Into the New Year

If anyone had known what Draco and Ginny were thinking at the moment, they would've been rather unpleasantly surprised. Residing in their respective common rooms, their thoughts were very muddled and strange. They were thinking of each other.

Draco Malfoy. Sitting in the Slytherin common room like a king, even though he wasn't the head of his class or even the oldest in the school. He just seemed to radiate a powerful and commanding aura, and everyone around him had to succumb to his slightest wishes. Just because he was Draco Malfoy and he wanted it so.

Ginny Weasley. Curled up in front of a bright, blazing fire in the Gryffindor common room, staring dreamily into the flames until they danced in front of her eyes and branded themselves into her mind. Anyone who looked at her felt calm and relaxed - she was like that, making people feel at peace with the world. Sweet, ordinary Ginny Weasley with her red hair and her freckles and her angelic disposition.

Both of them were thinking about the first time that they had come across each other and truly saw each other for who they really were. Christmas Eve, outside in the darkness and the snow, amongst the stars, and Christmas morning, making snow angels side by side, Ginny laughing at Draco because he had no idea what he was doing. They had seen each other often after that, chance meetings in hallways that really weren't as accidental as they told themselves. They stole little quick kisses in alcoves, snuggled between the bookshelves in the library, enjoyed being together. Ginny never asked, and Draco never offered an explanation. He was still the same old Malfoy, snapping at Harry, Ron and Hermione whenever he came across them, behaving as if he was superior to them. But when he was with Ginny, he wasn't like that, not to her. He didn't talk about the trio, and he never made fun of her or called her names. Ginny wondered, but she never voiced her questions, afraid that they would shatter the peace and silent agreement between them.

Draco thought about Christmas morning, and how he told Ginny that he was with her because he wanted to be. Was that true? It may not have started out that way, but it was like that now. He loved being with her because it offered him silence, a break from the old routine, a sense of peace and never having to think about snarky comebacks. Ginny seemed to accept him for what he was, and he appreciated that. Many other people wanted to change him, wanted to get him to come to terms with Potter and his friends, wanted him to stop being himself. Ginny didn't. It was nice.

But was it love?

He shook the thought off. He liked her, that was for sure. She was nice, and sweet, and pretty. Being with her made him feel calm and peaceful, and he couldn't help but admit it was a nice change at times. He liked her.

But did he love her?

Did it matter, he wondered. Ginny never asked for anything. She seemed just to take pleasure in being with him and she seemed content with what she had. Why would he go and ruin it for her?

In the Gryffindor Tower, Ginny slipped her hand in her robe pocket and fingered the crumpled piece of parchment, hastily stuffed there during lunch. It was a note from Draco, telling her to meet him outside a half hour before midnight. He wanted to spent the last minutes of the old and the first minutes of the new year together. Ginny could think of nobody else she would rather greet the new year with. If she stayed in the common room, she would just get lost in the raucousness and the exuberant joy that her fellow Gryffindors would emit. She, quiet and small, staying out of everyone's way, wouldn't even be noticed. Draco noticed her. She wondered why she liked him so much. He seemed to hate her brother, his friends and the rest of the Gryffindors, but he liked her. What was different about her, then?

She put the thought out of her mind and squeezed the note in her hand, happily anticipating the coming of midnight.

Midnight approached, and Ginny slipped away quietly, upstairs to get her cloak. It was cold outside, and while she did not doubt Draco would warm her up, she didn't want to be cold while she waited for him. She grabbed her cloak and hurried back downstairs. Halfway to the portrait hole, she heard Ron's voice calling her name. She turned around, waved, mouthed 'I'm going for a walk', and hastily left the common room. The Fat Lady winked at her lustily, and Ginny giggled. Hurrying through the hallways, she wondered how Ron would react if he knew whom she was going for a walk with. She giggled, amused by imagining his face, mouth wide open, gaping at her, ears slowly turning red. Before long, she was in the Entrance Hall. She pushed open the doors and went outside.

Draco was already waiting for her there, a splotch of black against the white snow, starlight glinting off of his blond hair and turning it silvery. He turned to look at her and smiled. She had never seen him smile before, in all her years at Hogwarts. Not until after they had that encounter on Christmas.

He came towards her to meet her, placed a soft kiss on her lips. She kissed him back, shyly placing her hands on his shoulders. They parted and Ginny grinned, looking into his eyes. He kissed her again, smoothing the red curls falling into her face. Her elfin features were tinged pink with frost, and at the moment, he could think of no girl more beautiful than Ginny Weasley, not even Padma Patil.

"You said you wanted me to come," she said quietly.

"I did. And you came. Ginny..." he faltered for a split second, then continued, "I want to greet the new year with you. There's nobody that's more worth it."

"I know," smiled Ginny. "I feel the same way. What're we going to do?"

"Well, we could snog madly until the clock strikes midnight," Draco suggested. Ginny laughed and shook her head. "We can do that anytime." Draco pretended to look puzzled. "Well, then, I guess we could go check out that tree over there..."

Ginny, intrigued, followed him. He clutched onto her small hand tightly, as if he was hanging on for dear life and never wanted to let go. She let him. They circled the tree, Ginny puzzled, until a cold voice startled her.

"Malfoy? Is that why you left the common room? For this piece of Gryffindor trash? Oh, look, how sweet, you were going to spend New Year's with her. Were you also planning on giving her this? I don't think she's got anything to wear it with..."

Blaise Zabini stood in front of them, smirking nastily and still managing to look beautiful. Ginny, white with fury, stared at her, unable to think of anything to say, and two red spots appeared on Draco's cheeks. Blaise laughed lightly.

"Why didn't you tell anyone else? I thought they would've all liked to know..." She held up her delicate hand, gloved in black dragonhide leather. From her hand dangled a pendant, gleaming in the silver light of the moon and the stars. Ginny couldn't tell what it was in the darkness. Draco was almost shaking with anger.

"Jealous, Blaise? You had your chance back in fifth year...run along now, go back to the common room," he told her airily, but Ginny could see the tense muscles of his jaw and feel his hand trembling, gripping hers tighter.

"Oh, Draco..." murmured Blaise, pouting. "Jealous? Me? Of..." she turned cold, pale eyes on Ginny, "this? Honestly, I thought you had better taste. Oh, well." She shrugged delicately. "Have a happy New Year, Draco." She flung the pendant down in the snow at Ginny's feet and stalked off.

A tear slid down Ginny's cheek. This was what they thought of her? Trash? Why couldn't people be happy for them, instead of hating them for doing what they wanted? She looked down at the pendant in the snow and sniffled. Oh, damn that Blaise...

Draco disentangled his hand from hers, and for a moment, she felt cold dread rising from the bottom of her stomach. Was he leaving her now, after Blaise's words? But, no, he just knelt and picked up the pendant from the snow, dried it off on his cloak and offered it to her.

"Ginny...I'm sorry about Blaise. You know Slytherins, we're all bitter, evil bastards and proud of it." He took her hand and placed the pendant in it. Ginny was still staring at the ground, torn between feeling furious and feeling miserable. Gently, he placed two cold fingers under her chin and tilted it up so he could see her face. Ginny sniffed furiously, glaring at him. Draco laughed.

"Don't look daggers at me, Ginny, I didn't do anything." With that, he bent down and kissed his way up her cheek, tracing the path of her single tear. When done with that, he kissed her on the mouth carefully. "I meant what I said, you know," he said into her mouth.

Ginny smiled wryly. "Which time?"

"The time when I said I'm with you because I want to be."

"Oh." Ginny pulled away and looked down at the pendant in her hand. It was an elaborate, golden rose with golden ivy twining around the stem. It even had tiny thorns. The work and detain in the pendant was amazing, and Ginny gasped, impressed.

"Draco...this is amazing. It's beautiful. It must've cost a fortune."

Draco shrugged. "It looks dull next to you."

Ginny elbowed him lightly. "Liar."

Draco sighed. "You know, I had this whole elaborate scheme to get you to find it, then I was going to make an impressive speech. But Blaise came along and ruined it, so I guess we're back to stage one."

Ginny giggled. "Which is?"

"I'm going to snog you senseless until midnight."

Ginny almost laughed, but caught herself as hidden bells in the castle began to chime. "Not much time for that," she remarked, knowing that when the chiming stopped, it would be precisely midnight. Draco looked mockingly crestfallen.

Together, they began to count. "Nine...ten...eleven..."

Before Ginny had a chance to say 'Twelve', Draco wrapped his arms around her and kissed her, hard. It was nothing like any of their other kisses, simple and gentle, but intense and passionate, everything Ginny had ever wanted and dreamed about when she was younger. She was being kissed just like she's always wanted to be kissed, by the very person she had never even considered as a kissing partner.

As the last chime faded, fireworks exploded all around them, coloring the darkness and the pale snow with bright splashes of light. Draco pulled away from her, straightened, fireworks turning his pale hair all sorts of crazy colors. Ginny laughed, delighted.

"How'd you do that?" she cried.

"I planted them at lunch today, and charm-timed them." Draco looked pleased. "Do you like it?"

"I love it!" Jumping up on tiptoe, Ginny threw her arms around Draco and kissed him. He stumbled back, not expecting the assault, and they both tumbled back into the snow. They rolled apart, breathing hard, Ginny giggling again, and looked up at the stars and the fireworks. Draco sighed, content. Ginny was clutching the golden rose possessively.

"Draco?" she asked, turning towards him. " Do you remember what you told me?"

Draco rested his head on his arms, looking at the sky. "Which time?"

"The time you told me you would count the stars in my eyes."

He turned to look at her, remembering. Yes, he had indeed said that. There were stars in her eyes now, normal stars and firework stars, wild-colored. "I remember."

"Well, are you ever going to?"

He rolled over in the snow with a soft grunt, rolled over until he was right next to her. Propping himself up on his elbows, so that he was looking down at her elfin face, he smiled at her, a bit sadly. "There's a lot of stars there," he mused, gazing into her dark, shining eyes. "It would take a long time."

She wrapped her arms around his neck, drawing him down to kiss him boldly. ""Better start now, then," she murmured before their lips met.

He cupped her freckled cheek, slipping his other arm behind her back, guarding her against the snow. They broke away briefly, Ginny smiling up at him happily. "Happy New Year," Draco said quietly, before leaning down to kiss her once again.