Chapter 36

Martina was sitting alone at her dining table, sipping a cup of tea. She hadn't seen any of her friends in a few weeks. They wanted to cheer her up by taking her out to the clubs to drink her cares away and all she wanted to do was break things. Not a good combination. She sighed into her cup before taking another drink. She missed her cousin. She shook her head sharply and straightened in her chair.

"Whore." She mumbled halfheartedly.

She stood up and poured out the dregs of her tea cup and rinsed it before heading out to her job at the Ministry. She grabbed her coat off the rack and jumped through the fireplace. When she arrived at the Ministry she noticed two things. First, it was filled far past capacity. Witches and Wizards alike were running hither thither, screaming out to one another to go this way or get this signed. Martina shook her head in amazement. The second thing she noticed was a tall blond man who had looked in her direction. She stood up straighter and walked resolutely in the direction of the main Ministry building.

As she reached security she chanced a look behind her. He was not too far back and he was looking directly at her. She glared at him and noticed how tired he looked. She shook her head before she headed off to the elevator. She didn't care if he looked miserable. He should be. As the doors shut she saw him lift something up; a package. The doors closed and she was lifted away from him.

Draco stood at the elevator wondering if he should give her the package himself. He had spent the last weeks agonizing over what he had done. At first, it hadn't really mattered to him. He thought he hadn't cared about her that much. He knew that he liked her, but he hadn't really thought about how much. After a few days at being mad at Jezzy for telling her, he realized that she had been right. He spent the next three days being mad at that little fact. Martina's face would pop up in his mind at very inopportune times, like when he was hitting on another girl, or shopping for things he didn't need.

He finally gave up and let her flood his mind. That's when he realized he wanted her; needed her in his life. He loved the way her hair curled when she let it dry naturally. He loved the way she laughed when he said something funny, or did something stupid. He loved the way she kissed him and held him. He loved the little birthmark she had on the side of her foot. He loved her. There was no getting around it now. She was perfect for him. And he had most likely thrown away any opportunity to lifelong happiness on a chance to sleep with an old flame.

He glanced up at the elevator and sighed. If he went up there one of two things would happen. She would cause a scene, letting everyone up there know that they were having a problem and probably end up getting her in trouble. Or she would be forced to listen to him in fear of the former happening. He narrowed his eyes and stepped into the car. He pulled the package close and closed his eyes. He hoped he was making the right decision.

On the third floor the doors opened and he stepped out. He looked left then right, wondering which way to go before he decided to go right and walked slowly down to corridor. He found her in a little cubicle, writing furiously on a piece of parchment. He stared at her for a long moment before he cleared his throat. Her head snapped up.

"I... I was wondering if we could talk." Draco said uncertainly.

She sat back in her chair and crossed her arms. "Urn kinda busy right now Draco."

"I know. This won't take long."

Martina rolled her eyes, but kept her mouth shut.

Draco cleared his throat again. "I know that nothing I say is going to make you forgive me for what I did. It was unacceptable and " He swallowed. "I'm an asshole for doing it."

Martina smirked.

"The only thing I can do is tell you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for taking you for granted. I'm sorry for hurting you like I did. I'm sorry for being a little boy and not thinking of anyone but myself. I'm sorry for hurting your relationship with Jezzy." At this he lowered his eyes to the floor.

Martina continued to stare at him, careful not to let any emotion cross her face. Draco looked at the package and suddenly thrust it out in front of him.

"I thought you might like this." He said, setting it on her desk. Martina looked at it briefly before returning her gaze to him.

"I... I'll be going now." He said, turning and walking down the corridor.

Martina looked at the package again and uncrossed her arms. She thought briefly about just throwing it away, but his confession had intrigued her. She tore away the simple brown paper from the flat, square package and sat back in her chair. Inside was a picture of herself, twirling in a circle in the rain. Above her was a vivid rainbow. She stared at it for a moment. She hadn't even realized he had taken a picture of her that day. A smile played at the edge of her lips as she returned to her work.

It was Wednesday and the Masons we running late. Lucius was furious, though hiding it rather well. He had found out earlier in the day that their son had been arranged to another girl. However they still had three daughters to choose from, and as he and Jezzy had made no absolute decisions about Xanthus, they were going to be taking this opportunity to see how their daughters were for both Sebastian and Xanthus. Jezzy shook her head. She hated the feeling of this being an interview for her children's future.

Finally the Masons came through the floo. Clark Mason extended his hand to Lucius.

"So sorry for the delay, but you know how women can be." Jezzy saw the sharp look from Clark's wife and smiled. "This is my wife, Mary, arid my daughters, Christina, Marybeth, and Lilith."

All three of the girl blushed and curtsied, their reddish curls bobbing as they did so. Drucilla and Sidra led the girls upstairs, as the boys were still in trouble. When they got to the game room Christina, who was twelve, walked over to the couch and sat.

"I don't care what my parents say, I am not marrying someone younger than me."

"So your parents told you about it, huh?" Sidra asked, sitting next to her.

"Yeah, and it's totally stupid."

"Yeah." Sidra and Christina fell into conversation while the two younger girls sat with Drucilla at the table.

"This is a pretty puzzle." Marybeth said.

"Thanks, my brother and I are working on it." Drucilla said.

Lilith grabbed a piece and placed it automatically. "Hope you don't mind." She said with a sly grin.

"Not at all." Drucilla smiled.

She spent the rest of the evening talking with Lilith, who was almost exactly her age. Marybeth was shy and had wondered off shortly after Drucilla and her sister had started talking. Before long, the boys were allowed to enter the room, though they ignored all of the girls. Lilith took one look at them and was thrown into a fit of giggles.

"What's wrong with you?" Drucilla asked quietly.

"What happened to your brother's face?" Lilith whispered from behind her hand.

Drucilla smiled and told her about what had happened the Monday before. Lilith almost fell off the chair she was sitting in. "Mother made us have a dinner with the Goyle's." She shuddered. "I hope I don't end up with the dumb one."

Drucilla laughed and found herself replying, "Which one."

This time Lilith did fall out of her chair as both her and Drucilla laughed. After dinner Drucilla told Lilith to keep in touch and they all hugged before they left. Lucius and Jezzy put the kids to bed and went to bed themselves. Later that night, Drucilla and Sidra, having stayed awake to talk, began to discuss the evening.

"I liked Christina. She was really cool."

Drucilla nodded, even though she hadn't spent any time with the girl. "Lilith was cool."

"Yeah." Sidra sighed. "Well, thankfully we don't have to meet any more people until after the holidays."

"Yeah." Drucilla yawned.

"Night." Sidra said as she rolled over in bed.

"Night." Drucilla answered.

She closed her eyes and fell to sleep almost instantly.