Disclaimer: Own only what people do not recognize. ^^
Author's Note: I had begun this at a track meet, so the mentality was "here I am, trapped at a track meet with my companions, Fujitsu and Plot Bunny. Let's see what new plot is this new environment is going to whip up."
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Chapter Ten: ConfrontationsGinny's took advantage of her having two hands to calm her nerves. If she thought waiting for her Hogwarts letter was nerve wracking, this was infinitively worse. Having a demanding aristocratic housewife swirling her tea while pursing her lips was not easy on thoughts of impending doom.
"So Miss Weasley, I heard you were planning Draco and Aurora's wedding," the older woman said, perhaps making conversation. That or giving me time to feel relaxed then take a strike . . .
"Yes Mrs. Malfoy."
"Please don't call me that. It makes me feel old. Narcissa would be fine." The smile that accompanied the comment made Ginny flinch inwardly. Why do I feel like I am meeting my in-laws? One secret test after another, waiting for you to mess up and before you know it, you are kicked out.
Ginny could hear footsteps approaching her. Though for a few moments, Ginny had thought it was her imagination, and for a flutter in her stomach, Ginny sincerely wished they noise belonged to her parents. To Ginny's relief, the footsteps had belonged to a maid, who brought more tea.
Silence had endured. Mrs. Malfoy was still stirring her tea with pursed lips and Ginny was a nervous wreck inside. The two ladies sat quietly with their mind immersed in their own thoughts. While Ginny had random phrases popping in her otherwise blank mind, Mrs. Malfoy was busy planning Project Fix-up for the media proclamation. Aurora's absence felt like eternity for the two ladies. For one, silence has always been a sign of weakness in the Malfoy code of conduct. And two, both ladies were from opposite ends of the poles.
"Hi, I am back," announced Aurora stating the obvious. Normally Ginny would have replied with a sarcastic remark, but the daunting presence of Narcissa Malfoy rendered the usually fiery redhead speechless. Ginny had noticed Aurora's subtle movements of the head observing both herself and Mrs. Malfoy. It seems Aurora had noticed the pleas written cross Ginny's brow and made an excuse for an escape.
"I had my odd vibes about Draco's presence, so I went to check," Aurora explained. Ginny had raised an inquisitive eyebrow. I am her best friend yet I didn't know she had this supernatural superstition about her fiancé?! Alrighty, first she leaves me for the dogs by making sit through a long time with Mrs. Malfoy and now she decides to tell me about her unhealthy obsession with Malfoy. Grr, next question: will she elaborate?
"And?" Mrs. Malfoy's expression seemed to declare. Though unbeknownst to Ginny, both her and Mrs. Malfoy had the identical delicate eyebrow raise. Aurora hadn't taken any notice, or if she did, her expressions did not betray her actual feelings. However, this was noted by the entering Draco Malfoy with a horrified gasp followed by a confused Harry. Aurora turned to face her fiancé.
"What now?"
"They . . . they . . . the eyebrow thing!" Malfoy stuttered while pointing at the now confused expressions on both Ginny and his mother's face. That however, did not change the whole "eyebrow thing" as Draco named it. The confusion had made the similarity of facial expressions more obvious.
"Oh I see it!" Harry declared. Both he and his partner had burst out laughing.
"This must be a good trait Potter," Draco teased. Still, Ginny was confused; on the other hand, Mrs. Malfoy had finally understood the humor.
"She would be quite the wife, Harry," Mrs. Malfoy added before sipping her tea to hide a smile. Ginny slowly looked at each laughing face, only to turn to Aurora for some sort of an explanation. Her friend only shrugged and mouthed "I'll explain later." The somehow humorous situation had definitely relieved the tension that previously filled the room, but Ginny felt like she was the butt of a joke that she did not understand. This didn't bode well for her self-confidence and in turn, her ego. And to make things worse, was the joke another jab at Harry and herself?
"Are you certain Mr. and Mrs. Weasley are not lost?" Aurora asked trying to bring the situation back to the issue at hand. Uh-oh. Wrong question to ask – this is bound to stir up awful reminder of the raids on the Malfoy manor. Oh shoot, I really don't feel mentally apt to prepare myself for being kicked out after being made fun of.
"I don't know," Mrs. Malfoy replied to Ginny's surprise. The older woman showed no hostility to the family name, and if memories were brought up, she had definitely concealed it with expertise. "Geoffrey! Please go check for Arthur and Molly Weasley. They have been delayed for too long."
The servant entered the room, bowed, and exited; all of there were done in a span of five seconds. Ginny found her thoughts wonder to how it is possible for Geoffrey to do these actions with dignity. Although his social position was low, his composure held more confidence and pride then what Ginny thought her aura proclaimed.
Aurora and Mrs. Malfoy had begun their whispered conversation on the subject of something. That something must have irked a particular member of the conversation and Ginny now needed to be the referee.
"Ginny, you are the expert at this," Mrs. Malfoy began. "How long will it take for the tailors to fix the dresses?"
"What dresses?" were the replies from the males in the room. They were too busy with gossip from their office. It had something to do with a certain secretary that was interested in a certain auror – Harry.
Mrs. Malfoy had given a quick briefing to the men about the current situation of the wedding, as well as a debriefing on the tabloid issue. The reactions were unexpected. Harry tensed only to relax when Draco laughed and politely insulted Ginny.
"As much as all the compliments given to you by our colleagues, I don't think you will bode well as the wife of a Malfoy. Besides, if my sources are correct, your heart is already leaning towards someone." The subtle eye contact Malfoy made to Aurora was not missed by Ginny. The redhead glared at her best friend and wondered how many other secrets were divulged to the intruder.
Maybe marriage does change people and come between friendships. Aurora is marrying into a family that does not get along with my very well . . . that is an understatement. It is valid to say our families have had a long held grudge over I don't know what. I suppose the tabloids are going to have fun with the dramatics a "union" of Malfoy and I will bring. Yep, like the Romeo and Juliet stories – two feuding families with a young couple whose love is doomed to fail.
Note to self: Hurt Aurora after this tea party.
"Mrs. Malfoy, Mr. and Mrs. Weasley." Geoffrey bowed and exited the room again. A maid quickly came and helped the Weasleys' to a seat and poured the tea. She quickly exited the room as well giving all the members involved in the new scandal privacy to discuss damage control.
"Before we begin," Mrs. Malfoy started as soon as Molly Weasley opened her mouth, "I would like to apologize to everyone on behalf of Aurora. I am sorry about the trouble and inconvenience her careless actions have caused." Ginny noticed her usually fiery best friend accept her future mother-in-law's disapproval. She didn't do anything wrong really. We were just having fun while going through the tedious job of dress hunting.
Ginny was about to defend Aurora when she noticed her friend's silent hints of dropping the subject and let the dragon finished her rant. To Ginny's surprise, her parents were handling everything calmly. There were no burst of anger at the scandal; in fact, her parents seemed to be somewhat pleased that something like this had happened. Is there something I should know?? Everyone else in the room didn't allow the presence of the older Weasleys to deter their thoughts on the previous topic.
"Right, it should take too long for the bridesmaids' dresses to be fixed. From what I can gather about the storekeeper, he seemed genuinely relieved that Aurora decided to get ice cream." The observation wasn't Ginny's bold attempt make humor, but it did succeed. Everyone made another comment about Aurora's short temper and how it will be even worse after marrying Draco Malfoy.
Mrs. Malfoy was perceptive enough to ask Molly and Arthur Weasley if they had the need to do something. Since Draco didn't actually do anything with Ginny nor vice versa, and the same for Harry and Aurora, there wasn't much for Molly and Arthur to be mad about. It was obvious to anyone that Draco and Aurora were smitten young loves caught in the midst of the media frenzy. To Ginny's surprise, her parents actually sympathized with Mrs. Malfoy and apologized on her behalf! Aurora had the audacity to smile, and Ginny'e resolve to hurt her best friend was strengthened.
Since the older Weasleys were quick to accepting the explanation, fixing the problem was very simple. A press conference will be held and Draco and Aurora will make an official statement about their engagement. Unfortunately, this means the logistics of the wedding need to be given as well. That means the bridesmaids, groomsmen, best man, and the maid of honor will be announced.
"This would more work for you Ginny," Aurora explained with a forlorn tone. "The party will most likely have a bigger guest list. Media will want to come, the leaders will most like be invited as well, and not to mention every single acquaintance will be wishing for an invitation." Ginny merely nodded and jotted down all the new information.
"It will be fine Aurora. You still have a few months," Ginny comforted her friend.
"The press conference will be followed by a mingling time," Mrs. Malfoy added. "If you are able, Ginny, will you plan this public event as well?" Ginny nodded only to regret her inability to say "no" right away after leaving the Malfoy manor.
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All the preliminary planning had been completed, and everyone now had a part to end the rumors flying around. Since damage control should be done as soon as possible, the press conference was scheduled to be three days from today, meaning a lovely Friday night.
Great, I get to plan something without much time for reserving and such. This is going to be quite a task. Reserving something on a busy night with only three days! Well, since I do have a humongous budget to work with, this should be easy. If I can complete this successfully, I think I will seek a career in organizing social events rather than finishing my degree. Though I think mum might have a fit when she realizes I actually thought that . . .
Speaking of mum, I really hope she will stop her grudge with Narcissa Malfoy. This won't be good since both women like Aurora. Grrr,
After leaving the Malfoy manor, Mrs. Weasley had complained endlessly about the condescending treatment she had thought her family and her received. It seems they did get lost and the fact that Narcissa chose to ignore them for the majority of the meeting wasn't a good thing in their books.
Aurora had made the smart decision to not escort Ginny back to her house. Although a good friend was supposed to walk their friend home, especially if the latter is planning the former's wedding, Aurora probably wanted to remain physically healthy before her wedding. Being along with Ginny would mean Ginny would have her time to vent at a real live person. This would most likely end in the person being hurt due to an interesting combination of spells.
The bright side of this arrangement was Ginny will now have more time with every wizard and witch's Golden Boy. Harry was assigned to help Ginny by Malfoy since he "did not succeed in planning a secret wedding."
Oh dense do people get . . .
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Omni's comment: Anyway, this is one of those boring chapters that lead to a more interesting event. I'll stop jabbering and thank everyone now since my guilt has been building up for a couple of weeks now.
THANK YOUS:
Nimacu: Thank you. I am always glad whenever I get a new fan. ^^
Ghostcat: I have to give you credit for reviewing every single chapter. Wow! Aren't your eyes and finger tired after all that reading and typing? And yes, Mimi is crazy – there will be a reason for that. You questions should be answered in what I already have and future chapters.
Female Fred: You are welcome. Drawing things out is my forte; however, whether or not the drawn out chapter is good, is another whole new question.
Ciara: Yay! Thank you!
Punkin: Sorry, Draco and Harry didn't say much about the problem in this chapter. There will be more Harry opinions in the next. I should be able to uphold this promise as the next chapter will be Ginny and Harry again. Let's see if I can write some fluff.
The Dragon Guardian of the Sea: I stopped because I got tired??
Nia 88: Oh yes. Poor Ginny. And you can definitely guess setting her up with Harry is going to wreak havoc with this rumor yet to be unsettled.
KeeperOfTheMoon: Should I take that as a positive feedback? ^^
Aindel: Thanks for the advice. And you know, those e-mail discussions are quite fun!! ^^
Ella-Wood: Thanks for your concern. Let's if this whacked up chapter is up to par. ^^
Now thanks yous from the previous chapter:
Beth e: Thank you! I did try to update even while I was sick, though since you didn't review, I don't know if it was up to your expectations.
Ashtynn-Jade: Of course Aurora knows something about Harry that Ginny doesn't know. They work together after all.
Pineapplehead: Did you like this one and the chapter before?? I like constant reviews if you haven't noticed. *blush*
Lilia: I know! They do seem to have a different sense of common sense than girls. That's just my limited experience with trying to understand them. However, I don't think anyone would do something like a secret wedding real life . . . at least I hope not. If they do plan this, they are stupid and insane. And thank you so much for the compliment – my ego is getting in the red zone . . . hope you will like the rest.
Avalon: Eh . . . I'll try my very best to have some serious fluffy in the next chapter. I have been dodging that since fluffy is definitely not my expertise. I am afraid I might ruin it all.
Erica Evans: Thanks – my made-up character actually has fans!! Should I be proud? Anyhoo, please e-mail me about betaing, pretty please??
Silver Witch: Wise words! I think I should keep that in mind in my reality. ^^ Nope, no D/G in this ficcy, though I do have another story in mind for D/G. That will probably be started after I actually complete some stories. ^^
Well, thanks to everyone and your support. I feel much better now – only the stuffy nose and cough remain. My brain has been functioning for a while now.
Love you all very much,
~Omni