Disclaimer: I own nothing…well, actually, I own a kitty. Her name is Pebbles. I also own cat food, which I feed to my kitty.
Chapter 1: Surprise
The sun glistened off the dark water in the shallow pond. Ripples and splashes disturbed the mirrored surface of the lake, as Fred and George were currently playing monkey in the middle with Gabrielle, Fleur's little sister. The pretty child jumped up, arms flailing, trying to retrieve her sun hat, which Fred and George were keeping just out of her reach. They were both wearing matching swimming trunks, just as Gabrielle was wearing a replica of Fleur's silver one piece. The shimmering material looked like royalty next to my shabby, pale green bikini, but Mum can't afford 300 galon bathing suits. I didn't mind so much though, mostly because I don't swim that often. The bottom of the pond is rather muddy, and sucks at your feet when you walk through it. I assumed that was why Fleur was lying on the white wooden lounge chair, instead of rescuing her sister's sun hat. In fact, Fred and George were the only two that had been brave enough to enter the cool muddy waters of the pond. Gabrielle had simply come in to try and get her hat back. I myself was sitting on a towel spread across the grass. The sun was warm and soothing, and just sitting in it made my eyelids feel heavy.
My gaze then fell upon Hermione, who was reading 'The Standard book of Spells: Grade Seven.' Every one had been forced to skip the previous year at Hogwarts due to the fact that Snape had killed Dumbledor. Luckily, Harry had managed to defeat Voldemoert a few months ago, and the Wizarding world was beginning to fall back into the regular swing of things. However, 'The Daily Prophet' was still going on about how brave Harry was. The Minster for Magic had offered Harry a job as an Auror on the spot, but he had politely turned it down. He said he would go back to school and finish his last year, then go through Auror training, just like everyone else. Most people thought it was an act of nobility, but those closest to Harry new better. Harry had never wanted to be special. He hated special treatment; he was sick and tired of being in the spotlight all the time. More than anything, Harry Potter, The Boy Who Lived, the 'Chosen One' wanted to be normal. He just wanted to be Harry, The Kid With The Glasses.
I myself don't know too much about how the last battle went. At the time, I had been locked away in a dungeon somewhere as a hostage. I remember when the guards got word that Voldemort had fallen, they began killing off all the hostages, one by one. I remember being curled in a ball in the corner of my grimy cell, crying to myself as each flash of green light grew brighter and brighter. They had been only two cells away from me when an entire band of Auror's burst in and stupefied the Death Eaters. They then released the remaining hostages, and took us all above ground to safety. I had never been so glad to see sunlight in my entire life. To this day I need my room to be lit with candles at night and the door must be wide open, or I will begin to suffer panic attacks. Weeks of being trapped in a dirty cell with no food and little water can do that too you.
Although, looking at the happy group of people, lazing about in the sun, enjoying their vacation, you would never know the hard times we had all been through. Ron, who was sitting next to Hermione looking rather bored, had been tortured almost to insanity. And Hermione…well, nobody really knows what happened to Hermione, she won't tell any of us. All we know, is she has been learning some very violent defensive spells lately.
The back door swung open, and Harry walked out. He was wearing a loose black t-shirt and blue swimming trunks. Bill, and Charlie followed him. Bill's face had healed from the wounds Greyback had given him two years ago, though he still bore the scars. Bill and Lupin had killed Greyback together about two weeks before Harry vanquished Voldemort. With Greyback gone, Lupin led the Wear wolves against the Death Eaters the night of the Great Battle. The Wear wolves had been a huge advantage, and so had Gwarp, and the twelve or so other giants Hagrid had managed to wrangle up. I still don't know how, but Tonks, Hagrid and Moody had disappeared into the Forbidden forest one day, and come back out with an army of magical creatures. The centaurs along with them. The death of Dumbledor seemed to kick start everyone into gathering allies.
"Hey Ginny," Harry said, giving me a jaunty little wave as he passed. I nodded at him, smiling a little. Harry and I never actually ended up going out again. Now that the war was over, nobody really wantes to have to deal with something as complicated as teenage relationships. I wasn't really that upset about it. If in time, we wanted to pick up where we left off we would. Until then, I was just happy to sit around in the sun. I watched him collapse in between Ron and Hermione. Ron suddenly looked much happier, and Hermione was indifferent, too engrossed in her book. Charlie came over as well, and to my surprise sat next to me. I glance over at him, to see him watching the twins and Gabrielle playing in the water. Gabrielle had finally retrieved the hat and was attempting to run away with it. Her plan was foiled, however when George scooped her up and Fred began to tickle her until she giggled madly.
"Hey Charlie." I said amicably, turning to see Bill give Fleur a light kiss on the cheek. She moved over a little and Bill lay down beside her, putting his arm casually around her perfect tanned shoulders.
"Hey Gin-gin." He said. I wasn't looking at him, but I could hear the smile in his voice. I didn't let many people call me Gin-gin. Ron had tried once, and hadn't been able to sit properly for a week. Charlie was special, we had always been rather close.
"Have you thought much what you want to do after you are finished school?" I frowned to myself. The truth was, I hadn't. I really should be thinking about it, since I only had two years left, but there wasn't much the peaked my interest. I had no desire to be an Auror, not after last year.
"No. Not particularly." I said carefully, watching Charlie out of the corner of my eye. I was surprised to see him still smiling.
"Well then, I have a proposition for you." I turned so I could look him full in the face.
"Yeah?" I asked. He turned to face me as well.
"How about, if you don't find anything you would like to do better of course. You come down to Romania with me to train Dragons?" I stared at him for a moment, was her serious?
"It's just a suggestion, no pressure or anything." He added quickly.
"So, I would go back to Romania with you to train Dragons, and get payed for it?" He nodded, looking rather anxious; as if he were afraid I would say no. I beamed at him. How wouldn't want to train Dragons? How much more exciting can you get?
"Charlie! I would love to!" I threw my arms around his neck. He laughed, and sounding a little relieved he said;
"I'm glad Gin." We sat in a comfortable silence for a moment, and then there was a loud pop. I immediately grabbed my wand and jumped to my feet, so did Harry, Ron Hermione the Twins, and Bill, who was now standing protectively over Fleur. We all relaxed though, to discover it was only Dad. And a tall, attractive blond boy in a black travelling cloak. I marvelled privately at how any one could wear black on a day like this.
"Hello kids!" Said dad cheerfully. The tall, blond boy didn't say anything; he stared stony faced at us. I examined the boy, something about him looked horribly familiar…
"Dad, who's that?" Asked Bill, lowering his wand rather reluctantly. Fred and George got out of the water, followed by Gabrielle, who promptly hid behind George's legs. Everyone was staring at the blond boy suspiciously, as if he would self destruct at any second. I glanced at Harry, Ron and Hermione. They all seemed to be as confused about him as I was. Did he look familiar to them too?
"Well," Dad said conversationally, " You all must remember the tip off we received from one of our anonymous spies about where we could catch You-Know-Who with little protection?" I snorted at that. Apparently, Voldemort's idea of low security was twenty-four death eaters and six Inferi. Tonks told me about it after Harry had killed him. However, that tip had ultimately been the last bit of information our side needed to finally destroy the bastard. Without it, Voldemort may have still been alive today. I shuddered inwardly at the thought.
"This is the man himself! Draco Malfoy!" Dad beamed at us as if he had given us all a treat. Malfoy just stood there, not saying a word. I thought, for a moment, I saw him brace himself, as if expecting someone to hit him. I must have been imagining it though, because the next second he was as stony faced as ever. I glanced at everyone else. Mostly, they were all just staring with their mouths hanging open. Then, Harry seemed to snap out of it. He rose his wand again and pointed it at Mafloy. I gapped at both of them. What was Harry doing? Hadn't we had enough violence for one century?
"Leave. Now." His voice was bitter and frightening, his hand shaking with rage. Malfoy didn't say anything. He just stared at the wand, neither frightened, nor angry. Dad came and stood in front of Malfoy, and took the wand gently from Harry. Harry tried to fight him for a moment, and then kind of deflated. A few hushed words were exchanged and I couldn't quite make them out. Then, Harry turned and made his way back to the Burrow, slamming the door unnecessarily.
"Why don't we all go inside?" Dad asked cheerfully, as if nothing had happened. "Charlie, grab his trunk then." Charlie, who had come to stand next to me, flicked his wand at the black and silver trunk by Malfoy's feet. It rose a few inches off the ground and led the way back to the house. When we came in, Harry was nowhere to be seen, and Mum was bustling around the kitchen, making up lunch. She turned and saw us all file in, Malfoy bringing up the rear. No one really wanted to stand too close to him.
Mum looked Malfoy up and down and sighed.
"Just like the rest of them, much too skinny. We'll have to get some food into you then. I'm just about finished Dinner. Gabrielle, why don't you take him up to the guest room so he can get settled in?" Gabrielle's face went pale at this idea. She looked as though she were going to make an excuse but Fred saved her the trouble.
"You can't send her up alone with him! He'll kill her!" I glanced at Malfoy, he was staring at the ground, probably trying to ignore the fact that he was in a room full of people that hated him. Mum sighed.
"Very well, Ginny you take him." I was stunned for a moment, I had no idea what to do, and once again Fred saved the day.
"Well, that's not much better now is it?" He asked, but Mum went red in the face. She smacked him on the arm with her wand and a red welt formed.
"The boy has ears you know!" She snapped at him. "Now sit down and keep your mouth shut!" Then she rounded on me. "Now, you do as I say and take him to his room!" With that, she turned back to her stove and continued her earlier activities. I sighed inwardly and glance at Malfoy.
"Come on then." I said, and he followed me silently from the room. I felt every one's eyes follow us as we left, and I had never felt so uncomfortable in my own home. We came to the narrow staircase and I had a moment on indecisiveness. If I went first, it would give me the advantage of height, but if I made Him go first, he couldn't surprise me. Yes, he was definitely going to have to go first. I stepped aside and gestured to the stairs. He stared at me for a moment, his eyes flickering over me. I realised with a blush that I was still only in my faded green bikini.
Again, he didn't say a word, just followed his gracefully gliding trunk up the stairs. I walked behind him, the wood creaking beneath our feet. The silence grew heavier and increasingly awkward as we climbed. The guest room (aka Percy's old room) was on the same floor as mine, which is the second highest floor in the entire house. Only Ron's room, which is basically the attic, was higher than mine. So the climb was long, and seemed longer in the creaking silence. Finally, we made it to our destination. I pushed open the door and walked in. It was a small room, and very empty. There was a bed, an end table and a very large window with a widow seat. That was pretty much all the room could fit. Precy had some how managed to cram a wardrobe and a desk into it. However I didn't think any one would be going to go through the trouble to do the same for Malfoy.
The trunk set itself down quietly by the foot of the single bed, and Malfoy brushed past me into the room. I watched him look around, and I couldn't help but feel he was holding back a look of disgust. He glance back at me and spoke for the first time since he had arrived.
"…Thanks." I rose my eyebrows, slightly surprised that Draco Malfoy had just said thank you. I had been expecting some snarky comment about the lack of furniture, or the size of the room. But no, he was standing there, staring at me with that stony expression, clearly waiting for me to leave. I shrugged, and left, shutting the door behind me with a click. I went to my own room to change before heading back down stairs. I threw on the same pair of jeans I had worn yesterday and pale blue T-shirt.
The trip downstairs seemed much shorter than the trip upstairs, and before I knew it I was back in the kitchen. It wasn't a happy scene. Every one was yelling at someone. The twins were alternating between yelling at each other, barking questions at Dad, then yelling at Charlie. Dad was looking confused because Mum was yelling in his other ear to get everyone to shut up. Ron and Hermione were bickering, as usual, and Bill was yelling at the twins for yelling at Charlie. The only people who weren't saying anything at all was Fleur, Gabrielle, and Myself. We just kind of stared at the group of screaming bodies, dumbstruck, until finally, Mum hit the table with her spatula. every one jumped, and several people drew their wands again.
"Enough!" She snarled us and everyone fell silent. "This is not a negotiable situation!" She snapped, and then forced herself to take a deep breath. If I hadn't known we had a former death eater harboured upstairs in the guest room, I would have found the situation almost comical.
"Now, it is thanks to that poor boy upstairs that Harry was able to kill You-Know-Who! And shut up!" She snarled at Fred, who looked as if he were going to interrupt.
"With out him, we would all be dead! I don't particularly care if you don't like him. I don't care if you think he's a filthy conniving ferret, as Ron so eloquently put it. He had been entrusted to us until he has finished school. There are still people out there who want him dead for his betrayal. You all know as well as I that he does not stand a chance if those still loyal to you-know-who are hunting him down." I didn't agree with Mum's little speech. The ministry would never manage to capture every single Death Eater out there. If they wanted him dead now, they would still want him in twenty years. It had nothing to do with finishing school, we were just trying to stall the inevitable. At the same time, putting the entire family at risk.
"Harry doesn't think it's a good idea either." Pointed out Ron. I rolled my eyes at him. Mum took another deep breath to calm herself.
"We will talk to Harry. But for now, just tolerate him, alright? You don't have to talk to him, I would rather prefer if you didn't, actually. Just please, remember the child has ears, and feelings. The last thing I need is you lot messing around with things like this." George snorted, but Mum ignored him.
"Now, everyone, time for Dinner. Ginny set the table, Ron, go get Harry, Fred George, I need your help over here. Every one else go wash up." Every one cleared out of the kitchen and I pulled open the cutlery drawer. I honestly didn't know what to think about this situation. I mean, it was Draco Malfoy. Not exactly my favourite person in the world. Then again, I didn't really know him did I? Who really did? Harry didn't even know him. It's human nature to hate things that are different than you. I guess that's one word for Malfoy. Different. I seriously wondered what went through that boy's head. Why would he sign up for The Voldy Club only to stab them all in the back? Definitely not for self-gain. Why would Malfoy do something if he didn't get something good for himself out of it?
Was this all just a plot to get him closer to Harry? Was it possible that Voldemort was still alive? No, no, Harry had destroyed all the Horcruxes…hadn't he? That was assuming Voldemort only had seven…what if there were more we hadn't known about? I was suddenly terrified as I sat down to eat. Every one was completely silent. The only sound was the scraping of forks and knives against the plates. I was the first one done, and I was all prepared to disappear to my room when Mum handed me a plate full of food.
"No thanks Mum, I'm stuffed." I said, inching towards the door. My head was so full of questions, I needed to get away to just think. Mum made a tutting noise and shook her head.
"Not for you dear, for Draco. Take it up to him please." She shoved the plate into my hands and turned back to the table without another word. My heart was suddenly beating like thunder in my chest. No…what if he really was still working for Voldemort? He would kill me! No way, nuh-uh. I wasn't going up there.
"Go on Ginny, we aren't getting any younger!." Mum snapped at me and I sighed. Fine, I guess I would be delivering diner to Satan's spawn. I moved my wand up to my front pocket and balanced the plate on my left hand, so I could grab it quickly if I needed to.
I knocked on his door and opened it quickly, ready to whip out my wand and hex him into oblivion. My heart was pounding to hard I was sure he could hear it. I was a little surprised to see him sitting on the window seat. He was leaning against the wall, his legs bent and his arms resting on his knees. He was staring out the window at the red and gold sunset, but turned his head to look at me when he heard me come in. I almost dropped the plate as I stopped myself mid reach from grabbing my wand. Instead I grabbed the plate and tried not to tip too much of the mashed potatoes on the floor.
He had taken off his traveling cloak, it was lying in a bundle on his bed. He was wearing black slacks and a white shirt. Two of the buttons here undone and the sleeves were pushed up to his elbows. I caught a glimps of a faded black mark on his arm and I shuddered inwardly. His hair was starting to come out of the jell and soft little pieces had fallen into his eyes. I also noticed he wasn't wearing his shoes. I stared at his socked feet like a moron. I had never seen Malfoy without shoes on before. Why did that feel weird? I glanced down at my own feet, which were bare. I rarely wore shoes in the summer, why should Malfoy? I shook my head mentally.
"Yes?" He asked, watching me suspiciously. I must have looked like an idiot, walking in with a plate full of food, and staring at his feet.
"I brought you food. Can I come in?" I asked. Well, I wasn't going to just put the food on the floor. He kind of shrugged and turned back to look out at the sunset. I set the plate of food on his trunk next to a framed picture of a pretty woman with honey gold hair. It was the only thing he had unpacked. Everything else was still in his trunk. The end table was bare, as were the walls. The room still felt unlived in an impersonal. Maybe the stale feeling would go away after a few days.
"Is this your Mum?" I asked, picking up the picture to get a closer look. Her hair fell in honey waves down her back, her eyes were startling grey, and stood out against her pale skin. She had a slim, delicate figure and was draped in red silks, no doubt expensive. I glanced up at Malfoy, my fear of him and his demonic plan temporarily forgotten.
He nodded, looking at the picture in my hands from the window seat. An odd expression passed over his face. I didn't catch its meaning though because in another second it was gone.
"What happened too her?" I asked quietly. I don't know why, but I was struck with the horrible feeling that Mrs. Malfoy was either mortally injured or dead somewhere. I glance at Malfoy, for he had stood up. He snatched the picture away from me.
"None of your business Weasely." He snapped suddenly. I gaped at him. How had he gone from a silent docile vegetable to this?
"Malfoy, is she-?"
"Get out!" He snarled at me. He didn't have to tell me twice. I turned and left, slamming the door shut behind me. I fled down the stairs, but not before hearing him shatter something hard against a wall in his room.
(A/N) Hey guys! What's up? Well, it's the last day of Easter Holiday before I get to return to school and…math class….Yay. My math teacher has gone quiz happy by the way…it's not too fun. Anyway, I was drawing the other day and the picture some how turned out to be Draco and Ginny, fighting with each other, and crying. It inspired me to write this story. All of my Alone with Myself readers, don't worry, I will be continuing that story. I have the next chapter half written, so it's all good! Anywayz, hope you like it, and please leave me a pretty review?