Chapter 36: Irritation

AN: For those who are looking for some lemony goodness in this chapter you'll be a bit disappointed. I did try, but nothing I penned came out the way I wanted. I realized that I wan't completely comfortable writing about that in detail considering the ages of the characters. Maybe I can work something into the epilogue. I hope you enjoy what I came up with.

Ginny woke the next morning with her head resting on her husband's chest, but unlike previous mornings, her nude body was pressed against his equally nude form, and her hair fanned out over his chest. Ginny's face grew warm remembering how they had come to fall asleep in this condition. She snuggled even closer to Draco as a knowing smile crept across her face.

The food had been divine and the time alone with her husband was without compare, but now that the evening was winding down, she was beginning to get nervous. As much as she tried to conceal it, Draco picked up on it immediately.

Soft music filtered through the ballroom as they were danced across the polished hardwood floor wrapped in each others' arms when he felt her body stiffening slightly. He looked down to see Ginny biting her lip anxiously.

"A knut for your thoughts," he whispered as his warm breath ghosted across the shell of her ear causing her to shiver.

"It's…it's nothing."

He looked at her closely. "Liar," he chuckled. "Want to try again?"

"Really, It's just silly," she answered blushing furiously.

"Silly or not, you've tensed up over it. Now, tell me what's bothering you."

"Just nervous, I guess," she mumbled into his chest.

"What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"Just nervous, I guess," she repeated looking up at him, but avoiding eye contact.

He tilted her chin so that he could look into her eyes. It was then that he saw her apprehension. "Ginny, love there is nothing to be nervous about. Nothing will happen tonight that you don't want to happen. I promise," he assured her before he lowered his head capturing her lips with his own pouring his love into her.

********

Draco's earlier words rang in Ginny's ears as they entered their bedchamber with her fingers entwined in Draco's silky locks as their mouths were engaged with one another. As they broke apart both panting heavily, Ginny looked up through her hazy eyes into Draco's molten silver orbs. She wasn't completely sure how they had managed to get there without her realizing it, but apparently they had. Her last memory was of kissing Draco in the ballroom.

"So…" she rasped. "We're really going to do this?"

"I hope so," Draco answered cheekily then began nibbling on a special spot just below her ear before pulling back and looking into her darkened eyes. He saw her desire for him there along with a bit of apprehension.

"There is absolutely nothing to worry about. Just relax, we have both taken the contraceptive potion and you're wearing a contraceptive ring so, I don't think we'll have a repeat of last spring."

I know," she answered assuredly, but the apprehension was still evident in her eyes.

"If that's not what's bothering you, then what is it? Talk to me."

"What if… what if it's not the same since…since you know? I don't even look the same," she gushed.

He looked her body up and down appreciating the new curves her body had. "No, you don't," he answered thickly. "You look like a woman, a beautiful woman and if you'll allow me, I'll show you how much I want you…how much I love you…how much I need you," he replied kissing and nipping her neck eliciting hungry moans from her throat with his touch. She pulled back looking into his eyes seeing for herself the truth in the words that he had spoken. That was all the encouragement that she needed. Draco spent the rest of the evening worshipping every inch of her body bringing her to completion several times over as they finally consummated their marriage.

Monday morning came a bit too early for the Malfoy family's liking. In addition to returning to the castle, the beginning of this new week brought the arrival of the chosen one. After preparing for the day Draco looked into the nursery to see Ginny tucking their son back into his cot. He smiled thinking of her reaction when they gathered their son from Narcissa's care the evening before. Ginny held him and kissed him all evening trying to make up for her absence the day before. For a moment, he didn't think she would place him in his cot to sleep. He loved his son, but he drew the line at sharing his bed with the woman he loved especially when he wanted a repeat performance of the weekend's activities. Amina's shrill voice drew his attention hack into the nursery.

"Missus must go! Young master is Amina's to care for while yous is in class!" shrieked the frustrated house elf.

"I know Amina, but…."

"Go missus, all will be fine. Yous will miss yous breakfast," the elf replied shooing Ginny away from the cot.

Ginny sighed heavily while bending to place another kiss on Alexander's forehead. She walked through the door staring blankly at the floor wondering if she could pull off skiving from her classes today to spend time with Alexander. As she entered the hallway, she quickly found herself pressed into Draco's chest.

"Sorry, I'm a bit distracted," she said sheepishly as she buried her head further into his chest.

"It's ok love," he replied wrapping his arms around the witch's slender waist. "You know he'll be fine, right?"

"Yeah, but I'd rather stay here with him today than see Harry. Why does he have to come here?" she whined. "Everything was starting to settle down. The Slytherins weren't bothering me anymore, and I've caught up on all of my work. I finally have the time to spend with you and Alexander and now, with Harry here…." She sighed. "Now, I'll have to spend more time in my dorm because of that ridiculous enchanted map of his because he'll know where I am every minute of the day."

"Love, what are you talking about?" Draco asked with confusion evident in his voice.

"Harry has this map of Hogwarts that belonged to his dad. It's charmed to show all of Hogwarts including the people. It's how he, Hermione, and Ron got around without getting caught."

"Well, that explains a lot." he stated nonplussed.

"It's a brilliant idea, unless someone is using it to spy on you," she snapped he head up to glare at her husband.

"It'll be fine. There's not much he can say or do about you being here with me. He knows I'm Alexander's father and that you're bound to spend time here because of it," he assured her.

"I know, but I just don't have a good feeling about him being here," she replied burying her head in his chest again.

Draco kissed the top of her head before offering, "I could hex him for you if you like."

"No, if he gets too bad, I'll do it myself."

"I'm sure your will, love. I'm sure you will."

********

When Ginny arrived in the Great Hall, a steady stream of chatter no doubt revolving around the arrival of the savior of the wizarding world echoed through the expanse. As she took her usual seat next to Colin, she absent-mindedly filled her plate glancing at the head table.

"I see Harry hasn't arrived yet," she stated after a few moments.

"No, but it's still a bit early, yet," Natalie replied.

"I'm sure we would have heard the trumpets heralding his arrival if he was here."

"Colin!" Ginny and Natalie exclaimed together.

"What?" he asked indignantly. "Come on, it's not like the whole world doesn't put him on a pedestal, and you know it! I honestly don't see how you could still be friends with him after everything he did to you."

"Don't," she firmly commanded.

"All I'm saying, Gin is that he may have destroyed you-know-who, but he had no right to treat you the way he did," Colin added imploringly hoping for once Ginny would allow him to say exactly what he thought of his former idol.

"I know, but it would have been too awkward if I hadn't forgiven him. You know he's practically a member of the Weasley family and besides, at this point I just want him to be happy."

"That doesn't excuse him."

"No, it doesn't but Fred, George, and Charlie did have a go at him on my behalf and that made it a bit easier. I don't remember if Bill, or Ron had anything to add, but he was terribly jumpy anytime any of my brothers entered the room," She replied with her eyes sparkling with mischief and a Slytherin worthy smirk on her face.

"Don't do that, Gin! You look like Malfoy!" Natalie exclaimed horrified by the smirk on her friend's face.

"He's right. I thought only Malfoy could make a face like that," a familiar voice intruded.

Ginny turned her head to the sound of the voice.

"Harry," she stated plainly.

"Hi, Gin. How've you been?"

********

Draco saw him the moment he entered the room. He wore the usual messy black hair, glasses, and an annoying grin on his face that got wider as he approached the Gryffindor table stopping in front of Ginny. Draco smirked as the look Creevey gave Potter. "It seems that some of his own former housemates don't hold him in high regard." he thought as he saw the look that Creevey gave Potter. He also saw the smile leave Ginny's face when she noticed Potter's arrival. Draco was so drawn to the scene that he failed to notice Severus sitting next to him until he touched Draco's arm.

"You shouldn't scowl at Potter like that. Someone might get the impression that you dislike him," Severus intoned.

"They'd be right," Draco growled.

"She can take care of herself. I've made sure of that," Severus stated.

"I know, but I just can't stand him being that close to her," Draco growled possessively.

"From the look Ginevra is giving him, neither can she. How does she feel about him being here?"

"I think the look on her face plainly shows how she's feeling about him being here. She is however, concerned about a map Potter has of the castle. Apparently it's enchanted to show the whereabouts of everyone within the bounds of the school. She's concerned with what he'd do with the information in regards to her sleeping arrangements."

"Not to worry, I'll take care of that infernal map," he promised. "Bloody werewolf never should have given it back to him," Severus growled under his breath as he returned to his breakfast.

********

Harry stood awkwardly in front of his former housemates. He watched as the carefree look fled from Ginny's face as she saw him standing in front of her. He knew this wasn't going to be easy, but he needed to set things straight between them.

"Hi Gin, How've you been?"

"I'm fine Harry, and yourself?" she asked stiffly.

"Good…good…" He had all the things we wanted to say to her swimming through his head, but for the life of him, he wouldn't figure out what to say to her.

When the awkward silence became too much to bear, Ginny gathered her things and stood to leave for her first class of the day. She looked at Harry who stood with his shoulders slouched and his hands shoved into his pockets as he started at the table unable to make eye contact with Ginny.

"Well, I need to be getting to class," she stated slinging her bag over her shoulder. "Bye, guys," she called to Colin and Natalie. "We'll meet later this week, Colin to revise for Transfiguration and to schedule the next prefects meeting." Colin nodded in agreement with his narrowed eyes never looking away from Harry Potter.

Ginny moved hurriedly across the room hoping Harry wouldn't try to follow her. She was disappointed when she felt his presence at her elbow.

"Gin, can I talk to you for just a minute?" he asked shortening his stride to match hers.

"I can't be late."

"Can I walk you to class then? We can talk on the way."

"Fine," she sighed.

"Where to then?" he asked brightly.

"Potions," she smirked.

"Figures," he mumbled.

"You don't have to walk with me," she replied.

"No, no, no… It's fine. I was just hoping I wouldn't run into the greasy git so soon."

Ginny stopped and grabbed Harry's arm and jerked him around to face her.

"Look, I know you don't like him and I'm sure the feeling is mutual, but I will not listen to you whisper, mumble, or state anything derogatory about him. Do you understand?"

Harry nodded furiously in agreement upon seeing the fire in her eyes.

After a moment he asked, "Why do you always defend him?"

"I thought it would be obvious," she countered.

"But…he's…one of them," he sputtered screwing his face in disgust. Even after everything that the man put himself thought for the good of the wizarding world, he still loathed the man and could not fathom how or why anyone would trust the greasy git.

"Them?" she queried.

"Yeah, them- the Slytherins. You always defend them- always have."

"Well maybe Harry Potter," she spat his name as if the very words wee laced with venom. "Everyone deserves to have someone believe in them, give them a second chance, or perhaps not hold their family's actions or connections against them. Or maybe, they never treated me any differently after Tom." She paused looking fiercely and the young man in front of her. "And he… Professor Snape that is, helped me more than anyone else could," she finished before abruptly turning and storming toward the dungeons.

Harry stood stunned momentarily by Ginny's passionate outburst before realizing that she had left him standing alone in the corridor. He ran catching up with her just before she entered the potions classroom.

"Gin… wait," he panted.

She turned on her heel glaring at him as she snapped, "What?"

"I'm sorry. I don't want to fight with you. I… I just… I never understood…"

"No, you didn't, nor did you take the time to figure it out, or Merlin forbid, that you ask me about it."

"Mr. Potter," Severus drawled as he leaned against the door frame with his hands crossed forebodingly over his chest with his wand gripped tightly in his hand before turning to his student. "Miss Weasley, shouldn't you be inside preparing for today's lesson?"

"Yes, sir," she replied before slinking past her favorite professor sending him a grateful smile for his interruption.

Harry glared at Severus Snape hating the man for interrupting hid conversation before he had an opportunity to put everything to rights.

"Don't you have somewhere to be, Potter?" Severus inquired.

"Until you interrupted, I was right where I needed to be," he growled.

"You may no longer be a student here," he retorted standing away from the wall pulling himself to his full height, "but you will watch your tone while addressing me," he finished menacingly. "And another piece of advice- stay away from Ginevra. She is dealing with enough without you causing her any further problems."

"You don't know what you're talking about!" the younger man spat.

"Oh, don't I?" Severus asked arching his brow in question. "I know that she trusted you with her feelings and even though you knew how difficult it was or her to do that and why. You, Mr. Potter, were quite derelict with the safekeeping of that trust. After your malfeasance with Miss Lovegood, Ginevra's confidence in others was shattered once again and once again it took me months to convince her to trust anyone and I will not have you tearing her down again. Do I make myself clear, Mr. Potter?" Severus paused a moment then added, "The headmaster would like to see you regarding the forfeiture of a certain map of yours for the duration of your stay," before shutting the door soundly in Harry's anger flushed face.

********

Harry tried unsuccessfully to approach Ginny on several occasions over the next few days. It seemed she was always surrounded by her friends and the conversation he wanted to have needed to be held in private. Without the map, it was going to be extremely difficult task to accomplish. So, after thoroughly berating Severus Snape mentally for the loss of the Marauder's Map, he turned his attention to the reason for his being at the castle. In addition to trying to talk to Ginny, he had taken the past few days to get reacquainted with the castle and a few of its inhabitants as well as working on pre-evaluation paperwork of the prospective candidates. Now, he needed to set a timetable where he could evaluate the performance of the candidates and the best place for that would be during their DADA class. He sighed heavily staring at the door in front of him. Unfortunately for him, this involved working directly with Draco Malfoy—Professor Draco Malfoy.

Harry still had a hard time wrapping his head around the fact that Professor Dumbledore chose Draco Malfoy of all people to become a professor and from what he had heard over the past few days, a damned good one. Of course, he did grow up surrounded by the dark arts and was taught at an early age about all kinds of dark artefacts and their uses. What was infinitely the most surprising was that most students, including those from his own former house had nothing but good things to say about him as a professor. As a person, they still disliked him—it was simple Gryffindor loyalty.

"Might as well get this over with," Harry thought before knocking soundly on the door.

"Enter."

He walked into his former classroom half expecting to see dark artefacts prominently displayed throughout the room. What he found was something akin to the décor during Remus Lupin's tenure. It was simple, clean, and organized. Pictures of grindylows and kappas, which Harry concluded were probably the current lessons being taught, adorned the walls.

Draco knew Potter would be coming to see him soon, but that didn't mean he wasn't annoyed by the interruption when he heard the knock at the door. Scowling at the thought of spending any time with Potter, he rubbed the tension from his neck then called for him to enter. A smirk settled on Draco's face when he saw Potter enter the room. It was apparent that Potter wanted to spend as much time with him as he did with Potter. He watched and waited for the other man to reach his desk. It seemed for the longest all Potter could do was stare about the room.

Draco wanted this meeting over as soon as possible. Potter was eating into his time with Alexander. This was special, wizards only time that just he and his son spent together every day and as soon as he rid himself of Potter, he could do just that. Draco let out a frustrated sigh before trying to spur Potter on.

"If you're quite finished admiring the ornamentation, you can tell me why you're here, Potter," Draco sneered.

Harry scowled at the blonde. "Part of my being here requires that I observe some of the sixth and seventh year classes."

"I'm aware of that, Potter. Why are you here now?"

"I was hoping to set up a timetable with you and to discuss a few of the seventh years."

"Fine," Draco pulled a sheet of parchment from his desk and grabbed his quill. The scratching of the quill tip against the parchment echoed through the silence blanketing the large room. Once he was finished, Draco handed the parchment to the Auror Trainee.

"What's this?" Harry asked as he took the parchment without glancing at its contents.

"If you would bother to look, you'd see that it's my class timetable for the sixth and seventh years."

Harry studied the schedule. "Why isn't the seventh year Gryffindor class listed?"

"They aren't the only ones missing, Potter. The seventh year Slytherins are also not listed. Would you care to venture as guess as to why both are excluded from that list? No? This would be because I have both Houses at the same time. I'm sure you remember those classes being a bit volatile at times and I do not need you causing a distraction."

"Look, Malfoy…"

"That's Professor Malfoy," Draco interrupted.

"Fine," Harry growled rolling his eyes. "Professor Malfoy, I have several students in that class that I need to evaluate."

"An alternate venue will need to be arranged." Draco stated with finality.

"You're doing this just because Ginny is in that class, aren't you?" Harry accused.

Draco narrowed his eyes. He couldn't deny that he didn't want Potter anywhere near his wife, but he'd be damned if he'd allow Potter to accuse him of such especially when Ginny was doing her best to stay away from Potter without his interference.

"Miss Prewett's affairs are her own and if you knew her very well at all, you'd know that if she wanted to see you, she'd see you regardless and she'd definitely punish anyone standing in her way. I've been on the receiving end of her wand on a few occasions and I'd rather not have a repeat performance," Draco grimaced at that little memory before getting back on track. "However, this is not negotiable. I will set up a private session for any students you wish to evaluate either individually, or as a group, but I will not tolerate any distractions in that particular class. There have been a few near disasters earlier in the year and I refuse to allow this to happen again especially with my son in the next room. I will not place him in danger. Do I make myself clear, Potter?"

"That would be Auror Potter," harry retorted mimicking Draco's previous statement and tone. "And yes, it's clear. I wouldn't want to endanger Ginny's son. I'll figure something out," Harry stating fisting his hand through his already untamed locks in frustration as he stalked from the classroom.

As soon as Potter left, Draco cast a locking charm of the classroom door then entered his office to spend the remainder of the hour with his son. Afterall, he was at the best part of the story he was telling to the infant wizard- the handsome quidditch player had just convinced the feisty fae angel to accept his affections.