Dragon Heartstrings


Chapter Three

THE grey fog wisped around her like ominous thoughts on a foreboding night, as Ginny hurried her clicking heels down the quiet street. The weather seemed to be mocking the fact that she did not have an umbrella in her possession that day. She smiled faintly though as she rounded a corner. She was a witch; a shady place could conjure protection from mother nature instantly, away from prying eyes of course.

Then she heard it. The soft footfalls of someone who did not want to be heard. Yet her senses were sharp, honed from years of looking over her shoulder. So Ginny turned her head to the side to look back when she felt strong arms grab at her front.

Ginny gasped as the insidious tendrils of fear latched at her but she stared up courageously.

His eyes were as grey as the storm clouds above her. Turbulent, now. Not the usual flat colour of hard, cold steel. They weren't empty and impassive anymore and Ginny felt like she had waited days, years for such notions to spark in his eyes. Even his contempt was something that Ginny yearned for because it meant he thought about her enough to offer her his emotions.

Ginny watched as his eyes lowered to where she nervously wet her bottom lip in the hopes of forming words from her dry tongue. So she did it again. Confidently allowing her pink tongue to moisten her lips and she loved the way his breath hitched in his throat. The sound so raw and raspy. He was so close to her now. Her tiny palms were placed flat against his toned chest, from when she had walked straight into him, and she wanted to trail her hands over the expanse of his hard flesh.

She looked at his pectoral muscles then as she felt his heart speed up beneath her palm and Ginny's pulse at her wrist began to quicken in answer. Triumph sung in her blood. Yes, she had an effect on him. He could not be so callous as to ignore it.

Then he released her. Harshly, almost throwing her away from him, contradicting her beliefs as if he was disgusted by her actions – or his, possibly both – and Ginny stumbled backwards. Anger flashed in her gaze and she turned blazing brown eyes on him like molten amber, sparking gold in his direction, ready to cut through him with sharp words of disdain.

He refused to be withered by her gaze though and simply sneered down his aristocratic nose at her. Then he turned around regally and walked away from her, tall and proud, his spine stiff and shoulders wide.

"Wait." Uncertain why she needed him to stay but assured that she did not want him to go.

She called out again, this time with an outstretched hand. She tried to run after him but the fog grew heavier, so dense she could wade through it like thick, floating foam from a bathtub. That was what had been following her all along, the rush of her grave and burdened past. It gathered around her in palpable waves and Ginny tried to call out for help but she couldn't. It was chocking her, pulling her further away from him and she didn't like it. Not one bit. She struggled against the opaque fog that had somehow grown black tentacles, now latching onto her hand.

It felt as if it were sucking the very life from her, draining her until she was nothing but a monotonous, robotic creation instead of a being filled with feelings, looking forward to what lay before and beyond her.

In her warm bed back in a tiny cottage in France, Ginny awoke with a start. She groaned and closed her eyes, throwing an arm over her face as the last remnants of her dream danced through the temporary black of her mind. For days now she had dreamt of Draco Malfoy. He haunted her like some wandering spirit that refused to accept his presence was unwelcomed.

She had dreamt of Harry for years on end. Something Ginny had never minded since it was the only time she was able to see and be with him when she couldn't in reality. She enjoyed the simple moments of being embraced by love when she met Harry in her mind. Fantasising about the life she could have had. Should have had. She had accepted that Harry was dead, that he wasn't returning, that did not mean she wanted to move on any longer however. She had tried and failed miserably in the process. Breaking herself just a little bit more instead. Ginny refused to place herself in a similar situation again.

Now her welcomed dreams of Harry were replaced by his old rival. Yet somehow her dreams abut Draco Malfoy were different. They left her shaken and out of breath, vaguely afraid even, but somehow always wanting more. Yearning, craving more. It was such a strange feeling. She knew she did not like Malfoy in the least but she wanted to learn more about him, delve into the enigma of the wizard she had met nights ago, compared to the bigoted toad she had known something off back at school.

"I'm completely mental." Ginny chastised herself as she watched shadowy patterns dance across her wood ceiling in the dark of her room.

After much tossing and turning upon her ruffled sheets, with slumber eluding her after her dreams, Ginny sighed heavily and gave up entirely on falling asleep. She rose from her bed and made her way to the tiny desk in her room, lighting the candles nearby as she sat down on her working chair. Rubbing at the back of her neck, Ginny tried to ease the tension from her body.

Her small home felt odd and cold without the presence of Malfoy, which was strange since he had only spent one night with her. She had cleaned the house in an effort to try and purge lingering traces of him from the cottage. Like the protracted scent of something herbal and new dragon skin. He smelled cool and refreshing and the combination of earthy and leathery seemed to mock her.

Ginny fingered the ring she had found lying in her guest room after his departure as it was now attached to a gold chain around her neck. She had never received anything form Harry as a keepsake before and yet she was wearing Malfoy's ring around her neck. Yes, she was definitely barmy. Then again, she told herself that it was simply for safe keeping. She fully intended to return it to him and did not want to lose it before that time came.

Staring at the sheaf of papers on her tiny desk Ginny picked up an official looking piece of parchment and read the crisp sheet once again.

She was going back home.


"Oh, it's so good to see you." Hermione shrieked as she hugged Ginny again.

"Hermione, I need to breathe." Ginny teased as she was embraced suffocatingly by her sister in law.

Ginny smiled down happily as she took in a deep breath. It was good to be back home. She needed the time here and was happy when La Magiguérir had signed her temporary transfer to St Mungos while the damage to the French hospital was being repaired.

The feeling of coming home was always warm and welcoming and forever a reason to celebrate. A time to have all the family together in robustious, rowdy Weasley fashion. The sounds of joyous laughter and joking, mingling with the delicious aroma of her mother's home cooked meals and the excited laughter and shrieks of children running around everywhere. The crackling of a hearty fire and scrumptious meal, later polished off with decadent desserts always left Ginny feeling nourished in more ways than just simple sustenance did. Never had such disorder given Ginny more peace before.

Ginny smiled as she stepped inside Hermione Weasley's cosy home. Ginny was using her free time visiting friends and family so she could spend one on one time with her loved ones before the time to leave rushed forward to claim her again.

"Where's Ron and Rose?" Ginny asked about her brother and four year old niece and was somewhat disappointed to learn that Auror Ron had been called in to the Ministry and her niece was taking a nap. Although that gave the young witches time alone in which to catch up with.

Ginny and Hermione sat for a while drinking tea and chatting about everything that Ginny had missed out on since her last visit. "How is Ella? I heard she met someone recently."

Ginny smiled genuinely as she spoke about the wizard young Gabrielle Delacour had started courting. While Ginny had not much appreciated Gabrielle taking a fancy to Harry years ago, when the war had ended and Ginny had first ventured to France, it had been Ella who had kept Ginny many a times from sinking into the pits of depression.

While that had normally meant too much of immature alcohol drinking and outrageous partying for Ginny and Ella, it had been a young witch's way of dealing with a past she had been running from at the time. For Gabrielle it had been a simple case of a bird who had just been freed from the sheltered home she had lived in for so long, and with Fleur gone Ginny had been seen as somewhat of a stand in older sister. They two, young witches had caused quite a stir in the magical world of France for some time until Ginny's incident.

That had spurred both girls into rethinking the fine line of fun and destruction they had vastly overstepped. They took a step back and saw for the first time in a long time the dark bottoms they had been fast plummeting into before beginning to pick up the pieces. Shaking her head slightly Ginny offered Hermione a strained smile. "Cosmo is lovely, they've been over for dinner a few times."

While Ginny was extremely ecstatic for her friend, it also meant that her time with Gabrielle had become non existent, leaving her completely alone again. Her thoughts must have been visible to the ever astute Hermione because the other witch gave her a sympathetic grimace. "Doesn't Cosmo have any handsome cousins for you?" Hermione half joked in an attempt to lighten the mood between them.

Ginny knew that it was her mother and Hermione's mission to see her with a suitable wizard. Ginny doubted she would ever find someone who made her feel whole again. Alive.

"I am quite content with my life the way it is right now." Ginny said sincerely.

"I know, but it isn't healthy to shut yourself out from the world like this, Ginny. I wish you'd just let me set you up on a few dinner dates."

Ginny resisted the urge to shudder and offered feebly, "I don't do long distance relationships, Hermione."

"Oh nonsense, I have a few attractive prospects in the French Ministry."

This time Ginny did shiver in disgust. "Absolutely not. Stuffy, French councillors are not my cup of tea."

Hermione's cheeks reddened slightly and her voice was indignant. "What makes you think they're councillors?" Ginny raised an eyebrow in silent answer and Hermione could not contradict her. "Oh alright, but I thought you had had enough excitement to last you a life time. A grounded wizard is ideal for settling down with."

Ginny did not want to tell Hermione that she would rather be single until she died than "settle" down with someone who was "grounded". Just the terms put her to sleep. She needed someone who was not intimidated by her past and independence because he was strong without being overbearing. Someone who would challenge her but knew when it mattered enough to her to give in. A wizard who knew how to put her in her place without a firm hand that broke her.

"When the time is right, Hermione. Anyway, I prefer love to find me instead of looking for it." Her answer seemed to appease her sister in law and Ginny decided to change the subject quickly then.

Ginny gave the brunette more details about what had happened at the French hospital as it was the first topic that popped into her head, regardless of how at length they had spoken about it at their family dinner last night. Hermione naturally tried to figure out why there had been an attack on La Magiguérir.

"You don't think it was because of you, do you?" Hermione asked in concern, voicing the question no one had wanted to ask last night. As if it would have upset Ginny.

Ginny shook her head after another sip of tea and placed the delicate china down softly. "No, I've been away for seven years and working there for three. I really think it was something else."

While Hermione had always been her confidant when it had come to Harry, Ginny did not feel the same comfort in talking to the other witch about Malfoy. Hermione and Ron may have testified for Malfoy after the war, as he had played somewhat of a pivotal role in saving the trio from Malfoy Manor during their hunt for the Horcruxes, but there was no love lost between them. In fact, Ginny was quite certain Hermione would not be pleased at all about her little run in with Malfoy or Ginny's burning curiosity about him.

As they continued to speak, their conversation naturally moved onto Ginny's "problem" and Hermione excitedly brought out new scrolls of parchments and books that she had been working with. "I'm sorry it's taking this long Ginny but I guess it has to be trial and error. Even Voldemort was unsure if it would work. Blood rituals are tricky at best but interfering with magical auras is something completely dastardly."

"But it did work." Ginny reminded distastefully. "Anyway, it isn't your fault Hermione. The year after the war was a right mess with Harry gone. Then the rebuilding, the family and Rose. I understand. Besides, we've done three unsuccessful rituals already; at least we're getting closer to perfecting it."

Hermione nodded. "I know, but I really want you to be back for good you know. Every time you leave it feels like we're saying goodbye for the first time all over again, we just miss you and want you to be back home again. For good."

Ginny sighed. "So do I." She looked out Hermione's window wistfully, taking in the familiar street outside. "So do I."


Blaise Zabini stepped casually into his dark office and was about to lift up his hand and magically light the lamps inside when he found there was no need to do so. Candlelight immediately spattered across his sharp, angled features and he turned to see Draco Malfoy sitting in his chaise near his fire place, the blonde haired wizard surrounded by a deceptive air of nonchalance.

"Draco?" Blaise asked in surprise.

He knew that stoic blankness on Draco's face well and it made Blaise instinctively uneasy. It was the expressionless features of a man who had questions to ask. A distrustful wizard who wanted to search your countenance and answers for clarity, and a hint of a lie would find you hexed into next year.

"To what do I owe the pleasure, partner? I thought you were away on business in France." Blaise calmly set his briefcase down on his oak desk and went to the decanter that Draco obviously had helped himself to already. Blaise noticed from the corner of his dark eyes that Draco's wand was not far from his reach, hidden neatly within the sleeve of the man's dark robes.

"Why Blaise, can I not drop in and visit my faithful business partner?" Draco drawled smoothly.

Blaise sipped his firewhiskey slowly to give himself time to think carefully on his answer. The way Draco had enunciated the word faithful had not been lost on him. Generally when Draco and he visited each other they did so on much more informal terms. There was no tension in the room that made Blaise want to forget his social etiquette and demand the reason menacing Draco was there. Normally their relationship consisted of friendly barbs that meant no harm. Today he felt like a bug under the heavy Malfoy scrutiny. One wrong skitter and he would be trampled on mercilessly.

While Blaise was not afraid of Draco, he had long since learned how to deal with the temperamental wizard. He was, perhaps the only one who could and it was probably why their relationship had flourished. While Blaise was never cowed from telling Draco the honest truth – no matter how much Draco wanted him to lie – if Blaise had let his own frustrations rule his actions then he and Draco would not have had any kind of understanding what so ever.

"Is there a reason for this sudden visit then?" Faster than Blaise could blink he was pinned against a wall by an invisible force, his rounded glass fell silently from his surprised fingers and onto the plush carpets of his office, an alcohol patch staining the area near his levitated foot. "What the fuck?" Bliase's furious voice demanded as he glared pointedly at Draco.

He lifted his dark head slightly, the only part of his body allowed to move, as Draco's wand was jabbed into the tender part of his throat. Blaise was a skilled duellist too but he preferred the battle of good words than letting his temper run away with him like Draco often did.


Draco's eyes roved narrowly over Blaise's every feature, watchful for the slightest trace of a lie. His eyes bored into his friend's and business partner's, delving into the surface of the wizard's thoughts. All Draco could make out though was confusion, anger and worry.

"Did you know that Theodore Nott was using Sea Dragon to smuggle Death Eaters from England?" Draco snarled and when Blaise's dark eyes widened and the man's mind went haywire with the question Draco finally took a step back.

He lowered his recently acquired wand and allowed Blaise to be set free from the magical hold. Blaise quickly righted himself, adjusted his robes with dignified pats and glowered at Draco. "You couldn't have just asked me that, you had to resort to magical force you absolute prat." Blaise cursed as he walked over to pour himself another drink. Blaise was faintly rattled, and as Blaise Zabini was normally one cool snake who hardly ever got shaken, Draco commended his old intimidating skills. He still had it in him.

Draco shrugged unapologetically and smirked at Blaise. At least he knew now he could trust his partner and he would have expected the same reaction from the dark haired wizard, had Blaise held similar trust issues with him. Something even Blaise knew. Draco waited while Blaise sighed heavily and sat down at the large, oak desk while he took a place across from the other wizard.

"Why would Theo do this?" Blaise asked wanly.

After Hogwarts and the mess Theo and Draco had been left in with their fathers being known Death Eaters and Draco being branded, employment options had been scarce to say the least. Draco had adopted a pseudonym after his sentence in Azkaban but he still needed a neutral business partner he could trust to get things moving along.

Blaise had never taken the mark and while he never truly agreed with Voldemort's ways he had still held onto his pure blood prejudices. He was a snake and Draco trusted him for it because that was all the young Malfoy had known at the time.

"I went over to his office in France this weekend and things didn't seem right …" Draco went on to explain how he had stumbled upon information about Death Eaters being transported all over Europe via Sea Dragon and Vessels after he had done some snooping through Theo's things.

Then he went on to tell Blaise how when he had confronted Theo about it, their mate had tried to curse him. Fortunately, Draco was skilled at martial arts and managed to dodge being jinxed while he withdrew his wand, but Theo had escaped.

"Then the bastard sent reinforcements …" Draco told Blaise of his little incident in Rue Sombre.

"You're sure they were Death Eaters?" Blaise questioned before he magically refilled his and Draco's glasses. While he had vowed moments ago to deprive Draco of his expensive firewhisky due to how he had been treated, Blaise realised that they needed the alcohol more than his petulant grudge.

Draco nodded. "Positive. One of them was Goyle."

"Hell." Blaise garbled in surprise. "But why didn't they just kill you? Which would have saved me this evening." Blaise muttered irritably but Draco took no offence from his words. They were both Slytherins, they looked at things practically and petty emotions like being offended had no place in logic or a harmless jab. "Wouldn't it just have been easier right, I mean you can turn Theo into the Ministry now. Even if this brings disrepute and controversy to our business, and if that's what he's banking on, he should know that we've built a strong name over the years now. He can't think that we'll shut up about this and continue to let him use us this way."

Draco felt a jolt of relief at Blaise's reference to "we" and "us", clearly stating the side he was on. "They were trying to obliviate me Blaise, it's obvious they want me to forget what I've seen so he can still continue with his harebrained schemes."

Draco owned fifty percent of Sea Dragon's shares and Blaise held thirty to Theo's twenty. It was possible that Theo still needed the protection of their business to hide behind and obviously did not want to be sent to Azkaban or Des'Carcera.

Blaise looked contemplative for a moment. "How did you escape?" A small smile played on his full lips.

Draco smirked smugly. "Used that tub of lard Goyle as a human shield and then managed to apparate away. Landed somewhere where I was discovered by some do-gooders and they sent me to La Magiguérir."

Blaise lifted his glass in salute to Draco, a crooked smile on his face. "Cheers mate."

Draco lifted his own glass in acknowledgement. "The littlest Weasley was a Healer there, fortunately for me. She took me back to her place while I recovered. It was a good bet when La Magiguérir was being attacked openly, no doubt by Theo's croonies whom were trying to find me and make ammends."

"Yeah?" Blaise said enthusiastically as he sat forward in his seat and looked at Draco searchingly. "How was that?" He had a knowing smile on his face. After all Draco's old reputation with witches preceded him.

"It wasn't at all pretty, I didn't have a wand with me and had to rely on the Weasel for pro – .. defence." Draco improvised.

"Do not be obtuse, Draco. You clearly escaped the attacks unscathed, I was enquiring about Weasley."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Your concern for me is touching, Zabini." Draco drawled sarcastically. However when Draco saw Blaise had no intention of dropping the subject of Weasley without satisfying his curiosity, the blonde haired wizard added, "Nothing of the sort happened and you know I'd never either. I can't."

Blaise seemed disappointed by the answer even though he had expected as much. He nodded and leaned back, a full, reminiscent smile on his face. "Is she still as lovely and feisty as she was back at school?"

Draco crinkled his nose at this. "I never found her lovely in school." He said haughtily.

Blaise scoffed. "Only because you were too caught up in trying to kill Dumbledore to notice." Draco snarled at the reminder.

Blaise's honesty was one of the things Draco appreciated most about the other wizard. He could have an open conversation with Blaise and the chap would always tell him the God's honest truth. Even if Draco hated it. Blaise never catered to his whims and it was one of the reasons Draco trusted and respected Blaise's intellect. "I hardly think I would have looked at a Weasley as you did, even without my mission to focus on."

Blaise smiled. "Did you get a look at her now though?"

Draco shrugged. "She's alright. I think Potter's death messed her around a bit, seems a bit of a recluse but she helped me out and …" Draco lifted one shoulder again, allowing his words to trail off.

Draco stared determinedly at Blaise, refusing to give away anymore on the matter, as the dark skinned wizard watched him with keen eyes. Eventually Blaise set down his glass and leaned back. "So what do we do with Theo?"

"He's on the run for now but we have bigger problems than that and I don't want to run to the Aurors just yet."

At this Blaise sat forward again. "Which is?"

"While I was searching through Theo's stuff I came across a journal. It belonged to Kaos Nott. It was heavily warded but you know Theo, never good at his charms. I managed to crack through and open the thing. Theo is after something the Dark Lord had been and failed to retrieve. Do you remember the night everything went to hell at the Shrieking Shack while the battle at Hogwarts still raged on?"

Blaise nodded. "Who doesn't?"

"Well I think Theo knows more about what happened there that night than we do. Apparently Voldemort was after Potter's magical aura. He wanted to combine it with his own so as to perform some ancient ritual that would have made him beyond powerful. I'm uncertain how it was meant to work exactly, what the process entailed or why Potter was even preferred. I can only imagine the Dark Lord was somewhat worried about the Chosen One defeating him. Voldemort was at his most vulnerable at the time and since he was going to dispose of Potter anyway, he must have thought why not steal the fool's magical energy first."

Blaise frowned. "That may not have worked. Magical signatures are an intricate subject at best. Untouched. There's so much that even the most learned wizards don't know about. Our individual auras are complex alone and the Dark Lord was trying to combine two together. It's almost suicidal. Then again, his soul was already destroyed to care much about the consequences of ancient rituals. But Voldemort was one crazy son of a bitch huh." He mused.

"That he was." Draco ran a hand through his white blonde hair.

"But Potter's dead. It couldn't have worked."

"Actually, from what I've gathered, Theo believes that the ritual was already in place before the Order members and other wizards showed up. That could have been how Potter died. He thinks that when Potter and Voldemort kicked the bucket, the magical signatures had already been released to form as one. Before it could be transferred into Voldemort though, the Dark Lord died."

"Which means, Theo thinks the magic found another home?" Blaise finished.

"Exactly. I think that Theo thinks it could be stored in an inanimate object or one of the Death Eaters. Only someone as dark as Voldemort could handle that kind of a force."

Blaise looked thoughtful. "It's possible. But every single one of Voldemort's inner circle was killed that night. I can't imagine a weak wizard of no ranking who would be able to contain that much of power in them. It would surely have driven them crazy by now. Or turned them into the next dark wizard."

"That's why Theo thinks it's safely stored in an object that is under Ministry protection. He's also trying to fill in the blanks, from what I've seen in his own lazy script, as his father's journals were missing information. I suppose Kaos never had the time to update his diary much during the war." Draco mocked and after Blaise chuckled he continued. "Theo calls it CL, which means he has some idea on who or what it is but didn't take the risk of writing it down. I need you to get some of your contacts onto finding information on any object that was named CL that night at the Shrieking Shack. Anything the Ministry holds dear now and any witch or wizard with those initials." Blaise nodded seriously as he scribbled down a few notes on a blank piece of parchment. "Also, keep an eye out on Weasley for me."

At this Blaise raised his eyebrows and gave Draco a mocking grin. "She must really have grown up nicely then."

"I owe her, nothing more. Find out if you can throw some gold at her or an organisation she supports. I don't know if Weasleys still need money but she was always a philanthropist. I'm simply seeking to repay her, you know how I feel about debts, Blaise."

"If you say so." Blaise shrugged offhandedly before looking more sombrely at Draco. "What does Theo want with this magic?"

Draco scoffed derisively but there was a smidgen of worry in his grey depths, a rarity for Draco Malfoy. "To become the next Dark Lord."