Ginny's All That

April 17.

Only two months until his seventh year was over at Hogwarts.

He was a seventh year Prefect, the most popular, good-looking, and insanely rich boy in Slytherin House, and he had a wonderful girlfriend.

Yes, life was good for Draco Malfoy.

Today there was a scheduled outing for the Hogwarts students to go to Hogsmeade. His girlfriend, Pansy, said she had something important to discuss with him. She had asked him to meet her at the Three Broomsticks in precisely 30 minutes. Meet me at our table, she had told him.

And so he agreed.

He entered the village with two of his Slytherin pals - Dex Flint and Blaise Zabini. He had informed them that he'd have to take off for awhile to meet Pansy.

"What do you think she wants to talk about?" Blaise asked Draco.

He grinned. "I think we're finally going to seal the deal," he answered. He and Blaise had been close - either friends or dating - since their first year. Fourth year, after the Yule Ball, he had asked her to be his girlfriend. They had talked about sex before, but nothing really came of it. He had been hinting at her that he was ready to take the next step, so he was sure that that was what this meeting was about.

The boys parted ways as they approached the Three Broomsticks. Draco walked into the back of the restaurant where Pansy had already been sitting. He sat on the opposite side of the table.

"Hi there darling," he said.

She flashed a quick smile. "Draco, are you going to nominate me as Princess of the Ball?"

He was slightly taken aback by the question. In about a month there would be a year-end dance for the seventh years (and any fifth or sixth years who were invited), and each seventh year Prefect got to nominate one student, from any House, to be in the running for the Ball Royalty. Boy Prefects had to nominate girls, and girl Prefects had to nominate boys.

"Of course, darling," he said. "And you'll nominate me as well?" She raised an eyebrow and gave a slight nod. "Good, now, what did you want to discuss?"

She grasped his hand firmly from across their booth. "Draco, we've known each other for so long," she began, "and we have been so close since we started at Hogwarts."

He did not speak, only nodded in return.

"And so, lately, I've been having this problem." She trailed off. "I've - well, I'll just come out and say it - I've met someone, Draco, and I am leaving you."

He raised his eyebrows and snatched his hand away from hers.

"Over Christmas Holiday," she explained, "I spent the Holiday away from Hogwarts with Millicent - Bullstrode - and she has an older brother. Did you know that?" She paused, as if waiting for Draco to respond. "Andrew," she said dreamily. "And well, we just hit it off! He was a year ahead of us, so that's probably why I had never met him."

Draco was not entirely sure what to say. "Did you sleep with him?" he asked, mildly curious and exceptionally irritated.

"Yes," she answered, without a hint of any kind of sympathetic emotion.

Draco's eyes widened. "Pansy, we've been dating for four months since you slept with the guy, and you thought you'd just mention it now? You fucking cheated on me!"

She smirked. "I hope we can still go to the Ball together, as friends of course."

He raised his eyebrow and left the restaurant in search of his friends.

*****

Ginny was alone.

She enjoyed the trips to Hogsmeade, of course, but she really felt like being alone. She walked through the village alone, walking in and out of various shops, talking briefly to the people she knew.

Ginny was a loner lately. After her fifth year she had dated Harry recently, her longtime crush. They had broken up, however, after they had reached a mutual understanding that they were too much like brother and sister to be family. Ron was happy about this, although he'd never admit it aloud.

After their breakup, it was awkward to spend too much time around the group. They were not unpleasant to her at all, but she preferred not to encounter those moments where she and Harry were alone.

So, alas, she was now a loner.

She had changed a lot, however, in her first five and a half years at Hogwarts. She had always been smart, but she had gotten insanely pretty over the years. Her fiery red hair and her emerald green eyes stood out against her milky white skin. She was very thin and moderately tall, although many of the boys in her year towered over her. She had many freckles, but they were actually very flattering on her.

However, she really did nothing to enhance her appearance; she never really fixed her hair or dressed too nicely. She mostly wore her school robes, but otherwise, her clothes were not too flattering. She honestly did not think it mattered - who would notice mousy little Ginny Weasley anyway?

*****

Draco stormed away from the Broomsticks in search of his Slytherin pals.

He found them walking along a path near the Shrieking Shack. He walked up to them, his cheeks pink with irritation.

"So how did it go, big shot?" Dex asked him teasingly.

"Don't," he answered coldly and shortly.

"What happened?" Blaise asked, curious.

Draco sighed. "She cheated on me over Christmas Holiday, with Andrew Bullstrode, and now dumped me. She hopes we can still be friends."

The two other boys stared at him.

"You know, she's not all that great, Pansy," Draco said with dignity. "Honestly, what does she have going for her? Besides being with me, what made her so great?" he asked his friends.

They looked at each other. Dex shrugged.

"Well, she's the prettiest girl in Slytherin," Blaise offered.

"There is so much competition," Dex added.

Draco snorted. "Honestly, she isn't that pretty, she isn't nice, she hasn't got money - what am I fretting about?" He stood up straight. "I'm the reason she looks great to other guys. I'm Draco fucking Malfoy, you know? I could take any girl, in any House, and make her popular - and I could seal the deal easily. Pansy was just a prude," he added.

Blaise cocked his head. "Any girl?" he repeated.

"Any girl," he answered, with more confidence. "You pick me a girl at Hogwarts, at least in the sixth year, and I guarantee you she will be constantly talked about, she will be Princess of the Ball at the year-end dance, and I'll take her to bed."

"Let's make a bet." Blaise answered.

"Fine," Draco shrugged.

"I pick you a girl - any girl in sixth or seventh year at Hogwarts - and you'll make her a princess and you'll sleep with her," he began. "If you can't complete both of these terms, you will run through the Great Hall naked, sometime in the time between the Ball and the end of term."

Draco gave his friend a sideways smirk. "And if I win, you'll do the same." Blaise nodded in agreement. "Alright, pick a girl."

They walked through the village and scoped out prospects.

Dex suggested Parvati Patil.

"Nah," Blaise said. "She's already pretty popular."

"Hermione Granger?" Dex suggested.

"Even in a bet, I would not allow my friend to associate with that Mudblood."

They walked for several more minutes before Dex had the perfect girl.

"Weasley," he said proudly. "Ginny - she's a pureblood, but she is still a Weasley."

Draco's amused expression that came from scoping out potential prospects disintegrated into irritation. "I won't take a Weasley to bed," he stated coldly.

"Then strip, and run through the Great Hall," Blaise laughed. "Consider this my official decision."

*****

The trip to Hogsmeade Village was over, and Ginny traipsed up the steps leading into the school. She was lost in thought as she accidently ran into someone.

Malfoy.

"Oh," she said, blushing. She looked at the boy. Since she had met him during her first year, he had grown up. He had gotten to be very attractive - his hair was so blonde it was almost silver, his eyes were grey, and he was so tall and slender. He had a seeker build that was very similar to Harry's. She did not like him - not in the slightest - but she couldn't help having eyes.

To her great surprise, he smiled at her.

She gave him an awkward and confused glance as she started to walk past him. He saw his friends across the way and winked, as he turned and ran towards the small, redheaded girl.

"Hey Weas - Ginny," he said. "Wait up a minute."

She turned; a look of confusion was on her face. Did he call me by my first name? she thought to herself. The Slytherin boy stood in front of her. Like most boys, he was significantly taller than her. She had to tilt her head slightly so that she could look at his face.

"Ginny," he began again. "Hey, I was just wondering if you would, maybe, like to go to the Year End Ball with me. You know, if you aren't already going with someone else. I figured I'd ask because, you know, being a sixth-year you can't go without an invite..."

She looked at him, slightly amused, as he stammered on a minute. What is wrong with him?

Once he finished stammering, he looked at him briefly before saying, "Why the hell would I go to a dance with you?"

Draco's face dropped. He hadn't counted on her saying no.

"Malfoy, maybe this slipped past your keen observation, but I am a Weasley," she stated, semi-sarcastically. "You have picked on me, mercilessly, for the last six years, and you hate my entire family. What the hell are you doing?"

"Asking you out?" he offered.

She actually laughed out loud and then walked away.

This is going to be harder than I thought, he now realized.

His friends walked over to him once Ginny was out of their sight, laughing hysterically.

"That," Blaise said, in between breaths, "was the funniest thing I have ever seen."

"Thanks, guys," Draco said sarcastically. "This is just great."