Happy Christmas!

This is part of the DG Forum's 2015 Secret Santa Fic-Exchange

This response is my gift to chromeknickers, I hope you enjoy reading it even half so much as I did writing it!

Prompt: Stay, Fix, Sin.

Ginny Weasley and the Seven Sins

Sin is a strange thing, a powerful thing. We all know the main ones, the big seven: anger, lust, greed, envy, sloth, gluttony, and pride. Each one works its way into our souls and has its own unique influence. They have their own triggers, end goals, and fallout. Every one of them is dangerous and destructive in slightly different ways. Whether you're prone to one, or several, easily swayed or a strict stoic you can never truly escape them—well a monk might, but we aren't talking about monks.

No, we are most definitely not talking about monks.

All seven weaved its way into my life and, without asking my opinion, made quite the series of the decisions that broke the monotony of my life. I guess I owe them for changing everything because there is no logical way I would've travelled down this path of my own volition.

1- Sloth

"You're not going to say anything?" Ginny snapped, glaring at Harry from across the living room. "Nothing? At all?"

"What do you want me to say, Gin?"

"I want you to appear interested. Lie, even. Something resembling caring would be nice," she replied flippantly, her anger punctuated by her rather dramatic hand gestures.

"If you want to leave, I won't stop you. I want you to be happy even if that means not being with me," he said tiredly, rubbing the bridge of his nose in defeat.

"Happy? You want me to be...happy?" Ginny repeated slowly with an air of disbelief. Two emotions fought to the surface; laughter won out over her violent urge to start throwing thing.

Aware of her own accuracy, she was glad the hysterical laughter had stopped her from lobbing knick-knacks at his face.

"All I've ever wanted was for you to pay half as much attention to me as you do your work. Or Ron even!"

"Ginny," he said laconically.

"Oh that gets your attention, does it? Of course it does. I tell you I'm leaving and barely get a response, but heaven forbid I speak ill of your precious Weasley," she snapped.

"Really Ginny, you're being childish."

Her mouth opened, but her response died in her throat; her teeth snapping shut with an audible click. She eyed the strange figurine on the side table one more time before grabbing her wand and disapparting with an audible crack!

2- Gluttony

Ginny slammed back her third Firewhiskey and still couldn't stop the argument waging inside her head. There was a rational, annoyingly kind voice adamantly arguing that it wasn't his fault. Surely, she wasn't thinking clearly. Surely, he wasn't a lazy and indifferent arse. Surely, she was just being needy. The copious amount of alcohol pulsing through her bloodstream were helping her kick that weak, forgiving voice right in the teeth.

She was an attractive, intelligent, amazingly talented Quidditch player! She was a catch! And she certainly deserved better than someone who barely bothered to acknowledge her half the time. She was young and hot, she could have any guy she wanted. One who would certainly be more appreciative of her than Harry had been.

Toasting herself, she drained her glass for a fourth time, quite pleased with herself.

"Oi, Abbot! If you would be so kind?" Ginny said, waving her empty tumbler in the air.

"You sure about that?" Hannah questioned with raised eyebrows. She'd seen Ginny party hard before, but usually in the company of her team or friends. This dour, sullen drinking wasn't the redhead's style.

"Very, top'er up," she said, tapping the rim of her glass. The glass was at her lips again the second it was full.

"You better not be planning on apparating tonight," a deep voice said laughingly.

Glaring at Draco Malfoy sidelong, she continued to drain her glass. When she'd finished half of the very full tumbler, she set it down and looked away.

"Wasn't the plan."

"What was the plan, Ms. Weasley?" he asked, sipping on his drink with much less urgency.

Ginny turned on her stool to stare at him. Blaming the alcohol, she couldn't help but admire the way his broad shoulders filled out, what she assumed to be, a very expensive suit jacket. Or the way he'd grown into his pointed, little face. The top few buttons of his dark, almost black, green shirt were undone exposing the pale skin underneath.

"Drinking, Mr Malfoy," she said exaggerating the formality before chugging down the last of the burning liquid in her cup.

A broad smile lit his face as he lifted his own glass and drained it. "Drinking it is."

She couldn't help, but smile back as he ordered them another round.

3- Envy

"Wizarding World Hero Harry Potter left heartbroken by Quidditch wonder Ginny Weasley.

What does London's No. 1 Bachelor have to do with it?

Read the whole story on Pg 8"

"Family Disapproval? Weasleys Clash in Public"

"Mystery Continues!

Just why did Ginny Weasley leave her Hogwarts Love in the Dust?"

"Did Potter call the quits?

The Scandal of Ginny Weasley's Sordid Affair"

"Ginny Weasley Leads Harpies to Another Victory!

Has her recent break-up set her free?"

"This is getting ridiculous!" Ginny exclaimed balling up the most recent paper and tossing it in the fire.

The Daily Prophet and other rags had began publishing their garbage concerning her break-up with Harry immediately. A reporter had been in the pub the night she and Draco had "re-met" and jumped to the absurd conclusion that the Malfoy heir was the cause of Ginny and Harry's break-up. For months now, they'd been tracking her every move. Every thing she did was attributed to the break-up and these "journalists" kept finding totally illegitimate sources to fabricate a relationship between her and Draco.

"I can't even play an amazing game without Harry getting the credit!" she ranted while Draco flipped through the business section. "They do realize I'm person, right? Not some puppet powered by Harry's existence? Are you even listening to me?"

Draco folded down his paper and met her angry gaze evenly, "No."

A smile forced its way onto her face as he snapped the paper back up and continued to read.

Their indulgent behaviour the night she'd left Harry had been a serious bonding experience. In the way only drunkenly exposing all of your secrets to someone and having them hold your hair while you hurl in an alley, truly can. His temporary offer to let her crash at his London townhouse had become permanent after two months. He found himself spending more and more time away from the Wiltshire manor preferring her lively companionship to the cold emptiness of Malfoy Manor. They were now considered regular patrons of the Leaky Cauldron and could be found there almost every night the Holyhead Harpies weren't playing.

"So Cauldron tonight? Or do you want to hit up that new club?" she asked getting up from the couch and hunting through the kitchen for something to eat. "Why don't we ever have food? Want to order Chinese?"

"I can't tonight," Draco said, still reading.

Throwing herself gracelessly back onto the couch, she laughed: "Why? Got a hot date?"

"Indeed I do," he smiled, folding up his paper and tossing it down onto the coffee table.

He didn't see the shocked and hurt look on her face as he started up the stairs.

Of course he had a date, she told herself laughing at her own surprise. He was a good looking guy and she'd heard him brag about his affinity for the ladies. In the six months they'd been living together, she'd seen him off on lots of dates. She'd seen him pick up chicks on their nights out, so it wasn't surprising. They'd even laughed afterwards about some of the crazier ones.

So why was hearing it now making her feel so alone?

4- Greed

Ginny prided herself on being a rational person, but for the next month she intermittently found herself getting distracted by thoughts of Draco. Often at the worst of times, her thoughts would be consumed with him. She was forced to face her new problem when a rouge Bludger almost knocked her from her broom during practice because she was too distracted during a water break.

She ached from head to toe after practice. She was already imagining her steaming hot bubble bath and a chilled bottle of wine. When she got home, however, she found Draco setting out a buffet of Chinese, beer, and some very expensive looking bottles of liquor.

"What's all this?" Ginny asked startling him. She smiled at the sheepish look on his face when he turned towards her.

He grinned and cracked open a bottle of beer. She felt the chilling charm when he handed it to her and took a grateful drink.

"We haven't seen each other in a while and I wanted to make it up to you for bailing the other night," he explained, taking a drink of his own beer.

She felt her face flush at his words and felt a little revolted at how silly and school girl-like her reaction was. "How was your date? I didn't hear you come in that night."

"Horrible," he replied dryly.

"Do tell," she said, grabbing the chow mein carton and settling on the couch.

They ate and drank, laughing at each others stories from the last month. The beer disappeared very quickly and they'd devoured one of Draco's top shelf bottles of rum afterwards. At some point, Ginny had slipped off the couch and Draco had joined her.

He was picking through one of the take-out cartons and feeding Ginny the cashews, when he shifted so that his head was in her lap.

"I've missed this."

Taking a swig from the bottle of Ogden's finest, she looked down, "Yeah?"

"Yeah, I can't remember a time when I've had more fun than when I'm with you."

Maybe it was the alcohol or the firelight, but his eyes looked darker. Their bright, silvery colour had deepened to a hardened granite. All the thoughts she'd been trying not to have were stirring again. She wanted more. More than his friendship, than being his drinking pal. She wanted him.

He sat up to take a drink and when he pulled the bottle away from his lips, she leaned in and placed her lips against his.

At first, she thought he might push her away then his lips began to move. The heat with which he returned her kiss stole her breath even as his hands were pulling their bodies together.

She wasn't sure who had been holding back longer.

5- Lust

Ginny woke to the feeling of her head splitting in two. She'd taken violent hits that had left her in less pain than this the next day. When she considered the sheer volume of liquor she had consumed—at least the amount she remembered—she wasn't entirely surprised. Even with food, that much alcohol was bound to make anyone's brain feel like they'd been exposed to a series of blasting jinxes.

Knowing she'd regret it, she opened her eyes anyways. Thankfully, the room wasn't as bright as she'd expected it to be. It also wasn't her room.

With a dramatic groan, she buried her face back into the pillows and tried to recall last night. There had been Chinese food and alcohol. She mostly remembered laughing with Draco. Just when had they finally called it quits though? And how had she ended up in his bed?

Her eyes snapped back open as she jumped up onto her forearms. She was naked, very naked. Beside her, Draco made a huffing sound in his sleep and rolled away from her.

They'd actually done it. She felt her face warm as she began to remember just how many times they'd done "it".

The details were terribly fuzzy and although some pieces stood out with startling clarity, most of it was still fading. Except for the horror that comes with realizing you'd drunkenly shagged your best friend who also happened to be your roommate, that most certainly was not fading.

Very slowly, she slid herself from Draco's bed desperately praying he'd stay asleep. She looked around for her clothes only to remember she'd lost most of them in the living room.

It'd started with such a hesitant and innocent kiss, but his returning passion had heightened her desire rapidly. She'd lost track of time simply in his kiss. For someone who handled paperwork most of the day, she recalled being surprised at just how rough his hands were. The memory of the drowning whirlwind she'd felt as those hands ghosted over her bare skin made her shudder as she slipped from his room.

Ginny was certain she'd had amazing, mind-blowing sex before, but as pieces of her night with Draco snuck back into her consciousness she couldn't come up with a single comparable instance.

When she'd pulled away to catch her breath, the unending depth of his eyes had consumed her. In hindsight, she felt terribly embarrassed at the graceless way she'd crashed her lips against his, but she'd fully given into her desires without any conscious thought.

"Clearly," she growled to herself, if she'd been in possession of her faculties she most certainly wouldn't have let that happen.

Alone in the shower, she tried to scrub away the memories, but wave after wave of unbidden desire flooded her memory the longer she was awake.

Sure, she'd been toying with—all right, totally consumed by—thoughts of him for that last month or so, but acting on them? That had never been the plan.

She could hear him stirring in the house as she finished getting ready. Grabbing her wand, she apparated out of the house. Whether out of embarrassment or fear she wasn't sure. She also wasn't sure if she was dreading or praying that he'd brush the whole thing off as a drunken accident between friends.

6- Pride

Two months passed between them without any meaningful conversation.

Ginny buried herself in practice, choosing to stay at the horrible team barracks in Wales. She couldn't bring herself to face Draco and it seemed that his own pride was keeping him from approaching her first. It began to feel like a game of Say Uncle and she was definitely too stubborn to give in first. Three weeks of sleeping at the stadium was beginning to wear down even her resolve. They were gearing up for the playoff season as autumn faded into winter and she couldn't subject herself to one more night on the lumpy bunk when her whole body already ached from practice.

She crept into the townhouse as silently as possible, feeling absolutely ridiculous for sneaking in like a child after curfew. It looked as if Draco had also been avoiding their home and she returned to staying at the townhouse despite her constant dread of running into him.

No matter how often she tried to analyze the evening in question, she couldn't get her mind to stop jumping between pure denial to desperate longing before swinging back to somewhere in the realm of complete confusion. Sometimes she dreamt about him. She was unsure if these dreams were her memories returning or if her subconscious was filling out its own lewd and graphically detailed account.

Returning to the town after a horrible practice in early November, she was looking forward to a long soak in the obnoxiously large jacuzzi. She was drenched thoroughly from flying in the slushy snow-rain that her coach insisted they practice in. The Bludgers had been particularly devoted to her and they were preparing to face off one of the most aggressive teams in the League. That meant more hits, harder hits. Ginny had been off her game since "the incident" and the weather had slowed her down even more. She felt as if she'd let a herd of hippogriffs waltz over her, she wasn't entirely certain that that wouldn't have been less painful. She hadn't taken so many hits since her rookie year and she'd gotten an earful from her coach about it too.

Forgoing a quick shower at the stadium, she apparated directly home. She was dragging herself up the stairs when she finally realized that she was not alone in the house. Standing at the top of the landing, looking as shocked as she felt, was Draco.

7- Anger

After several long seconds of complete, the both started talking at the same time. A small smile pulled at her lips despite the tension between them.

"I didn't know you'd be here," he said not making eye contact with her.

"Where am I supposed to be?" she snapped sharply. The confusion combined with her exhaustion had made her even more irritable than usual. The entire situation had upset her daily life. Draco wasn't simply her roommate, he was her closest friend. When something hilarious or ridiculous happened during her day she wanted to tell him. As the Chosen One's girlfriend people had expected her to act different, as the youngest Weasley things people assumed things about her, with Draco she had the chance to simply be Ginny. It wasn't until she'd seen him that she realized the real reason she'd been so confused these last months. When something didn't make sense, the first person she wanted to talk it over with was Draco.

In mature and adult fashion, she decided to deal with these new realizations by picking a fight. It was a good, old-fashioned Weasley tradition: snap first, think second. She lived up to the reputable Weasley temper like no other. When her temper flared very few wished to challenge her, but Draco was not a man to lay down and take a scolding like a misbehaving schoolboy.

"No where," he snapped back. "But you've clearly been avoiding me, so I've been avoiding my own house."

"Well that's not my fault!"

"I didn't say it was. Why do you blow everything out of context?"

"Everything?" she glared.

He didn't respond, but pushed past her on the stairs.

"You're just going to walk away? Clearly you have something to say," she followed, her muddy robes and aches forgotten.

"No, I don't have anything to say. You made it very clear you wanted nothing to do with me anymore."

"When did I do that?"

"I'm moving back to Wiltshire, I just came to get the last of my things. You can keep staying here, I won't put you out and I'll stay clear of it as much as possible," he said, shoving random items into the bag he was carrying.

"What? Why?" she asked shocked.

He turned and looked at her in disbelief. "I...Gin, I know that you'd like things to go back to the way they were, but I can't just pretend that nothing happened."

"I never said that!"

"When a girl sneaks out of your bed in the middle of the night and doesn't come home for two weeks, it's a clear sign that she doesn't want you to hang around." He cracked a weak smile and said, "I know you think my ego is beyond itself, but I don't really wanna hang around and watch you end up with another dumb ass like Potter."

"I..." Ginny's brain was too busy processing what his words meant to form her own. "I don't want you to go..."

Her voice had been so quiet, he asked her to repeat herself.

"I don't want you to go," she said more firmly. "I...Draco, these last two months have been horrible. Part of me does wish there was a magical way to just put everything back to the way it was, but... a much larger part, doesn't want to "fix" things. I think I'm falling in love with you..."

He didn't say anything, she continued her staring contest with the floorboards. She didn't have the confidence to look up and try to guess what he was thinking at that moment.

He stepped forward, close enough that she could see his very shiny shoes and the tailored grey slacks. He pulled her gaze up, placing his hand under her chin.

"You are such an idiot."

"Hey-"

She didn't get to finish her sentence as he kissed her.

The End