"You know that I want you
And you know that I need you
I want a bad, bad romance
I want your loving
And I want your revenge
You and me could write a bad romance (Ohh)
I want your loving
All your lovers revenge
You and me could write a bad romance"
"Bad Romance"-Lady Gaga
Chapter Seven: A Good Romance and a Bad Romance
Dearest Draco,
I'm sorry I have taken a long time to write back to you. Once you informed me of your reasons, I immediately began looking for information. So far I have not found anything. However, I intend to keep looking.
Love,
Mother
Draco read the quick letter from his mother. It was pretty much what he had expected from her. It had been two weeks since the Halloween Festival. Minos had caught them kissing outside of their common room, but he only made Gwen join him once a week. The main thing stopping him was McGonagall, and he was thankful for it.
When Gwen wasn't with Minos, she spent her time with Draco. The sudden realization that they had feelings for one another had completely changed them. Draco was openly worried about her and Gwen didn't feel as bad when she needed his support.
"Still no luck?" Gwen asked over Draco's shoulder. He didn't really care that she was reading over his shoulder. He just wished that she didn't have to read about how there was still no progress. Even Granger had been working diligently with no reward.
"No, but the fact that she's going to keep looking is good. My mum's pretty tenacious," Draco spoke. He put the letter down and instead took Gwen's hand in his own.
Gwen looked up at him. He sighed. The thought of her marrying that git did nothing for his mood.
"So when's your next night with that slimy prat?" Draco questioned in an icy tone.
"This week it's Tuesday. I like it when he picks days toward the beginning of the week. Gives me the whole rest of the week with you," she said with a smile. Upon seeing her smile, he smiled as well. Right now it was the most he was going to get.
"Why is there not any information on this bloody Vow?" Hermione mumbled in frustration. Draco, Gwen, and Ginny looked up at her. This was a typical Monday in the library. Madam Pince had been given confidential orders from the Headmistress to find as many books pertaining to the Marriage Vow as possible. She had done so immediately and given them to the quartet. They were halfway through the stack and there still wasn't any useful information. Every time it was mentioned, it was always what it was and what it meant. There wasn't a single remedy to it.
"Hermione's starting to grumble to herself. That's our cue to give it a rest for the night," Ginny informed. It was true. When the brightest witch of their age started to get frustrated with the books, they needed to move on for the night. They scooped up their stuff, put it back on their cart, and parted ways at the library's entrance. Draco and Gwen headed back to the common room in the dungeons. Gwen was quieter than usual.
"Are you starting to worry?" Draco asked.
"Yes, my nineteenth birthday is now only nine months away. That's not a lot of time," she answered him.
He didn't know what to say to that. It was true. They were racing against an invisible clock.
Gwen hated every moment with Minos. He had been worse in the one evening they spent together every week since she and Draco kissed. She wanted to tell him that no amount of forcing her to do things was going to make her like him more. He was vile and mean.
Minos brought their dinner to the table. She was already seated. Gwen had threatened that if he didn't let her do homework, then she would talk to McGonagall and he'd be sacked. However, he punished her for it by being overly physical during their next snogging. She threw up for an hour that night. Draco never left her side and she could see the change in his eyes from calm gray to pure steel. Gwen sighed at how he had never been pushy for anything. It made her think about how much he really cared about her. She wasn't blind during their fifth year; Pansy Parkinson among others practically threw themselves at him all year long. Gwen just didn't think about his expertise against hers. In her defense, she had an excuse; she was magically bound from doing that particular activity.
Gwen tried to eat as slowly as possible. The more time she spent eating, the less time she spent snogging him.
An hour later, Gwen was walking back to the common room unsteadily. She had endured half an hour of Minos advancing on her.
"Miss Malkin-Pryce, you do not look your best," Snape's portrait spoke to her as she finally approached it.
"I know," she admitted. It was bad when her dead Head-of-House knew when she was struggling with life.
"Password?" He asked.
"Narcissa," she replied and he swung open.
"Gwen!" Ginny squealed from a chair.
"I don't want to do anything. Please just let me go to sleep," Gwen responded. She didn't like being harsh with the younger girl, but she really was exhausted.
"That's why I'm here. Hermione and Draco think they may have found something. I was sent to monitor you while he's not here. He said something about you having rough nights after Minos and you still have Astronomy at midnight. That's three hours so go lay down," Ginny explained and instructed.
Gwen was a little disappointed that he wouldn't be there, but she let it go quickly. She looked at Ginny with a half-smile. "Alright, you want to come lay with me so you're not stuck on that chair?" Ginny nodded and followed her into the dorm room.
Gwen just collapsed onto her bed without changing. She had to wear her school clothes for Astronomy anyway. Ginny crawled into the bed on the other side. They both drifted to sleep.
"Gwen, wake up," Draco whispered as he lightly tapped her, "We have Astronomy in thirty minutes."
She reluctantly opened her eyes. A glance at the clock told her that he was telling the truth. She quickly climbed out of the bed carefully to not disturb Ginny.
"Were you okay tonight?" Draco asked concerned. Gwen knew it was his fear of her being sick again that kept him asking.
"Yes, you can ask Ginny. I was just really tired," Gwen answered as she quickly set her uniform right. She grabbed her Astronomy things, threw them in her satchel, and headed with him out of their common room. They walked hand-in-hand to the Astronomy tower.
They had followed the lead that Draco and Hermione found. It was the first time something beyond basic information had been found. In a book from the Restricted Section, they found that Marriage Vows of old dark wizards had been broken by the death of one of the wizards making it. Gwen was not particularly fond of that idea. It meant that her father or Minos's had to die. The other thing mentioned was just a one-time thing, but a witch's father had changed his mind. His mind change led him to reverse the Vow. It didn't mention how, but it did say that the one occurrence had happened. The four of them tried to find another mention of it.
"It's been a week and we still haven't found anything," Gwen said in a defeated tone.
"Yes, but look at how long it took us to find that one instance," Hermione reasoned. Gwen knew she was right, but the impending doom of having to marry him was giving her a fright.
While they looked, Gwen decided she was going to do something she never thought she would. She wrote a letter to each of her parents.
Mother,
I want to know why Father thought that I would ever want to marry Minos Flint. He's a vile brute and a slimy git. He's made this first term of school awful for me. I want to know how to get out of this. There's no reason for me to marry someone Father thinks is of 'good standing' with the war over.
Your daughter,
Gwendolyn
Gwen knew that her mother would probably be angry at the tone used in the letter, but at the same time she didn't care. She was miffed that she had to even think about being married to Minos Flint. The second letter she had to write made her leave their shared library table. She needed to be alone to do it. Draco raised his eyebrow at her sudden movement.
"I need to write a letter to my father and I'm just not comfortable doing it when I'm not alone," Gwen explained.
"Alright, well we'll be here until you're ready to go to dinner," he said as he watched her sit two tables away.
She pulled out a fresh piece of parchment, set down her inkwell, and chewed on the end of her candy quill. Gwen thought for about ten minutes before she started to write.
Dear Father,
I have finally met the man you have destined me to marry. He has made my term at school very hard. He's constantly requiring that I come to dinner with him and skip out on my studies. I can't marry him. If you know how to fix this, then please do it. As your only daughter, your only child, I am begging that you change it. I'm in love with someone else. Please understand that it doesn't matter who I marry anymore. The war is over and you're in Azkaban. Why can't I marry whom I wish? Please help me.
Love,
Gwen
Gwen was quietly crying by the time she had penned the last word on the short, pleading letter. She had been so close to her father before the war. Now that it was over her whole life was different. She was friends with Muggle-borns and blood traitors and didn't care. Her first priority was trying not to marry a foul man. She felt a hand on her shoulder. She knew without looking that it belonged to Draco. Gwen's acute sense of smell had known the moment he had approached. The aroma from the Amortentia was strong once you knew its source.
"I'm alright. Just remorseful," she spoke to him.
"I assumed you were. I just thought some company would be nice because I noticed you were no longer writing," he said withdrawing his hand. Draco wondered if maybe he intruded too early on her private moment.
"Yes, company from you is always nice," she told him with a watery smile. He grinned at her, an actual grin and not a Draco Malfoy smirk. He always looked better when he was grinning.
"Are you ready for dinner? Granger's getting angry with the books," Draco questioned with a laugh.
"I have to take these up to the Owlery first, but then dinner would be fine," she told him. He agreed that he would walk with her and that they would see the other two in the Great Hall.
In the Owlery, Gwen found Eros, her owl, and tied both letters to his leg. She told him to go to her mother and then her father. She was just glad that Demeantors no longer guarded Azkaban and prisoners were allowed letters from family.
"Let's go to dinner," she said when she was finished and took Draco's hand.
