Disclaimer: I do not own the Harry Potter series. If I did, Draco and Ginny would be together and then I wouldn't have to make my own pictures of the two of them! You have no idea how hard that is when the best thing on your computer for that kind of thing is Paint. Not easy!
Well, there wasn't as big of a response to this last chapter as the previous one but I guess that's okay. I had quite a bit of time in between those two chapters for reviews to build up. I'm too nice to withhold a completed chapter though in the interest of gaining reviews. I'm such a pushover! Thank my empathetic side for that. I'd not want to wait if I were in your shoes. Would you be kind to me though and leave a review once you've read though this? I don't want to resort to waiting weeks just to get a good amount of reviews.
So, that being said (or begged) I'll get on to the chapter. I have to say, this story is really fun to write. I like not having to write about war and death and such like I'd been doing for so long in my last story. While that kind of drama is fun to write a bit off, I much prefer what I've gotten with this story.
Without further ado…
Chapter 7
Ginny POV
"Ginny!" I heard Luna exclaim, waking me from my peaceful slumber.
Startled, I sat up and rubbed my eyes, surprised to find myself on the sofa in the living room. When had I fallen asleep here? "What time is it?" I asked groggily as I stretched.
"Nearly midnight but that's not important!" Luna said, happiness and excitement filling the air around her. "Guess what?" She stood in front of me, bouncing on the balls of her feet, unable to stand still.
Yawning, I slumped back against the sofa. "I'm too tired for guessing games," I mumbled, closing my eyes. "Just tell me."
"Blaise and I are getting married tomorrow!" she exclaimed, squealing happily and jumping up and down.
Now that woke me up. My eye snapped open and I looked up at my best friend. "What? When?" I questioned, standing up and putting my hands on her shoulders to stop her bouncing for a moment.
"Tomorrow afternoon!" she nearly screamed, bouncing despite my hands. "I'm getting married and you'll be my maid of honor!"
My hands slid of her shoulders and I looked at her in disbelief. "You give me so little notice to get a dress?" I questioned, smiling despite myself.
"It doesn't have to be fancy," Luna offered as she started pacing around the room, unable to stand still. "It'll just be the four of us in front of Marriage Committee official."
"Four of us?" I asked, wary of her answer.
"Of course there has to be four of us. We need two witnesses for the wedding," she said cheerily. "I chose to have you come and Blaise asked Draco. I'm not sure what he said to it, yes or no, but I'm sure it'll be yes. He went to ask him just a while ago. We'd been out for dinner and then a walk around the park when we decided we'd do it tomorrow. Oh, we have so many plans! I'll move in with him of course. I'll make sure you have my half of the rent and bills for the next two months to cover you until you move in with Draco. That was Blaise's idea, so we could move in together immediately." She was chattering so fast that I could only seem to grasp little bits. When she finally paused to take a breath I couldn't help but laugh.
"Might want to breathe now and then," I joked, shaking my head in amusement. "So what do I wear?" I thought about the three bags of new clothes sitting in my room that I could wear. None of them were dresses though. The few ball gowns and formal dresses that Malfoy insisted I have would come in with the rest of the clothes.
"Oh, just any old dress will do," Luna said with a shrug. "Blaise said dress nice but I don't care. You could wear that dress that you wore the other day to lunch with Draco." We both mentally went through my clothes and I realized how pitiful my dress selection was.
"I'll figure something out," I said with a shrug after a moment. "What time exactly will it be?" I had both work and school tomorrow.
She scrunched her nose and frowned. "It's at three. That's the only time the committee had open tomorrow. Could you miss a class or two? I'm sure your teachers would understand. I don't want to be married without you as my witness." She looked up at me with her bright blue eyes begging.
I let out a sigh and shook my head, laughing despite myself. "Oh, alright," I agreed. "I already have the homework for the next week done anyway. I'll just owl my homework for tomorrow in tonight and call it good. They'll understand. I wouldn't miss you wedding for the world."
"Yay!" she exclaimed, hugging me tight. "Oh, and speaking of owling things, have you sent a letter to your Mum and Dad yet about your match? It's been almost a week and nobody but the girls and I know who it is, well, them and Blaise and Draco of course."
I frowned and let out a sigh. "I haven't yet, no," I admitted. "I'll do that before I lay down for bed tonight though. I've avoided it too long. Do you mind if I borrow your owl to send my homework with it and use mine to owl Mum?"
"Oh, of course," Luna agreed, starting to bounce again.
"Thanks," I said with a laugh. "Oh and why are you calling Malfoy Draco all the sudden? You never did before."
Luna shrugged before beginning her pacing again. "I just picked it up, I guess. That's what Blaise calls him of course so it's kind of natural to call him that too. Why don't you call him by his first name? You are getting married after all," she questioned, giving me one of her knowing looks that never failed to make me squirm.
"I don't know," I muttered. "It just doesn't feel right. I don't want to get close to the git. It's like when you find a stray dog. If you give it a name you'll certainly get attached to it. Well, he's one person I don't want to get attached too." I knew my logic was flawed but that's what I felt.
Luna laughed, easing my suddenly sour mood. "Well, on that note, I think I'll try and get some sleep. I don't know how I'll be able to fall asleep tonight of all nights but I need to at least try. Have fun owling your mum. Tell everyone I say hello," Luna said dreamily as she wandered to her room.
Following suit, I made my way to my bedroom and flipped on the light. I was exhausted and the clock read fifteen past midnight but I knew I needed to write Mum and Dad now or I'd never get around to it. I tried to keep the letter short but not unemotionally so. I was breaking pretty big news to them. It's not every day you find out that the spawn of your enemy will be your son-in-law.
After several tries, I finally finished the letter.
Mum and Dad,
Sorry it's been a while since I wrote or stopped by. I've been very busy with work and school. Both are going great by the way. I just got an O on one of my tests last week. I was surprised that I did so well but I was happy. Just a little less than two months and I'll finally be done with school! I can't wait.
I know that I've been keeping quiet about my match under this new Ministry Marriage Law thing and I'm sorry. I guess I'm just having a hard time facing it myself and so I didn't want many people to know. I hate to tell you this, but you're new son-in-law is going to be none other than the git that is Draco Malfoy. Yeah, I'm just as disappointed as you are. It'll be okay though. I'll muddle through and try to be civil with him and hopefully he'll do the same. Don't hold your breath on it though. I've come to never expect anything with that man.
On the bright side he insisted that he buy me a whole new wardrobe! Sure, it was for the wrong reasons, but the clothes are really nice. Don't worry though, my favorite things to wear will always be my Christmas sweaters and Charlie's old jersey I use as a nightshirt.
Oh, Luna's getting married tomorrow! Can you believe it? It's not even been a week and she's already going to marry him. Oh, the him is Blaise Zabini by the way. He's not as bad as I though before. He's good to her and seems to really care for her. They'll be good together. She'll be moving out then too. She'll leave me with enough to cover the next couple months' rent. I guess I'll finally find out what it's like to have my own bathroom! I'll miss her around but, as long as she's happy.
Well, I need to go to bed and get some sleep before work in the morning so I'll send the letter now. I'll try and stop by the Burrow within the next few days. Till then, I send my love. Oh, and Luna says hello too!
Love,
Ginny
The letter turned out to be longer than I'd expected but it worked. At nearly one o'clock I sent both owls on their way before stripping out of my day clothes. I gazed over at the bags of clothes for a moment before picking up Charlie's old jersey and slipping it on. I didn't care what Malfoy wanted. I didn't need new pajamas.
Climbing into bed, I couldn't help but think back over the day. So much had happened in such a short amount of time. It already felt hard to believe my little outing with Malfoy was just a handful of hours ago and now I'm was to decide what to wear to Luna's wedding. I still wasn't sure about that. I'd figure it out after work tomorrow though. Cuddling up under the covers, it didn't take long for me to drift to sleep.
~!~!~!~
Waking up the next morning was much too hard. I was nearly tempted to see if Jade could work my shift for me this morning so I could get a bit more sleep. But, the responsible part of me kicked in and I sat up unwillingly, yawning hugely. Slipping out from under the warm covers, I padded slowly to the bathroom for my morning shower. Just a few minutes into my shower I was surprised to hear Luna knock on the door before poking her head in.
"Hey Ginny," she said, making sure I knew she was there.
Rinsing my hair really fast, I stuck my head out from behind the curtain. "Hey. What are you doing up so early?" I asked, very confused. Normally she'd sleep as late as she could, not get up at the crack of dawn with me.
"I don't know," she said with a shrug, coming in and picking up her brush. "I just woke up and couldn't even think of going back to sleep."
As she began to brush her hair, I stood back into the shower, letting the curtain fall back in place. Quickly washing my body, I make sure all the soap was gone and shut off the water. Grabbing my usual fluffy towel, I dried a bit before wrapping myself up, stepping from the cover of the tub. "Want me to make breakfast?" I asked as I picked up my brush too.
"No, it's okay. I already have some cooking. I decided oatmeal would probably be easy to cook. It's on the stove right now," she said, pulling her hair up and out of her face so she could brush he teeth. I pulled mine up too, securing it in a ponytail for the long workday ahead. "You have a package on the kitchen table by the way," she said suddenly, as if she'd just remember. The smile on her face told me otherwise though.
"A package," I asked, suddenly excited. "Who's it from?"
"Can't tell," she said with a shrug. "No name on the box except yours."
Very curious now, I sat my brush down and raced from the bathroom, wide awake at the prospect of an unknown package. And right where Luna said it would be, in the middle of the table, sat a big, white box with a small green bow. Under the corner of the bow was at note with my name, Ginerva Weasley, in the elegant handwriting I'd come to recognize. It was from Malfoy. What was he sending me?
Wary but too curious to pass it up, I removed the bow and started to open the box. The strong smell of burning food reached my noes about then though. Looking over at the stove, I saw the pot of oatmeal smoking a bit. "Oh dear," I said, forgetting the box and rushing to the stove, shutting the fire off.
"Oh bother," I heard Luna say from the doorway. "I mucked up even the oatmeal?"
I laughed and nodded my head, clearing away the scorched food with a quick flick of my wand. "It helps to stir it," I said with a giggle at her frown. Setting the pot back on the stove, I quickly got some new oatmeal started, charming a spoon to stir it every few seconds. "I hope Blaise Zabini knows how to cook," I teased my friend.
She laughed and nodded. "I hope so too," she giggled. Pouring herself a cup of coffee from the freshly brewed pot, she sat down at the table. "Did you open the box yet?" She looked at the package with undying curiosity, clearly wanting to know what it was as bad as I did.
I made my way back over to the table and shook my head. "No, the smell of burning oatmeal stopped me," I laughed. "It's from Malfoy though. I recognize his handwriting." Looking down at the box, I let out a sigh.
"Well, open it then!" Luna cried, looking eagerly at the box. How she managed to be her usual perk self so early in the morning, I would never know.
Rolling my eyes at her exuberance, I gently lifted the lid of the box off. What I saw inside the box made my breath catch in my throat. Nestled in soft tissue paper lay the silver dress I'd been admiring in Penelope Padwan's shop. "Oh," I exclaimed softly, taken aback by the beautiful dress.
"Wow," Luna said beside me, awestruck too. "He got you that? It's beautiful."
I nodded, trying to find my voice as I lifted the dress gently from the box. "I wanted this so bad," I whispered, holding up to me. It looked like it would fit perfectly. "Why did he get it for me?" I asked the question more to myself than to Luna. "How did he know I wanted it?"
Luna shrugged and looked back in the box. "There's more," she pointed out before walking over to the stove and taking the oatmeal off.
Surprised, I looked down in the box again. Under the dress had been a silver necklace with green emeralds forming a flower pendant. Alongside them were matching earrings and a bracelet. Tucked under the necklace was a folded piece of parchment. Sitting down, I lay the dress down on my knees and picked up the letter silently. As I read it over, my surprise and confusion grew greater.
Ginny Weasley,
As I'm sure you've found out by now, your best friend and mine are to be wed today. Seeing as none of your gowns I've ordered will be in for another week, I assumed you would need something to wear this afternoon.
I notice you admiring this dress while we were shopping for your clothes and decided to pick it up for you. Consider this a peace treaty for now. I'd hate to ruin our friends' wedding with our childish bickering. Yesterday, you tried to be kind to me and I realize that I made that a very hard thing for you to do and yet still you did. You've tried very hard to correct your ways and so will I. I was always taught that a Malfoy never apologizes for anything but I'm a big enough person to admit when I'm wrong.
Till this afternoon,
Draco Malfoy
I was stunned into silence as I read and reread the letter, not believing my eyes. Was Malfoy being civil to me? Did he really just apologize, or as close as he ever would? Looking back at the dress in my lap, I saw new meaning to it. This was his way of saying he's sorry. Shaking my head, I set the letter down on the table with a smile. "Wow," I said softly, picking the dress back up.
"May I?" Luna asked, reaching for the letter. She had it picked up and was reading it before I could nod.
While she read over the short note, I set the dress back in the box and picked up the jewelry. They were all stunning and I tried not to be shocked over the fact that it was all real, no fake stones. The contents of this box alone probably cost more money than I'd ever made in my life. And the fact that they weren't forced upon me, but given as a gift, made them just that much more special. Was Malfoy actually human, not a heartless jackal? That was a hard concept to wrap my head around.
"Well, that was nice of him," Luna said, setting the letter aside. "Blaise was right. Draco can be kind and caring when he wants to be." That being said, she got up and fixed herself a bowl of the finished oatmeal.
Not feeling the least bit hungry anymore, I put everything back in the box and headed back to my room to get dressed for work, having completely forgotten I was in nothing but my towel. As I sat the box down on my bed, I felt my confusion and uncertainty mounting. For a moment, I smiled at something Malfoy had done. Malfoy had been kind. What was going on? Was my plan going to work better and easier than I thought? Would I want it to?
How'd you like it? Do you think the story's progressing nicely? I think so! Tell me what y'all think! I hope you do like it!
Please, leave me a review and let me know how I'm doing! Poor BJ is feeling slightly neglected and hungry.
A happy author writes better and faster! So review and make me happy!
