The New Year

Ginny woke suddenly, Cho's voice ringing in her ears. "You English don't know how to resolve debts. In China, they must be paid before the New Year." Immediately Ginny's eyes flew to the clock on her bedside table. Only eleven o'clock? She thought, bewilderment and excitement coursing through her at once. She still had time, but did she want to take it? Could she face him, really face him? She had to. For the sake of Hermione, her family and herself she had to find out whether she truly believed him or not. She had to hear the story from his lips. His perfect, soft lips, begging to be kissed... Ginny fiercely shook those thoughts from her head. Any romance had to happen after she knew the truth for sure. She would not, could not allow Ron's death to be tainted anymore.

Ginny quickly packed her belongings in a suitcase. She wasn't sure how long she would be, but she knew as soon as she came back she was going to return to the Burrow, a move that would cement her independence.

Ginny stood in the middle of her living room, wand poised, ready to Apparate... except she didn't know where he was. He could be at the Manor, of course, but he could also be at a hotel, someone's flat, or even one of the brothels he tended to frequent after they had a fight. Just as Ginny was about to break down in tears and curse the heavens, a loud knock at the door exploded through the quiet flat. Ginny opened the door, about to tell whoever to go back to whence they came when she opened the door, and all words fell from her lips.

There stood Draco in his disheveled beauty, his hair going every which way and into his deep grey eyes that were now clouded with alcohol. The smell of brandy wafted from his lips in heavy breaths and assaulted Ginny's nose.

"What are you doing here?" she demanded, knowing that a conversation with Draco drunk would be a fruitless effort. She vaguely remembered the last time he came to her drunk, those many years ago.

"I wanted to finish our conversation," he slurred. He brandished a rather large bottle of some whisky as he spoke.

"You're too drunk for this, Malfoy. Nothing good can come from a drunken you. Don't you remember?" He closed his eyes, struggling through the fog of alcohol to think of the night she was remembering. A wide grin spread across his face as he opened his eyes.

"Nope," he said, before dropping to the floor in sleep. Ginny looked down at his unconscious form and thought about leaving him there, in the hall to her flat before realizing that this was her chance. There was a small window of opportunity for her to finally hear to truth, and her excuse for keeping him was that she couldn't trust him out at night. She smiled as a plan slowly formed in her brain.

Stooping down, Ginny removed the dark bottle from his hand before struggling his lanky form into her flat and onto the couch. She closed and locked the door before returning to his sleeping body. She sat in a rather large armchair across from the couch. She didn't dare leave him alone, the fear of what his body might do under that much alcohol very real.

She sat, staring at his sleeping form, remembering many times where she had stared at him sleeping before, and waited for morning to come. This debt would have to be paid at the beginning of the New Year.