(A/N: Thank you to all of you for your wonderful reviews. Hopefully Hermione will answer some of your questions in this chapter. : P )
Chapter Three: Draco's Charms
Ginny showed up at breakfast the next morning to find Harry, with Luna attached to his side, having an animated conversation with Ron about this years Quidditch team. Hermione was preoccupied by a bit of parchment as she at her scrambled eggs.
"Ginny! How are you this morning?" Hermione asked, looking up from the parchment.
"Just fine, Hermione, and you?" Ginny started piling food onto her plate.
"Well, I wrote to George to see if he knew anything about the marriage law. He says that for the past 17 or more years, the law hasn't been enforced because of the threat of Voldemort and his followers. The Ministry thought it wrong to force anyone to marry someone who could possibly be that evil. So until Phineas Dobbins became the minister recently, the law had been just a suggestion. Now Phineas seems to think it is time to bring the law back into effect. That's why he is letting us all know before we graduate. He thinks by doing this he'll be protecting himself. He knows that many are going to be upset by the revival of the law. Now I still don't know if there is any way to get around the arrangement. I'll have to do some research on Ministry law in the library. I'm working on it, Ginny. Don't worry, okay." Hermione said sincerely, putting her hand on top of Ginny's in an almost motherly way.
"Thanks Hermione." Ginny gave her a half smile and looked from her brother back to Hermione, silently asking how things were going.
"Ron and I got our rooms set up. The head girl and head boy rooms are enormous compared to regular dorms. And we share a own common room in-between our separate rooms." Hermione smiled wickedly.
"Hey Ginny, I heard you went to Hogsmeade with Malfoy." Ron chimed in.
"Yes…I did. And Harry went with Luna as well so I don't see what the big deal is." Ginny spoke nonchalantly.
"Ginny, you don't have to hang around him. Hermione will find a way out of this for you so why are you even wasting your time with the git?"
"Ron, how do we know if I'll even be able to get out of it? We don't. So I might as well accept that this is my destiny. It's going to happen whether I want it to or not so I may as try to make it as pleasant as possible." Ginny laid her fork down on her plate. "I really don't want to discuss this anymore." She got up and left the Great Hall, leaving a silent trio and Luna.
She went back to her room to get her books. She found a note on her nightstand. She grabbed it on her way out and opened it while she walked to her morning Transfiguration class. It read:
8 o' clock in the owlry…Don't forget. - Draco
Thats funny. I've never thought to call him by his first name. Ginny smiled as she tucked the note into her book and sat down at her desk, waiting for class to begin. I wonder why he wants us to meet tonight?
Ginny was relieved as the day went on. She was so busy with the first day of classes that she hadn't even thought about everything that was going on. She was just leaving Professor Snape's classroom when a raised stone in the hallway caused her to trip. Everything went tumbling out of her hands, spilling out onto the floor. Great. What a way to end the day. She slowly began picking everything up and as she stood up, she saw a tall blonde staring at her. He smiled slightly. She smiled back and then he turned to walk away. She assumed he was heading for the Great Hall for dinner. What is going on? Why is Draco Malfoy smiling at me? And why am I beginning to like it?
No one mentioned the popular Slytherin during dinner and for this Ginny was thankful. She wasn't sure how she felt about the situation anymore. But she did know that she didn't find it as awful as she knew the rest of her friends did.
As she ate, Ginny noticed that Hermione had a bit a gravy on the side of her mouth but before she could say anything, her brother reached over and wiped it off with his thumb. He and Hermione stared at each other for a brief moment, grinning, and returned to their conversations.
Well, I guess everything is going well with them! Ginny thought, smiling as she ate. She looked around the Great Hall. Everyone was happily chatting with their classmates and many we really getting along with their Ministry arranged boyfriend/girlfriend. It looks like the ministry made really good choices in their pairings. I wonder how they choose. Ginny found herself thinking again. Before she knew it, it was quarter to 8. She decided to skip dessert and dismiss herself so that she could go to the owlry. As she departed the Great Hall, she noticed that Malfoy was missing from the Slytherin table. She began to hurry. She didn't want to keep him waiting.
She climbed the stairs to the owlry, not knowing what to expect. She opened the door to see hundreds of sleeping owls perched in their separate holes. She didn't see Malfoy though so she walked over to one of the windows and rested her arms on the sill as she gazed up at the starlit sky. A small tawny owl startled her, landing on the window sill. She noticed it held a small package so she took it from him and found a treat to pay him with. It was a tiny package, fitting in the palm of Ginny's small, delicate hand. No name was written on the outside. I wonder if this is even for me. Ginny thought. Upon opening it, she found a beautiful gold necklace. There was a moon-shaped pendant, bordered with diamonds, hanging from the chain. Ginny looked back at the package trying to find a note or something confirming that this gift was hers, though she knew it was, and who it was from. Why had Malfoy gotten her a necklace? She put the necklace on and held the pendant in her hand as she admired it. It was absolutely stunning.
"Meet me underneath the willow by the lake. I'll be waiting." A voice, sounding very much like Malfoy's said.
What was that? Ginny looked around. Her grip tightened on her pendant. The voice came again.
"I'll explain when you get here, Ginny. Please meet me." The voice pleaded.
She was sure it was Malfoy now. She just wasn't quite sure how he was doing it. She descended the stairs and headed out towards the lake. There she saw Malfoy waiting by the willow for her. He met her halfway and grabbed her hand, leading her into the shelter of the tree. He motioned for her to sit down on the plush green blanket he had laid out. As Ginny looked around she noticed how bright it was for being night time.
"They are fireflies. Do you like them?" Malfoy asked.
Ginny realized that within the hanging branches of the willow tree were hundreds of little moving lights; fireflies. "How wonderful." She said in amazement.
He sat down next to her. "Are you warm?" Ginny nodded, staring at him.
He reached into his shirt and pulled a gold chain, similar to the one Ginny was now wearing. But his pendant was a dazzling sun. He held it in his hand as he looked at her. "Thank you for coming, Ginny." She heard him say but didn't see his lips move.
"How…how are you doing that?" She asked as she looked down at her pendant.
"I charmed them with a communication charm. I figured that we aren't going to be able to spend much time in public together without looking strange. So this way, whenever we want to talk to one another, all you have to do is grab the pendant and think about what you want to say and I'll hear you." He smiled proudly.
"That is extraordinary, Malfoy. I didn't know you were so good at charms." She nudged him jokingly.
"I just want you to know that you can come to me anytime. I'm here for you, Ginny. I want you to be able to come to me with anything." He grabbed her hand in his.
"I'm not sure how to react to this side of you, Malfoy." Ginny said honestly.
"Look, Ginny. I know that I've been an arse in the past. I know that I still can be sometimes. But I'm trying to be a better person. My dad is in Azkaban now. I don't feel the need to do things just because I think he'll be proud of me. I don't feel like I have anything to prove to him anymore. My mom and I are much happier since he's gone away. The only thing I feel I have to prove is that I am worthy of you, Ginny." He gently stroked her petite hand in his.
"Malfoy, I really don't know what to say." She said, unsure of how she felt. Her heart was beating rapidly. Was he telling the truth? Was he really trying to change? She did notice that he hadn't been causing as much trouble this year as in the past. Maybe he was telling the truth.
"Ginny, I can hear everything you're thinking." He said sadly.
Ginny, embarrassed, quickly released the pendant from her sweaty hand. "I'm sorry, Malfoy. I just don't know what to think right now. First I find out that I have to marry you, and I think its the end of the world. Then we actually had a good time when we went to Hogsmeade. And now you've given me a beautiful necklace that enables me to talk to anytime I want. And you're telling me basically that you are totally different person than I've known for the past six years. It's just a lot of change to take in so suddenly. I mean, how do I know if I can trust you?" She looked into his sparkling green eyes. He looked sad. I didn't want to upset him, damn it.
"Ginny, after I opened my letter, I was a bit shocked as well. I mean, I expected it to say Pansy Parkinson. But the Ministry knows who belongs together. I've heard that they've never been wrong. So there must be something about the two of us that makes the Ministry think we belong together. I want to find out. I want to get to know you, and let you see who I've become. Will you at least think about giving me a chance, Genevra?" He turned to face her, anxiously.
"OK, Malfoy-" She began but her interrupted her.
"Draco, please call me Draco, Ginny." He urged.
"Ok, Draco. Since we have to get married anyway, I do agree that we should give it a chance."
Before she could continue, Draco had wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. Ginny found herself hugging him back.
They laid under the willow tree for a half hour more. Ginny rested her head on his shoulder as he had his arms wrapped around her. The old willow had pulled back some of its branches so the couple could gaze up at the stars. They just laid their in comfortable silence. The Hogwarts bell began to chime. Nine chimes.
"9 o'clock! We have to get back!" Ginny sprang up quickly. She bent down to kiss his forehead. "I'll talk to you later." She said before sprinting across the lawn and running up the stairs. She was panting heavily when she reached the fat lady. She had to pause to catch her breathe before she could say the password. When she walked into the common room she found only Harry, sitting in the large red arm chair by the fire.
He looked up from his book when she entered. She was visibly sweating and still breathing quite heavily. "Ginny, are you okay!" He jumped up to meet her, looking concerned.
"Yeah….I'm…fine…H-Harry. I just lost track of time…didn't want to be late…for curfew." Ginny manage to get out in-between breaths.
Harry look suspicious but said goodnight and she walked the stairs to her room. She charmed her way into her pajamas and crawled into bed.
"Did you make back unseen?" Ginny heard Draco's voice as soon as her head hit the pillow. She took hold of her moon pendant.
Ginny -"Haha! Yes, I did Mal-Draco."
Draco - "Did you have any problems, with your friends, I mean, when you got back?"
Ginny - "Harry questioned me but that was it. Since Hermione and Ron and head boy and girl now, they don't share our common room so I didn't see them, luckily!"
Draco - "Well I just wanted to say goodnight properly. We were kind of rushed."
Ginny - "Thank you again for the necklace. It's the nicest gift I've ever received."
Draco - "I'm glad you like it, Ginny. Thank you for listening to me tonight."
Ginny - "Do you want to meet again tomorrow?"
Draco - "I wish I could, but I have my first Quidditch practice. I'm sorry, Ginny."
Ginny - "Don't be silly. We'll just talk afterwards, like we are now."
Draco - "Tomorrow then, Ginny. Goodnight."
Ginny - "Goodnight, Draco."
Ginny found herself falling asleep, smiling, thinking of Draco Malfoy, for the second night in a row. Tonight was amazing. I can't even believe that was the same Malfoy I've known for the past six years. I wonder what Hermione and Ron will say when they find out that I'm falling for him. She closed her eyes to go to sleep.
Draco lay in his bed, listing to everything Ginny was thinking. She had obviously forgotten to release the pendant when they were done talking. I can't believe she's falling for me. He smiled as he too, drifted off to sleep.