A/N: Thanks so much for the encouragement. I think I may have finally figured out how to end it. Yay! But that's like 30 more chapters from now!
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The Safe House
Chapter Ten
Over the next several days, Draco and Ginny began a strange kind of dance. Each night Draco would come up with some reason for her to stay with him again, and she would argue at first and then give in.
"Ginevra, I still feel a little weakened. I would really appreciate it if you stayed with me."
"Ginevra, I slept so well last night. I think it is a great comfort to have someone with me right now. Would you please stay again?"
"Ginevra, I can't keep taking the Dreamless Sleep Potion. I think it would be best if you were here."
"Ginevra, I really think that tonight I might have a relapse. I have had a bad feeling all evening. And you know I shouldn't be taking too much Dreamless Sleep Potion."
Before they had fallen asleep on the fourth night, she mustered her courage and asked him about his beliefs. She was afraid of her growing attachment to him, and this was the one topic that could come between them. To her surprise, Draco was more than willing to answer all of her questions. He seemed eager for them to tackle this one last barrier. He explained to her that the atrocities of war had forced him to re-examine the lessons of his father. He had found that he had more respect for the Half-Blood witches and wizards in his life than any of the Purebloods he had been taught to revere. When Harry had revealed to him that the Dark Lord himself was not a Pureblood, Draco knew that although he had changed sides for personal reasons, he would never hold the same beliefs of his youth again. Yes, he still believed that the magical community needed to hold onto their traditions, but he no longer felt that only a select few were worthy of being in power. When asked about Muggles, he revealed that, at times, he had lived amongst them when he was working as a double agent, and he had never really hated them, only the lies that he had been taught to believe about them.
The next night marked the fifth night in a row of his pitiful excuses for her to stay, and Ginny was getting a little concerned with this new arrangement. She was confused by his need for her closeness because a part of her wanted him to make a real advance, and another part was starting to worry that the dark curse had seriously affected his mind. After another night of wonderful but platonic rest, she darted to the loo and began getting ready for the day. She wanted to fly right away and skipped breakfast to go outside on the broom. They had never shared the broom again, which was adding to Ginny's confusion. During the day, all was routine as usual, but at night the tension crept between them, and inevitably, she would fall asleep in Draco's arms, content, but still unsure of his intentions. So she decided to fly; some of her best decisions were made on a broom. Something about the breeze in her hair and the illusion of pure freedom allowed her mind to push away all the clutter and focus on a problem more clearly.
ooo
Draco lay in bed and listened to Ginny run out of the house. He was baffled by his own behaviour. He had never spent so much time with a witch that he hadn't shagged. He also had never shared his bed with any witch, unless it was postcoitus. The only possible explanation was that he also had never felt this kind of love before. Other than his mother and father, Ginevra was the only person he had ever put before himself. Her needs were more important than his. And he still wasn't entirely convinced that she even wanted someone like him. He lifted his left arm to his head, and saw the Dark Mark, mocking him. He would do anything to be able to undo that night.
~.~
"Draco, dearest, we have been summoned by the Dark Lord. Your Aunt Bella is here to escort us." Narcissa looked terrified as she entered his room. She subtly shook her head no as if to warn him not to say anything that they would regret.
Bellatrix entered the room and nearly knocked her sister over in the process. "Yes, love, your favourite Aunt Bella is here to give you a late birthday present. Give us a kiss, Draco." She strutted over to him, licked his cheek, and then began cackling. "So lovely, Cissy! He really reminds me of Lucius at that age. Hopefully he won't be such a disappointment. Will you, Draco? You won't disappoint your sweet mummy and Auntie Bella?"
Narcissa walked over to his mirror, turning her back to her sister, but making eye contact with her son through the glass. She looked frightened, but her voice sounded casual and free. "Bella, leave him alone. Draco, put on your best robes and be ready in five minutes." She started to leave his room before turning back to Bellatrix. "Are you coming, Bella? I need your help finishing my hair."
"Cissy, you never let me have any fun! Hurry up, pet, we cannot keep the Dark Lord waiting, especially on your big day!" She laughed hysterically as she followed her sister down the hall.
He had been terrified when they arrived at the graveyard. He remembered his father describing it when telling of the Dark Lord's return. He briefly thought of Cedric Diggory dying alone in this terrible place. Suddenly, he was thrust, along with his mother, into the middle of the circle of Death Eaters. He looked to her quickly before the Dark Lord began speaking.
"Draco Malfoy, your mother cannot protect you right now, but you can protect her." He circled around Draco and, with wandless magic, pushed him to his knees.
"Yes, my Lord. What can I do to better serve you?" His voice was calm and steady, hiding the panic that was burgeoning inside of him.
"At least Lucius has taught you respect. First, you will swear your allegiance to me by taking my Mark. And then, you will complete the most important task I have ever assigned."
Draco vaguely noticed Bellatrix's envious screech before his arm had been jerked forward and Voldemort's wand began burning into his flesh. He wanted to collapse, but he did not want to shame his family and risk he or his mother being punished. When he was given the task to kill Dumbledore, he knew that it was not a real mission. It was meant to punish his parents, especially his father. Voldemort had leaned forward and had whispered exactly what would happen to his family if he were to fail.
~.~
So began his life as a Death Eater. He had later been spared from so much because of Severus's actions, but he could not claim to be innocent. There had been other missions during his time as a spy that he could not avoid. He had not participated in the rapes and the murders, except for once. He performed the Killing Curse on a Muggle woman, but it was to end her suffering. He saw many things that he would never forget, but the pleading in her eyes was something that still haunted him. He liked to think that even though she did not know what he was going to do, she would have chosen his method of killing her, instead of the long, drawn-out torture that the others had planned. By the time he was working as a spy, many of the Death Eaters were becoming bloodthirsty, and more werewolves, under the influence of Greyback, had joined forces with the Dark Lord. They were becoming reckless and more dangerous as Voldemort's leadership was waning. And the Dark Lord became less attentive to his followers' bad behaviour as he began obsessing over his Horcruxes and then finding Ginevra Weasley.
Thinking of Ginny motivated Draco to get up. He crossed over to the back window and watched her looping around the sky on the broom. She looked deep in thought and was gliding easily through the air. He was running out of excuses. He loved this woman, and she must have some kind of feelings for him or she would not entertain his pathetic reasons for staying with him. The night before, the fifth night of his strange behaviour, he had actually considered banishing her bed. He was standing in her room, seriously bearing in mind this option, when she joined him.
~.~
Ginny stood next to Draco, mimicking his stance and pose, arms crossed over her chest. "Is there something you see that I don't see?"
"What? No, well, ummm…." Please be like the Weasel King and be terrified of spiders. "Did you see that spider on your bed?" I cannot believe I just wished her to be like her brother!
"WHERE? Did you kill it? Tell me you killed it!" She had already retreated to the hallway.
"I thought I saw something large and hairy sitting on your bed and came in to check when it scuttled over there behind your armoire." He pointed to said armoire, the house of horrors that it was. "I think it might have been an Acromantula." He watched her eyes grow wide with fear and then run to his room.
~.~
Ginny had been particularly clingy to him after that, and he still did not make his move. He walked away from the window and sat back down on the bed. What am I going to do? This is ridiculous, Draco. Just grab her and kiss her and tell her how you feel. Sweet Merlin, I sound like a Hufflepuff! After reliving the previous night's failure, he dressed quickly and headed downstairs, mentally preparing himself for anything from the unpredictable redhead that had stolen his heart.
After twenty minutes of flying, Ginny realized that she didn't want to chance ruining her relationship with Draco. She had felt like a fool as she leached onto him the night before. She was not really afraid of spiders and did not actually suspect that there even was a spider. An Acromantula? Come on, Draco. You are cleverer than that. So she ran into his bedroom and burrowed under the covers. When he joined her, she refused to take anything from her room and changed into one of his shirts to sleep. She practically attacked him when he got into the bed. She even draped her bare leg over his as she was feigning sleep. Nothing! Not one inappropriate fondling or bump throughout the entire night! So Ginny decided that it was time to move back to her room. If Draco wanted her, he would have to come to her. Besides, she still wasn't completely convinced that he had not gone a bit barmy from the curse.
She smiled brightly at him as she walked back into the kitchen, discarding the broom. "Good morning."
Draco was sitting at the table, eating some eggs. "You're in a rather good mood." He drank some of his tea and watched her go into the pantry and grab a new box of cereal. "Did you have a good fly?"
"Yes, it was fantastic. It's such a beautiful day, you should go out." She sat across from him in her usual seat and began eating straight from the box.
"I will then." He gave her a funny look. Something was off, but he couldn't tell what it was.
"So, Draco, I've been thinking." Another bite of cereal was tossed in her mouth. "I would like to work on a potion that could counter the effects of the Dark Mark. I really do think that Voldemort believes that you are dead and will not try to attack you again, but it would be good to be prepared. Even if it only helps with when he calls the meetings." She eyed him as she munched loudly on another handful of the cereal. "Also, I think that it would be best if I returned to my room now. You are feeling much better, and I'm actually kind-of missing my own bed." You are such a liar, Ginevra Molly Weasley!
"You are? And um, yes, I am feeling much better." He seemed at a loss for a moment, and then the mask returned, and with a little more harshness than he planned, he said, "So, I think I will take the broom out now." He stood up, causing the chair to scrape loudly against the tiled floor, grabbed the broom from the counter where Ginny had left it, and walked out of the house.
ooo
Draco hadn't said anything to her about the potion until a few days later when he heard an explosion coming from the dining room. "Are you okay?" He was breathless since he had run in from the garden - and the fact that he was scared for her.
"Yes, it's just this stupid Fluxweed plant. I cannot get it to combine with the hellebore. I have tried cutting, chopping, squashing. I just don't understand. In theory, it should work. Did Severus ever try to create something like this?"
She bewildered him. Staring at her blackened face and arms, he shook his head and walked over to her, taking the wand from her hand. "Ginevra, I would rather you did not kill yourself in the house. Scourgify. And if you insist on experimenting with this potion, which I do not need – Episkey - then at least allow me to assist you. Reparo." The table became upright again, and he started gathering her ingredients together.
She looked pretty angry about the Cleaning Charm being used on her, and gave him a nasty glare. "And did Severus create anything like this?" she snapped.
"His journals are in my room. You are free to peruse them, but I'm sure he would have mentioned it if he had been successful, don't you think?"
She angrily stomped out of the room, intent on finding a solution. She heard him chuckling at her as she left and nearly tripped on the stairs when she heard him call out, "You should have tried boiling the hellebore first."
ooo
The next several weeks passed slowly for both of them. The anniversary of Draco's arrival to the house came and went. For a brief moment, he thought she was going to offer to stay with him that night. If he had not been determined to let her decide what was happening between them, he would have asked her to stay because, truthfully, he was a little frightened of another episode. Ginny had also considered staying with him both the night before and on the night of his anniversary, but she thought he was distant and cold the first night, and he didn't seem to want to acknowledge his year in the house the next day. They spent very little time together, other than working on the potion, and barely spoke at their meals. Ginny watched him closely whenever she was with him, looking for any signs that he was unbalanced. If anything, Draco seemed more like the man she met when she first arrived at the house.
About three weeks before Ginny's twenty-fourth birthday, she decided to try and make him talk to her again. She had thought that she came up with the perfect solution, something she wanted and something that would force them to spend more time together. "Draco, my birthday is coming up, and I have decided what I would like as my gift."
Draco was reading a Muggle book called Wuthering Heights for the third time since his arrival. He glanced up at her and lifted his eyebrows.
"I would like you to teach me how to play the piano. I have always thought that it was a beautiful instrument, well not the one here really, but I do enjoy listening to you play." She looked at him beseechingly.
"If that's what you want, Ginevra, I would be happy to do that. I would be happy to give you anything you want."
She blushed slightly and was excited to think that maybe things were returning to normal between them. "Anything?" She smiled seductively at him.
He gave her a small smirk and said, "I can teach you lots of things, Ginevra. All you have to do is ask." His eyes were dark, and he hesitated for a brief moment before lowering his head back to the book.
She huffed through her nose and returned to her own reading. She was getting very tired of these games of his. She had never felt so confused in her life about another person. One minute he was flirting with her and the next minute he was ignoring her. Deciding it was finally late enough to retire, Ginny said her goodnight and headed up the stairs.
Unbeknownst to her, Draco had been watching her through his long lashes as he "read" the Muggle book. As soon as he heard her door shut, he threw the book across the room. "You completely blew it. The moment has passed. You are such a…Dammit! This is not how this is going to be. I'm going to end this once and for all." Draco had stood up during his rant and stormed over to the staircase. He marched up the stairs and flung Ginny's door open.
"I will not keep living like this … Ginevra?" Her room was empty.
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A/N: Again, thanks for reading, and please review!
Mercercatch14 – thanks for your positive feedback. Since I can't reply to your reviews, I thought I'd let you know here how much they mean to me. Everyone else, I will be replying to you directly very soon.
This chapter is a little short, but it had to end where it did. I know, another cliffie. :)