interesting,'"

"Really," she said skeptically, stepping into the room some.

"Sure. I was an only child. You had a plethora of brothers. I'm sure there are some interesting tales to tell," he said as she walked slowly towards him.

"I doubt you care about my brothers."

"So sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"Well, maybe I just wanted you up here with me, alone," Draco said, smirking still, placing both his hands on the desk to lean back some as though putting himself on display for her. She liked that, she liked looking at him up and down as he leaned, ankles crossed in front of him, but she was a little surprised, given how uncertain she had understood him to be when it came to his body/appearance. Had one night of sex between them managed to quell some of his insecurity? Surely that wasn't it. He had seemed perfectly confident at the ball, before they had ever had sex. Maybe he was just good at hiding his insecurity, but looking him in the eyes right now, Ginny could tell he was most certainly feeling nothing but confidence as he teased her, and that made her smile.

"Draco," she said and he held up a small gift between them. "Draco?" she asked, looking at it in surprise.

"Happy Christmas," he said, giving her a look of "what were you thinking, you naughty, naughty girl," and knowing exactly what she had been thinking, otherwise he wouldn't have been grinning like he was right then.

She sometimes really wanted to hit him, or throw him down and ravish him, or both, in no particular order.

"I thought we were not planning on exchanging gifts, that it would be inappropriate," she said, looking at the gift held out between them.

"Well, you got me something, so I couldn't look like a git and not have gotten you something too, now could I?" he asked. Ginny blinked at him.

"How did you know that I…?" she attempted to ask, Draco just tilting his chin down a touch. "You," she sighed. "I can't keep anything from you can I?" she pouted.

"Not when I'm curious," he said with a smirk.

"Damn it."

"It's the price you pay for dating a Legilimens," he said smoothly. "Classic women's entrapment," he then went on to say. "She says, `Don't get me anything,' to her man and then goes out and gets him something. He listens to her and ends up looking like an insensitive git for not surprising her with a gift anyway, like she had him, or even better, the woman says that and follows though with it on her part, but the guy does not know that. He goes out and gets her a gift to try and be sensitive and rebellious, to only end up looking like a stubborn git that doesn't listen," he said and Ginny sighed. She had not meant to make this some sort of test. "Either way, I would end up looking like a raging git."

"I'm sorry," she said, though smiling.

"You can't help that you are a woman any more than I can help peeking into your thoughts every now and then," he said with a smile much slyer than hers.

"Is the surprise spoiled then?" she asked.

"No, no, I did not look into your mind far enough to see what you got me…that would be no fun," he said, still holding Ginny's gift out and grinning that perfect grin that made her melt.

"Well," she said, taking it from him as he stood properly then, no longer leaning on the desk. "I don't have yours with me; it is much too large to have kept hidden."

Draco seemed to perk up slightly.

"Really, oh, now I really want to know what you got me," he whined, bending at the knees to bounce slightly in his anxious excitement.

"In good time," she said, laughing at him and ripping at her little green-wrapped gift. Whatever it was, it was heavy, and loose, just wrapped in an envelope of paper. Tearing at the edge it spilled out into her palm and Ginny gasped at it.

"It was my grandmother's and I haven't any use for it since I do not dress in drag, and it really deserves a pretty witch," he said, with a shrug, trying not to make it seem like he had gone out of his way.

"Draco, this looks expensive," she said, looking down at the necklace that was now in her hand. It looked like some kind of heavy silver with emeralds…real, large emeralds.

"I'm sure it is," he said, looking down at it, not even positive of its worth himself. "It's not cursed, well, I don't think it is," he said, eyeing it. "You're a Pureblood, so I'm sure if it was to do something nasty, it wouldn't do it to you or it would have done it by now. I would think twice before tossing it at Granger however, she may shrivel up into a hairy prune," he said and Ginny managed not to laugh at that somehow.

"Draco, you nicked this from your house, didn't you."

"Possibly," he said, basically admitting to it with that.

"You are going to get in trouble."

"Doubt it," he said dismissively.

"I can't accept this," Ginny said, holding her hand out to him and offering him the necklace back.

"Sure you can," he said simply, closing her hand around it with both of his clasped over hers.

"You should hold on to it."

"Why? It doesn't match my shoes," Draco teased and Ginny just looked at him seriously. "I never knew my grandmother so it has no sentimental value."

"It's worth a lot of money," she said.

"You suggesting that I hock my own belongings, my family heirlooms, for money?" he asked, sounding offended by the idea. Ginny did not, then, want to say, "You need the money," but Draco knew that was how she felt, and she looked away, not wanting him reading her thoughts, or her face. Not wanting to see the pride and irritation on his was another.

"Well, I can't wear it," she said, knowing anyone that saw it would know where it must have come from, or have suspicion at the very least.

"I want you to wear it, when you're with me," he said, looking at her throat where it would sit so perfectly.

"Draco-"

"Hush, I am not taking it back. I gave it to you so it is yours now, and re-gifting is rude," he said, not allowing Ginny to then argue that it is hers to give to anyone she liked, even him.

"You are such a-"

"A what?" he asked bluntly.

"A sweet guy, when you're not being a total prat," she said and Draco smirked.

"Well, don't be telling anyone about that. I have worked damn hard to maintain my prat-itude in the eyes of everyone for years," he said, releasing her hand and grabbing the necklace to lift it to her neck and reach around to clasp it. It fell to hit just below her collarbones and he pulled his hands away slowly to then place them on her cheeks delicately. "It suits you," he whispered, leaning in to kiss her.

----------------------

"Where is Ginny?" Hermione asked, looking around after having left Neville to talk with his wife alone and only just then realizing Ginny was nowhere about.

"I…think she said she was going to go to the bathroom," Harry said, trying to remember but having been distracted at the time of Ginny's exit.

Hermione was about to ask were Malfoy had gotten to, but she didn't want to draw attention to the fact that they were both missing simultaneously. She had a feeling they were off together, and that only made her want to pull Ginny aside and talk to her firmly even more.

-------------------------

Ginny gasped but refrained from making any loud noises, let alone shout, both she and Draco trying to be as quiet as possible. Ginny was up on the edge of her desk, legs wrapped around Draco's slender waist as he furiously thrust against her. They were still dressed: Draco's faded-black jeans just open in the front and pulled down slightly, Ginny's knickers tossed aside and her skirt hiked up around her waist. Her crimson blouse was unbuttoned and hanging open, her bra pushed down so he could feel, touch, and ogle her breasts, the necklace resting above them and sparkling in the light.

They had tried the bed, but just rolling around there kissing for a moment had revealed it to squeak and groan far too much. The desk made do because the floor was far too dusty. Draco had his hands clasped to Ginny's waist as she held onto the desk to maintain their balance. He threw his head back and shuddered, it being a good thing at that moment that he was so quiet, Ginny fighting not to moan loud enough in her continual panting to alert the whole house to what they were up to.

He wanted to make her scream and pant his name, like she had the night before, but he couldn't have everyone in the house hearing her shouting his name, begging him. It was a terrible embarrassment his children had awoken to that. It kind of made him feel like a bad dad, though, right now he was too busy being a bad house guest to think about that.

Draco had not intended on having sex with Ginny while at the Burrow, but he had brought a condom in his back pocket, just in case. He was glad now he had as he trailed kisses down her throat, barely kisses but just a brush of parted lips over her skin as his hot breath washed over her in his effort.

At that moment Ginny was his woman, not Reamann's.

The desk rocked a bit, and Draco was worried that the sound would carry through the house, that the rhythmic thumping would intensify through the walls to alert the people downstairs.

As worried as he was that people could hear them at the moment however, he couldn't stop…he couldn't. The possibility of getting caught was a rush, but only the risk of it, the thought of getting caught was actually quite terrifying.

Ginny looked ready to shout as she leaned her head back and pressed their upper bodies together so that her hands were tightly fisted in the back of his fitted turtleneck, so he locked his mouth over hers so she could scream into him, it muffled so greatly it was barely audible. He felt the power of her orgasm reverberate down through him, to where they were joined tight, and it was magnificent, making Draco explode inside her. He was left there, leaning over her and the desk for support as he quivered and panted, slumped over her. He did not know, nor could he remember, if trembling and shaking uncontrollably after sex was normal, or if it was because he was so sick, but he did not care.

He was weak in the knees… oh yeah, it had been that good.

Ginny was leaning back against the wall, Draco still there inside her as he stood between her wide-open legs. She panted for air, her bare breasts rising and falling, her body, her skin, feeling tight and hot. She always felt so hot after an orgasm, but between her legs burned from the tight friction.

"Dear God," she gasped.

"No...Draco. My name is Draco," he teased, his forehead on her shoulder, his left temple resting on the necklace.

Ginny laughed, unable to hold it in, reaching around to grab at that bum of his she liked so much and held him against her.

----------------------

There was a trick to leaving the upstairs and not having people wonder. Draco, having been the first up, was the first down. He walked carefully, dreading his reception. When no one hexed or stabbed him immediately, he figured the sounds of his furious shagging had not reached them.

Thank God. He turned from the bottom stair with a spring in his step of complete satisfaction and victory when he was suddenly halted in his tracks.

"What were you doing up there?" Ron asked, catching Draco so close to being down off the stairs without anyone having seen him. Draco jumped just a little and managed not to "eep" in his surprise. He recovered quickly though, since Malfoys were rarely startled. He could have played it off like he had never been up there at all if it weren't for Ron coming over just then, noticing him.

"Using the little werewolf's room," he replied sounding bored to try and cover his frazzled nerves.

"Have you seen Ginny?" he asked, giving Draco a contemptuous look.

"Passed her on the landing, on her way to use the toilet I suppose since that's the way I came," he said with an indifferent shrug.

He was glad, of the two of them, he was the Legilimens, and not Ron. If big brother Ron realized what he had just done to his little sister, Draco would have left that night a quadriplegic at best, that and a eunuch. Draco cringed at the thought.

Ginny came down the stairs just then, smiling at her brother. Goodness she certainly glowed after sex. It was enough to make Draco blush because he knew the cause behind it. He supposed anyone else would think she just had one too many glasses of eggnog. He himself was looking quite satisfied. Hopefully it could pass off as being full of a good meal, something everyone seemed to think he was in dire need for.

"Ron," she said, stepping down to stand with the two men, "everything alright?" she asked, her innocent act believable enough to gain the respect of Draco, an accomplished actor, aka liar, himself.

"I was just wondering where you had run off to, Hermione was looking for you."

"Oh, well, I had to wait for Draco, he was in the toilet," she said.

Ron just shook his head and said "Whatever," heading out the back door in the kitchen to stand out on the porch, it now clear as to why he was bundled up in his cloak and scarf.

Draco looked at Ginny, then around her. He grabbed his cloak, and his scarf and Ginny looked a little disappointed.

"You leaving?" she asked, able to still feel the throbbing ache he had left her with between her legs, reminding her it was all real. Sometimes she woke up in the middle of the night, believing she had dreamed up the whole thing and that she had not actually asked Draco out. The satisfied throb she had woken with that morning, and what she felt now, proved to her that it was not a fantasy, or at least not one she wasn't living out.

"I just need a bit of fresh air," he said, grabbing her hand, wanting so much to kiss her but not allowed. Downstairs now she was Reamann's girlfriend, not his.

Ginny gave him a long mournful smile as he stepped away, their hand suspended between them, trying to hold onto each other for as long as possible, that being all they dared to do while no one was in the kitchen to see them.

Draco turned away from their lingering touch to head towards the door, wrapping his scarf around him to help fight against the cold. Ron was outside, leaning against the house, smoking a cigarette. Draco looked at him and felt a little monster in him wake up and kick him in the core.

"Ron," he drawled. Ron looked over at him, intent on ignoring him up until just then. "May I bum a fag?" he asked, trying to sound less curt than usual. Ron blinked.

"I suppose, since it is Christmas," he said, holding out his pack to Draco. Draco took one with a nod of thanks and put it to his lips. He was in the middle of reaching into his pockets, hoping he still carried his lighter with him, even though he didn't smoke anymore, honest, when Ron held his wand up. Draco flinched at the small flame that sprouted from its tip and then looked away, embarrassed at his twitchiness as he leaned in, lighting the cigarette thanks to Ron's offer.

"Thank you," he muttered, taking a long dreg.

Ron just shrugged, tucking both his wand and pack away again to cross his arms. "Family has been trying to get me to quit for a while," Ron said after a long moment.

"It's a dirty habit really, glad I quit," Draco said, breathing deeply from his cigarette. Ron laughed, it being obvious Draco had been just about as successful as him at it.

"So, how is the case? I missed what happened last night," Draco said, hoisting himself up onto the railing of the porch to sit while facing Ron as they smoked together.

"Oh, the case. Please, Malfoy, it's Christmas," he said, rubbing his palm into his right eye socket, dripping ash on himself. He looked tired, or just worn out.

"If it's Christmas, the least you could do is call me by my first name, Ronald," he retorted, puffing at his cigarette.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" Ron asked, adding his name but not in a friendly way.

"Reamann invited me," he said simply.

"He invited you to the ball too," he said, eyeing Draco intently.

"That he did," Draco agreed readily.

"What's going on?" Ron asked and Draco sighed.

"Awright, you caught me," he said, flicking the ash from the tip of his cigarette. "I'm in the middle of a heated sexual affair," he said and Ron blinked, "with Reamann," he finished, grinning at last even though all his words had been delivered so seriously. He hid that grin behind his hand as he put his cigarette to his lips.

"You're just joking around now," Ron accused.

"No, no, it's true. We had lunch together, been to each other's pads until late at night under the pretence of working hard on the case, he is always coming down to the Hall of Records to see me, pretending to need texts when everyone knows you just send a note down and the texts are sent up to you," he said. Ron looked shocked.

"Are you serious?" he gasped.

"No, but that look on your face is worth the dirty feeling I have right now at the thought of having sex with Reamann," Draco said with a very animated shudder. Ron kicked at him with a laugh and Draco just lifted his feet, carefully balancing on his bum still with ease while avoiding Ron's massive boot.

"God you are an insufferable little arse, aren't you?"

"Is that a question? I'm reluctant to agree with you if it is," he said curtly.

"Whatever," Ron said, looking away to take a drag from his cigarette. Ginny peeked her head out of the door and Draco quickly hid his cigarette from view, having already told her that he had quit and her expressing admiration and enthusiasm for that, going on about how she was on Ron's case to do the same.

"Boys?" she asked.

"Yes?" Ron answered, Draco unable too as he held in his lungful of smoke with sealed smiling lips.

"It's awfully quiet out here. I was worried."

"Why?" Ron asked.

"Because, if you two are not fighting, then that means one of you must be dead," she said. "Ron, are you smoking?" she asked, sounding disappointed suddenly.

"It's my first all day," he whined.

"You're not out here smoking with him, are you?" she asked and Draco shook his head, still smiling, looking a little pink from lack of oxygen as well as the cold. Ginny had her Mrs. Weasley tone and was eyeing the two boys carefully for a long moment.

"Alright then," she said, easing down a little. "We are all waiting inside, Mum is going to put on some Christmas music," she said and both Ron and Draco nodded.

Ginny disappeared back through the door and Draco gasped and started coughing.

"You okay, mate?" Ron asked, eyeing Draco as he choked, trying not to laugh in some dark yet satisfied way at the other man's discomfort and pain.

"Bloody-hell," he managed, looking down at his cigarette. He took a wheezing drag before flicking the nearly spent fag away.

"So why aren't we out here fighting?" Ron asked, trying to get every last bit of life out of his own cigarette as he could.

"You implying something?" Draco asked, the truth being he did not want to fight with Ginny's brother since that would upset her, and he didn't like the idea of upsetting her. The fact that Ron was three times his size and capable of snapping him in half as easily as he could a wand was incentive enough to not want to pick a fight all on its own. There was a reason he had never mocked Ron Weasley without Crabbe and Goyle at his back.

"I don't know, is there something to imply here?" he asked.

"Answering my vague question with an even vaguer one is poor form," Draco pointed out.

"You are not being a complete prat, just a mild one. What's up?"

"It's Christmas," he shrugged, adding in `I just snogged the daylights out of your little sister,' mentally to himself.

"It's more than that. It has never stopped you before."

"I have grown up a little since Hogwarts," he drawled, standing up on the railing to balance easily despite its narrowness.

"We all have," Ron said seriously.

"You in more ways than one," Draco retorted, making a none-so-subtle remark on Ron's weight. Ron turned a little red, mostly from anger, and Draco jumped in to prevent his imminent death. "Awright, I'm sorry, force of habit," he said, now walking carefully across the railing, kicking snow away as he went. Ron really wasn't that overweight, just a little soft and certainly on his way to being fat if he didn't watch himself.

"Is that what your foul attitude towards us all is now? Just habit?" Ron asked.

"Oh, no, I genuinely despise Potter and Granger," he assured, attention and eyes down on the railing before him.

"What of me?"

"What about you?"

"You `genuinely hate' me too?"

"Don't be silly, you have never done anything to me," he said, turning on the balls of his feet to walk back the way he came, using this as a distraction. It seemed like Ron Weasley and he were having a heart-to-heart and that would be too ridiculous and uncomfortable to manage just standing there, facing each other. His joints were starting to ache though, and he started to get irritable.

"What do you mean?"

"Granger sent me off to Azkaban, and Harry left me there to rot for ten years. I simply dislike you through association."

"You can't be serious."

"Does it sound like I'm joking?"

"No one can ever tell with you."

"A problem of mine that has lead to many troubles," he said, sighing, turning again but this time to lean on the beam that supported the porch. Walking any more would only cause pain and he would fall. Ron would enjoy that too greatly. Damn, his ache had come on fast.

"So you really don't hate me?"

"I'm a little old to still be buying into my parents' dribble about blood supremacy and thusly the idea of there being `Blood-Traitors,' and so I'm left with very little to hold against you. I can't even make fun of you for being poor anymore since, well, you're not and I am," he said and Ron smiled just a little.

"Yeah, I guess not," he said, eyeing Draco intently. "What was with that dance about last night?" he glared.

"I beg your pardon?"

"That dance with Ginny…I hadn't realized you two were so chummy."

"I work with Reamann. He wouldn't dance with her and so I offered. Reamann is really all that connects the two of us at this point," he said dismissively, making it all an easy and believable lie, like he had not just been upstairs shagging Ginny.

They were quiet for a moment.

"You still hate Muggles?" Ron asked and Draco looked over at him. "You still hate Muggles?" he asked again. Draco looked away.

"No," he said, crossing his arms.

"Now that is just remarkable."

"Well, since I have been living no better than one for three years, it would be really stubborn and stupid of me to still belittle them, now wouldn't it?"

"So, that's how life's been treating you lately? Like a Muggle?" he asked.

"If you are about to start making fun of me, as much as I deserve it, I will think a whole lot less of you, Mr. Gryffindor," Draco drawled to hide his pout.

Ron flicked his cigarette-butt away and held his hands up to show no offense. "It's Christmas, I wouldn't be caught making fun of a guest in my parents' home, even if he is a Malfoy," he said and Draco hopped down with a groan of pain.

"So big of you, Weasley," he said flatly, one last little jab at Ron's weight, following in after him, glad to be heading in out of the cold. Had he just had a tender moment of understanding with Ron Weasley? Dear God, what was Ginny doing to him?

------------------

"Reamann, dear, best mate in the whole world," Draco said, slinging his arm around the other man's shoulder to walk with him after coming inside, his cloak hanging open, Draco still a little too chilled to take it off just yet. Reamann was uneasy about Draco's intentions given his unusual greeting. "You wouldn't happen to have any potions on you, would you?" he asked.

"No, why, you need some?"

"Would you be willing to get me some? Say, right now?" Draco asked, feeling very shitty at the moment. His romp with Ginny had only drained him of whatever reserves he had left, and the cold had set into his bones, making him stiff and in pain. Being stiff and achy made him short-tempered and grouchy.

"Now? Are you serious?"

Draco just looked at him firmly. He was getting grumpy.

"It's Christmas-"

"So observant, no wonder you are on this murder case, surely you will solve it singlehandely…but I really need a potion, right now," Draco said, his body shaking and it was not because he was cold.

"I can't leave."

"You can Apparate! Poof you're gone, poof you're back, it would take three minutes tops," he said shortly, now stopping and turning to face Reamann so that they were close, their conversation meant to be private.

"The Burrow has wards all around it still since the war, I can't Apparate in or on the property; not even a Portkey can take you in here. I would have to walk all the way to the road…" Reamann almost whined.

"Then Floo," Draco said impatiently.

"Then everyone would see me leave and come back and there would be questions…"

"Reamann, I'm hearing a lot of this," Draco said, flapping his hand open and closed like a duck puppet, "and I just want to see this," he said, making a walking motion with his two fingers, looking very irritated and very serious.

-----------------

Reamann made a quick excuse to Ginny, telling her he needed to run home really fast, and that caught Ginny lingering alone long enough for Hermione to nab her and drag her off to talk.

Ginny was led by the upper-arm like a child, Hermione positively fuming.

"'Mione-"

"Ginny," she hissed, them both whispering, "What has gotten into you?"

"I don't know what you mean…"

"You danced with Draco Malfoy last night, you went over to his house this afternoon, you brought him to dinner and disappear with him for what, twenty…thirty minutes? Are you trying to be exposed?"

"Hermione, no one but you knows I went over to Draco's today, or noticed I was gone for a brief moment tonight, and Reamann invited Draco to the ball and while at the ball it was his idea to have Draco come here!"

"Are you mental? This is crazy and not going to work!"

"It is working just fine. We have talked to Draco's mother, she is not happy about it, but he really thinks she will come around and be supportive in this. I assured him that you were being supportive already, but maybe I was mistaken, maybe I owe him an apology," Ginny whispered harshly back.

"Ginny, you have a good thing with Reamann, and you are just throwing it away…" she tried but Ginny just held up her hand, turning away.

"I'm not fighting with you about this on Christmas, Hermione," she said, walking away, hugging herself, feeling betrayed somehow. Hermione was supposed to be supporting her in this, she had promised.

---------------------

Draco was standing off, hugging his arms, breathing past the pain, his face carefully blank as he stood there so no one would know of his soreness, it looking like he was simply bored.

He would rather be seen as rude than piteous. He just hoped no one would notice the beads of sweat gathering on his forehead and upper lip. He wished his pride would have allowed him to sit.

Harry looked away from Lupin, whom he was talking to, and saw Draco leaning against the wall alone. He had been avoiding him all night, but now he had an opportunity to talk to him. He needed to take it. He was not a coward; he would not put this off any longer.

Draco opened his eyes, sensing movement and a presence before him by just the movement of the air around him and the firelight dimming from through his eyelids. Harry was standing there, looking friendly and confident. Draco did not have to look too deeply into his spectacled green eyes to know that it was a front.

"Potter," he said flatly, grumpy because of the pain and how long Reamann was taking. Honestly, how long did it take to walk across the lawn, Disapparate, nab a pre-made potion, Apparate back, and walk across the lawn again?

"Hey, Draco," he said Draco, not Malfoy. Harry was trying to be friendly, and Draco was not buying it. Draco knew there was something up, but Harry drew his attention away before he was able to access Harry's thinking. Harry held out the key to Draco and Draco did not reach for it, did not take it. He simply looked down at it and then back up to Harry to narrow his eyes in confusion and mistrust.

"What's this?" he asked, able to recognize a key from Gringotts.

"This is for you," Harry said simply, grabbing Draco's hand and placing the key in it forcefully since Draco was showing no sign of accepting it on his own. Draco made his question known without having to say anything. His face said it all. "Sirius Black was my godfather and when he died he left all that belonged to the Black family to me," he explained.

"Yes, Potter, I am already aware of that," Draco bit off harshly, still enraged, like his mother, that Harry Potter would get their families heirlooms and possessions.

"Well, I'm in no need for any of it really. I have my own belongings and my own gold, and Sirius never held any sentimental value to anything there, so I can't even hold on to them out of his memory. So I put it all in a vault in Gringotts," he explained. "Your mother was a Black, and really, I feel you have more right to the gold and property than I do," Harry concluded, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

Draco glared at him for a long moment and the warm smile on Harry's face wilted around the edges a little. Draco was not accepting this as well as he had anticipated. He couldn't imagine what was wrong.

"You trying to make yourself out to look all generous and benevolent this Christmas season?" Draco asked, holding the key up between them. Harry looked upset and shook his head earnestly. "Oh, I get it. This is guilt money," he said, closing his hand around the key hard enough to make his fist shake. "You feel guilty still, because I helped you and you could not, would not, save me from Azkaban. So, as a means of making yourself feel better, you ensure that I get out on probation as soon as possible, and seeing me struggling to get by only irks you that little bit more and you then feel the need to be charitable and donate some money to-"

"No, no, it's not like that. I just thought-"

"You can keep your pity, Potter, and your money. I'm not a charity-case," he said, throwing the key into Harry's chest which he then caught out of reflex. "I do not need or want it. I can get my own gold without your generous donations," he told Harry with venom.

"Why are you so intent on punishing me? Why won't you let me make things right?" Harry demanded, angry and hurt from Draco's rejection. He was only trying to help!

"The only way to make things right, Harry, is for you to give me my life back!" Draco growled, unable to shout with everyone in the room next to them.

"I can't do that…" Harry growled softly while pushing his glasses up his nose with a single finger, it really costing him something to admit that. He wanted to, he wished he could, but he just couldn't.

"And I can't forgive you," Draco said simply. "Seems there are things in this world that will always remain impossibilities," he said.

"I tried, I tried for you to get a full pardon after the war, even just a partial pardon so you wouldn't be on probation anymore, but no one would listen. Nobody will argue with me, they just refuse to acknowledge my requests and mysteriously keep 'losing' the paperwork! People have not given me a proper listen on the matter..."

"Sucks, doesn't it Potter? To try so hard to do the right thing and have it blow up in your face?" he asked and Harry gaped at him. "No good deed goes unpunished, Potter," Draco said darkly, his glare intense. He had been saying that exact credo for years, since the war, and Harry knew it, heard it often whispered in the back of his mind whenever Draco was close though often out of sight. He hated it being thrown up in his face now. It made him angry.

"Is that what this is? You are PUNISHING me? Listen, I'll admit I wasn't fair to you if you admit that you were terribly ambiguous throughout the war and impossible to trust or believe. You made it so I couldn't trust you, but I AM sorry that I could not help you, I should have, but I didn't know..."

"Keep your money, Potter," Draco interrupted, cutting Harry off impatiently. "I may be poorer than dirt, but I still have my pride, and I have to hold on to that. I have to be strong."

"Why? Your stubborn refusal to accept anyone's help, not just my own, is what has made your life as difficult as it is now," Harry snarled in frustration.

"I don't need anyone's help, I can do it alone."

"Draco, you can't stand against the world all by yourself."

"Says who?" Draco retorted bitterly, like a stubborn child, the stubborn child he really was deep-down. He had tried trusting people in the past, and relying on them, and buying into their promises. All trusting had taught him was that people lie to save their own asses and no one would ever do him any favors at their own expense, so he could not afford to do less than the same in regards to anyone else. He had learned that no good deed goes unpunished.

"Draco, you are poor, you are sick, and you will never be the greatness you strived to be those years ago when you turned on the Order. You helped us in the end, because deep-down I believe you realized it was the right thing to do. It's your arrogance now that won't let you accept help, allow you to let go of your dreams of grandeur, not your pride-"

"You think I'm insane," Draco suddenly accused bitterly while staring him right in the eyes, Harry stopping immediately, knowing he could not lie to someone who could read his feelings.

"Draco..."

"You don't know what my good intentions cost me. I meant well, but you don't know what 'well meant' did to my life! You, and your Ministry, can hold onto your money and do what you like with it so long as it has nothing to do with me…but be sure to hold on to thirty pieces of silver," he warned, "to pay the Devil, on your way to hell," he growled, turning away, leaving Harry there to fume, and hurt.

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Reamann returned with Draco's much needed potion, and Draco downed it quickly. Its effects would be slow to take, but relief did wash over him when Ginny came up behind him as he sat alone in the kitchen and rubbed his shoulders. She had come for more eggnog and found him taking a private rest. She kneaded her thumbs into the knot in the center of his back, between his shoulder blades, and rubbed and squeezed his shoulders, getting an appreciative and pleasant purr of approval to escape him as he rolled his head just a little.

Draco leaned his head back as he sat there to look up at her so that she was upside-down to him, and she smiled.

"You feeling alright?" she asked softly.

"Now that you're here," he answered, tilting his head forward, grabbing her left hand off his shoulder with his, and bring it to his lips to lay a kiss there. Ginny felt her whole body flush but had to pull away before anyone stumbled in on them. She poured more eggnog and Draco held up the Daily Prophet that was before him, reading aloud softly.

"The Ex-Mrs. Potter Dances with Wolves," he said and she smiled, turning around to lean her bum on the counter's edge. "Ginny Weasley, the former Mrs. Harry Potter, danced with death…a Death Eater that is, last night at the Annual Remembrance Ball," he read, glancing up at her to smile, "looking stunning in a custom-made gown by French wizarding designer Pierre Vallee. `She has not looked this radiant in public for months,' said one guest, sparking yet more buzz that her and current beau, Reamann Rossiter, are secretly engaged," he read and Ginny sighed, rolling her eyes. Draco continued on. "The couple would have been the talk of the night, but pandemonium over the werewolf Draco Malfoy's unexpected attendance was enough to eclipse that," he said, looking over at her and not reading then. "Clever little play on words there, isn't it, eclipse, moon, werewolf…oh the editors down at the Prophet are a riot," he said sarcastically and Ginny on gave him a sad smile. Draco skimmed the article a little before continuing further down, not wanting to read the summary of his offences and therefore, why it was so inappropriate for him to have been at the ball. Then there was the speculation of what Harry and Ginny could have fought about according to witnesses that attested that they had rowed shortly after his arrival. It had resulted in Ginny storming off and Harry left in a noticeably foul mood for the rest of the night.

"Ginny took to the floor with Malfoy where they waltzed and apparently chatted, thought what was said was not overheard. Guests in attendance report that Rossiter seemed `unbothered' by the display and was even seen talking, smiling and laughing with the werewolf throughout the night," he said, not reading on since the article then speculated as to the reason behind why the Aurors suddenly left the ball.

"My mum pitched a fit this morning over that," Ginny said, looking down at the paper Draco had tossed onto the table, the picture of them dancing in an endless waltz in the middle of the front page.

"I managed to hide it from my mother, so as to not be smacked around, but I'm sure she has heard about it by now," he said with a heavy sigh.

"No one thinks there is anything…" she started to ask but Draco shook his head.

"The paper, as you probably read," he said and she smirked at him, having been unable to resist reading the paper even thought she avoided the publication for years, "claims you did it to piss Harry off, since it reports you two had a row right before our dance…and everyone in the other room just thinks I'm up to something, out to hurt you or something nefarious, but nothing close to the truth," he said, Ginny glad to hear from him that the truth was far from nefarious.

Draco stood, fighting not to groan.

"I should be heading home," he announced. "It is later than I assured my…well, it's later than I thought I would be," he said, looking back into the living room area and everyone in there.

"I hate that you have to leave," she pouted.

"I would stay, but I'm sure your mother and father would grow tired of me staying here…I tend to wear on people's nerves," he teased and she smiled. "And I couldn't handle it if your mother kept trying to feed me like that," he said and Ginny laughed, coming over to stand with him, looking into the living room where Christmas music played and everyone talked.

"She means well, and you can't deny that a little hearty eating on your part would do you some good."

"You know, we are not the only scandalous love affair here," he said, ignoring her statement and Ginny looked at him.

"What do you mean?"

"Well, Hermione and Harry are seeing each other," he said and Ginny looked shocked.

"What?"

"Oh yes, and let me tell you, it's going to take the Jaws of Life to get that image out of my mind," he said, reluctantly remembering back to the dirty thoughts he had inadvertently stumbled upon.

"I had no idea," she said, now having ammunition to use against Hermione when her friend would undoubtedly corner her and try and talk to her about Draco. Her best friend was dating her ex-husband. That wouldn't have bothered her too much, if Hermione were being more understanding. With everything going on, she felt rather outraged.

"Ron over there fancies a woman in his department but is reluctant to talk to her because of that touch of weight he has recently put on," he said, now looking over at Ron. "Never would have pegged him as the insecure type," he said.

"I could say the same thing about you," she pointed out and he pressed on like he hadn't heard that.

"Nymphadora and Remus are madly in love… it's revolting," he said and Ginny laughed. "And Orla, Neville's little wife there, has not told him yet but she is expecting another little Longbottom," he said and Ginny stared at him. "See how she is hanging on his arm like that? She is planning on telling him later tonight, but before midnight…after they are home and the children are off to bed," he said. Orla had suggested leaving the children at home so that she could spend a slightly more romantic evening with Neville, somehow a night at the Burrow managing to be more romantic than some things.

"You know all this, because of your Legilimency?" she asked.

"I don't need to read the gossip magazines to be in on all the juicy stories and know all the gritty details," he said with a smile.

"You know what I'm thinking?"

"I'm making a habit of staying out of your mind," he said, smiling.

"What about Reamann?" she asked and Draco blinked.

"What about him?"

"What is he thinking?"

Draco was quiet for a long time.

"That he is the luckiest man alive to have you," he said, brushing his hand over the back of hers subtly.

He did not mention to her Reamann's doubts when it came to their relationship. He did not tell her Reamann was intimidated by the expectation that everyone had in them getting married. He felt that was Reamann's job, not his, and it would be inappropriate, and rude, and it was Christmas…no sense in ruining it with the truth.

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Author's Note:

A lot happened in this chapter, I know, so I hope you got it all.

Finally some more Harry; everyone really wanted that it seems. He reveals some very important things about Ginny's character in this chapter. This was the first of a handful of times I address Draco's eating habits in some detail. Molly is trying to fatten him up, how predictable is that? :) We had a mini-Draco/Harry confrontation…that was to answer everyone's questions on what exactly Harry was doing to try and make things "right" between Draco and him…and Draco is certainly not bitter, no, not at all. Lol.

We saw a little bit more about how Reamann is feeling about Ginny, we saw some *coughs* Draco and Ginny interaction (some cute, some smarmy, some smutty), and we even had a Ron and Draco moment! *gushes* I can't help myself, I LOVE Ron and I LOVE Draco (not together of course!) Tonks finally made her debut, as did Lupin.

Important update: I have decided to officially make this fic "loosely based off the Musical Wicked" even with 28 chapters written before I read the book or saw the play. I have now, and I'm have now worked more of the songs and plot into past scenes.

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