Ginny Weasley was furious. This was the fourth time in a week that Draco Malfoy had sent an obnoxiously large bouquet of oriental lilies to her office.

“What the bloody hell do you think you're doing?” Ginny practically screamed as she burst into Malfoy's office, despite the haughty protests of his secretary.

“Lovely to see you too, Gin,” Draco drawled. He smirked, knowing his plot had to be working. He and Ginny had been seeing each other, much to the chagrin of their respective families, for almost two years now. Draco had pushed and shoved his way into her life for nine months before she'd finally agreed to go out with him. At first, they'd exchanged snide comments and thinly veiled insults, until the wine got to them both and they started discussing (arguing might be a better description) the chances of the Cannons winning that year. Things had gone well after Draco had, grudgingly, agreed that the Cannons looked good for at least the finals.

So after nearly two years, Draco had made up his mind. Ginny would be his, in name and heart both. He had asked her upwards of ten times to marry him. The week after the first proposal was awful, as he recalled.



“Ginevra Molly Weasley, will you marry me?” Draco had asked quite simply, flaunting the very large ring he'd chosen for her in front of the entire restaurant. Ginny had been laughing at something or other the minute before. He'd taken the moment when her eyes were closed to stand. He didn't kneel. Malfoys did not kneel for anyone, love of their life or not. As soon as the entire question was out of his mouth though, the expression of mirth left her face.

“Draco, I-” she'd started.

Draco placed a finger over her lips and then kissed her, smiling triumphantly. He knew she'd say yes. But when he pulled away, Ginny was glaring at him.

“No.”

“Excuse me?” Draco asked after a few silent seconds. He must have heard wrong. There was no way Ginny had just said “no” to his proposal of marriage. Right?

“I said no,” Ginny responded flatly.

Draco raised his eyebrows incredulously. “There's a time for jokes, Ginevra, but this is not it,” Draco said sternly before taking his seat.

Her glare deepened. “I am deadly serious,” she almost growled.

He smirked. “No one turns down a Malfoy.”

“Ah, well record this in the history books then, because I just did.” Ginny delicately set her napkin on the table and strode out of the restaurant, leaving Draco in a quiet rage and snapping his fingers for the check.


Draco almost laughed at the memory. That had been two months ago. She'd spent a week at her mother's house refusing his owls or visits. Finally, she'd come home and explained.


“Draco, the imperious, bad boy attitude was rather attractive in the beginning. But you do not own me. Throwing a temper tantrum when you don't get what you want is not the way to force me to say yes.” Ginny sighed. “I love you more than my own life. But you went about this all wrong.”

“Well, what do you want from me?” Draco snapped.

Ginny put her head in her hands. “I don't want to have to tell you.”

“I can't read minds, Ginevra!” Draco growled.

She knew he was angry when he used her proper name. It was so frustrating though! She was a very simple woman; one of the many reasons he'd said he'd fallen in love with her. So why didn't he get it? “I don't expect you to. But that proposal was not the kind of thing I envisioned. You should know me better than that,” she answered softly as she walked out the door.


Ginny had been staying only one or two nights a week at their shared flat since that night. He'd tried proposing to her at work, to the many 'oohs' and 'awws' from the women in her office. He had done everything he could think of, including buying a brand new, much bigger ring for her. Ginny had flatly refused every time.


The woman in question stood in front of his desk, fuming. She'd finally had it with his expensive gifts and grand gestures.

“Why do you insist on embarrassing me this way?” she barked.

“It is embarrassing for you to receive lavish gifts from your fiancé?” he asked.

“Girlfriend,” she corrected in a snarl.

“Future wife.”

“I am ten seconds from launching myself over that desk and/or hexing you to oblivion.”

“Now, now, Gin. How would it look for the future Mrs. Malfoy to behave so uncouthly?” Draco smirked.

Ginny pulled her wand out and pointed it straight at his perfect nose. “I've had enough, Draco,” she said. Her voice was steady and very, very calm. Dangerously calm. “It's over.”

Draco stared after her as she turned on her heel and walked out of his office.




Ginny did not come home that night. Nor did she come home the next night. Draco could not believe any woman would actually dump a Malfoy. He continued to owl her, to no avail. That Monday morning, he pulled out all the stops.

“Ginny, you have a delivery.” Adeline called into Ginny's small office.

Ginny looked up from the forms she was going over, yet again.

“Bring it in,” she mumbled as she lowered her head back to the papers in front of her. Without warning, four men came into her office singing in harmony at the top of their lungs. Ginny looked up, her eyes wide.

“Be fair, dear love, and answer our one simple question!” The men crooned, lying a delicate blue velvet box on her desk.

Ginny glanced to her door, noticing all the women from her department hovering near the door, no doubt trying to get a glimpse of yet another of Draco's reconciliation attempts.

“Will you marry the man?” The tallest of the men lulled to her, fluttering his overly long eyelashes.

She put a hand up to stop him from saying more. “Get out of my office before I have you escorted off the premises.”

“Darling, I know you won't settle for anything less than the absolute best.” Draco strolled into her office at that moment, carrying a large vase with at least a dozen crimson roses in one hand and a small box in the other.

Ginny rolled her eyes. Women were still outside her door, swooning now at the sight of the infamous Draco Malfoy. Ginny suppressed a groan, then stood up.

“If you're going to do it big, my love,” she smiled sweetly. Had Draco been paying attention, he would have seen the danger flash in her chocolate eyes. “Then do it big.” She led him and his four singing men, out the door and in plain view of everyone. Women rushed back to their desks, keeping an eye on the scene.

“But of course, my lady love,” Draco smiled. He was finally getting his way.

“Go ahead.”

“Ginevra, marry me! You'll have the best of everything with me; the most lavish lifestyle and baubles you could dream up.” Draco began with a flourish. He was putting on a bit of a show, really. Ginny smirked. “Nothing will be spared. We'll invite all of Britain! It will be the wedding of the century! All for you, love!” He lifted the small box to her level and opened it with a swish of his wand.

“Are you quite finished?” Ginny asked with a saccharine smile. He smirked and nodded for her to accept his proposal, finally. “Draco Malfoy, you are the most presumptuous, self-absorbed person I have ever met. I love you with every ounce of my being. But I refuse to be ordered into a marriage! You obviously have not been paying any attention for the last two years if you honestly believed that buying more opulent gifts would win me over!” Ginny was almost shouting, “I will most certainly not marry such a pompous prick!” With another smile and a small curtsey, Ginny stalked into her office, slamming the door for effect.






“I don't understand, Blaise. What woman wouldn't want me?” Draco slurred.

Blaise rolled his eyes. Draco had flooed into his flat two hours earlier, already sloshed and shouting about crazy bints who didn't appreciate what they had.

“Well, my friend, what kind of upbringing did Ginny have?” Blaise asked disinterestedly. He knew Draco better than anyone on the planet, therefore he knew how narcissistic his friend was. Draco was so utterly full of himself that he had not realized what Ginny truly wanted.

“She lived in a hovel before she met me!” Draco shouted, his Firewhisky sloshing over the rim of his glass.

“She grew up simply, Draco,” Blaise responded blandly.

Draco looked up from his glass, attempting to focus on both of Blaise's heads. “Which means she should appreciate all the things I give her.”

“No, mate, it means that she isn't in love with you for your money!” Blaise finally replied exasperatedly.

Draco quirked his head to the side in confusion.

“She doesn't want posh gifts and expensive dates. She wants something original, something from the heart.”

“No. Every woman wants diamonds.” Draco laughed.

“No, you imbecile,” Blaise snatched the glass out of Draco's hand and handed him a vial of sobering potion. Draco downed it, mistaking it for a refill. He pulled a face and glared at Blaise after a moment when the potion took affect.

“What the bloody hell are you on about? 'Something from the heart?' I didn't know you were a romantic,” Draco sneered at his best friend. Blaise chuckled.

“Oh, I'm not. I just happen to know how much you love Ginny and how much the crazy witch loves you,” Blaise replied.

“How do you know how much she loves me?”

“She came to see me last night.”

“Blaise,” Draco growled. Blaise smirked.

“She's a feisty one,” Blaise wiggled his eyebrows. Draco whipped his wand out and pointed it at his best friend. Blaise laughed out right at that.

“I'm only joking, though I wouldn't mind taking her on,” the darker man said, still chuckling. Draco snarled again. Blaise smirked, but put his hands up in surrender.

“She simply told me what she wanted. She complained that though she knows you love her, she feels like you're trying to buy her love. She's not one of your toys, mate.”

“Thank you, I'm aware,” Draco snapped sarcastically.

“Obviously not.”

“I will gladly feed you to the red caps I saw on my last trip to the Lowlands if you don't shut up,” Draco threatened.

“All I'm saying is, make yourself vulnerable,” Blaise quipped. Draco put his wand away and stood.

“Why should I? She dumped me. In front of her entire office.” Draco lifted his chin stubbornly.

“Because you love the crazy bint and would die without her.” Blaise put a hand over his heart dramatically.

“Yeah, I suppose you're right,” Draco grunted and stepped into the fireplace.




Ginny sat at her desk, glancing at the clock every five minutes. She had had a long day of paperwork and was ready to go home. Though she would never admit it, she was disappointed that Draco hadn't contacted her today. She missed him. She had spent the night before at her mother's kitchen table, drinking cup of tea after cup of tea and crying to Molly. Mrs. Weasley had been comforting and told Ginny that Draco would eventually come around. The tone in her voice though suggested that she sincerely hoped the exact opposite happened.

Ginny had just signed her last form and stood to gather her things when there was a light knock on her door.

“Come in,” she sighed loudly.

Draco entered and closed the door softly behind him.

“Before you say anything, Gin, I owe you an apology,” Draco began.

Ginny crossed her arms over her chest and lifted her chin. She didn't say anything though. She never thought she'd hear the day a Malfoy apologized.

“I love you. You are the most amazing witch I've ever met. You make me laugh and you challenge me. You don't let me get away with my pompous git routine. But best of all, Gin love, you're just as crazy about me as I am about you.”

Ginny was at a loss. Not only had he apologized, but he'd admitted to being a git! She pinched herself, thinking she was dreaming.

Draco stepped forward and took her hands in his. “I know I've been a royal prat about all this. I really hope I haven't mucked things up too badly though,” he said quietly. “I love you, Ginevra. Please do me the honor of being my wife.”

Ginny stared at him skeptically for a moment. “No ridiculously expensive gifts? No singing quartet?”

“No. Just you and me,” Draco confirmed.

Ginny continued to stare at him for another moment. Then she smiled very slowly. “OK,” she shrugged.

Draco's mouth dropped a little. “That's it? Just OK?”

“Yes, just OK,” Ginny smiled.

Draco glared at her. Then he laughed.

“OK,” he agreed. Then he got down on one knee and pulled a familiar small box from his pocket, “But if it's just OK, then you have to accept this ring.” He opened the box. A very large, square cut diamond sat on a band, surrounded by slightly less huge diamonds. It was, quite obviously, a very expensive, lavish ring. Something Ginny never would have picked for herself. But somehow, she thought, it suited the couple perfectly.

“OK.”