Above and Beyond
Chapter 10 - Effects
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"Weasley! Are you even listening to me?"
Draco looked adorable when he pouted but the charm was wasted on Ginny, who had her back to him. Instead she was staring off dreamily as she had been prone to do since the two months she met Erin. Every five minute she would reminisce about their latest date.
"What's with the name?" Ginny asked curiously, feeling the effects of the champagne she had downed too quickly.
Erin smiled contritely.
"It was my mother's middle name. She had wanted to give me something of herself-- to tie me to her, as it were." He put on an affected air. "It's rather fetching don't you think?"
Ginny laughed tipsily.
"Have I mentioned how lovely you are?"
"Not in the last ten minutes." She replied languidly, relishing his compliments. When was the last time a guy had ever treated her to such bliss?
He lifted her hand off the table in his own and kissed each finger as he spoke.
"You are- the most beautiful- woman- I know."
Ginny shivered happily and leaned in for a kiss.
"Er- Weasley, what are you doing?" Draco's breath was hot on her face and his voice had turned husky.
Startled, Ginny pushed herself off her employer and turned around blushing furiously. Behind her Draco smirked devilishly. She turned around, angry— more at herself than him, but he didn't need to know that.
"What do you want, Malfoy?" she demanded hotly "And have you never heard of knocking?"
"Whoa, Weasley. You were the one in dreamland and might I say it seemed a very nice dream." Ginny glared at him advancing menacingly.
"I did knock." He said in his defence. "You just didn't hear. Besides I shouldn't be explaining myself to you. I'm the employer." Draco had found himself reminding Ginny of that quite often every time she flew off the handle.
She settled down, or at least put her wand away and crossed her arms and started at him. "Well, what do you want then?"
Draco arched an eyebrow and Ginny blew out exasperatedly.
"What do you require, Mr. Malfoy?" she said saccharinely, even attempting a smile.
Draco suppressed a smile of his own.
"I came to inform you that I'll be hosting a ball. It's mainly for the children to get them formally introduced into society."
"You mean let them rub elbows with the upper crust of Britain and become snobs." Ginny said baldly. She clamped her mouth shut, but Draco ignored her.
"Come to think of it, I doubt Belle's had her debutante yet. I'll have to ask her about that." he caught sight of Ginny again "You'll be playing the part of hostess."
"Uh uh, no way, Malfoy. I am not going to pretend to be wife and mother and Merlin knows what else so you can present 'the perfect family'." Ginny resisted firmly. Draco could see she was going to be stubborn.
"Yes you will. Part of this charade, as you wish to call it, is to weed out those who might want to harm my children. So you will have to be present in case anyone tries something."
"It's not even in my job description." She grumbled, but Draco could see she was yielding.
He hesitated a fraction of a second before turning to leave.
"You said, 'my'." Ginny said from behind him.
"What?" he asked perplexed turning around.
"You said 'my children'." Ginny was looking at him smugly.
"Well of course I said 'my children' they are mine aren't they?"
"The arrogant, smug, all-round bad guy Draco Malfoy is actually admitting to paternal feelings. Merlin, is the sky falling?"
Her gaze had turned teasing when Draco scowled.
"I admitted no such thing."
Ginny sidled up to him and poked him in the ribs.
"You did too."
He began to laugh. She hadn't known he was ticklish. She poked a few more times, then tickled him. He laughed more and started wriggling under her fingers. Her laughter soon joined as he retaliated and before long they ended up on the floor. Ginny had landed on top of Draco who had twisted so that she wouldn't hurt herself falling.
They were breathing hard and slowly Draco became aware of their respective positions. Ginny was lying flat out against every inch of his body producing a very natural reaction. Ginny's breath hitched in her throat and she looked at him with those melt-me chocolate brown eyes. Draco stared back; his own breath held and with one hand pulled her head down to meet his.
He expected her to pull back, to slap him in the face even. He didn't expect this. He had only wanted to taste, experiment as it were, but he found himself teasing and wanting more. Ginny reluctantly parted her lips and allowed his tongue access. She moaned faintly as he tasted her. And oh did she taste good. Like espresso and chocolate chip pancakes – what she had had for breakfast – it had become Draco's favourite flavour.
She was kissing him back now, giving as much as he was taking and plundering his mouth ferociously. Draco had to stifle a groan of his own. Who would have suspected the Weaslette – no, Ginny – had it in her.
If Ginny had expected sweet and subtle from the one time (and still) Slytherin sex god she was so wrong. Never had she been kissed so passionately, so roughly. He tasted sweet and she sucked his tongue lightly earning a moan for her efforts. She was beginning to lose track of where her lips ended and his began. All thoughts of Erin were banished from her mind as she lost herself to Draco's art. Erin.
She pushed back against Draco's chest and opened her eyes. She immediately realized that it was a bad idea. Draco's eyes had gone from silver to a stormy grey and they were staring at her so intently that she didn't know what she was doing or why she'd stopped kissing him. His body had begun to feel too nice underneath hers so she tried to get up but he pinned her with his hand.
"Don't go." He said, or rather ordered, Ginny thought.
She frowned. "I'm seeing someone."
Draco raised an eyebrow. "I'm supposed to believe that?"
She glared. "Well I am. So let up. Now."
He shrugged carelessly and obliged feigning indifference, though Ginny could still see the conflict in his eyes. She shivered with delight. No not delight, indignation.
Her eyes flashed, betraying her clashing emotions. In fact her face clearly displayed everything she was feeling. Draco wondered how he had never noticed that before. Right now, her face was clearly saying 'You bastard!'
"You bastard!"
Or maybe she was actually saying the words.
He retreated behind the customary mask of indifference. At least she wasn't slapping him. Then again she could always punch him, Merlin knew with six older brothers she'd be more than competent at Muggle duelling. It would be just his luck to get a woman who threw punches instead of slaps.
He raised an eyebrow in response to her fiery statement. Truth be told he'd rather her fire be channelled another, much pleasanter way, like what they had been doing before. Judging from her temper now though, telling her so would not be conducive to his good health. She reached for her wand and Draco remembered belatedly her skill at hexes.
"I should hex you right now." She said angrily, her breathing uneven.
Draco refrained from smirking at the movement. Despite his nonchalance, he cast a wordless protection charm. Ginny glared but didn't do any thing else.
"Don't pull that again, Malfoy."
It was Draco's turn to be annoyed.
"Don't push me like that again."
Ginny flushed, whether from anger or embarrassment, Draco couldn't tell and he told himself he didn't care.
"Consider it practise, Weasley."
He spun on his heel and stalked out of the room, almost bumping into Belle on the other side of the door. Draco glared at her knowing smirk, the girl was so obviously Slytherin.
"What?" he snapped.
Her expression changed from amusement to concern, and Draco wondered if he'd been too harsh.
"I'm worried about Ginny."
That caught him off guard.
"What? Why? Should you be?"
"Eh— easy with the questions, Draco. I'm worried because I found this—" she fished a crumpled bit of parchment out f the pocket of her jeans, "In her waste paper basket."
Draco frowned as he noticed how tight her jeans were and the top she wore with it. It was a midriff baring black turtleneck sweater. He arched a questioning eyebrow. She arched one right back.
"Spare me the parental lecture. Her friends are worried about her, judging from this letter, meaning we should be too." Her brows creased in anxiety as she handed Draco the parchment.
He scanned it briefly.
Ginny,
Chica, como estas? Donde estas? Hermione and I are really worried about you. You haven't contacted us since you ran off with that Erin bloke in Diagon Alley. We think something's wrong and Hermione (and I) want you to come home so we can run a few tests just to make sure you're okay. Please owl back, even if you're not coming, por favor, chica.
—Love,
Luna
His gut tightened at the mention of 'that Erin bloke' maybe it was just jealousy, but maybe it was something else. He remembered that name from somewhere. The memory was distant, however, as if from his childhood. He shook it off as inconsequential.
"Should we owl them? Tell them to come to the Manor?"
Draco almost cringed at the thought of the Mudblood and the deranged ex-Ravenclaw entering his house, but he swallowed what Ginny would call his misplaced pride and nodded to Belle.
"See if they can be here tomorrow. I want to run a few tests of my own."
"Why?" Belle asked curiously.
"To make sure whatever's happening to her isn't Dark. The last thing I need is her brothers and Potter storming my home claiming I've cursed their precious Ginny."
"How very Slytherin of you." Belle complimented, before walking off to write the letter.