Draco Malfoy remembered the first time he ever had cranberries. He was six years old, and like any six year old he was a picky eater. His mother had gotten a berried flavored cake from the Bakery in Diagon Alley. It was a famous French Bakery that unfortunately three years after the Malfoys bought the berry cake it had been bombed with Guacamole.
His mother put a large slice on delicate china; china that was so define it would crack in the presence of someone with even just a cold. Today it was Draco Malfoy's sixth birthday and from across the large dining hall he could smell the savory vanilla frosting from his berry cake. He smiled and so did his two friends Blaise Zabini and Pansy Parkinson.
When Draco's mother carried the sugary berry cake on the delicate china plates, he grinned from ear to ear. That's right, a young Malfoy will smile. Unfortunately, later in life, a smile on the Malfoy face will become non-existent. Draco's mother carefully placed the plates on the wood polished table in front of the children.
Like any six years old, or perhaps like Blaise and Pansy, they would pick up their sparkling clean forks and dig in. Draco, however, took a moment to admire the cake. The cake had vanilla frosting with his name written in chocolate icing. The rich chocolate breaded part of the cake had berries of every kind; blueberries, blackberries, wild berries, strawberries, poison berries, and of course cranberries.
Draco slowly pierced the cake with his fork. It scooped up the O in Draco's name, the delicious vanilla frostings, the savory chocolate bread, and some of the most define cranberries. He plunged the fork into his mouth to taste the cake. Then a frown of disappointment spread across Draco's handsome face. His face twisted and he swallowed it.
"Draco, darling, don't you like it?" Narcissa Malfoy, Draco's mother asked. "THIS IS DISGUSTING!" Draco shouted. That shout echoed through the room, perhaps the whole house, and broke Mrs. Malfoy's beautiful china. Now what a naughty, spoiled, and rude little boy Draco was. Mrs. Malfoy made a face as if she was about to cry. Pansy Parkinson frowned at Draco, "You stupid boy, you made your mother cry!" The little girl hugged Mrs. Malfoy.
"It wasn't me that made my mother cry, it was those disgusting cranberries." Draco Malfoy said.
xxxx
It wasn't until eleven years later he began to regret it. He watched as his father stood by a large gray rock in the backyard. On the stone was engraved;
Here Lies
Narcissa Malfoy
1940 to 1997
Beloved Wife
Beloved Mother
Beloved Sister
It had only been a few days since the funeral and his father was not taking any of it well. He focused more on his work that anything since Draco's poor mother had become ill. Draco was at scholl and didn't get a notice that she was sick until she was dead. Draco was raised not to cry. Not a single tear was aloud to fall for his mother. He didn't do much of anything except keep to himself.
"Father," Draco whispered through the terrible fog in the Malfoy Gardens. "What is it!?" Lucius Mafloy snapped. Draco stepped back slightly, "I'm leaving for Hogwarts now." He heard his father sighed. "Fine, Good bye," Lucius said softly. Draco nodded and slowly walked away. "Write to me for your mother. " Lucius whispered, not expecting Draco to hear, but Draco did.
xxxx
Draco was at Dinner in the Great Hall at Hogwarts. He was listening to Pansy talk on and on about something that happened in Charms with Longbottom turning his pants into glue. Draco rolled his eyes constantly during the stories and played with his food. "Then Granger was reading through her book frantically looking for some absurd spell to change his pants back to normal." Pansy laughed and then looked over at Draco. She noticed something that she hadn't in a long time, sadness. Draco Malfoy was never sad, or showed in publically.
His long platinum blonde locks covered his cold grey eyes. "Draco," Pansy whispered, "Is everything okay?" Draco looked up slowly, "Yes," he snapped rudely, "I'm fine." Pansy leaned back away from him slightly. "Are you upset…" Pansy mumbled, "because of your mum?" Draco's temper was running thin, "Pansy drop it. Okay, my mum died. Big deal, life goes on." Pansy frowned angrily, "Its okay to be sad about it Draco, its okay to mourn! I don't think I've ever heard you talk so horribly about your mother!"
Draco stood up, "Well it's not your problem, is it? Leave me alone Parkinson." Draco stomped away. Pansy sat there with her mouth open slightly. She felt as if her hear were about to crack in half. That was something Draco Malfoy would never do to her, Pansy Parkinson, his best friend. And yet, he did.
Xxxx
Ginny Weasley was in the Library studying for her exams. She knew it was a bit early to study for exams. It was only the middle of November and exams weren't till May, but Hermione wouldn't stop bugging her about it. She flipped through a book on charms that could style a mustache. She never really realized until now of how boring and random charms could be.
Why would she ever need to know about styling a mustache? Its not like she wanted one, she was a young woman not a middle aged man or an immature boy. She groaned and flipped the page to read the French history of styling mustaches. Then suddenly, the Library door opened and in came an angry Malfoy.
"Great!" Ginny thought to herself sarcastically, "Just what I need!" Draco Malfoy was feeling the same way when he saw the sixteen year old Ginny sitting there with a strange book. Draco shook his head and sat off in a corner to think things over. Instead his eyes drifted off unto Ginny.
Ginny Weasley was beautiful. She had short curly red hair and bright brown eyes. She had a sprinkle of freckles across the bridge of her nose and her rosy cheeks. She was rather tall with long legs and had filled out since her first years at Hogwarts. Sure she was beautiful, but didn't consider herself beautiful at all. Of course Draco had thought about her, with her fiery attitude and sparky personality, but every male student did.
"Malfoy, stop staring at me, you're burning a hole through my head." Ginny said. Draco sat there still and stared at Ginny as she went back to her studying, if that's what you want to call it. Draco admired her sense of humor and how she was so focused on one thing, studying. He always pictured that was the way his mother was when she was Ginny's age.
Draco shook his head, "Stop thinking about your mother," Draco thought, "you'll only look weak." Then Draco never realized it until now, about how much comfort he really needed. He regretted what he had said to Pansy. Pansy wasn't a forgiving person. He knew she wouldn't welcome him back with open arms, he sighed, and that only made him feel worse. He cleared his throat, thinking that perhaps Ginny could be the person. He was feeling somewhat content with her trying hard to ignore him.
"Look Malfoy, I'm not really in the mood to be bothered by you today, so you can go. Just walk straight out that door and that will make our lives much easier." Ginny said pointing to the door and smiling in a frustrated sort of way. Draco shook his head, and tried hard to come up with a way to approach this. "Weasley I do have a problem, and I seriously need your help." Draco said. He thought he might as well be honest. She looked up, he had her attention now.
"My mother…" he said, and before he could finish he felt a weird lump in the back of his throat. Ginny recognized it. He was trying not to cry. Ginny could feel a pit in her stomach of regret. She knew about his mother and had completely ignored it as she was him. She closed her book and pushed it away. Draco had never really wanted for this to happen. Ginny Weasley was that last person we would want to see in a time like this. 'That's not true; there is Potter, Weasel King and father.' He had never thought he'd be here crying in front of her.
Then all of his memories came back, of his mother, the berry cake, the china, the gravestone, his father, Pansy, and the cranberries. He ran a swift hand through his hair. She sat there unsure of what to do. She stood up slowly. Draco thought for sure she was leaving, but instead she walked over to him. She sat on his lap and wrapped her arms around him. She didn't know what she was doing. She just did what she was sure was right.
Draco was extremely confused. Ginny whispered , "You know its okay to be upset." Draco who was confused and sad, stared at Ginny Weasley. A family rival was hugging him. He had called her horrible names, pulled mean pranks, and insulted her family so often that if their family had gotten a dollar for every remark he had made about them, they'd be the richest people in Great Britain.
He couldn't figure out why she was being so nice to him. She should be laughing and saying "Tough Luck," or something rude like he would. Then he did something unexpectedly. He wrapped his arms around her. Then Draco's emotions poured out like purposely tipping the frying pan to drop the runny uncooked egg.
He felt his tears drop and fall on Ginny's cloak. He began to cough or choke. He couldn't recognize it. He stared down at Ginny's long red hair. "I was six, my mum got me a cake. She put it on her favorite plates, I tried the cake. I hated it…" He choked, "It was berries. Cranberries. I shouted at that broke her plates. She loved those plates so much. It was from my Great- Grandmother." He swallowed another choke/cough. Ginny just nodded. "It was two weeks ago, when she passed. I never said sorry, about those plates. I blamed those Cranberries." He choked and stared down into Ginny's eyes. "I never got to say sorry, never. I never got to say good-bye. I never knew she was dying. I never knew until now how I was so horrible." He cried.
Ginny looked up at him. "What I can not understand, is why you are here hugging me, after all I've done to you." He asked. She just kept staring into those red puffy grey eyes. "Because you need me right now, and I need you to get out of reading about mustache styling." She said sort of smiling. Draco smiled the one that was supposed to be non-existent. But yet, there it was directly toward Ginny. "I've never seen you smiled before." Ginny said, "Malfoy you have one twisted set of emotions."
Then she kissed him, right there when anybody could have walked in and saw them. He or she wouldn't have cared, now it was the beginning of something new.
Draco adored her. Was it her beautiful eyes? Was it her attitude? Was it her will to help someone who did not deserve it? Or was it that Cranberry smell in her elegant hair?