You put my feet back on the ground
Did you know you brought me around?
You were sweet and you were sound
See, I had shrunk, yet still you wore me around
And 'round and 'round

-Zero 7 (Somersault)

Draco

Part 5:

"Malfoy."

"Weasley."

"It's Potter now, Malfoy. Has been for a while."

Draco surveyed Ginny as she sat down and removed her cloak. She didn't look like she wanted to be there. He was surprised that she had even considered coming.

They sat in silence as she ordered a glass of Firewhisky (she ignored his questioning look) and waited for it to arrive.

"So, what do you want, Malfoy?" she asked, once her drink had been set down in front of her.

He swilled his Butterbeer around, staring into his mug, unsure of where to start. She would demand an explanation. An explanation that would go straight back to Hermione, no doubt. He began to wonder whether he had made a mistake in asking her to come.

Potter might have been easier.

"I saw Hermione today."

Ginny's expression remained unchanged.

"Did you?" A sip of Firewhisky.

"With Brown."

"That's nice." Another sip.

"She ran off when we approached them."

"We?"

"Camille was with me."

Ginny slammed her tumbler onto the table, earning a few stares.

"What?"

Draco grimaced internally. Now she looked like she really did not want to be there.

So why did she agree to meet me?

"Malfoy, you unbelievable prick! I cannot believe you would put Hermione through that!" she hissed in an aggravated whisper. "What is wrong with you?"

He ignored the question and took a gulp of his Butterbeer instead. "What I want to know, Potter, and the reason I asked you to meet me is because I want to know –what's wrong with Hermione?"

"She's –"

Ginny cut herself off abruptly and carefully composed her features into an unreadable expression. She seemed to weigh out her response carefully.

"She's…fine."

"That answer seemed to require a lot of thinking. I wasn't born yesterday, Potter."

"Well, you certainly had me fooled."

"As much as I enjoy hearing you belittle my intelligence, that's not what I asked you here for. I really would appreciate an honest answer. What's wrong with Hermione?"

Ginny huffed. "Why would you think anything's wrong with her?"

"Brown started to mention something during our –conversation –earlier. And she didn't put up a fight with Pierre over the tax concessions, either?"

"Pierre?"

"Malfoy Industries' new Financial Advisor."

"I thought you dealt with the Ministry directly."

"I did but can we stay on topic here? Something's going on with Hermione and clearly you feel that I should know, or else you would never have shown up here tonight."

"Or I came because I enjoy belittling your intelligence as much as you enjoy hearing me do so."

Draco shot her a withering glance.

"Or maybe, I came here tonight because I want an explanation from you. Because it's long, long, overdue."

And there it was.

"There's nothing to explain," he said, neutrally. "I told Hermione all there was to tell."

"Right. What was it? Space? Malfoy, I'm sure if you had mentioned to her that your idea of 'space' involved getting engaged in three months' time, she would have been more than agreeable."

Draco swallowed hard. Three months ago, he couldn't have imagined spending the rest of his life with anyone but Hermione.

Who was he kidding? He still couldn't imagine spending the rest of his life with anyone but Hermione.

"Things…happened."

"And you didn't even have the decency to let her know yourself. You let the Daily Prophet do it for you."

He had no rebuttal to that. A lot had been going on recently –Lucius Malfoy's love affair with Luc de Machaut's money, Camille's love affair with their potential combined fortune, Pierre's constant prickish-ness and Draco just trying to keep it together. He had known that as soon as the engagement had gone through, it would make headlines across the country. He had known it was an asshole move to let Hermione find out through the papers instead of from him directly. But truth be told, he just couldn't.

He couldn't make himself break her heart again. He couldn't watch her overcome by grief again. So, he took the easy way out. Again.

He wasn't proud of it.

"I know," he conceded silently. "I didn't know how to face her then, after –after everything. I still don't. But if there's something wrong with Hermione, I need to know."

Ginny was silent for a long while before she responded.

"I personally think you lost your right to know anything about her when you walked out of her life, Draco. But if you really want to know, then I suggest you ask Hermione."

She drank the rest of her Firewhisky and moved to put on her cloak. Before leaving, she turned around one last time and said, "Don't bother trying Harry or Ron, Malfoy. You won't get anything out of them either. Except a few good hexes."

The last part was muttered under her breath, but Draco heard anyway.

He smiled slightly.

This was the closest to normal his life had gotten in the past three months. That was just sad.

He was tired when he finally Apparated back into his flat. It had been an unbearably long day, and he was ready for it to end.

But apparently, Camille had other plans for him.

"Draco, love!" she exclaimed as he handed his cloak to a House Elf (courtesy of Narcissa Malfoy –Draco had lived with Hermione long enough to know how to go without). "I have been waiting for you."

Great.

He watched as she gracefully walked towards him.

"Camille. How did you get in here?"

"Oh Draco," she giggled, running a slender finger down his cheek. "We are almost family now. It's too formal otherwise, don't you think?"

His annoyance grew exponentially. "No, I don't think. I enjoy my privacy, Camille, and I hope you can respect that."

He made a mental note to upgrade the charms on his flat.

Camille pouted prettily, but didn't push the matter.

"I was speaking with Pierre today."

"That's nice."

"He mentioned that you have a…contraceptive charm on you. Is this true, Draco?"

Thanks to the vial he had he received from the Healer this morning, yes, it was true. He felt slightly happier at the thought.

He leaned back, against a table and crossed his arms. "Yes, it is."

It was momentary and passed almost immediately, but Draco saw a flash of darkness across her face. And in that moment, she was the farthest thing from beautiful.

I've got you now.

"But, mon amour," she recovered quickly, "I thought you wanted children too! You know I cannot wait to start a family with you."

Her look of devastation was very convincing.

"I'm not ready yet, and what with the big merger with your dad's company, I don't think I'll be ready for a while, Camille."

Another flash of darkness, but this time her recovery was delayed.

She moved closer towards him and laid one hand on his chest and another on his cheek. She looked straight into his eyes as she murmured suggestively, "Well, maybe we could just practice for now, then."

Draco's skin crawled as she trailed her fingers lightly all the way from his chest down to the waistband of his pants. He grabbed her wrist to end the movement and gently pushed her away. He hadn't slept with her since…that time…and he wasn't going to start now. At least, not until he was well and truly married to her.

If even then.

If only you'd had this much self-control three months ago, he thought to himself snarkily.

"I'm sorry, Camille," he said, not sounding sorry at all. "Not yet.

She pursed her lips.

"You're right. There will be plenty of time after we're married." She pressed a light kiss against his lips. "Have a good night."

With a pop, she was gone.

He needed another drink.