03. Surprises
Once Ginny got over her anger with herself for berating Draco’s choice of restaurant, she found herself enjoying their conversation. Draco, despite his reputation, was a very interesting conversationalist. She laughed at his jokes and sarcasm. She enjoyed his stories of crazy business clients.
It seemed that he was truly enjoying her company as well. Things got heated when politics came up, but that was to be expected. What surprised her most was that Draco did not put down her opinion nor belittle her for her beliefs.
Ginny was having such a good time that she looked down at her watch and realized she’d been gone from the office for nearly three hours! She looked up and she knew Draco saw the shock in her face.
“What is it?” he asked with a note of concern.
“Nothing. I… it’s just that it’s nearly three. I really must be getting back. I am surprised Jane hasn’t paged me.”
“Oh.” Draco appeared shocked as well. “I had no idea. The time has flown so quickly.” He cleared his throat and motioned the waiter for the check.
“If you don’t mind, I am going to head back and write up my assessment. I’ll owl it to you and we can discuss what I feel your next steps should be.”
Draco nodded and stood as Ginny rose from her chair. She felt her face flush at the gentlemanly gesture and she stuck out her hand in an awkward manner. “Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I’ll be in touch.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as he took her hand in his. He raised it partway to his mouth and bent down the rest of the way, placing a tender kiss on her hand.
Ginny was now blushing furiously and she turned and hurried quickly from the restaurant.
Back in her office, she shut her door and leaned against it for support. She took a deep breath and sighed. Then, she shook her head and chuckled to herself.
“You really can lay it on thick, Mr. Malfoy,” she thought. She put her bag down, took off her jacket and began her assessment of Draco Malfoy’s 'first date' skills.
xxx
Draco had noticed the blush creep into the Doctor’s face. It was all he could do to keep from smiling smugly in front of her. He had made his point. He didn’t need a “date doctor.” He knew what he was doing. She’d send a glowing assessment stating how she wasn’t needed, he’d show his mother, and the whole thing would be over. He whistled as he strolled down the street.
But what if that didn’t happen? What if Doctor Weasley continued with this charade, saying he needed her help? What would he do? He wouldn’t exactly complain about her company. She told great stories and was very pleasant once you got her out of professional mode.
She was very easy on the eyes, especially when he got her to laugh or smile genuinely. He’d told a silly joke and the reaction he’d gotten from her was so lovely, he kept straining to remember more jokes just to see her smile again or hear her laugh.
“Malfoy! Hey!” he heard a familiar voice behind him. He couldn’t quite place it until he turned around. Seamus Finnegan. They hadn’t been the best of friends in school by any means, but when Draco switched sides, Seamus was one of the few Gryffindors whose company he had been able to tolerate at first.
“Finnegan, what’s up?” he asked as the sandy blonde fell in step with him. “Haven’t you got practice or something?” Finnegan was an assistant coach of the Chudley Cannons. Though brilliant at strategy, Finnegan was a horrible player.
“No practice this week. We have a break this weekend. What brings you down to these parts?”
“I had a lunch… date.”
“Oh really? Who with?”
“Well, it was business really. I met Ginny Weasley for lunch at Chateau Marmaude.” Seamus raised an eyebrow.
“Really? Doctor Weasley huh? You doing some business consulting for her?”
Draco thought for a second. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Hm,” was the only answer from the former Gryffindor. They walked in silence for a while. “She’s been coming to some of our games. I’ve been thinking about asking her out. I mean… I know she is picky and highly sought after and whatnot, but it’s been me asking her to our games and she’s come. That’s good right?”
Draco stopped and looked the young man over. He was handsome enough— even Pansy Parkinson had once said so. He also had a great career and had turned a losing team into the best team in the league. “I’d say so. You should go for it.”
“You think?” Finnegan asked.
“What’ve you got to lose? The worst she can say is no.”
“You’re right. So, you said you had lunch with her. I guess she’s back in her office now?”
“I assume that’s where she went. I didn’t walk her back.”
“Alright then, I think I’ll go for it like you said. See you later.” Finnegan gave Draco a rather abrupt, heavy pat on the back and trotted off in the direction of Doctor Weasley’s office.
Draco watched him for a minute or so before turning back on his way. He didn’t care that Finnegan was asking the Doctor out. He was trying to get rid of her really, wasn’t he? He shook his head and decided not to think about such things. He needed to go home and pack for his business trip.
xxx
Back in her office, Ginny was in the midst of her report. Jane’s voice came through on the speaker. “Doctor Weasley, Seamus Finnegan is here to see you.”
“Tell him I will be right with him, please.” She heard the click signaling Jane had heard her and sighed. Seamus had been giving her tickets to his team’s games for a month or so now. He would find his way to her after the games to chat. He would Floo sometimes to chat and see if she had any errands she’d like company on.
Ginny knew what Seamus was getting at. Now, he’d come to ask her out. He was handsome and fun. She’d fancied him for a while at Hogwarts, but had never shown it out of respect for Dean Thomas. Dean and Seamus were good friends and while Dean wasn’t hung up on Ginny, he hadn’t been exactly nice while she was with Harry. She hadn’t wanted to come between friends.
She rose from her desk, opened the door, and walked down the hall to the waiting room to find Seamus nervously pacing it. “Seamus, good to see you!” She smiled. “Come on back to my office.”
“Hey Gin. You look great!” he remarked as he followed her to her office. She remained silent and waited until he was in her office. She shut the door and walked around her desk to sit down.
“So Seamus, what brings you by?” she asked, full well knowing the answer.
“Ginny,” he leaned forward in his chair, “ I’d like to take you out to dinner.”
Before she knew it, her mouth was open and she was accepting. She knew he would think of it as a date, and she knew she wouldn’t feel the same. However, something in her said she should go out with him and get over the nice afternoon she’d had with Draco Malfoy. She needed to go on a date with Seamus to remind herself what kind of man she wanted. Draco Malfoy was most certainly not that man.
“Great!” Seamus was grinning ear to ear. “How about Friday? I can drop by the office and walk you to dinner and then we can have some drinks and dessert somewhere.”
“Sounds fabulous.” She smiled, hoping she sounded sincere.
“So it’s a date. I’ll see you Friday!” Seamus said as he rose from the chair. She rose to see him out. However, he came around her desk and drew her into an embrace. He kissed her cheek and she stood there stunned, watching him walk out.
She slumped down into her chair and dropped her head into her hands. What am I getting myself into? She wondered.
xxx
Draco received an owl from Doctor Weasley when he returned to town on Friday. This time it was addressed to him, not his mother. He was pleased about this. However, he was surprised to find the Doctor did actually have suggestions for him and had requested he owl back with a day and time for an appointment and come in the following week.
“What on Earth…?” he wondered aloud. He tossed the parchment aside and focused on changing out of his work clothes and into his card playing attire. He and the blokes were meeting for dinner and then playing cards in the back room of a popular, but not upscale, restaurant.
He hurried quickly back out, hoping to avoid his mother. He managed to do so and Apparated. He then began walking the familiar path to Roussell’s Bar and Grill. He entered and immediately found his raucous friends and took a seat.
A bit later on, when some of the boys headed to the bar before retreating to the back room for cards, Draco remained at the table sipping his wine. He glanced around and did a double take when he saw a flash of red hair. His eyes widened when he recognized Doctor Weasley herself on the arm of Seamus Finnegan.
They were walking through the restaurant on their way out. Her hand was tucked into his arm and she was laughing as he escorted her out of the restaurant. She was wearing a flirty, deep blue dress and she looked more gorgeous and elegant than ever.
Before Draco knew what had happened, he had squeezed his wine glass so hard it broke and shards of glass had cut into his hand. He hissed in pain and dropped the broken glass while shooting up, grabbing a napkin, and covering his bleeding hand.
Several people around him gasped and this attracted a lot of attention. He looked up and into the concerned brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.
“Mr. Malfoy! Here, let me help you. I do have a bit of medical training: first aid and all that,” she said almost shyly.
Draco merely watched, trying not to let his mouth gape open, as she pulled out her wand and took his hand in hers. She silently performed a few spells and the pain and the cuts were gone and mended.
“Thank you, Doctor Weasley.”
“You should be more careful with your wine, Mr. Malfoy. Good evening.” She smiled and turned back to Finnegan, who looked back at Draco and gave him the thumbs up sign. Draco gave a quick nod of his head and hurried quickly to the back room, hoping to avoid further embarrassment.
xxx
That night, Seamus tried to kiss Ginny, but she turned her head and his kiss landed on her cheek. She feigned innocence and bid him goodnight. Once inside, she fell onto her couch and silently berated herself.
She’d had a nice time with Seamus, but something was missing. He was handsome, funny, and polite, but that spark just wasn’t there. That spark was never there. She only felt it when— wait, she’d never felt it.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Doc.
Once Ginny got over her anger with herself for berating Draco’s choice of restaurant, she found herself enjoying their conversation. Draco, despite his reputation, was a very interesting conversationalist. She laughed at his jokes and sarcasm. She enjoyed his stories of crazy business clients.
It seemed that he was truly enjoying her company as well. Things got heated when politics came up, but that was to be expected. What surprised her most was that Draco did not put down her opinion nor belittle her for her beliefs.
Ginny was having such a good time that she looked down at her watch and realized she’d been gone from the office for nearly three hours! She looked up and she knew Draco saw the shock in her face.
“What is it?” he asked with a note of concern.
“Nothing. I… it’s just that it’s nearly three. I really must be getting back. I am surprised Jane hasn’t paged me.”
“Oh.” Draco appeared shocked as well. “I had no idea. The time has flown so quickly.” He cleared his throat and motioned the waiter for the check.
“If you don’t mind, I am going to head back and write up my assessment. I’ll owl it to you and we can discuss what I feel your next steps should be.”
Draco nodded and stood as Ginny rose from her chair. She felt her face flush at the gentlemanly gesture and she stuck out her hand in an awkward manner. “Thank you, Mr. Malfoy. I’ll be in touch.”
“You’re welcome,” he said as he took her hand in his. He raised it partway to his mouth and bent down the rest of the way, placing a tender kiss on her hand.
Ginny was now blushing furiously and she turned and hurried quickly from the restaurant.
Back in her office, she shut her door and leaned against it for support. She took a deep breath and sighed. Then, she shook her head and chuckled to herself.
“You really can lay it on thick, Mr. Malfoy,” she thought. She put her bag down, took off her jacket and began her assessment of Draco Malfoy’s 'first date' skills.
xxx
Draco had noticed the blush creep into the Doctor’s face. It was all he could do to keep from smiling smugly in front of her. He had made his point. He didn’t need a “date doctor.” He knew what he was doing. She’d send a glowing assessment stating how she wasn’t needed, he’d show his mother, and the whole thing would be over. He whistled as he strolled down the street.
But what if that didn’t happen? What if Doctor Weasley continued with this charade, saying he needed her help? What would he do? He wouldn’t exactly complain about her company. She told great stories and was very pleasant once you got her out of professional mode.
She was very easy on the eyes, especially when he got her to laugh or smile genuinely. He’d told a silly joke and the reaction he’d gotten from her was so lovely, he kept straining to remember more jokes just to see her smile again or hear her laugh.
“Malfoy! Hey!” he heard a familiar voice behind him. He couldn’t quite place it until he turned around. Seamus Finnegan. They hadn’t been the best of friends in school by any means, but when Draco switched sides, Seamus was one of the few Gryffindors whose company he had been able to tolerate at first.
“Finnegan, what’s up?” he asked as the sandy blonde fell in step with him. “Haven’t you got practice or something?” Finnegan was an assistant coach of the Chudley Cannons. Though brilliant at strategy, Finnegan was a horrible player.
“No practice this week. We have a break this weekend. What brings you down to these parts?”
“I had a lunch… date.”
“Oh really? Who with?”
“Well, it was business really. I met Ginny Weasley for lunch at Chateau Marmaude.” Seamus raised an eyebrow.
“Really? Doctor Weasley huh? You doing some business consulting for her?”
Draco thought for a second. “Yes, you could say that.”
“Hm,” was the only answer from the former Gryffindor. They walked in silence for a while. “She’s been coming to some of our games. I’ve been thinking about asking her out. I mean… I know she is picky and highly sought after and whatnot, but it’s been me asking her to our games and she’s come. That’s good right?”
Draco stopped and looked the young man over. He was handsome enough— even Pansy Parkinson had once said so. He also had a great career and had turned a losing team into the best team in the league. “I’d say so. You should go for it.”
“You think?” Finnegan asked.
“What’ve you got to lose? The worst she can say is no.”
“You’re right. So, you said you had lunch with her. I guess she’s back in her office now?”
“I assume that’s where she went. I didn’t walk her back.”
“Alright then, I think I’ll go for it like you said. See you later.” Finnegan gave Draco a rather abrupt, heavy pat on the back and trotted off in the direction of Doctor Weasley’s office.
Draco watched him for a minute or so before turning back on his way. He didn’t care that Finnegan was asking the Doctor out. He was trying to get rid of her really, wasn’t he? He shook his head and decided not to think about such things. He needed to go home and pack for his business trip.
xxx
Back in her office, Ginny was in the midst of her report. Jane’s voice came through on the speaker. “Doctor Weasley, Seamus Finnegan is here to see you.”
“Tell him I will be right with him, please.” She heard the click signaling Jane had heard her and sighed. Seamus had been giving her tickets to his team’s games for a month or so now. He would find his way to her after the games to chat. He would Floo sometimes to chat and see if she had any errands she’d like company on.
Ginny knew what Seamus was getting at. Now, he’d come to ask her out. He was handsome and fun. She’d fancied him for a while at Hogwarts, but had never shown it out of respect for Dean Thomas. Dean and Seamus were good friends and while Dean wasn’t hung up on Ginny, he hadn’t been exactly nice while she was with Harry. She hadn’t wanted to come between friends.
She rose from her desk, opened the door, and walked down the hall to the waiting room to find Seamus nervously pacing it. “Seamus, good to see you!” She smiled. “Come on back to my office.”
“Hey Gin. You look great!” he remarked as he followed her to her office. She remained silent and waited until he was in her office. She shut the door and walked around her desk to sit down.
“So Seamus, what brings you by?” she asked, full well knowing the answer.
“Ginny,” he leaned forward in his chair, “ I’d like to take you out to dinner.”
Before she knew it, her mouth was open and she was accepting. She knew he would think of it as a date, and she knew she wouldn’t feel the same. However, something in her said she should go out with him and get over the nice afternoon she’d had with Draco Malfoy. She needed to go on a date with Seamus to remind herself what kind of man she wanted. Draco Malfoy was most certainly not that man.
“Great!” Seamus was grinning ear to ear. “How about Friday? I can drop by the office and walk you to dinner and then we can have some drinks and dessert somewhere.”
“Sounds fabulous.” She smiled, hoping she sounded sincere.
“So it’s a date. I’ll see you Friday!” Seamus said as he rose from the chair. She rose to see him out. However, he came around her desk and drew her into an embrace. He kissed her cheek and she stood there stunned, watching him walk out.
She slumped down into her chair and dropped her head into her hands. What am I getting myself into? She wondered.
xxx
Draco received an owl from Doctor Weasley when he returned to town on Friday. This time it was addressed to him, not his mother. He was pleased about this. However, he was surprised to find the Doctor did actually have suggestions for him and had requested he owl back with a day and time for an appointment and come in the following week.
“What on Earth…?” he wondered aloud. He tossed the parchment aside and focused on changing out of his work clothes and into his card playing attire. He and the blokes were meeting for dinner and then playing cards in the back room of a popular, but not upscale, restaurant.
He hurried quickly back out, hoping to avoid his mother. He managed to do so and Apparated. He then began walking the familiar path to Roussell’s Bar and Grill. He entered and immediately found his raucous friends and took a seat.
A bit later on, when some of the boys headed to the bar before retreating to the back room for cards, Draco remained at the table sipping his wine. He glanced around and did a double take when he saw a flash of red hair. His eyes widened when he recognized Doctor Weasley herself on the arm of Seamus Finnegan.
They were walking through the restaurant on their way out. Her hand was tucked into his arm and she was laughing as he escorted her out of the restaurant. She was wearing a flirty, deep blue dress and she looked more gorgeous and elegant than ever.
Before Draco knew what had happened, he had squeezed his wine glass so hard it broke and shards of glass had cut into his hand. He hissed in pain and dropped the broken glass while shooting up, grabbing a napkin, and covering his bleeding hand.
Several people around him gasped and this attracted a lot of attention. He looked up and into the concerned brown eyes of Ginny Weasley.
“Mr. Malfoy! Here, let me help you. I do have a bit of medical training: first aid and all that,” she said almost shyly.
Draco merely watched, trying not to let his mouth gape open, as she pulled out her wand and took his hand in hers. She silently performed a few spells and the pain and the cuts were gone and mended.
“Thank you, Doctor Weasley.”
“You should be more careful with your wine, Mr. Malfoy. Good evening.” She smiled and turned back to Finnegan, who looked back at Draco and gave him the thumbs up sign. Draco gave a quick nod of his head and hurried quickly to the back room, hoping to avoid further embarrassment.
xxx
That night, Seamus tried to kiss Ginny, but she turned her head and his kiss landed on her cheek. She feigned innocence and bid him goodnight. Once inside, she fell onto her couch and silently berated herself.
She’d had a nice time with Seamus, but something was missing. He was handsome, funny, and polite, but that spark just wasn’t there. That spark was never there. She only felt it when— wait, she’d never felt it.
Yeah, keep telling yourself that, Doc.
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