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A/N: This is the last chapter of Fire and Ice, but there is a sequel… I don't know if I can post it on this website, though, because it hints at Harry/Female!Blaise… Can someone tell me if this is alright or if I just have to direct you all to my fanfiction.net account?
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The slow music had put them into a sort of trance together. They glided and spun in each other's arms, hoping that the music would never stop.
But as all good things do, the song soon ended.
Draco dropped his arms from around her waist, and she followed suite. They stood, staring at each other for a few moments. Then Draco took her hand up in his, and led her swiftly out the front doors. Neither spoke, only walked quickly to get away from the dance.
It was time.
The lights were flickering on again, just as they were exiting the room. Draco paid no notice and headed toward the main entrance to the castle, trailing his Fire along behind him. Ginny didn't seem phased by his odd behavior; she was in a daze herself.
They were in the courtyard. It was almost completely dark out; the only lighting was coming from the windows of the castle, and a few fireflies flitting around beside them. Draco smiled at the irony, deciding that fireflies were his new favorite insects.
He turned slightly so that he was facing her. She looked up, meeting his gaze. The masks that they were wearing gave both of them a sort of hollow look. He took both of her hands in his, and was surprised to find them shaking. From cold or from nerves, he couldn't be sure.
Then he realized, in astonishment, that it was his own hands that were shaking, not hers. This was the moment of truth. The moment that he found out if she really was the kind of girl he thought she was, hoped she was. If she wouldn't care that he was a Malfoy.
She obviously wasn't a Slytherin, her innocent features displayed that. He hoped she wasn't biased against his whole house, too. They'd been standing there for nearly two minutes. It really was chilly out.
He was afraid. For once in his life, Draco Malfoy was afraid.
There's only one way to find out all the answers to my questions, he thought boldly.
Without another thought, he raised his left hand to her face, and lifted her mask up a few inches. He lifted it only far enough to reveal her lush pink lips. Then he did the same to his own mask, so that it was resting casually above his nose.
And he kissed her.
He kissed her with a sort of passion that was very new to him. It wasn't just another game this time.
Ginny was surprised. She hadn't expected him to kiss her, not so suddenly. But she definitely wasn't complaining. Instead, she returned the kiss, in a way that she had never even dreamed of kissing anyone.
Right when she thought it was going to end, he pulled his arms around her, just as he had when they were dancing. For the second time that night, she felt completely right, and leaned into the kiss even further. She didn't understand how she could call someone with such a sweet and warm kiss by the name Ice.
Finally, he broke away. She could see a sly grin on the mouth in front of her. It looked slightly familiar, though she couldn't place exactly where she'd seen it before.
He reached up to her face, and she realized he was going to take her mask off. His other hand was still resting on her waist. He carefully grabbed the bottom of the mask with his thumb and forefinger, and tugged gently at it. It slid off her head with ease, revealing her beautifully done-up hair, her dark wondering eyes, and cute little smile. His gaze drifted over her features. A few strands of red hair had escaped her up-do, and her freckles playfully dotted her nose.
Draco did a double take. Red hair and freckles?
"Gi- Gin-... WEASLEY?!" he exclaimed, a look of disgust taking his now unmasked face. His hands involuntarily reached up and wiped off his lips, a very immature thing to do, given the circumstances.
He realized his hand was still resting firmly on her waist. He dropped it immediately, and took a few steps back.
A Weasley. He'd kissed a Weasley. With passion.
Ginny looked Draco up and down. She was as surprised as he, not once had she thought that her secret crush was on Draco Malfoy, of all people, all this time.
However, the disgust in his voice hurt her more than the realization of who he was. They'd had something going. A small tear stung its way out of her eye. She tried to brush it away before he saw it, but she was too late.
"Oh, I hurt your feelings? Tough luck. You probably had this all planned out, didn't you. You and your wretched friends. They are probably all waiting in the bushes, aren't they? Ready to come out and laugh at me? Well, I'm leaving now, before you get the satisfaction of humiliating me. Go find your boyfriend, Potter." He turned to leave.
"Harry's not my boyfriend. I told you about him," was her feeble attempt to make him stay. Her voice sounded weak.
Something about her voice made him stop. If not to hear her out, he could at least get some dirt on Potter anyway. "Refresh my memory."
She sighed and looked down. "He likes me, a lot. And I don't feel the same way."
He rolled his eyes, obviously not caring about the love triangles of the Dream Team.
"Just hear me out, will you?" she asked, voice rising.
He nodded.
"This is why I invited you to go to this dance with me. Assuming you weren't so prejudice against my family. Honestly Draco, I was going to give up. I was just going to accompany Harry to the dance and forget about you. But you were the one who pushed me to keep going. You are the one who wouldn't let me give up. Face it Draco, you liked me. So how can you stand here and be grossed out by kissing me, just because I'm a Weasley? Do names matter that much to you?" She was nearly shouting now, desperately wanting to get her message across to Draco Malfoy.
She took one step back, away from him. As she did this, the rose fell to the ground. He'd placed it behind her ear while they were dancing. However, now it waited on the ground, forgotten.
Draco didn't speak for a couple of moments. He had some thinking to do.
He remembered all of the times he'd worried what she would think of him. How long he'd spent getting ready. How he worried about being a Malfoy, being in Slytherin, hoping these things wouldn't matter to her.
She was absolutely right.
How could he stand here and say these things, when he'd hoped against hope that she wouldn't think the same thoughts against him?
He was such a hypocrite.
Something snapped inside of him at that moment. He lost his icy edge, and rushed forward, hugging her with all of his might. "Ginny..." he whispered, "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to, oh, I don't know what-"
She cut him off by pressing her lips to his and kissing him, as gently as he'd kissed her, the first time.
"It's ok," she assured him once she'd pulled away. "I understand."
Draco bent over, reaching down to pick up the rose. It was still as perfect as before, and he handed it to Ginny with a smile. "I believe this belongs to you."
She took it in her hands and glanced at it, before adding it to her hair as a decoration. It really did match perfectly. "You know, I was right all along." She concluded, situating herself under his arm for warmth.
He held her closer, feeling her shivering body against his. "About what?"
She grinned up at him. "About Fire melting Ice."
His finger gently caressed her cheek. He let out a long sigh, and then said playfully, "Well, come on now Ginny, everybody knows that."
They laughed and slowly began walking back up to the castle. They had a dance to go to, after all.
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A/N: I'm very sorry that this fic has reached its end. I'm going to miss re-writing it even more than you guys are going to miss reading it.
If you are interested in the sequel, either wait for me to put it here [sometime], or mosey on over to my fanfiction.net account [Sakura1287] and read it there. It's called Water and Ashes. Don't forget to review. ^_~