Luna held up a pair of knickers that consisted of nothing but a bit of string and wondered if men really found such a thing to be sexy.  She'd tried a pair or two for Seamus, hoping that something that was supposed to be sexy would help her enjoy sex more.  If anything, it had done the opposite, since Seamus hadn't been able to last even close to his usual short time. 

"Not so far," she replied, tossing the thong back on the pile she had gotten it from.  "I'm not even sure why I'm bothering to look.  It's not like I have a bloke waiting in the wings.  Not like someone I know."

Ginny grinned to herself, thinking of her date next weekend with Roger. It'd been far too long, in her opinion, since she'd been with him, though she was withholding what he truly wanted. Ginny was in no rush to have sex, considering what they had been doing had been satisfying, if a little lackluster. She held up a nice pair of black lace, cut in a boy-short style. She cocked her head to the side before digging in the pile to find her size. "I wouldn't say he's waiting in the wings. We've never made what we have official. For all I know he doesn't like waiting for weeks to see me on one of my few days off, and has another bird." She shrugged, walking to another table, this one full of silk.

"We could try and find you a nice bloke if you want. I'm sure there are plenty who like blonds." She grinned over at Luna.

"I was considering that the other day, actually.  I have a bit more free time now, and a guy who's up for some casual dating wouldn't be amiss."  She held up a pair of blue silk bikinis and rubbed her fingers against the fabric.  It was very nice, and she could see how wearing it against your skin could make you feel more confident about yourself.  She decided to buy them, not for any imaginary bloke, but for herself.

"Can't think of where I'd meet a bloke at the moment, though," she said, moving on to the next display, which featured fake diamonds in places that would surely chafe.  "Unless I go out to some muggle club or something.  The arse dragged me into a few of them.  Never did like them much, always too loud and crowded.  An the men look at you like a piece of meat."

Ginny's face darkened at her mention of Seamus, like it always did. "I never had a problem with men looking. It's the touching I didn't like." She grabbed a nice silk pair in an emerald green. She'd always liked the color, but had never dared wear it during school, or the war. Well, since no one would be seeing these anyway, she supposed it didn't matter what color they were. She always did everything in the dark with Roger, his urging, not hers, and though she could lie and say she was shopping for him, it was really herself she was buying for.

She moved onto the selection of bras, content with the 5 pairs of knickers in her hands. Now all she needed was to find something that matched. "I could try and set you up with someone from work. There's not too large a selection of men, but there's got to be one or two that would be adequate."

"The term adequate in and of itself fills me with confidence," Luna replied with a smile.  She moved back to the silk underwear and picked out a few more pairs in varying colors.  They really were the only things in the section she thought she could wear without blushing constantly.

"Though, I suppose adequate is better than nothing.  I know Witch Weekly claims that not all the good wizards are taken or gay, but as of yet I haven't seen any who aren't one or the other."

Ginny snorted, grabbing some pieces off the rack and walking beside Luna towards the register. She set her wares on the counter, reaching into her coin purse for the amount of galleons she'd need. She looked over at Luna as the shop girl tallied her total. "There's got to be someone out there for you, love. Someone more than adequate. We'll find him, you and I."

"The two of us," Luna said, her brow arched as she set her own purchases down, watching carefully to make sure the shop girl didn't accidentally put them in Ginny's bag.  "He'd have to be exceptional to handle that, I think."

The shop girl stopped bagging Gin's knickers and looked at them with wide eyes.  Luna could practically see the naughty thoughts swirling behind her eyes, and couldn't help but wonder how she could look so shocked.  Surely a store that sold the types of things this one did was a hot bed of bedroom talk.  She cleared her throat and glared at the girl until she remembered her job.

Ginny wrapped a possessive arm around Luna as the dark-haired girl rang up her friend's purchases. She turned, putting her lips close to Luna's ear. "Maybe that can be what we bait them with."

She laughed, grabbing her bag and heading for the door when Luna gave her a shocked look. "You've got to admit we'd have their attention, in the least." She pushed open the door, glaring up at the bell with it gave a rather kinky sounding noise. "Why, in Merlin's name, would they have that noise-"

She let out an oomph as someone barreled into her, knocking the bag from her hands and sending her newly bought knickers all over the sidewalk. "Bollocks." She frowned at the fabric against the concrete, putting her hands on her hips, feeling her inner-Molly come out at full strength. "And who do you think you are, throwing your elbows around a crowded street? Were you planning on knocking someone over, or am I just lucky?"

Draco blinked. He had not been paying attention and had barreled into some woman quite forcefully as she was exiting a shop. He wasn't even looking at her, but crouched down to pick up what he'd made her drop.

"Apologies. I was not watching where I was going. Terribly rude of me..." his voice trailed off as she realized what exactly he was picking up off of the ground. Draco blinked. One of his eyebrows went up. What a lovely selection. Specifically the green silk and the black lace. 

Then he looked up.

"Fuck."

Ginny rose an eyebrow when she realized Draco Malfoy was looking up at her. She had to wonder what he was doing back. Last she'd heard, he'd been off... somewhere. 'Probably hiding because now everyone knows he was a git', as Ron had put it. But, no. He was here. In Diagon Alley. Touching her newly purchased knickers. She held her bag out. "Those are mine, not yours. I don't think lace would look very good on you."

She wasn't sure why she was being so flippant towards him. Some of her darkest nightmares involved his father and that blasted diary. The diary that had sparked years of therapy, which she still felt she owed her parents for. Lucius Malfoy was dead, however. And Draco Malfoy looked rather skinny, and more than a little shocked.

Ginny Weasley and... Draco looked past her... Luna Lovegood. Great. Fan-bloody-tastic.

Draco smirked, "I would not have thought lace would suit you either, Weasley. I figured you for leather."

He dumped most of her knickers that were still in his hands back into the bag she was holding out, save the black lace ones. Those he started twirling on a finger as he stood.

"So you've wondered about my knickers. Fascinating." She turned as the door made that same lewd noise as Luna let the door fall shut behind her. "Luna, look who tried to attack me and is now fingering my knickers." She closed her mouth, realizing what she'd just said. Blast and damn. "You remember Draco, don't you?"

"Of course," Luna replied, carefully not looking at Gin's flaming face as her friend tried to recover from what she had said.  Mis-speaking like that was bad enough without someone bringing attention to the flub.  "The store might have a pair in your size, Malfoy.  For some reason, I doubt you'd fit into the ones you're holding.  Men and women are shaped rather differently, after all."  She calmly pulled the lace knickers from his finger as she spoke, and slipped the pair into her bag.  "Though, if that's your fancy, I really would suggest the muggle store called Doreen's Fashions.  Muggles seem to be much more open about that sort of thing.  There's even a play about it called Rocky Horror Picture Show."

She stepped back and met Malfoy's confused gaze.  "You might also not want to even suggest that you like to wear women's knickers in public on Diagon Alley.  The Prophet has been known to overhear the most amazing things here.  We wouldn't want such an unusual and potentially embarrassing fancy getting published, now would we?"

Ginny's eyebrows rose up. "Draco Malfoy. Sweet Transvestite. I like it." She grinned, thinking about the time her and Harry had watched the muggle movie.

"As if I give a shite about gossip. Me wearing women's underthings would be an improvement to what's been said of me in the past."

He looked at Ginny Weasley. "I think about everyone's underthings. Don't go thinking you're special." Then he looked to Luna Lovegood. "A play about bras and pants? Fabulous. I'll have to check it out. Muggle, you say though? Pity that. Oh well. As for my fancy, I don't fancy anything on myself a'tall. A habit, I'm afraid, I picked up in France. Now those are some open people."

Then he stood there grinning.

Ginny blinked at him before turning and looking over at Luna, hoping she saw the severe craziness that their night had turned into. Standing on a crowded Diagon Alley sidewalk, talking about underwear preferences with Draco effing Malfoy. She turned back to Draco, raising an eyebrow. "Neat." She didn't think Harry would believe her when she recounted her evening to him. She was tempted just to stay here and talk with Malfoy, see what else came out of that mouth of his. "Luna sleeps naked."

Luna gasped at Ginny's casual pronouncement.  Taking the mickey out of Malfoy was one thing, but bringing up her sleeping habits was quite another.  And it's not like she hadn't apologized for walking out of her room without a robe on.  Several times.  She'd just forgotten for a moment that she wasn't at her flat with Seamus that first morning after she had moved out.

"Yes, he so needed to know about that," she said with a glare.  She had too much dirt on Gin to really be worried about anything the redhead might say, but she still had no desire for her sleeping preferences to be bandied about.  Of course, Gin probably knew as much about her as she did about Gin. 

"What are you doing back, Malfoy?  I rather thought you had sworn off England."

Draco had his head cocked to the side and was currently trying to envision Lovegood sans clothing for some odd reason.

"Hmm? What? Distracted for a mo. Repeat please?"

"What are you doing back?"

"I got bored with hiding. It's not as interesting as one might think. Quite dull, actually." And a crazy French bird nearly set me on fire.

"Hiding." Ginny smiled, an image of Draco trying to hide under a stack of hay somehow invading her mind. "Yes, I suppose that could be rather dull." She crossed her arms over her chest, the ridiculousness and hilarity of the situation suddenly growing old. She was quickly reminded of why she'd bat-bogeyed him in the face all those years ago. She also was at a loss as to what one spoke to Draco Malfoy about. Obviously knickers, but beyond that?

"So... what brings you to Diagon Alley this fine evening?" She inwardly rolled her eyes. She hadn't felt this awkward since that first Christmas Harry had spent at the Burrow.

Draco raised a brow. Why in the hell was she trying to make small talk? That was odd. "Felt like a walk. Seemed like a nice night for it. I'd ask what you lot are doing, but I do believe I already know."

Odd, he didn't feel any malice towards either of them. That was more than passing strange. He was actually a bit pleased to run into someone who recognized him and knew a bit of his past besides his mother or Blaise, as unexpectedly awkward as some of that had been. This was a sort of awkward he expected and could deal with.

"Yes, well, it is a rather nice night out." She uncrossed her arms, thinking the pose rather defensive. Besides admitting himself as a manwhore and telling them he thought about everyone's knickers, he hadn't been overly threatening. To be honest, she was having a hard time associating the person before her with the awful things that had happened during the war. She supposed this was the first time she'd seen him since the war, hearing the stories Harry had told her. What he did. Specifically what he couldn't do.

She looked over at Luna for help, not surprised when the blond didn't say anything. Ginny hadn't meant to blurt out the piece about her sleeping in the nude, but it still made Ginny laugh when she remembered how red Luna had gotten as she tried to cover herself. She looked back at Draco, smiling slightly. "What have you been doing with yourself? I can't imagine you have a job." She winced. That hadn't come out like she'd meant it to sound.

He actually let out a loud bark of laughter at that, suddenly amused. "No, I don't have a job. Don't need one. Not all the Malfoy holdings were seized, and Mother has someone very capable making sure we stay afloat. Not that I'd be opposed to work, mind. Been considering it actually. It would keep me from boredom. I get bored rather easily unless challenged. I just got back this week though. I really haven't given it much serious thought. You don't suppose there's pay in being a professional git, is there? I know I could do that. Perhaps I'll be ironic and try something like broom messenger."

"Broom Messenger? Really? It would do nothing for that hair." She let her eyes dart up to his hair. It was rather longer than she remembered it being. "I don't think they pay people for being gits. If they did, Snape would have the corner on that market." She smiled to herself. "Or Ron." She loved her brother dearly, but he still gave her guff over having dated Harry, and she'd called him a git on more than one occasion.

She shook her head, waving her hand dismissively. "What are you good at? Besides being a git. That's always a good place to start." She wasn't sure why Luna was being so quiet, but she wasn't going to push her friend to talk. Merlin knew it was awkward enough for her. Luna had much more tact than Ginny did.

Draco scowled. Had she just called her own brother a git? Interesting.

What was he good at? Hmmm. "Drinking and something called wenching. I don't think they pay for those either though. I'm good at undressing, dark hexes, giving people up to the Ministry, hmmmm..." 

Ginny snapped her fingers. "Draco Malfoy. Sweet Transvestite. Wizard Escort. It's perfect. With your looks, you'll make a mint."

She felt incredibly awkward, which made her incredibly angry. She'd have thought she'd learned something in these last years, how to not feel so awkward in her own skin, but Malfoy was a blast from the past. She hadn't seen him in years, and he was making her feel like she was at Hogwarts all over again. She jerked her thumb back over her shoulder towards the shop door. "I'm sure they had some smashing 'wenching' outfits in there. I could help you look for some." She grinned.

Draco smirked back. "Most wenching does not involve outfits. If there's outfits, I think they call that role play, but if you are interested in playing, I'm not that particular."

This was fun. He missed banter, missed it desperately. He could have danced. Draco didn't realize it, but he had missed people not liking him on sight as well. But had she said he was good looking in a round about way?

Ginny slapped a hand to her forehead, turning to look at Luna, her eyes wide. "Of course! Role play! Gods, why didn't I think of that? It'd make things better with Roger! More interesting, at the very least. It couldn't get much more boring." She sighed, letting her hand drop back to her side. "No, he wouldn't go for it. He's not really..." She shook her head in defeat, looking back at Draco. "It was a good idea though. Thanks."

She furrowed her eyebrows at the look on Luna's face, shrugging her shoulders slightly. What?

"You're having boring sex? Well, that's the saddest thing I think I've heard in a long while. Of all the things sex ought to be, boring is not one of them." And he now knew more of Ginny Weasley's sex life than he ever thought he would.

Ginny glared over his shoulder at a couple as they passed. They'd been looking at the trio on the sidewalk warily at his sentence, and Ginny glared at them until they looked away. No reason for people to be rude. They were standing in front of a lingerie shop, for Circe's sake. She turned back to Draco, raising her eyebrow. "You know, I think this conversation has spun into the area of too much information. I'm fairly certain my brothers would kill you for even breathing the word 'sex' in front of me."

"Sex," he breathed out.

At their looks, he chuckled.

"Felt like making it a double."

Ginny felt her eyebrows raise as she looked over at Luna. "I think it's time we go." She put her hand on Luna's arm, starting to pull her away. She called back over her shoulder at Draco. "It was... odd... seeing you again, Malfoy."

"Likewise," Draco said with a smirk, putting his hands in his pockets and touching the scrap of green silk he'd tucked in there without her noticing.

Ginny shook her head when they were out of his earshot and much farther down the sidewalk. "Alright. From now on, we don't go out on weekends. Weird things happen when we got out on weekends." She laughed. "What the effing hell was that? Why didn't you say anything? You just left me there. Talking with Draco Malfoy. Seriously? Were you that mad that I told him you sleep naked? It's not that big of a deal, Luna. Everyone does from time to time. Really."

Luna shook her head and laughed silently.  What would Gin say if she admitted that she had been too fascinated by the almost visible sparks that had been flying between her and Malfoy to speak?  Probably die of a heart attack in the middle of Diagon Alley.  She hadn't seen her friend's face light up like than in a long time.

"If I had been mad," she said in a light voice.  "I would have told him that you're a screamer."  She ducked Gin's playful swipe and danced away a bit.  "Though, role play with Roger?  That's a little too much information for me.  If I ever do meet him, it'll be bloody awkward, knowing the things I know about him now."

Ginny threw her arm around Luna's shoulder, swinging the bag at her side. "You'll just have to grin and bear it, I guess." She heaved a large sigh. "Though, things have gotten rather boring. The role play was just an idea, despite it's source, that will never work. Roger's not that type of bloke. If I started playing Naughty Nurse Ginny, I think he might have an apoplectic seizure and I'll have to rush him to St. Mungo's, costume at all. Do you know how hard it is to apparate in four inch heels?" She laughed, feeling lighter than she had in weeks.

She growled, dropping her arm from around Luna as they crossed the street, dodging around a gaggle of younger-than-Hogwarts-age children. "I don't want to go back to work tomorrow."

"Do you know how hard it is to apparate in four inch heels?" Luna teased.  She gave her friend a squeeze.  "Any progress in considering your own practice?"

"I was thinking about pouring over the adverts in the Prophet for potions masters. Maybe set up a few meetings, check out prices and what not. I want all the information I can get before I really do this. It's scary, you know? Starting something that's mine. If it fails, it's because of me." She shrugged her shoulders, knocking her shoulder into Luna's. "I'll have to do it sometime next week. I don't have anymore time this weekend. Work waits for no man. Or woman. Whatever the case."

Luna gave her a sympathetic look before smiling.  "I, amazingly enough, have tomorrow off.  I'm honestly not sure what to do with myself.  What did I used to do in my free time?  Besides clean up after Seamus?"

"Read. Garden. Sleep. Eat. Take a bath. Lather, rinse and repeat. All the good stuff you've been missing out on lately. Go see a show. Go to the park. Watch people." Ginny's mind was swirling with all the things she'd do if she had a day off with nothing planned.

"Take a bath?  That sounds heavenly.  I can't remember the last time I managed to do more than a quick shaving charm.  Razors are one of the few things muggles do right."  She also had that book that had been sitting on her nightstand for months now, just waiting for her to have enough time to read it.

Ginny nodded. She'd never used a razor, since she'd never been taught how. Her shaving charms were rather good, though, seeing as her mum had perfected it over time and passed it down to her only daughter. "Possibly. I don't know very much about muggles, other than what Harry told me. I don't really listen to Dad when he talks about them because Harry said half of what he says isn't right." She shrugged again, pulling her jacket tighter around her. It was only the beginning of October, but it was already growing colder. "What do you say we go home? We got what we came for. You'll feel pretty under your clothes, and what I got might spur some action with Roger. All in all, it's been a good night."

Luna considered asking if Malfoy's appearance was part of what made it a good night, but decided against it.  Ginny did know where she slept, after all.  And the red head had not gotten any slower with her hexes.

"Want to pick up some take away?  I could use a bit to eat."

"You're brilliant, you know that? What are you in the mood for? My treat."

Summary: Ginny and Luna go shopping for frilly knickers. They meet a ferret on the way. Snark ensues.