In the Bleak Midwinter

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A moment of shocked silence passed between Draco and Ginny. Draco blinked and turned to the young Weasley; she had gone very pale.

"Ginny?" he asked finally.

She sprang to life in half a second. Before Draco could react, she was out the door, sprinting barefoot after Hermione, still wearing the dress robes.

Draco began to run after her as soon as he realized what had happened, but he was caught mid-sprint by the plump witch who ran the store.

"You haven't paid for those robes!" she shrieked. "I could contact the authorities, you know!"

Draco froze, glancing from the witch to the door and back again. Finally, he sighed and angrily said, "Very well. How much?"

"Fifty Galleons," the witch said rather haughtily, or so Draco thought.

"Fifty -!" he choked in surprise. But he wanted most to follow Ginny as quickly as possible, so he handed the coins over.

The witch took her precious time adding the Galleons to a jar on the counter and giving him a small slip of parchment which served as his receipt. Draco glared at her angrily, hating her more and more with each passing minute.

Finally, she smiled (it looked very fake to Draco) and said in a sugary voice, "Have a nice day, dear, won't you?"

"Actually, I'm guessing not," Draco threw back as he made to leave the shop.

"But what about your school robes, dear? Don't forget them, now," the witch said, pointing to the changing booths.

Draco made a noise halfway between a growl and a groan, heading towards the back and gathering the black Hogwarts robes into his arms.

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"Hermione! Hermione, please, listen to me..."

Hermione kept staring straight ahead as she walked swiftly back down the main Hogsmeade road. "This is too much, Ginny. Don't."

"You have to hear me out!" Ginny cried, and she was ashamed of the whining tone in her own voice. "Please," she added desperately.

Hermione stopped, but still did not turn to face her younger friend. "How long?" she asked, her voice shaking with suppressed rage.

Ginny's lip quivered. "Since... before Christmas."

"You've been doing... that with him this entire time?"

"No!" Ginny's voice hitched. "No, Hermione, it isn't like that!"

"How could you, Ginny? I don't understand... how could you?"

"Don't give me that self-righteous bollocks," Ginny snapped. "You have no right to judge me, Hermione."

Hermione laughed hollowly and looked skyward, her eyes dark. "No right? No right? Ginny, I just saw you sticking your bloody tongue down Draco Malfoy's throat. I think that is reason enough for me to be angry!"

"You don't know him, Hermione! You've never treated him like a human being... you're as much at fault as he is!"

"Me?! What about all the times he's insulted me, dragged my name in the dirt? What about your brother, Ginny? What about you? How can you kiss that ugly brute, knowing what he's said about your family?"

"We were no better, Hermione! You know bloody well that we said the same things about him."

"We had reason! He's evil, Ginny, his whole family is evil!"

Suddenly, Ginny reached out and grabbed Hermione's shoulders, turning the brunette so that their eyes met. "I can't explain it, Hermione. I can't expect anyone to understand... not you, not my brother, not Harry. You just have to accept it. You have to..." her voice broke and Hermione was surprised to see tears in her eyes. "... you have to trust me."

"It's him I don't trust," Hermione said, her voice hushed. "It's him. Why him, Ginny?"

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Draco grumbled to himself all the way down the street, attracting several stares and even a few shouts as he lugged his own robes and Ginny's through Hogsmeade.

He stopped, however, when he rounded a corner and spotted Ginny and Hermione a few feet away. They were both looking very angry, and they were so caught up in their own discussion that neither of them noticed Draco. He retreated out of sight, but made sure that he was within hearing range.

"Why him, Ginny?" he heard Hermione ask.

Ginny's voice rose over the silence, sounding quiet but determined. "Hermione, you won't believe me, but I swear I'm telling every bit of truth. He does things to me that I never thought possible. Not "does things" in the sense that you're thinking of... I mean, he does things to my soul. I think the - the love I feel for him is ten times stronger because it was born of hatred. He's still an enigma to me - I don't even know his middle name -" she laughed to herself, and Draco's heart skipped a beat. "I can understand that from your point of view, it's insane. Stupid, even. Impossible, certainly. But - but you don't have to know everything about Draco to trust him or believe in him. You only have to discover his inner goodness, the treasure that he keeps hidden from the world. I don't know how I did it, but... but I guess I unlocked that treasure chest. Never in my life, Hermione, have I known something so completely and whole-heartedly than I know that I... that I... that I love Draco."

Draco's blood was roaring in his ears. Was this really happening? He resisted the urge to pinch himself. Surely he was losing his mind... surely this was some alternate universe. What had happened to his badness? What had happened to the Draco Malfoy who despised the Weasleys, right down to their shoelaces?

He was gone, gone like the snow in springtime, gone like the roses in winter. Gone. It was unfathomable, but somehow, it was... truth.

He stepped towards the two girls - young women, really - dropping the robes as he did so. Both turned to face him. Ginny had tears in her eyes, as did Hermione, but the older Gryffindor glared at the sight of him. He steeled his resolve at the sight of those narrowed eyes; his determination mounted.

"Love should never have to be proven... Granger... but I suppose my actions of the past have given you reason to want the facts. Let me tell you," he said, his voice even, "that if you had asked me a month ago if I'd ever love a Weasley, I'd have laughed in your face. That's the honest truth. Now, however, I'd tell you that I already do." He switched his gaze to Ginny, whose eyes were wide and amazed. "Ginny Weasley, I'm never one to flaunt my emotions, least of all love. So know that, just this once, I'm breaking a law of Malfoyism." His voice turned croaky, but he forced himself onward. If this is what Granger needed, so be it. Besides... his heart leapt... hadn't Ginny just said it? Hadn't she just confirmed his very dreams? "I love you."

He noticed with a bit of satisfaction that Granger's mouth was slightly open. The more shocked of the two, however, was definitely Ginny. She gaped at him.

She tried to form words, but they came out like little squeaks. Draco stepped closer to her, carefully placing a long finger over her mouth, silencing her. Then, perfectly aware of Granger's presence and relishing in it, he kissed Ginny gently on the mouth.

Ginny melted into him. It was not as passionate as their last kiss; it contained all the relief and the joy and the wonder of newly established love. It was a promise of the future and a reflection of the past.

Hermione cleared her throat loudly. Ginny pulled away from Draco, her lips full, and he smiled down at her smugly. He then looked over at Hermione, smirking. "Isn't that what you wanted to hear?" he asked, sounding rather pleased with himself.

Hermione squared her shoulders and looked him sternly in the eye. "I don't know how you're going to survive when Ron finds out," she said. "He won't believe a word of that love bollocks." She studied Draco's eyes closely. "For some reason, however... I do. But one wrong step, Malfoy - one wrong step - and I swear on my mother, that slap back in third year will seem merciful."

Ginny ran over to Hermione and threw her arms around the older girl. "Thank you, Hermione - oh, thank you..."

Hermione looked rather taken aback. "I'm going to trust you with this, okay? I'm not going to tell Ron or Harry... yet. But if you don't, I will."

Ginny stepped back. "They're going to find out tomorrow night. Draco's taking me to the masque."

Hermione blinked. "You're not going to give them any forewarning?"

Ginny bit her lip, shooting Draco a worried glance. He shrugged. "If I do, they won't let me go," she said finally, staring at her feet. "I just know it."

Hermione sighed. "Fine, fine. I can't make you talk to them. But I can tell you this: they're not going to take this news well. Not at all." She turned to Draco. "I hope you know some good healing spells."

He smiled. "Wouldn't you rather I didn't know them?"

Hermione looked him up and down warily. "At least you don't expect me to get used to this overnight." She looked at Ginny. "But I might understand him by your twentieth wedding anniversary."

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