A/N + Disclaimer: This was directly inspired from a Brooklyn Nine-Nine episode! I just thought this situation would be perfect for Draco and Ginny. I don't own Harry Potter or Brooklyn Nine-Nine or anything else that looks copyrighted here; it all belongs to their respective owners. Forgive me if there are errors, this is being posted late at night. Hope you enjoy!
"Malfoy."
"Weasley."
Both Ginny Weasley and Draco Malfoy met in the center of the Auror office, standing face to face. Ginny had been getting increasingly anxious as the days began to dwindle towards their deadline. She had gotten up early, putting on her best suit paired with a sapphire colored button down shirt. Her flaming scarlet hair was pinned back neatly into a bun. In anticipation for the fateful day, she had arrived early to the office, waiting for Draco's arrival.
"The bet ends today. Prepared?" Draco asked Ginny, with a raise of his eyebrows. He was dressed in a black button down shirt, with the sleeves artfully rolled up to his elbows paired with black slacks. His navy blue Auror robes hung on the chair behind him at his desk.
"I was born prepared," she countered, folding her arms across her chest.
"To lose?" he amended with a smirk, also folding his arms in similar fashion.
"Twist my words all you want, but I'm going to be the one that wins!" Ginny retorted, her brown eyes flashing. She had been waiting for months to wipe that smirk off the Ferret's face and the day had finally come. She contemplating inviting the press to document such a momentous occasion, but she was certain the moment would be imprinted in her mind forever. Even if they had eventually gotten along after working together for over a year, old habits die hard.
"What bet?" asked Savage, confusedly. Dirk Savage was a portly man with grey hair that was slowly disappearing, revealing a shiny scalp. He rarely had any idea of what was happening in the division, let alone his own cases. Ginny wasn't exactly sure why he was still even employed as an Auror, save for seniority.
Roger Williamson, Deputy Head Auror, looked up from the file in his hand at Savage with a bewildered look on his face. He was a tall and well-built man, who looked as if he had a tough exterior, though he was much softer on the inside. "Really? The bet." As if that was all that was needed for an explanation.
Savage responded again with a blank look on his face. Williamson sighed. "They've been keeping track all year. They talk about it all the time." He snapped his file shut. "Just what have you been doing all this time, Savage?"
"Nothing," Savage replied simply with a shrug of his shoulders.
Williamson rolled his eyes and gave him a look of contempt, wondering who on earth decided to keep Savage on as an Auror. Moreover, he wondered why he was cursed with his presence day in and day out.
Ginny whirled around on her heel, turning towards Savage and Williamson. "A year ago, we made a bet about who's the better Auror. Whoever captures the most criminals, wins," she explained.
July, 2003
Ginny wanted to hex the Head Auror, Gawain Robards, for assigning her the worst possible partner in the world, Draco Malfoy six months ago. She didn't dare though, no matter how much her fingers itched to reach down and wield her wand at the man. She had worked hard at attaining this position and intended to keep it.
Promptly after her seventh year, after receiving the proper amount of N.E.W.T.s upon the completion of her seventh year at Hogwarts, she applied to the Ministry of Magic's Auror Program and was accepted. Ginny spent three intense years studying and training. She passed the training at the top of her class and was welcomed into the small and elite circle of Aurors who seemed to live on the second level of the Ministry of Magic.
Unfortunately for her, because she had only been working as fledgling Auror for about six months, it also meant she was the junior most colleague. It was because of that unfortunate disposition that she had ended up with a newly graduated Auror Draco Malfoy as her field partner. She had heard through the other students that Draco had been a year behind her in the program, relinquishing his duties as a Hit Wizard.
She eyed him up and down with utter disdain. That was another thing. Hit Wizards were not well regarded by the Auror community. While they were still above the Magical Law Enforcement Patrol, they were below the Aurors in terms of hierarchy. While her coworkers worked tirelessly investigating leads and uncovering clues to find dangerous criminals, Hit Wizards would often swoop in and take charge in arresting the very dangerous criminals. While it was true they were specially trained in these matters, it didn't improve the rapport between the two groups. Hit Wizards often got the credit and glory for all of the hard work Aurors did behind the scenes, and they got the perks too. They were paid seven hundred and fifty Galleons a month, given a work-issued broomstick, and even had a reserved hospital bed waiting for them at St. Mungo's.
It was unfair, Ginny thought to herself as she scowled in the direction of Draco, who was currently chatting with a couple of the female secretaries and Aurors. They seemed quite enamored with the former Slytherin that was talking to them animatedly about some over-exaggerated heroic anecdote, or as it was in Ginny's opinion. He still had that tall, lanky build she remembered from Hogwarts, having stayed in shape thanks to his Hit Wizard days. He had several inches over her, even when she was wearing high heels. His platinum blond hair was styled neatly to the side, no longer obnoxiously slicked back like it used to be. His skin, while still pretty fair, no longer had that sallow tinge to it. He wasn't merely pointy anymore; rather his features had become more angular and aristocratic. Worst of all, his usually icy gray eyes were warm with mirth as he smiled and laughed during his tale. She was sure he had cast some glamour charm on himself to make him look like a pleasant and pretty attractive human; there was just no other way.
As she had heard it through the gossip mill, Draco decided to switch careers upon realizing many of his skills and talents could be better applied to the Auror Department. And as luck would have it, he was very right. He was the top of his own Auror class, according to Alicia Spinnet, one of the other Aurors in her office area. She would never admit it, even under Veritaserum, that he really was a good Auror. Draco was intelligent, quick on his feet, and highly observant. His own personal experience with the Dark Arts along with the heavy duty training he received from his former occupation only added to his qualifications.
Draco saw Ginny standing near her desk, looking quite irritated and took it as his queue to head over to his partner. Excusing himself from the group upon finishing his story, he grabbed the file he had set down and walked over to her, leaving the group of women disappointed.
"And here's another case solved, no thanks to you," Draco said with a smirk, handing her the file to debrief.
Ginny snatched the folder out of his hands and flipped through the pages. "If memory serves me correctly, Malfoy, I did quite a lot of research on this case."
"Perhaps, but I found the final piece of the puzzle to make the arrest," Draco coolly replied.
It infuriated Ginny that he was always calm and collected while he easily ruffled her feathers. While they had begun to trust each other because they had to be in life-threatening situations together, it didn't mean that they was complete peace between the twosome either. She threw the file folder onto her messy desk, where it landed with a thwack.
"Good Godric, I rue the day that you were assigned to me," Ginny grumbled squeezing her eyes shut and reaching up to rub her temples. "How you breezed pass those examiners, I'll never know."
"I had to earn my way onto the Squad," Draco coolly retorted. "Unlike the Savior of the World and his sidekick, Weaselby."
Her eyes opened, staring at the ever smirking Draco Malfoy. "You realize I'm also a Weaselby too? I mean, Weasley."
"Completely different," Draco replied, waving her off. "He's Weaselby, you're Weasley. It makes him turn beet red while you barely bat an eyelash. It's much more fun to come up with creative ways to antagonize you." If it was possible, Draco's smirk grew even larger.
How she would give anything to make that smirk disappear right before her very eyes. While his constant pestering had become routine during their day to day interactions, even Ginny had her limits. Like today, she had had more than her fill of his quips and wasn't going to take it for a second longer.
"Alright Malfoy, Name your stakes," she said narrowing her eyes and crossed her arms across her chest, forcing herself not to reach over for her wand.
"Excuse me?" Draco said, raising his eyebrows at his partner.
"You heard me. You think you're the best Auror? Prove it. Name your stakes," Ginny elaborated. She wasn't quite sure what had gotten into her. Her mouth opened before her brain processed what was happening. It was too late now; there was no backing out once it came out of her mouth.
"And don't say money," Ginny added. By now the rest of the officers in their cubicle area had crowded around the twosome, watching with great interest, including Williamson, who normally tried to keep the peace between the two of them and maintain between his staffers.
"Yes, because we all know you're in debt," Draco countered, while some of his apparent supporters snickered.
Ginny knew there was no way she could get out of this one; she just had to put the smug bastard in his place. She thanked both Merlin and Godric Gryffindor that Harry, Ron, and Neville were placed all the way at the other end of the floor, since they were specialized Aurors with extensive field experience. Had they been here, they would have dragged her away from the situation and either hex Malfoy or throw him up against the nearest wall, or both.
She flipped some of her intruding scarlet curls back from her shoulder and said lamely, "I am not!" While it was true she wasn't in debt, she didn't exactly have that much money to waste either.
"I'll bet whatever you want since it'll be inconsequential anyway, seeing as I'll win," Draco said with a mischievous glint in his eye.
"How about your fancy broomstick?" Alicia supplied. She took her place next to Ginny, her own brown eyes challenging Draco. She stood taller than her in her black jeans and biker jacket, ignoring the dress code set forth by the department. Though she was closer to her brother George's age, Alicia and Ginny had formed a quick friendship, one that was needed in such a high-stress job.
Draco's eyes narrowed at Alicia. Ginny couldn't help but crack a smile. Draco's broomstick was well known around the office. Because he was Draco Malfoy, he turned down that work-issued broomstick and instead carried around a completely custom-made special order Firebolt. It was one of a kind. It was sleeker, more aerodynamic, and more responsive than any other model out on the market at that point.
"That thing is a bird magnet!" cried Terry Boot. Somehow former Ravenclaw Terry had forged a work friendship with Draco. Though, sometimes she felt like the sandy-haired Terry was more of a lackey to Draco, they still nevertheless got along.
"Fine, no big deal," Draco said finally, ignoring Terry's lamentations. "I won't be losing anyway."
After a moment, he asked, "What's the worst thing for you, then, Weasley?"
"Being one of those tarts riding your broomstick," Ginny glowered. Their fellow Aurors sniggered at her comment, unable to contain themselves at Ginny's unintentional innuendo. Even Draco had broken into a smile at her comment. It made her uneasy as it completely brightened up his face, intensifying his good looks.
"Oh, come on now! We're no longer at Hogwarts. You all know what I mean!" Ginny chastised the crowd as her cheeks flushed, putting her hands on her hips.
"Fine," Williamson piped up, who had been watching with interest along with everyone else quietly. "If Weasley wins, Malfoy has to relinquish his broomstick. If Malfoy wins, Weasley will have to go out on a date with him."
The crowd could barely contain themselves at the proposed wager. By now, Ginny and Draco were nearly nose to nose, - well, almost, since Ginny had to look up - both determined to win the bet. Eventually, Draco offered up his hand to shake, which Ginny hesitantly took. "Fine," she said stiffly.
Draco turned and headed back to his own work desk, Terry not far behind him.
"But Malfoy you can't lose your broomstick!" Draco rolled his eyes at Terry's despair. He was always so unnecessarily dramatic, even if they had begrudgingly become mates.
July, 2004; Present Day
"Yes, well, the score is all tied up," Ginny stated, turning back to Draco smugly as she walked over to her desk. She gave a customary glance over to the chalkboard that the office had set up to keep track of the score, they were both evenly at seventy seven arrests.
"Not for long," countered Draco, who followed suit and leaned against her desk. "Just you wait Weasley, I'll be whisking you away on your worst date yet."
Before Ginny could come up with a witty remark, Head Auror Robards, emerged from the office, clearing his throat to get the attention of his employees. Gawain Robards was a large and sturdy man with an ever-present intimidating resting expression. With his deep and booming voice he announced, "After work today, I would like you all to come to The Leaky Cauldron in honor of Boot and his Order of Merlin, third class. As you were."
Robards retreated back into his office, leaving everyone to their own devices. Terry had won the Medal of Honor because he had risked his life to save another officer while out on the field. While both of the officers were alive and well, Terry still had a severe arm injury that had to be treated with potions, therapy and checkups.
Draco subtly looked up from his paper work, noticing that the Chief was not occupied at the moment. It was the perfect opportunity to scrounge up a final case to put him over the top. He stealthily set his paper work aside and grabbed his wand. Unfortunately for him, it wasn't stealthy enough. In an office of Aurors, where everyone was trained to notice the little things, Ginny noticed him preparing to get up. She shot up from her chair at the exact same moment.
Luckily, Draco was a step ahead of her. His actual wand was tucked safely away on his person, while the wand he had grabbed was actually a Weasley Wizard Wheeze's Trick Wand. While he hated to admit that he purchased things from their shop occasionally, they became handy in situations like this. With a wave of the fake wand, he muttered a random spell and threw the wand in Ginny's direction. Just like it was supposed to, the wand turned into a random object, this time a rubber rat.
Ginny shrieked in shock at the fake rat sailed towards her. She jumped back, thinking it was the real thing for a split second. By the time she had realized that it was one of those damn Trick Wands, Draco was already two steps ahead of her. She chased after him, trying to get to the Chief's office before he did. Instead, Draco swiftly shut the door in her face, leaving Ginny with a sore nose that she was rubbing irritably.
Triumphantly leaning against the door for a second, Draco inched closer to the Head Auror's desk. Robards was peering over paperwork with his glasses perched at the bridge of his nose. He sighed audibly, casting aside his glasses upon seeing Draco.
Putting his charm level into overdrive, Draco asked, "Auror Robards, you're looking rather spiffy today."
"Out with it, Malfoy," Gawain snapped. He was never a person for nonsense, and rarely smiled. Even his happy expression looked pretty solemn to Draco.
"Well, I was just wondering if there were any additional cases I could take on?" Draco asked, trying his hardest not to gulp. There were few wizards that intimidated Draco, but Gawain was most definitely one of them.
"No," Robards swiftly replied. "I don't give a crap about that bet you have going on with Ginevra Weasley."
Draco slightly blanched, if it was possible to notice on his already pale skin. "Oh, that's not why I'm asking," he laughed a little more nervously than he intended to. "I almost forgot about that."
Robards shot him an 'are-you-kidding-me' type of look. He leaned back in his chair, placing his hands behind his head. "I must admit it has helped you two increase your work efficiency and increase your arrest rate, especially in the last couple of weeks. Your guys' work has been exemplary."
Draco's face brightened, a sliver of hope opening through Gawain's solemn praise. "However," Robards' deep voice trudged on. "This bet can also be disadvantageous because it can a strain on your work relationship, especially one that you two have overcome great difficulty in cultivating."
He reached over for his glasses, as any glimmer of hope Draco had faded away. "So, no, I will not be assisting in this matter. Cases will continue to be assigned as they normally are: as needed."
Draco nodded resignedly and silently turned around to head out to the door. Ginny flashed him a smirk rivaling his own upon seeing his resigned expression, and strolled into the office.
"Hullo, Head Auror…." Ginny began, plastering the brightest smile she could muster on her face.
Robards continued to scratch away on his paperwork with his quill, without so much as giving a second glance to Ginny. "Nope," he boomed with finality.
"But, I didn't even say anything!" Ginny pouted, dropping her ultra-polite demeanor.
"I know exactly what you are here for, so no," Robards replied looking upwards from his work without moving his head. "You may leave now."
Ginny's shouldered slumped, and she slowly trudged back to her desk, only to see Draco's smirking face staring back at her from across the way. Sitting in her swiveling chair, she folded her arms and hissed, "Thanks a lot Malfoy, way to ruin it for the both of us."
"I did no such thing," Draco replied back with innocence, even though there was a rather mischievous glint in his eyes.
Before she could open her mouth with another smart retort, Terry walked over to them and said, "You know Draco, your hair looks a lot like corn silk. Is it as soft as it looks?"
Both of the Aurors looked at him and gaped. What had gotten into Terry? While everyone knew he idolized Draco for his charm and skills, this was taking it a step too far.
"Damnit, Terry, did you drink the Veritaserum?" Alicia called over from his desk several feet away. She quickly searched through all of the drawers, and found two vials in his upper right-hand drawer. She slammed them both on the table, noticing that one was practically empty while the other was full. Both contained a colorless liquid, though they served very different purposes.
"No, why?" He said, turning to her blankly.
"Because, this Veritaserum is empty while your Pepper-Up Potion is still completely full," she said, dangling the full vial in front of her face.
Roger quickly sauntered over to Terry and asked, "Did you not notice that the steam out of your ears was missing?"
"No," Terry admitted lamely, shifting his balance uncomfortably. "I just assumed it was because it was a custom-made potion that it didn't have that side effect."
"Good job, Boot," Draco broke in as he rotated around in his swivel chair. "You realize because you're not running on adrenaline you won't absorb Veritaserum as fast?"
"What does that mean?" Terry looked at him blankly, his voice wavering apprehensively.
"It means," Ginny cut in. "That its potency is stronger. So, you'll be feeling the effects for much longer than, let's say, an hour."
Roger sighed and wondered what on earth he did to deserve such a motley crew of Aurors. Bringing a hand to his face and sweeping it in a rubbing motion downwards, came up with a plan. A revitalized expression appeared on his face. "Alright," he began. "Alicia, you keep track of Terry just in case he decides to say something idiotic, especially to someone like Robards or any officials higher above. With the amount he chugged, who knows how long the effects will last."
Before Alicia could object to her new duty, Roger quickly headed back towards the break room to get away from the circus that were his employees. He slammed the door behind him, and the rest of the office looked around at each other, sensing the tension that had been created the room.
That is, except for Terry. "I would climb that man like the wonderful Whomping Willow that he is," Boot announced cheerfully.
Ginny and Draco had dispersed for the day, remaining steadfast in trying to find more criminals at the last minute in order to boost their tallies. Ginny ran into the office three hours later, with a magically bound wrong-doer in tow. She gasped for air as she slowed down to a halt, brushing back stray locks that had come loose from her bun.
"HA!" Ginny cried, still panting for air. "I… arrested this… guy… for theft… with one minute left!" She straightened herself up and folded her arms in triumph.
"Oh, no…" Draco deadpanned, looking bored and reclining in his chair.
"In your face, Malfoy!" Ginny said, jumping up and down. It suddenly dawned on her that Draco was not pouting or shouting or having any sort of reaction, really.
"Hang on, why aren't you concerned?" She demanded, putting her hands on her hips.
"Bring them out!" Draco called, snapping into action and getting onto his feet. A long parade of men began hobbling into the office, all magically bound and looking quite morose. Draco flashed her a winning grin, his own arms now folded in triumph. "I arrested thirty men for organizing and cooperating in a black market of illegal muggle artifacts that have been charmed."
Right as she was about to open her mouth to explain that that wasn't a critical enough of an offense to warrant an arrest, he quickly placed a hand in her face to silence her. "And for half of them, this is their second offense," Draco clarified smugly.
"And that is…" Draco turned back to the long line of men. He made a show of taking the time to count them before saying, "ten more for me. Accept your loss, Weasley."
"Never!" Ginny shouted, stomping her foot. She was never going to admit defeat in front of her co-workers, let alone Draco Malfoy! She tried to think of any other criminal she had recently arrested that she could charge for any additional crimes.
Meanwhile, Draco was paying her no mind. He eyed his expensive platinum wrist watch and began counting down. "Five… Four… Three… Two… One…. And, I won!"
Terry waved his wand, and a blast of confetti clouded over the office, sprinkling the desks with shimmery pieces of paper. Celebratory music began to bounce off the walls out of thin air, causing the rest of their colleagues to jump to their feet and begin to dance enthusiastically to the music. Terry charmed the champagne bottles that had emerged from desk to open as the foam began to spill onto the floor. Flutes were being handed out as everyone had now completely abandoned their work and began enjoying their now shortened workday. Draco made a big show of shaking everyone's hands and giving out hugs, as if he had just won some political office.
Ginny rolled her eyes so hard that it was a miracle they didn't get stuck that way. She was incensed. How in the hell had she lost to Draco Smirking Malfoy? And who knew what he had up his sleeve for this ridiculous date?
Once Draco had made his rounds, he returned back to Ginny, who was still fuming in the middle of the room, looking like she wanted to hex everyone in the room for colluding with such an evil mastermind. Draco ran a hand through his hair and flashed a devilish smile at her. What was worse was that he looked incredibly hot whilst doing so, Ginny shamefully admitted to herself. He bent down on one knee and procured a small jewelry box from his pocket. If Ginny had been any other woman, she would have been freaking out at this overt display. Many a women in her office would have jumped at the chance to being proposed to by Draco Malfoy, even if it was just for show.
He opened the box, which contained the cheapest, dinky little ring Ginny had ever seen. The plastic jewel was visible, and she was pretty sure she could crush it into smithereens just by stepping on it. He looked up into her big, brown eyes with his earnest gray ones. "Ginevra Weasley, you've made me the happiest, and still wealthiest, man in Wizarding Britain. Will you go out with me?"
Ginny sighed deeply for a moment, closing her eyes. As much as she wanted to say no, she had made the unwise choice in initiating this bet. Therefore, she had to concede and go through with the conditions. After all, she followed through with everything she had committed to, no matter how ridiculous it was. She opened her eyes and growled out, "Yes."
"Thank Salazar, she said yes!" Draco shouted happily, turning to the crowd who cheered in response. He came closer to her and grabbed her left hand. He took out the comical ring and slipped it onto her ring finger.
"You know, this ring cost me a Sickle," Draco said looking back up her with a solemn expression, though his mocking eyes said otherwise.
"You paid far too much for it, Malfoy," Ginny shot back, snatching her hand back away from him.
"Well, I can't get a reputation for being cheap," he replied simply before walking away.
That evening, Draco arrived in front of Ginny's building to pick her up. For such an auspicious occasion, he decided to rent a classic silver Rolls Royce. Though it was a muggle invention, it had been upgraded with various magical functions by the wizard rental service. He waited for more than ten minutes, leaning against the hood of the car. He had just made up his mind to drag the woman out of the building, when she came hobbling out onto the stoop, shutting the door behind her.
What Draco had incurred as a punishment had ended up backfiring on him. He had a custom-made Slytherin uniform made just for one Ginny Weasley to wear for the duration of their date. It had cost him a good amount of money as at first Madam Malkin vehemently refused, thinking he had some creepy fetish for schoolgirls. He tripled the price with a flushed face and she reluctantly gave in.
"Draco, I look absolutely ridiculous!" Ginny exclaimed as she got closer to the car, her navy Auror robe in hand. He looked as refined as ever in a deep purple jumper and black slacks. Why did she have to wear this silly costume?
"You look just fine," Draco said, though a bit hoarsely. While he had intended the costume to look silly on her, it just had the opposite effect. Her scarlet locks were in loose ringlets, tied back with a green ribbon. Her button up oxford shirt underneath the charcoal cardigan stretched tightly against her chest while the green and silver striped tie sloppily hung around her neck. Ginny reached down and hiked up her skirt that rested just above her knee up to her left thigh, swiftly wrapping a holster for her wand for safe keeping. While it was a logical accessory to add to her outfit, did she not realize what she was doing? Ginny was giving him a glorious view of her shapely leg and thigh. He mentally slapped himself for being incredibly turned on. He suspiciously wondered if she knew what she was doing when she had just conveniently decided to reveal far too much of her leg to him.
Ginny looked up at him quizzically once she had ensured that the holster was secure. He attempted to be a gentleman and not look at her legs or chest, so instead his eyes fell to her neck. He noticed her tie was secured clumsily. It was itching to be fixed. Before he could help himself, Draco reached out to start readjusting her tie.
"Where the hell did you learn to tie a tie, Weasley?" Draco chastised, unraveling it and redoing the knot.
"Uh… Ron," Ginny said, glancing up towards the night sky. She was taken aback by his unpredictable gesture. They had been in close proximity many times whenever they were hiding out waiting for criminals, but this was much different.
"No wonder Weaselby always looks a mess," Draco muttered. Once he had finished, he gently pushed the knot to the top, and stepped back to admire his work. The outfit was now complete.
"Well, we better get going. Can't be late to the Cauldron," Draco said merrily. He knew the office would get a kick out of seeing Ginny in a Slytherin getup, considering she was one of the most exemplary Gryffindors there were. He turned to open the car door for her, which was a coach door as the salesman had told him; it opened in the opposite direction of usual car doors.
Ginny slid into the seat as Draco went around the back to get into his own seat. As he was pulling his seatbelt on he heard Ginny groan, "Do I really have to wear this all night? I would much rather be wearing pants, thank you very much."
Turning to look at Ginny who looked like she wanted to shoot fireballs out of her eyes at him, he said with a lopsided grin, "You agreed upon these terms, Ginny. The date ends at midnight."
He tapped his wand and the car's engine revved up. Draco muttered, "Proveho," and he thought of the Leaky Cauldron. The car began to lurch forward in that direction, and he easily sat back while it drove them to their destination.
"Remember. I decide what you wear, what we eat, and where we go," Draco reminded her as the car kept trudging on smoothly through the streets of London. It had been charmed to take them to any destination and be mindful of all of the traffic rules. While Draco enjoyed the luxury of the automobile, he had no desire to actually learn how to drive. He simply placed his hands on the wheel while the car did the turning for him. "Oh, but there's one rule."
"Another bloody rule?" Ginny said with a raised eyebrow, turning her head to look at him.
"No matter what happens, you're not allowed to fall in love with me," Draco said with a smirk.
Ginny rolled her eyes and scoffed at him. He had one of the largest egos she had ever seen! As if she would actually fall in love with him. In his nightmares, she thought as she shifted her focus to looking out the window as cars whizzed by and the buildings moved past her in a blur.
They arrived at the Leaky Cauldron fashionably fifteen minutes late, Draco explained, so that they would make a grand entrance. Ginny rolled her eyes as she exited the car. The automobile had smoothly parked itself into a spot right in front of the pub. Ginny thanked the Gods that it was dark out, so no Muggle would question her unusual choice of dress.
Draco grabbed her hand, and before she could retract herself from him, he pulled her towards the door. They entered the lively pub with its warm candlelight to see most of the Squad already there. Nearly everyone had a pint in their hands as they were chattering away.
Draco took this opportunity to present his partner to the crowd. He cleared the floor of a couple of their colleagues and cast a quick Sonorus spell on himself. "Yes, tonight is Terry's night," Draco began, still dragging Ginny around. He raised her hand that was still clasped around his own into the air. They looked as if they had just won triumphantly match together. "But, let us remember that Ginny has lost the bet!"
The crowd broke out in an uproarious applause at the comical sight of an overly smug Draco Malfoy and a mortified Ginny Weasley. A couple of the men catcalled out to Ginny due to her suggestive getup, and she flushed at the awkward predicament Draco had placed her in. Draco furtively shot them dirty looks, and the men quickly quieted down.
She leaned over to his grinning face and muttered out of the corner of her mouth, "I hate you." She crossed her arms as a sign of her defiance. Draco continued smiling for his legion of fans as if nothing had happened. Ginny sighed and rolled her eyes. "Can I at least to go the washroom, master?"
At this he turned to look at Ginny, who looked like she was exhaustingly miserable though she still seemed like she had enough energy to strangle him at any moment. Sensing that he should perhaps reel in the reigns a little bit, he gave in. "Alright, fine."
Without another word, Ginny stomped away towards the loo. Before she was out of earshot, he drawled behind her back, "I do like the sound of master, you know." Draco swore he saw angry silver sparks shooting out of the bottom of her skirt. He smirked, knowing that he always elicited such a strong reaction from her.
Draco saw Terry cheerfully sitting at the bar by himself. He slid onto the stool next to him and promptly ordered two pints for the two of them. He turned to Terry, who was still wearing his golden medal around his neck, secured with a fancy purple ribbon. The medal matched the dirty blond of Terry's hair.
"You're still wearing the bloody thing?" Draco said with a chuckle.
"Yeah!" Terry replied eagerly. "It might be a good way to get the ladies." The bartender conjured up two mugs and the beers began to magically fill up the glasses. Draco grabbed his mug and took a generous swig of it.
Still a little perturbed by Terry's lack of filter, he decided to shift back to a more pressing topic. "Now, Boot, back to me. I have a terrible night planned for our little Ginevra tonight."
"Really? What do you have in mind?" Terry asked curiously as he set down the mug he was drinking from. A foam mustache was sitting atop his lips, one that was more voluminous than any mustache he could hope to grow, Draco noticed.
"Dinner at an incredibly exclusive restaurant that serves multiple courses, only they have those minuscule serving sizes," Draco began, much to the gasp of Terry. Draco could barely suppress his glee at that first phase of the date. Ginny was known for eating heartily, sometimes going for seconds or thirds. This would supremely tick her off, and Draco would revel in every minute of it.
"And then, I'm going to make sure that her brother and Potter see us enjoying our night out on the town," Draco added, before taking another gulp. "It will blow their minds while simultaneously ruin her life."
"How have you planned that?" Terry inquired as the bartender set down a plate of chips in front of them.
"I've organized a crime for Weasel and Pot to bust and we'll happen upon them right at that moment," Draco explained smugly. That was the reason they were thankfully not in the presence.
"Draco, are you sure that's even allowed?" Terry's voice had grown to a panic, his eyes growing wide. He couldn't have his best mate getting punished over something like this!
"Oh, don't worry, Terry, I did it the legal way," Draco assured, bringing the mug up to his lips.
"How so?"
"Bribery."
Terry soberly set down his mug and folded his hands in front of him onto the bar counter. Looking Draco intently in his murky eyes, he asked, "Do you know why little boys pull little girls' pigtails out on the schoolyard?"
Draco uncertainly shook his head, unsure of where the drugged up Boot was going with this strange question.
"Because, they're easy to grab, and they're begging to be pulled," Terry obviously explained, as if Draco should have known the answer the whole time. "It's the only way for them to get that girl's attention that they like."
Draco set down his own pint and narrowed his eyes at Terry. "Just what are you getting at, Boot?"
"All of this teasing, this elaborate date," Terry said, with a motion of his hands. "Deep down," he stabbed Draco in the chest with his finger, "you like Ginny. As in like her like her."
Malfoy swatted his hand away and scoffed. He unconsciously ran a hand through his silvery hair. "You're absolutely mental, Boot."
"Well then, how much did you spend Malfoy?" Terry asked as he stuffed several chips into his mouth at once.
"At least five hundred Galleons," Draco answered after mulling over the answer for several moments. "Give or take."
Terry looked at him with a thoroughly smug look on his face. Whether it was because Draco had seemingly confirmed his ridiculous suspicions or because the chips were absolutely delightful, he couldn't tell.
"Stop looking at me like that, Boot!" Draco cried, wagging a finger at him. "I. DON'T. LIKE. HER," he enunciated each word clearly so he would get the hint.
Terry looked at him with a knowing smile. "You're putting quite a lot of effort into this joke. Why not just sit down with her and have a conversation?"
Draco crossed his arms and glowered at the other man. Deep down, he knew what he was saying he was right, whether or not he was still high on the Veritaserum. But, this revelation made him incredibly uncomfortable, and he couldn't possibly admit to Terry that he was actually right. "You also haven't had a date in over a year and manage to psyche yourself out each time we encounter a decent woman," he sniffed. "I'm really not about to take dating advice from you."
"I don't just get nervous," Terry divulged almost desperately, unable to contain himself. "My palms get sweaty and my armpits perspire and I begin to stutter."
Growing steadily uncomfortable with their conversation, Draco turned his back to the bar, in search of his date. His eyes fell upon the familiar redhead, who was enjoying a drink with Alicia. He hopped off his stool and started to make his way over to her, hoping to trap her into a ridiculous dance in front of the rest of the Squad.
Apparently Robards had other plans for him, as he intercepted Draco on his way to completing his mission. "Malfoy, over here!" he barked.
Draco took the reluctant detour to his right, and went up to his superior. "Yes, sir?" He greeted.
Skipping formalities, Robards launched into explanation. "One of our informants just sent a Patronus. We've been tracking a Dragon egg smuggling ring. Cargo is about to be dropped off and I need you to go check this out."
Draco wasn't sure what to do. One the one hand, he knew it was his duty to go because the Head Auror had told him, but on the other hand, the date had barely gotten started. "Uh, Sir, I can't exactly leave at this moment," he began clumsily. "We-" Draco pointed at Ginny, who had gotten roped into dancing with Savage. "-have this date going on. And I have a lot of non-refundable deposits."
"Well, this is not a negotiation, Auror Malfoy," Robards replied with finality.
"Fine," Draco said after letting out a sigh. "But I'm taking Weasley with me."
"Alright," Robards nodded. "And remember, constant vigilance."
Draco restrained himself from rolling his eyes and turned to inform Ginny of the change of plans. He tapped Savage's shoulder, who had been awkwardly dancing with Ginny, who looked utterly confused and slightly scared. As much as he was enjoying the misery on her face, they had more important things to do.
"Love," Draco spoke in a saccharine tone. "We must put a hold on our date, unfortunately. Duty calls."
Ginny untangled herself from Savage's arms and looked up at him with relieved eyes. "Thank, Merlin!" Before he could get another word out, this time Ginny grabbed him by the hand and promptly shoved him out the door.
Draco and Ginny hovered above the outskirts of Knockturn Alley in the rented car, where the drop off was to take place. Apparently, unbeknownst to Ginny, the car had been modified with several different spells that provided them with extra features. Such as having the ability to fly. She was having flashbacks of the Flying Ford Anglia her father had the summer before her first year.
"Thank goodness, I'm out of that uniform," Ginny announced in relief. She forced Draco to drive her back to her flat so she could wear proper attire for such a mission. At first, he refused, but after threatening to hex a certain extremity of his body, he quickly relented. She left her flat in a whirlwind, clad in a t-shirt, a rust colored Weasley jumper etched with a 'G' and her most comfortable pair of denim blue jeans. She had charmed her trusty trainers to never unlace lest they have to chase any criminals down.
Draco, stubborn as ever, remained in his date attire. She did note that he did look rather handsome, but they had business to do! "Not to worry, Gin," Draco assured with a smirk. "We'll catch these prats and get back to the worst date of your life."
Ginny laughed, much to Draco's surprise. She wasn't supposed to think this date was funny! This was supposed to be the most miserable night in her life. Ever. "What's so funny?" Draco said, turning to look at her from the driver's seat.
Once her laughter had subsided, she explained, "Oh, it's just that nothing will be as bad as the date I had with one of Percy's co-workers."
"Who's Percy?" Draco asked blankly.
"Remember? You call him Peter," Ginny reminded with a roll of her eyes. His face lit up in acknowledgement. She then launched into the story of how Percy had set her up with one of the blokes in the Department of Transportation, and how, whilst chewing with his mouth open, he droned on in a monotonous manner about the intricacies of creating a Portkey. She had almost drowned in her mashed potatoes as she her head began bobbing in drowsiness.
Draco chuckled at her story, but he caught something out of the corner of his eye. He saw two hooded figures shuffling in the darkness. He quieted Ginny, and they both continued to watch them carefully, though it was slightly difficult to see from the limited view of the vehicle. Though they were easily shrouded by the clouds and nightfall, he quickly pushed a clear button placed on top of the dashboard of the car.
Ginny didn't notice any difference, and was compelled to ask, "What good did that do?" she whispered, not taking her eyes off of the suspects.
"It makes the car invisible," Draco whispered back. He strained his neck to try to hear what they were trying to say. However, it seemed the extendable microphone he had had installed into the car was not properly functioning. He sighed and looked around for an alternate plan, when his eyes fell upon a roof of a building: a perfect vantage point to spy on the suspects.
Draco awkwardly maneuvered the car onto the roof, having little experience actually driving the car. They had an unsmooth landing, as the car landed with a lurch. They both hopped out of the automobile and gathered empty crates that were strewn about on the roof and used them as makeshift stools to continue their stake out.
"Hey, Ginny?" Draco said, now in his usual volume. "Can you get the omnioculars out of my bag?"
Ginny reached down for the bag began to shift things around. What she found instead of the omnioculars was his wallet, a bag of potato crisps, four chocolate bars, and a sandwich, until her hand finally wrapped around the spectacles.
Thrusting the object into his hands, she chided, "What didn't you decide to pack for tonight? Just how many snacks do you have?"
"Well, I like to be prepared," Draco clarified. "And, I get hungry." With that admission, he took the bag out of Ginny's lap and fished around until he pulled out the bag of crisps. He offered her the bag before he dug into it himself.
"How do you not even put on weight?" Ginny scoffed, chomping into the potato crisp. That was completely unfair; she had to watch how much junk food she ate lest she put on too many kilograms. He seemed like he never gained a gram.
"So, you've noticed," Draco gave her a mischievous grin with a waggle of his eyebrows. She could sense the new air of superiority and smugness surrounding him.
"NO!" Ginny adamantly denied, her face burning. She turned in the other direction until her face had calmed down. In the background, she continued to hear crunching from Draco as he munched away on his snack, unperturbed. She looked down in the distance, and the street was completely empty, save for the two hooded figures who still stood at the street corner, remaining stationary.
Growing bored by the silence, she turned to look back at Draco, who looked luminescent under the moonlight. "Why did you decide to become an Auror if you had such an amazing experience as a Hit Wizard? I've heard all of your stories."
He pondered this unexpected question for several moments before opening his mouth. "I wanted to be at the top of the food chain, and not be second best," Draco said with a slight scowl. "You know, why be a Mediwitch when you can be a Healer?"
"Well, isn't that utterly pompous of you," she snorted, tucking a stray strand of hair behind her ear. He threw his last crisp at her, which ricocheted off her nose. It then fell the ground, though miraculously it didn't shatter into dozens of pieces. Ginny deftly picked it up as Draco watched with a mixture of disapproval and amusement.
"You're not actually going to eat that, are you?" Draco asked curiously.
"Why not?" Ginny easily replied. She took her own wand out and applied a cleaning charm to the crisp. Once it had been effectively clean, she easily popped it into her mouth. Draco wrinkled his nose with displeasure at the ghastly incident while she remained unruffled.
"Look, if you grew up in my family with a herd of brothers who eat EVERYTHING in sight, you would easily eat the food off the ground if you found it," she explained with a sheepish smile. He guessed that was understandable, although he would rather die of starvation than eat food off the ground, even if he could clean it by magic, like she had just done.
Throwing her one of his candy bars, which she deftly caught, his wand which was holstered at his belt, began to vibrate. He quickly detached it and saw the familiar dark blue glow surrounding the stick. It meant that he was to immediately contact the Head Auror as soon as possible.
Waving the wand in front of her, he said, "I've got to take this."
He noticed the chimneys on the roof and headed over to the door that gave the residents access to the roof. Soundlessly, he unlocked the door with his wand, and headed down the stairs, ending up in a corridor. There were several doors, all of them to various flats. He put his ear to the closest one. Upon hearing nothing, he muttered a few spells to unlock the door. Just as he had assumed, he had entered a dark flat, indicating that no one was currently home.
Seeing a pouch of Floo powder atop the small mantelpiece, he hurriedly threw it into the fire before the occupants returned. He stuck his face into the fire and found himself staring into Robards' office.
"Good news, Malfoy," Gawain said as a way of greeting. "I've found someone from the night shift to relieve you and Weasley of your duties."
Draco mulled it over for a few minutes. This was the first time in who knows how long that they were quite easily getting along and enjoying themselves. He recalled Ginny's smiling eyes brimming with merriment moments ago. On the other hand, as he looked at the watch on his wrist, they could easily make it back to the fake bust he had set up with moments to spare.
"Sir, let's hold off on the relief team," Draco decided, even surprising himself. "We're already here, and I'm curious to see what happens." If he admitted to himself, he was more curious to see what else could happen between him and Weasley, but that wasn't something he was about to tell his boss.
Robards nodded agreeably and they quickly disconnected. Draco did a quick clean-up of the flat, to ensure that it looked undeterred. Just as he closed the door behind him, he looked down to see a woman about to put the key into her lock, looking terrified that a man had just exited her home. Before she could cry out for help, Draco quickly wiped her memory of the incident and Apparated back onto the roof before she could figure anything out.
Twirling his wand with a pleased look on his face, he returned to his makeshift seat on the crate. Ginny turned to him, looking perplexed by the content Malfoy before her. "What did Robards want?"
"Oh, nothing," Draco said, brushing her off. "Just checking in."
She nodded in acknowledgement, and took a bite of her candy bar, which was already half finished.
A question had been nagging Draco all night at the back of his head. Unable to shake it off, he took a deep breath and inquired, "Would you really have burned my broomstick?"
Ginny looked into his uncertain gray eyes. "Oh no, not at all," she replied casually.
Draco let out the breath that he had just taken in. He was happy to know that his trusted broomstick would have been safe in her gentle hands. There was the good-hearted Gryffindor everyone else knew and loved.
"I would've sold it," Ginny interrupted his moment of clarity. "Do you know how much that thing is probably worth?"
Draco looked at her with horrified eyes, as if he had punched him in the face with her revelation. What kind of devious plots permeated in her brain? Her savage paws would have broken his prized possession in half!
Ginny ignored his grief-stricken face and continued on, "I could buy five broomsticks, a bigger flat, a trip to Japan, a diamond necklace with matching earrings, set up my nieces and nephews with-"
She continued to list off the endless possibilities had she sold the broom, while Draco noticed the figures beginning to move. Bringing the omnioculars to his eyes, he could see closely, that the figures, which were two men, were walking towards a carriage that was coming from the opposite direction.
"Shhh!" Draco called out, all of their banter forgotten. Ginny quickly quieted down, sensing the urgency in his mannerisms. Setting the omnioculars down, he turned to her and pierced into her brown eyes, "Okay, follow my lead and give me the ring."
Ginny glanced down at the joke of a ring that was still resting on her ring finger. While she was curious as to what plan Draco had concocted, she knew it was no time to argue, so she pulled the ring off and thrust it into his palm.
He grabbed her hand and they Apparated a block away from the suspects with the slightest pop that could barely be heard unless someone happened to be right next to them. He began to walk over to them, and Ginny silently followed, ready to jump into action should the moment call for it.
They saw two stout men unloading crates from the carriage that was manned by bulkier figure. Draco was certain that the precious dragon eggs were carefully nestled within those crates. With the plan that he had assembled silently up at the roof, he grabbed Ginny's hand and they waked over to the unsuspecting men.
To any outsider, they looked like a couple taking a stroll on the street, albeit it was unusual at this hour. His hand was interlocked with hers, and he noticed that they fit very well together. She looked up at him with her big, brown eyes uncertainly for a moment and he gave her a look to simply trust him. She gave him a slight nod and they inched closer to the suspects.
"Alright, fine, love," Draco said loudly with an exasperated tone for the men to overhear. "I'll ask them. Will that make you happy?"
Draco let go of Ginny's hand and walked over to the men. They were still unloading the crates and were moving onto inspecting them. "Sorry to trouble you all," Draco said politely. When they still didn't notice them, he cleared his throat and shouted, "Excuse me!"
"Look," one of the men still shrouded in his hood answered. "We're a tad busy here."
"Sorry, this will only take a minute," Draco replied apologetically. "My girlfriend here-" Draco gestured to the redhead behind him, who now looked irritated and had crossed her arms in front of her chest, tapping her foot against the uneven pavement. "-thinks we're lost."
"No," Draco heard a shrill, feminine voice behind him say. Ginny dropped her arms and stomped over to him. "I know we're lost! I think he's an idiot."
"Idiot?" Draco repeated incredulously with a raised eyebrow, turning to look at her. "Do you know why we're out here in the middle of the night?"
Ginny shook her head, unsure of how to answer. She figured silence was the best decision.
"I was going to propose to you in Diagon Alley in front of Flourish and Blotts, just like the day we met," Draco explained dramatically, giving her the haughtiest expression he could muster.
"Flourish and Blotts?!" Ginny cried out in disbelief, nearly rupturing Draco's eardrum. "We met in Hogsmeade!" Ginny came closer and pocked him in the chest while he was still wincing from her piercing tone. "In front of Tomes and Scrolls!"
"You know what?" Draco hollered angrily. "This is over! Say good-bye to the ring and everything that it represents!" With all of his might, Draco hurled the ring behind Ginny, and it sailed off into the darkness.
Ginny gasped in horror. "You bastard!" Without any warning, she swiftly slapped him. Draco clutched his cheek in true surprise; she wasn't supposed to be harming him in this scenario! Ginny looked at him guiltily and gave him a subtle shrug. She hadn't meant to strike him; she had just gotten caught up in the moment.
"Excuse me! You need to calm down, miss!" The same hooded man shouted.
Ginny scowled in outrage, completely repulsed by the fact that anyone would dare talk to her like that. The hooded man, on his part, began to cower under her enraged gaze.
Draco, whose hand was at his holster, shouted, "Oi! No one yells at Ginevra like that!"
The man tried to mumble an apology but Ginny merely stuck her nose up in the air and proceeded to ignore him.
With an evil smirk on his face, Draco asked, "And you know what?"
"What?" The second guy said dumbly, who had come over by now to see what all the ruckus was about. His hood had fallen off by now, and both of the Aurors could see that he had brown hair atop his balding head and had green eyes.
"On the ground! This is the Ministry!" Draco whipped out his wand and stuck it in the man's face, and Ginny repeated his actions at the exact same moment.
All three of the men raised their hands up in surrender, and slowly lowered themselves flat onto the ground. The especially dumb one spoke up, with a foolish grin on his face, "I'm sad that you guys arrested us, but I've got to say, I'm happy you two are back together."
With their wands pointed in the faces of their suspects, Draco and Ginny both shot each other a flabbergasted look. Draco turned to look at him with an expression of utter disdain. "How the hell did you get involved in the black market, numbnut?"
The next morning, Ginny headed to the second level of the Ministry like any other day. Her navy robes swirling around her pencil skirt and blouse as she easily glided over to her work station. She expected to see Draco's usual smirking self sitting across from her as he swiveled around in his chair or tried to balance a quill between his nose and upper lip, but he was nowhere to be found. That's odd, Ginny thought to herself. Brushing that thought aside, she sorted through her owls and memos for that morning.
Head Auror Robards sauntered over to Ginny and stiffly clapped her on the back, which made Ginny cringe at the awkwardness of the action. He attempted to give her a smile, though it looked more like a constipated scowl. "Excellent job on the stake out last night. I am pleased to see that you and Malfoy can work together despite that ridiculous bet."
Feeling that that was enough praise for the day, Robards started to head back to his office, when he turned on his heel when he was halfway there. "Oh, and I appreciate you two turning down the relief team last night. I'm not sure they could have made that arrest," he added.
Relief team? Ginny had had no idea that they had turned anything down. Despite her puzzlement, she figured it wouldn't look good if she looked like that she didn't know what was happening. "Oh, yes, no need for that relief team," she chuckled, lying through her teeth. Was that what Draco was talking to Robards about last night when he had contacted them? Why didn't Draco just tell her? Did Draco have as a good of a time as she did last night? Is that why he decided not to call in the relief team? It was then that it hit her that she had truly enjoyed last night, rather than spending a miserable night out on the town. In fact, Draco could actually be rather charming and fun when he decided to shed his obnoxious exterior. All in all, it really had been one of the best dates she had ever been on and her lips twitched upwards.
Robards nodded in approval and permanently stationed himself in front of his desk for the rest of the day. She walked around all of the work stations looking for Draco and he was nowhere to be found. She trotted over to the break room. There was no sign of Draco, but instead a mortified Terry Boot clasping his head in his hands sitting at one of the tables. While Ginny felt for him, she also wanted to laugh at his ridiculous confessions from yesterday. No doubt he was beginning to remember what happened today.
Ginny even strolled over to the men's restroom, and casually waited around for at least fifteen minutes. Every time a man would walk in and look at her curiously, she would pretend walk a few feet away or look as if she was waiting to meet someone at the office across from the washrooms. Slowly, she gave up, snarling in frustration. It was then that Ginny remembered that field partners usually cast Locater charms on each other should they get separated. Hoping that it would still work, she was delighted to see her wand produce a gleaming green arrow pointing straight ahead of her.
Ginny continued to follow the arrow, which lead her all the way across the level, passing by nearly all of the Aurors' work stations. She eventually ended up in front of a broomstick closet as the wand stopped giving her directions. Either the Locator charm had finally worn off, or Draco was indeed in the broomstick closet. Was he hiding from her?
Figuring there was only one way to find out, Ginny twisted the knob of the door and entered. In the dimly lit broomstick closet, she found Draco sitting on a stool amongst dozens of brooms mounted onto the wall while one wall was dedicated to cleaning supplies and other protective equipment. He seemed hard at work, carefully polishing the handle of his broomstick, though it seemed rather unnecessary since it was sparkling as it was, while his platinum blond hair fell into his eyes. He looked rather endearing while working hard. She noticed his defined jaw line as it jutted out in concentration, how Draco's strong arms grasped the broom securely but delicately. Ginny cleared her throat, and startled gray eyes looked up at her. It was always entertaining to catch Draco off-guard, since it was such a rare occurrence. She closed the door behind her and took a step closer.
"Hey," Ginny said with a smirk on her face. Her brown eyes gleamed playfully.
"Hey," Draco replied nonchalantly. He stood up, towering over her as he carefully put his broomstick on of the empty mounts. Draco quickly banished all of the supplies back to their rightful places, clearing the space between them. He leaned against the back wall casually, with his arms folded.
She took another step forward and apologized, "I'm sorry that the date didn't go as planned last night. I'm sure your upset you didn't get to take me out on the worst date of my life."
"Oh," Draco said, uncomfortably rubbing the back of his neck. "It wasn't so bad, all things considered… We caught the criminals, after all." His eyes darted everywhere around the room except for her. Each time they came close to landing on her, he quickly averted his gaze, unwilling to meet hers.
"So, no relief team, huh?" Ginny said, her smirk slowly turning into a full blown grin. She smoothly took another step closer to him.
Draco's head shot up at that comment, looking at her in utter disbelief. "What?"
"Robards told me that we apparently turned the relief team down," Ginny explained. "And, here I thought he was just checking on us." She took the last step forward, now standing centimeters from him.
"So?" Draco said, challengingly with his eyebrow raised. He looked like a petulant child, and she bit her cheek to prevent herself from dissolving into laughter.
"Do you want to tell me why you did that?" Ginny said, her voice dropping a register. She closed the remaining gap between them, and placed her hands against the wall, effectively trapping him against the wall and in between her.
Draco eyes widened and he started rambling rather nervously. "Well, technically, he was just checking up on us, at least that's what I though at-" Ginny swiftly silenced him by planting her lips against his, standing on her tiptoes to reach him. Draco quickly relaxed as her arms wrapped around his neck, perhaps also in relief in addition to pleasure, and quickly followed her lead. His hands easily undid her hair, letting her scarlet waves free as he tangled himself in her swift tresses.
Eventually, they had to come up for air, though the two of them never wanted it end. Draco slowly broke it off, both of them breathing heavily.
"So, how's Friday at seven?" Ginny asked hoarsely with a coy smile, her arms still enveloped around his neck. His own arms swiftly found themselves around her waist.
"For what?" Draco asked, his breathing slowly returning to normal.
"To show me the worst date ever, of course," Ginny answered with a sly grin.
Draco laughed and quickly lowered his head, capturing her lips with his. Ginny felt like she was on cloud nine, no ten, as his mouth continued to tease hers. His lips trailed down to her neck, and she let out a whimper. It was then that she swore she heard a voice in the distance that sounded a lot like Alicia's.
"I called it, everyone! They're snogging! Now pay up!"