I was on my way to the common room when I saw her. I recognized her for what she was immediately; only a Weasley could have her crimson hair, freckles, and secondhand robes. Of course, being a Malfoy, I was inclined to think she was nothing more or less than a filthy peasant. Her brothers and father had proved to me that their entire family was nothing but a bunch of savage blood traitors. But one look at the beautiful face of Ginny Weasley, and I knew that I had to have her. Who she was, where she came from, it didn't matter to me. All I cared about was how I was going to turn Ms. Ginny Weasley into Mrs. Ginny Malfoy.

The first few years didn't work out so well. She was determined to have nothing to do with me, no doubt because of what Potter, Granger, and her brothers told her about me. Whenever she saw me, she would immediately look away, as though she were afraid to be caught looking at a Malfoy. Eventually she would begin to chance a quick glance at me from her seat in the Great Hall every now and then. She was the center of my attention, so of course when she looked at me, I was already looking at her. Her hair stood out against Potter's and Granger's and was much longer and brighter than her brothers' so it was easier for me to find her.

Then, in my fourth year, I'd had enough games. I had to let her know what went on inside me whenever I saw her. I just had to know how she felt about me. I didn't care what the other Slytherins said, I was going to ask Ginny Weasley to the Yule Ball.

My plan, however, proved much easier said than done. Whenever I saw her, she was always with one of her friends, and not just the ones from Gryffindor. It seemed as though Ginny had friends in every house, including Slytherin. I was beginning to wonder if I would ever get an opportunity to ask her to the Ball. Sulking, I made my way to the library to do my Transfiguration homework. I had just rounded the corner in search of an empty table when I saw her. Ginny Weasley, as beautiful as ever, was finally alone. Now was my chance to ask her to the Ball so that I could profess my true feelings to her. Quietly, I made my way over to her.

I leaned down and whispered in her ear, "Do you mind if I sit here?"

She nearly flew out of her seat, as she hadn't known I was there. When she saw me, her face flushed pink. Flustered, she responded, "Not at all."

Smirking, I made my way around to the table so that I was sitting opposite her. She returned to the book she was reading, though her face remained a bright pink.

I really did try to do my homework, but I was distracted. Every time Ginny moved, I noticed. Her movements were very graceful, and after a while I found myself entranced by them. Then I remembered why I had been looking for her in the first place. Forgetting my Transfiguration once and for all, I leaned across the table and said, "Ginny, will you go to the Ball with me?"

She looked up from her book at me with a look of utmost bewilderment. "Y-you want to go the Ball with me?" she asked. I smiled and nodded.

"I-I'd really love to , Draco…b-but I'm already going with someone." My heart sank to my stomach when I heard her say that. I wasn't surprised that she had found a date so quickly, though. Ginny was irresistible, and not just to me. Her flaming crimson hair fell to the center of her back and framed her face to perfection. Her creamy skin was beautiful and totally flawless in every respect. In short, any man who didn't find her attractive was mental.

"Oh," I said after a while. "Alright. Not a problem. I guess I'll see you later, then." I turned to leave. How could I have thought that she wouldn't have a date. I was just at the door when I felt a hand on my arm. I turned and saw her behind me with a confident look on her face.

"But I am free for the next trip to Hogsmeade," she whispered. I looked down at her with a surprised look on my face. She smiled her beautiful smile and left the library with her book under her arm.

I stood there with my jaw completely slack. I just couldn't believe my luck. Ginny Weasley and I were going to Hogsmeade together was all that was running through my mind. I walked back to the Slytherin Common Room with a spring in my step and a smirk on my lips. Before going up to the dormitory, I asked Pansy Parkinson to the Yule Ball. She was more than willing to go with me, as she'd taken a fancy to me the moment we met.

The Yule Ball came and went and all I could think of was my date with Ginny Weasley. She consumed my thoughts and actions. It didn't even cross my mind to be cruel to Potter or Granger; Ginny was just all I could concentrate on.

Finally, Hogsmeade weekend came. That morning, I jumped out of bed and whooped a few times (waking my roommates in the process.) After yelling at Crabbe and Goyle to leave me alone for the rest of the day, I put on one of my best cloaks and sauntered out of the common room and to the entrance hall. There I awaited Ginny's arrival. After ten minutes, I began to worry. We hadn't worked out a time for us to meet. What if she didn't come? I was starting to contemplate going back to the common room when I saw her. She was a vision, as always, but there was something about the way she looked right then that drove me wilder than usual.

"Hi, Draco," she said as she approached me.

"Hey, Ginny. Ready to go?" She nodded her head and followed me out of the castle. All the way to the village, I kept looking over my shoulder to make sure no one was looking at us. I didn't know why, but I didn't want anyone to know about my feelings for Ginny just yet. Apparently she noticed, because she gave me a quizzical look. I only smiled and took her hand in my own. That calmed both of us down.

Stop worrying, I said to myself. Everything is going to be fine...

"So where are we going, Draco?" Ginny's voice interrupted my thoughts. I smiled at her again. "That, Ginny, is a surprise," I said as I brought her hand to my lips. She giggled a bit and leaned her head into my shoulder as we walked. Again, I thought about how lucky I was.

Finally, we arrived at our destination, a small but clearly expensive restaurant in the more secluded part of Hogsmeade that not very many people knew about. Ginny's eyes went wide when she saw it, but other than that remained calm. She took her head off of my shoulder and I led her by the hand up the snow-covered steps and into the restaurant.

The interior was dimly lit with heavily scented candles. There were dark blue velvet drapes that covered every window and small tables covered with tablecloths that looked so white, they made the snow outside seem gray and dirty. Ginny and I took our seats near the back of the place. A waiter was sent to help us at once.

"Good day, Mr. Malfoy. Your guest is quite lovely, if I may add. Shall I bring the usual?"

"That should do fine, yes," I said airily. The waiter left us alone.

"The usual? You come here often, then?" Ginny asked.

"Over the summer with my mother, yes. My father would join us when I was younger, but that was before...Nevermind." By the look on her face, I could tell Ginny wanted to ask about it. I probably should have told her right then, but the waiter returned with our meals: two glasses of Butterbeer and two plates of steak and potatoes. The waiter left us again and we began to eat.

It really surprised me how sophisticated Ginny could be. I'd seen her brother eat in the Great Hall and it disgusted me to no end. Ginny was truly very different from the rest of her family. Ginny was proud, but not overbearing like Percy; she was clever, but not impish like Fred and George, and she knew how to be honest without being downright rude, quite unlike Ron. In short, Ginny was different from her brothers, and it suited her.

Apparently I had been staring at her for a while, because Ginny smiled and asked, "Yes?" I smiled and returned to my meal, shaking my head.

Say something, I kept thinking. Talk to her, you know you want to...

"So, Ginny," I said slowly, "what's it like in Gryffindor?" Looking back, it was a rather weak stab at conversation, but it had the desired effect.

"It's really nice. Everyone's really excited about the Triwizard Tournament..." Her voice trailed off. It seemed as though she were afraid to mention anything that had to do with Potter. "What's Slytherin like?" she asked.

"It's...interesting. Snape enforces structure in the House..." And on I went about Slytherin and what to do to keep yourself in Snape's good books, and how it was important to make friends with the powerful older students while you were a First Year, and things like that. Ginny seemed to be drinking in every word that I said. After a while, even I would have become bored with someone rambling on like I did, but Ginny didn't faze out at all. She seemed almost interested in the goings on of Slytherin.

Finally the check came. I knew Ginny was uncomfortable with me paying for lunch, but I did anyway. She's going to have to get used to that. I thought.

When everything had been paid for, we linked arms, and I led her out the door. When we got outside, we were quiet again. Finally she said, "I had a nice time, Draco."

I just smiled and said, "So did I." Hogsmeade was almost completely void of Hogwarts students, so we hurried along. We were almost at the entrance hall, when I stopped. Ginny gave me a quizzical look, but I shook my head and let go of her arm. The look on her face told me she knew exactly what was going on.

"Ginny, listen," I said as she began to make her way back into the castle alone. "I really like being with you. It's just-"

"You want to be with me and still look good with your friends, and the only way you can do that is by having no one know about us." She took the words right out of my mouth.

I brought the back of her hand to my lips, relishing how soft her skin was. "Everyone will know about us, Gin. Just not now. I promise you, when the time is right, I'll let all of Hogwats know about us." I watched her smile her beautiful smile as she thought about that.

"Alright, Draco," she said softly. Smiling, I let out the breath I hadn't known I was holding. "I'm free for Hogsmeade on Valentine's Day," she said in the same gentle voice. I smirked and drew her closer to me, as if to say "I'll see you there."

And see her, I did. For the rest of Fourth Year, Ginny and I met for every Hogsmeade visit. Some days we went back to the resturaunt, while other days we merely walked around the more secluded part of the villiage. While she didn't like our arrangement, she stuck to it, never telling a soul about us.

Over the summer, we corresponded via our owls (or rather, my owl since her family's owl wouldn't have survived the trip) whenever we could. We could usually write to each other once a week. Then I got a letter saying she probably wouldn't be able to write as often and that she'd see me at school. As Ginny hadn't given a specific reason as to why that was, I was naturally suspicious. I spent the rest of my summer thinking about Ginny, and wondering why she couldn't write to me, and if there was someone else, and things like that.

Father thought I was going mad, what with all my pacing. Mother seemed to think that I was finally expressing my true feelings about Pansy Parkinson (I still shudder at the thought.) While I was obviously disgusted with Mother for saying such things, I did my best to pretend she was right. After all, better for Father think I was falling for a Parkinson, than for him to know I had already fallen for a Weasley.

When I finally did board the Hogwarts Express, I was rather depressed. Not by the fact that I had been made Prefect, but by the fact that Ginny hadn't. Of course I knew that since she wasn't a Fifth Year, she wasn't eligible to be considered for it, but I also knew that becoming a Prefect meant less time to think about Ginny, seeing as we didn't speak to one another within the walls of Hogwarts.

At the feast, we stole a few quick glances at each other, all of them ending whenever one of our House Mates decided they felt like speaking to us. And when Umbridge decided she wanted to make her own speech, Ginny and I passed the time mouthing a conversation. We made plans for Hogsmeade, and I felt better than I had all summer. When it came time for everyone to go to their Common Rooms, I reluctantly rounded up the First Years while Ginny made her way to the Lions' Den. We smiled at each other from across the Great Hall, and my heart soared. I had no idea that this would be my last year with Ginny.

At every trip to Hogsmeade, she would try and talk me out of Umbridge's inner circle, which I was steadily making my way into. "She's pure evil, Draco," Ginny would say. "She's taking over the entire school." But whenever she said that, I would just smile and shake my head. I honestly thought Umbridge had good intentions for the school. When Dumbledore left, I was not at all surprised when Umbridge was appointed Headmistress ("She'll do a fantastic job.")

When I found out about this secret club Potter had organized, I tried my absolute hardest to get Ginny to tell me its location, for I was sure that she knew. Ginny, however, refused to crack. "How can you ask me to betray everyone's trust like that?" She would say. Afterwards, Ginny would refuse to speak about the subject any longer. At the time I had thought that we had just hit a rough patch in our relationship. Then everything came crashing down around me.

It was the fall of Potter's little club that started it. Ginny knew I was a member of the Inquisitorial Squad and was furious with me for aiding Umbridge. She wouldn't look at me for days, and when she finally started up again, I still hadn't learned my lesson. But it was a simple conversation with Blaise Zabini that ruined my chances with Ginny forever.

We were on our way to Defense Against the Dark Arts, when Blaise suddenly asked, "Why do you spend so much time with the Weasley girl?" I swear I felt my heart stop, but I managed to keep my composure.

"What areyou talking about, Zabini?" I asked in my usual arrogant tone.

"You never go to Hogsmeade with us anymore, and last time we were there, I saw you and the Weasley girl walking around. Now what's going on?"

By us, Blaise had meant him, Parkinson, Crabbe, and Goyle, and he was quite right in saying that I didn't go to Hogsmeade with them anymore. But instead of keeping my promise to Ginny, I snorted and said, "Why would I risk my good name by going anywhere near that filthy blood traitor?" I suddenly felt a shove against my shoulder blade, and I realized it was Ginny. Her eyes were blazing and there were tear tracks on her beautiful face. Even then, I didn't realize how badly I had messed up until that weekend.

I was in the library looking for a quiet place to do my homework, very much like the day I asked Ginny to the Yule Ball. And also like that day, I found her at one of the tables with a book. But quite unlike the day I asked her to the Yule Ball, Ginny was not alone. Instead she was with someone who I recognized to be Dean Thomas. They were speaking in hushed tones, but I could just make out the words "free for Hogsmeade."

I could feel the little color I had drain from my face. Finally, I understood. I had hurt her too many times for her to forgive me again. Homework forgotten, I left the library with a scowl on my face and a hole in my heart. I was sorely tempted to hex Zabini to hell and back for even bringing her up, but I knew I didn't have it in me. The fault was mine and mine alone. I just couldn't believe she was gone. It wasn't until I had one foot in the Common Room that I remembered we had yet to have our first kiss.

Now I look at her for the first time in years from across Platform Nine and Three Quarters, though neither of us are boarding the train. We are both grown and married, though only one of us is happy. Suddenly, for the first time since my fifth year, we lock eyes. I see little emotion in her, which I expected. She is Ginny Potter now, and though I still despise her husband, I am glad she found him. They look good together with their children and friends, though my heart still yearns for her. I look at Potter and give him a curt nod which he returns. Looking back at Ginny, I realize that she hadn't looked away from me. Then suddenly, I saw something I was sure I would never see again. Ginny Potter smiled.