Fic: Tonight [Harry/Draco, PG-13]

Title: Tonight
Author: furiosity
Genre: Drama
Rating: PG-13
Pairing: Harry/Draco, Harry/Ginny, Draco/Pansy
Disclaimer: JKR owns. I only play. You do not sue.
Length: ~2000 words
Summary: The worst thing was that she had done nothing to deserve it.
Beta: None.
Note: Originally written for a "Valentine's Day Gone Wrong" contest at hogwarts_elite. Second place winner.
Concrit: Always welcome and appreciated.

Tonight

Ginny Potter was the happiest woman in all of wizarding Britain.

The thought came to her as she let herself stretch, slow and satisfying, beneath the thick duvet. She heard the splash of water in the bathroom and closed her eyes, picturing her husband lathering his chest -- always too quickly, as though time was against him; an echo of the war, when there had been no time for anything. Ginny sighed. The memories of war were fading already, perhaps because she'd never done much except wait and wait -- for Harry. She hadn't liked it, she'd wanted to fight alongside him, but her mother had been on Harry's side in that particular question. By the time Ginny turned seventeen and was allowed to make her own decisions, there was no place for her in the war, so she'd been forced to wait.

This, though -- this had definitely been worth the wait. Ginny smiled, toying with the idea of joining her husband in the shower, but as soon as she thought about it, the water was shut off and she heard the curtain being pulled aside. Oh well. They had their entire lives ahead of them. There would be time for taking showers together, and spending the day in bed together, and...

"You're awake early," said Harry's voice, startling Ginny. He was already wearing his work robes; standard black with a large red "A" stitched into the collar. Auror.

"Happy Valentine's day," said Ginny happily, watching as Harry towelled off his messy mop of black hair. He lowered the towel and gave her a lopsided smile.

"Happy Valentine's day," he said. "Are you going to tell me your secret plan, now?" He picked his watch up from the bedside table and began to fiddle with the strap.

"Here," said Ginny, reaching over to help him. "A Portkey will be arriving at seven, so don't be late." She patted his arm after she fastened the watch in place.

"Thanks," said Harry, circling his other hand around the leather strap and rotating it a bit. "But where are we going?"

"Brisbane," said Ginny. "The wizarding quarter has a darling restaurant with a terrace. I thought it would be a nice change from the cold."

Harry smiled at her. "It sounds lovely. Are Ron and Hermione taking their own Portkey or--"

"They'll be here at six thirty," said Ginny, frowning.

They'd had something like a row about their plans a few nights ago. Harry always wanted Ron and Hermione with them no matter where they went; the only time they spent alone together was at home. Ginny didn't like it at all, but she had no argument against Harry. Ron and Hermione were his best friends.

Still, it got tiresome for Ginny to have her older brother around all the bloody time whenever they went out. She supposed she would have to deal with it until Harry changed his mind; there was nothing as likely to piss Harry Potter off as forcing him to separate from his best friends.

Lost in thought, she barely noticed as Harry kissed her cheek and left for work. Ginny didn't have to work today; she was a Mediwitch on weekly rotation at St Mungo's and this was her week off. She decided that since it was Valentine's Day, she'd surprise Harry at work, later. They could have lunch together and maybe share a romantic moment or two without anyone else around.

::

Auror Headquarters was deserted; the only person Ginny passed on her way to Harry's office was Tonks, who nodded at Ginny absentmindedly without lifting her eyes from the document she was reading. There was a "Do Not Disturb: Meeting in Progress" sign on Harry's office door. Shrugging, Ginny decided to peek in just to let Harry know she was there.

Nothing could have prepared her for the sight of her husband, on his knees in front of Draco Malfoy, mouth full of pure-blood cock. Ginny stifled a gasp and ducked outside in the corridor, her heart threatening to escape her ribcage. Bile rose to her throat as her mind worked feverishly. She could hear them now that the door was open a notch, hear Malfoy's ragged panting, hear the sound of Harry's -- her husband's! -- mouth, wet and sloppy and wanton.

As though in a daze, Ginny's mind fast-forwarded through the past three years, starting from the day of her wedding to Harry. The late parties with the rest of the Auror trainees, to which Ginny had never been invited. Malfoy had to have been amongst them; Malfoy, who had joined their side way back near the beginning of the war. Malfoy, who had married that cow Pansy Parkinson practically days before Harry married Ginny. Malfoy, tall and angular, sleek blond hair framing his face as he laughed at Harry's jokes...

It had never even crossed her mind that Harry could have been unfaithful -- how could it have? He never had lipstick stains on his collar, never smelled like another woman, never acted shifty or weird around any other women. She hadn't even dreamed that it wasn't women she should have watched out for. It had never occurred to Ginny to watch Harry with Malfoy, but now things were falling into place rather soundly and painfully. Malfoy and Harry had spent more time together during the war than Harry and his best friends; they'd gone on reconnaissance missions together, spent months hiding in the woods whilst tailing Bellatrix Lestrange...

Ginny shut her eyes, her mouth twisting into a grimace.

"I have to go, Ginny. Draco's waiting at the drop point. There's no time."

She'd watched him leave, a stupid smile on her face, her hand pressed to her cheek where he'd kissed her.

"They're sending me and Draco after Dolohov. I'll be back in a few weeks, I promise."

She'd cried herself to sleep that night, because Harry hadn't responded to her fumbling touches, but she'd forced herself to understand that he'd had other things on his mind, more important things.

"Ginny, they've got Draco. I can't let them hurt him."

Ginny's eyes flew open. That had been the moment she should have known: the fey, possessed look in Harry's eyes, the absent-minded way he'd shrugged her off, leaving her for the countless time, to save Malfoy -- a friend, she had thought. A good friend, a close friend. Not as close as Ron or Hermione, but Malfoy had redeemed himself in everyone's eyes by then, there hadn't been a soul left in the Order who would have wished harm upon Draco Malfoy.

She was startled by a soft laugh, too soft for Harry. "Pansy wanted to do something similar -- in Rio, not Brisbane -- but I felt it lacked subtlety."

An amused snort; Harry's. "How do you get more unsubtle than celebrating Valentine's Day in the first place?"

"Good point. Maybe I should've told her that. I'm not particularly fond of the day, really." Malfoy's tone was too light to be entirely casual.

There was a heavy sigh, and then silence. Ginny desperately wanted to look and see what was happening, but she was terrified of being noticed. A part of her wanted to tear into that office screaming and rip Malfoy's face off with her nails, but she knew it would accomplish nothing.

"I don't like this any more than you do," came Harry's voice finally. "But what choice do we have?"

"To stop lying to your wives, for starters," muttered Ginny under her breath.

She was desperately trying to keep a hold on her temper, but now that the initial shock and sadness had worn off, she was angry, so bloody angry. The past three years had been a lie, a charade, and she had been nothing but a smokescreen. The worst thing was that she had done nothing to deserve it. She had only ever loved Harry, only ever tried to be there for him, to support him through everything, to... Ginny pressed her knuckles into her eyes, forcing her tears away. She would not cry. Not here, not now. Not for this.

Malfoy's voice was raised now, but it was not a tone Ginny had ever heard him use before. There was an edge of desperation and longing that made her shudder -- she didn't think she could bear it if she heard Harry speak to Malfoy in that sort of tone.

"You know I only married Pansy to keep up appearances. Can you say the same thing about your wife?"

"I care about Ginny," came the curt reply.

Ginny shut her eyes tightly, fighting her tears desperately. "If you cared, you wouldn't lie to me like this," she whispered.

"I told you that. I told you that before -- before anything." Harry's voice did have that same desperate tone, and Ginny wanted to run far away. "I couldn't do it to her, Draco. Not after she waited two years for me."

"Do you think she still would have waited, had she known about us?"

A pause. "Would Pansy have waited for you?"

"I asked you first." There was an unmistakable smile in Malfoy's voice now.

Another heavy sigh from Harry. "No, she wouldn't have waited, had she known. But she didn't know, and she did wait, and I couldn't just..."

"Never pegged you for a coward, Harry Potter."

"Don't talk to me about being a coward, or I'll--"

"I fucking love it when you get like that, all indignant. Nggh."

Harsh, panted breaths and then a soft moan, so familiar it made Ginny ache. "S-s-stop. I want-- oh God, Draco. Don't stop."

"I won't. But tell me. How many times are we going to have this conversation?"

"Fuck. You consider this a -- aaaaah -- good time to -- fucking hell -- continue this conversation?"

"Well I for one plan to tell Pansy I want a divorce," panted Malfoy. "Tonight."

"Tonight?"

Movement again, and then the rhythmic squeak of shoes against a hardwood floor. Harry was pacing; Ginny was so used to the sound. She'd always left him alone when he did that at home, assuming that he was thinking about his work. She wondered now how many times he'd been thinking about Malfoy as he paced back and forth like this, the things he and Malfoy did--

She bit down on her knuckle. Her whole life -- her perfect life -- was turning out to be a sham, a dream she let herself believe in, a dream that Harry had fed out of misguided loyalty and worst of all, pity.

"You'd do this to her on Valentine's day?" Harry, voice tinged with something Ginny didn't want to believe. He was seriously considering doing the same.

"I like dramatic exits. The point is, tomorrow at this time I'll be a free man, technically. And you can't expect me to wait around forever."

There was a low growl and the wall behind Ginny shook with a sudden impact. She jumped and clamped her hand over her mouth to stifle her cry of surprise.

"You wouldn't dare." Harry was jealous, and this was new -- or, rather, forgotten. He hadn't spoken to Ginny like that since she'd exchanged a look with Dean a few days before Dumbledore's death.

"I didn't say I would embark on a journey to find you a replacement the minute I had my divorce," said Malfoy. "I simply said that you cannot expect me to wait for you forever. I'm unhappy with Pansy and I'm getting the fuck out before she decides to get pregnant and chains me to herself for good. I want you to be there but if you value your pathetic charade of a marriage that much, you can't very well blame me for considering other options."

"I can't do it to Ginny," mumbled Harry. "I can't. She doesn't deserve it."

"Right. Instead, she deserves being lied to and cheated on. Maybe you weren't lying about the stupid Sorting Hat wanting to put you in Slytherin."

"Draco..." Harry groaned. "Don't start with the house rubbish now." There was a long pause, and then he said, "Fine. Fine. I'll talk to Ginny."

"Tonight?"

"Tonight."

Ginny took a deep, shuddering breath. "Not if I talk to you first," she ground out quietly, and took off down the corridor. She would let him go, of course, it would be pathetic not to. But she would make sure that Harry Potter never forgot tonight as long as he lived.

[end]