Warning! The content below may be offensive to some people, reader discretion is advised.
In other words…sex.
-x-
Shades of Green
Chapter Twenty Six: There is No Love Without Loss
-x-
You seem to know when I need to feel you closer
Pulling me places I've never been
There is a light inside you that hypnotizes
Where I am ending is where you begin
-x-
"Ginny?"
The redhead nodded, her hands twisting around themselves as she stood in the threshold to Malfoy Manor. "I know it's late and all but can I…" She looked inside.
Draco shook himself out of his slight state of shock at her being there. "Sure, yes. Of course, come in." He moved out of the doorway to let her in from the cold.
She stepped in, letting a shiver run through her. "Thanks." And then it was awkward.
Really, awkward.
Because neither of them knew what to say to the other. It had been so long since they'd had a real conversation, the last time being in her dormitory room.
Which seemed like ages ago.
And he looked different, not in a bad way, he was still Draco, beautiful beyond belief. But something wasn't right.
"I—
"I—
They started together.
"Let me go first." Ginny said with a deep breath in.
Draco nodded.
But the more she thought about it, the less she had to say. Because all of a sudden, all of her carefully rehearsed words and soft apologies didn't seem big enough.
They didn't mean enough.
So Ginny did the only thing she could think of, the one thing she had been wanting to do since the last time she saw him.
It was only a second before Draco realized what was going on, as Ginny's lips pressed against his own, her arms around his neck.
He brought his hand up to cup her cheek as he pressed his mouth against hers more fervently, beginning to take control of the kiss. He had not been with her in so long and so much had happened since, this was exactly what he needed.
Her.
"Ginny, does this—
"I believe you." She said breathlessly, before bringing his lips back down to her own.
She needed him like she had never needed anything before.
It was like every inch of her was on fire, and he was the only thing that stopped the raging, the yearning, the burning in her veins.
"If you tell me you didn't do this, swear to me—
"I swear." He said, watching her chest rise up and down.
She sucked in a breath, "Then I believe you, Draco. I'm here and I'm– going to help you." She decided. "Whatever it takes."
His eyes widened, settling on her in slight disbelief.
She nodded, "I believe you." She said again, a smile across her face.
Draco let out a grateful laugh, taking her face in both of his hands and kissing her this time a little softer and more out of gratitude than anything else.
But the kiss took on a life of its own as he pressed her back against the old oak door, the rest of her pressed against him.
And then there was nothing between them except the scorching heat that was threatening to sear off their skin and the rapidly growing urge to touch every part of her.
She felt him in ways she had never even known were possible, on her skin, in her bones, electrifying her soul. She felt him in in her very being, in her essence as if he had entered her body and consumed her.
She couldn't understand it, why her body responded to him the way it did. How hard it was for her to be away from him, the way she felt when she thought about her life without him. And she didn't want to, either, because when she thought about it for too long it just hurt.
So instead she focused on him and the he was making her feel at this very moment, which was glorious.
She was pushing him backwards, tugging at the plain grey Henley that separated her from his bare chest.
Draco grabbed her waist, pulling her up, momentarily breaking the hold she had at the hem of his shirt. She wrapped her legs around his waist, letting his hands roam around her unabashedly.
She was losing herself in him in the most beautiful way, her mind a mixture of sensations and vibrations. The way his fingertips glided along her skin, leaving a trail of goosebumps in their wake. His lips, soft and featherlike in some places, then rough and territorial in others.
She heard herself say his name, breathy and begging, feeling the heat pooling at the center of her body.
She needed him.
She knew she wasn't alone, as she purposefully brushed her thigh over his hardening length.
He groaned into her neck as he pushed open a door.
She knew this wasn't his bedroom in the brief second she took to survey her surroundings.
Ginny managed to shut the door behind them, as he muttered a few spells under his breath, no doubt of them being a silencing charm.
She was on her back against a plush mattress before she knew it.
"Draco." She whispered, as his mouth began to do magnificent things to the sensitive place where her neck met her shoulder.
"Hmm?" The sound tickled her skin.
She brought him to look at her, because what she was about to say was literally scaring the hell out of her. It made her want to jump out of her skin and run like the wind.
But that same part of her also knew it was impossible to leave now.
"I…" Her speech faltered under his intense steel gaze.
He would be the end of her, she just knew it.
But she had realized quite some time ago that it was an end she had accepted the second she had let him into her life.
He touched a strand of her soft red hair, patiently looking at all the features of her face, committing them to memory in case there ever came a time he might not be able to see her.
His finger traced the edge of her face, starting at her forehead and ending at the curve of her jaw.
Draco leaned down, pressing a soft kiss into her mouth, before brushing his thumb across her cheekbone.
Finally, Ginny took a deep breath in. "I love you." She said, her voice just a whisper.
A jolt rode through his spine as if he had just been thrown on his back, knocking the wind straight out of him.
"You…what?"
She shied away from him, her eyes closed.
Carefully, he turned her face back to him. "You… love me?" It wasn't that he didn't love her. He knew he loved her. He had known it for quite some time now.
Probably since that time in the shrieking shack, when he had scared the living daylight out of her, basically told her that he was a horrible human being and had been for a really long time and she still didn't run away from him.
Turn her back on him.
Leave him alone with his demons.
So he had every right and reason to love her, everything about her deserved his love, affection and adoration.
Hell, she deserved more than what he could give her.
But what confused him was what reason anyone would have to love him, let alone someone as pure as Ginny Weasley.
She could see it all on her face, the doubt and confliction and most of all the inquiry. She didn't understand why he was so surprised but she wasn't shocked by it either.
On some level, she thought he would have known by now that she did love him. Why else would she be here?
"I do." She couldn't bring herself to say it again, not so soon, not right away. But she wanted him to know that she did mean it.
This wasn't a game, not to her.
He had changed her, she wondered if it was good or bad all the time, but there was no denying that she was different because of him.
And now that she knew what it was like to be with him, she knew she'd never be able to be without him.
She was his.
A grin broke out over his face, and she let out a giddy laugh, because amidst all the insanity and uncertainty, she felt strangely happy. Really, really happy.
She hadn't been this happy in so long, it almost felt foreign to her.
She reached up to kiss him, allowing a hand to tangle itself in her hair, the other one pushing up her shirt.
She tugged at his shirt, briefly breaking the contact between their mouths so she could pull it over his head.
He began to kiss her neck, gently removing her shirt and her bra came off soon after in an equally fluid motion.
Her glance dropped to his arousal, very apparent through the pajama bottoms he'd been wearing. In a moment of poignant bravery, she wrapped a hand around it eliciting a rather satisfying gasp from his mouth into hers.
Ginny decided she loved hearing that sound.
His hands roughly tugged at her pants as his tongue swirled around one of her breasts, a soft sigh leaving her lips when his breath cooled down her hot skin.
Draco rid her of her jeans and underwear at the same time, prompting her to kick them off when they pooled around her ankles.
He looked at her, a bit hesitantly, wordlessly conveying that they could stop. If this was as far as she wanted to go, he would be okay with that.
A shy smile spread over Ginny's face as she felt herself redden beneath his gaze, only he could at her in a way that made her feel more than naked. His silver eyes boring into her own as if he was reading her soul.
She pulled him down again, crashing her lips against his in a way that was a lot more urgent and wild than before. She wanted him, she had waited long enough.
She trusted him, she loved him and this was the only person in the world that she wanted to share this experience with.
She remembered his words from the lake-house, when he had told her that he would make her beg for it. Make her feel things so deeply, so incredibly that she would never want to be touched by anyone other than him.
And in that moment, she appreciated the truthfulness of those words. Because right now, she couldn't think of another person making her body come alive the way Draco Malfoy did.
He slipped a finger into her folds and she let out a long moan into his mouth, his thumb brushing against her sensitive clit that was throbbing for his attention.
She slid her hands over the hard planes of his chest, allowing one to linger around his abdomen, appreciating the muscles that were rippling against her fingertips. The other hand travelled south, dipping into the waistband of his pants as she tugged them off his hips allowing him to shrug them off.
She was about to pull down his boxers, when he slipped another finger inside her, his thumb pushing against the place he was teasing. And it was almost too much friction for her to hold on.
"Draco." She mewled, as his fingers began to move in and out of her at a more fervent pace.
Then his lips touched her neck, sucking at the flesh almost painfully and she knew it would literally be seconds before she would be coming apart in his hands.
And that was not the way she was going to go out this time.
She delved her hand into the waistband of his boxers, tugging at them as her hand wrapped around his hardening length. The contact was enough to stop Draco from his ministrations with a hiss.
She gave him a wicked smile, before pulling off the only article of clothing that was separating them.
She had never seen him naked before, she'd never seen anyone completely naked before. Of course, she'd seen a male appendage before but she had to admit, this was an infinitely better one.
Tentatively, she moved her hand up and down, watching him take a sharp breath in. "Ginny." He struggled to get out.
"Listen." She put a hand over his cheek, forcing him to open his eyes. "Look at me." She requested. "I want this."
He nodded, and before he could get another word in or even try to get her to think about it one more time, her mouth was around him. And all coherency or ability to form simple words let alone intelligible sentences left him.
He knew she was a little unsure, but that didn't change how glorious it felt to have her lips wrapped around him the way they were.
But it had been so long since he'd had, well anything, that being in her mouth for just a couple of minutes was enough to bring him to that place between almost and already there.
"I'm going to need you to stop." He said through clenched teeth, "Or it'll be a very disappointing end to the show for you." He grasped her hair, lightly pulling her back.
She gave him a smirk, but it was short lived because before she could internally gloat over what he had just said, he had her on her back again.
He pushed her a little further on the bed, as her legs parted for him. A slightly unsure look crossing her features.
Draco brushed his fingers against her face, "I'll be gentle." He promised her, though what he really wanted to do was take her against this bed until it broke.
She nodded, "I… trust you." She said resolutely.
She felt his fingers gliding into her and she focused on that feeling, a soft moan tumbling from her mouth.
She felt him lingering at her entrance, as her body responded innately, her hips rising off the bed to meet him. She stopped thinking about it then, and just let herself go to him.
He pushed into her literally inch by inch, at a pace that was agonizing for him, because what he wanted was to be wrapped inside her warmth with a single thrust. But he knew he had to be take this slowly, give her time to adjust to him or he would just end up hurting her.
And he would never be able to do that.
He heard her suck in a sharp breath, her eyes flying open and he was pretty sure he knew why.
She felt the pressure at the core of her body, it wasn't as painful as she had imagined it to be, but the feeling wasn't entirely pleasant either.
Draco ceased his movements for a second, keeping as much of himself buried in her as she allowed. He wanted her to feel him, trust him, and relax against him because she had never had anyone else inside her before.
She pushed her hips up signaling him to continue.
He moved in and out of her at a steadier pace, keeping his movements rhythmic and fluid. She wrapped her legs around his waist, as his fingers pressed into her hip bones.
She was almost unbearably tight, the feeling of the restrained friction bringing him closer to his orgasm with every building second.
His pace picked up a little, she felt him enlarging in her and his last few thrusts were longer.
When Draco pushed into her for the last time, going deeper than he had intended on instinct, he heard her cry out in surprise and what he imagined to be some pain.
She felt his release in an almost cathartic way, feeling him pulse inside her as his heart beat rapidly against her chest, his breathing mingling with hers as he rested his forehead in the crook of her neck. And all the other stuff that people had told her (mostly Kennedy) about how in that moment you will never feel more connected to another person, was true.
With everything tangled, she couldn't begin to tell where she ended and he began.
Draco pulled out of her, wasting no time in taking her into his arms and rolling her on top of him.
"Are you alright?" he asked her, silver eyes locked into her amber ones.
Ginny felt her eyes moistening at his question, "I…" Her voice hitched, so she just nodded.
He brought a hand to hold the side of her face, "You're sure?" He asked.
"I just…" She chewed her lip.
And then the tears came, she wasn't sure why she was crying or if it even made sense to cry. But she couldn't' stop it, it was all so overwhelming.
She had never expected to be in the position she was in, quite literally, but mostly figuratively. She had thought this thing with Draco would eventually just go away.
Now, now it felt like it was never going to be over.
And the deeper she got, the less she wanted it to be over.
But it scared her, he scared her.
Not in a way that he might hurt her, but more in the sense that she was scared of the way he made her feel.
So alive.
And she knew that there was no way out now, she thoroughly belonged to him.
He would never let her go.
He possessed her.
But she let him.
Because in some way, she felt like she possessed him too now.
And that, that was what scared her the most.
-x-
The kitchen was hard to find, just as he had told her it would be and somehow between wanting to get a second alone and wanting a glass of water, she convinced him to let her venture off and find it on her own.
How she ended up in a room full of tapestries and portraits though dating back to the eighteenth century, was anyone's guess.
"Ginevra?"
Ginny jumped at the sound of a voice behind her.
It was Narcissa Malfoy, standing at the threshold of the room, dressed in her night robes with a particularly confused look on her face.
Ginny felt a blush rising up from her neck, obviously she would be surprised to see her here.
"Erm… Hello, Mrs. Malfoy." She shifted her weight between feet uncomfortably.
Narcissa stepped inside, a lantern in her hand. "I'm sure I don't have to ask this but what are you…"
"Draco and I, we were talking. Um, the engagement he said we were to leave for it tomorrow so we thought that maybe I should just sleep over and…" She was mortified, utterly and completely, and all she wanted right now was to dig a hole so deep in the ground she would never have to face anyone ever again.
Narcissa nodded slowly, "Alright…" She made no effort to hide how much she didn't believe the redhead's story. "Well, this is not the guest room, I can certainly promise you that."
Ginny nodded quickly, "Right, I just. I was looking for the kitchen." She cleared her throat. "This place is so big, especially in the dark." She shivered.
"I take it you are still attending Aderstia's function with Draco?"
"I am, I had given him my word."
"I also take it that you must know the circumstances that have currently befallen him?"
Ginny tucked back a piece of her hair, "I… yes, Mrs. Malfoy." She answered.
Narcissa just nodded curtly, going to stand over a painting. "Lumos." She whispered, as it lit up.
It was a portrait of her and her late husband, by the looks of it, it was prior to Draco.
The silence between the two women seemed to stretch on for eternity and all Ginny could do was try to rack her brain for an excuse to leave without being terribly rude.
"I can't imagine what you must think of Lucius." Narcissa finally spoke, her voice was silky and melodic.
Ginny didn't answer.
Mostly because what he thought of Lucius Malfoy was that he was a vile, distrustful, cruel human being who was better off dead.
And she hated thinking that because still, he was Draco's father, but everything he had done made him absolutely repulsive to Ginny.
After her meeting with Bella, it was all Narcissa could do not to think of her late husband. "He wasn't always that person, you know." She continued. "He was a good man."
Ginny highly doubted that, considering the man was a death eater.
But so is Draco!
That annoying voice at the back of her head guilted her, reminding her of the slippery slope between Draco Malfoy and the Dark Lord.
Draco might not be the same man he had been, but the Mark was there regardless.
"Perhaps not good by your standards." She added. "But he loved me and in his own way… he really did love Draco." She sighed.
Ginny knew it would be impolite to say so but she wasn't all that interested in Lucius Malfoy's life.
But she was in Narcissa's house and it would be ill-mannered to remain so quiet. "Did you always… love him?" She asked.
Narcissa turned to her, "Not always, no." She admitted. "At first I didn't really even like him." She said with a small smile.
This piqued her interest. "Really?"
Narcissa nodded, "Really." She affirmed. "But Lucius pursued me for years, told me the moment he had set eyes on me he knew one day I was meant to be his."
"Why didn't you like him?"
"Oh, Lucius was arrogant, thought too much of himself. Very self-entitled because he was a Malfoy." She said with a roll of her eyes.
Ginny held back a chuckle because those were the same qualities about Draco which she hated.
"But I came from a family just as old and wealthy." She was of course, talking about the family Black. "So I was entirely immune to his displays of masculinity and power." She said, nose upturned in the air.
"So how did you two end up… was it arranged?" Because clearly Narcissa didn't hate Lucius for that long, considering they ended up married, and Ginny just wanted the cliff notes version of the story.
Narcissa let out a small laugh, "Oh no. It certainly wasn't." She said.
"Around my third year at Hogwarts, my older sister Andromeda ran off with a muggle named Ted." Her voice took on a bit of a darker tone. "It disgraced our family, drove my mother nearly mad with humiliation and my father became overly paranoid. He betrothed me to some Swedish high born Lord, they were going to ship me away after my last year at school to avoid another situation like that one."
Ginny felt a pang of sympathy for that version of Narcissa, the one that was just a thirteen year old girl being told that she was going to be carted off to Sweden after her seventeeth birthday all because of something her older sister did.
It was equally sad and unfair.
"So my lack of interest in anyone else just doubled from that point because there was just no reason to try. Not when I had already been promised to another." She sighed. "Pureblood vows, especially those of business and marriage, are very sacred. Once they are made only death can undo them." She explained.
Ginny nodded, her family was technically pureblood, no matter how much they as well as society wanted to deny it. She knew the basic customs and rituals that could and would take place amongst the families.
"Anyway, by the time I had realized my love for Lucius, it was too already too late. I could never tell you when it began or how I started to develop feelings for him or I would have nipped it in the bud." Before Lucius, she wasn't even sure if real love even existed, outside those that she and Andromeda would read in novels.
"I just remembered waking up one morning very saddened by the thought that I would eventually have to spend my life outside of England, leaving behind everything and everyone I had ever known. It was the first time I'd ever thought about Sweden and how far removed I would be from my life I had here, and all those thoughts spurned from one thing… Lucius."
Ginny felt a frown tugging at the sides of her face. "But if… if you were supposed to marry that prince or whoever he was and it was a sacred vow. How did you…?" She knew there was only one answer, as a horrified look of realization darkened her eyes.
Obviously, her betrothed had died, because obviously Narcissa hadn't.
There was something that traveled over Narcissa's otherwise elegant features, a look of regret or… shame? Perhaps even something akin to apologetic
"How serious are you about Draco?"
The question threw Ginny for a loop, not just because of what it was that was being asked but how unexpected it was.
They were talking about Narcissa and Lucius, not her and Draco.
But Ginny supposed, in some respects, the two could be one in the same.
Both were supposed to be forbidden.
"I…I love him." Her voice was barely a whisper, but the admission echoed around her mind for ages as if she had just screamed it off a mountain top.
Narcissa's blue eyes flashed under the dim lamp light. "Love?" She questioned.
Ginny raised her chin, "Yes." She said, in her most confident voice.
Because if Narcissa Malfoy was going to berate her for being not being worth enough to love with her son, she wouldn't let the older woman have the satisfaction of knowing it affected her.
An unreadable look settled on the older woman's features. "And Draco he…?" But she knew the answer to that question before it even left her lips.
She knew it by the way Draco reacted when Ginny's name came up, the way his eyes would shine just a little bit brighter when he looked at her, how protective he was when it came to the girl standing in front of her.
But most of all, by how hard he was trying to be a better man.
And in that moment, Narcissa Malfoy decided that if someone could inspire such a change in Draco's heart then she was most definitely worthy of him as well as her acceptance, blood status be damned.
Where had all that gotten her anyway? A dead husband and a son being tried for murder, that's where.
A small smile touched her lips, "The summer before my seventh year, I told Lucius everything." She began again. "All about Andromeda and Ted and the repercussions that had trickled down onto me. And about my feelings, as futile as they were, because I knew I didn't have much time to do it otherwise."
A soft shudder passed through Narcissa as the memories began to come back to her, the day she sat outside these very gardens, with the sun beaming down on them with hopeful promises of an everlasting future that could never be.
She saw the look of heartbreak on Lucius's face as if he was in front of her again, the way he touched her face so tenderly and told her that nothing in the world would stop him from being with her.
And the look of dejection and hopelessness in his silver eyes was quickly replaced by determination.
She remembered how hard she had tried to convince him that there was no use, that the vow had been made and it was either she died or Aleksander did, neither of which were a real option to Narcissa.
"I didn't hear from him, for a few months after that. And while a part of me was forlorn over it, thinking that he had found someone else that could actually be with him, another part of me was relieved."
Ginny stared at her questioningly at the last part of her statement. "Relieved?"
Narcissa nodded, "It would be so much harder to leave him if he was fighting for me, begging me to stay." She admitted. "At least this way, I could leave hating him. And hate… is always safer than love." She added.
Ginny frowned.
"But then one night, a few days before my seventeenth birthday, my parents showed up at Hogwarts unannounced." Her voice sounded ominously steady. "To tell me that Aleksander had been involved in a hunting accident, a rather nasty one at that, apparently his body had been mauled beyond recognition." Her voice caught in her throat, this was a story she had not shared with anyone.
She knew that Lucius had told Draco, not in a sentimental father-son moment but more to teach the boy some lesson about hard choices, repercussions and being a man.
But she had never spoken a word of it to anyone else since it happened.
Ginny's eyes widened, understanding the implication of what must have happened.
Narcissa nodded, "I knew it was Lucius, I wasn't sure how or even when but I just knew it in my heart." Her voice sounded heavy and rough. "I… I never actually wanted Aleksander dead, ever. I had never wished that. He didn't deserve it, not that I'd ever met him or had even spoken to him, but because no one deserves to die." And she meant that.
"I wrote to Lucius shortly after that, it was two weeks before I heard back from him. He showed up at my house with his parents and his sister Cersei." She rolled her eyes pettily at the mention of her husband's sister. "Fully intending to ask my parents for my hand in marriage and my parents, having thought that this incident with Aleksander would have cursed me in to black widowed status forever, were overjoyed that Abraxas Malfoy wanted me for his son."
"Happily ever after…" Ginny murmured, being careful to keep the sarcasm out of her voice.
She knew she could never actually completely hate Lucius Mafloy for getting Narcissa, not when they loved her and more importantly because without him there would be no Draco. But she felt disgusted and deeply disturbed by the fact that someone innocent had to die for it to happen.
And so gruesomely at that.
"Not quite."
Ginny's eyes snapped up to look at the older woman.
"In the months that he had disappeared, Lucius, against Abraxas' wishes, sought out Lord Voldemort." Her tone took on a haunting quality. "In exchange for Lucius' eternal service, He disposed of Aleksander."
And life had a funny way of coming full circle, because the very man that had ensured Lucius's future with his wife was the one to kill him because of her.
"Nothing was the same after that. He was indebted to the Dark Lord forever, bound to a life of servitude." There was a lot she had never told Lucius, or anyone for that matter, one of the biggest things being how much she hated the fact that he was a Death Eater and was constantly forced to put Lord Voldemort above everyone else.
"And I have carried the guilt around for that my entire life. For being the one who put him in that position, because all he did, all Lucius has ever done has been because of his love for me." Sometimes she believed her oldest sister, in her cynical view that perhaps love was just an emotional hindrance.
It made people do things they never would dream about otherwise and that was truly unsettling.
"A short while after our marriage, I was told I couldn't conceive, that I would never bear children. So for years, I thought our union had been sacrilegious and this was my punishment because I was meant for another." She looked towards the portrait again. "And I have never forgotten it."
Ginny had never in a million years thought she would see this side of Narcissa Malfoy before.
Her humanity.
Nor did she ever think there would come a day where she would feel sorry for the woman she was standing next to, not just sorry that she had to go through truly traumatic experiences in her life, none of which were her choice.
But actually sorry that she lost her husband.
It didn't mean that Ginny was sorry Lucius Malfoy was dead, she wasn't. She just felt sorry for the woman who had loved him.
"So you see, there is no such thing as a truly happy ending, Ginervra." She said. "Life is a balance of give and take. Some sacrifices are bigger than others as are some sins. You just have to be able to live with the consequences of both."
-x-
Draco had found it beyond peculiar when he had finally located Ginny that she was in the throne room, but even weirder was the fact that his mother was there as well.
Ginevra hadn't mentioned any details of the conversation she'd had with Narcissa, and he didn't pry mostly because he was really tired. Also, because she wasn't crying anymore, which was good, and he really didn't want to trigger anything that might bring that about again.
He'd never really been around deep displays of emotion, crying was seen as weak and unnecessary. Even at funerals he had been taught at an early age to remain solemn and somber but not to show any sort of vulnerability. That he had to be strong, in every situation.
Of course, he had long ago realized that she did not come from such an upbringing. Feelings were very readily embraced in the Weasley household. And he had never really decided which was better, being so far removed from the depths of your emotions that you could barely understand them wearing them on your sleeve.
What he did know, however, was that he was shit at comforting someone, so he really wasn't ready for another scene like the one before.
Instead, he just waited for his mother to retire to her bedroom, before leading Ginny up to his own where they swiftly fell asleep.
Right now, she was still asleep, he, of course, wasn't because sleeping past eight thirty was basically forbidden at the Manor.
He didn't mind being up before her though, it gave him time to his thoughts.
She hadn't left last night, while he wasn't sure if she regretted it or not (mostly because he didn't understand what brought about the tears) at least she was still here.
And that had to mean something, right?
"Say something, coz just staring is getting kinda creepy." Her eyes were still closed, but there was a small smirk on her face.
Draco propped himself up, "Just appreciating some things." He said, resting his head on his palm.
"Hm, like what?"
"Nothing. Did you sleep alright?"
She stretched her arms over her head, "A little sore." The implication wasn't lost on him but neither was the small smile on her lips. "But yes, these beds are just…" She didn't bother finishing the sentence.
"Should be, Lord knows my mother spent enough on redecorating over the years." He scoffed. "Speaking of my mother, what was the conversation I walked in on last night?"
"Oh you know, just girl things."
"I don't like the sound of that…"
Ginny chuckled, "She was telling me a story." She answered.
"Listen, if she told you about the time I swallowed those prop grapes you should know that—
Ginny cut him off with a loud laugh, "Are you kidding!" She said, between breaths. "No, she didn't but I am so interested in hearing that one."
Draco rolled his eyes, "I was seven and they looked so real." He muttered.
Ginny turned her face to him, "Sounds adorable." She said, opening her mirth filled brown eyes. "No, she didn't tell me any embarrassing stories of you." She assured him.
"Then?"
"You're so concerned, Malfoy. Afraid I'm going to find out about the scores of women you've had coming in and out of this place all break?" She asked with a raised brow.
"I suppose if Cassius and Zab count as women." He drawled. "Though I guess in some cultures they could." He said thoughtfully.
Ginny giggled behind her hand, "Don't be mean." She swatted at his shoulder playfully.
"I mean the way the two of them bitch and moan about every little thing you would think they are part female."
"You're insufferable." She shook her head.
"And you love it." He grinned.
She blushed, "Actually, your mother was telling me about how she and your father met and all that." She changed the subject back to the original one. "Dark but strangely romantic in a disturbing sort of way..." She mentioned delicately.
The smile fell off his face, "Ah yes, of all the stories to share. Of course she chose that." He sighed.
"I mean, I doubt any of the stories are bedtime material." She commented.
Draco laid his head back on the pillow, "Not all of my past is as jaded as you would like to think." There was no edge in his tone, just honesty.
"Oh, Draco. I… I didn't mean to—
"Don't apologize." He brushed off. "I wasn't offended."
"I just imagine we grew up pretty differently."
"Well, obviously." He had grown up in a mansion as an only child to a vast empire.
She had enough siblings to open a small orphanage.
"Regardless, I thought it was kind of nice." She maintained. "That she would tell me something like that." She said with a shrug.
"Oh in some bonding sort of way, right?"
"Yes, Draco. Something like that." Ginny laughed to herself.
"Anyway. Are you uh you know, okay?" He was uncomfortable, but he thought he should ask.
It would be insensitive not to.
She looked a little surprised. "I'm fine." She said after a beat. "I was just kind of overwhelmed last night, I just never expected…" She trailed off.
He pulled a hand through his hair.
She turned over to her side, so she could look at him. "I meant what I said though." She smiled. "I do love you." It scared her literally out of her wits, but it was the truth.
If he was surprised, he didn't look it. "That good, huh?" He smirked.
"Draco!" Ginny rolled her eyes, a light blush over her cheeks.
He just leaned over to kiss her, "No need to sweet talk me, Weasley." He murmured in her ear. "If this is what you wanted, all you had to do was ask." He pressed himself against her.
She felt a shiver run down her spine at the gravelly sound of his voice. "You think far too much of yourself." She didn't sound believable though.
"I think you'll be reconsidering that statement soon enough." He slipped his hand into the shirt she was wearing, his shirt.
Ginny allowed him to pull her as close as he could, immediately feeling her body responding to his touch. She hated how sensitive she was to his hands, the way her skin just hummed alive beneath his fingertips.
"Huh, why's that?"
"Because I have a lot of things that I have yet to do for you." There was a wicked gleam in his silver eyes.
"Really? Like breakfast in bed?" She asked coyly, closing her eyes to the sensation of his lips on her neck.
He grinned against her skin, "I think you'll come to find that there are far more enjoyable ways to wake up in the morning, Ginevra." And with that he effortlessly rolled her on top of him, taking a minute to appreciate the soft sounds of her carefree laughter.
So say you'll stay in this dream with me forever
Where I am ending is where you begin
Pulling me from the other side of the world, magnetic
Filling up the space between the stars, magnetic
-x-
A/N: Don't hate me, I gave you guys something to make up for this! Some HOT HOT HOT Draco Ginny action! So please please please! Don't hate me.
I don't write lemons very often nor am I totally experienced in that genre of writing so I'm kind of nervous about how this chapter turned out which is part of the reason why I was stalling to put it up. Most of the reason being however that I started a new job recently and its crazy demanding. I'm sure I don't have explain how tedious it is getting settled into a new work environment, really that's the reason why I've been so M.I.A. FORGIVE ME!
Second order of business is this: The concept for Lucius and Narcissa's "love story" is not completely mine, I actually kind of remember it from a story I read on this site a really long time ago. It was a LuciusxNarcissa centric fic, I can't remember who the author was or I'd give them credit. But if anyone knows who I'm talking about or what the story was PLEASE TELL ME so I can credit them in the next chapter. I would appreciate it so much.
Reviews are the best, they keep me going and you guys know that so THANK YOU for your continued love and support it means the world and I hope to hear from everyone! You guys keep me motivated with your constructive criticism and your kind words. As always, please drop a comment and I promise I will try to get the next chapter up in a timely manner as I've settled in a bit.
Thank you for reading and reviewing and just sticking with me.
Here's a preview of the next chapter (And yes, it is kept vague on purpose)
Happy Reading!
(BTW: The song I used in this chapter is called Magnetic by Flyleaf.)
-x-
"You're dead, Bellatrix. Do you hear me!" She seethed, her voice shaking with fury. "I will have you killed." And this time, Narcissa was serious.
Bellatrix had just outgrown her usefulness.
Narcissa wasn't about to uphold any end of any deal made now, she would have her older sister executed by the end of the week.
Wouldn't be too hard either, not like there would be anyone who didn't want her dead.
"I may not know its whereabouts, but I am aware of someone who does." Bellatrix ignored her sister's threats. "Well, rather did."
"Tell me right now. And I swear to God, Bellatrix if this is another one of your tricks..." Narcissa warned venomously.
"Severus."