Starts With A Lie

Chapter 2: Simply Divine

Ginny sipped her coffee and surveyed the man before her. Draco Malfoy had changed from their school days; there was no doubt about that. He was still pale, but it seemed to suit him more, his pointed features filling out to look sharp and angular and almost abstract in their perfection. At Hogwarts, he had seemed like a piece of a puzzle. Today the entire puzzle sat before her, arrogant and aloof in its beauty.

"So, Jenny, tell me. What have you been up to since Hogwarts?" he asked, stirring his coffee lazily even though he drank it black.

She inwardly winced at her choice of name. Why couldn't she have chosen something pretty, like Dahlia or Isolde? She suddenly remembered that an observant pair of silver eyes was watching her. "Oh, not much," she said airily. "This is just a temporary job until I find something I really want to do. Get away from home, you know, without actually getting away from home."

"What is it you want to do?" he inquired, lifting his mug to his lips.

"I'm not really sure...I rather wanted to be a Healer, but it's just so hectic, I don't know whether I'd be able to handle it. Either that or a Defender," Ginny said, staring into her empty cup as though it would give her the answers.

Draco looked suddenly amused. "A Defender? A woman wants to work in the courts, with all that boring, tedious law business?"

"It's not boring!" she said, firing up at once. "A bit tedious, yes, but what does it matter if I'm a woman or not?"

"I'm sure you know that a woman hasn't dared to Defend for several years, Jenny. Not since the Dark Lord began his reign of terror," he said.

"Well he's fallen," she said defiantly. "And I intend to be the woman who dares!"

"I thought you weren't sure?" Draco asked bemusedly.

Damn...he'd backed her into a corner! She was supposed to be doing the cornering, not him. He seemed to have noticed her accusatory glare, because he smirked, bending his head so his flaxen hair fell to cover the laughter in his eyes.

"Why are you so touchy on whether a woman Defends or not, anyway?" she asked, rougher than she'd intended. Calm down, dear. You're Jenny, not Ginny, she reminded herself.

He spoke to his cup, his hair still covering his eyes, "Because, Jenny, I am a Defender as well."

She stared at him with wide brown eyes, and then burst out laughing. "You were doing that for kicks, weren't you?"

He smirked but didn't respond. She had the bright idea to reach across the table and clasp his fingers in her own. He raised an eyebrow at her, and she couldn't keep the blush from staining her cheeks, but she didn't let go.

"So, Draco...have you changed, really? From the boy I knew in school?" she purred. Ginny felt that if she had to keep this up any longer she'd vomit or punch herself in the mouth.

Draco seemed unperturbed, however; he was making his cup look awfully interesting. "Of course. The war changed everyone," he said.

"But for the better?"

He finally looked up, his silver eyes unreadable. "I'm not sure. I think so. Why don't you be the judge of that?"

Ginny cursed inwardly. He'd managed to turn the question against her; he was really good. The sudden thought that he might have had some practice made her mouth sour and all the more resolved to bring Draco Malfoy down from his marble pedestal.

"That's what I'm trying to do," she replied. It was an inadequate answer and they both knew it. The redhead rushed to change the subject before he had the chance to acknowledge it.

"What about those three, you hated them...Harry Potter and his friends, you know the ones," she asked. She leaned forward unconsciously; it was the question she had been waiting to ask him all day.

He mouth twisted upward in a bitter smile. "What about them? I still hate them, but not as much as I used to. I got over what they did to me. I moved on," he said slowly, weighing his words.

"What do you mean, what they did to you?" she asked, surprise spilling the words out of her mouth before she could stop them.

Draco took his time answering, contemplating her silently as he beckoned for the waiter. This girl was obviously more than she presented herself to be, he thought to himself.

"What kind of question is that? You were there; you saw how they tortured me. You did say you were in Slytherin, didn't you?"

Again, he turned the tables on her. No wonder this guy was a Defender, Ginny thought to herself. He's a born manipulator. "No, no. I'm in Ravenclaw," she replied. Saying she was in Slytherin would've given her away immediately--Malfoy probably knew the name and Floo address of every girl in Slytherin, judging by his reputation.

A waiter came, bobbing his head earnestly. "Check," Draco said coolly.

"Of course, sir," the waiter said, rushing to do the infamous Draco Malfoy's bidding. And he would, Ginny knew. She had hopped from diner to restaurant to little corner places that couldn't be called much more than "shops" and so she knew from experience that the Wizarding restaurant business was a peculiar thing indeed. In the "food shops," the employees were simply poor relatives of the owner, and in the diners, the employees were just plain poor. In the high-class restaurants, like The Terrace, there was a sort of caste system. There were the rich but ugly managers who had to employ attractive waiters and waitresses to smile and look pretty while taking orders. The orders themselves went, not to human chefs, but to house elf chefs.

She became aware of the silence that had descended between her and Draco. It wasn't uncomfortable, really, but it wasn't comfortable, either. It was just sort of...there. He was the first to break it, asking softly, "Knut for your thoughts?"

She paused as the waiter came back with their check. Draco signed it without looking, something Ginny had always secretly wanted to do. "Just thinking about how odd it is to be waited on, instead of doing the waiting," she said, not entirely untruthfully.

Draco smirked at her. "Well, if you want to try it again, I'd be more than happy to take you out again," he said.

I'm sure you would, Ginny thought nastily. Her tone was entirely light and just the right amount of flustered ness when she answered, however. "I'd love to."

She didn't miss the brief look of complacency that crossed his pale features as Draco tossed a few galleons onto the table and got up. Ginny, who had been expecting some overly extravagant restaurant with very pricey foods gave the small, cozy diner one last appreciative glance before following him out the door into the warm summer air.

"Where are we going, Draco?" She cringed at using his name in such an intimate way, but thankfully he didn't notice.

"I want to show you something," he said. Ginny had to take several quick steps to keep up with his long legs, trying not to trip on her ridiculously high heels. Draco noticed her predicament and slowed considerably, reaching for her hand. She let him take it, but only because she was curious as to where he would take her. Ginny tried to remember which twists and turns and alleyways they took, but she soon gave up and allowed herself to be led about.

Finally they found themselves in front of a small door, framed by grubby stone walls. There wasn't anything particularly remarkable about it, except for the square doorknob. It was this doorknob that Draco turned slowly, gripping as he stood back to let Ginny into the most beautiful place she had ever seen. A sort of oasis in a desert of pavement, she thought with a brilliant smile.

Lush grass cushioned her footsteps, and dozens of kinds of roses and flowers grew from the earth, filling the air with their perfume. The only place where the plants didn't dominate was in the very center of the small paradise, where a great marble fountain sat. It shot up streams of clear water that returned to the basin with a splash and soothing bubbling sound. A large, ornate silver clock ticked on the wall directly opposite the door.

"Oh, it's beautiful!" she exclaimed with a gasp.

"Very," Draco said softly from behind her.

She turned to look at him, only to find that he was not gazing at the gorgeous surroundings as she had been, but at her. Ugh, how cliché, Ginny thought to herself. But even so, she couldn't fend the blush from her cheeks.

She tried to read his face for any sign of triumph at properly flattering her, but found none. Instead he led her to the bubbling fountain, sitting next to her on the wide rim. They sat in silence for a few moments, just drinking in all the sights and sounds and smells.

"I used to come here to be alone," he said quietly, breaking the silence, but not really.

Ginny was surprised. She'd figured he brought all his dates her to woo them. Draco saw the look on her face and smirked, shaking his head. Ginny followed the way his hair moved with her eyes dazedly. "I know what you're thinking. But no, I'm not lying either. I wanted you to see this."

"Why?" She couldn't keep the genuine curiosity out of her voice; she was really intrigued. Why was she so different?

He closed his eyes, lashes fluttering down to kiss his prominent cheekbones. "Why would I bring you to this place...that's so obviously private and special to me? Come on, Jenny, think."

"We've only just met," she whispered, not really knowing why she was whispering.

"I'm aware," Draco said softly, opening his eyes and turning to look at her.

She leaned in slowly despite herself. "We shouldn't be doing this."

"You can't deny that this is wonderful." She could feel his breath on her face.

"The wonderful things are often the worst for you." Her eyes dropped to his lips.

His lips were almost brushing hers. "But it feels divine," he breathed, pressing a soft kiss on her lips. Ginny's eyes flew open as the clock behind them struck two.

"Oh no!" she cried. "I'm late! Dave's going to kill me!" Ginny straightened her collar and ran a hand through her hair, throwing a quick, brilliant smile at Draco.

"Thanks for a lovely time, Draco Malfoy. I'll see you later!" she called, slipping out the door onto the streets beyond, leaving behind a disgruntled Draco.