Chapter Nine: Falling at the Falls

Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author.

Thanks again to VIVAvivacious for beta-ing this chapter.

--

Oddly enough, with Christmas came a lot of inexplicable revelations and accidental circumstances and coincidences. Nobody would ever be able to understand why things happened the way they did, but they were constant in the way that they were strange and unpredictable. Ginny knew exactly what that meant as she contemplated it while sitting in a horse-drawn carriage next to Draco Malfoy. He was the last person she had expected to run into on holiday, but there they were.

She glanced out and saw the falls not far away. They had decided to take the scenic route in said carriage and were going to meet up with Sarah, who had stayed behind at the shopping village to buy some Niagara Falls t-shirts to take home. What bothered Ginny about that was Sarah had purposely stayed to leave her alone with Malfoy – no, Draco, she reminded herself.

For some odd reason, the prospect of being alone with him was not so daunting but that it had been borne of Sarah's initiative was annoying. She felt his warm hand brush hers momentarily, and she looked up at him. He smiled and pointed across the falls to where they saw the people on the Canadian side making trips over the Whirlpool in carriage-like cabins strung over the water on cables.

'We could do that, when we go over there, that is,' he suggested lightly.

Ginny nodded hesitantly and then decided to blow it all. She was going to have to spend another eight days with him after that one anyway. 'All right, I'll think about it, but I'm warning you now, I am rather wary when it comes to Muggle transportation,' she said with warning in her tone.

'I'll take your word for that,' he said politely.

Ginny was amazed by just how kind and polite he had been sometimes – most times on the trip so far. The rudest thing he had done was on the first night of the tour, when he had half-dragged her across the restaurant. She had been annoyed with him that night but had found it hard to continue to dislike him for the entire time.

'Where is dinner tonight? What did Paige say again?' Ginny asked.

'She didn't say anything. She just said do what you like for the day,' he said with a shrug before resting his arm on the chair behind her. 'I, however, have plans for dinner, and you are included in them.'

Ginny screwed her eyes as she turned away from him. What on earth? What was he trying to do to her? 'Draco, I have an important question to ask you before I accept your dinner offer,' Ginny said hurriedly.

'What might that be Ginny?' he asked curiously, a lazy smile curving his lips.

Ginny found it hard to pull her words together when she first saw the smile and almost considered taking them back and staring at his smile all day, but she closed her eyes to get a grip. 'I need to know exactly what it is you want with me,' she said quietly through clenched teeth. 'I don't understand what this is.'

'I would have thought it was obvious, Ginny. I am trying to date you because I like you,' he replied honestly and confidently, which she found very sexy of him.

She opened her eyes and saw he was earnest, which was also another endearing trait. 'You're being serious, aren't you?' she asked faintly.

'Would I joke about something like this?'

Ginny shook her head numbly as her mind began filling with excuses, and she couldn't keep her thoughts to herself any longer. 'But you hated me, and all my friends. You hate my family, and you hated Harry!' she hissed acidly. 'How I could I possibly believe you and trust you after all of that, and this?'

'Ginny, I know you have very few reasons to trust me, but believe that I am serious. I want to know you better, I want to court you properly, and I beg to be given a chance,' he pleaded softly. It was the weakest Ginny had ever seen him look before. She hadn't even known Harry to plead or beg with her.

Ginny sighed heavily. Perhaps one chance wouldn't hurt, but if he screwed it up, she would make sure that he never forgot it. 'Draco, I am going to give you one chance. Prove to me by the end of this trip you are worth my time and all of the trouble, and I will gladly give it a go afterwards,' she said in a no-nonsense tone.

He took her hand and kissed her knuckles lightly. 'Thank you, Ginny,' he said with a silly grin plastered to his handsome features.

'All right, so what will I be required to wear to this silly restaurant of yours?' she asked bluntly.

'It is by no means silly in any way, Ginny, and I would expect you to wear something elegant, but sexy too,' he replied, lacing his fingers with hers.

Ginny allowed the small gesture, only because it had been so long since she had even attempted a relationship with anyone after Harry. None of the men she had dated were right. They were not "just so," and she couldn't – wouldn't – settle for anything less. In any case, dinner had been lovely as promised, and she had felt like a goddess in the dress she had worn. The way he looked at her made her feel beautiful.

She went to bed in her room that night a very happy young lady and woke the next morning when she was pounced on by her roommate, who had been asleep already by the time Ginny had returned the night before. 'So... how was tour date with Draco?' Sarah asked excitedly.

'It was wonderful, thanks,' Ginny replied, covering her mouth, as she was wary of her slight case of morning breath, especially after the amount of alcohol she had consumed the night before.

'Then I suppose you do like him more than you let on, hmmm?' she asked teasingly, wiggling her eyebrows suggestively.

'So what if I do?' Ginny asked, throwing a pillow at her head.

Sarah ducked and grinned foolishly, getting off the bed and twirling about the room excitedly. 'Oh! I just love it when people realize they have feelings for one another!' she exclaimed dramatically. 'You two are so cute together!'

Ginny chuckled softly at that. 'I was never cute.' Ginny scoffed at the word. 'I have always been volatile and sure of myself and my appearance,' she added just for good measure, smiling when Sarah frowned slightly in confusion.

They spent the rest of the day lounging around the hotel room, watching Muggle movies and eating lots of the room service desserts. They were delicious, so they had ordered some of everything, and it had tasted absolutely divine. Just as promised, they were getting pretty much first class treatment. Ginny had not expected much, but she enjoyed every single luxury offered.

Around eight that night, Draco knocked on the door, and Ginny presented herself to him wearing a strapless cerulean dress that went to her knees and a pair of matching deep-black heels that shone like new. Her hair flowed down her back, and she had a lovely sparkle in her eyes that he found utterly irresistible. He leaned forward and kissed her lightly on the cheek before pulling back to gauge her reaction. She simply smiled.

He held out a hand to her, and she took it. They walked hand-in-hand down to the lobby and found a small hidden corner to Apparate from, ending up in a dark alleyway. He held her hand tightly in his and reveled that this witch actually didn't mind his touch, didn't flinch or seem disgusted by his kisses, and was accepting and loving and kind. All the things he had missed out on in life were presented to him in the form of this remarkable redhead.

He could not understand why he had never realized this before. Perhaps it had something to do with his father's decision to make him date only Slytherin and Ravenclaw girls. She was perfect to him, and he would strive to prove to her that he cared for her and that his struggle was not in vain.

'You look positively angelic tonight, Ginny,' he commented smoothly, running his hands up her arms in a warming motion as he applied a temperature-controlling spell on her skin.

'You look rather dashing yourself,' she murmured. 'People would think you had a hot date or something.'

'You have no idea.'

They walked into the restaurant and were taken to the table he had reserved ahead of time. It sat next to a window that had a lovely view of the falls. He pulled out her chair for her and only sat down when she was settled and comfortable in her seat, then poured wine for them both from a selection that he had pre-ordered. He raised his glass in a toast to her brightly.

'To second chances,' he announced, eyes never leaving hers and burning holes into her soul with his intensity.

She tapped her glass to his lightly and nodded in agreement. He was more right than even she knew. 'To second chances, may they be happy and fulfilled,' she said, adding the next bit while pouring out a truth onto him.

It was the fifth day of Christmas, and she was falling for a Malfoy. Merlin help her.

--

A/N – I will agree that a double hit of Ginny/Draco was unfair, but Hermione and Snape are on the way.