The Best Thing 3

Malfoy was seething as he made his way back to the small circle. He quickly undid Ginny's skirt and handed it back to her. She slipped it on over his jeans before she took them off and handed them back. Malfoy swiftly undid the many buttons down the front of her blouse. Now came the part he was dreading, how to get the infernal contraption off of him.

Ginny giggled in spite of herself. Draco's black silk boxers and her lacy black bra matched in a way that made the whole thing seem almost planned.

"What?" Draco asked not the least bit amused.

"You, well we actually, match." He continued to stare at her his eyebrow furrowed. "I'll do it," she ordered, knowing he would refuse her offer to help. He let her, and she undid the clasp. The two crumpled up washcloths fell to the floor. Ginny took her bra and managed to put it on under Draco's baggy shirt. She was about to pull it off when he stopped her.

"You keep it," Draco told her. "It looks better on you anyway." Besides, Draco wanted her to have it as a reminder of him and everything that had happened between them tonight.

Ginny smiled happily, as she subtly breathed in the delicious smell of cologne that clung to his, her shirt, she corrected herself. Though in her mind it would always be his.

"Hey Malfoy, truth or dare?" Holly asked him. She had been quiet most of the game, lulling them all into a false sense of security because she had a few good ones she wanted to do.

"Dare," Draco answered, since there wasn't much else these Gryffindors could do to him.

"Tomorrow you have to recommend a brand of shampoo to Snape."

"I seriously feel like all of you are out to get me," he complained. "Though I have to admit, that was good." Holly beamed at him. She certainly was cheerful that one.

"Ginny?" he asked her, and she was pleased to note that despite Ron leaving, he still called her Ginny. She felt rebellious, so she picked dare.

"I dare you to kiss Holly." Course, he wasn't calling Holly by her last name either… Ginny shrugged and moved over to where Holly was standing, looking quite amused. Ginny kissed her on the cheek nonchalantly.

Draco was surprised at how casual they were about it, but that also made it irritating.

"Is that all?" He demanded.

"Guess you should have been more specific," Ginny's cocky gaze fell on him, as she raised her eyebrow. "Seems only fair that it should be Holly's turn now," she commented. Holly readily took her up on her offer.

"Collin, truth or dare?"

"Dare," Collin answered. He had picked truths throughout most of the game, and now that mostly everyone in the circle was a close friend, he felt comfortable enough to try something different.

"I dare you to wear a thong tomorrow."

"Seriously?" She nodded. "I don't even own a thong!"

"Well Ron seems to have some," Holly gestured to the cardboard box.

"They're not actually his," Ginny reassured Collin.

"Yeah and that makes it sooo much better," Collin said sarcastically. "You are a demon, woman." Collin's scornfully glared at his so-called best friend.

"I know, but you still love me right?" Collin was beginning to doubt that statement.

"Sure, sure whatever Holly. Now it's your turn. Truth or dare?"

"Truth." Collin hadn't expected her to choose dare, especially after what she had done to him, but that suited him just fine.

"What is your most embarrassing moment?" Ginny, already knowing the answer to this one, burst into a fit of giggles.

"Dammit Creevey," Holly said, though she knew she had deserved it.

"Anytime Holly darling."

"Fine. A couple summers ago,"

"Wait, wasn't this last summer?" Ginny interrupted.

"Okay, so last summer we had a huge family reunion with my dad's side of the family. The Woods," she clarified though there was no confusion.

"We went on a camping trip, and the weather was gorgeous. The beaches were sandy and-"

"Just get on with it," Collin pressured her.

"Basically my cousins and I decided to have a huge game of truth or dare on the beach. It was in the evening, and it was beginning to get dark but it was light enough to see one another. My cousin Oliver," she spat out the name disdainfully, "dared me to skinny dip in the lake. Which I figured was no big deal compared to some of the other things people had been dared to do. I went into the water, which was a bit chilly but not too bad. I ducked under, and when I came up, my cousins had all disappeared. So had my clothes. They didn't even leave me a towel."

"So what did you do?" Draco asked curiously, extremely glad she was telling this story after his time in the lake.

"I looked around me for something to cover up with, but the best thing I could find was a small piece of driftwood. I used it to cover up my crotch, put my arm in front of my chest and stormed off to my campsite, the entire time wishing I were old enough to apparate. That's not even the worst part," she informed them. "When I got back to my campsite, my entire family was there. My cousins were all snickering at me, though as soon as I glared at them they stopped. I didn't even get the chance to explain myself, and now every Christmas, most of my relatives send me clothes because they think I'm trying to be a nudist." There was a moment of shocked silence, and then everyone, including Holly, was killing themself laughing.

"Okay, so I may have exaggerated that last part," Holly got out, tears of mirth streaming out of her eyes. "They did let me explain, and my cousins were unmercifully punished. Although most of my relatives do send me clothes for Christmas, it's because they think I have a nice body and need nice clothes to cover it. Then again, they probably just don't want me walking around naked…" she trailed off.

"Oh Holly," Ginny shook her head.

"Ginny, truth or dare?"

"Dare obviously." Holly glanced briefly at Draco who was still shirtless.

"I dare you to blow a raspberry on Malfoy's abs, er stomach I mean."

"I hate you Holly." Ginny stated calmly, though Holly knew what she really meant was oh my god! Holly, I love you! Thank you soooooo much! Let me worship you at your feet and feed you fresh pineapple. Or something like that.

"Is that a yes?" Holly nudged her.

"Yeah," Ginny agreed trying to sound bored, though her pulse was racing madly.

Ginny knelt beside Draco, who was sitting with his legs straight out in front of him.

"Would you mind lying down," Ginny asked him hesitantly. "It would make this a whole lot easier."

Draco's mind was whirling. He had no idea what a 'raspberry' was or why lying down would make it easier. It was probably something sexual since Ginny was so uncomfortable. To be honest, the fact that she was blushing before she even did anything was a bit nerve wracking as well.

Ginny stared at Draco's stomach; he really did have nice abs. A thin trail of blonde hair went down his stomach and she couldn't help but follow it down to where it was cut off by the top of his silk boxers. She knew she was staring, but she couldn't help herself, he was gorgeous.

"Take a picture, it'll last longer." Draco commented, nerves destroying the edge to his normally mocking tone. Draco froze as she leaned her lips towards his flat stomach, which was suddenly churning with butterflies. He gasped as her lips touched his bare skin, then she blew on his stomach. Her lips tickled the wispy hairs on his midriff and pretty soon he was laughing.

"Is that what a raspberry is?" He asked still amused though Ginny had long since moved away.

"You didn't know?" Holly was perturbed.

"Yeah, mothers do that to their babies to make them laugh," Ginny added.

"What did you think a raspberry was then Malfoy?" Holly asked.

Draco quickly became very interested in the wall and ignored their pleading to tell them what he had thought.

"Truth or dare Malfoy?"

"Truth."

"What did you think a raspberry was?" Ginny cocked her head at him, curious.

"Actually I change my mind, I choose dare."

"Fine by me," Ginny smirked. "I dare you to kiss your best friend. On the cheek is fine." Holly sighed with disappointment. Draco however, looked horrified. Even though Blaise Zabini was his best friend, that wouldn't stop him from killing Draco for kissing him.

"Why my best friend?"

"Well Holly's my best friend, and you made me kiss her."

"Hey!" Collin interjected, "What about me?"

"Collin, you're a guy."

"Oh yeah."

"Come on Malfoy it won't be that bad."

"You don't know Blaise, he'll kill me."

"But you two are friends, best friends." Holly protested.

"Doesn't matter."

"Please Draco," Ginny begged. "You can blow him a kiss for all I care. Unless you'd rather tell us…"

"Fine, I'll do that then." The combined use of his first name and her compromise made the dare bearable. Holly still looked rather put out though.

Draco dared Ginny to jump into the pool-sized bathtub topless.

"Told you I'd get you back."

"I'm not wearing a bathing suit, so what do I wear on the bottom?" Ginny questioned him.

"Whatever you want," he answered. Ginny settled on a pair of frilly pink underwear from Ron's box, not caring to get her own wet. She didn't even feel the least bit embarrassed by them. They were so frilly she couldn't even imagine them as underwear; instead she regarded them as really hideous swimsuit bottoms. The topless thing was a little awkward though. She turned her back to them, and asked them not to look.

Much like Ginny, Draco didn't heed her warning but instead chose to peek behind his back to watch. She stripped off his black shirt, baggy on her lithe frame and tossed it on the ground. Next went her bra, and Draco couldn't take his eyes off of her. She looked extremely graceful somehow, despite the hideous pink frills that were covering her backside. She cupped her breasts with her hands and jumped into the warm soapy water.

Ginny felt extremely relaxed in the enormous tub. She turned around to see Draco watching her. The first thing she did was look down, although with the amount of foam in the tub, she had nothing to worry about. She smiled sweetly at him, and he stared back at her before she let the others know they could look. She hadn't really needed them to turn around since they would only see her bare back, but it would've felt odd to undress in front of them. (And by them she really only meant Draco and Collin.) Eventually Ginny got out and the game resumed.

Draco and Ginny were going at it so fiercely that Holly and Collin were afraid of being caught in the crossfire. It was as though the game had suddenly become an intense thing between just the two of them and Holly and Collin were quickly forgotten. They didn't really mind sitting on the periphery and taking it all in though. It was rather amusing for both of them to watch the sparks fly. Ginny's latest dare took the cake though.

"I dare you to be nice for one full day."

"Nice," Draco scoffed. "I'm a Slytherin, we're not 'nice' people."

"I think you could be. If you tried that is."

"Fine, then I dare you to go without clothes under your robe tomorrow." They had given up asking a while ago, now they just dared each other.

"You're kidding."

"Nope."

"Can I at least wear underwear?"

He debated momentarily, "Okay fine."

"You have to put ice cubes down your pants in the Great Hall during breakfast." He groaned. "And I have to see you do it," she continued.

"How long?" He questioned.

"How long 'til what?"

"I can take them out."

"Oh you can't take them out, you have to wait until they melt." She grinned wickedly at him.

"You can't be serious."

"Alright then, you can take them out after five minutes. Have fun fishing them out of your pants while everyone's watching you." Draco cursed, but he couldn't help but admire Ginny's daring.

Somewhere around then Holly and Collin had snuck out of the room, but Ginny and Draco hadn't even noticed.

"Let's switch back to asking first," Draco suggested. "I'm tired of doing only dares."

"That's only because mine are better."

"You only wish. Truth or dare Ginny?"

"Truth."

"What is my best quality?" Ginny thought hard about her answer. "Is it my intelligence, wit, charm?" He trailed off.

"I would have to say your modesty."

"Oh aren't you the funny one Weasley. Guess the twins aren't the only jokesters in the family."

"First off, it's Ginny, not Weasley. Second, I was going to give you a straight answer but you wouldn't shut up." She stopped.

"Well then Ginny," he drawled lazily. "What's your answer?" Despite his casual indifference, Draco was dying to know Ginny's answer.

"You are honest."

"Is that another joke Weasley?" he asked irritated, reverting back to using her surname.

"No, it isn't," she replied, quite serious. "I don't mean honest in the goody two shoes type of way. No doubt you've lied about some things, but then again who hasn't. What I mean is that you're yourself. You insult my brother, and you're openly hostile to most of the school but that's because that's how you feel." She paused to breathe since her rant took a lot of air. "You don't pretend to be something you're not, and I like that about you."

Draco didn't quite know what to make of her statement. To say that it surprised him would be an understatement. He, Draco Malfoy, was honest? It was almost laughable, and yet she believed it to be true. He found himself wishing it were, if only for her sake.

"Any time Malfoy," she told him, and he realized he must have missed the question.

"Truth," he replied promptly. "Ginny," he said before she could get in another word, "You can call me Draco you know."

"Alright then Draco," she smiled to herself and they continued on with the game.

"I almost forgot," Draco exclaimed a short while later, smacking his hand to his head in a nearly comical manner.

"Forgot what?" Ginny asked confused.

"I have to ask out Moaning Myrtle." He told her almost gleefully.

"Seriously?" Ginny was beginning to question his sanity.

"Yeah. Oi! Myrtle!" He bellowed, walking around the large lavatory. "Come out, I've got something important to ask you." Ginny scanned the room, and sure enough, she watched a small waif of a ghost pour herself out of one of the bathtub's numerous faucets.

"What do you want?" She simpered at him. "Hey," she stopped to stare at him appreciatively. "You're even better looking than the last boy I saw in here. Course, he was fully naked." She sighed wistfully, gazing none too discretely at Draco's bare chest. Beside him, Ginny's hands had clenched into tight fists.

"Er, right," Draco said, beginning to feel a bit uncomfortable. "I was wondering if you wanted to go out-" She quickly cut him off with an ecstatic,

"YES!" Though Draco resumed talking.

"With my friend," he said the word as though it left a bitter taste in his mouth, "Ron Weasley." Draco finished.

Ginny's jaw dropped, and tears streamed down her face from suppressed laughter. Luckily Myrtle didn't notice because she had eyes only for Draco.

"Ron," she questioned him, "Is that the redheaded boy?"

"Yeah," he said, relieved that she took the bait. "He wanted me to ask you out for him. Must've been too shy to ask himself I reckon." Draco snickered but Myrtle was too distracted to notice.

"He threw a book at me," she reminisced, her voice turned thoughtful. "It figures that the only reason he did that was because he liked me." She giggled. "Boys," Myrtle shook her head at him. "Guess I'll find him tomorrow and let him know my answer." Myrtle slid through the cold grey wall, with one last wink at Draco.

Before turning to Draco, Ginny waited a moment to make sure she was really gone. He was chuckling to himself when she turned on him.

"I can't believe you did that!" She exclaimed, staring at him with a mixture of scorn and amusement spread across her face. Then she started laughing and couldn't stop.

"Don't look at me like that," he reprimanded her. Though if he had his way, he wouldn't want her to take her eyes off him, no matter the expression. "He asked me to ask out Moaning Myrtle. He didn't say who to ask her out for." Her laughter had petered out, and she smiled at him, still shaking her head.

"You are unbelievable."

"Why thank you m'lady. You're pretty spectacular yourself."

"Mmhmm, sure." She humoured him, though her voice belayed serious doubt about his statement. "I believe it was your turn Draco."

"Oh yeah. Truth or dare Ginny?"

"Truth."

"What is my most attractive body part?"

"You are unbelievable," she repeated scornfully.

"I know, but that's hardly an answer."

"You are so vain!" She burst out for lack of an answer. Quite frankly she didn't know what was more attractive, his eyes, hair, or lightly muscled arms. And the abs! She couldn't forget the abs.

"Myrtle thought I was attractive," he responded, having noticed Ginny's face tighten as the spectre watched him. "I'm pretty sure Holly did too," he added, waiting for her reaction.

No doubt she does, Ginny thought to herself, knowing she couldn't blame her friend for that. He was just trying to make her jealous, and as infuriating as that was it was working.

"Well then why don't you call Myrtle back here?" She demanded angrily.

"Because I don't care about Myrtle's opinion, I want to know what you think."

"Well I don't have an answer for you." For a moment he looked disappointed.

"How about a dare then?" He brightened suddenly.

"Like I have any other choice," Ginny grumbled. Draco only smiled. "Go ahead Draco, I'm waiting."

"Well I can't keep a beautiful lady waiting now can I?" He grinned deviously at her. "I dare you to kiss a Slytherin."

"Alright," Ginny agreed easily, which surprised Draco immensely. "Guess I'll just go find Blaise then." She headed towards the exit.

"You'll do no such thing," Draco placed himself directly in front of her.

"Oh, did you have someone else in mind?" She feigned surprise at him.

"No, I just wanted to make a small adjustment to the dare if you don't mind."

"Fine by me," she agreed, knowing he couldn't dare her to kiss him directly as Ron already had.

"I dare you to kiss a Slytherin in the same room as you."

"Guess I'll have to wait then. It must be Blaise's lucky day tomorrow, first you, then me. Course we could both kiss him at the same time, though that might be a bit awkward," she mused. Ginny made to move away, but Draco grabbed her firmly by the shoulders so that she was facing him. She looked into his grey blue eyes which were staring intently back at her. He leaned in closer to her, never breaking eye contact. In a husky voice just loud enough for her to hear, he whispered,

"Shut up and kiss me Gryff." Ginny wrapped her arms around his neck and Draco moved his hands to her waist as she stood on her toes to reach him. Their lips connected and Draco felt the same thrill he had felt earlier course through his body. Her mouth was slightly parted and the soft pressure of her lips against his own was driving him mad. He tentatively touched his tongue to her lips, but unlike before he was able to slide it into her warm mouth. Draco felt a jolt of satisfaction as her tongue joined his. Their mouths continued to move as one, lips pressing harder, hungrily begging for more. Draco held Ginny tightly in his arms, feeling the happiest he had in years. He wanted to hold her safe in his arms forever, but knew he couldn't. She seemed to realize it too, and gently brought her mouth away from his. Ginny buried her head in his chest, and Draco just held her there, feeling her heart beat rapidly against his own. He wasn't sure how long they stood like this, tangled up in each other's arms but he didn't mind a bit.

"Draco," Ginny spoke eventually, her throaty voice muffled by his chest, effectively breaking his train of thought. "Truth or dare," she finished quietly.

"Truth." He answered.

"What happens tomorrow?" She asked her eyes downcast as though she already knew his answer. He tipped her chin up with one hand, and looked her straight in the eye.

"Remember earlier when I asked you what was the best thing I could ever give you?" She nodded rather sadly. "If you want, you can have me. We can be together but only if you want to because it is your birthday after all and I know your family isn't really fond of me and Ron'll probably flip and-" He was babbling and she cut off his words with her lips.

"I would love that." She nuzzled his neck, her lips moving down it slowly.

"Are you sure? Because I don't want to force you."

"You're not, believe me." She smiled at his uncharacteristically worried expression, though it quickly turned devious.

"Truth or dare?" He asked her for the last time.

"Truth."

"Did my present beat Ron's?" She laughed and he kissed her smack on the mouth grinning.