Working for the Dragon
Chapter 21. The Moment of Truth
I wriggled like a worm in Draco's arms feeling like a deer caught in the headlights. His grip tightened around my waist protectively.
"Draco! Let me go!" I whisper-shrieked as I tried to escape from his protective embrace. Any other time and this would have made my day but right now, it was the worst thing that he could do especially in front of my brother.
Yes, my brother.
The moment of truth was finally here.
Thousands of dialogues from famous muggle movies flashed in my head taunting me.
"You can run but you cannot hide."
"You know what they say about lies. It will all pile up in the end."
All that I had built for myself was about to come crumbling down before me and I could only watch, immobilized. Partially thanks to Draco and the main reason, myself.
"What the hell is going on, Ginny?" Bill glared at me sharply. He had a weird expression sort of like a grimace. Except that when I chose to read it, I saw shock, anger and disappointment.
"I...I can explain." I stammered, afraid.
"You can start now." He pulled me forcefully out of Draco's arms. I winced in pain as he held me tightly by the arm.
"Leave her, Weasley." Draco snarled dangerously as he moved toward pulling me away.
"This is between me and my sister, Malfoy. It is none of your business." Bill said angrily. His posture was tense, his face red from anger or alcohol I couldn't tell.
"It is my business. Ginny is my business." He said quietly, calmly. I knew him better though, he was furious perhaps even livid. This was going nowhere.
Anymore and it would turn violent. I had to step in.
"Enough!" I raised my voice loudly enough so that both men heard me. -"He is right, Draco. This is none of your business. Don't get involved in something that you had nothing to do with, please." I told him softly, my eyes pleading.
Could this day get any worse?
His glare was piercing, painful even. "I'll be outside..."
He made towards stalking out of the marquee but stopped. He paused and turned to look at Bill with a menacing expression-"Sister or no sister, she had better left unscathed." He threatened and walked out powerfully.
"The nerve of that..." Bill took out his wand, his cinnamon eyes flashing in fury.
"Stop, Bill. Please... He doesn't know anything." I pleaded with my brother.
He paused and looked at me grimly. "Then it is best that you explain everything to me now."
I took a deep breath shuddering with the sudden chill that I was feeling.
"The truth is that... Draco is my boss." Or was. If I were Draco, after tonight, I'd fire me.
"So all this while, you have been lying about where you have been working?"
"I wouldn't call it lying, I deliberately omitted where I was working." I phrased my words carefully. Every Weasley was famous for having a temper, even Bill Weasley. Don't be fooled.
I told him the truth about everything. How I had not known that M Empire was actually owned by Draco Malfoy. My intrigue with the company, not getting along with Draco at first, reaching an impasse and finally realizing that Draco was not what he seemed.
Once again, I had deliberately omitted a fact. I failed to let him know that I had fallen for Draco.
"What is your relationship with Draco now?"
"I... I don't know." I admitted. Sure Draco had revealed in front of the press that I was his... girlfriend? That didn't mean that we actually were. Were we?
"You've disappointed me, Ginny. Us. I never knew you felt that we were never good enough to understand your feelings. That you didn't deem us worthy." Bill sighed suddenly looking older than his years.
I was suddenly defensive. Never once had I ever have such thoughts about my family. I never told them the truth about my boss because I didn't think that they would ever understand.
"What do you mean by that, Billy?" My voice raised a little.
"You've never told us how you felt about anything, Ginny." Bill pointed out to me.
"Well, you would know how I felt if you actually found some time out of your perfect little family. It's always been 'Fleur this... Fleur that...' Everyone else has something or another and I cannot have my independence, my freedom... my job? You are disapproving? Let me tell you something, Bill. I disapprove of your marriage. As for my job, at least I am not whoring myself out to anyone. And I work for respectable people." I said as venomously as I could.
Tears welled up in my eyes at my brother's assumptions. He didn't try to understand, I bet the rest wouldn't too.
"Ginny!" Bill looked horrified. Before he could say anything else, I stomped out of the marquee wanting to punch the daylights out of something.
Tears stained my face probably ruining my make up charms. This was not how I planned that the night should go. Things never happened as planned right. My vision was blurry as I ran into something hard... a pole?
"Gin?" Blaise's voice sounded alarmed. So that was who I had crashed into.
-"What's wrong, love?" He hugged me comfortingly as I sobbed hysterically in his arms.
"Ginny..?" I heard my best friend Channy's voice sounding equally worried as she rubbed my bare shoulder comfortingly.
In the midst of my tears I heard Channy ask Blaise about Draco's whereabouts. Still having me in his arms, Blaise informed her that he had no idea. He held me and whispered comforting things in my ears while Channy patted me soothingly.
"It's alright, love. Calm down. You can tell us anything... Did someone hurt you?" Blaise whispered softly in my ears. I shook my head lightly unsure whether he felt my 'no'.
"Did Draco hurt you?" He phrased his question carefully. There was a hint of apprehensiveness in his usual deep voice. I could tell that it was out of loyalty for his brother and best friend.
I shook my head again lightly. I opened my mouth to say something but was interrupted by none other than Draco himself.
"What is going on? Why is Ginny in your arms? Is she hurt?" Draco sounded upset.
"One at a time, mate." Blaise joked weakly. Channy then took over and explained the situation to him.
"We don't know why she is so upset. She wouldn't say anything. Do you know anything about this, Draco?" Channy asked him, concerned.
"As a matter of fact, I do." Draco said as he pried me away gently from Blaise's arms. I reckoned I was a mess now.
"Hey... hey... why the tears?" Draco asked me tenderly as he wiped them away with his thumb.
I sat quietly on the bench – I wasn't aware that there were benches – as Draco knelt before me.
"Maybe we should take this elsewhere? I'll keep the both of you informed." Draco said quietly as he rubbed soothing circles on my palm.
I huddled towards Draco for warmth as we walked further away into the darkness.
"W..Where are we?" I finally croaked my throat dry and sore from sobbing. I had overreacted, I knew.
"We're in the park near Diagon Alley, the one with the great sandwiches remember?" Draco smiled ruefully as he thought of what seemed like a very pleasant memory.
"W...what are we doing here?" I wondered as I looked around. The park looked deserted at this time of the night, it was barely lit. There were no sandwich stands or drink stalls and kids pelting each other with snowballs. It almost seemed dead, haunted.
Ignoring my question or rather deciding against answering it, Draco abruptly changed the topic, "The atmosphere of the park is different in the night isn't it?"
I nodded my head, shivering. My dress hadn't been designed to combat the weather.
"You're cold..." Draco observed. He stood up to remove his cloak and almost immediately I was blanketed in the velvety, warm goodness of Draco's cloak. It looked like a million Galleons but it enveloped me like my blanket at home would.
Thinking of home sent shivers down my spine, "Perhaps a Warming Charm would make you feel better." Draco reached for his wand.
"No... No... I am fine." I protested, weakly.
"Fine?" Though it was dark out, the street light was enough for me to tell that Draco had raised a sarcastic brow.
-"Are you fine enough to tell me what had you in tears?" He shouldn't have even bothered with a question; I knew he would get it out of me anyway.
Taking a deep breath, I told him everything that had transpired. The exact same story that I had told Bill. He held my hand as he listened, squeezing my hand every time my voice cracked. The lights clearly forbid me from seeing his expression as he listened.
While ignorance was bliss, at the same time, it killed me to know what was going on in his mind.
Finally, I was through, the second time in the last hour or two. I had no idea.
Draco was silent as I stared into the darkness of the night, my imagination running wild.
"Say something..." I begged when I could no longer stand his silence.
"I don't know what to say." He finally said, sighing.
"Anything... please! This silence is killing me." I held my head in my hands. It was starting to hurt. Drama had officially infiltrated in my life.
"It brings light to a lot of things." He said. I knew he was editing his thoughts as he went along.
-"How you would walk through Knockturn Alley to get to Corporate Alley instead of flooing to work."
I opened my mouth to explain but he stopped me. "That is hardly a matter of importance now, Ginny."
-"I understand where you are coming from, Ginny. You hid something huge from your family."
"It shouldn't matter. They were barely around when I started working for you anyway. They were in Bulgaria for Quidditch and holiday purposes." I said stiffly.
"That's not the point." He replied patiently an arm around me.
Continuing, "The point is that you hid it from them. Omission is as good as lying. They care about you... The Weasleys don't approve of me. I don't blame them." He laughed bitterly.
-"What if I was in an illegal business of some sort? What if I got you into trouble? What if..." He trailed off. –"We're both a part of the family rivalry that has existed for generations, Ginny. Your family has protected you ever since you were little. It is expected that they would do the same now."
"That is where they are wrong. Don't they understand that making me live a sheltered life is making me dependent? That in future if someone needs help, I will be nothing more than a parasite? That... I see life differently from those that went through the war?" I choked on my words as my sobs of outrage hit me once more.
"Calm down...They love you... Try looking at it from their point of view. Almost losing their little girl to Voldemort. A mere child you were at that time. You were exposed to so much at such a young age. The age where making crowns from daisies should've been your hobby, not embarrassing yourself infront of Potter should have been your main priority." He chuckled and kissed my hair lightly.
I thought about it as Draco's hands combed through my tangled mess.
"You have beautiful hair." He whispered as he kissed my cheek lightly.
"You're right." I admitted as I leaned on his shoulder.
"About your hair?" His voice was laced with a smirk.
"No! About everything... I was wrong to have reacted like that." I reached for his hand.
"I am glad you realised that your tantrum was completely unnecessary." Ouch.
"It was, Ginny. Don't glare at me like that." Draco was smirking again.
-"What are you going to do to rectify it?" He asked me as he wrapped his cloak around me further after I shivered once more.
"I'll apologize when I get home." I said stiffly. Admitting that it was my mistake was hard enough. I did feel guilty for what I said to Bill. It was so mean, and completely unlike me.
I love little Victoire Amanda and Her Royal Highness even though the latter had the ability to push my buttons.
"And?" Draco encouraged.
"I'll come clean with everyone. It's on my agenda for tonight. Make everyone know what am I up to and who am I doing?" I retorted sarcastically.
"That's my girl." Draco kissed me lightly on the lips causing my heart rate to increase.
"What if they forced me to resign?" I voiced a fear that had been nagging my brain for the last couple of days.
"Then you will. And I'll miss you, loads." Draco pulled me into a tight embrace. –"Nothing is more important than family, Ginny. Never forget the sacrifices that they have made for you. Good families are rare." His voice sounded almost wistful.
I knew he was thinking of his own family and how his father destroyed everything. I moved closer to comfort him, he kissed my hair again and I knew that he appreciated it.
"What if they ask us to..." I trailed off not knowing what we are.
"They ask us to...?" He repeated, prodding me to continue.
"What if they ask us to stop seeing each other?" I finally managed.
"No power in the world can stop me from seeing my girlfriend." Draco answered dismissively.
Draco's words were like iron, like a vow. I knew that he meant it.
While it was completely a wrong time to be happy, my heart soared with joy knowing that I meant so much to him. Hours ago, the very same gesture had me ticked off, now... it made my day. Or technically, night.
"It's time you went home now, girlfriend dearest. May I?" He stood up and held a hand before me sweetly.
"Thank you, kind sir." I laughed, feeling much lighter than before. Draco was great, he understood me yet he pointed out my mistakes. Very few people in the world could do that without earning a hex or two.
He held my hand as we walked toward the Apparation point. On our way out of the park, we met Blaise and Channy who looked as though they had tumbled out of bed.
"You alright now, love?" Blaise asked me kindly as Channy hugged me comfortingly.
It felt good to be in the presence of people who cared. My friends made me realise that my family was just like them, if not a little more.
"Thank you." I told Blaise sincerely.
"It's alright. it's not every day that a girl throws herself into my arms. It's my lucky day, sweetheart." He laughed as I moved to swat him. He rubbed his head as Channy slapped him lightly.
Draco held me urging me to be calm remembering my irrational fear of apparating. I heard the faintest 'pop' sound and seconds later I opened my eyes. We were standing right outside 'The Burrow'.
"You're home now, Ginny. Everything will be fine. Don't forget what I told you, okay? They love you and they only want the best for you. Keep your temper in check." He brushed his lips against mine. It made my lips tingle and desire more but before I could react, he disapparated before my eyes.
Once again, the moment of truth was here. Keeping Draco's words in mind, I opened the door to my home. Everyone sat in the living room awaiting my arrival.
Tension in the air was so thick; you could literally cut a piece. For the first time since Bill announced his marriage to Fleur, the living room was pin-drop silent. I was starting to dread this.
Damn you, Draco. Why am I doing this again?
I hadn't dared to meet anyone's faces as of yet especially Bill's but I didn't need to because my idiot brother exploded. Who else?
"Ginny! That's bloody Malfoy!" Ron cried out in anger and disgust. His face had taken an odd shade of prune.
"What the hell, Ginny! He is a bloody Death-eater for Merlin's sake!"
"You're frolicking with the enemy!"
"I hope you haven't been fornicating with him!" Fornicating? Good one!
"Is this some kind of sick revenge because I am with Luna?"
"What the fuck?" I cried out before I could stop myself. Harry fucking Potter!
"That is enough!" The shrill yet fierce scream of my mother rang through the living room. The noise immediately stopped. Call me crazy but at the moment I couldn't help but think that my mother- if she hadn't already disowned me- would make an amazing Headmistress.
Plus, no one wanted to get on Molly Weasley's bad side when she was mad. Myself included.
"I suppose you are old enough to make your own decisions now." She glared at me, her arms akimbo.
I gulped inwardly, I don't know what I had been anticipating but it was definitely not hundred percent confrontations from my mother.
"Er..."
"We respect your decision, Ginny. If you think that you are old enough to make decisions for yourself, by all means go ahead. We trust your judgement. We are not very happy about it but nevertheless if you have chosen this path for yourself. None of us are going to say anything about it. Is that clear?" My dad, Arthur Weasley's quiet voice commanded the living room.
No one dared to protest even though unhappiness was written on everyone's face. Usually my dad sat back and watched while mom handled the affairs of the house. The fact that he had spoken up meant that it was something serious.
"That's not your cloak?" He enquired curiously about the expensive material that I was wrapped in.
"No. It's Draco's." I could hear Ron's disgusted snort as he mouthed something to Hermione. She hadn't said anything all throughout but her expression was enough. I couldn't even be bothered to look at Harry after his scathing remark.
"Well... goodnight then." Dad replied dismissively and walked off toward his bedroom.
My jaw – and I'm sure I wasn't the only one- dropped open in surprise.
That was not at all how it was supposed to go.
This was not good. At all.
This was not what I had in mind originally for this story but I went along with what my fingers typed.
Wishing everyone a Merry Christmas and a very happy and prosperous 2012 ahead! I hope you guys enjoyed this chapter just the same.
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