Disclaimer: Characters belong to the wonderfully talented JK Rowling. The 'kisses' are not supposed to be a rip off of the fabulously popular Hershey candies, but if it seems so, they belong to Hershey, inc, etc.

A/N I should be working on 'beyond redemption', but this story wanted to get written first. LOTS OF FLUFF…NO PLOT…JUST FUN!



Ginny Weasley sat at the counter of her brothers' joke shop, going over the books for Fred and George. It was summer, and the weather outside was warm and lovely. She'd been working here for about three weeks now, and things were finally looking up. When she'd first come here to work over the summer holidays, she'd expected to work hard, but Fred and George were working her butt off! She thought it would be interesting to work in a gag shop because she had lots of ideas, too, and hers would bring in female customers. But they never listened to her ideas. She had several that she thought would attract more customers. She'd noticed that there were very few girls or young women coming to the shop. So she had tried to develop novelty items geared toward females. But Fred and George just laughed at them, telling Ginny they would take care of product development as long as she took care of stock and inventory.

She really shouldn't complain, she'd told herself. She was earning money, she spent a lot of time browsing through Diagon Alley, and she didn't have to stay home with Ron. He was in a filthy temper right now since Hermione's parents had decided to take her to America for a few weeks and Ron was stuck at home until then.

She'd been trying to come up with an idea the twins couldn't brush off, for almost two weeks. She had one idea she thought would be popular, something she called 'Dragon Kisses'. She blushed to even think about it, but it was simply a chunk of chocolate with spicy hot cinnamon candy in the middle. Fred had liked it, but George said the hot candy wasn't enough of a hook. It needed something else. Ginny blushed at the idea, because her inspiration for the candy was probably one of the most embarrassing things she'd ever done.

Sitting there in the afternoon warmth, Ginny thought back to the week before school got out. It all started with a stupid game.

"Truth or dare?" Ginny looked nervously at the girls sitting it a small circle in one of the empty classrooms in the dungeon. They met regularly to giggle and gossip and play silly games like 'truth or dare' and 'what if'. Ginny usually had a good time because no matter what they asked her, she would rather tell the truth than take one of the sometimes silly, sometimes frightening dares the others came up with. They met in deserted classrooms because there was an assortment of girls from all four houses. But tonight, Ginny felt decidedly uncomfortable. A few of the girls, the Slytherins, were complaining because Ginny never chose 'dare'. They called her 'chicken', 'goody-goody Gryff', and other names, trying to get her to take a dare for once. Even her friends in Gryffindor were losing patience with her. And she had promised to take one dare since the end of term was almost here and they would be breaking for summer vacation in a little over a week.

"Truth!" she said quickly, and looked apologetically at her friends. The girls made sounds of disgust, but the game wasn't over yet. One of the Slytherin girls, Bianca, gave her a smirk, then asked her question.

"Alright, Ginny, who do you think is the most kissable boy in school?"

Ginny frowned. Most kissable? What the heck did that mean?

"Do you mean who is most accessible? Or do you mean who would I want to kiss most, or who do most of the girls want to kiss?"

Bianca rolled her eyes. "Gods, Ginny, you're not testifying in court. Who is the most kissable?"

Ginny closed her eyes and thought. Well, Seamus Finnegan was probably the most willing to kiss just about anyone. He was cute and funny, and not the least discriminating in giving out his affection. But most of the girls thought Justin Finch-Fletchly was adorable, and were always sighing over him. Personally, Ginny would love—just once—to kiss--…

"All right, all right! Who do you think would be the best kisser in school! Is that clear enough?" The pretty Slytherin girl looked impatient. "Just answer the question, already."

Ginny was already nervous, and was now more so. That changed the question. She thought quickly, but even though her brain said Seamus Finnegan, her mouth said, "Draco Malfoy!"

The rest of the girls squealed in delight! It was almost a joke how all of them except Ginny had at one time or another said she would like to kiss the arrogant prat. But they, or rather, Bianca, had tricked her into that answer. Ginny almost got up to leave, terribly embarrassed. What if the git heard that she'd said she thought he would be a good kisser? But her best friend, Kit, placed an affectionate arm around Ginny's shoulders and gave her a quick hug.

"Remember," she said stoutly, "Ginny didn't say she wanted to, just that she thought he would be good at it!"

This statement brought another round of laughter along with a few catcalls. Finally, the game got going again. After that last question, Ginny felt like she could handle almost anything.

When it was her turn again, Ginny screwed up her courage. "Truth or dare?" This time the question came from a sweet Hufflepuff girl. Ginny felt safe in saying, "Dare."

The other girls were silent. This was it! The Hufflepuff girl smiled and twirled a bit of her hair around her finger, thinking.

"Okay, Gin, here it is. And remember, you have to do it!"

"Yeah, I know, just get on with it."

"All right, then. There's a Hogsmeade visit this weekend. Sometime this Saturday, with one of us watching, you have to…" she paused, drawing out the tension. "Kiss Draco Malfoy!"

The other girls were silent for a second then exploded in applause! The girl from Hufflepuff was still talking, but Ginny couldn't hear her over the racket from the others. Bianca and the other Slytherin girl began to singsong, "Ginny's kissing Draco! Ginny's kissing Draco!" while the others were howling with laughter. Ginny stared at the girl who dared her! She couldn't' believe it! Kiss Malfoy? They must be crazy!

"You don't really expect me to kiss that conceited prat, do you? I mean, it's just ridiculous!"

"Oh, ho!" Bianca waved her arms for silence. "Are you forfeiting? You know what happens if you do, right?"

Ginny gulped. If she forfeited, she could no longer come to these gatherings. She would be ostracized. After her first, horrible year at Hogwarts, she had found it difficult to make friends. It had taken several years to find a group she felt at ease with. If she lost them, her last year would be miserable. But the alternative was to kiss that scummy, slimy creep who made Ron's life (and hers to a lesser extent) such a pain. HE was a pain! And they wanted her to KISS him? The girls were watching her and Ginny knew she had no choice. She looked down and said, "All right, I'll do it!"

They applauded again, but the girl who had dared her waved for quiet.

"Ginny, did you even hear the conditions?"

Conditions? What conditions? Ginny was about to ask, but it didn't matter. She would do it, because she needed friends, and these girls, despite their rare spitefulness, really were her friends.

The next morning, Ginny was wondering whether she should jump off a turret, have her head examined, or just throw herself into the lake. Maybe all three. She had finally gotten the conditions of the dare. She must kiss Malfoy in front of at least one of the other girls. She must kiss him on the mouth. The kiss must last at least five seconds (counted one-one thousand, two-one thousand, three-one thousand…). And finally, she had to (ugh!) use her tongue! Gods, she'd rather be ostracized! And if Ron heard about it, he'd kill her! She tried to impress on the girls how important it was that Ron (and that meant Hermione, Harry, Seamus, Parvati, and Lavender) must not hear a word about it. In fact, they had better not tell ANYONE! She wasn't sure how successful her warning had been, but so far she hadn't received any knowing looks or snickers or smirks.

She tried to avoid being anywhere Malfoy might be, because knowing she would have to approach him and kiss him made her even more nervous around him than she usually was. Her Gryffindor friends were supportive and tried not to giggle whenever they happened to pass him, but they weren't always successful. Ginny didn't giggle, but it didn't matter. The look he gave them collectively was bad enough. The week sped by, with Saturday coming all too soon. The girls decided to meet in Hogsmeade at the Three Broomsticks, then they would look around together. Ginny could decide when and where she would kiss Malfoy, just as long as one of them was there to witness it.

Ginny walked into the Three Broomsticks and almost ran out again. HE was there! Already! Gathering her courage, she walked to a table with Kit and sat. Then she breathed a huge sigh of relief. Malfoy was just leaving. She was saved for the moment. The other girls gathered around and after a round of butterbeers, they decided to just kind of wander around in a group. None of them wanted to possibly miss what they had begun to call 'The Event of the Season!' Ginny's stomach was upset all day. She didn't feel like eating anything, and only sipped tea when they grabbed a bite in a fast food establishment. But since the Three Broomsticks, no one had seen Malfoy. Finally losing interest, a few girls went off to do their own shopping, and Ginny was left with her Kit, Bianca, and the Hufflepuff girl who had issued the dare. They were just leaving the Madame Malkin's robe outlet when one of their group came running up to them.

"Hurry! I just heard Malfoy was headed to Honeyduke's! Now's your chance!"

Ginny's stomach lurched! This was it! They hurried to the candy shop, crowding inside and looking around frantically. He wasn't here yet. Ginny let out her breath. Thank the fates! She didn't think she could go through with it. She was about to sit at one of the tiny tables, but changed her mind. She wandered to a back row, looking at the shelves without seeing anything. The others wandered around as well, trying to look casual. Ginny absently picked up a sample from a crystal display plate and popped it into her mouth. And almost spit it out again! She coughed violently, her eyes watered, and she desperately fanned at her mouth. It was spicy hot, almost like cinnamon pepper. Ginny wiped the tears from her eyes and read the card under the plate. 'Hot Chili/Cinnamon Candy imported from Argentina'. Oh, of course. She looked around for somewhere to discretely spit out the vile confection, but her friend nudged her.

"Here he comes!" she hissed quietly. "Now's your chance!"

Lord, her mouth was on fire, and stupid, bloody Malfoy had to choose now of all times to show up! Ginny swallowed, feeling the sweet, spicy fire travel down her throat. Gods, that was awful. Then she looked up.

Malfoy had indeed entered the shop. He was standing at the counter, his purchase already paid for. Oh, no, she was going to have to chase him down! How humiliating! But he didn't leave. He motioned to his friends, not Crabbe or Goyle, but some of the boys on his Quidditch team, and they moved toward one of the small tables. Malfoy nodded to Bianca, then noticed the others, all staring at him. He raised his eyebrows.

"Ladies," he said, with a nod that seemed to take them all in. They just giggled.

Then he met Ginny's eyes. He raised only one brow at her, gave her a brief, insulting nod, and then smirked. She didn't know if it was the way he acted as though he were lord and master of all he surveyed, or the spicy candy that was still burning through her system, but when he sat, Ginny felt her blood boil! And he had looked at Ginny as though she was just an insignificant peasant! Well, she'd show him!

Ginny marched up to his table. Malfoy had broken off a small bit of the chocolate bar he'd purchased, and carelessly tossed it in his mouth before looking at her. He raised his brow again, smiling slightly and casually chewing his chocolate bar. When Ginny didn't say anything, he shrugged and turned back to his friends. That was it!

"Malfoy!" Ginny said, rather loudly. He didn't bother to look this time, so Ginny grabbed the long, silky hair at the crown of his head and yanked. His head came backward and she held it there.

He opened his mouth, in protest, no doubt, but his words were cut off as Ginny pressed her mouth to his.

Oh, lord, oh, lord, oh, lord, she thought in panic. What was she doing? What did she have to do? Oh, yes, five seconds! Onetwothreefourfive! Hell with the tongue, she just wanted out of here! She was about to break away and run, but one of his hands came up and clamped around her neck. The other came round to wrap around her waist and drag her onto his lap! Then, when Ginny thought it wasn't possible to feel more panic, his tongue touched her lips!

Ginny squirmed and struggled, but Malfoy was holding her tightly. She tried to cry out, but as soon as she opened her lips, he thrust his tongue into her mouth. She tasted the chocolate he'd been eating, as well as the spicy candy she'd just had. The combined taste, along with the sensation of his kiss was amazing. She thought Malfoy must have felt it, too, because he broke away and murmured something like, "Spicy-sweet" before assaulting her mouth again. Ginny relaxed slightly and let go of his hair. She hadn't even noticed she was still holding on to it! Then she trailed her fingers down his neck. She felt a rumble coming from his throat as he moaned softly into her mouth. Oh, my, this was wonderful! She leaned closer and finally kissed him back, letting her tongue lightly trace his mouth, as he was doing to hers. His arms tightened around her and Ginny seemed to melt against him, just like warm, velvety chocolate syrup.

She didn't even notice the catcalls, whistles and laughter from the other customers. All she knew at this moment was that she didn't want this kiss to end! She was brought roughly around, though, when her friend grabbed her shoulder and shook her. Ginny broke away with a start, opening oddly unfocused eyes.

"Come ON, Ginny, Ron's coming!"

In a panic, she leaped from Malfoy's lap, barely noticing his objections. She was halfway to the door when he called her. But she didn't have time to listen to his mockery or insults. If Ron found out, he'd kill them both! She cast a quick glance at Malfoy, just in time to see him angrily wiping a smear of chocolate from his lip. Then she slipped out the door and into the alley moments before Ron, Harry and Hermione passed by.

The next few days plodded by. She still seldom saw Malfoy, and when she did, she turned and hurried the other way. She just couldn't meet his eyes. If he didn't think she was a—well, a slut, he must at least think she was insane. Thank the fates he was a seventh year. At least she wouldn't see him next year.

The train ride from Hogwarts to London seemed to last days! Now that she was trapped on the train, her friends seemed to think Malfoy would seek her out. She knew how ridiculous that was. They hadn't seen the way Malfoy had disgustedly wiped his mouth after the kiss! But she had. To her it had been the most exciting, exhilarating experience of her thus far very short life. But to him it must have seemed a bad joke. Which, when you really thought about it, it was! She doubted she'd ever play 'truth or dare' or any of those other stupid games again. The price was just too high.

At Platform 9 ¾ , Ginny was surprised to see Fred and George waiting along with her mum and dad. They were there, they said to offer Ron and Ginny the chance to earn money this summer, helping them in their gag shop. Ron cried off, saying he was spending some time with Hermione's family, then Harry would be coming to the Burrow for the rest of the summer. Ginny, however, jumped at the chance. She didn't look forward to a long summer alone with just her thoughts. At least with Fred and George, she would be amused, occupied, and paid!

And she had been, in between slaving for them. Ginny had wracked her brain for that 'something else' for her 'dragon kisses. Finally, she'd found it. She had been at lunch, watching a street juggler entertaining a crowd of children, laughing at some of his gags. But when he swallowed a fiery sword without injuring himself, Ginny had her idea. She rushed back to the shop, calling for her brothers.

Fred and George came running from the back of the shop where they'd been eating their own lunch.

"I've got it! I have the hook for the 'Dragon Kisses'!" she cried.

As she explained it, she watched as their faces mirrored delighted expressions!

Once George and Fred got hold of an idea, it didn't take them long to develop it. One week after Ginny had given them her 'hook', 'Dragon Kisses' hit the market. The chocolate was in the shape of a flame, wrapped in bright orange and red foil. In the center was a hot, spicy gel that gave the combined taste of chocolate and cinnamon. But the 'hook' was that after biting into the center of the candy, a tiny burst of flame would pop out of your mouth! They had worked hard to find a formula that tasted good but whose flame wouldn't actually hurt. The 'Dragon Kisses' were a huge success. And Fred and George finally discovered that women bought gags too, and were generally willing to pay more than men, so they encouraged Ginny to develop more 'women's gags'. They agreed to pay her a percentage of their profit from anything she developed.

On the whole, Ginny couldn't really complain. She was working on more gags for her brothers, she was saving money, and it was just nice to know she'd been successful at something. She couldn't help wonder about Malfoy, though. He'd probably already forgotten the incident. And even though Bianca had sworn that no one in the Slytherin Common Room was talking about it, Ginny figured Malfoy probably had a good laugh with his mates over how the silly little sixth year had thrown herself at him. What was Malfoy doing now? Did he ever think about her or the kiss? Ginny shook her head at her own silliness. Of course he didn't, she assured herself. And she was glad. She was having a good time and looked forward to not having the arrogant git in school next year. In fact, she was actually feeling great today, even when Fred and George asked her to mind the shop. They were looking into expanding the shop and were looking for a new location. Ginny didn't like working 'out front' but it was the slack time of day so she agreed.

As Ginny was going over the account books, she realized she would have to find a bookkeeper for them when she went back to school. Since both boys (they were men, but they would always be boys to her) were hopeless with accounts, she would have to find someone they (and she) could trust not to steal them blind. The bell over the door tinkled and Ginny straightened to greet her customer. She froze.

Draco Malfoy was standing in the doorway of her brothers' shop, frowning at the prominent display of 'Dragon Kisses'. Ginny wanted to sink into the floor. He would surely recognize the reference. She almost ran and hid in the back room. The only thing that prevented her was that she knew Malfoy was just ornery enough to come looking for her if that was why he was here. But maybe he was just looking for a gag gift? Maybe he would just browse and walk out again. There was nothing saying he knew this shop belonged to her brothers, right?

As if he felt her look, Malfoy raised his head and stared at her. Ginny blushed to the roots of her red hair. She thought his mouth quivered slightly, but couldn't be sure. When she couldn't take his stare anymore, she stood and said, "Can I help you?"

He moved toward her, but Ginny moved behind the counter. He stopped.

"I have an appointment with Fred Weasley. Is he here? Or George?"

He sounded so formal. And what did he mean, an appointment? What on earth could that be about? Surely he couldn't be looking for a job? She was about to tell him the boys were out when they walked in the front door.

"Ah, there he is," Fred said to George. "The bloke who wanted to buy our entire stock of 'Dragon Kisses'."

George shook hands with Malfoy and Ginny watched, feeling like she was in a poorly written pulp fiction book. Fred and George turned to Ginny.

"Like you to meet our sister, Ginny," said Fred.

"We've met," Malfoy said in a neutral tone.

"Oh? Oh, yeah, of course. You were in school together. Well, Ginny's the one you have to talk to. It's her formula and her idea. If you want to buy it, you deal with her."

Ginny looked from Fred to Malfoy, confused. Fred explained.

"Malfoy, here, wants to buy up the rights to your chocolates. Guess they offend him or something. I didn't really understand, but since you invented them, he can explain it to you."

Malfoy stared at Ginny again. Then he said, "Are you free? Maybe we can discuss this over dinner?"

Ginny started to shake her head, but George walked to her and untied her apron. "Go on, love. We'll see you in the morning." He gave her a not so gentle shove toward Malfoy, not even giving her a chance to protest.

"My purse! And, I need to freshen up!"

Fred hurried to the back room and retrieved her purse, while George assured her she looked fine. Finally, Malfoy took her arm and pulled her, still resisting, from the shop. Once outside, Ginny yanked her arm from his grasp.

"I can walk by myself, you know!" she snapped, pushing her untidy hair away from her face. "What do you want, anyway?"

She looked up into his face and noticed what she hadn't seen in the poorly lit shop; he had a black eye and his lip was puffy. A thin scar marked a newly healed cut on the lip.

"Good grief, what happened to you?" Ginny gasped.

He ignored the question. "Are you hungry," he asked.

Actually, she was. "A bit," she admitted.

"I know a small inn where the food is decent and we can talk in private. Does that sound good?"

Did it matter, she wondered. But she nodded and Malfoy took her arm again. He led her to a small street off of Diagon Alley. It seemed a nice, quiet street that held mostly dining establishments. They entered a tiny, quaint- looking building called The Cozy Corner. Ginny looked around the interior, delighted. It was bright and warm looking, but the booths had high backs and large plants and ferns between each one, giving the feeling of seclusion. Malfoy spoke briefly to the proprietor and they were led to a booth near the back of the room. Ginny slid into the booth and was surprised when Malfoy slid in next to her. She scooted against the wall, but he moved right along with her!

"Malfoy! You have the entire other seat! Do you really need mine, too?" She pushed him away and he finally relented and moved over a few inches. But he still wasn't talking.

"All right, you got me here, so why don't you tell me what you want?"

Malfoy smiled at her. Oh, my, he could probably melt ice cream with that smile, she thought distractedly.

"That's pretty simple," he answered. "You!"

"Me?" she asked, feeling overwhelmed.

"You," he agreed. "Even though you jumped like a scalded cat, even though you ran away from me like I was an axe-murderer, I want you. I'm even willing to forgive you for hiding from me on the train!" He moved close again, covering her mouth with his. Even without the chocolate and spice, Ginny melted into his arms and wrapped her arms around his neck. It was like heaven, but Ginny came down to earth too soon. She pushed him away, scowling at him.

"I didn't hide from you on the train. You never bothered to look! What do you really want?" she asked suspiciously. "Why would you want to buy the rights to 'Dragon Kisses'?"

Malfoy leaned back and stretched an arm across the back of the booth, letting his hand play with her hair. He was still smiling at her.

"That's simple, too," he drawled. "That was MY kiss, and I'm not happy about sharing it with anyone."

"Your kiss?" she said incredulously.

"Yeah, my kiss. I worked hard enough for that one kiss. I deserve to keep it."

Ginny's eyes narrowed. "What do you mean, you worked for it? I kissed you on a dare, that's all!"

His smile broadened. "I know. I bribed the girls in your 'circle' to dare you to kiss me. But you're so damned stubborn, you kept taking truth. It was really getting frustrating."

Ginny was speechless. HE had set up the dare? Then she glared at him again.

"If you were that interested, why didn't you just ask me out? Were you ashamed to be seen with me, or something?"

He rolled his eyes. "Come on, be your age. What would you have done if I'd asked you out? Besides telling me to sod off and setting your prat of a brother on me? No, you had to come to me first, or you'd think I was playing some sort of joke on you. Right?"

Ginny opened her mouth to deny it, but she realized it was probably true. If she hadn't already kissed him, she would have told him to sod off today. Then she remembered something.

"How soft do you think I am, Malfoy," she demanded suddenly. Very slowly and clearly, as though speaking to a rather slow child, she said, "I'm a Weasley, remember. And besides, I saw you wiping your mouth off when I left Honeyduke's. You were disgusted."

She crossed her arms and stared straight ahead, feeling humiliated all over again. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders and pulled her against him. She looked away, but he pulled her chin back around and made her look at him.

"I was angry, because you were running away from me, but I didn't--," he paused, thinking. Then he grinned again. "Do you mean this?" he asked, swiping at his lip with his thumb. Then, making sure she was watching, he opened his mouth and licked his thumb. Ginny couldn't seem to look away. Was that what he'd done? She couldn't remember now, but it looked much different from up close. She nodded anyway.

"I thought so," he murmured. "I couldn't get enough of the taste of you."

He lowered his mouth to hers again, but this time hungrily. She returned the kiss enthusiastically, but he hissed and pulled back.

"Damn," he gritted, gingerly touching the small scar on his lip. "Stupid thing still hurts like hell."

"What happened, anyway," Ginny asked, concerned.

"Oh, nothing much. I was going to ask you out, and I showed up at your house looking for you. I found your brother, instead."

Ginny lowered her brows. Ron was interfering with her life again? "I hope he at least looks as bad," she said caustically.

He lifted her chin again, grinning at her. "Not a very sisterly sentiment," he mused. But he cut off her justification. "No, love, he looks a lot worse."

Ginny smiled a bit guiltily, then gently and briefly kissed his mouth.

"Well, will you sell me the rights to the 'Dragon Kisses'?" he asked finally.

"You still haven't really given me a good reason," she argued. It was her first invention, and madly successful. She was loath to give it up.

"How about because I want to be the only one giving you 'dragon kisses'?"

"Oh," Ginny said, moving closer and pulling his mouth to hers. "In that case, it's a deal."