Ginny’s musings on the boy were interrupted when Scorpius Malfoy entered and confidently walked to her table, a small but warm smile lighting up his pale face.

“Ms Ginny, what a pleasure to see you again,” he said softly, extending a hand to her. Considering his demeanor, Ginny was surprised he didn’t brush his lips against the back of her hand when she placed it in his. “I hope you are well?”

Ginny smiled. “Very well, thanks. How have you been? Your father has not banned you from meeting with me, I see.”

Scorpius’s smile faded for an instant. “He doesn’t exactly know that I have come to see you,” he stated softly, “But that is all beside the point.”

The waitress had stopped at their table and was quite obviously waiting for an order. She raised her eyebrows expectantly.

“Erm,” Ginny started, feeling slightly uneasy since yesterday’s food choice had caused so much disgust for Scorpius. Her uncomfortable mutterings were silenced when Scorpius interjected.

“We won’t be eating here, thank you.”

Rolling her eyes, the waitress left rather abruptly. Ginny, confused, just looked down at her magazine.

“I cannot believe you read that garbage,” Scorpius said unexpectedly.

“It’s purely entertainment; I don’t actually take this stuff seriously.”

“Well, you should not have purchased it. By buying that filth, you have contributed to the slandering, repulsive culture that creates it.” The hatred in his voice was unmistakable. A sneer flashed on his lips. For the first time since their meeting, Scorpius seemed exactly like his father.

“Oh,” Ginny said, thrown off guard by his behavior, “Sorry, then.” Attempting to quickly change the subject, she inquired as to where they might be eating.

Scorpius stood and offered his arm to her, his normally kind demeanor returning. “We will be going someplace else.” He smiled, “It’s a surprise.”

Ginny hesitantly took his arm and instantly felt the unpleasant feeling of side-along Apparition. She had never been a great fan of Apparating; it always seemed to leave her nauseous. Once her feet hit the ground again at their destination, it took a few seconds to regain her balance. She was glad she had not eaten at the Yodeling Dwarf. If she had, she would have lost her meal on Scoripus’s gleaming shoes.

“I would like to welcome you to my house,” Scorpius said with a strong tenor of pride in his voice.

Ginny looked up. ‘House’ was an understatement; ‘palace’ was a little better. The entire landscape was dominated by a mansion of dark brick and gleaming marble. Gardens lined the pathway that lead up to the huge front door while white peacocks glanced around lazily at the new guests, seeming like pearls on a background of emerald velvet. The effect was breathtaking.

And more than a bit unnerving.

“What?” Ginny sputtered after regaining her senses. “You took me to your house? Can’t we go to a restaurant? Why here? Your father is--”

“My father isn’t here,” Scorpius interrupted. “Our cook has prepared some lovely grilled salmon that will convince you to never eat at that godforsaken inn again.”

Ginny reluctantly followed the young Malfoy into the house. Although she didn’t necessarily want to be in the same house that the Malfoy family had owned for generations, she did not want to be seen as whatever rude things that Draco Malfoy had undoubtly been filling his son’s head with. If it was just her and Scorpius it couldn’t be that bad. Draco Malfoy’s son, against all odds, seemed to have turned out a pleasant and well-balanced individual unlike the rest of the family.

When she was seated at the end of a sparkling dining table, she knew she had made the right decision. The smells that wafted from the kitchen area were to die for. Not to mention the room was unspeakably gorgeous with crystal chandeliers and pure white marble floors. Dominating the décor, however, was a huge painting of Roman ruin with clouds in the background that moved lazily across the deep blue sky. It was uncommonly serene for a man of Draco Malfoy’s tastes.

The feast was about to begin when a small house elf scurried into the room.

“Young Master Malfoy,” it squeaked with an impossibly low bow to Scorpius, “your--”

Ginny couldn’t hear the rest because she was distracted by a tall man in an impeccable black suit walked into the room from behind the elf. His silver hair gleamed unnaturally in the soft light of the chandeliers. He would have looked near angelic had it not been for the malicious sneer on his face.

“Why if it isn’t Mrs. Potter,” his voiced dripped with sarcasm. “What a pleasure it is to see you again. And in my own house, no less.”

Draco Malfoy was home.

He stood in the elaborate arched entrance of the dining room, his mouth tense and his eyes cold. Ginny was frozen in shock. Scorpius had promised her that he was out but this was obviously not the case. Draco just stared at her, his contempt making the small frown lines on his forehead grow more pronounced even in the soft lighting of the room.

The cold silence was eventually broken by Scorpius.

“I apologize for the surprise, Father,” his tone was smooth and calming, much like someone who was accustomed to intense situations, “would you care to join us?”

Draco, however, acted like he hadn’t heard his son.

“What brings you to my--” one side of his lips twitched up into the classic Malfoy smirk, “humble abode?”

“Your son invited me.” Ginny mentally cursed for not being able to come up with something just as bitingly sarcastic, but the presence of the younger Scorpius made her uncomfortable. If it was just the two of them, Draco and Ginny alone, she could revert to her childhood nasty retorts without remorse. Unfortunately, with Scorpius in the room she couldn’t make herself get into the verbal combat mode that his father was so accustomed to.

Adding to her discomfort was Draco Malfoy’s apparent sense of her mental dilemma. He laughed softly, mocking Ginny’s social incompetence. With one last hard look at his son, he left.

“I must apologize for my father,” Scorpius said immediately after his father left the room, “again. He had no right to be so impolite. It is very unlike him.”

Ginny would have laughed if the young man had not been so serious. Unlike Draco Malfoy to be rude? It had to be a joke.

Yet Scorpius did not laugh, instead he continued apologetically, “Please do not allow yourself to feel unwelcome here. I really would like to speak with you but, if you feel too uncomfortable, I will not stop you from leaving. It is your choice.”

Ginny seriously considered leaving. A night alone in her room sounded like the greatest thing in the entire world at the moment. However, by leaving she would be admitting defeat, something she could not bring herself to do. No, she would grin and bear the uncomfortable dinner in the house of her old enemy. She just hoped it would make Draco as on edge as it made her.

“Of course I’ll stay for dinner,” Ginny said with a warm smile to Scorpius, “after your cook prepared such a grand feast, how could I leave?”

“Wonderful!” Scorpius said, his face lighting up with excitement. “Now if you do not mind, I would love to ask you a few more questions regarding what we spoke of the other day.”

Ginny waited for him to continue, confused. Surely he hadn’t brought her here to lecture her on the horrors of the eating choices at the Yodeling Dwarf.

“The final battle, when the Dark Lord was defeated. Were you there?”

“Yes,” Ginny replied uncertainly. Suddenly, she was wishing she had gone home when she had the chance.

“Who else was with you?”

“Well, a lot of people really. Everyone showed up to help in the fight. My family was all there, as well as a few Aurors, and of course--” anger flared inside of her as she thought of the person who was perhaps the most instrumental in the fight.

“Who?” Scorpius was at the edge of his seat, hanging on Ginny’s words.

“The Hogwarts professors,” she finished lamely. Ginny did not want to talk about the famous Harry Potter right now.

The answer seemed to satisfy Scorpius for the time being. He leaned back in his chair, the eagerness had left his eyes and once more, he was polite and charming. The rest of his questions were fairly common.

“So what do you do now?” he asked as a tiny elf brought out a tray of various deserts.

“Well, for a while I did some freelancing with the profit. Sports section,” Ginny answered, spooning some kind of cobbler onto her plate. “I stopped years ago. Just didn’t have the time anymore.” She felt a pang through her heart. The reason she had stopped working had been for her kids, of course. She hadn’t talked to them since she left Harry.

“Enough about me, have you liked your experience at Hogwarts?” Ginny asked, eager to change the topic.

“It has been educational,” Scorpius said blandly, “though undoubtedly, my father is disappointed. You see,” he continued after seeing the look of confusion on Ginny’s face, “I did not make the Quidditch team. I would much prefer reading a good book than to go out on a broomstick and toss balls around.” He paused for a second. “I’m more like my mother that way.”

“What was your mother like?” Ginny felt this might be too personal a question but her curiosity could not be silenced.

“She was very gentle, from what I remember,” Scorpius said quietly.

“I’m sorry that you lost her so young.”

“I did not lose her,” Scorpius said, that gleam returned to his eyes; that look that something else was lurking underneath his collected demeanor. “She was taken from me.”

Ginny, uncomfortable with the direction the meal had taken, searched for a distraction. Luckily, another elf had just walked in from the kitchen with yet another large tray of what looked like small frosted cookies.

“I can’t eat another bite,” Ginny stated.

Scorpius laughed, at once becoming his old self, “Excellent decision. Another tray would me the death of me.”

Ginny glanced at the window. All signs of light had vanished.

Scorpius seemed to read her mind. “Time for you to leave, I expect.”

Ginny smiled, nodding. She said her endless thanks for the remarkable meal and her goodbyes to the youngest Malfoy.

“We will see each other again soon,” Scorpius said, hope filling his voice.

“Any time. You know where to find me.”

With a smile and a wave, Ginny left the manor. Walking down the long walk, she couldn’t help but smile. Scorpius may have been a bit odd on certain subjects but his polite good humor was contagious.

Walking down the long gravel pathway towards the gates that marked the entrance to the manor, Ginny was in too much of a good mood to notice that she was being watched from the second story window.

Author notes: I'm sorry it took so long to update this. School has started back up for me and these teachers seem to be bent on completely ruining my life with ridiculous amounts of work.

Also: looking for a beta who will help me/keep me on top of things. Any suggestions of reliable ones are most welcome!