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“All right, so we will meet in two nights to start your training? Your house, right?” Blaise confirmed, as he paid the bartender for their drinks. The bill had had ended up very expensive, and Ginny felt guilty for allowing Blaise to pay for the entire thing. She tried to shove her share of the bill into his hands but he refused to accept it despite her struggles. He told her, “Don’t worry, you can get the next one.” and winked at Ginny.
“Sounds great, I’m looking forward to it.” She said to Blaise, a huge smile on her face. She felt sheepish when she turned to Draco and asked, “Will you be there as well?”
“Oh, yeah, absolutely.” Draco said, appearing unaware of Ginny’s sudden coyness, “So it’s settled then? I’ll see you both on Wednesday?”
The three nodded, said their friendly goodbyes, and apparated their separate ways. When Ginny arrived at her empty apartment she still felt in shock from the turn of events that had just taken place. She looked in her mirror and couldn’t help but scoff at her reflection, as she was still wearing the black cocktail dress and high heels. Ha, five hours ago you honestly thought you were going on a date with Draco Malfoy. She thought to herself. Nope, he just wanted to offer you riches and prestige beyond your belief. And here you were worried? She smirked at her reflection as she vowed to remember that moment as evidence that she shouldn’t spend so much time stressing about the “what ifs”, because clearly there is no way to guess what life has in store. Although, she figured that sense of wisdom would surely leave her the next time she is in an unfamiliar situation.
She decided she would take a hot bath and reflect on her day before going to bed. She turned on the tap and performed a quick spell on the water, creating hundreds of wonderful smelling emerald green bubbles. She scrunched her nose at the colour of the bubbles; the bubbles’ colours were charmed to symbolize the emotions of the one who performed the spell. Often Ginny’s bubbles would be a light lavender, which Ginny inferred meant she was feeling peaceful, yellow, insinuating happiness or excitement, or a dark blue, which was almost always present when she was feeling anxious or depressed. For a couple of years after the war, Ginny often bathed in dark blue bubbles. But never had Ginny created green bubbles.
Why on earth are my bubbles green? I’m not feeling envious. She thought to herself, as envy was the only feeling she could associate with the emerald colour. She let a bubble float onto her hand and she smiled peacefully. She wasn’t sure what she was feeling, but she admired the bubbles as she resolved they were the prettiest and most pleasant smelling bubbles she had conjured yet, and happily slid into the warm bath.
Argh, I have to tell George tomorrow, she thought to herself. She was thankful Draco and Blaise encouraged her to take her time leaving George’s store before committing all her time to the business. They reckoned she would have at least a month, maybe more, which was a relief so she could help train a new employee for George. She was sad that she would be letting him down, but ultimately, she knew he would be happy for her. She could hardly wait to tell Luna, and in fact, if it wasn’t so late she would have flooed to her flat the second she left the pub. Her mother and the rest of her family, on the other hand, she wasn’t going to tell until she could no longer hide it. She knew her family believed the Malfoys weren’t particularly evil; especially after Harry’s testimonies regarding Draco covering for Harry, Ron, and Hermione after being held hostage by Belatrix in the Malfoy Manor. And Narcissa Malfoy essentially saving Harry’s life, thus having a key role in his victory of the war. But they still detested the family all the same. There is no way any of them would approve; they believed that they were arrogant, selfish, pricks who were devoid of empathy.

An emerald bubbled landed on Ginny’s nose, and she gave a light giggle as she blew it away without popping it. Draco didn’t seem that bad, she thought to herself. It was true. Draco had seemed much more mature, gentle, and comical than she remembered. Save, for the obscene conversation him and Blaise had regarding three attractive girls who entered the pub, which caused Ginny to overemphasize her rolling eyes. But he seemed to have dropped many, if not all, of his past prejudices. She could tell by the way he passionately discussed Muggle economics that he had a sincere respect towards Muggles. And Blaise seemed positively charming, perhaps a little pompous as he always had been, but overall she felt no apprehension towards him. In fact, when Ginny looked back on her evening, she felt a little sad that it was over. She had had one of the most enjoyable nights she had had in ages as she laughed with the two boys for hours. The two had that impeccable chemistry that is only found between two friends who truly cared for each other. She couldn’t help but be reminded by her friendship with Luna as she watched the two men’s entertaining dialogue.

Ginny’s eyes began to droop and she decided it was time to leave her thoughts in the bathtub. She wrapped her silk black robe around herself after drying and used a spell to dry her hair speedily. She made her way to her kitchen and served herself a bowl of chocolate ice-cream which she would happily eat in her bed as she watched a cheesy muggle sitcom before falling into a deep sleep.

Unfortunately, the morning arrived too fast. She was thankful that she had the day off from the joke-shop, but she still had to confront George with the “bad” news. She woke up early and drank her coffee and ate a couple homemade pumpkin pasties before heading towards Diagon Alley. She decided to walk instead of apparate so that she could rehearse her speech in her head a few times before seeing George.

Before she knew it, she was outside of the shop. It wasn’t open yet so Ginny had to use her key to unlock the door. As she opened the door, George looked slightly spooked.
“Blimey, Ginny! You’re not supposed to be here today!” He said, looking alarmed, “Thought someone was breaking in!”
Ginny laughed at her brother, “You’re such a wuss.” George was about to defend himself but Ginny interrupted, “I actually need to talk to you about something important. Do you have time?”
“Yeah absolutely! Meet me in my office. I’m just waiting for a delivery, should be any minute now.”

Ginny headed into George’s small office. It was an organized mess, with loose important documents shrouding his desk, and boxes of excess stock piling up in every corner. The first thing I do once I start making some real money is expanding George’s office, she thought. Her thoughts were distracted when her eyes fell on a framed picture that made her heart ache. Fred and George were laughing merrily in the photo, with their arms around each other’s shoulders. George still had both ears at that point so the photo must have been at least 6 or 7 years old. She smiled sadly at her late brother’s memory. Even though it had been five years she still missed her brother and she couldn’t imagine how George coped with it. She always felt Fred’s presence when she was in this store, so she figured George felt that his memory lived on through the shop. It was probably how he managed to keep it in business even after the death.

“Sorry to keep you waiting, Gin, what’s up?” Ginny snapped out of her thoughts and spun towards George, “How was your date with the notorious Draco Malfoy?”
“Um, I think you should sit down…”
“Ginny, dear god, please no…” George’s face whitened as a look of horror took over his face, “Malfoy didn’t get you pregnant, did he?”
“WHAT? George, no, of course not!” Ginny felt personally offended by his remark, “Don’t you think I’m smart enough to not let that happen? And besides, it wasn’t even a date, so I sure as hell did not sleep with him.”
“It wasn’t a date? Then what was it?” George asked, looking intrigued.
“It was a business proposal.”
“A business proposal?”
“Yes. And once again – do you promise to not tell a soul of this? I’m going to tell everyone eventually but I need to do it on my own time.” George nodded and Ginny filled him in on everything Draco and Blaise offered her. Everything from the potions lessons, the potential for wealth, the future travelling, the fact that the Weasley last name inspired Draco to pursue her in the first place (Which George temporarily took great offence to on Ginny’s behalf but eventually cooled down), and sadly, the part where Ginny informed George that she would only be working with him for another month.
“You’re really leaving me?” George asked, dramatically exaggerating his sadness, “For Malfoy and Zabini? Well, god damn, Ginny. You just broke my heart.”
“Oh come on, you would totally do the same if you were in my position!” Ginny argued, though she was smiling gently. “I mean, you must be getting awfully tired of me whimsically planning my imaginary future in the potions industry. Now I don’t have to imagine it; I’ll be doing it.”
George sighed and looked at the picture of him and Fred, as if silently asking Fred for advice. Eventually he turned to Ginny and smiled, “I think this is the perfect opportunity for you, Gin, and you would be crazy not to take it.” Ginny’s mouth broke into a huge grin as she threw her arms around his shoulders.
“Thank you, George! That means a lot to me.”
“If things go sour and either of them mistreat you, I’ll personally kill them.” He warned, “And if things don’t work out you know you’re always welcome to come back.” Ginny thanked him again and George appeared in deep thought for a moment. “Man, Mum is going to lose her mind when she finds out. Can’t blame you for keeping this from her.”
Ginny groaned, “Oh god, EVERYONE is going to lose their minds. I can’t even imagine what dad is going to say. Or Ron. Even Harry and Hermione are going to give me a stern lecture.” She rolled her eyes.
Ginny stayed and chatted with George for a bit before leaving the store. She still had one more person to tell today. Luna! And this time she was filled with excitement rather than dread.
Luna had sent Ginny an Owl that morning saying she was going to stop that afternoon to hear about Ginny’s night, but mostly because she needed Ginny’s opinions regarding her magazine, Fusion. Fusion had become the #1 selling magical magazine in the past couple of years due to it’s “fusion” of muggle practices and magical practices. Since the war ended the magical folk had become more intrigued than ever about muggle life, and Luna’s magazine was an excellent form of education.

Ginny arrived at her flat before Luna showed up. She poured herself a cup of tea and flicked her wand to quickly tidy the place up. She paused for a moment and admired her flat. It was very bright, with eggshell white walls and huge windows which allowed the sunlight to beam in. She had a loft upstairs which served as a second living room. Typically, if she had guests over they would either socialize in the loft or on the patio, as both areas had a great view of London. She strolled into her spare room which she had turned into her potions station, but frowned at the sight. All she had was a rusty hand-me-down cauldron, third-grade ingredients, and a few dated potion text books. Draco and Blaise are going to take one look at this room and laugh. She thought to herself. “I thought you said you were interested in potions? You could barely make soup in this cauldron!” She imagined Draco and Blaise maliciously laughing at her pathetic excuse for a cauldron and promptly leaving her in the dust. She viciously shook her head and told herself that she was being irrational again and that everything would be fine.

Suddenly she heard a knock at the door followed by a familiar, “Helloooo?”.
“Luna! Hi! Come in!” Ginny skipped towards the door to find her friend looking very dishevelled. Her hair was frizzy and in a very messy bun, her eyes had dark circles underneath, and her arms were overflowing with various notebooks and scrolls.

“I am running on exactly 72 minutes of sleep!” She said frantically. Ginny could sense that Luna was stressed and decided to put her good news on hold for the time being. “Ginny, my editors are screwing me. They are literally screwing me! Hannah called in sick all week, claiming she has a nasty case of Dragon Pox, but of course, one of my freelancers saw her skipping around the beach with no evidence of pox! And Ben’s grandfather passed away so he’s away for the funeral. I guess I can’t be too bitter about that. BUT stupid, cocky, Seamus Finnigan has decided now is the time to be a rebellious idiot and has resolved to work as slowly as possible until I give him a raise. Why would I give him a raise if he’s slowing down production!? If anything, he’s looking to get fired!”

Luna made herself at home, dropping all her papers on the dining room table and instantly flicked her want to heat up the kettle for a cup of tea. She began searching through the fridge, “Do you have any snacks? I’ve barely eaten all day.” Ginny handed her a plate of pastries her mom had made her earlier that week as well as a banana. Luna began shovelling back the food while simultaneously reading through her notes. Ginny couldn’t help but smile at Luna in admiration as she watched her stress out. Luna was the most peaceful and rational girl Ginny knew…unless it came to her magazine. That magazine was her baby and she cared for it more than anything else in the world, apart from her father. And she would do anything to maintain the success of the magazine.
“Alright, how can I help?” Ginny asked after Luna finished eating. It appeared her anger was amplified by her hunger because once she was satisfied she seemed slightly more upbeat.
“Okay, look at these two pictures of lipstick. Which do you prefer?” She held up two photographs of a women’s mouths wearing similar shades of lipstick.
“Umm…I don’t know. The left one? The right one seems to make the lips look dry and cracked…”
“Cool. The left one is a muggle brand that claims to last 24 hours without smudging, but realistically you must reapply it every few hours. while the right one is the magical lipstick that actually lasts 24 hours. Does your answer still remain the same?” Luna asked in an interrogating manner that could potentially intimidate someone had they not known her so well.
“Yeah, I think so. It looks nicer. I think it would be worth reapplying throughout the night.” Ginny replied and Luna scribbled her answer into her notes. Luna asked her several of these “this or that” questions regarding beauty products and Ginny answered to the best of her ability. Then it came time to the “Ask ‘A’ Anything!” section, where readers would ask complicated questions regarding their love lives, careers, or anything so long as there was a connection with the muggle world. Typically, Seamus did this part of the magazine because he had been trained in muggle psychology, but because he was apparently slacking so much, Luna suspended him from the project.
“Okay, Ginny, I need your wisdom here.” Luna said which made Ginny raise her eyebrow.
What wisdom? She thought to herself as Luna read out the anonymous letter, “Dear A. Please help me! I have recently fallen in love with the most amazing woman…only she is a muggle. My parents are super strict about continuing the pure bloodline and I’m worried they will reject her and I for our love. How do I tell my parents about her without them hating us? From – Hopelessly In Love” Luna finished reading and sighed exasperatedly, “I DON’T KNOW! I’m not trained for this! Stupid Seamus…I hate him.”
Ginny patted her friend on the back comfortingly, “You’ve got this, Luna!” and Luna put her face in her hand and muttered what sounded like, “I’m just so tired…”.
Ginny thought for a moment, “How about replying with something like: Hi, Hopelessly In Love! Thanks for writing to us. I would suggest waiting a few weeks to confirm that this woman is the woman of your dreams. If she is, and you are certain she won’t be going anywhere, sit your parents down in a comfortable setting and break the news to them. They will likely be disappointed for a while, but if they truly love you, they will learn to accept you and your lover. Good Luck!”
Luna considered Ginny’s response for a minute. Then she shrugged, “Better than what I could come up with! It’ll do!” and began scribbling down Ginny’s response. They did this for another hour until finally Luna reached the bottom of her stack of papers. “WE DID IT!” She cheered, “Thank you so much, Ginny. Oh, god, I could not do that alone. Today has been so draining.”
“That’s what I’m here for!” Ginny replied, “Want some wine?”
“No…wine will put me to sleep. And I still need to hear about your news! How was the date with Draco!?”
Ginny filled her in Draco and Blaise’s proposal and Luna gasped in excitement by the end of it.
“Ginny, that’s so exciting! And so wonderfully unexpected!” She shrieked, “Never in a million years would I have foreseen Ginny Weasley working alongside Draco Malfoy and Blaise Zabini.”
“Trust me, you and me both.” She said, unable to contain her smile, “I’m actually really excited. They seem really fun and professional. I really think this is going to be a success.”
The two girls stayed up late watching a movie and gossiping about Ginny’s new career, the two handsome Slytherin boys, and how much Luna temporarily detested her employees. Luna ended up falling asleep on her couch halfway through the movie. Ginny covered her up with a blanket and conjured an alarm clock to put near the couch so she wouldn’t be late for work before retreading to her own bed.

When Ginny woke up the next morning she felt ecstatic. She had the day off work again, had already broken the news to everyone she intended to tell, and had no plans of socialization! Luna had already left by the time Ginny awoke so she leisurely cooked herself a nice breakfast and spent most her day watching television and lazily flipping through her potions books. She vowed to spend the day relaxing as much as she could because, starting tomorrow, she would be spending her days either working with George, training with Blaise, or both. When the sun started to set, Ginny decided to treat herself to some ice cream and a romantic movie. She grabbed the pint of ice cream and a spoon and began eating it out of the container when she heard a knock at the door. She looked at the door questionably; Who on earth is that?
When she opened the door, her heart fell into her stomach and she nearly dropped her ice cream. Dressed impeccably as usual and looking like they walked out of a men’s fashion magazine stood Draco and Blaise.
“Wh-what are you doing here? We aren’t supposed to meet until tomorrow!” She exclaimed, looking at her outfit which consisted of tiny yellow Holyhead Harpies pyjama shorts and a small black tank top and she hadn’t even showered, let alone put on makeup. Figures. The first time we meet, I’m way overdressed. The second time we meet I’m not even wearing a bra and eating ice cream right out of the bucket.
“We aren’t! But we had to drop off some gifts for you!” Blaise explained happily, walking past Ginny and letting himself into the house.
Draco smirked as he observed Ginny’s outfit and said, “I like your shorts.” And followed Blaise’s lead, sliding past her.
Ginny blushed at Draco’s comment but chose to ignore it. “So, you two just come over without any warning? What if I was busy? What if I had company over?”
“Do you?” Draco asked, smiling down at Ginny, who was quickly turning red from frustration.
“Ugh, that is not the point!” She huffed.
“Sorry, Ginny, but you are going to have to get used to us popping over at random times. Sometimes business can’t wait for plans!” Blaise replied while observing Ginny’s living room, “You’ve got a nice flat.”
“Okay, no. We need ground rules. Now.” Ginny sternly stood up to the two boys, suddenly not feeling so coy around them. “Unless it is an absolute, life or death, emergency you two will give me at least an hour warning. I’m sorry, but just because I’m doing business with you does not mean I’m going to spend my life hoping you two blokes don’t come knocking on my door any time I’m having a shower or have a date over. Do you hear me?” Ginny thought that maybe she was being harsh but she was not prepared to have an open-door policy with these two.
The two boys stared at Ginny, wide-eyed and shocked that she yelled at them for such a seemingly minor thing. Draco spoke first, “I think we are able to accommodate that.”
“Yeah, for sure.” Blaise nodded in agreement, still looking scared.
“Excellent! So, what kind of presents did you bring me?” Ginny asked, her mood changing instantly, looking at their empty hands in confusion.
“Oh, right!” Draco reached deep into his pockets and pulled out three tiny different coloured cauldrons and a tiny black box. “I figured you might need some new equipment and I had these at my house, barely used.” He set them down in the middle of the floor and flicked his wand, causing the objects to be enlarged to their normal size.
Ginny’s heart melted as she inspected the beautiful cauldrons. The pewter cauldron was small in comparison to the brass and copper cauldrons but all of them were clearly very expensive and made with the finest metals. “Draco…I can’t accept this. I really appreciate it, but I can’t.”
“You can and you will!” Draco insisted, “We can’t have you training with any cauldron that isn’t the best quality. It’s incredible the difference a cheap cauldron can make when brewing potions. The differences are subtle but we need our products to be perfect.”
“At least let me give you some money?” Ginny offered.
Draco shook his head no, “I’m not taking your money. Do you have anything to drink?”
Ginny opened her refrigerator, “I have wine, seven beers, and some orange juice.”
“I’ll have a beer!” Draco requested
“Me too!” Blaise said, and Ginny handed the boys the drinks.
“There we go, now we are even.” Draco said to Ginny, winking. She rolled her eyes but couldn’t help but feel incredibly touched by her new ‘gifts’. Even if it was for the sake of the business it still meant a lot to her.
“What’s in the box?”
“Ah! That was my contribution!” Blaise piped up and opened the box to reveal dozens of jars which presumably held potions ingredients. “Here are the finest ingredients; from Aconite to Wartizome. Don’t worry about the price – I have tons more at home for myself.”
“Wow, guys, I don’t know what to say…” Ginny stared in awe at the ingredients. She mentally tried to do the math of how much the ingredients were worth, but based on the rarity of some ingredients, she knew it was more money than she had ever had in her possession at one time.
“No need to thank us!” Blaise said sincerely, “Should we start setting up the room, then?”
Ginny led the two boys into her potions room, and much to her relief, neither of them made too much fun of the sad potions lab. Although, Draco did scoff at her cauldron saying, “I’ve seen toilets in better condition than this.” But he said it in jest, and simply cast it aside as he made room for the 3 new, pristine cauldrons.
“Oi, did you catch the Quidditch match last night, Draco?”
“Yeah. Father and I went to it. I thought I told you I was going?”
“No, you didn’t.”
“Yes, I did. Last weekend when you were shamelessly flirting with that waitress. You asked me if I could host a party so you would have an excuse to ask her on a date. And I said, ‘No, Blaise. I’m going to a Quidditch game with my father and I wouldn’t want to host a party just to get you laid, anyways.’ To which you called me a ‘pompous dick’, and proceeded to scare off the waitress.” Draco drawled as he recounted the story, which made Blaise glare at him. Ginny could have sworn she had seen his cheeks turn a little pink as well.
“You are literally the worst wingman in history, mate.” He said in retaliation, “Pompous dick.”
Ginny watched in amusement as the two grown men bickered. They were constantly ragging on each other, and the more Ginny got to know them, the more she realized she was going to hear a lot of arguing. She decided to end this current debate. “So, how was the game? I heard Montrose won by a landslide.”
Draco smiled, “It was great! We had great seats, although a bludger nearly hit Father in the face, which turned him into a miserable old git for the rest of the game.” Ginny quickly stifled her laughter at the thought of Lucius Malfoy getting struck with a bludger before Draco continued talking. “So, do you still watch a lot of Quidditch? Or do you just wear their pyjamas?” He said, motioning to her shorts and flashed his trademark smirk.
Ginny laughed and rolled her eyes. “Yes, I still like Quidditch. I haven’t been to a game in forever. I would kill to see the Harpies play again.”
“Once we make our first sale we should treat ourselves to go to a match in celebration!” Blaise suggested, and Ginny couldn’t help but let out a squeal, clearly affirming her position on the topic.
“Hey, Ginny, What is this book? ‘How to Handle a Heliopath’?” Blaise asked questionably, as he picked up a dusty book that was hidden underneath a pair of robes.
“Oh, lord. Luna got me that years ago.” Ginny snatched the book from Blaise and looked at the book nostalgically, “I think she even believes this is total rubbish now!”
“Luna? As in – Loony Lovegood?” Blaise asked, trying to stifle his laughter.
“Hey! Don’t call her that!” Ginny shouted in her friend’s defence, “Luna is one of the most brilliant women I know. You could learn something from her, I’m sure.”
“Yeah, maybe about imaginary moon frogs or something…” Blaise muttered and Ginny swatted his shoulder and grimaced at him, signally that he had better shut his mouth regarding Luna.
“I thought she was funny. Weird as hell, but funny.” Draco said simply causing Ginny to smile in appreciation.
The three of them delicately unpacked the ingredients, placing them on the shelves. Ginny couldn’t help but take sneak peaks at Draco, which made her feel silly and immature. He wasn’t wearing his usual white dress shirt and tie today; he was wearing a casual grey t-shirt which showed off his toned arms perfectly. She sensed absolutely no interest from him towards herself, though. The way he looked at her seemed completely void of any lust. She tried not to let it bother her, though. They were business partners. There is no room for romance in business.
Ginny’s eyes wandered down Draco’s left arm, and for the first the first time she noticed a gruesome scar. It looked as though someone hacked away at his forearm for hours, leaving a deep and distorted wound that healed unevenly. Draco’s eyes met Ginny’s as he noticed where she was staring and he quickly shifted his body so she was unable have a view of the scar. She couldn’t help but frown, as it was obvious what the scar had been. The dark mark. She suddenly felt a pang of sympathy towards Draco but quickly brushed it off.

They finished setting up the potions room. It was beautifully organized and ready to be used tomorrow for Ginny’s training. It seemed that even once their task was finished none of them were eager to part ways. So, they sat on Ginny’s balcony and admired the fireflies and the stars while sharing their funniest memories. Draco and Blaise were howling with laughter as Ginny told them a story of a young Ron, who had the misfortunes of sleepwalking and accidentally mistaking Percy’s wardrobe for the washroom. And Blaise forced Draco to tell the embarrassing story of the time he was at a muggle nightclub in Ireland and thought a beautiful woman was flirting with him all night – only to find out at the worst opportune moment that, to his surprise, it was not actually a woman. Eventually the conversation was turned to business discussion. Draco apparently had a meeting already arranged in a month with a potential investor so they needed to have a variety of potions mastered by then. Ginny felt a little stressed about the expectations placed on her but she felt certain her and Blaise would make a good team.
Eventually, Ginny let out a loud yawn. “Guys, I hate to cut the party short, but I need to get some sleep. Tomorrow is going to be a long day.”
Draco stood up and stretched, “Yeah, so should we. Besides, I should feed my cat.”
Ginny’s heart instantly melted, “Aww! You have a cat!? That is adorable!” Draco scowled at being called adorable by Ginny, clearly regretting mentioning the cat.
Blaise rolled his eyes, “Ugh, Draco and his damn cat. Why do girls always fawn over men with cats?”
“Shut up, Blaise.” Draco retorted, glaring at his friend. “Yes, I have a cat. His name is Plato, I got him a year ago, he’s still a kitten. You’ll have to meet him sometime.” He explained to Ginny while smiling. And she couldn’t help but beam up at him for two reasons: the thought of him having a little kitten was too cute AND the fact that he invited her over to his house sometime was exciting.
Eventually, she sent the two boys away, as they all bid their farewells until the next day. Ginny instantly crawled into bed and she quickly fell asleep. But not before excitedly imagining the future success of their company and her new friendships, and of course, the thought of Draco cuddled up with a little kitten named Plato.