N/A: I'm having a bit of trouble with this site, mainly because I can see the statistics here. A LOT of people are reading, but not even 10% of them have 5 minutes to comment or to let me know their thoughts about it.
If it's not worth it anymore, I can just send the chapters to whoever is commenting here and get on with my life, without worrying about editing on this site.
To those who comment, my eternal thanks. The story is only here so far because of you.
18 – Playing Dirty
Ginny arrived at her house very late that day, but, oddly enough, she did not feel tired.
Mainly because she had in mind that resuming her shop's production with renewed care was one of the basic conditions to refill her vaults at Gringotts after the embezzlement caused by the Whitey Ferret.
And she had an additional encouragement knowing this time would be much easier than it had been when she had started her business; now she already had a name, prestige and guaranteed clientele, different from the first time, when she was still a young woman getting into the world of commerce, with a baby on her lap and just Flynn and Della to help her with everything.
At the moment, she just needed to continue ensuring her characteristic high standard of quality and wait.
Ginny smiled pleased with herself. She stretched her arms and legs and hummed softly, happy with her work. But before getting a big mug of Butterbeer, sitting in front of the fireplace and finishing some topics from the shop that still needed her attention, she would see James; in the past few days she had barely seen her son and he was still a little alarmed by the effects that Occlumency class with Draco had had on her.
Ginny frowned slightly concerned: she needed to think of a way to make her son more comfortable with the person who had more reasons to protect him - after Ginny herself - but it was so difficult considering Draco's unpalatable behaviour...
She shook her head to divert her thoughts. Dealing with that would come later; for now, she would not let Mr. Spoiled Malfoy put an end to her good mood.
As she passed through the hall that gave access to the living room, she saw through the room's dimness a large figure sitting in her favorite armchair, with his elbows on his legs and chin resting on his hands in a position that gave the huge man a childlike aura, despite his size. He looked almost like an embarrassed child.
Ginny mused that, for people who were supposed to be into hiding, her brothers were frequently showing up at unsafe places. However, she could not help but smile while entering the room.
"Good evening, Ron." Her voice came out light, exactly the same way she was feeling.
Her brother was not startled, but he looked awkward, speaking as if they were casually meeting in a park after their Homeric fight.
It was not so far from the truth. Their last argument because of her marriage had been caustic and hurtful.
"Ah, hello Gin. Everything okay?" He said and there was an pregnant silence while Ginny went to sit next to her brother.
"I'm fine, Ron." She said still receptively, although with a principle of worry that he was there to fight or irritate her.
"Good."
An uncomfortable moment ensued one more time and Ginny would not have none of it anymore.
Upon realising Ron was as willing to speak as a mermaid out of the water, Ginny decided to take the reins of the conversation.
"As much as I appreciate your company." She reached out to pat her brother's hand gently. "I don't think you came all the way here just to see me, did you?"
Even in the half light, Ginny noticed the tips of his ears turning bright red.
"Well, in fact, I did." Ron smiled shyly and Ginny reciprocated the gesture. "Last time wasn't that cool on my part, was it?"
Ron would always struggle to admit that he had acted like a prick in some situations, but Ginny valued the fact he was trying to make amends in his own way.
"It's in the past." Ginny conceded. "Let it stay there."
"Yeah." Ron sighed somewhat relieved. "But I still wanted to see you. So, since we needed to give you a message, I decided I'd come. And I'd take the opportunity to, well, apologize... And to find out how your boy is doing. Mom's crazy wanting to hear about him. And so am I." He finished as if taking a weight off his back.
Ginny wonder about how much influence Hermione and her mother have had on that conciliatory attitude, but she did not care - Ron was never able to lie about his feelings.
If he was apologizing, it was because he felt that he really owed it to her. And the only thing that counted was that Ron was there, next to her, sharing a comfortable atmosphere that was only possible between siblings.
"James is doing great. I wish you two had more time to spend together. I bet you would get along very well…" Ginny replied dreamily. "He resembles Harry very much in personality too."
"We could have more time to spend together, if you hadn't walked away..." Ron started.
Ginny interrupted him.
"Ron, please, not now." She put her hands over his and the gesture totally disarmed the man. "We're having a nice conversation after a long time and I'm enjoying it immensely. Just remember we're siblings and I love you very much."
Ron nodded and turned his hand upward to wrap his fingers around Ginny's.
"I wish I could tell you so many things..." He said closing his eyes and feeling her touch, his voice a little emotional.
Ginny frowned, puzzled by his decontextualized sentence.
Ron had never been the type to keep secrets, had he?
"You know you can tell me anything." She tried to persuade Ron to open up to her.
Ron shook his head slightly, opening his eyes and facing her again.
"It's not that easy, I think." He said, voice shaky.
When she was about to ask him what he meant by all that, Ron spoke first than her.
"We miss you, Gin. Merlin, I miss you so much."
And that distracted her from all the doubts that Ron's behaviour had raised.
"I miss you all too, every second of my day. But I had no choice..." The moment the words were spoken aloud, she realised that phrase was so usual in her mouth she did not know if it always had been the truth. "But I'm happy to have you here with me, even if it's only for a few moments."
Ron smiled sheepishly and Ginny took the time to let go of him and light the fireplace with a graceful gesture of her wand, making the room even more comfortable and inviting.
"Is he treating you well?" Ron asked suddenly after a few moments when they were quiet, enjoying each other's presence.
Ginny would not have to be particularly smart to guess whom her brother was referring to and shivered involuntarily.
She would not lie to Ron, but she could not add one more thing to his big list of concerns either. She preferred to adopt a cautious strategy that would not cause him to rise from there with his wand in hand and go straight to Malfoy Manor, in order to 'exterminate ferrets'.
"As well as he can treat anyone else, I suppose." Ginny sighed and Ron looked at her closely, looking for any trace of anything that might be hurt in her, physically or psychologically, but she continued speaking bravely. "Draco fights for the things that are dear to him, just as we fight for ours."
If the conversation was not serious, Ginny would have laughed at Ron's face: he dropped his jaw slightly and lost his voice for a few moments.
"For Merlin's saggy left-"
"Ronald Weasley!" Ginny admonished him before he could be extremely vulgar.
"The face you made! You're smitten with him!" He said raising his voice with a note of underlying disgust in it. "After all he's done, Ginny! I can't believe it."
"We have all done things we regret, including you and me..." She lifted her chin and saw her brother hesitate slightly, as if he was remembering something bad he had done. Clearly, her words had hit a mark.
But she did not have time to dwell on it further because when realised she had not denied Ron's assumption quickly, Ginny immediately blushed.
"Oy, wait! I'm not smitten with him! Don't be stupid, Ron! I just must to put up with him because he's an important part in the role I play. And also because he keeps James safe, which is the thing I most want in the world."
Ron looked uncomfortable with the answer, even though he had not moved away from his sister. So, by mutual agreement and each with their own reasons, the two of them chose to ignore the uncomfortable subject for the sake of the civilized conversation they were having.
For a few good minutes they exchanged some information (usually her brothers never said anything and she enjoyed Ron's opening as much as she could) and Ginny felt happy again, as if she were at The Burrow at night, waiting for dinner to be ready.
Then, she suddenly remembered what he had said earlier. "Did you say you came to give me a message?"
And the spell broke automatically. Ron was again the tough Resistance's armed wing leader: Objective and determined.
"I'm sorry to bother you about this… Percy told me that you're going through some financial problems."
"Ah, that." Ginny was embarrassed, but did not relent. "It's nothing serious. Percy overreacted, as usual. Do you need money?"
"Potions, actually. We have information that the Ministry will attack one of our food suppliers soon. It's through them that we get food to the Muggle communities most attacked by You-Know-Who, near wizarding villages. We need to be able to defend it, otherwise we'll suffer a significant shortage of food. We can multiply it, it's true, but we still need to keep the place where it comes from safely. Your explosive potions would help a lot to protect it."
"How do you get this information from the Ministry?" She digressed curiously and Ron clearly hesitated, as if in his head there was a fierce dispute between the image of Ginny, his little sister, and Ginevra Malfoy, wife of the greatest Resistance hunter.
Obviously, Ginny realised her brother's dilemma.
"I know exactly what you're thinking and, even if I wanted to tell Malfoy anything, which would absolutely never be the case, I couldn't. He barely talks to me." She added with a note of irritation in her voice that she only noticed when the words had already come out of her mouth.
Ron seemed to give in to her argument. "We still have good people infiltrated within the Ministry. Snape ended up being a great example for a lot of people, including me... Anyway, if helping us is going to put you in a dangerous situation, we can look for other alternatives." He completed quietly and Ginny accepted the fact that he was entitled to be reticent about the information.
Involuntarily, Ginny remembered Blaise saying the only things that mattered in that world were information and knowledge.
"Ron, listen." She said, putting her hand on her brother's arm. "I've never abandoned you; I've never abandoned the idea that the world needs to be a better place in the future. But, unfortunately, my son - Harry's son - was born before the arrival of this more dignified future. So I had to make decisions, some of which I'm not proud of, for his sake. But my decisions will never take my heart away from you, from the Resistance."
Ron looked at her cryptically, as if he wanted to say something, but he could not get the words out of his mouth. She did not wait for him before resuming.
"Then I'll help you in everything I can." Ginny smiled widely.
Ron sighed between sad and relieved, and nodded slightly. "I know you will."
Ginny stretched out on her big double bed, absolutely satisfied with her day. She had managed to buy ingredients for a good amount of Erumpent Draught for the Resistance without raising suspicions about the amount purchased.
She was careful to act through different suppliers and the Ministry would only find out any strange movements if it analysed the bookkeeping from her shop, which in turn were well protected by her new vault.
And by her new name.
Malfoy.
She said the name out loud, as if trying to get used to the letters in her mouth.
It did not sound right, in fact, but that was the least important.
Not for the first time, Ginny told herself that she had done what she needed to and tried to lull her sleep with that thought comforting her.
After many, many years, she had peace. She could lie down and tell herself that James was the closest to being safe.
Now I can try to help my family with much more safety, I can reap the rewards of my new business, I can take care of James and-, she stopped before adding she could also feel complete.
In her heart, she knew one aspect of her life was missing, which seemed to have canceled out at the expense of everything else.
How long had it been since she felt like a woman? Not just the mother, the sister, the daughter, the rebel, the merchant or any other facets that Ginny contained within her. How long had she not felt wanted?
A shiver coursed through her body when she unwittingly remembered her honeymoon: It was true that she had been desired by Draco, but it was not just that kind of thing Ginny missed.
Much less coming from Draco Malfoy, for sure, she completed mentally.
Even though it was because of the night between them – because of him – that instincts and desires she had thought were asleep for a long time had awakened.
But she would not think about it in that moment.
She would never think about it again, if she had common sense.
Ginny tossed and turned a few more times, realising that thinking about Malfoy had not been a good idea; her momentary joy had faded, as if she were under a dark cloud. She recalled the nearly three months that had passed since their wedding and the beginning of the bizarre situation in which she found herself - through her own fault. Not that regret for the gesture was taking over her thought.
It had been necessary.
And yet…
Ginny had been working on a small incipient - and insistent - idea that she had to find some way to ease her situation with Draco; redeem herself for having forced him to marry her. However, he had not shown up in the days after their first Occlumency class and Ginny wondered if he had given up.
Slamming her fist on a pillow next to her body, she realised she did not want him to give up on her. Obviously, closing her mind to protect James had an immeasurable value, but the frustration was also cause by the fact she knew there was something more.
The problem was to identify exactly what it was.
Great bastard Draco Malf-
Her thoughts were interrupted when her ear caught a soft brush of feet against the carpeted floor of her room.
"James?" She asked hesitantly while reaching under the pillow, uselessly searching for her wand. "Is that you, luv?"
Silence was all she got as answer.
Relaxing on the mattress again, Ginny thought she could only be going crazy. She had spent so much time alert, so long living in fear that her muscles were tense at the slightest sign of anything odd. For the first time in a long period, she felt safe to ignore her instincts.
She settled under the blanket, firmly determined to sleep; the next day would be very tiring and depriving herself of sleep was one of the things she could not afford to do.
She took a deep breath again, closed her eyes and tried to fall asleep. She was safe.
Except that she was not.
Her certainties fell apart a few moments later, when she heard the same sound one more time.
Thieves again, she thought suddenly.
With the feline agility that was typical to her, she got to her knees on the bed in a quick movement, refining her instincts in search of the invader's direction.
Yes, because at last she had admitted to herself - with her breath already sped up by adrenaline - that there was an invader.
Ginny tried to hear something other than her heart beating violently in her chest, but there was nothing. She threw herself towards the pillow, looking for her wand in the absolute darkness, but it was too late: she felt a strong arm around her waist, pulling her out of bed.
Another hand came to cover her mouth before she started screaming; she struggled as hard as she could and managed to hit an elbow in the nose of the man who pulled her.
The man groaned at the sudden pain and released her to put his hand on his nose, most likely to contain the blood that dripped from his face. The idiot had underestimated her by not trying to control her with his wand, thinking he could handle her without much effort.
She mentally thanked him for his carelessness, while she turned the pillows in search of her own wand.
Ginny did not have much time to dedicate to the task when the man, panting reasonably, took her by the arm again. She turned and, with her free arm, aimed a punch at a place she supposed his head should be.
Unfortunately, he was already alert to Ginny's reactions and grabbed her wrist to avoid the blow. He seemed to breathe an exasperated sigh when he pulled Ginny's fragile wrist and threw her sharply against the wall. She hit the side of her forehead squarely on the surface and felt dizzy.
She was doomed.
She was not going to be able to resist for long, her opponent probably had a wand while she had nothing but her fierce willpower. However, willpower was not enough when the world started to revolve around her and her head throbbed violently.
I'm going to die hexed by a thief! What a stupid thing! She needed to scream for help, call for Della, but her reasoning was inconsistent and she did not even notice when the words came out of her mouth.
"Draco!" She exclaimed, certainly lower than she should have. "Help me!"
And in the next moment, the world vanished when she was hit by a spell.
It seemed that the Universe was conspiring against her sleep.
Only Merlin knew how badly she wanted to sleep, despite her dry mouth, the incipient headache and the totally uncomfortable bed.
Overcome by curiosity, she opened her eyes with difficulty, having no idea where she might be or who had taken her there. Suddenly, she remembered the night before and realised she had just been stunned.
The intention wasn't to kill me then, thanks Merlin, she thought, running her hand over her body to make sure everything was in place.
Ginny raised herself up on her elbows, surveying the bed with interest - if that could be called a bed in the first place. She wrinkled her nose at the cot covered with an old mattress, looking like it was full of straw. She got up from the bed as quickly as she could to avoid contact with that surface; she had always been used to the lack of luxury, but it went beyond her hygiene limits.
It took Ginny exactly one minute to inspect the cubicle where she was; it contained her 'bed', a chair and a small empty chest on top of which was a glass of water that she drank with enthusiasm and confidence - they certainly would not have had the trouble of taking her there to kill her with poisoned water.
Then, she observed the light of rising sun entering through a small window protected by bars near the ceiling. Climbing on the bed, Ginny tried to reach it, unsuccessfully. Next, she cursed herself for her stature. She was not short for a woman, but her height was not enough to reach it: she had not even managed to touch the window with her fingertips.
Giving up, she got out of bed and snorted; she barely bothered to go to the door to make sure it was locked: whoever had taken her there had not done so to let her out the door freely. And, as she had predicted, the door was actually sealed.
An immense dismay fell over her and Ginny threw herself on the bed again, prostrate, torn between wanting to hex someone and cry. She wanted to go back to James and needed to prepare the potions for the Resistance.
After a few minutes lost in commiseration, Ginny suddenly stiffened when realized she could not deliver the promised potions to Ron; the greatest amount of ingredients she would use to make Resistance potions must be arriving at her shop at that very moment and she had not even managed to dispatch the little potion she had already made.
She spent the next hour trying to find a way to get her out of jail, but always ended the plan with 'but I have no wand'. She was about to pull her hair out in a fit of rage when she heard footsteps approaching the door and her heart skipped a beat due to anticipation.
They were firm, decisive steps that made her get out of bed without bothering to look like an anxious little girl.
She would show whoever it was that she was not going to surrender so easily; she prepared her fists and positioned herself as if she were going to duel without a wand.
When the footsteps stopped and the door suddenly opened, the vision she had disarmed all her combative stance.
Draco was standing at the door of the cubicle, looking at her with an amused expression on his aristocratic face, certainly because he noticed Ginny's hostile position. She ignored all these little details when she saw the man in front of her and a wave of relief washed over her, relaxing all of her muscles. She was saved.
And she was happy.
Without even thinking, she threw herself into Draco's arms, wrapping her arms around his neck, pulling him to her. The man was instantly tense, as if he had not expected it at all.
"Draco! I've never been so happy to see you." She exclaimed, voice muffled by his chest where she hid her face.
She struggled at all costs to contain her tears of relief and went on, disregarding the fact that he was so tense in her arms.
"I was kidnapped and they brought me here, I don't know where I am or who did this to me and-" Ginny trailed off, realising the incongruity of the situation.
Why would Draco be here? She thought, frowning.
Slowly, Ginny removed her arms from his neck and walked back suspiciously, seeing that his face was relaxed again appreciating the increasing distance between them, with an expression of mockery invading his aristocratic features.
His eyes were almost the color of the sky and she wondered how something so beautiful could belong to such a cold and disdainful face.
"I suppose I can clarify this little point: It was an Auror from the Ministry who brought you here." Draco drawled and stopped momentarily to suppress a small smile. "Under my orders." He said with a calmness that made Ginny seethe with rage.
What?!
"Why the hell did you do that?" Ginny managed to say when her vocal cords started to obey her again.
"Are you sure you don't know why I did it?" He asked her, casting a bored look around Ginny's jail and running a finger over the old chest by the door, then wiping it on his robe with a disgusted grimace. "I told you I would do anything to get you out of my way. Or out of the Ministry's way."
The obvious truth exploded over her painfully. Barefoot and wearing a thin nightgown, she walked to the spot where sunlight fell on the stone floor of the cell, as if unconsciously seeking her freedom.
"You did this so that I wouldn't be able to finish the potion for my brothers."
"What a smart girl." Malfoy replied nonchalantly, still standing at the cell door. "Congratulations."
"How did you know I would help them this time?" She asked ignoring his sarcasm and avoiding looking at him.
"It was an educated guess, actually. The Ministry will carry out an attack next morning and it's evident that the Resistance has insiders informants, even though I have not been able to identify them yet." He said and frowned slightly, as if it really bothered him. "Anyway, it was only a matter of time before the information got to your ears and you, little vixen you are, wouldn't hesitate helping the jackrabbits you call family. So, I just did what I had to do."
"How long will I have to stay here while you play cat and mouse with my family?" Ginny asked through clenched teeth and crossing her arms belligerently.
"Why are you in such a hurry, Ginevra?" Draco returned the intensity of her challenge with his own eyes. "You should thank me, in fact. I'm giving you time to meditate and the opportunity to take a journey of self-knowledge, in a quiet and isolated place. It's relaxing, really."
This time Ginny realised he was trying to contain his laughter. She looked for something in the room to attack that big twat, but the place was really minimalist.
"Answer me at once, you git!"
"No more than one or two days." Draco finally answer her question, already more contained. "Rest assured, I shall free you after that."
"You're an arsehole!" Ginny stamped her foot on the floor. It was a childish and stupid demonstration, but no less true for that. She fought back the angry tears, not wanting to give him a taste of seeing her cry.
And he laughed. Really laughed.
The surprise of his reaction even sparked Ginny's interest; for a few seconds, she forgot her monstrous anger and was lost in the first real laughter Draco had given her.
His eyes lit up and, for a few moments, he was again the same boy she had met at Hogwarts; an idiotic and spoiled bastard, but who still showed some joy, even if it was when Harry got into trouble. But it was quick and he composed himself, returning with some effort to the taciturn air that had become his trademark.
"You're so fun to tease. You take it so poorly that it's almost graceful." Draco said with his eyes shining with humor, but hiding the moment of joy behind the ironic remark. "It pays antagonising you."
Then her anger returned to the place it should not have left. "You call it antagonising, you clod!? Invasion, kidnapping, aggression."
"What are you talking about?" Draco asked menacingly, for the first time uncomfortable in that conversation.
She brought her hand involuntarily to the painful spot on her forehead, where she knew there was a small bump, the result of the fight with the Auror the night before.
"And to think that it was your name I called to help me when I thought that stupid henchman of yours was going to kill me!"
Draco suppressed all the playful stance that had remained and tilted his head as if examining her, arching an eyebrow. He approached her slowly, who took two steps back unconsciously.
Then, he fixed his eyes on the purple dot on the side of her forehead semi hidden by her hair that he had not noticed before.
"The bloody fool exaggerated." Draco frowned at her injury. "But I bet my wand that you have caused him more trouble than he anticipated."
"Of course I've caused him trouble!" Ginny exclaimed offended. "I was trying to prevent that prick yes-man from murdering me under your bloody order."
"I didn't send him to kill you, Weasley." Draco rolled his eyes at her. "I ordered everything to be done with the greatest possible discretion, but I think he ended up misinterpreting it. Next time, I shall make recommendations so that there's no violence."
"Next time?" Her voice was squeaky, Ginny knew but did not care. "You must be going nuts!"
"Until you learn how to behave and appreciate the name you carry, I have no other option." Draco drawled fixing his eyes on hers. "I shall tame you, Ginevra. Whatever it takes."
Ginny shivered.
It's the cold, she thought with absolute certainty.
"I'd rather die." Ginny raised her nose up in the air in a hostile gesture and crossed her arms again.
"I'd rather you yield to me." Draco replied icily. "I shall leave you now, for the sake of your meditation. I have a very busy day and I presume you have nothing more to say to me."
"Oh, but I do!" Ginny lost what little control was left, pointing an accusatory finger at him. "I hate you with all my soul! I hate your stupid name, your expression of eternal disdain, your cowardice! I hate everything about you!"
She could not help but complete the sentence mentally with a strange 'I hate everything that makes you so different from Harry!'
For a second, Draco seemed a little surprised – hurt – by her confession, but it was short lived. Then, he sighed dramatically.
"And yet, all of this is still nothing. The day will come when you'll truly regret crossing my path." He glared at her, forgetting he was leaving. "You humiliated me in every way you could, it's only fair that you receive exactly the same courtesy from me."
"Oh sure! Why not use Unforgivable Curses or throw me at the stake right away?" Ginny suggested sarcastically, "It'd be easier."
"I shall not come to that." Draco dismissed her suggestion with a nonchalant gesture from his very pale hand, as if he were chasing away an impertinent mosquito. "I wouldn't like taking care of your son if something were to happen to you. Because of that, I'm slightly inclined to appreciate your physical well-being."
He measured her from bare feet to loose, messy ginger hair, past the generous neckline of the nightgown she wore, in an appraising look.
"Surely, I could also find more... pleasant reasons for you to remain physically intact."
Ginny knew he had only hinted at it to tease her, to remind her of things she did not want remember, but that did not stop a sudden blush from rising to her cheeks, preventing her from speaking for a few seconds and giving enough time for Draco to end the conversation with an insufferable smirk.
He turned and was already leaving the room when she recovered her voice.
"Really?" Ginny crooned mercilessly. "You show these reasons of yours so rarely that you could have fooled me."
She regretted the sarcastic words as soon they popped out of her mouth.
Bloody big mouth, Ginny thought and held her breath. She did not know what made her say that, nor did she think before answering him. She just wanted to have the last word in their discussion, but ended screwing everything up.
Draco, who already had his hand over the door handle, turned with narrowed, darker, dangerous eyes.
It was the wrong thing to say and Ginny felt the change in him in the very moment the words came out of her mouth. The electricity that crackled in the air before a thunderstorm told her that much.
"Was it a complaint, Ginevra?" He turned around completely and approached her slowly, a mocking smile playing on his lips. "Did you miss me so much?"
Ginny stepped back a little more, until she felt that there was no more space behind her, only the old cot. She felt naked without her wand and in that simple nightgown, which barely reached her knees.
For his part, Draco was really surprised by her statement, but he was even more surprised by his own reaction. He just wanted to scare her a little, coming menacingly close to her, invading her personal space, demarcating territory; but when he got closer and smelled that scent he already recognised as hers, the subtle threat gave way to something else.
Something else he just loathed.
His heart raced and there was something in her eyes that did not help to calm things down.
On the contrary.
Draco wanted to say something offensive, vulgar. He wanted to say that he would never want to approach her again, that he had slept with her against his will, but he noticed his own breathing becoming denser, agitated, and he felt unable to take his eyes off her round face, the freckles, the small nose, red hair, full lips.
He needed to say something that would hurt her. Wasn't that why he had decided to stay a little longer? He opened his mouth to speak, but all the arguments seemed very distant, intangible and scattered, as if they belonged to someone else, to another time.
He had promised himself that he would never put his hands on that filthy traitor again, but there he was, getting closer and closer to her, until he came face to face with the body that was almost a head shorter than his.
This time, he thought bitterly, I'm completely sober and there's no longer an obligation to approach her like that.
There was no excuse for that hateful behaviour. And that fact left him with a bad mood that was sure to manifest itself more violently later, when he finally managed to stop looking into those dark eyes that were mesmerizing him.
Ginny tried to protest against that proximity, but Draco encouraged her silence when he grabbed her waist, moved her away from the cot and pinned her to the wall.
Ginny gasped at the sudden movement, but recovered quickly.
"Serious, mate, again?" Ginny asked huskily, trying – and failing- not to let her own desire show in her voice. "Is this some kind of kinky thing to you? Can you only be turned on near walls?"
"You have no fucking idea, Weasley." Draco chuckled darkly, leaning down, and she felt his hot breath caress her ear. "I'm turned on all the time near you."
Ginny was at a loss for words when she met his gaze. Draco was looking at her like he wanted to destroy, consume her. Not in only one way. Not only in a bad way.
And Ginny did not think it was a good idea. That madness had to stop right now.
"Leave me alone, Malfoy." She demanded struggling to remain composed, but it was a hard task since there were heat everywhere between them.
She was an incredibly stubborn woman and as much as Draco hated to admit - and did not do it consciously - the flush of anger and expectation that marked her face made her absolutely attractive.
"Then I believe we have a problem."
"A problem?" She repeated as much at loss as him.
"Yes." Draco said quietly, without even thinking. "The more I look at you, the less I feel like leaving you alone."
A long time he had adopted the policy of never talking without thinking, of never giving his impressions unnecessarily. He had found out that the silence was a powerful ally and it was despised by the majority of people.
However, that infuriating woman made him boil with sentiments so intense- varying from hate to the interest in every move of hers – that he ended up saying things that had no business coming out of his mouth.
Draco did not have time to regret saying those words and just hoped they sounded like a threat, because in the next instant, she looked up in surprise. He could smell her, her hot breath on his face, and Draco lost what was left of control over his actions. He wrapped his arms around her, pressing her against his body and resting his lips on hers, soft, warm.
Before showing any reaction, Ginny felt his lips against hers and a bloody shiver ran through her body.
She was in shock at his attitude. For a few moments she had thought that he would attack her or use some childish and humiliating spell, as was typical of him, but he had made another choice and now she was unresponsive.
When his tongue asked for passage through her mouth, it was as if the rational Ginny had been grounded in some hidden corner of her mind and the facet of herself she cursed every day corresponded to his impetus.
It was a possessive, forceful, demanding kiss, as if there was no space or time for the word "endearment" in Draco's love vocabulary. He held her like someone driven by desire, but who - thanks to the falls and physical and mental violence in some aspects of his life - had lost the habit of reserving space for feeling.
Strangely, she did not care about it as much as she should and did not even notice when her hands reached his smooth, silky hair, wrapping a hand around his neck.
Draco shuddered and let out a low growl as she ran her fingers through his longish hair.
Draco squeezed her tighter and his lips trailed down her jaw, his canines running along her the side of her neck; he did not think of anything that could not be defined as hunger. He was ferociously hungry for that fucking woman.
Again! He could hardly breathe as he felt her shudder slightly with each kiss, as if his lips were giving small electric shocks on her delicate skin. As if each kiss generated a (pleasure) warning alert, an indication that they should not be doing that.
And Draco fully agreed with that idea.
But just as she seemed to be relaxed, with her closed eyes trembling under her lids and her hands clasped tightly across his neck, he was also unable to stop that madness.
He decided that he definitely liked how she looked when she felt free and safe, without all the protections that she had imposed on herself and that turned her into a Blackmailing Viper. And for the first time, he did not think of the nickname with hatred.
She let out small moans in her throat and Draco had to work hard not to get lost in that sound. His whole body tingled, hot and cold at the same time; his mind was in his mouth. It was like he had never kissed a woman before.
He bit her lower lip, wanting to experience the real taste of her, without the resolution and objectivity of their first time. Now, he just wanted to feel her, see how she reacted to his caresses. He went the other way around her neck, always trying to cover as much exposed skin with kisses as possible, passing through her flushed right cheek, the region behind the ear where the red hair nestled, passing through her closed eyes, the slightly bruised forehead…
Kissing her was like life and warmth were being blown into his body.
In that moment, several things happened at the same time.
Draco froze in fear at the thought, Ginny moaned, not knowing whether from the pain of the bruised part of her forehead or from the absence of her husband's kisses, and both stopped, as if their consciences had returned to the place they should never have left.
Quickly, Draco jumped back as if she were spitting out slugs or something.
Ginny looked away, incredibly embarrassed; she had been swept away by her need again, at best. At worst, she was really attracted to Draco Malfoy. She felt a light nausea, as if her body was reacting saying 'You're bloody crazy!'.
For a foolish moment, she had sworn Draco had made a gesture of fondness by kissing the forehead she had hurt because of his minion.
No, it couldn't be, she thought, reaching for her swollen lips, still tasting him.
The feeling was probably conjured by the imagination of a woman who had given up her femininity years ago. When she looked at him again, with his arms inactive at his sides, still not far away, she saw that his eyes were clearer and, for the first time since they married, Draco looked really confused. She felt a little more comforted, since she was not the only one who wanted to get into a hole until the end of days.
"Draco, we should-" Ginny stopped herself.
Should what, Ginny?, she thought confused. Talk about what was going on between them? Merlin, she did not even know what was going on between them.
Draco turned his back to her, much to hide the growing panic that this woman would mess with him more. Of all the witches around me, did it have to be her? He almost cursed out loud. He ran a hand through his hair, until he put on his familiar mask of indifference. He walked to the door, never looking back. If I looked, I would be lost.
He decided that the best tactic was to go back to business and just ignore that it had happened. Ignore the situation, yes, mainly because it would never happen again.
"I would suggest that you don't scream or spend your energy trying to get out of here, but feel free to do so if you wish." He said already by the door, still his back to her, and Ginny felt like squeezing his neck for simply ignoring the fact they had literally grappled and kissed like two bloody horny teenagers. "You are in Glastonbury, surrounded and protected by my people. No one will be able to help you, or rather, no one will want to help you. Enjoy your stay."
When she started to say something, he left, without even looking back.
He practically ran away from me! Ginny thought literally open-mouthed at his dismissiveness.
"Arsehole!" She screamed and sat abruptly on the bed, crossing her arms and doubting the thick walls had made it possible for her offenses to have reached Draco, but still, she tried for a little while longer. "Coward! Wanker! Ferret!"
After wasting a few more minutes forcing her throat with insults that would make Fred and George flush in embarrassment, Ginny resigned herself, refusing to think of anything related to the stupid clod who went by the name of Draco Malfoy.
If he can just ignore what happened, so can I. And I will, she thought, determined to focus on her most immediate problem: getting out of that bloody place.
Glastonbury...
Ginny knew that this was the prison Voldemort designated for pureblood, wealthy or too influential people who were too important to be simply thrown and forgotten in Azkaban. No, Azkaban was intended for Muggle-borns, squibs, half-bloods and, especially, blood traitors.
She suspected, not without reason, that there was a cell reserved for each of her brothers and their parents in Azkaban, if they were lucky. With growing discomfort, she thought they were more likely to be handed over to the Dementors for an appetizing feast with their souls.
She forced herself to stay calm, noting that, in Glastonbury, were put the people who bothered the regime, but not enough to be truly wiped off the map. It was like a kind of warning, like 'You're an influential pureblood, so behave properly before we do something worse with you.'
But the feeling of momentary relief quickly gave way to overwhelming dismay: she was right in the south of England, in a tiny city, without her wand and she could not count on anyone to help her.
She went into a state of absolute lethargy, sometimes thinking about how to get out of there, sometimes thinking about Draco's kiss. In those moments, she pinched herself to make sure her mind would return to the place it was due: working to be free of that place.
Remaining motionless for a long time, Ginny wrapped herself in the blanket of dubious origin to camouflage Draco's scent, but she still could smell him on her clothes and on herself. She felt languid and hopeless.
What had happened the night before, added with the usual irritation Draco always caused her and that unexpected kiss, made her nerves soar. Her body had been plunged into numbness and she felt she was sweating cold. A new nausea, this time more sudden and unexpected, rose up her throat and she sat for a moment, sweating profusely, fighting the sensation.
After a moment, she fell back on the bed again, feeling more depressed than ever.
It was time to face the truth and stop underestimating what she had been feeling for a month, but that now there was no way to be denied or ignored - frequent nauseas, atypical heat, lethargy, her delay. She put all the pieces together in a logical puzzle, for the first-time facing things head-on.
The wedding night she avoided at all costs to remember had born fruit.
She was carrying Draco Malfoy's child.
Ginny felt the anger building inside her once again. She threw the pile of fabrics that served as a pillow on the floor, wanting to break something - or someone.
A very blond specific someone.
I can't believe the bastard knocked me up! Ginny held her own hands tight to avoid punching the mattress or the wall. My child will be an orphan before it's born because I'm going to kill its father painfully.
In fact, she could not believe in her extraordinary destiny: She had had sex only twice in her entire life, with two different men, and became pregnant both times! She had to bite her wrist to keep from shouting in frustration.
"Fucking Weasley fertility!" It was all she managed to say without screaming in anger.
N/A2: Well, well. One can never say that didn't see it coming. I left hints here and there in the last two chapters, haha
As usual, your comments are what fuel this story. Keep letting me know what you think about it. Thank you!