CHAPTER 9

Seeing Previously Spoken Words Turn into Actions

Ginny never made it to France. Instead, she continued to sit on the couch and read. She had used her wand to vanish the vomit, but a slight smell continued to linger. She couldn't care about the smell. She couldn't even care to get up and move to another room. One reason for this disinterest in moving was that she might bump into her husband. But even more importantly, she just didn't want to waste any time. She couldn't help it. She needed to know what had happened to Draco. She wasn't sure she had ever read a text so carefully or analyzed notes so thoroughly. As the book talked about the nature of the soul, Draco had penned in his own thoughts on the matter. He seemed to be in agreement with the book that the soul was where a person's emotions and personality resided.

But where the book spoke of the soul found in all, Draco seemed to have been preoccupied with analyzing a muggle soul versus a wizard soul. Everywhere were diagrams or little notes that worked to try and argue magic played a role. Ginny had never heard something so ridiculous as the soul of a muggle and the soul of a wizard being different. She almost threw the book down in disgust at it, attributing his theory to nothing more than the product of prejudice. But then she kept reading and began to wonder herself. There were no records of Dementors kissing muggles. Draco seemed to be arguing there was something to that. There were meaningless numbers inked in which Ginny puzzled over, before having to admit she was stumped. But the gist seemed to be that the Dementors were attracted to magical individuals.

But what was his evidence? Maybe she had missed something. Starting from the beginning, Ginny began yet another read through. Only to jerk violently in surprise as she heard footsteps coming her way. Looking over her shoulder with wide eyes, she spotted Draco through the doorway and immediately shoved the book under her bottom. His nose was red from being blown and his eyes looked droopy. Apparently he wasn't totally out of it, however, because upon spotting her he looked around and then gave her an odd look. "What are you doing down here?"

That was an excellent question considering he couldn't see the book. "Well I was taking a nap. Just woke up. So I guess I'm not really doing much of anything at the moment. What about you?"

He shrugged his shoulders. "I got an owl from my boss. I need to go in for a while. Why don't you go upstairs and rest some more. You look like you could use another nap."

Ginny's first instinct was to be insulted. How awful did she look? She also remembered she was sitting on the book and couldn't move unless she wanted Draco to see it. So either way she was staying put. "I'm feeling better actually. Don't worry about me. I'll see you tonight." She smiled and hoped Draco would just grab the floo powder and leave.

Instead his forehead scrunched up. "Well why don't you get something to eat at least." Ginny couldn't believe it. Was Draco actually trying to care about her well being? And if he was, did he have to do it now!

"Thanks for your concern, but really I'm fine. Now go to work before your boss gets mad." Ginny was maintaining a grin, trying to pass off her comments as light-hearted. Nothing to give away the fact that her stomach was rolling slightly in anxiety.

Yet Draco still did not move. "You know, I think my owl's napping in the attic. Why don't you go up and use him to ask your mum for that Pepper Up potion?" Honestly, Ginny didn't really care about getting Pepper Up potion anymore. And she was beginning to suspect Draco was trying to push her out of the room. Just like she was trying to push him into the fireplace.

Was it bad always being so suspicious? Of course there was the fact that she had no reason to trust him. He did look anxious and frustrated. His mouth was pursed and she really did feel like she was in his way. But in the way of what? She narrowed her eyes as his darted to the end table. The end table with the drawer that was totally empty save the book she was currently sitting on. So it was Draco's book then. But why would he need it now? Well, whatever the reason, this was going to be a long, frustrating impasse unless she did something.

Maybe it wouldn't be so bad if Draco knew she was reading the book. It wasn't like it had been locked up tight or anything. Although that could have been because Draco was used to living alone and warding things was always a terrible bother. She gave a large yawn and a big stretch. Faking surprise, she frowned and rolled a bit to the side. Picking up the book, she gave it a puzzled look and then smiled slightly. "So that's where that book got to. Draco have you read this? It's very interesting. I feel asleep before finishing it though." Draco's face had paled and his eyes had gone wide. "Something wrong?" She felt a bit bad about playing him like this. But what else was she supposed to do?

"Er, no. I don't think I've ever seen that book. May I?" Ginny handed it over as Draco tilted his head to the side, flipped through the pages, and put on a mild look of curiosity. "Huh, maybe I'll take a look at it later." Ginny watched as he shrunk the book and slipped it into his cloak's pocket. Then he flooed off to the Ministry and Ginny was left to wonder. Was that book somehow connected to his job? She didn't understand how that would be possible, but she didn't know what else to think. This time when she yawned it was not for show and she wondered if she really did need a nap.

An hour later found Ginny fast asleep in the guest bed. Two hours later found Ginny hanging upside down in midair screaming bloody murder at her brother. In between that time, Ron and Hermione had once again broken into her house after having decided she needed some sort of rescuing. Apparently Pig had never even returned with a response to their dinner invitation and they had feared the worst. They had tried to floo call her and found no one answering. So being the brash, idiot auror-in-training that he was, Ron had stormed into her home. Finding her asleep in bed, he had apparently gotten slightly upset that his sister had brushed him off without even the excuse of being in danger of dying. So he had levitated her into the air as an abrupt wake-up call and it had worked wonderfully. Ginny had woken with a scream and hadn't stopped screaming since.

"Ron put me down! It's not my bloody fault you almost killed Pigwidgeon! You're the worst owl owner in the history of owl owners; making him fly all the way to France!"

"France! So what? You just fly off to another country without telling anyone and it's somehow my fault? So sorry! I guess I'm just used to people actually being in the country they live in! Maybe I'm just not friends with enough rich people. What else do you do now? Fill your bathtub with galleons?" Ginny's breath caught. He was going to bring money into this?

"Don't you dare talk to me like that! I am not a rich snob!" He released the levitation spell so Ginny went tumbling down onto the bed. The siblings didn't break eye contact though.

"Oh no? Look around us! You live in a bloody mansion!"

Ron was about to say something else but Ginny shouted over him, screaming "That's not my fault! I never wanted any of this!"

Ron went to retort and found he couldn't speak. Neither could Ginny. The two swerved on Hermione who was crossing her arms disapprovingly. "Now that the screaming has stopped, perhaps we can converse like the adults we supposedly are. I'll lift the silencios if you both promise to stop yelling." The two redheads only glared at her. She twisted her mouth and then reluctantly lifted her spells.

"What even gives you the right to be here Ronald! Just because you've learned how to break into people's houses as part of your auror training doesn't mean you can just break in anytime you want!"

"Oh! So this is the thanks I get for racing to your rescue!"

"Rescue from what? My sheets!"

Hermione sighed and left the room, letting the redheads' screaming fade into background noise. She could understand why Ron was upset. His sister had blown him off twice now, and being ignored was a sore spot for him. But did he really have to act so immature? Maybe it was one of those things she just couldn't understand, having no siblings of her own. Ginny was just as bad as him, the two seeming to egg each other on. Did all brothers and sisters act like this, even in their twenties?

She spent some time looking at a picture of a lake before her peace was broken by Ginny coming up and grabbing her arm. Ginny dragged her down the hall and down the stairs, saying only "Come on. You can help me cook dinner." Hermione had actually prepared a lovely stew for their dinner tonight, seeing as how Ginny and Draco were supposed to come over to theirs for dinner. But it seemed plans had changed and Hermione wisely didn't put up a fuss about it.

Once they reached the kitchen, Ginny immediately went for the cabinets and began opening and slamming them shut. "Where did Mipsy put those recipes?" Hermione shot a confused look at Ron as his sister ransacked her kitchen as if she had never been in it before. Hermione moved over to Ron and whispered. "What is she doing?"

Ron smirked. "Trying to prove she's still a normal person. And failing at it. Did you know she has a house elf now?" Hermione sighed as Ron continued to look on in glee at Ginny finally finding her stack of recipes, only to have to start a new search for ingredients.

Hermione bit her lip. "Ginny, if you really don't feel comfortable cooking here we could always go to our house and eat."

Ginny spun around with a set expression. "No! I'm perfectly capable of making a fantastic dinner. I'm going to make meat and veggies, and we are going to eat, and you are going to see that I am in no way a snob." Well, alright then. It had always sort of perplexed Hermione, but even though all the Weasleys had done relatively well for themselves, all of them were still snarky about money that wasn't earned through one's own hard work. When she and Ron had first started dating, she had actually been wary of bringing up the subject of money at all. Apparently though, the inheritances Harry had gotten as well as her own from her grandparents were fine. Ron justified this by saying those inheritances had been from good, hardworking people. Inheritances like the Malfoy's though, money gotten by cruelty and deceit, were to be abhorred. And to think you were better than anyone because of money, well that was grounds for hexing.

Almost an hour later dinner was finally ready. Ginny cast a tempus spell and then frowned at the time that appeared. "I thought Draco would be back by now. He made it sound like he only had to pop into the office for a few hours."

Hermione who had previously had her head in her hands, slumped on the counter, perked up at that. "How is that going by the way? Have you found out anything regarding what it is he's working on?"

Ginny paused for a moment and then shook her head. "No, not really." Hermione slumped down again and Ron gave Ginny a worried look.

"Don't push too far, alright? One of the aurors they sent out came back yesterday. He won't talk about his mission at all. I don't know exactly how to describe it, but he's changed. Sort of more snarky I guess." Ginny only nodded.

Then the three were sitting down at the dining room table, eating Ginny's meal. Hermione was in the midst of relating a story of Ron coming home with chicken feathers sprouting from him after a training exercise in self-transfiguration gone wrong, when the sound of the floo came through. Ron caught Hermione's eye and pointed his fork at her. "No more training stories. The only thing the git needs to know is that I'm a well-off auror now." Hermione found that Ginny was nodding in agreement.

So Hermione thought for a second and then began talking about her latest research. "I still cannot believe the Ministry is being so narrow minded. They won't even discuss the implementation of suojalasit in Britain. The spells used really are brilliant. That muggle relatives can at least glimpse the schools and towns that their wizarding children go to is incredible. My parents would have loved the opportunity! Of course it's all experimental. The Finns have yet to document the longer-term effects of muggles using these lenses. And of course it's a huge security concern. The lenses are guarded as if they were the Hope Diamond!"

Ron snickered. "Are you sure the reason the Ministry won't discuss it is because no one can pronounce the name of those things?" Hermione rolled her eyes. "It's just Finnish for goggles."

Instead of processing Ginny's reply, Hermione found herself momentarily frozen. Draco had appeared in the doorway and was looking around at the table with a furrowed brow and narrowed eyes. Hermione felt her heart give a jump and had to remind herself that she was going to be fine. He wasn't a deatheater. He was Ginny's husband now. And she was perfectly within her rights to be sitting here and be eating dinner with her husband and her sister-in-law. People she both loved dearly and knew loved her in return. This was just a normal, safe, happy night. Then before she could process what was happening, she found her chair zooming away from the table. She shared a shocked look with Ron, whose chair had done the same. It took about two seconds for her to switch her gaze towards Draco.

He was scowling with his wand drawn. "So sorry to have interrupted your little dinner party. It's just that I'd rather have a giant slug in my house than you two. So get out. Now." Hermione saw Ron had gotten out his own wand, but before he could do anything, Ginny was standing and yelling at her husband.

"I can't believe you just did that! They're my guests! Our guests! Now just sit down and eat. Merlin's balls Draco!"

Draco's eyes were slits now. "Get them out, or you are never stepping foot in this house again." Hermione held her breath. The look he was sending Ginny was full of hate. She couldn't imagine Ron ever looking at her like that. Whatever relationship these two had, it certainly wasn't a happy one.

Hermione watched as Ginny wavered before plowing ahead. "They're family! Whatever stupid grudges you have, you're going to just have to suck it up."

Draco sneered and sent Hermione a look that made her feel like pond scum that was being inspected. Thankfully his glare was soon redirected. "Your brother married a mudblood. In any proper family he'd be disgraced. Burnt off of the tapestry. He's not family. He's an embarrassment."

Ron had stood and was yelling now, shooting hexes at Draco as quickly as possible. Ginny stood in shock and watched stupidly as Draco hastily deflected the hexes and even tried to hex back. Hermione only sat there, stunned into silence. Mudblood. She hadn't been called that in a while. Her left fist clenched as her throat closed up. On her left forearm she still had the faint scars from the letters Bellatrix had carved into her. She tried to think of them as badges of honor. A testament to fighting against prejudice and proof of her crucial role in the war. But honestly, they were ugly and she found it hard to do anything but cry when she thought about them.

A scream tore Hermione back into reality and she found Ron had thudded into a wall, his arms covered in boils and his shirt covered in blood. On the other side of the room Draco was on his knees, clutching his stomach, a position which only highlighted the rips in his cloak and the burns on his skin. Hermione and Ginny rushed over to Ron and worked to stop the bleeding. The boils wouldn't go away no matter what spell they cast, however, and Hermione realized this would need medical cream. "Ginny I'm taking him to St. Mungos. Where can I apparrate?"

Ginny shook her head to clear it and tried to think. "Uh, not until you reach outside the gates. Do you need any help?"

Hermione shook her head no, and cast a levitation spell on Ron. "Just a few more minutes honey. We're going to get you all fixed up." Then she was running out of the room with Ron floating behind her.

Ginny was left standing there with nothing else to do but turn around and look at Draco. She found she had a sort of grim satisfaction about the fact that he was in pain. Still, he was retching and looked so pathetic that soon she found a tendril of concern slither into her. He was a prejudiced arse. She had already known that though. Maybe she hadn't quite known the extent of those prejudices, but still. As horrible as he was, she was still his wife. Leaving him to heave on the ground all night with untreated burns just seemed too mean. Sighing, she went over and squatted in front of him. "You really do deserve this pain. That word is horrible and should never be uttered."

Ginny paused to see if Draco would react, but he only moaned and clenched his stomach harder. Feeling resigned, Ginny accioed burn salve only to have nothing come. She tried again and then looked at Draco's hunched form in exasperation. "Really Draco? No burn salve either? Have you ever even thought to step foot into an apothecary?" Remembering a basic numbing spell, Ginny aimed it as his back and hoped that helped at least a little.

Finally a large lurch shook Draco's form and the snot-green goo dribbled out. His moaning stopped and Ginny quickly vanished the mess before the smell made her dizzy. Draco took a few deep breaths and then straightened himself into a standing position. He winced at the movement and hissed through his teeth. "There's some salve in the attic."

Ginny arched an eyebrow. An attic? She hadn't known there was an attic. "Draco there can't be. I already tried summoning some. If it was in the house it would have come." She watched him roll his eyes and felt a bit insulted. Everything she had just said was perfectly logical.

"Just help me to the second floor. Weasley messed up my ankle with that jelly legs jinx." Upon reexamining him, Ginny realized he was putting all his weight on his right leg and sighed. He should probably go to St. Mungos but then they'd likely bump into Ron and Hermione. The last thing she wanted to deal with was Ron and Draco dueling again. Getting out her wand, she went to levitate him. Unexpectedly, however, he cast a shield spell and glared at her. "I'm not a piece of luggage."

She blinked in shock. "Well what do you expect me to do then?"

"I need to lean on you." Ginny eyed him warily. He had a good three inches on her, and more muscles. She didn't fancy getting crushed.

But maybe it wouldn't be so bad. "Fine." Going over, she felt Draco wrap his arm around her shoulders and lean into her slightly. In return, Ginny secured her own arm around his waist and the two slowly made their way to the stairs. Her shoulders did in fact feel a bit crushed but she soldiered on. She reflected that if she had been in this situation not even two weeks ago, it would have put her in an emotional tailspin. Not just because they were in close physical proximity to each other. Even more important than the fact that she was so close to him that she could smell his deodorant, was the fact that they had to rely on each other. If she rolled her shoulder, his whole weight distribution would have to change. If their steps didn't match, they could both topple over. He was putting confidence in her that she would keep him upright. It was the first time Ginny felt like Draco was trusting her with something. It felt good. Getting up the stairs proved to be slow going. Draco would use her and the stair railing for arm support, and then jump up each stair on one foot.

They made it all the way to the end of the second floor hallway, and then Draco stopped. He looked up and Ginny did the same. Only to then look back down and give Draco a stare that reflected her inner thoughts. Namely, that he had gone barmy. There was nothing above them but solid ceiling. Still staring at the ceiling, Draco shot a spell at it. The yellow sparks fizzled out into nothing and there was no change in the ceiling. "Are you having me on? What is supposed to happen?"

Draco ignored her and then with no warning whatsoever, popped right out of existence. Ginny spun around and looked around in a panic. What had just happened? It couldn't have been apparation. You couldn't apparate anywhere inside the house. The day of the wedding she had explicitly been told that, mostly as a warning to deter her from trying to apparate away from her own wedding.

"What the hell did you do!"

Ginny shrieked at hearing the noise and then spun towards the voice. Draco was there again, standing unsteadily with all his weight on one foot. He was glaring at her but Ginny couldn't care about that. She was much too baffled by what was going on to worry about anything else. "Where did you go? And where did you get that jar from?"

Clutched in Draco's hand was a container of burn salve. "I told you! We were going to the attic. I almost killed myself thanks to you!" Ginny only blinked. What?

"What do you mean you almost killed yourself?"

Draco summoned a chair from the nearest room and then plopped down in it. "I mean you were supposed to be there to help me stay balanced. And then suddenly you weren't there and I almost crashed into a box of…..you know what? Never mind. The point is you almost killed me!"

How in Merlin's name was any of this her fault? "You were the one that popped away with no warning! I thought you couldn't apparate in this house."

Draco's brow furrowed. "The spell I casted was to trigger an apparation. From the hall to the attic. It apparates anyone under the charm as long as they're a Malfoy." Ginny's brow furrowed as well. That was odd then.

Blood warding had been a concern for wizards over the centuries. That their wives wouldn't be able to pass through their blood wards wasn't really practical. Particularly in centuries past where some wizards warded their entire homes, or at least specific rooms, so that no one other than those of their blood could enter. Thus part of a traditional wizarding wedding ceremony, as theirs had been, was that the bride underwent a spell where her blood vessels were opened and her husband's blood was transferred into her. Ginny hadn't been particularly happy that Draco had insisted on a traditional wedding. It involved a lot of odd and painful practices such as that. It even involved making an unbreakable vow. She had went along with it though, focusing on the fact that a traditional ceremony also never required the bride and groom to kiss.

That Ginny couldn't get through was a serious issue though. "What else is blood warded?" Ginny couldn't help but suddenly feel anxious. She couldn't access parts of the house. She was rather sure the Gringotts vault would also have weaved in some blood warding.

"I don't get it. It should have worked. Maybe my mother knows something."

Well whatever happened, she was rather sure they wouldn't figure it out anytime tonight. "Here, I'll smear the salve on for you." Draco still looked immersed in thought, but he nodded absentmindedly and Ginny treated his burns. She wondered why the salve was in the attic. Obviously the attic was where the Malfoys stored their more private things. She was willing to bet Draco almost killed himself because he was about to crash into something enchanted with dark magic; something that if the Ministry ever discovered he had would land Draco right back into a cell. No wonder her dad would complain that the raids done in Malfoy Manor never turned up the things he knew the Malfoys must have. As a young girl she probably would have been outraged that the Malfoys got away with things but stashing them up in a blood warded attic. Now that she was a Malfoy herself though, she just hoped the attic remained an impenetrable hiding spot. Never mind that she really didn't want Draco to get arrested. She could now be in danger of getting arrested herself.

After smearing the salve on, Draco got up to lean on her, and the two hobbled to the bedroom. Ginny couldn't quite believe how long today had been. It seemed ages ago that she had woken up with a headache. It still wasn't over though. After a short rest, Ginny found herself helping Draco balance as he hopped into the bathroom. She then left to go get ready for bed in the guest bathroom where her toothbrush was.

Finally alone, Ginny's thoughts raced. Draco had been completely up front with her about being prejudiced. The very first night he had even given her a speech about it. Yet hearing him say he thought some of her friends were mudblood scum hadn't prepared her for tonight. Seeing it in action was a lot harder to deal with. She couldn't just go off on him about it though. Not when her whole 'let's make this marriage thing work' premise was founded on the understanding that she wanted a relationship with Draco despite his flaws.

Putting down the toothbrush, Ginny sat on the toilet with her head in her hands. This was the impasse that Draco had thought would ruin any relationship between them. This is why he had sent her off to France and hadn't wanted to deal with her. But she had rejected his logic and barged in with plans to have a relationship anyways. Backing out now would only be silly and would only serve to prove Draco had been right; that they couldn't work.

Ginny jumped up and marched downstairs towards the floo. Draco was wrong. He had underestimated her if he thought she would just give up all hopes of a happy marriage because of his attitude. Flooing to her home in France, Ginny made a beeline for her purse. Taking out her birth control potion, she took the necessary sip. The vial was almost half empty now. Ginny had been taking a sip every morning, just on the off chance that she ended up back in England that day. This morning was the first time that she hadn't taken it.

Then, she hurriedly emptied her purse so that the contents flew onto the floor and table. There at the very bottom was her wedding ring. Taking a deep breath, Ginny picked it up and slid it onto her finger. Staring at it, she felt a surge of panic rush through her. She was a Malfoy. Part of an old, rich, and bigoted family that had a propensity towards dark magic. What a nightmare. For a few moments she just stood there in the dark, staring. Then magicking the contents back into her purse, Ginny clutched it with a death grip and reentered the floo.

When she entered the bedroom, she saw Draco had managed his way into the bed and was already lying under the covers. He wasn't asleep however. His eyes had opened at the noise of the door opening and Ginny gulped. Putting her purse down, Ginny undressed and avoided looking at her husband. She felt as if she could feel his eyes burning into her. She was on a mission though. She was going to prove that she was just as much of his wife now as she had been yesterday, before she had seen him call her sister-in-law and best friend a mudblood. As far as he would be concerned, the events of tonight had not deterred her in the least. He was going to be her husband come hell or high water. Then turning around, she crawled upwards from the bottom of the bed and loomed over him.

He shoved the covers off of himself and reached up to get purchase on her. If this had been any other man Ginny would have then plunged for his mouth and kissed him. Instead, she went for his throat and kissed his skin. She was not going to be the reason he flashed back to almost having his soul sucked out. She felt her hair get yanked as he pulled her off of him and then he was kissing her chest, his hands wandering into her more intimate parts. She felt a burst of happiness at the realization that Draco really was willing to do more than just use her when they were having sex. The sex really was going to get better and better.

In that moment, with physical pleasure surging through her, Ginny found she didn't even really care that Draco hated Hermione. The only thing she could focus on was that he didn't seem to hate her. In fact, he was the reason why she felt amazing right now. She felt compelled to return the favor. Knowing that his ankle was bad, Ginny let him stay lying on the bed and rode him. And for the first time, as Draco hit his peak, Ginny heard a word that hit something inside her. He had moaned her name.

Ginny stared down at him in shock. His eyes were closed and he was breathing heavily. Ginny felt faint. He had said her name. They had never said each other's names during sex before. They only moaned a lot and sometimes cussed. She grinned. Getting off of him, she found herself lying alone on the bed. Draco didn't make a move to reach out and hold her, but that didn't really bother her. He had said her name. It might not mean much, but she couldn't help feeling like it might. This marriage really was going to progress.