Chapter 11

It was 3 a.m. yet Ginny sat awake, starring out her bedroom window at the moon and stars. After the kiss, she had hid in her room the rest of the night. When he mom sent Hermione up to come check on her she had hid in the bathroom and claimed she was too sick to come back downstairs. Though it didn't sound like Hermione totally believed her, she kindly brought her some of the anti-nausea potion she had from her pregnancy and left it outside the door.

Ginny listened at the top of the stairs as everyone left after some tea and cakes. She never heard or saw Draco leave but assumed he had left earlier. Harry came up to check on her before he left for the night. She once again hid in the bathroom, knowing that if she had to look him in the eye right now she would burst into tears. He seemed concerned that she wouldn't open the door and asked her if she wanted him to spend the night.

She felt a knife twist in her stomach as she assured him that everything was fine and it was probably just something she had ate earlier that day. She promised she would floo him tomorrow once she was feeling better. He seemed to accept this and left after saying, "Feel better soon baby. I love you."

After that she retreated back to her bedroom and cried until there were no tears left. Before heading to bed her mother brought her up some soup and more anti-nausea potion. Ginny pretended to be asleep but felt her mother feel her head for a fever. Apparently satisfied that her daughter was ok, she tucked the blankets in around Ginny, kissed her head and quietly exited her bedroom.

Five hours later and Ginny still hadn't slept a wink. Every time she closed her eyes she saw the kiss happening all over again which brought with it both pleasure, for it had been a very nice kiss, and guilt. She couldn't believe she had done that and with Draco Malfoy of all people! But it didn't do to dwell on it, since she couldn't change what had happened. Now she just had to figure out what to do about it.

Obviously the kiss had meant nothing. It was just Draco messing with her head and she had fallen right into the trap. He didn't really have feelings for her and she definitely didn't have feelings for him, did she? There was clearly an attraction there but it was just physical and she could control her physical reactions so that it never happened again.

She thought about whether she should tell Harry. She knew that it was the right thing to do and yet, she couldn't see what difference it would make. She wanted to be with Harry and not with Draco. Telling Harry would only make him mad and possibly make her lose him forever. Her heart broke at the prospect. Harry was her best friend, her confidant, the man she loved. She couldn't stand the idea of losing him over a stupid kiss the meant nothing.

Also, not that she cared, but if she told Harry and the family found out about the kiss Draco would never be allowed in the house again. They would all hate him, even her mother and he would lose the only friends or family he had left. While he might put on a brave face and pretend he didn't care, Ginny knew that at least a small part of Draco liked having family dinners and having friends to talk to and that this would ruin it entirely for him.

So really, she was doing a service to everyone by not saying anything she justified to herself. Too many people would be hurt for no reason and she didn't want to needlessly hurt anyone. She would just have to make sure that it never happened again, and that would mean staying away from Draco Malfoy. And that wouldn't be a problem at all. It was with that thought that she finally climbed back into her bed and felt enough peace to succumb to her exhaustion.

The next day Ginny woke with the determination that she would throw herself back into her relationship wholeheartedly. She needed to focus on what was good in her life and forget about the other distractions. With this in mind, she got in the shower and washed away all the negative thoughts and guilt of yesterday then quickly dressed in a light spring dress. She had to remind her boyfriend that he was the one she loved today.

She found her mother out in the garden gathering some vegetables, probably for later on that day.

"Ginny dear! What are you doing out of bed? Are you feeling better? Did the medicine help? Here, come here and let me check you!" she worried.

"Mum, I'm fine. I'm feeling much better. It must have just been something I ate," Ginny replied eyeing the gate. She had plans to get to and they didn't involve getting help up by the Spanish Inquisition.

"Are you sure? Maybe you should go back to bed and I can bring you up some soup. Both Hermione and Harry said you wouldn't come out of the bathroom you were so sick and by the time I came up last night you were dead asleep."

"Really, I'm okay. I woke up totally rejuvenated. Please don't worry," she pleaded.

"Alright then. So where are you off to?" she asked turning back to the vegetables as Ginny was about to walk off.

"I thought I might go see Harry. I feel bad that I left without saying anything last night and then wouldn't see him when he came to check on me."

"Yes, it was strange, Draco left too without barely saying a word after you got sick. Said something about the floo call he had. You didn't hear anything, did you sweetheart?" she inquired.

Ginny felt a blush rush to her face but pushed away the feeling as best she could and tried to steady her voice.

"No, but I didn't really notice him. I just went straight upstairs and didn't see anyone after that."

"Hmm, well I hope everything it alright. Anyways, off you go! Tell Harry I say hi and I wouldn't worry too much, Harry loves you so much," she reassured her daughter.

"Thanks mum. I know," Ginny said feeling a twinge of the guilt she had decided to leave behind last night. Maybe this wouldn't be as easy as she thought.

She apparated to the ministry lobby and headed to the security desk. The guard, who knew her well by now exchanged a few pleasantries as he registered her as a guest and then let her through to the elevators. Everywhere she went she felt like there were eyes on her and that everyone could see what she had done. Once inside the, mercifully, not very crowded elevator, she took a deep steadying breathe and told herself to relax. No one knew what she had done or would ever know. It was a mistake and she would see Harry and put this all behind her.

Getting off on the 2nd level she headed straight for Harry's office. A few people she knew waved at her on the way but instead of stopping to chat as she normally would she kept heading on ahead. She felt like if she could just see Harry she would know that everything was ok and that it would be back to normal.

She finally turned a corner and saw Harry's office door was open. She had to keep herself from running as she approached. Luckily, Mrs. Kensington wasn't at her desk so Ginny went right on through into the room and directly into the one man she was trying not to think of.

"Draco," she said through a gasp. She immediately blushed and took a step back to compose herself.

"Gin, hey, I didn't know you were coming by today. I thought you would be stuck in bed sick after last night," said Harry looking up from some map him and Draco were both looking over.

She snuck a glance at Draco and saw he looked slightly pained under his regular cool demeanor, though he wasn't looking at her. Obviously he hadn't said anything to Harry but was he planning to. Or worse, did he think she would?

Ignoring Draco as best she could she looked at Harry and smiled.

"Nope, I'm all better. It really must have just been something I ate but I'm fine now. I'm sorry for barging in. It's just Mrs. Kensington wasn't at her desk and I thought you were alone."

"It's ok, it's only Draco. We were actually just reviewing a case he had a few weeks back. Seems that some magic we thought was merely an accident may have been covering up something darker than we realized," Harry explained.

"Well, I'll let you guys be alone. I've got another meeting anyways and we can pick this up later if you have any other leads," said Draco, speaking for the first time since Ginny entered the room.

"Ok, thanks Draco. I'll let you know if I hear anything else," said Harry. Draco turned and left without looking in Ginny's direction once.

She felt like she'd been slapped but immediately pushed aside the feeling. Obviously Draco wanted to forget the whole thing which was perfect for her.

After he left she walked right up to Harry, threw her arms around his neck and gave him a deep kiss.

"Hey babe, what was that for?" he said with a smirk on his face.

"Nothing, I'm just happy to see you. I miss you sometimes."

"I know, I'm sorry I'm always working so much. I feel bad I can't spend more time with you," he said sitting down and pulling her into his lap.

"Oh no, I didn't mean that to make you feel guilty."

Especially when I'm the one who should be guilty, she thought.

"I just meant that I like to spend time with you. I felt bad that I got sick last night and couldn't spend time with you."

"Babe, don't be silly, you were sick. But I'm glad you're feeling better," he said nuzzling his face into her neck. "Want to come over my place tonight?"

She hesitated for a second before answering, "Sure, sounds great! I'll come over around 6? We can have dinner and hang out?"

"That works for me. I should be done at a normal time tonight and I can pick up food on my way home. Chinese sound good?"

"Fine by me. I'll see you then," she said giving him a kiss on the cheek and hopping off his lap. However, she hadn't gotten two steps before he was behind her, spinning her around and kissing her. Her lips parted as his tongue invaded her mouth and his arms wrapped around her body holding her back tight and pushing her against his body. She relaxed and enjoyed the feeling. It was almost as good as her kiss with Draco last night.

At this thought her eyes shot open and she quickly pulled away. Harry looked at her with confusion and a little bit of hurt.

"Sorry, it's just, we're at your work and Mrs. Kensington could come in at any time. I wouldn't want you to get in trouble," she explained not quite meeting his eyes.

"Yeah, you're probably right. But is it so bad that I'm wildly attracted to my sexy girlfriend?" he asked coming closer. She looked down trying to not give him the opportunity to re-initiate the kiss.

Once she was sure she was safe she looked up and smiled sheepishly at him.

"No, of course not," she answered stretching to kiss him chastely on the lips. "I'll see you tonight."

Then, before he could change his mind or ask her to stay longer she turned around and walked out of the office, feelings of shame and guilt washing over her so much she thought she would drown in it.

He couldn't look at her. At first he had the horrible thought that she was coming to tell Potter about the kiss and he, Draco, would be there while she did it. But after he realized she had no intention of telling him about what had happened he felt a pang of anger or regret. Of course he knew all of the negative consequences that would come of her telling her boyfriend about the kiss but he had assumed it meant something more to her or that she would be more affected by it. Instead she just stood there, all smiles for her boyfriend.

Not wanting to stay around and witness more, Draco made his excuses and left the office. However, he couldn't leave just yet. He needed to make sure that she wouldn't tell Potter and have him be caught unprepared. He lingered outside the office in an cubicle where he could see from. It was from this vantage point that he witnessed them kiss the same way he had kissed the littlest Weasley last night.

He didn't expect the rage that would rise up from inside him. Of course, he was always a little possessive of his women but Ginny wasn't his and never would be. What had happened last night had been a fluke; he had been growing interested in her and wanted to know what kissing her would be like. And she obviously had been attracted to him and also wanted to know how it would be, not that he could blame her. But there would never be anything between them, so why did he feel this intense need to go punch Potter's lights out?

Without glancing once more at the happy couple he turned on his heels and headed down the hall to his own office. It seemed he was in need of a distraction and he had a few witches to call.