Stripped

Moments like this reminded Ginny of why no witch should ever make idle wishes. On New Years Day, she had wished for a little bit more excitement in her life and now she was ruing that.

A month and a week had passed since she last saw Draco over at Fortescue's Ice Cream Parlor. He had left her alone for several days afterwards but now, he was sending her owls trying to get her to see him. It also didn't help that he learned of her weakness for chocolate and he was using it to his advantage. Everyday this week, he had sent a different kind of chocolate from Honeydukes' rich milk chocolate to Cadbury flake. Ginny felt herself start to give in.

"Ginny, are you even paying attention to me?!"

Ginny rolled her eyes as Ron snapped his fingers in her face. For some reason, Ron and the twins decided that they wanted to spend some time with their sister and they were now in the field behind the Parkinson estate. They had just finished testing out Ron's new racing broom, a Firebolt 2400 and now, Ron had decided to bring up the top of Draco Malfoy.

It was no secret that everyone was curious. Many had witnessed their last conversation that day and she knew that there were bets on if she was involved with Draco at all. Some of the different bets made her wish that she could put a couple Galleons on them, especially the wedding pool going on between Hermione and some of her co-workers. However, it wasn't a topic that she wanted to discuss with her brothers, especially Ron who still had a smouldering rivalry with Draco.

"So, Ginny, have you shagged Malfoy yet?"

All of their heads whipped around as Bill walked over towards them. Fred nodded, "Good question. Have you?"

Feeling herself blushing furiously, Ginny snapped, "No! I can't believe my own brothers asked me that question."

She really started to see red when Fred handed Ron several Galleons. However, before she could say anything, Ron commented, "Malfoy seems rather interested in you, Ginny. It's quite strange; our families have been feuding for centuries, his father was the one that gave you the diary and Malfoy himself has the Mark. The only way I could see Malfoy being interested in you is because you're a pureblood."

Bill nodded and George began to look at Ginny intently. Ginny smirked but inwardly began to panic a bit. She could always easily lie to Ron but Bill and George were always good at reading her. She stalled, "I don't understand it either."

Bill threw his head back in laughter. The rest all looked at him with a mixture of astonishment, disbelief, and annoyance until the barks of laughter trickled down into chuckles. Then, in between chuckles, he got out, "I can't believe it but I think our little sister has something for Draco Malfoy."

Panicking, Ginny tried to think of something to say but George commented, "It's obvious by the different owls that the little shit has fallen for our dear, little sister. I wonder if Lucius Malfoy has commenced spinning in his grave yet."

"Well, I don't even want to think of Ginny and the ferret," Ron exclaimed, his face red.

Fred snickered. "Why not? He's practically your family now anyway."

Ron turned even redder at that statement as everyone else began to guffaw. Even though they hated each other at Hogwarts, Ron's marriage to Pansy necessitated that Draco and Ron would be at least civil to each other. Ginny began to snicker as Ron yelled, "This isn't about me it's about Ginny."

Ginny's snickers gave way to full laughs as she wiped tears from her eyes. Ron was red and he looked like steam was about to come from his ears. The twins shared a glance as if they were thinking of more ways to torture Ron but Bill ended that by saying, "Anyway, Ginny, I came here because I wanted to talk to you." He shot the twins a meaningful look. "Alone."

Shrugging, Ginny nodded. "Meet me at my office in five minutes," Bill commanded before Apparating out. Ginny said, "Don't torture Ronniekins too much, will you," before waving goodbye and Apparating.

******

Ginny fell as she Apparated into Bill's office. Cursing under breath, Ginny got up and climbed into the chair in front of Bill's desk. Bill was already sitting behind it and he was smirking. "Don't even think of mentioning this to anyone," Ginny grumbled as she settled herself into the chair.

"I wouldn't think of it," Bill drawled, "but it's time to move on to other things." He summoned a folder and opened it. He took out some parchment and slid them over to Ginny.

Ginny picked up the parchment and started to read them. Her eyes narrowed as she read, the pleasant expression on her face becoming cloudy. Then she slammed them back down on the desk before exclaiming, "Tell me that this isn't true, that Skeeter is just making up more stories."

Bill shook his head no with a sigh. "It's a murky situation and no one will ever be sure if Malfoy had a hand or not in it."

"But, I remember, St. Staen definitely had the Mark. The cow has this looking as if St. Staen was an innocent who just managed to get on the bad side of a Malfoy. I'll have to see if Tonks can get access to her file and bring it to me but I'm sure that she was a Death Eater," Ginny said, her brow furrowed. "I do remember that she had been one of the newer ones. Ron mentioned fighting a witch other than Bellatrix Lestrange."

Bill commented, "He'll still be seen as a Death Eater looking out for only himself during that time. Remember, Malfoy was acting as if he was forced into being a Death Eater, that he could be reformed. Some have always said that a Malfoy can never be trusted and this would prove them right. I have my doubts on if Malfoy could be trusted but I've always believed that people deserve second chances." And, I'm sure that he's probably going to end up being involved in YOUR life for a while so I actually CARE about what's going on with him, Bill thought.

Ginny bit her lip and began to mess with her ponytail. "I'm not saying that Draco, I mean, Malfoy, is a good person but I'm not going to jump to conclusions. Since she was a Death Eater, it's probably just a case of evening a score despite the fact that it looks bad that he killed a witch."

Bill bluntly replied, "He is supposed to have arranged for her death because she supposedly had a hand in his father's death and that as a cousin, she had a claim to his inheritance that he wanted to keep to himself."

Ginny sighed, and then fixed Bill with a sharp look. "Why are you telling me all of this? I'm not his wife, girlfriend, or anything important."

"Tonks and the Aurors were able to shield you from the worst of what people had to say," Bill stated. "Remember when the Order had a mole that we never found? Some now believe that it could have been you. Many still don't trust you because you were possessed by Tom Riddle. Even though that encounter with Malfoy was brief, some are using it as proof that the Weasley daughter had turned Dark."

Incredulous, Ginny gaped at Bill then exclaimed, "I don't believe that. All of the headlines were about if I was involved with Draco. I heard some rumors that I had been on the Dark side but I've heard them since I was 11. Plus, during the war, I wasn't part of the inner circle so I didn't know many of the plans unlike you, Tonks, Harry, everyone else."

Bill sighed, as he had to decide to continue telling his sister the truth but that decision was postponed as Tonks Apparated into the office. "Hullo, er, did I intrude on something important," Tonks asked, her facial expression slightly pensive.

"No, Bill has just been telling me that many have suspected I was on the Dark side during the war and have been using my rather simple acquaintance with Draco as proof," Ginny replied, her brown eyes stormy. "Even though I wasn't part of the inner circle and I couldn't have been a spy giving away information."

Tonks shifted and nearly tripped over her feet before conjuring a chair and sitting down. Then she looked as if she was considering her words before she started, "That was a concern during the war."

Ginny opened her mouth to say something but Tonks held up a hand and stopped her. "Voldemort was pulling out everything he could against us and we were unsure if he would use you or not. Dumbledore wasn't sure if Voldemort could use his connection as Tom Riddle to try and control you again so that is a major part of why you weren't allowed into the inner circle. Ginny, you did have to fight him when he tried to get into your mind again a fortnight before the final battle."

Ginny nodded; that was true but it still hurt to find out that her closest friends and family did not trust her at that time. Bill added, "We love you and we know that you weren't a traitor but we could not afford any risks at that time."

Ginny just sat back in the chair; normally she would have something to say but she just felt numb. Ever since she was 11, she heard the whispers, the stares. All had known that she was under the control of Tom Riddle when she killed the chickens and set loose the basilisk but many had feared her. She was liked because she was a Weasley but feared because many felt that if she was capable of opening the Chamber of Secrets, she would be more capable of other evil deeds. She sighed and ran her hands through her hair, taking it out of its ponytail. She needed to go somewhere to think.

Getting out of her chair, Ginny said, "I need to leave and be alone for a while."

She Apparated, the pop being the only sound in the room for several moments. Then Bill commented, "Part of me wants to go to her and tell her that it's fine but I know that she wouldn't want that."

"She'll deal with it her own way. She has been dealing with this for years, she continue to deal with it. It's just made its way back into her life again," Tonks replied, her expression one of pity and respect.

******

Ginny arrived in her kitchen, startling Harry and Hermione who were eating and looking cozier than usual. She snarled, "Don't worry about me, I won't be here long," before stomping over into her room.

Harry blinked as he watched Ginny leave. "What's wrong with her?"

Hermione answered, "I figure she just came from that meeting that Bill was trying to have with her. The one that concerned new information regarding Malfoy."

"Oh that." Harry snorted. "I seriously do not believe that he'll let Skeeter publish something else about him without serious repercussions. Or, all of his ancestors will start spinning in their graves."

Hermione gave Harry a sharp look. "When did you start caring about Malfoy's problems?"

"Oh, I started to care about .001 percent of the time when Ron decided to stop shagging and marry Pansy Parkinson. Now, I guess I care 1 percent of the time since he's become involved in Malfoy's life and someone has to listen to Ron's rants about it," Harry replied.

Hermione rolled her eyes. "Ron doesn't complain that much. I'd say he's between being annoyed and being perplexed. He's not as angry as you make him seem like, Harry."

She got up to take her plate to the sink but Harry tugged her back down. He whispered, "Are you mad at me now, Hermione?"

Hermione smiled and replied, "No, but I will be if you don't bugger off for several moments and let me put my plate in the sink then talk to Ginny for a little bit."

However, by the time that Hermione made it to Ginny's room, Ginny was already gone.

******

The only noise in the office was the quill scratching across the pieces of parchment. It had been a busy day filled with more meetings and contracts for Draco and even though he was alone now, he still had more work that needed to be done. However, the sight of Ginny Weasley, flushed and panting in front of his desk, shoved all thoughts of work to the back of his mind. He raised an eyebrow. "I thought that the Weasleys now had enough money where they didn't have to work for their pay."

Ginny gritted her teeth as she composed herself. "I decided I needed to go for a run to blow off some steam but it didn't work. I need to talk to you."

Draco asked, "About what?"

"Oh, about how our lives for some reason have become tangled together," Ginny said offhand as if they were old friends and not former enemies.

"Entangled?"

Ginny muttered, "Yes, entangled. It seems that my brother Bill thought that I needed to know that Rita Skeeter has dug up an unexplained death in your past. All just because it may reflect on me."

Draco swore even though his expression stayed calm. "That has nothing to do with you, why does he care?"

Ginny leaned over his desk until they were eye-level. Then she calmly stated, "I used to think that the idea of the Weasley daughter and the Malfoy scion together was too much to pass up for the Daily Prophet, Witch Weekly and all their ilk but now, I'm starting to think that there is more to this than I know."

Draco smirked and Ginny began to fume inside. I can't believe that I started to trust a Malfoy. They are all the same; evil, untrustworthy, conniving bastards, she thought as Draco stood up and pushed his chair back. Then her thoughts turned panicky as he walked around the desk and towards her. He bent down and whispered in her ear, "I never said that I should be trusted."

He straightened his posture as Ginny stopped leaning on his desk, an unbelieving look on her face. Ginny blinked then accused, "You're a bloody Legilimens."

"I'm actually a natural Occlumens, but I learned Legilimency as well. It never hurts to protect your mind. I heard it took Potter the death of his godfather to figure that out," Draco said.

Ginny let out a strangled laugh. "You always have to get a dig in at Harry, don't you?"

He shrugged as a hand brushed back a couple errant strands of hair. "I guess I should be happy that you cannot read minds because you would probably hex me if you knew what I was thinking."

"I know I shouldn't ask but I will because I'd like to have an idea of what's in your bloody mind, Malfoy," Ginny snapped.

Draco's voice dropped an octave as he leaned down and whispered, "Even though I am better than you, for some reason, I want you, Ginny Weasley."

Ginny stammered, "What?"

"Yes, I want you even though it goes against every single thing that I was ever taught," Draco continued. Then he nipped her left ear. "Go away, I have work to do."

Ginny blinked then said, "Work to do? You are the coldest git I have ever met! I feel like I'm a puppet in your hands in some game that I have no idea of..."

Ginny stopped as she felt his hands grabbed her waist and pull her towards him. Then his face dipped again as his lips traced a path from the bottom of her neck back up to her right ear. He whispered, "I am a cold git, I can't deny that."

But as soon as he lips touched hers, all thoughts left her mind. It was soft, a little sweet then it became passionate when her tongue swept through his mouth. It was as if several months' worth of repressed feelings had been set free. Ginny would have been content to just stand there kissing him until she felt his left hand move up from her waist to cup left breast. The only way she could explain it was to say that something had been ignited as their kissed ended and he picked her up and sat her upon the desk.

Later, Ginny would say that it had been quick but felt like an eternity. It was good though as she was on her back on the desk.

For several moments, they just stayed in that position on the desk. Then Draco moved off of her, his blond hair in his eyes and a small smile on his lips. Ginny sighed then shoved him aside as she put her robes back on. Draco watched her coolly, his expression unreadable. Then with an impish expression on her face, Ginny picked up her knickers from the floor and then dangled them in Draco's face. "I'm feeling charitable today."

Then Ginny dropped them and Draco's hands came out involuntarily to catch them. After that, Ginny Apparated out of his office.

.Then he said to himself, "Ginny doesn't understand what she has gotten herself into."