A/N. Hey, I'm here, again, to thanks the reviews, because without them, I wouldn't write/translate this anymore, and sure, to my dearest b-reader, Ana, who is doing this amazing job, helping me to make this readable... and if you read the first chap a loooong time ago, read it again, she edited it to me too, and now, it's wonderfull!
Again, the characters are J.K.Rowling's, but I own the plot, Tobby, Mobby, and Jake! Enjoy it!
A few minutes after sunset, Ginny spoke.
" Draco, I'd better go back to the castle, or Harry and Ron will start looking for me... you know..."
"Oh yeah... that's, ok Ginny...I wish you could stay, but we can always meet again tomorrow..."
"Sure we can, and we can talk tonight too, can't we?"
"Yeah. I'll go in a few minutes, so they won't suspect that we were together," he said, calmly.
Ginny stood up, brushed down her robes and lowered her head in Draco's direction. He looked into her brown eyes. She smiled and kissed his forehead.
"See ya!" she said, running across the garden.
See ya, honey... Draco thought, wondering if he'd ever be able to say it out loud. He gave hear a good lead, and then stood up, took his cloak and went back to the Slytherin common room.
Ginny met Ron and Harry at the entrance to Gryffindor Tower. They looked at her suspiciously.
"Where were you? We've been looking for you for a while, you know." Ron scolded.
"I.. I was.. walking around the grounds..." she said, faintly.
"For Gryfindor's sake, Ginny. Please, don't tell me that you were with that Malfoy git... you know that he only wants to screw up our lives..." Ron said, his eyes glinting dangerously.
"Look, Ron, I'm tired now... tired of you, and tired of this Malfoy stuff... ok? Leave me alone... and I wasn't with Dra.. with Malfoy."
"Mmm.. all right, then " he said to her, and then, glancing at Harry, he said, in a low voice, "Let's go, Harry, Hermione must be waiting at Hagrid's"
"That's right.. bye Ginny" Harry said.
"Can I... may I... go with you?" asked Ginny, in a very low voice.
"I don't think so. It's a bit of a secret." said Ron, turning his back to Ginny, and pulling Harry by his sleeve.
I wonder what that was all about. Maybe I'll try to figure it out later... Ginny climbed through the Fat Lady's portrait, walked across the room without being noticed, and once in her dorm, crashed on her bed.
"Draco, Draco! You've got an owl! Pandora is waiting for you in the dorm. And she bit my ear..." said Goyle, in a pouting tone that did not suit his large frame. He was pointing to a dark gray, almost black owl, just inside the half open door.
"Ok, Goyle...I'll get it in a moment" answered Draco, dreamily.
Goyled run off to join Crabbe near the fireplace, and the pair retured to their own doings. Draco entered the dorm, the familiar damp smell hitting him hard. Pandora flew quickly in his direction as soon he walked trough the door.
"Very good, Pan... good girl..", he said, touching the owl's fluffy head. "Don't leave my mail with anybody else, always give it to me personally..."
He untied the parchment from the owl's leg, and Pandora flew off to the owlery. Draco turned his attention to the letter.
"Draco
They found Narcissa. Come to the Manor tonight. I've already sent Dumbledore an owl, and our coach will be waiting for you in the evening. You should be able to go back in a day or two.
Lucius."
He looked trough the window and saw the coach with the familiar silver M on the ceiling waiting near the south entrance. He sighed. He suddenly noticed that someone else was in the dorm. Draco turned around and faced Pansy Parkinson.
"Sighing for the Weasley, Draco...?" She asked, almost whispering. Her black eyes were shining dangerosly .
"What did you say, Pansy?"
"Do you think I'm blind? She came into the castle with this... happy face, and then just a few minutes later you come in, wearing the same happy face... are you dating that Gryffindor?"
"WHAT?" Draco yelled, pulling Pansy from the shadows. "How dare you say anything about Gin.. about Weasley?" ops, that will go a long way to convince her... he thought. "I mean.. I wasn't with that girl."
"So you deny that you're snogging with that Weasley cow, Draco?" She asked, wrestling herself from his grasp.
"Of course I do!!!"
"Then kiss me, Draco..." she was getting closer and closer, her face almost touching his...
"Get off me, Pansy! I'm busy and.. I don't want to hug you, or kiss you or touch you at all!"
"Oh.. are you sure? Are you Weasley's Property now?" she said, furious, pacing around Draco.
"Shut up, and get out of my dorm!" yelled Draco, pushing her out of the room.
Pansy looked like she was going to reply, but Draco slammed the door in her face.
Oh, good... that's all I needed... Pansy thinking I like Gin. but... can it be?
Ginny was in bed. Ron is always bugging me, I mean, what did he think I was doing? Dating Malfoy? He might be thinking that I fancy Draco.. but.. can it be possible?
Oh, for Wand's Sake.. I'm in love with Weasley...
Charmed cauldron.. I'm in love with Draco...
Snap.
Ginny? Are you listening?
Ops... Draco? Yeah, I'm... how long have you been here?
I've just performed the spell. Why? Are you doing something naughty?
No.. nothing.. what's up?
Me.. I.. wow...
You..?
Oh, Ginny, I...
Draco? What's wrong
I'm going home. They found her.
Wow. Mmm.. and when you get back?
I don't know. Maybe in the weekend....
Be strong, ok? Remember, you can always talk to me...
Oh, it's so good to hear this.. but I think... that it will be awful.
But you can handle this, you know... I know you can.
I have to. And.. don't forget about me while I'm not here, ok?
As if I could! And if you need to talk, I'm just a spell away. Bye...
Bye Gin.
Snap.
I wonder if he heard something he shouldn't.... Ginny was thinking to herself when Hedwig flew through the window.
"Hey, what's that, Hedwig?" Ginny asked sharply, Hedwig's sudden appearance having snapped her out of her reverie. She took the letter and read it.
"Ginny,
You must get Harry's cloak, which is next to the fireplace, under the blue chair, it the Common Room. You may not, actually you MUST NOT come to Hagrid's, you must give it to Hedwig and and let her brings it to us.
Ron."
Ginny glanced at the owl and got up from her bed. They trust this owl more than they trust me... She went down to the dorm, took the cloak from it's hiding place and, defying her brother's warning, decided to take it down to Hagrid's herself.
She went through the portrait and stumbled against someone who was standing just outside.
"Ouch... I'm sorry.." muttered Ginny, trying to find out who was there.
"No sorry, Weasley. Shut up your bloody mouth and listen to me. There are some ... things... I need to tell you. " a hoarse female voice that Ginny didn't recognize muttered, "About you lovely Dracy..."
"What? My what?" she muttered, while pushing the stranger into the light. She was a Slytherin girl, who always sat next to Draco... "Who the hell are you?"
"Pansy, Pansy Parkinson, Draco Malfoy's girlfriend."
"Draco Malfoy's what?" Ginny asked, dazed. Girlfriend? He certainly would have told her... but she remembered him saying her name... Pansy...
"GIRLFRIEND. And you'd better get the hell away from him, hear me, Weasley? Or he just might do something you may not like... you're too innocent for him."
"Wha.. what?"
"Uh, Weasley, I think you're just a little deaf. But you're warned. Watch out, because Draco is not a lil' boy. He's a man. And he's MY man. You're warned."
Pansy turned on her heels and disappeared around a corner. Ginny was shivering. She went back to her dorm and allowed Hedwig to deliver the cloak. She suddenly didn't care that Ron was avoiding her. She could swear she heard a cracking noise in her chest. It was her heart breaking once more.
The Manor seems much farther somehow... thought Draco, looking out of the carriage window. I'll talk Gin... Merlin, I miss her already... I might... tell her I'm in love... or maybe not... He took his wand from one of his pockets and performed the spell. Nothing. He tried again. Nothing. Did I do something wrong? One more time. Nothing. I wonder... The spell only works if she wants to talk to me too... why doesn't she want to talk to me?
Draco dropped his wand and rested his head against the window. His heart felt very tight. What's wrong?
How could I fool myself this much? Ginny thought, crying quietly, her face buried in her pillow. Well, it's not his fault... he didn't lead me on... he just needed a friend but... Oh, why did I let him sweep me off my feet this fast?
Deciding that being alone was the very last thing she wanted, Ginny rubbed her eyes and started down the stairs to the common room. She was almost knocked over by Hermione, who was rushing out of her own dormitory.
"Ginny... you're here..." Hermione stammered when she Ginny.
"Yep."
Hermione was holding a large book, called 'Painful Charms: How to inflict and repel pain.'
"Where are you going, Mione? Can I come too? I'm feeling a bit lonely." Ginny pleaded, almost afraid of the answer.
"Oh, Ginny, not today, okay? We're a bit busy..." said Hermione, leaving the room. "If you fell lonely, go take a look at the library... a god book helps." she said, hurrying out of the portrait hole.
"Sure" muttered Ginny, with no emotion. "Library."
She took a random book from a table, and started thumbing through the pages.
Ironically, she found a chapter titled "Wizard Love: to mend a broken heart". She started to read about deep crushes and charming wizards. Eventually, she fell asleep on the pages.
When the coach arrived at the Manor, Draco was asleep. Jake, the butler, knocked at the window to wake him up.
"Hmmm... where, what.. mmm.. hi Jake..." muttered Draco, opening the door, and walking into the house, while Tobby and Mobby, two of the Malfoy house-elves, carried his trunk.
"How was the trip, sir?" asked Jake, while Draco walked across the door, into the house entrance hall.
"Fine, Jake... just fine..."
As Draco started up the stairs, the constant cold wind that filled the Manor chilling his spine, Jake said:
"You father asked you to take a shower and get dressed properly for the ceremony, that will take place at the sunshine."
"And how about the lunch?"
"It will be served in your bedroom, sir." With that statement, Jake returned to the kitchen
"Sure... what was I thinking, why would anyone have lunch with me...." muttered Draco, walking up the ivory steps.
At the top of the stairs, he walked trough the corridor, turned two or three times, walking between walls covered with pictures of all the Malfoy ancestors. Some pretty ladies where smiling, the men, generally surly, where muttering by themselves or in groups, pointing at Draco.
They know that I didn't deserve to be a Malfoy... they know that I'm too weak... but only they know... only them...
Finally, he walked trough the heavy door leading to his bedroom. He closed the door silently. Beside of his bed was a trembling tray of fruit. It was trembling because Tobby the house-elf was carrying it.
"Tobby! This tray is too heavy for you!" Draco scolded gently, removing the tray from the elf's hands, and putting it on the bed.
"Tobby is sorry, sir... Tobby is very weak" the elf squeaked, making reverences to Draco.
"Stop it, Tobby, you know that when we're alone you may act normally..." Draco said, while was taking an apple from the tray.
"But sir.. you sir are always so cruel... like a good master should" Tobby said, biting his fingers.
"Tobby, are you all right? When was I cruel to you?" Draco asked, biting the apple and looking very curiously at the elf, who was staring at him with fear in his eyes and banging his head against the wall.
"No, sir... you sir is bad, sir, you punish Tobby, PUNISH! Just like Tobby deserves!" squealed the house-elf, digging his nails into his arms.
"Ouch, Tobby, stop it..." said Draco, sitting on the bed. "Come on, sit down..."
"So that's the way a Malfoy treats a house-elf?" Draco heard his father's voice echoing in his bedroom like a peal of thunder.
"Ah... hmmm... Lucius... I... "Draco stammered nervously, his father standing in the doorway. Tobby run out of the room, crying.
"Don't say a word. I saw what you did, Draco. Treating an house elf like an equal? What's the next step? Get friends with Potter? Marry a mud-blood? No... you'll want more... WILL YOU LIVE WITH THE MUGGLES?" yelled Lucius, sarcasm dripping from his voice..
"But dad.. father... Lucius..."
"But? No but! You bring shame to the Malfoy name! If you can't be cold, organized and pure enough, FAKE IT!
"But I fake, I fake!" Draco said, his eyes brimming with tears. " I pretend more than I can! I'm cruel all the time, with every one! I complain, and yell, and I make fun from Mud Bloods and Gryffindors and..."
"And as soon turn my back and you ask a house elf to sit on your bed?!"
"He was tired... the tray was too heavy..."
"And...? He is a house elf! A slave. He was BORN to serve this family! You must understand that WE ARE BETTER!" yelled Lucius, " And now, dry those muggle tears, eat and FAKE you're normal. Soon, our guests will arrive, and you won't humiliate me even more."
As soon as Lucius crossed the door, Tobby apparated at Draco's side.
"I was trying to warn you sir, I tried..." he was almost crying, nervously.
"That's all right Tobby, I'll take a shower... everything is going to be fine..." said Draco, drying his face. "Everything is going to be fine." Especially if I manage to talk to Ginny.
Tobby kept gazing at Draco while he picked up a towel and entered his bathroom. Then, when he closed the door, Tobby whispered, sadly.
"Poor young Mister Malfoy..."
Next chapter: Wel, I may tell you the title... The way that ALL hearts broke That sounds sad enough? And... a very expected kiss...
Once more, I beg you, review...And sorry about my poor English (not so bad, now I get this amazing b*r, thanks again Ana!), I write quite well in Portuguese... if you can understand it, go to the Portuguese Version, that's finished already
