"Master!" The tiny little house-elf bows low to the ground, so low that his long nose touches the wood panels of the floor. I scrunch my nose up in disgust at the little creature as I remove my cloak and set it on my desk.
"Well?" I snap impatiently. I hate house-elves, but I rather like them better than the human servants.
"The Mistress woke up late like always, Master, and then spent most of the day in the library." Since I found out her plot to try to leave me, I've had one of the house-elves following her around to keep tabs. She has no idea, of course. I wasn't lying to her when I said she wouldn't have a chance to be bad.
"Did she take her vitamin potion?" I ask while cracking my neck. I don't want her to hurt my child. Not that I think she would… but I just want to keep checking that.
"Yes, Sir, she did," the elf says and then it starts wringing it's fingers. "She tooks a nap at three and she's been in the red guest room since you gots home," it squeaks.
"What's she doing in there?" I ask, as I turn away and take off my tie to unbutton the first few buttons of my shirt.
"Dilly not know, Sir." I snap the elf a look and it looks down at it's large, ugly feet. "Dilly had to come here when Master got home."
"You're dismissed," I say with a wave of my hand, and I sigh when it leaves the room.
The work in my office isn't very hard, really. I'm vice president of my Father's company and I really don't have much to do during the day but sign off on papers… but there's something about coming home that makes me tired. I leave the room to go find Ginny because I do enjoy looking at her.
I've decided to deal with the whole 'I murdered her cat' thing in the best way I know how. I'm totally ignoring the situation, and if she asks me about it, then I will avoid answering. I really don't know what else to do. I didn't mean to hurt it… I really didn't, and I don't know how to tell her that I did. She's really sensitive about things like that and it will give her another reason to hate me. It's weird. I'm not use to this kind of feeling.
I walk towards the red guest room and find her putting a sheet on the naked bed. Pillows and blankets are in a pile, folded on the floor, by her feet. She's reaching her body to the far corner of the bed to hook the sheet around the corner when I speak.
"What are you doing?" I ask suspiciously, as I stand in the door way.
She spins around quickly and puts her hand on her heart like I just startled her. "Goodness, Draco. You scared me." I nod my head to the bed and she grabs a pillow and puts on a pillow case. "I'm making the bed."
"I see that," I say with sneer. Why is she doing that? "We have servants for this kind of stuff."
She turns away and a slight blush plays on her cheeks. "I know. I'm just bored and it gives me something to do."
"Take up scrap booking or something," I say, walking over to her and taking her arm to lead her to our bed room. "No more house-work. You're not common anymore, Ginevra."
Her face blushes deeper. I can't tell if I insulted her or embarrassed her… or just made her mad and she's trying to hold her tongue. Once in our bedroom I tell her to get ready for the party tonight, and when she disappears into the closet to get her dress, I go into the bathroom to shower and shave.
I dress in black pants with a black shirt underneath a cream colored jumper. That's about as festive as I can get. I step out of the bathroom and into the main room, where I see Ginny in a forest green dress, down on her hands and knees, looking under the bed. She's so weird today.
"What the hell, Gin?"
She stands up quickly and pats down the folds on her strapless dress. "I was just looking for my cat." She chews her bottom lip and looks up at me. "Do you think one of the servants let her outside?"
Again, there's that nagging sense of guilt inside of me, but I ignore it. "Probably not."
She nods her head to what I said and sits on the edge of the bed to put on a pair of sleek, closed-toed, heels the match the black ribbon around her neck and blend in well with the black tights that encase her legs. I like her legs in tights, I've decided. I watch her closely as she switches to her other foot and I can't help but think how she looks so perfectly Christmas with her red hair pulled messily on top of her head and the green dress. For some one who isn't very cheery, she does look very in tune to this holiday.
"I can't find her anywhere," she says quietly, buckling the straps around her ankle. "Do you think she's lost? It is big in here."
I start tapping my foot against the floor, avoiding her question, but she takes it as impatience and stands up quickly. She puts a strand of red hair, that fell loosely around her face, behind her ear and stares up at me with wide eyes.
"I'm ready to go now," she says nervously, fiddling with her fingers. "We still have to go, right?"
I laugh at her. She really hates these kinds of things, and she especially hates it when I laugh at her discomfort. "Yes, it's the Malfoy Christmas party, princess." I walk over to her and hand her the black cardigan that goes with her dress. I can't resist kissing her neck when I get close enough to smell her flowery fragrance. "And we are Malfoy's, after all," I say, resting the smooth material across her shoulders and running my hands along her curves.
We are, whether she likes it or not.
We have to floo to my parent's home in France. I really hate the fucking floo network, so I tap my wand a little too hard when I clean myself and Ginny of the soot that covers our bodies. Ginny rubs the spot on her shoulder where my wand was, and then she looks around the room with wide eyes. She's nervous, and maybe a little afraid. She probably should be.
"Who all is going to be here?" she asks, with her hand across her stomach. Since she saw the baby's heart beat she's been doing that a lot more, like she's hyper aware of the child growing in side of her now. "Are there going to be the same people that go to those dinner things?"
"That," I say, nodding my head. "And so much more," I admit. The most prominent people in Wizarding society will be here.
I start to walk us out of the room, but before we can go to the main hallway to be greeted, she tugs on my arm. "Draco…" she says quietly. I turn back to her and raise an eyebrow. "Um, well… is he going to be here?" she asks nervously, looking around the room, almost like she's waiting to see someone.
"Who's he?" I snap, starting to get annoyed with her.
"You know, um, he-who-must-not-be-named," she almost whispers, and I want to laugh at the fear in her eyes. "Will he be here too?"
She frowns at my smile, but I can't help myself. "The Dark Lord doesn't do Christmas parties, Gin," I say and laugh a little as I begin walking out of the room, with the mental image of the frightening dark lord in a terrible Christmas sweater, sipping on eggnog with the rest of us.
"It was a legitimate question," I hear her mumble angrily to herself behind me.
I laugh a little louder.
X
I don't know what he finds so hilarious about me thinking the Dark Lord just might show up to party full of Death Eaters! Yes, how foolish of me to think that, I think sarcastically. I'm pulled out of my angry thoughts by Lucius Malfoy eyeing me up and down.
"Pregnancy has been kind to you, Ginevra," he says, eyeing my stomach and my newly developed curves. I've always been a curvy girl, but now I seem to be busting out of most of my clothes.
"Stop, Lucius," Narcissa scolds, putting her hand on her husband's arm and smiling brightly. "I'm so happy for you, dear," she says, embracing me like we were friends and placing an uncomfortable kiss on my cheek. She pulls back and places her hand on my slightly rounded stomach. I guess I have to get use to people doing that, but it's still strange. Not to mention annoying. "When do you find out if we'll be having a little boy or a little girl?" she asks excitedly.
I send a tired look to Draco who answers. "We'll find out in a couple of weeks," he places his hand on my back. "Let's go inside," he says, stopping any conversation with his parents and leading us into their ball room.
What is up with all of these people having ball rooms, anyways? It's weird to me. I didn't know anyone who lived in a house that was big enough to have a ball room, let alone many of them. These people are ridiculous. The room he steers me into is decorated to perfection and positively dripping with Christmas wonder. As soon as we walk through the doors, a girl places a wreath of holly on my head like a crown that holds red berries that I can never remember the name of.
I look to Draco and raise an eyebrow. He shrugs and says it's 'tradition.' I look around and notice mostly all the women are wearing these strange crowns on their heads.
There are a lot of people in here, so many people, in fact, that I feel a little overwhelmed. I try to focus on the decorations to take my mind off of all the people that are going to see me pregnant with Draco's child… with Draco in general. I wonder if any of them will tell my parents. They will probably hate me for it. I shake my head to rid it of those thoughts and follow the rows of powdered holly that bow around the windows and tables, connecting with perfectly made silver bows. Four large, iced blue, pine trees settle in each corner of the large room, each decorated with a different theme, with large candles floating close to the branches.
Everything looks iced and cold, like the room just settled there after a big snow storm. Large chandeliers, with jagged crystals, hand low from the ceiling, mimicking ice cycles and the ceiling has been charmed to look like its snowing down on all of the occupants of the room, but the snowflakes stop before they reach anyone's head. I button up my form fitting cardigan, suddenly feeling cold. Silver goblets and plates make up the settings on the tables and silver decorations and ornaments make up the accents around the room. People are already dancing across the floor and it calls my attention to the powder blue and white checks that spiral out from the center. It's a wonderland. I would expect no less from Draco's family.
I quickly look around me to see if I see anyone I recognize besides Draco's Slytherin friends, and I am not disappointed. Cho Chang is laughing at something, surrounded by a group of girls I don't know by one of the ice sculptures. I didn't expect to see her here. Draco walks me over to a group of his friends and he starts to join their conversation with out any hesitation. I don't pay attention to them, or the possessive hand Draco has on my waist. I'm deciding whether I should acknowledge Cho or not. She has always been a sore spot when it came to me and Harry, and I've always been kind of bitter and jealous towards her. I don't know what to make of her now.
"Ginevra, you're being rude," Draco hisses in my ear, and I snap my head back to him.
"I'm sorry," I say, with out really knowing what I'm apologizing about. "What did you say?"
"I didn't say anything," he snaps, staring over in the direction I had been looking. "You're not paying attention. Daphne just asked you a question."
I look up at the circle of people we're standing by, and I want to look away because they're all looking at me now with matching looks of condescending hatred. I hate when Draco scolds me like that in front of everyone. "I apologize," I say, looking at Daphne Greengrass. "I'm a little out of it tonight," I admit, placing my hand on my pregnant stomach as an excuse. I don't know why I bother. They all probably know I don't want to be here, with any of them. "What did you ask me?"
She tilts her glass and downs the contents. "I asked if you thought of any names yet?" she asks, nodding down to my stomach.
I look to Draco for my answer. I never know what to say in front of these people. He nods his head as if he's giving me permission to speak and I turn back to Daphne. "A few," is my quick answer, but I don't go into any further detail, which makes her roll her eyes at a few of her friends who smile knowingly. They must think I'm horrid to be around as well.
"Draco," I say, turning to him and taking his hand in my own, intertwining our fingers. I see Pansy and Jade out of the corner of my eyes, glaring. "The baby and I are getting hungry," I say, rubbing the rounded part of my stomach. I said it to get away from that group of people, and maybe to see Pansy scowl at me like she is now.
He tilts his head to the side while he looks at me. Sometimes, when he looks at me like that, I think he's trying to decide if I'm being honest with him. "The food table is over there," he tells me, nodding to the long table at the end of the hall. "You can go and get anything you want."
"Are you going to come with me?" I ask, almost hopefully. It sounds like he will let me go with out him breathing down my neck.
"Do you want me to?" he asks, watching me again with that strange look.
No, I don't. "Yes," I say because it's probably what he wants to hear.
He flicks a glance at his friends. "We'll be right back," he tells them and he places his hand on my back as we maneuver our way over to the refreshment table.
The centerpiece is a huge chocolate fountain that's surrounded by bowls of different foods that you can dip in it. Like strawberries, marshmallows, pretzels, and a million other little delicious things. I almost want to clap my hands when I see it. For some reason I've been craving chocolate like crazy lately. I don't know why. Suddenly I'm very hungry and my stomach is making weird noises because of it.
"Do you like it?" Draco asks with humor in his voice. "I don't think I've ever seen your face light up like that before."
A small smile comes to my face when I turn to him. "I think this is magnificent," I say and he smirks.
I dip a few strawberries in the chocolate and eat them very slowly, ignoring everything around me. I wonder if it's the pregnancy that's giving me this blind hunger. If I wasn't so involved with my food right now, I might be a little embarrassed by my actions. I almost moan when I get a really good one and I quickly cover it up with a cough. Draco is watching me while I do this with darkened eyes and I know what that means. I probably won't get much sleep tonight, I think with a pout.
"You've spilled a little," he says in a deep voice. I look up to him and watch as he brings his fingers down to wipe away a spot on my chin. "Try to be a little more civilized next time," he says, but I don't take it as an insult because of the lustful way he's staring at me.
With out warning he bends down and kisses me, in front of all of these people, in front of the amazing chocolate fountain. I wonder if he likes that he has claim to my body whenever he wants. I suppose I don't mind right now, so I place my hands around his neck and allow myself to be pulled closer to him. I do like kissing him sometimes.
"Ginny Weasley? Is that you?" I hear Draco cuss as I break the kiss and turn around to face Cho Chang. She's staring at me with a smile on her face and a frosted glass of wine in her hand. Her eyes flick behind me to Draco and her smile fades a bit. He must be glaring at her… he glares at everyone. "Um, how are you?"
"She's fine," Draco answers for me and I send an angry look over my shoulder. It's fine when he does that for people I don't care to talk to, but not any other time.
"That's nice. I saw you walk in," she says. We've never really talked before, and we were never close. This is the awkward conversation you have with people you see outside of school who you really don't know well…. And I hate her just a little bit…. But that's not her fault.
"I did walk in," I say, not knowing what else to say. Draco takes a step closer and places his hand around my waist. I wish he would go away now. "How are you doing?" I ask. I actually want to ask her what the hell she's doing here, but I never knew that much about her in the first place to really be surprised.
"Good, Good," she says, nodding her head, causing her pretty black hair to fall across her shoulder. She's always so pretty and perfect, and when she smiles a beautiful smile at me, I hate her all over again. "I just got engaged."
"Oh, really?" I don't care.
She nods her head and holds out her hand to show me her ring. I look at it, mildly interested, and smile tightly at her. "To Tracey Davies. Isn't he one of your friends, Draco?" She asks, fluttering her thick lashes at him.
When Draco answers an affirmative, Cho goes onto explain how she met him and how they started dating, but I don't pay attention to her. I sweep my eyes across her outfit with a barely contained sense of bitterness. She's wearing a little black dress that fits her slim body perfectly and her long legs look trim and fit, like the rest of her body. I look down at my own bloated figure and feel very insecure. I was never as skinny or good looking as her and now I must look like a complete pig.
"I read in the paper that you two were expecting. That's fun," she says with another charming smile and I smile weakly back, feeling bad about myself. Sometimes I hate being a girl. "When are you due?"
"June," I answer quietly, stuck in my own thoughts about how ugly I am. My hair is never shiny like hers, and my skin has freckles, which is a far cry from her smooth tanned skin. She's one of the only people who can make me feel this terrible about myself, and that's why I could never stand her.
"Do you mind?" She asks, putting a hand out to touch my stomach. I want to roll my eyes but I drop my hands to my sides and let her touch my freaking baby bump. "Oh, well, look at you. You're getting so big!"
My face falls completely and I turn away so she can't touch me anymore. "Not that big," I say softly. I know she didn't mean it to be mean, but that doesn't help my depressed thoughts right now. If I'm 'so big' now, what am I going to look like in couple of months?
"Well, congratulations," she says. "I really should be getting back to Trace. He's very impatient."
She waves goodbye, and once she's totally out of sight, I turn to face the refreshment table again. "Do you want something else to eat?" Draco asks lightly by my side.
I shake my head. "I'm not hungry anymore," I say and I can hear the flatness in my voice.
"Are you sure?" he asks with a raised eyebrow. We didn't eat dinner, so he probably is expecting me to eat a lot more. Like some kind of whale.
"Do you want me to be as big as a house?" I yell before storming away from him. It wasn't right to yell at him just then, I know that. But I don't feel very good right now.
X
That was kind of sad to watch. I could see her confidence practically chip away as she was talking to that Cho Chang girl. Her eyes kept on running over Cho's body and then her own making her frown. I know men think that Cho is a beautiful woman, but I find nothing attractive about a girl who has the body of a twelve year old boy.
I watch Ginny as she walks away from me. I don't know where she's storming off to, and she probably doesn't either, but I know in her state she can't see the men following her with their eyes. Even with the slight bump in her midsection other men want her. She is no where near the size of a house. If I have to spend the rest of the night appreciating her body to show her how wonderful it is, then I have no problem with that.
I'm about ready to go after her when the dark mark on my arm burns and I put my other hand over it to deaden the pain. The rest of my usual team looks towards me and I nod my head to show that we're all getting the call. I don't know what for… nothing was planned. I quickly catch up to Ginny, who's staring out the window with her arms crossed.
"I have to go," I tell her quickly and she opens her mouth to say something but I don't have time to talk. "Stay with my Mother, she will help you get home." I tell her before taking out my wand and storming away from her.
My arm is starting to burn horribly now, and I know there won't be any time to get my uniform, so once outside of my parent's wards, I Apparate with the rest of my men. We all land in a thud at the Dark Lord's meeting place. He's standing tall with his hood obscuring his snake-like features as he twirls his wand between his fingers.
We all bend down on one knee to greet him. "Were you in the middle of something?" his staccato voice teases as his eyes rake over our attire. "No matter," he says with a wave of his hand. I'm left to wonder why we're here. We usually never see him in person like this. "I've planned something for tonight."
We all know better than to question him. He will tell us on his own time. He lowers his hood and smirks with a lipless mouth, looking frightening. "I think muggle Russia will enjoy the Christmas present we're going to give them tonight."
I grip my wand a little tighter as he gives us the low down on what he wants us to do. I suppose even men as ruthless and deformed as the Dark Lord don't want to be alone on Christmas.
X
I made Nariccia take me back to Malfoy Manor as soon as Draco left. I didn't want to be stuck there with those people anymore with out him. Where did he go anyways? I floo back home and shake myself of the soot. If I had my wand this would be so much easier. I throw that stupid wreath off of my head, onto a nearby chair, as I take off my stupid high heels. I stay up for a few hours, playing chess with myself, telling myself that I'm not waiting for him to get home, but I suppose I am. Finally, I'm too tired to stay up, so I take a shower and go to bed. This is the worst Christmas ever.
I wake early in the morning. I guess, it's because my body is so use to being excited about Christmas morning that it doesn't know any better. Draco's still not home and I'm almost disappointed that there are no presents for me. Not that I expected any in the first place… that's a lie… I did expect something. I've never not gotten anything for this holiday. Even with as poor as my family was, they always got something together. I didn't get anything for Draco, so I guess it's fair. I walk through the whole house in my night gown, and a deep sense of disappointment settles in me. The house is so huge and cold, not to mention totally empty. I'm completely alone on Christmas day with absolutely nothing to make me happy.
This is sad.
I eat breakfast by myself, in the huge dining hall, trying not to cry. I don't know why I care, I really don't. It's just a stupid holiday anyways… I should be thankful that Draco's not here to bug me…. But I wish someone was here to at least talk to me. My family's Christmas' were so warm and loving, with a pile of presents, and delicious home cooked meals. Not to mention, my whole entire family is always present...there was never this terrible silence that's driving me crazy right now. I miss all of them so much. Do they miss me too?
I inhale deeply in an attempt to hold back tears and I stab my eggs with my fork. With a sigh, I stand up and try to find Sicily. I am determined to find her now; she's the only thing in this house that's nice to me.
"Sicily," I call out while clicking my tongue. "Here kitty, kitty."
I search the main living rooms, and the bathroom, before walking towards the kitchens. Maybe I can catch a servant off guard and ask them if they've seen her. I walk towards the kitchens, looking under tables and chairs, when I hear a few voices. I strain my ears to listen because I haven't seen the human servants in such a long time.
"The elf should have used a box to bury the thing," a deep female voice says. I stand up straight and walk towards the door that the voices are coming from. "Once the snow melts it's going to show. It wasn't buried deep enough."
"Do you think Master did it on purpose?" A younger voice asks, and I roll my eyes. Why do they always call him that?
The other voice snorts. "Of course he did. He's not very nice to his wife."
I furrow my brows and tilt my head at a better angle to listen. "Why did he do it, then?"
"Who knows?" The older woman sighs. "Only a man like Draco Malfoy would burn a cat alive."
I can feel my whole body slump. Draco killed my cat? "That's so sad," The younger voice says and it sounds like they're walking away. "That little cat was the only thing in this house the Mistress was allowed to talk to."
"Be thankful she doesn't want to talk to us," The older woman snaps. "Remember what happened to Greta, Suzeanna, and Paul."
Their footsteps carry them away and I slump against the wall a bit more, feeling a weird weight on my chest. He lied to me. Why did he do that? Did I do something wrong? I decide that I hate Christmas now, and this holiday is officially ruined for me. I end up on the library's window seat, glaring out the window at the snow. He never wants me to be happy. He probably gave me that freaking cat just so he could kill it and make me cry. To prove some kind of sick point to me, so that I realize everything that I love, every thing that I care for, he can take away.
I bring my knees up to my chest and rest my chin on my legs. I don't know how long I sat in that position, but I don't turn when the door opens.
"Happy Christmas." His voice sounds tired and deep but I ignore him. "Have you been lonely?"
Of course I have. He knows that, but I refuse to answer him. I turn my head towards the window a little bit more to get away from him. He walks over to me and touches my hair. "Did you think I forgot about you?" he asks lightly, while caressing a strand of my hair between his fingers.
I finally turn up to him. He looks completely exhausted. There are dark circles under his eyes and a few deep cuts across his cheek. "Where were you?" I manage to ask through my anger and sadness.
"I was at work," is his answer, he sits down beside me and rubs his face. "Have you been going crazy trying to find your presents?" he asks with a small smile. I glare at him but he doesn't notice. "Come with me," he says, taking my hand and making me stand.
He yawns as we make our way up the stairs and I notice he's not wearing the sweater he had on last night and his hair is all messed up. I become confused when we reach the bedroom, but he lifts his wand and a door appears on the wall beside the bed.
"Go ahead and open it," he says lightly in my ear.
I almost walk towards it, but I shake my head. "I don't want to," I say quietly. I don't want anything from him anymore.
"I know you're disappointed that I wasn't here when you woke up," he says to me, wrapping his arms around my stomach and resting his chin on my shoulder. "But I'm here now, so open the door."
He won't leave me alone if I don't, so I reluctantly open the door and step inside. It's a nursery. The walls are painted pale green with a cream colored boarder. There's a wooden cradle in the middle of the room, and hanging on the walls, are shelves full of children's books, stuffed animals, and records. A rocking chair sits by the window and the side wall has a changing table that matches the crib's design. There's a large record player in the corner that I'm actually kind of curious about, but I don't show it. I look up at the ceiling and watch as stars dance across the plaster. It is a perfect nursery, if I was being honest.
"This is set up just to give you an idea," he says, walking over towards the side table and opening one of the three large books that rest there. "If you want to change anything… the furniture, the color, or even if you want to order any more toys just pick them out of these books and it's done." He flips a few pages and I can see scraps of fabric and wall paper samples. "When we find out the gender, you can order the clothes that you want from this red book, right here," he says, tapping the book on the end.
I walk over to the crib and look down at the cream colored bedding, trying to imagine a real life baby in there. Mine and Draco's baby…
"Did you hear me?" he asks, watching me closely. I nod my head, still looking down. "Do you like it?"
"I want to see my family," I say quietly.
"What?" he snaps, immediately on the defensive.
"My family," I say, flicking my eyes up to him. "I want to see my family now." That would be the best Christmas gift he could ever give me.
He scowls at me and walks towards the door, disappointed that I didn't like his present. At least he knows how I've been feeling all day. "I'm your family now," he snaps hatefully as he stops in the door way to glare at me. "And this," he says gesturing around us with his hands. "is for our child. We're the only family you have now, get use to it," he says, before slamming the door, leaving me in there.
I turn back to the crib and run my fingers over the smooth material of the bedding. "Happy Christmas," I say quietly to myself.
