A/N this was written as a one shot but it overflowed into 3 chapters. I wrote it a while ago but never felt it was polished enough to publish, but I went through and corrected some things. I'm still working at 19 years later and WPP so this was just a brief distraction to give me some new inspiration. Happy reading and don't forget to review.

Ronald Weasley was a desperate man. He had never felt as desperate as when he was walking up the steps of the black stone building. His heart was pounding out of his chest. How did he get into this situation you ask? Well it started out with some friendly wagers at work, just a few galleons between coworkers. It escalated from there to betting his entire paycheck and then his families life savings on Quidditch games across the globe. It was the best high when he occasionally won back some of the money, but the lows he felt when he lost and had to mortgage his home for the second time or when he had to pawn Dumbledores putter-outer that had been left to him in the headmasters will, those lows had made him suicidal more than once. Not even Harry knew the severity of his problem. And certainly not his overbearing judgmentalA/ wife Hermione. She would never understand. He made up so many lies as to where the money had gone that he had a hard time keeping them all straight. But back to the task at hand. He knew it was a long shot, but it was his absolute last resort. He walked up to the receptionist at the front desk and signed in, before taking a seat in the luxurious lobby and nervously tapping his foot on the polished black marble floor. He had tried unsuccessfully to drown his misery in Firewhiskey an hour or so before sending off the owl requesting this meeting. He finished the bottle before the reply came. It was now crumpled in his pocket. A simple note;

Yes, 3:30 my office.

DM

Ron took it as a good sign that he had agreed. Of course he didn't know the severity of the situation at hand, so it was anyone's guess as to what the outcome of this meeting would be. He glanced up at the clock. 3:33. He supposed his host being late was a tactic to make him sweat, and it was working. It was five additional sweat filled minutes before Draco Malfoy came strutting out of the lift with a smug look upon his face.

"How nice to see you again Weaselbee. I wish it were under different circumstances, but it is what it is. Follow me please." Draco said, his shining black leather shoes matching the tone of the floor.

"I want to thank you again for agreeing to discuss this with me." Ron said the words tasting bitter in his mouth.

"Well I haven't agreed to anything just yet. I still have to clear things with my board. And in these tough financial times they can be quite fickle."

"I was under the impression this would be just between us. There are certain aspects of my situation I do not wish to be discussed in polite society."

"My entire board is sworn to confidentiality, so there should be no worries there. Ah, here we are." Draco sighed before pushing open the black lacquer doors with the polished brass trim. Ron entered the room to find twenty or so people seated around a black walnut board table. Draco took his seat at the head of the table and motioned for Ron to sit at his left. Ron felt very underdressed as he walked past the board members. He had worn his best robes but they looked shabby compared to what the others were wearing. His brown work shoes had seen better days. He took his seat and waited for Draco to start speaking. Draco fidgeted with some papers before clearing his throat loudly.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for agreeing to join me on such short notice. My old school friend here is in need of a loan to cover some unexpected expenses."

"Just what expenses are we talking about?" A short round man with a thin mustache asked.

Draco motioned for Ron to stand smoothed his robes and stood to face the somber looking group

" I made some poor investments and my oldest just started at Hogwarts. We are underwater with our home loan and I outspent my current salary thinking I was getting a promotion that I didn't end up getting. I just want to get caught up." Ron said looking a sincere as possible. "Thank you."

"Well ladies and gentlemen. You have Mr. Wesley's portfolio in front of you. Take a moment to look it over and..."

"With all due respect Mr. Malfoy,"the short round man spoke up, " we have already looked over the papers and we feel Mr. Weasley is a bad risk for this loan. Also there are rumors of a large gambling debt."

Ron hung his head in defeat. He looked up through his hair at Draco who was frowning at his board members.

"Thank you ladies and gentlemen. I would like a word with Mr. Weasley in private." Draco said calmly.

"May I?" Draco asked looking at Ron, who just nodded. The others filed out quietly talking amongst themselves.

"I'm sorry about that. But maybe it's for the best."

Ron was trying to hold it together in front of Malfoy.

"How can you figure that?" Ron asked bitterly

"Well I thought I could just give you the money personally and not involve Malfoy industries. How much do you need?"

Ron's mouth hung open.

"You would do that? I need around five million galleons. What are the loan terms?"

"No loan. I'm going to give you the money.. I haven't figured out the terms yet, but I'm sure we can find something."

Ron nervously twisted his wedding ring and noticed Draco staring at it.

"My ring isn't worth much, if you were thinking of keeping it as collateral."

"I told you, it's not a loan. And I don't want your ring... I want your wife."