A/N: Here is part 2 of my fun little story. I concocted the whole plot up
in my head last night at midnight. What was going to be a short story..is
now probably going to take up about 35-40 pages on Microsoft Word..I should
be putting this much effort into school!
Another note---- read my other story "Hogwarts Isn't Ready For This One" story ID 993366!
Review please! I love getting feedback..and flames will be used to warm my chilly toes.damn New England weather!
THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!! I got some today in my inbox after returning from a 3 hour detention (where I wrote 15 pages of the story in my notebook.it shall be typed tonight ( ) and have a buncha reviews. I literally jumped with excitement.I still haven't realized anyone else reads my story besides Kayla. ( thanks everyone.
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Mother's Wishes Part Two
The two found themselves in the rush and clutter of Diagon Alley. They were almost late for the appointment Ginny had scheduled that morning. Ginny pushed through the crowded street, trusting Draco would follow. Draco felt eyes staring at him, people were astonished by him. Many were shocked when the word got out that Draco Malfoy had turned against his father and fought against the Death Eaters in the war. He left England soon after and after his arrival a few days prior, people wondered about him even more. He rushed to find Ginny as he noticed witches and wizards whispering his name and looking at him with scrutiny. He finally saw the familiar shock of red hair outside Madam Malkin's.
"There you are, I thought I had lost you. I'm sorry we had to come this way, I know it must be strange having people look at you, I do know the feeling." Ginny said with honest sympathy in her eyes. Everyone gawked at her after word got out that she would not be marrying Harry Potter. The two gave each other knowing glances and opened the door to the shop.
The door chimed and immediately the stout old witch dressed all in teal came over to them and enveloped Ginny in a hug. "Even if I saw you a few hours ago, everyone needs a hug, dear!" she said cheerily. "And Mr. Malfoy! Look at you! You've.grown so much!" She said with hesitation, covered with a smile. "It's always delightful to see people I haven't seen in such a long while! I knew you'd decided to travel for a bit but to where, I don't know." She said looking him over, in astonishment. The three walked to the back of the store to the first private fitting room. Ginny pulled Draco by the arm and set him in front of the mirrored wall.
"Draco, turn around once please. I need to get a good look at you." Ginny ordered.
"Now Milly, down to business!" Ginny said, putting on her black-rimmed rectangular glasses and retrieving a portfolio of drawings from her sleek black shoulder bag. Isabella, Milly's young assistant took out a tape and began taking his measurements as Ginny and Madam Malkin began quietly discussing their ideas. "I told you he'd suit those robes we've been working on. You have those gray ones I told you about ready? I think we need to make the shoulders a little wider and add a trim to the outside."
"You read my mind, Virginia! Isabella, why don't you go fetch that gray robe in my closet. You know where the key is. And bring that new trim that just arrived from Milan!" Milly said calmly.
Within minutes, Isabella was rushing out, a roll of trim in one hand, a gray robe in the other.
"Draco, why don't you try this one on. Now Ginny and myself have been working on this design for awhile but could never find anyone with the right coloring and physique. Why don't you try it, if not, I have others in mind." Milly said, handing him the robe.
Draco slipped on the robe, it fitting snuggly around the shoulders.
"It needs to be altered in the shoulders Isabella, why don't you do that now." Ginny said looking at Draco. Isabella prompted took out her wand and got to work. "Well I think that's covered.except it needs a colored trim."
"Well shouldn't we go with the customary green, Ginny? I mean, he's a Slytherin and green is their house color." Milly insisted.
"No!" Ginny and Draco said in unison.
"Milly, everyone will be expecting the one and only Draco Malfoy to be wearing gray and green, his old Hogwarts colors. Draco is certainly not the same little school boy so I think he's old enough to be independent of his old house colors."
"My thoughts exactly, Ginny." Draco chimed in.
"Milly, look at his eyes, aren't they such a beautiful pale blue.almost gray. I think we could charm the trim to that shade, it would definitely bring out his eyes. I think it would be far more flattering than any other shade." Ginny stated.
Draco nodded in agreement.
"You're entirely right. Isabella, find the right shade of blue trim and charm it on. Ginny and I will be in the next room making a few alterations to her gown for tonight. Draco, you can take that robe off and Isabella will get you fitted with your casual robes. Ginny already has them picked out, they are over there on that rack. We shouldn't be more than twenty minutes." Madam Malkin said as she and Ginny left the room and headed farther down the small hallway. Ginny returned several minutes later to check on Draco's fitting. Ginny made a few adjustments to the robes herself and finally told Draco he was finished.
"Now Draco, you can't wear these robes with those jeans of yours and that sweater surely won't do so after I take care of payment matters we'll be off to Harrod's. "
"I think you're right, Harrod's would be the best. But did you get muggle money from Gringotts?"
"Well actually your mother has been making many muggle purchases lately so she has an account at Harrod's. Don't worry Draco, everything is arranged and taken care of. That's my job, taking stress off my clients." Ginny said as they waited for Theodore's response to the owl they'd sent. An owl swooped down from Theodore saying he'd be at Madam Malkin's in 5 minutes and to leave all their packages for him to pick up. As they were about to leave, Milly came running up to the both of them.
"Now Draco, you better be coming back soon! I don't want to have to wait 2 years again!" She said giving him a kiss on his cheek. "And don't let Ginny order you around too much today, she's just stressed because she's going to your party tonight." Milly said quietly to Draco who was leaning down to her.
"Of course, Madam Malkin. Thank you very much for the wonderful robes." He said politely.
"Ginny darling, I want you to take a picture of yourself in that beautiful dress tonight! Have fun! I'll be seeing you later! Don't torture this poor kid today!" Milly said as she kissed Ginny goodbye.
"Goodbye, Milly! Make sure Theodore brings all Draco's robes and the 2 gowns back to the manor!" She said as she was walking out the door!"
"Don't worry Ginny, everything will be fine!" Milly yelled out the door.
The two rushed through Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron, heading for muggle London. After the war, the muggle world was introduced to the wizarding world. They were still adjusting to the change but it was quite enough to notice. Wizards were wearing muggle clothing far more often and wizarding robes were becoming quite "en vogue" with the high fashion designers.
Ginny took in a breath of the fresh London air and promptly felt her stomach growl. "I don't know 'bout you, but I sure could go for a bite to eat."
"My thoughts exactly. I know a great little restaurant café about 5 minutes from here. How about it?" Ginny nodded and followed his lead as confusion took over her head. 'Draco Malfoy, frequenting the muggle world..he really HAS changed.' They continued walking in silence.
"Ya know I wasn't surprised to hear how successful you've become, Virginia." Draco said to her, still facing forward. "But before I left you were still with Potter."
"I was waiting for you to say something about that, Draco. It was quite big news when I ended our engagement. It was a little less than 2 years ago. People are still looking at me like I'm crazy, turning down Harry Potter. We've stayed private about it though."
"I'm sure the rest of the Weasley clan was disappointed. They've treated him as one of their own."
She laughed and began her story, steadily walking. "You have no idea! My mother refused to talk to me for 3 weeks, saying I was making the 'biggest mistake of my life' and that I should 'pray he'll take me back' but once she calmed down and I talked to her about it, she started learning to cope and understand. I know she wanted the best for me and I think she always really hoped the best would be Harry. And plus I knew deep down being a part of the Weasley family was a big part of wanting to marry me. He and Ron have always been brotherly but it would have been so much better to really call him a brother. Ron was pissed off too, of course. And how did you find out about Harry and I not being together anymore? I thought you were off living in the woods or something!" She giggled at the thought of Draco cutting down trees but with his current attire, it didn't seem too far-fetched.
"I briefly lived in a woodland area, yes, but mostly I drifted about.hopping a few trains to change continents. Barely used magic at all." He replied simply as they continued their brisk walk. "I guess I needed to get away, from everyone, people who knew me. Or thought they knew me. I had to figure my life out and the only way I could do that was if I didn't have anything constricting me. I'm still adjusting to being back here. Seeing people I knew before."
"Now everyone is even more confused about you than before, when you turned against the Death Eaters. You can't blame people for wondering..you turned against your own father. Then take off for 2 years only to return unrecognizable. It's something very out of the ordinary if you ask me. But you've never been ordinary, have you Draco." she said rolling her eyes.
"You're right but they're looking at me like I'm some sort of ogre! I don't look that bad do I?" He said lookin
"I'm not going to answer that, Draco. It would be..unprofessional." She said laughing, not wanting to lie. "Well I promise you'll look better. And Draco, I take it you forgotten how to match colors while you were away." She couldn't help but giggle as she took another glance at Draco's outfit.
"Well here we are!" Draco stopped Ginny at a small lunch restaurant café, "After you, milady" he said as he opened the door and bowed.
"Why thank you, kind gentleman." Ginny offered him her hand giggling furiously, their joking gaining attention from the other customers. They shuffled to an empty table in the back and they placed their orders, both ordering sandwiches.
"Care to tell me why you and Wonder Boy split?" Draco questioned flatly.
"Well if you're going to be forward, I will too. I'll tell you all about why Witch Weekly's Man Of The Year got dumped by his fiancée only if you tell me why you fought against your father." She said challengingly.
"Fine. It was quite simple actually, I didn't want to be a Death Eater and I hated my father for various reasons. "
"Draco, that was vague, you can't just say you hate your father. We all were under the impression that you were preparing yourself to be the carbon copy of him. I mean, you can't blame us, you worshipped the man when you were younger."
"If you must know I have resentment towards him, he raised his child to hate and demoralize. He was abusive and hurtful and took away my mother's happiness. She did nothing but try to please him and live up to his standards but apparently she had too much love in her so he'd put her under paralyzingly painful curses. So I think that's a good enough reason to hate my father." He was now almost screaming at Ginny.
"I'm so sorry Draco. I don't know what I was thinking when I asked." She said with fear in her voice.
"Ginny I'm sorry I was so rude, you asked a question that people have been wondering. I'm just still adjusting to everything. I guess I just snapped." He looked down, avoiding her eyes.
"Well I guess I should explain to you what happened with Harry and I..now this is pretty exclusive, If I had a knut for every time I've had people ask me for an interview.I'd be a rich woman. Well I thought I loved him. And then once I realized my goals in life, I knew I would never be able to achieve them being his wife. I was 18 years old and going to get married. I'd be having children and he'd be off playing Quidditch and he'd never come home. I'd be a housewife. I could never be happy being a housewife. Neither of us would really be happy. And I was naïve and I think it was that childhood crush taking over. When I really looked him, I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life with him, there was something missing. I was already working for the agency and I needed to be independent, living on my own. Taking care of myself. I felt like Harry was marrying me to take care of me, like taking over for Ron. I had to break it off. It was hard letting go of him but I've gotten over it. There. We've both said we wanted to know from each other." She said and nodded her head.
"It must have been nice growing up in such a loving and warm family. You may not believe this but I would see you and your family and be green with envy. I never had that, only from my mother and not in view of my father. He didn't want his son to be soft. So he made sure I turned into a arrogant bratty git. Real love there."
"Well at least you can admit it now! You're right.you definitely were an arrogant little brat. So easy to loathe...oh I remember when you were turned into a ferret.oh goodness that was hilarious!" She couldn't stop the laughs, almost spitting out her mocha latte.
"I'd like to forget about that." Draco said between laughs.
"I'm sorry. It's quite unprofessional of me to be making fun of my clients." Ginny tried to stop the snorty giggles escaping.
"Well technically my mother is your client, I didn't hire you, it was entirely my mother's doing. As much as I've enjoyed your assistance and company so far today, shopping has never been one of my favorite activities. But it will make her happy and so I'm letting her treat me as a child. Parties and stuff like that make her feel needed, she lives for throwing parties, gives her something constructive to do. I suspect she's invited plenty of young witches to the party in hopes of finding me a bride."
"She only wants the best for you. Parents have this idea in their head of what their children should be and sometimes they don't always fit that mold. I think my parents thought I would end up being my mother, having a big family, and they added Harry to the picture as the devoted husband. Your mother probably wants you to have everything she didn't.maybe to her its something to do with her marriage, from what you've told me, it doesn't seem like she could really love your father."
"I think at one point she did, in some skewed way. It was an arranged marriage you know. Both the families were extremely aristocratic and they had arranged it when my mother was born. My mother even told me once that my father tried to arrange my marriage when I was 8 years old. To Pansy Parkinson, no less." He made a disgusted face. "She is someone I could live without seeing. I remember Pansy always coming over and whining because I didn't have dolls for her to play with. Then my mother put her foot down, it was one of those times where Lucius knew it was a bad idea. Plus neither of them really wanted to have Pansy as a daughter in law. But they still made me take her to the Yule Ball."
"At least she's married to that Flint guy so she won't hound you like she used to, I remember one time she was chasing you down the hall calling you Drakies! I'm sure she'll be there tonight. As well as the rest of the old Slytherin crowd, well what is left of them."
"I know, I killed a few of them."
Ginny looked at him in embarrassment.
"It's what needed to be done, Ginny. I was never attached to them anyway. You don't make friends in Slytherin when you're a member of a family like mine, you acquire allies. That's why I was so miserable at Hogwarts, I never really had any friends. Crabbe and Goyle were only my bodygaurds, but everyone else thought I was friends with them."
"I didn't really have any friends at Hogwarts either." Ginny said quietly.
Draco didn't know what to say, she was a Weasley, everyone in Gryffindor loved the Weasleys who were notoriously kind and welcoming.
"I know why you're giving me that look. I wouldn't believe it either but it's true. People assumed I was fine because my brothers, especially Ron, always looked after me. And then Harry and Hermione started 'looking after me' but it was always the 3 of them, the Trio. Girls would even try to be buddy-buddy with me to get closer to Harry Potter, the Heartthrob of Hogwarts. It wasn't easy being alone, and even worse, having people around you that have ulterior motives."
"I'm sorry they did that to you. I'm sure some of those Slytherins hated me too. I wasn't nice to anyone back then, their parents probably made their children talk to me. But if it means anything, if I wasn't such an intolerable git back then, I would have been your friend." He said with a genuine smile.
"And I would have been yours' Draco." Ginny returned the smile.
The two finished the last bites of their sandwiches and the last sips of their coffee drinks. Draco got the bill, being quite gentlemanly. They were soon once again in a rush to make their appointment time at Harrod's. Ginny had arranged her good friend, and costomer assistant and tailor at Harrod's to personally help them that afternoon. They strolled up to the desk at the front of the men's section and they were guided to a small tailoring and fitting room in the back. A tall, lanky, man, mid-twenties, came bounding into the room and enveloped Ginny in a hug. "Ginny Weasley! It's bloody grand to see your beautiful face again!" He said flamboyantly. They lightly kissed each other in the cheek.
"Nigel, I'd like you to meet Draco Malfoy." The two men shook hands."Thank you so much for penciling us in on such short notice but it was an emergency as you can see." Ginny smiled as Draco nudged her in her side and gave her a fiesty glare. "His mother has hired me to get him a new wardrobe and prepare him for tonight, his mother is throwing him a party for his return home from the wilderness. I've gotten him his robes at Madam Malkins and this is our last stop so let's go according to the plan we've talked about last night."
"Of course Ginny, I have those suits ready you requested. The best designers of course. We'll get them tailored today and have them sent out as soon as possible but for now we need a nice shirt and pants for this evening. I've already set aside shoes over there on the table, and brought in some nice neutral ties. I'll be taking his measurements for his suits as you find some trousers, shirts, and jumpers."
"Draco, I'll bring in some colors of shirts and you can tell me if you like them or not. I'll be right back." Ginny scurried out and returned 5 minutes later with stacks upon stacks of sleek button down dress shirts. She would hold up each other and he would discard the colors he didn't like.she even brought in pink and purple to see his reaction.
"I'm sorry Ginny, I refuse to wear purple shirts." He said frustrated as Nigel made small marks on the expensive Armani suit he was wearing.
"Ok, ok. So We're sticking with the black, grey, blue, light blue, white, green, .." She rattled off all the shirt she'd picked out for him. "Now we need to see you in some trousers, Draco." She pulled a rack into the dressing room of gray, khaki, and black pants. "These flatfront ones are in style. Try these on. Give the suit back to Nigel over the door, please." She said, ushering him into the small changing room in the corner. Ginny sat down in the chair and started sifting through each shirt and finding ties to go with the color scheme.
"How are these, Gin?" Draco came out of the dressing room in the black pants and the blue button down shirt.
"Definitely a keeper. Nigel, I want 2 of those pants in black and 2 in that dark gray. And come over here and let me record that shirt size and brand." Draco leaned down to Ginny and she gently grabbed his tuft of blond hair and moved it it get to the tag.
"Ginny, how much longer in here?" Draco whined.
"You just sounded like you were 5 years old, Draco. No more complaining. The more you complain, the longer it will take! Now try on those other pants." Draco groaned and did as he was told by Ginny for the next 45 minutes.
"We're done! And we have quite a lot to show for it, don't you think, Draco?"
"Thank goodness." He collapsed into the chair and put his boots back on as Ginny discussed shipment with Nigel. Theodore once again would be coming to pick up the 3 dozen packages.
"Virginia Weasley, you are Wonder Woman, my dear. Wonder Woman. It only took you an hour and a half to purchase an entire wardrobe. You get better every time." Nigel said sweetly as he said goodbye to Ginny and Draco.
"Now you'll know who to ask for the next time, Draco." Nigel said shaking his hand.
"Yes, and thank you very much." He said as the two took off out of the store. He looked at Ginny who was walking quickly ahead of him. "Where are we off to, Ginny?"
"Wow, its 4:45 already! Here is the rough plan. We'll go to that wizard store around the corner from here and use floo powder to get to my flat. I need to pick up a few things and drive back to the Manor to..um..finish up." His hair was really bothering her.
"Won't it take too long to drive.my house is about an hour away!"
"Oh no, 10 minutes tops! I have a wizard car. I bought it for myself a few months ago. Dad and the twins added a few things to..spice it up." A mischievous grin spread across her face.
They arrived at the café and hastily got themselves to the fireplace in Ginny's flat. Draco dusted himself off and looked around. It was stylishly decorated with bouquets of flowers on every table. The spacious living room had an overall warmth to it, the color scheme of reds and oranges with medium finished wood was soothing and country-like. The furniture was all oversized and extra plush. There were paintings and photographs accenting each piece. Everything was tidy and well placed. Ginny even had many thick pillar candles scattered about, they had been charmed to light themselves when someone was in the flat.
Draco ventured into the kitchen, which had a country feel to it as well. Ginny scampered off to what Draco guessed was the bedroom. She called out "Help yourself to a drink or something in the kitchen!" from within her chambers. He poured himself a glass of water and sat down on the plush sofa in the living room.
Ginny meanwhile, was stressed. She'd kept herself calm and focused all day. She still couldn't believe she'd be attending one of Narcissa Malfoy's grand balls. She'd looked through Julia's pictures from past parties at the Manor and had instantly gotten lost in daydreams of attending. She'd been wanting to go to a ball like that since she was little. She picked herself up off the bed and fished through her closet and found her small suitcase. "Shoes..where are my bridesmaid shoes from Ron's wedding..AH! Here they are..." She continued talking to herself out loud.
"Whatcha doing? Do you need any help" A familiar voice questioned.
"Oh I'm just getting shoes and makeup and such for tonight. I'm going to one of your mother's glamorous parties, I'll have to look my best of course!" She said through her stress as she moved over to her small vanity next to her bathroom door. She took all her makeup and put it in her suitcase. She starting reciting a list in her head "Ok I've got my makeup, my shoes, mother's diamond earrings, perfume, I ALMOST FORGOT!" She opened the bottom drawer and took out a small black leather case. "My haircutting scissors!" She grinned at Draco.
"Is that really necessary..?" Draco said, running his hands through his hair.
"Draco, look at that mop of yours! When was the last time you cut it?! Come here, I want to see how bad your ends are!" She demanded as she pulled down a chuck of his hair, Draco giving a yelp of pain in response. "Just as I'd suspected. So unhealthy.I'm sorry but it just doesn't compliment you at all." She lightly admonished him.
'Well I haven't done a thing to it since I left.so for about 2 years I've let it grow."
"Draco, it makes you look like a little boy who has refused to get it cut. Ron was like that as a child. Funny as all hell. But you need to look mature so when we get back to your house I'm going to cut it for you." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Oh now aren't you multitalented, Miss Weasley. A party planner, robe designer, personal shopper, AND a hair stylist..I'm impressed. But you're not cutting it!" He said grabbing his hair protectively.
She gave him a motherly scowl. "Draco, you're being a little brat! You're 21 years old and its time to grow up. Now you've got probably an hour to say goodbye and make peace with it before." She took out a pair of the slim silver scissors she'd received upon getting her hairstyling license and made a quick snipping noise. "I took beautician courses over the summer when I was a teenager, my mother said in case anything ever happened and the wizarding world collapsed or something I could always fall back on it..the boys were my guinea pigs. The first time I cut Ron's hair..oh goodness..it was hilarious! He's still got a scar on his ear from a little accident." As Ginny laughed at her memories Draco gave her a look of pure fear. "Oh don't worry, I'm wonderful at it now. The great Draco Malfoy can trust me with his precious blond locks!" He gave her a suspicious glance. "I said don't worry!" She assured him.
He frowned in frustrated defeat knowing he would not win. Women tended to have the final word as to what was fashionably acceptable. The only other woman who Draco had ever let defeat him was his mother but he trusted Ginny.
"It's 5 o'clock now and the party begins at 7:30 so lets head down to my car." She picked up her heavy suitcase and began to walk.
"I'll take the bag, you lead to the car." Draco said picking it up as if it was light as air.
She smiled back at him as he let her out the door first, "Why thank you Mr. Malfoy. Quite the gentleman, you are." She closed and locked the door to her flat and headed down the stairs to the garage underneath her building. She walked up to a large black SUV and unlocked it. "Hop in. You can throw the bag in the backseat." She said as she jumped into the high drivers' seat and started the ignition. She backed out and started her car up the ramp, which acted as a runway for wizard cars. Wizard cars would pulsate so quickly it could not be seen in the sky by the normal muggle eye.
"And we're off to Malfoy Manor!" Ginny shouted in a low, manly, triumphantly voice and looked at Draco, who was laughing hysterically at her.
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Sorry to be a poop and cut it off in a weird place but I've got so much that I needed to get this posted!
Send some reviews on over! I'll be indulging in my tasty Ben&Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.
Another note---- read my other story "Hogwarts Isn't Ready For This One" story ID 993366!
Review please! I love getting feedback..and flames will be used to warm my chilly toes.damn New England weather!
THANKS FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!! I got some today in my inbox after returning from a 3 hour detention (where I wrote 15 pages of the story in my notebook.it shall be typed tonight ( ) and have a buncha reviews. I literally jumped with excitement.I still haven't realized anyone else reads my story besides Kayla. ( thanks everyone.
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Mother's Wishes Part Two
The two found themselves in the rush and clutter of Diagon Alley. They were almost late for the appointment Ginny had scheduled that morning. Ginny pushed through the crowded street, trusting Draco would follow. Draco felt eyes staring at him, people were astonished by him. Many were shocked when the word got out that Draco Malfoy had turned against his father and fought against the Death Eaters in the war. He left England soon after and after his arrival a few days prior, people wondered about him even more. He rushed to find Ginny as he noticed witches and wizards whispering his name and looking at him with scrutiny. He finally saw the familiar shock of red hair outside Madam Malkin's.
"There you are, I thought I had lost you. I'm sorry we had to come this way, I know it must be strange having people look at you, I do know the feeling." Ginny said with honest sympathy in her eyes. Everyone gawked at her after word got out that she would not be marrying Harry Potter. The two gave each other knowing glances and opened the door to the shop.
The door chimed and immediately the stout old witch dressed all in teal came over to them and enveloped Ginny in a hug. "Even if I saw you a few hours ago, everyone needs a hug, dear!" she said cheerily. "And Mr. Malfoy! Look at you! You've.grown so much!" She said with hesitation, covered with a smile. "It's always delightful to see people I haven't seen in such a long while! I knew you'd decided to travel for a bit but to where, I don't know." She said looking him over, in astonishment. The three walked to the back of the store to the first private fitting room. Ginny pulled Draco by the arm and set him in front of the mirrored wall.
"Draco, turn around once please. I need to get a good look at you." Ginny ordered.
"Now Milly, down to business!" Ginny said, putting on her black-rimmed rectangular glasses and retrieving a portfolio of drawings from her sleek black shoulder bag. Isabella, Milly's young assistant took out a tape and began taking his measurements as Ginny and Madam Malkin began quietly discussing their ideas. "I told you he'd suit those robes we've been working on. You have those gray ones I told you about ready? I think we need to make the shoulders a little wider and add a trim to the outside."
"You read my mind, Virginia! Isabella, why don't you go fetch that gray robe in my closet. You know where the key is. And bring that new trim that just arrived from Milan!" Milly said calmly.
Within minutes, Isabella was rushing out, a roll of trim in one hand, a gray robe in the other.
"Draco, why don't you try this one on. Now Ginny and myself have been working on this design for awhile but could never find anyone with the right coloring and physique. Why don't you try it, if not, I have others in mind." Milly said, handing him the robe.
Draco slipped on the robe, it fitting snuggly around the shoulders.
"It needs to be altered in the shoulders Isabella, why don't you do that now." Ginny said looking at Draco. Isabella prompted took out her wand and got to work. "Well I think that's covered.except it needs a colored trim."
"Well shouldn't we go with the customary green, Ginny? I mean, he's a Slytherin and green is their house color." Milly insisted.
"No!" Ginny and Draco said in unison.
"Milly, everyone will be expecting the one and only Draco Malfoy to be wearing gray and green, his old Hogwarts colors. Draco is certainly not the same little school boy so I think he's old enough to be independent of his old house colors."
"My thoughts exactly, Ginny." Draco chimed in.
"Milly, look at his eyes, aren't they such a beautiful pale blue.almost gray. I think we could charm the trim to that shade, it would definitely bring out his eyes. I think it would be far more flattering than any other shade." Ginny stated.
Draco nodded in agreement.
"You're entirely right. Isabella, find the right shade of blue trim and charm it on. Ginny and I will be in the next room making a few alterations to her gown for tonight. Draco, you can take that robe off and Isabella will get you fitted with your casual robes. Ginny already has them picked out, they are over there on that rack. We shouldn't be more than twenty minutes." Madam Malkin said as she and Ginny left the room and headed farther down the small hallway. Ginny returned several minutes later to check on Draco's fitting. Ginny made a few adjustments to the robes herself and finally told Draco he was finished.
"Now Draco, you can't wear these robes with those jeans of yours and that sweater surely won't do so after I take care of payment matters we'll be off to Harrod's. "
"I think you're right, Harrod's would be the best. But did you get muggle money from Gringotts?"
"Well actually your mother has been making many muggle purchases lately so she has an account at Harrod's. Don't worry Draco, everything is arranged and taken care of. That's my job, taking stress off my clients." Ginny said as they waited for Theodore's response to the owl they'd sent. An owl swooped down from Theodore saying he'd be at Madam Malkin's in 5 minutes and to leave all their packages for him to pick up. As they were about to leave, Milly came running up to the both of them.
"Now Draco, you better be coming back soon! I don't want to have to wait 2 years again!" She said giving him a kiss on his cheek. "And don't let Ginny order you around too much today, she's just stressed because she's going to your party tonight." Milly said quietly to Draco who was leaning down to her.
"Of course, Madam Malkin. Thank you very much for the wonderful robes." He said politely.
"Ginny darling, I want you to take a picture of yourself in that beautiful dress tonight! Have fun! I'll be seeing you later! Don't torture this poor kid today!" Milly said as she kissed Ginny goodbye.
"Goodbye, Milly! Make sure Theodore brings all Draco's robes and the 2 gowns back to the manor!" She said as she was walking out the door!"
"Don't worry Ginny, everything will be fine!" Milly yelled out the door.
The two rushed through Diagon Alley and into the Leaky Cauldron, heading for muggle London. After the war, the muggle world was introduced to the wizarding world. They were still adjusting to the change but it was quite enough to notice. Wizards were wearing muggle clothing far more often and wizarding robes were becoming quite "en vogue" with the high fashion designers.
Ginny took in a breath of the fresh London air and promptly felt her stomach growl. "I don't know 'bout you, but I sure could go for a bite to eat."
"My thoughts exactly. I know a great little restaurant café about 5 minutes from here. How about it?" Ginny nodded and followed his lead as confusion took over her head. 'Draco Malfoy, frequenting the muggle world..he really HAS changed.' They continued walking in silence.
"Ya know I wasn't surprised to hear how successful you've become, Virginia." Draco said to her, still facing forward. "But before I left you were still with Potter."
"I was waiting for you to say something about that, Draco. It was quite big news when I ended our engagement. It was a little less than 2 years ago. People are still looking at me like I'm crazy, turning down Harry Potter. We've stayed private about it though."
"I'm sure the rest of the Weasley clan was disappointed. They've treated him as one of their own."
She laughed and began her story, steadily walking. "You have no idea! My mother refused to talk to me for 3 weeks, saying I was making the 'biggest mistake of my life' and that I should 'pray he'll take me back' but once she calmed down and I talked to her about it, she started learning to cope and understand. I know she wanted the best for me and I think she always really hoped the best would be Harry. And plus I knew deep down being a part of the Weasley family was a big part of wanting to marry me. He and Ron have always been brotherly but it would have been so much better to really call him a brother. Ron was pissed off too, of course. And how did you find out about Harry and I not being together anymore? I thought you were off living in the woods or something!" She giggled at the thought of Draco cutting down trees but with his current attire, it didn't seem too far-fetched.
"I briefly lived in a woodland area, yes, but mostly I drifted about.hopping a few trains to change continents. Barely used magic at all." He replied simply as they continued their brisk walk. "I guess I needed to get away, from everyone, people who knew me. Or thought they knew me. I had to figure my life out and the only way I could do that was if I didn't have anything constricting me. I'm still adjusting to being back here. Seeing people I knew before."
"Now everyone is even more confused about you than before, when you turned against the Death Eaters. You can't blame people for wondering..you turned against your own father. Then take off for 2 years only to return unrecognizable. It's something very out of the ordinary if you ask me. But you've never been ordinary, have you Draco." she said rolling her eyes.
"You're right but they're looking at me like I'm some sort of ogre! I don't look that bad do I?" He said lookin
"I'm not going to answer that, Draco. It would be..unprofessional." She said laughing, not wanting to lie. "Well I promise you'll look better. And Draco, I take it you forgotten how to match colors while you were away." She couldn't help but giggle as she took another glance at Draco's outfit.
"Well here we are!" Draco stopped Ginny at a small lunch restaurant café, "After you, milady" he said as he opened the door and bowed.
"Why thank you, kind gentleman." Ginny offered him her hand giggling furiously, their joking gaining attention from the other customers. They shuffled to an empty table in the back and they placed their orders, both ordering sandwiches.
"Care to tell me why you and Wonder Boy split?" Draco questioned flatly.
"Well if you're going to be forward, I will too. I'll tell you all about why Witch Weekly's Man Of The Year got dumped by his fiancée only if you tell me why you fought against your father." She said challengingly.
"Fine. It was quite simple actually, I didn't want to be a Death Eater and I hated my father for various reasons. "
"Draco, that was vague, you can't just say you hate your father. We all were under the impression that you were preparing yourself to be the carbon copy of him. I mean, you can't blame us, you worshipped the man when you were younger."
"If you must know I have resentment towards him, he raised his child to hate and demoralize. He was abusive and hurtful and took away my mother's happiness. She did nothing but try to please him and live up to his standards but apparently she had too much love in her so he'd put her under paralyzingly painful curses. So I think that's a good enough reason to hate my father." He was now almost screaming at Ginny.
"I'm so sorry Draco. I don't know what I was thinking when I asked." She said with fear in her voice.
"Ginny I'm sorry I was so rude, you asked a question that people have been wondering. I'm just still adjusting to everything. I guess I just snapped." He looked down, avoiding her eyes.
"Well I guess I should explain to you what happened with Harry and I..now this is pretty exclusive, If I had a knut for every time I've had people ask me for an interview.I'd be a rich woman. Well I thought I loved him. And then once I realized my goals in life, I knew I would never be able to achieve them being his wife. I was 18 years old and going to get married. I'd be having children and he'd be off playing Quidditch and he'd never come home. I'd be a housewife. I could never be happy being a housewife. Neither of us would really be happy. And I was naïve and I think it was that childhood crush taking over. When I really looked him, I knew I couldn't spend the rest of my life with him, there was something missing. I was already working for the agency and I needed to be independent, living on my own. Taking care of myself. I felt like Harry was marrying me to take care of me, like taking over for Ron. I had to break it off. It was hard letting go of him but I've gotten over it. There. We've both said we wanted to know from each other." She said and nodded her head.
"It must have been nice growing up in such a loving and warm family. You may not believe this but I would see you and your family and be green with envy. I never had that, only from my mother and not in view of my father. He didn't want his son to be soft. So he made sure I turned into a arrogant bratty git. Real love there."
"Well at least you can admit it now! You're right.you definitely were an arrogant little brat. So easy to loathe...oh I remember when you were turned into a ferret.oh goodness that was hilarious!" She couldn't stop the laughs, almost spitting out her mocha latte.
"I'd like to forget about that." Draco said between laughs.
"I'm sorry. It's quite unprofessional of me to be making fun of my clients." Ginny tried to stop the snorty giggles escaping.
"Well technically my mother is your client, I didn't hire you, it was entirely my mother's doing. As much as I've enjoyed your assistance and company so far today, shopping has never been one of my favorite activities. But it will make her happy and so I'm letting her treat me as a child. Parties and stuff like that make her feel needed, she lives for throwing parties, gives her something constructive to do. I suspect she's invited plenty of young witches to the party in hopes of finding me a bride."
"She only wants the best for you. Parents have this idea in their head of what their children should be and sometimes they don't always fit that mold. I think my parents thought I would end up being my mother, having a big family, and they added Harry to the picture as the devoted husband. Your mother probably wants you to have everything she didn't.maybe to her its something to do with her marriage, from what you've told me, it doesn't seem like she could really love your father."
"I think at one point she did, in some skewed way. It was an arranged marriage you know. Both the families were extremely aristocratic and they had arranged it when my mother was born. My mother even told me once that my father tried to arrange my marriage when I was 8 years old. To Pansy Parkinson, no less." He made a disgusted face. "She is someone I could live without seeing. I remember Pansy always coming over and whining because I didn't have dolls for her to play with. Then my mother put her foot down, it was one of those times where Lucius knew it was a bad idea. Plus neither of them really wanted to have Pansy as a daughter in law. But they still made me take her to the Yule Ball."
"At least she's married to that Flint guy so she won't hound you like she used to, I remember one time she was chasing you down the hall calling you Drakies! I'm sure she'll be there tonight. As well as the rest of the old Slytherin crowd, well what is left of them."
"I know, I killed a few of them."
Ginny looked at him in embarrassment.
"It's what needed to be done, Ginny. I was never attached to them anyway. You don't make friends in Slytherin when you're a member of a family like mine, you acquire allies. That's why I was so miserable at Hogwarts, I never really had any friends. Crabbe and Goyle were only my bodygaurds, but everyone else thought I was friends with them."
"I didn't really have any friends at Hogwarts either." Ginny said quietly.
Draco didn't know what to say, she was a Weasley, everyone in Gryffindor loved the Weasleys who were notoriously kind and welcoming.
"I know why you're giving me that look. I wouldn't believe it either but it's true. People assumed I was fine because my brothers, especially Ron, always looked after me. And then Harry and Hermione started 'looking after me' but it was always the 3 of them, the Trio. Girls would even try to be buddy-buddy with me to get closer to Harry Potter, the Heartthrob of Hogwarts. It wasn't easy being alone, and even worse, having people around you that have ulterior motives."
"I'm sorry they did that to you. I'm sure some of those Slytherins hated me too. I wasn't nice to anyone back then, their parents probably made their children talk to me. But if it means anything, if I wasn't such an intolerable git back then, I would have been your friend." He said with a genuine smile.
"And I would have been yours' Draco." Ginny returned the smile.
The two finished the last bites of their sandwiches and the last sips of their coffee drinks. Draco got the bill, being quite gentlemanly. They were soon once again in a rush to make their appointment time at Harrod's. Ginny had arranged her good friend, and costomer assistant and tailor at Harrod's to personally help them that afternoon. They strolled up to the desk at the front of the men's section and they were guided to a small tailoring and fitting room in the back. A tall, lanky, man, mid-twenties, came bounding into the room and enveloped Ginny in a hug. "Ginny Weasley! It's bloody grand to see your beautiful face again!" He said flamboyantly. They lightly kissed each other in the cheek.
"Nigel, I'd like you to meet Draco Malfoy." The two men shook hands."Thank you so much for penciling us in on such short notice but it was an emergency as you can see." Ginny smiled as Draco nudged her in her side and gave her a fiesty glare. "His mother has hired me to get him a new wardrobe and prepare him for tonight, his mother is throwing him a party for his return home from the wilderness. I've gotten him his robes at Madam Malkins and this is our last stop so let's go according to the plan we've talked about last night."
"Of course Ginny, I have those suits ready you requested. The best designers of course. We'll get them tailored today and have them sent out as soon as possible but for now we need a nice shirt and pants for this evening. I've already set aside shoes over there on the table, and brought in some nice neutral ties. I'll be taking his measurements for his suits as you find some trousers, shirts, and jumpers."
"Draco, I'll bring in some colors of shirts and you can tell me if you like them or not. I'll be right back." Ginny scurried out and returned 5 minutes later with stacks upon stacks of sleek button down dress shirts. She would hold up each other and he would discard the colors he didn't like.she even brought in pink and purple to see his reaction.
"I'm sorry Ginny, I refuse to wear purple shirts." He said frustrated as Nigel made small marks on the expensive Armani suit he was wearing.
"Ok, ok. So We're sticking with the black, grey, blue, light blue, white, green, .." She rattled off all the shirt she'd picked out for him. "Now we need to see you in some trousers, Draco." She pulled a rack into the dressing room of gray, khaki, and black pants. "These flatfront ones are in style. Try these on. Give the suit back to Nigel over the door, please." She said, ushering him into the small changing room in the corner. Ginny sat down in the chair and started sifting through each shirt and finding ties to go with the color scheme.
"How are these, Gin?" Draco came out of the dressing room in the black pants and the blue button down shirt.
"Definitely a keeper. Nigel, I want 2 of those pants in black and 2 in that dark gray. And come over here and let me record that shirt size and brand." Draco leaned down to Ginny and she gently grabbed his tuft of blond hair and moved it it get to the tag.
"Ginny, how much longer in here?" Draco whined.
"You just sounded like you were 5 years old, Draco. No more complaining. The more you complain, the longer it will take! Now try on those other pants." Draco groaned and did as he was told by Ginny for the next 45 minutes.
"We're done! And we have quite a lot to show for it, don't you think, Draco?"
"Thank goodness." He collapsed into the chair and put his boots back on as Ginny discussed shipment with Nigel. Theodore once again would be coming to pick up the 3 dozen packages.
"Virginia Weasley, you are Wonder Woman, my dear. Wonder Woman. It only took you an hour and a half to purchase an entire wardrobe. You get better every time." Nigel said sweetly as he said goodbye to Ginny and Draco.
"Now you'll know who to ask for the next time, Draco." Nigel said shaking his hand.
"Yes, and thank you very much." He said as the two took off out of the store. He looked at Ginny who was walking quickly ahead of him. "Where are we off to, Ginny?"
"Wow, its 4:45 already! Here is the rough plan. We'll go to that wizard store around the corner from here and use floo powder to get to my flat. I need to pick up a few things and drive back to the Manor to..um..finish up." His hair was really bothering her.
"Won't it take too long to drive.my house is about an hour away!"
"Oh no, 10 minutes tops! I have a wizard car. I bought it for myself a few months ago. Dad and the twins added a few things to..spice it up." A mischievous grin spread across her face.
They arrived at the café and hastily got themselves to the fireplace in Ginny's flat. Draco dusted himself off and looked around. It was stylishly decorated with bouquets of flowers on every table. The spacious living room had an overall warmth to it, the color scheme of reds and oranges with medium finished wood was soothing and country-like. The furniture was all oversized and extra plush. There were paintings and photographs accenting each piece. Everything was tidy and well placed. Ginny even had many thick pillar candles scattered about, they had been charmed to light themselves when someone was in the flat.
Draco ventured into the kitchen, which had a country feel to it as well. Ginny scampered off to what Draco guessed was the bedroom. She called out "Help yourself to a drink or something in the kitchen!" from within her chambers. He poured himself a glass of water and sat down on the plush sofa in the living room.
Ginny meanwhile, was stressed. She'd kept herself calm and focused all day. She still couldn't believe she'd be attending one of Narcissa Malfoy's grand balls. She'd looked through Julia's pictures from past parties at the Manor and had instantly gotten lost in daydreams of attending. She'd been wanting to go to a ball like that since she was little. She picked herself up off the bed and fished through her closet and found her small suitcase. "Shoes..where are my bridesmaid shoes from Ron's wedding..AH! Here they are..." She continued talking to herself out loud.
"Whatcha doing? Do you need any help" A familiar voice questioned.
"Oh I'm just getting shoes and makeup and such for tonight. I'm going to one of your mother's glamorous parties, I'll have to look my best of course!" She said through her stress as she moved over to her small vanity next to her bathroom door. She took all her makeup and put it in her suitcase. She starting reciting a list in her head "Ok I've got my makeup, my shoes, mother's diamond earrings, perfume, I ALMOST FORGOT!" She opened the bottom drawer and took out a small black leather case. "My haircutting scissors!" She grinned at Draco.
"Is that really necessary..?" Draco said, running his hands through his hair.
"Draco, look at that mop of yours! When was the last time you cut it?! Come here, I want to see how bad your ends are!" She demanded as she pulled down a chuck of his hair, Draco giving a yelp of pain in response. "Just as I'd suspected. So unhealthy.I'm sorry but it just doesn't compliment you at all." She lightly admonished him.
'Well I haven't done a thing to it since I left.so for about 2 years I've let it grow."
"Draco, it makes you look like a little boy who has refused to get it cut. Ron was like that as a child. Funny as all hell. But you need to look mature so when we get back to your house I'm going to cut it for you." She said in a matter-of-factly tone.
"Oh now aren't you multitalented, Miss Weasley. A party planner, robe designer, personal shopper, AND a hair stylist..I'm impressed. But you're not cutting it!" He said grabbing his hair protectively.
She gave him a motherly scowl. "Draco, you're being a little brat! You're 21 years old and its time to grow up. Now you've got probably an hour to say goodbye and make peace with it before." She took out a pair of the slim silver scissors she'd received upon getting her hairstyling license and made a quick snipping noise. "I took beautician courses over the summer when I was a teenager, my mother said in case anything ever happened and the wizarding world collapsed or something I could always fall back on it..the boys were my guinea pigs. The first time I cut Ron's hair..oh goodness..it was hilarious! He's still got a scar on his ear from a little accident." As Ginny laughed at her memories Draco gave her a look of pure fear. "Oh don't worry, I'm wonderful at it now. The great Draco Malfoy can trust me with his precious blond locks!" He gave her a suspicious glance. "I said don't worry!" She assured him.
He frowned in frustrated defeat knowing he would not win. Women tended to have the final word as to what was fashionably acceptable. The only other woman who Draco had ever let defeat him was his mother but he trusted Ginny.
"It's 5 o'clock now and the party begins at 7:30 so lets head down to my car." She picked up her heavy suitcase and began to walk.
"I'll take the bag, you lead to the car." Draco said picking it up as if it was light as air.
She smiled back at him as he let her out the door first, "Why thank you Mr. Malfoy. Quite the gentleman, you are." She closed and locked the door to her flat and headed down the stairs to the garage underneath her building. She walked up to a large black SUV and unlocked it. "Hop in. You can throw the bag in the backseat." She said as she jumped into the high drivers' seat and started the ignition. She backed out and started her car up the ramp, which acted as a runway for wizard cars. Wizard cars would pulsate so quickly it could not be seen in the sky by the normal muggle eye.
"And we're off to Malfoy Manor!" Ginny shouted in a low, manly, triumphantly voice and looked at Draco, who was laughing hysterically at her.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Sorry to be a poop and cut it off in a weird place but I've got so much that I needed to get this posted!
Send some reviews on over! I'll be indulging in my tasty Ben&Jerry's Chocolate Fudge Brownie ice cream.