And now she had him.
Except the Harry Potter she had wasn't the person she'd fallen in love with. He was just a normal teenage boy.
But that was okay, right? Because Ginny wasn't the same person she'd been when she'd fallen in love, either.
She spent every waking moment with him. And of course, this meant seeing a lot of Ron and Hermione. And that led to improved grades.
She liked being with Harry. He was funny, and sweet, and his ass looked great on a broomstick
Everything was going perfect...
Except one tiny thing.
Harry was not a good kisser.
He meant well, but he really wasn't passion inspiring. If she worked at it, she could get the fire burning. But kisses weren't supposed to be work- they were supposed to be instinct.
Which was why, even though she had a perfectly wonderful relationship with her boyfriend, she was eating lunch with Draco Malfoy at the pub.
He took a bite of his deep fried newt on whole wheat and sipped his soda water. "So what you're saying is that you want me to kiss you."
The snow fell carelessly outside the window. "Yep," she confirmed.
"This is unexpected, to say the least," he said. "But I can hardly refuse. My enemy's girlfriend? Too rich." He leaned across the table.
"Not here, you ass," she snapped.
Sulking, he finished his sandwich and wiped his mouth with a servillete. "Where, then?"
Vaguely she waved her arms. "Elsewhere."
"You're very descriptive," Draco said sarcastically. "That narrows it down to hm... the rest of the known universe?"
"The railroad station by the lake, alright?" she bit out.
He glanced up at the clock. "Probably a good idea. The Express should be by in fifteen minutes." He chucked a couple galleons in the center of the table as he rose.
"It's going to take you that long?" she said in surprise.
"If you want it to," he said with a wicked grin.
But on the other hand, if I don't kiss him now, I'll never really know if that first kiss was just mind-boggling because it was my first kiss, or if he's really just a supremely talented kisser. And then I'll blow it all out of proportion and hurt Harry.
So, really. It's the only reasonable thing to do.
She realized first that Draco had stopped and belatedly that they were at the proposed destination.
"Pucker up, princess," he drawled.
Swiftly his mouth came down on hers and pried it open. His tongue's deft movements left her knees buckling. She threw her arms around him for balance- or at least that's what she told herself. She felt completely dominated and thoroughly winded when he had finished.
Her heart sank. It hadn't simply been the magic of the first kiss. Draco Malfoy could arouse a piece of French toast.
And now she felt miserable- miserable because she would blindly follow anyone who could stir her blood like that, miserable because she'd willfully cheated on the boy she'd loved for years.
Draco must be terribly misunderstood, she thought. All that passion in him, but everyone hates him. I almost feel sorry for him. I wonder why I ever disliked him.
And then, in her shining afterglow, as her emotions and thoughts became more disposed to a kinder version of Malfoy...
He pinched her bum.
She shoved him away and smacked him lightly. I remember now. Because he's an asshole.
With Draco smirking at her, she turned on her heel and headed to board the train.
Fred and George were barreling toward her. She rested her hands on her hips and gave them a questioning look.
"Errol just came by-" said Fred.
"From Mum-" inserted George.
"-And the baby's coming-"
"-Even though it's only December-"
"-And Dumbledore's already given us permission to go home, being as it's so close to the holidays and whatnot," Fred finished up.
"We picked up your homework," George said helpfully. "And Harry and Hermione get to come, too."
"But not Angelina," Fred said with sorrow.
"They'll be by in a bit."
The twins all but dragged her back on the train. "Back of the compartment! Back of the compartment!" gleefully claimed Fred.
"You got the back of the compartment last time," George complained.
"I want the back," Ginny said firmly."
"Ooooh," Fred said knowingly. "I see."
"Makeout session," George grinned. "They've certainly enough to celebrate."
Ron and Hermione flounced hand-in-hand in. "Back of the compartment?" Ron asked hopefully.
"Taken," George said glumly. "Reserved for Harry and Ginny."
Harry walked in behind them. "We have the back?"
Ginny put on her most seductive smile. "Come on back, Harry."
"She's up to something," Harry commented to Ron.
"She's up to something," Ron agreed. He swatted his friend in her direction.
Harry made his way to Ginny and sat. "Hey," he said. "Where were you earlier?"
"The Three Broomsticks, for lunch," she said. She deliberately left out with whom she'd shared it with.
"Oh," he said easily.
She kissed him softly, and he smiled back at her.
It shouldn't be about the kiss at all, she thought contentedly as she leaned her head against his shoulder. It's about the smile.
"Good, you're home," Charlie said n relief. "Mum wanted us all to meet the baby together."
The Weasley children and respective honorary Weasleys marched into the house. Arthur promptly announced that "it" indeed was a girl, and great cheering commenced.
"Have you a name picked out?" Beatrix inquired.
"Not really," Arthur admitted. "We had a backup boy name from Ginny's time, but not really any girl's names, no-"
"Edeth!" burst out the newly remade Mama Weasley in a truly epiphanous experience.
"That's pretty," Hermione offered.
"We can call her 'Deth' for short," George cackled.
Charlie gave him a weird look, because it was a weird cackle, and thumped him on the head.
"Just like old times," George said wistfully.
"Yeah?"
Courage, Ginny, courage! She swallowed. "I kissed Draco Malfoy today."
He just stared at her, dumfounded. "Why?"
"It doesn't really matter," she said, looking away. "It was dumb and I regret it."
His face was contorted in hurt, just like she thought it would be.
She swept on. "I guess it's just another of those identity crisis things. I thought, subconsciously, maybe me being with you was just me slipping back into 'doormat Ginny.' And I really didn't want to go back to being 'that girl Weasley' or 'Ron's little sister.' Not like they'll even be able to say that anymore, what with Edeth."
"Excuses," he said darkly.
"I was being superficial, okay?" she said finally. "I'm sorry that I did it." She dropped her voice. "I really like you. You know that."
"I really like you, too," he said softly.
"Can you forgive me?"
"I suppose so," he said. "I mean, you didn't lie about it or anything. Just promise you won't ever do anything like that again."
"I promise."
He smiled again, and bent down for a brief and noisy smooch. "Inside," he said. "They'll wonder where we are."
"Let them wonder," she said breathlessly, and pulled him down on her.