Chapter 10—A Night at the Opera

The ninth page of the book held the program for an opera dated six and a half years earlier.

Ginny heard the crack as Draco apparated into her living room. Smiling, she slipped on her shoes and took one last look in the mirror on the way out of her bedroom. Green was a good color on her. Draco always liked her in green; he claimed it made him forget she was a Gryffindor. From the smirk on his face every time she wore it, she was fairly certain he remembered all too well she was a Gryffindor and was just mentally congratulating himself on getting her into Slytherin colors.

"Hi."

Draco turned. His gaze flickered momentarily to her hair then traveled very slowly down her body. His eyes darkened, lingering on the curves the dress accentuated.

Ginny accepted his perusal in silence, waiting. The emerald green dress she had borrowed from Angelina was just a bit big, skimming lightly over her waist and small hips, neckline resting a bit lower on her breasts than was intended. The straps rested just barely on the outside of her shoulders, leaving a wide expanse of creamy skin exposed over her neck, collarbone, and chest. By the time Draco's gaze returned to hers he was already right in front of her, pushing her gently back until she was against the wall, face millimeters from hers.

"You're wearing green." His voice was barely above a whisper. His lips were on hers in the next second.

He kissed her slowly but deeply, body pressed firmly against hers. One hand cupped her neck, angling to get deeper into her mouth. His other hand ran down over the bare skin of her back, over the curve of her bum, and around to the side of her dress, tracing the curve up from her hip to her waist and grazing the side of her breast. When his finger very lightly traced her neckline down to the point and slipped inside, Ginny's breath caught. Draco's hands slowed, but he didn't pull back. He spoke softly, lips still lightly pressed against hers. "If we don't leave right now, we're not going to leave at all."

Ginny groaned softly and let her head fall softly back against the wall. She sighed, fingers toying idly with the fabric of Draco's shirt where it met the waistband of his pants. "I can think of worse ideas."

Draco leaned against Ginny, his head dropping into the nook where her bare neck met her collarbone. He very slowly lifted his head again, lips trailing from her shoulder up her jawbone. When they reached her ear, he spoke softly. "Later."

Ginny dug her fingers into his hips against the sudden pulse of blood that rushed between her legs at his whispered word. She held on tightly, taking a final moment to relish the pressure of his hips against hers. Reluctantly, she lightly pushed him away from her. "Let's go, then. I didn't spend all this time doing my hair to have you tear it apart."

Draco's gaze—still a bit dark from their brief seduction game—flickered to her hair again, but he said nothing as he handed her her wrap and pulled the door open. "Ladies first."

Draco held his peace all the way to the opera house and all the way inside. It wasn't until they were in their box with the curtain drawn behind them that he spoke. "Your hair is brown."

"Yes it is."

"Any particular reason?"

Ginny brushed a few strands of brown hair out of her face and smiled mischievously. "It clashed with my dress?"

"Of course." Draco guided Ginny to her seat with a hand in the small of her back. "Because it is a universally acknowledged fact that redheads are absolute rubbish in green."

Ginny sat carefully, shoulders back to keep the precarious neckline in place. "That was a rather sad attempt at a lie, I grant you."

Draco took his seat beside her. "I came up with better ones as a first year caught in the corridors after hours by Snape."

"That's an unfair example, seeing as you were his teacher's pet." Ginny's left opera glove slid down to her elbow. She tugged it back up, raising an eyebrow at Draco as she did. "He only pretended to believe you, and that doesn't count."

"Yes, but my lies were creative and so signified a more commendable effort." Draco's hands stopped hers. "What you just offered me was an embarrassment to the art of deception."

"I beg your pardon. I'll be sure to lie more convincingly next time." Ginny watched Draco straighten her glove for her, tugging it up to the proper height. "You're quite good with women's opera gloves. Anything you'd care to tell me?"

Draco smirked. "I've helped remove quite a few of them over the years."

Ginny's eyes flickered to Draco's. "Any plans to remove mine tonight?"

Draco traced a path on the bare skin between the top of her glove and the strap of her dress. "Of course."

Ginny shivered and looked away. An obviously annoyed young girl two boxes away caught her attention. "Does being here bring back happy memories from your childhood?"

Draco pulled his hand away from her arm and scoffed slightly. "I despised the opera."

The image of a glowering little Draco in child-sized dress robes plugging his ears and pouting danced into Ginny's head. She smirked. "Evidently your opinion as changed."

Draco looked at her. "I despise the opera."

"Then why are we here?"

"Women love the opera. Didn't you know?"

"I must have missed that memo."

Draco tugged at his right glove and looked at her sideways. "Obviously you're defective."

"You mean I'm a defector?"

"No. You're defective." Draco smirked and glanced around them, then back to Ginny. "Everyone I've ever dated has begged me for nights at the opera. You're sure you're a woman?"

Ginny glanced down at her cleavage. "The evidence seems fairly conclusive."

"Yes." Draco's eyes followed hers. They lingered on the exposed skin for a moment. "The verdict appears sound."

The lights flashed on and off three times.

"They're almost ready to start." Draco glanced at the curtain behind them lining the entrance to their box. "You really don't like opera?"

"I don't know." Ginny shrugged. "My childhood evenings were spent refereeing family Quidditch games, not listening to fat guys carrying on for an hour about being stabbed before they finally kick off. I've never spent a night at the opera in my life."

Draco sighed and pushed his cloak off his shoulders. "We'll have to stay, then. Far be it for me to deprive you of your first operatic experience."

"Not to mention you already paid for the tickets."

"There's that." Draco reached behind her to pull the wrap from her shoulders. "We'll have to break up soon. You're able to predict my moves far too accurately."

"I get a surly companion, a night at the opera, and a breakup? Be still, my beating heart."

"Yes, you're very lucky." The lights went down, and the orchestra started to play. Draco leaned over to whisper in Ginny's ear. "Prepare for the worst two hours of your life."

"That was the worst two hours of my life."

Draco smirked and held her wrap up for her. "I told you to prepare; evidently you don't listen. We can add that to your list of defects."

"And we'll add 'Has dreadfully bad taste in entertainment' to yours." Ginny pulled the wrap around her. "Is it wrong that I applauded when the main character died?"

"It was bad form, but justified." Draco pulled his cloak over his shoulders and pulled the curtain back, motioning her out of the box. "It was wrong that you tried to cast a Silencio on that chorus girl during her solo, though; it isn't her fault she's appalling."

"I was simply trying to make the opera a little more interesting. I expect it's boring for the performers to have no variety night after night." Ginny swept out of the box. She glanced back over her shoulder at her boyfriend. "I'm probably their new favorite audience member."

"I can't take you anywhere."

"You'd think that some of your boring qualities would have rubbed off on me by now, seeing as we've been together for six months. Apparently you're not a terribly good teacher."

"Or you just don't listen. I believe we've now come full circle."

Ginny scrunched up her face but didn't reply.

They made the trip back to her flat in silence. Once Ginny had kicked off her shoes—Draco had chosen to leave his on, thank you very much—they settled in on the couch with a bottle of wine and two glasses.

"You know, Blaise tried to take me to the opera once."

"Did he?" Draco's voice was mild. He expertly twisted in the corkscrew and pulled the stopper out of the wine bottle.

"He did. Said it would be an educational experience."

Draco poured the wine into one of the glasses. "You didn't go."

"No." Ginny accepted the glass from Draco. She took a sip. "He was terribly disappointed. Frankly, after tonight, I don't see why."

"You're a terrible liar." Draco's voice was conversational as he filled the second glass. "I was grateful for it during the opera as it distracted me from the atrocity onstage, but now it's becoming a bit trying."

Ginny paused mid-sip. "I'm sorry?"

"Blaise hates the opera, perhaps even more than I do; he only goes to the opera with women he's sleeping with." Draco set the bottle of wine down on her coffee table. He sat back and looked at her. "That's particularly interesting, since you told me you've always just been friends. I have to wonder why you'd bring him up at all, much less lie about it."

Ginny's heartbeat sped up very slightly. "I just thought-"

"For that matter, I'm also interested in knowing the real reason you changed your hair color and why you were evasive about that. Maybe it has something to do with why you never look quite like you when we go out in public?" Draco swirled his wine around the glass but didn't drink it. "Funny how the longer we date the more you lie."

Ginny took a long sip of wine. The hand holding the glass shook very slightly as it moved away from her lips. "Draco-"

"I'm beginning to wonder why we're dating at all."

Ginny's heart stopped.

Draco raised an eyebrow. He gestured for her to speak. "Well?"

"Well what? What do you want me to say?" Ginny took another long sip of wine, fighting to maintain her composure. She was reeling a bit trying to catch up with Draco's shift in moods. "If I've been lying so much, there's no reason for you to believe anything I say now."

Draco frowned. His eyes swept over Ginny's face. He tilted his head, considering. "That is not the reaction I was expecting."

Ginny raised her eyebrows. She set down her wine. An uncomfortable feeling of fear began climbing up her throat, mingling with the irritation already growing there. "What, you were expecting me to crumble and lay bare my soul?"

"I was expecting you to give a damn."

"I'm sorry, what's the problem here?" Draco's face blurred very slightly. Ginny wasn't sure when her eyes had become so wet. "You knew my job was sensitive when we started dating. You knew there are things I can't tell you."

"This isn't about your job; this is about Blaise."

"Who I work with. All of my dealings with Blaise are work-related, and that's all I can tell you." The first of the tears slipped from her eyes and slid down her cheeks. Ginny didn't know if they were from fear or anger. "If you can't handle that, there's the door."

Draco's face was impassive. He drained all of his wine in one go and set the glass down. He stood. "If you can't tell me why you're lying about your past with my best friend, then maybe I should walk through it."

Ginny's eyes narrowed through the tears. A vice-like hand clamped around her heart. She held his gaze. "Maybe you should."

Draco pulled his cloak on and fastened the silver clasp. He opened the door and walked through it without a backward glance. The door slowly swung shut behind him.