Chapter 7
"Who are you?" A 16-year old, red-haired Ginny Weasley answered the door.
"Damien Nichols," Draco answered tiredly, using the same fake name he'd used in the Newts Pitchers.
"Why are you here?" She eyed him up and down curiously.
"I was told to come here, that it was a safe place."
Now she looked suspicious. The only ones who knew where the Burrow was were friends or relatives of the family, they weren't likely to let strangers know. That's not to say it wouldn't be hard to figure it out their location but there were certain enchantments around the house and, similar to Grimmauld Place, it could only be seen if you knew where it was. It was different though, you didn't have to be told directly by the secret keeper, just know its exact location.
"By who?" She questioned.
Should he tell her? He debated silently for a moment before answering, "Severus Snape."
Ginny gasped and slammed the door in his face or, more accurately, on his face. "Ow," he muttered as he rubbed his nose.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
After work that day, Ginny went straight to Ron and Hermione's house where she stayed for the next couple of hours. Around seven o'clock, true to her word, Hermione apparated to the living area of Ginny and Dean's flat. She heard noises coming from the room to her right and cautiously went to investigate. The sight before her made her gasp. A disapparation later and she was back in front of a fearful Ginny who looked close to tears.
"He is, isn't he?" She sniffed.
"I think you better go there," Hermione responded sombrely.
The tears began to fall but through her upset Ginny nodded and left the house, arriving at her flat to hear the same sounds Hermione had heard. Strange though, that the noises were not coming from the bedroom on the left but the kitchen on the right. With even more caution than Hermione had used, Ginny walked to her right.
"Oh my…" She gasped making Dean drop the cutlery in his hands.
"Gin, you're not meant to be here yet."
"I…what are you doing?" She asked not really hearing Dean.
"Well, I was trying to surprise you," he replied rather shortly. "But since you came home early and ruined it…I was making you dinner."
"Oh, Dean, that's so wonderful of you."
He nodded, almost pompously as he picked up the cutlery and continued to set the table. "Well, go and get changed," he prompted. "Dinner should be ready when you get back."
Ginny did as instructed, returning five minutes later in a black skirt and a black and white, off-the-shoulder, low cut top. Dean smiled at her warmly.
"You look good, baby," he commented surveying her up and down quickly and then pulling out a chair for her to sit in.
She smiled at him as he pushed the chair in. "So what did you make?"
"All your favourites; minestrone soup followed by minted lamb, spring onion mashed potatoes and steamed vegetables. Finally there's hot chocolate fudge cake with vanilla ice cream."
Ginny's eyes shone. "Dean that's…what have I done to deserve this?"
"Do I need a reason to spoil my beautiful girlfriend?"
Ginny flushed at the comment. "I guess not."
They made their way through the meal comfortably, the conversation kept constant until dessert. Dean placed the plate down before Ginny nervously. There it was, steaming hot chocolate fudge cake with two perfect scoops of vanilla ice cream lightly sprinkled with icing sugar. Ginny ate it serenely, bit by bit until the fork hit down with a quiet chink.
"What's that?" she asked pushing aside some melted ice cream to reveal a gold ring with a small perfectly set diamond in the centre. Bewildered she looked up at Dean only to find he wasn't there. Instead he was kneeling at her feet.
"Ginny Weasley, I know I've made mistakes but you've forgiven them and come back to me. I ask you now, will you do me the greatest honour of marrying me and letting me spend the rest of my life making it up to you?"
Ginny bit the corner of her bottom lip nervously, tears began to shine in her eyes as she shook her head. "No –"
"What?" His eyes widened in surprise. "Why not?"
Ginny put a finger to his lips to silence him. "Shh, let me finish. You do not need to make it up to me, spending my life with you is enough; of course I will marry you."
Dean's frown changed from a frown to a grin of pleasure as he took the ring from her ice cream and cleaned it with his wand then placed it on her outstretched hand. The second it was on Ginny leaned forward to hug him and, just as it had before with Malfoy, gravity took its toll, making her fall and taking Dean with her. They both lay flat on the floor; Ginny recovered first and took his head between her gentle hands, covering his face with soft, gentle kisses. Once she finished with his face she made a trail down his jaw and collarbone, tugging his shirt from his trousers and hastily unbuttoning it. She pulled the shirt apart and moved her lips back up to his, capturing his lower lip gently between her teeth.
"It just occurred to me we never christened the flat properly," she murmured gently, feeling Dean's smile against her shoulder as his hands ran up her legs and under her skirt.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"So someone's certainly cheered up," a voice sneered from Ginny's office doorway.
"Who let you in?" Ginny asked without even looking up, she knew the voice well enough by now.
"Your secretary was away so I figured I'd just come in instead of waiting for you to go to lunch and having to hang around waiting for you again."
Ginny sighed, "What do you want then?"
"Nothing," he answered, sitting and reclining in the spare chair. "Just checking up with you."
"Uh huh," she answered doubtfully.
After a few moments of being ignored he leaned back in the chair, crossing his feet on top of the desk.
"Malfoy…" She warned.
"Then talk to me!" He declared as though it were obvious that were his whole purpose.
"Aww, does ickle Malfoy want some company?" She looked up, laughing at the scowl on his face. "You still haven't changed your hair."
He shrugged, "I was thinking of getting it done professionally. Dye it fully brown, make these little blonde patches highlights."
Ginny nodded, considering the look. "I don't know, I think I prefer the platinum look."
Draco smirked at her, "Well, if the Weaselette likes it like that, that must be how I keep it." Ginny didn't miss the sarcasm in his voice, returning the smirk.
"You're catching on quick," she commented lightly.
"Humph," Malfoy crossed his arms over his chest, making Ginny laugh a soft rolling chuckle.
"Cheer up, Draco. What did you come here for?"
"I told you, I just wanted to see what's got you so happy."
"Oh," she breathed, eyes shining happily. "I can't tell you, I've not even told my family yet," as she said this she brought her left hand up to push a strand of hair from her face.
Draco caught the flash of light and, quicker than she had chance to put her hand down, had his feet firmly on the floor and had lightly gabbed her wrist, examining the gold ring on her hand.
"So, he proposed," he stated more than asked an indescribable tone in his voice. "And you agreed?" This last bit was sneered in amazement.
"So what if I did? I love him Draco, not like I did with Harry but he'd want me to be happy and Dean makes me happy."
"He cheated on you!" Draco cried, his voice rising slightly.
"Thanks for reminding me," she muttered sarcastically. "It doesn't matter, he loves me and he's never going to do it again."
"How do you know?"
Ginny glared at him before shouting; "Get out of my office, right now." Draco made no attempt to leave the room. "I mean it Malfoy, go, now, before I do something that…well, I won't regret but…" She trailed off as she noticed Draco wasn't listening to her but rather staring at her hand, more particularly the ring.
"Malfoy?" She questioned with a frown.
"You hate gold," he answered eventually.
Ginny stared at him a moment, wondering how he could possibly know that before she recovered herself. "Get out Malfoy!"
With a sad look in her direction Draco did as she asked, and left the office with as much poise and sophistication as he'd entered, as though the entire office block hadn't been listening to their argument at the door. Ginny, with a glare at everyone surrounding her office, slammed the door closed behind Malfoy's retreating figure.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
After Ginny had slammed the door on his face, Draco had knocked again. This time the response to answer the door was slower than it had been before and instead of Ginny answering, the door opened to reveal a tall, red-haired man who reminded him of Ron, but older.
"Snape is a traitor, anyone sent by him is no friend of ours," the man said by way of greeting. He made to shut the door but Draco put his foot in the way, blocking it.
"Please, I've been travelling for I don't know how long, I'm tired, cold and hungry and I was told this would be a safe place for me to hide from the Dark Lord."
The mans eyes narrowed; only supporters of Voldemort called him the Dark Lord. "Show me your forearm," he commanded.
Feeling it would be rude to refuse, particularly when he was trying to get help from this man, Draco rolled up the sleeve of his jacket to reveal the Dark Mark scar, no longer as red and raw as it had been but still prominent on his pale arm.
"You dare come to this house with that?"
"It's not…it was a mistake. They killed my mother, they tortured her, and Snape said you would help." Draco noticed the wince at the mention of Snape's name and remembered his old mentor's words, 'Don't tell them I sent you'. Way to remember now, he chastised himself.
Once again the door shut, this time more gently than the first. Two minutes later it reopened to reveal another man, older than the first, with a weary authoritarian aura of him. Draco had seen him before on a trip to the Ministry, this was Arthur Weasley.
"Damien, is it? Come in, but watch where you walk."
Right, because I might catch something, Draco thought bitterly despite the true relief on his face at finally being allowed in.
It took three tedious hours and a tremendous amount of restraint on Draco's part not to make comments or sneer at the Weasley's before him. Finally, after thorough questioning Draco was presented with a bed in which he could spend the night, a bed within a vibrant orange room. And, though he dined with the Weasley's that night, despite his secret reservations, he could still sense the tension in the air and couldn't help but notice the suspicious looks that were occasionally thrown his way, not that he blamed them in the slightest. If a stranger had knocked on his door looking for help claiming to have been sent by let's say Harry Potter, Draco had no doubt he would have treated them with much more hate and contempt than he, himself, was receiving. In fact, this compassionate treatment, for that is what it was, was so unexpected that Draco wasn't quite sure how to handle it. He was grateful, to be sure, but why would they accept him with as little resistance as glances and tension? Because they're the good guys, he realised that first night. It's in their nature to do the right thing, to help out the guy in need, no matter who he is or what he might have done. Man are they pathetic.
-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-o-
"You're what?" Molly Weasley looked up from peeling potatoes to stare at her daughter in amazement.
"I'm getting married, mum, Dean proposed last night."
"Ginny, that's fantastic! Come here," Molly swept her daughter up in a tight congratulatory hug, kissing both her cheeks. "Arthur! Arthur!"
Arthur Weasley appeared in the doorway within the minute, "Yes, dear?"
"You're daughter's getting married," Molly informed him.
Arthur smiled but he also looked deep in his daughter's eyes, as though searching for something. "Dean?" He checked with her.
"Of course," she blushed.
"Well, congratulations," Arthur, too, hugged her.
"You must invite him round for dinner next week Thursday so we can celebrate properly, a big family dinner."
"That sounds great, mum, thanks."
"Of course, anything for my darling."
Smiling Ginny stayed with her parents for another half hour before disapparating home again.
"Where have you been?" Dean asked her before she had chance to realise she was there.
"I went to tell my parents about last night."
"You told them?" He asked with annoyance in his voice.
"Of course I did, they're my parents, why wouldn't I?"
"I thought you might like to give yourself chance to get used to the idea first," his tone seemed to be getting colder.
"What's the big deal?" She asked with a frown. "It was just my parents…and Malfoy, no one else knows."
"You told Malfoy, too?" Now the anger was unmistakable in his tone.
"Well, he was in the office today and he saw the ring. Look, I know we said we'd keep it quiet but it's only my parents and Draco, they won't tell anyone."
"Oh, so it's Draco now is it?" He sneered at her. "What was Draco Malfoy doing in your office?" He asked the question slowly, accentuating each word.
"He comes by occasionally to check up on me," she shrugged, it didn't seem like anything special to her. She began to walk towards the bedroom to change but Dean grabbed her wrist tightly.
"Why? Why does he visit you?" The pressure he was putting on her wrist increased.
"Dean, let go, you're hurting me."
He didn't let go; in fact he seemed to squeeze a tiny fraction tighter. "Why does he visit you?" He repeated "Are you doing little favours for him, perhaps giving him a little one-on-one action."
"What?" Ginny was outraged now; she pulled hard with her arm and Dean's grip lessened though it did not release her. "You're the one who cheated, Dean," she reminded him. "You're the one who threw away our trust. Don't you dare accuse me of something like that!" Had he not been holding her right wrist, Ginny would have slapped him right then.
"Just because I got caught doesn't mean you haven't been doing the same thing. I saw the looks you shared when I went to the Burrow that day you were there together. Seems you're always together."
"Oh, don't be stupid Dean. I love you; I would never do that to you."
Dean let go of her wrist, "I believe you, I'm sorry."
Ginny shook her head. "It doesn't matter," she said as she rubbed her wrist. "Just don't do that again, ok? I'm fed up of bruises on my wrist."
"Gin, I'm so sorry," he gasped. "I didn't realise I'd gripped you so hard, I was just trying to keep you in the room.
She smiled at him, a half smile but a smile none-the-less, "Doesn't matter," she lent up and gave him a chaste kiss before heading off to the bedroom.
Two minutes later she came out dressed in close-cut, hip-hugging jeans and moderately cut forest green blouse, the top of her ample chest showing.
"Baby, have you seen my silver hoop earrings?"
Without looking up Dean shook his head, "Tried down the side of the settee?" There was a mischievous glint in his eye as he asked.
Blushing Ginny checked. "I can't find them," she told him. "Never mind, I'm going to be late, I'll look for them later."
"Where are you going?" Dean asked, looking up for the first time and realising she was actually dressed as though she were going somewhere.
"Draco's house," she's said lightly grabbing a pinch of Floo powder. "Malstone Manor," she threw the powder onto the fire, watching as the flames turned green, just before she stepped into them she said, "Oh, by the way, mum's invited us to dinner next Thursday, so don't make plans." And then she stepped into the emerald flames, feeling that familiar tug at her navel as she did so. She didn't see the dark look of anger that had took over Dean the second he'd heard Draco's name, or that it got worse when dinner at the Weasley's was mentioned.
A/N: It could have been longer but after 6 and a half pages and a weeks writing I'm getting a little bored. Anyway, exams are over now so you can expect semi-regular updates again.
Oh, I know Ginny seems a little…slutty, what with the end of chapter 5 and the bit when Dean proposes here but you must understand, she's not obsessed with sex or anything, both times she's feeling intense desire for her fiancé.
I think there's only a few chapters left now, maybe 2 more before she wakes up and then one prologue-y type one which will probably be quite long. That might change though.
Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I'll reply when I get chance…Probably Sunday. Feel free to do the same again, and all you others reading. It only takes a minute, after all!
Rae
