It was obvious to Draco Malfoy that he had little choice once his parents had made up their minds. One year had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts and even though they did not serve time in Azkaban, the Malfoys had paid for their crimes and had become social outcasts. This particularly drove Narcissa mad.

"The Dark Lord would have killed Potter had it not been for me, and what do I get as a reward? I am exiled out of society. I can take it no longer Lucius." Narcissa sat down into a high armed chair.

Lucius stood for a moment before he spoke. He took his cane and tapped his fingers on the head of the snake. Slowly, he turned toward Draco who had been standing in the shadows of the corner. "Have you heard from anyone at school Draco?"

"I tell you that we are social outcasts and you ask our son-"

"No." Draco said flatly. He cut across the room towards his mother and stood behind her chair. "Not since before the trial."

All of Draco's Slytherin friends felt that he and his family got off easy compared to what happened to their relatives. Draco hadn't heard from Blaise since the day before the trial. Goyle hadn't spoken to him since the end of the Battle of Hogwarts due to his anger over Crabbe's death. Draco still hadn't gotten over Crabbe's death, but he wasn't able to talk to anyone about it. Malfoys did not cry.

"Well, to give your mother the social calendar she deserves, we are going to need you to find a proper pureblood wife." Lucius said flatly.

"Father, I'm only 18-"

"And old enough to take on the responsibilities of a head of household. Your mother and I will discuss who would be an appropriate match for you and we will consult with you later on who we have chosen." Lucius turned to his son and gave him a wave telling him to leave. Draco reluctantly left and slammed his door once he had reached his room.

"They can't do this." He thought to himself. "No way can they possibly do this. They cannot order me to get married. This only a way of making connections so that mother won't feel lonely." Draco cared for his mother deeply, but this was not something that he would do without a fight. He had no intention of settling down or lying in bed with another person. He never wanted an arranged marriage, but he also was longing for a companion other than his parents. This would definitely make finding a wife easier and while it may have been earlier in his life than he would have liked, he would be okay with it if he felt it was a suitable match.

After a long time had passed, Narcissa gave a light knock on Draco's door. "Draco?" She asked softly.

"Come in mother." He said.

She came in and was followed by Lucius, who looked less than pleased according to his facial expression. "After a long discussion, Your father and I believe that we have come up with a suitable solution. We think that it would be within our family's best interest if you were to court and marry Ginny Weasley."

Draco's mouth dropped as he looked between his parents. "The Weaslette? You must be joking."

Narcissa's face fell as she looked at her son's reaction. "Yes, Ginny Weasley. She is pureblooded and she is very popular among the Wizarding world. She will be graduating from Hogwarts soon and our family would benefit from making that connection."

"You want me to marry a Weasley?" Draco asked, looking at his father who remained silent.

Narcissa however, looked at her son precariously. "She is well liked in our world, she's likely to be successful, and she would be a great addition to our family."

Draco shook his head as if he was hoping to wake up from a horrible dream. "Even if I were to find her attractive, how am I supposed to get the Weasley girl to marry me? I couldn't get her away from Potter even if I had a whole supply of Felix Felicis. I don't understand how you think that she would choose me over 'The Chosen One'".

Narcissa raised her brow with a sneer and said, "Haven't you read the Daily Prophet? Potter hasn't been seen for weeks. Not without breaking her heart of course. From what Rita Skeeter told, it was a nasty breakup in front of everyone. Reports say she's heartbroken. Maybe all she needs is for someone to sweep her off of her feet."

"I'm not the knight in shining armor that she's looking for." Draco said flatly, giving this idea some thought. "I'm not Potter."

"No Draco, you're better" Narcissa hissed. "You are the opposite of Harry Potter and that is going to be exactly what Ginny Weasley wants. Send her an owl tonight and tell her that you want to see her. Be sweet about it." Narcissa sat on Draco's bed with him and put a comforting hand on his knee. "I know that this exile has been hard for you too, Draco. Please put your best foot forward. She is the best chance that we have at being back on top."

Draco gave a small smile to his mother and agreed quietly to do as she wished. She kissed him on his cheek and led Lucius out of the room, lightly closing the door behind them. Draco sat in his room silently for hours with a quill in his hand silently while it loomed over the parchment. He had never thought that he would be put in this position and now that he had he didn't know what to do. Was the Daily Prophet really right and Harry had publicly broken up with the Weasley girl? How would she react to his random gesture to meet? What would her brothers do if they knew about his intentions? He shakily put his quill in the ink and started to write.

Dear Weasley,

My mother requests your attendance at a tea party set for next Tuesday at 2 pm. If you are able to attend please send back a response with my owl letting me know of your availability. We will be asking other esteemed members of the community to join us and your presence is highly requested.

Hope you are well.

Sincerely,

Draco Malfoy

He sealed the letter and then sent his owl straight away to the Burrow. Draco continued to tell himself that he was only doing this for his mother and that it would make her happy.

0o0o0o0o0o0o0

Ginny sat wishfully at her desk as it looked out the Orchard. Footsteps continually went up and down the stairs as word continued that Bill and Fleur had a baby girl. There was so much excitement that it was almost forgotten that it was also the anniversary of a terrible day to the Weasley family. Fred's death continued to be a sore topic for the entire family and created a waterfall of tears. More footsteps came, but then knocked on her door. "Come in."

Ron Weasley came into the room with ruffled hair and a ripped t-shirt. In his arms Ron was holding a young boy with blue hair who had a big smile on his face when he saw Ginny. The blue haired boy started laughing when he saw Ginny and held his arms out to her. "Mum asked me if I could look after him for a while, but I only looked after him twenty minutes and he's driving me mad. Cleaned my room yesterday and now it looked like a storm hit my room. You take him, he likes you."

Ginny laughed at Ron's frustration and placed Teddy on her hip. "Have you been giving Uncle Ron a hard time?" She asked in a sweet voice.

Teddy clapped his hands and his hair turned pink. Ginny looked back to Ron and he couldn't help, but give a little smile. "Uncle Ron. I guess I better get used to that."

Ron headed back out the door and left Ginny alone with Teddy. She bounced him around and after he got tried, she decided to read him some stories. Once Teddy fell asleep on her bed, Ginny was able to look out her window again in the hopes that she might see Hedwig coming by.

In the distance, Ginny could see a grey speckled owl and immediately got excited. She opened her window and saw the grey owl soar into her room. The bird landed on her desk and put its leg out for her to take the letter. To Ginny's surprise the owl was staying as she ripped the letter open. She read the letter once, twice, and even a third time to really absorb what she was reading. Narcissa Malfoy wanted Ginny Weasley to come to a tea party at her house for esteemed guests? Had the Malfoys all gone mad? If Narcissa had wanted Ginny to come then why hadn't she addressed the letter herself instead of making her son write it?

Ginny had never really met Narcissa in her life, so why was she all of the sudden trying to make nice with her? Was this like the Slug Club where Narcissa was trying to get the best of the best to try and connect with them?

Though Ginny did not want to go, she did not have any good reason to decline the invitation. She wrote Ginny Weasley- attending on a small piece of parchment and sent the grey speckled owl off.

Things had definitely took a weird turn, but Ginny could not figure out whether or not these changes were good or bad. However she knew one thing, she was not going to tell any of her family about this tea party.

(Author's Note: Long time no write! This story is an adapted version of my older story Decisions since I didn't like what I did with it and felt like it needed to be rewritten. Please leave a review if you feel so inclined.)